Good Question: 'Reply All' Tax Day, Yawning & Ear Plugs
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - By now everybody should have their W2s, and some have started their taxes.
Robyn White wondered: "Why are taxes due on April 15? Has it always been that way?"
No, Robyn. Congress set the first tax deadline as March 1, 1914. A couple years later they moved it to March 15. In 1955, they moved it to April 15. They said the idea was to spread out the workload instead of having all the returns come in at once.
But because many of us get refunds, that extra month means the feds get to keep our money and the interest a little longer.
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Chris Serfling from Grand Rapids is one of many who asked: Why are yawns contagious?
Chris - no one's quite sure why yawns are contagious. One theory is that it's meant to synchronize behaviors. We yawn when conditions in our bodies change, so it might have been a way for animals to communicate.
Some new research suggests our capacity for empathy may be a part of it. People who are more caring for others are also more likely to catch a yawn.
And researchers at Emory University found that chimpanzees - who also yawn contagiously - yawned 50 percent more when they saw chimps from their group rather than strangers.
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Judy Lyons from Owatanna asked: What is the purpose of those earplugs that singers wear?
You may have asked yourself the same question while watching Beyonce at the Super Bowl halftime show. Those, however, aren't earplugs - they are in-ear monitors, like the ones news anchors wear.
At a big stadium, there can be a delay in the speakers, and it can be hard to hear the musicians. The in-ear monitors let you hear everything,
