CONTENTS

MAP IT!
See all of the world’s 44
A wild and landlocked countries on
wonderful page 42. Plus, find out
why access to the ocean
world awaits is so important.
you inside!

THE STORY OF MUSIC

Follow a timeline of musical instruments
LET IT GROW! on page 34, from 35,000-year-old
From enormous trees to flutes to the electric synthesiser.
the first flower in outer
space, we celebrate
nature’s amazing powers
of growth on page 16.

REGULARS
FACTOPIA WORD UP! EUREKA HOW TO CHAT...
Follow the trail of crazily Are there any words that Celebrate the latest NAKED MOLE RAT
connected facts on page 4 people use exactly the inventions and discoveries Page 12
all the way from a golf same in all the languages on page 10, including how
caddie goat to a rare around the world? scientists are trying to SEND IT IN!
‘unicorn’ rhinoceros. Find out on page 14! bring back the dodo… Page 48
2
 SNAP IT!
Turn to page 6 to
enjoy a selection of
breathtaking photos
from around the world.

Which side of a

horse has the

most hair?

GADGETS
IN NUMBERS
Marvel at fidget spinners
The outside!
and Dustbusters on the
Moon on page 22, as we
celebrate some brilliantly
ingenious gadgets. LO
L!
Where do
famous
vegetables
like to
party?
In the
EYE DON’T
BELIEVE IT! V.I.Pea
Will you be bamboozled
by this month’s area!
mind-boggling optical
illusion? Turn to page 33
right now to find out!

PUZZLES What did the

THE BIG QUESTIONS
Discover the answers to some of the
& GAMES coat hanger
Get your brain buzzing on
universe’s biggest questions on page 44 say to the
page 23 with our 10-page
– including why giraffes have long necks!
activity pull-out. It has shirt?
a Quiz, Word Search, Spot
the Difference and more! Let’s

hang out!
A!
H HA!
Why did the
computer
programmer
catch a chill?
She left her
JOKES
& RIDDLES SEND IT IN! windows
Look out for this month’s Email us your letters, photos
open!
selection, hand-picked and favourite facts to:
by our jokes editor May, [email protected]
on page 50.
ZANY FACTS

Follow the trail of crazily connected

facts all the way from a golf caddie
goat to… a ‘unicorn’ rhinoceros!
olf courses
By Kate Hale, Paige Towler, Julie Beer on g

Professi
s
o nd
and Rose Davidson
ep

h
Illustrations by Andy Smith

ot
o

int
nal u

eep
nde

ive d
rwa

nd d
ter

sa
go

it
l f-
ba

su
ll r
etri et
evers don w

At a theme park in
Mexico, guests can
use hanging bridges,
ziplines and rafts to
explore real caverns
and canyons

Mick se
There are

ey Mou
START At a golf course in Oregon, USA,
HERE you can hire a goat to be your caddie. shape s
s hidden e park
all over Disney them
The goat will carry golf clubs and
balls in a special pack on its back
4
 During the Gold Rush in California,
USA, a ship named the Niantic
was deserted in San Francisco Bay.
It was pulled onto land and turned
into a hotel – and then later
buried beneath the city.

Guests at one hotel in

Tanzania can stay in Chile’s Montaña Mágica hotel,
an underwater room set deep in the rainforest, is
that is attached disguised as a mountain. To
beneath a deck that access it, guests have to cross
to floats off the coast a treetop wooden bridge
fin
dl
os
tb
al
ls

The Aquarius lab is the world’s only

underwater laboratory – the scientists
who study there are called aquanauts

In the 19th century, travelling theme Christopher Columbus

parks across the USA and Britain claimed to have spotted
exhibited a mysterious creature mermaids on his
known as the Feejee Mermaid, which journey to the Americas
they claimed was from the island of – but they were
Fiji in the Pacific Ocean. The creature probably manatees
appeared to be half monkey,
half fish – but it was a hoax.

Explorer Marco Polo

thought he had
stumbled upon
unicorns during his
travels – but they were
actually rhinoceroses!

5
SNA P I T g photos f
rom
Aston ishin
e world
around th
 PHOTOS

OPEN WIDE!
This Bryde’s whale was snapped
just before it gulped down a
bait ball of fish in the shape of a
heart. Bryde’s whales are tropical
whales that grow up to 15 metres
long and can weigh up to 30 tonnes!
CUPOTY/RAFAEL FERNÁNDEZ CABALLERO
 SN A P IT !

OIN
WHEN PIGS FLY!
These
flying
K!
pigs were
snapped
mid-race
at the Royal
Melbourne Show in
Australia. This fun event
allows people who live in
the city to sample rural
life, with various animal
shows and competitions,
horse jumping and
demonstrations of skills
such as wood chopping.
Competitors in the pig
race included Pork Chop,
Bacon Bone, Porky Pork
and Ham Bone.

8
 PHOTOS

FIREWORK DISPLAY
This field of beautiful
Paepalanthus plants in Brazil
was photographed just as
the sun was setting, which
makes the plants look like
little fireworks! One species of
Paepalanthus is thought to be carnivorous,
snacking on nearby termite mounds!
WPNA/MARCIO ESTEVES CABRAL

COOL KICKS
Kotaro Tokuda appears to be floating in mid-air
in this amazing photo from the Red Bull Street
Style freestyle football competition in Japan.
RED BULL CONTENT POOL/NAOYUKI SHIBATA

SMALL BUT MIGHTY

A golden
damselfish
picked an
extremely
dramatic
backdrop of
bright pink coral in this
great underwater snap,
taken off the coast of
Indonesia. Damselfish
come in a variety of

!
colours and patterns,

H
from stripes to bright

O
blue. Although they

OO
are small, the fish are
surprisingly territorial
and will aggressively
scare away intruders
to their home territory!
CUPOTY/CHRIS GUG
 M! Blue Ghost lands on
YU Elec tric tongue For the second time in history,
a privately made spacecraft
has landed on the Moon!
[]TaL_P^[LNPN]LQ_?SP
previous private craft to land
on the Moon, Odysseus, fell
tastes cake in Blue Ghost, made by a
NZX[LYdNLWWPO1T]Pʮd
over after touchdown and
so couldn’t do any exploring.
virtual Aerospace, was launched in Blue Ghost’s mission was to
reality January in collaboration with explore a large Moon crater
the US space agency NASA. called the Sea of Crises for a
Working with private full lunar day – about 14 Earth
Scientists have developed an electronic tongue NZX[LYTP^^`NSL^1T]Pʮd OLd^4_NL]]TPO^NTPY_TʭN
that can re-create the flavours of foods and drinks, allows NASA to keep costs low. instruments for experiments.
allowing them to be shared via an electronic device! After its long journey to the Around a dozen landers are
Moon and some time spent scheduled to touch down on
First, special 1 in orbit, Blue Ghost touched the Moon this
sensors collect down on the Moon’s surface year. Missions
data from a on 2 March. (Scan the QR with human
liquidised sample code on the right to see Blue astronauts are
of a food or drink. 2SZ^_ɪ^ʮdMdQZZ_LRP ?ST^ scheduled to
The sensors detect was a big step forward for begin in 2026.
five different taste
chemicals and
determine what
concentrations
they are in.

2 Using the food

chemical data,
scientists re-create
the tastes. Glucose
creates sweet;
citric acid, sour;
sodium chloride,
salty; magnesium
chloride, bitter;
and glutamate
creates umami.

