Posted: May 29, 2023

Festus Nyoni picked out a few items in a supermarket in Harare, Zimbabwe. Then she looked at the prices. Too high!

She left her shopping cart and headed outside. The road was packed with traders offering bargains.

The prices in the store are in Zimbabwe dollars. On the street, people pay in U.S. dollars.

Why are people using different types of money? The value of the Zimbabwe dollar has been falling. That means people can’t buy as much with it as they used to. Prices keep rising. But the U.S. dollar is more stable. When people pay in U.S. dollars, they get a better price. (Zimbabwe has had money troubles for a long time. Read more here.)

Ms. Nyoni picked out toiletries, rice, and soups from the trunk of a car. A young street vendor offered a box of candy.

“For the price of one in the supermarket, I am getting two soaps in the street,” she says.

What caused Zimbabwe’s money troubles? Rules about money change often. Officials don’t always follow the law. Some take bribes. There are electricity shortages. And the country is deep in debt. All these problems make it hard for people to earn money and buy what they need. We can ask God to help Zimbabweans find ways to fix this.

Many young people in Zimbabwe become street vendors. Even people who went to college sell on the roads.

The vendors travel in cars, on bicycles, or on foot. They clog sidewalks, roads, and parking spaces. They sell items such as groceries, makeup, clothes, brooms, car parts, and medicine.

To stand out, traders are creative. They give out free gifts. They clean drivers’ windows. A man sang and danced while selling electronics to people stuck in a traffic jam.

Ms. Nyoni will stay away from the stores for now. “It makes better sense to buy from the streets,” she says.

Posted: May 26, 2023

Rain pounds down in Freetown, Sierra Leone. CRACK! A centuries-old tree falls. President Julius Maada Bio says it leaves a gap in people’s hearts.

“There is no stronger symbol of our national story than the Cotton Tree,” says President Bio.

The tree was nearly 230 feet tall. It measured almost 50 feet wide. It stood for 400 years.

People who had once been enslaved moved to Sierra Leone more than 200 years ago. When they arrived, they prayed under the tree.

The Cotton Tree appeared on money. Moms sang about it in lullabies. Queen Elizabeth II visited it in 1961. To the people of Sierra Leone, the tree meant a lot:

• Something big and strong can grow from a tiny seed.
• Many people can gather together for safety under something bigger than themselves.
• Like the tree, the people of Sierra Leone are tough. They have a long history.

The tree withstood other storms throughout the years. A lightning strike left it scorched. But Wednesday’s storm left nothing of the tree but a stump.

Now grieving people ask a question. What can we put in the tree’s place?

No trees last forever. But some can get very, very old. A tough bristlecone pine stands in eastern California. Scientists think that it is about 4,853 years old. Its nickname is “Methuselah.” Do you know why? Check Genesis 5:27 for a hint.

But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever. — Psalm 52:8

Posted: May 25, 2023

In Raichur, India, the Sun beats down. It shines right onto solar panels on top of Government Maternity Hospital.

The solar panels soak up the sunlight. The Sun’s energy goes into batteries. The batteries supply the hospital with electricity.

Fans keep newborn babies cool. Lights stay on. Doctors can work without flashlights. Refrigerators keep running. Vaccines and medicines don’t spoil.

India has more than 1.4 billion people. The country’s leaders struggle to provide all those people with electricity. Power goes out often.

Government Maternity Hospital got solar panels last year. Before then, it used a diesel generator for backup power. The generator spewed smoke. That was bad for babies. Babies have tiny, new lungs. They need clean air to breathe.

Martha Jones is a nurse. She has helped deliver countless babies. She can tell the solar panels help. “We don’t even know when power is cut or when it has come back,” she says.

Do you know someone who has solar panels on the roof? It can cost a lot to have panels installed. But the panels can lower electric bill costs in the long run. In hospitals with unreliable electricity, they can save lives.

The India hospital serves thousands who can’t afford private health care. “We would be paying 30,000 rupees ($367) if I wanted to deliver my baby at a private hospital,” says Sandhya Shivappa. She just gave birth to a healthy baby girl.

From the rising of the Sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised! — Psalm 113:3

Posted: May 24, 2023

Is that a fin poking out of the water?

It’s almost time for summer vacations. But recent news has some beachgoers worried. Sharks bit swimmers in Hawaii and Florida. An unseen creature, likely a shark, bit a surfer’s foot in New Jersey.

Is it safe to swim? Or should vacationers stay on the sand?

