Innehållsförteckning för February 2021 från Muse: The magazine of science, culture, and smart laughs for kids and children

Change Is Gonna Come This is an important message by the Supreme Leader of the Hot Pink Bunny Research Labs (HPBRL). The HPBs are evolving, but not in the way you think they are. Somehow, the HPBs got ahold of a smartphone and watched a movie where a person wakes up and finds out that he can shape-shift. Inspired, the HPBs made a machine that made most of the Hot Pink Bunnies into shape shifters. Here are some instructions to stay safe from the infiltrating HPBs. 1. Ask security questions to all of your family members, because the shape-shifting HPBs can’t absorb memories. 2. Check if any animals are acting strangely, because the HPBs can mimic animals. There are also more evolved HPBs, which have developed special traits. For example,…

Shawn Springs played NFL football for more a decade, from 1997 to 2010. In 2011, he became interested in learning about new crash-safety technology in football helmets. Combining that knowledge with his own experiences wearing sports equipment, Springs started Windpact. The company works to make collisions safer, in everything from Major League Baseball to a ride in the park. COULD YOU TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR LIFE AND WORK? I played high school football, then I was awarded a scholarship to play at the Ohio State University. I was drafted—I was the highest corner drafted in the history of the NFL—to the Seattle Seahawks. I played there for seven years, and then I went to Washington for five years. And then I went to New England to play for…

Heads, you win Heads or tails? Flipping a coin is a common way to start off a game or settle a question. Because you expect that the coin is as likely to come up heads as tails, it sounds like a fair way to make a choice. But is it really? Here’s something you can try with a US penny. The results may surprise you. Test Real Pennies Stand a dozen or more pennies on edge on the surface of a table. It may take patience, but if the table is smooth and flat, you should end up with an impressive cluster of upright coins. Then let the pennies fall over. You might have to bang the table to get them all to topple. Count how many land with tails…

Some nonprofits help people with a wide range of disabilities play games. AbleGamers in the USA and Special Effect in the UK create customized gaming setups to suit each individual’s needs, such as modifying game controllers with special voice or chin controls. Perhaps the most extreme example is StarGaze, Special Effect’s eye-gaze technology, which allows someone to control computers with just their eyes. These charities give away controllers and support for free and rely on donations and volunteers to help as many people as possible. Why not check them out to see if you can help raise funds or spread awareness of their work?…

NEW CONTEST Double the Fun Sure, soccer’s fun. So’s lacrosse. But what about soccer-lacrosse? Or cross-country-basketball? Or ski-polo? Take your two favorite sports and combine them in the best possible way. Send us words or pictures showing off a winning moment in your delightful double-trouble game. 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 and no help was given and granting permission to publish. For detailed…

See what happens when a game doesn’t have an objective, clear rules, or meaningful choices. Play each of these games a few times the normal way, then a few times with our changes. Which component is missing from the new version of each game? Which version do you like better? Crazy 8s • Any card can be played on top of any other card. Go Fish • When one player asks for a card, the player being asked always closes their eyes and gives away a random card from their hand. Tic-Tac-Toe • Instead of stopping when a player gets three in a row and wins, play until the grid is full, then make a new grid and keep going until you’re tired of playing.…

Imagine crawling up a frozen waterfall. It’s cold. It’s difficult. It’s dangerous. Patti Poulis, of Ouray, Colorado, climbs frozen waterfalls for fun. “It’s a beautiful sport,” she says, “and it’s a challenge.” The climber has to stay focused, because ice changes all the time. It might be sticky (good) or brittle (not good). If it’s brittle, the climber has to move sideways, looking for a better spot. “Sometimes, I feel like a bug on a wall,” Poulis adds. How Ice Climbing Began For centuries, mountain climbers who encountered ice used axes to hack out steps, one by one. Two inventions changed that. Crampons (spikes that attach to boots) were invented in 1908. In 1966 came the curved ice pick. Now climbers could scale vertical ice, and a new sport was…

MAYBE YOU HAVE WORSE LUCK THAN CHARLIE BROWN WHEN IT COMES TO KICKING A FOOTBALL. You’re ready to try a new sport, and you’re looking for something really different. Which of these unusual sports could you actually play, and which are imaginary? TAKE THE QUIZ AND THEN CHECK YOUR ANSWERS UNDERWATER HOCKEY ☐ REAL ☐ IMAGINARY Take a puck heavy enough to sink, a snorkel, a stick, and some flippers, and head to the bottom of the pool. You can’t talk to teammates underwater, but you’d better communicate somehow, because opponents may be swimming above, below, or around you toward your goal. When you’re out of breath, you’ll have to kick to the surface. Will someone else reach the puck before you dive back into action? CANINE FREESTYLE ☐ REAL…

REMEMBER THE LAST TIME THE REFS BLEW A CALL IN YOUR FAVORITE SPORT? Maybe they misjudged where a ball landed or missed an obvious penalty. Could computers equipped with tracking technology do a better job? Most sports now use slow motion replay technology to reconsider calls. And some sports have taken things a step farther. They’ve begun using technology in place of a human referee. In WorldTeam Tennis matches, a computer system called Hawk-Eye Live judges whether the ball lands in or out of the lines of the court. In Atlantic League baseball, umpires now wear a headset connected to a computer system called TrackMan. The system watches each pitch come in, then tells the human umpire whether to call it a ball or a strike. Similar robotic systems could…

TECH DESK Spying Penguin Poo from Space EMPEROR PENGUINS MAKE THEIR HOME IN FRIGID ANTARCTICA. It’s hard for humans to travel around that continent and observe them. So for many years, scientists have used satellites to search for emperor penguins. The satellites orbit Earth and take pictures of what’s below. Scientists study satellite pictures of Antarctica to find emperor penguin groups, called colonies. Wherever there’s a colony, the white ice is stained brown from the birds’ poop. Now scientists have started using different satellites with a more high-res view. And these more detailed images helped them discover more emperor penguins. The scientists added 11 penguin colonies to the ones they already knew about. That makes a total of 61 known colonies. Emperor penguins use these sites to mate and raise…