Q. What Color os a polar bear's fur?
A. Transparent Actually, if you do get close enough to look at a polar bear's fur, (something tells me that I should caution you NOT to try this at home, kids!) you will notice that each individual hair is hollow and somewhat transparent. It's a particular wonder of nature, when you consider why evolution has given our cute little polar bear such fur: when light hits a hair, ultra-violet light bounces inside the hollow hair shaft towards the bear's black skin, thus being absorbed and keeping the bear nice and warm. Talk about efficient solar heating!

Previous Q & A's

What is the biggest lizard alive on Earth?
Answer: Komodo dragons are by far the largest lizards living here on Earth. They can easily reach a lenght of 6 feet and weight more than two German body-builders (like Arnie *giggle*). What about crocs you say? Crocodiles and their similars are part of an even older family called Crocodillians. Dragons live in the remote islands of Komodo, in Indonesia. Although cold-blooded, they are fearsome hunters and opportunists that have a reputation to sometimes turn to canabalism. One bite can kill a human being in a day, thanks to it's bacteria-invaded putrifying saliva. And kids, please don't offend one by offering it some Listerine...

What's the strongest muscle in your body?
Your jaw muscle has the highest pound per square inch of pressure in a normal human body mainly because it gets it's daily dose of exercise from necessary activities such as talking and chewing. So next time your teacher asks you to be quiet, just say you needed the exercice... ;-)

What's the heaviest organ in your body?
Answer: Your skin! Yup, the total weight of the skin of an adult is about 4 kg. Our skin is a very important organ since it does alot to protect us from the harsh effects of the ourside world; it protects us from the sun, helps regulate our temperature (homeostasie), shields us from germs and even gets rid of waste through perspiration!

What are the 3 types of Archeabacteria?
Answer: Halophiles, thermophiles and methanogens. Archeabacteria are probably the first living organisms that appeared here since they live in such extreme conditions that could have once been that of a primitive Earth. Halophiles strive in extremely salty ponds, whereas thermophiles prefer to live anywhere nice and hot, like hot springs. Methanogens are anaerobic organisms that live in areas completely devoid of oxygen.

Question: True or false: Killer whales (intimately known as orcas) are actually oversized dolphins!
Orcas are part of the dolphin family. A rudimentary way you can tell is by looking at it's blowhole; one blowhole indicates it's a dolphin, whereas two blowholes tells us it's a whale!

Question: What makes your stomach growl?
Answer: Borborygmi! Well, at least, that's what doctors call the sound of growling stomachs! This happens when the walls of your stomach rub together in order to help mix and digest food that's not there. Gases and digestive fluids then slosh around and make those weird, embarrassing noises!

Question: What is the largest fish in the World?
Answer: The elusive Whale Shark (Rhincodon typus) can reach lenghts of up to 50 feet! Although it's mouth is broad enough to fit 2 divers, this gentle giant feeds exclusively on plancton. Unfortunately, little is known about this and most other sharks in the World...

Question: What is evolution?
Answer: Evolution is simply a change in the gene pool of a population over time. A gene (not jean!) is a hereditary unit that can be passed down without change even after many generations. A gene pool is a set of genes in a species/population.