Bits & Bobs
Miscellaneous musings
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Unlocking the Power of Words—Keeping a Journal
Today we are diving into the world of journaling, where the blank pages become a canvas for your thoughts, dreams, hopes, fears, and experiences. Keeping a journal isn’t just about writing. It’s a magical portal that allows you to explore your innermost thoughts, express your emotions, and capture the important moments of your life. So, grab your favorite pen, find a cozy nook, and join us as we unveil the joys of journaling and how it can become your trusted companion in this exciting journey of self-discovery and personal growth. Let’s unlock the power of words and embrace the joy of keeping a journal!
First, what is a journal?
A journal is just a notebook or writing pad where you write about your inner thoughts, hopes, fears, concerns, worries, and excitement.
Journaling, quite simply, is a written record of your thoughts, feelings, or observations about the world. It can include short sentences, long paragraphs, or even single words. In a nutshell, a journal is whatever you want it to be.
The prospect of beginning a new journal for the first time can seem overwhelming. Luckily, the first rule of journal writing is that there’s no wrong way to do it. You can free write, jot down bullet points, or make a to-do list. It’s important to start and keep writing, whatever your style.
When things are going on in your life—write it down: Keeping a journal can be a productive way to cope with what is going on in your life.
Journaling helps you sleep, helps you understand yourself better, and helps you face what is going on in your life.
Writing all your anxious thoughts in your journal will really help you process those thoughts and help you prepare for the next day.
Journaling can help you figure out how to deal with conflict at school or home. And it helps you perform better on tests because you are not distracted by thinking or worrying about other things.
Keeping a journal allows you to understand your thoughts, become a better writer, and build better writing habits.
Here are five reasons you should keep a journal:
- Your journal has the potential to be a trusted friend who listens without judging or interrupting and is open 24 hours a day. You can tell your journal things you wouldn’t dare say to someone else. Writing it down lessens the impact of negative emotions and helps you figure out what your next steps should be.
- Reviewing your journals can help you reach your goals and respond to challenges. You’re also able to see the patterns that get in the way of personal growth, and healthy relationships with yourself and others. By becoming mindful of what you are discovering, you can move yourself from knowing into a doing state.
- 3. Journaling is easy and fun.
- Journals are creative portals. Because you’re in dialogue with your inner life when you write in a journal, you solve problems and get creative. Keeping a journal allows you to unleash your creativity and ideas.
- You give yourself permission to be your true self. Journals give voice to your dreams and aspirations but are also safe spaces to release negative feelings, hurts and disappointments that could get in the way of those dreams and aspirations being realized.
So, grab a pen or pencil and some paper—and start journaling!
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Tortilla Time—A Tasty Treat
Hola, young culinary artists and aspiring chefs! Today, we invite you to join us on a mouthwatering journey as we learn the age-old craft of making tortillas from scratch. We will roll up our sleeves, dust our hands with flour, and unlock the secrets to creating these delectable, versatile flatbreads that have been a staple in many cuisines for centuries.
Making tortillas isn’t just about mixing ingredients; it’s a delightful process that combines tradition, skill, and a pinch of love. So, grab your aprons, gather your ingredients, and let’s dive into the delightful world of tortillas.
Get ready to knead, press, and savor the satisfaction of creating homemade tortillas that will elevate your meals to new heights. Let’s embark on a culinary adventure as we learn the art of making tortillas together, one delicious batch at a time.
Tortillas (pronounced tor-tea-yas, tor-tea-ya sing.) are easy to make and they taste good. You can cook them in a dry skillet, bake them in the oven at 350⁰, or on an open flame. Whichever way you cook them, for safety reasons always make sure you have an adult, or other grown up, in the kitchen with you during the cooking stage.
When you are done, you want your tortilla to be soft and tender, with just a little bit of “chew.” You can make and serve them in under one hour. And the more you practice making them, the faster you will become getting them onto your plate and into your stomach.
If you want, you can make the dough the day before and allow it to rest in the fridge overnight. Just make sure you take it out of the refrigerator the next day to warm up some. The dough is easier to flatten when it isn’t ice cold.
