RP297 The AmishRP297 The Amish

 RP297 The Amish

If you ever find yourself driving through Lancaster, Pennsylvania, you may pass a black buggy drawn by a black horse. Inside you'll see a man in old-fashioned clothes, suspenders, and maybe a hat. There may be a woman in a blue and black dress and a bonnet. They' re Amish—living in the modern world but ignoring it.

The Amish do the same chores we do: cook, clean dishes, and do laundry. They go to work, go to church, get married, and raise children. But the Amish live as though most 20th-century technology didn't exist. They work their fields with horses instead of tractors. They wash their clothes with an old-fashioned wringer rather than a washing machine. Though specific practices vary, in general the Amish avoid the modern world, including movie theaters, electricity, cameras, modern clothes, and even higher education.

This is because the Amish value the community more than the individual. They believe they should rely upon their entire community, so when an Amish man needs to build a new barn or house, he doesn't hire a firm with expensive equipment. Instead, he asks all his neighbors to help him, and they do. Amish lifestyles reflect their rejection of individual pride and their admiration of humility and calmness. The Amish reject much of the modern world because it could lead to vanity and pride: colorful clothes, photographs, even zippers! To be plain is to be beautiful in the eyes of God, according to the Amish.

There are Amish communities across the USA and in Canada. All Amish are Christian, and all can trace their roots back to European Anabaptists. They' re named after Jacob Amman, a preacher who united them in the late 1600s. Though their beliefs may differ slightly from place to place, all Amish communities organize their lives around their faith and not the high-tech, modern world that governs the rest of us.

RP296 Luge

 RP296 Luge

If you ever need to get down an icy hill as fast as possible, a luge might be a good choice. If, however, you want to get down that hill without being scared out of your mind and exposed to great danger, you might want to stick to safer options.

Luge is one of the most dangerous winter sports. Luge athletes whip around an icy track at 90 to 160 kilometers per hour. On top of that, they do it all lying flat on their backs, exposed to the elements, inches from the hard ice floor, with nothing to protect them but a helmet.

Luge is the name of the sled and the sport of riding it down a hill. A luge is a one/ two-person sled that the athletes lie in on their backs. The sliders keep as flat as possible and steer the luge mostly with their feet, though there are handles as well. They can race either on natural or artificial tracks. Natural tracks are long and nearly flat, with no artificially banked curves. Artificial tracks are very different. They' re steeper and full of high banked curves. They' re also faster and much more dangerous. Luge athletes face very serious injuries if they make a mistake, and there have been a number of fatal accidents in luge. The most recent high-profile accident happened at a training run during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Whistler, Canada, in which an athlete from Georgia died after losing control of his sled.

Like many other sledding sports, luge was developed in St. Moritz, Switzerland. It began in the mid-19th century when tourists at the spa town began using delivery boys' sleds for fun. By 1883, sliders were organizing meetings. In 1964, luge was accepted as an Olympic sport. The rest, as they say, is (very fast-moving) history.

RP295 The Most Social Animals

 RP295 The Most Social Animals

Human beings aren't the only animals to form social groups. Around the world, other animals live according to complex social orders.

Meerkats are small mammals that share almost everything. They live in colonies of 20 to 30, in which the lives of all the members are connected. Meerkats share duties, taking turns to search for food and guard the home. A meerkat that is on guard will bark to alert the others of danger. It will be the first to leave the den to check to see if danger has left. Though usually only one pair at a time will mate, other members of the colony will babysit and teach the pups. Meerkats have learned to survive against fierce predators by working together.

Killer whales, on the other hand, are fierce predators that work together. Killer whales live in families which can group together to form pods. Pod members communicate with clicks, calls, and other vocalizations. Each pod has its own dialect of sounds, which are taught to calves after they are born. Adults also teach calves how to hunt by weakening seals and allowing the calves to chase them. Adults and calves also practice other skills. Like meerkats, orcas share the duty of caring for the calves of the pod, even disciplining calves that aren't their own.

Bonobos, also called dwarf chimpanzees, are one of our closest relatives and exhibit many human emotions. Social status is very important to them. Females generally have higher status than males, and mother bonobos will try to pass social status on to their sons to protect them. Mother-son bonds last for a lifetime. Bonobos will attack intruders on their territory, and groups of males sometimes patrol for these threats, protecting their groups.

Human societies may be larger, more technologically advanced, and stronger. However, we are definitely not the only creatures that rely on communities to survive.

RP294 Metamaterial

 RP294 Metamaterial

It's not only fantasy authors who are interested in invisibility. Real scientists are fascinated by the idea, too. And lately, instead of being dismissed as impossible, some researchers are saying, “Invisibility cloaks? Hmmm, maybe...”

The key is metamaterial. Metamaterials are man-made structures that bend light in very different ways than natural structures or materials do. When a beam of light hits a natural material—water, for example—The angle of the light changes somewhat, but the overall direction remains the same. When light hits some metamaterials, however, it actually changes direction and points backward. This bounce-back effect can trick our eyes into thinking we don't see anything. Because of the way they affect light, metamaterials are also called backward wave media, left-handed media, and other names.

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, first showed that they could manipulate light this way in 2000. They created a new kind of material that had properties never seen in nature. One of them was this ability to reverse light. Since then, researchers have been working on repeating those results with different, more flexible materials and for different types of light. In July, 2010, Elena Semouchkina of the University of Michigan presented an invisibility device made of a type of modified glass. Semouchkina's device bends light around an object, hiding it.

In November of 2010 there was another breakthrough. Researchers at Saint Andrews University made a flexible metamaterial that can bend some light wavelengths, including the wavelength we see as the color red. Though their samples are only millimeters long, their creators are confident that they can make bigger ones.

The words “hiding,” “disguise” and “out of sight” may soon have a whole new meaning.

RP293 The Bay of Fundy

 RP293 The Bay of Fundy

The Bay of Fundy on the Atlantic coast of North America doesn't look special on a map. It's not very big, only 270 kilometers long, but it does one amazing thing: it floods with over 100 billion tons of water twice a day. The Bay of Fundy is said to have the world's highest tides.

The bay juts from the tip of Maine in the USA to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Canada. At low tide, beaches spread out from under tall cliffs made from flood basalt (ancient lava). As the tide flows, water slowly covers the sand, reaches the basalt walls, and then slides up the stone walls to its maximum. Above the top of the highest tides, trees begin to grow. In many places, you can see exactly how high the tide reaches by the green line of trees.

These tides move 17 meters up and down twice in the course of each day. They make the Bay of Fundy rich with fossils and semi-precious stones. The force of the water erodes cliff sides and reveals these embedded fossils and gems.

The water has also created amazing geological formations, like the flowerpot rocks. The flowerpot rocks are stacks of mostly sandstone rock that stand on their own in the bay, with trees growing out of their tops. The powerful tides have whittled them into top-heavy shapes with narrow bases and tilting, round tops. Some of them form archways that can only be seen at low tide. You can kayak around the trees at high tide and walk along the beaches far below them at low tide!

Animals also love the bay. At least eight whale species come to feast in the bay in the summer. Seabirds flock to the shores to prey on tidal creatures. Humans follow to watch the whales and birds and try to understand the force of nature in this unique place.

RP292 An Unlikely Champion of Farmers Everywhere

 RP292 An Unlikely Champion of Farmers Everywhere

Dr. Vandana Shiva may strike some people as an unlikely hero. For one, the Indian human rights worker is actually a physicist by training. However, she has devoted most of her life to fighting for social justice. She also doesn't exactly look threatening: short with graying hair. Yet the woman has a wit that's sharper than any knife. She has single-handedly taken on some of the most powerful organizations on earth—and won.

Shiva is a leading figure in the anti-globalization movement. She fights against big, international corporations that try to dominate local businesses. More specifically, Shiva has spent much of her life fighting for the interests of small-scale farmers. The seed market has been her primary battlefield. Large international companies have long been trying to gain control of the seed market. They promote one kind of seed—their seed—as the type that all farmers should use. This practice is called "monoculture." Shiva believes that monoculture is harmful for several reasons. For one, it hurts small farmers because they need to buy the seed from one company. Since there are no other choices, that company can increase its prices whenever it wants. Monoculture can also harm the environment and our food system. For example, what if that one type of seed is weak against changes in the weather? That means climate change could wipe out a whole region's food production.

Shiva is also highly active in the field of intellectual property rights. She has fought against attempts by large corporations to patent certain seeds. Some of these seeds are genetically modified, meaning the corporation altered them in a lab. Others are seeds that have been used for thousands of years by local farmers.

Shiva is a modern-day example of the story of David and Goliath. She will continue to fight for those without a voice, no matter what.

RP291 Synesthesia

RP291 Synesthesia

Is October yellow? Does your breakfast taste pointy? Is the smell of soap itchy? To a person with synesthesia, all these questions might make sense.

Synesthesia is a condition in which senses or perceptions are connected in unusual ways. In terms of the brain, it means when one sense is stimulated, an unrelated one is also triggered. These associations are automatic, not thought out or planned. Most people with synesthesia don't recognize that they are different for a long time.

A common form of synesthesia is grapheme-color synesthesia. For these synesthetes, letters or numbers are colored."A" may always be blue, while 1984 might be pinkish. "Linguistics is a grayish-purple-blue word," says Karen, one synesthete.

