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  SPITTING SNAKES

  An Asian viper called a spitting cobra kills its prey like every other poisonous snake: by injecting venom through its fangs. But it has another trick as well: it can spray venom from its fangs—not to kill, but to injure potential predators. This spitter aims for the eyes, to cause blindness. And because it has very good aim, it can spit its venom from up to 10 feet away and still score a bull’s-eye.

  Human saliva contains an antiseptic that kills germs.

  HIIIIIIIIII-YA!

  Have you ever seen a karate expert break a board with one chop of his hand? How about split a brick in two with a kick? Okay, how about an entire house?

  DEMOLITION SQUAD

  It was a gray morning in Bradford, England, when a team of 15 karate experts gathered to bring down their toughest opponent yet: a six-room, 150-year-old house.

  As the team did warm-up exercises, dozens of curious onlookers gathered to witness the spectacle. When the warm-up was done, the karate team lined up in front of the house and awaited the attack command from their sensei, (a martial arts teacher) Phil Milner. Everyone was silent. Finally the command was given and the demolition began.

  CRRRRR-ACK!

  That old house didn’t have a chance. Methodically, the team broke board after board, brick after brick—all with their bare hands and feet. Well, almost all. The stone fireplace was stubborn and seemingly unbreakable. Despite relentless pummeling, it stood solidly. The experts finally decided they needed something stronger than a hand, so some members of the team volunteered to use…their heads. The volunteers were picked up and used as human battering rams. The fireplace was toast!

  The word karate is Japanese for “empty hand.”

  As amazing as it was for the crowd of 200 to see this demolition, it was even more incredible to hear it. The team emitted loud grunts and hiiiii-yas, and the house groaned in protest as the wood split and the bricks crumbled. All of this, combined with the cheers of the spectators, made for one of the most bizarre—and loudest—sporting events in history.

  WINNERS BY A KNOCKOUT

  Many hours later, the house was reduced to a pile of rubble. The demolishers were bruised and dusty, but still standing. As a final gesture to their defeated opponent, Phil Milner and his team of karate experts faced the ruins…and bowed.

  According to scientists, all warm-blooded animals dream—except dolphins and spiny anteaters.

  ASK THE EXPERTS

  Everyone’s got a question or two they’d like answered. Here are a few classic questions with answers from top trivia experts.

  SUPER FLY

  Q: How do flies walk upside down on the ceiling?

  A: A fly has six legs. On each leg there are two little claws that look sort of like a lobster’s claw. Underneath the claws are a pair of small fuzzy pads called pulvilli. These are suction pads, which the fly presses to the surface to squeeze out the air, creating enough suction to hold itself up. (From How Do Flies Walk Upside Down?)

  GOOSEBUMPS

  Q: Why do people get goosebumps?

  A: There was a time (ages ago) when the human body was covered with thick hair. When it got cold, the hairs would stand on end, keeping the cold air out and the warm air in. The hairs have long since disappeared, but the place where the hair used to be still bristles, trying to get warm. (From The Book of Answers)

  BIRD POOP

  Q: What’s that black dot in the middle of bird droppings?

  A: The black dot is poop. The white part is urine. They come out together, at the same time, out of the same hole. The white stuff, which is slightly sticky, clings to the black stuff. (From Why Do Clocks Run Clockwise?)

  Q: What’s the most popular topping for a Domino’s Pizza in Japan? A: Squid.

  RUMBLY IN THE TUMBLY

  Q: Why does your stomach growl?

  A: Every 75 to 115 minutes, your stomach’s muscles contract. If there is no food present, the stomach creates a wavelike motion that causes the air and your digestive gases to roll around and create that rumbling sound. That rumble becomes your own personal lunchtime bell, which can be totally embarrassing. (From Why Can’t You Tickle Yourself?)

  SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS

  Q: Do people who are born blind ever dream?

