Defy McQuaid!
Do you have something that’s been eating away at you for awhile? Perhaps a deep rooted factual question that’s been bugging you for decades?
Comment to this post with your question. Shaun McQuaid will do his best to find the answer for you.
If you’d like to see what questions have been asked and answered already, click on the “attempts”.
Dear Shaun,
Recently I used an ATM on campus to get some fast cash. My financial institution is Fleet and the ATM that I used was Bank of New Hampshire. Looking at my account later on, I was not surprised to see a $1.50 bank charge, because I accepted the charge when I was at the ATM. However, there was a SECOND $1.50 charge. Why am I getting charged TWICE for the same thing, and why does Bank of New Hampshire stink? Please advise.
The water at Smith College is run through a huge filter before it emerges from any faucets or showerheads. A sample of this once-filtered water was then run through a second filter to remove any remaining bacteria, nastiness, etc. This water was then examined under a scanning electron microscope at, I think, a magnification of 16,000x. The twice-filtered water was found to still be ridden with bacteria and small amoeba-like forms, both of which are icky. My question is, what is the point of these filters if they do not completely cleanse water? Are they simply being produced in order to appease the masses, to reassure tham that they are drinking / washing in purified water, when in fact they are drinking / washing in water whose dangers have only been somewhat lessened? Do you think the bacteria found is even dangerous, or just kind of yucky and gross to look at? Is coming into prolonged external or internal contact with icky water going to kill me?
And another thing — where are my PopTarts?
To the All-Encompassing Shaun McQuaid,
Recently, I was helping a friend create a majestic resume. When we were done I went to print it when she screamed ‘bloody murder!’ and scolded me for not using “Resume Paper”. What purpose does resume paper have? Why does it have an annoying watermark on it? Is it proof that you are not a lazy bum and can in fact travel to the store and purchase office supplies on one’s own? And why do girls without touretts syndrome feel the need to scream ‘bloody murder!’ when a simple “Hey dude, hold on one gosh darn minute there, Bucko” would be more audically (haha i made up a word….i think…its still pretty audical) appealing?
Your friendly neighborhood New Hampshirian,
Paul
Dear Shaun,
One of the biggest shocks in moving to CT was the fact that it is not required to dial the area code to call a local friend. Unlike MA where all 10 numbers are needed to make any phone call, the CT 7 number system caught me a little off guard.
Is CT or MA the exception to the rule?
how many states require all 10 digits to be dialed for local connection?
Dear Shaun,
Sometimes I experience a zen-like moment wherein I think, “Wow, nothing exists. I don’t exist, this room doesn’t exist, and the world definitely does not exist.” Everything seems very clear. However, I don’t know whether I should trust those brief seconds of clarity, especially when the rest of the time, my bills, Judeo-Christian values, and the trials of dating occupy all my attention and manifest themselves in an extremely real fashion.
My question is: What is reality, Shaun?
Sincerely,
Alicia, Cambridge, MA
Shaun of Mystery,
Why does the business section of the newspaper still have pages and pages of stock activity?
Aren’t investors wired these days and just looking this stuff up via fancy webpages and such things?
what, turnip?
In the game of water polo, how is it that the poor horses are able to breathe?
Dear Shaun
I have a bag of peanuts (with shells) that has been sitting on my desk since the end of august. How long are they good for?? What are the signs that they could be bad??
REBUTTAL TO QUESTION #4
I’d like to file a complaint on the basis of false information in regards to the 10 digit dialing. While the central and eastern portion of Massachusetts has to dial 10 digits, the western part does not. I find it very refreshing when I go home to the hills and only dial 7 digits.
Why is it my computer speakers pick up and play a Japanese (or perhps Chinese, I speak neither) radio station when nothing else is coming out of them? This happens even when my computer is off!
Evie can vouch for this, and if she says she can’t I’m not going to let her sleep till she vouches!
Dear Nobody’s Tougher Than Shaun, I enjoy cooking and was just wondering—what is the origin of the falafel? Also, what exactly does it mean “to blave” and why, oh why, does Keanu Reeves have such an uncool name in The Matrix? After all, a movie hero should have a much more awesome name than “Neil”!
Dear Shaun,
The rebuilding of the World Trade Center took center stage in the media for a while during the architecture contest. However, after the winner was chosen all media relating to the new memorial disappeared.
my questions are: How is the construction going? when is it suppose to be completed? are there any pictures online?
curious,
mike d.