There are less common, more unusual versions as well. The Man Who Tasted Shapes is a book about different synesthetes, including one who indeed associated different shapes and tastes. People can connect sounds with odors or textures, or dates with places in space. A rare form of synesthesia links personalities with numbers, letters, or other concepts. Each synesthete is unique, so while many people may perceive numbers as colors, they will not agree, for example, that four is green.

No one is sure how synesthesia works. Scientists speculate that the brain becomes cross-wired, with parts of the brain that are supposed to stay in one area crossing into another. Synesthesia doesn't seem to have any negative effects on the brain. Synesthetes are as smart as everyone else. Indeed, many tests show that synesthetes have better memories than the average population for some reason.

Synesthesia seems to affect certain groups of people more than others. It seems to run in families. More women than men, and more people who are left-handed than right-handed have it. Many famous artists and composers have turned out to be synesthetes. Perhaps seeing the world in such a different way is inspiring!

RP290 Slang Evolution

 RP290 Slang Evolution

Slang keeps languages alive. Expressions are coined, spread far and wide, and eventually used quite differently than when they began. American slang comes from surprising places, and it's often quite hard to trace, so take these definitions with a grain of salt!

Do you ever go see big Hollywood blockbusters? You would have paid to stay away from the original “blockbuster.” The word we now use to describe a huge movie was the name of a giant bomb used by the British in World War II. It was powerful enough to destroy a city block. That's how it got this name.

A cheesy romantic comedy could be a blockbuster. “Cheesy” means trite, obvious, and sentimental, but originally it meant the opposite. It was picked up in India by the British. They used the Urdu word chiz (thing) to mean a big thing or a big deal. Chiz came to mean showy. Over the years, the definition was turned upside down. Where it once was a compliment, now“ cheesy” is an insult.

Dude! We use this to get someone's attention or to emphasize a point. You can call almost anyone dude—anyone your age or younger. But in the 19th century, “dude” meant a fashionable, ignorant city boy; someone who couldn't make it in the rough American West. It was often used as an insult.

About that grain of salt... to take something with a grain of salt means to think about it critically rather than believing it automatically. It suggests that a piece of information might not be true. This is the oldest term here. It comes from the Latin cum grano salis. A grain of salt was part of a recipe to help poison antidotes go down more easily, but as salis in Latin can mean both “salt” and “intelligence,” it became a warning to use your wits.(Always good advice!)

RP289 Cleaner and Greener

 RP289 Cleaner and Greener

Over the past 100 years, the average global temperature has risen by 0.74℃. That doesn't sound like a lot, but it makes a big difference to the planet. The year 2016 was the hottest since temperature records began! What's worse is that the trend seems to be speeding up. Scientists estimate a temperature increase of 2-4℃ by the end of the 21st century.

Why is this happening, and why is it bad? When we burn fossil fuels like oil, carbon dioxide (CO₂) is released into the air. CO₂ stops heat escaping from the earth, creating a "greenhouse effect." As the temperature increases, ice melts more quickly and water levels rise. Natural disasters such as forest fires and floods are more likely. Climate change puts people, animals, and the environment at risk.

But one company is working to help solve the problem of CO₂. Climeworks, in Switzerland, has developed filter technology to extract CO₂ from the air. The machine is the brainchild of engineers Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher. They were just students when they thought of the idea. It took them nine years to make their dream become a reality.

Gebald and Wurzbacher say the machine can remove 900 tons of CO₂ from the atmosphere each year. It can then be sold as a fertilizer, or used to make carbonated drinks and biofuels, which unlike fossil fuels, do not add to the greenhouse effect. Right now, Climeworks is a three-year demonstration project, but the pair hopes that similar systems will soon operate all over the world.

Another company, Studio Roosegaarde in the Netherlands, recently presented a bicycle that cleans the air! As the user cycles, dirty air is sucked into a filter and clean air is released. Atmospheric CO₂ is an urgent problem that requires creative design. Hopefully, it is not too late for "green" businesses like these to slow down climate change.

RP288 A Pinch of Salt

 RP288 A Pinch of Salt

Iodine is vital to our development, but we only need a pinch of it. Humans only need to eat about a teaspoon of iodine over their lifetime. However, getting that bit at the right time can be the difference between normal development and serious disability.

Iodine affects the thyroid gland, which controls growth, so getting enough iodine becomes important even before we are born. Fetuses' brains need iodine to develop properly. If a pregnant woman doesn't get enough iodine, her child will likely have some brain damage or a diminished intellect. After birth, nursing mothers must eat enough iodine to pass to their children through breast milk until the children can eat food. Though we only need a small amount, the consequences of iodine deficiency are terrible: developmental delays, depression, extreme tiredness, weight gain, and low body temperature.

It seems easy to get such a tiny bit of a nutrient, but iodine is scarce in many places. Iodine is found in salt water and in some soils, but not all. Heavy rains push iodine and other nutrients out of the soil, so countries with monsoons won't have much. Eating seafood is a great way to get iodine, but seafood and sea plants are a luxury for many people, particularly those in poor, landlocked areas. Southeast Asia, the South Pacific, Central America, parts of southern Africa, and parts of India and China have the most cases of iodine deficiency.

So salt is a savior. It costs just over a dollar to add iodine to a ton of salt, which can then be sold or given away. Iodized salt is now a key part to food aid. Providing iodized salt to poor women and children will help new generations grow up healthy and smart, two very important qualities for success.

RP287 The Temples of Bagan

 RP287 The Temples of Bagan

The temples of the ancient city of Bagan, Myanmar, spread across a 16-month area and span more than two hundred years. Founded in the second century A.D., Bagan remained a minor city until the late 800s, when it became the capital of the kingdom of Bagan, or the Myanmar Dynasty. It wasn't for a few more centuries, though, that it became the important Buddhist site upon which such imposing temples could grow. In the 11th to 13th centuries, the kingdom of Bagan was wealthy and powerful. Its capital, Bagan, became a center of Buddhist learning. Bagan's kings showed off their riches and their love of religion through their magnificent temples.

There are over 2,000 temples in Bagan today, but there were twice as many at the end of the 13th century, at the height of Bagan's power and influence. Over time, temples crumbled and collapsed. Many were destroyed by a massive earthquake in 1975, which knocked entire temples to the ground.

The temples that remain have different architectural styles. The earliest temples are simple, bulb-like domes. Later, the domes were placed on three square terraces, each larger than the one above it. Later still, the domes were placed atop round, decorated disk shapes, and the supporting terraces were rounded. Naturally, the Bagan kingdom was influenced by the architectural styles of other Buddhist nations, notably India. These temples were built by slaves owned by the kings and the monasteries. The temples are impressive structures, but as impressive and appealing are the paintings, murals, and stone inscriptions inside.

Bagan is often compared to Angkor Wat, the famous temple complex. None of Bagan's temples are as large as the main hall at Angkor Wat, but their beauty and their concentration over such a small area make them remarkable. Because Bagan is now so isolated, it doesn't get nearly as many visitors as Angkor Wat. Lucky visitors to Bagan often feel as though they have the entire wondrous city to themselves!

RP286 Pros and Cons of Nuclear Power

 RP286 Pros and Cons of Nuclear Power

Nuclear energy inspires passionate debate. As the world struggles to solve its energy problems, some believe nuclear power is our savior. Dramatic accidents and near misses, however, have convinced its opponents that nuclear energy must be discontinued.

Nuclear accidents tend to be famous and deadly. The Chernobyl accident may have killed more than 15,000 people. Three mile Island could have been deadly. No one knows what the long-term effects of the Fukushima meltdown will be.

Ironically, however, nuclear power is considered safe. The disasters make headlines, but yearly deaths from mining, burning, and drilling for oil and coal far exceed deaths related to nuclear power. Because nuclear power is so dangerous, the safety standards for most plants are extremely high.

Nuclear power is also relatively clean. It emits less carbon dioxide, contributing less to global warming than its competitors coal and oil. It's more efficient than any other power source. One ton of uranium produces as much energy as millions of tons of coal or oil. Therefore, nuclear power saves money and minimizes waste.

It sounds great, but that's not the whole story. Nuclear power's safety, first of all, is relative. While there have been very few nuclear accidents so far, they are always possible. A major accident at a nuclear plant would have far more devastating effects than a collapsed mine or a blown oil rig.

These potentially devastating effects mean nuclear power plants may become targets for terrorism. An attack on a nuclear plant could cripple an entire nation. It could even affect the whole planet.

Then there's the waste. Nuclear plants don't emit many gases, but they create radioactive waste. This waste must be stored away from humans for thousands of years, leaving a mess for other generations to clean up. This waste could also be used to make weapons.

Cheap and efficient, or deadly? Nuclear energy may be too powerful a process to ever be safe in human hands. Time— or the next disaster— will tell.

RP285 Really Scary

 RP285 Really Scary

In 1999, The Blair Witch Project came out. It was about three student filmmakers who had set out in 1994 to research the Blair Witch in the woods of Maryland, USA. The Blair Witch—whatever it was—had been blamed for the disappearance of children in the area for fifty years. The three students hiked into the wood and were never heard from again. Their sound and video equipment was found a year later. The footage was pieced together to tell the story of their fates.