You make tortillas with five simple ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, a fat (butter, lard, shortening, or vegetable oil), and hot water. Usually you just use unbleached, all-purpose flour. However, you can use half a mixture of white whole wheat flour and all-purpose white flour; or all gluten-free flour if you prefer. If you are a vegan, you will want to use the vegetable oil for your fat.
It only takes about fifteen minutes to prepare the dough and a few minutes to cook the flattened patties in the skillet. If you decide to bake them in the oven, then bake them for twenty to twenty-five minutes.
To make 8 tortillas, you need:
2 ½ cups of unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup of fat (lard, shortening, or butter) [Note: if using oil, add the ¼ cup of oil to the hot water]
¾ cup of hot water (110⁰ – 120⁰)—add more water if needed
- Add the dry ingredients together and crumble the fat into the dry mixture.
- Add the liquid (hot water; or hot water and vegetable oil.)
- Use a fork, mixer with a dough hook, or a dough whisk to bring the dough together into a shaggy mass.
- Add additional water by the tablespoon until there are no dry powdery bits in the bottom of the bowl. The dough should hold together when squeezed.
- Knead gently. (Roll it gently into a ball until it looks smooth.)
- Let the dough rest for ½ hour.
- Divide into 8 balls and flatten with your hand or a tortilla press.
- Cook until done.
And there you have it! Eight delicious and tasty tortillas to enjoy!
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The International Space Station—ISS
Welcome to space all you space explorers! The International Space Station (ISS), is a remarkable laboratory floating 250 miles above our planet. The ISS is an amazing feat of exploration where astronauts collaborate and conduct experiments. Let’s buckle up and explore the International Space Station!
Five space agencies from 15 countries run the International Space Station. The ISS has been continuously occupied since November 2000. An international crew of seven people live and work while traveling at a speed of five miles per second, orbiting Earth about every 90 minutes. Sometimes more are aboard the station during a crew handover. In 24 hours, the space station makes 16 orbits of Earth, traveling through 16 sunrises and sunsets. The acre of solar panels that power the station means sometimes you can look up in the sky at night and see the spaceship flying over your home, even if you live in a big city.
The living and working space in the station is larger than a six-bedroom house (and has six sleeping quarters, two bathrooms, a gym, and a 360-degree view bay window). Since there are six bedrooms, but seven crew members, that means that at least one crew member is awake and on duty while the others sleep. To mitigate the loss of muscle and bone mass in the human body in microgravity, the astronauts work out at least two hours a day.
Astronauts and cosmonauts regularly conduct spacewalks for space station construction, maintenance, and upgrades. The solar array wingspan (356 feet, 109 meters) is longer than the world’s largest passenger aircraft, the Airbus A380 (262 feet, 80 meters).
The large modules and other pieces of the station were delivered on 42 assembly flights, 37 on the U.S. space shuttles and five on Russian Proton/Soyuz rockets.
The space station is 356 feet (109 meters) end-to-end, one yard shy of the full length of an American football field, including the end zones. Eight miles of wire connects the electrical power system aboard the space station. On-orbit software monitors approximately 350,000 sensors, ensuring station and crew health and safety.
Eight spaceships can be connected to the space station at once. While it can host over 20 different research payloads outside the station at the same time. Plus, a spacecraft can arrive at the space station as soon as four hours after launching from Earth.
Four different cargo spacecraft deliver science, cargo, and supplies: Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus, SpaceX’s Dragon, JAXA’s HTV, and the Russian Progress. The microgravity laboratory has hosted nearly 3,000 research investigations from researchers in over 108 countries. The station’s orbital path takes it over 90 percent of the Earth’s population, with astronauts taking millions of images of the planet below. The space station travels an equivalent distance to the Moon and back in about a day.
Interestingly, the Station is scheduled to orbit Earth till 2024, though some of the NASA officials confirmed that orbit will be extended till 2028. Then it will be intentionally deorbited over a stretch of ocean and most of the components will be burned up in the Earth’s atmosphere.
Some fun facts about the station begin with the fact that there is a gun placed in the International Space Station that belongs to the Russians. The purpose of the gun is to protect themselves against the bears in case the capsule lands off-target on reentry into the earth. Another fun fact is Pizza Hut made a delivery to the International Space Station in 2001. They paid the Russians $1 million to transport the Pizza. They made a commercial from it.
