Animals' Compasses Researchers have found that migrating animals use a variety of inner compasses to help them navigate. Some steer by the position of the Sun. Others navigate by the stars. Some use t
Raising Oysters In the past oysters were raised in much the same way as dirt farmers raised tomatoes - by transplanting them. First, farmers selected the oyster bed, cleared the bottom of old shells a
Plankton Scattered through the seas of the world are billions of tons of small plants and animals called plankton. Most of these plants and animals are too small for the human eye to see. They drift a
Movie Music Accustomed though we are to speaking of the films made before 1927 as "silent", the film has never been, in the full sense of the word, silent.From the very beginning, music was regarded a
The traditional holidays in our house when I was a child were spent timing elaborate meals around football games. My father tried to make pleasant chitchat and eat as much as he could during halftime.
A Curious Decision A poor chimney-sweeper, who had not enough money to buy a meal, stopped one hot summer day at noon before an eating-house, and remained regaling his nose with the smell of the victu
The Early Settlers in North America The North American frontier changed some of the characteristics of the pioneers of the 1750's and intensified others.They were, as a group, semiliterate, proud, and
Coal-fired Power Plants The invention of the incandescent light bulb by Thomas A. Edison in 1879 created a demand for a cheap, readily available fuel with which to generate large amounts of electric p
The Source of Energy A summary of the physical and chemical nature of life must begin, not on the Earth, but in the Sun; in fact, at the Sun's very center. It is here that is to be found the source of
Bacteria Bacteria are extremely small living things. While we measure our own sizes in inches or centimeters, bacterial size is measured in microns. One micron is a thousandth of a millimeter: a pinhe
A little Girl Sitting on a grassy grave, beneath one of the windows of the church, was a little girl.(1) With her head bent back(2) she was gazing up at the sky and singing, while one of her little ha
Scientific Theories In science, a theory is a reasonable explanation of observed events that are related. A theory often involves an imaginary model that helps scientists picture the way an observed e
The History of Chemistry Chemistry did not emerge as a science until after the scientific revolution in the seventeenth century and then only rather slowly and laboriously. But chemical knowdedge is a
The Satiric Literature Perhaps the most striking quality of satiric literature is its freshness,its originality of perspective.Satire rarely offers original ideas.Instead, it presents the familiar in
Schooling and Education It is commonly believed in the United States that school is where people go to get an education.Nevertheless, it has been said that today children interrupt their education to
The Language of Music A painter hangs his or her finished pictures on a wall, and everyone can see it. A composer writes a work, but no one can hear it until it is performed. Professional singers and
Topaz Topaz is a hard, transparent mineral. It is a compound of aluminum, silica, and fluorine. Gem topaz is valuable. Jewelers call this variety of the stone "precious topaz". The best-known precious
Choosing An Occupation Hodeslea, Eastbourne, November 5, 1892 Dear Sir, I am very sorry that the pressure of other occupations has prevented me from sending an earlier reply to your letter. In my opin
The Rainy Day The day is cold,and dark,and dreary; It rains,and the wind is never weary; The vine still clings to the moldering wall, But at every gust the dead leaves fall, And the day is dark and dr
