Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Ask Mr. Knowitall.......

If it's Wednesday, it must be time for...Ask Mr. Knowitall.

A Mr. Larry Caplan from Scarborough Canada asks...
Dear Mr. Knowitall....."Is there really lead in a pencil?"

Dear Larry.....At your age, I kinda doubt it....Oh! You mean actually,
Not metaphorically?...OK, Not anymore. The ancient Greeks, Romans,
and Egyptians used small lead disks for drawing guidlines on papyrus before
writing with brushes with ink, and artists in Europe used metalic rods of lead silver and zinc
to make drawings centuries ago. But all that changed in 1564, when a graphite deposit was
unearthed in Borrowdale England.
But using graphite for writing wasn't new, the Aztecs did it long before the arrival of
Columbus to the New World. But it was new to the Europeans. They discovered that the
graphite-a form af Carbon- made rich dark lines. They then began carving pointed
"marking stones" out of it to write with.
The problem was that the stones marked the writer's hands as much as the paper. Eventually
people figured out that they could wrap a string around the stone to keep their hands clean,
and unwinded it as the graphite wore down, That was the 1st version of the modern pencil!

A Mr Rudolph Guliani of Queens New York asks...
Dear Mr. Knowitall..."Why is NYC called The Big Apple?"

Dear Rudy, It appears to be a jazz term. Musicians of the 30's coined many terms for different things, their travels, their music, even the towns that they stayed in. A town was an "Apple".
The head of the NYC travel Council at the time, Charles Gillett, learned of that term, and bragged..."There are Lots of "Apples" in the U.S.A., but we are the biggest and the best, we are the "Big Apple"!!!

A Mr. Richard Kildare of Hoboken New Jersey asks...
Dear Mr. Knowitall..."How heavy are our bones?"

Dear Dick, Our bones are a remarkable combination of strength and lightness, in a 160# man, only about 29 #'s less than 20% represent bone weight. Steel bars of comparable size would weigh at least 5 times that much...

OK Mr. Knowitall grows weary.....until next time.... Peace!

16 comments:

Mona said...

Good Morning MR. Galen Haynes.. I hope you are in good health!

Serena said...

LOL. Happy Wednesday.:)

Evalinn said...

Oh wise man, I don´t think I was ever as high as #3 here before, I´m getting there!

Congratulations on your 2nd prize!!

lime said...

mr knowitall, how heavy is a boner?

Cha Cha said...

Dick is dear indeed.

javajazz said...

very funny, mr shmo-it-all...
tho i did laugh my big fat ass off...
putz.

G-Man said...

Yes Dr. Mona,
I'm in fine health thank you xoxox

Serena Joy,
Thanks It is indeed a Happy Wednesday..xoxbgxoxo

Evalinn,
Yeah baby, you are working your way up!!

Lime....?
If it sinks all the way to the bottom, it's heavy enough!!
Coming from you....?
This question just knocked me off my chair..
Thanks .xoxoxox

Yes Strumpet....
Indeed..xoxox

hehehe..Lisa,
What was so funny?
And your tuchus is tiny!
Yenta!!
xox

Unknown said...

Now for the most complex inquiry of the gentleman's day.

Did Mr. Rudolph Guliani really ask you that question?

~ok, ok, I'm leaving~

javajazz said...

all the more proof
that you've never seen it.
shlamazel...
(i may have actually spelled that correctly.)

oh, and ps, mr tuchas gazer,
its scarborough, ontario,
chuzzer.

tsduff said...

Man alive you talk with funny words over here...I think I'm learning how to speak Yiddish.

SignGurl said...

I'm hoping my bones weigh more than that. I'm counting on it.

Lime's question blew me away too!

barman said...

Does visiting the little apple (Manhattan, Kansas) twice count?

Oh common, I love Lime's question but OK, it took me by surprise.

G-Man said...

Yes Ambre,
The Rudy!!!!
Really!!!

Lisa...?
Whatever!!!
Scarboro
Marlboro...
Larry is one funny Mensch!
YENTZ!!!

Terry,
Lisa is kibbutzing a bit too much tonight!!!
But she's so cute!!
As you are too..xoxox

JENN!!!!!!
OUr favorite Vegas ShowGurl!!
Welcome back!!!
xoxox

Missy,
It's because I'm very old!
Thats all xoxox

Barman,
Let me think about that one..............
........Maybe?

Unknown said...

You are definitely my favorite encyclopaedia!!!

lime said...

gman and signgurl, y'all just have way too high an opinion of me, lol

Mona said...

Galen.. I am really worried. I think you are not well...Just let me know. You don't 'sound' good...