Part 2 (1/2)

Perhaps mutual grooming in monkeys is akin to the human handshake, whose original purpose was to signal that a potential weapon, the outstretched hand, would not turn into a clenched fist.

Why Is Cheddar Cheese Orange?

Unless they've been breeding some pretty strange cows in Wisconsin, we would expect cows to produce white milk. All the folks in the dairy industry a.s.sured us that they haven't bred a mutant race of cows just to produce orangeish cheddar cheese.

Cheddar cheese is artificially colored with natural ingredients, most commonly annatto, a seed obtained from the tropical annatto tree, found in Central America. Kraft, the largest seller of cheese in the United States, uses a combination of annatto and oleoresin paprika, an oil extraction of the spice paprika, to color its cheddar cheese. Depending upon the natural color of the milk and the amount of annatto added, cheese can be turned into a bright orange color or a more natural-looking yellow shade.

The only reason why cheesemakers color their product is because consumers seem to prefer it. Regional tastes differ, though. Some areas of the eastern United States prefer white cheese, while most of the rest of the country favors yellow. Kraft even makes white ”American Singles,” although the artificially colored yellow slices far outsell them.

Submitted by Christoper S. von Guggenberg of Alexandria, Virginia.

What Is the Circle Adjacent to the Batter's Box on Baseball Fields?

This area is known as the fungo circle. Coaches stand in the fungo circle during pregame practice and hit b.a.l.l.s to infielders and, more frequently, outfielders.

Why confine the coach to stand in one small area? So he won't wear out the gra.s.s on the field!

Submitted by Terrell K. Holmes of New York, New York. Thanks also to Ronald C. Semone of Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C.

What Exactly Is One Hour Martinizing?

Countless millions have pa.s.sed dry-cleaning stores with the words ONE HOUR MARTINIZING emblazoned on the sign and wondered: What the heck is ”Martinizing”? Can it really be done in one hour? Is it painful, and if so, can an anesthetic be administered?

Don't worry. Be happy. Martinizing is a service mark of Martin Franchises, Inc., the largest chain of franchised dry-cleaning establishments in the United States. Martinizing was first registered with the U.S. Patent Trademark Office in 1950 by the Martin Equipment Corporation, a manufacturer of dry-cleaning machines.

The equipment business and trademarks were later sold to the American Laundry Machinery Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, also a manufacturer of cleaning equipment. Although Martinizing was once part of the sales division of the American Laundry Machinery Company, it has spun off into a separate ent.i.ty, still located in Cincinnati.

Today if an aspiring dry cleaner wants the know-how and name recognition that a franchise can provide, he or she will likely choose Martin, since it is the best-known name in the dry-cleaning field, and start-up costs are relatively low.

What's special about One Hour Martinizing? As far as we can tell, nothing. They use the same chemicals, solvents, and cleaning methods as other dry cleaners, and can ”Martinize” in one hour, just as most dry cleaners can handle a job in one hour.

The folks are relying on the notion that if you patronize another establishment, you can say your clothes have been dry cleaned but you can't brag that they've been Martinized.

Submitted by Dominic Orlando of Arlington, Texas. Thanks also to Peter B. Child of Seattle, Was.h.i.+ngton.

What Flavor Is Bubble Gum Supposed to Be? Why Is Bubble Gum Usually Pink?

Although in Imponderables we managed to ascertain the main flavors in Juicy Fruit gum, we have failed miserably at obtaining the const.i.tuents in bubble gum. Perhaps we are losing our powers of persuasion. The best we have been able to w.a.n.gle from our sources is that ”regular” pink bubble gum is a mixture of several natural and artificial fruit flavors.

We thought that the pink color of bubble gum would provide clues to the ident.i.ty of the flavors, but we were disappointed again. Bubble gum was invented in 1928 by a long entrepreneur, Walter Diemer, who was an accountant from Philadelphia. From the very beginning, Diemer artificially colored his gum pink. Why? ”Because it was the only coloring I had handy at the time!” So much for the sanct.i.ty of pink bubble gum.

Now, of course, with Bubble Yum coming in flavors like Bananaberry Split and Checkermint, pink bubble gum looks old hat. But not quite yet. Good old pink bubble gum is still the best seller by far.

Submitted by John Geesy of Phoenix, Arizona.

Why Don't Traffic Signal Light Bulbs Ever Seem to Burn Out? Can We Buy Them?

To answer the second part of the Imponderable first: sure, you can buy the same bulbs that light our traffic signals. But you probably wouldn't want to buy them.

Yes, the bulbs found in traffic lights do last much longer than standard household bulbs. The traffic light bulbs are rated at eight thousand hours, compared to the standard one thousand hours. Incandescent lights can be manufactured to last any length of time. However, the longer life a bulb has, the less efficiently it burns. According to General Electric's J. Robert Moody: The incandescent light is like a candle. If you burn it dimly, the candle will last a long time. If you burn the candle on both ends, you get a lot of light but short life. The traffic signal light must use 100 watts to get 1,000 lumens [units of light]. To obtain the same 1,000 lumens a household lamp needs only 60 watts. At an electric rate of $0.10/Kwh, the electric cost for 100 watts is $10.00 per 1,000 hours. For the 60 watts the electric cost is $6.00 per 1,000 hours. Thus, the consumer saves $4.00 per 1,000 burning hours [or 40%] by using a household light bulb rather than a traffic signal light bulb.

Traffic signal bulbs are also specially constructed and are filled with krypton gas rather than the less expensive argon gas used in standard bulbs. Munic.i.p.alities obviously feel the added expense of the special bulbs is more than offset by the cost of labor for replacing burned-out bulbs and the fewer dangerous situations created by malfunctioning traffic signals.

We're as lazy as the next guys, but even we figure it is worth changing bulbs to save nearly 50% on our lighting needs. Now if we could get a flas.h.i.+ng red light, that might be worth it...

Submitted by Michael B. Labdon of Paramount, California.

Why Does Mickey Mouse Have Four Fingers?

Or more properly, why does Mickey Mouse have three fingers and one thumb on each hand? In fact, why is virtually every cartoon animal beset with two missing digits?