Sharks may seem scary. Hollywood movies paint them as monsters. Just look at all those teeth! But scientists say it’s fine to jump into the water. Shark attacks are rare. Serious injuries occur even less often.

Let’s look at the facts behind the attacks.

Sharks nibble between 70 and 80 people every year worldwide. That number is going down. Last year saw only 57 bites. So why do attacks seem so common? Maybe it’s the dramatic survival stories. Maybe it’s the movies. Some experts blame the rise of smartphones. With almost everyone carrying cell phones, beachgoers can report shark sightings in real time. But your actual risk of getting bitten is very low.

Most bites occur in the United States and Australia. Florida had more shark incidents than any other place last year. These encounters most often happen at dawn and dusk.

Not all sharks are deadly. White sharks, bull sharks, and tiger sharks pose the biggest threat. But some bites come from smaller species. These little fellas are less likely to cause serious harm. If one bites a human, it usually realizes its mistake and swims away.

Still worried about a fishy meeting? Try these simple things to make swimming safer. Avoid carrying shiny objects into the water. Don’t swim in spots where sharks often feed. You could also avoid swimming at dawn and dusk.

God created sharks to roam the oceans. He designed them to eat smaller fish. When these big, toothy fish attack people, they aren’t being mean. They’re usually just confused. They think they found breakfast.

So don’t worry too much about taking a summer swim. With a little wisdom, we can share the waters.

So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. — Genesis 1:21

Posted: May 23, 2023

Have you tried calamari? How about another octopus dish? More people are eating the sea creature these days. Companies need more octopuses to sell. A Spanish company plans to build an octopus farm. But some people don’t like that plan.

Protesters gathered this weekend in Madrid, Spain. They want to stop the farm. They say that the country needs laws for growers. They must make sure that farmers treat the tentacled critters well.

Nova Pescanova is a seafood company. That company will build the farm. It will start next year in the Canary Islands. Those islands belong to Spain. They sit in the Atlantic Ocean near Morocco.

The farm will keep three million octopuses in pools. Protesters say that’s a bad idea. In the wild, these creatures live alone. They are predators.

“It is similar to imprisoning tigers together. They will prey on one another,” says Jaime Posada. Also, octopuses are very smart, he says. They will try to escape.

Nova Pescanova spokespeople say its octopuses will be different. They will be grown in captivity. That means they will behave differently from those in the wild.

The company has already tried out octopus farming. A project started in northern Spain in 2018. Workers bred five generations of the creatures.

Roberto Romero is the company’s aquaculture director. (Aquaculture is growing aquatic animals or plants for food.) He says that workers will take good care of the animals.

Octopus dishes are popular in Spain and Italy. And more people in the United States and China are buying the creatures for food. Companies think that farming octopuses is the best way to meet the demand.

Here is the sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both small and great. — Psalm 104:24

Posted: May 22, 2023

Some automakers are dropping AM radio from their cars. Eight big car companies have removed it from their electric vehicles. But U.S. lawmakers want AM radio to stay.

Do you or your parents listen to the radio? Maybe your family listens in the kitchen or on long drives. Your family car likely has AM and FM radio. Those are two different ways that stations send signals through the air. FM has better sound quality. Stations that play music usually use FM. AM might not sound as good. But AM waves can go much farther. Most news stations use AM so that more people can hear the information.

Lawmakers introduced the “AM for Every Vehicle Act.” What happens if it becomes law? It would require automakers to keep AM radio in new cars. Sellers shouldn’t charge extra for it. Companies should also let buyers know if a vehicle doesn’t come with an AM radio.

Why is AM important? It can help keep people safe. AM radio works well during emergencies. People can get alerts from officials. Even people who live far from towns or cities can hear. Did your power go out? No internet? You can still hear the radio.

Carmarkers say there are some problems with AM radio. Electric motors can cause static and noise. Some suggest that internet radio could replace AM. But lawmakers point out that drivers might not always have internet access.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation represents big car companies. It says people don’t need AM radio. The government has a warning system called IPAWS. It can send safety warnings across four types of radio. Those are AM, FM, internet-based, and satellite.

Antwane Johnson works with IPAWS. “AM radio has been tested over and over during the most devastating natural disasters—and has withstood them all,” he says. It can “reach millions of people from a single broadcast.”

Mr. Johnson says companies shouldn’t remove AM radio yet. First, they should find something else that works just as well to send safety information. And it should be free.

How many people in the United States listen to AM radio every month? More than 80 million!

Posted: May 19, 2023

Spotted! Is that the long-lost ivory-billed woodpecker?

