Things That Confuse Me.

I think that I'm a fairly intelligent person.  I have experienced academic success over the years, and have demonstrated particular aptitude in the area of problem solving.  Yay, me.  But, alas, there are some things that confuse me, and they do so with no concern for my well-being.  Here is an (abridged, I'm sure) list of such things:

1. How is it possible that The Babysitter's Club members are always in 8th grade at Stoneybrook Middle School, despite the fact that they have year after year of summer vacations? (And, poor Mallory and Jessi--they're doomed to a life as "junior" club members, due to the fact that they just can't get out of 6th grade!)

2. Teachers always told me that I needed to learn the quadratic equation because I would use it, along with lots of other math terms, throughout my life.  When, exactly, did they mean?  Have I missed out on some (very exciting and important) aspect of life???

3. What happened to Kelly Kapowski during those episodes when Tory showed up? (I expect that, if you're within 5 or 6 years of my age, you know exactly what I'm talking about, so I'm not going to explain further).

4. How is it possible that we have excessive amounts of food on this planet of ours, and yet there are people who die--daily--due to starvation?

5. Why did Mickey Mouse get pants, but Donald didn't?  Also, why is Goofy a friend, but Pluto's a pet?

6. Why do so many people deliver messages of love with so much hatred in their voices?

7. Who decided that "ough" in a word could be pronounced 25 different ways?  Also, who picks the genders of various items (as is the case in so many other languages)?  I feel like an ipod would be masculine, but I don't know why...

8. Similarly, why is it so wrong to end a sentence with a preposition?  Was this a decision made at the GSAC (Grammar Snobs Annual Conference) in 1817?

9. Are there really still people out there who look at pictures of themselves with mullets and think, "Now, that was a great haircut!!!"?

10. And, for all you "Alice in Wonderland" fans out there, why is a raven like a writing desk?

Talk amongst yourselves.