Ask Science and Arts Magazine for Kids and Children July/August 2015

SNEAKY SNAKES The arachnid-tailed horned viper has a clever trick for attracting its dinner. Its curious tail looks amazingly like certain scorpions or spiders, especially to a hungry bird. If a bird comes to check it out, the snake wags its tail to make it look even more convincing. When the bird tries to eat the “spider,” the snake strikes and nabs the bird instead. These snakes live in remote regions in the Middle East. For a long time, scientists only had one to study. At first they thought the tail was a tumor or defect, but when a second spider-tailed snake turned up, researchers realized that its odd tail is perfectly normal—and very useful. Turn Off the Lights! Animals in wildlife preserves and national parks are mostly safe from…

The year is 70 BCE. Off the small Greek island of Antikythera, a large wooden sailing ship carrying wine and treasure to Rome is blown off course by a storm. Suddenly, the great ship hits a rock and sinks, scattering its precious cargo over the sandy seabed. And there it waits for 2,000 years. Stormy Seas Another storm led to the wreck’s discovery. In the fall of 1900, a sponge-fishing boat was blown to the same spot. When the weather cleared, one diver went down to look for sponges. He wore the best diving gear available in 1900—a canvas suit with a metal helmet. Air was pumped to the helmet through a hose from the boat. But at this spot, instead of sponges, he found something amazing! Statues of people…

An Ordinary Voyage In early November 1872, two small, sturdy sailing ships, the Mary Celeste and the Dei Gratia, set out from New York bound for Genoa, Italy. The autumn had been stormy, but both captains expected a routine voyage. Captain Benjamin Briggs of the Mary Celeste and Captain David Morehouse of the Dei Gratia were friends and dined together before they set sail. They would never see each other again. The Mary Celeste had a crew of seven. She had just been repaired and was in tip-top shape. On this trip, the hold was packed with 1,701 oak barrels of nondrinkable alcohol for use in industry. Accompanying Captain Briggs was his wife, Sarah, and their young daughter, Sophia. Sarah brought along her sewing machine and a small piano. Their…

Shipworms start nibbling while the ship is still afloat. They are not worms at all, but long, thin clams that dig into wood with two small shells near their heads. Baby shellfish and corals latch onto the wood and start to grow. Gribbles are crustaceans (like shrimp) about the size of a grain of rice. These odd sea dwellers eat mainly wood—even though no trees grow in the ocean! All their food comes from the land. Sponges are simple animals that look like plants. They filter food out of water flowing through their hollow bodies. Sea urchins and anemones anchor on. Conches and crabs hide under the wreck and eat the seaweed. Moray eels hide in holes and ambush fish and other small reef animals. Corals spread. Coral animals (called…

Call in the engineers! Why ships float (or don’t) Any object will float if it weighs less than a block of water the same size. But if it weighs more than a block of water the same size, it will sink. This ball of clay weighs more than a ball of water the same size, so it sinks. But if you shape the clay into a boat, it floats. Why? It floats now because the boat and the air inside it weigh less than a boat-plus-air-sized chunk of water. Big, heavy ships can float as long as they have enough air or light things inside. But if you load them up too full, or if a leak replaces the light air inside with heavy water, they will sink. How to…

Dear Marvin, I love raccoons and pranks! I have got a good one for you. You know the bags that hold the cereal in the cereal boxes? Switch the bags around and laugh out loud! Do you have any good pranks I could use on my brother? Prankster raccoons forever! Gabrielle H., Colorado Dear Gabrielle, Ha ha! That is a great prank, thanks! I’m starting a campaign to make the first day of EVERY month a pranking day, not just April 1. One day a year is not nearly enough. Especially if you have brothers. Have you tried the Jello juice? Or paper wads in shoe toes? Happy Mayhem, Marvin Dear Elvis, I hear you like dried meal worms. You might have the appetite of a hedgehog. I petted a…