Well . . . maybe.

U.S. lawmakers have a decision to make: Should they declare the ivory-billed woodpecker extinct?

It seems like an easy choice. An ivory-billed woodpecker would seem hard to miss. Its wingspan is two and a half feet long. Its call sounds like a bicycle horn. Surely if any remained in the wild, people would know about them. Right?

But these woodpeckers often live in thick woods. Those areas are hard for people to explore. People agreed that the most recent sighting of an ivory-bill happened in 1944. But now new video and photographs taken in Louisiana may show two more.

The images are grainy. They were taken from a distance by drones and trail cameras. They hint that the large woodpecker may yet exist almost 80 years after the last agreed-upon sightings.

But some folks say the footage shows pileated woodpeckers, which are often mistaken for ivory-bills. The bird pair appear to have black-and-white coloring on the wings, just like ivory-bills. But critics say the white is just glare from the sunlight.

Read about “the library of dead birds,” and then play this matching game to learn which birds are most plentiful on Earth.

For He looks to the ends of the Earth and sees everything under the heavens. — Job 28:24

Posted: May 18, 2023

Who does the cooking in your family? Do you think that person could cook for 100 hours straight?

Hilda Baci can. On Monday, she set a new global record. She spent the most hours cooking nonstop.

Miss Baci is a Nigerian chef. She started cooking last Thursday in Lagos, Nigeria. Her goal? Beat the Guinness World Record. Lata Tondon, an Indian chef, set that record in 2019. She cooked for 87 hours and 45 minutes.

Soups, stews, and Nigerian jollof rice were all on Miss Baci’s to-cook list. (Jollof rice is made with tomatoes, peppers, onions, and curry powder.)

When it came to taking breaks, she had a choice. She could take one five-minute break every hour. Or she could add all those five minute chunks together and take a one-hour break after 12 hours of cooking. She had to squeeze resting, bathing, and medical checkups into that hour.

Thousands gathered to watch the chef cook. They rejoiced when she hit the 100 hour mark. She stopped cooking a few minutes later.

Has Miss Baci really broken the record? Guinness World Records officials will have to decide.

Miss Baci says she wants to show how hardworking Nigerian young people are. She also wants to teach the world about Nigerian foods.

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. — 1 Corinthians 10:31

Posted: May 17, 2023

Summer is almost here. Restaurants open their outdoor dining areas. Some customers want to bring their favorite pets. But can they? The U.S. government now says yes. But some restaurant owners still say, “Leave your pooch at home!”

In the United States, pet ownership is rising. Nearly 87 million U.S. households own a pet. More and more people search for pet-friendly businesses.

Many U.S. states allow dogs in outdoor dining spaces. But different states have different rules. All those different laws can get confusing.

Enter the Conference for Food Protection. This group of food and health experts gives advice to the U.S. government. The group says that the health risk to human diners from dogs is very low.

Late last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration updated its rules. Restaurants can allow Rover and Fido in outside dining areas. But local authorities still must give permission. These restaurants should have signs saying dogs are welcome. They shouldn’t let pups lick plates and bowls. And they need a plan to handle animal waste.

Some restaurant owners love it when customers bring their canines. Megan Cornelius co-owns a bistro in San Francisco, California. At her restaurant, dog owners get a discount. A pet store across the street provides free treats.

“It’s great for business,” says Ms. Cornelius. “People really enjoy bringing their dog out with them.”

But some eateries aren’t so keen on canine companions.

The Salty Dog Café in Hilton Head, South Carolina, allowed dogs on its patio when it first opened. But two years later, it banned them. Dogs barked through mealtime. They fought each other. Some pups even poached hotdogs from kids’ plates.

“We are all dog lovers at Salty Dog,” says restaurant owner Tim Stearns. “But we remain a restaurant for humans.”

Maddie Speirs is a dog trainer in St. Petersburg, Florida. She encourages dog owners to think about what’s best for their pets. Taking pets out for dinner might be fun. But for some dogs, the experience can cause stress.

It’s good to love our pets. But sometimes, what’s fun for us isn’t best for them.

Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast. — Proverbs 12:10

Posted: May 16, 2023

In Montreal, Canada, the bike party is back on.

The first weekend in June, Montrealers will line sidewalks and porches. They’ll toot horns. They’ll shout, “Go!” Why?

For the cyclists. Bikers will wind through the bicycle-mad city during the Go Bike Montreal Festival.

This is no race of hotshots. It’s for regular folks. Around 20,000 people bike in each of two main rides.

