Stump the Librarian

Episode 57 Left and Bite

Jill and Liz are BACK for season 5. As always, we are here to answer your questions! Follow us to get a new episode every other Wednesday afternoon. 

In this episode we answer the questions “Why are some people left-handed?” and “Are all mosquitoes that bite female?” We also share a fact of the day from a Rockford librarian and share a historical fiction book with adventure and spy stuff! To submit your own question, go to KDL.org/Stump. We can’t wait to hear from you!  

Shannon’s Fact of the Day: Yes? No! Maybe So… by Julie Beer 

https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C1124562 

Jill’s book recommendation: Max in the House of Spies by Adam Gidwitz 

https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C990059 

Concerning left-handedness: 

https://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/01/brain#:~:text=But%20handedness%20has%20its%20roots,in%20language%20and%20speech%20areas.  

https://www.dictionary.com/e/sinister-dexter-left-right-word-origin-history/  

https://www.history.com/news/why-are-left-handers-called-southpaws  

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-37423-8  

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3258574/  

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-causes-some-people-t/  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handedness  

 

Concerning mosquitoes: 

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/mosquito  

school.eb.com/levels/high/article/mosquito/53915.  

https://www.cdc.gov/mosquitoes/index.html  

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK585164/  

 

Episode 56 Busy Bees or Playing Possum

Join Jill and Liz as they answer the questions “How do bees make honey?” and “How does a possum play dead?” You can send us your question at KDL.org/stump or email us at Stumpthelibrarian@kdl.org. We look forward to hearing from you! 

 

Regarding Bees... 

Sarah Ridley. Bee to Honey. Crabtree Publishing Company, 2018. EBSCOhost, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=0ef16ae6-cda2-3e2d-8ecc-36897af19cb9. 

https://www.manawahoney.co.nz/blog/the-wonder-of-how-bees-make-honey/ 

https://www.perfectbee.com/beekeeping-articles/outside-the-swarm/a-closer-look-at-how-bees-make-honey 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey_bee 

The Secret Life of Bees by Moira Butterfield 

https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C808599 

You Wouldn’t Want to Live Without Bees! By Alex Woolf https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C486864 

 

Regarding Possums... 

https://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/opossum/57213 

https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/opossum 

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/opossum 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apparent_death 

 

Episode 55 Feeling Queasy

Feeling Queasy 

Join Jill and Liz as they answer the questions, “Why is there a metric system and an imperial system?” and “Why do people get seasick?” We also share a fact of the day about fast airplanes and recommend a library mystery novel. To submit your own question, go to KDL.org/Stump. We can’t wait to hear from you! 

 

Liz’s Fact of the Day: 1,000 Amazing World Facts 

https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C1018270 

 

Jill’s Book Recommendation: The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead 

https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C943273 

 

Concerning the metric system: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtKbq_zAr-A 

https://usma.org/origin-of-the-metric-system# 

"Metric system." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 19 Nov. 2018. school.eb.com/levels/high/article/metric-system/52355. Accessed 15 May. 2024. 

https://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/measurement-system/108505 

 

Concerning motion sickness: 

https://www.asha.org/public/hearing/dizziness-and-balance/ 

https://www.brainfacts.org/thinking-sensing-and-behaving/movement/2019/the-vestibular-system-the-brain-and-balance-013119 

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fncir.2023.1150233/full 

https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/condition/motion-sickness/#causes 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patricia_S._Cowings 

Do astronauts get motion sickness? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCBXiOvdCF4 

 

Episode 54 The Chonk King

Join Jill and Liz as they answer the questions “Why doesn’t gravity work on balloons?” and “How do you make money when I don’t pay the library?” You can send us your question at KDL.org/stump or email us at Stumpthelibrarian@kdl.org. We look forward to hearing from you! 

Regarding Balloons... 

