Dr. Science’s Ears
In your portrait at the top of your web page, why is your ear perfectly round, and black in the center?
———- from Jeff and Ryan Daniels of Dickerson, MD
First of all, I’d like to compliment you on your powers of observation. Years ago, I had my ears replaced with quartz diaphragms that were the precursors of today’s high quality condenser microphones. These audiophile ears give me superhearing and I can hear someone cough in an apartment building in another city. The black spot in the center is the faux ear canal, actually a solar powered NiCad battery that never needs replacing! You sent your question over the internet but, thanks to my super hearing, I heard you mumbling it to yourself as you typed it, even though you were hundreds of miles away.
