Good Question: 'Reply All' To Your Good Questions
We know we get tornadoes in the U.S., but what about the rest of the world? How does the Prince get paid? And why were the royal bridesmaids so young? We're hitting "Reply All" to WCCO viewers' Good Questions.
• Why were Kate Middelton's bridesmaids and Prince Williams' groomsman young children?
It's a British thing. They think we're weird for having adults as bridesmaids. In England, they typically have an adult maid-of-honor and best man, and then a bunch of kids.
The little girls in the royal wedding were all under the age of 10, and all relatives of the couple. The young boys were also under 10, and also relatives of the couple.
The "page boys" all wore military-style uniforms, just like William. The bridesmaids wore a similar dress to Kate, that's why they're all wearing white. Certainly beats those awful lime green bridesmaid dresses we see at American weddings!
• Do the Prince and the Duchess get paid? - Melissa from White Bear Lake
Not for being a member of the royal family. William, in the past, has received a stipend from his dad Prince Charles. But he's wealthy in his own right, because of inheritance.
He inherited money when his grandmother the Queen Mum died in 2002. Plus, he got half of Princess Diana's estate, which in today's dollars is about $11 million. He also earns about $62,000 US a year as a flight lieutenant in the Royal Air Force.
• Are there tornadoes in other countries besides the U.S.? -- Wayne in Ramsey; Kyle in Redwood Falls and Jennifer in Turtle Lake
There certainly are. Europe has about 170 tornadoes on land every year, but that pales in comparison to the more than 1000 tornadoes we have in the United States. That's because of geography. We have a lot of open land in the Midwest where there's lots of room for energy to get building up.
The Netherlands and England have the most tornadoes per area. But many countries have tornadoes, including India, New Zealand and Australia.
