Sarah N

My 6 year old son adores Eric Carle's book The Very Hungry Caterpillar. It has sparked an interest in caterpillars in general, and is prompting him to do more research. He is desperate to know what kind of caterpillar the VHC is. I'd guess it's not based on a particular species of caterpillar but is a composite of various caterpillars. But he's absolutely sure it can be identified, and he wants to know so that he can fact-check the book: does the caterpillar really eat fruit? is it diurnal? does it eat all the way through fruits, leaving a hole? is its head really red? what color is its tongue, because it's purple in the video? He's asking me these questions all day long, and I just don't know enough about caterpillars to answer him.

If you're not familiar with The Very Hungry Caterpillar, you can see a video adaptation of the book here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qoYPLtqqVk

Is the VHC a particular type of caterpillar? If so, what genus and species is it? The more specific your answer, the better!

A plant called "Puncture Vine" grows rampant in our neighborhood, and from its name you can guess what it does to bicycle tires. My kids' bikes are constantly down for maintenance because of it. I had gotten them No Mor Flats foam inner tubes and loved them, but then the kids needed bigger bikes and I'm now looking at having to outfit three bikes with these things. And boy are they expensive!!!! It's going to cost me more than $100 to do it, and I just can't afford it. But it's not going to work for us to just keep using regular inner tubes either, since my kids can't get halfway down the block without popping one.

I'm a pretty handy person and I like DIY, so I was wondering if I could make something that would serve the purpose? By, for example, filling an inner tube with foam spray from Home Depot? It wouldn't have to be high performance since it's just for kids riding bikes around the neighborhood.

I know that AC Milan uses these colors. What other teams use these colors? I'm looking for soccer or football (both kinds) teams, worldwide and American, including college teams. Thanks!

My 5 year old has Asperger's Syndrome, and he doesn't engage in pretend play like most kids his age. In fact he gets very upset if his little brother is pretending to cook toy food or playing other pretend type games. I am at a loss as to what to get him for Christmas, since most toys for kids his age are aimed at pretend play-- play doctor sets, action figures, etc. He also gets violent and scatters pieces of anything that has too many pieces, so puzzles are out. If he had an obsession like many Aspies do, he would be easy to buy for because I could simply buy stuff related to his obsession, but he just isn't obsessed with anything other than making everyone play the way he wants, only he doesn't seem to know what he really wants. Any ideas?

My husband is originally from California. His father passed away 16 years ago. His mother found his father's heirloom handgun and isn't interested in owning it. My husband would like to own it, but we live in Utah. My husband has a concealed carry permit in Utah. This would be so easy in Utah, but California has terribly complicated gun laws. What do we need to do to legally transfer ownership of the gun and also to legally transport the gun to us in Utah (preferably to have it shipped because we can't make it down to California)?

I've seen a few times in church, people will perform a little object lesson. They take a glass of what looks like clear water, add a substance that colors the water and represents sin. Then they take a second cup with a red liquid (representing the atoning blood of Christ) and pour it into the first cup, resulting in the liquid in the first cup becoming clear again.

Can anyone tell me what those substances in the cups might be, and how this trick works?

I'm on the curriculum committee for a charter school and I would like to find a math curriculum something like Alpha Omega's LIFEPAC system, that has a diagnostic test and targeted single-topic workbooks, to do targeted remediation in math. I've used LIFEPACS before and I love them, but the charter school can't use anything that promotes a particular religion. Is there another system like that, but secular?

My doctor put me on 37.5 mg Effexor XR for fibromyalgia on Friday, and since then I haven't slept more than 6 hours total in the last three days. At night I just lay there hoping to fall asleep. I'm tired as hell and dragging my butt around the house, but I can't fall asleep. I called the doctor's office but he is out of the office until Wednesday. Is this normal? Does it go away? If it goes away, how long does it take? Should I quit taking the Effexor? Should I keep taking the Effexor and add something else, like an over-the-counter sleep aid?

So, what do stylish babies wear in Japan? What colors are popular for dressing babies there? Links to pictures would be helpful, so share 'em if you've got 'em!

I got disposable contact lenses and yesterday morning one of them fell out. I found it this morning on my computer, but it was all dry. I can't get to the eye doctor until Monday. If I soak the lens in saline, can I still use it?