An outlet placed 3
in a test subject’s
mouth pushes the
taste chemicals
in the proper
concentrations
into a layer of gel.
So the person gets
the taste without
ever seeing the
original food!

10
 NEWS

kens bring
c
the Moon! Can chi
back the DODO?
Using a process similar to the one in the science fiction film
Jurassic Park, scientists are hoping they can bring species back
from extinction! They are experimenting with mixing the
DNA of closely related birds. In the future they might
be able to apply this to other types of birds,
including me, the extinct dodo.

Are we
rises related?
The Sea of C
le fr o m Earth
is visib
lescope.
without a te

Blue
G
stat host’s
u re sho
to it w rt
s su as key
cces
s.

Are you smarter than AI?

You’ve probably encountered Recently, computer scientists
tests on the internet that ask have discovered that AI bots
you to ‘prove you are human’ are not able to spot optical
by identifying images. These illusions as we humans can.
are useful for keeping AI bots But in a brilliant twist, they’re
It usually takes around three days for a from visiting websites. But very good at making them. So
spacecraft from Earth to reach the Moon. over time bots have become AI can be used to create visual
Blue Ghost took a different path to reach its better at identifying images. tests that AI itself cannot pass!
destination, which took more than a month!

11
 How to chat...
NAKED MOLE RAT By Dr Nick Crumpton
Illustration by Adrienne Barman

A dialect is a form of language that people from a certain place use.

For example, in the UK, people call a certain purple veg an ‘aubergine’,
while Americans call it an ‘eggplant’. Animals can have dialects, too!
Scientists have noted that in colonies ruled by a queen, in depending on which colony
some species of animals have a similar way to how bees live. they are from. If a mole rat
dialects depending on where They talk to each other with squeaks with a different
they live. Naked mole rats are squeaks and clicks, which sound, it might be an invader
super-social rodents. They live sound slightly different from a rival gang!

W H O(O -WH OO
Helloooo!)

I D
D OW
KN
YO U

of a n
?aked
2 5 % re
Abou
t cles a
r a t’s mus can
mole They
jaws. ugh
in its thro
chew ete!
concr

12
Whee-whee (Hi!)

WHEE-WH
(Howdy
!)
EE

GRRRRR
(You’re not fr
om aroun
d her
e.)
!

13
 W R PINEAPPLE
English is a bit of an of ananas in Arabic,

U !
odd one out in this Czech, Finnish, Greek,
case! Most words Italian, Turkish and
for pineapple come Ukrainian, among
from either ananas others. Interestingly,
or abacaxi, both it is called abacaxi
words from the Tupí in Brazilian
language of South Portuguese and
THIS MONTH: Are there any words America. The fruit ananas in European
that are the same in all languages? is called some version Portuguese!
By Alison Eldridge, Illustrations by Susanna Hickling

f you’ve ever travelled to a

I place where people speak

L
OTʬP]PY_
WLYR`LRP
dZ`

may have tried to communicate
TAXI
This is a relatively
with limited words. Maybe you new word, coined in
went to France and you knew 1907. It is a shortened
the words for ‘hello’
form of ‘taximeter
(bonjour) ‘croissant’
cab’, which is what
(this one’s the same!) chai these cars were
thé
té tee
and ‘thank you’
(merci) and were able called when they
to request a snack by
saying ‘hello, croissant tey
TEA tè first appeared.
(‘Taximeter’ means
herbata teja
thank you!’ It helps that
the word ‘croissant’ was an automatic meter
imported directly from French ch’a to record the distance
to English, so that you and and fare.) As taxi
the person you’re speaking to TEA services spread
both use the same word. Are
there any words this works for
Many words for tea different regions. The Latvian, Irish, around the world,
in all languages? The simple around the world trade route used to Hungarian and the same word was
answer is, unfortunately, no. either sound like import this delicious Malay, among used in many places.
There are over 7,000 languages, ‘tea’ or ‘chai’. Both drink determined others; and like ‘Taxi’ or some
^Z
T_
bZ`WO
MP
OTʯN`W_
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SLaP

of these words come what it was called. ‘cha’ or ‘chai’ in variation of it
words that are the same in all
of them! But there are a few
from China, but they It is something like Portuguese, Persian, (depending on the
words that are the same or are from different ‘tey’ in French, Japanese, Swahili, sounds a language
similar in several languages. dialects used in Finnish, German, Urdu and more. has) is used in French,
Here are four of them.
TA X I Danish, Portuguese,
Korean, Russian,
German, Thai,
CHOCOLATE Dutch and
Chocolate might by name! The many more.
be the closest to a confection is
universal word there called chocolate
is. It comes from (or some variation)
the Aztecan Nahuatl who called it in Russian, Hindi,
‘chocola-tl’, and was chocolate. People Swedish, Polish,
spread around the who had a taste Mandarin, Bengali
world by the Spanish, of it demanded it and many more!

14
 2
3

GAMES
quiz!
Can you work out which sports
and games are played using the
equipment shown on this page?
The answers are below left.
Answers: 1. Frisbee, 2. Badminton, 3. Volleyball, 4. Indiaca, 5. Boomerang, 6. Croquet.

6
5
 LE
Meet some of the
extraordinary plants
and trees that make
life on Earth possible.
pring is the time of

S year when nature comes

back to life. The sun
shines brighter, the days
grow longer, animals wake
Q]ZX
STMP]YL_TZY
LYO
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start to bloom.

D I D Y O UW ?
Did you know that

KNO
it is only thanks to
plants that we call
this season spring around
n fly at
at all? Before Bees ca eat the
ir
the 15th century, h and b
25 km/ 00 tim
e s
people referred to wings 2
ond!
this time of the year per ec
s ʭ]^_
_Z

as ‘springing time’ or springtime
‘the spring of the year’ and then, during
because it was when plants the 16th century, to spring.
literally sprung out of So to celebrate the return of
the ground. ‘Springing ‘springing time’, let’s explore
time’ was shortened some of the fascinating and
extraordinary ways in which
ʮZbP]^
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[WLY_^
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16
 How bees make honey
Honey is an ingenious way of mouth-to-mouth between
1
preserving nectar, which is worker bees to reduce the
a sugary liquid produced by amount of water in it. The
flowers, so bees can store bees also fan their wings to
it in their hives, ready to eat help the water to evaporate!
at the times of year when
flowers are no longer in
bloom. Here’s how they do it: 5 5 When water makes up less
than 20% of the nectar,
mould and bacteria can

1 A forager bee collects

nectar from flowers through
a hollow, straw-like tongue
no longer grow in it.
The nectar is now honey.
Worker bees then push the
called a proboscis. A bee can honey into a honeycomb
forage, or search for, nectar up cell and cap it with wax.
to 5 km away from its hive! 7

From record-breaking 2 To transport the nectar

back to the hive, the
6 The honey is now
preserved forever.
Archaeologists once found
trees and pollinating bees in forager bee stores it in a 3,000-year-old honey in
search of nectar, to priceless special honey stomach. an ancient Egyptian
underground seeds and the tomb and it was
ʭ]^_
ʮZbP]
_Z
MWZZX
TY
^[LNP

here are just some of the
amazing ways
3 Enzymes in the bee’s honey
stomach break down the
still good to eat!

plants keep
the world
nectar into simpler sugars.
7 In spring and
early summer,

bursting
with
4 Once the forager bee has
returned to its hive, it
regurgitates, or brings up,
all of the colony’s
honey is used to feed
young larvae. In the
new life the nectar. summer, a hive can
each year. The sticky contain 60,000
nectar is bees. This huge
then passed workforce spends
2–3 weeks collecting
enough nectar to last
the winter. It can take
12 bees their entire
lifetime to make just
one teaspoon of honey!

