Glimpsing the Teenaged Mind During Family Walks

As we all cope with COVID, and the various restrictions in our areas, we have established some new habits. One of our new habits is to take family walks, and during these walks, we have gotten some glimpses into the teenaged mind.

We’re lucky to live in a place where the weather is temperate all year around, although it can be rainy and wet many days.

Over the course of these walks, my husband and I would have an opportunity to chat with our two teenagers, who were sometimes very willing to go for a walk and sometimes less enthusiastic. Sometimes during these conversations, they would bring things up, and it was really interesting to have a glimpse into the various questions that were on their teenaged minds. In fact, I found the randomness of the topics and questions so fascinating that I wrote them down on my phone as we would walk around.

Questions from the Teenaged Mind

• Can COVID survive in water?
• How do cherry blossom trees reproduce?
• Where do birds hear from?
• Do the producers of Glee have to get permission from the artists to use their songs?
• Why are some people’s hair white and some grey?
• Why do men go bald and women not as often?
• Do bees and flies see in slow-mo?
• Why do we need oxygen?
• Do you think Toady’s mushroom cap is part of his head or is it a hat?
• What would happen if everyone on Earth went to the same side and jumped at the same time?
• What happens if you get no Vitamin D?
• Where does the term bone-dry come from?

And one question my husband asked our teenaged son:

• Why do you like to order the mini-burgers more than regular sized burgers?

As you can see, the questions were wide-ranging and random: from science and nature to pop culture to aging to origins of words, health and wellness and even food preferences.

In case you were wondering, these are the questions that neither my husband nor I were able to answer on the spot. But guessing or coming up with theories about the answers while we were walking was also fun.

So for your reading enjoyment, here are “Questions from the Teenaged Minds” that we heard throughout our family walks. Since I’m now at the computer, where available, I’ve given a summary of the answer and a link for more information, just in case your teenager asks you the same question.

Questions from Teenaged Minds, Answered

Can COVID survive in water?

Now bearing in mind that this was a conversation during the very early days of COVID-19, no one knew the answer. But since then, journalists and scientists have researched and written about this topic. In Forbes, Bruce Y. Lee wrote an article where he observed that “studies do suggest that the virus can survive for a little while in water”. The good news is “neither study showed that you can actually get infected with the COVID-19 coronavirus from water under the conditions that you’d normally be exposed to water.” Phew. Good to know.

How do cherry blossom trees reproduce?

Well, this one stumped me (no pun intended). Cherry blossom trees don’t seem to produce fruit, so how do they reproduce?

Apparently cherry blossoms are really just trees getting it on. Cherry trees have both pollen and pistils on the same plant, but they need the help of pollinator insects like bees to help the two come together. These create a seed, located inside a fruit that will drop to the ground or get eaten by an animal. As animals move around, they may deposit seeds through their poop, sometimes very far from the original tree.

Where do birds hear from?

Have you ever wondered how birds hear? Or what a bird’s ear looks like? Well, according to this article “birds have no external ear structure. Their ear openings are hidden beneath feathers on the side of the head, just behind and slightly below the eyes.” They have a whole podcast episode on how birds hear if you want to learn more.

Do the producers of Glee have to get permission from the artists to use their songs?

I said ‘yes’ to this one, although I wasn’t sure the technicalities of how this worked. Turns out, according to mtv.com, Glee is a goldmine for the music industry. “Every time a song is put into a TV show, the producer has to sign a synchronization license to get permission to use [it], and it’s a purely negotiated license.” So you can imagine that a show like Glee, where the cast sings multiple pop songs in an episode, sometimes all from the same artist and sometimes various artists songs that correspond to a theme, would likely have a significant spend on music licensing fees.

Why are some people’s hair white and some grey?

I wasn’t sure about the answer to this one either. Turns out, according to webmd “your hair follicles have pigment cells that make melanin, a chemical that gives your hair its color. As you age, these cells start to die. Without pigment, new hair strands grow in lighter and take on various shades of gray, silver, and eventually white. Once a follicle stops making melanin, it won’t make colored strands again.” So I guess technically, gray hair could eventually become silver or white, just depending on what your hair follicle does.

Why do men go bald and women not as often?

This is a great question – not one that I had previously wondered or tried to answer. But apparently it has to do with hormones. A by-product of testosterone, DHT, shrinks hair follicles and makes it hard for the follicles to live. Men, who have higher amounts of testosterone, are more likely than women to go bald.

Do bees and flies see in slow-mo?

Slow-mo is short for ‘slow motion’. And this question is very interesting, but really has two parts: how do bees see, and how do flies see?

According to the BBC, flies essentially see the world in slow motion and that is the reason it’s so hard to swat a fly. And despite various searches, I did not find an answer for whether or not bees see in slow motion. Most of the studies I found talk more about the colours that bees can see compared to humans.

