Send in PREVENT PLASTIC

interesting
your science
brain entertainment
joke and POLLUTION

NEW
VERY
WIN
p.24
EDITION 05

HOW CAN
YOU HELP? p.38

growing young minds, testing your knowledge EXTREME

JOBS!

JURASSIC
WORLD 2 Which one would
you choose? p.16
LOOKING BEHIND BURNING
THE SCIENCE ... QUESTIONS
ANSWERED
• What is in chewing
gum?
• How do they
test planes for
safety?
• How do my ears affect
my balance?
• Why do we have
accents?

COULD WE CLONE A
DINOSAUR?
!
eya
H
Howdy! Ola!

VOLCANOES
e IS S
Life onp.1t2h

AMAZING
Price R35.90 | €4.00 | £3.00

ANIMALS
8
SADC countries: R31.22 (Excl. TAX)

THINGS CATS DO
REALLY WELL
ASK AN ASTRONAUT pg.10
VOL 01 ISSUE 05 2018

Why do they form

and when will the
GIANT STICK INSECTS What do you eat in space?
next one erupt? p.14 TOP 10 COLOSSAL How do astronauts keep clean?
UNDERSEA CREATURES What is the least glam job on the ISS?
 interesting EDITION 05
brain entertainment

VERY
THIS ISSUE’S HIGHLIGHTS ON
ONE PAGE
e y,
Hon me!
test your knowledge, grow your mind

ho
PUBLISHER I’m
Urs Honegger
EDITOR
Deanne Dudley
SENIOR SUB-EDITOR
Vanessa Koekemoer
SUB-EDITOR
Nicolette Els
HOME AWAY
FROM HOME
OPERATIONS AND PRODUCTION
MANAGER
Paul Kotze
SENIOR DESIGNER Awesome facts about the
Annie Fraser
TRAFFIC AND PRODUCTION International Space Station p. 12
Juanita Pattenden
ADVERTISING
Lalique Lemberger 011 468 2090,

STICKING
sales@panorama.co.za
SALES MANAGER
Gillian Johnston gill@panorama.co.za

UP IN
AROUND
SUBSCRIPTIONS
www.coolmags.co.za
subscriptions@panorama.co.za, 011 468 2090
FINANCE accounts@panorama.co.za THE AIR
DISTRIBUTION Republican News Agency
How planes are put through
ISSN 9112-0003 their paces to keep you safe p. 30

PRINTERS

VI Junior is published alternate monthly; six issues per annum. All rights reserved.

VOLCANOES!
Reproduction of this magazine in whole or in part is prohibited without prior written
permission of Panorama Media Corp (Pty) Ltd. Copyright © 1997-2018 Panorama
Media Corp (Pty) Ltd. The views expressed in VI Junior are not necessarily those
of Panorama Media Corp and the acceptance and publication of editorial and
advertising matter in VI Junior does not imply any endorsement or warranty
in respect of goods or services therein described, whether by VI Junior or the
publishers. VI Junior will not be held responsible for the safe return of unsolicited
This giant
editorial contributions. The Editor reserves the right to edit material submitted and stick insect is
in appropriate cases to translate into another language. VI Junior reserves the right
to reject any advertising or editorial material, which may not suit the standard of the the biggest in
publication, without reason given. the world! p. 40
The publisher, editor and contributors of VI Junior accept no responsibility for any
action taken by any reader based on their consideration of articles or opinions
published in the magazine.
Portions of this magazine first appeared in Very Interesting Magazine.

panorama
mediacorp
PUBLISHED BY Panorama Media Corp (Pty) Ltd. What makes them one of the most
Private Bag X4, Kyalami, 1684, South Africa.
92 Campolino Road, Kyalami.
fearsome natural disasters? p. 14
Tel: 011 468 2090 Fax: 011 468 2091/2
www.panorama.co.za

Competition disclaimer
These rules apply to all competitions and giveaways in VI Junior:
1: Email entries are restricted to one per person or email address. 2: Staff members of
Panorama Media Corp, the sponsors of the prize, their advertising agencies as well as any
Plus
• What is the highest grossing film in South Africa?
immediate family may not enter. 3: Prizes are not transferable, and may not be converted into • Why do I have zero rhythm when I dance?
cash. 4: The judges’ decision is final. No correspondence will be entered into. 5: Panorama
Media Corp staff cannot be held liable for any prizes that go missing, or are damaged in the • How big is the world’s largest crustacean?
post, or may cause harm to the recipients. 6: Please note that by entering our competitions • What is in my chewing gum?
you are opting into the Panorama Media Corp database. Should you receive any unwelcome
communications, you will be given the opportunity to unsubscribe. 7: Panorama Media Corp • Could a human hibernate?
makes every effort to contact prize winners on either the email address or mobile number • Is a black hole really a hole?
used to enter the competition. Prizes that are not claimed within 90 days of the winner being
published, will be forfeited. Prizes returned by the post office as unclaimed will be forfeited. • What is the highest worldwide temp ever recorded?
 Ed’s note

W
orking 9 to 5, what a way to make a
living … Some of us aren’t cut out for 1
X
office jobs. While some love being
behindxxxxxxxxxxxof.
a computer, others prefer to be out there JAPANESE SPIDER CRAB
getting dirty. But how far would you go in your LEG SPAN: 4m

COLOSSAL
pursuit of an interesting and, perhaps, daring WHERE? Pacific
job? Would you milk a spider or snake for their Ocean around
venom? Would you wrangle a croc who is in an
inconvenient location? Would you spend a
ridiculous amount of time under the ground … in CRUSTACEANS southern Japan

the dark? Or would you use bugs to find out how

long something has been dead? It’s all very
fascinating, and surely you’d never complain of If you were to travel down to the
boredom, but wow … it takes a special someone
to Until nextextreme
do these time, jobs! Check out the article depths of the ocean, you’d meet
onNever
page 16 for more.
stop learning!
Deanne
a whole host of massive
Another job we’re sure many envy is that of an
astronaut. Space just seems so COOL! But what creatures that are as terrifying as
we really want to know is just how people live up
there. The International Space Station (ISS) has they are fascinating!
been a home away from home for scientists and
astronauts for 20 years now. On page 10 a
real-life astronaut answers some of our
questions on life in orbit. How do they know
which way is up? What do they eat? How do they
use the loo? Come on, we know you want
to know!
Another particularly interesting article in this
10 300m
The average depth
issue can be found on page 30. It looks at the EUPHAUSIID (KRILL) that the Japanese
various paces that planes are put through to test LENGTH: 15cm spider crab lives
their safety. And it really is an eye-opener. We
feel a lot better now that we know that, before WHERE? Antarctic
we even set foot on a plane, it has been shook, Ocean
the engines have been tested to withstand birds
flying into them (for some odd reason this is a
very real fear for us!) and they have been tested
for landing in very wet conditions.
We also look at whether or not we could clone a
dinosaur, we meet the longest bug on Earth, we
7
ALICELLA GIGANTEAN
learn more about fearsome and fiery volcanoes
and we find out what makes cats so rad. It’s LENGTH: 34cm
been so much fun! We hope that you will enjoy it WHERE? Kermadec
as much as we enjoyed putting this issue Trench, New
together! Zealand
We love hearing from you. And we are very
interested to know more about you and what you
are passionate or curious about. Email us on
vijunior@panorama.co.za and let us know what
spider
you like, don’t like and want to see more of.
he Japanese ve
T n li
Until next time, crab cayears old.
10 0
to be nder it gets
Never stop learning! No wo big!

9
so
Deanne
CORN
GIANT A CLE
BARNA 0cm
:3 GI A N T
8
WHAT’S WRONG WITH VI JUNIOR? LENGTH Coast of TIG
In our last issue, we somehow managed to RE ?
WHE hwest LENGT ER PR AWN
leave out a small little number – ahem… a nort WHERE H : 33cm
?
million! Russia’s land area is not 17.1km2 America and WeIndian Ocean
but rather 17.1 million km2. We are very st Pacifi
sorry and appropriately embarrassed! If you c
are eagle-eyed and spot any other errors,
please do bring them to our attention by
emailing vijunior@panorama.co.za! Our tails
are between our legs for this one!

2
 4
ATASMANIAN
caught
2 ter was MONSTER CRAB
A lobs aine in 1926 LEG SPAN: 80cm
in M weighed WHERE? Oceans off
that 1.28m
AMERICAN LOBSTER 6 k g and was n’t take southern Australia
LENGTH: 1m 23.3 ut it could s
WHERE? Atlantic Ocean long. B world recordils
any ta
e its de
around North becaus ’t properly
America weren ented.
docum

3
COCONUT CRAB
LEG SPAN: 1m
WHERE? Indian Ocean
and Central
Pacific Ocean
TA
5
FRES SMANIAN
HWA GI A
LENG TER CR AY NT
WHER TH : 80 FISH
E? cm
strea Rivers and
m
Tasm s of
ania

6
ZEBRA MANTIS
SHRIMP
LENGTH: 40cm
WHERE? Indo-
Pacific region
nuts,
is a ble to open coco laws
ut crab their c
The cocon o easy feat! They usetil a weak
h is n e ll un
whic e fruit’s sh p it
to scrape thcreated, then they ri
point is art to eat the
ap
inside.

3
 ey
Linds
ere is ’s
And h this season
Quickies g uit

fun!
wearin ech space s
t
white

Random facts for

Owen shines in this

brilliant white suit, the
latest from NASA

TENNESSEE
TEEN
Jack Daniel, who you may
know as the founder of Jack
Daniel’s Distillery, ran away
from home when he was just seven. He moved in with a
pastor, who ran a distillery on the side, and when the
pastor had to give it up, he ‘sold’ it to Jack, who was
just 13 years old at the time. An interesting fact about
Jack is that his demise was caused by kicking a safe
out of frustration because he couldn’t remember the
code. The injured toe became infected, which
eventually saw his foot amputated and gangrene set in.