Or was it? The Blair Witch Project was a surprising hit of 1999. It cost only under 750,000 USD (far less than any Hollywood movie), and earned over 240 million dollars! It also started a wave of pseudo-documentary horror movies.

The Blair Witch Project was so scary because it seemed so real. It used its genre, documentary, to add to watchers' fear. Rather than showing a traditional, fictional narrative, the pseudo-documentary allowed viewers to pretend they were watching real events. And the scariest thing a horror movie can do is make you think it's real, right? Starting off real gets people frightened faster than waiting to get caught up in an obviously fictional narrative.

Since then, other movies have ridden the pseudo-documentary wave. The Paranormal Activity series all pretend to use only security camera footage and home movies to tell the story of a haunted. The Last Exorcism tells the story of a preacher documenting fake exorcisms who ends up confronting a real demon. Like The Blair Witch Project, the Paranormal Activity movies were cheap to make. The Last Exorcism cost less than two million dollars, much more than the others, but still nothing compared to big Hollywood films.

Pseudo-documentary horror films cut out the special effects and the big-name actors. They bring the fear home by making the characters seem just like the audience. And the horrors they face seem terribly real.

RP284 But Is It Art

 RP284 But Is It Art?

Some of his major pieces have been rejected from art shows. Some of them, including a urinal called Fountain, are still reviled today. Many of his pieces are simply objects he found and slightly modified. Marcel Duchamp's art challenges us to define "art."

As a student, Duchamp studied Post-Impressionist, modern ways of painting, including Cubism, Fauvism, and other emerging styles. Some of his early paintings aligned with these styles. However, even early in his career, Duchamp pushed the boundaries of academic art. Nude Descending a Staircase No. 2 (1912), a Cubist-style painting of a broken and reassembled figure, was rejected by Cubists. They found the title too literal, the subject matter too unlikely. This painting is now considered a modern classic.

By the age of 26, Duchamp was tired of "retinal art"—art that is geared solely toward the eye. He wanted to engage his viewers' imaginations. He largely stopped painting, and he began creating other art objects. These were his challenge to the art world.

L.H.O.O.Q is one challenge. One of his readymades—found objects he modified and displayed as art—L.H.O.O.Q., is a postcard printed with the Mona Lisa. Duchamps drew a beard and mustache on her. The joke is continued with the name of the piece. The letters, in French, sound like the phrase "She has a hot ass."

One of his masterpieces is The Large Glass. It's made from two large, shattered glass panels. The figures in it are made of lead foil, wire, and even dust. One figure is alone on the top panel, while several others below seem to be operating a complicated machine. Some critics interpret it as a comic encounter between a woman and her suitors.

Like it or not, Duchamp's work has made a huge impact on art today. With his insistence on humor, intellect, and imagination, he took art from our eyes alone and gave it to our minds.

RP283 (Fisher) man's Best Friend

 RP283 (Fisher) man's Best Friend?

The sweet-faced Irrawaddy dolphin lives in small groups scattered throughout Southeast Asia. Sadly, these gentle creatures are critically endangered. The problem, as always, is human activity. Some fishers are mistakenly trapping dolphins in huge nets pulled behind their boats. Others are using electricity to fish, killing innocent dolphins in the process.

All of this is particularly sad because Irrawaddy dolphins have been helping humans for thousands of years. A fascinating cooperative relationship has formed between the dolphins and local traditional fishers. The dolphins help drive fish into the fisher's nets. In return, they' re rewarded with a portion of the catch. The practice used to be so common that it even came up in court. Fishers have gone to court to recover fish that they claim a rival's dolphin drove from their nets. Traditional fishers work with dolphins to this day, at least when they can find one. Traditional fishing is not the problem— it's industrial and commercial fishing that are threatening Irrawaddy dolphins.

Though Irrawaddy dolphins are oceanic dolphins, they can also survive in rivers. Generally, they prefer the water along coasts and river mouths, where fresh and salt water mix. Irrawaddy dolphins have round heads and very short noses. They are related to orcas, though they are smaller. They grow to about 2.5 meters long, and they're gray instead of black and white.

These unique creatures are critically endangered outside of Bangladesh and India. Populations in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Borneo, and the Philippines are estimated to be under 100. Their numbers have dropped due to threats from nets, boats, and dams. However, the dolphins are now recognized as a potential boon for tourism. Some dolphins have been captured and trained to perform in aquariums. Others are visited in their native habitat by tourists on boats. Their interesting behavior, including waving and spitting, is fun to watch. These animals can have a positive impact on the modern economy. That might just be the key to their survival.

RP282 The Kentucky Classic

 RP282 The Kentucky Classic

Horses and horse racing have been obsession s in Kentucky for well over 200 years. Horses were raced in parks until the first public track was created in 1805. Then in 1875, Churchill Downs opened its doors. The legend of the Kentucky Derby was born.

Every year since 1875, the track at Churchill Downs has felt the pounding hooves of 20 three-year-old horses competing to win the Kentucky Derby, one of the most important horse races in the USA. Both colts and fillies (male and female horses) can compete. The horses run 1.25 miles. At the end, the winners get a large purse, a huge wreath of roses, and a place in history.

The Kentucky Derby has created some famous heroes. The fastest race time so far was posted by the famous Secretariat, who finished in 1:59.40 in 1973. The longest odds were overcome by Donerail, who came from behind to win despite 91-1 odds. Spectators who put two dollar bets on Donerail in the 1913 Kentucky Derby got nearly 185 dollars in return.

There is also drama off the track. The Kentucky Derby has always been a major social event in Louisville, Kentucky. People choose their clothes carefully, and women traditionally wear big, elaborate hats. The owners and backers of horses often sit in Millionaire's Row, a section of boxes with a great view of the track. Spectators fill the stands and the infield, where seats are cheaper. Cold, sweet Mint Juleps—the traditional drink of the race—flow. The race caps off a long party for horse lovers.

The end of the Kentucky Derby is also a beginning. It's the first race of the Triple Crown, the three most important horse races in the USA. The Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes are the other two races. As of now, the last horse to win all three was affirmed, in 1978. Each year at the Kentucky Derby, the dream begins again.

RP281 Don't Get Taken

 RP281 Don't Get Taken

In 1849, New Yorker William Thompson was arrested for an unusual series of robberies. Thompson would pretend to know someone, and then ask to borrow money or a watch from that person. Some people had enough confidence in him to agree, and so they lost their property. After Thompson was caught, newspapers nicknamed him "the confidence man" because of the unique nature of his crimes.

Nearly 170 years later, the people we now call con artists are no longer unusual. The list of tricks used to get people's money through trust is endless. And in the age of the Internet, the list is growing faster than ever before.

Almost no one would hand money to a stranger on the street today. Countless people, however, are fooled by online scams all the time. Have you ever gotten an email telling you you' ve won a fortune? How about a text message offering you an amazing business opportunity? Or a contact request from your perfect love? These are just a few of the ways Internet con artists establish relationships with their victims. If you respond, you' ll soon be asked for money and/ or information. A bank account number, password, or email address is all the skilled con artist needs to go to work.

Many online crimes rely on identity theft. This means stealing someone's name, identification number, address, or other personal details. Once a con artist has such information, he can commit identity fraud. This means using someone else's identity for criminal purposes. The victim may suffer directly, say, by having his credit card number used to make fraudulent purchases. With the explosion of social media, one person's information can give criminals access to many other people's details. The more you put online, the greater the danger.

If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Today's William Thompson use all sorts of disguise and stories to gain people's confidence. It's up to all of us to have the good sense not to give it to them. 

RP280 Food Taboos

 RP280 Food Taboos

Which sounds tastier: a rat, a pig, or a cricket? Chances are one of those foods is something you eat often, and another is something you wouldn't swallow unless you absolutely had to.

All of the animals listed above are fine sources of nourishment. It's only our cultures that insist one is a meal while another is a crime. In Southeast Asia, insects often show up on people's plates. Besides being tasty, they provide protein and other nutrients, and they' re perfectly normal part of a meal. A ham sandwich is a common lunch in the West, but it's absolutely taboo for many Muslims and Jews. A juicy steak? Don't serve that to guests in India. Chances are more than one will be Hindu and would be horrified at eating beef. Dogs are man's best friend in North America and Western Europe. Most people living there would rather survive on shoe leather than eat their dogs. In parts of Africa, Asia, and the Pacific, however, eating dogs is no big deal.

Some taboos cover body parts rather than whole animals. Fish eyes are eaten with delight in Thailand, but removed from most restaurants in the USA. Argentines are happy to barbecue and eat bulls' testicles, but they would make many Americans squeamish. Pigs' and chickens' feet are eaten in many parts of the world, but in almost as many, the idea of eating the part of an animal that touched the ground is disgusting or even insulting.

Non-meat foods can also be taboo. In many cultures, fungus are an expensive delicacy. Because they grow at night, though, they are banned by some schools of Hinduism and Buddhism. Some Hindu and Buddhist sects also forbid garlic, onions, peppers, and other strong spices, believing that strong flavors incite strong passions they want to avoid.

There are no universal laws when it comes to food. If it can be chewed, swallowed, and digested, somebody out there is eating it and probably enjoying it.

