Discover the fascinating history of the Cold War and the space race on page 44
EUREKA
HOW TO CHAT...
Marmoset! Find out how to make polite conversation with these small monkeys on page 12.
REGULARS
FACTOPIA!
Follow the trail of crazily connected facts on page 4 all the way from tricky birds to… the taste of human earwax!
Turn to page 10 to learn more about this ancient chalk artwork – and why it needed to be saved!
WORD
UP!
Did you know that languages can become endangered? Discover how this happens and what you can do about it on page 14.
29
MUSIC IN NUMBERS
Grab your flutes, clarinets and guitars and join us for a journey through music on page 17.
Marvel at the robots designed by readers of our sister publication in China on page 48
OPEN WIDE!
Explore some of the wildest and wackiest mouths in the animal kingdom on page 39.
To win ALL the brilliant books featured in our September Issue, just answer this question: What is the biggest island? Send your answer to editor@whatonearth.co.uk and a winner will be chosen at random by our jokes editor May. Good luck!
You can also find all these books (and more!) at whatonearthbooks.com/ shop
Follow the trail of crazily connected facts all the way from the tricky birds to… the taste of human earwax!
The first paper money used in New France (what’s now Quebec, Canada) was actually playing cards
The tallest LEGO™ tower soared nearly 35 metres high and was built with half a million bricks.
START HERE
Some scientists have used
to see if birds can work out the secrets behind them and so better understand the way birds think
In a standard deck of playing cards, the King of Hearts is the only king without a moustache.
Some studies suggest that if they weighed the same, a cricket would contain more of the mineral iron than a steak
A cricket’s ears are on its legs
By Kate Hale, Paige Towler, Julie Beer and Rose Davidson. Illustrations by Andy Smith
When Mr. Potato Head™ was first released, you had to supply your own potato.
The
Barbara Millicent Roberts
The Slinky™ was invented accidentally when an engineer was building parts for a ship during World War II.
Anengineer inventedthe microwavewhileworking with radar technologyand accidentallymelting the snackbarinhispocket
Research shows that the best nutrient-dense food of the future will include algae, kelp, fungi protein and insects
The average chocolate bar contains some tiny insect fragments
double decker
In the Middle Ages, people sometimes used in a concoction that helped paint or ink stick to the pages of their manuscripts
Some cats like the taste of human earwax!
full name of Barbie™ is
One man in the UK can pull an entire bus with his ears
OVER THE VOLCANO
After years of careful planning, intrepid Austrian sportsman Paul Guschlbauer is seen here paragliding over the 1,252-metre-high Augustine Volcano in Alaska, USA.
ROBIN ISSARTEL / RED BULL CONTENT POOL
SNAP IT!
Astonishing photos from around the world
SPOT THE SEAHORSE!
An eagle-eyed photographer spotted this pygmy seahorse hiding in some coral off the coast of Bali in Asia. This type of seahorse is very small indeed – only about 2 centimetres long!
SONY WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS 2023 / CHARLY CLÉRISSE
WOW!
SURF’S UP…
This funny photo was taken during this year’s Olympic surfing competition, which was held in Tahiti. Surfer Gabriel Medina of Brazil pointed to the sky after catching a large wave and was snapped at just the right moment to look as if he was standing in mid-air! Medina went on to win a bronze medal.
SNAP IT!
UPSIDE-DOWN TREES!
These mighty baobab trees line the road on the African island of Madagascar. Some people call the baobabs ‘upside-down trees’ because it looks as if their tops are huge roots growing up to the sky. Baobab trees can live for thousands of years and are sources of food and shelter for both humans and animals.
SMOOTH SAILING
In most places, a land bridge goes over a body of water. But this ‘water bridge’ over Veluwemeer lake in the Netherlands allows boats to sail over the land! This navigable aqueduct took years to build and used around 22,000 cubic metres of concrete and steel to hold the weight of all the water.
Eureka!
Children help restore giant chalk horse to former glory
Did you know that the UK’s biggest horse is 111 metres long? It’s not a living horse, of course, but a giant chalk drawing of one on the side of a hill! The Uffington White Horse was created by our prehistoric ancestors more than 3,000 years ago.
Researchers noticed that the horse’s chalk lines were shrinking. So they invited volunteers to help restore the horse to its original size by cutting away the plants that were covering it.
To find out more, visit nationaltrust.org.uk
First cave discovered on the surface of the Moon!
Scientists have discovered the first cave on the Moon. The cave, which is around 100 metres across and more than 100 metres deep, is close to the place where the first humans landed on the Moon in 1969. The cave could also be the perfect place to build a space station, so that humans might one day live on the Moon. Building a Moon base in the cave would help to protect the base from dangers such as radiation, low temperatures and unpredictable weather. Early humans lived in caves and perhaps the first Moon people will, too! Scientists are looking for more Moon caves.
Scientists found the cave using radar. They are hoping to find more Moon caves using the same method.
Volunteers beat new chalk into the Uffington White Horse to make sure it stays shiny and white!
100 metres
1st Moon landing
The Moon cave is about the length of a football pitch.
Meet the real dragon with metal-coated teeth…
The Komodo dragon, shown below, is an impressive and dangerous beast. And scientists have made a discovery which reveals that this deadly dragon is even more fearsome than we thought: Komodo dragons have iron-coated teeth!
Komodo dragons are the world’s largest living lizards. They can grow up to 3 metres long and weigh 80 kilograms,
This orange coating on the tooth contains iron.
the same as an adult human. They live on a handful of islands in Indonesia, where they eat a variety of prey, from small birds to water buffalo. It is thought that the iron coating on the dragons’ teeth helps to keep them razorsharp as they bite and tear into prey. Komodo dragons are sadly endangered, with only around 3,500 left in the wild.
Singing lemurs and the origins of music
Scientists have discovered that indris, or ‘singing lemurs’, create songs in a way that could reveal how the first human music evolved. Scan the QR code below to hear them sing!
How your pupils change shape as you breathe!
