For Boys Only Page 2
ASTON MARTIN
VANQUISH S V12
201 miles per hour
Zero to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds
This is the fastest car to come out of England. Aston Martins are perhaps best known as the cars used in James Bond movies, and this one sells for $260,000. The Vanquish was called the Vanish in the movie Die Another Day because it could turn invisible. Unfortunately, the real car can’t do that—yet.
HISTORY’S WEIRDEST DISASTERS
THE ELEPHANT STAMPEDE
People in Bhubaneswar, India, had always been respectful of the elephants wandering around their village. But in the summer of 1972, a severe drought left both man and elephants crazed from thirst. On July 10, elephants came rampaging out of the Chandka Forest and trampled the tiny village, killing 24 people.
THE BOSTON MOLASSES DISASTER
On January 15, 1919, a huge tank of molasses burst open at Boston’s Purity Distilling Company. The tank was 50 feet high, and it spewed more than two million gallons of molasses out into the street.
A wave more than 10 feet high rushed down the street at more than 30 mph, swallowing up people and knocking buildings off their foundations. Twenty-one people were killed and more than 150 injured. To this day, residents of Boston say that you can smell molasses in the streets during the summer.
SNAKES FROM THE VOLCANO
Nearby residents watched daily as smoke and ash from Mount Pelee filled the air on the Caribbean island of Martinique. On May 3, 1902, the ash was so thick that people started evacuating, but they found their way blocked. Hundreds of venomous fer-de-lance snakes, along with biting ants and foot-long centipedes, had filled the streets—driven up from the ground by volcanic rumbling. Fifty people and numerous horses were bitten and died before soldiers and feral cats killed the snakes. Two days later, the volcano erupted, killing some 30,000 people. Only two people in the town survived.
THE TEXAS CHAIN REACTION DISASTER
Texas City, Texas, was a bustling port town on April 16, 1947. That day, a ship full of fertilizer caught fire at the dock. Smoke from the fire attracted the attention of the townspeople, many of whom came to the water to watch. As the ship was being towed away, it exploded, killing more than 500 people. Windows in homes 40 miles away were blown out, and people felt the blast as far away as Louisiana. The explosion caused another ship in the port to erupt, and its explosion knocked a plane flying overhead out of the air. More than 5,000 people were injured in the disaster.
MONSTERS and DINOSAURS
AMERICAN INDIANS WHO LIVE in what is now South Dakota tell tales of water monsters fighting thunder spirits. The ancient Greeks believed that the griffin (body of a lion, claws of an eagle) lived in Asia and guarded gold. But did these creatures ever really exist? In a way, yes. The South Dakota hills are filled with dinosaur-era bones, some from fins, others from wings. The Indians were just making sense of the bones around them. When scholar Adrienne Mayor went to the supposed homeland of the griffin, where people went gold prospecting in ancient times, she found bones of Protoceratops—a dinosaur that had a beak, like an eagle or a griffin.
THE EASTLAND ROLLOVER
The Eastland was a 269-foot-long cruise ship docked in the Chicago River on July 24, 1915. The boat was scheduled to take 2,500 passengers on a picnic ride from downtown Chicago across Lake Michigan. As the ship was getting ready to depart, passengers rushed to its upper deck to wave to friends. The ship was already top-heavy (it had added extra lifeboats for the trip) and the weight caused the Eastland to wobble. It started to lean to one side, and then suddenly tipped over into the water. Although it was still attached to the dock and lying in only 20 feet of water, 844 people died in the accident, many of them sucked underwater by the huge wave caused by the falling ship.
HOW TO
FIGHT A SHARK
YOU’RE NOT LIKELY TO. ever get attacked by a shark, especially if you don’t go in the ocean. Living in the desert will keep you 100% safe.
The fact is that only about four people in the entire world are killed by sharks in any year. (More than 600 people die in the United States every year from falling out of bed or a chair. Sleeping and sitting may be more dangerous to your health than a hungry shark.)
Out of the nearly 400 types of sharks, only five are considered man-eaters: the great white, tiger, hammerhead, bull, and mako sharks. But let’s say you come face-to-face with one of these teeth-filled beasts while you’re minding your own business out there in the ocean. What do you do?
Punch him. Just like shark hates to get punched. But you have to punch him in one of three places.
Start with the nose (Fig. A), out there in front of the teeth. Scientists think the tip of the shark contains extremely sensitive nerves that help it detect prey. So, punching it in the nose is like bashing its brain; it will get confused and wonder just what is happening.
If the shark is swimming by you, punch it in the eye (Fig. B) or up against its gill slits (Fig. C). Again, these are sensitive parts of the shark, and sharks don’t like having these parts touched, let alone punched. Dolphins have been known to fight off sharks by ramming their snouts into the gill slits.
Above all, DO NOT thrash around. Sharks are attracted large fish and seals, animals that move around a lot, and the thrashing helps guide sharks to their dinner. Also, try not to bleed too much. Those nerve endings are designed to detect blood in the water, and blood to a shark is a huge sign that reads …
“EAT ME.”
