
Answer Man- Do Trees Give off Much Water During The Summer
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the Answer Man
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Would you like to know if men or women have a keener sense of touch? Or what ancient people were buried in asbestos? Would you like to know the answers to many other interesting questions? The Answer man will tell you, and here he is to answer your questions.
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The Answer man hello everyone, and what's our first question?
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Let's start with this one from an Indianapolis, Indiana man Do trees give off much water during the summer?
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They do indeed. A good sized oak tree will give off from its leaves some 140,000 pounds of water every summer.
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And an Olympia, Washington listener inquires, why
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are cats so unpopular in China?
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Oh, but they're not. As a matter of fact, the Chinese like cats as pets so much that some Chinese believe that people who dislike them are really rats come back to the earth in human form.
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Next day, Connor Main, man, asks, which have the keener sense of touch, men or women?
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Women, by far. In banks, the women who handle money can often detect counterfeit coins just by the feel after the men have failed to find anything wrong. It's for this reason the United States Mint employs women almost exclusively to test coins.
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This question comes from a Post Falls, Idaho listener, Did Adolf Hitler actually have relatives living in this country during World War II?
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No. However, Hitler was a fairly common name here. There were 13 families listed in the New York City telephone directory under the name of Hitler when World War II started. But by the time the war ended, there were none. For obvious reasons, all of them had changed their names.
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Here's a Buchanan, Georgia, man who inquires which commodity in the United States is handled most by American railroads.
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The one handled most is bituminous coal.
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Hey, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, man writes, I have a friend who always carries a pencil stub and a scrap of paper with him wherever he goes. The other night when we were joking with him about it, he said, you should read Francis Bacon. Now my question is, did Francis Bacon ever do this to carry pencil and paper around with him everywhere, even when shaving?
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Yes, he did, and Francis Bacon recommended that every man should do the same and write down all his thoughts of the moment. For said Bacon, those thoughts that come unsought are generally the most valuable and should be recorded immediately, for they seldom return.
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Before the next question, here's a special
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message and one with good news for all of you who take vitamins for It's a way you can get the best government standard vitamins at half price or even less.
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Yes, just let us send you a free Hudson catalog and then compare the prices. Now, the Average cost of 125,000 unit vitamin A capsules is $4.10, but you can get the same government standard vitamins from Hudson for only $1. That's right, you save $3.10. A high potency formula that generally sells for 9.45 per hundred is only 350 at Hudson. That's a saving of 595. Yes, Hudson means it when they say you can save 50% and more at Hudson. So start saving today. Write for your free catalog of Hudson vitamins and food supplements. Just put your name and address on a postcard and send it to the answerman, Mutual Broadcasting System, New York 18.
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There's no obligation to buy anything. No salesman will call on you or telephone. But compare the prices and you'll see why. For 25 years, doctors, nurses and thousands of others have bought their vitamins from Hudson.
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So get your free catalog. Just send your name and address to the answerman, Mutual Broadcasting System, New York 18.
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Next day, St. Louis, Missouri, man inquires which is more likely to suffer a nervous breakdown, a bachelor or a hen pecked husband?
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A bachelor, the henpecked husband can be driven to murder, but seldom to suicide.
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A listener living in Jamestown, New York, asks just how plentiful do mussels grow?
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It's been estimated that the yield of mussels from an acre of sea is 50 times as much as the yield of beef that one could get from an acre of grassland.
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This question comes from a Fall River, Massachusetts woman. Hasn't every month of the year been dignified by having within it the birth date of some of one of our presidents?
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No, not everyone. 11 months of the year contain the birth date of at least one of our presidents, but no president was ever born in June.
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A note from the Providence, Rhode island listener reads, my wife insists that cloudy ammonia is better than clear ammonia because it's stronger. It isn't, is it?
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Not usually. Although there is no standard strength for the various brands of ammonia, cloudy ammonia is nothing more than clear ammonia with a little soap or some similar substance added to give it a cloudy appearance. This is done because housewives seem to prefer a cloudy look and for no other reason.
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A Denver, Colorado listener asks what animal is known as the old man of the sea?
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It's the sea otter, called the Old man of the Sea because the grizzly hair on its head and shoulders and its large, bristly mustache make it look quite a bit like an elderly man. The sea otter prefers to swim on its back while resting its forepaws complacently on its chest, which also serves as its dinner table. Whenever the sea otter feels hungry, it will turn over and quickly dive down into the depths, catch a nice large fish, surface, return to its back floating position, lay the fish on its chest, and proceed to nibble lazily away at it. When it's finished its meal, the otter rolls over a few times, scrubs its head and neck with its paws, and then continues on its way, floating on its back with its paws folded on its chest, basking in the sun and enjoying immensely the life of a sea otter.
