Ride the Merry-Go-Round - 24 June 2013

<p>A pint-sized mad scientist, a green-haired girl with a contagious sense of wonder, and a 10-year-old detective. They're all characters in the books on Grant's latest list of recommended books for children. Also, what's the word for a female octopus? How about a male kangaroo? A colorful book for younger kids has those answers and more. And the debate over "on accident" versus "by accident": Which one you use probably depends on how old you are. Plus, if you hop on a merry-go-round, are you moving clockwise or counterclockwise? The answer depends on which side of the pond you're on.<br /><br /><br />FULL DETAILS<br /><br />Tuna may be the chicken of the sea, but octopi, lobsters and crabs are the hens. That is, the females of each those species is called a hen. Aaron Zenz's lovely book for children I Love Ewe: An Ode to Animal Moms offers a little lesson about female names in the animal kingdom. He does the same for the males of the species in Hug a Bull: An Ode to Animal Dads.<br /><br />Holy wha, a Yooper corruption of wow, is specific to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Evidently, it comes in handy when spotting a bear.<br /><br />An adult male cat is called a tom. What's the female called? A queen.<br /><br />Martha Geiger of Sacramento, California, says her French teacher told her that the difference between a carousel and a merry-go-round is that one goes clockwise and the other counterclockwise. True? Actually, there's really no difference between the names, although in England and much of Europe, these rides usually go clockwise; in the U.S., it's the opposite. And to some Americans, a merry-go-round is simply that spinning playground fixture for kids.<br /><br />Alex Zobler from Stamford, Connecticut, sent along this joke: Knock knock. Who's there? To. To who? You see where this one's going, right?<br /><br />Our Quiz Guy John Chaneski phones in a game of homophones. For example, what two-word phrase could either be described as a redundant way to name a common crop, or a seasonal attraction at state f