Many of Montreal’s bikers missed the annual race during the pandemic. But now they’ve returned. “We’re back to historical numbers,” says Jean-François Rheault. He runs a cycling organization called Velo Quebec. “We’re back in celebration mode. Now the celebration is almost everywhere in the city.”

The festival opens May 28. First up: the Metropolitan Challenge. Pedalers on that route travel as far as 90 miles in the nearby countryside. Next: Thousands of folks decked in costume on bikes covered in lights head out to ride on Tour la Nuit. They cycle through the city, where streets are free of cars. The Sun sets. On June 4, riders trek 28 miles through the city on the longer Tour de l’ile de Montreal.

The pandemic put the bike festival on hold for a while. But in the end, it also made it better. When people had to stay home in lockdown, many started biking to get out of the house. So officials in Montreal and other cities worked to make bikeways better.

“Many who started biking realized they could safely and efficiently get around,” says Mr. Rheault. And they’ve stuck with it.

Montreal is in the section of Canada called Quebec (kwuh-BECK). The province has nearly 6,600 miles of bikeways. Montreal is known as one of the best biking cities in the world.

Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. — Psalm 25:4

Posted: May 15, 2023

This professor broke a record for living underwater. Last weekend, Joseph Dituri passed 74 days below the sea. He is staying in Jules’ Undersea Lodge. It is at the bottom of a 30-foot-deep lagoon in Key Largo, Florida.

Two Tennessee professors set the previous record in 2014. They stayed at the same place.

But Dr. Dituri hasn’t surfaced yet. He plans to stay at the lodge until June 9. That will be 100 days underwater.

Why is “Dr. Deep Sea” living in the ocean? He is doing research. He wants to see how living in a high-pressure space changes his body. To keep water out, the lodge must constantly pump air in. That gives the hotel a higher pressure than the Earth’s surface.

“The record is a small bump and I really appreciate it,” says Dr. Dituri. “I’m honored to have it, but we still have more science to do.”

The professor wants more people to live in oceans. He thinks people can “take care of them by living in them and really treating them well.”

Dr. Dituri teaches online classes from underwater. He gives interviews. During the 74 days, he taught marine science classes to over 2,500 students.

What did Dr. Dituri do on his record-breaking day? It wasn’t much different than the last 73 days. He ate eggs and salmon. He exercised with resistance bands and did pushups. He also took an hour-long nap.

The professor says he loves living under the ocean. But he misses the Sun. On the surface, he usually watches the sunrise every day.

If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. — Psalm 139:9-10

Posted: May 12, 2023

Go deep in a cool, damp cave in Vermont. Listen! Tens of thousands of furry, chocolate-brown creatures stir.

These little guys are survivors. Many others of their species died from a sickness called white-nose syndrome.

Now the little brown bats wake from their winter hibernation. They detach from their rock wall roosts. It’s time to fly. They search for breakfast. They eat moths, beetles, and flying aquatic insects.

A fungus causes white-nose syndrome. Scientists found one of the first North American outbreaks of the fungus here. Bat bones litter the cave floor. Look closer and you’ll find tiny skulls.

Some bats are still dying. The fungus wakes bats from hibernation early. They head out into the frigid, winter air in search of food. They die from cold or starvation.

These Dorset bats are smaller than mice. One weighs about as much as three pennies.

The survivors skitter across cave walls. They cling to each other for warmth. They seem healthy. This gives scientists hope. Perhaps some bat species are adapting. God gave His creatures’ bodies the ability to fight many diseases. The bats’ bodies may be learning to fight the fungus. The bats could pass this good trait to their babies.

White-nose syndrome has killed millions of bats. (The fungus hurts other types of bats too. Read Tricolored Bat in Trouble.) Can bats recover?

It will take time. Little brown bat females birth only one pup per year.

For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on Earth. — Colossians 1:16

Posted: May 11, 2023

A metallic object punches a hole in the roof of a New Jersey home. It smashes into a hardwood floor. It bounces around a bedroom. The family who owns the home discovers the black, potato-sized rock in a corner. It’s still warm. Could it be . . . a meteorite?

The object fell on Monday in Hopewell Township. Nobody was hurt. The object measures about four by six inches. It weighs about four pounds.

Suzy Kop’s family owns the home. At first, they thought someone had thrown a rock into an upstairs bedroom. Then they realized that wasn’t the case.

“We are thinking it’s a meteorite,” Ms. Kop says. “I did touch the thing because it thought it was a random rock,” she tells KYW-TV in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The family plans to meet with an astrophysicist. Astrophysicists look at how stars and planets work. That scientist will study the object.

