The Nature of Things
Numbers
Whodunits
Down on the Farm
May
100

This sweet food can never go bad because it is inhospitable to bacteria.

Answer: What is honey? 

100

This is the base number of innings in a Major League Baseball (MLB) game.

Answer: 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.

100

This 1985 film is based on a board game whodunit.

Answer: What is Clue? The movie has three endings.

100

Baby cow

Answer: What is a calf? A calf weighs 60–100 pounds at birth.

100

This first leg of the Triple Crown takes place on the first Saturday in May.

Answer: What is the Kentucky Derby? It’s also known as the Running of the Roses or the Run for the Roses.

200

It is the hardest gem in the world.

Answer: 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.

200

When we do something at the very last minute, it is called doing it at this hour.

Answer: What is 11th? You can think of the 11th hour as “just in the nick of time.”

200

This famous sleuth was created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Answer: Who is Sherlock Holmes? As of 2021, the Sherlock character has appeared in 226 films.

200

Baby horse

Answer: What is a foal? A foal’s legs are 80–90% the size of its adult legs at birth, and they can walk within an hour or two of birth.

200

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?”

Answer: What is rainbow? The day is Over the Rainbow Day, and the tune is “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”

300

Found in the northern hemisphere, this is the world’s biggest island.

Answer: 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.

300

Those who are intuitive are said to have this sense.

Answer: What is sixth? It can refer to a spiritual experience.

300

Agatha Christie’s highly rated mystery takes place on this train.

Answer: What is the Orient Express? In the 1974 film version, Ingrid Bergan won an Academy Award.

300

The pickiest eater of the farm animals

Answer: What is goat? They don’t eat contaminated food or food that is found on the ground or floor. They also prefer more nutritious foods. Contrary to popular belief, they do not eat tin cans.

300

On May 14, the world honors the migratory species of these animals.

Answer: What are birds? It’s World Migratory Bird Day, an international day of commemoration promoting bird migration and conservation

400

This country owns almost all the pandas of the world.

Answer: What is China? They loan their 1,600 pandas to other countries but retain ownership of them. They call it panda diplomacy.

400

People often don’t want to play this fiddle with their spouse.

Answer: What is second? The term comes from the orchestra’s second violin section, which plays a supporting role.

400

This 1963 classic stars Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn and is set in Paris.

Answer: 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.”

400

Baby sheep

Answer: What is lamb? Lambs are herbivores and feed off grass and plants.

400

) For the entire month of May, we raise awareness of this type of health.

Answer: What is mental? It’s National Mental Health Month

500

Baby owls are mostly called this.

Answer: 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.

500

This is the degree of the most serious burn.

 Answer: 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.

500

This fictional writer is the grand dame of sleuths and resides in Cabot Cove, Maine.

Answer: 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.

500

Small farm animal that is one of the closest living relatives to the T-rex

 Answer: What is chicken? Some chickens lay green and blue eggs.

500

May 2 honors these family members.

 Answer: What are siblings (or brothers and sisters)? The day is Sibling Appreciation Day, and it’s also Teacher Appreciation Day