  A: People who are blind from birth do dream, but they don’t dream the same visual images as sighted people. Said one man who has been blind since birth, “my dreams are never with shapes or colors. I dream about touching things. Once I dreamed I was being chased by someone with a gun and felt as if the bullets were actually piercing my back.” So rather than see shapes, textures, and colors, they hear and feel the dream.

  It is also interesting that people who can see and become blind later in life will still see images in their dreams. However, the images tend to fade the longer they remain blind. (From Do Fish Drink Water?)

  Top 3 ice cream flavors in the U.S.: 1) vanilla, 2) chocolate, 3) butter pecan.

  GHOST SHIP

  Of all of history’s unsolved mysteries, perhaps none is stranger than the fateful voyage of the Mary Celeste.

  SAILING INTO THE UNKNOWN

  On November 5, 1872, a ship named the Mary Celeste set sail from New York bound for Genoa, Italy, under the command of Captain Benjamin Briggs. On board were a crew of seven along with the captain’s wife and their two-year-old daughter.

  A month later, on the morning of December 4, the Mary Celeste sailed out of the fog off the coast of Spain and was spotted by the crew of the British ship Dei Gratia. The Mary Celeste’s sails were raised and the hull and masts appeared in good order. The crew of the Dei Gratia hailed the ship, but received no answer, so they boarded her, ready to extend their greetings. What they found was mystifying: the ship was completely deserted.

  ANYBODY HOME?

  The ship’s cargo—1,700 barrels of alcohol—was untouched. The money box was full. There was plenty of food and water. In fact, some reports tell of finding a meal on the table, as if dinner had just been served. Toys were found on the captain’s bed, as if his little daughter had just played with them. Everyone’s clothes were still on board. The only things missing were nautical charts and maps, a lifeboat…and all the people.

  Rainy-day fact: Umbrellas were originally invented to keep the sun off.

  Where did everybody go?

  WHAT HAPPENED?

  The mysterious disappearance of the Mary Celeste’s crew had people all over the world wondering.

  • Some believed the crew mutinied, murdered the captain and his family, then took the ship. But if that were true, why did they abandon it?

  • Perhaps pirates attacked the ship and killed everyone aboard. But that made no sense because nothing was stolen.

  • The most outrageous explanation offered was that the ship had been attacked by a giant squid. But a squid wouldn’t have been interested in the ship’s papers. And a squid wouldn’t need a lifeboat.

  Eeek! There are 29,000 different species of spiders.

  A POSSIBLE EXPLANATION

  The mystery of the Mary Celeste has puzzled people for over a century. In all that time, say experts, only one reasonable explanation has been proposed. According to this theory, four things happened, in succession:

  1. The captain died of natural causes while the ship was caught in bad weather.

  2. A crew member misread the depth of the water in the hold, and everyone thought the ship was sinking.

  3. They panicked and abandoned ship in such a hurry that they took no food or water.

  4. Everyone in the lifeboat eventually starved or drowned.

  Is that what happened? Could be…but no one will ever know.

  ***

  DUMB JOKES

  Q: Why do hummingbirds hum?

  A: Because they don’t know the words.

  Q: How can you find a lost rabbit?

  A: Make a noise like a carrot.

  Q: Why is a pig’s tail like getting up at five in the morning?

  A: It’s twirly
. (Don’t get it? Say it slowly.)

  Heads up! Approximately 500 meteorites strike the Earth every year.

  LIFE ON THE EDGE

  Here at the BRI we love hearing stories about brave dogs. Good old Roy may be the bravest yet.

  PLAYTIME CATASTROPHE

  The Rongemo family lived up on the third floor of an apartment building in Sweden. One day, Mr. Rongemo went into the kitchen to help his wife, while his two-year-old daughter played in the living room. When Mr. Rongemo returned to the living room, he saw that the window was open and his daughter was gone. He ran to the window and nearly fainted from fright. His little girl was outside, crawling on all fours along a narrow ledge that circled the building!

  ROY TO THE RESCUE!

