Good Questions: Winter Zoo Animals, Sneezing Eyes, Funny Bones

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Jessie from Maple Grove wants to know: What happens to zoo animals in the winter?

The polar bears and other cold weather animals at St. Paul's Como Zoo do not have a problem being outdoors. But animals that come from warmer climates spend most of the winter indoors. Those animals include primates, such as gorillas and orangutans.

But it is especially the case for giraffes, who cannot stick their necks outside when it is colder than 50 degrees. Their bodies are not made for cool weather.

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Lisa wants to know: Why can't we keep our eyes open when we sneeze?

Doctors say it is not exactly known why we blink when we sneeze. What we do know is that it is a reflex, like when your leg kicks out when your knee is tapped.

What happens is the nose and eyes are linked by nerves. The stimulation from a sneeze travels up one nerve to the brain, then down another nerve to the eyelids -- causing you to blink.

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Some viewers wanted to know why we call our funny bone, well, our funny bone!

It is obviously called the funny bone because it feels funny when you bump your elbow. But the tingling sensation has more to do with your ulnar nerve.

The funny feeling happens when that nerve is bumped against the humerus bone, which is the long bone that runs from your elbow to your shoulder.

Dr. David Hilden with Hennepin County Medical Center says the ulnar nerve runs all the way down to your pinky and ring finger, which is why you also feel that tingling sensation in your fingers when you hit your funny bone.