Is that a cloud or something from outer space? Find out today in Wonderopolis!

Have you ever wondered…

• What is a lenticular cloud?
• What are some other nicknames for lenticular clouds?
• How do lenticular clouds form?

Did you know?
What’s that strange sight high up there in the sky? It doesn’t look like a bird. Could it be an airplane? Maybe it’s a UFO! Nope! None of the above — it’s just a cloud.

It might not just be any type of cloud, though. If it looks a bit like an unidentified flying object, chances are it’s a special type of cloud called a lenticular cloud.

Lenticular clouds get their name from the fact that they’re shaped like a lens or a saucer. This is why they’re also sometimes called “flying saucer clouds” and sometimes mistaken for UFOs. Some other nicknames for lenticular clouds include “cloudships,” “clouds of heaven” and “lennies.” They also have a fancy scientific name: Altocumulus lenticularis.

Although lenticular clouds may look like they’re from outer space, they’re actually just the result of normal earthly scientific processes. Lenticular clouds are stationary clouds that form at high altitudes in the sky. They’re usually aligned at a right angle (perpendicular) to the direction of the wind.

For example, when stable humid air blows over the top of a mountain range, it often forms a group of big waves on the downwind side of the mountain range. If the temperature is low enough on the downwind side, the moisture in the air will condense to form uniquely-shaped clouds we know as lenticular clouds.

If the conditions are right, these groups of wave after wave of lenticular clouds can form what scientists call a “wave cloud.” Lenticular clouds are also unique in that sometimes you may see bright colors — what scientists call irisation — along the edges of the clouds. This can give them a definite outer space feeling!

Airplane pilots will usually try to avoid flying near lenticular clouds. The waves of air that form the clouds can cause turbulence, which means riding in an airplane near lenticular clouds can be a bouncy, scary experience.

People that fly gliders, however, love lenticular clouds. The same air currents that can make flying in an airplane scary allow gliders to sail to great heights and long distances.

Try it out!

Ready to make your own cloud? That’s right! You can make your very own cloud with nothing more than some warm water, an empty two-liter bottle and some matches.

You will want to get an adult’s help with this fun science experiment. For step-by-step instructions, just jump online and check out the Cloud in a Bottle experiment.

If you can, take some pictures of your cloud in a bottle. Feel free to post them on Facebook to share with your Wonder Friends. Good luck and have fun!

Wonder words to know and use:

• lenticular
• wispy
• nickname
• unidentified
• saucer
• stationary
• perpendicular
• irisation
• turbulence

Still wondering?

Use ReadWriteThink’s Lonely as a Cloud: Using Poetry to Understand Similes lesson to identify similes in poetry and gain experience in using similes as a poetic device in your own work.

Wonder what’s next?

Brace yourself! Tomorrow’s Wonder of the Day may make you smile.

Join us in Wonderopolis today, Wonder Friends, as we wonder about mice and men!

Have you ever wondered…

• Who got his start in Steamboat Willie?
• Who created Mickey Mouse?
• Who gave Mickey Mouse his unique voice?

Did you know?
Today’s Wonder of the Day stars a black mouse. He can talk, sing and dance. You’ll usually find him wearing red shorts with two large buttons in the front, big yellow shoes and white gloves. Who are we talking about? Mickey Mouse, of course!

Would you believe that Mickey Mouse is over 80 years old? It’s true! He was created by two great wonderers — Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks — at The Walt Disney Studio in 1928. Since he’s a cartoon character, he looks as young today as he always has!

Mickey Mouse made his debut in November 1928 in an animated cartoon called Steamboat Willie. Since that time, Mickey Mouse has become one of the most famous and easily-recognizable cartoon characters around the world.

Since 1928, Mickey Mouse has starred in over 130 films. Most of them were short films, although a few of them have been full-length feature films. Mickey Mouse’s Lend a Paw won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1942. In recognition of Mickey Mouse’s popularity, he became the first cartoon character to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1978.

Mickey Mouse was a star in more than just films, though. Since 1930, he has been featured in comic strips, comic books, television shows, video games, theme park rides and more merchandise than you could imagine!

