Welcome to Caterpickles! Come meet your hosts...
And of course, Caterpickles’ very own Official Junior Photojournalist: The Five-Year-Old Howell
Category Archives: Ask the iPhone
“Did the ancient Egyptians have anything to brush their teeth with?”
Scene: The Five-Year-Old sails through the dining room on her scooter and stops abruptly at the sight of Mommyo slumped over her computer. The Five-Year-Old, curiously: “What’s wrong, Mommyo?” Mommyo, disconsolately: “I’m having trouble getting back to writing after so … Continue reading
Semi-Classic Caterpickles: “How old is Santa?”
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been fielding a lot of Santa questions lately. This one’s been coming up a lot, so even though I answered it last year, I thought I’d pull it from the archives–revised and updated … Continue reading
Posted in Ask the iPhone
Tagged Albert Einstein, how old is Santa, Saint Nicholas, Santa Claus
2 Comments
“Are pearls mummified parasites?”
The Five-Year-Old, putting on her favorite pearl necklace on a recent Sunday morning: “Mommyo, did you know pearls are mummified parasites?” Mommyo: “Really?” The Five-Year-Old: “Yep. Just ask the iPhone.” And so I did. And what do you know — … Continue reading
Posted in Ask the iPhone
Tagged are pearls mummified parasites, how are pearls made, pearls
Leave a comment
“How did they get that magenta-colored pearl to be magenta?”
The Five-Year-Old’s favorite metal may be gold cooked by some long destroyed star, but her favorite necklace is actually made of materials forged somewhere much closer to home. At the moment, The Five-Year-Old’s favorite necklace–the one she wears only on … Continue reading
Classic Caterpickles: “Why is turkey such a popular dish at Thanksgiving?”
It’s Thanksgiving, and I’m busy helping The Five-Year-Old prepare this year’s feast. She’s come around to the idea of having turkey, so long as she’s the one to cook it. So since The Five-Year-Old and I are otherwise occupied this … Continue reading
Posted in Ask the iPhone
Tagged Thanksgiving, Turkey, why do we eat turkey on Thanksgiving
Leave a comment
“Can bee hives be preserved as fossils?”
Most fossil beehives turn out to be fossilized coral. Google “favosites” and you’ll see what I mean. That’s because the honeycombs that give beehives their distinctive look are made of wax, and are extremely fragile. In most cases, they are … Continue reading
“Why do geese fly in a V-formation?”
Last Sunday afternoon, while we were driving to the Dedham Fall Fair and Pumpkin Festival to see the Bengal Bunny, the Bare Naked Ladies’ song “Here Come the Geese” popped up on The-Five-Year-Old’s In-the-Car playlist. The Five-Year-Old may not have … Continue reading
Classic Caterpickles: “Why isn’t the laundromat a real mat for laundry?”
It’s summer, I have The Five-Year-Old to myself, and I’m taking full advantage of it. Today I’m running another Classic Caterpickle — a blatant attempt to give myself a day off by rerunning a year-old Caterpickle that I hope you’ll … Continue reading
Posted in Ask the iPhone, Linguistics
Tagged Laundry, Self-service laundry, Vending, Washing machine, words, WordWorld
Leave a comment
Michael Howell
Shala Howell