You might have noticed that the pupils of your eyes – the black parts in the middle – expand and contract (which means grow bigger and smaller) when they are exposed to light. Scientists have now discovered that pupils also expand and contract as we
breathe! A new study reveals that pupils are smallest before breathing in, and largest in the middle of breathing out. It is not yet known why this happens, but studying it could help sportspeople who need keen eyesight, such as archers, and help doctors to tell if a patient has suffered a brain injury like a concussion.
The pupil is the black part at the very centre of the eye.
to chat...
COMMON MARMOSETS How
By Dr Nick Crumpton
by Adrienne Barman
These South American primates are smaller than cats. They live in troops among the trees in the Brazilian jungle. The calls of these little creatures can be mistaken for that of a bird, so you have to listen closely!
Illustration
Eeeee e iiiiiiii
(Look out! Bird!)
Marmosets make these bird-like calls when they are playing. C H I P C H P -
A high-pitched whistle lets other marmosets know that a bird of prey is in the area.
W U ! R
Your guide to the wonderful world of languages and linguistics. This month… endangered languages!
You’ve probably heard that animals can become endangered, which means they are in danger of becoming extinct in the wild. But did you know that the languages we use can be endangered too? In fact, about half of the world’s languages are endangered right now – that’s more than 3,000 endangered languages!
WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR A LANGUAGE TO BE ENDANGERED?
An endangered language is one that is in danger of disappearing, because the people who use it are dying out or switching to another language. This happens for many reasons, usually colonisation (which involves people taking control of a place and the people who already lived
there) and globalisation (which involves groups of people becoming increasingly connected across the globe by trade and technology). Smaller and more vulnerable groups end up using the language of a more dominant group, either because they are forced to or because it helps them get what they need.
WHY DOES IT MATTER IF A LANGUAGE IS ENDANGERED?
You might think it doesn’t matter if a language becomes endangered, because wouldn’t it be great if we all used the same language and could all understand each other all the
time! But language and culture are linked very closely, and a group of people loses important parts of their culture if their language goes extinct. Things like poetry and songs can be very difficult to translate from one language to another. And sometimes the way words, phrases and sentences are constructed reflect and reinforce how a culture works. Losing a language might mean that a group loses its rights or political status. Sometimes important knowledge of science or medicine is lost when a language is lost, as well.
There are only two northern white rhinos left on Earth. Many languages only have one or two speakers left, too.
Above: a boy from the Trobriand Islands in Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea has hundreds of endangered languages.
GLOBAL ENDANGERED LANGUAGES
The infographic below shows the countries with the most endangered languages. It is estimated that around 3,000 languages could completely disappear before the end of the century. That’s about one every two weeks! Many of these languages are important to indigenous peoples and their traditional cultures and ways of life.
Go raibh maith agat
‘Thank you’ in Irish. The literal translation is ‘may you have goodness’.
3,078 of the world’s living languages are classified as endangered.
SAFE
The language is used by all generations and between generations.
VULNERABLE
Most children use the language, but it may be restricted to certain places (e.g., home).
DEFINITELY ENDANGERED
WHAT CAN WE DO?
tryingSomeorganisationsandgovernmentsare topreserveendangeredlanguages them.bygivingpeoplemoreopportunitiestolearn languageTheyalsomakerecordingsofnative userssothatfuturegenerationswill canknowwhatthelanguagewaslike.Languages again.berevivedifpeoplestartusingthem vulnerableYoucanhelp,too–endangeredand languagessuchasIrish,Navajo andMaori can be learned online appsoronlanguagelearning suchasDuolingo!
The organisation UNESCO categorises language endangerment into six degrees. They judge whether a language is endangered by whether or not it is being passed on to new generations of children. Signlanguagescan
Children no longer learn the language as their first language at home
of the world’s languages are safe or there is no data available
SEVERELY ENDANGERED
The language is used mostly by grandparents and older generations. Although the parent generation may understand the language, they do not use it with their children or among themselves, only with older adults.
CRITICALLY ENDANGERED
The youngest users of the language are grandparents and older, and they use the language only partially and not very often.
EXTINCT
There are no users of the language left. They may have all died or have switched to using another language.
overlooked.
MAPIT
IMPRESSIVEISLANDS!
9. GREAT BRITAIN
km2
8. VICTORIA ISLAND
km2
1. GREENLAND 2,166,086 km2
DID YOU KNOW?
Some people think Australia is the world’s biggest island, but it is actually the world’s smallest continent.
km2
DID YOU KNOW?
Honshu (No.7) is the largest island of Japan. The island nation of Japan is made up of more than 14,000 different islands.
DID YOU KNOW?
The British Isles consist of about 6,000 islands (including Great Britain, No.9). Only about 200 of them are inhabited by people.
DID YOU KNOW?
Norway is the country with the most islands. It is estimated to have around 300,000 of them! Most of them have no people.
3. BORNEO 743,330 km2
DID YOU KNOW?
An estimated 10 per cent of all the people on Earth live on islands. South America is the only continent without an island country.
DID YOU KNOW?
Java in Indonesia has the largest population of any island, with more than 150 million people. But it’s not big enough to make this list!
3.5 acres
The size of the world’s largest musical instrument, the Great Stalacpipe Organ, which makes sound by tapping on giant stalactites in an underground cave.
MUSIC
IN
639 Thenumberofyears theworld’slongestlive musicperformanceis scheduled to last.*
NUMBERS . . .
16
The number of holes on a standard Western concert flute.
5 inMozart’sage heyearswhen started composing music.
88
onThenumberofkeys afull-sizepiano.
4 billion
The number of streams of The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights’, the most-streamed song on Spotify.
Over 50,000
The age in years of the oldest-known musical instrument, a Neanderthal flute.
5
The five main groups of musical instruments: percussion, stringed, keyboard, wind and electronic instruments.
The number of copies of Michael Jackson’s Thriller that have been sold, making it the bestselling album of all time.
*The performance, of composer John Cage’s ‘As Slow as Possible’, began in 2001 and is due to finish in 2640!
WE HAVE... LIFT-OFF!
Discover the extraordinary 2,000-year story of rockets, from the invention of gunpowder to the spacecraft that will one day carry the first astronauts to Mars.
Have you ever gazed up at the starry night sky and thought ‘One day, I would love to visit the Moon!’?