Shaun,
Approximately 1 mile west of Exit 10 on the Massachusetts Turnpike (westbound) is a Pepperidge Farm delivery truck. It is located roughly 100 yards from the highway, behind a chain link fence. This truck is there every day, all day. At night, it has interior lights and often has smoke rising from a smokestack of some kind. There appears to be laundry hanging on a clothesline, as well.
I called the State Police to investigate this sighting, which has been part of my commute for over a year now. The first office to hear my question immediately hung up on me. I called a second time, explained that I am not pranking the police, and again asked the question. This new office gave me a very quick, “We’re sending someone out.” and hung up on me.
The conspiracy theorist in me wants to say that the truck is part of an elaborate spy network set up in part by the MA State Police. Is anybody actually living in this truck? Is it on private land, as it sits just beyond the fence?
My curiosity is now in your hands. Treat it well.
Thanks,
Troy
When will we get a movie review out of Alicia?
McAnswers McQuaid,
Since you are clearly an expert peanutologist, perhaps you can help me with a problem I encountered in lab recently. For ecology lab, my group was feeding different nuts to squirrels (optimal foraging experiment) and we counted the number of nuts taken in certain amounts of time. Then we realized … we had no idea what the definition of “one peanut” is! Is one peanut the edible ball in the shell, or the entire encased nut? Keep in mind, that the occasional whole peanut can have one or two (and sometimes three!) edible pieces inside of it.
Baffled Becky
Melbourne, FL
Dear Shaun,
During the upcoming holiday season, I would like to impress my lady friend by whipping up a culinary masterpiece
utilizing the under-appreciated Cadbury Cream Egg.
Can you give me any suggestions for recipes that would tickle my gal’s fancy?
Thanks,
Tim
Shaun,
I was recently driving back to Northborough from Rochester, NY after the holidays when a thought hit me. After rubbing the bruise the thought gave me I began to think. Say one person in a car crosses the MA border from NY on I-90 and beeps his/her horn. The next person closest to them on I-90 then beeps there horn in some sort of automotive relay race. This continues for however long it takes until “The Beep” reaches Boston. Now stemming from this thought I had several quandries; 1: How long would it take “The Beep” to reach Boston from the Ma/NY border? 2: How many cars would it take to necsesitate “The Beep”? and finally 3: Would the fact that the cars are all moving towards boston speed up “The Beep” in any measurable amount?
Hope you had a good holiday shaun and i can’t wait to hear your answer!
K
Shaun,
So this might be a dumb question, but I’m asking anyway. Your heart pumps the blood, your liver cleans the blood (I think), your veins & arteries are little blood tubes — what organ in the body actually MAKES the blood? Where does it COME from?
I also have a followup question regarding my earlier Smith-College-water one. When I take a shower at Smith and let my hair dry naturally, it dries in perfect, smooth, shiny ringlets. When I take a shower at home and let my hair dry naturally, it dries in frizzy, kinky, uncooperative curls. But the water at home has been softened, filtered, cleansed, etc., while the water at Smith smells funny and is certainly nothing special. I use the same shampoo both places. Is bad/hard water good for my hair? Or is it just good for my hair’s appearance? Or is my hair just CRAZY?
Your sister,
Meghan.
the Don Shaun:
A senior member of our family has come under significant fire from her television set. Every morning, several hours before she would like to wake up, it comes on at an unreasonably high volume pumping static into her living quarters.
Repeated investigations of the physical evidence reveal that the timer function for the television remains, as it always has, in the ‘off’ position.
Why oh why would a TV do this to an 82 year old lady? What can be done to tame this insatiable beast?
Please note that suggestions to purchase a replacement have been met with a dim view; at the end of the day, she would very much like her [expletive deleted] television to work.
Your friend indeed,
Jules
Test comment
What is a Jiggawatt? Also, what is the scientific significant of having 1.21 of them? Is that some kind of Golden Number for engineers?
Shaun,
I have another question! Can you ever accumulate such a large buildup of static electricity that when you touch something metal, you will receive a serious electric shock? Like, SERIOUS shock?
