Collected Wisdom is in a bad mood today, so we've hit the local bar. But several beersh - hic! - don't sheem to have improved our mideanour ...
er ... demeanour. Hey, who the heck you looking at, buddy?
THE QUESTION : A while back, Christopher Hakes of Vancouver asked: “Can you really knock someone out (as films and television suggest) with a single punch?”
THE ANSWER: Michael Banner of Calgary, who says he has been involved in a number of incidents of fisticuffs, writes: “I've been knocked and have knocked others out, but never on the first punch.” Like a winning ticket, however, he says you only need one good punch, “but having more than one go at it helps.”
However, what upsets him, he writes, “is that knocking someone out is certainly no exact science, and the hero always seems to be able to do it just right without causing significant damage that could lead to death. That's certainly something Batman wouldn't want on his permanent record.”
More on this from Paul Grice of Peterborough, Ont., who writes: “When I was about 8 and my brother was 11, we asked for and received boxing gloves for Christmas. ... We used to spar in our bedroom and one day, just as our bout began, my brother landed a single, solid right to the side of my head that knocked me out cold.”
He says their mother ended their sparring bouts, feeling that it was an uneven match, given the age and weight differences.
THE QUESTION: How many goats does it take to produce the same amount of milk as a cow? Cyril Belshaw of Vancouver wanted to know.
THE ANSWER: Laurie Llewellyn South of Sunderland, Ont., who is president of the Ontario Goat Milk Producers Association, says the average dairy goat produces three litres a day of milk. “Good goats can produce as much as eight or nine litres per day at peak. A cow averages 25 litres a day, with exceptional cows producing 50 litres.”
So, if CW might crunch those numbers, it takes about eight average goats to produce as much milk as the average cow.
Ms. Llewellyn South adds: “The feed ratio is about eight to one; that is, a cow eats eight times as much as a goat.” She says goats generally get slightly better production in terms of feed in the summer, “but not in cold Canadian winters, when a large portion of their feed is used to maintain body heat.”
HELP WANTED
Joan Phillips
of Toronto asks: When you get an eyelash in your eye and you can't get it out, what happens to it?- Can a D-Day veteran who dies today be buried in the Normandy cemeteries or are they only for those who died during the invasion? asks
Phil LeSauvage
of Toronto. - In England, “they cut their lawns very short and collect the grass cuttings in a box attached to the mower,” writes
Robin Barfoot
of Toronto. “The City of Toronto says to leave the grass three inches long and leave the clippings on the lawn. Which is better and why the difference?”
Send your questions and answers to wisdom@globeandmail.com. Include your name, location and a daytime phone number.
