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Curious Questions from Curious Minds!
Welcome to Curiopedia, where imagination and discovery take shape! Discover something new today with these curious questions from children. Click on the ‘View Answer’ button to find out the answer! If you want your (child’s) curious question answered and featured here, submit it now.
Month Year
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Case of the missing goosebumps
Why don’t we get goosebumps on our face?
Suvetha S , Erode
View AnswerGoosebumps are caused by the contraction of the arrector pili muscle. Upon contraction, the skin is pulled tighter, creating a depression in the surrounding area. So, why don’t they appear on our face? One idea is that when the hair is spaced out as in your arms and legs, the bumps are visible. However, in the case of your face, the distance between the hair follicles is so close that the muscle contraction tightens the skin in all directions and there is no space for the depression to be created. Another idea is that the skin on the face is thicker than elsewhere, and the weak little hair muscles are not strong enough to pucker it.
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Lived inside a tome?
How did the word bookworm come to be?
Anvita Sree Bhogadi , Hyderabad
View AnswerA bookworm is someone who loves reading books. The term “bookworm" has been used since the 1500s. It was a time when libraries did not have heating. As a result, many libraries could not control the environment surrounding their books. So they became musty and attracted various pests, insects and worms which ate the paper and the glue in the bindings of books. These pests would spend their entire lives inside of books. It was only natural to transfer the “bookworm" idea to humans who loved to consume (read) books as much as these pests did.
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Sweat it out
Why do dogs put their tongues out of their mouths?
Tamilamirthan , Chennai
View AnswerIf your dog has its tongue out, it just simply means that it is out of breath. Dogs don't have sweat glands. When they need to cool themselves, you will find their noses are wet and their tongue hanging out. The gland in your dog's mouth is activated to increase saliva and also increase the cooling system. As dogs don't sweat like humans do, this is their way of perspiring on a hot day.
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Living fossils
Why is the tuatara known as a living fossil?
K. Meenakshi Sundaram , Thoothukudi
View AnswerThe tuatara is a reptile that is found in New Zealand. The common name “tuatara” is derived from the Maori language, which means “peaks on the back”. They have been referred to as living fossils — a term used for any living species of organisms that appears to be the same as a species only known from fossils, and which has no close living relatives. As there are only two living species of tuatara left — Sphenodonpunctatus and the much rarer Sphenodon guntheri, or Brothers Island tuatara — which is found only on North Brother Island in Cook Strait, New Zealand, the tuatara is referred to as a living fossil.