Up & Away! How Two Brothers Invented the Hot-Air Ballon by Jason Henry https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C612205 

"Balloon." World Book Kids, 2024, 

   www.worldbookonline.com/kids/article?id=ar830355. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_air_balloon 

https://howthingsfly.si.edu/gravity-air/buoyancy 

https://www.omnicalculator.com/everyday-life/helium-balloons 

https://stratocat.com.ar/indexe.html 

https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/heres-why-meteorologists-launch-weather-balloons-every-day/877665 

 

 

Regarding libraries... 

https://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/library/106477 

https://www.ala.org/aboutala/before-1876 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_library 

https://www.milibraries.org/penal-fines 

https://www.milibraries.org/state-aid-to-libraries#:~:text=Public%20libraries%20in%20Michigan%20are,fines%2C%20millages%20and%20State%20Aid. 

 

 

 

Episode 53 Potty Training for Astronauts

Potty Training for Astronauts 

Join Jill and Liz as they answer the questions, “How do astronauts go to the bathroom in space?” and “What causes thunder and lightning?” We also share a fact of the day about diamonds and an awesome graphic novel recommendation. To submit your own question, go to KDL.org/Stump. We can’t wait to hear from you! 

 

Liz’s Fact of the Day: 513 Weird Facts Every Kid Should Know by Thomas Canavan 

https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C1000498 

 

Jill’s Book Recommendation: Frizzy by Claribel A. Ortega 

https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C895871 

 

Concerning space toilets: 

The Astronaut’s Guide to Leaving the Planet by Terry Virts 

https://science.howstuffworks.com/bathroom-in-space 

https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/ 

https://www.nasa.gov/podcasts/houston-we-have-a-podcast/space-hygiene/ 

 

Concerning thunder & lightning: 

https://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/thunder/72323 

https://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/lightning/48228 

https://www.weather.gov/media/pah/WeatherEducation/lightningsafety.pdf 

https://www.nssl.noaa.gov/education/svrwx101/lightning/ 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEiVi9TB_RQ 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUNEFefftt8 

 

 

 

Episode 52 Animal BFFs and Bubbles!

Join Jill and Liz as they answer the questions “Do animals make friends?” and “How do bubbles work? Why are they always round?” You can send us your question at KDL.org/stump or email us at Stumpthelibrarian@kdl.org. We look forward to hearing from you! 

Regarding Animal BFFS... 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interspecies_friendship 

"Animal social behaviour." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 3 Mar. 2017. school.eb.com/levels/high/article/animal-social-behaviour/110427. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024. 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/animal-behavior 

"Charles Scott." Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1936. Gale In Context: U.S. History, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/BT2310003891/UHIC?u=madi17239&sid=UHIC&xid=cccdcb74. Accessed 7 Nov. 2020. 

 

Regarding Bubbles.... 

https://www.cmosc.org/category/resources/ 

https://exetersciencecentre.org/projects/nibbles/bubbles/ 

https://science.howstuffworks.com/why-do-bubbles-pop.htm 

Make a square bubble: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12UIOlzai5M 

 

 

 

 

Episode 51 Just My Luck!

Join Jill and Liz as they answer the questions, “Why are ladybugs and four-leaf clovers lucky?” and “Why do some foods taste salty and some taste sweet?” We also share a fact of the day about mapmaking and several heartwarming book recommendations. To submit your own question, go to KDL.org/Stump. We can’t wait to hear from you! 

