News

Collected Wisdom today contains some potentially highly sensitive information for which you'll require top-level clearance. Luckily, we're offering it free with every visit to The Globe and Mail's web site. So read on.

THE QUESTION: Toronto's Robin Barfoot said we all know about MI-5 and MI-6, but what happened to, or what were, MI-1 through MI-4?

THE ANSWER: "There were a number of departments within the Directorate of Military Intelligence (MI-1 through MI-19) that dealt with a range of issues," writes James Giroux of Thunder Bay. For example, he says, MI-1 was responsible for code-breaking, MI-2 handled Russian and Scandinavian intelligence, MI-3 dealt with the rest of Eastern Europe and MI-4 looked after aerial reconnaissance.

"The responsibilities of these departments were either discontinued or absorbed into The War Office, MI-5 and MI-6 and, later, Britain's Government Communications Headquarters."

Dan Robinson of Prince Rupert, B.C., adds that some of the other, long-defunct MI departments were MI-7 (propaganda and censorship), MI-8 (signals intelligence) and MI-9 (aid for resistance fighters in occupied Europe).

THE QUESTION: "Why are all the ducks in children's books yellow? I have never seen a yellow duck," writes Jackie Gardiner of Brockville, Ont.

THE ANSWER: Toronto's Francis Mozer says it's because ducks in children's books are usually ducklings, and ducklings are usually yellow.

HELP WANTED

"We get a lot of rail traffic though our community," writes David Bird of Fernie, B.C. He says tanker cars used to simply be a cylinder with the hatch on top. "Now, more and more cars are thinner in the centre and flare out toward the ends." Why?

"We have to separate our garbage into green bins, blue bins and garbage cans," says Lyman Henderson of Woodbridge, Ont. "How do the garbage workers detect our mistakes? What do they do about them?"

Kathleen and Tom Tranter of Vancouver ask: Is the "tree line" at the same elevation all over the world?

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