Stump the Librarian

Episode 42 The Cookie Episode

Join Jill and Liz as they answer the questions, “What is the origin of Christmas Cookies?” and “What was the first cookie cream brand?” We also share a fun fact of the day about a Troll Museum and a graphic novel called Swim Team. To submit your own question, go to KDL.org/Stump. We can’t wait to hear from you! 

 

Regarding Christmas Cookies 

https://culturallyours.com/2019/12/04/history-and-culture-of-christmas-cookies/ 

https://www.newenglandrecipes.org/html/christmas-cookie-tradition.html 

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

https://www.history.com/news/christmas-cookies-history-medieval-tradition 

 

Regarding Oreos 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrox 

https://www.mashed.com/223360/the-strange-history-of-the-oreo-and-hydrox-cookie-rivalry/ 

https://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/12429-hydrox-maker-seeks-800-million-from-oreo-maker 

https://www.oreo.com/about-us 

https://www.leafbrands.com/catalogItems/index/6 

https://www.seattletimes.com/life/food-drink/hydrox-cookies-make-a-comeback-for-100th-anniversary/ 

 

Episode 41 The Need for Speed

Join Jill and Liz as they answer the questions "What is the fastest mammal?" and "What percentage of bodily loss does a starfish need to die?"

To submit your own question, go to KDL.org/Stump. We can’t wait to hear from you! 

 Concerning speedy mammals:

 https://www.awf.org/blog/cheetahs-worlds-fastest-land-animal#:~:text=Cheetahs%20are%20the%20world's%20fastest,of%20up%20to%2070%20mph.           

https://petkeen.com/cheetah-support-dogs/          

https://animals.howstuffworks.com/animal-facts/fastest-animal-in-world.htm 

Cheetahs by Jaclyn Jaycox: https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C910039 

Chasing Cheetahs: The Race to Save Africa’s Fastest Cats by Sy Montgomery: https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C229380 

Concerning Sea Stars:

https://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/sea-star/69454 

https://a-z-animals.com/animals/starfish/#single-animal-text 

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/starfish.html 

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

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

https://www.americanoceans.org/facts/how-do-starfish-eat/ 

Episode 40 We’re Feeling Sleepy

Join Jill and Liz as they answer the questions, “How are cotton candy grapes made?” and “Why do we need sleep?” We also share a fun fact of the day about bones and a dragon book recommendation. To submit your own question, go to KDL.org/Stump. We can’t wait to hear from you! 

 

Regarding Cotton Candy Grapes: 

https://www.nifa.usda.gov/topics/plant-breeding 

"Plant breeding." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 22 May. 2023. school.eb.com/levels/high/article/plant-breeding/111030. Accessed 17 Oct. 2023. 

GMOs are Nothing New: Plant Breeding & Gene Editing: Crash Course Botany #11 

https://www.nifa.usda.gov/topics/plant-breeding 

 

Regarding Sleep: 

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230901- 

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/children-and-sleep 

https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/sleep-an-essential-element-of-success-for-children 

https://magazine.hms.harvard.edu/articles/childs-need-sleep 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519507/ 

How to Sleep Tight Through the Night: https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C877169 

 

Episode 39 The Platypus’ Spur of Doom

Join Jill and Liz as they answer the questions, “Is there water in a water tower?” and “What is up with the duck-billed platypus?” We also share a fun fact of the day about guinea pigs and a super quirky chapter book recommendation. To submit your own question, go to KDL.org/Stump. We can’t wait to hear from you! 

 

Jill’s Fact of the Day: Pets and Their People 

https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C932705 

 

Liz’s book recommendation: The Horrible Bag of Terrible Things 

https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C958203 

 

Concerning water towers: 

https://people.howstuffworks.com/water.htm 

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

https://www.grandrapidsmi.gov/Government/Departments/Water-System 

https://www.fodors.com/news/photos/these-13-water-towers-prove-that-america-is-downright-silly 

 

Concerning the platypus: 

"Platypus." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 15 Oct. 2020. school.eb.com/levels/high/article/platypus/60371. Accessed 17 Oct. 2023. 

The Story of the Platypus 

2019 

CapstoneEnglish32 Print Pages 

Ebook 

by Anita Ganeri 

Part of the Fabulous Animals series 

 

 

 

Episode 38 A Flamboyance of Flamingos

A Flamboyance of Flamingos  

Join Jill and Liz as they answer the questions, “Why is cheese different colors?” and “Why do flamingos only eat upside down?” We also share a fun fact of the day about the Atlantic Ocean and a wild fantasy book recommendation. To submit your own question, go to KDL.org/Stump. We can’t wait to hear from you! 

 

Regarding Cheese: 

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/11/07/243733126/how-17th-century-fraud-gave-rise-to-bright-orange-cheese 

https://www.scienceworld.ca/stories/why-cheddar-orange/ 

https://www.thespruceeats.com/the-history-of-cheese-1328765 

"Cheese." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 15 Jun. 2023. school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/cheese/603930. Accessed 21 Sep. 2023. 