17
Meet the BIGGEST
tree on Earth!
Gaze up at the majestic giant than Nelson’s Column in
sequoia tree pictured on the London) and it has an
right. You are looking at above-ground mass of
General Sherman, thought 582 tonnes. How heavy is that?
to be the largest individual Well, put it this way: General
tree (by both mass and Sherman weighs more than
volume) in the world. 45 double-decker buses!
Found in Sequoia National Just the tree’s bark alone
Park in California, USA, General weighs 48 tonnes and its
Sherman stands 83.6 metres branches support a staggering
tall (which is 30 metres taller 1.5 tonnes of leaves.
It took General Sherman
a long time to grow this
big and it’s thought to be
between 2,300 and 2,700
years old. This means that
General Sherman sprouted
from the ground before the
start of the Roman Empire!

A car driving through

a ‘tree tunnel’ in a giant
sequoia tree in the 1920s.

Picture Quiz
Many countries have chosen national plants, usually flowers,
as a way to represent their identity, culture and history. Below
are pictures of the national flowers of nine countries: England,
Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, South Africa, Canada, New
Zealand and Japan. Can you correctly match each country
to its national flower? (You can find the answers on page 21.)

1 2 3

4 5 6

7 8 9

18
 How to read tree rings 5 amazing
Each year, trees that grow in temperate regions add a new layer of wood around their
trunks and branches. The size and colour of these rings reveals a fascinating story…
facts
FIRST-YEAR GROWTH SPRING/EARLY about
BARK
SUMMER GROWTH
Shows up as
lighter bands.
bamboo!
The tree’s
‘skin’, which B Many types of bamboo look
directs rainfall like trees but they are actually
to its roots. tall grasses. There are hundreds
of different species which grow
in many parts of the world.
LATE SUMMER/
A bamboo’s stem is called a
HEART AUTUMN GROWTH
culm. In the larger species,
WOOD Shows up as
a bamboo’s culm can grow to
Dead cells darker bands.
be more than 30 metres tall!
support
the tree at
its centre.
RAINY SEASON B As you can see from the
Trees grow more graphic on the left, bamboo is
during wet, Bamboo the world’s fastest-growing
SCAR FROM rainy seasons. 91 cm plant. In fact, some species of
A FOREST FIRE bamboo grow so fast that if
An injury to the tree caused DRY SEASON
a DAY! you sit down to watch it
by a forest fire, for example, Less rainwater for a few hours, you’ll be able
can leave a scar. However, means a narrower to see the bamboo growing
the scar will heal over time. band of growth. right before your eyes!

D I D YO U B Light and strong, bamboo is

Which plant grows K N OW
?
often used in construction and
to make furniture. In fact, some

the FASTEST? The slo

wes
is the w t-growing t
hite ce ree
bamboo is stronger than steel.

white
cedar
dar. On
e B Bamboo rarely flowers –
Green plants grow thanks to dioxide into oxygen, which took 1 in Can sometimes as little as once
55 yea ada
an amazing process called is released into the air, and just 10 r s to gr every 130 years. But when
.2 cm t ow
photosynthesis, which enables nutrients. All green plants all! it does, every plant of that
them to use sunlight to make use photosynthesis to grow. species flowers at the same
their own food. Photosynthesis But some plants grow much time all around the world!
is essential for life on Earth faster than others!
because, without it, there The graphic below compares Spruce B A giant panda can eat as
would be no green plants. And the average growth rate of 75 cm much as 23 kg of bamboo in
without green plants, there five common plants with the a single day! Bamboo makes
would be no animals, since average growth rate of a up 99% of a giant panda’s diet,
almost all living things depend human child. As you can see, with meat and other plants
on green plants for food. one type of plant is providing the remaining 1%.
Photosynthesis starts when the clear winner! Scots
chlorophyll, a substance found pine
in all green plants, absorbs 50 cm
Silver
energy from sunlight. Plants birch
use this energy to change 40 cm
water and carbon
English
oak
23 cm

Child
6.5 cm

GROWTH
PER
YEAR
 Plants in outer space!
Outer space is a tough place to
Astronaut Kayla
live. The lack of food, oxygen
Barron is checking
and water makes it difficult for
chilli peppers
the organic, oxygen-breathing
growing inside the
lifeforms that live on Earth
ISS’s Advanced
(like us!) to thrive there. But
Plant Habitat, which
space agencies such as NASA
automatically
also know that if humans are
controls the
to explore and live on other
temperature and
planets, we will probably
levels of humidity,
need to grow plants there too,
light and carbon
to provide us with food and
This orange zinnia dioxide the plants
oxygen. The first plant to seed
was the first ever inside are exposed
in space was thale cress, which
flower to be grown to. Above right,
grew on board the Soviet space
in space. It bloomed fellow astronaut
station Salyut-7 in 1982. Since
under artificial Raja Chari enjoys
then, all kinds of plants have
LED lights on the a taco made using
successfully grown there,
International Space freshly harvested
including rice, cabbage, tulips,
Station in 2016. ‘space chillies’!
onions, peas and sunflowers.

Look inside the Seeds are brought

to Svalbard from
Global Seed Vault… more than 150
different countries
When disaster strikes, it’s The vault already stores seeds around the world.
always a good idea to have from more than 1.3 million
a back-up plan. And the Global different plant species, and
Seed Vault is just that: an it has the capacity to hold
amazing insurance policy for 3 million more. Why are seeds
the human race that is buried from all over the world stored
deep within a mountain on the here? So that in the event of
Arctic island of Svalbard. This a global disaster, like the one
reinforced underground vault that wiped out the dinosaurs,
contains something ultimately the human race will have a safe
more precious and important store of seeds to grow plants,
than gold or diamonds: seeds! crops and food again. Hooray!

RUSSIA

Svalbard Global
Seed Vault

N O R WAY
North Pole PORTAL BUILDING
Greenland The entrance
has a glowing
artwork above
the door.
CANADA
USA

20
 If humans are to live
on other planets
for long periods of
time, they will need
to grow their own
food. This picture
shows an artist’s
illustration of a
portable space
greenhouse that is
being developed by
NASA to grow plants
and vegetables on
the surface of Mars.

D I D YO U
K N OW
?

Picture Quiz Answers: 1. Canada, 2. New Zealand, 3. Scotland, 4. England, 5. South Africa, 6. Wales, 7. France, 8. Ireland, 9. Japan.
There is
plenty
the Glo of room
bal See in
m o re s d Vault
eeds. It for
capacit has the
y to sto COOLING SYSTEM
2.5 billi r
on indiv e Keeps the seed
idual
seeds! chambers at an
The Seed Vault
ideal temperature
contains three
of -18C. If there is
separate chambers.
a power failure, the
At present, only the
permafrost will keep
middle chamber is
the samples frozen.
filled with seeds.

SEED CHAMBERS
The seeds are stored Located 130 metres
in vacuum-sealed above sea level, so the vault
packages so they is not at risk of flooding if
are not exposed the Arctic ice cap melts.
to oxygen. It can also withstand
ACCESS TUNNEL a nuclear missile attack.
The 130-metre
access tunnel
is reinforced and WOULD YOU LIKE TO EXPLORE
fully waterproof. THE GLOBAL SEED VAULT?
Visit seedvaultvirtualtour.com
or scan the QR code on the right
to take a 360° virtual tour!

