BYU NewsNet - Get Answers in 100 Hours

Have you ever wondered how much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

The 100 Hour Board, run by the BYU Linguistics Club, promises to answer this and any other question submitted by students - within reason and content - from Chorea in Zimbabwe to why there is a naked Indian statue on campus. All questions are answered in 100 hours or less.

"We are able to comment on everything from BYU sports to politics to deep religious questions," said a volunteer writer - a.k.a. Horatio - in an e-mail interview. "And, while we never claim to represent an official church or BYU position, the writers have a chance to answer very interesting gospel-based questions."

The answer gurus who delight in answering student questions are all volunteers and, like Horatio, reply under pseudonyms. Students who post questions by going on to the Web site and clicking on the link "Ask A Question," also have the option to remain anonymous and are given more access to the site after registering.

"Because it's anonymous, you can ask any question you want to without worrying about what people higher than you might think," said Alicia McCleve, 19, a sophomore from Payson. "They can't judge you because they don't know who you are."

Horatio adds: "We learn a lot about people at BYU that you wouldn't normally find. When people ask their questions, we get a peek at another side of BYU. We hear ideas that people normally don't express and we respectfully answer any respectfully asked question."

The site delves into campus urban legends such as "Does the Brigham Young statue in front of the Abraham Smoot Administration Building really do the funky chicken?" to questions that have plagued man for ages like, "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie-roll pop?" to spiritual and religious questions, "Which is the greater victory, over death or sin?"

"We actually research our answers," Horatio said. "The 100 Hour Board writers truly go out and find answers to the answerable questions. In some cases, that takes a few moments, but we also get some pretty difficult puzzles to solve. By our powers combined, we find an answer to almost every question in 100 hours or less." The variety of questions posted, from the hilarious to the somber, adds to the charm of the site.

"It's really addicting," McCleve said. "It's hard not to read it every day."

Jennie Smith, 19, a sophomore from Kent, Wash., stumbled upon the site after seeing a sign for it in the Wilkinson Student Center and is now a loyal fan.

"That's my favorite type of humor," she said. "It's so random, it's funny."

Many students don't know about the 100 Hour Board and what a great opportunity it is to get the most pressing questions answered, she said.

"Just knowing about the board is the biggest thing," Smith said. "People don't know what they might be missing."

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Some of the most common questions asked

1. Why is the sky blue?

2. Are there tunnels under campus?

3. Should I watch an R-rated move?

4. What is a werf?

5. Should I buy a Mac or a PC computer?

6. How much wood could a woodchuck chuck?

7. Why are doors to campus buildings really hard to open?

8. What's wrong with my computer and how do I fix it?

9. How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie-roll pop?

10. Why is there a statue of a naked Indian on campus?

For the answers to these questions, go online to http://theboard.byu.edu

(For comments, e-mail Constance Yonashiro at pareidolias@gmail.com)