Answers to every question are now online. But often, a question pops into our head only to vanish quickly from our thoughts when the triggering moment disappears. And we forget to look up the answer later.

Enough. I chose a single day and made notes of the first 4 questions that randomly popped into my head. At the end of the day, I researched the answers (okay, not all of them are shocking). Here’s what I found.

Q. What exactly is an heirloom tomato?

I went to a small, high-end grocery store and saw heirloom tomatoes for sale. My first question of the day – what are they?

Hah! Just as I expected. This is a completely unregulated designation. Real heirloom tomatoes are grown from seeds that a farmer carefully selects and passes down from season to season. No genetic modifications, no weird DNA alterations. They may be wildly coloured and shaped, but the good ones will have fabulous taste.

However, no one is monitoring this – it’s buyer beware. So, stick to heirlooms from places you trust, or buy directly from farmers at farmers markets. Bon Appetit has a great overview here.

Q. How do Mick Jagger and Paul McCartney keep great hair?

Mick delayed his 2019 tour because he needed medical treatment. That led to this second question.

But alas, still no answer. Both of these 70-something musicians are still in the public eye – a lot – but their hair has barely changed since the 1960s. Clearly work has been done. But try to find out what exactly – so frustrating! At least this 2012 article alludes to hair dye carefully applied to Jagger’s mane. McCartney won’t be far behind.

Q. Where do urban animals die?

I found a big, fat dead raccoon on our front patio. It was on its back, all four limbs in the air. The city agreed to take it away, but it got me wondering – where do these animals go to die? This was the first dead animal on my property in 20 years.

My quick research didn’t yield a lot, likely because the answer is a mix of things. They retreat to their home or other hiding place to die. They get eaten by other animals soon after death. They get picked up by the city when someone reports it. But I did learn from PBS that raccoons only have a lifespan of two to three years in the wild, so don’t let the lack of carcasses fool you. The dead are among us.

 Q. How do 150lb golfers hit the ball 300 yards?

Watching a PGA tournament on TV had me gawking at a little guy – Emiliano Grillo from Argentina. He’s 26 years old, stands 5 foot 9 and weighs 141 lbs. He was hitting his drives over 300 yards!

I’m way bigger than that and can barely hit 200 yards on a good drive. I went looking for answers. This was the best article I found. Golf pros hit millions of practice balls and know how to regularly hit the sweet spot on the club face. When you hit the sweet spot, the ball travels much further. Of course, a fluid swing that generates great clubhead speed is the other half of the equation.

The best advice in the article? Swing smoother, not harder. You’ll hit the sweet spot more often and your ball will travel further.

Thanks for reading!
Ian M. Hull