Good Question 'Reply All': Baseballs, Mirages & 'Ouch'
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Avery from Zumbrota wants to know: How many baseballs do they go through during a game?
Some of the baseballs end up in the hands of fans. Some are re-used the next day for batting practice. But during the course of a Twins game, about 10 dozen, or about 120 baseballs, are used.
If you're keeping score at home, the Twins play 81 home games a season. That means they use about 9,700 baseballs at Target Field during the year.
Samuel from Morris wants to know: Why do we see mirages in the road?
Sometimes it looks like there's a pool of water on the highway. It happens on asphalt in the summer because there's typically a warm pocket of air near the ground and a cooler pocket of air just above.
That combination bends light upwards, and to our eyes these distorted rays seem to be coming from the ground. The distorted rays then look to us like a mirror pool of water in the middle of the road.
Chris wants to know: Why do we say "ouch" when we get hurt?
Some people use other four-letter words when they get hurt. Dictionary.com describes the word "ouch" as expressing sudden pain or dismay. "Ouch" comes from the natural sound we make when we're injured.
In the English language, that sudden outburst of pain has evolved over time to form its own word.