Another interesting fact about the Station is that it has a small memory device that contains the DNA of British physicist Stephen Hawking, late night TV host Stephen Colbert, and Playboy model Jo Garcia. It is known as the Immortality Drive. Plus, American astronauts can vote in elections from orbit by secure email. And some of the shooting stars in the atmosphere that you can see are actually astronauts poop burning up in the atmosphere.
NASA has a service where you can register your mobile number and they will text you the exact location of the International Space Station. Now wouldn’t that be a fun thing to show all of your friends if you have your own cell phone.
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Pandas
What looks like a bear and acts like a bear, but isn’t a bear?
You guessed it—it is a panda. With their cute black eye patches and white faces, cuddly looking pandas are a fan favorite among zoo-goers and intrepid visitors to the China’s panda sanctuaries. For a long time, animal scientists could not decide on whether pandas were related to bears, or even possibly raccoons. But recent advances in science helped scientists realize pandas belong to an animal family all their own. It is known as Ailuridae. While bears belong to the Ursidae family and raccoons are from the Procyonidae family.
90-98% of a panda’s diet is bamboo. Unfortunately, in China, many of the bamboo forest were cut down to make room for humans to grow crops for food. As a result, the panda population almost disappeared. Scientists estimated that there were only about 1,000 pandas in all of China and they were in danger of extinction. But thankfully because they are so cute, people around the world united to help save them from extinction. Today, there are now over 1900 pandas in the wild. With a few more in select zoos around the world. They are on loan to the zoos—for a price. The money the zoos are charged goes to funding the panda sanctuaries in China and the research needed to protect them and help their population grow.
Pandas reproduce slowly and not very often. A baby panda lives with its mother until it is eighteen months old before it leaves home and goes out on its own. Then the mother is only fertile for 2-3 days in the entire year. Since pandas are solitary creatures, a female panda may not get pregnant again for many years. When they get pregnant, they may have twins. Unfortunately, many times, one twin is overlooked and dies.
To save the pandas, and increase their population, scientists came up with the idea to use the world’s zoos with their highly trained veterinarian staffs, to help the pandas with their slow reproduction problems. That is why China loans out their rare pandas to select zoos around the world. Thanks to that program, many new pandas have been born and returned to the panda sanctuaries in China.
Pandas were so rare that no European had observed a live one in the wild until Walter Stötzner’s expedition of 1913-15. The only other reported sighting before then was from a Catholic missionary named Armand David, who saw some panda furs in 1869.
China now has over 40 panda sanctuaries in the remote mountain regions of the Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces. The sanctuaries protect the animals against poachers and help them breed so that their population will grow.
A baby panda only weighs about 4 ounces when it is born—that’s less than a candy bar. And it is only about as long as a pencil at birth. Its eyes are closed for the first 45 days after it is born, and it is virtually helpless. It depends entirely on its mother for warmth, nourishment, positioning at the breast, and stimulating the passage of wastes.
And speaking of poop—bamboo is not very nutritious. So, a panda has to eat a lot of it in order to stay alive. A panda eats 16-19 hours a day, and that is a lot of bamboo for the panda to digest. So, it has to poop over 50 times a day to make room for all the bamboo it has to eat.
When they aren’t foraging for food to eat. Pandas like to play. That’s why pandas like living in the zoos. There they don’t have to spend all their days searching for bamboo to eat. Instead, they get to spend their time playing and entertaining visitors. And they live longer, too. Captive pandas may live beyond 30 years in captivity, but their life span in the wild is estimated at about 20 years.
Although they are cute and cuddly looking, male pandas can grow to be six feet tall and weigh over two hundred pounds. Females are usually smaller. Although they are usually slow moving and clumsy, Pandas do climb high in a tree to reach the bamboo they need to eat.
Unlike most other bears, pandas do not hibernate. When winter approaches, they head lower down their mountain homes to warmer temperatures, where they continue to chomp away on bamboo! And thanks to conservation efforts panda bear numbers are increasing in the wild. Though there’s still lots of work to be done, the species is no longer considered endangered. Hooray!