We wonder if he would’ve been as popular if his name hadn’t been changed, though. Walt Disney originally wanted to name him Mortimer Mouse. Disney’s wife, Lillian, convinced him to change it and that’s how Mickey Mouse came to be.

Today, you can usually find Mickey hanging out with his girlfriend, Minnie Mouse, his pet dog, Pluto, and friends like Donald Duck and Goofy. Do you have a favorite Mickey Mouse cartoon or movie? There are many to choose from. A lot of people consider Fantasia to be one of their favorites!

In addition to Mickey Mouse’s signature circular ears, one of the most unique things about Mickey Mouse is his shy, high, squeaky voice. Walt Disney himself was the voice of Mickey Mouse up until the mid-1940s. When he got to be too busy running The Walt Disney Studio to voice Mickey Mouse, he handed over Mickey’s voice duties to actor Jimmy MacDonald.

Try it out!

Ready to have some fun that’s all about Mickey Mouse? Just jump online to check out tons of cool games, activities and crafts at the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and the Disney Mickey Mouse page.

Have you ever met Mickey Mouse in person before? If you’ve ever been to Disneyland or Walt Disney World, you may have gotten to meet Mickey and even shake his hand. If you have, be sure to tell your Wonder Friends all about it. Post a comment or a picture of you with Mickey on Facebook!

Wonder words to know and use:

• steamboat
• unique
• cartoon
• character
• debut
• animated
• recognizable
• popularity
• circular
• squeaky

Still wondering?

Check out ArtsEdge’s Disney Musicals video to learn more about how Walt Disney exported the musical to cartoons in the 1930s and returned it to Broadway in the 1990s.

Wonder what’s next?

Tomorrow’s wispy Wonder of the Day is way up high in the sky!

Grab your gloves! We’re working in the Wonderopolis garden today!

Have you ever wondered…

• How do seeds sprout?
• What is germination?
• What three things do plants need to survive?

Did you know?
Have you ever planted a seed and watched it grow? Maybe you’ve just noticed plants and beautiful flowers magically spring from the ground now and then. Let’s head over to the Wonderopolis garden and take a closer look at what’s going on underground!

All the plants around you start life as a seed. Without seeds, there would be no plants and Earth would be a barren place that would not support the many forms of life that surround us every day.

Seeds are usually fairly small. Some are even tiny. Despite their small size, though, seeds contain food and all the instructions necessary to sprout to life as a plant.

When seeds are planted, they first grow roots. Once these roots take hold, a small plant will begin to emerge and eventually break through the soil. When this happens, we say that the seed has sprouted. The scientific name for this process is germination.

As the plant grows and begins to make its own food from nutrients it takes from the soil, it will grow into a larger plant. The seed itself is like a survival package. It contains the food the seed needs while it is growing roots and forming into a small plant.

The three things plants need to grow are light, food and water. Light, whether from the Sun or an artificial light source (like a light bulb), gives the small plant the energy it needs to begin photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the process the plant uses to convert light energy into food.

Like all living things, plants need water. Once a seed sends out roots, these roots will deliver water from the soil to the plant. As the plant grows and needs more water, roots will grow longer and stretch farther to find the necessary water in the soil.

When you get dry seeds at a gardening store, the seeds are dormant, which means they’re inactive. All it usually takes to wake them up, though, is just to add water. Whether you plant them in moist soil or simply wrap them in a moist paper towel, they will begin to come to life.

Amazingly, scientists still don’t fully understand what all happens inside of a seed as it comes to life. As the seed soaks up water, its food stored inside begins to be converted into energy in the form of enzymes. These enzymes start the process of sending out roots and sprouting the first parts of the plant. Exactly how all this works is still a bit of a mystery, but it is fascinating to watch whether you’re a child or an adult!

Try it out!

Ready to watch some seeds sprout right before your eyes? You don’t need a garden or a lot of space. All you need are some seeds, some soil, a container…and a little patience.

