Each year about four hundred icebergs survive the long journey from Greenland and Baffin Bay and float into the warm waters off the coast of Newfoundland． In April 1912 the steamship Titanic struck one of these icebergs．It sank with a great loss of life．Shortly after，the Ice Patrol was founded to patrol the shipping lane near Newfound－land during the iceberg season． The patrol is carried out by one or two U．S．Coast Guard boats．They locate and chart every iceberg in the waters and the information is radioed to nearby ships．Fourteen nations pay the costs of the patrol service． Icebergs begin to threaten shipping in March．It is in May that the patrol boats are busiest．During that month an average of 130 icebergs must be located and charted．By June the danger is over．

The first true piece of sports equipment that man invented was the ball．

In ancient Egypt，as everywhere，pitching stones was a favorite children's game．But a badly thrown rock could hurt a child．Looking for something less dangerous to throw，the Egyptians made what were probably the first balls． At first balls were made of grass or leaves held together by vines．Later they were made of pieces of animal skin sewed together and stuffed with feathers or hay． Even though the Egyptians were warlike，they found time for peaceful games．Before long they had developed a number of ballgames，each with its own set of rules．Perhaps they played ball more for instruction than for fun．Ball playing was thought of mainly as a way to teach young men the speed and skill they would need for war．

We have just climbed out of a spaceship onto the surface of the moon．Behind us is the ship，half in the sunlight and half in deep shadow．A few miles ahead is a wall of mountains towering against the black sky． And there，as though resting on the mountains，is a great ball of light，beautifully colored in blue and green and brown with a patch of dazzling white at the top．It is our own faraway world——the earth． We take a step and rise like prize jumpers－up，float，and down again．Hopping carefully，we explore the valleys，the sloping crater walls，the shadowy crater floors． Not a sound can be heard——there is no air to carry sound，no wind；there are no smells，no plants，no animals，There is nothing but rock and dust，blinding sunlight and cold black shadows．

The first English window was just a slit in the wall．It was cut long，so that it would let in as much light as possible，and narrow，to keep out the bad weather．However，the slit let in more wind than light．This is why it was called“the wind's eye”．The word window itself comes from two Old Norse words for wind and eye． Before windows were used，the ancient halls and castles of northern Europe and Britain were dark and smoky．Their great rooms were high，with only a hole in the roof to let out the smoke from torches and cooking fires． As time went on，people wanted more light and air in their homes．They made the wind's eyes wider so as to admit air and light．They stretched canvas or tapestry across them to keep out the weather．

Few animals other than monkeys have hand like paws．The monkey，like man，has an opposable thumb——that is，it can place its thumb opposite its other fingers．By pressing its first finger against its thumb a monkey can pick up things as tiny as a flea．Because other animals lack this thumb，it is difficult for them to pick up small things and carry them． The monkey's ability to grasp rice with its paw often leads to its capture．Hunters bait a coconut with a handful of rice，leaving a hole in the shell of the nut．The monkey has no trouble sliding its paw through the hole．But it can't draw the paw out while it is holding a fistful of rice． Since it is often too stupid or greedy to open its hand，the monkey is unable to free itself from this simple trap．

In 1883 a small volcanic island blew up．It was Krakatoa，west of Java in Sunda Strait．Nothing was left alive except one kind of earthworm．Yet in time plants began to grow again．By 1928 many kinds of animals lived on the island． Where did the new life come from？The nearest land was almost twelve miles away．Only a few of the new animals could fly or swim so far．The bugs，flies，and spiders were probably carried by the wind．The lizards and rats may have floated there on pieces of driftwood．Snails could have come on the wind or on floating coconuts or driftwood．Tornadoes and hurricanes may also have picked up creatures and dropped them miles away． These are some examples of“accidental migration”．Such trips have carried many plants and animals to new homes．

Hardtack，hardtack，come again no more！Union soldiers sang this song during the Givil War，and they had reason to complain．Hardtack was a plain flour－and－water biscuit．These biscuits were hard——it sometimes took a strong blow of the fist to break them．Soaking only made them rubbery． Many times the hardtack was not fit to eat．It often became wet or moldy when it was stored．Sometimes it was full of maggots and weevils．When a soldier got a moldy biscuit，he could ask for another．But if he got a wormy one，he had to eat it abtwat or go without． There were a few good things about hardtack．When it was eaten in the dark，no one knew whether it had bugs in it or not And there was always more for any soldier who was really bungry！

