WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL

madison.com

Jobs | Autos | Homes | Rentals

CURIOSITIES

Curiosities: Oxygen and enzyme reaction turns sliced apples brown

Thu., Oct 9, 2008 - 9:44AM

Q: Why do apple slices turn brown?

A: The moment a knife slices through apple -- spilling the contents of apple cells along the surface of the cut, and allowing everything to mix -- a reaction begins. In particular, an enzyme known as polyphenol... >>MORE

Curiosities: Lifestyle may determine Earth's total population

Thu., Oct 2, 2008 - 9:51AM

Q. How many people can the Earth support?

A. It depends on the kind of lifestyle those people enjoy, says Lisa Naughton, a UW-Madison professor of geography and environmental studies.

The late 18th century English economist Thomas Malthus -- one of the... >>MORE

• Curiosities: Body tan caused by ultraviolet light from sun

• Curiosities: Compact bulbs produce less mercury pollution

• Curiosities: Lights upset insects' orientation to the moon

• Curiosities: Many middle-aged people develop allergies

• Curiosities: The future of fuel: Filling up with 'grassoline'

• Curiosities: Driving with open windows vs. air conditioning

• Curiosities: Retailers use .99 pricing to attract consumers

• Curiosities: Try slowing down if you want to save on gasoline

• Curiosities: Despite ban, chemicals still depleting ozone

• Curiosities: Most years are just dandy for dandelions

• Curiosities: Summer weather has few ties to harsh winter

• Curiosities: Some perennials last longer than others

• Curiosities: Rough winters add salt to urban lakes

• Curiosities: Dreams may be an echo of daily life -- or not

• Curiosities: Words, meanings begin to connect at early age

• Curiosities: Duration of the Earth's orbit behind leap days

• Curiosities: Parallel processors power supercomputers

• Curiosities: Sun could get real hot 5 billion years from now

• Curiosities: Eyes adjust so we can see in different conditions

• Curiosities: Onion's defense against pests makes people teary

• Curiosities: A combination of factors makes the holidays dicey

• Curiosities: Cloning an animal takes more than a strand of DNA

• Curiosities: Why does a scorching day cause wavy air?

• Curiosities: Garbage is out of the bag at the dump

• Curiosities: Under a broad definition, plants react to wounds

• Curiosities: Traveling at light speed 'never going to happen'

• Curiosities: Dissolved minerals make the ocean salty

• Curiosities: There's more to teeth than you might think

• Curiosities: Many factors make a language hard to learn

• Curiosities: Hissing young redtail hawks are pleading for food

• Curiosities: Ceiling height plays small role in heat loss

• Curiosities: Technically, the sun has no surface

• Curiosities: Flowers smell to attract pollinators

• Curiosities: Snakes grow, but skins do not, so off they go

• Curiosities: Just like candy, continents melt in heat

• Curiosities: Fish gills are equivalent to mammals' lungs

• Curiosities: Humans have caused hundreds of extinctions

• Three blades work best on wind generators

• Curiosities: Numbers indicate sequence of book printing

• Curiosities: The eternal soda versus pop conundrum

• Curiosities: Hip-hop had its origins in Jamaican reggae

• Curiosities: High altitude complicates boiling, baking

• Curiosities: Accents part of native tongue, hard to overcome

• Curiosities: It takes longer to wake up after too much sleep

• Curiosities: Do you hear what I hear? That depends

• Curiosities: No 'magic bullet pill' for helping smokers quit

• Curiosities: Reusable grocery bags better for environment

• Curiosities: Fuller moon is more visible during the day

• Curiosities: Space isn't infinite for geosynchronous satellites

• Curiosities: Goo-goo-gah-gah sound same in all languages?

• Curiosities: Warming water, stress cause alewives to die

• Curiosities: Drinking hot water from tap not advised

• Curiosities: Expert: Don't reuse plastic water bottles

• Curiosities: Skeletons suggest birds are dinosaurs' descendants

• Curiosities: Crop changes in South affect redwing blackbirds

• How do mega-eaters keep from busting a gut?

