Ask Dr. Universeby Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 19 May 2007 06:01 AM Want to know why the sky is blue? Ask Dr. Universe, who has the answers to this and many other questions that come from kids. We have been watching the progress of a frequent visitor in our house, a seven-legged spider that seems to have an affinity for the space between the screen and storm window in our dining room. No matter how many times I free this spider, it comes back, sometimes reappearing in that screen-storm window space in the kitchen window just for variety. We know it is the same spider for the fact that it only has seven legs. of course, this phenomena led to a bevy of questions from my five-year-old, such as "why do spiders have eight legs" and "why do spiders eat bugs" and "what would happen if someone ate a spider?" While contemplating the last question is enough to make a mom sick to her stomach, at least I can go and find out the answers relatively quickly. Dr. Universe is "the world's most curious cat" and is ready to answer almost any question a kid can throw at him. A product of Washington State University, Dr. Universe is entertaining and useful for families. You can search for questions (and their answers) or submit a question of your own. Searching for "spider" yielded such interesting questions as "Why don't spiders stick to their own webs?" "Where do spiders go when it's cold?" and "Do humans consume spiders in their sleep? If so, how many in an average year?" Yuck. But I did find out why spiders have eight legs. The short answer? Because their ancestors did. And those ancestors first appeared about 400 million years ago! If that is not enough to satisfy your or your child's curiosity, you can read the long answer at Dr. Universe's web site. To visit Dr. Universe and ask your questions, click here. Mary Ann Romans writes about her family's money saving secrets in the Frugal Living Blog here at Families.com Related Articles: Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantcomputers tags User Comments No comments on this article yet. Be the first to comment! Community Tags dr. universe, educational, learning, website Discuss this article
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