For easy-to-follow instructions and helpful tips, just jump online to check out Plant Seeds & Watch Them Grow. You’ll want to ask an adult for permission and help on this project. If you can, take plenty of pictures, so you can look back and keep track of your seeds’ growth.

When you’re finished, share your experience with other Wonder Friends by posting comments and pictures on Facebook. We can’t wait to see what your seeds turn into!

Wonder words to know and use:

• sprout
• germination
• magically
• barren
• emerge
• nutrients
• photosynthesis
• dormant
• enzyme

Still wondering?

Check out Science NetLinks’ Look at Those Seeds Grow! lesson to learn about the basic parts of seeds and what they need to grow into a plant.

Wonder what’s next?

Join us tomorrow in Wonderopolis to learn about a famous Mickey who got his start on a steamboat!

Wonderopolis has a special treat today for you and your mom!

Have you ever wondered…

• How many ways can you say mom?
• Why do some languages have many words for the same thing?
• Can you learn to say mom in a foreign language?

Did you know?
Wonderopolis would like to wish all the moms out there a WONDERful Mother’s Day! Every year on the second Sunday in May, we set aside time to show our appreciation for our mothers on Mother’s Day.

Do you have the greatest mom in the world? Many children will proudly lift their hands and shout “Yes!” in response to that question. Moms are important influences in our lives and are special in so many ways.

What are some of your favorite things about your mom? Her unconditional love for you? The care and protection she gives you? The special cookies she bakes? Although all moms are different, they’re important in the lives of so many children.

Have you ever noticed that, in many languages, the most important concepts have multiple words attached to them? For example, the Sami people who live above the Arctic Circle in the northernmost regions of Sweden, Norway, Finland and Russia have hundreds of words for snow.

Where they live, snow is all around them at all times. Snow is an integral part of their day-to-day lives. As a result, they have developed all sorts of special words for different versions and variations of snow.

The same is true for the concept of a mother in the English language. What do you call your mother? Mom? Something else?

You may hear mothers referred to by different words from time to time. Some examples include mom, mum, mummy, mam, mammy, mother, motha, mommy, momma, ma, madre, mama and even maw. Do you use any of these names for your mom? Do you use another word not listed here?

All these different versions of mother just show us how important mothers are to our culture. For some, “mother” may seem too formal. Instead, the woman who makes you pancakes on Saturday morning needs a more informal word like “mommy” to capture what she means to you.

If you want to surprise your mom, your mommy or your mama this Mother’s Day, learn how to say mom in a foreign language. Here are some foreign languages from around the world and their word or words for mom:

• Arabic: Ahm
• Bosnian: Majka
• Brazilian Portuguese: Mãe
• Czech: Abatyse
• Danish: Mor
• Dutch: Moeder or Moer
• French: Mère or Maman
• German: Mutter
• Greek: Màna
• Italian: Madre or Mamma
• Japanese: Okaasan or Haha
• Norwegian: Madre
• Polish: Matka or Mama
• Russian: Mat’
• Spanish: Madre or Mamá or Mami
• Swahili: Mama or Mzazi or Mzaa
• Swedish: Mamma or Mor or Morsa

Try it out!

Ready to make a Mother’s Day gift that will knock your mom’s socks off? Grab a pen and some paper. That’s all you’ll need. You’re going to write her a letter.

A letter? That’s right! Nothing quite touches a mom’s heart like a letter from a child. The things you write will be cherished for years to come. We guarantee it!

Your letter can be to your mom, your stepmom or even a close relative who you look up to like a mother. In your letter, share some of your favorite memories of time spent with her.

Was it that time you made cookies together? Or was it a special nature walk you took together? Maybe it’s just the special time you spend together shopping or running errands.

Whatever those special times are, let her know how important they are to you. Use your words to let her know how much you care about and appreciate her.

If you want to let your Wonder Friends know how special she is, feel free to share your letter by posting it on Facebook. We can’t wait to read about those special memories!

Wonder words to know and use:

• language
• foreign
• appreciation
• proudly
• influence
• unconditional
• protection
• multiple
• integral
• variation
• capture
• guarantee

Still wondering?