Lots of space junk falls to Earth each year. But don’t worry. You’re not likely to get hit. Falling space debris rarely causes damage. (Read about a recent meteorite hunt here.)

By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. — Hebrews 11:3

NOTE: A meteoroid is a bit of dust or rock that exists in space outside Earth’s atmosphere. If a meteoroid enters Earth’s atmosphere, it becomes a meteor. Friction between the rock and Earth’s air causes the meteor to heat up and burn. This often creates what we call a “shooting star.” Most meteors burn up completely in the atmosphere. But if a part of the meteor makes it all the way to Earth’s surface without burning up, it is called a meteorite. 

Posted: May 10, 2023

This year’s Westminster Dog Show has a winner.

His name is Buddy Holly. He’s the first ever petit basset griffon Vendéen (PBGV for short) to win best in show.

Buddy and about 2,500 other show dogs competed this week in New York City. His white-tipped tail didn’t stop wagging—not even while he posed for countless pictures after his win.

“We’re so proud of him,” says his handler and co-owner Janice Hayes.

PBGVs come from France. Their name means “low-lying, wire-haired dog from the Vendée region.” Want to try saying it? Take a deep breath first! It’s pronounced peh-TEE bah-SAY grihf-FAHN vahn-DAY-ahn.

Other dogs who came close to winning include:

• Rummie, a Pekingese
• Winston, a French bulldog
• Ribbon, an Australian shepherd
• Cider, an English setter
• Monty, a giant schnauzer
• Trouble, an American Staffordshire terrier

Spectators also applauded Audra Maes as she showed her shiba inu dog. Audra is just 10 years old!

What’s next for Buddy Holly? A good night’s sleep, “upside down, rolling in pillows,” Ms. Hayes says. “He just gets to go back to being a dog.”

God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the Earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the Earth.” — Genesis 1:28

Posted: May 9, 2023

Scientists set out in two ships in the Gulf of California. Their purpose? Find porpoises.

The seafarers come from Canada, Mexico, and the United States. They will use binoculars and other tools to seek the vaquita marina. That little porpoise is the world’s most endangered marine mammal. It’s against the law to capture or breed vaquita porpoises. They live only in the Gulf of California.

Vaquita get caught in illegal fishing nets and die. Fishermen set the nets to catch a fish called totoaba. (People in China love to eat swim bladders from totoaba. Those organs can fetch thousands of dollars per pound! But the totoaba is also endangered and illegal to catch.)

Last year, the Mexican Navy sank concrete blocks in the water to snare dangerous nets. Fewer illegal boats visit the area now. But the vaquita is still in big trouble. People guess as few as eight remain in the whole world!

The last vaquita search happened in 2021. Searchers saw between five and 13 vaquitas. It’s hard to tell the exact number. The porpoises are small (about four or five feet long) and usually seen from far away. Watchers wonder: Did I just spot one vaquita, or more? Is it the same vaquita I already saw, or another one?

The measurement won’t be perfect. Only God knows all the vaquitas in the sea.

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. — Luke 12:6

Posted: May 8, 2023

King Charles III was crowned Saturday at Westminster Abbey in England. For more than 1,000 years, grand coronation ceremonies have been held there. King Charles was the 40th sovereign to be crowned in the abbey. (He’s also the oldest. The king is 74 years old.)

As the day began, people buzzed with excitement. The abbey was abloom with flowers and colorful hats. World leaders, foreign royals, and celebrities streamed in.

The king held an orb, a sword, and scepter. He sat on a 700-year-old oak chair called the Coronation Chair. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby placed St. Edward’s Crown atop the king’s head. The monarch declared, “I come not to be served but to serve.”

Inside the medieval abbey, trumpets sounded. The more than 2,000 people inside shouted, “God save the king!”

Hundreds of thousands of people gathered outside. Many people in the crowds wanted the chance to be part of a historic event.

Julie Newman visited from Canada. She says the royal procession to the abbey was “absolutely fabulous. Couldn’t ask for anything better.”

“But we’re ready to go back home and watch it all on the television,” she added.

Some Britons were just curious or didn’t care about the coronation. Others think there shouldn’t be a king at all. These days, the king does not make the rules. But he is a symbol of the United Kingdom. He is the head of state. That means he represents the country.

Later, King Charles and Queen Camilla rode in a golden carriage to Buckingham Palace. From the palace balcony, the king and queen waved. A sea of people cheered and shouted, “God save the king!”

Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings. — Daniel 2:20-21