HOME / the chat room: Real-time discussions with Slate writers.

How Do You Explain This?Daniel Engber holds court on the Explainer Question of the Year and the art of explaining.

Posted Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009, at 3:56 PM ET

(Continued from page 1)

RSS

_______________________

Laurel, Md.: The answer to the toaster question is that the "one slice" slot contains a temperature sensor that detects when it's done.

Daniel Engber: Would it kill them to put sensors in both slots?

_______________________

Soul Man Lyrics: Can't explain Woodstock ? Maybe that's because the lyric is "educated from good stock."

Daniel Engber: No, I think it's a reference to the Jesuit seminary, Woodstock College.

_______________________

Escalator Question: I've experienced both fast and slow hand-rails here in DC and sometimes no noticeable shift at all. I would also point out that in Boston, where I'm from, I have NEVER noticed this phenomenon. Could this be the reason why escalators are always broken on Metro?

Daniel Engber: I've definitely noticed that phenomenon in Boston. Porter Square, I'm looking at you!

_______________________

Re: Esclators and Handrails...: Your experience is exactly the reason I avoid escalators and ride elevators...

Daniel Engber: Now you're throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

_______________________

Explain the Explainer: I love the Explainer but think you should try to handle more existential questions like why is Oprah so popular ?

Daniel Engber: Every once in a while we talk about adding in more "culture Explainers." In practice, these often end up looking like fact-check columns for movies and TV. For example, we did one on Wall-E, about whether cockroaches would really survive an environmental apocalypse. I also remember writing one on whether your legs can keep running after the top half of your body is blown off. (That was pegged to the David Simon series about soldiers in Iraq, I think.) A question like "Why is Oprah so popular" might fit better in our "Number One" column.

_______________________

Richmond: Has your job slowed down since Google?

"Soul Man" lyrics: "I was brought up on a side street/ I learned how to love before I could eat/ I was educated from good stock/ When I start lovin' I just can't stop"

Daniel Engber: "Soul Man" lyrics: "I was brought up on a side street/ I learned how to love before I could eat/ I was educated from Woodstock College/ When I start lovin' I just can't stop knowledge"

_______________________

Brooklyn: Isaac Hayes wrote the song "Soul Man." Woodstock refers to Woodstock High School near Memphis where he grew up.

Daniel Engber: What do you make of the "good stock" theory?

_______________________

Washington, D.C.: The escalator steps and handrails all run at the same speed. However, the handrails are held onto the rolls using friction. You can "pull" them which will "slow" them.

So, the handrails become "out of sync" either by people pulling on them (intentionally or accidentally) or something adding additional friction and minutely pulling them slow.

Daniel Engber: Do you know that for sure, or are you just guessing? Why can't you slow the steps by pulling on them?

_______________________

Washington: Do you ever read the back of New Scientist magazine. They have a section there were people write in imponderable questions and get scientific answers. My favorite one was about why your poop stinks. It was titled "Why Your Offal Smells Awful"

Daniel Engber: There's a similar feature in the NYT Science Section, no?

_______________________

WOODSTOCK V. GOOD STOCK: The Blues Brothers changed the lyrics from Woodstock to Good Stock. Wonder why?

Daniel Engber: Now we're getting somewhere! Can you provide a link to the source of your information?

_______________________

New York: I think the escalator question is asking the wrong question. The question should be why do the handrails need to move at all?

Daniel Engber: So you don't need to slide your hand all the way up. The question is why aren't the rails attached to the same motor or gear as the steps—wouldn't it be relatively easy to ensure that the two go at the same speed?

_______________________