Readable, teachable news.
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
In 1906, a ship carrying 480 tons of coal sank in Lake Ontario.
The ship was a schooner, with three huge masts, and it was called Queen of the Lakes.
The ship ran into bad weather near Lake Ontario’s southern shore, and started to leak. It sank quickly.
The six crew members abandoned the ship and rowed safely to shore.
Some people, whose hobby is looking for sunken ships, located the in 2009 using a sonar machine.
The Queen of the Lakes was in water that was too deep for divers to reach her.
Four kilometres below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean lies the most famous shipwreck in the world.
The Titanic sank on its maiden voyage on April 12, 1912, about 650 kilometres off the coast of Newfoundland.
More than 1,500 passengers and crew died after the supposedly “unsinkable” ocean liner hit an iceberg and sank.
In 2010, scientists used sophisticated equipment to take very detailed photographs of the Titanic and the wreck site.
The photos were “stitched together” to provide an incredible visual record of every centimeter of the outside of the ship. Many of the photos will eventually be shown to the public.
There will soon be new costumes and facelifts for Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman and many other superheroes.
Collectively known as the Justice League, these comic book superheroes have been battling evil for decades.
Justice League is produced by DC Comics, and the company is facing increasing pressure from its biggest competitor, Marvel Comics.
That’s why they’re upgrading their best-loved comic heroes, starting Aug. 1.
Many of the heroes will take on a more youthful appearance, and about 50 will get new costumes.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (Will and Kate) are coming to Canada this week.
There is certain etiquette–things you should and should not do–in dealing with, and speaking to, royalty.
Etiquette is a type of “manners.”
It can also be called “protocol” in the case of the royals.
For instance, protocol demands that Will and Kate be addressed as “Your Royal Highness,” followed by “sir” or “ma’am.”
Men can then bow from the neck and ladies can curtsy to the royals.
Over the years there have been plenty of “breaches of protocol” — mistakes that people have made around royalty.
Canadian astronaut Roberta Bondar is one of the latest Canadians who will join Canada’s Walk of Fame.
The Walk of Fame is, literally, a set of sidewalk tiles with the names of famous Canadians set into them.
It’s along King Street and Simcoe Street in downtown Toronto.
But much more importantly, the Walk of Fame is a symbol for excellence.
Each sidewalk tile represents someone Canadians value highly for their artistry, intelligence, innovation or service to our country.
They are people who have somehow influenced Canada in the areas of: music, film, television, sports, science, innovation, literature, theatre or the visual arts.
One sports writer called it, “a loss that felt like a win,” and indeed it was.
The Canadian women’s soccer team lost its first game 2-1 to Germany in the Women’s World Cup in Berlin on Sunday.
But during that game, one player in particular showed what she was made of–courage, skill and determination.
Going into the match, Germany was heavily favoured to win.
They had already won the World Cup twice before. In 2007 they won the Cup without giving up a single goal.
In fact, they haven’t given up a single goal in competition since October.
But something happened around half-time.
Betty Fox, mother of Canadian icon Terry Fox, has died.
Her son, Terry, became a national hero in Canada when he ran across the country to raise money for cancer research.
Terry Fox ran his Marathon of Hope in April 1980 after he had lost a leg to bone cancer.
He had to end his run half-way across Canada—after more than 5,300 kilometres—when the cancer spread to his lungs.
It claimed his life in 1981, when he was just 22.
Like her famous son, Betty Fox was also a Canadian icon.
After her son died she kept his Marathon of Hope alive by publicizing it in the media, doing interviews and helping with the many Marathons of Hope that still spring up across the country each year in Terry’s honour.
Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling has finally revealed some of what Pottermore.com will have on it.
But it will be a bit difficult to understand exactly what will be on the new website until it’s fully up and running and that won’t be until October for most people.
One million lucky Harry Potter fans will be able to test the Pottermore site in a sneak preview starting on July 31, Harry’s birthday.
In a YouTube announcement and during a media conference in London, England, Rowling revealed that Pottermore will:
•Include more information and “back story” on some of the Harry Potter characters including Professor McGonagall (her childhood, ministry career, early heartbreak and her long friendship with Dumbledore), and how Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon met (at work, apparently).
•Include more than 18,000 words about Harry Potter and the characters, written by Rowling.
•Include a Pottermore shop where you can buy Harry Potter ebooks (digital books).
A “flash mob” happens when a group of seemingly random strangers suddenly start dancing, singing or moving in exactly the same way.
For instance, a group of people in a mall may suddenly all start dancing to a Lady Gaga song, doing all the same moves.
The rest of the people in the mall, who are not part of the flash mob, get treated to a surprise show.
When the show is over, the people who were in the flash mob just walk away, as though nothing had happened.
There was a flash mob in Toronto on Sunday.
Or more accurately… what is author J. K. Rowling up to?
The answer is: a mysterious new website called Pottermore.
A few weeks before the launch of the final Harry Potter movie (Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2), Rowling put up an intriguing website at www.pottermore.com.
She also began a Twitter account, twitter.com/pottermore, which has more than 75,000 followers.
It offers no clues as to what the website will be about.
It merely has the words “Pottermore” and “Coming soon…” with J. K. Rowling’s signature.
