Janet Benson, age 13, of High Point, North Carolina, for her question:

Why does red anger a bull?

For ages, people have thought that a bull becomes furious at the sight of a waving red rag, a flag or a matador's scarlet cape. True, these objects do tend to trigger the short tempered fellow into a rage. But scientists have discovered that the red color has nothing to do with the tantrum. The bull would become just as angry if the waving rag were blue or green or any other color. In fact, he would not know the difference.

It has been proved that the bull and all his cattle kinfolk are color blind. They see the world in subtle shades of light and dark grays. But their eyes detect movement, the slightest movement in their shadowy world. And a bull, being a short tempered animal; assumes that a moving object is a threat. It seems like a good excuse to start a fight and often he charges without waiting to investigate. But it is the motion of the object and not its color that attracts his attention and triggers his angry reaction.