21
 2 of

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ith

n
adverts, the time e n

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.
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er
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rk
et

new technology developed

Pa
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e

o t
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se
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n da atic
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rding
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lar op
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wh age
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score
?***

*It was invented in 1956 and used high-frequency sound. It had no batteries.
**Other everyday gadgets that were first developed by NASA include mobile
phone cameras, infrared ear thermometers and wireless headphones.
***Scan the QR code to watch Sam’s record-breaking bopping!
 r
lo u
Co !
it i n

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 32.
 ANIMALS

Which land animal Which of these

1 is thought to travel
on the longest annual
3 LYTXLW^T^9:?
native to Australia?
migration? a. Wombat
a. Wildebeest b. Echidna
b. Caribou c. Platypus
c. Grey wolf d. Capybara
d. Tortoise
Which of the

2 Approximately
how many years
4 following words
is sometimes used
ago did the dinosaurs as a collective name for
go extinct? a group of peacocks?
a. 6 million years a.
,
ʮ`__P]
b. 66 million years b. A dance
c. 166 million years c. A pride
d. 600 million years d. A fan
4

HUMAN
WORLD

In multiple surveys b. Chocolate b. The Prince of Wales

1 SPWOTYOTʬP]PY_
countries around the
c. Mint choc chip
d. Strawberry
c. The Chancellor
of the Exchequer
world, which ice cream d. Nobody. It is
always left empty
ʮLaZ`]T^`^`LWWdaZ_PO
the most popular?
a. Vanilla
2 BSZ^PZʯNTLWSZXP
is 11 Downing Street?
a. The Prime Minister In which sport
3 could you nutmeg
your opponent?
1 a. Fencing 30
b. Badminton
c. Snooker
d. Football

What name does the

4 initial J in the name
of the famous author
J.K. Rowling stand for?
a. Jane
b. Joanne
c. Jocelyn
d. Jacqueline

24
 EMOJI A
COUNTRIES
Each of the em B
oji
sequences sh
own on
the right repr
esents
a country. Ca C
n you
work out which
country it is in
each D
of the five exam
ples?

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!

NUMBER
TRIANGLES

In the triangles below, the numbers inside the squares

are the sum of the two numbers in the connected circles.
For example:

1 3 2

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.

A B

4 11 13 10

9 7

25
 SUDOKU HUMAN
BODY

At approximately
Fill all the empty squares so that every
row, column and 3x2 box contains
each of the numbers 1 to 6.
1 BSTNS[L]_Z][L]_^
of the body is
primarily responsible for
3 what speed
can electrical nerve
keeping your balance? signals travel through
a. Ankles the neurons in your
A
b. Tongue brain?
c. Inner ear a. 100 km/h
2 5 3 d. Skull b. 200 km/h
c. 300 km/h
Around the world, d. 400 km/h
3 6 4
2 what is the most
common naturally What is octophobia
3 1
occurring human
hair colour?
4 a phobia or
irrational fear of?
4 2 3 6 1
a. Brown a. The month of October
1 6 2 b. Black b. The number eight
c. Blonde c. Octopuses
2 3 6 d. Red d. Captain Barnacles

1 2
1 6 2 3
3 4
5 1 2
2 5 6 3
1
2 4

FUTOSHIKI

Fill in the missing Here is an example:

numbers so that A B
A g 3
every row and
column includes the
j
numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4. B 3 h h
Use the inequality
signs as clues and
In the three squares
shown above, the
j j
make sure numbers number A must be h g
always obey the less than 3 and
inequality sign greater than the j j i
between them. This missing number B.
means that the We know all the
arrows between the numbers must be
numbers always between 1 and 4 , so j i j i
point towards the therefore A must be
smaller number. 2 and B must be 1.

26
Can you work out what you are looking at in each of these six photos?

4
3
2

27
 HIDDEN
ANIMALS

Four sneaky animals are hiding somewhere in these photos. Can you find them – and tell what kind of animals they are?

A B

C D

SPACE

What proportion of all

1 9,>,`^PLXZOTʭPO
airplane so astronauts
can experience zero gravity.
3 the stars in the Milky
Way are visible from Earth?
What is its nickname? a. 0.003%
a. The Starlight Express b. 0.0003%
b. The Space Shuttle c. 0.00003%
c. The American Eagle d. 0.000003%
d. The Vomit Comet
What is the name of

2 Which planet in our solar

system has the shortest
4 _SPXLTY^NTPY_TʭN
theory that describes
OLdWL^_TYR$$SZ`]^* how the universe began?
a. Mercury a. The Big Rip
b. Venus b. The Big Bang
c. Jupiter 1 c. The Big Freeze
d. Uranus d. The Big Crunch

28
 WORD
WHEEL

Use the word wheel to help find the answers to the Clue: the fattiest organ in the human body (5 letters).
six clues below. All the answers contain the middle
letter and each letter can only be used once.
A R Answer:
Clue: an item of clothing worn by nuns (5 letters).
Clue: a maze or complicated network of Y L Answer:
paths or passageways (9 nine letters). I Clue: a new form of transport invented by
Answer:
Clue: a computer coding system entirely
B N the engineer Richard Trevithick in 1804 (5 letters).
Answer:
composed of the digits 0 and 1 (6 letters).
Answer:
H T Clue: food placed on a hook to catch a fish (4 letters).
Answer:

Can you spot the names of the 20 sports and games hidden in our jumbo word search puzzle? Good luck!

ARCHERY V F H B G N I K A Y A K B V D T B Z E S
BASEBALL K T T I T E O L R O J V V R R B K G O C
CURLING S F O O T B A L L G I O R L D I S C U S
DISCUS J C Q Z T D J L B X L T E I B R W R M W
DIVING F X A O V N L X F L F E N C I N G O T T

FENCING Z N E L U I J L E C U M V X R T E W I R

FOOTBALL V E E O H J H Y A I D X H P Y X O I W I

GOLF
T T Q P V Q B D H B F X F S P J P N K A
W B F A B A H J A V E L I N J D O G T T
HOCKEY
S A Z X L S M Z Y B X S W Z L K O X N H
JAVELIN
V L P L L U X R O K P H A S Y L R T P L
JUDO
A L L J X C E B J G X Y M B F Y D D D O
KAYAKING
G K A A Z H U G Q A G E D L A E D A L N
LACROSSE
J Q O K C T U M A G Z K W I X P V S Q O
NETBALL
K Q U R X R O Q N A P C V O M U S M L D
POLO
B S A S J C O I V U W O K S F S B W R B
ROWING
T V J K I R V S S B Q H T E O F T I J U
RUGBY
U S E S L I N Y S V C U R L I N G I U X
SUMO
Z C N Y D B C F D E B D Q D R X G R D Y
TRIATHLON
L N R U G B Y B D S G V W Y O I C I O A
VOLLEYBALL
29
 CONNECT THE LINK
PLANETS WORDS

Draw a line to connect each pair of planets. You can’t use diagonal lines A link word is a word that can be added
and the lines can’t cross or touch each other. You must fill the whole to the end of one word and the start of
grid with lines but only one line is allowed in each square. another word to create two new nouns.
For example, the word SAND can be
A B added to the end of the word QUICK
to create QUICKSAND, and also added
to the start of CASTLE to create
SANDCASTLE. Can you think of link
words that fill the gaps below and
create two new nouns in each case?