Your curious sister,
Meghan
Shaun,
I have a print of a photograph by Robert Doisneau hanging in the stairwell of my apartment. The piece is called Le Bouquet de Jonquilles (or Bouquet of Daffodils) and can be seen here:
http://www.art.com/asp/sp-asp/_/PD–10063945/sOrig–CRT/sOrigId–787/The_Bouquet_of_Daffodils__Paris_1950.htm?ui=C958674B218E4097AB1BCDC5840C8484
Every time I pass by I admire the shoes on the women in the photo. Shaun, where can I find such shoes as these? Who made them? Why are they so fabulous? Could they be even MORE amazing in color?
Jealous,
Jill
Shaun,
One the thruway there are huge rocks where they blasted to make way for the road, and on these said rocks, there is ice forming a sort of frozen waterfall, where water has seeped out of the rock. My question to you is, BA BA DUM, Why is the Ice Blue?
Shaun,
The water in the water cooler at work is from Nestle. It says that it’s been filtered through a “Reverse Osmosis” process. What does that mean, to me the consumer, and is this better than other filter methods? Should I prefer it over Brita filtered water?
We were at lunch discussing Airplanes and flight times and such. He is flying to San diego and we thought of this. We were wondering if the Roatation of the Earth has any measurable bearing on the flight time. Along those lines Glenn, my esteemed colleague had the thought, that if you were to go straight up into the air in a helicopter and hover for several hours would you land in a different place when you came directly down, or would you travel along with the rotation of the Earth. Thanks allknowing and ever wondrous Shaun.
Dear Shaun,
Why is it that Europeans pay so much more than us Americans for gasoline? Is the high paying isolated to Europe? does Asia pay high prices too? I would think in today’s well traveled high tech world that prices would be similar across the globe.
Thanks!
mike d.
Dear Shaun,
How does a zipper work?
-your sister
Dear Shaun,
Why do Scientologists have such a problem with psychiatry? There are posters all over Central Square decrying the mental health industry in the name of L. Ron Hubbard.
sincerely, and admiringly,
Alicia
At what temperature does diesel fuel burn??
Why don’t fish get electrocuted when lightning strikes the water???
Dear Oh World Traveler Shaun, While watching the BBC news one day last week, I caught the tail end of a story involving something called “twitchers”. Knowing that you have visited, and even resided for a time in that totally boffo country, I was wondering if you would know exactly what the heck the newscaster was refering to. Is it some new disease we must all be on our guard against? Should I begin to “twitch” do I run to the doctor a “twitch shot”. Or is this perhaps a new dance craze, a new way of walking……what? I depend on your expertise and awesome brain power to clear this up for me. My undying gratitude!
When searching for grills and grill accessories, I came across a part known as a ‘flavorizer bar’. What is it and how does it make my steak more delicious?
Thanks.
Dear THE UNDEFY-ABLE SHAUN MCQUAID, While I must say that I do enjoy reding all of the questions submitted by your obviously highly educated and exceptionally classy fans, I am really disappointed that all of your wonderous answers to these queries have DISAPPEARED!!!!!! What, oh what, oh Shaun-of-a million answers has happened???? You must realize that we all anxiously await the next words of wisdom recorded here, and I might say that a number of us also have gleaned some rather exceptional knowledge in the process. PLEASE, OH PLEASE Shaun, make the answers appear again!!!!! I await with bated breath! Thank You!
OOPS! I mean BAITED breath…………..it’s my computer……really………the keyboard is stupid or something………………..
UMMMMM…………….just ignore that last comment………….some wise guy got on my computer and wrote that……………..really……….I never bait my breath…………
What criteria do cable companies use to determine where in the volume is the best stereo? It has to do if you put your audio through the digital cable box and the volume through that. Its pretty much different on each model of cable box.
Kurt – I have no idea what Glenn is talking about here, but I just typed it in.
Is a porkus real?
Kurt and Glenn and Marc at Work:
Lightning doesn’t penetrate the surface of a deep body of water, so fish under the water are safe. The current spreads out on the top of the water, killing anything in it’s path. So if a fish were near the surface when lightning struck, it would die.