One of our favorite mothers is Mother Goose! Check out ReadWriteThink’s Acting Out with Mother Goose project to create a script and make costumes and props for your very own Mother Goose story!

Wonder what’s next?

We hope tomorrow’s Wonder of the Day plants a seed that will sprout into lots of fun!

Brrr! Wear something warm today. Wonderopolis is heading for the cold, hard tundra!

Have you ever wondered…

• Where can you find tundra?
• What is permafrost?
• What kinds of animals live on the tundra?

Did you know?
What is the landscape like where you live? Are there warm, grassy plains? Dense forests? Tall mountains? Maybe tropical jungles?

Or do you live in a cold, harsh, treeless climate? If so, you might live on or near the tundra. Tundra areas are some of the world’s toughest places to live and survive.

Tundra lands have very cold, windy and dry climates. They are mainly treeless, as very few plants can grow in their cold temperatures and short growing seasons. The average temperature in tundra regions varies from around as low as -50° F in winter to as high as 10-20° F in summer. The vegetation on the tundra is mainly limited to small shrubs, grasses, mosses and lichens.

There are three main types of tundra lands, based upon where they are found. Arctic tundra is found near the Arctic Circle and includes the northernmost portions of Russia and Canada. Alpine tundra regions can be found in areas of the world with tall mountain ranges. Antarctic tundra can be found in Antarctica.

For most of the year, tundra lands are covered in snow. In fact, tundra lands feature a layer called permafrost, which is made up of frozen soil and dead plants that can extend over 1,000 feet below the surface of the ground. This layer often stays frozen all year long.

In some warmer areas, though, the top layer of tundra may melt during the summer. When it does, bogs and small lakes form, attracting all sorts of wildlife. Wildflowers may also burst into bloom, temporarily transforming the frozen tundra into a beautiful landscape.

These temporary wetland areas also attract insects, which in turn attract migratory birds. There are also several other animals that call the tundra home. Some common tundra animals include mountain goats, Arctic foxes, polar bears, gray wolves, caribou and musk oxen. These animals usually have developed special ways of surviving in the cold, dry tundra conditions.

As difficult as it is for plants and animals to survive in the tundra, it’s even harder for human beings. There are very few people who live on or near the tundra. Some indigenous peoples in the Arctic regions will hunt on the tundra. In addition, mineral resources, like oil and ores, have been found in the tundra, but the tundra’s climate usually makes it too difficult to find and mine these resources.

Try it out!

Want to teach friends and family members more about tundra? If you have a shoebox, some dirt and a few other easy-to-find supplies, you can make your own homemade tundra project at home.

For a complete list of materials you’ll need and detailed instructions, just jump online to check out How to Make a Tundra Project. You might need an adult’s help, so be sure to ask for assistance if you need it.

When you’re finished with your project, post a picture of it on Facebook. We can’t wait to see how it turns out!

Wonder words to know and use:

• tundra
• permafrost
• landscape
• dense
• tropical
• harsh
• climate
• mosses
• lichens
• bog
• burst
• temporarily
• transforming
• wetland
• migratory
• indigenous

Still wondering?

Explore Science NetLinks’ Biomes of the World resource to learn about the climate, plants and animals found in rainforest, tundra, taiga, desert, temperate and grassland biomes.

Wonder what’s next?

Make sure you check out tomorrow’s Wonder of the Day and be sure to share it with your mom!

You might want a glass of milk to go along with today’s tasty Wonder of the Day!

Have you ever wondered…

• Why do donuts have holes?
• Who invented the donut hole?
• Where do donut holes come from?

Did you know?
We were in the Wonderopolis kitchen making breakfast the other day when we heard the toast and the cereal telling jokes.

Toast: Hey cereal! Why did the donut have to go to the dentist?

Cereal: I have no idea. Why?

Toast: Because it needed a chocolate filling!

Cereal: Ay yi yi. You must have forgotten your butter, because that was really dry!

OK…so breakfast food humor might not be all it’s cracked up to be. But we bet you wouldn’t mind a donut, would you, especially if it had chocolate filling?

