Hey Answer Girl --

For the first war with Iraq, "Desert Storm," my brother said it was for oil. I believe I read someplace that Kuwait called the women of Iraq a bad name. Which one of us is right?

--Mickey M.

I hate to become involved in sibling rivalry, but I'm going to have to agree with the brother.

Operation Desert Storm during the Gulf War was oil related, according to military documents in the National Security archive.

In 1990, Saddam Hussein's Iraq invaded Kuwait. Although Kuwait was a sovereign nation, Hussein had long considered it part of his territory. Freedom, apparently, was not his cup of tea.

Desert Shield, the first United States operation of the Gulf War, was actually designed more to protect Kuwait's oil-rich neighbor, Saudi Arabia.

Desert Storm was basically everybody against Iraq, which at the time had the fourth largest military in the world. Kuwait, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, Egypt, Syria, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Canada, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Honduras, Italy, Niger, Romania and South Korea banded together for the Gulf War.

Odd fact: Kuwait supported Iraq in the Iran-Iraq War, which took place from 1980 to 1988.

As far as the history books tell, name-calling was not a major factor in the war. However, history didn't necessarily play out exactly as it's written, so name-calling could have been a factor that was left out of most written documentation.

Hey Answer Girl --

If white wine is clear, why is it called white wine?

--Alan from Casper

White wine gets its name from the skin color of the grapes used in making it.

While I wouldn't exactly call the skins "white" -- they look a little more yellow-green to me -- the skins of grapes used to make red wine also aren't what I'd label as "red." Those are more burgundy-purple.

Inside, red and white grapes are the same color (ooh, symbolism!)

To be honest, I'd rather be able to order "white wine" or "red wine" before I'd want to call for more "yellow-green" or "burgundy-purple." It just sounds better.

And although "white" wine may seem like a misnomer, it's one that has lasted through the ages. In 2006, archaeologists in Barcelona discovered containers holding white wine in King Tut's tomb.

If "white" wine is good enough for ancient Egyptian pharaohs, it's good enough for me.

Contact reporter Megan Lee at (307) 266-0589 or megan.lee@trib.com

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Answer Girl tackles your questions about Casper, the universe and everything else. Submit your questions by email to megan.lee@trib.com, or call Megan Lee at 266-0589. You can also write to Answer Girl, Box 80, 170 Star Lane, Casper WY, 82602.