RP279 Mystery of King Tut

 RP279 Mystery of King Tut

Tutankhamun—“King Tut,” as he is known—inspires fascination that is out of proportion to his actual historical significance. Somehow, this insignificant pharaoh has captured imaginations for centuries.

The young king is probably beloved for his tomb. Until Tut's tomb was found in 1922, archaeologists believed that all the great tombs had been robbed and stripped. Tut's tomb was spared because thousands of years ago, it was hidden by flooding and other buildings. Before the archaeologist Howard Carter and his workers discovered the stairs to the tomb, no one remembered that King Tut had ever existed.

For its discoverers, walking into the tomb was like walking into a dream. The burial chamber was painted with religious scenes. It contained a series of gilded shrines, which protected the carved granite sarcophagus. Inside, the mummy of the young pharaoh rested inside three carved, decorated coffins, one of which was made of pure gold. The mummy wore a beautiful gold mask and other adornments. Nearby, a treasury contained hundreds of funeral statues and sacred objects.

Tut's tomb, however, wasn't particularly extravagant for its time. In fact, it's rather small. Some experts believe Tut died suddenly (he was only 18 or 19 years old) and had to be buried before his royal tomb was finished.

Who was King Tut? Tutankhamun is believed to be the son of Akhenaten, a powerful and influential ruler. Akhenaten is famous for changing the religious system of Egypt, insisting that the country worship only one high god. When his son took the throne at only nine, he inherited a country that was in a state of turmoil over these changes.

Tutankhamun originally supported his father's beliefs, but over time he returned to the old ways. He reinstated old gods and returned to Egypt's ancient capital. In this way, he calmed some of the upheaval his father's reign had caused. The impact of his reign was slight, but with his tomb, King Tut brought ancient Egypt back to life for all the world.

RP278 Jeita Grotto

 RP278 Jeita Grotto

In 1836, a man fired a gun into a cave and discovered one of the wonders of the world. Reverend William Johnson followed an underground river— the source of the important water source the Nahr-al-Kalb river— deep into a cave. The echoes of his gunshot proved to him that he'd found a huge cave system, but the caves weren't formally explored until 1873. Engineers from the Beirut Water Company pushed further into the caves for the next few years. They only stopped when they reached the dangerous Hell's Rapids, where sharp rocks turned the river deadly.

Over the next few decades, other explorers penetrated and explored the caves, which extend kilometers deep into the earth. In 1958, the lower cave was opened to the public. Visitors could see the underwater river that runs through it, the waterfall at its entrance, and the lake (Dark Lake) that it forms. All around are vast halls and stalagmite formations that have been formed over millions of years.

The same year, a whole new upper cave was discovered after brave explorers climbed over 600 meters above the underground river entrance. The dry upper cave contains even more stone formations, including flowing stone draperies, sinkholes, stalagmites, and stalactites. A chamber in the upper caves holds the world's longest stalactite—a 27-foot-long V shape. chambers in the upper cave show dramatic color changes, particularly in the Red Chamber and White Chamber, where different chemical combinations create vivid red and white stone formations.

The caves seem to have been inhabited in prehistoric times, but they were lost for unknown years until their recent discovery. Lately, political unrest has kept the caves from the public. They were closed from 1978 to 1995 because of war. Since then, the caves have been reopened to the public and even honored for their sustainable development. With responsible management, these wonders should be impressing visitors for hundreds more years.

RP277 The Life and Death of Cai Lun

 RP277 The Life and Death of Cai Lun

Paper is something we all take for granted, but have you ever wondered who invented it? The answer, as you might imagine, lies far back in time, but it is not very far off in space. Meet the man without whom you might not be holding this book right now!

Cai Lun was born in China's Hunan Province around 61 A.D. In 75 A.D., he became a member of the Han Dynasty court under Emperor He. The emperor was impressed with Cai's talents, and made him the court's official manufacturer of instruments and weapons. Cai was also involved in palace intrigue as an ally of Empress Dou. His role in the arrest and suicide of the empress's rival, consort Song, would have serious consequences for him.

In 105 A.D., Cai invented the papermaking process as we know it. While paper had already existed in China for several centuries, Cai greatly improved both its quality and manufacturing methods. Legend has it that his idea came from watching wasps build nests from wood and plant fibers mixed with saliva. In any case, sheets of fiber are still dipped into water, drained, and dried to make paper today.

Cai's paper was a significant improvement over bamboo and silk, the most common writing surfaces of his time. Lightweight and inexpensive to produce, it quickly gained popularity. And Cai, whose position enabled him to promote his new invention, gained considerable wealth and a royal title.

But the past catches up with us all, and it caught up with Cai Lun. In 121 A.D., Emperor An, the grandson of consort Song, took the throne. One of his first orders was that Cai go to prison for his involvement in Song's death. In fear for his life, Cai instead killed himself by drinking poison—just as consort Song had done.

Cai Lun regularly appears on lists of history's most influential people, but remains largely unknown outside of China. Unlike his invention, the man who gave us paper has faded back into the mists of time.

RP276 Talking With Animals

 RP276 Talking With Animals

Many social animals use complex systems of communication: whales, elephants, and wolves, among many others. Most aspects of these languages are still a mystery to humans, though we're learning more every day. We are also teaching by training pets and service animals. Once in a while, we encounter an individual that really stands out—an animal that really seems to understand. These are some of them.

Lukas is called "the smartest horse in the world." He's even got a certificate from Guinness World Records to prove it. He identified 19 numbers in less than a minute. No other horses can compete with him. Lukas can also spell short words, nod for "yes," shake his head for "no," and identify shapes. His most remarkable skill, however, may be that he notices when something is missing. This requires abstract thinking that was thought to belong only to humans and apes. Lukas does tricks, but his ability to really communicate is what sets him apart.

Chaser is a border collie that has a lot of toys. More than 1,000 of them, in fact. Each toy has its own name, and Chaser, the dog remembers every single one. Over the years, Chaser's learned more than 1,022 nouns. She even understands some verbs. "Find," "nose," and "paw" are all actions she's been taught to perform. Chaser was only seven years old in 2012, so she's got lots of years of learning and playing with toys ahead of her.

Kanzi, the bonobo used to go to language classes with his mother. His mother was never interested in the lessons, but Kanzi was. One day, Kanzi astonished researchers by correctly using the words they'd been trying to teach his mother! They began teaching Kanzi, and now he knows about 450 words. He even makes up new words for new situations. Kanzi speaks using a machine that makes word sounds when he presses a button. He listens to humans and responds through this machine. He's actually been interviewed by a journalist!

RP275 Talk to TED

 RP275 Talk to TED 

There are lots of ways to educate yourself on the Internet. You can find photos, documents, and films on almost any topic you can imagine. And at www.ted.com, you can access lectures by artists, scholars, designers, technicians, and others.

The first TED conference was held in 1984. It brought together professionals in the fields of technology, entertainment, and design (hence the “TED” name). TED was a place for people to share new ideas. Unfortunately, it ended up losing money, so the founders didn't try again for a few years. Then, in 1990, they organized another TED conference. The result was much better, and since then, the TED conference has become an annual event. In fact, now there are two conferences every year, and other spin-off events as well. The topics have also expanded to include music, medicine, and money.

The conference organizers wanted to share knowledge even further, so they created the TED website. Their goal was to “offer free knowledge from the world's most inspired thinkers.” On the website, you'll find videos of talks given at TED conferences around the world. These videos are available in hundreds of different languages.

The TED website is owned by the Sapling Foundation, a non-profit devoted to spreading great ideas. The Sapling Foundation acquired TED in 2001. Since then, it has been focused on using TED to broadcast ideas that might change the world.

TED, of course, is not above criticism. Some say that ticket prices are too high, making it hard for many people to attend. TED has also been accused of censoring some speakers by not making their talks public.

The complaints, however, seem to be relatively few and far between for such a large organization. After all, who cares about ticket prices when almost everything is given away freely on TED's website? These people should know a good thing when they see it. TED is a wonderful source of inspirational information for anyone who seeks it out.

RP274 My Mother Says

 RP274 My Mother Says...

“How did people get along centuries ago, before penicillin, shining hospitals and high-tech treatments and medicines with kid-friendly flavors?” you might wonder. We' ve certainly made great progress in health, but something odd is happening. Our new discoveries often look just like traditional wisdom. Should we have been listening to folk wisdom all along?

When I got a sore throat as a child, my mother made me gargle with warm salt water. Her mother made her do this, and her mother's mother did, too— because it works! Here's why: the salt in the water has a drying effect. Usually, when you have a sore throat, the back of your throat becomes inflamed with dots filled with water and bacteria. The salt sticks to the back of your throat, drying out the inflammation and killing the bacteria. No more sore throat, and no doctor's visit either!

Chicken soup is a cold remedy that's nearly 1,000 years old. Typical ingredients are chicken, garlic, noodles, carrots, salt, pepper, and water. We know that salt water can help dry out bacteria so that would help. Garlic has been proven to kill bacteria, and viruses. Steam from the soup helps loosen mucus in the chest. Chicken contains zinc, which recent studies show can stop viruses from replicating. Maybe chicken soup is the best thing for a cold.

They say 'An apple a day keeps the doctor away.' Apples may indeed be special. A new study funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that eating an apple about every day for a year lowered bad cholesterol and raised good cholesterol. This didn't happen with a control group who ate other fruits. The women in the study even lost weight, despite eating extra calories!

