Do Penguins Have Knees? (52-265)

I have finished reading the book, Do Penguins Have Knees?, and have completely enjoyed this really interesting book, from cover to cover. The 265 page book is very interesting with little excerpts, about some questions that people have come across that they do not know the answer to. For an example of one of these questions is, "Why do hospital gowns tie at the back?" (132). Then after this question has been stated, they will provide a short answer to the question ranging from a short paragraph to a long 2 page explanation.

Below I have included an excerpt, about one of the question's answers that have really intrigued me to learn about. The question is about "Why you are never supposed to touch a halogen light bulb with your fingers?"(164).

Conventional light bulbs use soda-lime glass, which is perfectly functional. But tungsten-halogen bulbs are made of much more durable quartz glass because they must withstand much higher temperatures, a minimum of 250 degrees Centigrade.
Rubin Rivera, of Philips Lighting, told... that quartz halogen lamps must not be touched with fingers because the natural oils from the skin, in combination with the high temperatures reached by the bulbs when illuminated, will cause the crystalline structure of the bulb glass to change. Contact with human oils can cause the glass to crack and leak. Air can then get into the filament and , in extreme conditions, can cause the bulb not only to leak but to explode.

I think that this section is very interesting because, one would only know the answer to this question if they were to work with quartz light bulbs, and have a basic knowledge with glass, and human oils exposed to a high temperature. So much information is given to us, very quickly and easily, so that it makes us want to read more in depth about this specific topic. This book has hundreds and hundreds of questions like these, making the book really interesting to read.

Feldman, David. Do Penguins Have Knees? New York: Collins, 1992. Print.