No doubt about it: animals are among the Internet’s biggest attractions. A study published earlier this year found that people who own dogs either post pictures or talk about their dogs online six times per week. In addition, one out of ten dog owners has a social media account devoted just to their favorite pooch. Dogs share this spotlight with …
A Scary Holiday Legend Returns
According to tradition, children are rewarded for good behavior on the Christian holiday of Christmas. Boys and girls who have been nice instead of naughty can look forward to receiving gifts delivered by Santa Claus or St. Nicholas. The naughty ones will receive no gifts at all, or worse, a lump of coal. According to one German legend, naughty children …
Singer Sets Record for Highest Note
We are fascinated by someone who can do something that most people cannot do. One area in which people can surpass their peers is in setting records for something that is the highest ever. Evan Ungar holds the record for the highest standing jump. In 2016, from a standing position, Ungar jumped 5.3 feet into the air. In 2014, Alan Eustace rode a gas balloon to …
Delhi’s Pollution Crisis
People in Delhi, India’s capital, have had to cope with unusually high levels of air pollution this November. People tie scarves over their faces to filter the dirty air. Thick smog makes it difficult to see. The visibility has been so poor that in one morning alone, over 20 people were injured in car accidents on Delhi’s busy Yamuna Expressway. …
Giving Young People the Right to Vote
On Tuesday, November 7, 2017, American voters will go to the polls. Unlike the 2016 national election, this time, voters will not be asked to select a president or members of Congress. Voters in New Jersey and Virginia will have the opportunity to vote for their states’ governors. The cities of Cincinnati, Ohio; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and St. Petersburg, Florida are …
A Painful Legacy
David Eggen, the Education Minister of the Canadian province of Alberta, made an announcement on October 24, 2017. From now on, Alberta classrooms will provide a greater focus on Canada’s aboriginal, or native, people. The new curriculum will include a unit called Secret Path. It tells the story of Chanie Wenjack, a native Ojibwa boy. Wenjack was 12 years old when he fled a Canadian …
Artists Chosen to Paint Obamas’ Portraits
The Smithsonian Institution National Portrait Gallery has announced that it has commissioned official portraits of former U.S. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. At the end of a presidency, the museum and the White House commission official portraits of both the president and his spouse. Two sets of portraits are commissioned. One is in the White House; the other remains in the National Portrait Gallery. . . .
A Viking Warrior Revealed
In September, a team of scientists announced an unexpected discovery. The team had been examining the skeleton of a Viking warrior that was first discovered in 1880 in the Swedish town of Birka. Birka was an important Viking trading center. . . .
Saving Books
Each year, many students are assigned the book Fahrenheit 451. The book describes an imaginary United States in the future where books are illegal. People called Firemen are directed to burn any book they find. The title of Ray Bradbury’s 1953 novel refers to the temperature at which a book’s paper catches fire and burns: 451 degrees Fahrenheit (233 degrees Celsius). . . .
People of the Standing Stone
On October 9, 2017, Columbus Day, the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, will premiere the film “People of the Standing Stone.” The film, narrated by actor Kevin Costner, tells the story of the Oneida, a Native American nation that played an important role in American history. . . .