Innehållsförteckning för May/June 2016 från Muse: The magazine of science, culture, and smart laughs for kids and children

Reader Rebuttal And now, a response to A PATRIOTIC FRIEND [November/ December 2015]: I think you’re overreacting. I have seen, ever since Muse joined with Odyssey, so many hate letters that they would crush your beloved Muses in a pile of pretentious, prickly paper prose. Saying you would rebel against Muse if they don’t take the Muses back is highly illogical, impatient, and narrow-minded. I am a Whovian, and a Potterhead (what we’re apparently calling ourselves, I’m a Slytherin, nice to meet you), and as a friend, I must say—I’ve always appreciated the content more than who presents it, and I love the students of Parallel U just as much as I loved the Muses. Good job to Caanan Grall, and good luck to Muse, whom I trust to always…

Some problems require hard work to solve. Others require play. Play your way to the solutions to these three challenges. 1. Is it possible to make a tower from six building blocks, so the top block extends past the bottom block completely? Or will this stack always fall over? (Try balancing VERY carefully!) 2. Can you solve these two toothpick puzzles? 3. How many colors do you need to separate all the countries on this map? (The number must be four or less.) 4. Write and sketch your own challenge using everyday objects, art supplies, or toys. A theorem discovered in the nineteenth century states that every map ever drawn requires no more than four colors to separate all the countries.…

Garlic powder, rosemary, cardamom, ginger, mustard, and cinnamon: just the words evoke flavors. Spices like these have high concentrations of chemicals that stimulate our taste buds and sense of smell. But did you know that plants have developed these chemicals as defenses? The chemicals can harm certain animals, bugs, and microbes. We humans have learned how to use dried, powdered plant parts safely to make our food taste better and more interesting. In fact, spicy food can be very healthy for humans. But other critters, especially microscopic ones, have to watch out. You can test plant defenses by watching how yeast reacts to the chemicals in various spices. Yeast are tiny organisms that bakers use to make bread rise. Yeast consume sugar to grow. In the process, they expel carbon…

A TEENAGER you’ve never met asks to follow you on Instagram. You say yes, and you hit it off. He posts funny comments on your pictures and seems nice. A few days later, he asks to meet in real life. What do you do? YouTube star Coby Persin tested three girls with this type of scenario (with their parents’ permission). He pretended to be a kid like them. He could have been anyone—maybe even a dangerous person trying to lure them into a bad situation. But all three teens trusted him and showed up to meet him. One girl even got into his car and then screamed with terror when she saw two people wearing ski masks in the back seat. They were her parents, and they were furious. Persin…

Army of One (Poodle) Dear Whatsi, O, and Aarti, I am an American kitsune named Airisu, which is Iris (like the flower) in Japanese. I have read two of your mags so far and got the impression of lots of hot pink bunnies (mainly the fans) and lots of SCIENCE!!!!!!! I was wondering if you could do an article on ancient Japan. Sadly, I don’t know much about it, and I want to know more! Which is like, my motto. That, or “botany is cool.” I can’t decide. ANYWAYS, I will set my army of poodles and betta fish upon you if you don’t publish this, led by generals Winston the poodle and Lapis Lazuli the betta fish. —AIRISU DAN, THE KITSUNE THAT DOES NOT LIVE IN GEORGIA P.S. The…

This may sound unbelievable, but you can measure the circumference of the Earth using an ordinary ruler. How? First, learn a brilliant measuring technique invented over two millennia ago. Then you can perform this amazing experiment in just a few minutes. It’s easy, and it really works. But there’s just one catch. It will only work on a few special days each year! Eratosthenes and the Remarkable Story Eratosthenes (276–194 BC) was a brilliant librarian in Alexandria, Egypt. Though we sometimes think that everyone once believed the world was flat, educated people in his day already knew the Earth was round. However, no one knew how big the Earth was. According to legend, Eratosthenes heard a story that changed everything: far from his home, on one special day each year,…

MOST BATTERIES are made of two different types of metal and a chemical that connects those metals, called an electrolyte. A battery converts chemical energy to electrical energy to power a circuit. In this experiment, the lemon provides citric acid as the electrolyte. The two metals are the aluminum in the foil and the copper in the penny. When the aluminum reacts with the acid, it loses electrons. When the copper reacts with the acid, it gains electrons. If you connect the copper and the aluminum to the lemon in a circuit, electrons will flow from the foil to the penny, creating a current. You’ll need: 1 lemon Ruler Aluminum foil 1 penny (for best results, use a clean penny minted before 1982) Plastic-coated paperclip 1. Roll the lemon on…

