Pointless Questions...with Aaron Mucciolo

And we’re back.

Let me pause for a minute to explain to the first-years what the heck they’re reading. This is a… news…paper… yeah, I had to get a frosh joke in there someplace.
This column is your semi-standard ‘answers’ column — you send in questions, I track down the answers. It doesn’t matter how bizarre, obscure or even mundane. I’ll take to the phones, the library, the ’net and beyond to track down the information. So go ahead, ask anything. I’ve dealt with everything from fried ice cream to jet planes to the rocks in Tappan Square.
I’d also like to pause for a minute to revel in the fact that I only have one class to take this semester. That’s right, just one. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off for a massage before I sit down with a daiquiri to tackle this week’s questions.

Why is white zinfandel red? — Maria Balducci, conservatory senior

There are two major categories of wine: white and red. Red wine is made from dark-skinned grapes (red, purple, black, blue). White wine is made from light skinned grapes or from dark skinned grapes with the skins, seeds and pulp immediately removed after the juices are pressed. Separating the liquid quickly prevents the pigments present primarily in the skins from darkening the juices.
Oftentimes these ‘separated’ white wines are darker than white wine, but not fully red, particularly if the skins are left in a little while. Starting in the 1970s, when such wines were coming into vogue, the generic term ‘blush wine’ arose to describe all of these in-between hues of pinks, apricot, salmon, etc. As stated, this was a generic term and many varieties of blush wine are known by more ‘proper’ names — including White Zinfandel. In my research I found the term to almost always be capitalized, which may help you draw the distinction.
Zinfandel, incidentally, is a type of dark-skinned grape found largely in California. It was normally made into a dry, red wine of the same name, so the prefix ‘white’ appears to refer more to the manner of production than the color of the product.

What are billiard balls made of? -Allison Moon, college senior

I’ll go you one better — here’s a brief history of them hard, colorful balls.
For quite a while after the invention of the game (the earliest recorded mention of table-top billiards is from the 1470s) balls were wooden, and often crudely carved. Ivory became a popular material in the 1600s, despite the cost and the close to two years it took to properly prepare the ivory for use. By the mid-1800s ivory was the predominant material, but increased demand for balls strained an already threatened elephant population and alternatives were sought.
In the 1860s John Wesley Hyatt, an American inventor, entered a contest to create a synthetic billiard ball. After several other attempts, he created cellulose nitrate — sometimes called Celluloid (yup, the stuff movies are made of) — which made an excellent ball. It was, however, quite flammable (during manufacture, not on the table) and the quest for the perfect billiard ball continued.
Over the course of the 20th century various resins — easiest example: sticky stuff that comes out of trees — became the most popular material. The resin could either be natural, like amber or other plant substances, or synthesized. Nowadays, pretty much every billiard ball is made from ‘thermoset resin’, an artificial resin that sets permanently once heated.

Didn’t you graduate?

I’ll take this last moment to answer a question that virtually everyone I’ve known in my four years here has asked me in the last week. I’ve got one major (theatre) and all my requirements done. But if I want my second major (politics) to be official and appear on my transcript, I need to finish one class. In addition, I’m working for Admissions.
Great. Ego trip over, back to the column…

I’ve heard that more people die each year from donkeys than from airplanes. Is that true? –Melanie, wandering the basement of Burton at 2am

Well, I certainly found dozens of websites that state that fact as fact, but none that could back it up. Personally, I think it’s another internet age myth that gained widespread acceptance because it sounds fairly plausible. Think about it — we collect statistics on many things, but is there really some sort of tally on the number of deaths caused by donkeys? Plus, you would expect the majority of such deaths to occur in less-developed countries, places where records might not be as accurately kept or verifiable. Hey, if I’m wrong, please tell me — I’d actually rather like to see a report on the number of deaths caused by farm animals each year.
I did find a few interesting facts on the web during my travels. We all know that air travel is a pretty safe mode of transportation. But guess what was responsible for more deaths than the 631 the National Transportation Safety board says occurred due to plane crashes in the U.S. in 1997. Among the extensive list compiled by the World Health Organization for the U.S. over the same year: auto accidents (duh — 42,340), accidental firearms deaths (981), malnutrition (3,628), and influenza (that’s right, the flu — 720).

You, too, can be famous. It’s so simple. No, no, really. Email your questions to aaron.mucciolo@oberlin.edu or send ’em to Pointless Questions c/o The Oberlin Review, Wilder Box 90, Oberlin, OH 44074. Your name will only be used with your permission.