WonderQuest:  On the web since 1997...      

Ethanol:  I have read that ethanol-mixed gasoline is not as efficient as regular gas and will not run some small engines. How much of this is true?
Ethanol:  I just read a political cartoon saying it takes more energy to make a gallon of corn ethanol than you get by burning it.  Is that really true?
Fly off:  Why do Navy aircraft fly off the aircraft carrier before the ship comes into port?
Highway salt: why is it stored in cones?
Jets & ocean liners:  How much time will it take an ocean liner to travel from New York City to London, England? Please answer the same question but for a military jet
Race cars:  Can an F1 produce a downforce equal to its weight? If so, can it drive upside down?
Shipyards:  I was wondering if you could tell me where ships are made.
Ships:  I toured a replica of the Niña, and saw only a tiller for controlling its rudder. Awesome that even larger ships crossed oceans, and sailed the world, with tiller in hand.  Who, what, where and when was the first wheel used to steer ships, replacing the tiller?
Ships:  What was the Bounty (Captain Bligh's doomed ship) carrying and to where?
Sidesaddles and saddles: When and where were sidesaddles and saddles first used?
Tire pressure:  How do the new tire-pressure sensors work? They’re supposed to display tire pressure inside the car. How do they manage that?
Trains:  Why are westbound trains numbered with odd numbers?

3-way light bulbs: Why does a 3-way light bulb have only two filaments?
3-way switches:  How can one light be controlled from more than one switch in different locations?
Black light: How does black light illuminate white T-shirts?
Bright bulbs: why do bulbs get bright just before they burn out?
Candles:  Does the color of a candle determine whether it will burn faster?  Is there some ingredient that makes it burn faster?
Dimmer switches: Does lowering the brightness of lights via a dimmer cause less electricity to be consumed?
Infra-red Vision: how does it work?
Lasers:  White light contains all wavelengths. But, I understand a laser is created from just one wavelength. So, is it possible to create a White Laser?
Sound switches:  Some electronic instruments are sensitive to sound. For example, clap and a lamp glows, or a bell rings. What is the device responsible for that? How do they work?
Sunglasses, Photogrey: how do they work?

Black boxes: What materials are used in black boxes, and how do they prevent it from destruction?
Concrete: When did we first use concrete?
Concrete:  My kids and I just poured some steps with concrete. They would like to know how concrete gets so hard and how cement is made.
Copper: Does copper corrode in sea water?
Diamonds:  If no substance is harder than a diamond and no other material can scratch a diamond then how do they cut a diamond for jewelry?
Glow-in-dark:  Why do phosphors glow?  What substances have phosphors?  Do phosphors glow longer if you hold them in the light longer?
Glass:  My glass ashtray suddenly broke. Prior to this, there was a single pop sound as if a pebble hit the empty ashtray. Can you explain why this happened?
Glass:  Why can't you cut old glass with a scoring tool?  Is glass really a super-cooled liquid?
Glue: why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?
New-car smell:  What is the new-car smell?
Pencils:  How do pencils write?
Rust:  What does rust do to weaken metal, particularly steel? All the exposed surface area of my car axle is covered with rust. How much damage is it doing and can it weaken the axle to the point of failure?
Safety glass:  How is safety glass made? Why does it break into little pieces instead of big dangerous shards?
Safety glass:  The other day we had just launched our boat and were drifting getting ready to go out to sea when the windshield exploded into tiny pieces. We found this odd and would like to know if tempered glass is subject to breaking in this fashion.
Sponges: Why are sponges always damp when they come out of their plastic packaging?
Teflon:  If Teflon® is so slippery that nothing sticks to it, then how does it stick to the metal on cookware?
Windshield dots:  Several years ago, black dots started appearing on new vehicle windshields. The dots are usually only around the periphery of the windshield. What purpose do these dots serve?

