Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2019 i Ask Science and Arts Magazine for Kids and Children

Tree Squid Surprise Amber is a clear yellow stone. It starts as tree sap, which drips down a tree, dries, and eventually hardens. Sometimes pieces of amber have prehistoric bugs trapped inside, caught as the sap dripped down the tree. But a little chunk of amber from Asia held an unusual surprise. Caught inside was an ammonite—an ancient relative of squid. Were sea creatures climbing trees 100 million years ago? Probably not. Researchers think this bit of amber may have come from a tree near a seashore. A blob of sticky sap fell onto the beach and trapped the ammonite, which had already washed up on the sand. Or maybe a storm blew the ammonite shell into the forest, where it met the sticky tree. Either way, the resin picked…

WEEKS A whale fall can dump years’ worth of food, all at once. The smell wafting through the water attracts creatures from miles around. First to arrive are the fast-swimming scavengers. Sleeper sharks, ratfish, and snake-like hagfish dine messily, spreading bits around the sea floor. MONTHS Next come the smaller feeders: crabs, amphipods, and sea worms. They come in huge numbers. They eat bits of whale and also bacteria. Fish come to eat the small scavengers. YEARS After about a year, only bones are left. Feathery pink bone worms latch on and begin to digest the bone. Thick mats of bacteria spread out along the sea floor. Nutrients from the whale enrich the sea floor all around. Sea worms and sea cucumbers dig through the mud, dining on scraps and…

Do you think of the ocean as twinkling blue water filled with fish? That blue zone is actually just a thin layer at the very top. Deep and Dark As you go deeper, the sunlight from above gets dimmer and dimmer. Below 1,000 meters, the ocean is completely dark. The dark water stretches down for another 2 to 7 miles (3 to 11 km). That makes the dark ocean the largest habitat on earth. It’s also the one we know the least about. Up and Down Every night, huge numbers of small fish, squid, and krill rise up to the surface to feed. During the day, they sink down to the dark zone to hide. Sperm whales breathe air, but they can dive 2,000 meters to hunt giant squid. Cuvier’s…

In the dark? Make your own light. Many animals in the deep sea make their own light. This trick is called bioluminescence. Some produce a glowing chemical called luciferin. Others keep glowing bacteria in pouches in their skin. They don’t stay lit up all the time. Most only glow when they need to. Glow to Hunt  Anglerfish and dragonfish use lighted lures to attract prey. If a curious shrimp swims over...snap! Glow to Escape  The red “fire-breathing” shrimp spits out a cloud of glowing goo to startle bigger fish that want to eat it. World of Big Teeth No plants or algae grow in the dark ocean depths. Animals here have to hunt each other, or rely on food falling from above. Drift Along Many animals drift through the water,…

Say you’re curious about giraffes. You do a web search and click on a link that looks interesting. The information on the web page comes from another computer far away. That computer sends it to yours along a hopping path. Most of its journey is through cables—some under the sea. How does the internet get to your house? How does the internet get under the sea? 1 Make a Glass Cable . Cables that carry the internet on land and under the sea are made of super-clear glass, spun into strands thinner than a hair. Several hundred strands are bundled together. Then they’re covered with layers of metal and plastic to make a cable that’s tough, flexible, and waterproof. Computer signals travel along the glass threads as pulses of…

What you’ll need •A small sealed plastic packet of ketchup that just barely floats in water • A squeezable plastic bottle with a cap • Water What to do 1. Pick a ketchup packet that barely floats, with not much of the packet above water. Test several in a glass of water and pick the best one. This will be your “diver.” 2. Stuff the diver into the bottle. 3. Fill the bottle completely with water, right up to the very top. Screw the cap on tight. 4. Now, squeeze the bottle tightly with both hands. What happens? As you squeeze, the diver should slowly sink. (If it doesn’t, squeeze harder, or try another diver). Loosen your grip, and it will rise. Pretend to command it! What’s going on? When…

Young Marie Tharp thought her dad had the best job ever. He traveled around the country, making maps. His maps were special—they revealed hidden things. They showed where different kinds of soil were, and wet and dry places. That helped farmers know what to plant. He taught Marie to draw maps too. They moved around a lot. Marie changed schools often. But she loved to see the country, and draw, and play her violin. In college, Marie tried lots of different subjects. Her father always told her, “When you find your life’s work, make sure it is something you can do, and most important, something you like to do.” She took classes in art, and music, and math, and teaching, and geology. She couldn’t quite make up her mind. Then…

Send your letters to Ask Mail, 70 East Lake St., Suite 800, Chicago, IL 60601, or have your parent/guardian email us at ask@cricketmedia.com. Dear Plush, Do hippos really make sunscreen that looks like pink slime? And here’s a prank that you may like to prank the king of pranks. 1. Make him go camping. 2. Put a fake snake in his sleeping bag. 3. Watch and enjoy. Sincerely, Sarah L., age 9, Texas Dear Sarah, It’s true, we hippos do make our own pink sunscreen, though I prefer to think of it as glossy rather than slimy. And thanks for the prank idea. I will take it under advisement. I think I could stop at step 1 and have a pretty good laugh. Pinkly, Plush Dear Elvis, I love writing poems!…