Well, you are not alone. Because travelling to outer space has been a dream of humans for thousands of years. And rockets are one of the most important and ingenious inventions that have enabled us, finally, to get there.
Over the following pages, you will discover their strange and fascinating story, from an ancient Greek wooden pigeon and high-risk rocket-powered bicycles and chairs (yes, chairs!), all the way to the Apollo missions that put the first humans on the Moon and SpaceX’s gigantic Starship, which could one day carry the first astronauts to Mars.
On page 24, you will learn the important role that each section of a multistage rocket plays in blasting a satellite into orbit. Plus, see inside two different types of rocket engine.
Then, on page 26, it’s time to find out how 12 of the biggest space rockets ever built measure up alongside each other – and the Statue of Liberty! So strap yourself in and prepare for lift-off…
Inordertoescapethe pullofEarth’sgravity, aspacerockethasto travel at 7 miles persecond!
SPACE RACE
Here is approximately how long it would take a spacecraft to travel…
A timeline of rockets
1st century Hero’s engine
1232
Chinese fire arrows
about 400 BCE the first use of rocket propulsion
One of the first known devices to use the principles of rocket flight was a wooden pigeon! In around 400 BCE, an ancient Greek mathematician named Archytas amazed the citizens of the city of Tarentum by ‘flying’ a wooden pigeon. The bird was propelled forward by a jet of steam and is thought to have been suspended in the air by a wire.
Around 300 years after Archytas’s wooden pigeon, another clever ancient Greek, Hero of Alexander, invented a steam-powered device called an aeolipile. It used jets of steam from a boiling copper kettle to rotate a hollow sphere. Hero’s engine was seen as an ingenious toy at the time and its wider significance for rocketry was not realised for 1,000 years.
1898
The birth of space rocketry
In 1898, Russian schoolteacher Konstantin Tsiolkovsky proposed using a rocket to explore space. Five years later, he suggested using liquid fuel so rockets could fly further. For his clever ideas and research into space travel, Tsiolkovsky is sometimes called the ‘father of modern astronautics’.
After gunpowder was invented in China in the 9th century, it was used to make fireworks. These were later attached to arrows to make weapons of war. During the siege of Kaifeng in 1232, the Chinese repelled an invading Mongol army with ‘arrows of flying fire’ that were propelled by gunpowder.
5 July, 1687
The principles of rocket science
A famous paper by the English scientist Isaac Newton laid the theoretical foundations for modern rocket science. Newton explained how rockets work and why they still work in the vacuum of outer space. His paper had an instant impact on the way rockets were designed.
In the 1920s and 1930s, scientists and amateur rocketeers around the world experimented by attaching rockets to racing cars, boats – and even bicycles! DID YOU KNOW?
1380 THE First multistage rocket
The Huolongjing, a military book written in 14th-century China, describes the first known multistage rocket. It was called the ‘huo long chu shui’ or ‘fire dragon issuing from the water’. The rocket’s front was shaped like a dragon’s mouth and fired a swarm of smaller rocket arrows. It was fired at enemy ships during naval battles.
16th century
Wan Hu’s rocket chair
According to legend, Wan Hu, a Chinese stargazer who wanted to travel to space, built a chair with 47 rockets attached to its base. On launch day, 47 assistants lit the rockets. A huge explosion followed. But when the smoke cleared, Wan Hu was gone. Some say he made it into space – and you can see him as the ‘Man in the Moon’.
1633
The first crewed rocket flight?
According to one account, the Ottoman engineer Lagari Hasan Çelebi launched himself in a seven-winged rocket propelled by gunpowder from a headland in Istanbul, in what is now Turkey. After landing in the sea, Çelebi was supposedly rewarded by the sultan with silver and a high rank in the Ottoman army.
16 March, 1926 the first liquidfuelled rocket
In 1926, US scientist Robert Goddard built and flew the world’s first liquid-fuelled rocket. Powered by liquid oxygen and petrol, his rocket flew for 2.5 seconds, climbed 12.5 metres and landed 56 metres away in a cabbage patch. Liquid fuel provides a powerful thrust and, in modern rockets, allows the thrust to be controlled. This historic rocket flight was a first step on the path to landing humans on the Moon.
1942 V2 rocket
The Vergeltungswaffe 2, or V2 rocket, was the most advanced rocket of its time and the world’s first long-range missile. With a 200-mile range, the V2 was used by Germany to attack London during World War II. The V2 was designed by German engineer Wernher von Braun, who later led the development of NASA’s Saturn V rocket (shown on page 26).
1957
The first artificial satellites
After World War II, the United States and Soviet Union started to compete over space exploration, in what became known as the ‘space race’. The Soviet Union launched Sputnik I, the first artificial Earth satellite, on 4 October, 1957. In November, Sputnik II carried Laika, a small dog, which became the first animal to be launched into space and orbit Earth. To find out more about the space race, turn to page 46.
12 April, 1961
The first human in space
DID YOU KNOW?
The science-fiction TV series Star Trek was so popular that, in 1976, the first space shuttle test vehicle was named Enterprise after a fictional starship on the show!
In 1961, in a major milestone in space exploration, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space. Gagarin’s spaceflight lasted 1 hour and 48 minutes as he orbited Earth once inside the Vostok 1 space capsule. After re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, Gagarin ejected himself from the capsule and parachuted safely to the ground.
14 May, 1973
Saturn V launches Skylab
Using a modified version of the Saturn V rocket, the US launched its first space station, Skylab, into Earth’s orbit in 1973. Rather than fuel tanks and engines, the inside of the third stage of Saturn V was fitted with living quarters and laboratories for three astronauts. Solar panels provided electric power, and three sets of astronauts lived and conducted experiments on Skylab until 1974.
20 July, 1969
the first Human on the Moon
When US astronaut Neil Armstrong set foot on the Moon, it was the first time in history that humans had touched another world. Armstrong was soon followed by fellow astronaut Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin. Their Apollo 11 mission was the first of six NASA Moon landings between 1969 and 1972. A new human-crewed mission to the Moon, Artemis III, is currently scheduled for 2026.
Above: NASA mathematician
Katherine Johnson’s calculations helped to land the first humans on the Moon.
