Muse: The magazine of science, culture, and smart laughs for kids and children May/June 2017

When I read Casey L.’s letter in the September 2016 issue, I realized something: I’m old . Specifically, I can actually remember where hot-pink bunnies (henceforth HPBs) come from. And I thought to myself, you youngsters ought to learn your heritage. So, way back in the day—2002, to be precise—Muse published a cat issue, having received a truly staggering number of requests so to do. Of course, they received a similar number of requests to do a dog issue, which they produced two months later. This was a horrible, horrible mistake. The letters column became full of vicious debate about the merits of cats and dogs, to the point where the editors banned all further discourse. A letter solely about the debate would be cast into the…

Scientists studying satellite measurements of the earth discovered that the Land Down Under sometimes moves over. Every year, during summer in the Southern Hemisphere, a huge amount of water evaporates from southern oceans. (The seasons are opposite in the top and bottom halves of the planet. So the Southern Hemisphere’s summer occurs in December, January, and February.) When this heavy water evaporates, the planet’s crust springs up a tiny bit. This pushes the entire continent of Australia northwest by about four-hundredths of an inch (1 mm). The northwestern part of the continent dips down by about a tenth of an inch (2 to 3 mm), while the southeastern side rises up. During the Southern Hemisphere’s winter, everything shifts back in the other direction. One of these stories is FALSE .…

AS MORE of our plastic trash pollutes the ocean, more of it ends up in the bellies of ocean animals. Why would a fish or a bird swallow garbage? For some of them, the answer may be that it smells good. Researchers filled mesh bags with little plastic balls and tied them to buoys floating in the ocean. The balls were made of three very common types of plastic that pollute the oceans. After three weeks, the researchers retrieved the bags. They found that while floating at sea, the plastic balls had picked up a chemical called dimethyl sulfide (DMS). Birds such as petrels and albatrosses love the smell of DMS. That’s because microscopic ocean plants give off DMS when tiny animals munch on them. When the birds get a…

PEOPLE WHO need to get someplace in a hurry might use an app called Uber. The app sends drivers to pick up riders, who pay through their smartphones. Now a new app called Fluber (pronounced “floo-ber”) is trying to bring the same convenience to water drinking. Anyone in a participating city can use Fluber to ask for a glass of water. The app’s creators want to cut down on plastic-bottle waste and keep people healthy at the same time. When you order water through the app, someone on a bicycle will bring you a pitcher of cold water and as many glasses as you need. Afterward, you return the glasses and pitcher. People have used Fluber for long office meetings and outdoor picnics—and even on days at home when all…

ARE YOU a night owl or an early bird? Some of us are early risers, while other people prefer to stay up late. But no matter what time of day is your favorite, you might make worse decisions in the evening. That’s what scientists found when they studied records of online chess games. Based on when chess players were active, the researchers could tell which people were early birds and which were night owls. They examined each game to see whether players were making the right moves. And they found that everyone made faster, worse decisions as the day went on. Earlier in the day, players took their time and made better moves. It didn’t matter whether they were early risers or not. So even if you like to stay…

FOUR NEW elements landed on the periodic table in December 2015. Scientists created the elements—numbers 113, 115, 117 and 118—in labs. But the elements had to wait for their official names. Finally, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry has approved names for the newcomers. Element 113 is now nihonium (Nh). “Nihon” is the Japanese name for Japan, which is where scientists discovered the element. It’s the first element discovered in an Asian country. Two other elements are named after places. Element 115 is moscovium (Mc), named for Moscow, Russia. Element 117 is tennessine (Ts). Labs in Russia, Tennessee, and elsewhere jointly discovered these new elements. Researchers in Russia and the United States also worked together to discover element 118. Its name is oganesson (Og), in honor of a…