5 questions you've always wanted answered

5 questions you've always wanted answered

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SALT LAKE CITY — Maybe you're a business owner, and you're currently asking yourself how you'll keep your business afloat. Or maybe you're asking yourself how on earth you'll survive the upcoming summer months with the kids at home. Take a break from asking the tough questions, and read the following answers to life's greatest mysteries while killing five minutes of your workday.

Why do I sneeze when I walk into bright sunlight?

Dr. Andrew M. Smith from the Allergy Associates of Utah breaks it down for those of us who've always wondered why stepping outside can conjure up a sneeze.

"Sneezing plays a role in protecting us from infections, irritants and chemicals. However in about one in four people, exposure to bright light such as sunlight can induce sneezing. Light-induced sneezing is known as the photic sneeze reflex," Smith explained.

"Unfortunately, very few scientific studies have been performed to explain this common reflex. Newer studies have shown that those with the photic sneeze reflex might have higher sensitivity to light and how it is processed in the brain to produce the tickling, prickling sensation and sneezing. There might also be a genetic component to the photic sneeze reflex since it appears to be more common in certain families and races."

Assuming prices keep rising the way they have, how much will a ticket to Disneyland approximately cost in 10 years? 20 years?

There's no crystal ball for this kind of question. But if Disneyland sold crystal balls they would probably be extremely overpriced and sold in a store attached to the exit of a ride. Seth Armstrong, an associate professor of mathematics at Southern Utah University, has a grim prediction for lovers of the Magic Kingdom.

"In 2013, a Disney adult single-day ticket was $92. At the same rate of increase of 6.2 percent per year, this means in five years (2018) the same ticket would be $125, in 10 years (2023) it would be $170 and in 20 years (2033) it would be $310 for a one-day ticket," said Armstrong.

"Disney prices increase quickly because, historically, price increases outstrip the U.S. inflation rate by about double. Disney ticket prices have followed approximately a 6.2 percent growth rate over time with some bigger jumps in price, such as between 2005 and 2006, while U.S. inflation averages about 3.1 percent during the same time."

Why is it called the World Series if it only involves baseball teams from the United States?

Giants fans cheer waving rags in anticipation of upcoming pitch game 
2 of the 2010 World Series game between Giants and Rangers Oct. 28, 
2010 at AT&T Park San Francisco. Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Giants fans cheer waving rags in anticipation of upcoming pitch game 2 of the 2010 World Series game between Giants and Rangers Oct. 28, 2010 at AT&T Park San Francisco. Photo Credit: Shutterstock

The rest of the world is probably a little peeved they're never actually invited to the World Series.

"In 1884, postseason competition between the champions of the two major leagues, the National League and the National Association, was held. The series of games was called The Championship of the United States and the World's Championship, or World's Series for short. The latter because no other country was then playing baseball to any significant degree," explains Larry Gerlach from the history department at the University of Utah.

"The American teams were the world's best by default. The series lapsed, but when postseason championship play resumed in 1903, the familiar 'World's Series' label stuck."

When I go into another room to get something, why do I sometimes forget what it was I wanted in the first place?

Senioritis. Mommy-mush brain. Call it what you will, but multitasking within your short-term memory is really to blame.

"Short-term memory refers to information that we store in our mind over a very short period of time," explains Dr. Chandramallika Basak, assistant professor at University of Texas at Dallas. "It holds a limited number of information units and the information can decay rapidly over seconds. Things that you're doing concurrently while trying to remember the item you are trying to get from the room, like talking to your child or distracting thoughts, can interfere with the short-term memory of the item. This causes occasional loss of the item information."

"From a behavior point of view, it may have something to do with a change in context cues," explains Susan G. Friedman, Ph.D. "That is, when we leave the first area in which we decided to do the task, we also leave behind the context cues that signal what we should do now to be reinforced with the intended good outcome. As we enter the new area, the context cues there signal other behaviors besides our intended task, based on our history of behavior in the new area.

"For example, in the kitchen I may observe from the context cues that I need to go to the linen closet to get a fresh hand towel. But once on my way down the hall, the context cues of the hall signal other thoughts and behaviors like going to the door for the mail in the mailbox outside," Friedman said. "This may disrupt my momentum to get the hand towel. But when I return to the first area — aha! The context cues in the kitchen remind me about the hand towel again."

Who is Sadie Hawkins, and why does she have her own dance?

When poor Sadie Hawkins from the 1930's comic strip Lil' Abner hit the ripe ol' age of 35, her daddy was desperate to find his homely daughter a suitor. So he arranged for the town's bachelors to meet up for a foot race, where Sadie would chase down the man she'd marry.

Hekzebiah Hawkins hollered, "When ah fires my gun, all o' yo' kin start a-runnin! When ah fires agin — after givin' yo' a fair start — Sadie starts a runnin'. Th' one she ketches'll be her husbin."

And so it was passed on through the years that the Sadie Hawkin's Dance was an occasion for women to take charge and chase down a date.

Have a question you've always wanted answered? Leave it in the comment section and you may see it in our next article.


Nicole Pollard has been writing for KSL and Deseret Connect since 2011.

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