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Before the next question, a reminder to get your free Hudson Vitamin Catalog today. A free catalog that shows you how you can save 50% and more on vitamins and food supplements.
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The quality of Hudson vitamins is standardized by US Government regulations. There are none better just check them with your doctor and all Hudson products are sold with a money back guarantee.
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So get your free Hudson catalog. Just put your name and address on a postcard and send it to the answerman, Mutual Broadcasting System, New York 18. Let's name an address on a postcard to the answerman, Mutual Broadcasting System, New York 18
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next to Dayton, Ohio. Listener asks, did the ancient Romans have asbestos?
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Yes. 2,000 years ago the Romans had asbestos and they used it for their funeral shrouds.
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And a man who lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee, inquires, didn't Napoleon have a very valuable jewel studded sword?
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Very valuable. A single diamond in the hilt was valued at 2 and a half million dollars.
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Here's a question from a Decatur, Illinois woman. Is there really a type of sheep that is so big people don't call it a sheep at all, but an ox?
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Yes. The musk ox of the far north, with a body that's five to six feet long, is really not an ox at all. It's a member of the sheep family. Musk oxen travel in herds with only one or two males to a herd of 80 or 100.
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A Hot Springs, Arkansas woman asks, it isn't true. Is it that all the Salvation army buildings and other properties are owned by the Booth family and the Booth family alone.
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No, it is not true. All Salvation army property throughout the world is owned by the army alone and administered by a competent board of trustees. No Salvation army property is owned, held or controlled by members of the Booth family.
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A New Orleans, Louisiana lister inquires has have they finally succeeded in obtaining pure americium yet?
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Yes, element number 95, or americium, has been obtained in its pure metallic form. It's silvery in color and has only about half the density of plutonium.
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A Nashua, New Jersey student wonders when Abraham Lincoln first became interested in studying
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law shortly after he'd become postmaster of New Salem, Illinois, in 1833, there's a story to the effect that one day when he was rummaging around in a large storage room, he found a book in the bottom of an old barrel. He picked it up, leafed through it, discovered it was a law book, sat down, read a little of it, and became so interested that he couldn't stop there. And then Lincoln decided he wanted to be a lawyer. He kept on reading law till he'd succeeded.
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Before the next question, a special message.
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Do you want your child to earn a good living when grown up?
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Wait.
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That's not as foolish a question as it seems.
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Because it's a fact that people with
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good educations earn more money and have a better chance for promotions. Let's make sure that our children get the education they deserve.
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You see, America's population has grown so fast in the last few years that
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the schools have had a hard time keeping up.
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Classrooms are seriously overcrowded, there's a tremendous
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shortage of teachers, and the population keeps increasing all the time. This isn't a hopeless situation, of course. There's plenty that you or your neighbors
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can do about it.
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For instance, join your neighborhood group working for better schools. Help make sure that your neighbors know
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exactly what local school needs are and
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what might be done to meet those needs.
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Remember this better schools start with the personal interest of people like you. This message is brought to you as a public service. Next, a Trenton, New Jersey student inquires, how much pure radium is there in
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the United States now?
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Somewhere between 25 and 30 ounces.
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And a superior Wisconsin listener asks, wasn't the great Man O War recognized as a champion racehorse from the very beginning?
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No, there was nothing outstanding at all about man of War when he was a young colt. As a matter of fact, he was quite thin and hungry looking. He had a very coarse coat and he had widely forked legs next to
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Winona, Minnesota Listener asks For how long has the termite been silently eating away the foundations of houses?
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Ever since there were houses and before. Although the termite has undergone extensive evolution, it's been on the earth for at least 30 million years.
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This question comes from a Lexington, Kentucky, man. Did the Prophet Muhammad ever work at any sort of a job, or was he a priest and prophet from the very start?
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No, Muhammad worked for many years. First, as a young man, he tried a variety of jobs, but at the age of 25, he entered the service of the widow Khadijah as a camel driver, and this job lasted until Muhammad married the widow next day.
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Lancaster, Pennsylvania man asks, how did the Indians find their way around in the wild woods without any maps?