Like medicines, folk remedies aren't all alike and don't all work. But just because something isn't high-tech doesn't mean it isn't effective. After all, traditions don't usually last thousands of years without some truth behind them!

RP273 Cold Beauty

 RP273 Cold Beauty

The taiga is the largest land biome, or type of habitat, in the world. The taiga (or boreal forest) is an area of coniferous forests that spans Eurasia and northern North America from coast to coast. It covers most of the area between 50 degrees latitude north to the Arctic circle. It's a harsh but beautiful landscape.

The taiga has an extreme climate, with large differences between winter and summer temperatures. It's mainly defined by its winters, which are long, snowy, and amazingly cold. Cold arctic air brings temperatures down to 54 degrees Celsius! The taiga is below freezing for more than half the year. It's not a very hospitable place for many animals or plants, though some hardy species can live there. Some of the animals that are capable of surviving in the taiga are types of bears, wolves, rabbits, weasels, and foxes. In the hot, humid summertime, the taiga fills with insects.

The huge forests of the taiga are full of the soft rustle of needles. The forests are made almost entirely of coniferous trees, which don't lose their leaves. They don't even grow leaves. In fact, coniferous trees have thin green or gray needles. The needles help them conserve water and their cone shapes help them shed heavy winter snowfalls.

The spruce, fir, and pine trees that cover the taiga create two major types of environment: closed canopy forest, and sparse taiga. In closed canopy forests, the trees grow very close together and the ground is covered with moss. In open spaces, bright wildflowers burst out in the summer. In the sparse taiga (also called lichen woodland) trees are smaller and grow much farther apart. The cold wind creates bare patches on the wind-facing surfaces of rocks, with moss and lichen (a strange combination of plant and fungus) growing only on the sheltered sides. For all its beauty, the life that exists in the taiga must primarily be admired for its toughness.

RP272 Money Talks— in Many Languages

 RP272 Money Talks— in Many Languages!

It was a long and difficult birth. Proponents had been fighting for it since the 1960s, slowly overcoming strong resistance. Despite arguments and protests, the euro was finally put into circulation on January 1, 2002. An entire continent— in theory, at least— could now use the same eight coins and seven notes.

The euro is the official currency of the eurozone, which had 12 member states when euros were first issued and now has 19. Previously, these countries used their own national currencies. The euro, however, gave them a common currency to trade with. In most of the eurozone, it has replaced old currencies both within individual countries and across borders.

While each country in the eurozone prints its own euros with its own design on one side, all euros have exactly the same value. This equality is the point of the currency. The euro is managed by the European Central Bank, which must try to please all members of the eurozone. That's often hard to do. Having a single currency means individual nations cannot manipulate its value to solve their debt problems. It also means that economic difficulties in any eurozone country affect the entire community.

Greece is a prime example. Extreme debt has forced the country to borrow huge sums from its eurozone partners in recent years. In return, the eurozone has demanded that Greece find ways to save money. Tax increases, smaller pensions for retired workers, and cuts in social spending have caused outrage and even riots in Greece.

Like political union, economic union has caused Europe some problems. Smaller states feel discriminate d against by larger ones. Wealthy states resent having to give money to poor ones. Prices rose in some countries with the introduction of the euro, but wages didn't.

Still, the euro remains one of the world's strongest and most traded currencies. The global financial crisis has certainly not avoided Europe. But for now, the single currency first imagined over 50 years ago is doing better than most.

RP271 In Style, or in Danger

 RP271 In Style, or in Danger?

Here are three questions for you.

What percentage of your money do you spend on clothes?

Do you buy clothes because you like them, or because they' re in style?

Will you wear any brand of clothing, or only designer labels (real or fake)?

If you answered the first question with a high number, and the others with their latter options, you may be a fashion victim!

A fashion victim is someone who insists on wearing currently fashionable clothes even if they' re completely unsuitable for her or him. The late designer Oscar de la Renta claimed to have coined the phrase, and many other top designers have used it. They should know!

Most shoppers can look at a piece of clothing and make a sensible choice about whether or not it's for them. Fashion victims, however, are blind to the obvious and will buy anything they feel they "should" be wearing. They are especially concerned with following fads, which are very brief but popular trends. As a result, they must constantly update their wardrobes to stay in style— or at least stay trendy!

Expensive brand labels are another obsession of the true fashion victim. Wearing designer clothes suggests wealth, class, and superior taste, or so fashion victims believe. The fashion industry knows this, which is why so many clothes and accessories nowadays proudly display their makers' names as designs.

Do you look like a walking advertisement when you go out? Be honest, now!

Most people care about their appearance; that's only natural. And many people— especially young people— care about being fashionable. But when keeping up with the latest trends actually starts to damage one's appearance, it's time to rethink. The next time you' re shopping for clothes, don't worry about what your friends are wearing or which brand is "it" right now. Buy what you want to wear and what looks good on you. It may not make you trendy, but you'll still be wearing it next year.

A fashion victim alters her/ his look from season to season.

RP270 Going the Distance—and Then Some

 RP270 Going the Distance—and Then Some

You've probably heard of the marathon, the 42-kilometer road race that closes the Olympic games every four years. Dating back to the first modern Olympics in 1896, it may be the best-known endurance test on earth. But is it the most extreme? Not by a long shot!

An ultramarathon is any race longer than the traditional marathon. Some ultramarathons are run over specified distances (with 50 kilometers, 100 kilometers, 50 miles, and 100 miles being the most common), while others are run over specified times to crown the runner who goes the furthest before the clock runs out. The 100-kilometer ultramarathon has been recognized as an official world record event by the International Association of Athletics Federations, but there are no plans to add it to the Olympiad anytime soon!

As you might imagine, running such long distances endangers the human body in many ways. Ultramarathon runners are more likely to experience breathing problems, bone fractures, cramps, stomach trouble, low body temperature, and other health issues than those who compete in shorter races.

Some ultramarathons are not competitive, but test one's endurance as an end in itself. These races have a "go as you please" system. This means that runners may walk, stop to eat and drink, or even sleep without losing anything but time. The 4 Deserts Race Series is one very extreme example. It consists of four 250-kilometer, seven-day races, each in a desert on a different continent. Runners are given water, tents to sleep in, and medical care if necessary. Otherwise, they must carry all their own supplies and take full responsibility for themselves. There is no time limit to complete the four races. Doing so in a single calendar year, however, qualifies as a 4 Deserts Grand Slam.

Few people can imagine running 42 kilometers, let alone 100 or 250. For some, though, there seems to be no limit to what the body and will can accomplish. In the ultramarathon, they may finally have found their ideal sport.

RP269 A Greener Solution

 RP269 A Greener Solution?

More people, more money, more machines: this seems to be how development proceeds. But the machines that save our time and improve our lives (we think) need to be powered one way or another. One way of fueling our machines and our economy is natural gas.

Natural gas is combustible, which means it will burn. It's made of different hydrocarbon gases, mostly methane. It's usually found underground near oil deposits, but it is also made biologically, as microorganisms break down organic matter into methane and other substances.

Natural gas has a lot of benefits as a fuel. It is widely available. It burns cleaner than other fossil fuels, releasing from 30% to 45% less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than coal or oil. It doesn't create soot or sulfur dioxide when burned. It can be used to run a variety of household appliances, as well as cars, trucks, buses, and even airplanes. And because it's lighter than air, any leaking gas would likely float up into the sky and dissipate. This reduces the chances of an explosion.

Of course, there are drawbacks. While natural gas is cleaner than other fuels, it still releases some carbon dioxide into the atmosphere when burned, meaning it contributes to global warming. Like its dirty cousins coal and oil, natural gas is a fossil fuel and will eventually run out. Being far below the surface, natural gas requires long pipelines to reach it and distribute it. These pipelines disrupt ecosystems. It's also not very efficient in cars and buses; the mileage from natural gas is lower than that from gasoline.

In the end, natural gas is probably best as an interim step but not a solution to our fossil fuel addiction. It is cleaner than coal and oil, but it still results in pollution. It may not speed up global warming as much as those other fuels, but it still contributes. It may be greener, but it is not the green power source that will save us.

RP268 The Golden Age of Dutch Paintings

 RP268 The Golden Age of Dutch Paintings

A small country in northern Europe suddenly burst into artistic bloom in the 17th century. Between about 1584 and 1702, the Netherlands produced more than five million paintings and nurtured the careers of some of the most important artists in the West.

After revolting against Spanish rule in 1568, the Netherlands quickly became a major trading power in the world. Citizens grew wealthy and cities filled. The newly wealthy, newly liberated Dutch realized that paintings could serve two purposes: they could help show their Dutch values and way of life and also become valuable merchandise.(To allow for easy shipping, many Dutch paintings of this era aren't very big.) Merchants became patrons of artists and paintings became ways to show power and status.

Dutch Golden Age paintings differ from their counterparts in the rest of Europe in several ways. First, their subject matter was slightly different. The Dutch church frowned upon embellishment, so relatively few Dutch paintings deal with religious themes. Instead, they show historical scenes, still lives, landscapes, and portraits. Genre paintings, perhaps the most significant development of this age, showed home and tavern life and were intended to convey humor, sensuality, or a moral message.

