Science Corner

Bob Fournier has been entertaining Information Morning listeners with his insider's look at the world of science for more than 20 years. You can test your science knowlege on Bob's weekly quiz.

• May 2013
  • Wed., 15 – What causes chinook winds to increase temperatures on the ground by 18 to 20 degrees celcius in a matter of minutes?
     
  • Wed., 8 – When you start the shower, why does the shower curtain pull inwards and stick to your leg?
     
  • Wed., 8 – Global warming affecting the ocean's saltiness
     
  • Wed., 1 – There's piece of cork sitting in a little boat in a backyard pool. What happens to the water level in the pool when you throw the cork onto the grass OR when you throw the cork into the pool?
     
• April 2013
  • Wed., 24 – How do lobsters survive out of the ocean on extended travel?
     
  • Wed., 17 – Why does the hair on your legs not grow as long as the hair on your head?
     
  • Wed., 10 – Why do the sounds of a kettle change as the water gets closer to boiling?
     
  • Wed., 3 – Scientists differ on impact of solar storm
     
  • Wed., 3 – Can human actions cause earthquakes?
     
• March 2013
  • Wed., 27 – A fish that defies the odds ... by climbing!
     
  • Wed., 20 – The latest from the Red Planet
     
  • Wed., 20 – If you toss a stone in the air on a calm day and it takes 3 seconds to reach its height, how long will it take to return to the ground?
     
  • Wed., 13 – Do the horizontal gene transfer!
     
  • Wed., 13 – Why don't we sneeze when we're asleep?
     
  • Wed., 6 – We're all Homo sapiens, so why are there four blood types? Could there be an evolutionary reason for that?
     
  • Wed., 6 – Watch out for space rocks!
     
• February 2013
  • Wed., 27 – Does a person burn more fat when exercising outdoors in colder weather or warmer weather?
     
  • Wed., 27 – Flowers' electrical charge attracts bees
     
  • Wed., 20 – Extracting gold from seawater
     
  • Wed., 13 – Why do you add salt to the ice when you are making ice cream?
     
  • Wed., 6 – Where does the energy come from that keeps the earth spinning on its axis, and how long will it last?
     
  • Wed., 6 – New owl research is turning heads
     
• January 2013
  • Wed., 30 – What is smoke made of?
     
  • Wed., 23 – New research into how DNA affects Behaviour
     
  • Wed., 16 – As you go higher in a building - to 10 or 15 stories - does it get windier?
     
  • Wed., 16 – Studying China's one-child policy
     
  • Wed., 9 – A martian meteorite called Black Beauty
     
  • Wed., 9 – Can we be affected by sounds we cannot hear?
     
  • Wed., 2 – The healing power of maggots!
     
• December 2012
  • Wed., 19 – Why do our fingers and toes wrinkle up after a long time in water?
     
  • Wed., 12 – A glimpse of life in a cold, dark, salty place
     
  • Wed., 12 – Where do butterflies go when it rains?
     
  • Wed., 5 – New research techniques offer clearer picture of rising sea levels
     
  • Wed., 5 – Would you weigh the same at sea level as you do at higher altitudes?
     
• November 2012
  • Wed., 28 – People say, if you're trapped in a falling elevator, you should jump up and down. Would that help?
     
  • Wed., 28 – Of dinosaurs and birds
     
  • Wed., 21 – If an airplane's wings provide the lift that allow it to fly, how can a plane fly upside down?
     
  • Wed., 21 – The extraordinary changes in human lifespans
     
  • Wed., 14 – Scientists race to save coral from the effects of global warming
     
  • Wed., 14 – Why don't fish like tuna and flounder, that spend their whole lives in the ocean, taste salty?
     
  • Mon., 12 – Researchers working on concrete that can heal its own cracks
     
  • Wed., 7 – Why would it better to launch a rocket from a site closer to the equator?
     
• October 2012
  • Wed., 31 – Why do wagon wheels seem to turn backwards in old movies?
     
  • Wed., 31 – Concerns about methane and global warming
     
  • Wed., 24 – After 200 years, scientists figure out how hummingbirds drink.
     
  • Wed., 24 – Why do turkeys have dark and white meat?
     
  • Wed., 17 – Why do locations that are relatively close have high tide at different times?
     
  • Wed., 17 – A space product called aerogels could be more common
     
  • Wed., 10 – Shifting plates under the Indian Ocean
     
  • Wed., 10 – If you place a damp paper towel over a dish of salad in the fridge, why does the towel freeze?
     
• September 2012
  • Wed., 26 – Why does lumber rot if you leave it in the ground, but potatoes don't
     
  • Wed., 26 – How the albatross flies for weeks without rest
     
  • Wed., 12 – What would happen if we removed the locks from the Panama Canal?
     
  • Wed., 12 – Junk DNA does not deserve its name
     
  • Wed., 5 – Our galaxy is on a collision course
     
• August 2012
  • Wed., 29 – Robot camouflage
     
  • Wed., 22 – Scientific research in the Arctic
     
  • Wed., 1 – Why can we tolerate drinking hot liquids when the same liquid would probably scald us if applied directly to our skin?
     
