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This week’s new questions

What causes the slipperiness of playground slides to vary so much throughout the day? And why are there more consonants than vowels in alphabetic languages

Sliding scale In children’s playgrounds, I am always confounded by how the slipperiness of the same slide can vary hugely throughout the day, and on different days. What factors influence this?

Richard Webb

Southsea, Hampshire, UK

Vowel-less Why are there more consonants than vowels in alphabetic languages?

Sasha Belenky

San Diego, California, US

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