ODDS ARE …
ODDS AREN’T PREDICTIONS, they’re estimates of the chance that something might happen. But reporters use “odds” as if they were stating a future fact. Odds are figured out using mathematical formulas that consider how often things have happened in the past, as well as where and when.
Odds that you are reading this right now: 1 in 1
Odds that your house has at least one container of ice cream in the freezer: 9 in 10
Odds of being born a twin in North America: 1 in 90
Odds of writing a New York Times best-selling book: 1 in 220
Odds of catching a ball at a major-league ball game: 1 in 563
Odds of fatally slipping in the bath or shower: 1 in 2,232
Odds that Earth will experience a catastrophic collision with an asteroid in the next 100 years: 1 in 5,560 Odds of finding a four-leaf clover on the first try: 1 in 10,000
Odds of winning an Academy Award: 1 in 11,500
Odds of becoming a pro athlete: 1 in 22,000
Odds of being stung by a bee, or bitten by a snake or other venomous creature: 1 in 83,930
Odds of experiencing an earthquake: 1 in 100,000
Odds of dying in an airplane accident: 1 in 354,319
Odds of being struck by lightning: 1 in 576,000
Odds of dying from a dog bite; 1 in 700,000
Odds of being killed by lightning: 1 in 2,320,000
Odds of spotting a UFO: 1 in 3,000,000
Odds of becoming president: 1 in 10,000,000
Odds of winning a state lottery jackpot:
1 in 14,000,000
Odds of becoming a saint: 1 in 20,000,000
Odds of dying from a shark attack: 1 in 300,000,000
Odds of a meteor landing on your house: 1 in 182, 138,880,000,000
SPORTS PUZZLERS
Q: How can you hit a fair ball out of the park, and be called out?
A: Jimmy Piersall was a good outfielder who did things his own odd way. In 1961, when he hit his 100th home run, he ran the bases in order—but turned backwards, his behind leading the way to each base.
As a result, Major League Baseball officials changed the rules. Now, you must run the bases facing forwards. If you copy Jimmy, you’re out—and out of the game.
Q: How can an umpire call a batter out and not out on the same play?
A: Picture a batter up with runners on first and second and fewer than two outs. If the batter pops up the ball to the infield and the ump thinks a fielder would normally ma
ke the play, he can yell out, “Infield fly, batter is out!” The infield-fly rule prevents the fielder from deliberately letting the ball drop so he can make an easy double or triple play. But even if the ump calls the batter out, and the ball drifts foul and is not caught, it is just another foul ball, and the batter lives again.
Q: How can you score in football if you get the ball when there is no time left on the clock to run off a play?
A: When a player calls for and makes a fair catch on a punt, his team has the option to try a field goal from the place where he received the ball. His team will have the chance to run the play, even if the clock reads 0:00. Not only that, but they kick from where he received the ball, and the defense must start out ten yards away. The last team to score using this play was the Chicago Bears, in 1968.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR!
JULY IS NATIONAL ICE CREAM MONTH. Vanilla is the overwhelming favorite flavor, accounting for almost a full third of all the ice cream sold. (Chocolate is far behind, at 8.9 percent, and butter pecan at 5.3.) October is National Pizza Month—which makes it confusing that National Pizza With the Works Except Anchovies Day is November 12, followed the next day by National Indian Pudding Day—which shares time with Gingerbread House Day—all of which fall smack in the middle of National Split Pea Soup Week. None of which makes any sense, except that November 15 is National Clean Your Refrigerator Day—which, with all of that petrified ice cream, cold pizza, old pea soup, dry Indian pudding, and stale gingerbread lying around, is the only sensible choice.
WHAT DO YOU EAT?
CEREAL. AMERICANS EAT
an average of 160 bowls of cereal per year. That means we slurp down about 10 pounds of cereal apiece. Which cereals? Cheerios are the big winner, followed by Frosted Flakes, and Honey Bunches of Oats. How come we eat those cereals? For one thing, advertising—one third of the cost of every box of Cheerios is spent on making sure you keep picking it, and so does your kid sister.
MOST POPULAR SNACKS FOR AMERICAN BOYS, AGES 8 TO 12
1. fruit
2. potato chips
3. chewing gum
4. ice cream
5. candy
BONE PRETZEL
LEAVE A LONG CHICKEN BONE to soak in vinegar for a week. The vinegar dissolves the calcium in the bone and makes it rubbery. When you take the bone out, you should be able to tie it in a knot!
HOW TO LAND A PLANE IN AN EMERGENCY
WHEN YOU SEE AN AIRPLANE emergency in the movies, there’s always someone on the plane who can land it when the pilot gets injured. If this ever happens when you’re on a flight, we think you should be that one passenger who saves the day. Here’s how to land a Boeing 767, which seats about 300 passengers—all of whom are now depending on you to land.