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Robots–A Kid’s New Best Friend
From science fiction tales to real-life applications, robots have captured our imaginations and are shaping the world we live in. They have been around since the middle of the last century and some of us even have them in our homes in the form of mobile vacuum cleaners. (If your family has one, I bet you didn’t know that it was a robot.)
What is a robot and what is robotics?
First, the modern term robot is derived from the Czech word robota, which means “forced labor” or “serf.” It was first used by Czech playwright Karel Čapek in his 1920 stage play R.U.R.
A robot is any automatically operated machine that replaces human effort. Robots come in many different shapes and sizes from very tiny to very large. One of the most famous robots that you know about is the Mars Rover. It is collecting and analyzing samples, along with data, from the Red Planet and transmitting the information back to us here on Earth.
The car industry is one of the biggest, and longest, users of robots in their assembly plants. In fact, robotic arms assembled most of your family’s car on the assembly line.
Robotics, on the other hand, is the engineering and research that deals with the design, construction, and operation of robots. Engineers, coders, designers, and even kids are involved in robotics today.
The first common robots were the mechanical assembly arms used in the manufacturing assembly line. But today we have far more human-like robots to help and entertain us. They range from droids, like C3PO in Star Wars, to combat drones being used in the war in Ukraine.
The word droid comes from the term android. A droid is a robot with some physical resemblance to a human, like C3PO. While an android is a robot designed to look and act like a human, like the Terminator. (Okay, the Terminator started out acting like a “evil human.” But eventually he turned out to be a “good” guy by helping the heroine.)
Thanks to the lightning-fast advances being made in computer processors today. Robot development is making great strides towards becoming more and more human-like. Especially when they are paired with artificial intelligence.
Like computers, robots are becoming so commonplace in our lives that we are learning about them in school where kids are learning about robotics. Because STEM literacy is so important nowadays in our lives, students are encouraged to start learning about robotics as early as possible.
Robotics can help you gain skills like coding, problem-solving, communication, teamwork, and creativity. It provides you with the skills needed for almost any kind of education or job that you might want to pursue when you get older.
Some people are afraid of robots because they fear that, along with A.I., they will some day take over the world and enslave humans. But, like A.I., it is our responsibility as their creators to teach them how to get along with us.
Besides being helpful, robots can entertain and amuse us as toys, TV shows, and movies. To get an idea of what is out there, all you have to do is a computer search for “robots.” It is interesting and fun to see what is out there already. And to imagine just what kind of new robots the experts are going to come up with in the future.
Who knows? Your robotics classes could lead to you inventing the next great robot.
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Machu Picchu—Mysteries of the Lost City
This ancient Incan city is hidden amidst the lush greenery and the towering peaks of the Andes Mountains. It isn’t just a collection of ruins; it’s a testament to the ingenuity and brilliance of an ancient civilization. And it has captured the imaginations of people around the world.
Here’s a cool fact about the discovery of this lost city—the place probably would never have been discovered without the help of a kid just like you. You see, after two years of research to pinpoint the location of the “Lost City of the Incas” and raise money for his expedition, intrepid American historian and explorer Hiram Bingham set off into the Peruvian jungle in 1911 with nothing more than an educated guess as to where it might be. He eventually only found the spot with the aid of an 11-year-old Quechua Indian boy.
Upon discovering the site, Bingham wondered, “What could this place be?” A century later, we still don’t know why they constructed this place on a spot that practically touches the sky. Nobody is quite sure when Machu Picchu was first built—educated guesses put it at around 1450—or why it was abandoned a century later. Researchers still aren’t sure what its original function might have been—a place of worship, a royal estate, an astronomical observatory? And nobody can say with any certainty what became of its original inhabitants.
The Inca were the end result of 5,000 years of a civilization that started at the same time as Egypt and Mesopotamia. Because of conquest and disease, however, they were only around for 100 years. But they left behind this undisturbed site that is just incredible.