  • Wed., 1 – When termites explode
     
• July 2012
  • Wed., 25 – 7Seconds of Terror for the Mars Rover
     
  • Wed., 25 – Can you get sunburn through ordinary glass?
     
  • Wed., 18 – New research on how the Americas were populated
     
  • Wed., 18 – Can fish hear sounds that are made above the water?
     
  • Wed., 11 – How plants share their memories
     
  • Wed., 11 – Why wouldn't identical twins have identical fingerprints?
     
  • Wed., 4 – How can weeds grow up through 5cm of asphalt in sidewalks?
     
• June 2012
  • Wed., 27 – New research into artificial tongues
     
  • Wed., 20 – New research into some spanish caves shows that our ancestors were painting far earlier than we thought
     
  • Wed., 13 – True or false: The hotter the night, the louder the crickets
     
  • Wed., 13 – New research on how technology can benefit from research
     
  • Wed., 6 – Questions from the centre of the earth
     
  • Wed., 6 – Why do bubbles form in a glass of water that's left on the counter?
     
• May 2012
  • Thu., 31 – The downside of walking upright
     
  • Wed., 30 – When you photograph a person with a flash, you might get 'red eye' but if photograph your dog, you might get 'blue eye'. Why is that?
     
  • Wed., 23 – Bob Fournier dives into the north sea to talk about bio-diversity
     
  • Wed., 16 – Science Corner/Hebda
     
  • Wed., 9 – Bob Fournier looks at the dark side of glaciers
     
  • Wed., 9 – Why are eggs egg-shaped?
     
  • Wed., 2 – New research into why pygmies are short
     
  • Wed., 2 – Do refridgerators use more energy when they are empty or full?
     
• April 2012
  • Wed., 25 – How do seeds know which direction to send up their shoots?
     
  • Wed., 25 – What fossils can tell us about the Earth's atmosphere
     
  • Wed., 18 – A cave in New Mexico holds secrets about bacteria
     
  • Wed., 18 – When you take a cake out of the oven, the air inside the oven doesn't burn you, and touching the top of the cake doesn't burn you but touching the metal pan does. If they're all at the same temperature, why is there a difference?
     
  • Wed., 11 – In large lakes, you see can see the water oscillate from side to side. What causes these seiches?
     
  • Wed., 11 – Nano particles could have a huge impact on medicine
     
  • Wed., 4 – New research into the pollination crisis
     
  • Wed., 4 – When you pour some liquids such as oil or honey from a distance onto a plate, the stream will start to circle onto the plate. Why does that happen?
     
• March 2012
  • Wed., 28 – Space junk is worrying scientists
     
  • Wed., 28 – When you pump up a bike tire with a bicycle pump, the valve will heat up. Why is that? (If it because of the air passing through the valve, why doesn't the valve heat up when you fill your car tire at the gas station?)
     
  • Wed., 21 – Here's looking at you, squid!
     
  • Wed., 21 – When an orchestra warms up, the pitch of the wind instruments increases and the pitch of the strings instruments decreases. Why is that?
     
  • Wed., 14 – Why will a heavily loaded raft drift more quickly with the current in a river?
     
  • Wed., 7 – A prehistoric man with modern health issues
     
  • Wed., 7 – If you place a block of wood in a glass of water, and put that glass in an elevator, will the block float higher in the water as the elevator descends?
     
• February 2012
  • Wed., 29 – The moon experiences the gravitational pull from the earth and the sun, but the sun's pull is twice as powerful as the the earth's. Why then, doesn't the moon get pulled out of our orbit?
     
  • Wed., 29 – Looking into the hidden power of raindrops.
     
  • Wed., 22 – When lightening hits a tree, sometimes it scars it, sometimes it blows the bark off and sometimes it blows it up. What accound for those varying effects?
     
  • Wed., 22 – New research into geckos and how they stick to things.
     
  • Wed., 15 – Why do some candles flicker, even if there is no breeze?
     
  • Wed., 15 – How did zebras get their stripes?
     
  • Wed., 8 – Why do the blood vessels in your eyes become more visible when you're tired?
     
  • Wed., 8 – New understanding of the evolution of mammals
     
  • Wed., 1 – Why does skin dry out in the winter?
     
  • Wed., 1 – Science Corner: February 1st, 2012
     
• January 2012
  • Wed., 25 – Science Corner: January 25th, 2012
     
  • Wed., 25 – Where would you expect a traditional pendulum clock to run the slowest:?
     
  • Wed., 18 – If the earth were a perfect sphere, it would be completely covered by the ocean. From 50 m to 25000 m, how deep would that ocean be?
     
  • Wed., 18 – Science Corner: January 18th, 2012
     
  • Wed., 11 – Why does snow at the base of apple trees melt faster than it does elsewhere?
     
  • Wed., 11 – Science Corner: January 11th, 2011
     
  • Wed., 4 – Does the earth lose heat as it travels through space?
     
  • Wed., 4 – Why does the colour of sunsets vary?