In their natural environment, bees live in hives and produce lots of sweet honey. It would be hard to go from tree to tree, though, to collect all the honey that we eat and use in all sorts of recipes. Instead, some people choose to keep bees in special hives to produce honey year-round.

Who are we talking about? Beekeepers, of course! They’re the people you often see in funny-looking suits and masks. Why do they wear them? They’re one good way of preventing getting stung by bees.

Yes, beekeepers do get stung by bees. It’s only natural. If you spend as much time around bees as beekeepers do, stings are inevitable. It’s just part of the risk that goes along with the rewards of keeping bees.

How often a beekeeper gets stung depends on how many and what types of bees are being kept. It also depends on individual skill and practice. The more experienced a beekeeper becomes, the fewer stings are likely to occur.

In addition to learning what types of behavior bother the bees — and avoiding such behavior — the best protection against bee stings is to wear protective gear. This can include a veil or mask, or a protective bee suit.

Although bee stings can hurt, they tend to hurt less over time the more you get stung. This is because the body can build up a tolerance to bee venom. Some brave beekeepers actually allow themselves to be stung purposefully several times each season, so that their bodies will build up a tolerance and make any subsequent stings less painful!

Beekeepers also use other strategies to avoid stings. For example, avoid working with bees on cold, cloudy, and windy days. These conditions tend to make bees more agitated and may lead to a greater chance of being stung.

Beekeepers also often use smokers when working with bees. A little smoke around the hive helps to calm the bees and make them less active. When they’re calm and docile, bees are much less likely to sting.

Do you know Roy? If you’ve ever studied colors, rainbows, or light in school, then you’ve probably heard of Roy.

Roy is actually not a person at all. Roy G. Biv is a mnemonic device that kids have used for years to remember the order of the colors in the light spectrum:

R          -           red

O         -           orange

Y          -           yellow

G         -           green

B          -           blue

I           -           indigo

V          –           violet

Get it? Roy G. Biv! He’s quite a colorful guy.

When light hits a prism, such as drops of moisture in the atmosphere, it gets split into different wavelengths that we see as the different colors of the color spectrum. That’s why we see the colors of the rainbow the way we do after it rains and the sun comes out!

Colors make our world a WONDERful place to live in. Vivid blue skies…brilliant green grass…radiant red roses…could you imagine living in a world without color?

Colors provide much more than mere beauty, though. Did you realize that colors play important roles in the world? It’s true!

Colors can sway our emotions. They can cause reactions and alter our behavior. How? Think about all the ways colors are used to communicate in our world today.

If you’ve ever gone for a ride in the car, you know that colors have very important meanings. What does red mean? (Stop!) How about green? (Go!) Yellow? (Be careful!)

And how about emotions? What feelings do you associate with different colors? How about red? (Love!) Green? (Peace and calm.)

Colors can even be used to identify clothing for different people. If you see a baby blanket that’s blue, who’s it for? (A boy!) What about a pink blanket? (A girl!)

The next time you see a rainbow, take some time to appreciate the many colors within it. What feelings do they inspire within you? Whether or not there’s gold at the end of that rainbow, the rainbow itself is the true treasure!

Stink bugs are part of the Pentatomidae insect family. The most common species is known as Halyomorpha halys, or the brown marmorated stink bug.

These bugs are native to China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. They were accidentally introduced into the United States — probably as stowaways in packing crates — sometime in the mid- to late-1990s. Today, stink bugs are considered to be agricultural pests.

Stink bugs are small. Most adult stink bugs average a little over a half-inch in length and are about the same in width. They have a unique shape — a bit like a shield — that’s easy to recognize.

Stink bugs are usually brown, although they may also have white, black, gray or blue markings. You might also recognize stink bugs from alternating light and dark bands on their antennae and sides.

So what’s so stinky about stink bugs? As it turns out, they have stink glands on the underside of their bodies, between their first and second pair of legs. These glands will release an odor as a defense mechanism when the stink bug feels threatened, is injured, or is handled or moved – similar to how the skunk defends itself.