90%
The percentage of
Australia’s population
wanted
Password for this safe... is it 1 2 3 4 or
21 75 44 21? HELP!!!

that lives on the

reward
continent’s coast. This offered!
is because the centre
is a large desert.

OLD ARACHNID WHAT CAUSES T hat random little twitch you

sometimes get in your eyelid
The world’s oldest known spider died
in April this year. It was 43 years old.
MUSCLE TWITCHING? is an example of fasciculation.
Say what?! It’s something that
Named Number 16, the elderly arachnid, happens when one of the lower
a female trapdoor tarantula, beat out motor neurons in your spine
the previous record holder (a 28-year- spontaneously fires a signal.
old tarantula in Mexico) to claim the These nerves control an entire
title. Number 16 had been discovered block of muscle fibres, so they
during a spider population study in 1974 all contract at once.
and had been monitored since then. Considering it doesn’t do
What is most interesting, however, is the anyone much harm, there
fact that she didn’t actually die of old hasn’t been loads of research
age – she was killed by a wasp sting! done on the causes, but
Regular tarantulas live for between five magnesium deficiency could
and 20 years. be one factor.

4
 FREQUENT
WHY DO
ASTRONAUTS
FLYERS
I t’s pretty mind-boggling, but the world’s 20
busiest airports saw 1.5 billion passengers
WEAR WHITE? pass through them in 2017. Here are the top

I t’s not a fashion statement, but five busiest:

more of a practicality. Up in
space, astronauts are exposed to
extreme temperatures and white 1 Hartsfield-Jackson International
Airport in Atlanta, Georgia (USA):
103,902,992
reflects the most radiation. It’s also
a handy colour to see in the dark.

brB r
rrrrr,!
This is the 20th
consecutive year
that Atlanta has
taken the crown!

2 Beijing
Capital
International

IT’S FREEZ
E ING
G! Airport in Shunyi,
Beijing (China):
95,786,442
COULD A HUMAN HIBERNATE?
W hile it seems like a really attractive option (especially now that we
are back to school and up early in the dark and cold), humans
aren’t made to lie still and sleep for extended periods of time. You’d
end up with a lot of mucus on your lungs, your immune system would
take strain and you’d suffer from memory loss.
3 Dubai
International
Airport in Dubai
(United Arab
Emirates):
88,242,099

781
YEARS 20 km/s
The length of the world’s The speed the sun travels at. 4 Tokyo
International
(Haneda) Airport
longest war – the in Tokyo (Japan):
Reconquista or Iberian
Religious Wars. 85,408,975

The weight of the largest

crocodile caught in South Africa.
The monstrous reptile measured
5.5m and was captured in
Venda by JG Kulmann. 5 Los Angeles
International
Airport in Los
Angeles,
California (USA):
84,557,968

5
 Animals
Xxxxx

AMAZING ANI
DID YOU KNOW? A fear of worms
is known as Grrr!

L ooking at this creature, you’d think

that perhaps the most it has in
common with an elephant is its trunk-
helminthophobia.

like nose and part of its name, but the

little elephant shrew is actually
more closely related to a giant
elephant than a shrew … On
that note, other strange
elephant relations
include the dassie,
aardvark and
manatee.

The chevrotain at a glance:

• Height: 20-66cm
• Weight: Between 1 and
16kg
• Chevrotain means ‘little
goat’ in French
• Nocturnal
• Herbivore
• Lives in Africa and warmer
parts of Asia
• Mostly solitary

6
 Animals

MAL FACTS5
32
The number of
muscles a cat
has in each ear.

DID YOU KNOW?

4 Iprison
n the 1920s newspapers ran a story about a
black Labrador that was sentenced to life in
because he ate the governor’s wife’s
favourite cat. They ran a mugshot of the adorable
pooch and people got all upset at his unfair
3 treatment. But the real story was very different.
Pep the dog hadn’t eaten a cat at all – the
newspaper had sensationalised the story. Pep
2 BAD DOG had been the governor’s dog, but was chewing his
cushions. So the governor decided to take him to
prison – but not to serve time. Instead he was
356822 used as a therapy dog and was much loved by the
inmates for the rest of his days.
POLICE DEPT.
All
t
see yhe bette
DID YOU KNOW? o
my u with to
r

Sharks have been on Earth longer than dinosaurs and dear ,

100g even trees! The first sharks appeared over 400
!

Average weight of a baby
panda at birth – that’s
1/900th of its
mother’s weight.
million years ago, while the first ‘tree’ made its
appearance 350 million years ago and dinosaurs
appeared only 230 million years ago.

DID YOU KNOW?

60%
The percentage of genes that

Tcreature
humans share with chickens.
he chevrotain (aka mouse Around the same percentage
deer) is a strange-looking we share with a banana!
that lives in Africa
and Asia. Aside from looking Z Z
like a weird combo of animals
(it has a bunny-looking body, 20 ber of
Z
ZZ
fangs and pig’s feet!), it is The num that a
pretty fascinating. There are hours p
er day
p. ZZ
rret can slee
many variations of the fe
Z Z
species, and the water Z
chevrotain can jump into
water and stay under for up to
four minutes to escape
predators like birds. They walk
along the bottom so they don’t
get swept away by the current.
Clever!

7
 EAR,
Human body

1 OUTER EAR
T You may have big ears,
his is what you can see.

flat ears, sticky-out ears or

35m
dainty lobes, but all of
these do the same thing.
Known as the pinna, it is
The l
m
e
adultngth of t
(a ca Eustac he avera
h g
used to ‘catch’ sound waves. It your nal that c ian tube e
ear t onne
also includes your ear canal, o
and t your no ts c
hroa
which is where you find ear wax. t) se

WHY DO WE
GET EAR WAX?
It seems gunky and gross, Hammer
but ear wax is a marvellous
protector. It shields your
ears by collecting dirt and
contains chemicals that
fight infections.

DID YOU KNOW?

The stapes is the smallest bone in the human body.

2 MIDDLE EAR
O nce your pinna has directed sound waves
through your ear canal they enter the middle
ear, which turns them into vibrations. This causes
three tiny bones – the malleus (hammer), incus
(anvil) and stapes (stirrup) – all together known
as the ossicles – to move, transporting the sound
to your inner ear. Outer Ear

8
 EAR!
Human body

You use them to listen to music, hear what your friends are
saying on the phone and believe it or not, keep your
balance. Here are the inner workings of your ear
3 INNER EAR
T he weird-looking, curled-up tube in your
inner ear is known as the cochlea (you
may have heard of people having operations
R to repair or replace these). It has liquid
W IDD
blac hat do LE ME T inside, and the vibrations cause a wave in this
ksm es an HIS
ith h : fluid. These waves move the microscopic
ave ear and
l
anvi a
in co
r mmoa
and use of hairs inside the cochlea, which in turn send a
n?
m e e
ham th mak
bo signal to your brain. Your brain understands
They these signals as sound, and puts everything
together to allow you to hear.

Anvil Stirrup

Your ears (the

outside bit)
never stop
growing
throughout
your life!

DID Y
Your in OU KNOW
the sizeer ear is arou ?
n
of a Sm nd
artie.

HOW DOES THE EAR

HELP MY BALANCE?
J ust above your cochlea you will find
semicircular canals. These are also
fluid-filled and have tiny hairs that can send
signals to your brain. When you tilt your head, the
liquid moves and the hairs tell your brain where
your head is at. Your brain then sends messages
to the right muscles, allowing you to keep your
balance. When you spin in circles, you get dizzy
because you’ve caused the liquid inside your
ear to swish around, confusing your
brain. Don’t worry though, when it stops
moving, your brain will get the picture!

9
 ASK AN
Space
ASTRONAUT
S hannon Walker is an
American scientist
and NASA astronaut
who blasted off from
the Baikonur
Cosmodrome in June
2010 to spend five
months aboard the
International Space
Station (ISS).
HOW DO
ASTRONAUTS
KEEP CLEAN?
T here’s no shower on
board, so we use wipes or
a soapy towel. Washing hair
is a little trickier. We use
no-rinse shampoo, but it still
needs to be used with water
from a drink bag. You have to
be careful not to leave water
floating around – you don’t
want to be shorting out
electrical systems.
10
Want to know what life is like when you are out in space? Well, who
better to ask than someone who has been there?
WHAT IS A ‘COSMIC HOW QUICKLY DO
FAIRY’ AND HAVE YOU YOU GET USED TO
SEEN ONE? MICROGRAVITY?
Y es, almost everyone on the ISS experiences these
little flashes of light when they close their eyes. I t’s strange to feel weightless, but it’s
interesting how it quickly becomes a
It’s kind of like when you see a natural state – it only takes a few days
shooting star streaking across the to get used to floating. What takes
sky, but inside your eye. It’s longer is figuring out that you have to
pretty neat. The lights are push off to get anywhere, and knowing
caused by cosmic rays how hard you need to push. Some
interacting with your people feel motion sick when they first
retinas. On Earth, we are arrive, but that tends to go after a day
protected from radiation by or two.
the planet’s magnetic field.
We don’t have a lot of data
on what effect these rays
are having on astronauts in
the long term, but that’s
something we’re currently
studying.
WHAT IS
IT LIKE
TO EAT IN
SPACE?
Astronauts tend to
look for foods with a
strong flavour, as the
meals in space don’t
have as much variety as
on the ground. When I
was there I liked the Japanese and Indian
curries. And I also had great barbeque beef.
Some people say that they lose their sense of
taste in space. You don’t have gravity pulling all
the fluids down in your body, so they travel
towards your head and can cause congestion,
affecting your sense of smell and taste. But it
depends on the person – my taste buds seemed
pretty much the same.
 Space

HOW DO YOU WHAT IS THE LEAST

DECIDE WHICH GLAM TASK ABOARD
WAY IS UP ON THE ISS?
THE ISS? M ost of our job isn’t
glamorous at all! We
still have to clean – we do
Directions tend to lose their meaning in space,
so we don’t really need a formal up and down.
But we orient ourselves according to the way the
housework and
vacuuming, and
somebody’s got to
modules are presented to us in training. On the pack up the solid
ground, we have simulators of all the ISS waste from the
modules, and these have definite orientation. One toilet and get it ready
plane of the modules has lights attached, so you for the cargo ships to
want the lights on the ceiling, just like they are at take away. Being an
home. And then everything else on the ISS is astronaut definitely
designed around that, so that when you’re having has its perks, but it’s
meals or floating around, your heads are all not Hollywood.
pointing towards the lights.

