Author: Lisa Mungovan

China switched on a nuclear fusion reactor today, that’s nicknamed the artificial sun. The HL-2M Tokamak reactor, is a research device. Scientists hope it will help them find a source of powerful, clean energy. Using a magnetic field to fuse hot plasma, it heats to 150,000,000 degrees Celsius. That’s 10 times hotter, than the Sun’s core!

There’s a hotel in Tennessee, where ducks are treated like royalty. Twice a day, the Peabody Memphis Hotel’s Duckmaster, leads the Peabody Ducks on a parade through the hotel. They come down the elevator, then waddle down a red carpet, to the tune of King Cotton. Their destination, is the Grand Lobby’s marble fountain.

Today is Walt Disney Day. He started out as an illustrator, introducing the world to Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. Later, Disneyland opened, and Disney movies like Snow White and Mary Poppins, became popular. Now, the Disney corporation makes Star Wars movies, has its own TV channel, and works with National Geographic. They’re everywhere!

Today is Cotton Candy Day! Spun sugar has been around since the 15th century. It’s also known as fairy floss, or candy floss. Maybe that’s because confectioner John Wharton and dentist William Morrison, invented the first cotton candy machine. Don’t floss your teeth with cotton candy, or you’ll need to see a dentist!

Lightsabers look cool in Star Wars movies, but they’re all special effects. James Hobson, and his team at Hacksmith Industries, decided to make a real lightsaber. They designed a retractable plasma lightsaber, attached to tanks of propane and oxygen. A video shows the blade cutting through metal, and demonstrates how to change the colors.

Apple Dog Accessories, makes leashes for your poochies, that are stronger than leather. They almost sound good enough to eat, because they’re made from apple skins! The waterproof material is better for the planet. The company also plants a new tree, for every sale it makes, to help stop deforestation. Wanna take a walk?

We live in the Milky Way galaxy, orbiting our Sun on one of its spiral arms. Astronomers recently mapped 3,000,000 new galaxies, using Australia’s CSIRO telescope! Our solar system has 8 planets. Our Milky Way galaxy has 100 to 400 billion stars, each with their own solar system, which means 800 to 3 trillion planets. Think any have alien life?

The Hayabusa2 space probe, successfully delivered its package of asteroid dust yesterday. The capsule entered Earth’s atmosphere like a fireball, landing in the Australian outback. Samples were taken from the asteroid Ryugu, 300,000,000 miles away. While scientists study the precious specimens, which is likely unchanged since the universe began, the probe will explore more asteroids.

Today is Put On Your Own Shoes Day. I think most of you already do that. If you have a baby in the house, give them a chance to put their own shoes on; they might surprise you! It’s also Microwave Oven Day. Have you ever microwaved a marshmallow? It’s really neat!

The Wangarru, or yellow-footed rock wallaby, is an endangered species in Australia. After nearly 3 years of drought there were only about 60 individuals left. It finally rained in March, bringing back lots of plants, and the wallabies started breeding again. Now there are 75 Wangarru wallabies, happily hopping around New South Wales!