Indholdsfortegnelse for February 2021 i Ask Science and Arts Magazine for Kids and Children

Eat More, Grow Arms Sea anemones look sort of like ocean flowers. Attached to a rock or other surface, they wave finger-like petals in the water. But anemones are really a kind of animal. Their petals are tentacles. And for one kind of anemone, the number of tentacles it grows depends on how much it eats. Scientists studied creatures called starlet sea anemones. They all start out with four tentacles. If they don’t get enough food, they don’t grow any more. But when there’s food around, they grow extra wiggling tentacles. The more food there is, the more tentacles they make. Some of the anemones end up with 24 tentacles, or six times as many as they start with. That’s like if you stuffed yourself with turkey sandwiches and grew…

Sound familiar? Children have probably been hearing this since families lived in caves. Games played outdoors, in teams or alone, running around or on a game board, are as old as the ball (ancient Egyptian balls were made from linen). Kids around the world still play some of these games. Others have been lost in the mists of time. Bzzzzzzz. “I will chase the bronze fly . . .” (1) These children in ancient Greece are playing Bronze Fly, a type of tag. One blindfolded player tries to catch the others, who make buzzing sounds and tap him with whips made of reeds. (2) Or how about a fast game of knucklebones? Using small bones from the feet of goats or sheep, children played games similar to marbles, dice, and…

The first Olympics took place in Greece around 2,500 years ago to honor Zeus, king of the gods. They were a bit different from today’s games. All the contestants were male, and they had to compete completely naked. There were no women’s games, and any woman caught watching could be put to death. Athletes risked being killed or maimed in some of the more brutal events, such as boxing and the pankration. There were also poetry readings and a trumpet competition. PANKRATION In this no-holds-barred gruesome fight, the winner was the one left standing. Rules were enforced by referees wielding sticks. LEAFY PRIZE Winners did not get medals. Instead, they got a crown of olive leaves from Zeus’s temple. But their home towns often gave winners money, jars of olive…

Your toes grip the edge of the pool. Your heart pounds. Your body tenses. A horn blasts, and you dive into the smooth blue water. Knowing your first stroke is important, you break out and pull hard, propelling yourself forward with all your strength. As you near the end of the lane, you flip and head back. Your muscles burn. Your arms and legs feel like stone, but you keep going. You can’t see anyone in the frothy water. Are you pulling ahead? You touch the wall, and you’re done! You check the time clock as you catch your breath. The swimmer in lane 3 smiles. “Great race!” You shake hands and say, “Thanks... and congratulations!” You lift yourself out of the pool, exhausted and disappointed. You swam your best,…

What’s your favorite sport or game? And what would make it even better? Rocket-powered shoes? Croquet wickets that walk around? For this month’s contest, imagine a new, improved piece of equipment or other change that would take play to a new level. Draw us a picture of your super gear, and the team will try out the most tempting in an upcoming issue of Ask. Contest Rules: 1. Your contest entry must be your very own work. Ideas and words should not be copied. 2. Be sure to include your name, age, and state on your entry. 3. Only one entry per person, please. 4. Your entry must be emailed by a parent or legal guardian, saying it’s your own work and that no one helped you, and that Ask…

Those are weird glasses! It’s a video display. When I put it on, there’s a screen in front of my eyes that shows me a baseball stadium with a pitcher on the mound. Can you see all around? Yes! If you turn your head you can see the sky and the stands. But mostly I look at the pitcher. He’s a computer image, but he moves just like a real pitcher throwing a ball. What’s it for? The idea is to help batters practice against all kinds of pitches. For me, I want to get better at hitting right-handed sliders. So I tell the computer to show me some sliders. I won’t know which one’s coming. Then I can work on my swing and timing. Does the all-around video ever…

SKATES THAT CLAP Ice skates have been around since the Stone Age, letting racers slide along on thin blades made of bone or metal. But in 1996, some speed skaters started wearing weird skates. The blade heel wasn’t stuck to the shoe. It lifted up and down with a loud CLACK CLACK. Within three years, nine world records were broken. The record for the 1,000 meter race was broken four times! What’s their secret? What Makes It Better? Regular ice skates have a long blade fixed to a boot at the toe and heel. Clap skates are a bit different. They have a hinge that connects only the front of the boot to the blade. When the skater lifts her heel, the heel comes up off the blade. The blade…

Dear Whatson, I am a complete and total bookworm. My favorite series are Wings of Fire and Warriors. I love golden snub-nosed monkeys, chinchillas, all kinds of rabbits and mythology! What’s your favorite book and type of worm? Happy reading! Grace P., Maryland Dear Grace, You have great taste in books! And in companions. If you like mythology and rabbits, how about mythological rabbits? Like in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland? I find that goes nicely with a big bowl of nightcrawlers. Mmm! Happy adventuring! Whatson Dear Marvin, I have a prank for you! First put whipped cream on Plush’s hand while she’s asleep. Then tickle her nose so she wakes up and scratches her nose! And could you do an issue on Pennsylvania? Like ALL of the history. Sincerely, Eli…

The party is over, and there’s one tasty chunk of cake left. You should really share that last piece with your sister. And no fighting! How can you make sure that each of you ends up happy? You Cut, I Choose One popular solution is “I cut, you choose.” In this method, one person cuts the cake (or whatever needs dividing), but the other one gets to choose which half they want. This way, the person doing the cutting will try to make sure the pieces are equal. People have been dividing cakes, land, treasure, and other stuff this way for thousands of years. But what do you do if three or more people want to divide a cake fairly? First Call You can get a friend to help. She…