DID YOU KNOW?

P
eggy Whitson set the record for spending the most total Hmmmm,
time living and working in space at 665 days on Sept. 2, something isn’t
right here.
2017. She was also the first female commander of the ISS on
Expedition 51 in 2017. She holds the record for oldest
woman space walker (she also holds the record for most
total space walks by a woman at 10) and is the oldest
female cosmonaut ever in space at 57. She has spent a
total of 665 days in space (more time than any woman or
any American ever).

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE

ASTRONAUTS ABOUT ADJUSTING
BACK TO LIFE ON EARTH? HOW DOES
T ake it slowly. You’ll have aches and pains, and your inner ear will
be trying to readjust, so you may feel dizzy and unable to walk in
a straight line. But you’ll soon feel like your old self again. Spend
THE ISS LOO
time with your family – they’ve been on this adventure with you, but WORK?
they haven’t been in your presence for a long time. Savour the
moments you had in space. F ans provide gentle
airflow and suction.
There’s a hose with a funnel
for urine, which is recycled
into drinking water, and a
WHAT HAPPENS IF separate tank that you sit
over for solid waste.
THERE IS A FIRE?
This is something we train for a lot. First, the Space Station
tries to take care of the problem itself. We’ve got smoke
detectors all over the place, so if an experiment goes haywire
and starts creating smoke, the ISS will automatically know
where the issue is and start turning off electricity in that area. HAVE YOUR SAY!
You may have lights and fans shutting down – you don’t want to If you could ask an
keep blowing oxygen across the fire. The crew is trained to astronaut anything at all,
gather in a central location and make sure everybody is safe. If what would you
we can see the fire, and it’s simple and well contained, we can want to know? Email us at
use onboard fire extinguishers. Otherwise, we shut down or vijunior@panorama.co.za
depressurise the module where the fire is, and it will eventually with the words ‘Ask an
go out. There’s never been a fire on the ISS, but they did have a astronaut’ in the subject
couple of incidents on the Mir space station. line and we’ll see if we can
get the answers!

11
 Space

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION – INFOGRAPHIC

6
Learn more about the giant space science lab
ISS CREW MEMBERS, OVER The ISS is visible to the
ALL TIME, BY NATIONALITY: naked eye. For more
info on where and how
to see it, visit
European spotthestation.
ATV nasa.gov
United States US Commercial Japan
Space Shuttle vehicle HTV

6 Spaceships can be connected to the

ISS at any one time

zz zz zz D S TA
S SI A TE
z z z z z z
A PA N RU I TA L
47
TE
U NI
5 37 3

Y
S
J

6 Sleeping quarters available Other countries who have sent crew:

zz zz zz
z z z z z z
The longest single spacewalk lasted
IT CA BL NL GB FR eight hours and 56 minutes during an
ISS construction mission in 2001. It
was completed by NASA astronauts
The ISS weighs Jim Voss and Susan Helms
6 Members on the crew
450,000kg
– more than three adult blue whales
THERE HAVE BEEN ONLY TWO FEMALE
COMMANDERS OF THE ISS:
Peggy A Whitson (2007)

e e n la un c h
et w a
b

nd
6 Hours

ar r i v al a t t he

ISS

Sunita Williams (2012)

The solar array wingspan (73m) is about the same length as the world’s largest
passenger plane – the Airbus A380

The ISS is the single most expensive

object ever built at approximately

$120 million
12
Knowledge Profiles are trade marked to Panorama Media Corp. Contact - sales@panorama.co.za

knowledge profile TM

DID YOU KNOW?

Eyes began to develop 550 million
years ago. The simplest eyes were The human eye weighs
patches of photoreceptor protein just under 28.34g.
The entire length of
in single-celled animals. all the eyelashes shed
by a human in their
life is over 30m, with
each eyelash having a
lifespan of about five
months.

80% of what
we learn is
through our
eyes.
80% of our
memories are
determined by
what we see.

A fi ngerprint has 40
unique characteristics, There are about
but an iris has 256, a 39 million blind
reason retina scans are people around
increasingly being used the world.
for security purposes.

People who are blind can To protect our eyes, they

see their dreams if they
weren’t born blind.
are positioned in an eye Corneas are the
socket. Eyebrows prevent only tissues that
sweat dripping into your don’t have blood.
eyes and eyelashes keep
dirt out of your eyes.

An eye cannot be transplanted.

More than 1 million nerve fibres
connect each eye to the brain and Your eyeballs stay the
currently we’re not able to An eye is composed of same size from birth
reconstruct those connections. more than two million to death, while your
working parts. nose and ears
continue to grow.

South African Guide-Dogs Association Head Office and Training Centre:

126 Wroxham Road, Rietfontein, 2IR, Sandton, P O Box 67585, Bryanston, 2021
Tel: 011 705 3512 Fax: 086 506 3364 Email: info@guidedog.org.za Website: www.guidedog.org.za
SA Guide-Dogs @SAGuide_Dogs sa_guide_dogs
 Nature

ASH AND WHAT ARE THE THREE

WHAT IS A VOLCANO? CLASSIFICATIONS OF VOLCANOES?

A n opening in the Earth’s surface that allows gas,

magma and ash from below to escape.
EXTINCT: There’s been
ACTIVE:
DORMANT: Lots of volcanic
activity.
HOW ARE THEY FORMED? Unlikely to activity, but
The Earth’s surface is made up of plates that fit erupt again. it’s quiet.
Indonesia is
together like a puzzle. At the places where these
the country
plates meet, you often find volcanoes because they with the
form a weakness in the Earth’s crust through which world’s highest
magma rises and escapes. When magma reaches volcanic
the surface, it is called lava, and when the lava cools threat.
it forms rock. Over time, eruptions build up the rocks,
and a volcano is formed.

4,1o6f M9aum
na Loa in
t
The heigh world’s largest

550
aii – th e
Haw lcano.
active vo

The estimated number of The name

active volcanoes in the ‘volcano’ comes
COMPOSITE CINDER
world today. from the Roman VOLCANO CONE

name ‘Vulcan’ SHIELD

VOLCANO
– the god of fire.
FISSURE
VOLCANO

DEADLY DISASTER
Back in 79AD, the 20,000 people living in Pompeii in Naples,
Italy had no idea that their upmarket resort town was in danger.
But on 24 August, Mount Vesuvius erupted. The plumes shot up
to twice the height of Mount Everest and the city was buried in
a thick blanket of pumice and ash. Around 2,000 people died
in the disaster, which lasted 24 hours. Many years later, people
returned to Pompeii and found many well-preserved artefacts
buried under the ruins. Pompeii is now a tourist attraction with
over two million visitors a year.
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT
TYPES OF VOLCANOES?
Fissure volcanoes are usually quite flat and slowly
expel thick lava. Though they don’t explode as
spectacularly as other types, they can destroy
landscapes by creating ‘lava fields’.
Shield volcanoes are flatter and their lava flows
out rather than shoots out, resulting in their gently
sloping shape.
Composite volcanoes (aka stratovolcanoes) are
tall, cone-shaped mountains, which create huge
explosions when they erupt.
Cinder cones are steep, cone-shaped hills that have
a crater in the centre.

14
 Nature

FIRE!
There is little in nature that is as awe-inspiring (and
fearsome) as molten lava spewing from a volcano.
With two major eruptions in recent months, we take
a look at how and why volcanoes occur

THE BIG 16
The International Association of
Volcanology and Chemistry of the
Earth’s Interior (IAVCEI) keep a list
of ‘Decade Volcanoes’, which they
feel need to be monitored. Here are
the ones they are watching now:

1 in 20
1. Avachinsky-Koryaksky (Russia)
2. Colima (Mexico)
3. Mount Etna (Italy)
The number of people
on Earth who live 4. Galeras (Colombia)
within range of an 5. Mauna Loa (USA)
active volcano. 6. Mount Merapi (Indonesia)
7. Mount Nyiragongo (Democratic
Republic of Congo)
8. Mount Rainier (USA)
9. Sakurajima (Japan)
10. Santa Maria (Guatemala)
11. Santorini (Greece)
12. Taal Volcano (Philippines)
13. Mount Teide (Spain)
14. Ulawun (Papua New Guinea)
15. Mount Vesuvius (Italy)

50
16. Mount Unzen (Japan)

The number of times Mount Vesuvius

has erupted.

