From where lightning strikes to whether you can cry without eyes, we answer several of
your most electrifying questions about life! - I’m Doopie and I’ll be reading out the
questions and answers! - *
- Ahem! - Huh? We’re doing this thing today? Yeah,
yeah, yeah I’m Hellbent blah blah blah - JUST GO!
10. Lightning Dash -Why do birds have beaks?
- I don’t know, Melissa why don’t you explain?
- I’m Doopie. - Oh. Right. What’s the difference between
you two? - I’m the one that’s not a bird.
- * - That’s a shame, Melissa could probably
answer this question. - I can answer this question!
- Well get on with it then and stop wasting everyone’s time! Geez. Even the elf doesn’t
talk this much. - I’M NOT TRYING TO- grrrr- FINE!
The earliest birds actually had teeth but eventually birds evolved beaks to help reduce
their weight, which helps them greatly when it comes to flying. Different birds also have
different types of beaks depending on what they eat. Some birds have strong beaks for
cracking nuts and others, like Hummingbirds, have long needle-like beaks for gathering
nectar.
9. Wolf8us - Who or what caused the theory of aliens?
- Have you noticed how Doopie doesn’t quite fit in with the rest of us? No horns, no feathers,
no decaying skin. She’s a real freak! Almost like she’s not from here, if you get what
I’m saying… - I’m not from here, I’m from Earth.
- Oh… Are you going home soon? - No I like it here, I’ve met some great
people. Not you, of course, but others! - Bah, losers. What do those people have that
I don’t? - Erm, manners, humility, decency. I could
be here all day listing things... - Yeah better not, you don’t want to waste
anymore time. - *
The belief that there is life on other planets has long been in debate and has some of its
origins in mythology. Ancient cultures attempted to understand the cosmos in their own ways,
like the Norse belief of the nine homeworlds that were linked by the world tree, Yggdrasil.
8. Carlos Briones - Who was the first deaf person in history?
- WHAT!? CAN YOU SPEAK UP?! - Hellbent, don’t be rude!
- I’m just joking, besides I know who the first deaf person was.
- You do? - Of course! It was that Beethoven guy. He
played his piano so loudly that he ended up going deaf. He was a true rockstar of his
time! - Beethoven wasn’t deaf because he played
loud music and he wasn’t the first deaf person in history! The first recorded deaf
person is waaaaaay more obscure. - What are you? Some kind of deaf person hipster?
Sorry that Beethoven is too mainstream for you!
The first recorded deaf person in history was one of the sons of Croesus, King of Lydia.
The son’s name is unknown but he lived around 575-550 BC. The first named deaf person in
recorded history was the painter Quintus Pedius, grandson of a Roman consul of the same name,
who lived during the 1st century AD.
7. Nhggggig - Where and why does lightning strike?
- I used to see lightning and think, how can I harness this kind of power? And then it
struck me - but I also had an idea! Fast food! - *
- I tell ya, when lightning strikes this baby it flash grills the best burgers you’ll
ever eat. - Are there any health risks involved?
- * - ...No.
- Well then, give me one of those greasy burgs! - *
- Here! - Mmmmm
- * - Huh - Woah! - it has a kick to it!
- You know that burger isn’t free, right?
Lightning is an electrical discharge caused by imbalances between particles of positive
and negative charge within clouds. Cloud-to-ground lightning will usually attempt to strike the
tallest object in an area because it will be the easiest path for the lightning to take.
6. Emmykins - If a planet had three Suns, would it be three times hotter?
- It might be a little bit hotter but you’ll be fine. What damage can a bit of sunlight
do? - Too much sunlight can do serious harm to
your skin, Hellbent. - Pfft! That’s a load of nonsense. I spend
hours in the sun every day and all it’s done is give me this great tan! - I do need
to work on my chest though. - *
- Oh my god! - What?
There are a lot of variables that could affect the temperature of a planet, besides having
more than one Sun. How close is the planet to these Suns? How bright do these Suns burn?
