News

This week Collected Wisdom fearlessly addresses the shocking truth about the strange disappearance of certain types of electrical storage units.

THE QUESTION: "I can buy AA, AAA, C and D batteries, but not A or B," said Malcolm Blackburn of Hilton Beach, Ont. "What happened to them?"

THE ANSWER: "If you're old enough to remember 'portable' radios before transistors were invented" — CW is keeping silent on this one — "you know they were large and bulky," writes Robert W. Service of Vancouver.

The reason for their bulkiness, he says, was that they operated with vacuum tubes and the tubes required large batteries to runs them.

"The A battery was a low-voltage battery to 'light up' the tubes' filaments. The B batteries supplied the high voltage to operate the radio. B batteries were commonly either 45 volts (a pair of them) or 67-1/2 volts. Burgess was probably the largest supplier."

He says transistors and modern electronic appliances do not require these voltages or current capacities and adds: "I'm not sure if A and B batteries are still manufactured anywhere."

THE QUESTION: Why do squirrels have such jerky body movements? This would seem to consume a lot of their energy, observed Brian McDonough of Toronto.

THE ANSWER: "Part of the jerkiness in squirrel motion is only apparent, because there is a lot less squirrel in there than you might think as it is surrounded by lots of fluff," writes William R. Frisken of Toronto.

"You see the same effect if you watch the motion of a fat clown, or rather a clown with a fat suit on."

THE QUESTION: "When my morning toast pops out of the toaster," said Des Writer of Halifax, "it's not too hot to handle. Contrast that with bagels and hot-cross buns, which burn the fingers. What's the explanation?"

THE ANSWER: Simply put, "bread dough is less dense than bagel dough, so it retains less heat," writes Yves Joly of Richmond Hill, Ont.

Adds Fred Lautenschlaeger of Mississauga: "The heat felt is due to the moisture driven out as overheated steam during the toasting process. A thicker material retains more of its moisture -- more steam -- when removed from the toaster."

HELP WANTED

"In the seventies when gasoline was in short supply, the speed limit on highways was reduced to 55 miles and an hour because that was the most efficient cruising speed," writes Sudhir Jain of Calgary. "What is the most efficient cruising speed for modern cars?"

"Why do gas stations persist in displaying the price in tenths of a cent? asks Sally Andrews of Ottawa. "It makes as much sense as pricing a loaf of bread in tenths of a cent."

Are there agreements among nations regarding the delivery of each other's mail? asks Nancy Thompson of North Bay, Ont. For example, if more letters are mailed annually from a small country to a large country than the reverse, does the small country have to pay a fee to the larger to cover the difference? Or is there an agreement by which every nation agrees to deliver all incoming mail? If so, how did this come about?

Send answers (and questions) to wisdom@globeandmail.com. Include your name, location and a daytime phone number.