THIS YEAR
5m
The depth of the ash that covered the city.
We have had two volcanic eruptions this year:

112km/h
The speed at which the pumice and ash
came down the mountain towards the city. Volcan de Fuego in
Guatemala, which
has killed at least
112 people and 197
Kilauea in Hawaii erupted on 3 May,

1944
people are missing
(as at June 2018). destroying hundreds of homes and
causing a mass evacuation.
The last time Mount Vesuvius erupted.
But experts warn that another eruption
is coming.
To check out eruptions in real-time, visit earthquakes.volcanodiscovery.com.

15
 Careers

Extreme
jobs
We are pretty sure that these people never
dreamt they would end up in these risky
careers! But they are super interesting, and
we are sure they never have a dull day
in the ‘office’ …
TEXT: KATHERINE NIGHTENGALE AND JO CARLOWE

16
 Careers

THE LAVA LOVER

WHO? Dr Hugh Tuffen
JOB TITLE: Volcanologist
BASED: Lancaster University, UK

“I first became interested in volcanoes when I was about

seven. I slept with a volcano picture book under my pillow.
I study what makes volcanoes explosive and how the gas
trapped in the magma drives violent eruptions, forcing out lava
and throwing ash kilometres into the air. We’re also trying to
figure out what controls the way that lava flows, in the hope of
helping people who live in its path.
This means travelling abroad to erupting volcanoes, often
at short notice, to witness these explosions. Sometimes it’s
possible to walk up to lava as it flows and take samples with
a shovel. Back in the lab we’ll heat a sample to over 1,200°C
so it’ll behave like it’s in the volcano. This means we can see
what’s happening on a microscopic scale.
There have been concerning moments. One night in Chile,
heavy ash and pumice rained down on our camp and we had
to decide whether to stay or go. Or there was the time we were The word volcano comes
digging increasingly desperately into the mountainside to find from the Italian word
uncontaminated snow to melt for drinking water. vulcano, which means
I also spent months camping in Iceland for my PhD, enduring ‘burning mountain’.
Vulcano comes from the
days of wind and rain. It’s not much fun putting on wet clothes Latin word Vulcanus or
for the fourth day in a row, but the exquisite beauty and ‘Vulcan’, who was the
isolation of the environment make up for it. Roman god of fire.
Knowing that my work can help lots of people is motivating.
But it’s annoying that there are far too many interesting
volcanoes to study, and that’s before you even include the ones
on other planets and moons in our solar system.”

For more
about
volcanoes, turn
to page 14!

17
 Careers

The saying ‘crocodile tears’, which people use

to describe someone who fakes being upset, may
have some truth to it. According to researchers
at the University of Florida, crocs cry when
they eat. But before you think they feel bad
about chomping their prey, the tears
appear to be a by-product of
processes that happen in
their sinuses when
they eat.

THE CROC WHISPERER

WHO? Cherie Chenot-Rose
JOB TITLE: Research
biologist and co-founder of
the American Crocodile
Education Sanctuary
BASED? Florida and Belize
never have, but human safety
always comes first. We normally
get called out when a crocodile
is under someone’s home. We
wait through the night, wet,
muddy and stinking of rotten
chicken, which we use to tempt
the crocodile out. Then, game
data and tag it before releasing
it. If people’s safety is at risk,
we relocate the croc, or place
it into captivity. To know how to
respond, we need to study the
behaviour of the animals. The
crocodile to worry about is the
one at the water’s edge, totally
time, while capturing a 3m male
crocodile, the rope broke. I
felt the vibration from its teeth
smashing together just inches
from my upper thigh. Crocodiles
smack their jaws together so
hard that they can shatter their
own teeth.

“I have been bitten by three

species of crocodilians,
and one broke my shin with a
whip of its head. I don’t carry
a weapon but my teammates
have large knives. Our intent is
not to harm the animal, and we
on! My husband, Vince, snares
the croc and drags it onto land
while I position myself behind
it. When the time is right I leap
onto the head of the animal. An
assistant secures the back legs,
then we tie up the croc, collect
submerged but for the tip of its
nose, watching you through its
translucent third eyelid. While
you are distracted, it’s waiting
for the right moment to strike.
A croc can strike three times
faster than a rattlesnake. One
The toughest part is not
capturing the crocodiles, it’s
obtaining funding. The most
rewarding part of my job is
rescuing an injured crocodile,
rehabilitating it and setting
it free.”

18

THE SPIDER MILKER
Who? Steve Trim
Job title: Founder of
Venomtech
Based: Sandwich, UK
“K eeping spiders and reptiles
fascinates me. I keep non-
dangerous spiders and snakes as
pets, but following redundancy,
I used my previous experience
working in pharmaceuticals to
set up Venomtech in the back
of a pet shop in Ramsgate. Six
years on, we now occupy a large
lab. Venomtech is the UK’s only
commercial venom supplier. We
collect venom from: 70 species
of Theraphosidae, which is a
family that includes tarantulas;
30 scorpion species; several true
spiders such as black widows,
brown recluses and Brazilian
wandering spiders; jellyfish
and anemones; centipedes;
millipedes; some ground beetles;
and 65 species of venomous
snakes. Clad in lab coats, gloves
and safety glasses, we hold the
snakes behind the head using
a handling tool. They are happy
to deliver venom into anything
in front of them, including our
polypropylene pots.
The toughest work is with small
spiders such as black widows
(the most toxic creature in our
lab). Their fangs are so tiny,
you need a steady hand, great
discipline and a methodical
approach. We place their fangs
into little collection tubes and
stimulate the venom glands with
tiny electrical impulses. If the
venom misses, it is unusable.
Even anaesthetised black widows
are handled with forceps and
given a constant flow of CO2 to
Careers
ensure they stay asleep.
My family worries, but my wife
shares my passion for venomous
animals, and we have not had any
incidents. The best part is seeing
our venoms killing E. coli and
Staphylococcus, which could help
antibiotic resistance.”
You can identify the
black widow by the red
hourglass shape on its
underside. They use
webs to ensnare their
prey, then wrap them
in silk, inject them
with digestive enzymes
and drink them when
they have become
liquid … erm, yum?!
19
 Careers

THE INSECT INVESTIGATOR

an early age. I began my zoology entomologists to cover the
WHO? Dr Amoret Whitaker
degree imagining I’d end up whole country, so I am on call
JOB TITLE: Forensic
saving big furry animals. 24 hours a day, seven days
entomologist
I study insects in a legal context, a week. Sometimes I can be
BASED: University of
usually flies and beetles that working on six cases, and other
Winchester and the Natural
colonise dead bodies. It’s a times I might go months without
History Museum, UK
mixture of research, where a callout. I also teach at the
I study the development of University of Winchester, and
flies and beetles in different do research at London’s Natural
conditions, and work with History Museum.
“T he first time I looked at
insects down a microscope
at university I thought they
the police where I use that
knowledge to determine when
The case work can be
distressing, and there are scary
a person died. Blowflies are moments too. It’s incredibly
were amazing. I’d never really
usually the first insects to find satisfying though, particularly
thought about insects before, as
a body, so they’re useful for helping bring closure to families.
I wasn’t one of those kids who
estimating the time since death. Unlike the three years I spent
was collecting butterflies from
In this job you never know studying fleas earlier in my
what’s going to happen. There career, no one ever asks me
are only a handful of forensic what the point of it is.”

1,100
The number of known species
of the blow fly insect family
which includes bluebottle and
greenbottle flies.

20
 Careers
XXX

DID YOU KNOW?

The Hang Son Doong cave in Vietnam is so big that it has its own river, jungle and climate!
It was found by a local in 1991. It’s 9km long and sections of the cave’s ceilings have
collapsed over the years, allowing vegetation to grow inside it.
It is home to some of the world’s tallest stalagmites – at 70m tall!

THE CAVE RAIDER

WHO? Dr Hazel Barton
JOB TITLE: Microbiologist
BASED: University of
Akron, Ohio
“I started caving back in
sixth form at school,
long before I became a
scientist. When I started
working as an environmental
microbiologist, it seemed
natural to combine the
two. I study microbial
ecosystems in deep and
remote caves, trying to work
out how micro-organisms
500m – the microbiology
gets more interesting the
deeper you get. We’ll spend
around a week in a cave,
exploring its structure and
taking samples of microbes.
The expeditions are huge
undertakings, about as
logistically technical as
climbing Mount Everest.
We rig our own ropes, and
carry all our camping gear
and research equipment,
sometimes through gaps as
small as 20cm.
When you spend a week
in complete darkness, you
sure that everyone’s in bed in a vast space 600m long,
by 10pm and up at 7am. 200m wide and 400m high.
On the first few trips you It was an incredible feeling!”
get really cranky because
of the lack of sunlight. And
you need to make sure that Quick quiz
you like and trust the people
you’re with. If something
goes wrong, your life is
What is the difference
between a stalagmite and
a stalactite?
in their hands. The best STALACTITES
thing about my job is the
travel – as well as the US,
we also work in Venezuela,
Brasil, Belgium and China.
You never know what you’re
going to find. In China, we
discovered the third biggest STALAGMITES

can grow in the dark have to be careful that your cave room in the world grow from the ceiling.
with so few nutrients. We circadian rhythm doesn’t slip by following a river into a cave floor, while stalactites
work at depths of up to into 27-hour days. I make mountainside and ending up Stalagmites grow from a

21
 Nature

THE SEVEN
WONDERS OF THE
MODERN WORLD PART 3

CHRIST THE REDEEMER

In 2007, the results of a worldwide campaign to uncover the ‘new’ Seven Wonders of the
World were tallied. The competition drew more than 100 million votes from around the
globe. In this series, we take a look at the winners, and what makes them special.

