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Randomania: Four Quirky Questions as the World Reels
Covid quarantines can focus the mind on both the trivial and the telling. Call it randomania, a state of mind that prompts questions of every sort.
Why, for example, do humans have 10 toes and 10 fingers? Why not 12 or 7? What’s the reason for male pattern baldness? Why do viruses lose and gain genes? Why does the English language have so many different words that are pronounced the same? Peace, piece. Bare, bear. Dual, duel.
It’s a crazy quilt once you get started, and as I stitch mine together in enforced isolation, it makes me wonder what we take for granted and how curiosity can wither with age and responsibilities. As I’ve learned, sometimes it’s the simplest questions that open the biggest windows. Here’s my quirky starter list.
Why do Americans love giant bathrooms? Much has been written about this peculiar phenomenon, but, in short, it seems that for wealthy and aspiring Americans, the bathroom’s function has morphed from privacy to a Goop-fed phantasma palace of personal peace. Gone are the days when a family of four sharing one bathroom is considered standard. The new ratio in suburban home construction of one bathroom or more…
