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Nov 6, 2009 10:40 pm US/Central
Good Question: 'Reply All' To Your Good Questions
(WCCO)
It's going to be beautiful this weekend, which is why one of our Good Questions has to do with Indian Summer. Another has to do with belly buttons. So there's that.
• Why do we call it 'Indian Summer?' - Daniel in Eagan, Denise in Brooklyn Park
It's unclear, but the use of the phrase dates to the 1700s. One Native American scholar said it's not a derogatory term. According to Richard B. Williams, colonial settlers saw Indian Farmers having a second or third harvest after the first thaw. They were impressed and called that period "Indian Summer."
• Why are some belly buttons innies and others outies? - Laura in Woodbury.
"After birth cord is cut, and in order for the blood vessels to heal, there has to be a little hole," said Dr. Lynne Fiscus, of the Fairview Rosemount Clinic.
"Over time, that cartilage sheath closes, but in a small percentage, it doesn't close very well, and it causes a bit of sticking out of the tissue," said Fiscus. Almost all babies have an outie, but it tends to settle in, she said. Why does the belly button stick out for some people? "No one knows," she said, "it may be partially genetic."
One misconception, according to Fiscus, is that the doctor's cut of the cord has anything to do with how things ultimately settle.
All mammals have belly buttons, but they tend to look more like small scars in dogs and cats, rather than the pronounced belly button seen in humans.
• How do bugs crawl upside down? - Tracy from Minneapolis
Some bugs simply have large sticky pads on their feet. But certain ants and bees have a more complex system. Researchers took a close look at their feet. According to research from the University of Massachusetts,
published in Science Daily: Each foot has "a pair of claws that resemble a bull's horns, with a sticky footpad called an arolium positioned between the claws."
The claws try to grasp a wall or ceiling, but if the claw doesn't get a grip, it retracts. Then there's a sticky footpad that "comes into action. The footpad quickly unfolds and inflates with blood, protruding between the claws and enabling the adhesive pad to stick to the surface. The footpad then deflates and folds back. The entire process takes just tens to hundredths of a second, and is repeated with each step, rapid-fire, as the insects skitter along."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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