Unanswered Questions

Yesterday I read about a team that did research on how many questions children have per day. Boys have almost 300 questions a day and girls even 300 plus. But as adults, we also have many questions. I have them every day, questions of different kinds. They come up when I read something when I sit outside and just look around. I guess its human nature to always have questions.

Every morning I like to sit on the front porch of the house and I always see ants running around. Very small they are but they walk quite a distance in a few seconds. Compared to Olympic athletes they run much more and also faster.  1 meter in only 10 seconds! Then yet their bodies are so tiny. It is hard to imagine where they get their energy from. How much do they eat? How small is their stomach? So small and they have a mouth, a stomach, lunges, a heart, and a nerve system. How does it all fit in those persnickety bodies? Seeing them so busy I often wonder, do they take a rest every now and then? I can see them carry heavy loads. After having it delivered in the nest, do they fall down to relax while having some refreshments? 

Those were the small ants. They look grey or black to me but there are also the bigger, red ants. About them, I have some other questions. What is it that they always bite us? And how can it be that even that small amount of venom –or formic acid- can hurt us like crazy? Wouldn’t it be better for them to just save for cases when they really need it? What is it that makes them so aggressive? 

For different kinds of industries sand is needed. Lots of sand. Yet it doesn’t seem beaches are getting lower. Where does sand come from anyway? Is it from eroding mountains? If that is the case then the mountains should lose mass. Why is it we never read about that?

After many decades of pumping up oil, what does it look like down there where it once was? Huge holes? Doesn’t that make weak spots in the outer layer of our planet? Sometimes I imagine how hectares collapse and sink down into the earth. And then I think of all the skyscrapers that are built. Don’t they make the earth go out of balance? The same goes for the melting ice on the pole caps. Recently I read about a country where scientists claimed that thanks to the melting ice the sea level at their coast side are getting higher than in other countries. I thought it can’t be true. Take for instance a bathtub filled with water. If the tub is placed well the water level cannot be higher on one side. 

Archeologists find very old bones sometimes and then can construct the whole animal. And even more, they can tell us what it ate millions of years ago! Never ever I read or heard any explanation of how they did figure out those things. Do bones tell us about the colors of the skin? That’s new to me! 

Years ago the remains of a human being were found in a lake in the Netherlands. Investigators did not have a clue whose remains they were. Then it was decided to reconstruct the head, following the bone structure. Pictures were published in newspapers and on television. And yes, soon the case was solved. But how do they know whether the person had a pointed or a round nose? How do they figure out if the cheeks were chubby or not? Questions, questions and they keep on coming.

For as long as I can remember I always liked to read background information about cases that interested me. And I used to watch documentaries just to get more background information. But there will always be unanswered questions.

Love the ones you’re with and be loved in return.