Donuts — sometimes spelled doughnuts — are tasty treats made from fried dough. They come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and flavors. Do you have a favorite type of donut?

Probably the most popular and familiar type of donut is the classic ring-shaped donut with a hole in the middle. Although these basic donuts can come in many different flavors with all sorts of different toppings, the most common type features a basic sugar glaze coating.

Many children are fascinated by the hole in the middle of the donut. Why is it there? What purpose does it serve?

There are a couple of common theories about the origin of the donut’s hole. One of the most popular credits American seafarer Hanson Gregory with inventing the donut’s hole in 1847 while aboard a lime-trading ship. He was just 16 years old at the time.

As the story goes, Gregory wasn’t happy with the doughy consistency of the fried cakes served on the ship. Although the outsides and the edges were crisp, the centers of the donuts were always greasy and doughy.

Gregory suggested punching a hole in the middle of the fried cakes, so that the insides of the cakes would cook as evenly as the outsides. Experts believe that this reason makes sense, because of the way that donuts are cooked.

When dough is placed in a fryer, the outsides and edges will cook quickly, because they’re exposed to the hot oil. To fully cook the insides of the dough, the dough would have to stay in the oil for a longer time, which would lead to the outsides becoming burnt.

Punching a hole in the middle of the dough, however, allows the insides and the outsides to cook evenly, creating a perfect donut. There may be another reason for the holes in donuts, though.

Donuts became popular in America around the same time bagels were becoming popular. Bakers and street vendors would often sell bagels stacked on long sticks or strung on a long rope. Some people believe that the holes in donuts allowed them to be sold in a similar way.

So what happens to all those donut holes that are cut out of the dough? Many people believe that those pieces of cut-out dough are what are used to make donut holes, which are those little round donut pieces that so many kids love to eat with milk.

In truth, though, many donuts with holes don’t actually have any dough cut out of them to make their shape. Instead, special machines spray dough into a fryer in a circular pattern. The donut holes you buy at the bakery or grocery store are usually made out of dough simply cut into small squares!

Try it out!

We don’t know about you, but today’s Wonder made us hungry! Hungry for what? Donuts, of course!

If you have a donut shop near where you live, you could ask an adult to drive you there for a sweet treat. Or you could also check out your local grocery store, since it probably has donuts, too.

If you’re feeling up for a little kitchen adventure, you could try making your own homemade donuts instead. Jump online to check out How To Make Delicious Homemade Donuts for recipes and easy-to-follow directions!

Do you have a favorite kind of donut? Tell us what it is! Post your thoughts on Facebook and see what types of donuts other Wonder Friends like.

Wonder words to know and use:

• donut
• humor
• doughnut
• glazed
• coating
• theories
• seafarer
• credits
• consistency
• greasy

Still wondering?

Check out ReadWriteThink’s Delicious Summer Treats audio podcast to explore a number of ways to read and write recipes and have fun with food!

Wonder what’s next?

Wear your boots! Tomorrow’s Wonder of the Day will have you walking over cold, hard ground.

Put that cookie down and step away from the jar. Wonderopolis caught you red-handed!

Have you ever wondered…

• Have you ever been caught red-handed?
• What is evidence?
• Can you write a persuasive letter?

Did you know?
Have you ever gotten home from school and really needed an after-school snack to give you enough energy to do your homework? You know your parents would want you to have a piece of fruit, but the chocolate chip cookies in the cookie jar are too tempting.

Just as you sneak your hand into the cookie jar to grab hold of a delicious cookie, you hear the voice behind you asking you what you’re doing. Bam! You were caught in the act of sneaking the cookie. In fact, many people would say you were caught red-handed.

But what does that mean exactly? If you look at your hand, it might have cookie crumbs or pieces of chocolate on it, but it’s not red! Why would someone say you were caught red-handed then?

To be caught red-handed means that you were caught in the act of doing something wrong, with clear evidence for all to see. Evidence is proof that can be shown to establish that you committed the wrong deed.