TENNIS ROOM
— — ———

POST BOARD
————

GREEN CAT
—————

GEOGRAPHY

1 ?SP[SZ_ZZY_SP]TRS_
shows the Amazon
rainforest. How long can
it take a raindrop to fall
through the thick canopy all
_SPbLd_Z_SPQZ]P^_ʮZZ]*
a. Up to 1 minute
b. Up to 2 minutes
c. Up to 5 minutes
d. Up to 10 minutes

2 ?SPYL_TZYLWʮLRZQ
which country is shown
above? (Clue: the symbol
1

TY_SPXTOOWPT^L_]TOPY_
a. Barbados a. Japan and South Korea But which city
b. Cuba b. United States and Russia had the world’s
c. Iceland c. Australia and New Zealand biggest urban
d. Cyprus d. Scotland and Ireland population in
the year 100 CE?
a. London
3 ?SP-P]TYR>_]LT_T^
a passage of water
separating which two
4 ?SPNT_dbT_S_SPWL]RP^_
population today is
?ZVdZTY5L[LYbSTNSSL^
b. Beijing
c. Paris
countries? 123 million inhabitants. d. Rome

30
 Can you spot all 2O differences between these two futuristic illustrations?

n!
ti
ea
ST
PO

TEA

n!
ti
ea

POST

ST
PO

TEA

CUBE IT!
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? A B C D

31
Answers
Spot the Difference Futoshiki
A
3 4 2 h 1
j
4 3 h 1 2

!
in
t
ea
j
1 2 4 3
ST
PO j i
2 1 3 4

B
3 h 2 4 1
j
1 g 4 3 2
TEA

j i
4 1 2 3
j i
2 3 1 4

Number Triangles
A 3 B 8
4 11 13 10

1 9 8 5 7 2

Word Search Hidden Animals

V F H B G N I K A Y A K B V D T B Z E S Cube It!
K T T I T E O L R O J V V R R B K G O C B D
S F O O T B A L L G I O R L D I S C U S
J C Q Z T D J L B X L T E I B R W R MW
F X A O V N L X F L F E N C I N G O T T
Z N E L U I J L E C U M V X R T E W I R Connect the Planets
V E E O H J H Y A I D X H P Y X O I W I A
T T Q P V Q B D H B F X F S P J P N K A
WB F A B A H J A V E L I N J D O G T T
S A Z X L S M Z Y B X S W Z L K O X N H Cat Vietnamese mossy tree frog
V L P L L U X R O K P H A S Y L R T P L
A L L J X C E B J G X Y M B F Y D D D O
G K A A Z H U G Q A G E D L A E D A L N
J Q O K C T U M A G Z K W I X P V S QO
K Q U R X R O Q N A P C V O M U S M L D
B S A S J C O I V U WO K S F S B W R B
T V J K I R V S S B Q H T E O F T I J U B
U S E S L I N Y S V C U R L I N G I U X
Z C N Y D B C F D E B D Q D R X G R D Y
L N R U G B Y B D S G V W Y O I C I O A Roe deer Cicada

Emoji Picture Quiz Changing Rooms

Countries
A. Turkey
B. Togo
C. Chile
D. Wales Sudoku
Geode
E. Romania A
Word Wheel 6 2 4 5 1 3
1. LABYRINTH 5 1 3 6 2 4
2. BINARY 3 6 1 4 5 2
3. BRAIN City (New York) Blood oranges 4 5 2 3 6 1
4. HABIT 1 3 6 2 4 5
5. TRAIN
2 4 5 1 3 6
6. BAIT
B
Link
5 3 4 1 6 2
Words
Strawberry 1 6 2 5 3 4
1. TENNIS COURT
COURTROOM Piano strings jam Hedgehog 3 2 6 4 5 1
2. POSTCARD 4 5 1 3 2 6
CARDBOARD Quiz Answers
2 4 5 6 1 3
3. GREENHOUSE Animals 1. b, 2. b, 3. d, 4. c; Human World 1. a, 2. c, 3. d, 4. b; Human Body 1. c, 2. b, 3. d, 4. b;
HOUSE CAT Space 1. d, 2. c, 3. d, 4. b; Geography 1. d, 2. a, 3. b, 4. d. 6 1 3 2 4 5

32
 Ye dOn’t
e

bE !
lI e i T
Ve
Amazing optical illusions that trick your brain…

Skye Café Wall Illusion

When you look at this image, does This optical illusion is called the Skye
it seem as if the orange stripes are Café Wall Illusion. It was dreamt
slanted? If you focus on just one up by an illusion artist called
of the stripes you might be able Victoria Skye. Skye was inspired
to see that… they’re actually to create the illusion after
completely parallel! This seeing the tiled wall of a café,
illusion happens because the pictured left, in the city of
contrasts of the light and dark Bristol, UK. As you can see, the
colours and the angles of the green wall tiles appear to slant
black and white chequered L_
OTʬP]PY_
LYRWP^
>VdP
bZY

diamonds at the intersections second prize for her work in the
between the colours trick your brain. 2017 Best Illusion of the Year Contest.

33
A timeline of musical instruments!
Do you love playing or listening to music? According to the latest archaeological evidence, humans have been creating
music together for tens of thousands of years. But although music is a common feature of human cultures all around the
world, the instruments people use to make it are different and have changed over time. On the timeline below, you can
see when various popular musical instruments were first played – from prehistoric bone flutes to the electric synthesiser.
KEY
Wind instrument Percussion Stringed Electronic This year, 2025

