Readable, teachable news.
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
The father of South Africa was laid to rest on Sunday.
Nelson Mandela was an international icon who fought for peace and reconciliation.
During his life, he affected millions of people. He helped bring about the elimination of “apartheid” in South Africa.
Mandela died on December 5 at the age of 95.
On Sunday, he was given a state funeral, in his home village of Qunu, followed by a private graveside ceremony.
Canada Post is phasing out home delivery.
People, particularly those living in urban areas, won’t have their mail delivered directly to their home.
They’ll have to do what most people in rural areas already do—get their mail from a “community mailbox.”
Canada Post says about two-thirds of people in Canada already get their mail this way.
It will be about five years before home delivery is completely phased out.
The elimination of home delivery service is one of a number of things Canada Post is doing to save money.
Lots of people wear glasses to make their vision better, or even just for fashion.
But when Noah, 4, found out he needed glasses, he wasn’t happy about it.
In fact, he was downright sad.
His mother asked him why he was so sad about having to wear glasses.
Noah told her he was worried that everyone would laugh at him.
Noah’s mother started a Facebook page to show Noah that wearing glasses is cool.
She asked people to post pictures of themselves and their kids wearing glasses.
Think of some of the things that used to be very popular, but which practically don’t exist anymore. Like vinyl records. Or fax machines. Or… door knobs?
Door knobs may become a thing of the past, with door levers taking their place.
That’s because Vancouver, a large city in British Columbia, recently changed its building code to say that new buildings will be built with levers instead of knobs.
The city’s building code is changing to levers because they are easier to open. People with arthritis, for instance, often find door knobs difficult.
Using levers will make doors as accessible to as many people as possible.
The good people of San Francisco, California can sleep a little more soundly.
Last Friday, their city was been made safer by a very special superhero.
Batman and a special Batkid spent the day patrolling the streets and battling crime.
Batkid’s real identity (ssssh, don’t tell anyone!) is five-year-old Miles.
Miles has been winning his own battle, ever since he was just one year old—against a disease called leukemia, which is a form of cancer.
Miles’s leukemia is in “remission,” which means that he is doing very well now. In fact, he started kindergarten this year.
A marine biologist, who was snorkelling off the coast of California, has made a fantastic discovery.
Jasmine Santana found a dead oarfish so long that she needed 15 people to help her drag it out of the ocean.
Santana works for the Catalina Island Marine Institute. She was snorkling when she saw something shimmering.
It was the body of an oarfish. But it wasn’t just any oarfish–this one was more than five metres (18 feet) long.
Oarfish are plankton-eaters. They are rarely seen by humans, because they live deep in the ocean–up to 1,000 metres down.
They are long, like a “sea serpent.” In fact, oarfish may have been the mythical sea serpents of legend.
For two years, the Toronto Zoo and Toronto City Council have been trying to agree on the best way to move three senior elephants to California.
The elephants are quite old and must be treated very carefully.
Now, if all goes well, Toka, Thika and Iringa will begin their trip next month.
At first, they were to make the move by plane, but that idea was turned down in favour of driving.
Now they will go in containers on a 50-hour journey with several stops along the way for feeding and cleaning of the crates.
Veterinarians and handlers will go with them on the trip to make sure the animals are safe and not stressed.
The NFL (National Football League) is in full swing and many exciting stories have already begun to unfold.
Although the league opened just three weeks ago, teams have already surprised their fans, for better and for worse.
Seven of the 32 teams in the league are now 3-0 (3 wins – no losses).
But it may not be the teams you would expect.
Favourites such as The Seattle Seahawks, The Denver Broncos and The New England Patriots are 3-0, but so are The Kansas City Chiefs, The Miami Dolphins, The Chicago Bears, and The New Orleans Saints—four teams that didn’t even make the playoffs last year.
A family in Guelph, Ontario is spending a year living in 1986.
They’re doing it so their kids can see what life was like before complicated technology like iPads, sophisticated computers, tablets and even complicated coffee machines were part of everyday life.
They have banned all technology from their home and are relying on the things people would have used back in the 80s.
There is a box at the front door where people can temporarily deposit their mobile devices, like cell phones, while they’re visiting the family.
Blair McMillan and his girlfriend, Morgan want their kids—Trey, 5, and Denton, 2—to have a year free of technology.
A Chinese space capsule, carrying three astronauts, blasted off on Tuesday. It is on a 15-day mission.
The Shenzhou 10 capsule will dock with a space lab called Tiangong 1.
While on the Tiangong 1, the Chinese crew plans to deliver a series of educational talks to children.
China’s education initiative is designed to spark kids’ interest in space exploration.
The astronauts will also conduct dozens of experiments while they are in space.
