Community Magazine June 2014

Mailbag SIVAN 5774 JUNE 2014 91 Why do we yawn? Submitted by Alice of Long Branch, NJ Usually, we yawn when we are tired or bored and probably breathing slowly and not very deeply. At these times, the brain’s automatic control of breathing will trigger adeep breath, which is what we call a yawn. This automatic control works from a spot in the base of the brain. Its job is to keep checking on the carbon dioxide in the blood. When there is too much carbon dioxide, the control speeds up our breathing to help eliminate the carbon dioxide. It may seem strange to think that our breathing is controlled automatically. After all, we can think about our breathing and decide to breathe, and we can decide to breathe rapidly or slowly. But most of the time we do not think about how to breathe, and the automatic control does the job. To: Noe Ital The Professor's Why do insects have yellow colored blood? Submitted by Leon of Brooklyn, NY The color of pure insect blood is mainly clear. Sometimes, it may have a yellow or green coloring from the pigmentation of plants that it has eaten. Unlike human blood, insect blood isn’t red because it doesn’t carry oxygen around the body. Both insects and humans need oxygen to live. In humans, blood carries oxygen from the lungs to other parts of the body. This kind of blood contains something called hemoglobin, which turns red when it picks up oxygen. Insects, however, breathe through their skin, and so in most insects, the blood doesn’t carry oxygen. It therefore does not have hemoglobin, and hence it is not red. What does it mean to have “butterflies in your stomach”? Submitted by Stanley of Brooklyn, NY The expression began when an imaginative writer created the phrase, and people have been using it ever since. Butterflies in the stomach are really just those nervous, fluttery feelings you may experience before a big math test or when you learn that you’ll dance the lead in your ballet group’s next performance. These flutters in your tummy are perfectly normal – lots of people get them at some time in their life. Some people believe they actually make you perform better by keeping you on your toes. Who created popsicles? Submitted by Gitty of Lakewood, NJ In 1905, 11-year-old Frank Epperson was mixing powdered soda and water to make soda pop. Frank accidentally left the mixing bucket outside, and during the night the mixture froze solid, with the wooden stirring stick standing straight up. The frozen pop tasted great. Frank started selling Epperson icicles for five cents, later changing the name to popsicles. Professor Noe Ital is the property of 'The Jewish World of Wonders'. h