12 April, 1981 the first Launch of the Space Shuttle
The space shuttle was a new concept in space rocketry. Only the orbiter, which looked like an aeroplane and could land on a runway, went all the way to space. But both it and the rocket boosters were reusable. The final space shuttle mission was in 2011.
2004
Space Tourism and private space travel
6 February, 2018 the first launch of spacex’s Falcon Heavy
At lift-off, this enormously powerful reusable rocket has a thrust equivalent to 18 Boeing 747 aeroplanes!
In 2004, SpaceShipOne flew three missions to become the first privately developed space vehicle to carry people into suborbital space. Using an updated version of the spacecraft called SpaceShipTwo, Virgin Galactic launched the first commercial spaceflights for paying tourists in 2023, blasting off from Spaceport America in New Mexico, USA.
2017
Reusable rockets
Being able to reuse parts of a space rocket is an important step in making space travel more efficient and affordable. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets were the first to reuse a rocket’s first stage after it had delivered its payload, by landing the first stage onto a drone ship in the ocean.
16 November, 2022
the First launch of NASA’s SLS
NASA’s Space Launch System, or SLS, is a new kind of super heavy-lift rocket designed to carry the Orion spacecraft, four astronauts, and a large cargo to the Moon on a single mission. The Space Launch System’s rocket has the power to help the Orion to reach speeds of more than 24,000 mph, which it needs to in order to travel all the way to the Moon. As you will see on page 27, NASA’s Space Launch System is taller than the Statue of Liberty!
14 March, 2024
SpaceX Starship third test launch
Launched from Texas, USA, Starship is currently the world’s largest and most powerful rocket!
how a space rocket works
Rockets that travel into space are actually made up of several different rockets that work together, broken up into stages. Let’s take a look at how they do it!
3. BYE-BYE BOOSTERS
Within minutes of launch, the rocket’s boosters run out of fuel and are discarded. They fall back down to Earth, where special ships can retrieve them from the ocean to be reused.
2. UP, UP AND AWAY
The rocket is pushed up through the thick layers of Earth’s atmosphere. In order to escape the pull of Earth’s gravity, the rocket must travel at a mind-blowing 17,000 miles per hour!
4. BYE-BYE STAGE 1
Stage 1 of the rocket, the large body of the rocket that holds the engine and fuel that are needed for lift-off, is discarded when it runs out of fuel. Space rockets can have up to three stages that are each discarded in turn.
5. TOP STAGE
The top stage of the rocket ignites. It will drive the payload (whatever the rocket is carrying – in this case a satellite) to its final destination. This could take minutes or hours.
6.
BYE-BYE FAIRING
The fairing, which protects the payload the rocket is carrying from burning up in Earth’s atmosphere, now falls away. This allows the payload to be free of the rocket and enter orbit.
7.
HELLO SATELLITE!
The rocket’s payload is pushed out to its final destination. Here, the payload is a satellite that will orbit Earth. Other payloads might be a telescope or equipment for astronauts.
different types of rocket fuel
There are two main types of fuel that rockets use to get to space: liquid fuel and solid fuel. Because there is no oxygen in space, they must also carry their own oxidiser to help create combustion. Here are two common ways rockets are designed to store and use these different types of fuel.
LIQUID-FUELLED
FUEL TANKS
This type of rocket has two tanks. One is for liquid fuel and one is for liquid oxidiser to help combustion.
PUMPS AND VALVES
These control how much fuel and oxidiser are used.
1. LIFT-OFF!
The rocket is attached to a launch pad to help it fly up straight. When the ignition is pressed, the fuel in the engine and boosters ignites and blasts the rocket off the launch pad.
SOLID-FUELLED
SOLID FUEL
The solid fuel and solid oxidiser are combined in single solid form.
COMBUSTION CHAMBERS
Fuel and oxidiser combine to create very hot gases that propel the rocket.
SPARK
In a solid-fuel rocket, a spark is used to ignite the core of the rocket. The fuel burns from the inside out.
mega rockets!
If you were to travel 100 kilometres straight up into the sky, you would reach the Kármán Line, an imaginary boundary separating Earth’s atmosphere from space. It takes a lot of energy to escape the pull of Earth’s gravity and fly this high, a feat first achieved by a rocket in 1944. Since then, we have launched thousands more rockets into space. Here are 12 of the biggest.
This giant rocket sent
This Soviet rocket has flown more than 700 missions, the most of any single rocket design.
LONG MARCH 2F 1999
This Chinese rocket, nicknamed the Divine Arrow, launched the first Chinese astronaut, Yang Liwei, into space.
ATLAS V 2002
One of the most reliable rockets, Atlas V has achieved 97 successful launches since 2002.
DELTA IV HEAVY 2004
The Delta IVHeavy launched the Parker Solar Probe in 2018. The probe is on a mission to fly near to and study the Sun.
FALCON HEAVY 2018
This rocket produces the same thrust as 18 jet aeroplanes.
SLS BLOCK 1 2022
The Space Launch System (SLS) is one of the most powerful rockets ever launched. The top sections of the rocket can be reconfigured to carry human crew or cargo, depending on the mission.
SLS BLOCK 2 2022
STARSHIP 2023
The largest and heaviest flying object ever built.
The smallest rocket to orbitEarthwasaJapanese spacerocketlessthan 10 metres tall!
LONG MARCH 9
2030
YENISEI 2028
Yenisei is currently being developed in Russia. Its height and weight measurements are estimates.
This rocket is currently being developed in China. Its height and weight measurements are estimates.
STATUE OF LIBERTY, USA – forheight comparison (93 m) ELEPHANT 2–7 t – forweightcomparison HUMAN – forheightcomparison (1.75m)
*A rocket’s payload is the total weight of all the objects it can carry.
DREAM CHASER 2025
This reusable spacecraft developed for NASA will deliver cargo to the International Space Station. The first version, the Dream Chaser cargo system, is made up of the Dream Chaser and the Shooting Star cargo module. A later version will be able to carry up to seven people!
The history of rockets is amazing indeed, but it is also far from over…
Let’s take a look at two of the rockets that are being built and tested today for future space missions to the Moon and beyond!
rocketing into the future...
