Recently added articles from Ask:
WHO YA GONNA CALL?
Jul 01, 2008; Moss, Meg ... Cleaning up soil polluted with heavy metals, the poisonous waste produced by certain factories, takes some pretty creative thinking. These highly toxic substances, such as lead and mercury, are hard to get rid of because they don't break down over time. Now, scientists in India ...
Falling (Asleep) Is Good for You
Jul 01, 2008; Moss, Meg ... You lie down to sleep. As you drift off, all the memories of the day start swirling around in your head. Soon, you're snoozing. Sound familiar? We all know that during a good night's sleep our brains and bodies reboot and rebuild. Now it seems that even short daytime naps ...
Voice from the Past
Jul 01, 2008; Moss, Meg ... What's the oldest sound you've ever heard? Your grandma's Beatles records are about 40 years old. The soundtrack from an old I Love Lucy rerun dates back about 55 years. Well, historians in France have uncovered what they think might be the oldest sound ever recorded. On April 9, 1860, French ...
Nature's PATTERNS
Jul 01, 2008; Scholl, Elizabeth ... Patterns are all around us. Humans make patterns by arranging things in repeating sequences, such as designs on fabric or wallpaper. But patterns appear in nature, too. You've noticed spots on ladybugs and stripes on tigers. Fern leaves ...
Weird Tales from the Inventors' HALL OF FAME
Jul 01, 2008; Plecha, Lonnie ... Charles Goodyear Imagine rubber money, musical instruments, flags, jewelry, ships' sails-even rubber ships! Charles Goodyear wanted to make (nearly) everything of rubber. He wore rubber hats and ties. He ate from rubber dishes. When he fell into debt and was taken to jail, his wife ...
CODES: Keeping Secrets Secret
Jul 01, 2008; Moss, Meg ... Psssrt. Got a secret? Want to keep it from your little brother or sister? Need to pass along some information to a friend without the whole world finding out? Well, you're in good company-with kings and generals and spies. Read on to learn some of their cleverest methods for keeping ...
Fins and Fingers, Wings and HOOVES
Jul 01, 2008; Brusso, Charlene ... Your arms and legs don't look like wings or fins. But the bones that make up arms and legs, fins, flippers, and wings all follow the same pattern. Then, how is it that animals that look very different on the outside look very similar on the inside? Animals with limbs use them to ...
CONTEST aNd LETTERS
Jul 01, 2008; Anonymous ... In our Febuary 2008 issue we asked you to design some useful fashion. We don't have room to print all the entries, so we've put more on our Web site at www.cricketmag.com (click on "ForKids"). Shrink Suit Alex M., age 11, Illinois This is the shrink suit. When wearing it, ...
Extreme Nature Makeover
Jul 01, 2008; Anonymous ... July/August Contest For this month's contest, give something in your house an Extreme Nature Makeover. Look outside for a pattern of spots, spirals, stripes, stars, or fractals on a bug's wing, a leaf, a stone, or anything nature has decorated. Copy the pattern and use it to design ...
JiMMY + ThE BUG
Jul 01, 2008; Braaf, Ellen R ... Secret writing is very old, and there are lots of invisible ink recipes. These inks work in different ways to hide and reveal messages written with them. Some invisible inks-like milk, vinegar, or lemon juice-darken when they're heated. You can read messages written with them because ...