Apps For Kids

The Moon has no atmosphere, but it does have plenty of oxygen. It’s trapped in the form of oxides, and mixed into the lunar dust, known as regolith. Scientists believe oxygen could be extracted from regolith, right on the Moon, to supply air to colonies. The European Space Agency is testing new extraction techniques.

Today is Penguin Awareness Day. Emperor penguins can grow to nearly 4 feet tall, while little blue penguins only reach 16 inches. Some people knit sweaters for penguins, to protect them from oil spills. No penguins live at the North Pole! Except for the Galapagos penguin, they all live in the Southern Hemisphere.

Today is Martin Luther King Jr Day. Dr. King was a minister, activist, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and leader of the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He used non-violent civil disobedience, marches and sit-ins to try to create racial equality in the United States. He was assassinated in 1968, but still inspires us to fight racism.

A massive annual snowball fight at the University of British Columbia, had to be rescheduled because of snow! Vancouver had received heavy snow that was causing traffic chaos, so they had the snowball fight the following day instead. The snow packed better once it thawed a little anyway. Over 1000 students joined in the fun!

Howard Kirby bought an old couch from a thrift store, for his man-cave. He noticed the foot cushion was not as soft, and opened it up to see why. It was stuffed with $43,000! He contacted the store, to find the people who had donated it, and returned the money to the grateful family.

A couple in Pennsylvania woke up one morning, and found a hungry, flea-infested dog in their living room, even though their doors and windows were shut! The wind had blown the door open, and their house looked warm and inviting to the stray pup. They adopted the sweet dog, and named her Suzy!

Scientists have developed a new kind of concrete, that regenerates. It contains sand, gelatin, and cyanobacteria. Under the right conditions, the photosynthetic bacteria allow the living concrete to grow itself. Space agencies are especially excited. They could launch less building material into space, and let the concrete expand to the amount they need!

Pop. Pop. Pop, pop, pop-pop-pop-pop! It’s Popcorn Day! In the 16th century, popcorn was used in Aztec headdresses in Mexico. It became a popular food in the United States in the 18-hundreds. It’s also Tin Can Day. Peter Durand patented the perfect way to store food for years, in 18 10. Eat a tin of popcorn!

When you’re hungry, sometimes a Snickers candy bar makes a good snack. The biggest Snickers ever, just set a record for the world’s largest chocolate nut bar. It’s 12 feet long, 2 feet high, and weighs 4,728 pounds! The gargantuan Snickers is the equivalent of 43,000 regular-sized bars. That ought to be big enough to satisfy anyone’s hunger!

A horse was running through the streets of Cardiff, in Wales. Bystanders captured it, but were told it would take some time for the police to arrive with a horse trailer. A bus driver offered to transport the horse to its owners, which is how a horse came to be riding the city bus!