About a third of the ruins have been reconstructed. And it’s easy to imagine how the city must have looked in Inca times, clinging to the top of an emerald green mountain ridge in the rain forest. The site comprises a main plaza—flanked by stone homes, temples, workshops, bathing areas, and a royal palace, surrounded by stone terraces where maize and other crops were grown. Estimates put the population at no more than 1,000 at any given time. Although the reconstructed temples are the most impressive buildings, Machu Picchu’s most important structure is the Intihuatana or “hitching post of the sun,” a mysterious abstract stone construction that ancient priests may have used to study the heavens and make astrological predictions.
At the Temple of the Condor, you can see how the large stone in the middle of the structure has been carved to resemble the head and neck feathers of a huge Andean bird, and how the rocks behind are shaped into outspread condor wings. And gazing down on the Temple of the Sun, you can see the Serpent Window, which, according to legend, was used to admit snakes to the shrine.
Even without knowing the background, cosmology (cosmology is the study of the origin and development of the universe), or history of the Inca and Machu Picchu, it is incredibly impressive. The more you observe and see, the more you wonder about it. How did these people do this? And why?
Machu Picchu was built on two fault lines, so it is no stranger to earthquakes. When one occurs, the stones bounce like they are dancing and then fall back into place. It is because of this engineering feat that the site still stands today.
Some more interesting facts about the place. More than a hundred skeletons were found at the site. Today, we now know that they were close to evenly split between women and men.
Hiram Bingham thought he had discovered the Lost City of Vilcabamba, even though we now know it was Machu Picchu. Unbeknownst to him, he had also traveled through Vilcabamba in 1911.
Machu Picchu is built on a mountain ridge that is 7,970 feet high (2,430 meters). 5,280 feet equals one mile. So, Machu Picchu is almost 1 and one-half miles high. Think how long it would take you to hike all the way to the top of that mountain ridge since it is almost straight up in the air. That’s a lot of climbing to do.
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Hiking–Exploring Nature’s Playground
The warm sunshine on your face, the sound of the wind rushing through the trees overhead, and the soft earthy feel of the trail under your boots. Not only are these experiences enjoyable to have, but they’re good for you, too. Hiking offers physical exercise and emotional relief.
Hiking is one of the best ways to get exercise. Whether you scramble up a steep incline or are walking on a winding dirt path, hiking is the perfect opportunity to get a workout!
Being in nature can boost your mood and improve your mental health. Spending quality time in the great outdoors reduces stress and calms anxiety. Hiking, taking in the sights and smells of nature, is good for you.
Hiking with a friend or a group of friends is fun. And the fun fact is that you can hike just about anywhere, as long as you are careful and tell others where you are going. The opportunities and benefits of hiking are waiting for you. All you have to do is go.
To get started, you need to choose the right hike. And you need to be aware of some safety tips when you are going on an extended Nature hike.
The first step to pleasurable hiking is gauging your physical limits and choosing a trip to fit your physical abilities. Key factors to consider are distance, elevation change and the type of terrain.
If you’re a newbie, start with short, simple walks and work your way up. If possible, hike with a companion or in a group with more experience. Not only will it be safer and more fun, you can share in others’ knowledge and skills. Clubs and guided walks are also great ways to learn the basics.
For the more adventuresome among you—consider going on longer hikes in Nature. For those of you who want to venture away from your city with its parks and hiking paths, here are some safety tips you will want to consider. But, whatever you do, just make sure that you let somebody know where you will be hiking and when you expect to return. Plus, do not hike alone. Just in case an accident or a serious incident happens to you while you are out hiking, a companion can help save your life by getting help for you.
To begin your long hike, start by wearing layered clothing to protect yourself from the elements and to help regulate your body temperature. With layered clothing, you can add or subtract as needed. A dependable waterproof jacket is vital, of course. As is a hat—broad-brim for sunny days, a woolly hat for the cold. The general rule of thumb is always to be prepared for the worst conditions.
So, pay attention to the weather.
Choose good boots—your feet and ankles will thank you. So will your back and the rest of your body.
Carry a comfortable backpack. If you’re going to carry a heavy load for long periods, get a backpack with a good harness. A properly fitted backpack allows freedom of movement, but doesn’t swing from side to side.
Pack lightly for long hikes, including lightweight food in plastic bags. Also, make sure you have water. Food is your fuel, so pack foods that are high energy and nutritious. Tasty treats such as chocolate can also work wonders.