For example, let’s say you grabbed a cookie and ate it before anyone saw you. If your parents knew there were 12 cookies in the jar to start with and there are now only 11 cookies in the jar, they might have good reason to suspect you ate a cookie. However, without seeing you take and eat the cookie, they would have no evidence to rely upon to support their suspicion. Anyone could have taken that cookie.

When you’re caught in the act of taking the cookie, however, the evidence is there for all to see. The cookie is in your hand and your hand is in the jar. Case closed! You’re guilty.

The phrase “caught red-handed” reflects this idea of being caught in the act with evidence for all to see. Although its origins aren’t completely clear, it appears to have developed in the 1400s in Scotland as a reference to poachers.

If you killed an animal on another person’s land and were caught with the blood of that animal on your hands, it was clear you were guilty and had been caught “red-handed.” Over time, the phrase became popular in the general context of being caught in the act of wrongdoing. It was popularized for the first time in Sir Walter Scott’s novel Ivanhoe in 1819.

Try it out!

Have you ever been caught red-handed sneaking a forbidden snack? If you have, you probably felt embarrassed for failing to ask permission first.

Is there something that you’ve been thinking you’d like to have lately? It could be a snack or a new bike or even a laptop. Whatever it is, seek permission from your parents by writing them a persuasive letter.

In a persuasive letter, you set forth what you want and then provide supporting details and arguments that attempt to convince the reader to agree with you. In this case, the reader is a parent. What can you say to convince your parents that you deserve what you seek?

Of course, the most persuasive letters anticipate possible objections and try to rebut them in advance. For example, if your parents would likely object to a new laptop because of how much it costs, you might want to address that issue upfront. Perhaps you could do extra chores or find a way to help raise the money to pay for what you want.

We wish you luck in your persuasive efforts! If you’d like to share your persuasive letter with your Wonder Friends, post it on Facebook. We can’t wait to read what you write!

Wonder words to know and use: caught

• red-handed
• evidence
• persuasive
• delicious
• proof
• suspicion
• establish
• guilty
• poacher
• context
• embarrassed
• supporting
• convince
• rebut

Still wondering?

Internet criminals might be hard to catch red-handed. Check out Thinkfinity’s Staying Safe and Secure in a Digital World video to learn more about how to avoid exposure to digital threats like computer viruses, data and identity theft and hacking.

Wonder what’s next?

We think tomorrow’s Wonder of the Day is going to be a HOLE lot of fun!

Plug into today’s Wonder of the Day and get charged up to learn!

Have you ever wondered…

• Who discovered electricity?
• Did ancient people know about electricity?
• What ideas about electricity did Benjamin Franklin develop?

Did you know?
Do you rely on electricity like you do food and water? What would life be like without electricity to power your favorite video games, television shows, telephones and even the lights you read by at night?

Just think…without electricity, you wouldn’t be able to enjoy your daily Wonder of the Day! What a horrible thought! But don’t worry. Electricity does exist and it allows us to enjoy life in so many ways.

Since electricity is a natural force that exists in our world, it didn’t have to be invented. It did, however, have to be discovered and understood. Most people give credit to Benjamin Franklin for discovering electricity.

Benjamin Franklin had one of the greatest scientific minds of his time. He was interested in many areas of science, made many discoveries and invented many things, including bifocal glasses. In the mid-1700s, he became interested in electricity.

Up until that time, scientists had mainly known about and experimented with static electricity. Benjamin Franklin took things a big step ahead. He came up with the idea that electricity had positive and negative elements and that electricity flowed between these elements. He also believed that lightning was a form of this flowing electricity.

In 1752, Franklin conducted his famous kite experiment. In order to show that lightning was electricity, he flew a kite during a thunderstorm. He tied a metal key to the kite string to conduct the electricity.

Just as he thought, electricity from the storm clouds transferred to the kite and electricity flowed down the string and gave him a shock. He’s lucky that he didn’t get hurt, but he didn’t mind the shock since it proved his idea.

Building upon Franklin’s work, many other scientists studied electricity and began to understand more about how it works. For example, in 1879, Thomas Edison invented the electric light bulb and our world has been brighter ever since!