The odor comes from a chemical released by the stink glands. Scientists have identified the odor as coming from trans-2-decenal and trans-2-Octenal. Many people believe the smell is like a very strong version of cilantro, which is a plant often used in Italian cuisine.

Besides stinking, stink bugs also pose big problems for farmers. While some insects – such as bees and the praying mantis – are helpful to farmers, stink bugs regularly cause great damage to fruit and vegetable crops. For example, brown marmorated stink bugs feed on a wide variety of fruits and vegetable crops, including apples, cherries, peaches, raspberries, pears, green beans, and soybeans.

When growing season is over, stink bugs often invade nearby homes. As the fall nights turn cool, stink bugs look for shelter in warm areas. When they get inside a house, they will usually hibernate to survive the winter.

What kinds of mail do you get in your mailbox at home? Does your family subscribe to any newspapers or magazines? Maybe you get lots of bills and advertisements, too.

But what about correspondence from friends or relatives? On your birthday, do you get birthday cards in the mail? How about get-well cards when you’ve been ill?

Have you ever thought about how those pieces of mail get from their senders to your mailbox? When you stop to think about it, it’s really incredible how so much mail can go so many different places in such a short time.

The process starts when the United States Postal Service takes possession of a piece of mail. This can happen when you put a letter in your mailbox to be delivered to someone else. You can also drop a letter in a drop box or give it to an employee at a local post office.

After someone verifies that the letter or package has the correct amount of postage on it, it is then sorted for shipment. The U.S. Postal Service uses advanced technology to scan mail for zip codes. Using this information, bar codes are then printed onto pieces of mail that can be read by routers that separate mail into different areas for further sorting and shipment.

Depending upon how far the piece of mail is traveling, it may need to be sorted and re-routed several times. It may end up on huge trucks or even airplanes. Eventually, it will reach a regional and finally a local post office, where it will be sorted and routed for delivery to a particular address.

Although much of the work is done by advanced computer systems, the final piece of the puzzle — delivery to a specific mailbox — is still done by hand by a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier. And they carry a lot of mail! Over 700,000 U.S. Postal Service employees work hard to make sure that over 200 billion pieces of mail get delivered every year!

All of those things are important parts of the experience of the Hawaiian Islands. But there’s another food that is popular there that you might not know much about. What are we talking about? Poi, of course!

Although some people think poi looks — and tastes! — a bit like wallpaper paste, it’s actually the go-to starch for many Hawaiians. Made from the potato-shaped, bulbous underground part of the taro plant, poi is uniquely Hawaiian. Taro is grown all around the world, but only Hawaiians make poi out of it.

To make poi, you need to cook, mash, and ferment the taro roots. The taste of the poi depends upon how long it is left to ferment. Fresh poi is sometimes called “sweet poi,” whereas poi that has fermented several days is often called “sour poi.”

Poi can be made in various different consistencies, too. Poi connoisseurs refer to poi’s consistency by giving it a title that reflects how many fingers it takes to dip and carry the poi to the mouth. That’s right. Poi is one of those foods that’s perfectly fine to eat with your fingers. Thus, poi might be one-, two- or three-finger poi!

For some, poi is an acquired taste. Many Hawaiians, though, love it and eat it often. It’s also known for various health benefits. Some people who cannot tolerate many foods can eat a diet consisting mainly of poi. Many Hawaiian babies eat poi as their first solid food.

Poi is a starch that is low in fat and protein. It contains several important vitamins, including vitamin B, phosphorous, and calcium. It’s also low in calories — even lower than rice!

While poi used to be made mainly by hand, today it’s manufactured on a large scale by machines. A modern stainless steel poi mill can make 1,000 pounds of poi every six minutes! Now that’s a lot of poi!

Poi can be found in Hawaiian grocery stores in plastic tubs that resemble cottage cheese containers. It’s also available in smaller squeeze tubes that make it into a great on-the-go snack.

Of course, if you swim on a sports team, the water might not seem quite as refreshing as when you’re just having fun. When you’re swimming laps or racing other swimmers, swimming becomes a strenuous form of exercise.

