Host Bob McDonald and 10 experts will answer the 10 best questions sent in by you.
Do you have a burning question that’s never found an answer?
Have you ever wondered how sparrows survive the cold prairie winters, or why we get dark circles under our eyes, or why storms on other planets (like Jupiter) last for hundreds of years while storms on Earth last only weeks?
Here’s your chance to ask the question and have it answered by an expert on the Quirks & Quarks Question Show – recorded live on UBC campus, 8 March 2010.
Submit your question in the form below (make sure to leave your email address or telephone number so we can notifiy you if you have a winning question!) or if you prefer send an email to Tessa Vanderkop
A few hints to keep in mind:
Please submit your question no later than January 22nd.
To avoid duplication check out the questions that have already appeared on the show.
And the best questions are the ones that aren’t easily answered through google search….
Good luck!
How to eliminate the sounds of washing machine?
How to control the wine’s tasts, quality and the % of alcohol? I know from my friend that you can put grapes, apples or pears in a jar and put one layer of sugar, one layer of the fruit…and keeps going. And you wait for about half year and you will get the wine. But, every bottle is different. The taste, the conc. of alcohol are all different. How do you find the golden ratio?
Can we really move a house with balloons? If yes, how does it work?
Why were the so called “hobbit” people (Homo Floresiensis)of Flores Island so small?
Currently, our computer technology is dependent on micro processors and other electronic parts. Computers, no matter how powerful, do what we program them to do. However, there is no computer as powerful (intelligent) as our brain and it seems impossible with current technology to make such a computer/machine. I mean, how can a computer ever detect emotions, patterns, techniques and build upon them as intelligently as our brain does everyday. Our brain makes incredible amounts and variates of connections everyday, every hour, and every second!
Is it possible to have machines in the future that have high level intelligence and can think on their own? Will they be able to build upon and learn from their past experiences as proficiently as our brain? Will the invention of these kind of machines require a revolution instead of improvement in our current technology? Will they have similar characteristics to how our brain functions so it can have a level of intelligence to control itself? Will humans be able to have relationships with such machines?
When I was in Uganda and Tanzania, everyone used bar soap to wash their dishes and clothes. Is it better to use bar soap or dishwashing/laundry detergent in terms of cleanliness, health, and economics?
Historically the printing press created a revolution in communications. what is the science behind the technology that has created the current communications revolution (the advent of social media) which has changed communications/business power structures?
From evolution I’ve learned that dolphins and whales were actually once land mammals that have gone back to the water. So I was how evolution explains the hippopotamus. Is it an animal on its way back into the water, or on its way out? Or is there another reason this mammal needs to spend so much time in water?
Why is there are major decline in the number of bees?
What causes them to die?
What will get impacted if we don’t have bees?
What is method to double the harvest of rice?
As the population increasing rapidly, how do we solve the famine problems?
What is the quick way to start a buisness and to become successful and create a brand? How can this be possible without the use of cheap workers and material from China?
Why is it that an octave is split up into twelve semitones? There is a continuous spectrum of frequencies of sound that could be split up any number of ways. Why do we discretize it the way we do?
We always say “the arts and sciences”. Was there ever a time when art and science were not considered separately? And what has been the impact of creating these kinds of intellectual silos? And thinking further along the same vein how can art be considered a part of science and conversely, science a part of the arts?
Is the phenomenon of awkwardness (in conversation, body language, or awkward pauses) limited to humans? There are psychological and sociological reasons for the existence of awkwardness, perhaps, but are there any sort of biological explanations (perhaps evolutionary)?
why do we grammertize language?
why is there a proper prouncination for everything, and why do scientist lable using latin when we’re already modernized to English
Is ski wax harmful to people, the environment, watersheds and/or wildlife in any way?
Why does eating cold icecream, sometimes make my head hurt?
What is it about the human species that constantly drives us to re-invent form? Architecture would be an example. Over centuries and even within the contemporary world we are constantly changing form? What drives this impulse and what other species do this? Ie. A beaver dam is a beaver dam is a beaver dam. Do other species have the creative impulse?
This really is my last question!
I read an article recently where there was some clinical study showing how dogs can ‘smell’ illness, particularly cancer? Is this true, and how does this work?
When i get cold, I get goosebumps that make my hairs stand on end. When my dog gets cold, this effect is actually useful, because she has lots of hairs, and changing the angle of them makes her fur puff up and traps more warm air around her body.
Why then, do I get goosebumps which make my hairs stand up when I am in a hot bath? How is this useful to me? It seems counterproductive.
If colds are caused by viruses (this we know) and viruses are always present, why is it that most people only get colds in the wintertime?! If they were caused by viruses i would think that people would get lots of colds, all the time!
I heating up some frozen cream cheese in the microwave. It came out melted on the bottom half and still a bit frozen on the top half. Why is this? Does it happen with all microwaves and food?
I seem to have this habit of causing street lights to go out when I approach or walk under them. When I turn around after walking a short distance away they go on again. This has happened on and off in different cities of the world over many years and this “power” has become a real puzzle to me? Why? and am I alone or in good company ?
Lynn Katey Jan. 15 @ 5:57 pm
How do we explain child prodigies?
My question is:
Why do dogs pant heavily when the are looking out the window of a moving car, when they are not exerting themselves?
Perhaps Stanley Coren would have the answer.
Every night there is a mass migration of crows from Vancouver to Burnaby, why does this occur and is it a local phenomena?
Where do dreams come from ?
According to Tha Mayan calendar, what will happen after December 21st,2012?
why do human beings have many different color skins ?
When riding the skytrain home to Burnaby, there’s a certain part of the ride where Mount Baker appears very large and near. When the train goes a bit further, it looks much smaller. I’ve noticed this phenonemon before with other objects in the distance – viewing them from certain places make them appear much larger than usual. What causes this?
40% of people with multiple sclerosis experiences a relapse remitting pattern. They could be symptom-free for months before the symptoms return. Why does this happen? and why is it different for everyone.
Why is there no test that would indicate if one has Parkinson disease or not for the majority?
What happens when salt is added to water. Does the volume of the total solution increase or decrease?
Is there one unique location in the brain where our awareness of ouselves is thought to reside?
What really causes shivers down our spines?