Readable, teachable news.
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
As a boy, Mehdi Ghazi had a dream. He wanted to be a classical pianist.
But he lived in Algeria, a northern African nation torn apart by a long-standing civil war between government forces and Islamic rebels. The war had shut down the music conservatory. And western classical music was nearly unheard of there—in fact, some called it “the devil’s music.”
Ghazi had no piano. He practiced on a keyboard drawn on a sheet of paper. And he had no teacher, so he taught himself to play.
Canadians aren’t as fit as they should be. In fact, only about 12 out of 100 kids get as much exercise as they should.
So the Canadian government is going to lower the amount of time they say people need to exercise. They’re hoping that with an easier goal, people will try harder to meet it.
The man has a voice of velvet: deep, rich and resonant. It’s a voice many radio announcers would love to have. A beautiful voice.
His name is Ted Williams. He is 53 years old, and he is homeless. He begs for money at the side of the highway in a town in Ohio.
But that is about to change for the better.
Scientists have figured out that the bones of an ancient teenager, buried near Britain’s mysterious Stonehenge monument, came from hundreds of kilometers away.
The wealthy teen was buried with a string of amber beads around his neck. He is known to researchers as “the boy with the amber necklace.”
He originally came from The Mediterranean, and was likely a tourist, visiting Stonehenge much as people do today—as a tourist destination.
Canada is leading the way in “barcoding” all animals on earth.
Scientists around the world are undertaking a massive project to help protect animals. And Canadians (in fact, Torontonians) are leading the way.
One day, the project will allow you to point your camera phone at an animal or a bug and a screen will pop up with the name of the species and a description of it.
Another Harry Potter adventure?
Might Harry Potter be called into service again, to keep the wizarding (and Muggle) world safe from the likes of Voldemort and his accomplices?
The answer is: “maybe.”
Talk about a slow postal system. More than two years ago, Cally Rumbolt’s father put a note in a bottle and set it adrift off the shores of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. This year, Sofi-Ona Hamer fished it out of the North Atlantic Ocean near Scotland. Cally’s dad is a fisherman, and in 2007 and 2008 he sent dozens of notes in bottles overboard in the hopes that someone would find them, and send a note to Cally.
Platform 9-3/4 really exists. Here’s a magical picture from the muggle world. This picture was taken at the real-life King’s Cross station in London, England. Harry Potter fans will recognize Platform 9-3/4 as the magical spot in the wall Hogwarts […]
Saving words from “extinction.” What would you do if someone called you a “snollygoster”? Would you feel flattered or insulted? “Snollygoster” isn’t a word you hear every day. In fact, almost no one uses it anymore. And that’s the problem, […]
A new Internet TV show lets viewers run someone’s life. Cameras are pointed at 25-year-old Tristan Couvares, following his every move. Viewers can watch what he does, for 18 hours a day, on the Internet. The twist is, they can also be […]