As you swim lap after lap, you might be surprised to find out that you get thirsty. Kind of weird, huh? You’re surrounded by and immersed in water, yet you are parched on the inside. What’s up with that?

What you’re experiencing is dehydration. That’s a big word that simply means your body has lost a lot of water and needs more. But how can your body lose water…when you’re IN the water?

Swimming is tough exercise and your body sweats — in the water — just like it would if you were running or playing another sport. Since you’re in the water, though, you usually don’t notice that you’re sweating. As a result, you may not realize you’re getting dehydrated.

As your body sweats when you swim, you need to replace that water. Your muscles communicate with your brain, which tells you that you’re thirsty and need to drink. Just like a runner that needs water to perform at the highest level, swimmers need to keep hydrated, too.

It may seem strange to get thirsty while you’re surrounded by water, but it makes sense. The body doesn’t absorb water like a sponge. So even though you’re immersed in water, your insides — where you need the water to function — isn’t getting any water from the pool. To fuel your body properly, you need to drink fluids!

Just don’t take a gulp of pool, lake, or ocean water! You can get sick easily by drinking water from those sources. Instead, go to a water fountain, drink bottled water, or use sports drinks like you would in other sports.

Many boats are known for moving at a leisurely pace. For example, barges aren’t known for speed. But they slowly and consistently move large loads of goods from one place to another along the nation’s waterways.

Other boats, though, were definitely made for speed. When you think of going fast, you might naturally think of a race car or an airplane, but boats can move, too!

How fast can a boat go? You might be surprised! Currently, the world record for fastest speed by a boat is 317 miles per hour. That’s right! Over 300 miles per hour…

That record was set in 1978 by Australian Ken Warby in his speedboat called Spirit of Australia. And that speed was an average speed for a closed course. Warby’s maximum speed during his record-setting run was over 350 miles per hour!

With all of the advances in technology the world has seen over the past 30 years, one might WONDER why the record has stood for so long. Part of the reason is that breaking the record is one of the world’s most dangerous pursuits.

Only two official attempts have been made to break the record since 1978. Both attempts ended in boats crashing when they became unstable at speeds approaching 300 miles per hour. Tragically, the drivers of both boats died during these attempts.

The record is still coveted by speedboat racers, though. There are several boats being built and tested today that could one day challenge the record. Unlike gasoline-powered engines that propel most boats you’re familiar with, these futuristic speedboats boast jet engines and space-age composite bodies that make incredible speeds a reality.

If you like egg rolls, then you must like Chinese food. Have you ever eaten at a Chinese restaurant? It can be a delicious and daring experience as you sample foods that you may have never seen before.

But have you ever stopped to WONDER…do people in China eat the types of foods you see in an American Chinese restaurant? In a nutshell, the answer is yes…and no!

Some of the dishes you’ll find on American Chinese restaurant menus are traditional Chinese recipes, while others are purely American creations. For example, have you ever had a fortune cookie for dessert? You won’t find those very often in China! And those egg rolls we mentioned earlier? People in China usually prefer more delicate spring rolls to the deep-fried egg rolls commonly found in American Chinese restaurants.

Likewise, some popular American Chinese dishes, like General Tso’s Chicken, are American creations that appeal to Americans but not necessarily people in China. So what do people in China eat?

China is the most populous nation in the world, with well over a billion people. So it makes sense that you’ll find many different types of food throughout the country. Like the United States, China has different specialties that vary by region. We can make some observations, though, about foods that tend to be popular in many areas.

If you’ve ever eaten in a Chinese restaurant, you’ve probably noticed that rice and noodles are very popular. Guess what? They are in China, too! The people of the Canton province are known to be big rice eaters, while noodles are more popular in northern areas where the climate makes it harder to grow rice.

The Sichuan and Hunan provinces are known for their love of spicy foods that include hot peppers. So dishes like Hunan Pork and Kung Pao Chicken definitely have their roots in real, traditional Chinese recipes.

Most American Chinese restaurants also feature soups. If you’ve ever tried Wonton Soup or Egg Drop Soup, you’ve eaten a dish that would be very commonplace in China.