• Curiosities: Time of the day is key to tornado-green sky

• Curiosities: The juice isn't DC in Europe, but it is different

• Curiosities: Solar energy often makes dollars and sense

• Curiosities: Ants follow scout's pheromone trail to a picnic

• Curiosities: Stars seem to twinkle because of atmosphere

• Curiosities: Today's humans tower over ancestors

• Curiosities: When going gets tough, animals get snoozing

• Curiosities: Body clock governs brain's night and day

• Curiosities: IQ tests do not measure your intelligence

• Curiosities: Insight into fuel's effect on airline ticket prices

• Curiosities: Electromagnets propel hovering maglev trains

• Curiosities: No cause for concern over unlikely black holes

• Curiosities: Most people get enough salt in a normal diet

• Curiosities: Earthquakes aren't becoming more frequent

• Curiosities: The rules of attraction for mosquitoes

• Curiosities: Requests to ban books often decided by committee

• Curiosities: Atmospheric carbon dioxide increases in winter

• Curiosities: Why thunderstorms occur in the winter

• Curiosities: Networks use exit polls to predict vote winners

• Curiosities: Sun doesn't burn; it releases energy by fusing

• Curiosities: Early plants invaded the land, then grew up

• Curiosities: Varied water-air temps cause lake-effect snow

• Curiosities: Despite no oxygen, flares could burn on moon

• Curiosities: Earth's orbit varies, so noon isn't exactly midday

• Curiosities: Star clusters outside Milky Way are galaxies

• Curiosities: Cut your use of fossil fuels to fight global warming

• Curiosities: Plate tectonics dictate flow of the Mississippi

• Curiosities: Rely on specific gravity to tell you why wood floats

• Curiosities: UW professor working to create a hybrid wheelchair

• Curiosities: Smashing atoms can create new elements

• Curiosities: Different leaf pigments shine through in the fall

• Curiosities: 8,000 POWs were held in Wisconsin camps

• Curiosities: To understand gravity, first consider the trampoline

• Curiosities: Chargers use some power even when not charging

• Curiosities: Lightning does strike twice in the same place

• Curiosities: No proof that lasers help people stop smoking

• Curiosities: Stove-heated liquids stay hotter than those microwaved

• Curiosities: Dogs see much better at night than humans

• Curiosities: Worms come out to breathe after heavy rains

• Curiosities: Polaris and Crux help us find our way

• Curiosities: Addiction to drugs, alcohol takes time

• Curiosities: Clouds are made of water droplets, ice crystals

• Curiosities: Stomach growls as food goes through digestion

• Curiosities: Today's microwaves can handle metal objects

• I give voice, piano lessons

• Curiosities: Many other universes might exist

• Curiosities: 'Heartland' A mystical, culturally diverse area

• Curiosities: HDTV all the time will affect TV watchers

• Curiosities: Praise, rewards can teach dog to stop barking

• Curiosities: Global warming may trigger 'surprises' in lakes

• Curiosities: Caffiene not recommended to aid weight loss

• Curiosities: Sunrise, sunset colors caused by 'scattering'

• Curiosities: Judging snowfall totals depends on your memory

• Curiosities: UW snowflake expert melts a childhood belief

• Curiosities: Specialized teeth mean we get only two sets

• Curiosities: Thank the wind for chop on Lake Mendota

• Curiosities: Despite appearing blue, veins are actually red

• Curiosities: Evolution plays a role in how tickling is felt

• Curiosities: Different thunder sounds matter of proximity

• Curiosities: Caterpillars at heart of Mexican jump beans

• Curiosities: Chocolate entices, stimulates women uniquely

• Fireflies flash when they're looking for love?

• Curiosities: Even healthy eaters could use a multivitamin

• Curiosities: Five-second rule debunked by instant bacteria

• Curiosities: Balloon liberation burst by balancing pressure

• Curiosities: Those stars you 'see' are in your hurting head

• Curiosities: Better materials have stemmed rust on cars

• Curiosities: Brown eggs aren't fresher than white ones

• Curiosities: Better-wearing roads right around the corner

• Man arrested in hit-and-run early today

• Yoder resigns from Spectrum Brands

• UW Marching Band will perform at Saturday's football game, but director promises culture change

• Domestic abuse a tragic trap for illegal alien women

• Boy shoots intruder at North Side home with BB gun

• Reader services

• Temporary delivery stop

• Guide to getting in the paper

• Reach Staff

• E-mail editor Ellen Foley

• Want to work here?

For comments about this site, contact Anjuman Ali, interactive editor, aali@madison.com

For comments about news coverage in the local section, contact Teryl Franklin, city editor, tfranklin@madison.com