The Answer Man Expert
By observing the position of the sun, and by training themselves from childhood to recognize landmarks and trails they hadn't taken in years. When Harold Crowley flew two Naskopi Indians named Metropol and Susapesh from Hopedale Laboratory to the wild interior to search for a lost explorer, both Indians recognized old landmarks from the air with such fidelity that they were able to direct Crowley to the exact spot of the lost explorer. But Metsuyappo and Susupish were completely mystified when Crowley, using his instruments, flew the plane back to Hope Tail on a beeline route that was unfamiliar to the Indians. They felt the only safe way to fly back was the way they'd come.
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Before the next question, a special message
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Are you thinking about your future these days? Well, the United States Coast Guard offers a variety of programs to fill the need of every young man considering military service. For the young man or the veteran considering a career, there is the regular Coast Guard. Here he can find training in the
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field of his choice, good pay in
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a job not subject to the ups and downs of economic life, allowances and benefits that mean security and the prospect of a dignified and satisfactory retirement. The Coast Guard is a small service where men are men and not merely service numbers.
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Opportunity is for everyone.
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In a military service of long history and tradition, a service that combines material benefits with travel, adventure, and excitement in a lifetime of action and promoting respect for our laws and saving life and property on land, sea, and air, a
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career in the Coast Guard is a
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career of service and honor. See your local Coast Guard recruiter.
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This message is brought to you as a public service. Next, a New York City listener inquires, are centipedes dangerous?
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Not really, but the second pair of legs behind the mouth of a centipede do have poison claws on them and
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a letter from a Los Angeles woman reads A long time ago I read a verse in which the poet expressed his friendly envy of his family's cook because her old time Southern religion seemed to bring her a confession, contentment and happiness that he couldn't find himself. In recent years I've learned a little more about just what the poet meant, but now I've forgotten just how the poem goes. Could you find it for me?
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Yes, I think this is the poem that you have in mind. I hear her singing at her work, that calm, industrious mammy who serenely rules my kitchen. She'd be astonished if she knew that I, with ease and time to spare, have envied her so free of care she's found a thing that I have missed for she goes joyfully to church each night, Believes implicitly all things the preacher tells her she knows right from wrong. A thing that puzzles me she's sure of shining mansions. Happily she sings and works and works and sings. How gladly I would scrub and wash the grease from many dishes Just to know such peace.
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In his next program, the Answer man will answer such questions as Does a child really learn faster than a grown up? And do more people commit suicide when
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it's hot or when it's cold?
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This is Mutual, the world's largest network.
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Episode: Answer Man - Do Trees Give off Much Water During The Summer
Date: April 1, 2026
Host: Harold’s Old Time Radio (Mutual Broadcasting System era recording)
Main Theme:
The classic “Answer Man” segment brings together a collection of curious listener-submitted questions from around America, answered on air by the knowledgeable Answer Man expert. The episode is a delightful exploration of odd facts, historical trivia, and folk wisdom—ranging from the science of trees’ summer water output to the quirky habits of famous people, taboos about cats in China, and the origins of household products.
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“A good sized oak tree will give off from its leaves some 140,000 pounds of water every summer.”
(Answer Man Expert, 01:00)
“Those thoughts that come unsought are generally the most valuable and should be recorded immediately, for they seldom return.”
(Answer Man Expert, 02:41)
“Women, by far.” (On sense of touch, Answer Man Expert, 01:30)
“The henpecked husband can be driven to murder, but seldom to suicide.”
(Answer Man Expert, 04:34)
“Cloudy ammonia is nothing more than clear ammonia with a little soap or some similar substance added...”
(Answer Man Expert, 05:24)
Sea otter’s description:
“Floats on its back with its paws folded on its chest, basking in the sun and enjoying immensely the life of a sea otter.” (05:48)
Poem about Southern religion:
“How gladly I would scrub and wash the grease from many dishes Just to know such peace.” (14:13)
The show exudes a folksy, authoritative warmth. The dialogue is straightforward, sometimes sprinkled with dated humor or anecdotes, and always focused on swiftly and clearly delivering factual answers. Notably, the expert’s delivery rests on gentle correction, cultural insight, and a charming blend of wit and wisdom drawn from the era in which the show aired.
This episode of Harold’s Old Time Radio "Answer Man" is a time-capsule of curiosity, with fast-paced Q&As and the gentle fascination of mid-20th-century radio wisdom. Each answer provides not just facts but glimpses of period attitudes and storytelling style, perfect for trivia lovers and fans of vintage radio.