Frequently Asked Reference Questions Index: R-Z
Section Index
Content Body
Question:
What are the colors of the rainbow?
Answer:
The colors are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
Source:
Berliner, Barbara. The book of answers: the New York Public Library telephone reference service’s most unusual and entertaining questions. New York: Prentice
Hall Press, 1990.
Answer:
Gold records – 1,000,000 singles sold : 500,000 albums sold
Platinum records – 2,000,000 singles sold : 1,000,000 albums sold
Source:
Mead Public Library Information File
Answer:
2 c. rhubarb, unpeeled
4 c. sugar
1/4 c. liquid pectin
1 T. lemon juice
Put 1" pieces of rhubarb through a food chopper, but do not chop too fine. Then follow directions for freezer jams on pectin package.
Source:
Mead Public Library Information File
Question:
What are the five longest rivers in the world?
Answer:
River Country Length
Nile Egypt 4.145 miles
Amazon Brazil-Peru 4,000 miles
Yangtze China 3,915 miles
Huang He China 2,903 miles
Congo Africa 2,900 miles
Source:
World Book Encyclopedia. 1997 ed., s.v. "River."
Answer:
http://www.dot.state.wi.us/dsp/roadcond/current.html, or telephone 1-800-762-3947.
Source:
World Wide Web
Answer:
The American robin has a potential life span of 10-12 years.
Source:
The American robin, by Len Eiserer.
Answer:
Recipes are in Golden Book of Colonial Crafts. 745.5 G559
Source:
Mead Public Library Information File
Question:
What is the salary of each member of the Green Bay Packers?
Answer:
USA Today Salaries Database
Answer:
Rock salt (NaCl) is effective at temperatures between 20 and 32 degrees, but its ice-melting capacity drops along with the temperature until 10 degrees, at which point sodium chloride is relatively ineffective.
Calcium chloride works at temperatures lower than 10 degrees, but it becomes less effective as the temperature falls; you will need 8 times more of it at 0 degrees than at 30 degrees. Calcium chloride does have the advantage that it works faster and you need less of it at lower temperatures, but the difference between the two salts become less pronounced as temperatures climb into the upper twenties, assuming that one allows an hour or so for the chemical to work.
Source:
Consumers Research, January 1977, p. 22-23.
Answer:
Dasher
Comet
Dancer
Cupid
Prancer
Donder (sometimes Donner)
Vixen
Blitzen
Source:
The night before Christmas (or, ‘Twas the night before Christmas), by Clement C. Moore.
Answer:
It’s an abbreviation for Service Corporation. This is a way of incorporating oneself or a group. It will limit shareholders to that profession. It also handles liability differently that it does if it is an individual not incorporated.
Source:
Law Offices of Gak and Van De Lay
Answer:
Sheboygan expression (German) meaning a party or a wild time.
Source:
Mead Public Library Information File
Question:
What are the seven deadly sins?
Answer:
1. Pride
2. Covetousness
3. Lust
4. Anger
5. Gluttony
6. Envy
7. Sloth
Source:
New York Public Library desk reference. New York: Webster’s New World, 1989.
Answer:
1. Suez Canal
2. Dneproges Dam on the Dnepr River in Russia
3. Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell, England
4. Alaska Highway, connecting Alaska with Canadian and other U. S. Highways
5. Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California
6. Eiffel Tower in Paris, France
7. Empire State Building in New York, New York
Source:
World Book Encyclopedia. 1984 ed., s.v. "Seven Wonders of the World."
Answer:
1. Mount Everest, on the Nepal-Tibet border
2. Victoria Falls, on the Zimbabwe-Zambia border
3. Grand Canyon, on the Colorado River
4. Great Barrier Reef of Australia
5. Caves in France and Spain with prehistoric paintings
6. Paricutin, a volcano in Mexico
7. The harbor at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Source:
World Book Encyclopedia. 1997 ed., s.v. "Seven natural wonders of the world."
Answer:
1. Prudence
2. Justice
3. Fortitude
4. Temperance
5. Faith
6. Hope
7. Love
Source:
Mead Public Library Information File
Answer:
1. The pyramids of Egypt at Giza
2. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
3. The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
4. The Statue of Zeus at Olympia Greece
5. The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
6. The Colossus of Rhodes
7. The Lighthouse of Alexandria
Source:
World Book Encyclopedia. 1997 ed., s.v. "Seven wonders of the ancient world," by
William P. Donovan.