2020
The year that the next big
restoration is scheduled for

The statue is covered in 6 million

stone tiles. The BBC reports that the
workers who made them often wrote
on the back of the tiles, so the statue
carries tonnes of hidden messages.
THE ‘NEW’
SEVEN
WONDERS OF
NOT THE
BIGGEST
T he statue may be enormous, but it
is by no means the biggest statue of
Christ in the world. That title belongs to
Christ the King in western Poland. The
statue, which was unveiled in 2010, is 33m
tall including a 3m tall crown. It cost a
mere $1.5 million to build – much less than
the $3.2 million Christ the Redeemer cost

THE WORLD
(the equivalent of $250,000 in 1931).

The Great Wall of China

Chichen Itza, Mexico
Christ the Redeemer Statue, Brasil
Machu Picchu, Peru
The Taj Mahal, India
Petra, Jordan
30m
The height of the statue,
excluding its base
The Colosseum, Italy

If you missed the previous issue,

contact us for a back copy at
011 468 2090 or
subscriptions@panorama.co.za

22
 Nature

MOVING ON UP
T he statue was constructed in
pieces and then transported up the
mountainside by cog-wheel train to be
put together. Workers must have had it
2 8
metres
rough – they had to prepare the The arm span of
cement on the mountainside, and the the statue
nearest water source was some 300m e
away. Thankfully, reaching the statue s thre
i s hand i of an
is much easier nowadays – in 2003, Th ze
the si n
an escalator was added. times ge huma
avera ing!
be

IT’S AN
INSPIRATION!
M any similar statues have been
erected the world over, based

9
on Christ the Redeemer’s design:
Cerro del Cubilete in Mexico, Christ
of Havana in Cuba, Christ of the
Ozarks in the USA and Christ of the
Sacred Heart of Jesus in Ibiza, to
name a few. The number of
years it took to
build the statue

DID YOU KNOW?

635 metric tonnes
The statue’s weight
The statue is at the mercy of the
elements and is often hit by
lightning. It has also been eroded
by wind and rain over the years so
many restorations have had to be
carried out. Just before the World
Cup in 2014, one of the statue’s
fingertips was zapped off by lightning
and Rio had to rush to repair it before There is a
the numerous tourists arrived. small chapel at
the base and
people can get
married there.

Part three of seven!

Check out the next
HOW AND WHY IT WAS BUILT issue for Machu
I n Portuguese it is called Cristo Redentor. The huge statue
was created by Heitor da Silva Costa in 1920 because
Catholics in Brasil felt that the country was facing
Picchu, an
‘godlessness’. His design of a giant statue of Christ atop abandoned Incan
Mount Corcovado overlooking the city of Rio would be a citadel in Peru!
religious reminder for the people below. The statue was
unveiled on 12 October 1931.

23
 Bizzare There’s a new restaurant
on the moon.

ROCK TELL-
A-JOKE DAY!
16 August is loads of fun – it’s the day you try your best to get a
good giggle out of someone. In honour of this prestigious The food is great, but there’s
occasion, we bring you some awesomely nerdy jokes, so that if no no atmosphere.
one laughs, you can always pretend that they just didn’t get it …

Two fish swim into a

giant wall. One turns
to the other and says, ...“dam!”

I am reading a
book about gravity.
It’s impossible to I told a
put down. There wchemistr y j
a s no r o
eac tion ke.
.

A star walks into

a black hole and doesn’t
seem phased. The black
hole turns to the star and
says … “I don’t think you
understand the gravity of
uch the situation!”
llel line s have so m
Para in common …
eet.
they w ill never m
It’s a pit y

s i um
magne e:

WIN
n a n d i k
y ge d I wa s l
t h at o x n
I hearde going out a s e em s o d
d to me?
w e r
O Mg! Do you kn
o w w hat
SEND US YOUR SCIENCE JOKES
AND WIN!
If you have any corny, clever or
just plain awesome science
ible by 2!
that a ren’t divis jokes, send them to vijunior@
Numbers panorama.co.za. The five best
will be featured in the magazine
Are you cold? and will win the joker a six-issue
subscription to Very Interesting
Sit in the corner Junior! Entries close
… it’s 90°! 15 September 2018!

24
DOWNLOAD

NOW!

TRACK YOUR PET’S HEALTH!

Get the free app that helps manage your
pet’s health and well-being with your vet.

FOR ANIMALS. FOR HEALTH. FOR YOU.

Zoetis South Africa (Pty) Ltd., Co. Reg. No.: 2012/001825/07. 6th Floor, North Wing, 90 Rivonia Road, Sandton, 2196. PostNet Suite 53, Private Bag 9976,
Sandton, 2146, South Africa. Tel.: +27 11 245 3300 or 0860 ZOETIS (0860 963847). www.zoetis.co.za
LF/8MAR2018
 Sweet spot

U KNOW?
YO
gum It used to be illegal
DID

e w ing ing an h to chew gum in

Ch chopp lp wit Singapore. While you
le he
whi n can eyes. are technically
io ng
on urni allowed to now, it is
b
still frowned upon
and, if you are
caught littering with
it, you will get a
steep fine.

CHEWING GUM
BBLEGisUinMa few
VS BUl dif
The only rea ference
t
um has elements tha
ingredients. Bubbleg

WHAT’S IN MY
mo re ela sti c,
make it thicker and
ld together when
which allows it to ho
bubbles are blown.

CHEWING
Ever
you ar wondered w
e
when y putting into hat exactly

GUM?
ou che your m
so we w gu m outh
found ? We have,
out!

Chewing gum is basically plastic with added

flavours and colourings. It can’t be digested
and is insoluble in water, which means you can E M U LS I
FILLERS keep chewing it for ages without it breaking
down. It’s sort of indestructible – and though
The F I E RS
ingred se help to ke
ie
Calcium carbonate or magnesium the exact ingredients are usually a secret – the and co nts, includinep other
lou g
silicate (talc) provide texture and base ingredients remain the same. and alsrings, nicely flavours
bulk. If the gum has an acidic anti-st o im p mixed
flavour, talc is used. This is because ick proar t some
calcium carbonate would react and per ties
.
produce carbon dioxide gas
otherwise.

M ERr mSoleculesI, SOFT ENERS

S T O
ELA ng polyme Until WWI Compounds such as vegetable oil
and lecithin are added to the gum
are lo r ties. l latex base to keep everything soft and
These lastic propeed a natura ce then chewy. If you chew for too long
with e ing gum us ees, but sin h as these are washed away and that’s
chew apodilla tr omers, suc rred. why gum you’ve been chewing for a
t e
from s thetic elas te, are pref while gets harder over time.
syn yl aceta
n
poly vi

26
 TOTAL OF
G
Introductory
SAVIN
R 7 0 ! subscription offer!
Take out a six-issue subscription to VI Junior for
only R175 AND we will send you a 7th issue FREE

interesting NEW!
p.11

Floating WIN!
interesting Fast and
brain entertainment

interesting
brain entertainment

NEW
VERY
brain entertainment
cities

VERY

NEW
furious

VERY
The Lego Ninjago Movie DVD
What would it EDITION 04 p.25
look like to live Hurricane facts • World’s most
p.6 in space? that will bizarre match
blow you • Have you met the
tournament’s
away
p.14 mascot?

• Match schedule:
pick your
winners!

growing young minds PLUS

EDITION 02
growing young minds EDITION 03
test your knowledge, grow your mind 6

CANDY
fun facts
about Russia

ASTRO- Toe-tally HOW DOES MY TOP

CRUSH HEART WORK?
Natural
NOTS!
COOL p.8
HIGH FLYERS
disaster
The world’s
Learn more about
the human foot
p.2

deadliest BODY BASICS

• How did 6 earthquakes
Why are we obsessed
6
p.16
p.14

regular people with sweets? What things

get to space? happen when I Amazing
• What is Mars sneeze? p.42 animals
One? Cool p.30
• Why was a penguin
knighted?
• Who was the tech Squeak!
• Do immortal
A passenger jellyfish exist?
first African drone, a solar- • Meet Buddy, the
powered plane hero dog
space tourist? and Elon
p.16 Musk’s Falcon 9

p.8 NEW
PLUS!
Learn to
speak Minionese Rise of the Burning Q&A Can Amazing DISCOVERY:
EXPLODING
• Could a sea sponge save your life? clones • How many mosquitoes would it take your pet animals ANTS! p.40
• What takes longer to break down: glass or plastic?
How does cloning to drain all your blood? make • Squeaky snails Can I die from a
work? And what • Leg-growing
• How much liquid can your stomach hold? happened to Dolly
• Is your cellphone keeping you awake?
• How many inventions did Thomas Edison patent?
you feel tarantulas
nose bleed? p.5
• Sudoku, riddles and crossword inside! the sheep?
p.42 • Is it possible to #BreakTheInternet for real? better? • Cube-shaped

LIFE
• Can you sneeze with your eyes open? p.34 wombat poo
WHAT IS WHERE DOES OUR PLANET
SEA DRAGONS MY DOG
THINKING? THE GREAT WALL LUNAR LANDINGS OUR SOLAR
SYSTEM END? p.6
PUFF, THE
OF CHINA Who will be next to land on the moon? p.42
AFTER
M N
LEAFY
DRAGON,
Price R35.00 | €4.00 | £3.00

p.22

LIVES

Price R35.00 | €4.00 | £3.00

Price R35.90 | €4.00 | £3.00

UNDER
SADC countries: R30.70 (Excl. TAX)

THE SEA • WHEN AND HOW WAS

SADC countries: R30.70 (Excl. TAX)

IT BUILT?

SADC countries: R31.22 (Excl. TAX)

VOL 01 ISSUE 02 2018

p.24 DOES HE FEEL GUILTY

THAT HE ATE MY • CAN IT REALLY BE

VOL 01 ISSUE 02 2018

PLUS!

