[PW] So, when IS ceramic begonias?

[swguardian-stumpers at yahoo.com]

Just a note on the mouse question, which is really very old. 
   
  The centrifugal governor on old steam engines had a weight called a mouse.  
   
  To keep the engine at a specific speed, the governor was set so the mouse (on the end of a centrifugal arm) would rise as the centrifugal force increased, forcing the steam valve to close more. The rpms would then drop to maintain a constant speed. 
   
  The higher the mouse rose, the fewer the rpms 
   
  As for "Chocolate herrings" Yuk! 
  
 John Franklin <jfranklin at project-wombat.org> wrote:
  In Diana Wynne Jones' story "Little Dot," there are three questions 
asked with apparently nonsense answers. A quick Google search assures 
me that the first pair:

"Why is a mouse when it spins?"
"The higher, the fewer."

is not something which Ms. Jones made up herself. (One of the results 
from Google says that the question was originally a reference to a 
common part of a steam engine, which is a pleasing notion.) The third 
question also has a reference to a real-world phenomenon, although 
I'm not sure if the exact question and answer has ever been asked 
before. (I won't reproduce it here because the combination of 
question and answer gives away the plot.) That leaves the middle 
question, which brings up nothing on Google. Does anyone recognize 
it? The exchange is:

"When is ceramic begonias?"
"Chocolate herrings are impure."

(For those wishing to read "Little Dot", it was recently published as 
part of the collection "Unexpected Magic".)

(Yes, I could probably write to Ms. Jones and ask outright. But 
that's less fun that trying to track it down without her help.)

-John Franklin
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Sue Watkins