How much tonnage does the city collect in recyclables each year? How much money does it receive, and where does it go?

In 2007 city curbside collections totaled 3,057 tons of cardboard, magazines and newspapers - don't worry, I'm not offended - and 1,397 tons of the plastic and glass containers you cram into those blue bags. Rick Jones, the city's commissioner of public works, provided the figures.

A vendor typically pays the city $13,000 to $15,000 per year for that material, Jones said, and that cash goes into the city's revenue stream to be used for whatever. Keeping it out of the landfill is where the heftier benefit comes in. That reduced the city's landfill fees by $150,000 last year, Jones said.

As for the recyclables, they're sent to a plant near Rockford, Ill., and on to their next incarnation.

Which spheres received the top bids in the Sphere Madness auction?

If this is Greek to you, the question refers to Racine's annual downtown art project. After running out of animals, the organizers focused on inanimate objects the past two summers.

Here are the top-selling spheres, according to Devin Sutherland of the Downtown Racine Corp.:

1) "Princess," $2,150. You might remember it had a Cinderella theme and sat atop a miniature carriage. It sat outside Moxie Child on Sixth Street and was made by Lynn Spleas and Jeff Dolezal.

2) "A Starry Night," $2,050. It's based on the Van Gogh painting "The Starry Night". The buyer is probably staring at it right now while listening to the similarly named Don McLean song. Sherri Shaver designed it, and you might have seen it outside Monfort's Fine Art Gallery on Main Street.

3) "Botanical Bubble," $1,500. Different-colored, textured flowers were on Kathleen Lippold's creation. It was housed at Photographic Design Studio on Sixth Street.

My early plug for next year's project is Brett Favres. Imagine the beauty of 100 plastic No. 4s spread throughout Downtown.

What are those bugs that hover around the treetops at sunset?

My mildly educated guess was gnats. Entomology experts at SC Johnson said that's one possibility, but without a more specific description they couldn't give a definitive answer.

Other possibilities they offered were more familiar. Explanations were passed along via a public relations official:

n Mosquitoes, which according to the experts "swarm to facilitate mate selection and mating"

n Some species of flies (same reason as the 'skeeters)

n Yellow jackets, which "hover and swarm to forage protein (from house flies or other insects)"

Where is the Burlington weather reporting station? It always seems to give high readings.

Meteorologist Mark Baden of WISN-TV (Channel 12) in Milwaukee said his station uses the one at the Burlington Municipal Airport.

When I asked how it's checked, airport manager Gary Meisner joked that a guy sits in a shack and checks a thermometer every once in a while. Actually, he said, the Federal Aviation Administration monitors those things remotely.

For most of Friday afternoon, it registered 78 degrees, if you'd like to compare that to your own experience.

Mike Moore compiles the Glad You Asked column, which seeks answers to questions of local interest. Want something answered? Call us at (262) 631-1758 or e-mail:

ask@journaltimes.com