Lair reminded me that today is 4/11. He says to ask him any question.
I think I’ll take questions from the audience, too.
The Catmage Chronicles
Andy thought he was going crazy when a talking cat showed up at his front door. He couldn’t have been more wrong.Goldeneyes is a Catmage – a cat with human intelligence and magical abilities. Andy is an eighth grader who is smart, impulsive, and trying to avoid the school bully at all costs. A prophecy threw them together. There’s just one problem: Goldeneyes can’t stand humans.The Catmage world is heading toward war. Goldeneyes and Andy must try to stop the enemy from getting stronger. And they must save a powerful Catmage who’s been kidnapped. For Goldeneyes, it’s personal. That Catmage is her grandmother.Andy and Goldeneyes must try to put aside their differences. If they can’t, the enemy will soon be too powerful to defeat…
OK, I’ll bite.
Why are cats so captivating?
Rahel – that’s easy. Because you put cat food in the trap.
Oh wait — you said captivATING (not captive). In that case, I haven’t a clue.
But I’ve always wondered why hot dogs are called hot dogs.
Mock the solemnity of 4/11 all you like; I was there that day when we all heard “city and listing, please?” and the world changed forever…
Simple. CApTivating. You can’t spell captivating without cat.
Next?
Bob: Because it resembles a Dachshund. Around the turn of the 20th century, a concessionaire at the NY Polo Grounds named Harry Stevens had his vendors yell “Get your red-hot dachsund sausages!”. The sports cartoonist T.A. Dorgan got a kick out of this, and started calling them hot dogs. He drew a picture of a frankfurter shaped like a dachshund in a bun, and the term was born.
The above is from “Why Does Popcorn Pop? and 201 other fascinating facts about food.”
You can’t stump me.