One of the biggest questions in these slightly strained days of fake news is whether or not something is true.

Without getting all epistemological on you, for this week’s Challenge I have a few questions that have come up in my reading over the past few weeks. These are items that I found and puzzled over.

Each time I wondered–Is that true?

Each time I did a bit of SearchResearch and found the answer fairly quickly. But each case was a surprise.

Since we’re slightly off on our regular schedule (this week was busy, so it took me a couple of extra days to get the time to write to you), I’ll issue this Challenge today and answer it next Tuesday (April 18). Then we’ll get back onto the regular Wednesday Challenge / Monday Answer cycle.

Here are three “Is it true?” Challenges for the week. Each one is fun, and shouldn’t take you more than a minute or two to find the answer. (But I suspect you’ll enjoy looking them up.)

1. Is it true that some kinds of female sharks use only one ovary to produce eggs? (That is, only one ovary actually produces eggs, the other is just kind of there?)

2. Is it true that tinnunculite is a real mineral? If so, what does it have to do with kestrels (the raptor)? (I ask because I recognize the name tinnunculus as the species name of the European kestrel. If it’s real, what’s the connection?)

3. Is it true that the journals Science and Nature are going to team up and form a new journal together? (They have long competed to be the world’s preeminent scientific journal, so this was a surprise to read.)

Let us know your answers and what, if any, difficulties you had in figuring them out!

Search on!