Answer:
Thornton, Matthew-- Ireland
Lewis, Francis-- Wales
Witherspoon, John-- Scotland
Morris, Robert-- England
Smith, James-- Ireland
Taylor, George-- Ireland
Wilson, James-- Scotland
Gwinnett, Button-- England
Source:
Mead Public Library Information File
Answer:
First three digits derived from zip and mailing address on application. Next two digits are a group number, with no geographic or data significance. Last four digits are a serial number, a straight numerical sequence with no other significance or meaning.
Source:
Reading the numbers. R 530.8 B62
Answer:
German word for roast suckling pig.
Source:
Mead Public Library Information File
Answer:
Type Known Undiscovered
Insects 950,000 8 to 100 million
Algae 40,000 200,000 to 10 10 million
Bacteria 4,000 400,00 to 3 million
Fungi 70,000 1 to 1.5 million
Spiders, mites 75,000 750,000 to 1 million
Roundworms 15,000 500,000 to 1 million
Viruses 5,000 perhaps 500,000
Plants 250,000 300,000 to 500,000
Mollusks 70,000 200,000
Protozoan 40,000 100,000 to 200,000
Crustaceans 40,000 150,000
Vertebrates 45,000 50,000
Source:
Popular Science, December 1994, p. 80.
Question:
Is there any danger from static electricity if one re-enters the vehicle during re-fueling due to the possible generation of a static charge?
Answer:
Stop Static
Source:
World Wide Web
Answer:
Sold by:
William Schwartz Associates
1503 South 9th Street
Sheboygan, WI 53081
920-452-4661
Source:
Telephone conversation 5/21/02
Question:
Is there a site that will help me compute sunrise and sunset times?
Question:
Who are the present members of the United States Supreme Court?
Answer:
1 - John G. Roberts Jr., Chief Justice
2 - John Paul Stevens
3 - Antonin Scalia
4 - Anthony M. Kennedy
5- Clarence Thomas
6- Ruth Bader Ginsburg
7 - Stephen G. Breyer
8 - Samuel Alito Jr.
9 - Sonia Sotomayor
Source:
Supreme Court of the United States
http://supremecourtus.gov/
Question:
Who started Take Our Daughters to Work Day?
Answer:
The first take Our Daughters to Work day took place on April 28, 1993. It is a national event sponsored by the Ms. Foundation for Women. The idea, first suggested by Nell Merlino at the Ms. Foundation, was that the experience would encourage young girls to envision themselves as grown, productive women. It is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in April.
Source:
Chase’s 1998 calendar of events. Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1997
Answer:
Taverns used to have to close on election day in Wisconsin until the law was changed. It used to be part of Chapter 173, Intoxicating Liquors. In the 1961 Statutes, it was still in effect as 176.34. It was no longer a law in the 1963 Statutes.
Source:
Mead Public Library Information File
Question:
How do I check the status of my tax refund?
Answer:
For Wisconsin returns telephone 1-608-266-8100 and wait 10 weeks before inquiring. For federal returns telephone 1-800-829-4477 and wait 6 weeks before inquiring. Be prepared to provide: a) social security number appearing first on form, b) filing status, and c) amount of refund.
Source:
Mead Public Library Information File
Answer:
ABC, Inc.
77 West 66th Street
New York, NY 10023
212-456-7777
CBS Television
51 West 52nd Street
New York, NY 10019
212-975-4321
Fox Broadcasting Company
10201 W. Pico Blvd.
Bldg. 78
Los Angeles, CA 90035
310-369-2000
NBC
GE Building
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112
212-664-4444
The WB Television Network
4000 Warner Blvd.
Bldg. 34R
Burbank, CA 91522
818-954-6000
Answer:
To convert Fahrenheit to Centigrade: subtract 32, multiply by 5 and divide by 9.
To convert Centigrade to Fahrenheit: multiply by 9, divide by 5, and add 32.
Source:
Directory of business and finance, p. 394.
Answer:
Is 12:00 noon A.M. or P.M.? Neither! The abbreviation for noon is M., that for midnight is P.M. Noon is written 12:00 M. Midnight is written 12:00 P.M. (A.M. stands for Ante Meridian.)
Source:
Turabian. A manual for writers.
Question:
How can I check on a local time anywhere in the world?
Answer:
http://timezonecheck.com/
Answer:
See: Wisconsin Magazine of History
Summer 1990, p. 271-273 (an excellent three page list covering the years 1865-1984)
Source:
Mead Public Library Information File
Question:
Are there any Web sites that specialize in English translating services?
Answer:
FreeTranslation.com currently translates English to French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Norwegian and French, Spanish and German to English.
Source:
Librarians Index to the Internet
Answer:
One good source for colored pictures is James Montgomery Flagg, by Susan E. Meyer. 741.973 M57.