  But the girl wasn’t alone: following just behind her was the family’s German Shepherd, Roy, whining softly with distress. Both the dog and the baby were out of Mr. Rongemo’s reach. Worse yet, there was no room on the narrow ledge for either of them to turn around to get back to the window.

  Mr. Rongemo knew that if he crawled out after them, he would probably startle the baby and the dog, and then all three of them would probably fall and die. Still, he had to do something! So he told his wife to stay at the window while he raced down to the street to try to catch his daughter, just in case.

  Your big toe has a name: It’s called the hallux.

  The baby continued to crawl farther and farther away from the window, with Roy the dog following right behind her. On the street below, a crowd had gathered. People were frantically trying to put together a makeshift net to catch the baby if she fell. But the net turned out to be unnecessary.

  A NARROW ESCAPE

  To everyone’s amazement, Roy suddenly grabbed the baby’s diaper with his teeth. He then started walking backward, very carefully pulling the little girl back to the window, inch by inch.

  The heart-pounding journey took three minutes, until Mrs. Rongemo could finally catch hold of her little daughter. She pulled the baby inside, and Roy leapt into the room behind her, proudly wagging his tail.

  This amazing story has an amazing ending, too: The Rongemo family had been thinking of giving Roy away. They were worried that he was too big for such a little child. Think this brave dog got to stay with the family? You bet!

  Chicago comes from checagou, the Algonquin Indian name for the onions that grew there.

  BRAINTEASERS

  Put on your thinking caps (or whatever else you like to wear that makes you feel smarter)! Answers are on page 281.

  1. Apples and oranges. Rebecca, George, and Helen are eating oranges. Fred, Karen, and Dave are eating apples. To which group does Steve belong? (Hint: Look at the names.)

  2. Chop shop. There are only two barbers in a small town. One has a neat haircut and a clean shop. The other has scraggly hair and a filthy shop with hair all over the floor. Which barber do you choose?

  3. A fine find. A famous archaeologist claimed he discovered a rare gold coin with a marking on it that said 458 B.C. People knew he was lying. How did they know?

  4. Dollars and sense. Inside your wallet are six bills that total $63. None of them are $1 bills. What are the denominations of the bills?

  5. Light Speed. Sam turned off his bedroom light and went to bed. The light switch is 10 feet away, yet he got into bed before the room got dark. How is that possible?

  6. Soaked. Four men dove into a swimming pool, but only three of them got their hair wet. Why?

  7. A-quiz. If a man is born in Alabama, grows up in Alaska, vacations in Albania, and dies in Africa, what is he?

  Myth-understood: U.S. “paper” money is 75% cotton and 25% silk.

  SPARK IN THE DARK

  Here’s a science experiment you can do for little more than a buck.

  What You Need:

  • Pack of Wint-O-Green Lifesavers

  • Very dark room or closet

  What You Do:

  1. Go into the room (take a friend or a mirror).

  2. Bite into the Lifesaver. Whoa! It sparks.

  You just discovered triboluminescence! What? Triboluminescence is light produced by striking or rubbing two special substances together. The electrons in the atoms of each substance are like little sponges absorbing the energy from the friction. When the friction stops, they release the energy…and it becomes light.

  Do you have to use a Wint-O-Green Lifesaver? No. It will work with some other substances, but Wint-O-Greens work best. Why? They contain wintergreen oil, (methyl salicylate), which is actually fluorescent.

  Pop blows its top! Want to create a soda volcano? Here’s another experiment. Open a brand-new two-liter bottle of soda pop and drop in three or four Wint-O-Green Lifesavers. Don’t replace the cap. When the carbon dioxide (CO2) in the soda meets the Lifesavers, it will make big bubbles that will shoot out of the soda bottle. Warning! Do this trick in the kitchen sink or shower!

  Geography quiz: How many countries are there in the world? As of 2003, there are 193.

  REAL-LIFE X-MEN

  It’s hard to believe, but just like the X-Men in the comic books, these people are able to fire lightning bolts with a gesture, move furniture with a look, and read minds.

