Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2022 i Ask Science and Arts Magazine for Kids and Children

A Swift Swiftie Millipedes are shy bugs. You might find them under rocks, or crawling deep in the dirt. Scientists surveying insects in the eastern United States flipped logs and explored the forest floor to find millipedes. And they found lots—17 new millipede species. When it was time to choose names for the new creatures, one of the scientists chose to honor a favorite singer: Taylor Swift. Nannaria swiftae lives in Tennessee. It’s a little less than an inch long. The millipede is mostly brown, with bright orange edges. Scientists still don’t know whether it can sing. COOKIE TWIST Physics is a science that studies forces and objects. To measure squishing and twisting, they use a tool called a rheometer. Just for fun, one group of physicists put their rheometer…

Fear can be a good thing. It tells you not to, say, run into the street without looking both ways, or reach into the campfire to grab a charred marshmallow, or try to feed an alligator a bite of your hot dog. Fear can get you to think twice and make safe decisions. But sometimes you can be terribly afraid of something that’s not really dangerous, like bugs or bad dreams. Or you may have a fear that makes sense, but is too much. Dr. Fadi Haddad is a psychiatrist, a doctor who helps kids with emotions. It can be hard to know when fears get too big. A first step is to ask a grownup you trust. “If the grownup says it’s safe, but your heart is racing, you’re…

Set two coins face-up side by side. Now, ask a friend to predict: If you roll one coin around the top of the other so it sits on the other side, like this: Will the head be right-side-up? Or upside-down? Most people will say it will be upside-down. After all, it’s only gone halfway around. Now you can pretend to be magic. Say you can bend space—and you’ll prove it! Say the magic word . . . Abracadabra! Now roll the coin around the top. What do you know, it’s right-side-up! What?!?!?? How did that happen? It’s all down to geometry. To understand how the coin turns, first imagine gluing a coin to a bent line, like this. Now flatten out the line. Now unstick the coin and roll it…

It’s all your brain’s fault. Fear is an emotion, and like all emotions, it’s made by your brain. Fear is an emotion with one job: to get you out of danger, fast. You might be thinking that sweaty hands and a stomachache are not helping much. But those are part of your body’s instant-alert system. You breathe faster to feed more oxygen to busy cells. Your racing heart pumps more blood around your body, so muscles are set for fast action. Down in your middle, your adrenal glands flood your body with adrenaline, a chemical that gives you a burst of strength and energy, makes you extra alert, and numbs pain. Adrenaline also makes you sweat and can give you an upset stomach. And if you can’t think clearly, it’s…

In 1938, there were no TVs or computers. Everyone got their news by reading newspapers and listening to the radio. The radio also played exciting mystery dramas and science fiction shows. Usually, it was easy to tell dramas from news. But on one famous Halloween, a young actor named Orson Welles had a great idea for a radio play. He wanted to do a radio show based on the book The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells (no relation). The book told the story of Martian spaceships invading New Jersey. Welles thought it would be fun to present the story like a newscast, as if the events in the story were actually happening. He thought that would make it extra dramatic. He was right! At 8:00 p.m., the…

Send your letters to Ask, 1 East Erie Street, Suite 525, PMB4136, Chicago, IL 60611, or have your parent/guardian email us at ask@cricketmedia.com. Dear Zia, Do you ever make Christmas cookies? If you do, what type do you make? What is your favorite color besides pink? Do you believe in aliens? What’s your favorite food? Askingly, Edith, Oregon Dear Edith, I like to start baking holiday cookies in July. I make all kinds, so I need lots of time to taste them. My favorite color besides pink is touourqouise, except it’s hard to spell. I do believe in aliens! I am sure they are out there somewhere. Happy all year Holidays! Zia Dear Marvin, I have a prank for you! Drop a note that says “If you read this, Marvin…