Mike Carruthers:
Life is full of little aggravations. Some of them have interesting
explanations. For example, when toast falls on the floor, why
does it always land butter side down? Laura
Lee:
It really does do that, and it’s not because the top is heavier
or anything like that. It has to do with the height of tables.
Laura Lee
author of The
Pocket Encyclopedia of Aggravation ...
And tables
are made at kind of a human height. And you start out, when
something starts to fall, it kind of goes at an angle. One side
tips up, and that’s what makes it fall. And in that height,
it doesn’t have enough time to do a full circle. So, it does
kind of an arch, and it tends to land - plop - on the butter
side.
When aluminum foil
hits one of your fillings in your mouth why does it hurt so
much?
You’re
actually creating a battery between your teeth. When you bite
down on aluminum foil, the saliva and the different metals meeting
create a little battery, and it’s actually up to 2 volts of
shock that goes straight into your teeth.
Why are dripping
faucets so annoying? Well, they aren’t to everyone.
I talked
to a psychologist who pointed out that dripping faucets drive
women nuts, and men sort of say, “Yeah. Ok. It’s dripping. Whatever.”
And,
another thing that annoys women more than men is the sound of
a car having mechanical problems. If a car’s making weird noises,
that actually bothers women more than it does men.
For transcripts
of our programs and our free online newsletter visit our website,
somethingyoushouldknow.net. I’m Mike Carruthers, and that’s
Something You Should Know.
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