0
CE

BCE
100
700

300
500

200
400
800

600
900
1100
1700

1500

1200
1300
1400
1800

1600
1900

1000
1000
2000

3000

5000
2000

4000

6000
FLUTE
33,000 BCE, Germany
TRUMPET, SHELL
15,000 BCE, France
FLUTE D I D YO U
DRUM Flutes are the earliest
6000 BCE, China, Central Europe
known musical instruments.
K N OW
HARP Archaeologists have found Worth $20
3000 BCE, Middle East and Mediterranean examples of flutes carved by Stradivari
m, the ‘Me
us violin is
?
ssiah’
early humans from bird bone the
LUTE AND ANCESTORS world’s m
ost expen
3000 BCE+, Mesopotamia/Iraq and mammoth ivory that musical in sive
strument!
are at least 35,000 years
LYRE
2600 BCE+, Mesopotamia/Iraq old! The modern, metal
flute was invented in 1847.
TRUMPET, METAL
2000 BCE, Egypt, China, Central Asia
CYMBAL
2000 BCE+, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Egypt
DIDGERIDOO
GUZHENG (CHINESE ZITHER) A didgeridoo is a long wind
5th century BCE, China instrument first developed
PIPE ORGAN by Australian Aboriginal
3rd century BCE, Greece peoples. It is traditionally
GONG made from a hollowed-out
1st or 2nd century CE, Europe (Roman), Asia tree – often a eucalyptus.
A rim of beeswax is
BAGPIPE
sometimes added at one
Around 100 CE, Europe
end to create a mouthpiece.
DIDGERIDOO
around 500 CE, Australia
RECORDER
14th century, Europe
 TRIANGLE By 14th century, Europe
TROMBONE
BAGPIPE HARPSICHORD 15th century, Western Europe
The bagpipe is associated Although it is shaped like a BANJO
with Scotland but many piano, the harpsichord has 16th century, Africa
other countries have their two important differences. GUITAR, SPANISH
own version. An airtight bag It has two keyboards instead Early 16th century, Spain
holds the supply of wind, of one. And its strings,
HARPSICHORD
which passes through a tube instead of being struck Early 16th century, Italy
called a chanter that has by a hammer, as in a piano,
eight finger holes and a reed, are plucked by a plectrum SITAR
and which creates the sound. to create the sound. 16th century, India
CELLO
Around 1550, Italy
VIOLIN
Around 1550, Italy
BASSOON
17th century, Europe
SAXOPHONE MUSICAL TELEGRAPH FRENCH HORN
The saxophone was Created by US inventor 1650, France
designed to combine the Elisha Gray, the musical
OBOE
best qualities of woodwind telegraph was one of the
Mid-17th century, France
and brass instruments. Its first electronic instruments.
inventor, Adolphe Sax, lived Playing the keys created CLARINET Early 18th
in the Belgian city of Dinant, musical tones that were century, Germany
which has since erected a then transmitted over a PIANO
series of giant saxophone telegraph wire, and so could 1709, Italy
sculptures in his honour. be heard many miles away. ELECTRIC HARPSICHORD
1761, France
ACCORDION 1820s,
Germany/Austria
HARMONICA
1821, Germany
THEREMIN TUBA
Named after Soviet inventor 1835, Germany
Leon Theremin, this strange
instrument produces sound SAXOPHONE
1846, France
as the player’s hands
move through the invisible MUSICAL TELEGRAPH
electromagnetic fields 1874, USA
around its metal antennae. THEREMIN
This means you play a 1920, Soviet Union
theremin without touching it!
GUITAR, ELECTRIC
1936, USA
SYNTHESISER
1955, USA
 m of hea ling th
fo r a t
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ne ve p e rn v o
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i

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re ro
co n t l p a i n t o

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it m a n
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es

g n

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ow e s a

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n

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MYSTERIES
 WE ARE ALL

Humans are animals, too! Join us as we explore

the amazing ways we are just like them.
By Ben Hoare & Christopher Lloyd.
Illustrations by Mark Ruffle

37
 We all
need
oxygen
verything around you

E – from your kitchen table

to your little toe – is made
from a small number of simple
substances called elements. In
fact, there are about 90 elements
that make up everything in the
entire universe! You and I are
built of elements. One of them
forms about 21% of the air we
breathe and it’s super important.
It’s called oxygen.
There’s more oxygen in the
human body than any other
element, with carbon and
hydrogen a long way behind
in second and third place. We
animals need a constant supply
of oxygen for one simple reason
– it gives cells the power to
turn food into energy. Oxygen
gives us the gift of life!
Everything that lives on land
breathes the same air and the
same oxygen. This means vast
numbers of oxygen particles, or
molecules, pass through every
animal throughout the world,
every day. Some of the oxygen
molecules you breathe will have
already been breathed by polar
MPL]^
WTeL]O^
LYO
ʮLXTYRZ^

Breath of life
Earth is the only planet
we know of where the
air has enough oxygen
to support life.

38
We all breathe Mammals
Breathing is amazing! You and When mammals like us breathe,
I breathe 7.5 million times fresh air rich in oxygen enters
every year – from the moment the nose or mouth and is sucked
we’re born until the moment into the lungs. Tiny balloon-like
we die. Yet often, we’re not structures in the lungs, called
even aware we’re doing it. All alveoli, allow red blood cells to
mammals can breathe without absorb oxygen and deliver it
thinking, too. Apart from to every other cell in the body.
whales and dolphins, that is, At the same time, waste carbon
who have to focus on what dioxide leaves the blood in the
they’re doing as they come alveoli, and is breathed out.
up to the water’s surface to
breathe. Other animals breathe
TY
LWW
^Z]_^
ZQ
OTʬP]PY_
bLd^ Lungs

Breathing
problems
Insects Birds Just like us, other animals
Grasshoppers and other insects Chickens, like all birds, have a NL_NS
NZWO^
LYO
ʮ`
?SPd
NLY

breathe air through holes in network of air sacs, in addition LW^Z
^`ʬP]
Q]ZX
L
NZYOT_TZY

their skin. to lungs. These sacs boost the _SL_
XLVP^
M]PL_STYR
OTʯN`W_

Air flow air flow through their body. which is called asthma.
No cure has yet been found
for asthma but there are
treatments to soothe the
Tiny
Lungs Balloon-like condition, which can work
breathing
air sacs for humans and other animals.
hole
Some animal companions
use an asthma inhaler
similar to one people use.

A dog using an
asthma inhaler
Back-up system Fish
When turtles are in water they come Gills take in oxygen from
to the surface to breathe through water the way lungs take it in
their lungs. But some have a back-up from air. They look like slits.
system, too, which means they
can also take in oxygen through
their bottoms!
Gills

Water enters a
turtle’s bottom and
oxygen is absorbed
39
 Skull

We all have Neck

vertebrae
The famous
five
a skeleton When it comes to bones, there
is something special about the
Y`XMP]
ʭaP
DZ`
^PP
bPɪ]P

an you feel the bumpy not the only ones who have

C ridge down the middle

ZQdZ`]MLNV*?ST^T^dZ`]
spine. It’s a column of bones
Ribs
WTXM^
bT_S
ʭaP
MZYd
OTRT_^

Many other animals do, too!

stacked one on top of the other.

It’s strong but bendy – a
supremely useful combination.
Spine
?SPMZYP^L]PNLWWPOaP]_PM]LP
and animals that have them
are called vertebrates. All the
world’s mammals, birds,
]P[_TWP^LX[STMTLY^LYOʭ^S
are in this bony club.
Only 3% of the animals on
0L]_SL]PaP]_PM]L_P^?SP
remaining 97% – insects,
spiders, crabs, snails and many,
many more – are known as
TYaP]_PM]L_P^?SPdSLaP_ST^
name because they don’t have
a spine. Instead of an internal
skeleton built from bones, Femur
their skeleton is outside their
body! It forms a hard case for
the body – an exoskeleton.
Human bones are very similar
to those of other mammals.
?SPMZYP^OTʬP]TYSZbMTRLYO
thick they are, but they do the
same jobs, such as supporting
the body and protecting the
Chimpanzee hand
organs. Mammal skeletons also
Chimps have a thumb and four
ʭ__ZRP_SP]LYOXZaPTYX`NS
fingers on each hand. Like us,
the same way. For example,
they can bend their thumbs
we have seven vertebrae in
towards their fingers to grip
Tibia things and pick them up.
our neck, and so do nearly
LWWXLXXLW^0aPYRT]LʬP^

The bony club Mammal-only bones

Humans and dogs are both in The tiniest bones in our body
the vertebrate ‘bony club’. In – the hammer, anvil and
Skull
fact, the bones in our skeletons stirrup – are in our ears.
are the same – just different Neck vertebrae These three bones are part
sizes and slightly different Spine of what makes us mammals
shapes. Can you spot the because it is only mammals
similarities and differences? that have them.

