Why do so many names have “bert” in them?  Think about it–there’s a lot, both male and female, although the female ones are usually versions of male names.  Albert, Bert, Cuthbert, Dilbert, Ethelbert, Filbert, Gilbert, Hubert…….

“Think about it?!”  Thanks a lot.  Combating my OCD, though, I’m going to answer this one quickly so it [...]

I can’t find army-regulations AR -635-200 written as follows
Para 13-5a(1), AR-635-200.  Can you help?

Google it, soldier!  Better 13-5a(1) then 13-5a(2).

did the titanic have chapel ?

You’d think so, wouldn’t you?  I found incredibly detailed floor plans for the Titanic at The Discovery Channel’s web site and went through floor by floor looking for the chapel and couldn’t find one.  Here’s how detailed the plans are: they show separate compartments for east bound beef [...]

How much money is given to the NRA each year by the gun industry? By gun industry I mean the companies that produce and sell guns.

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: A lot. AP diligently tried to learn this information, but these companies chased me away with their own products. I’ve only now recovered, over 2 months [...]

When using a soda siphon to make carbonated water, one suggestion (in the instructions of the siphon) to increase the fizziness is that you use very cold water. This does not make sense to me since solubility generally increases with decreased temperature. Shouldn’t hotter water be fizzier since more CO2 can dissolve?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: [...]

I noticed the ugly “Tattoo” statue on the Plaza is gone. When was it removed, and where did it go?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Dealt with in comment 3414A of the paper Suggestion Book: “An Article in the Oct. 26, 2006 Chronicle said that the 2003 work ‘Tatoo’ was designed by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa and [...]

Could you make cheese out of human breast milk? How about ice cream?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Uh … it certainly could be done from a technical standpoint (high cream content, etc.), but I think that you’d be depriving a baby of his or her nourishment. So, it certainly wouldn’t be very nice. I hate to [...]

I cannot remember my friend’s birthday. He sits next to me in class. Do you know when it is?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: I recommend giving him a card that says “Happy Belated Birthday.” Maybe somehow it will come out in the ensuing conversation. Either that, or steal his wallet and peek at his driver license.

Can you recommend any good children’s book(s) about friendship and love?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: You might do best to go to a public library, where, unlike here, they specialize in reader’s advisory services and would have in their collections, unlike here, lots of children’s literature.

Databases that we subscribe to that might help you identify [...]

Why is it that the thermostat levels at our “new and improved” Perkins library seem to be permanently stuck at “boiling hot” regardless of the season of the year or the temperature prevailing outside? Each time I step into Perkins, I feel I am taking my life into my own hands for fear I will [...]