STARSHIP 2026
Starship is a spacecraft that is being developed by the American company SpaceX. To date, it is the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built. Starship is meant to be fully reusable, so it can go to space again and again. It has been selected to take NASA astronauts on the next mission to the Moon, Artemis III, in 2026. After that, SpaceX founder Elon Musk hopes that Starship spacecraft can be used to colonise Mars, as shown in the artist’s image on the left.
Inside this 10-page activity section, you will find quizzes to do, puzzles to solve and fun activities to try. And don’t worry if you get stuck – all the answers are on page 38.
ANIMALS
1 How fast can a chameleon stick out its tongue to catch an insect?
a. 30 km/h
b. 50 km/h
c. 80 km/h
d. 100 km/h
2 Which of the following words is sometimes used as a collective noun for a group of flamingos?
a. A flock
b. A flamboyance
c. A pink
d. A flutter
3 Why do sea otters sometimes ‘hold hands’ while they are sleeping in water?
a. To stay afloat
b. To be friendly
c. To stay together
d. To intimidate potential predators
4 How many noses does a slug have?
a. Two
b. Three
c. Four
d. Five
1 Which of these types of fruit does NOT generally float in water?
a. Apple
b. Banana
c. Lime
d. Lemon
2 American David Rush holds the world record for blowing a pea the longest distance with a single breath. How far did David blow his record-breaking pea?
a. 15 metres
b. 20 metres
c. 25 metres
d. 30 metres
3 Around the world, which sport is played by the most people?
a. Cricket
b. Football
c. Tennis
d. Hockey
4
Which of these popular video game franchises was created first?
a. Minecraft
b. The Legend of Zelda
c. Animal Crossing
d. Super Mario Bros
HUMAN BODY
1 At what speed do electrical nerve signals travel through the neurons in your brain?
a. 100 km/h
b. 200 km/h
c. 300 km/h
d. 400 km/h
2 Which is the only part of the human body that cannot repair itself?
a. Bone
b. Heart
EMOJI SPORTS
Each of the emoji sequences shown on the right represents a popular sport. Can you work out which sport it is in each of the five examples?
CHANGING ROOMS
Can you find your way through our maze of square rooms? Enter through the door marked with the red arrow, then try to find your way to the exit by going through the correct sequence of open doors. Good luck!
c. Teeth
d. Hair
3 Which of these common human activities requires the largest number of the body’s muscles to perform?
a. Walking
b. Speaking
c. Swallowing
d. Snoring
4 In which year did German scientist Wilhelm Röntgen invent the X-ray machine?
a. 1695
b. 1795
c. 1895
d. 1995
NUMBER TRIANGLES
In the triangles below, the numbers inside the squares are the sum of the two numbers in the connected circles.
For example:
Can you work out which number should appear in each of the circles? All the numbers in the circles are between 1 and 10 and a number can only be used once in each triangle.
CONNECT THE PLANETS
Draw a line to connect each pair of planets. You can’t use diagonal lines and the lines can’t cross or touch each other. You must fill the whole grid with lines but only one line is allowed in each square.
Can you work out what you are looking at in each of these six photos?
1
What did the collision of the planet Theia with Earth around 4.5 billion years ago also lead to?
a. The extinction of the dinosaurs b. Earth to start spinning on its axis
c. The creation of a comet
d. The creation of the Moon
2
3 In total, how many astronauts have walked on the surface of the Moon?
a. 3
b. 7
c. 9
d. 12
4 What is the dwarf planet Pluto named after?
What are 90 per cent of the giant rings around Saturn made of?
a. Rock
b. Ice
c. Dust
d. Cheese
Fill all the empty squares so that every row, column and 3x2 box contains each of the numbers 1 to 6.
a. The astronomer who discovered it
b. The Disney cartoon character
c. The Roman god of the underworld
d. The chemical element plutonium
SUDOKU
straw (smaller than the pencil width)
Howtomakeyourown…
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
TEMPLATES TO TRACE
Rocket body
Fins x2
FLYING ROCKET!
1 Lay a piece of tracing paper or baking parchment over the template at the bottom of the page. Using a pencil, trace the red dashed line of the rocket body once and the blue dashed line of the fins twice. You can use a ruler to keep the lines straight.
2 Transfer the pattern onto a piece of paper, by placing the side with the pencil drawing face down on the paper and going over the lines again.
3 Cut out the body of the rocket.
4 Wrap the paper rectangle the long
way around a pencil and tape it closed to make a tube.
5 Cut out the rocket fins.
6 Line up the middle of the first fin with the end of the rocket body and tape them together, making sure nothing is sticking out past the bottom of the rocket body tube. Tape the other fin onto the opposite side of the rocket body.
7 Bend the triangular parts of each fin so that they are at 90-degree angles to each other. From the bottom, the rocket should look like a +.
8 Twist and pinch the top of the rocket body around the tip of the pencil to create a ‘nose cone’. Tape the nose cone closed.
9 Remove the pencil from the rocket and replace it with a drinking straw.
10 Being careful to avoid people and other hazards, blow into the straw to launch your rocket!
TOP TIP!
If you have a measuring tape to hand, measure how far your rocket can fly. Are there any design improvements you can make to your rocket? What happens if you make the fins larger or smaller? And what if you add more fins?
The six-sided shape on the left can be folded up to form a cube. Only two of the cubes on the right can be made by it. Which are they?
Can you spot all 2O differences between these two summer illustrations?
Unsinkable
UnsinkableII
Fill in the missing numbers so that every row and column includes the numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4. Use the inequality signs as clues and make sure numbers always obey the inequality sign between them. This means that the arrows between the numbers always point towards the smaller number.
Here is an example:
In the three squares shown above, the number A must be less than 3 and greater than the missing number B. We know all the numbers must be between 1 and 4 , so therefore A must be 2 and B must be 1.