Ribs
Femur

Tibia

40
 AG
7+ ES
COMPETITION
Human hand
The human hand has five
fingers and 27 bones in it.
Now get
Human fingers don’t
have any muscles in them.
Instead, the muscles that
creative!
control the fingers are Each year, our friends at
located in the palm of the Humanimal Trust hold a global
hand and the forearm. creative competition for children
called the Creative Awards.
This year, the theme of the
competition is We Are All Animals,
the brilliant new book featured
on these very pages.
To enter
All you have to do is submit
an original piece of visual art,
writing, video or photography
that ‘captures the incredible
Bat wing similarities between humans and
The bones in bat wings animals, and how closely linked
form five digits, very much our lives really are’. There are
like the finger and thumb five age categories and a variety
bones in human hands. of fantastic prizes to be won!
The deadline for entering is 30th
April 2025 and if you’re in need of
creative inspiration, look no further
than two of the brilliant winning
Turtle flipper
entries from previous years,
Sea turtles have flippers for
created by Marcus from Austria
swimming. If you look carefully,
and Madhav from India.
there are five digits in each
flipper, though the bones have
MARCUS
joined together for strength. ,
WINNER
IN 2023

Bone surgery
Human and veterinary
surgeons use the same
methods to mend broken
bones (see below). They both
use pins, plates, screws and
Q]LXP^
NLWWPO
ʭcL_Z]^
>ZXP

vets and doctors are working
Stirrup towards One Medicine, an
initiative which could help
Hammer humans and other animals
MADHAV,
at the same time. WINNER
IN 2024
Patagonian cavy
with fixator to
mend a broken leg

To find out more, including how

to submit your entry, visit:
humanimaltrust.org.uk/creative-
We Are All awards-2025-are-now-open
Animals, by Ben Or scan the
Hoare & Christopher QR code:
Lloyd and illustrated Good luck!
Md8L]V=`ʰP
Anvil is out now.
 T
ALL THE LANDLOCKED

I
COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD

MAP
When a country does not have direct access
to an ocean, or to a sea that is not landlocked,
such as the Mediterranean, we say that it is
landlocked. Around 20% of all the world’s
countries are landlocked. On the right, you can
find out some of the problems this can create
and why having access to the ocean is so
important. Below left, we look at the only two
countries on Earth that are double landlocked.

KEY
Countries with ocean access
Landlocked countries
Double-landlocked countries

AT LANT I C
OCEAN
NORTH
AMERICA
2
DID YOU KNOW? 1
There are 195 officially
recognised countries in DID YOU KNOW?
the world, 44 of which are Canada is the country
landlocked. The newest with the world’s longest
is South Sudan, which coastline. It measures over
became independent 200,000 km and borders
in 2011. the Pacific, Arctic and
27
Atlantic oceans.

PACIFIC 28
OCEAN

SOUTH
AMERICA

DOUBLE-LANDLOCKED COUNTRIES! SOUTH

44 AMERICA
When a landlocked country
is only bordered by countries 43 43. Paraguay
that are also landlocked, we 44. Bolivia
say it is double landlocked.
Just two countries in the
world share this rare
geographic distinction:
Liechtenstein, which is
located between Switzerland
and Austria, and Uzbekistan Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and
(pictured), which borders Afghanistan. Both countries
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, are shown in red on the map.

42
 W HY IS ACC ESS TO T H E O C E AN SO I M PO RTANT?
Throughout human history, world. In times of war, it is China, which is the world’s
it has been important for LW^Z
XZ]P
OTʯN`W_
_Z
OPQPYO
busiest port. China is also the
countries to have direct a landlocked country from world’s biggest manufacturer
access to the ocean. The attack than it typically is to of products. But without
disadvantages of being a defend an island country such direct access to the ocean
landlocked country, without as the UK. To appreciate the via ports such as Shanghai,
direct access to the ocean, important role access to the it would be much harder for
include that it is harder ocean still plays in global China to transport and sell its
to travel to, and trade with, trade, look at the photo on products to people all around
countries in other parts of the The Port of Shanghai, China. the left of Shanghai Port in the world – including you!

N
EUROPE
1. Andorra 6. Belarus 11. San Marino
2. Switzerland 7. Moldova 12. Vatican City DID YOU KNOW?
3. Luxembourg 8. Slovakia 13. Serbia Kazakhstan is landlocked
4. Liechtenstein 9. Hungary 14. North even though it borders a sea.
5. Czech Republic 10. Austria Macedonia This is because the Caspian
Sea is not connected to an
ocean. Some people think
it is therefore a very
big lake!
ASIA

6
3 5
8
4 7
19
9 24
11 10 13 15
18 20
PACIFIC
12 14 17
OCEAN
16 21
22
23 ASIA & FAR EAST
25
AFRICA
15. Armenia 21. Tajikistan
INDIA 26 16. Azerbaijan 22. Afghanistan
29
17. Turkmenistan 23. Nepal
30 18. Uzbekistan 24. Mongolia
19. Kazakhstan 25. Bhutan
32 33
31 20. Kyrgyzstan 26. Laos
34
35
36 DID YOU KNOW?
The biggest island country
by land area and population INDIAN
37 38 is Indonesia. Australia doesn’t OCEAN
39 count because it is considered
40 to be a continent rather
than an island. AUSTRALIA
41
42

AFRICA
27. Mali 32. South Sudan 38. Malawi
28. Burkina Faso 33. Ethiopia 39. Zimbabwe
29. Niger 34. Uganda 40. Botswana
30. Chad 35. Rwanda 41. Eswatini
31. Central 36. Burundi 42. Lesotho 1,000 miles
African Republic 37. Zambia
43
Why do I yawn?
We all yawn, but nobody is yawns cool us down and make
sure about the reason why. us more alert. Whatever the
We yawn when we wake up, reason, we do know this: once
when we’re bored somebody else yawns,
or anxious and most people can’t
especially help yawning along
when we’re – with them!
yaaaaaaawn
– tired! Some WACKY FACT
scientists think Animals yawn,
we yawn because too. And dogs
we need more air often join in if
or our lungs need a they see their
stretch. Others think owners yawn!

People yawn
about 20
times a day.
On average,
a yawn lasts
six seconds.
44
 Why do giraffes
have long necks?
,
RT]LʬPɪ^
WZYR
YPNV
LWWZb^
T_
WHO KNOWS?
to reach leaves in tall trees that We don’t know for sure,
shorter creatures can’t get to. but some scientists think
Giraffes ?ST^
XPLY^
RT]LʬP^
OZYɪ_
SLaP
_SL_
L
RT]LʬPɪ^
WZYR
YPNV

travel to compete with other animals helps keep it cool by
together for food in the grasslands allowing heat to escape
in groups. where they live. Another huge from its body. More neck
A group advantage of being head and means more surface area
of giraffes shoulders above the rest is for heat to escape from
is called _SL_
RT]LʬP^
NLY
^PP
[]POL_Z]^
LYO
L
XZ]P
NZZWTYR
PʬPN_

a tower. coming from very far away. QZ]
_SP
RT]LʬP^

Blue and red stars

glow brightly in
this picture taken First
nnica y,
Brita f Wh
ook o
by the Hubble
ig B and
Space Telescope. B mes
lly Sy mer,
by Sa m
h a n ie Dri
Step
now.
is out
Why do
stars
twinkle?
Stars don’t actually twinkle,
they shine with steady light.
Stars just appear to twinkle
when we see them from the
surface of Earth. A star’s light
travels through space and
reaches our atmosphere, the

D I D YO U
?
blanket of gas that surrounds

K N OW
our planet. Moving air in the
atmosphere bends the light
from the stars, bouncing some
Astronomers think there
of it away from us and some of
might be as many as one
T__ZbL]O^`^?SL_XLVP^_SP
septillion stars – that’s
star look like it’s twinkling.
a one followed by
24 zeros!
WACKY FACT
>_L]^L]POTʬP]PY_NZWZ`]^
?SPSZ__P^_ZYP^L]PMW`P

45
DO IT YOURSELF

TOP TIP

An ice cream
You can draw extra
scoops.Notice how the
3 circles sitting at the
back are drawn as if
Please make sure you use rounded safety scissors. 2
partially hidden.