Learn to measure rain, air pressure, and temperature with simple materials and know-how. (We just hope the wild crickets cooperate; see the facing page for more.) Make Your Own Rain Gauge You can find out how much rain falls where you live by making a rain gauge. Measuring rainfall is important to meteorologists. They keep track of how much rain an area gets in one day. Then they compare that amount to other days and other seasons and report patterns or unusual activity, like an especially dry period. YOU’LL NEED: Wide-mouth jar or glass with a flat bottom Plastic ruler Tape (clear packing tape works best) Notebook or note-taking app WHAT TO DO: 1. Set the ruler in your jar or glass. Tape it to the side. 2. Find a…

What does a magnet stick to? If you walk around checking, you’ll end up with a list of metal stuff, including pots and pans, paperclips, and the refrigerator door. These things all contain some iron, cobalt, or nickel—the only three elements that can be magnetic. (The stuff in your house most likely contains steel, which is made from iron.) The “magic three” elements have unusual electrons. These tiny particles are found inside atoms and carry electric charge. They also have a feature called “spin.” In most elements, the electron “spins” go in different directions. But in iron, cobalt, and nickel, the spins line up, like figure skaters spinning in unison. This generates a tiny amount of magnetic force. The magnetic atoms form little groups, called domains. Most of the time,…

Most people can barely remember their passwords. But Alex Mullen, 2015 World Memory Champion, can memorize 400 digits in just five minutes. Of course, pulling that off requires a genius IQ, right? Nope. Just great technique. Expert strategies take time to learn, but basic strategies can boost memory in minutes. MEMORY CHALLENGES> Take these memory tests before you read any further. You’ll need paper, a pencil, and a timer. Shopping list: Give yourself one minute to memorize this list in order. Then spend five minutes reading another article. When time is up, write the list down on your paper. You score one point for each item in the correct spot on the list. 1. lotion 2. honey 3. gum 4. pepperoni 5. garlic 6. raspberries 7. salsa 8. peanuts 9.…

Solar panels seem like an ideal way to power a satellite in space. However, such panels typically cover a large area. Sending a panel into space means collapsing it into a small package that can be launched in a rocket capsule. Once in space, the panel has to unfold itself to attach to the satellite and begin converting sunlight into electricity. What would a panel that easily folds and unfolds look like? You might envision a panel that collapses and expands like a hand fan or an accordion. But other possibilities may work even better in space. One source of inspiration is origami—the ancient Japanese art of paper folding. In recent years, mathematicians, origami artists, and others have been uncovering more and more of the mathematical rules that underlie paper…

You are deep in sleep, dreaming about strolling leisurely through an endless pasture of green grass. In your mind’s eye, you see an array of cows and camels. (Where can you be? You don’t live on a dairy farm, and the last time you saw a camel was on your first-grade trip to the zoo!) Nevertheless, four of the cows—two of which are shown here—are playing hide-and-seek with the camels. The clever camels have found a way to hide from the cows, provided that the cows remain in certain squares on the grid. From its square, each cow can see in all straight-line directions (horizontally, vertically, diagonally). Can you add two more cows and three more camels in such a way that none of the cows can see any of…

Q: If there’s scientific proof that we are creating climate change, why do some people not believe it? —Catherine A: When scientists first announced that humans might be making the planet warmer by releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, it made sense to question them. “A skeptic is someone who wants proof before she believes something,” says David Barash, a psychologist at the University of Washington who has written about the importance of honest skepticism in science. “Skepticism is a really good thing, and it’s an important part of being a scientist.” Climate change was one guess about how greenhouse gases would affect the planet. But “it’s a big claim, and it requires big evidence,” Barash says. Scientists had to check it out. In the decades since those first announcements,…

NEW CONTEST Maker-gram Let’s see . . . here’s a peppermint, a paperclip, and a papaya. The possibilities are endless! This issue includes things you can make or do with simple household objects. Send us a photo of something you created out of seemingly ordinary stuff you have at home. (Don’t forget to tell us your creation’s purpose!) CONTEST RULES 1. Your contest entry must be your very own original work. Ideas and words should not be copied. 2. Be sure to include your name, age, and full address on your entry. 3. Only one entry per person, please. 4. If you want your work returned, enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope. 5. All entries must be signed by a parent or legal guardian, saying that this is your own work…