Dutch painters of the era generally took apprenticeships in workshops where they were trained by a master. Different schools of the period have different styles, but paintings of this era share some general similarities. In particular, the use of Chiaroscuro (contrasting light and dark), realism and realistic detail, and narrative directness are hallmarks of the age. Its portraits are also distinct for their humbleness. The Dutch church did not promote pride, and even the richest subjects didn't show off their possessions as other European subjects did.

The Golden Age of Dutch paintings gave us an astonishing number of masterpieces, such as Gypsy Girl by Frans Hals, The Milkmaid by Johannes Vermeer, The Stoning of Saint Stephen by Rembrandt and Nicolaes Maes' Old Woman Dozing. Hundreds of years have passed, and we still admire and study these products of a Golden Age.

RP267 Black and White and Strange All Over

 RP267 Black and White and Strange All Over

The tapir is an odd-looking creature. It has a nose like an elephant or anteater, a body like a pig, and hoofed toes that might remind you of a rhino. They like to wallow in water like hippos, but they can gallop rather like a horse. They are shy, but they can defend themselves with their powerful jaws. In short, they are unusual animals.

The strangest thing about a tapir is probably its nose. Tapirs' noses are shorter than elephants' noses, but they are still prehensile, meaning they can reach out and grab things or break them apart to eat. Tapirs even use their noses like snorkels when they want to relax underwater for a while!

Tapirs might look frightening, but they are generally meek. They are usually nocturnal and hard to see in their native habitats because they are so good at finding shelter and hiding. Though they are not aggressive themselves, they don't have many predators. Their thick skin helps protect them from the larger animals they live among, like jaguars and crocodiles.

Tapirs live in the jungles and forests of Central and South America and Southeast Asia, but tapir populations are dwindling. All species of tapir are classified as endangered or vulnerable. Tapirs are one of the first species in a region to become threatened by human activities in their habitats. They' re very sensitive to environmental changes. Tapirs are very important to their environments because they are significant seed dispersers. This means that they help spread the seeds they eat or carry. This helps ensure that those plants survive over a wide area. When tapirs become extinct in a particular environment, its diversity will be threatened.

To protect tapirs, we must understand them. Many nations with tapir populations have begun studying tapirs' habits to understand how to increase their numbers. In this way, they can begin to help tapirs come back from the brink and also preserve their delicate natural ecosystems.

RP266 The Food of Earls?

 RP266 The Food of Earls?

What could be better than a food you can hold cleanly with your fingers? It contains vegetables, grains, cheese, eggs, and meat. It is entirely edible, leaving no mess and no waste. As far as I'm concerned, a sandwich is a perfect meal.

Many people believe that we owe the wonderful sandwich to John Montagu, the fourth Earl of Sandwich (a town in southern England). However, the history of this fabulous food is longer and more complicated than just that story.

The origin of the sandwich might date to the first century B.C., somewhere around Jerusalem. Hillel the Elder, a respected rabbi, put a mixture of chopped nuts, apples, spices, and wine between two pieces of matzo during the Passover celebration. Because he was so important in the community, this practice was repeated.

In the Middle Ages, food was often served on big, thick, stale pieces of bread called trenchers. When the real meal was finished, the soaked bread could be eaten or given to poor people or animals. Putting meat or cheese between two pieces of bread wasn't uncommon, but it didn't have a name.

Enter John Montagu, the fourth Earl of Sandwich. Montagu liked to stay up late playing cards and gambling. Legend has it that in 1765, Montagu asked his cook to bring him meat tucked into bread so he could continue playing cards without getting everything greasy. Others playing the game ordered "the same as Sandwich," and the name was born! Montagu probably saw pitas and other sandwich-like creations on trips to the Mediterranean and Turkey, and this could have influenced his directions to his cook. These eastern sandwiches may have been influenced by Hillel the Elder. So the story of the sandwich comes full circle—or square, or triangle. However you like to cut it.

RP265 The Imaginary Friend

 RP265 The Imaginary Friend

When you were little, did you have a slightly strange friend? One that had a funny color and shape or could hide in your pocket? Did you have a friend who was completely... imaginary?

If you did, you' re in the majority. People used to believe that imaginary friends were rare, but more recent research in the United States found that nearly two thirds of seven-year-olds had an imaginary friend at some point. Research in the United Kingdom on a group of 1,800 children showed that 46% of them had an imaginary friend currently or had one in the past, including nine percent of 12-year-olds! Imaginary friends, we have learned, can last into the elementary school years.

While parents might be disturbed to hear their children talking to themselves, imaginary friends don't seem to be harmful at all. In fact, some studies show that having imaginary friends helps children develop verbal and social skills. These social skills can actually help children make more real friends. Imaginary friends help children practice social situations, like standing up to bullies or expressing difficult feelings. They also give children a chance, for once, to tell someone else what to do.

People used to believe that imaginary friends were a sign that something was missing from a child's life. The child must be lacking affection or social interaction, or he or she had lost something important. However, research from the past decade contradicts this theory. It suggests that children with more free time tend to create imaginary friends. While this free time may come as a result of a move or change in routine, this doesn't mean that imaginary friends come from trauma or loss.

It turns out that imaginary friends aren't a red flag at all. In fact, they seem to be very positive influences. Perhaps parents will start hoping their children spend a few years talking to thin air.

RP264 The Metal Eater

 RP264 The Metal Eater

My bike has been sitting outside in the rain for a week now. I know what I' ll find when the sun finally comes out and I can ride again: scratchy red rust.

Rust is a sign of corrosion. Corrosion is the process of a metal breaking down, separating into its different atoms. What was once a solid piece of steel is turned by corrosion into iron oxide and hydroxide. These are the red, spreading stains you can see.

The corrosion that creates rust is a chemical reaction between iron and oxygen. Water acts as a catalyst, the kick start for the reaction, because water helps the oxygen get into the metal particles.

A drop of rain falls on the metal chain on my bike. As soon as the water makes contact with metal, the metal begins to oxidize. The acid dissolves the iron in the metal. As that happens, the water is broken down into its two parts, hydrogen and oxygen. Some of the free oxygen combines with the iron to form the red, fragile iron oxide or hydroxide. If salt is present, the process happens even faster. Salt water helps the chemicals break down and move faster, which is why metal in seawater rusts away so quickly.

The type of rust formed will depend on the conditions. Iron hydroxides are formed by more pure combinations of metal, oxygen, and water. These rusts stick to the surface of the metal, but protect the metal underneath from rusting more. But when other chemicals come into play, the rust formed can be iron oxides. These flake off and blow away, leaving new metal constantly exposed. This destructive type of rust can eat entirely through a piece of steel.

Rust is preventable. The easiest way to keep metal from rusting is to put a barrier between it and the environment. This barrier can be paints, waxes, or oils.

That reminds me: I need to oil my bike!

RP263 Plato

 RP263 Plato

He was a star student, then an influential teacher. His work has shaped Western philosophy from its earliest beginnings. He lived about 80 years, but his legacy has lasted thousands.

Plato was born to a very wealthy, aristocratic family in Athens in about 427 B.C. As a young man, he studied under Socrates. In fact, it is mostly through Plato's writing that we understand Socrates, the famous teacher and philosopher. Plato described Socrates questioning and teaching his young students in his Dialogue s (a series of writings).

Plato's most famous work is The Republic, a dialogue that addresses the topic of justice, both for individuals and for nations. In the work, Socrates and others discuss definitions of justice and whether justice leads to happiness. Throughout, Socrates uses the metaphor of a soul as a city. Justice is not born into either but can be achieved through correct laws and moral rule. The Republic is one of the West's most important works of philosophy and political theory. It provides the basis for many of our ideas of how to live a good life and how to rule fairly.

Plato, like other philosophers of the time, was interested in change and sameness. Philosophers disagreed on the nature of the physical world because it was so changeable and yet so constant. Plato tried to answer this question with his philosophy of forms. He described a separation between the essence of something— the concept of "chair," for example— and its various physical examples. The idea is constant, though the examples differ and die.

After Socrates died, Plato traveled to Italy, Sicily, and perhaps even Egypt. When he returned to Athens, he founded a school, known as the Academy. The 36 dialogues and 13 letters Plato composed over his life have shaped Western ideas ever since.

RP262 The Medicine That Tastes Good

 RP262 The Medicine That Tastes Good

It's sweet, sticky, delicious, and...good for you? That's right! Believe it or not, that simple jar of honey in your kitchen cabinet has many amazing health benefits.

You've probably been advised at some point to drink tea with lemon and honey for a sore throat. This is no old wives' tale. Studies have shown that honey is more effective than cough syrup in fighting children's coughs and improving their sleep. Honey's stickiness eases a sore throat, while its anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties may help fight the infection itself.

As the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Honey is widely believed to support immunity, thus preventing everything from ulcers to heart disease and even some forms of cancer. An Israeli study found that honey increased people's number of white blood cells, which our bodies use to fight infection. And despite being a sweetener, honey helps regulate blood sugar levels and aids digestion thanks to the helpful bacteria it contains.

Honey also contains phytochemicals, which are chemicals that kill viruses, fungi, and some bacteria. This means honey can prevent infection and scarring from cuts and burns. Natural moisturizing properties make honey a popular ingredient in skin care products.