Also of interest, I recently read a short article that suggests fish who spend most of their lives in the upper fifth of the water column, can detect electrical storms before they occur. Thus, allowing them to dive to deeper waters, and avoiding certian death.
sorry smcquiad, i’m an aspiring ichtyologist and felt obligated to answer that question on your behalf
Setting:
Two Planets, made from a homogenous material, with similar average density to earth, and similar diameter, thus similar gavitational pull
Average man, standing on planet A wishes to jump and land on planet B
Neglecting all “You cant do that!” and “thats not possible!”‘s
How close, in meters, do the surfaces of the two planets have to be?
And just to be fair, what about a 5th percentile Female?
How do tattoos stay on your skin?
As far as I’m aware, baby skin cells are born in the bottom dermis layers and migrate to the top as they grow. Then they die and flake off.
Why doesn’t the ink die with the cells as they flake off? Are these ink-dyed cells cloning themselves or is tattoo ink a fountian of youth for the injected skin cells and they never die?
Also would I look good with a celtic cross tatto on my hip?
Becky,
I too am a student of our aquatic friends. But apparently my degree environmental sciences and having worked with Fish for over a year does not qualify me to answer this questions correctly, and sadly you dont either. Thanks for your concern but my co-workers are retards and only will take and answer from the one, the only Shaun McQuaid.
Being that becky used the word “ichthyologist” and Kurt used the phrase “worked with fish” I think perhaps Becky is indeed qualified enough to answer Glenn and Marc’s question. However, we will leave the decision of “how helpful is Becky’s contribution?” in the worthy hands of Shaun McQuaid.
Dear Shaun,
My favorite cousin is getting married at the end of July. I was trying to figure out how his new wife would be related to me. I then realized that I had never figured out the difference between second, third or fourth cousins and cousins once, twice or thrice removed. Can you clarify?
Ever curious,
Jill
Dearest McQuaid,
Why won’t you kiss me in public any more?
I just wanted you to know that I still care….On a serious note however I was hoping to get a little smoother sound unit shaking my car (and hopefully you 2!) this summer, but I just don’t understand how amp ohm ratings and that of the installed speakers will interact. For example if my 4 ohm amp is hittin a cheap 6 ohm speaker I found online, will it sound correctly? I know one can change up their wiring method between, say, a left and right amp out through parallel and series wiring to either ‘jump’ or ‘drop’ the ohm-rating. How do I do this and ensure that I won’t blow any of my new equip.
Sweetly yours,
Todd Hetrick
(love the site)
At work we have Corporate Information Security. One of their jobs is to monitor us. In fact, they are probably reading this now. My question is: What tools are available to the CIS community and what exactly do they tend to monitor?
Thanks Shaun!
We all know lightning travels through the path of least resistance.
Let’s say we zoom in on the electricity that’s flowing downwards, and see what it does every 1 nanosecond (it travels about 1 foot in this time period). The flow of electrons gets to a point, and it has to find the path of least resistance to keep going. For simplicity, let’s say it has 1 of 3 options. How does it know which to choose? Clearly, it doesn’t have “senses” to figure this out. If you know your electricity, you know it doesn’t “probe” its different path options until it finds the best way to go. So, how does it know?
A semi-comparable system would be water flowing down a hill. If the water gets to a place where it must choose to go 1 of 3 ways, most of it will go down the steepest path. But some of it will still go down the other two.
Electricity is different. If +10V gets to an intersection, and has to choose between 1 of 3 equally resistive paths (let’s say 250 ohms for the heck of it), one going to +7V, one going to +5V, one going to ground, ALL of the current will go right to ground. Nothing will go down the other two paths. Voltage (potential) difference is just like “steepness” of a hill in this example.
So, how does it know?
I was sitting in a meeting at work today and I thought about bows and arrows.
From what I’ve seen in books, TV shows, and movies, Native Americans used bow and arrows. And so did Robin Hood and the Romans and stuff.
My question is, did these two cultures, separated by an ocean, invent bows and arrows independently of one another? Did other regions of the world use bows and arrows? Who were the first? And is one type of historical bow and arrow more effective than the rest?
Dear Shaun,
Sparked (pun intended) by your diesel fuel answer, I have another fuel-related question: octane. The commonly held belief seems to be that the higher octane rating a gasoline has, the more power you get from your engine (the is probably encouraged by the use of words like “super” and “premium” to describe higher octane gas). Other people have told me that octane is a measurement of temperature, not power, and that putting high octane fuel into some engines can actually reduce performance. SO, what is octane, what does it measure, and what does that mean for me the consumer?