VOL 01 ISSUE 04 2018

HOMEWORK? SEEN FROM SPACE? MR TRASH WHEEL:
p.34
• HOW LONG IS IT? Learn how stars A SUPER COOL FLOATING WHO WOULD RULE
are born p.6 RUBBISH COLLECTOR p.38 THE WORLD? p.16

o d…
Due t lar deman riptions
c
popu nior subs
V I Ju available.
now and
Buy 6
!
get 7

3 EASY WAYS TO
SUBSCRIBE coolmags.com • 011 468 2090
subscriptions@panorama.co.za
 Quickies

fun!
Random facts for 2,381,741km2
The area of Algeria – the largest country in Africa.

R360,000
The price that a pair of
Yubari melons fetched at
a Japanese auction in
May this year.

DID YOU KN
In a case OW?
ultramarathonof superhuman enduran
non-stop for runner Dean ce,
m or e Karnazes can
2006, he als th a n 500km wit run
hou
now has his o ran 50 marathons in 5 t sleep. In
sights 0 days
ever y countr set on running a marath . He
y in the world on
in a year … in

WHY DO I GET
SLEEPY WHEN I
LIE IN THE SUN?
I f you spend time in the sunshine
your body must use energy to RICHARD
prevent you from overheating. One
way it does this is to sweat, which
BRANSON
leads you to feel sleepy and
possibly become dehydrated if you
TO BE AN ASTRONAUT?
don’t drink enough. The more you
exert yourself (like if you do sports),
the more work your body has to do,
IJeffnBranson
the race to be the first to offer space tourism, Richard
has said he is “neck-and-neck” with Amazon CEO
Bezos. This came after both Bezos’ Blue Origin and
so the more tired you will feel. Cold Branson’s Virgin Galactic had successful test flights of their
also makes you tired, but for a passenger rocket ships in April. Bezos has mentioned that
different reason. When you are cold he feels they will be ready by 2019, while Branson is more
your body consumes energy to keep optimistic, giving it only a few months. And he isn’t keen to
you warm – like by shivering. just be a bystander – he’s been training to become an
astronaut himself. Exciting times ahead!

28
 Quickies
IS A BLACK
HOLE REALLY
A HOLE?
N ope! It’s actually
an object. Except
that it is extremely
dense, which
causes it to have a
high gravitational
field so nothing
(not even light)
can escape.
Because of the
light being gobbled
up, it is really dark
(black of course!),
so you cannot see it.
You can, however,
detect it because of its
effect on things around
it. So why are they called
holes? Probably because The amount by which
whatever ‘falls’ into them is the Dead Sea’s
trapped forever. surface level is
dropping each year.

The national dance of Chile is called the

cueca (pronounced ‘kweka’). It was selected
to hold this title on 18 September 1979.

HOW DO PEOPLE GET

SUPERHUMAN STRENGTH
IN A CRISIS?
They say that you can carry out
unbelievable feats of strength and
speed when you are in a crisis.
Lifting cars off trapped people or
dashing to save a person from a
falling object, for example. But
how is it possible? Well,
psychologists believe that the WHY DO SOME PEOPLE HAVE
fatigue signals sent from the
muscles to the brain are RHYTHM AND OTHERS DON’T?
influenced by motivation,
beliefs and expectations.
In life-threatening
Y ou’ve seen them on the dance floor – jerking around
completely out of time to the music. Hey, who are we to judge?
There may be a good reason that they are battling …
situations, the brain Psychologists have identified three factors that contribute to your
abandons its usual ability (or lack thereof) to dance: short-term auditory memory, the
conservative approach ability to sense a regular timing structure in sounds and musical
and instructs your training. They studied 62 people and found that these three
muscles to go all-out factors directly impacted the participants’ ability to reproduce a
and act at capacity. rhythmic beat by tapping it out. Musical training seemed to help
improve the other two factors, so if you are not a gifted dancer,
maybe start there …

29
 Engineering

If you want a bit of reassurance that flying is a

trustworthy mode of transport, read on to find out how
planes are tested to make sure that passengers are safe
and comfortable

BEWARE
THE BIRDS
Migrating birds can
travel at an altitude of
over 8,000m, so it’s
important that the engine
can continue working or
successfully shut down if
struck. So at a testing
facility in Ohio test engines
COLD CASE are splattered with bird
carcasses. If the engine
While passengers have air
conditioning to make
sure they stay comfortable
fails the test, it’s back to
the drawing board …
inside the plane, the plane’s
engines have to be able to
cope with temps as low as
-55°C! So they are pushed
to their limits at testing
facilities by being blasted
with icy water at sub-zero
temperatures to make sure
the engine can operate in
cold environments.

30
 Engineering

S HAK E ‘E M U P
N ot many people enjoy turbulence. But
while it may be one of the leading
causes of a fear of flying, most of the
time, the plane is actually moving very
little – and well within the design limits.
Plane manufacturers design the plane’s
wings to handle far higher levels of
turbulence than you’d ever be likely to
see in reality. This machine is
subjecting a Boeing 787 to an
extreme stress test, which you’ll be
pleased to know it passed.

WATER WAY
TO LAND
Planes have to be able to
handle extreme weather
conditions, from boiling hot
deserts to tropical storms. Here
a plane is being tested for
‘water ingestion’ in France.
Huge volumes of water are being
sprayed into the engines to test
the plane’s ability to land on a
rain-soaked runway.

THE AIR UP THERE

Mannequins, fitted with temperature
sensors, help engineers to design new
and improved ventilation systems to remove
excess heat. In this case they are testing a
system that pumps air from the floor rather
than the roof, cooling the plane without
causing draughts.

31
 Focus

Leshan Giant Buddha

T his 71m-tall stone statue was carved into
the mountainside in Leshan, China between
713 and 803 at the spot where three rivers
join. It depicts Maitreya (in the Buddhist
tradition, he is a Buddha who will appear in
the future and will achieve pure enlightenment,
taking the place of the present Buddha). It
is the largest stone Buddha statue in the
world and became a UNESCO World Heritage
Site in 1996. The construction of the Buddha
was started by a Chinese monk, who hoped
it would calm the waters that raged, causing
trouble for ships travelling down the river. The
monk never lived to see the completion of the
statue, but his wish did come true. The amount
of rock that was removed during the statue’s
construction altered the river’s currents,
making the waters safer for ships passing.

The statue’s

1,021
smallest
toenail is
large
enough for
a person to The number of individual
sit on. coils that make up the
Buddha’s hair.

8.3m
The length of the statue’s fingers.

32
 This
7m hear is
igh

90
The number of
years it took for
the statue to be
completed.

33
 8
Animals

REASONS CATS
ARE PRETTY
AWESOME
The internet is always abuzz with adorable cats – grumpy ones,
piano-playing ones and ones who love to play in boxes. But
what makes the average cat amazing?
7 TEXT: MIENTJIE KLEINHANS, ANIMALTALK MAGAZINE

PROBLEM SOLVING
Cats are good at solving problems and also have

1 the ability to combine a learnt skill with insight

into solving a problem – whether it is jumping
from one platform to another to find a treat
hidden in a jar, or pulling boxes on wheels. In the
test of pulling boxes, cats were able to teach
themselves that by pulling a box to an area where
food was suspended out of reach, the box could
be used as a platform to gain access to the food.

2 PERFECT LANDING
They almost always land on their feet and
they display incredible balance due to their
highly developed hindbrain and inner ear, where
balance is controlled. They also have a superior
message system between the end of
their spinal cord and brain.

TELLING TIME
In a test where cats were
restrained for four or five
seconds and then given a
treat either from the left or

3 70%
right, the cats knew which
feeder to approach for the
life is
treat. The test proved that of a cat’s eping!
cats can time events with spent sle
astonishing accuracy.

34

94.2
MILLION
The number of pet cats in
America according to the
American Pet Products
4 CREATURES
Association 2017-2018
National Pet Owners
Survey – that’s more
than dogs, which came in
at 89.7 million
Animals
INVENTIVE
These intelligent creatures
learn by trial and error, and
by observing and imitating
other creatures. Cats can
learn how to switch lights on
or off, and even how to open
doors, drawers and windows.

5 MANIPULATIVE
PAWS
Thanks to superb wiring in their
brains, cats can manipulate how
they handle objects with their
paws. They can move each toe
separately and either pierce an
object with their claws or retract
their claws for a ‘soft’ touch.

CAT’S
WHISKERS
Cats have
200 million
Large cheek whiskers help
cats to gauge whether they
can fit through a space. The
6
odour-sensitive smaller whiskers on their
cells in their muzzles, eyes and lower
noses; humans legs help them to navigate
only have five obstacles by feel with
million. precision.

7 MAPPING THE WORLD

Cats map their world differently to how humans do.
They use their senses to form a three-dimensional
view of their world, which includes sights and
smells. When a cat is outside in the garden, for
instance, she might include the smell of a certain
bush to the left of her path, and the feel of the trunk
of the tree where she smells a tom’s urine, just
before she jumps up on the wall. She will then use
this ‘map’ back to where she started her journey.

8 animaltalk
www.animaltalk.co.za
#284 AUGUST 2018

EXPERT ADVICE R

HOMING SKILLS
Your guide to responsible pet ownership Proud sponsor of

’
Kpaidgess
Keeping your
ACTIVE DOG
Newcards balanced and healthy
p
trum 45
page

Cats show amazing navigational

skills which enable them to Adventures of a
WILDLIFE
VETERINARIAN

quickly choose the right course to Teach your old

CAT NEW
TRICKS
exit a complex maze or to find PETS ARE NOT PEOPLE
Vol 24 No 08 RSA R35.90 incl VAT
Other African Countries R31.22 excl TAX

their way home across uncharted

The reality of humanising our pets and where to draw the line PG 8

Breed profiles 10 cool things about the

Boerboel, German Shepherd Dog,

Hungarian Vizsla and the Peterbald cat Tortoise 10

territory and distances of many For more cool articles about

kilometres. How they are able to animals, be sure to get your
do this is still unclear to humans. copy of Animaltalk magazine
at leading retailers or
www.coolmags.com now!

