November 29

Robots Are Here!

Did you know robots have actually been invented? Well, they have! With this type of robot, you could see anywhere without leaving your bed.

This new robot, (invented last year) called the Double, is a phone or tablet on an adjustable stand that’s mounted on motorized wheels. All you need to do is make a video call to the bot from your own phone or tablet, and once you’re connected, the Double will stream its live video surroundings to you. Your own face will pop up on the tablet attached to the Double, and you can move the Double around as well as interact with others around you!

All you need to do is tell the Double to go to the movies or the zoo, you can see everything there live without ever leaving your room! To learn more about the Double, click here. What do you think it would be like to learn from home this way? Or maybe what it would be like to have a Double in the classroom?

Have a great day!

~Sarah

 

November 28

Would You Rather…? Part 1

Have you ever done a would you rather? I think most of us have. It’s a great game to play in the car, or literally anywhere. If you have never played, it’s simple. Someone gives you a choice between 2 scenarios. The scenarios can be funny, disgusting or awesome. It’s up to you! Here is a list I compiled of 15 would you rather’s. Another 15 will be coming out soon in a part 2!

What would you choose?

Neal Jennings via Compfight

  • Would you rather always be 10 minutes late or 20 minutes early?
  • Would you rather be thrown in jail for 4 years for something you didn’t do or do something horrible, never get caught but live in fear of being discovered for the rest of your life?
  • Would you rather the general public think you are a horrible person but your family be very proud of you or your family think you are a horrible person but the general public be very proud of you?
  • Would you rather drink a cup (by cup I mean the measurement) of cat pee everyday for a week or have to wear high heels everyday for 2 weeks?
  • Would you rather be alone for the rest of your life or always be surrounded by annoying people?
  • Would you rather drive a beautiful, sleek sports car that is very unreliable or drive a rattling rust bucket that never broke down?
  • Would you rather be in a pool of marshmallows or M&M’s?
  • Would you rather it rain root beer or snow cotton candy?
  • Would you rather live in a place that is always too hot or always too cold?
  • Would you rather always wear your shoes on the wrong feet or always wear your pants backwards?
  • Would you rather everything you eat be too salty or not salty enough no matter how much salt you add?
  • Would you rather have unlimited sushi or tacos? (Can be any type you want!)
  • Would you rather sweat melted cheese or always smell skunk?
  • Would you rather be the best player on a losing team or the worst player on a winning team? (Can be any sport!)
  • Would you rather sleep in a bed of peanut butter every night or have your air conditioning spit out rather large spiders every 2 hours?

That’s all 15 would you rather’s! Hope you liked them. These are also a great thing to ask friends or family! I love asking my family these, so if you have a good one I didn’t include, I would love to hear it!

Have a great day!

~Sarah

November 27

How to Cross a Piranha-Filled River

Hello people! Have you ever done a Mad Lib? Pretty much, it’s where someone gives you a whole bunch of blanks and the type of word that should fill it in. Once you have filled in all the blanks, (in this case I recommend writing them down), you read the following story and where the blanks are, you insert the word that you used to fill it in! Since you didn’t read the story before you filled in the blanks, it turns into a short, quirky story that probably doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Have fun with it! Just remember, fill in the blanks BEFORE you read the story. If you are like me and you forgot what each type of words means, I’ve included a cheat sheet. (P.S, the story I’ve chosen is online but has been re-written by me to avoid plagiarism.)

Adjective; A describing word, such as blue, small, beautiful.

Noun; A person, place or thing.

Verb; An action. ( i.e. running, cutting, smiling). Does not have to end in -ing.

Interjection; An exclamation! Something you would yell out when you are excited, or happy. (i.e.  Woo! Bazinga! Hallelujah! Cool cheese!)

Plural; More than one. (So, like, instead of “Taco” it would be “Tacos”)

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(1) Adjective          (2) Adjective          (3) Foreign country          (4) Part of body          (5) Adjective

(6) Type of food plural         (7) Same food but not plural          (8) Verb        (9) Noun

(10) Adjective      (11) Article of clothing plural          (12) Verb ending in “ing”          (13) A place

(14) A number

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Saranac Lake - New York - Saranac River - Adirondack State National Park Onasill ~ Bill Badzo via Compfight

How to Cross a Piranha-Filled River

If you have ever heard of a piranha before, you would know that they are very (1)________ and (2)________. They live in the rivers and lakes in (3)——–so here’s how to avoid getting your (4)________ bitten by a particularly (5)________ piranha when trying to cross a river.

Piranhas natural diet are (6)________, so unless you are a (7)________, you won’t catch their attention too quickly unless you (8)________ around.

Shaded or cool areas have more (9)________ flies, one of the piranhas favourite snack, so avoid those areas.

Piranhas are attracted to (10)________ (11)________, so NEVER wear those in the water or near the water.

If you see a (12)________ piranha in the water, get back to the/a (13)________ A.S.A.P. The piranha could be potentially deadly.

Even if you have the smallest cut, NEVER enter the water. Piranhas would be able to smell the wound from (14)________ miles away.

Hopefully, if you are ever crossing a piranha-filled river, this guide comes in handy!

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So that’s a Mad Lib! Hope you liked it, there’s A LOT more where that came from. What words did you use? Have a great day!

~Sarah

 

November 26

5 Animals You Probably Didn’t Know Exist

Did you know that there are so many different species of animals out there scientist don’t even know the exact number? Some are the first animals that come to mind when you think of the word “animal”, like your brother, your sister, cats, dogs, horses or birds. But some are so strange and rare very little people even know they exist! Here is the top 5 weirdest animals I composed.

