40 Fun Facts About Flush by Carl Hiaasen

How does Paine Underwood put the casino boat Coral Queen out of action at the start of Flush?

He sank it and was in jail by Father's Day, but the stunt backfired: the Coral Queen was refloated and back in business within days.

Which long-lost relative turns out to be the scarred old pirate who rescues Noah and Abbey in Flush?

Their grandfather, Bobby, had been presumed dead for a decade after vanishing in South America, where he was hunting the men who stole his boat.

What do Noah Underwood and Shelly send down the Coral Queen's toilets to make its sewage traceable?

Food coloring was Noah's idea: squeezed into the toilets, it tinted the sewage so the next illegal dump left a visible trail back to the boat.

Which elusive natural sight does the Underwood family finally witness at the very end of Flush?

The green flash is a real optical effect seen just as the sun slips below the horizon, usually lasting no more than two seconds, and the family had never managed to catch it before.

How does little Abbey Underwood fight off the guard who grabs her on the Coral Queen's dock?

She bites him hard enough to make him scream, a habit left over from babyhood, when Abbey bit nearly everyone who came near.

What job does Shelly take aboard the Coral Queen so she can spy on Dusty Muleman in Flush?

Bartender was her old post on the boat, and Dusty, her ex, handed it straight back when she asked.

In Flush, Abbey overhears her mother Donna Underwood discussing which drastic step with a lawyer?

Filing for divorce is Donna's last resort after years of Paine's arrests, and the threat is what finally makes him promise to act more responsibly.

Which Newbery Honor novel was Carl Hiaasen's first book for young readers, published before Flush?

Hoot, about kids protecting burrowing owls from a pancake-house developer, came out in 2002; Flush shares its Florida setting but is not a sequel.

Carl Hiaasen's Flush, the story of a polluting casino boat, is set in which part of Florida?

The Keys are a chain of coral islands off Florida's southern coast, and the waters around them are protected as a national marine sanctuary.

How does Noah Underwood escape the two bouncers who corner him on the Coral Queen's upper deck?

He jumps overboard from the railing into the dark bay, where Abbey is waiting in a small getaway boat to pick him up.

Why does Dusty Muleman dump the Coral Queen's sewage in the bay rather than have it hauled away?

To save money: Dusty is simply too cheap to pay for proper disposal, so the waste drifts onto a shore where local children swim.

Which trait of Paine Underwood's keeps landing him in trouble with the law in Carl Hiaasen's Flush?

Impulsiveness is Paine's flaw: he cares so much about wildlife that he acts first and thinks later, and his wife and children carry the stress.

Which favorite swimming spot of Noah and Abbey Underwood is fouled by the Coral Queen's sewage?

Thunder Beach is where local kids swim, and finding it fouled with sewage is what makes the pollution personal for Noah and Abbey.

What code name do Noah, Abbey and Shelly give their plan to expose the Coral Queen's dumping?

Operation Royal Flush borrows the name of poker's best hand, a fitting joke for a scheme carried out in the toilets of a casino boat.

After Noah and Shelly's toilet scheme, what color is the telltale trail behind the Coral Queen?

Fuchsia showed up as a bright streak when the water was checked from the air the next morning, tying the spill to the boat at last.

When the Coral Queen is destroyed in Flush, what alibi clears Paine Underwood of arson?

Casts on both hands meant Paine could not even strike a match: he had broken them with furious punches at home after hearing Dusty was back in business.

What does Abbey Underwood sneak out with to catch the Coral Queen dumping at night in Flush?

A video camera from home let Abbey film the dumping on her own, but the picture came out too dark and blurry to prove anything.

What really happened to Lice Peeking, whom Shelly feared Dusty Muleman had killed, in Flush?

He ran away scared after a visit from Dusty's bald enforcer, taking Shelly's Jeep and her cash, and stayed out of sight until the boat was shut down.

Where aboard the Coral Queen does Shelly hide Noah Underwood for hours on the night of the sting?

A ladies' room gave Noah toilets of his own to work on, and Shelly hung an Out of Order sign on the door to keep gamblers out.

Why does Paine Underwood refuse bail and choose to stay behind bars early in Flush?

