Does McDonalds put potatos in their Apple Pie?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Not according to the listing of ingredients at their website, unless some of those Greek words mean “potato.” The starch product in the delectable crust is based on wheat and the thickener in the apple filling is corn starch. “Apples, corn syrup, sugar, water, modified corn starch, sorbitol, dextrose, brown sugar, sodium alginate, spices, citric acid, salt, dicalcium phosphate. Pastry consisting of: Enriched bleached wheat flour (niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), vegetable shortening (partially hydrogenated soybean and/or cottonseed oil), water, sugar, less than 2% of salt, yeast, l-cysteine (dough conditioner), lecithin. Topping: sugar, spice, partially hydrogenated soybean oil.” The real question is whether the french fries contain potatoes (warning: they’re not for vegetarians).

Answer Person, since the Japanese teams seem to be consistently beating the Americans in the Olympics (men’s gymnastics, swimming, judo, table tennis, etc.), have any Duke sports teams ever played games in Japan? Also, who is the better Japanese player in America, Ichiro or Matsui?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Yes, AP knows of at least one event in Japan. On December 1, 1991 the Duke football team played Clemson in the Coca-Cola Bowl in Tokyo. The Coca-Cola Bowl was really just a regular season game, often two teams in the same conference, held in Tokyo each year. See http://goblue.jp/football/ncaainjapan.htm . There may have been other Duke sports events in Japan, perhaps many others. This doesn’t seem to have been compiled in any one place, but you’re welcome to visit the University Archives on the 3rd floor of Perkins Library and tediously look through the records of all the sports programs over the years. Regarding baseball players, AP prefers to stay out of arguments about which sports stars are tops, and maybe it’s best to wait a few years and look back in hindsight. Matsui is a more gentlemanly guy (isn’t he?), which counts for something in my book regardless of his relative playing ability.

Why does my friend Jonas become irrationally angry when he doesn’t eat?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: All psychological problems have to do with one’s attachment or lack thereof to one’s mother. Jonas’s mother no doubt used to punish him by withholding his dessert. This has scarred him for life, resulting in anger anytime he’s hungry and lacks food.

How much do taxpayers pay per year to keep someone serving a life sentance in prison?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, in 2001 the average cost of a prisoner in a state prison system was $22,650/year and in the federal prison system $22,632/year (see pages 2 and 3 of Acrobat version of State Prison Expenditures, 2001 at at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/spe01.htm ). This report doesn’t distinguish between those prisoners serving life sentences and those spending less time, and I suppose they’d differ if there are variations in security levels between these groups. There is a large variation among states, which is discussed in the report. A story in the Christian Science Monitor at http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0512/p02s02-usju.html in May 2004 says that the average “lifer” now serves 29 years in prison.

How does the pressure of scuba diving compare to that of flying in an airplane?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: If this is a medical question, I suggest you get advice from a medical practitioner because AP isn’t one. I’ve heard that you should leave enough acclimation time between a Scuba dive and an airplane flight so you won’t experience too big a difference between the high pressure of a dive and the lower pressure (even in pressurized cabins) of a flight. The pressures in the atmosphere are about cut in half for every 18,000 feet in altitude. The pressure in the ocean increases by one atmosphere (that is, doubles) for about every 10 meters in depth. Lots of web sites go into the physics of this. I guess that’s why you can’t Scuba dive a mile deep but there are a whole lot of people living in Denver or Mexico City or La Paz.

How do I find out where a Federal Court case was filed?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: I’ll assume you’re talking about a case introduced in a federal district court, where trial-level cases are heard, as opposed to an appellate court or the US Supreme Court. You might be able to get this information from the PACER service of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, which is their system to allow electronic access to federal court records: http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/. There’s a fee for using the system, although the Duke Law Library has a login/password for the use of law students and faculty. If you had some idea of the location, you can go to the web site for that particular district: http://www.uscourts.gov/links.html. Some of the districts may have free information regarding what cases have been filed, a calendar of upcoming hearings, etc. There’s also a county look-up tool to determine which federal district a county is in, if that’s your question: http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/lookup.html Once there’s been an opinion in the case, it may or may not get published in the standard reporters (the Federal Supplement for federal cases at the district level). You may still need to contact the district court directly. I’d suggest starting in the law library for specialized help in this area.

Does the M3 Power shave closer than the M3 Turbo or the Mach 3?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Actually, the Schick company claims that their 4-bladed Quattro is the best, and I guess the industry will soon be making 5 and 6-blade razors. AP is absolutely terrified by the idea of vibrating razor blades, such as Gillette’s M3 Power, so would never try that. I also think it would be incredibly dangerous to try shaving with a powerful automobile like the M3 Turbo, or even while driving it. The Gillette Mach 3 sounds safest of your choices, and I believe provides a pretty darn close shave, but AP will stick to straight razors.

Where does the Perkins name come from and are there any decendants of the family (or have there been in say the past 4 years) at Duke?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: The library was named after William R. Perkins (1875-1945), personal counsel to James B. Duke, the person who wrote up the legal terms of the Duke Endowment. He was a Trustee of the Endowment from 1924 to 1945 and President of the Endowment from 1940-1945. Also, a Trustee of Duke University and a Vice President of Duke Power. Regarding his descendants attending Duke, you’re free to ask anyone you suspect of being a relation, but such genealogy records are kept private by the registrar, for internal university use only. Perkins isn’t as nationally famous as Kenneth Starr or Jimmy Carter, so news organizations don’t pick up on where his descendents go to college.

Is it possible to determine what state The Simpsons live in? I claim yes, my friend says no. If it is, do you know where they are supposed to live?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Since the beginning of the show, this question has created endless speculation on Simpsons forums such as the newsgroup alt.tv.simpsons . There isn’t a specific location, and the writers even play with the audience’s curiosity by including contradictory clues. Although there’s a Springfield in Matt Groening’s home state of Oregon, he says he used that name since it sounds so generic (as one of the most common city names in the US) and since it’s the setting for what he claims is the Simpsons’ antithesis, Father Knows Best. (AP thinks that once you get past the superficial characteristics, there’s not as big a difference as people assume.) They’ve used these generic place names on TV shows for years, such as the Mayfield of Leave It to Beaver fame (a show in which the university was known simply as “State”). For more details, see the a.t.s FAQ item “Where IS Springfield, anyway?” http://www.snpp.com/guides/lisa-3.html#3.2.1 Be sure to follow the “Where is Springfield?” link, too, at the bottom of the essay. These people are obsessive; don’t follow in their footsteps!

Whatever happened to Dustin Diamond?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: According to the Internet Movie Database (http://www.imtb.com) “Dustin is keeping busy making guest appearances on television, movies and selling out colleges and comedy clubs around the country as a stand up comic.” They also say he likes professional wrestling and chess and has been involved with projects in both areas. AP was going to make a Gary Coleman joke, but IMDB even quotes Diamond making a reference to Coleman in his stand-up routine. Another web site points out that rumors of his death are incorrect (just as rumors of Jerry Mathers’ death were unfounded) and that he is no relation to Beastie Boy Mike Diamond.