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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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Humans Vs. animals
Why can’t humans breathe under water, but aquatic animals can?
Anbuchelvan , Bengaluru, Karnataka
View AnswerAquatic animals can breathe under water with the help of gills. By passing water through gills, they can remove the oxygen and eliminate waste gases. However, humans cannot breathe underwater because our lungs do not have enough surface area to absorb enough oxygen from water, and the lining in our lungs is adapted to handle air rather than water. In simpler words, since humans do not have gills, we cannot extract oxygen from water. Some marine mammals, like whales and dolphins, do live in water, but they don't breathe under water. They have developed a mechanism to hold their breath for long periods of time underwater. Eventually, however, they have to come to the surface to exhale and then take a new breath.
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Bloodsuckers
Why do mosquitoes suck blood?
Rutu Anegundi , Hubli, Karnataka
View AnswerInterestingly, it is only the female mosquitoes that suck human blood to obtain a blood meal, which she uses to produce eggs. Adult female mosquitoes bite humans to get the protein they need to produce and lay eggs. Without any of these nutrients, they won’t be able to reproduce. These insects have a long mouth piece that acts as a syringe to puncture through the human skin. As mosquitoes drink blood, they can transmit diseases and parasites to humans or pets.
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Equals at work
Why is it usually called a Round Table Conference. What is the significance of “round” here?
K.P.Raksha , Chennai, Tamil Nadu
View AnswerWhen you sit at a square or rectangular table it will have a head, a leader or a boss. But when you sit at a round table you are sitting with peers. Now everyone is on the same level, everyone has a voice and everyone will be heard. The main purpose of such a meeting would be to clarify and create space for different viewpoints and opinions. Looking back in history we talk of the three Round Table Conferences of 1930-32 which were a series of conferences to map out the future constitution of India in the light of suggestions given by the Indian leaders present. All participants of the Round Table Conferences had equal rights and no one had the right to veto others right.
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How catty!
Why do domestic cats purr, and wild cats roar?
Prakashraj Nityanandan Pillai , Mumbai, Maharashtra
View AnswerThe answer seems a bit simplistic because it all comes down to a small bone called the hyoid, which is a U-shaped bone in the throat that sits above the larynx. In the roaring cats, the hyoid is flexible and, along with a specialised ligament that stretches, allows these cats to produce a wider range of pitch. In domesticated cats and other wild cats that can’t roar, the hyoid bone is completely rigid. So, these cats produce a comforting purr. The biological name of the cat family is Felidae. It is divided in two, with the four big cats that roar — lions, tigers, jaguars and leopards — in the sub-family Panthera, and cats that purr in the sub-family Felinae, which includes the domesticate cat, the bobcat, cheetah, mountain lion and other small wild cats.