Bow and arrow: When was the bow and arrow invented?
Ceiling fans: which way should a fan rotate during which season?
Ceiling fans:  fan rotation — clockwise or counterclockwise for which season?
Drill:  What's the fastest spinning artifact?
Engines and motors:  What's the difference between an engine and a motor?
Escalators: why are non-moving escalators so hard to climb?
Escalators:  On escalators, why does the handrail move faster than the stairs, it defies logic?
Fans, 3-speed: Why do most large 3-speed fans go on this way: OFF, HIGH, MED, LOW instead of low first: OFF, LOW, MED, HIGH?
Fans, wind-chill effect: How does a fan cool via a wind-chill effect? What does that mean?
Fastest spinning artifact:  What's the fastest spinning artifact?
Faucet: Who invented the water faucet?
Liquid air: How cold is liquid air?
Roman fountains:  Q: How did the fountains of Greece and Rome work without electric pumps to push water so high?
Septic tanks: how often should I pump my septic tank?
Smoke alarms: why do they fail in the middle of the night
Stairs:  At what angle do you climb, when you climb a flight of stairs?
Swamp coolers: What the heck is a swamp cooler and how does it work?
Swamp coolers:  What is a good range of humidity percentage for a swamp cooler to work?  Please show a humidity/temperature chart.

Biggest city:  What is the largest city on the planet?
Big Brother: is he using antennas on billboards to tune in to what we say?
Cell phones:  How can cell phones damage your brain?
Cell phones:  Has anyone every actually set off a gasoline explosion using a cell phone pumping gas? 
Deep sea diving:  Has anyone ever traveled to the deepest part of the ocean?
Green roofs:  How do green roofs work, and how well do they function?  Do they help the environment? 
Internet phones:  Can Internet phones call non-Internet phones? If so, how do they do it?
Mail: What are those little orange marks on the back of the envelopes I get in the mail?
Money:  I receive a lot of two dollar bills at the bank with red stars stamped on them. Is this a symbol for something?
Navigation:  When men first sought to reach the north and south poles, with the instruments they had at the time — a sextant, a compass and knowledge of the sun and stars — how did they know when they had reached the poles?
Radar:  I wonder what viewing device, in theory, would have high enough resolution to detect the movement of nitrogen and oxygen molecules? Could radar be used or would it take higher frequencies, like X-rays?
Radar ghosts: During the Korean War, we picked up a contact on our surface radar at about 15 miles. The target plotted a collision course and plotted right through our ship without visual contact. The contact was truly a ghost. How does this happen?
Radium: Why do radium watches glow?
Telephone:  Why do we say "Alo" or "Hello" when we talk on the phone; where does 'Hello' come from?
VCRPlus+® codes: cryptic but handy, how do they work?

Appliance current loads:  My sister likes to unplug all of her appliances, like her toaster, because she believes it saves energy. Is she right?
Batteries: Does putting a battery in the refrigerator lengthen its storage life?
Batteries:  Is it true that concrete will drain batteries left sitting on it?
Bullets:  Which goes faster, bullets or rockets, and how much faster?
Fahrenheit: Why did Fahrenheit develop such an awkward thermometer: 32 degrees for the water freezing point and 212 degrees for its boiling point?
Guns:  I’ve always wondered about shotgun gauges. Why is the number bigger for a smaller barrel shotgun? Like: a 12-gauge shotgun is bigger than a 20-gauge. Except for the 410 — a real odd ball. Also, what does the second "30" in the Winchester .30-30 rifle refer to?
Power lines: why do they snap and sizzle in wet weather?
Power lines: How much energy is lost on the high-voltage power lines as they transmit power?

Gasoline nozzles:  How does the gas station pump know to shut off when your tank is full?
Idling-cars: How does the energy cost of operation compare to the costs for startup for the average car? an oven at 350 degrees? a television?
Idling-trucks: Why do big trucks and busses idle so much? Sometimes I see a truck stop full of idling engines.
Jet engines: How can a jet engine operate in heavy rains or snows without flaming out?
Liquid air: How cold is liquid air?