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In this episode of But Why we visit a credit union to learn what money is all about. And Felix Salmon, Anna Szymanski and Jordan Weissman from Slate Money answer questions about why money plays such a big role in modern society. How was money invented? Why can't everything be free? How do you earn money? How was the penny invented? Why are dimes so small?

Five-year-old Odin in Wyoming is about to start school and he sent us this question: If I’m terrified about kindergarten do I have to go? What should I do if I’m scared? What if kids are mean to me? In this episode, tips and suggestions from our listeners for kids returning to school, along with answers from guidance counselor Tosha Todd and National Teacher of the Year Juliana Urtubey.

Have you ever been threading one leg through a pair of pants in the morning and wondered…why do we wear pants anyway? Or wondered why pockets in clothing designed for girls are sometimes smaller than the pockets in clothing designed for boys? In this episode we’ll tackle your questions about clothes with fashion historian and writer Amber Butchart.

What is the cleverest thing hippos can do? This week we’re answering seven quirky questions about animals! Why do elephants like peanuts? Why do cows put their tongues up their noses? Has anyone ever ridden a tiger? How do woodpeckers cling to trees? Why is some bird poop black and some is white? Why do people make animals like sharks and bears sound way scarier than they are? Answers from Keenan Stears of the University of California Santa Barbara. Christine Scales of Billings Farm & Museum, shark researcher Kady Lyons, and the Bird Diva Bridget Butler.

How are fireworks made? What are fireworks made of? How do they set off? Why are fireworks bright? Why are they loud? And why do we celebrate with fireworks on the fourth of July? We learn about pyrotechnics with Dr. John Steinberg, a physician and licensed fireworks professional. And we’ll hear from David Chavez, an explosives expert at Los Alamos National Laboratory about how changes to the materials used in fireworks can make them better for the environment and unleash new, more vibrant colors in the night sky.