 

Regarding Flamingos: 

https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C252479 

https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/news/why-are-flamingos-pink-and-other-flamingo-facts#:~:text=When%20it's%20time%20to%20eat,out%2C%20while%20trapping%20food%20inside. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flamingo#Feeding 

https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/blog/flamingo-fact-sheet/#:~:text=The%20greater%20and%20lesser%20flamingos,northernmost%20tip%20of%20South%20America. 

Great underwater camera video: https://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/flamingos-filter-feeders-underwater-upside-down-video-san-diego-zoo 

Sponges, another filter feeder in action: https://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/ocean-sponges-have-incredible-filtering-power-a-demo-with-dye 

 

 

 

Episode 37 Exploding Ants

Join Jill and Liz as they answer the questions, “How are ants so strong?” and “To which family of animals is the red panda most closely related?” We also share a fun fact of the day about toe-wrestling and a super cool nonfiction book recommendation. To submit your own question, go to KDL.org/Stump. We can’t wait to hear from you! 

 

Jill’s Fact of the Day: The Mind-Blowing World of Extraordinary Competitions https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C938924 

 

Liz’s book recommendation: How Old is a Whale? https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C932565 

 

Concerning ants: 

https://www.worldbookonline.com/kids/home#article/ar830069 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant 

https://engineering.osu.edu/news/2014/02/study-ants-remarkable-strength-may-lead-powerful-micro-sized-robots#:~:text=Ants%20are%20super%2Dstrong%20on,due%20to%20our%20body%20weight. 

How Do Ants Survive a Flood? https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C900799 

How Strong is an Ant? https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C520672 

Ants https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C676320 

Ants Ingenious Survival Method During Flood | Superswarm | BBC Earth 

 

Concerning red pandas: 

"Biological classification." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 15 Jun. 2023. school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/biological-classification/599565. Accessed 19 Sep. 2023. 

"Red panda." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 25 Jan. 2019. school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/red-panda/631664. Accessed 19 Sep. 2023. 

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

https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/red-panda 

 

Stump the Librarian Season 4

Welcome to Stump the Librarian a podcast where two librarians answer questions from YOU the listener! Submit your question at KDL.org/stump and follow this podcast to get all the season 4 episodes straight to your listening device. 

Episode 36 Old Stuff and Expensive Stuff

Join Jill and Liz as they answer the questions “How old was the oldest person to live?” and “What is the most expensive book ever sold?” We also give an ocean fact of the day and recommend the book Lupe Wong Won’t Dance. To submit your own question, go to KDL.org/stump or email us at Stumpthelibrarian@kdl.org 

Concerning Old Age: 

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/21/longevity-expert-3-reasons-the-worlds-oldest-person-lived-to-122.html#:~:text=Jeanne%20Calment%2C%20a%20French%20woman,links%20between%20health%20and%20longevity. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_verified_oldest_people#:~:text=The%20oldest%20person%20ever%20whose,116%20years%20and%2054%20days. 

https://grg.org/WSRL/TableE.aspx 

https://askabiologist.asu.edu/questions/what-oldest-living-thing-earth 

https://a-z-animals.com/blog/oldest-living-animals-on-earth-today/ 

 

Concerning Expensive Books: 

https://school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/inflation/275058 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex 

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

https://school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/Leonardo-da-Vinci/108470#59097.toc 

https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/leon/hd_leon.htm 

 

Episode 35 Don’t Eat Fireflies

Join Jill and Liz as they answer the questions, “Do fish get thirsty?” and “How do lightning bugs light up?” We also share a fun fact of the day about the Philippines and a #1 nonfiction book recommendation. To submit your own question, go to KDL.org/Stump. We can’t wait to hear from you! 

Jill’s Fact of the Day: Philippines https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C940866 

Liz’s Book Recommendation: Is It Okay to Pee in the Ocean? https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C936618 

Concerning fish: 

https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2019/neuroscience-thirst-brain-tells-look-water/ 

https://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/fish/111049 

Concerning fireflies: 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-and-why-do-fireflies/ 

https://www.worldbookonline.com/kids/home?subacct=18279#article/ar830840 

https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/michigan-insects-in-the-garden-week-7-fireflies 

https://www.massaudubon.org/get-involved/community-science/firefly-watch 

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/synchronous-fireflies-light-up-smoky-mountains-national-park 

https://www.sciencefriday.com/educational-resources/talk-like-a-firefly/ 

 

Episode 34 Poop Cubes

Join Liz and Jill as they answer the questions “What dogs are hypoallergenic?” and “Why do wombats poop cubes?” We also recommend the book “Willodeen” by Katherine Applegate and talk about memorable birthdays. To submit your own question go to KDL.org/stump or email us at Stumpthelibrarian@kdl.org