Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2020 i Ask Science and Arts Magazine for Kids and Children

Nar-WHO-ga? An unusual skull arrived at a museum in Denmark in 1990. The skull came from a hunter, who said it had belonged to a weird-looking sea creature. Recently, scientists decided to take a closer look at the old skull with new technology. It turned out to be a narluga—an unusual cross of two different species. The animal’s father was a beluga whale. Its mother was a narwhal. The researchers figured out its identity by studying DNA from the skull and teeth. Male narwhals usually have just one tooth, which grows out of the front of the animal’s head like a unicorn horn. Belugas have lots of teeth. The narluga had an in-between number of teeth, some pointing forward like a narwhal tusk. Scientists have never seen an animal quite…

Q Why don’t I ever see baby pigeons? A Pigeons build their nests high up on buildings, where they’re hard to spot. Baby pigeons stay snug in their nest until they are adult sized. But you might have seen a teenage pigeon. They sometimes follow their parents around, cooing and begging for food. Q Can you have too many pigeons? A No way! Unless, of course, you think there is such a thing as too much pigeon poop. Q Is it true that pigeons make milk? A Pigeons make something called “crop milk” to feed their babies. It’s not really milk—it’s a rich white liquid made by cells in the pigeon’s crop, a special pouch in the neck. Pigeon parents—both moms and dads—feed this crop milk to their squabs, or…

It can be tricky to tell how smart animals are—they can’t answer questions. But scientists can give them tests to see what they can do. Pigeons have lots of natural skills. They can read landscapes like a map. They can find their way home from places they’ve never been. They can recognize human faces, and keep track of hundreds of pigeon friends. But can they count? Many animals can tell less from more, and keep track of 3 or 4 objects. Pigeons can count much higher. They can learn to peck at groups of objects in counting order (the group with one first, then the group with two, etc.), no matter what the objects are. This shows that they understand the idea of numbers. Pigeons can also learn to peck…

Where are the passenger pigeons? You’ve never seen a passenger pigeon. But not too long ago, millions of them filled the skies. Suddenly, the bright noonday sky turns black, and the sound of millions of flapping wings fills the air. The cloud of birds passes on, and on, and on, and you think it will never end. That’s what it was like when a flock of passenger pigeons passed overhead. Yet now, they are extinct. There are none left. What happened? Passenger pigeons looked a bit like mourning doves, but bigger. They lived in the woodlands of eastern North America. Passenger pigeons were once the most common bird in the world. They flew from forest to forest in massive flocks that might contain a billion birds. A single flock, seen…

Do you recognize this symbol? You see it everywhere—three bent arrows in a triangle. The pattern stands for recycling, If you look at a few in different places, you may discover that the symbol comes in two different forms. On one, all the bent arrows are the same. But on the other, one arrow is different. It bends the other way. Which version do you see more often? This all-same version has a special mathematical property. If you turn the pattern one third of the way around, it looks exactly the same as it did before the turn. Shapes that look the same if you rotate them are said to have rotational symmetry. Symmetry means that an object is balanced, and looks the same if you rotate or flip it.…

Q What’s the difference between a pigeon and a dove? A Mostly…the name. There are about 250 species of pigeons and doves in the world. Some are called pigeons, and some are called doves (and some are called paloma), but all belong to the bird family Columba. I sometimes think people call us doves when they like us, and pigeons when they don’t! Q Are pigeons nice? A We are so sweet and trusting! Pigeons’ easy-going personality is one big reason we get on so well with humans. Q Why does every city in the world have pigeons? A Humans have themselves to thank! City pigeons all over the world are descended from rock doves, Columba livia. We are native to the Middle East and central Europe. Long ago, wild…

In the early 1900s, most people had no idea what their homes looked like from above. Airplanes were a strange new invention. There were no robot drones or satellites looking down. About the only way to see the world from above was to go up in a hot-air balloon—or to be a bird. In 1907, a German pigeon keeper named Julius Neubronner had a bright idea. He wondered whether a pigeon might be able to carry a camera and take photos as it flew. He built a small camera in a pigeon-sized harness. The camera was rigged to automatically snap pictures as the bird circled around. He fitted it onto one of his pigeons, and away it flew. And it worked! Neubronner traveled around with his pigeon camera, taking pictures…

In our July issue we asked you to design your very own super-cool soccer ball. Thanks to all your crafty kickers for sharing your creations! 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. Lyra D., age 9, Massachusetts 1. Arms and Legs once set on field, it will walk to center! If kicked to goal will walk back to center. 2. Arms and Legs when game begins it will tuck in its arms and legs! 3. Mouth gives cheers and encouragement to players when they kick. 4. Mouth and Arms will clap and cheer at the end of the game. Dear Sage and Briar, In the October Ask Ask you show a drawing of a…

Q How do homing pigeons find their way home? A Nobody knows completely for sure—but we’re very good at it! Pigeons have a great memory for routes, and we can follow a landscape like a map. We can tell which way is north by the sun. Plus, tiny bits of metal in our beaks act like a compass. We can also sense places where the magnetic field changes a bit, and use those landmarks. Then there’s sound. We can hear very low notes made by the earth moving. This sound is different in every place. And smell! Our sensitive noses can smell water, farms, and scents of home from many miles away. And we also like to follow other pigeons. With all these clues, the way home is usually pretty…

How did Earth get so many species? For thousands of years, people wondered. In the 1840s, one naturalist had an idea. His name was Charles Darwin. He spent his whole life studying animals and insects. Darwin thought that new species evolved gradually, as populations of animals change over time. Not individual animals, but groups of them, over hundreds of thousands of years. In every group of animals, there’s always a little variety. Some grow bigger, some are faster, some might have slightly longer teeth. If those differences help an animal survive, that animal will have more offspring. Those offspring will inherit the helpful traits. Over many generations, gradually most of the population will share helpful traits. If this keeps happening, over time, a group of animals can develop into a…

In the midst of World War I, the fate of 200 soldiers rested on one small hero. Gunfire roared around the battalion of American soldiers. They were deep in a forest in northern France. German forces surrounded them. They’d lost half of their 500 men. Food and water were running low, and they were almost out of ammunition. One Last Hope Major Charles Whittlesey rubbed his eyes. It was October 4, 1918, and the battle had been raging for two days. He’d sent messages to headquarters. But had any gotten through? The sudden BOOM of shells interrupted his thoughts. Hurrah! The Americans were bombarding the Germans now. This should allow his unit to escape. But no. The artillery fire rained down around Whittlesey and his men. Whittlesey’s heart pounded. The…

Pigeons like to live near other pigeons, nesting in holes in cliffs—or in handy pigeon houses that people build for them. For this month’s contest, design a stylish pigeon loft for our favorite feathered friends. What features would they like? How should it look? Where would you put it? Draw us a picture of your pigeon dream house, and we’ll share a sampling of the most snazzy 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 you want your work returned, enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope. 5. Your entry must be signed…