1 Approximately how long is the Great Wall of China?
a. 1,200 km
b. 12,200 km
c. 21,200 km
d. 31,200 km
2 Which large island uses the red and white flag pictured below to identify itself?
a. Australia
b. Greenland
c. Borneo
d. Hawaii
3 What is the largest state within the United States by surface area?
a. California
b. New Mexico
c. Texas
d. Alaska
GEOGRAPHY
4 Standing 1,345 metres above sea level, what is the name of the highest mountain in the United Kingdom?
a. Ben Nevis
b. Snowdon, or Yr Wyddfa in Welsh
c. Cairn Gorm
d. Mount Kilimanjaro
Four sneaky animals are hiding somewhere in these photos. Can you find them – and tell what kind of animals they are?
HIDDEN ANIMALS
Can you spot the 20 space-related words hidden in our jumbo word search puzzle? Good luck!
Use the word wheel to help find the answers to the five clues below. All the answers contain the middle letter and each letter can only be used once.
Clue: a man in ancient Rome trained to fight in the Coliseum (9 letters).
Answer:
Clue: a person who makes clothes to fit individual customers (6 letters).
Answer:
F
WORD WHEEL
R L D O I A T G A
Clue: the largest artery, which carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body (5 letters).
Answer:
Clue: a person who says things that are untrue (4 letters).
Answer:
Clue: a small tailless amphibian often confused with a frog (4 letters).
Answer:
Connect the Planets
Crunch! Snap! Slurp! Join us as we explore some of the wildest, wackiest and most wonderful mouths in the animal kingdom in this extract from Open Wide!: Jaw-dropping Mouths of the Animal World.
Animals, from humans to slugs, have different types of mouths – and these differences are essential to our survival. Our mouths and teeth allow humans and other animals to access food.
A lion’s sharp teeth can tear up meat and a bird’s strong beak can crunch up seed pods.
A wildebeest has a short, flat muzzle and a wide row of teeth, which means it can feed on the short grass of the savanna.
A mosquito uses its needle-like mouth parts to pierce the skin of an animal and suck its blood.
Agreatwhitesharkhas five or six rows of teeth so that their front teethcanbeconstantly replaced!
But mouths are for so much more than just eating! Some animals use their mouths for climbing, storing food, feeding their babies or scaring enemies. As a human, you could use your mouth to read aloud! Chow down on some fang-tastic facts about teeth – including yours! – and learn about some of the most awesome jaws, teeth, beaks, tongues, bills and more in the animal kingdom.
YOUR TEETH: A GUIDED TOUR
Some teeth are pointy, some are flat, some are small and some are as big as bananas! Teeth allow animals to bite, fight, tear, chew, nibble, grind… and scare off enemies. Each type of toothed animal has a unique set of gnashers. Here’s the scoop on yours…
Human teeth are covered in a shiny layer of a substance called enamel, which is the hardest substance in the human body. Below the enamel is a layer of dentine, which is also hard, but has microscopic holes in it. Inside the dentine is the pulp, which houses the nerves that allow
you to feel heat, cold and pain through your teeth. Blood vessels are also in the pulp. They carry blood to and from the teeth. Surrounding the root of the tooth is a layer of what is called cementum. You cannot see it because it is below the gumline. It helps ‘cement’ each tooth into its socket.
MILK TEETH VS ADULT TEETH
We humans have two sets of teeth over the course of our lives. Milk teeth usually start coming up through our gums when we are babies – around six months old. They keep coming through until we have a set of 20. As we grow, our
jaws develop and create space for 28 larger and stronger adult teeth. These adult teeth come in after our milk teeth become wobbly and fall out. Some adults also have extra molars called wisdom teeth. In some people, they stay hidden in the gums. Some people don’t have them at all!
NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH
Your mouth is home to billions of bacteria of around 700 different species. Some are healthy, but others are nasty. Bad breath is usually caused by harmful bacteria and bits of food. To avoid it, floss between your teeth and brush for at least two minutes twice or more a day.
Enamel
Dentine
Blood vessels
Pulp
MILK TEETH
ADULT TEETH
FEEDING TIME ON THE SAVANNA
It’s mealtime on the African savanna. A go-away bird pecks at the seed pods on an acacia tree. On the grassland below, a pack of lionesses bare their teeth, ready to pounce on their prey. A wildebeest has been grazing grass for hours, but still wants more. And watch out for that mosquito: it’s just about to sip a blood smoothie.
Sluuurp!
CHEW ON THIS!
Many animals have specific types and shapes of teeth to help them to chew their food. Some animals have even evolved to eat without using teeth at all...
MAMMALS
CARNASSIALS
Meat-eating animals, such as dogs, wolves, cats, bears and weasels, have sets of molars and premolars called carnassials. These are also called shearing teeth – and for good reason! Carnassials have sharp cutting edges. When the animal brings its jaws together, these pairs of teeth work like scissors to slice through flesh and bone.
INCISORS
Incisors (or front teeth) are used for cutting, scooping, picking up objects and grooming. Giraffes have incisors on their bottom jaw and no front teeth on their top jaw. They chew using the molars at the back of their mouths.
MOLARS
Molars and premolars are flat. They are good for herbivores (plant eaters), such as sheep, who need to crush and grind grass so they can digest it.
CANINES
Pointy canines are great for carnivores (meat eaters), such as wolves, who often need to hold their prey still and tear its flesh to eat it. Now you know: if you come across a suspicious-looking granny, just like Little Red Riding Hood did, you can tell she’s a hungry predator by her teeth!
Upper carnassials
Lower carnassials
Premolars
Molars
Open Wide!, by Dr Letizia Diamante and Ed J. Brown, is out in September.
RADICAL RADULAS
Snails and slugs have a varied diet that includes worms, plants and fungi. But which body part do they use to chew?
Snails and slugs belong to a group of soft-bodied animals called molluscs, which also includes oysters and octopuses. All molluscs are invertebrates, which means they don’t have a backbone like we mammals do.
NO TEETH, NO PROBLEM!
SNAILS 2
Snails and slugs break up their food by rubbing it with a tongue-like structure called a radula. The radula is covered in thousands of tooth-like structures called denticles that are so small it takes a very strong microscope to see them. As the denticles wear down, new ones grow in to replace them.
SNAILS IN SNACK-TION
When a snail isn’t feeding, the radula is stored in the radular sac. But when it needs to chomp on some food, its muscles move the radula out of its mouth. Then, its denticles work like small rakes to scrape off food particles.