Many traditional Chinese dishes also feature lots and lots of vegetables. Some popular vegetables in China include green beans, cauliflower, leeks, bean sprouts, bok choy and cabbage. So if you want a real, authentic Chinese meal that people in China would eat, you’d better like your veggies!

Do you have a doorbell at your house? Maybe you live in an apartment and have a bunch of doorbells – and maybe even an intercom – at your entrance. You probably don’t give it much thought, but doorbells make life a lot easier. With a simple push of a button, your friends, neighbors, and even door-to-door salespeople can announce their presence and request entry into your humble abode.

If you have a doorbell at your home, you probably take it for granted. After all, it’s just a simple device, right? You press a button that completes a circuit that triggers a sound. Compared to modern technology, a doorbell may seem a bit boring.

However, it’s the doorbell’s simplicity that makes it such a marvel. These little devices put the scientific principle of electromagnetism into action in a useful — and tuneful! — way.

The heart of a doorbell is an electromagnet. Electromagnets are coils of wire wrapped around a small piece of magnetic metal. When electricity passes through the wire, it creates a magnetic field around the wire.

When you press a doorbell button, you complete an electrical circuit that allows household electricity to flow through the doorbell’s internal electromagnet. The magnetic field generated by the electromagnet is then used to power a mechanism that creates the doorbell sound.

Doorbells are low-voltage devices. This means they require relatively little energy to operate. An important part of a doorbell mechanism is the transformer. The transformer converts regular 120-volt household current to the lower voltage (usually somewhere between 6-16 volts) required by the doorbell.

A simple chime doorbell uses the magnetic field created by the electromagnet to move a magnetic piston to strike two tone bars. This makes that “ding dong” sound you’ve probably heard many times.

The simplest type of doorbell is the buzzer. In a buzzer doorbell, the electromagnet operates a self-interrupting circuit. When the button is pressed, the circuit closes and the electromagnet moves a contact arm. When the contact arm moves, it interrupts the circuit and the electromagnet stops. When it stops, the contact arms falls back into position, completing the circuit and starting the process over again.

This cycle repeats quickly over and over again as long as the button of the doorbell is held down. The sound of the contact arm hitting the electromagnet multiple times every second creates the buzzing noise you hear as the doorbell.

Today, electronic doorbells are becoming more popular. Electronic doorbells don’t have electromagnets or tone bars. When you press the button of an electronic doorbell, a special circuit — called an integrated circuit — is triggered that in turn causes a recorded digital sound to play.

Squirrel:        Hey! Look at that turtle swimming in the water over there.

Badger:          You mean the tortoise sunbathing on the shoreline?

Moose:           No, I think he means that terrapin doing the backstroke.

Squirrel:        You guys are nuts!

Turtles? Tortoises? Terrapins? What’s going on here? Are these completely different animals or do the squirrel, badger, and moose just using nicknames for the same animal?

Turtle, tortoise, and terrapin are all names for the hard-shelled, egg-laying reptiles in the taxonomic order Chelonia. Basically, they’re all turtles. The exact name used for a particular type of turtle, though, can vary depending upon where they live or where YOU live.

People in different parts of the world use different names depending upon the specific type of turtle they’re talking about. For example, the name “turtle” is used most widely and usually refers to those turtles that spend most of their lives in or near the water.

Turtle is often used to refer to sea turtles that rarely leave the ocean. Of course, turtle can also refer to the many types of turtles that live in fresh water, such as lakes or ponds.

The word “tortoise,” on the other hand, is usually used to refer to turtles that spend most of their time on land, eating shrubs and grasses. Unlike their aquatic relatives, tortoises don’t have webbed feet, since they don’t spend much, if any, time in the water.

So what about “terrapins”? Terrapins are turtles that spend time both on land and in brackish, swampy water. The word “terrapin” comes from an Algonquian Indian word meaning “a little turtle.”

Of course, these are all just generalizations and, depending upon where you live, these terms may be interchanged or used in different ways. Do you know what these animals are called where you live? If not, ask around. You might be surprised to learn what words different people use for different types of turtles!