But was Benjamin Franklin really the first person to discover electricity? Maybe not! In 1936, a clay pot was discovered that suggests that the first batteries may have been invented over 2,000 years ago. The clay pot contained copper plates, tin alloy and an iron rod.

It could have been used to create an electric current by filling it with an acidic solution, like vinegar. No one knows what the device was used for, but it sheds some light on the fact that people may have been learning about electricity long before Benjamin Franklin!

Try it out!

Do you take electricity for granted? It’s OK if you do. Most of us do from time to time. We get so used to flipping the light switch and seeing the lights come on, that we forget how much we rely on electricity until the power goes out.

Take some time today to think about how much of a role electricity plays in your daily life. From the time you get up until the time you go to bed, think about all the ways you rely on electricity. From lights to see by to alarm clocks to wake you up to refrigerators to keep your food cool, electricity plays a critical role all throughout the day.

Depending upon where you live, electricity might be generated in a number of different ways. Many of these ways use natural resources, such as coal, to create the power we use. Since most natural resources are scarce and not easy to replace, we need to be careful about how much electricity we use.

Jump online to check out How You Can Save Energy to read about some easy ways that you can help save electricity. You might be surprised by how much electricity you can save by making easy, simple changes to your daily routine.

If you want to try a fun electricity experiment, try to make your own Homemade Battery using a lemon, a penny and a dime. Have fun and make sure you get an adult to help you!

Wonder words to know and use:

• discovered
• electricity
• shocking
• ancient
• develop
• natural
• scientific
• bifocal
• static
• positive
• negative
• lightning
• conduct
• transferred
• copper
• tin
• alloy
• acidic
• vinegar

Still wondering?

Check out Science NetLinks’ Kilo-What? lesson for an introduction to electricity and power.

Wonder what’s next?

We hope your friends catch you in the act of checking out tomorrow’s new Wonder of the Day!

Watch out! Today’s Wonder of the Day may have you on pins and needles!

Have you ever wondered…

• Why does my foot fall asleep?
• What do your nerves do?
• What is paresthesia?

Did you know?
You know the feeling. You’ve been sitting doing your homework for half an hour or so, one leg tucked underneath you. You get thirsty and jump up to grab a drink of water. As soon as your foot hits the ground, though…ugh! It feels like you’re walking on pins and needles.

What’s wrong? Your foot has fallen asleep! Was your homework that boring? Or did your foot not get a good night’s sleep last night? What’s the deal?

Some people believe that paresthesia — the heavy, dull, tingling, burning or “weird” pins and needles feeling when your foot falls asleep — is caused by not enough blood circulating to your foot. In reality, though, your foot falling asleep has more to do with your nerves.

Nerves are like tiny wires that run throughout your body. Like the electric wires throughout your house that carry electricity to outlets, your nerves carry messages back and forth between the many parts of your body and your brain.

If you sit on your foot long enough, you compress the nerves in that area. Of course, this can happen to other parts of your body, too. People might experience legs, arms and hands that fall asleep from time to time.

When you compress the nerves in a certain area, communication from that part of the body to the brain is disrupted temporarily. As a result, that part of your body doesn’t feel anything because it’s not communicating with your brain.

If you also happen to be compressing arteries in that area, blood flow to your nerves may be reduced, too. This can contribute to the miscommunication with the brain.

When you change position, the nerves begin to return to normal and start communicating again. While those connections with the brain are being established again, you feel some weird sensations. They usually don’t hurt, though, and they don’t last very long.

Everyone experiences these feelings from time to time, and they’re completely normal. They don’t hurt your body, but they sure can feel really strange for a short time until your brain and your body start “talking” again!

Try it out!

So your foot falls asleep…big deal! Let it sleep. Put a pillow under it and throw a blanket on it. Let it snooze the day away.

Now that your foot is asleep, let your imagination wander. What might your foot be dreaming about? Can you write a short story or draw a picture of what a foot dream might look like?