35
Photography

SEND IN YOUR PICS

Calling all budding photographers! Send us your best photos and get them featured in
Very Interesting Junior! Like these amazing photos, snapped by Zeyn Mahomed at
St John’s College in Houghton!

36
 Photography

AND BE FEATURED IN
VERY INTERESTING JUNIOR!

ABOUT THE
PHOTOGRAPHER
I am currently in Grade 8 and am
turning 14. I joined the school’s
smartphone photography club in
January with teachers Mr Murugen
and Mr Venter. We were taught to
experiment with different camera
techniques, such as the rule of
thirds, mono-photography and
different perspectives.

ABOUT THE
PHOTOS
T he photos are of various
structures around the
school. We have beautiful
buildings that are up to
120 years old, as well as
alleys and fields at St
John’s. During
amphitheatre every
Wednesday, we are always
asked what we picture as
a true boy from St John’s,
so I decided that the
theme behind my pictures
should be, ‘Through the
eyes and in the steps of a
St John’s boy’.

BUDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS!
Have you got any cool pics you’d love to
see in print? Send an email with the
words ‘VI Junior Photographer’ in the
subject line to vijunior@panorama.co.za.
Please include your name and
contact details.

37
 Conservation

#plasticpollution
In previous issues, we have discussed how microplastics
are clogging up our oceans. Luckily, people seem to be
O n World Ocean’s Day (8 June), Pick n Pay
announced that it will be introducing 100%
recycled plastic bags and getting rid of straws.
taking up the challenge of reducing plastic usage Their house brand ear buds will now be made of
paper instead of plastic and they will be
introducing a recycling service that will help their
customers recycle their plastic waste.
BAN THE BAG

12
O n 5 June we celebrated World Environment
Day and retailer Woolworths chose to mark
the occasion by announcing that they are
phasing out single-use plastic bags, with the
goal of going plastic-free by 2020. They will
5 WAYS YOU
also get rid of “unnecessary single-use CAN HELP!
plastics” – like straws and plastic knives and BILLION TONNES 1. Don’t use a straw.
forks – by 2022. This is great news considering The amount of plastic 2. Don’t drink water or drinks from a
that the UN reports that less than a 10th of that will be in landfills by disposable plastic bottle – use a
the plastic produced globally is recycled. 2050, according to the reusable bottle or mug.
United Nations Environment 3. Take your own bags with you when
Programme’s State of Plastics you shop (or ask your parents to).
Report (2018). 4. Don’t use face or body washes

8
with microbeads – these are small
MILLION TONNES particles of plastic.
5. Don’t chew gum – over 100,000
The amount of plastic that
ends up in the ocean every year. tonnes of it is thrown away every
year and it’s made up of synthetic
rubber, which is a plastic.
[Source: PlasticOceans.org]

100% ald’s ha
McDon d to being
te
s

commit pletely
com y 2025.
ble b
recycla
DITCH THE
STRAW
M any local restaurants and
retailers are starting to join the
DID YOU
#refusethestraw initiative – most KNOW?
O
notably Ocean Basket. Earlier this The top nine most common ver the past 10 years we have produced more
year they started a campaign called single-use plastics found in plastic than we did the whole of the last century.
‘The last straw’ where they explained the environment are: The process of producing bottled water requires
their decision to stop issuing plastic • cigarette butts • drinking around six times as much water per bottle as what is
straws and packets with their bottles • bottle caps in the bottle itself. Plastics don’t biodegrade, but
take-aways. This is a step in the • food wrappers • grocery rather break down over time into smaller pieces,
right direction, considering 300 bags • lids • straws and known as microplastics. If you want to read more
million tonnes of plastic is produced stirrers • other types of about how these microplastics are causing chaos in
every year – and half of that is for plastic bags • foam our oceans, contact us on vijunior@panorama.co.za
single-use items! take-away containers for a back copy of Very Interesting Junior #1.

38
 m
eg
as
Ce to
nt r e
ion n
ur
Lif o w
le o p
es
ty
Ce e
nt n
re
e ver ything your pet needs

Montego M-pets Build it

Classic Adult Pantheon Cat
Cat food 5kg Scratch Furniture NOW
*Mpets build it range on sale
MP-2
0 1001
13
R99
WAS R148
M-pets Paw Placemat
NOW NOW *Mpets circle & semi-circle on sale

R209 R1 150
MON-CAT05

MP-20612299

WAS R1 758
n also...
ca
WAS R248

shop
y ou

Largest Range Of Cat Food & Accessories Under One Roof

Pet Nutrition
online
familypet.co.za
Valid from 23 July - 3 August 2018. Terms & Conditions apply. E&OE. Products may vary. from

Visit our fully equipped in- Bring your pet to get pampered Enjoy delicious refreshments
house Veterinary Clinic by our grooming team at our café

Find us at: Centurion Lifestyle Centre

Address. c/o Lenchen Ave South & Castanet St, Centurion, Pretoria
Tel. 010 040 7600 • E-mail info@familypetcentre.co.za • Web. www.familypet.co.za
 Nature
XXXX

COLOSSAL WARNING!
id
of b
u g s , d o n’ t
re

CREEPY CRAWLY

ad
ra
I f y o u ar e af

any
f u r t h e r!
The world’s longest insect is so big that it wouldn’t
even be able to fit across the pages of this magazine!

98
19
d
r te
s t a lus i ve
4,635km y e
o
ha e e al s
a r Z f o r t h at l o c t
T h e c h i ng e c t t h ab o
u
The distance a r s i m
monarch butterfly a i n
s e ic k t ol d h
travelled to set a s t ad
h
Guinness World
Record for longest
migration

56.7 176
The record for most insects
tattooed onto a person – held
by artist and model Rick
CENTIMETRES Genest of Canada
The length of the previous
record-holder, a stick
insect called
Phobaeticus chani
DID YOU KNOW? from Borneo
The Amazonian giant
centipede hunts by
hanging from cave
roofs and grabbing
bats as they fly past

1.2cm – the 5cm – female 12cm – Giant

world’s longest Dorylus water bug
flea, helvolus (the Lethocerus
Hystrichopsylla biggest grandis
40 schefferi species of ant)
 400,000
The number of people who are
Nature
XXX

71
killed per year by malaria – a
mosquito-borne disease.
And this is just one
disease that these tiny
killers carry, making
them the deadliest
(not to mention most GRAMS
annoying) creature in The heaviest weight
the world. recorded for the giant
weta, a protected bug
from New Zealand

of a
f e siz e e c t !
l-l i in s
R e a st i ck
y The year the goliath beetle
b ab was first discovered. These
massive creatures can
weigh anything from
70 to 100g.

t venomous insec
e mos t is
Th th
RECORD HOLDER W? hour
s .

ei
for

nn
T O
KN

oce
his leggy creature (a type of stick insect) is

st s
an impressive 62.4cm and, in 2016, stole

n
U

tense pain that la

t-look
DID YO

the title of world’s longest insect. Called

Phryganistria chinensis zhao, it was

ing har ve
discovered on a mountain in the Guangxi
region of Southern China by scientist Zhao
Li. He took it back to the insect museum of

s
West China and it laid six eggs! Aaw cute!

t e
in

ra
Except that, when they hatched, they were
es

nt .
monstrous themselves at 26cm!
us

An
at t a ca
ck by one of these

16.7cm 28cm – Queen 30cm

– Hercules Alexandra’s – Amazonian
beetle birdwing giant centipede
butterfly
41
 Science

COULD YOU CLONE

We love dinosaurs! And with the recent release of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom we thought we’d
take a look at whether it could actually be possible to clone our own dinosaur from preserved DNA

WHY CAN’T I?
W ell, the oldest recovered dinosaur DNA fragments are some
800,000 years old. And to create a true clone you need
an intact, living cell (cloning has only ever been successful
using a host animal of the same species). So, without a
living version, true cloning is pretty much out of the
question (thanks for giving us the hope of finding an
amber-preserved mosquito Jurassic Park!).

I AM STILL
DETERMINED!
WHAT ARE MY
OPTIONS?
W e could possibly look
at making a form of
mammoth by splicing
mammoth genes into
the DNA of their
closest living relative
– the Asian elephant.
Most of the mammoth
genome has already
been sequenced from
fragments recovered
from mammoths frozen
in Siberia. That’s a good
start! Last year, a team
at Harvard even
managed to insert 14
mammoth genes into
an elephant cell in
a Petri dish.

42
 Science
XXX

A DINOSAUR?
SO, LET’S DO IT!
T here’s a problem … Asian elephants and mammoths are thought
to differ by at least 400 genes, and figuring out exactly which
ones is an … ahem … mammoth task! Even if they do figure it out,
the single cell created would still need to develop into an embryo
and then a baby mammoth. Considering we battle to get normal
IVF right with elephants, this seems like a long shot.
IVF (In vitro fertilisation) is a medical procedure where an
egg is fertilised outside the body.