Another is The modern American poster, by J. Stewart Johnson. 741.67 J63.
Answer:
The inscription reads: "Whatever may be the limitations which trammel inquiry elsewhere, we believe the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone truth can be found."
Source:
The Sheboygan Press, February 16, 1957, p. 5
Answer:
During the Ford Administration the admiral’s house on the U. S. Naval Observatory grounds was made the official residence of the Vice-President.
The U. S. Naval Observatory address is:
34th Street and Massachusetts Avenue N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20390
Source:
Office of Mrs. Dan Quayle
Answer:
The temperature of cold tap water on the average in winter is in the low forties and in summer it is 68 degrees.
Source:
Mead Public Library Information File
Question:
What is the weight of a gallon of water?
Answer:
One gallon of water, at 20 degrees Celsius, weighs 8.33 pounds.
Source:
The world almanac and book of facts. Mahwah, New Jersey: World Almanac Books,
1996.
Answer:
1-202-456-2461
Source:
Mead Public Library Information File
Answer:
A chapter is devoted to him in the book, Vietnam military lore: legends, shadows and heroes, (Chapter 46) by Ray Bows. 959.7043 B687v
There is also a copy in the Sheboygan Vertical File under Biography.
Source:
Mead Public Library Information File
Answer:
"Despite what you might hear on a weather report, wind chill isn't actually a measure of how cold the air feels. A wind chill temperature is, rather, a calculation of how cold it would have to be to cause the same rate of heat loss from your skin if there were no wind blowing. Wind chill approximates how cold it feels because the rate of heat loss corresponds with skin temperature, and skin temperature is what our nerves sense." Click below to read the full article.
Source: Slate magazine article: http://slate.msn.com/id/2112443/
Ashmun, Margaret
Blei, Norbert
Corbett, Elizabeth Frances,
Derleth, August
Ellis, Mel
Ferber, Edna
Gale, Zona
Hamerstrom, Frances
Isherwood, Justin
Jensen, Jens
King, Charles
Leopold, Aldo
Mitchard, Jacquelyn
Muir, John
North, Sterling
Olson, Sigurd
Peck, George
Quaife, Milo
Raskin, Ellen
Smiley, Jane
Stewart, Charles
Turner, Frederick Jackson
Uhrig, Alexander
Veblen, Thorstein
Wescott, Glenway
Xan, Erna Eleson
Young, Art
Zimmerman, H. Russell
Source: Mead Public Library Information File
Answer:
See: An atlas of Wisconsin, by Charles W. Collins. W 912 C69a1.
Source:
Mead Public Library Information File
Answer:
Statewide computerized information and referral service dedicated to helping families and professionals find services for children birth to six years old with special needs. There is information on: early intervention, financial assistance, support groups, child care/respite, home health care, therapy providers, education, medical resources, medical diagnosis & evaluation, advocacy, and transportation. Their telephone number is 1-800-642-STEP.
Source:
Mead Public Library Information File
Answer:
Tim’s Hill – 1,952.9 feet (Price County)
Pearson’s Hill – 1,950.4 feet (Price County)
Source:
Mead Public Library Information File
Answer:
Wolf Boy of Miawana – found in India in 1927
Wolf Children of Midnapore – two girls found in India in 1920
Source:
Dictionary of Social Science. R 303 z1
Encyclopedia International. Vol. 19, p. 438
Answer:
"The most versatile word in the English language is ‘set,’ say lexicographers at Merriam-Webster. There are more than 200 meanings that can be applied to ‘set,’ whether it’s used as a noun, a verb, an adjective, or an adverb."
Source:
The Sheboygan Press, February 3, 1971, p. 2.
Answer:
Words with three double letters in a row – bookkeeper and Cookkoooose – a name given to members of the tribes of the Kusan family.
Source:
The second reference is from More joy of lex, p. 154. 422 B73m
Question:
What is a palindrome?
Answer:
A word, verse or sentence that reads the same backwards and forwards. Examples
include:
"madam"
"A man, a plan, a canal: Panama"
"noon"
"Rats live on no evil star"
"civic"
"No melons, no melon"
"tenet"
"level"
A recurrent palindrome is one that, read backwards and forwards, makes different
words, such as "trap" and "emit"
Source:
Shipley, Joseph T. Dictionary of world literary terms, forms, technique and criticism.
Boston: Writer, 1970.
Answer:
See: The Milwaukee Journal, (Why the yellow ribbon?") January 28, 1981 and The Sheboygan Press, (Yellow ribbon origin tangled in knots") February 2, 1981 & The Readers Digest ("Going Home") January 1972, p. 64.
Source:
Mead Public Library Information File