What is the mass of the Suns? For example, the planet Kepler - 16b orbits its two Suns
closer than Earth does to its own, but is far colder.
5. Blue Topaz - What is the oldest language still used today?
- The ancient language of talking slower and louder. Let me demonstrate.
- * - Dolan! We - talk - yes?
- Geez, yeah sure, what do you want? - I need - you -to put - bigger number - on
paycheck! Do you - understand? - Yeah, we speak the same language mate. And
no, you’re not getting another pay rise. Because of you we can barely afford to keep
the lights on. - *
- … UNDERSTAND ENGLISH? BIG NUMBER - YEEEESSSS? - *
- You’re not getting any more money! - MUCHO - DOLLARS - COMPRENDE?
- NO!
There are several languages that date back multiple thousands of years, these include
Persian, Greek, Chinese, Lithuanian and Arabic. Some languages almost faded away but were
later preserved, such as Hebrew, which fell out of common usage around 400 AD but was
revived in the late 19th century and is now over three thousand years old.
4. BBPGLTD - Is it possible for humans to become extinct instantly?
- I hope so. - Hellbent! Why would you want the human race
to go extinct? - Well let’s see - they’re greedy, selfish
and loud! - Oh yeah, I can’t think of anyone else
like that. - Trust me, Doopie. The day a giant space
rock collides with Earth, the better it will be.
- The day something collides with your ego the better off we’ll all be…
- What was that? - Nothing!
There are many ways in which the human race may go extinct. One terrifying possibility
is a lethal gamma-ray burst, a large electromagnetic event originating from a collapsing star.
If a burst was directed at Earth the increased UV radiation would be disastrous for most
life on the planet.
3. Aedan Lynch - If the Earth was split in half, would the two halves form back together?
- It should be easy enough to fix, a bit of duct tape will fix anything.
- Come on, duct tape can’t solve every problem. - I disagree.
- * - *
- Whenever you’re ready to write out that paycheck just blink three times, buddy.
If the distance between the two halves is about the diameter of a whole Earth, then
gravity will pull them towards each other. They will collide with such force that any
life that happened to survive the split would be instantly wiped out… Huh. That was probably
a good answer for the previous question too.
2. Hey it’s Sans - Can you cry without eyes?
- Eyes hold back the water behind them. If they are removed then the water shoots out
like a water cannon. When people cry it’s the water leaking around the eyeballs.
- Or maybe you upset them in some way? If so, you should probably apologise.
- Ha! That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard, I’m not going to-
- * - Doopie, are you ok? Your eyes are looking
a bit - - *
- Oh - I see. - *
- There we go! That will stop any leaks. - Doopie’s face: >:-(
Yes, as long as the tear ducts and lacrimal sac are not damaged a person can still cry
without eyes. For example, people with prosthetic eyes are able to cry as they still need to
provide lubrication for their eye sockets.
1. Johntom Kerry - Why do our eyes change color and is it possible to have red eyes?
- * - Ouch! - Hellbent, do my eyes look ok to
you? - *
- Er- yep, they look fine to me. - *
- I - I can hardly see! You’re going to have to read out the answer for me.
- Yeeeeeaah, that’s not what I’m here for.
- Oh come on! You’ve just blinded me! It’s the least you could do!
- Ok fine!
The color of a person’s eye changes slightly when the pigments of the iris compress or
spread apart. Red eyes do not naturally occur in humans but some might appear red under
certain lighting conditions. Albinism, can cause a lack of pigment in the iris and when
light bounces off the back of the eye it reflects back red; causing the person’s eyes to appear
red to others.
- Hey, Doopie. I’m - er - sorry - about blinding you.
- * - Don’t worry, I think it’s only temporary,
I can already see a lot better! - I’m over here.
- Oh right. You know… If you want to make it up to me, you could make me one of those
lightning burgers, for free this time! - *Hellbent grumbles* Fine.
- Yes! Let’s go! - *
- * - Hello? Anyone? It’s getting pretty late!
… Guys? … Going to need the toilet pretty soon!... Why do I hire these people?