#RTAnswers - #526 - Are Feet Private? https://roosterteeth.com/episode/rooster-teeth-podcast-2019-rooster-teeth-podcast-526 ---------------------------- Why does flicking a comb's teeth cause some cats to gag? This is apparently one of the mysteries not yet solved by modern science. Despite numerous YouTube videos documenting this phenomenon the scientific community has yet to prioritize this great enigma. One thing of possible note is that along with the comb, various causes such as crinkled candy wrappers, dropped pen caps, mechanical keyboards, and ripped packing tape, among others have also been identified. Some of the theories of the desk chair, cat owner, scientists do not seem that far fetched either. The predominant theory is that this may be related to the way the vibrations of the comb, or the similar sounds above, may affect the cat's inner ear. Like the ability to disorient and cause dizziness and nausea in a human by applying concussive force to the eardrums or the diagnosis of temporary vertigo caused by very loud noises, this sound may affect the feline's biology in a very similar way. The dissenting opinions to this point out that the cats do not appear to lose balance as much as they immediately begin retching as if attempting to dislodge something from their throat. A truly unique thought on this point of view theorized that the sound was similar to teeth on the ribs or spinal column of small rodents and the retching was perhaps and evolutionary instinct to fight the potential choking hazard that a mouse's skeleton presumably is for a cat. While an interesting hypothesis, I personally find this one unlikely as any time I have seen a cat eat a mouse, they seem to be pretty uninterested in what parts get consumed, choking hazards be damned. Sorry I don't have a more conclusive answer on this one. Interested to see what theories the rest of the community may have though. ---------------------------- How much is one timber? While not technically defined as a singular or plural noun the word "timber" is used interchangeably as both depending on the intended context of the word. For example, it can mean "a dressed piece of wood, especially a beam in a structure" as used in the sentence, "This timber is the spine of the ship." However, it can also be used to represent a bundle of wood with a shared use as in the sentence, "These timbers form the spine of the ship." Perhaps even more interesting for the "lexicophiles" in the community is that it can also be used as a verb, such as in the sentence, "We timber the mineshaft." Which, by definition means that you are supporting the mineshaft with timbers, not, incidentally, timber because in this use case the true plural is with the added "s". This means that, through various cases, the word "timber" can be both plural and singular. On a completely unrelated note, does it bother anyone else that the word "lexicophile" is apparently not a real word... is there some warped sort of irony in that? ---------------------------- Does the UK government have a shutdown? Not really, at least not in what the US would define as the "traditional" government shutdown. This is because the UK government is a parliamentary government consisting of two houses. The lower house, the House of Commons, consists of multiple parties who are elected to control the "supply" of government funds. If, at any time, these parties are unable to agree on this supply then it is tantamount to a vote of no confidence in their ability to rule since this is effectively their primary role. If this occurs, it will trigger a general election and a new government body is elected which will be able to come to an agreement on the supply. The upper house, the House of Lords, serves as a check on the lower house and while they can question the decisions and bills created by the House of Commons, they do not, except under very specific circumstances have the ability to veto those bills. This was not always the case as the closest the UK government came to a budgetary shutdown was in 1910 decision by the upper house to reject the lower house's defined budget. This incident was resolved without a true shutdown however, and shortly after it was ruled that the House of Lords do not have the ability to reject supply charters. That said, the United Kingdom has drifted dangerously close to what they would define as a shutdown over the last month due to disagreements regarding the negotiated Brexit deals with the European Union. As previously mentioned, though, this "shutdown" would force an election and would not likely lead to a true shutdown as we Americans would define it. ---------------------------- Does carbon monoxide rise like smoke? No, however it does rise with smoke. Carbon Monoxide IS lighter than air but only slightly which leads to a relatively even distribution in a normal home. However, due to its likely sources, it is typical to find carbon monoxide traveling on warmer air streams within a home. This causes it to rise with the other air caught in the stream. This is the reason most modern smoke alarms double as carbon monoxide detectors as well. It is also the reason why the recommended installation places for the combination smoke/CO detectors are at "chokepoints" in the home for these air streams, such as the top of a staircase.