Licorice can be used for other things besides candy．Some of the powers of the licorice plant have been known since ancient times．The Egyptians used it to cure sore throats，and an old Chinese story tells how licorice cured a dragon whose throat was sore from breathing fire．The armies of Alexander the Greatcartied licorice root as medicine on all of their campaigns． Modern medicine uses this old knowledge．Many of today's cough sirups contain licorice．It is good for both man and beast，and veterinarians give it to horses，cattle，sheep，dogs and cats． Licorice can put out fires，too．After the sweet juices have been taken out，the waste fiber of the root is used to make a fire——fighting foam．This foam smothers fire by keeping oxygen away from it．A licorice fire extinguisher is sold today．

If George Washington were able to travel back and forth in time，he would feel much more at home in ancient Babylon，3700 years before his time，than in our modern age，200years after he lived． Torches，chairots，and rough streets，like those of Babylon in 2060 B．C．，would not surprise him．He read by candlelight and rode in carriages on unpaved roads．He never saw a building more than four stories high．Electric lights，autos，high－ways，and skyscrapers would amaze him． When Washington was ill，he might have expected to be cut and bled to let out the“bad blood”that was making him sick．He would not know what a modern doctor meant by serums，germs，and allergies． If the Father of His Gountry could visit the United States now，he might think that he had landed on another planet！

A tornado can do a lot of damage The wind of a tornado rushes at great speed around a funnel—shaped cloud．It travels in a path a few hundred feet wide and about twenty－five miles long．As the wind circles counterclockwise，the funnel spirals higher and higher．The force of the wind sucks up water，dirt，and objects，and carries them along with it．It may drop them again many miles away．Houses and huge trees have been drawn into tornado funnels．At sea，ships have been nearly sunk by tornadoes dropping water on them． East of Australia，people talk about a“rain of blood”．This is caused by a tornado picking up red dust and mixing it with water to make red rain．There are even stories abut a rain of fish and frogs caused by a tornado sucking them up and then dropping them．

The hognose snake，sometimes called the puff adder，is one of nature's clowns．Some people think that he is deadly poisonous．Actually，he's just a harmless fellow who spends most of his time huntingtoads． The puff adder gets his name from being a terrific bluffer．He will swell up，hiss，and strike viciously to frighten you away．If that doesn't work，he will flatten out，making his head look like a cobra's． He has one more trick——playing dead．He goes limp，opens his mouth wide，and rolls over on his back so that he couldn't possibly look more dead． Unfortunately，this trick is spoiled by his one—track mind．If you pick him up he lies still．But turn him over and he will thrash about wildly，trying to turn himself belly up again．

In 1542，Alvar Cabeza de Vaca and his small band of soldiers guided their boats down a jungle river．It was the Iguassu，which now marks the boundary between Brazil and Argentina．Never had the explorers seen a river so beautiful． At one point the men heard a strange rumble in the distance．It grew louder as they went on．Puzzled and afraid，they rounded a bend．Directly ahead of them the river vanished，plunging with a roar over the brink of a great chasm． The men fought the swift current and managed to reach shore just in time to keep from being swept over the brink．Then they crept out on the wet rocks and looked into the churning caldron below．They had discovered the greatest waterfall that had ever been seen by white men－the falls of Iguassu．

Astronomers can tell just how hot the surface of the moon gets．The side of the moon toward the sun gets two degrees hotter than boiling water．The night side reaches 243 degrees below zero． In an eclipse，the earth's shadow falls on the moon．Then the moon's temperature may drop 300 degrees in a very short time． A temperature change like this cannot happen on the earth．Why does it happen on the moon？Astronomers think that the surface of the moon is dust．On the earth，rocks store heat from the sun．When the sun goes down，the rocks stay warm．But the dust of the moon cannot store heat．So when the moon gets dark k，the heat escapes quickly．The moon gets very cold．

sea otters off the coast of Californiahave an unusual method of getting food．They dive to the floor of the sea to find the shell－fish they like． When an otter brings a shellfish to the surface of the water，he floats on his back and puts the shellfish on his chest．Then the otter digs the meat out of the shell with his teeth． Sea otters are especially fond of shellfish with a very hard shell．When the otter brings up one of these，he also brings a stone．He puts the stone on his chest，holding the shellfish in his front paws．He takes a wide swing and smashes the hard shell on the stone．Then he has no trouble getting at the meat in the shell．

The small black ants that we see running back and forth in the grass are the same ants that annoy us by coming to our picnics uninvited．They are not trying to make pests of them－selves，but are only doing the housekeeping job they were made for．They are nature's clean－upcrew． One of these ants，scouting in the grass，finds the trail of an injured beetle．In some mysterious way the news spreads．Soon there are two ants，then a few more．Then a dozen or more are running around the beetle．Enough ants will come to put an end to it． When the beetle is dead，the ants carry it away to their underground burrows．The efficient ants leave nothing in the grass but the empty shell．