Be as creative as you want. Does your foot dream of new socks? Maybe a new pair of shoes? Or does it want to run free and uncovered along a sandy seashore?

Maybe your foot dreams of climbing a mountain. Or maybe it wants to be a hero by kicking the winning goal at the next World Cup!

Keep your feet on the ground…or in bed…but let your mind reach for the stars. Be sure to share your story or your artwork with your other Wonder Friends on Facebook. We can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Wonder words to know and use:

• nerve
• paresthesia
• tingling
• circulating
• compress
• communicating
• arteries
• sensation

Still wondering?

Want to learn more about an animal that sleeps A LOT each winter? Check out ReadWriteThink’s Facts About Brown Bears information sheet to learn more about brown bears (grizzly bears), including their habitat, eating habits and hibernation.

Wonder what’s next?

Be sure to visit Wonderopolis tomorrow for an all-new and SHOCKING Wonder of the Day!

It’s play time today in Wonderopolis! Are you ready to get crafty?

Have you ever wondered…

• Who invented play dough?
• What is play dough made of?
• What was play dough originally used for?

Did you know?
Do you love play dough? Who doesn’t, right? We can still remember the first thing we ever made with play dough. Can you guess what it was? If you guessed a snake, you’re correct!

The invention of play dough was actually a fortunate accident. Way back in the 1930s, Noah McVicker created a substance that looked like putty out of flour, water, salt, boric acid and mineral oil. His family’s soap company — Kutol Products — in Cincinnati, Ohio, marketed his creation as wallpaper cleaner!

McVicker’s special putty-like substance was an excellent wallpaper cleaner, because it didn’t contain any toxic chemicals, could be reused and would not stain the wallpaper. Eventually, teachers learned that the wallpaper cleaner could be used as a modeling compound to make art and craft projects at school.

It wasn’t until after World War II that Noah McVicker’s nephew, Joseph McVicker, joined the company and learned that their wallpaper cleaner was being used for arts and crafts in schools. Joseph thought it would be a good idea to give the product a new name — Play-Doh^® — and market it to schools, teachers and department stores.

The new product was an immediate success. In 1956, the McVickers started the Rainbow Crafts Company to make and sell Play-Doh^®. Macy’s in New York and Marshall Field’s in Chicago began selling the product. The new company also began to advertise the product on popular children’s television shows, such as Captain Kangaroo. Within one year, its sales had already reached almost $3 million!

Over time, the exact ingredients in Play-Doh^® have changed. As technology has improved, so has Play-Doh^®. Although the exact recipe is a secret, Play-Doh^® remains a popular modeling compound for art and craft projects, because it is still nontoxic, easy to use and simple to clean up.

Today, Play-Doh^® is owned by a company named Hasbro that continues to make and sell the product through its Playskool line. In 2003, the Toy Industry Association added Play-Doh^® to its “Century of Toys List,” which contains the 100 most memorable and creative toys of the last 100 years.

Play-Doh^® comes in a variety of bright and bold colors. There are also a series of related products and toys that make use of Play-Doh^®. Since its “invention,” over 700 million pounds of Play-Doh^® have been sold around the world!

Try it out!

Did you know you can make your own play dough right at home? It’s true! There are different recipes and lots of fun ways you can make a batch of play dough with your friends. Just be sure to get an adult’s help.

Check out the play dough recipes below and pick one to try. If you don’t have all the ingredients on hand, you may need to head to the store first. Have fun!

• How To Make Play Dough
• How To Make Play Dough with Kool-Aid
• How To Make No-Cook Play Dough
• How To Make Edible Play Dough

Wonder words to know and use:

• dough
• squish
• fortunate accident
• invention
• putty
• boric acid
• mineral
• wallpaper
• toxic
• modeling
• compound
• market
• advertise
• ingredient
• recipe
• memorable

Still wondering?

Visit Smithsonian’s History Explorer to check out the Pueblo Pots lesson to investigate the roles that pottery and water played in the lives of the Pueblo Indians.

Wonder what’s next?

Wake up! Tomorrow’s Wonder of the Day is afoot. Don’t let it get away!