If anyone finds out whether or not bees see in slow motion, please let us know in the comments below.

Why do we need oxygen?

So we all know we need to breathe air that contains oxygen, but why do we need oxygen? Those of you who have studied biology or medicine or chemistry may be able to answer this question while you’re wandering your neighbourhood, but not me. ScienceNet explains that breathing produces energy. Basically, “we breathe because oxygen is needed to burn the fuel (sugars and fatty acids) in our cells to produce energy”. The HowStuffWorks team explains we need oxygen for cellular respiration – basically to fuel the cells. Cellular respiration produces heat for body temperature, as well as CO2 – carbon dioxide – and H2O – water. Breathing allows us to take in oxygen and expel CO2 and H2O.

It is amazing to understand how our body works and how efficient these processes are.

Do you think Toady’s mushroom cap is part of his head or is it a hat?

For those who don’t know, Toad is one of the Nintendo Mario characters. It’s a cheerful little character that has a toadstool shape with dots on the top of its head. According to Wikipedia, the mushroom cap was intended to be part of its head. You can also check out this live Q and A with the creator of Super Mario Odyssey for confirmation of this apparently long-running debate, as well as other questions such as why Mario has nipples but no bellybutton(!).

What would happen if everyone on Earth went to the same side and jumped at the same time?

Side note – what is actually amazing is that these seemingly random questions from my teenagers’ minds have largely been asked and answered by others around the world. In this particular case, Business Insider reports that there would be a huge sound, the ground would begin to shake, and if the jump happened near the coast, it could trigger a tsunami with 100 feet tall waves, and possibly an earthquake with a 4.8 magnitude on the Richter scale. The good news is that even if we did this, there would be no effect felt in outer space (which I’m sure you weren’t wondering but might be another interesting follow-up question from your teenager!).

What happens if you get no Vitamin D?

We happen to live in Canada in an area that is quite rainy and many people suffer from Vitamin D deficiency. Recently, during COVID, we have been more diligent about taking daily Vitamin C and Vitamin D supplements. I am guessing that this question arose as a result of us starting to take these important vitamins more regularly. Medlineplus describes the importance of Vitamin D and what happens if you have a deficiency as follows. Vitamin D deficiency can lead to a loss of bone density and a severe deficiency can also cause rickets in children. Rickets is a rare disease that can cause the bones to become soft and bend.

Vitamin D receptors are present on almost every cell of the human body and Vitamin D has been proven to “improve musculoskeletal health and reduce the risk of chronic illnesses, including some cancers, autoimmune and infectious diseases, type 2 diabetes mellitus, neurocognitive disorders, and general mortality.”

So make an effort to get that daily dose of sunlight if you are fortunate enough to live in a sunny place! And if not, then check-in with your medical practitioner to figure out whether you need a supplement.

Where does the term bone-dry come from?

My inquisitive teenager wondered at this as bones have marrow and other substances in them, and are not really dry. During our walk about the neighbourhood, we talked about skeletons, especially those seen in the desert, as a possible reference. Interestingly, the first known use of the phrase bone-dry comes from a clergyman Robert Forby in 1830, and according to this article, it means “completely dry” or “perfectly dry, as dry as a bone long bleached in the weather” which is largely consistent with the images that come to mind from movies where we see an animal skeleton in the desert.

Answers from a Teenaged Mind

And last, but certainly not least, from my husband to my teenaged son, why do you like mini-burgers more than a regular sized burger?

At one of the restaurants we frequent for lunch, they offer an order of three mini-burgers. They also offer a full-sized burger, and my husband was wondering why choose the mini-burgers over the regular burger. According to our son, the answer is that with mini burgers you get the satisfaction of the last bite, three times.

Isn’t it wonderful that his answer is to create a moment to savour, three times, instead of just once?

Reflecting on Connection

What I enjoyed most about hearing these questions, was not necessarily the questions themselves, although some of them are really quite interesting. Rather, I really enjoyed getting that little glimpse into what might be going on in our teenagers’ minds, and the opportunity to connect with each other as a family.

Connection is about feeling a sense of belonging, and as Brené Brown reflects, you can only truly belong when you let people see you, which takes courage.

So take the time to talk with each other. It’s a great opportunity to create a connection and a stronger sense of belonging, which is something we especially need as we collectively weather this pandemic. I also hope that asking what is on your teenagers’ minds and talking about their questions openly helps to create a safe space for them to talk about more significant questions or subjects when they need to.

Maybe this strange time can be an opportunity to embrace wonder, to create curiosity, and to get to know ourselves and others even better.

We would love to hear your feedback in the comments section below.

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