This week, Collected Wisdom goes back to the days when dinosaurs roamed the Earth and people actually used rotary phones.
THE QUESTION: How did 911 get chosen as the number to dial in an emergency? asked Daniel Molgat of Vancouver.
THE ANSWER: The idea for 911 had its origins in Britain, writes Frank Marsden of Comox Valley, B.C.
Britain was using 999 because these digits could easily be found on the old rotary-dial phones. The 9 was next to the finger post and could be found even if the caller was not able to see the dial.
When the idea of a standard emergency number it crossed the Atlantic, "American ingenuity decided it would be quicker to use 1 for the final two digits," he writes. "It was, on a dial phone. However, now we have digital phones, the British system shines. It is easier and quicker to punch three 9s than to change to the 1 for the last two digits."
Incidentally, according to the website of the U.S. National Emergency Number Association (yes, there is such a thing): "On Feb. 16, 1968, Senator Rankin Fite completed the first 9-1-1 call made in the United States in Haleyville, Ala."
THE QUESTION: The Vatican is in charge of officially naming saints for the Roman Catholic Church, writes John Zanin of London, Ont. "What entity carries this responsibility for the other Christian non-Catholic churches (Anglican, United etc.)?"
THE ANSWER: "The United Church of Canada does not believe in canonization of saints," writes John Stockton of Hamilton, "therefore, there is no need for a bureaucracy to manage that 'department.' "
HELP WANTED
Is there any scientific basis for some athletes blackening their upper cheek bones to reduce glare? asks Peter Tobin of Ottawa. "I have seen that only in baseball and football, never in tennis, golf, soccer etc.
"Why didn't evolution weed out people (like me) with bad eyesight?" asks Peter Ross of Ottawa.
"I was told that coffee and tea are equal in caffeine content, yet I find coffee so strong that drinking very much of it makes me shaky, but I can drink tea throughout the day," writes Bill Shannon of Ottawa.
ELECTION HELP WANTED
We're trying to put together a special election edition of Collected Wisdom, so if you have an election-related question, send it in. Here are some we've received so far. If you know the answers, let's hear from you.
"I am not impressed with any of the federal parties and their candidates in my riding," writes B.A. Robinson of Toronto. "I have heard there is a way of 'voting' without voting, going to the poll and requesting a 'red card' that indicates your willingness to participate in the democratic process and your unhappiness with candidates/party positions etc. Is this accurate and, if so, how does one go about doing this?"
"Several months ago the Conservative government ran attack ads on television, stating that Stéphane Dion is not a leader," writes Brenda Hartwell of Coaticook, Que. "How can the Conservatives broadcast this outside of an election campaign?" she asks, and "are the costs of these commercials included in Tory campaign expenses for the coming election?"
Send answers (and questions) to wisdom@globeandmail.com. Please include your name, location and a daytime phone number.
