Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2018 i Ask Science and Arts Magazine for Kids and Children

Mars Gets a Chopper A new Mars rover will take off for the red planet in 2020. The robot will drive around and search for any signs that microbes ever lived there. And it will travel to Mars with a tiny helicopter attached to its belly. The chopper’s body is about the size of a softball. It weighs less than 4 pounds (1.8 kg). Once the probe lands on Mars, the helicopter will detach and explore on its own. The air on Mars is much thinner than Earth’s air, so the blades will have to spin extremely fast to fly. But if the helicopter works, it could be a big help to researchers. They’ll be able to travel around the red planet without worrying about wheels getting stuck in the…

Imagine picking up a cupcake and getting ready to take a big bite. The cupcake is piled high with frosting and sprinkles. You sink your teeth in, through the sugary frosting and into the center. The custard filling spills out—Eeew! It’s not custard! It’s bitter yellow slime! The smell of rotten eggs fills your nostrils.You try to spit out the slime, but it sticks to your tongue. What’s wrong with this cupcake?! You take a closer look—and notice that the chocolate sprinkles on top are actually tiny, wiggling ants. Are you grossed out yet? There are certain things that most people find icky. Scientists think this is no accident. Disgust may be a feeling that evolved to keep us healthy. Disgusting All-Stars People around the world enjoy very different kinds…

Dear Whatson, Do your read before you go to sleep? I do. It helps me relax. Have you read the Underland Chronicles? And Narnia? They are very interesting. Do you like fiction or nonfiction better? I like fiction more. Yours in bookishness, Rachel R., age 10, Texas Dear Rachel, I love all books about underground. True ones are often stranger! I’m enjoying the Underland Chronicles—though it needs more moles. Bedtime is my favorite time to read. Sometimes I keep right on reading in my dreams. Storyfully, Whatson Dear Marvin, On April Fools Day I smeared toothpaste on my brother’s face. Unfortunately, he woke up and yelled at me. My mom was very unhappy. Do you have any mellow pranks? If so, let me know. Pranksters are the best! Algernon Dear…

Can you guess how the slime eel got its nickname? Step into your underwater time machine and travel back 500 million years, long before T. rex lived. Down at the bottom of the ocean wriggles a pale, eel-like fish, dining on bits of dead creatures. From up above, a shape suddenly looms. Huge jaws open, closer, wider, and... suddenly the skin of the helpless fish spews out a cloud of gooey, sticky slime. The goo fills the hunter’s mouth as it swims off in fright. The fish goes back to its dinner. If you return to the present and look on today’s sea floor, you’ll see almost the same slimy creature. Hagfish haven’t changed much in 500 million years. And why should they? They are champions at what they do…

Valerie Curtis is a “disgustologist” who works in London. She studies health and how people stay clean. She wants to use disgust as a tool to help people get healthy habits. One project Curtis worked on was to try to persuade people living in small villages in India to wash their hands regularly. Many people in these villages did not wash their hands with soap very often. Skipping hand-washing makes it easier for germs to spread. Children in these villages got sick with diarrhea and other illnesses more often than in other places. But the researchers didn’t talk to villagers about tiny germs. Instead, they tried to make people feel that unwashed hands were disgusting. The researchers used skits, cartoons, and games like “poo tag” to make the point that…

Slime is slippery, fun, and useful. We couldn’t eat or breathe without it. Nature is full of it. So why does slime get such a bad rap? For this month’s contest, make a poster to convince the world how wonderful slime really is. What’s your favorite thing about it? Should it get its own holiday? Send us your celebrations of ooze, and we’ll slip a selection of the slimiest into 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 you want your work returned, enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope. 5. Your entry must…

Sleeping Bag of Slime Coral reefs are busy places. They are home to thousands of species of fish and invertebrates. Parrotfish are a familiar sight on reefs. They get their name from their bright colors and teeth that stick out like a beak. They use these chompers to munch on coral to eat the algae inside. They crunch their food very loudly. If you are looking for parrotfish on a reef, follow your ears! At sunset, each parrotfish settles in to make its bed. The fish moves to a sandy spot. Then it starts to spit out slimy mucus. Again and again, the fish opens its mouth. More and more mucus comes out. Finally, the fish is surrounded by a balloon of spit. Then the parrotfish goes to sleep. In…

Fluffy Slime What you’ll need • 2/3 cup school glue• 1/4 cup water• Some foamy shaving cream (ask before borrowing!)• food color• borax mixture (1 teaspoon borax dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water) What to do 1. Mix together glue, water, and food color in a bowl. 2. Stir in 2 or 3 cups (a big lump) of shaving cream. 3. Add one teaspoon of the borax mixture and stir. Keep adding one spoonful at a time until the mixture thickens. What’s going on? Shaving cream foam is full of tiny air bubbles. That makes a puffy slime that’s more like putty than ooze. Sparkly Slime For sparkly slime, use clear school glue instead of white glue in your basic slime recipe (see page 14). Add a few spoonfuls of…