I don’t consider myself a very curious person. Maybe it’s the fallout of working in a public library for the past mumblethirtysixmumblemuble years but I’m generally good at accepting things at face value and moving on. BUT. Sometimes I do get curious about stuff and I want to learn more. And so, this week, for Ten on Tuesday I am giving you a list of Ten Things I’m Curious About. Right now.
- The behavior of snapping turtles. A big one laid a bunch of eggs in my stepdaughter’s front yard the other day. I want to know more about their behavior, the incubation period of the eggs, etc. etc.
- Why I can’t grow lupine successfully. I try and try but they just don’t come back.
- Why my poppies don’t spread. I have exactly ONE poppy every year. I see other gardens with loads of poppies but not mine. WHY?
- Why the payroll spreadsheet doesn’t add a column up correctly. I have 3 payrolls I complete every other week for work. The final total column for 2 of these adds up correctly. The other one is off by a penny or two every.single.time. I have checked the rounding issue and everything else I can think of and I cannot fix this.
- How to paint with watercolors. And acrylics. I’ve been reading and I want to try more. Hullo new obsession.
- The real story behind the assassination of JFK. Conspiracy theories abound and I’d like to know the truth.
- Does food taste the same for everyone. I mean, love lamb and Dale hates it. Is that because it tastes different to him? Or does it taste the same and he doesn’t like it? Know what I mean? (I can’t think about this too long or I get a headache.)
- Speaking of food – who had the idea that lobster would be edible?
- How does the fax machine really work? I’ve read about it and I understand it in the sense that I can read the explanation. But really? I don’t get it.
- What was that one thing I was going to list on here that I can’t for the life of me remember? It was good, too. Damn.
I hope you wrote a post about your own curiosity today. If you did be sure and include the link to it below. And, if you’re curious about the Ten on Tuesday topic each week click here to subscribe.
I’m also curious about #7, and also about lamb. John says it tastes like dirty wool, but I like it. I’ve also wondered about how you would design an experiment to test whether food tastes the same for everyone, but haven’t come with anything yet.
When I lived in the Fenway. They would come out…so many of them. Digging holes with their back legs–right there in the open. I once saw one climbing over a fence. The trip down couldn’t have been fun. I’m also fascinated with the egg laying of sea turtles. There was an amazing scene in Pat Conroy’s “Beach Music” about that.
Spreadsheet issues, gah! That is the stuff of insanity! And #7 – yes! Why is that? And, whoever figured out #8 was a freaking genius, just sayin’!
I’ve read about the turtles. Give it a Google this morning it’s great stuff. We look for them after Memorial Day every year. And #9…I get you! Things traveling through waves is a complete brain lock for me! Great subject Carole!
Why can’t some people just be nice? Why do they feel the need to be nasty and ‘poke the bear’ until everyone else feels as nasty inside as they seem to be on the outside? Especially online … and for that matter, why does hiding behind a keyboard seem to bring out the absolute worst in people? I fear we’ll never know the reasons to these questions!
Oh, the lupines. I can’t grow them either. (I’ve given up.) (I also feel your poppy-pain.) So many things to be curious about …
#8 – I always wonder that too!
I recently was able to take a few lessons in watercolor. Simply love it!
I am so with you on the food question! What do foods I dislike taste like to someone who likes them?!
Your list is great! I felt a little blank when I was trying to compose mine. And I know there was something I thought about over the weekend that would have been good and I can’t remember it either!
Fun prompt Carole! Here are mine:
1. Why do mockingbirds “sing” so loudly…and at all times of the day and night?
2. Why do ALL the birds verbally torment our cat when he is sound asleep on a table in the yard?
3. Food – yes, do foods really taste different to different people? Or is the taste the same but just not appealing to some?
4. Lupines – I used to have a wonderful bed of them…now they are gone…why?
5. Why are our radishes AWFUL this year? They were fabulous last year.
6. Why do we grow fabulous regular potatoes, but sweet potatoes don’t seem to grow well in our garden?
7. Why are the leaves of rhubarb poisonous? ( I suppose I could google this, but I am too lazy – why?)
8. Why can’t I lose weight? I’ve really reduced my intake and just having raw veggies for lunch, but no change…..
9. Why are the majority of people I work with like pigs? They leave the kitchen a mess (dirty dishes, dirty counters, trash over-flowing, etc.) Do they live this way at home?
10. Why do ALL my library books on hold come in at the same time instead of one-by-one?
I often wonder about how people ever got the idea to eat certain things, or to combine things and eat the combination. I see lobster and I think, run away, not jump in my mouth.
Re: poppies. Try harvesting the seed pods when their ripe but before they split, you could then plant the seeds in pots. I’ve done that with a few things.
#7 is a good one! I know it’s got to do with taste receptors and brain chemistry, but I don’t know how they combine.
#8… I wonder that about SO MANY THINGS!! How many people died in the “testing” of all of the weird and wonderful things we eat today… or, um, have learned NOT to eat. It’s crazy.
Spreadsheet… I had that with a payroll sheet that I’ve been using and fixed it by making sure it was calculating with ALL the digits (not just two after the decimal). It was almost like magic.
Why didn’t the blog-slug (me) get around to writing a post? Actually, I know why. I have enjoyed all the lists and I think I’m going to be wondering about a lot of different things for a long time to come.
LOL, #10 made me laugh.
And lobster sure doesn’t LOOK edible, does it? That is a good question.
How,did humankind figure out edible things? One that haunts me is artichokes–who figured that one out?
P.S. I agree with the dirty wool description of lamb!
I have wondered about that lobster thing, too.
In the Twin Cities area, lupines grown in a sand plain. Perhaps they need lean, sandy, well-drained soil? Who knows…
I’m curious about lots of things, but for the life of me I can’t figure out how planes stay in the air. i know there is science/physics behind it, but I just don’t get it. The thing about lobsters-yea-who’d thunk that one up?!