Several animal species, such as platypuses, pangolins, birds, turtles and tortoises, are toothless. Let’s go to Australia to have a closer look at the platypus – a rather unusual, carnivorous mammal with a special bill. Young platypuses have a set of premolar and molar teeth at the back of their bills, but these fall out and are replaced by grinding pads. While underwater, platypuses search for food and store it in their cheek pouches. When they reach the surface, they grind up the food using their special grinding pads.
INA M ALSWIT H NOTE !HTE 3
GRIND AND GROW
Unlike most mammal teeth, a platypus’s grinding pads are always growing. If they did not continue to grow, all the grinding would wear them down to nothing.
Platypuses close their eyes and ears to swim, but their soft and flexible bills work like prey-detectors and can sense tiny movements of potential food, such as shellfish, insects and worms.
NO MOUTH, NO PROBLEM!
Sea sponges don’t have mouths. Instead, they suck seawater in through small holes in their bodies. As the water flows in, it brings in tiny creatures, such as plankton, that the sponges feed on.
Giant tube worms are born with a mouth that seals up as
they grow. They absorb sulphur-containing chemicals from the water using their red, feathery-looking plumes. Bacteria inside the tube worms turn these chemicals into energy for both the bacteria and the worm. This relationship is called symbiosis.
Grinding pads
Sea sponges
Giant tube worms
Radula
Denticles
Mouth
Food particles
Oesophagus
Mouth
Radular sac
Absolutely Everything!
Each month we feature an amazing story from world history taken from the bestselling book by Christopher Lloyd, with illustrations by Andy Forshaw. This month: the Cold War
After the horrors and terrible suffering of World War II (1939–45), I am relieved to say that the period which followed, between 1945 and 2000, was probably the most peaceful period in all human history. This is not to say there weren’t wars or famines or that poverty and suffering had come to an end – far from it.
But there has been no World War III – and for that we can all be grateful. A new power balance emerged from the rubble of a world devastated by war. The United States offered an umbrella of military security
Above: a poster celebrating the Soviet space program.
Below left: President John F. Kennedy said the US would put the first human on the Moon by the end of the 1960s, which they did!
and protection for any countries that joined its network of free-trading nations. In addition to the US, this group included the western European countries, almost all of North and South America, Japan, Australia and several others. They practised capitalism, a system where individuals own companies and can get rich from their profits. Capitalists believe this is the best way to give everyone an equal chance to do well in life. There was one binding condition about belonging to this club of nations, however. Everyone had to line up against the other emerging superpower after World War II. Though the Soviet Union, dominated by Russia, had been an ally of
THE COLD WAR WORLD
During the Cold War, most (but not all) of the countries in the world allied themselves with either the US or the Soviet Union. The countries highlighted in green were generally neutral.
United States and Allies Soviet Union and Allies
Britain, France and the US during the war, it wanted to dominate Europe so it became enemy number one to America and its allies after the war.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was officially formed in 1949 with the purpose of using American military might to resist any expansion of the Soviet Union. Its central principle was that an attack on any one NATO member country would be considered an attack on them all.
Unlike the western countries, the Soviet Union embraced communism, a system in which the government owns all businesses. They believed that would make it possible for profits to benefit all people, not just those who are lucky or smart enough to start a successful company or get a high-paying job. The Soviet Union became communist after World War I – following the Russian Revolution of 1918. China became communist after a civil war that took place right after World War II’s global hostilities ended in 1945. So the Soviet Union and China formed the core of the communist side of the world after World War II. Germany, whose Nazi
party had started World War II, was divided in two after the war. Half became capitalist West Germany. The other half became communist East Germany. Capitalists and communists each wanted other countries to join them in their way of life. And neither of these groups wanted the other to grow too powerful. So the two groups
The period between 1945 and 1991 is known as the Cold War. It was called ‘cold’ because the US and Soviet militaries didn’t fight each other directly.
built thousands and thousands of nuclear bombs. They put them in missiles that could be shot up into space and across oceans, and pointed them at one another. And so the world entered a new phase. Two giant superpowers armed to the teeth with nuclear missiles pointed at each other, ready to fire but never actually going to war. This period is known as the Cold War. It was called ‘cold’ because fortunately it never heated up into fighting with nuclear weapons.
The threat of nuclear war scared people so much it
Continued on next page
US children practise a safety drill to prepare for a nuclear attack.
Cuba
United States
Soviet Union
East Germany
China ATLANTIC OCEAN
OCEAN
INDIAN OCEAN
SOUTH AMERICA
AUSTRALIA
AFRICA
West Germany
1957
On 4th October, the Soviet Union launches the first ever artificial Earth satellite, Sputnik. The word sputnik means ‘travelling companion’ in Russian.
Continued from previous page
stopped them attacking first. This idea became known as MAD – Mutually Assured Destruction. Some people believe MAD has been good for keeping the peace, because both groups know that if they start a nuclear war, the other side will fire back, and everyone will die.
But there were some close calls. In 1962, the Soviets put nuclear weapons in Cuba, a communist country located in the Caribbean Sea only 150 kilometres from the US coast (see map, right). The US threatened to attack if they didn’t remove them. A war was only averted when the two
1961
Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first person in space. Gagarin orbits Earth at 27,400 km/h for 1 hour and 29 minutes in the Vostok 1 spacecraft.
1957
Sputnik 2 launches in November of the same year. The satellite carries a dog named Laika, which becomes the first living creature to be launched into space and orbit Earth.
1961
US President John F. Kennedy proposes that the United States will land a human on the surface of the Moon within nine years. NASA launches a series of ambitious space projects to achieve this goal.
1962
The world’s first communications satellite, Telstar 1, launches. Telstar 1 enables the first ever transatlantic television transmission, between the United States and France.
superpowers struck a deal. The Soviet Union would remove its weapons from Cuba. In exchange, the US would secretly remove the nuclear weapons it had in Turkey, close to the Soviet Union. The event is known as the Cuban Missile Crisis.