Take the pilot’s seat on the left side of the cockpit. In front of you is a steering wheel (known as a yoke). It turns left and right and pushes in and out. This controls your direction and whether you go up or down. The throttle, a lever or bar on your right, controls your speed.
Make sure you’re even with the horizon ahead by looking out the front window. If the horizon is below the window, push the steering wheel in to nose the airplane down. If the horizon is above the window, pull back on the wheel to get level.
Turn the wheel to make sure the wings are flat and even with the horizon. Once you’re flying level, the plane will fly just fine. Now, there’s a button on the steering wheel called a push-to-talk button. Press it and say, “Mayday, mayday, mayday.” This should put you in contact with an air-traffic controller.
Steer in the direction the controller gives you. When you get near the runway, make sure the plane faces it straight-on.
Put the landing gear down. Very important. The round knob to do this is located right next to your knee. Ease the wing flaps down a couple of notches; the flap lever is right beside the throttle. Make sure the speed brake, on the left of the throttle, is pulled back. This will turn on only when you touch down, so don’t worry about anything happening right now.
When you get down to 500 feet, put the wing flaps down. Start reducing the speed by pulling back on the throttle. Keep the horizon as level as possible in front of you.
At the moment your wheels hit the ground, pull back full on the throttle to reverse the plane’s engine. The speed brake should kick in automatically.
Remember, keep it cool, keep it level, and do everything easily and very slowly. Do this right and you’ll be home in no time.
FUN MATH TRICKS
IF YOU’RE IN A REAL JAM
with your math homework, these tips might just save your life.
ONE
All numbers are divisible by
1. Any number multiplied by 1 is still the same number.
TWO
Only even numbers are divisible by 2. Any number multiplied by 2 will always be an even number.
THREE
To find out if any number, no matter how big, is divisible by 3, add up the digits in the number. The sum will usually be a small enough number that you can tell if 3 will go into it (even 9,999 breaks down to 36, and you know that 3 goes into that 12 times). If that sum is divisible by three, then the original number is divisible by 3. If not, no way.
Try 1,544. Add 1 + 5 + 4 + 4. That equals 14. You know that you can’t divide 14 evenly by 3, so 1,544 isn’t divisible by 3.
FOUR
If the last two digits of any number are a number that can be divided by 4, the whole number can be. For instance, 681,224 has 24 as its last two numbers. 24 is divisible by 4, and so is 681,224. Note that any number divisible by 4 is always an even number.
FIVE
Only numbers that end with a 0 or 5 are divisible by 5.
SIX
If a number is divisible by both 2 and 3, it is also divisible by 6.
SEVEN
Take the last digit, double it, and then subtract it from the rest of the number. Let’s do 224. 4 x 2 = 8. Subtract 8 from 22 and you get 14. That’s divisible by 7, and so is 224.
EIGHT
If the last three digits of any number are a number that can be divided by 8, the whole number can. For instance 47,256 is divisible by 8 because 256 is. The way to tell if those three digits are divisible by 8 is a little trickier. If the first of those three digits is even, the number is divisible by 8 if the last two digits can be divided by 8.
The 2 is even, and 56 is divisible by 8, so the whole number is divisible by 8. If the first digit is odd, subtract 4 from the last two digits. If the last two digits are then divisible by 8, the whole number is. Let’s take 368. Subtract 4 from the last two digits (68 - 4 = 64). Since 64 is divisible by 8, the whole number will be divisible by 8. Note that numbers divisible by 8 are always even numbers.
NINE
To find out if a number is divisible by 9, add up the digits in the number. The sum will be a small enough number that you can tell if 9 will go into it. If it does, then the original number is divisible by 9.
TEN
Every number ending in a zero is divisible by 10. Any number multiplied by 10 is that same number with a zero on the end. 413 x 10 = 4130. 6755 x 10 is 67,550.
ELEVEN
Here’s a quick way to multiply two-digit numbers by 11. Just take the number you want to multiply by 11—let’s say 53—add the digits together, and put the answer in the middle of that number. 5 + 3 = 8, so 11 × 53 is 583.
TWELVE
If a number is divisible by both 3 and 4, it is also divisible by 12.
OOBLECK
OOBLECK IS AN INCREDIBLY COOL SUBSTANCE.
Technically, it’s known as “non-Newtonian fluid,” which means it doesn’t behave like a normal liquid. Once you make it, press it, stir it, pour it, and mold it, you’ll understand just what we’re talking about. By the way, this strange substance got its name from a Dr. Seuss book called Bartholomew and the Oobleck. Here’s the recipe:
1 1/2 cups of cornstarch
1 cup of water
Several drops of fo
od coloring (optional)
The only instruction is to mix them all together in a cup or a bowl. Pick it up with a spoon or with your hand, and pinch it between your fingers. Then see what happens.
Be aware that oobleck will stick to clothes, hair, rugs, pets, and anything that’s not hard and flat. That’s the only warning we think you need.