Readable, teachable news.
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
A rare albino hummingbird may have been spotted in Colorado.
Albino hummingbirds have a genetic condition that prevents their body from producing a natural chemical called “melanin.” Melanin is a chemical that gives most birds their beautiful colours.
Because Albino hummingbirds aren’t coloured, their feathers are white. They have pink bill and whitish or pink legs and feet. They may either have red or pink eyes.
The pink or red colour is caused by the red of their blood vessels.
Lee Hadwin is a talented artist. He has drawn sketches of horses, celebrities, and beautiful landscapes. He only draws in black and white. Oh, and there is one other thing. Hadwin only draws in his sleep.
Ever since he was about four years old, he has been waking up to discover detailed drawings beside his bed.
But he doesn’t remember ever having done the drawings.
When he is awake, Hadwin says he can’t draw at all. In fact, he has no interest in art. During the day, he works as a nurse.
When he was young, Hadwin, who now lives in London, England, used to cover his walls and tables with his sketches.
In his teens, the drawings became more detailed and intricate.
Besse Cooper is the oldest person on earth. Last month, she turned 115 years old.
She was born on August 26, 1896… seven years before the invention of the airplane.
Cooper has held the title of “oldest person on earth” twice. She lost it once, when the Guinness Book of World Records discovered Maria Gomes Valentin in Brazil. She was about a month and a half older than Cooper.
Valentin passed away in June, and Cooper regained the title. The Gerontology Research Group and the Guinness Book of World Records each verified her age and her status as the world oldest living human.
Cooper’s son, Sidney, is 76 years old. He says his mom is in good physical health.
In August, a rocket was sent to deliver a space probe, called Juno, to Jupiter to study the planet.
The probe carried three unique stowaways.
Three special LEGO figures, made of aluminum, are accompanying Juno on its five-year mission. The figures look like the Roman god Jupiter, his sister Juno and the Italian astronomer Galileo.
Jupiter carries a lightning bolt. Juno has a magnifying glass to help her search for truth. And Galileo carries a telescope and a model of the planet Jupiter.
People at NASA approached LEGO and asked them to design the special minifigs, which cost about $5,000 each. They had to build them very carefully so they didn’t interfere with any of the probe’s sensitive instruments.
The National Football League (NFL) just completed its first week of the season.
It was an eventful week that saw all 32 teams play. But the season almost didn’t happen.
Over the summer the players and the owners argued over many different issues including the safety of the players, the number of games each team plays, and the players’ salaries.
Many experts believed that the season would be “lost.” They thought that football, like hockey in 2004, would simply be cancelled.
The owners and players discussed their concerns throughout the summer and, on July 25, they finally announced they had come to an agreement about these important issues.
Last year, someone who worked at Apple, the company that makes computers and cell phones, made a big mistake.
They lost a top-secret prototype.
A prototype is a one-of-a-kind model they build of a new phone they’re thinking of manufacturing. It’s kept secret so no other company will find out what they’re doing and try to copy them.
The person who had the prototype accidentally left it in a bar. A journalist found it and put pictures of it on the Internet. It was a big scandal.
Well, it has apparently happened again.
Apple developed a prototype for the iPhone 5 they will be releasing soon. And once again, an employee has accidentally left it in a bar, according to technology website CNET.
Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of 9/11.
“9/11” refers to three terrorist attacks in the United States that occurred on September 11, 2001 – the ninth month, the 11th day.
On that day 10 years ago, nearly 3,000 people were killed when terrorists attacked two World Trade Centre buildings in New York and the Pentagon in Washington DC. Near Pennsylvania, a plane was hijacked and crashed into a field.
The victims of the attacks were from more than 90 countries. Around the world, millions of people commemorated 9/11 in their own way.
At the site in New York where the twin towers once stood, called Ground Zero, thousands of people attended remembrance services.
Gaelan Edwards is a special kid. He’s 12 years old and lives in Campbell River, BC. He has three siblings, Gage, Rhianna and Rowan.
But it’s his newest brother whose birthday he’ll probably never forget. That’s because on Aug. 21, Gaelan delivered his brother.
Around 2 a.m., his pregnant mother woke up and shouted for Gaelan. She said she was going to have the baby.
Gaelan wondered what to do, and worried that if he didn’t catch the baby as it came out it might get hurt.
So he went into action. He pulled the baby out by the shoulders. Then, without being told, he ran to the kitchen and got a pair of scissors.
Japan has a new prime minister.
In August, Naoto Kan stepped down as the country’s prime minister.
He said he had failed the country by not doing a good job of helping Japan recover after it was rocked by an earthquake last March.
On March 11, the fifth most powerful earthquake in history took place in the sea off the coast of Japan. It caused a tsunami, or giant sea wave.
Waves up to 10 metres high flooded the coast of Japan, causing massive damage to many homes and to a nearby nuclear energy plant.
In addition to the problems caused by these natural disasters, Japan also has the largest debt of any country in the world.
Debt is the money the country owes to other countries and to banks.
A woman was walking her dog along a beach in New Zealand in late June when she saw something that looked like a white ball in the sand.
It turned out to be a young Emperor penguin that was very, very lost.
The penguin attracted a lot of attention in New Zealand. It has been 40 years since an Emperor penguin has been seen there.
Researchers at the country’s Department of Conservation were called in.
Many New Zealanders came to Peka Peka Beach to look at the elegant penguin.
They were careful to keep their dogs away from it so it wouldn’t be frightened.
The public nicknamed the animal Happy Feet.