3
You will need an A5-sized piece of paper.

2
1

Now draw your

4
When you remove ice cream scoops.

1
Trace around the
your scissors you
will have the shape
of an ice-cream
cone. Pick some
Start with a full
circle at the front,
following the
numbered order. Position the tip
outside of your pencil colours of your scissors
scissors with a that resemble between two
brown pencil. Make your favourite scoops and
sure your scissors flavours of ice trace around it,
are not open cream or your stopping before
for this shape. favourite colours. the hinge.

Use your SCISSORS

A pelican
Please make sure you use rounded safety scissors.
You will need an A3-sized piece of paper. 4
Mark your paper
with a blue pencil (see
arrow) and use this
as a centre point to
draw a large circle. Go
over the bottom half
of your circle with a
black pencil. Now draw
the start of an egg
shape on each side of
the circle for wings.

3 5
1
Position your closed
2
Turning your With a blue pencil,
Open the scissors and
position with the hinge
placed on the base
scissors at least scissors upside draw a circle that of your circle. Draw
5 centimetres from down, align as brushes the edges of around the outside
the top of the page shown and trace the two small circles. edge with an orange
and trace around just around the Go over the top half of pencil. These are the
the outside using outside of the the circle with a black legs. Notice that the
an orange pencil. coloured handles. pencil. Then draw more you open your
Then draw around two teardrop shapes. scissors, the wider
the two handle holes. These are the eyes. apart the legs will be.
46
 TOP TIP
Why not try to

6
create your own
type of bird?

Time to colour it in!

5
Use pencils, felt tips
or crayons to complete
your ice cream. You
can go over your
Give your cone some waffle cone lines to
detail by adding emphasise them and
cross-hatching, add some stippling to
which are lines that your chocolate flake.
show dimension. Stippling means using
Curving the lines small dots to add
slightly will make texture. You can
the cone look add toppings, too!
three-dimensional.
Then add some
ice-cream drips to
the side of your cone.

to draw...

TOP TIP
If you don’t want
to draw all the circles
freehand, you can find
a round object that is
the right size, such
as a jam jar.

6
Close the scissors
and position them
at a 45-degree angle
starting at the base of
your wing to create the
feathers. Draw around
the bottom half with
a black pencil, stopping
at the hinge. Then
move your scissors
7
slightly up and in Time to colour it
twice more, each time in and add extra
tracing around the details, like the
same part of your feathers sticking
scissors. Mirror this up on our
on the other side. pelican’s head!
47
SEND IT IN! Around the world with our
readers – and a hamster!
Check out what fellow What on Earth! readers have been up to this month…

A huge thank you to all the We’ve loved receiving so

fabulous What on Earth! many photos of readers
readers who sent us their with their pets. Here’s
photos, jokes and riddles Elsie telling her adorable
this month. Here is just cat Percy about all the
a handful of the goodies latest inventions and
we’ve received – including a discoveries in Eureka!
couple of brilliant creations
from readers of our sister
magazine in China!
Would you (or your pet)
like to star in a future
issue? Then send a photo
to letters@whatonearth.
co.uk with your name, age
and what you love most
about What on Earth!
Magazine. Each reader
who features will win a
copy of a brilliant new
What on Earth! book.

One advantage of owning

a robot dog is that it
knows how to read. Just
ask Henry and his loyal
companion Mr Scruffles!

Talented artist Zexi’s

artwork was inspired
by the famous Chinese
landscape painting that
you can see behind him.

HA!
READERS’ HA!
JOKES
What do you call Why don’t

James Bond oysters

OF THE when he’s having
a bath?
share their

pearls?
MONTH Because they’re
Thanks to you, the Bubble-07!
What on Earth! inbox is
overflowing with rib-tickling shellfish!
gags and riddles. Here are three
of May’s favourites, which each
win a copy of Secret FACTopia! Betsy, age 9 Evie, age 8

48
 Published by
Discover
fang-tastic
What on Earth Magazines Ltd,
The Black Barn, Wickhurst Farm,
Leigh, Tonbridge, Kent, TN11 8PS
Editor-in-Chief
Andrew Pettie

animal facts!
Editor
Alison Eldridge
Art & Design Director
Mark Hickling
Senior Designer & Illustrator
Susanna Hickling
Production
Sarah Epton
Did you know that a kiwi bird is the only bird
Contributors to have its nose on the end of its beak?
Andy Smith, Paige Towler,
Rose Davidson, Julie Beer,
Valentina D’Efilippo, Kate Hale, Or that prairie dogs kiss
Conrad Quilty-Harper, Ben Hoare,
Mark Ruffle, Dan Knight,
each other to say hello?
May, Dr Nick Crumpton,
Adrienne Barman, Sally Symes, Or that narwhals can use their tusks to
Anna’s pet hamster Saranne Taylor, Kate Slater,
Muffin is clearly a big Stephanie Warren Drimmer taste the amount of salt in the water?
With thanks to
fan of What on Earth!
Andy Forshaw, Natalie Bellos,
Magazine – but will Helen Thewlis and the whole £14.99
Muffin read it or eat it?! What on Earth! books team
Editorial Consultant £10.49
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Business Development
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David Falzani
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Picture credits
Library images from: Getty
Images; Shutterstock; Alamy;
iStock; NASA. Eureka: Shulin Chen;
Firefly Aerospace; Ziqi Ding et al.
Copyright
2025 What on Earth
Magazines Ltd.
All rights reserved. No part of
this magazine may be reproduced
or transmitted in any form,
including photocopying, without Buy this book to gobble up hundreds of
permission in writing from
the publishers. incredible facts about animal mouths,
What did one Awards teeth, beaks, tongues and lips!
toilet say L O
L!
Children’s Brand of the Year

to the other
Designer of the Year ONLINE -ONLY DISCOU N T
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Only available on UK orders via the What on Earth!

Wilf, age 7
website. Available until 30 June 2025. Cannot be used in
conjunction with any other offer or with book vouchers.
 What was
wrong
with the
It

wooden
Ques
What’s tion:
get into easy to
wooden go! b
to get o ut hard
ut of?
car?
Answer
:
Trouble
!

Question: art
u st
How do yo ce?
a jelly ra
Answer: s,
ark
On your m !

HA! get s et

What was an
even better
invention
HA What did the

than
the first
telephone?
! catoke
cupsay the
icing?
The
second
telephone!

Which

vegetable
loves going on
rollercoasters?

I’d be
Celer-
eeeeeeeeey! muffin
without you!

50
 Send your favourite joke or riddle to our jokes
editor May at [email protected]. If your
joke is featured in a future issue of the magazine,
you will WIN a copy of Secret FACTopia!

Why won’t you

tell me the

joke about
What’s a Hopscotch! time travel?
frog’s You

favourite didn’t
game? like it!

What do you call

a man with a
lawnmower
on his head? What is
completely
Mo! out of
bounds?
An
Question: r exhausted
fou
What has nly
kangaroo!
ILLUSTRATIONS BY ANDY SMITH

legs bu t o
one foot?

Answer:
A bed! LOL!
51
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