Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2016 i Ask Science and Arts Magazine for Kids and Children

THE ITSY-BITSY SNAIL Do you have a shell collection? These snail shells would be awesome to include. But they’re so small that you’d have a hard time showing them off to your friends. Scientists recently discovered seven new species of miniature snails in southern China. All are tiny. The littlest one has a shell less than a millimeter—smaller than a comma on this page. The scientists found the shells at the base of some limestone rocks where the snails probably live. The new species are some of the smallest snails crawling on Earth. But in the ocean, there are snails that make these look like giants. They’re only the size of this period. Ten of these tiny shells can fit inside the eye of a needle. Mars Gets Wetter A…

Butterfly Bluff Harmless viceroy butterflies protect themselves by looking like poisonous monarchs to hungry birds. You can tell them apart by this straight line, which only viceroys have. Sneaky Stripes A hornet’s bold yellow-and-black stripes warn birds and animals to leave it alone or risk a painful sting. But look closely—not every hornet is what it seems. Venomous or Not? To tell a deadly coral snake from a harmless king snake, just remember: “Red on yellow, kill a fellow.” The Legless Look These four animals look alike, but come from completely different animal families. They have evolved similar bodies because they hunt in the same way, slithering underground to catch insects and other small prey. Masked Rascals Despite their name, red pandas are not pandas. They are very distant cousins…

Every August since 1976, the town of Twinsburg, Ohio, hosts the world’s largest gathering of twins. In 2015, nearly 3,000 sets of twins, triplets, and quadruplets showed up. At the annual Twins Days Festival, twins and other multiples enjoy picnics, a parade, costume contests, fireworks, a volleyball tournament, and awards for the most-alike and least-alike. And because twins get tired of being stared at, reporters are strictly forbidden. A Town for Twins Twinsburg is now famous as the town that celebrates twins—but it didn’t start out that way. The town’s original name was Millsville. Then in 1819, twin businessmen Aaron and Moses Wilcox promised to donate money for a new school and land for a town square if the town would rename itself Twinsburg, after them. And it’s been Twinsburg…

Dear Avery and Marvin, I just finished the What Are the Chances? magazine, and it made me think about the chances of this: my name is Avery, and my twin brother is named Marlon (pronounced MAR-lin), which is really close to Marvin. The only difference is that I am not a squirrel, and Marlon is not a raccoon. Your friend Avery, age 10, California Dear Avery, That’s quite a coincidence! Though probably less unlikely than the chance of Marvin and me ever being twins. Your squirrel twin, Avery Dear Marvin, I have a trick for you. If Plush has a mirror in her locker, draw a funny or funky picture. Then attach it to the mirror. Finally, watch Plush have a scare! Also, tell Whatson that I love to read,…

One day at breakfast, Mark Kelly couldn’t resist sharing his food with his identical twin brother, Scott. He couldn’t really share it because Scott was too far away, so he sent his brother a picture. “Sometimes when he sends me pictures of his breakfast I’m a little envious,” Scott said in reply. But he knew his brother was just teasing him. Why would Scott feel jealous about breakfast? Because you can’t get hot, fresh toast in space. Up and Down Scott is the commander of the International Space Station (ISS), where he has been living for a year. His twin, Mark, is also an astronaut, but has spent the last year on Earth. Mark eats regular Earth food, exercises outside, and lives his life as usual. Scott only gets fresh…

Astrotwins by Mark Kelly While astronaut Scott Kelly is up in space, his twin brother, astronaut Mark Kelly, is staying on Earth writing books about twin brothers who want to grow up to be astronauts. In this first book of the series, the twins decide to build a rocket to launch themselves into orbit, right from their own backyard. What could go wrong? Have a Nice DNA by Fran Balkwill and Mic Rolph How can a squiggly bit of protein be so important? DNA is fascinating stuff, and this book does a good job of explaining what it is and how it works. Lots of pictures show both the actual DNA and what’s going on in cells. Master the secrets of the code that controls all life! Actual DNA not…

Have you ever wished you had a twin? Besides always having someone to blame for the mysteriously exploding soda, a double could come in very handy for playing pranks. For this month’s contest, draw up some plans for a truly great prank you could play if you had a twin (or that you’ve always wanted to play, if you are a twin!). Let your devious imagination loose, and we’ll print up a list of the most mischievous to be read by twins everywhere 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 address on your entry. 3. Only one entry per person, please. 4. If…