SO, WHAT’S
THE BOTTOM
LINE?
It’s unlikely we could
get this whole
dinosaur or mammoth
cloning thing right
anytime soon. But it’s
not an absolute no. We
could possibly make
progressively more
mammoth-like elephant
hybrids, but it will be a slow
process. We can still dream
though …

43
 Quickies
fun!
Random facts for
TUTU-FISH
(TUTUSIUS)
S outh African
scientist Rob
Gess of Albany Museum in
Grahamstown has found a
new type of tetrapod (a fish with
legs) in a fossil dating back some 360
million years. In a June 2018 article in
the scientific journal Science, Gess and
a Swedish colleague describe the new
species, which is around a metre
long and was discovered in rock
that Gess had saved during road
construction in 1999. Gess named
the tetrapod after Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, because he
likened the way tetrapods emerged from the water and into the
sunshine to the way Tutu has led people after apartheid.
H E
WHY DO WE HAVE ACCENTS?
A n accent is a way of pronouncing that is particular to a person,
location or nation. There are two types. The first is the accent
you have when you speak a foreign language, having to make
words and sounds that you aren’t comfortable with. The second is
the accent we speak our native language with, such as how the
British sound speaking English in comparison to how we sound
44
CAN ANIMALS
BE AFRAID OF
THE DARK?
Many people become afraid of the
dark the minute that something is
off or out of the ordinary. We hear a
strange sound and our imagination runs
riot, sending our heart rate soaring. It’s
not so much the dark itself, but what
the darkness can hide from us that is so
terrifying. That’s the exact reason that
emperor penguins are afraid of the dark
… though their fears are justified
because it makes them vulnerable to
predators. At dusk, emperor penguins
head for the shore, even though they
have excellent eyesight and there is
plenty of food to be caught. Their
greatest predator, the leopard seal,
sleeps at midday, so the penguins
prefer to be out and about then.
DID
YOU
KNOW?
There are more than
2,500 spoken
languages in the
world today.
L L O!
speaking it. To confuse us more, different areas in a country can
have different accents too. Languages all have different sounds. It
appears that as people moved around and started to live in
isolated areas, they developed different speech patterns and
accents. As the world was developed and we went through periods
of invasion and settlement, new accents mixed with old.
 Quickies

The length of the world’s longest pencil. The record was set by BIC in France on 10 October 2017. That’s more than three times as tall as the Eiffel Tower!
DID YOU KNOW?
Even though Froot Loops have
different colours, they contain
no real fruit and actually all
have the same flavour.

WHY ARE WEEDS

1,091.99m
CALLED WEEDS?
S ome weeds are really pretty.
So who decides what is a
weed and what is a flower? Well,
a weed is listed as a plant in an
undesirable or unsuitable
location. Simply put, it’s a plant
in the wrong place. Weeds often
have a large number of seeds
and grow well in disturbed or
damaged soil. By law, a weed is
any plant that requires some sort
of action to reduce its effect on
the economy, the environment,
human health and amenity. You
can find a list of them at www.
invasives.org.za.

Black Panther became the

all-time top grossing film in
South Africa earlier this year,
hauling in over R77 million in
the first month after its
February release.
©2017 Disney Enterprises. All rights reserved.

45
 46
ANSWERS
CROSSWORD:
Across
3. Fairy, 7. Chevrotain, 9. Crab, 10. Pinna, 11. Stapes, 14. Lava, 15.
Singapore, 16. Bats, 17. Vietnam, 18. Tarantula, 19. Shark, 20. Plastic,
by colouring in this ostrich!
22. New Zealand, 24. Safe, 28. Tetrapod, 29. Pencil
Day on 2 August. Celebrate
It’s World Colouring Book
Down
1. Labrador, 2. Mammoth, 4. Ferret, 5. Hawaii, 6. Onion, 8. Hourglass,
COLOUR IN!
12. Sugar, 13. Fasciculation, 15. Stalagmite, 20. Pompeii, 21. Atlanta,
23. Banana, 25. Straws, 26. Radiation, 27. Dormant
RIDDLE:
Answer: 1. An egg, 2. All of them, 3. He is bald,
4. In the dictionary, 5. Silence
numbers one through nine.
3x3 block contains the
that each row, column and
Fill in the blank squares so
SUDOKU
yourself with these tricky puzzles
Train your brain by challenging
TEST YOURSELF
Puzzles
XXXX
 Puzzles
XXX

RIDDLE ME THIS
1. What has to be broken before you can use it?
2. Which month has 28 days?
3. Three men fall into a swimming pool, but one
doesn’t get his hair wet. Why?
4. Where does Friday come before Thursday?
5. What is so fragile that saying its name breaks it?

NTH
ORD OF THE MO
W

being CROSSWORD
c tive to describe his is Make sure you’ve read the
je
An ad uring the day. about T whole magazine before you
active d d when talking e of complete this puzzle – the
se it
usually u and is the oppos ht). answers can be found in
the articles.
an im a ls at n ig
l (active
nocturna

Across Down
3. When you close your eyes in space, you may experience lights known as a cosmic _________ 1. Pep, the dog ‘sentenced to life in prison’, was this type of dog
7. This strange-looking fanged creature is also known as a mouse deer 2. This prehistoric creature shares DNA with the elephant
9. The Japanese spider ______ is the world’s biggest crustacean 4. These furry creatures can sleep for up to 20 hours a day
10. The biological name for the outer ear 5. The US state where the volcano Kilauea erupted this year
11. The smallest bone in the human body (hint: It’s in your ear) 6. Chew gum while cutting this to stop your eyes from burning
14. The name given to magma that has reached the Earth’s surface 8. The red shape that you will find under the black widow spider
15. The country where chewing gum was outlawed 12. Cats cannot taste this substance
16. The Amazonian giant centipede catches these by hanging on the roofs of caves 13. The technical term for a muscle twitch
17. The country where you can find the Hang Son Doong caves, which have their own climate! 15. These protrusions grow from cave floors
If you
18. The world’s oldest known spider was a trapdoor _______ called Number 16 20. The city that was decimated (and preserved) by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius you’d have puz zle
19. This creature has been on Earth longer than dinosaurs! 21. The US state where the world’s busiest airport can be found li
pleas ke to s en s
20. Eight million tonnes of this ends up in our oceans annually 23. Humans share 60% of DNA with chickens and this fruit vijunio e email th d in,
r @ pa em t
22. The country that the massive bug, the giant weta, calls home (3,7) 25. These drinking tubes are slowly being phased out of restaurants like We’d norama.co o
love t .za!
24. Jack Daniels died after kicking this Ocean Basket t hem o g iv
28. The type of creature the Tutusius (AKA Tutu-fish) is 26. Astronauts wear white to reflect this a t r y! e
29. The world’s largest one is three times the length of the Eiffel Tower 27. The term used to describe a volcano that is ‘sleeping’ – neither active nor extinct

47
 XXXX
Cool stuff

ndin g
H I NG
TOUT FOR! S
COTOOLL
tre
tally
To
OOK

BOOK – THE BACTERIA BOOK

gross germs,
Learn all about funky fungi.
vile viruses and robiology will
This book on micbacterium that
tell you about a ickier than
is three times st uminescent
superglue, a biol live in your
squid, mites that tibiotics were
an
eyelashes, how us that turns
a fung
de velope d,
and how you
ants into zombies ten by
rit
MOVIE – THE MEG
catch a cold. W r and Opens 10 August 2018
science presenteMould, it’s When a Chinese crew on board a deep-sea submersible is
comedian Steve scinating facts attacked by a giant undersea creature and is trapped at the
packed full of fa ustrations. bottom of the ocean, everyone’s favourite action hero, Jason
and awesome ill Statham (playing ex-diver Jonas Taylor), must save them.
That’s if a monstrous, prehistoric, 22m-long shark called
Magalodon doesn’t get them first!
©2018 Warner Brothers Entertainment. All rights reserved.

DiCaprio is a DVD – MONSTER

vegetarian and owns
an island near FAMILY
Belize that he hopes The Wishbone family has a
to convert into an problem – an evil witch has
eco-friendly resort. turned them into literal
monsters. Mom Emma is a
vampire, dad Frank is
Super-smart celeb of the month Frankenstein’s monster and the
Leonardo DiCaprio kids, Fay and Max, are now a
He’s a film star and movie producer, but Leonardo DiCaprio is also mummy and werewolf
an environmental activist who is passionate about saving the respectively. How did this
environment. And it’s not a cause he just backs with words. At just happen? And can they find the
24 years old, after the success of the movie Titanic, DiCaprio set witch and convince her to put
up his own foundation which aims to promote environmental them right again? Seems like it
awareness. He’s raised many millions through it and has used his will be a struggle, especially
celebrity status to get support for the cause. He has been involved after Dracula kidnaps Emma,
with three documentaries – Water Planet, Global Warning and The forcing the family to really find
11th Hour – to raise awareness, and sits on the boards of many their inner strength and unite to
environmental charities, like the World Wildlife Fund. Saving the reverse the curse.
planet seems pretty smart to us. What a role model!

48 48
 PUZZLES!

interesting
brain entertainment Sudoku, crossword,

NEW
VERY
riddles – can you
solve them? p.46
EDITION 05

SEND IN YOUR
SCIENCE JOKE
AND WIN p.24

THE HUMAN
growing young minds, testing your knowledge BODY p.28

ASK AN ASTRONAUT
joi Coul
nt d
y
cre he IS ou
w? S

HOW DO MY
EARS AFFECT
MY BALANCE?

WHAT DO THEY EAT? HOW DOES THE LOO WORK? p.10 WHAT IS IN
WHAT IS LIFE ON THE ISS LIKE? p.12 MY GUM? p.26

WHY DO WE HAVE
ACCENTS? p.44
Hey

Hello!
a!

Howdy!
Ola!

GIANT UNDERSEA
AEROPLANE
SAFETY 101
FIND OUT HOW PLANES
CREATURES! p.2 ARE TESTED p.30