 

Liz’s Fact of the Day: The Maps Book by Joanne Bourne 

https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C972130 

 

Jill’s Book Recommendations: A Day with No Words by Tiffany Hammond 

https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C935518 

The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn by Sally J. Pla 

https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C978558 

Good Different by Meg Eden Kuyatt 

https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C951435 

 

Concerning ladybugs & four-leaf clovers: 

https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/ladybug 

https://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/ladybug/46799/related#nodeId=websites&page=1 

https://www.celticbug.com/Legends/Lore.html 

https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/facts/ladybug 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8261899/ 

https://www.woodlandsonline.com/npps/story.cfm?nppage=69552 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four-leaf_clover 

 

Concerning tastebuds: 

https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/taste-buds.html 

http://cst.ufl.edu/that-neat-and-tidy-map-of-tastes-on-the-tongue-you-learned-in-school-is-all-wrong.html 

https://school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/tongue/72870 

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/24684-taste-buds 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279408/ 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZn2PMUWO-Y 

Episode 50 Color Conundrums

Join Jill and Liz as they answer the questions, “Where do bruises come from and where do they go?” and “What causes the Northern Lights?” We also share a fun fact of the day about crodile tears and non-fiction graphic novel recommendation. To submit your own question, go to KDL.org/Stump. We can’t wait to hear from you! 

 

Regarding bruises... 

https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/bruises.html 

https://school.eb.com/levels/elementary/article/cardiovascular-system/403974 

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/21640-blood-vessels 

Regarding the Northern Lights... 

 

https://school.eb.com/levels/elementary/article/aurora/399350 

https://www.space.com/15139-northern-lights-auroras-earth-facts-sdcmp.html 

https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/aurora/ 

https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/aurora/en/ 

https://global.hurtigruten.com/inspiration/experiences/northern-lights/myths-legends/#:~:text=Mythical%20fire%20foxes&text=The%20name%20comes%20from%20the,that%20lit%20up%20the%20sky. 

 

Episode 49 A Very Hairy Episode

A Very Hairy Episode 

Join Jill & Liz as they answer the questions, “Why do we have eyebrows?” and “Why do cats purr?” We also share a fact of the day about knocking on wood and a powerful book recommendation. To submit your own question, go to KDL.org/Stump. We can’t wait to hear from you! 

 

Liz’s Fact of the Day: The Good Luck Book by Heather Alexander 

https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C976162 

Jill’s Book Recommendation: Eagle Drums by N. R. Hopson 

https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C985171 

 

Concerning hair: 

https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/hair.html 

https://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/hair/38817/related#nodeId=websites&page=1 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK513312/ 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK513312/ 

https://www.healthline.com/health/how-many-hairs-on-a-human-head 

 

Concerning purring: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purr 

https://www.loc.gov/everyday-mysteries/zoology/item/why-and-how-do-cats-purr/ 

https://www.nwf.org/Magazines/National-Wildlife/1995/Questions-and-Answers-About-Wildlife 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psychology-tomorrow/202311/why-and-how-cats-purr 

https://www.science.org/content/article/how-do-cats-purr-new-finding-challenges-long-held-assumptions 

https://www.sciencealert.com/these-are-the-largest-cats-known-to-purr 

 

Episode 48 Koala Criminals

Koala Criminals 

Join Jill and Liz as they answer the questions, “Why do we have fingerprints?” and “Why can't I remember being a baby?” We also share a fun fact of the day about tickles and a new book by Lisa Yee. To submit your own question, go to KDL.org/Stump. We can’t wait to hear from you! 

 

Concerning fingerprints 

https://umbc.edu/stories/how-did-i-get-my-own-unique-set-of-fingerprints/ 

https://health.howstuffworks.com/human-body/parts/why-do-we-have-fingerprints.htm 

https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/finally-scientists-uncover-the-genetic-basis-of-fingerprints-70983 

"Fingerprint." World Book Kids, 2024, 

   www.worldbookonline.com/kids/article?id=ar830835. Accessed 31 Jan. 2024. 

https://www.rd.com/article/why-do-we-have-fingerprints/ 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fingerprint 

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/koala-fingerprints/ 

Concerning memories 

 

https://auth.mel.org/newera/check-direct?url=https://widgets.ebscohost.com/prod/customerspecific/mel/auth.php?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=FCZ5TTN20180812.00002&site=ehost-live&scope=site 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nHwQKT_muc 

 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-you-cant-remember-being-born-a-look-at-infantile-amnesia/