How many of these questions can you answer without calling the New York Public Library's Telephone Reference Service? <P> Who really designed the American flag?<P> How hot is the sun's surface?<P> How does quicksand work?<P> When was the Ark of the Covenant last seen?<P> Who sat at the Algonquin Round Table?<P> Where does the name "The Grateful Dead" come from?<P> Why is Christmas abbreviated as Xmas?<P> Can any creatures besides humans get a sunburn?<P> How many muscles does it take to smile? To frown?<P> Why are rabbits' feet considered good luck? <P> You could, of course, do all the painstaking research yourself. Or you could pick up the phone and call the resourceful, erudite, quick-witted librarians of the New York Public Library's Telephone Reference Service, Tel Ref, for whom questions like these are all in a day's work. For the past twenty years, Tel Ref has met the information needs of a public as diverse as the subjects in the Library's catalog, and now they've compiled their most interesting, unusual, and most-often-asked queries into <I>The Book of Answers</I> -- a delight for browsers, a treasure trove of fascinating information, and the perfect companion to <I>The New York Public Library Desk Reference.</I>