The Nature of Things
This sweet food is made by bees.
What is honey? Honey never goes bad because it is inhospitable to bacteria.
This is the base number of innings in a Major League Baseball (MLB) game.
What is nine? The games sometimes go into more innings to break a tie. The MLB game with the most innings was played in 1920 between the Boston Braves and the Brooklyn Robins. It ran for 26 innings and would have gone longer if it had not been called due to darkness.
This 1985 film is based on a board game whodunit.
What is Clue? The movie has three endings.
This first leg of the Triple Crown takes place on the first Saturday in May.
What is the Kentucky Derby? It’s also known as the Running of the Roses or the Run for the Roses.
You hear a sonic boom on Earth when this happens.
What is when something exceeds the speed of sound? When you hear a whip crack, it’s because it breaks the speed of sound. You’re hearing a mini sonic boom.
It is the hardest gem in the world.
What is diamond? The stone is made entirely of carbon. Russia has the largest reserve of diamonds—650 million carats out of an estimated 1.2 billion carats in the ground
When we do something at the very last minute, it is called doing it at this hour.
What is 11th? You can think of the 11th hour as “just in the nick of time.”
This granddaddy-of-them-all sleuth was created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Who is Sherlock Holmes? As of 2021, the Sherlock character has appeared in 226 films.
On May 15, we celebrate this natural phenomenon, something Judy Garland made famous in a tune that ends with “Why, oh why can’t I?”
What is rainbow? The day is Over the Rainbow Day, and the tune is “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”
These flying mammals have poor night vision, but their hearing can be better than human hearing.
What are bats? They navigate by what is called echolocation. They send out a sound and wait for an echo, which helps them locate or avoid objects.
Found in the northern hemisphere, this is the world’s biggest island.
What is Greenland? Eighty percent of the island is covered in ice. Of its 56,000 inhabitants, 17,000 live in the capital city of Nuuk.
Those who are intuitive are said to have this sense.
What is sixth? It can refer to a spiritual experience.
Agatha Christie’s highly rated mystery takes place on this train.
What is the Orient Express? In the 1974 film version, Ingrid Bergan won an Academy Award.
On May 14, the world honors the migratory species of these animals.
What are birds? It’s World Migratory Bird Day, an international day of commemoration promoting bird migration and conservation.
These pets hear higher frequencies than humans.
What are dogs? That’s the reason they sometimes react to things we cannot see or hear.
This country owns almost all the pandas of the world.
What is China? They loan their 1,600 pandas to other countries but retain ownership of them. They call it panda diplomacy.
People often don’t want to play this fiddle with their spouse.
What is second? The term comes from the orchestra’s second violin section, which plays a supporting role.
This 1963 classic stars Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn and is set in Paris.
What is Charade? Other cast members of note include Walter Matthau, George Kennedy, and James Coburn. It has been called “the best Alfred Hitchcock movie that Hitchcock didn’t make.”
For the entire month of May, we raise awareness of this type of health.
What is mental? It’s National Mental Health Month
This part of the ear continues to grow.
What is earlobe? Genetics do not determine whether earlobes grow.
Baby owls are mostly called this.
What are owlets? A female owl is called an owl hen, and a male owl is called an owl coco. Owlets remain with their parents from four to 10 weeks, depending on the species.
This is the degree of the most serious burn.
What is fourth? First-degree burns are superficial and affect the epidermis, which is the outer layer of skin. Second-degree burns affect the epidermis and part of the dermis, which is the inner layer of skin. Third-degree burns destroy both the dermis and epidermis. Fourth-degree burns can damage the underlying organs.
This fictional writer is the grand dame of sleuths and resides in Cabot Cove, Maine.
Who is Jessica Fletcher? The TV drama is Murder She Wrote, and Jessica Fletcher is played by Angela Lansbury. She always outwits the police and solves the crime long before they do.
We begin and end with observances—May 1 is this observance, and the last Monday in May is this observance.
What are May Day and Memorial Day? Memorial Day honors all military members who died while serving, not just those who died while serving in wars. May Day was traditionally a day to herald the changing of the seasons but later became a commemoration of workers’ rights.
When we place this next to our ear, we are not hearing the ocean.
What is seashell? What we hear is the sound of blood traveling through veins in our ear.