Not all of the news about honey is good, though. Recent research has concluded that babies under one year of age should not be given honey in any form. In infants' digestive systems, honey can cause botulism, a rare but potentially deadly and/ or paralyzing disease. By the age of one, however, most children's digestive systems are strong enough to kill botulism before it can spread.

Honey has been used as both a medicine and an athletic performance aid for at least 4,000 years. Until recently, however, its numerous benefits have largely been ignored by modern science. We can expect to hear a lot more about them as the medical industry once again catches up with ancient wisdom.

RP261 Mud Volcano

 RP261 Mud Volcano

The image that comes to mind when we hear "volcano" is a black peak, with red lava flowing down the sides and smoke bursting from the top. There's another type of volcano, though: one that belches mud.

Mud volcanoes are like lava volcanoes in that they explode with pentup, sometimes burning gases. Mud volcanoes, however, are much cooler than volcanoes that spew molten rock. Some mud volcanoes can even be cool. Many, in fact, are the sites of spas, where people can rub the mud on their bodies for health and cosmetic benefits.

Mud volcanoes form when pressurized gas, water, mud, and sometimes oil make a channel to the earth's surface. Sometimes they build up domes or cones like lava volcanoes; in other places, the mud simply bubbles up and seeps over wide areas. They occur at weak points in the earth's crust, and they often indicate oil and gas reserves below the surface.

Mud volcanoes can also be man-made. In 2006 in the village of Sidoarjo, East Java, the Lusi mud volcano started erupting. It was only about 500 feet from a gas exploration well. East Java has lots of oil and gas, and naturally, mud volcanoes. Most experts agree that it was the removal of the drill and drill string from a deep hole that caused instability below the surface. Mud began to flow out of it, and it hasn't stopped yet. Scientists say it's likely to continue erupting for the next 25 years! And Lusi is no trickle of mud. At its height, it was emitting 180,000m³(cubic meters) of mud per day! It has been a disaster for local residents.

Other mud volcanoes, however, are beneficial. Tourists visit Azerbaijan, which has more mud volcanoes than anywhere else, to see their strange shapes. Visitors flock to Yellowstone, to Colombia, to Java, and other places to witness these natural wonders.

RP260 Penguins

 RP260 Penguins

What can fly underwater, go without food for months, and do it all in a tuxedo? The penguin, of course.

Penguins live in the southern hemisphere, including in Antarctica. The 17-20 penguin species are scattered from Antarctica up as far north as the Galapagos Islands. No penguins can fly, but they are all excellent swimmers. They can swim up to 25 miles per hour using their powerful paddle muscles and aerodynamic shape. They are such good swimmers, in fact, that early explorers thought they were fish. They do seem to fly gracefully underwater, having evolved to catch fish and other sea creatures to eat. They spend half of their lives in the water. During the half they spend on land, they look awkward, waddling on short legs or pushing themselves along on their stomachs with their flippers.

The tuxedo that penguins seem to wear comes from their markings. The classic image of a penguin is of a sleek creature with a black head, wings, and back, and a white belly. Almost all penguins fit this description, though the fairy penguin of Australia and New Zealand is blue instead of black.

Penguins can perform amazing feats. Emperor penguins, the largest species, mate in the coldest environment of any bird species, at temperatures down to-40 degrees Celsius. Not only do they fight the cold to mate, but the males then use their feet to hold their eggs for two months to keep them warm. They don't eat, or move from land; they just protect their eggs. It's one of nature's most amazing acts. Emperor penguins, like other penguin species, stay warm because of their windproof and waterproof feathers and a thick layer of fat that insulates them from the intense cold.

Penguins are an unusual product of evolution. Ridiculous on land, but agile in the water; winged but flightless; laid by females but protected by males. These contradictions make them a weird but wonderful addition to the animal kingdom.

RP259 Let Me Call You Sweetheart

 RP259 Let Me Call You Sweetheart

How would you feel if someone called you a little cabbage? How about "insect" or "bear"?

You might be confused or insulted, but in different languages, all of these things are terms of endearment. They' re pet names or nicknames for people or animals we love. Mon petit chou literally means "my little cabbage" in French, but it's used just like "honey" or "sweetheart" in English. Bichito means "little insect" in Spanish, but is commonly used as a cute nickname for a baby. Beertje means "little bear," but you might hear someone on the streets of the Netherlands call her son or her boyfriend that.

Many English pet names relate to food. We call our loved ones "honey," "sugar," "muffin," or even "pumpkin." Other languages do the same. Versions of the word sweet are common in many languages.

Others aren't shared: "my poppy seed" (makovka mya) is common in the Ukraine. Meu docinho de coco, "my little coconut candy," is common in Brazil. Another cute nickname is xuxú: squash.

Treasures or valuables are also common in pet names. The Italian word tesoro, and the Hungarian kincem and aranyom, and the German schatz mean "my treasure" or "my gold." Greeks and Turks use body parts in pet names! Matia mou in Greek and benim gözlerim in Turkish both mean "my eyes," a common pet name.

Animals are also prevalent in loving nicknames. Many cultures use variations on kittens and insects. A Russian might call his girlfriend "rabbit." The French say mon canard, which means "my duck." Germans use maus, meaning "mouse." In Chile your boyfriend might call you mono, meaning "monkey." In Poland, muszko sounds sweet, though it really means "tiny fly." A Serbian might call his daughter pile malo, meaning "little chicken!"

Poppy seeds, eyeballs, gold, flies: terms of endearment take different forms around the globe. Clearly, one man's pet name may be another's insult. In the end, however, all these different words express the same feeling: love.

RP258 Thinking About Not Thinking

 RP258 Thinking About Not Thinking

You might not think that sitting still with your eyes closed and doing nothing can be so good for you. But if what you' re doing is meditation, this simple, ancient act can have enormous benefits for your mind and your body.

Meditation has been practiced by different cultures for centuries. Some religions meditate through chanting. Some do it by moving their bodies and concentrating on their breathing. Many people meditate by sitting comfortably, breathing slowly, and clearing their minds of thoughts. They listen to their breath, turn off their brains, and just exist. When you can sit and simply be in the universe without thinking, you' re meditating.

Proponents of meditation say it helps the body, mind, and spirit. People who meditate for religious reasons have always claimed it brought them closer to their god or the universe. Recently, doctors and scientists have been able to measure the effects of meditation, and there are lots.

Meditation appears to be good for the brain. A study in Wisconsin showed that meditation moved brain waves from the right frontal cortex to the left, reducing stress. Another study showed that experienced meditators were much better at dealing with distraction and quicker to return to a calm state, showing that meditation helps the brain focus, even amid distraction. Meditation has even been shown to reduce signs of aging in the brain! It has also been shown to help people with attention deficit or obsessive disorders.

We often forget how connected our minds and our bodies are. Meditation studies remind us of that connection. Calming the mind through meditation has been shown to reduce chronic

om, a sacred sound and a spiritual in Hindu religion

pain, lower blood pressure, and create positive changes in metabolism, heart rate, breathing, and other systems. Doctors now often recommend meditation to patients.

These days, we' re constantly stimulated, always multitasking. The age-old practice of meditation can help counteract the negative effects of all this constant activity. Close your eyes and say "om."

RP257 Aouzou Strip in Northern Africa

 RP257 Aouzou Strip in Northern Africa

In Northern Africa, between Chad and Libya, lies a strip of land that covers about 114,000 square kilometers. The land— the Aouzou Strip— has been causing conflict for nearly 100 years.

The Aouzou Strip conflict is a consequence of the colonial carving up of Africa. The Strip was originally given to Libya by France after World War I. It was part of a treaty granting Italy territory as compensation for its role in the war. Because Italy controlled Libya, the Aouzou Strip was attached to Italy's land there. Western powers divided up African land and traded it amongst themselves.

Only a decade after the treaty was signed, Italy fought against France in WWII, and French soldiers in Africa decided to take the Strip back and attach it to their territories (what is now Chad). That lasted until 1973, when Libya decided that they wanted the Strip again and sent soldiers there. That move eventually resulted in the Chadian-Libyan conflict, an on-again, off-again war that lasted from 1978 to 1987.

Both sides had documents and treaties to prove that they owned the Strip, because the land in Africa had gone back and forth and been divided and redivided so many times. Eventually, the case went to the International Court of Justice, which decided in 1994 that the land belonged to Chad.

What makes the Aouzou Strip so important? Uranium and probably other radioactive elements. The irony is that Chad probably doesn't have the ability to mine and use this resource itself. They will control the minerals but probably sell them to another government. That government will mine the land, damage the environment, take the minerals, and leave lucky Chad to clean up the mess and find another non-renewable resource to sell. The Aouzou Strip and the violence surrounding it reminds us of the impact of colonization and exploitation in Africa.

RP256 Rising Seas, Shrinking Forests

 RP256 Rising Seas, Shrinking Forests

We know about endangered animals, but what about endangered places? Yes, places can be endangered, too. Rising sea levels, logging, and expanding deserts are threatening unique environments around the world. And when these places are gone, they' re gone for good.

The Wadden Sea is a strip of shallow water around 500km long. The sea runs along the coast of the North Sea in Europe. It is home to many distinctive plants and animals. Over 30 different bird species stop on little islands in the sea during their annual迁mizations. Yet all these plants and animals may soon be underwater. If sea levels keep rising due to climate change, the Wadden Sea could be lost forever.

