Our mission here at News Bites (a monthly children’s newspaper) is to Engage, Inform, and Inspire by bringing news, STEM, sport and entertainment to young people in a language they understand and in a manner they can easily relate to.
GATHERING INTERESTING NEWS THAT CONNECTS YOUNG READERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD Welcome, one and all, to another super issue of News Bites! This month, we travel high into the sky to bring you a special feature on the world of iconic skyscrapers – as it’s World Skyscraper Day on September 3. These towering structures dominate city skylines across the world, providing homes and offices for many millions of people. And they’re getting bigger and bigger! Check out the feature on pages 12 & 13 – you’ll be amazed at how these extraordinary feats of engineering came about, and what the future holds. That’s not all we have for you, of course! In this month’s news, you will learn about the discovery of a giant pink diamond, and how cheetahs will…
Avast, Me Hearties! Talk Like a Pirate Day Which of you scurvy dogs is going to walk the plank? Shiver me timbers, it’s time to batten down the hatches and set sail! What started off as a joke between two friends 27 years ago has now become a day that is celebrated and enjoyed all over the world! The story goes that when the two men who invented this day were playing a game of racquetball, one of them fell and shouted: ‘Aaarrr!’ From this, they decided to name the day ‘Talk Like a Pirate Day’. Since then, this fun day has taken off and children in schools around the world share in laughter as they say ‘Ahoy’ and suchlike to their friends and teachers. So, me hearties, whether you’re…
Hidden Treasure Checking for broken bones? Sure! But X-rays are also used these days in the art world, to explore the secrets in paintings. Results can reveal the materials used, original sketches, and changes made during the painting process. Even more interesting is that X-rays sometimes show that artists painted over their previous works, probably as a way to save money on canvases. Recently, at the National Galleries of Scotland, the Van Gogh painting called Head of a Peasant Woman was X-rayed before being exhibited. Much to the experts’ surprise, a very different and rare Van Gogh painting was hiding under cardboard and glue on the other side. It was a self-portrait! Although he is now known worldwide, Van Gogh was unable to sell his work while he was alive,…
Feeling ‘hangry’? Does being hungry put you in a bad mood or make you a little cranky? If so, you’re not alone. According to a recent study, feeling hungry really can make us ‘hangry’! Researchers from universities in the UK and Austria decided to test this by looking at how hunger affects people’s day-to-day lives. Using a smartphone app, the researchers asked 64 people from central Europe to record their levels of hunger over a period of three weeks and note how it made them feel. They were asked to record their data five times a day. When the data was returned, the researchers discovered that being hungry had a big effect on people. Negative feelings were indeed caused both by changes in levels of hunger and continuing hunger. So,…
A Pug’s Life The Royal Veterinary College in London has revealed that pugs are twice as likely to get sick than other breeds of dog and should no longer be considered as a ‘typical dog’. The problem is that they are bred to have compressed snouts and, as a result, have problems beathing. Dr Myfanwy Hill says that pug breathing is like “trying to breathe through a really narrow straw”. The dogs also get infections on their faces where their skin folds onto itself. Dr Dan O’Neill, the lead researcher, said: “Although hugely popular as pets, we now know that several severe health issues are linked to the extreme body shape of pugs that many humans find so cute. It is time now that we focus on the health of…
This Month in History 500 years ago! SEP 6 1522 On this day Spanish navigator Juan de Elcano returned to Spain and to have circumnavigated the world. His ship, the Victoria, was the only Ferdinand Magellan’s 1519 expedition to the Spice Islands in the Philippines. (One ship had mutinied and sailed back to Spain.) Magellan was killed in battle in 1521 and in the end only Elcano and 17 others were left out of the 270-man expedition. Ocean on a later voyage. Magellan’s name is the one most remembered, though he didn’t complete the circumnavigation. 30 years ago! SEP 12 1992 On this day the first married couple in space together, Mark Lee and Jan Davis, were launched by NASA on Space Shuttle Endeavour. They met during training in 1989…