More than 60 non-nuclear wars took place during the Cold War. In most, capitalists supported one side and communists the other. In Asia, US attempts to stop the Soviets and China from taking Korea under their control led to a war from 1950 to 1953. The country was (and still is) divided between North and South. North Korea is communist. South Korea is capitalist. Another conflict broke out
GULF OF MEXICO
THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS, 1962 The pink circles show how far Soviet nuclear missiles launched
1966
Rocket scientist Wernher von Braun masterminds the development of the enormous Saturn V rocket that will later transport the first astronauts to the Moon. The Saturn V was 18 metres taller than the Statue of Liberty!
IttooktheApollo11 astronauts3days, 3 hours and 49 minutes to reach the Moon!
1969
On 20th July, US astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first humans to land on the Moon and walk on its surface. Only 12 people have walked on the Moon; the last did so in 1972.
1977
Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft blast off on missions to explore the outer solar system. It took them two years to reach Jupiter. Voyager 1 later became the first human-made object to venture beyond the edge of our solar system.
THE SPACE RACE
The space race was a competition for supremacy in space exploration between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The space race began in the 1950s and continued until the early 1970s. The Soviet Union successfully launched the first satellite and human into space. But the US was first to land humans on the Moon.
in Vietnam between communist North Vietnam (supported by China and the Soviet Union) and capitalist South Vietnam (supported by the US). This war raged from 1954 to 1975 and ended with the whole country becoming communist. The Vietnam War cost the lives of as many as 250,000 Vietnamese soldiers, nearly 60,000 US soldiers, and about 250,000 Vietnamese civilians – people who were not soldiers at all but just trying to live their lives in the middle of a war. So even the Cold War had its hot moments.
The Space Race is considered another element of the Cold War. In 1957, the Soviet Union
The wall that divided Berlin was demolished in 1989.
launched the world’s first ever artificial satellite, Sputnik, which could orbit the Earth in space. The Americans found the idea of their enemies
spying from space too much to stomach. From that moment, the US committed itself to putting a man on the Moon by the end of the 1960s. And they did it! Neil Armstrong was the first, followed by eleven others. (It was a sign of the times that women weren’t even considered.)
Today all kinds of new spacecraft are being developed in the United States, Europe, China and Russia. One rocket, called Falcon Heavy, was launched for the first time in 2023. Built by a private company called SpaceX, the Falcon Heavy was designed to take people to Mars and back again. Its rockets are fully reusable.
The Cold War officially ended
in 1991 when the Soviet Union broke apart into fifteen republics. The wall that had divided Berlin, Germany, was demolished and Germany reunited. During the 1990s Russia and China embraced some parts of capitalism. And in 2004, nine of the former Soviet republics joined the community of nations known as the European Union.
For a while the prospects for World War III seemed to fade away. It even looked as if the world might just unite and consign the prospect of global war to the pages of history books that told stories of the 20th century. All this was backed up by a series of treaties designed to reduce the number of nuclear weapons.:
Ingenious robots all the way from China!
The sister edition of What on Earth! Magazine in China is running a competition for creative readers to design their own robots. The competition was inspired by the article in our May Issue about the history and future of robotics.
A winner has yet to be chosen, but here are some of the finalists! The ingenious designs include: robots that do housework, robots that can carry people, robots that help with homework and robots that deliver food. Which robot would you like for your home?
ZICHANG, 9
CHENGYU, 6
SUNYI, 8
SIQI, 8 XUANYING, 7
JIAYAN, 9
YUXIN, 8
HUOHUO, 8
Published by
What on Earth Magazines Ltd, The Black Barn, Wickhurst Farm, Leigh, Tonbridge, Kent, TN11 8PS
Editor-in-Chief
Andrew Pettie
Editor
Alison Eldridge
Art & Design Director
Mark Hickling
Senior Designer & Illustrator
Susanna Hickling
Production
Sarah Epton
Contributors
Andy Forshaw, Andy Smith, Paige Towler, Rose Davidson, Julie Beer, Valentina D’Efilippo, Kate Hale, Conrad Quilty-Harper, May, Dr Nick Crumpton, Adrienne Barman, Dr Letizia Diamante, Ed J. Brown, Dan Knight
With thanks to
Andy Forshaw, Natalie Bellos, Helen Thewlis and the whole team at What on Earth Publishing
Editorial Consultant
Nancy Feresten
Marketing Director
Luise Mulholland
Business Development
David Falzani
CEO, What on Earth Magazines
Christopher Lloyd For Encyclopaedia Britannica
Mary McCudden, Director, Middle School and Elementary Products
Images; Shutterstock; Alamy; iStock; NASA. Snap It: Robin Issartel, Charly Clérrissel. Eureka: James Dobson, A. Romeo, Aaron LeBlanc.
Copyright 2024 What on Earth Magazines Ltd.
All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, including photocopying, without permission in writing from the publishers.
SHOW THIS PAGE TO YOUR GROWN-UP OR TEACHER!
Would
you like to be a national quiz champion?
AGE CATEGORIES
Would your school like to enter a team of four contestants into this year’s What on Earth! Schools Quiz Challenge? There are two age categories: Junior (8-to-11) and Senior (11-to-14)
HEATS
(with What on Earth! Magazine paying for your team and teacher’s trip to the capital).
THE GRAND FINAL!
The live online heats take place between the 6th and 11th November. The online heats, which feature general knowledge questions inspired by What on Earth! Magazine, are exciting and fun. They will be hosted by our very own What on Earth! quizmaster – plus, there will be lots of
HOW TO ENTER
prizes to be won! The ultimate prize is, of course, to qualify for the Grand Final in London
The top four schools in each age category in the online heats will enjoy an amazing day out in London for the Grand Final, which will be held at the historic Stationers’ Hall (pictured left) on Friday 29th November. Our finalists will compete for trophies, medals, prizes and the chance to be crowned What on Earth! Schools Quiz Challenge Champions 2024!
It is easy and free to enter. Just show this page of your magazine to a grown-up or a teacher at your school and ask them to visit www.whatonearth.co.uk/quiz to find out more.
Answer: Confetti!
Tickle your ribs and tease your brain with our favourite gags and riddles, hand-picked by our jokes editor May.
Question: What do Henry the Eighth and Kermit the Frog have in common?