Tuvalu is another place in danger of disappearing. Nine islands make up this Polynesian nation. Rising sea levels are eating away at Tuvalu's land, and contamination its drinking water. Leaders there are pleading with larger nations to help stop climate change. They' re also preparing for the worst by drawing up plans for the event of continued rising sea levels.

Climate change is also bad news for glaciers. Take the Quelccaya Ice Cap in Peru for example. It is a key water source for the nation, and it's melting fast.

The Congo Basin in Africa is one of the most species-rich regions in the world. Its rain forests accommodate an incredible variety of plants and animals, along with some very unusual humans. This is where the Mbuti pygmyes, who only grow to be four or five feet tall, hunt. However, logging operations are getting closer to them every year. If logging rates continue, then half of the rain forest will be gone in under 50 years. The plants, animals, and humans living there will disappear, too.

It's not just the axes and wrecking balls causing this environmental destruction. Our pollution and our greed are also to blame. If things don't change, we will lose these beautiful places forever. We must change our ways, and fast!

RP255 The House of Heroes

 RP255 The House of Heroes

What do Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Hulk, and Iron Man have in common? They' re all creations of Marvel Comics! Whether you know them from comic books, movie screens, or both, Marvel's superheroes are among the world's most popular characters. But where did they come from?

Marvel Comics was the title of a comic book published by Timely Publications in 1939. The first issue featured the Human Torch and other superheroes. It is now one of the world's most valuable comics, with a copy having sold for U.S. $350,000 in 2003！ It was also a hit in its own day, as was the company's next offering, Captain America, in 1941. The end of World War II, however, also brought an end to comics' golden age. Timely, now called Atlas, struggled along for the next 15 years without great success.

In 1961, the company again changed its name, this time to Marvel Comics, and quickly turned its fortunes around. Over the next three years, Marvel introduced the Fantastic Four, The Hulk, Spider-Man, Thor, Iron Man, Dr. Strange, The X-Men, and Daredevil. Even Captain America came back after more than a decade to meet a whole new generation of fans!

Marvel's success owed much to the humanity of its heroes. Spider-Man was really Peter Parker, a teenage nerd who acquired super powers from a spider bite. The X-Men were mutants, born with abilities that could save the world but made them outcasts. And Daredevil was a superhero with a difference— he was blind！ Thanks to these and other successful titles, Marvel soon became one of the world's best-selling comic book companies. It still competes for that title with the industry's other giant, DC Comics, the home of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman.

In recent years, Marvel has found a new world to conquer. Its characters are now as successful on the screen as they ever were on paper. If the Spider-Man, X-Men, and Iron Man film series are any indication, the house of heroes will be around for a long time.

RP254 Birth Order

 RP254 Birth Order

One: reliable, controlling, high-achieving. Two: sociable, rebellious, peace-making. Three: fun-loving, self-centered, uncomplicated.

The list above shows traits many psychologists think are shared by people born in a particular order in their families. Birth order, they believe, has a huge impact on our personalities. It influences the people we become and maybe even the people we marry.

First-borns, according to this theory, are natural leaders and high achievers. They may have a sense of superiority, and they can be aggressive in following their goals. They can also be intimidating and moody.

Middle children? “The one thing you can bet your paycheck on is the firstborn and second-born in any given family are going to be different,” says psychologist Dr. Kevin Leman. Second-born children often define themselves against their older siblings. They often value keeping the peace at any price and are able to see both sides of problems. Middle children are often great listeners, but they may become too dependent on pleasing everyone around them.

The baby of the family is often the most social. They love people and make friends easily. They love fun but can get bored quickly and want to move on to the next fun thing. This trait can turn into being self-centered.

Only children are the most similar to first-borns. They are very organized, high-achieving, and responsible, but their own quest for perfection can make them unforgiving of others' flaws.

Some studies research what birth orders are attracted to others. Some show that we tend to flock together—first-borns with first-borns, middle children with middle children, etc. Others show that first-borns and last-borns, and only children and middle children, are common and successful combinations. Think about how your friends and your siblings behave, especially the actions that confuse you. Perhaps knowing their birth order can help you understand them.

RP253 Imaginary Coins

 RP253 Imaginary Coins

What exactly is money? It started out as coins made from valuable metals, like copper or silver. Later it became paper, which was guaranteed by the gold reserves of a national government. Nowadays, that gold is gone and money has become nothing more than a concept. It's valuable because we believe it's valuable, and nowhere is this more evident than in the rise of Bitcoin.

Bitcoin is a digital currency founded in 2009. The idea behind Bitcoin was to create a currency that operates without a central authority. Instead, there's just a peer-to-peer network of Bitcoin users who monitor all Bitcoin deals.

One of the challenges of a decentralized currency like Bitcoin is creating new coins. It's accomplished via a process called "mining." Since Bitcoin is completely digital, new coins are created using computers. Huge computer setups work night and day to solve complex math problems. Once the problem is solved, new coins are awarded. To control the total amount of currency that's out there, these problems are getting harder and harder. Back in 2009, you could mine for Bitcoin with a personal computer. Nowadays, mining requires expensive hardware and huge amounts of electricity.

To get rolling with Bitcoin, you'll first need a digital wallet. It will come with two sets of "keys," which are long strings of letters and numbers. The public key is like a bank account number. It's out there for anyone to see. The private key on the other hand is like a bank password. It can be used to make payments to another party.

Like any other currency, Bitcoin carries some risk. Simply put, if individuals and businesses stop accepting it, it will lose its value—and fast. However, Bitcoin does have some unique advantages. For one, the amount of total Bitcoin will never change. Just like real gold, there is a fixed amount that can ever be mined. This means that the more people believe in Bitcoin, the higher the value of the currency. So the secret to getting rich with Bitcoin? Not only to believe in Bitcoin yourself, but to make others believe in it too!

RP252 Music of Laughter and Weeping

 RP252 Music of Laughter and Weeping

The collision of cultures in Eastern Europe—Jewish, Roman, Russian, Greek, Slavic, to name a few—combined to create a unique kind of music. It's called klezmer, a musical style with its oldest roots in Jewish wedding songs.

Music has always been important at Jewish weddings. Wedding music often combined popular dances with religious vocals, like chanting. The musicians who played were called klezmorim. As cultures in Eastern Europe moved closer and closer together and musicians traveled from one performance to another, this wedding music began to be influenced by other traditions. On the road or near their homes, musicians heard Romanian folk dances, Roma(gypsy) music, Russian folk songs, and even jazz. In the 19th century, these wide-ranging influences all came together to create one unified musical style called klezmer.

Even the instruments used in klezmer were influenced by culture and history. Early performers were banned from making loud music, so the instruments they chose were quieter ones: violins and xylophones. When the ban on loud music was lifted, the clarinet and accordion were used more often. In times of war, klezmorim used traditionally military instruments like drums and horns.

The sound of klezmer music is stirring and unique. It reflects klezmer's earliest influences: the vocal music used in Jewish ceremonies. Klezmer is instrumental music that aims to sound like the human voice. Horns, string instruments, accordions, and xylophones laugh, cry, whisper, and shout. Klezmer is a very human, very emotional type of music.

Klezmer was almost lost during the Holocaust, along with many other Eastern European Jewish traditions. Many immigrants leaving Europe decided to abandon old traditions and start new ones. In the 1970s, however, klezmer was rediscovered. It had another surge of popularity in the 1990s when some new, young klezmer bands were formed. It has influenced jazz and ska music in the U.S. While its popularity may ebb and flow, this music of feelings seems like it will stick around for a long while yet.

RP251 Listening to Man's Best Friend

 RP251 Listening to Man's Best Friend

When we pull our lips back and show our teeth, we call it a smile, a sign of happiness. For dogs, it's a sign of aggression. Dogs and humans communicate well with each other, but our behavior is very different.

Humans and dogs are so connected that we use expressions about dog behavior to talk about ourselves. Someone who has "his tail between his legs" is feeling ashamed or afraid. Frightened dogs will have their tails between their legs. They will also have flattened ears, exposed teeth, and may be crouching. Poor things!

Friendly, curious dogs act a lot like humans. They pace or prance around. Their eyes are wide open, and their ears are perked up. Their mouths may be open with no teeth showing. This is like a doggy version of a smile. The big difference between friendly, curious dogs and humans is that dogs have a tail to wag!

Most dogs love to play. The invitation to play is clear. They bark at the dog they want to play with, then stretch their front legs out low in front of them while holding their back legs straight up in a normal standing position. This says, "Come on, play with me!"

Dogs also communicate with their voices. Dogs bark loudly and growl to show aggression or warn someone. Dogs whine when they are anxious and yelp like humans when they are hurt or scared. Hunting dogs will bay, a sound like a cross between a bark and a howl. That means "Follow me!" or "Come on guys!" Then there's howling. Wolves howl to announce their presence to others far away. Nowadays, domestic dogs rarely howl.

But when they do, it's for the same ancient reasons: to say "I hear you out there," or "I am here, this is my territory." Sad howls mean "Where are you? I'm lonely."

If you think animals have nothing to say, think again. Listen carefully to man's best friend. It's talking to you.