Friday News Roundup–Now Two Days Earlier!
Asteroids, cats, and wolves — oh my!
“Are pearls mummified parasites?”
Until this week, I had thought pearls were the result of random bits of grit getting into an oyster’s mouth. Turns out oysters usually just spit those bits of grit out. They don’t make pearls unless that random bit of grit is something they can’t just spit out — like a parasite or a bit of food lodged in their shells.
“How did they get that magenta-colored pearl to be magenta?”
The Five-Year-Old’s favorite metal may be gold cooked by some long destroyed star, but her favorite necklace is actually made of materials forged somewhere much closer…
Breaking News: Actual vampire feared on the loose in Serbia
File this one under Stories Not to Share with The Five-Year-Old: “Residents of the western Serbian village of Zarozje reportedly received a unique public health warning…
“Are there European turkeys?”
With Thanksgiving just around the corner, The Five-Year-Old’s world has become dominated by turkeys. Hand turkeys, color-by-number turkeys, dot-to-dot turkeys, even glitter turkeys, have all waddled their way through our house in the past week or two, on occasion escorted by a Pilgrim. With all this talk of turkeys naturally The Five-Year-Old wanted to know, “Mommyo, are there European turkeys?”
“Can bee hives be preserved as fossils?”
Walking home one day, my daughter’s mind was full of fossils. More specifically, she wanted to know if the rock with all the funky indentations she’d picked up could be a fossilized beehive. Sadly, most fossil “beehives” turn out to be fossilized coral. Here’s why.
Farewell to the Bunnies and Other News of the Week
Last week we bid a tearful goodbye to most of the wonderful Dedham bunnies at the Farewell to the Rabbits Open House at the First Church in Dedham. We also read lots of fascinating news stories, including the one about the WWII carrier pigeon discovered in a Surrey chimney and the rubber chicken which became a NASA celebrity.
“Mommyo, what did Hurricane Sandy do to Norwood?”
After passing several fallen trees on our way to school yesterday, my daughter asked if she could prepare a special report for Caterpickles on how Hurricane Sandy affected Dedham, Walpole, and Norwood Massachusetts (aka my daughter’s stomping grounds).
Battening down the hatches and other news of the week
Battening down the hatches for Hurricane Sandy and other news of the week.
“Why do geese fly in a V-formation?”
Driving to a fall festival one fine Sunday afternoon, the Bare Naked Ladies’ song “Here Come the Geese” popped up on The-Five-Year-Old’s In-the-Car playlist. The Five-Year-Old must have heard that song 500 times by now, but this time, her mind had a question. “Mommyo, why do geese fly in a V-formation?”
CATERPICKLES 