Why does it always seem to rain on weekends? Just selective perception, or is Mother Nature perverse?
A. Figures show it really does tend to rain on Sundays, at least along the East Coast of the U.S.–22% more than on Mondays, going all the way back to 1946, says David S. Moore in “Statistics: Concepts and Controversies.” The likely reason? Heavy pollution from the week seeds clouds, leading to rainfall a few days later on Sunday. At least the rain might help clear the air, so you breathe a little easier come sunny Tuesday or Wednesday. Q. On football kickoffs, opposing players fly at each other madly, at speeds around 30 mph between them. What keeps them from getting injured (usually)? A: Two things basically: (1) collisions that are generally more glancing than head on, and (2) the modern football helmet, with rubber foam cushioning inside a plastic shell made of stuff used in bulletproof shields, says Edward Becker, executive director of the Snell Memorial Foundation, which develops helmet safety standards. (No, the helmets are not themselves bulletproof.) Head-on-head collisions ca