  ELECTRON GIRL

  Jennie Morgan of Sedalia, Missouri, could shoot sparks from her fingertips. These highly charged sparks were strong enough to knock people over. They could even knock people unconscious. Animals could sense this 14-year-old’s electrical power and would stay far away from her. (Who would blame them?)

  THE MAGNETIC KIDS

  Caroline Clare, a teenager from Canada, was ill for nearly 18 months. The illness was bizarre, and doctors were unable to diagnose it. But even stranger: it turned Caroline into a living magnet. Metal objects, like forks and knives, stuck to her skin. Caroline was so magnetized that she was unable to pull the metal objects off herself. Someone (unmagnetized) had to do it for her.

  Inga Gaiduchenko of Russia was 14 when she demonstrated her magnetic abilities to members of the Moscow Technological Institute. They watched in amazement as spoons, pens, and paper clips stuck to her hands. And Inga’s powers of attraction extended beyond metal objects. Witnesses actually saw books and china plates cling to her outstretched hands.

  When is a pig not a pig? When it weighs more than 120 pounds—then it’s a “hog.”

  Angelique Cottin, a 14-year-old from France, had her magnetic powers for only two and a half months. During that time, compasses would spin wildly if she were close by. When she entered a room, objects near her would vibrate. If she tried to touch a piece of furniture, it would slide away from her, as if pushed.

  BEAST MASTER

  Vladimir Durov was an animal trainer for a Russian circus and claimed to use telepathy to train the animals. When he wanted to teach his dog, Pikki, a new trick, Durov would take Pikki’s face in his hands and stare deep into the dog’s eyes. He claimed to use telepathy to send orders directly into the dog’s brain and the fox terrier would immediately perform the assigned trick. Skeptical scientists suspected that Durov was giving Pikki some kind of clue with his eyes, so they arranged a test. They blindfolded Durov and had him give Pikki orders just using his brain. With no eye contact or verbal instructions, Pikki did exactly what he was “told.” Amazing!

  ARE YOU AN X-KID?

  How did these people get such strange powers? No clear scientific x-planation x-ists. Have you ever heard the phone ring and knew who it was before you answered it? Or thought of a song, and suddenly it started playing on the radio? You could be psychic. Or maybe you can talk to animals. Go ahead—try it. Take your dog’s face in your hands, stare into his eyes, and think, “Go in the kitchen and make me a ham sandwich.” If he does it, you are a true beast master! (And we’ll have to write about you in our next Bathroom Reader.)

  The month of May is named for Maia, the Greek goddess of spring.

  Q: What do Albert Einstein, Tom Cruise, and Walt Disney have in common? A: Dyslexia.

  KNOCK-KNOCK

>   Uncle John’s best knock-knock jokes ever. Countdown…

  Number 10

  Knock-knock.

  Who’s there?

  Oswald.

  Oswald who?

  Oswald my gum!

  Number 9

  Knock-knock.

  Who’s there?

  Ash.

  Ash who?

  Gesundheit!

  Number 8

  Knock-knock.

  Who’s there?

  Madame.

  Madame who?

  Madame foot is caught in the door!

  Number 7

  Knock-knock.

  Who’s there?

  Duane.

  Duane who?

  Duane the bathtub,

  I’m dwowning!

  Number 6

  Knock-knock.

  Who’s there?

  Moth.

  Moth who?

  Moth get mythelf a new key!

  Number 5

  Knock-knock.

  Who’s there?

  Doris.

  Doris who?

  Doris closed, that’s why I’m knocking!

  Number 4

  Knock-knock.

  Who’s there?

  Radio.

  Radio who?

  Radio not, here I come!

  Number 3

  Knock-knock.

  Who’s there?

  Beets.

  Beets who?

  Beets me—I just forgot the joke!

  Number 2

  Knock-knock.

  Who’s there?

  Dishes.