What Querying Minds Wanted to Know in November

Every once in a while, I like to see what search terms bring folks here. As is often the case, 9 out of every 10 visitors come here by accident. These poor people were led astray by the God of Search Engines (a.k.a. Google). Feeling partially responsible for their predicament, I believe it's necessary to redeem myself occasionally and get them back on the right track. As I did last time, I have kept the queries intact, but have changed the names and places to make this feel more like an informal question and answer session. To the queries...

Alexander B. from Scotland wonders, "what are those devices everyone is wearing on their ears little phones or mp3 players?"

Contrary to popular belief, Alexander, those little devices you see people wearing aren't for talking on the phone or for listening to music. While euphemistically referred to as Bluetooth technology, they are actually the latest in brain seepage prevention technology. If they don't wear it, things can get very messy, very fast. If you see somebody wearing such a device, remember, don't stare or make fun. The individual doesn't deserve your contempt, he or she deserves your sympathy and understanding.

Craig B. from Texas wants to know, "who hit robby thompson in the face with a pitch?"

This is an easy one, Craig. According to this article, the culprit who hit Robby Thompson and broke his cheekbone was Trevor Hoffman.

E. Robertson from Ontario wants to know, "how do i get rid of unwanted pictures in my shoebox".

Here are my Top 5 recommended ways of getting rid of unwanted pictures in a shoe box (mp3), in order of preference:

1. shredding
2. tossing
3. burning
4. burying
5. regifting

Diophantus of Alexandria queries, "shelby has eight fewer dimes than pennies and nineteen fewer dimes than nickels shelby has a total of $3.75 how many of each coin does she have?"

Diophantus, I'm not going to give you the final answer, although I'm sure it's out there on the web somewhere. Instead, I'll quickly walk you through how I would solve it...

1. First, I establish my variables: p for the number of pennies Shelby has, n for nickels, and d for dimes.

2. Next, I write my initial equation: .10d + .05n + .01p = 3.75.

3. Because it will be easier to solve for just one variable, I'm going to write p and n in terms of d. Shelby has eight fewer dimes than pennies. Therefore, p = d + 8. She also has nineteen fewer dimes than nickels (n = d + 19).

4. Substituting these back into the main equation, I get: .10d + .05(d + 19) + .01(d + 8) = 3.75.

5. Now all you need to do is simplify and solve for d and you'll know how many dimes Shelby has. From there, plug the number of dimes back into the two simpler equations and you'll get the number of pennies and nickels.

Carica P. from Mexico wants to know, "words that rhyme with papaya".

Carica, after a deep meditation session, here are my Top 5 words that rhyme with papaya...

1. jambalaya
2. Sanjaya
3. pariah
4. Mariah
5. conspire (with the right mispronunciation)

Garth B. from Oklahoma queries, "looking for a country song with the lyrics swing batta batta swing in it".

Garth, the song you're looking for is "Swing" by Trace Adkins. I wrote about it last year, but I'm afraid the links I included are nothing more than a memory. Luckily, the song's music video is still available on YouTube...

Diophantus, if you're still reading this, Shelby has 17 dimes. And this is why I wouldn't make a good math teacher.