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Questions & Answers
 Websites presented in alphabetical order Cool Quiz! 
 An entertainment site that claims to be largest trivia repository on the Internet. Features primarily humorous quizzes and games for teens and adults. Searchable. http://www.coolquiz.com/ Topics: Nonfiction by Genre, Ready Reference & Quick Facts, Ready Reference & Quick Facts, Sports, Recreation, & Entertainment Last updated Jan 1, 2003 Everyday Mysteries: Fun Science Facts from the Library of Congress
This site provides answers to questions that "deal with everyday phenomena that we often take for granted, but ... can be explained scientifically. ... All of the questions presented on this Web site were asked by researchers and answered by librarians from the Library's Science Reference Services." Searchable and browsable; links to the library's "Ask a Librarian" feature. http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/ Topics: Ready Reference & Quick Facts, Ready Reference & Quick Facts Last updated Oct 14, 2004 Fugitive Fact File
Locate hard-to-find and elusive information on thousands of topics using this database. All of the data and resources collected here have been used by library staff to answer reference questions. Results include answer, source, date, and Web site, if pertinent. Since it's maintained and regularly updated by Hennepin County Library (MN) staff, many of the files are Minnesota specific, but there are plenty of answers to questions asked in all libraries. Most libraries maintain a fugitive facts file but not many have put it on-line for world-wide access! http://www.hclib.org/pub/search/fff_public.cfm Topics: Ready Reference & Quick Facts, Ready Reference & Quick Facts Last updated Dec 23, 2003 Mr. Gradgrind's Literal Answers to Rhetorical Questions
This page gives us somewhat serious comments on whether anyone really is afraid of Virginia Woolf, who wrote "The Book of Love," why the ivy twines, the possibility of swinging on a star, and other tough, never-meant-to-be-answered questions from song and literature. http://www.wsu.edu/%7Ebrians/gradgrind.html Topics: Communications, Ready Reference & Quick Facts, Ready Reference & Quick Facts Last updated Jul 29, 2006 Project Wombat
(Formerly Stumpers.) "Project Wombat is an e-mail discussion list for difficult [library] reference questions. Membership is free, and non-members may submit questions for discussion. Project Wombat continues the many fine traditions started by the Stumpers list once offered by Dominican University, with some helpful new options." http://www.project-wombat.org/ Topics: Librarianship, Ready Reference & Quick Facts, Ready Reference & Quick Facts Last updated Feb 22, 2006 Scientific American: Ask the Experts
Sponsored by Scientific American magazine, readers may submit questions to scientific experts and the most interesting questions are archived by topic: astronomy, biology, chemistry, computers, environment, geology, mathematics, medicine, and physics. Because of the volume of questions, they cannot promise that all questions will be answered. http://www.scientificamerican.com/section.cfm?id=ask-the-experts Topics: Ready Reference & Quick Facts, Ready Reference & Quick Facts, Science, Science Last updated Sep 9, 2009 Slate: Explainer
"Answers to your questions about the news." Covers both serious and frivolous topics such as why the color green is so important to the Muslim world, how many balloons would it take to lift a house, how to find a missing plane, why car dealerships are closing, and what is a pandemic health alert. Includes material back to 1998. From the online magazine Slate. http://www.slate.com/id/1787/landing/1 Topics: Ready Reference & Quick Facts Last updated Jun 22, 2009 The Straight Dope
Archive of "The Straight Dope" newspaper column by Cecil Adams, who claims he "can answer any question." Features a sampling of classic questions, including "If I get my heart pumping with caffeine, is that good aerobic exercise?" Searchable. http://www.straightdope.com/ Topics: Drugs & Medications by Type, Ready Reference & Quick Facts, Ready Reference & Quick Facts Last updated Jun 21, 2004 U.S. Census Bureau Question & Answer Center
Browse and search through hundreds of questions and answers about population, demographics, and more. Sample topics include housing, education, employment, and health. Users can also ask questions and save answers; registration (free) required for these features. https://ask.census.gov/cgi-bin/askcensus.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php Topics: Business, Federal (U.S.) Government, Ready Reference & Quick Facts, Ready Reference & Quick Facts, Social Science, Statistics Last updated Nov 2, 2004 Wolfram Alpha
This "computational knowledge engine ... generates output by doing computations from its own internal knowledge base, instead of searching the web and returning links." Enter queries such as dates, locations, names, and calculations, to get related data. Includes examples by topic, a visual gallery of examples, overview video, and a FAQ and other background about the project. Free for noncommercial use; subscriptions available in the future for enhanced features. From Wolfram Research. http://www.wolframalpha.com Topics: Mathematics, Ready Reference & Quick Facts Last updated Jun 30, 2009 |
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