1.) Portuguese Man O’ War

This animal lives in the ocean and is truly beautiful. It looks very much like a jellyfish, ’cause it looks like a coloured blob of goo with long tentacles. That’s why it’s sometimes called a False Jellyfish. You can find it mostly in the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the Pacific and Indian ocean. The thing is, technically we should call it “Men Of War” and not refer to it at “it” but “they”. Here’s why. It’s an animal that’s made up of a colony of organisms cooperating together! Man Of War has tentacles that could be 30 feet long, which it uses to paralyze and kill fish and other small creatures! A Man Of War, to humans, luckily isn’t deadly but only EXTREMELY painful. The worst thing about it’s venom is that it can stay on beaches for days after the animal has already left!

2.) Blobfish

Don’t let the miserable, scowling, slimy face fool you. The blobfish is a harmless fish found in the deep sea off Australia, Tasmania and even New Zealand. The blobfish has won the contest for World’s Ugliest Animal in 2013. Poor blobfish! There is even quite a few memes, my favourite being a picture of Mr. Blobby (a very photogenic blobfish) with the words saying; “Go home Evolution. You’re drunk! Overall, the blobfish is basically a loose, gelatinous sack.

3.) Venezuelan Poodle Moth

This moth was only discovered in 2009, and doesn’t it look like a tiny, furry poodle?! Mammals need hair or fur to keep their body heat, but insects are cold-blooded, meaning even though the poodle moth looks like it should be in Antarctica with all its poofy hair, it in fact comes from Venezuela, a tropical country. It’s hairs don’t serve for heating! Most insects use hairs for smelling and sensing what is around them in the environment or for protection. Maybe that’s what the poodle moth’s hairs are for as well. Seeing as it was a pretty recent discovery, not much is known about the poodle moth.

4.) Trumpapillar

Trust me when I say I am not joking about the name. The scientific name for this caterpillar is the Flannel Moth caterpillar, but it is also widely known as the Trumpapillar because it looks EXACTLY like Donald Trump lost his hairdo. At least, the yellow ones do. There are a variety of colours. If you were to put this caterpillar on his head, no one would even notice. That’s the main reason why this caterpillar is on this list. The other reason is because the Trumpapillar’s hairs, even though they look like a wig, are extremely painful to the touch because they cause burning and irritation. If you were to look really closely at the hairs under a microscope, you would see tiny little needle-like things covering every single hair. This acts as protection against predators! Unfortunately for Trump, his hairdo lives in the Amazon.

5.) Glass Frogs

Like the name suggests, this frog is completely translucent, which means its almost completely see through, like looking through a fogged window! Glass frogs are found in Central and South America, and this type of frog, like you may guess, is extraordinary at camouflage. Sometimes these frogs have green bones to help blend in with leaves or grass behind them. The coolest thing about this froggy is that you can see it’s heart beating through it’s skin! Also know the following picture is a female glass frog with eggs.

That’s my top 5. If you know about another super-weird animal, or think one of my five is crazy, tell me in the comments!

Have a great day!

~Sarah

November 24

Harry Potter

I think there’s not a SINGLE kid who’s read Harry Potter and hasn’t wanted to go to Hogwarts at some point. If you don’t know what or where that is, you should read Harry Potter. It’s such a good book series.

Anyway, I think all of us who have read that series (or watched the movie, which isn’t half as good) have admired SOMETHING about him. (And if you are a super fan, tried walking into every brick wall at the train station). I’m past 11 and I’m still hoping for that letter of acceptance!

Anyway, here are three successful learner traits that he shows and that we all could work on. Also, be warned. There are spoilers up to the end of the fourth book.

1. Compassion. In every single book (or movie) he has shown his compassion for pretty much everyone except Malfoy and, well, I don’t know, Voldemort. (Not including Dudley.) In the first book he saved Hermione, even though he didn’t like her, from the troll in the girls’ bathroom. In the third book, he spared Peter Pettigrew’s life, even though he killed Harry’s parents. In the fourth book he and Cedric touched the Triwizard cup together instead of only Harry.

2. Risk-Taking. I’m pretty sure we all see the risk-taking in Harry Potter. When he stabbed the Basilisk in the mouth, when he followed Sirius Black (dog version) under the Whomping Willow to save Ron, and many, many other examples.

3. Thinker. We all know Harry Potter doesn’t exactly plan ahead, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be smart. He found out the way to get into the Chamber of Secrets. Also, it takes some real improv thinking to grab a sharp rock on the lake floor to free Ron and Fleur. I mean, he didn’t exactly bring a pair of scissors.

I think Harry Potter shows us all to take risks sometimes. We won’t get anywhere in life if we are afraid to take the next step! He also teaches us to give people second chances, be forgiving, and think on our feet!

If you know anyone with these traits (or other traits too) tell me in the comments!

If you want to see the authors (J.K Rowling’s) official page, click here.

November 7

Kitchen Appliances Unite!

If my toaster went on strike, I could definitely imagine what sort of speech he/she would say in front of all my kitchen appliances. Mistreated, under appreciated… Kitchen appliances need rights!

“No longer will we sit back and simply do what we are told! Unless we have rights, no longer will we toast their bread, bake their dinners and chill their food that needs to be chilled! We need rights! We need to be heard! Today we will make a stand and get sick days, wages and pensions!

“I don’t know about you, but I want to be cleaned twice a week and get thanked for our hard work that has gone unnoticed for too long!
Today we make a stand for worldwide kitchen appliances! Who’s with me?!?”

Closeup shot of the Breville stainless steel toaster oven

Creative Commons License Your Best Digs via Compfight

If your kitchen was going into a strike, what do you think your appliances would say?