To draw public attention to the dumping, Paine treats his cell as a stage, even giving a television interview from jail.

Billy Babcock tips off Dusty Muleman about coming inspections; who employs Babcock in Flush?

The Coast Guard pays Babcock's wages, but he owes the casino so much that Dusty cancels his gambling debts in return for the warnings.

What were Dusty Muleman's son and his pal Bull smoking when they wrecked the Coral Queen?

Cuban cigars from Dusty's own prized stash did it: the boys lit up in the hold beside several boxes of fireworks, and the boat burned.

After the Coral Queen is destroyed in Flush, what do Dusty Muleman's business partners sue him for?

Embezzlement came to light in the wreckage, where investigators found proof that Dusty had been skimming the takings, and the IRS audited him as well.

What does Paine Underwood offer Lice Peeking in return for a signed statement against Dusty?

His fishing skiff, a bonefish boat worth about ten thousand dollars, was Lice's price for talking: he refused to help for nothing.

What job does former fishing guide Paine Underwood hold when Carl Hiaasen's Flush begins?

Taxi driver is a comedown for Paine, whose environmental protests got him into so much legal trouble that he could no longer work as a skipper.

Carl Hiaasen, the author of Flush, spent decades as a columnist for which Florida newspaper?

The Miami Herald hired him as a reporter in 1976 and ran his column from 1985 until he retired in 2021, by which time he was also a bestselling novelist.

What do Noah and Abbey sabotage so their mother misses Paine's TV interview in Flush?

The satellite dish was put out of action, but the trick failed: neighbors phoned Donna as soon as the segment aired.

How does Paine Underwood get out of jail midway through Flush, to the sheriff's quiet relief?

His cell was left unlocked on purpose: after the TV interview the sheriff wanted his noisy prisoner gone, and Paine turned up at home still in his orange jumpsuit.

After being caught polluting, what lets Dusty Muleman reopen the Coral Queen about a month later?

A small fine settled the pollution case, and Dusty marked the reopening with a big party.

What leaves Noah and Abbey Underwood drifting helplessly overnight after their escape in Flush?

A dead outboard motor let the current carry their little boat away from shore, and they were not found until the next morning.

What is the name of Dusty Muleman's bald, hulking head of security in Carl Hiaasen's Flush?

Luno, a guard from Morocco, is the goon who seizes Abbey by the neck on the dock and later points a gun at both children.

What does the mysterious old pirate use to beat Dusty Muleman's armed guard on the dock in Flush?

A deck mop was all the old man needed to flatten the gunman, buying Noah the seconds he needed to get the children's boat away from the dock.

Which breed of dog did Paine Underwood once seize from owners who were beating them in Flush?

Labrador retrievers, two of them, were confiscated by Paine in one of the earlier stunts a newspaper reporter digs up while he sits in jail.

What design is tattooed on the arm of Shelly, Lice Peeking's tough girlfriend, in Flush?

Barbed wire suits Shelly's hard exterior, yet she proves to have a strong sense of right and wrong and becomes the children's most useful ally.

Why is Paine Underwood sent back to jail for two days after Abbey goes missing?

He removed his ankle monitor to join the search for his daughter, and a deputy came for him at breakfast the next morning.

What protest does the jailed Paine Underwood talk of staging, to his wife Donna's dismay, in Flush?

A hunger strike was floated in a newspaper article about him, and seeing it in print left Donna mortified.

Paine Underwood lost his captain's license after chasing down and tying up which kind of lawbreaker?

A poacher was using an illegal gill net in protected waters, so Paine trussed him up in his own net and was charged with assault for it.

What does Noah Underwood use to snag the shirt of Dusty Muleman's son after being punched in Flush?

A fly rod hooked the back of Jasper's shirt as he motored off, and in the scramble to cut him loose his friend capsized their boat.

Which animal does Noah Underwood try to scare away from the sewage floating off the beach in Flush?

A loggerhead turtle swam toward the muck while Noah stood in it, a reminder that sea turtles lay their eggs on the very beaches being polluted.

Which new job on the water makes Paine Underwood happy again after his release from jail in Flush?

Towing stranded boaters for a firm called Tropical Rescue put Paine back at the helm, though he grumbled about tourists who cannot steer.