So why do we have to sleep, anyway? I hate spending almost a third of my life in a coma. –Bill Toman, Madison, Wisconsin
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(2) Sleep conserves energy. It takes a lot of energy to keep us warm-blooded critters warm. Since energy consumption drops during sleep, maybe we doze so we don’t have to eat all day long (not that that stops a few people I could name). Supporting this theory is the fact that cold-blooded animals have a much less regular sleep-wake cycle.
(3) Sleep keeps you out of trouble. No kidding. Says here, “according to this theoretical position, prehistoric mankind adapted the pattern of sleeping in caves at night, because it protected humans from species physiologically suited to function well in the dark, such as saber-toothed tigers.”
Where does the expression “mind your P’s and Q’s” come from? Does it mean politeness and quietness? Also, I recently came across the phrase “a labor organizer traveling on the q.t.” What does q.t. stand for? –Kimberly Taylor, New York City
The simplest explanation is that the expression refers to the difficulty kids have distinguishing lower-case p and q, mirror images of each other. Mind your you-know-whats was thus a teacher’s admonition to students. Plausible? Yes. Sexy? No. Being a slave to facts is such a drag.