Pace yourself. Enjoyable hiking depends on endurance, not speed. Take regular rest stops to take the weight off, rehydrate, and nibble some nuts—three moves guaranteed to keep you smiling.
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Ghosts—Are They for Real?
Is “Bloody Mary” in your school’s bathroom?
Mary is a blood-covered ghost who is said to have murdered her three children with a knife. To find out if she is there or not. All you have to do is to go into the bathroom by yourself and turn out the lights. Then look in the mirror and summon her by saying her name three times in a row—Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary.
If she is there—and wants to come out—you will see her staring at you over your shoulder, in the mirror.
Most kids who have seen her have been so frightened by the sight of her. They fled the darkened bathroom before they could think to look and see if she still had the bloody knife in her hand.
When we think of ghosts, we don’t normally think of a ghostly seventeenth-century wooden merchant ship. But one of the most famous ghosts in the world is just that—a ghost ship, The Flying Dutchman.
She is known as the Flying Dutchman because of her Dutch captain, Hendrick van der Decken. He refused to seek safe harbor during a violent storm while navigating the Cape of Good Hope, despite pleas from the crew and passengers. Instead, the impudent captain challenged God to take them down. The ship was promptly cursed and in its ghost form is damned to never find port again. As a result, she has been haunting the seas since the 1600s.
Ships’ crews and passengers from all over the world have reported seeing her over the years. She often appears as a hazy image or as a strange light and is strongly believed to be the omen of bad luck and doom. Her last reported sighting was off the coast of South Africa.
So many people have reported seeing her over the years that Walt Disney Studios used her in a movie. They called it “Pirates of the Caribbean” and in the movie Davy Jones captained her.
Among suspicious sailors, Davie Jones was thought to be the deity of death and his “locker” was the final resting place of dead sailors. In Disney’s movie franchise he is featured as the undying evil spirit that collects the souls of the dying pirates while traveling in his legendary ship “The Flying Dutchman,” and his locker was portrayed as a sort of purgatory for the dead souls.
In a suburb of Chicago lies an abandoned cemetery that is believed to be extremely haunted. It’s known as Bachelor’s Grove and a wooded nature reserve surrounds it. Until the 1960s, for over one hundred twenty years, it was used as a local cemetery by the nearby residents before it was abandoned. Nowadays, the local teens use it as a secret party spot—if they are daring enough to brave the woods and the ghosts. Nocturnal visitors have reported sighting featureless orbs of light or blobs of ectoplasm. Many visitors report seeing a spectral farmer and his horse, a vanishing black dog at the cemetery’s entrance, eerie figures in monks’ robes, and a ghost with two heads.
The “white lady,” a ghost in white, is the most renowned ghost in Bachelor’s Grove. She chose to keep her baby even after death. On nights of the full moon, she is seen wandering the graveyard carrying a baby, or apparently sometimes in the full daylight sitting on a tombstone.
If you were a teenager from Chicago, would you be brave enough to go creeping around that cemetery at night? Or any cemetery at night?
Now we know ghosts like to haunt houses. And one of the most famous haunted houses is in a small town called Amityville on New York’s Long Island, where the Lutz family lived. Soon after they moved into the house, weird stuff started happening. Like voices yelling at priests, flies swarming in the house even in winter, cold spots, and unpleasant smells. They also experienced vivid nightmares, a rotating crucifix, physical attacks on the family, and appearances by a freaky pig monster named Jodie. After many other experiences like that, the Lutzes abandoned the house and left their possessions behind. Jay Anson wrote a book about their terrifying experience which was known as “The Amityville Horror” and Hollywood made a movie of the book.
What about you? Have you ever seen a ghost? Or known someone who has?
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The Story Behind America’s Street Names!
Have you ever looked up at a street sign and wondered how that street got its name? Think about it, who comes up with a street’s name? In fact, why do we even name streets at all?
The practice of naming streets goes back a long time to when people started to live close together in an urban setting for protection and convenience. When we first had to hunt and gather our food for ourselves and our families, living in a cave or huddled around a fire was okay. But once we started gathering food, and farming, and raising animals for food, then it made sense to settle in one place with other people.
