The Case of the Barfy Birthday (8 page)
2. Create a bird-friendly backyard:
• Build a bird feeder: Mix ¼ cup creamy peanut butter with ¼ cup cornmeal. Smear the mixture over a pinecone with a butter knife, then roll the pinecone in birdseed. Use a piece of string to hang the pinecone from a tree branch. Recoat the pinecone as needed.
• Provide plenty of shrubs, trees, or nesting boxes for birds to nest in.
3. If you find a baby bird, leave it alone. Many baby birds leave the nest before they are ready to fly. This is natural. The parent is almost always nearby, protecting it and feeding it until the chick finds its wings.
4. For more information on birds and backyard birding, check out these bird-buddy Web sites:
Did you know?
As the human population grows, it needs more land to survive. Every day a natural habitat as large as New York City is being harvested, turned into farmland, or developed for housing. Habitat destruction is the leading cause of extinction. Extinction occurs when a species of plant or animal, such as a jaguar, no longer exists. Extinction is forever. Today, animal and plant species are becoming extinct at a greater rate than ever before. Scientists say that 137 species become extinct
every day.
How Can I Help?
“Take nothing but pictures . . . leave nothing but footsteps” is good advice when visiting a wild habitat. Don’t pick any wildflowers or berries, and don’t take anything that you didn’t bring with you in the first place. Stay on the trail provided.
When watching wildlife, only watch.
Stay a safe distance away and respect their territory.
Don’t litter. Trash looks terrible and can harm wildlife. Six-pack plastic soda rings can strangle wildlife. (Snip the rings apart, including the center.) Also, don’t release balloons into the air, as sea turtles and seabirds could mistake them for food and then choke.
When a species is “endangered,” it is on the brink of extinction. Check out this Web site to learn more about endangered species and how you can help protect wildlife habitats:
W
hat was that gibberish that Nell sent to Drake? Martian? Plutonian? It’s quite simple, once you crack the code. Here’s the code breaking grid Drake and Nell used:
(You can put the letters of the alphabet wherever you want.) Using the grid to the right, if you want to write the letter J—first find which Y row contains J, then which X column. J is found at Y2 and X3. To make it harder for your enemies to read, put the Y and X numbers together: Y2X3. Here are some other examples:
To practice, decipher the following message:
I
magine it. You’re the frozen dead. Fresh from the grave—the frozen grave . . .
Or you’re just hot and need to cool off.
Anyway, here’s how to build your own dry-ice blaster, just like Sloane did to scare the Snob Club.
MATERIALS
• heavy gloves
• safety glasses
• 5 lbs. dry ice cut into 1-lb. pieces (See box
dry-ice safety info
)
• newspaper
• hammer
• scissors
• 2 large balloons
• PVC pipe, at least 10" long, with about 1½" diameter (dimensions not critical)
• rubber bands
• tablespoon
• funnel
• measuring cup
• water
• plastic or Styrofoam cooler
PROCEDURE
1. Read and follow the notes on dry-ice safety with an adult. Don’t be a Frisco!
2. Put on heavy gloves and safety glasses.
3. Fold 1 pound of dry ice into a newspaper and pound with a hammer until the dry ice is a powder. (Best done outdoors on a sidewalk.)
4. Cut the necks off 2 balloons.
5. Stretch 1 balloon over one end of the PVC pipe. Secure with a rubber band.
6. Add 5 spoonfuls of dry-ice powder into the PVC pipe. The balloon will keep the powder from falling out the bottom.
7. Poke a hole in the center of the second balloon. The hole should be just big enough to squeeze the end of the funnel through it.
8. As in step #5, stretch the balloon over the other end of the PVC pipe and secure with a rubber band. Hole should be in the center of the pipe’s opening.
9. Place funnel in hole.
10. Quickly pour ¼ cup water into the funnel.
11. Remove funnel and blast away. (
Never
point the blaster at anyone’s face.)
12. When the volume of gas dies down, shaking the pipe can help revive it. Add more water if it helps. At some point, you will need to undo the top balloon and start over with fresh-crushed dry ice.
13. Store extra dry ice in a cooler until you need it.
Dry-Ice Information and Safety:
Adult supervision required!
Dry ice, when properly handled, can be loads of fun. But when not used safely, dry ice can cause injury.
• Always wear heavy gloves when handling dry ice—it can cause frostbite if you touch it with your bare skin. Wear safety glasses to protect your eyes from possible flying ice chips!
• Look in your local Yellow Pages under “Dry Ice” for places that sell it. They will cut the dry ice for you.
• Place dry ice in a plastic or Styrofoam cooler while transporting it. Store dry ice in your cooler rather than in your freezer. It will last about 24 hours.
• Carbon-dioxide gas is heavy and can become concentrated in enclosed spaces. It can eventually replace the oxygen in a room or car, causing asphyxiation. Always leave a window cracked to allow air to flow freely throughout the room or vehicle.
• Try not to breathe carbon-dioxide fumes. Remember, it replaces the oxygen your body needs.
• Never taste or swallow dry ice.
• Protect your tabletops and countertops from dry ice by using newspaper or towels. The extreme cold could cause the countertop to crack.
• Dispose of dry ice by putting it outside in a well-ventilated container, away from small children and animals.
Other Super-Scientific Stuff
So . . . you’re the frozen dead sitting there with dry ice and balloons. What to do now? Try this: Place a funnel in the neck of a balloon and add a few spoonfuls of dry-ice powder. Tie the neck of the balloon. Stand back. Watch the balloon expand and then explode! (Do outdoors, far away from anything that might not like being exploded on.)
Try this, too (great for spooky parties): In a well-ventilated room or outside, put a chunk of dry ice in a large bowl of water and see what happens.