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Blocking phone signals, vinegar-soothed sunburn and popping a yawn

Dr Karl and Zan Rowe

Dr Karl and Zan Rowe


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Questions discussed this week include:

  • Is it dangerous to stand in front of a microwave oven? (Test this by trying to call a mobile phone that is inside a switched off microwave oven.)
  • Are animals left- or right-sided?
  • Why does the funny bone (ulna) take longer to heal than other bones in our body?
  • Why does radio and TV reception change when I move closer or further away from the device?
  • If black holes can be infinitely small, how do we know they exist? (Planck length)
  • How long will it take for the next evolutionary step in humans to occur? And do humans come from a common ancestor?
  • Why does a baby's lips go blue just before they need to burp?
  • How does water evaporate? And why does heating water require so much energy?
  • Why do babies have a higher pulse rate than adults?
  • Will vinegar help sooth sunburned skin?
  • Could something like cornflour mixed with water stop a bullet?
  • Why do clouds appear green just before a large hail storm?
  • Can you 'pop' a yawn by sticking your finger into a person's mouth when they yawn? And why is it so satisfying to yawn?


Subjects: weird-and-wonderful