That way, we could buy and sell what we needed to stay alive and provide for our families. Plus, living close together like that offered us protection from wild animals or hostile enemies. As those early settlements grew in size and complexity, the residents soon discovered naming streets and locations made it easier to find your way around the place.
All our ancestors brought that custom over from their old countries when they migrated to this country. Now, every community’s streets are named so you can find your way around the city or town.
In the beginning, people named the streets after things like an occupation—Weaver Street, Carpenter Avenue, Butcher Street, Cooper Street, Wheelwright Avenue. Or after natural features like—High Street, Market Street, Riverside Drive, Shady Lane. Take, for instance, Wall Street in New York City. That was named for the wooden wall that was built there by the early Manhattan settlers to protect themselves and their homes from flooding from the nearby river and from wild animals.
Or they would name the street after important buildings like Church Street, or Penny Lane—where the banks or shops were. Or they would name them after beautiful landscapes like Oak Drive or Willow Place. As the town or city prospered, we named streets after people of importance, like Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, Washington Drive, and Armstrong Way. Or they would name streets after familiar places—like Devonshire Boulevard, or Nordhoff Street.
Or else they would name them after historical events—like Veteran Avenue in honor of the men and women who took part in wartime events like battles or military campaigns. Or they would name a street after the community’s cultural landmarks—like Google Way, or Microsoft Drive, or Apple Avenue. When we moved into suburbia in the mid-20th century, the developers were the ones who named the streets in their development communities—names like Prospect Way, or Shady View Glen. Names they hoped you would view your new home, and community, as being like.
There’s a story behind every single street name in your community. The next time you are out riding your bike, riding in a car, or walking with your friends—look at the street signs you pass, and pay attention to their names. They can tell you a lot about your city or town. You just might discover interesting connections to the past and the people who shaped the places you call home.
Who knows? It might give you an idea for a school report you could write, in order to share interesting information with your friends and teacher. The place to start is with your friendly librarian and the City Planner’s Office in your town.
Happy street name hunting!
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Syzygy and Selenelion
We are kicking off our AIME adventure with two words every stargazer should know—syzygy (pronounced sih-ZIH-jee) and selenelion.
Syzygy is when the sun, Earth, and the moon align. This happens twice a month during the full moon and the new moon. Syzygy can also occur when the sun, Earth, and another planet line up. During a new moon syzygy, the sun and the moon lie on the same side of Earth. This is known as conjunction.
The full moon syzygy happens when Earth comes between the sun and the moon. This is known as opposition. And a third example of syzygy is during a total lunar eclipse, when the full moon is on the opposite side of the earth from the sun.
A fourth example of syzygy happens during an annular eclipse when the moon aligns between Earth and the sun. It leaves a ring of the sun’s light still visible around the moon. This alignment usually occurs every year or two, but it is only visible across a small area on Earth. This is because the moon is so much smaller than the sun.
A solar eclipse is the fifth example of syzygy. This happens when the moon orbits Earth and it moves between Earth and the sun in its passage. This is called a solar eclipse, and the moon appears as a dark shadow on just a small part of the sun’s gigantic surface.
Since both the sun and the moon orbit Earth, why don’t eclipses occur every single month at the full and new moons?
If Earth and the moon orbited on the same plane around the sun, we would indeed have a total solar eclipse—and a total lunar eclipse—every month. But the moon’s orbit is inclined to Earth’s orbit by about five degrees. So, no total eclipses every month.
Now what is a selenelion, which is sometimes called a selenehelion? First, it helps to understand what the word means. It is a French word that comes from the ancient Greek words selēnē, moon and hēlios sun. This is an uncommon eclipse phenomenon where you can see the sun near the horizon and the eclipsed moon near the opposite horizon at the same time.
Wouldn’t that be a cool thing to see?
You can now impress your friends with your stargazing knowledge. Look how much you have learned in a short time about eclipses and planet alignments. Plus, you now have two interesting words you can use that most adults have never heard before. Have fun using them and impressing the people around you. Who knows, maybe you can interest them into learning more fun facts about the world around them.
AIME
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