The Greatest Navigational Journey

    In 1787 Captain Bligh was given command of “The Bounty”, a three-year-old merchant ship. His mission was to transport breadfruit plants from the island of Tahiti to the West Indies. We know the popular story of this voyage and the rebellion, in which Bligh has been presented as hard, violent and thoroughly unpleasant captain. However, there is quite a lot of evidence to suggest that this picture is far from being true. He seems to have been unusually thoughtful about the health and welfare of his men. For example he made sure that his crew got exercise, insisted on cleanliness on his ship, and adopted the practice of giving them a drink which prevented scurvy every day.

    When Captain Bligh arrived in Tahiti, it became clear that it would be some months before the breadfruit trees were ready to be taken to the West Indies. Instead of going off right away, he gave his crew extended shore leave. This may have been a mistake as many were unhappy about leaving when the time came. Finally, on the return journey the rebellion took place. The ship was under the command of the rebels and Captain Bligh had to leave in a small boat.

    Captain Bligh's achievement was to get to dry land successfully. It is one of the supreme examples of seamanship. Apart from Bligh there were 18 members of his crew sailing in an open boat about 23 feet long and 7 feet wide. They took with them 25 gallons of water, 150 pounds of bread and 30 pounds of pork. They had no guns or other weapons. The boat was so low in the water that it seemed likely to sink at any time. On one occasion Captain Bligh tried to land on an island to get more water. He and his men were attacked by hostile natives and one of the crew was killed. At this point Bligh decided to sail directly to the Dutch settlement on the island of Timor without stopping. The distance was about 4,000 miles. The voyage took about 42 days and he had no advanced navigational equipment. However, his skill and commitment proved equal to the task and amazingly no one else died. It was truly a remarkable achievement.

Seal(海豹) seizes raft

    This seal really rocked the boat when he found himself an unusual place to hang out. After the seal came across a boat in the harbor where he lives, he fell inside and wouldn't budge for four days.

“One morning the seal just pulled himself aboard,” says Ed Stubbings, who owns the boat-turned-bed. Probably thinking the boat was a rock, the seal made himself at home. The seal didn't move an inch—--not even to eat or drink.

    Stubbings was a little worried that the 500-pound animal might sink it. Luckily on the fifth day, the seal fell back into the water and swam off.

Alligator(短吻鳄)gets new tail

When Mr. Stubbs the alligator swims through his pool at the Phoenix Herpetological Society, he looks like any other gator—--except that his tail is made of rubber. Mr. Stubbs is the first alligator known to wear an artificial tail.

    Mr. Stubbs was brought to the society nine years ago. “His tail was missing when he arrived,” says President Russ Johnson. Mr. Stubbs couldn't walk or swim properly. “We showed him how to swim in the water,” Johnson says. “But that hurt his back.” Later, the scientists used rubber to build an artificial tail attached to Mr. Stubbs's back legs. “Once we put the tail on him, he walked with ease,” Johnson says.

Dog delivers papers

    Morgan started her “paper route” when she was young. One day as Morgan and her owner Bill set out on a walk, she spotted a rolled-up paper. To Bill's surprise, Morgan grabbed the object in her mouth, walked back to the house, and dropped it on the doorstep. Morgan enjoyed the activity so much that she wanted to deliver every paper she saw on her walks.

Now three-year-old Morgan brings the paper to her owner and neighbors, even in bad weather. “Morgan has a natural instinct(本能) to carry things with her mouth,” dog behaviorist Pat Miller says. “And she feels rewarded by the activity, so she keeps it up.”

    You may have heard adults say they are uncomfortable in the morning without a cup of coffee. One reason they may feel that way is that coffee contains caffeine(咖啡因). Caffeine appears naturally in coffee, tea, and cocoa beans, which are used to make chocolate. But now food makers are adding it to many products, from potato chips to water.

    The US government is especially worried about the problem. That's why the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is studying the health effects of caffeine on young people. Studies show that too much caffeine can make people nervous and unable to sleep. What's more, caffeine is habit- forming. Those who consume it regularly and stop suddenly may experience headaches and feel tired.

    One of the biggest concerns is the large amount of caffeine added to so-called energy drinks, like Red Bull. A 12-ounce can of cola has about 35 milligrams of caffeine. A similar serving of Red Bull contains more than three times that amount.

    The Institute of Medicine is also working on caffeine-safety measures. "Teenagers should not drink beverages that contain caffeine. They should be aware of caffeine's effects on health and on how the brain works. Take, for example, teenagers who consume caffeine to stay awake and study for a test. They will remember less of what they just studied," said Stallings, a member of the institute.

    Companies that make products with added caffeine claim they do not advertise them to kids. However, there is no law to stop children from buying them. So the FDA needs to set limits on caffeine, especially in energy drinks. As for added caffeine in foods, the government should just say no. If not, the amount of caffeine should be printed on food labels to remind consumers. The government must do that.

    Doctors say kids should avoid caffeine. If you need extra energy, try these natural boosters: eat right, exercise, and get plenty of sleep.

    When you think back to the blackboard from your school days, what color is it? Chances are that it's green. So what's up with the name? Originally, blackboards were really black. Before wall-sized blackboards existed, late 18th-century students used their own mini boards made of slate (石板) or painted wood, according to Concordia University, Those first boards were, in fact, black, and they paved the way for the larger ones.

    In 1800 when a Scottish headmaster named James Pillans wanted his students to draw maps, the students couldn't draw the maps their teacher wanted on their tiny boards, so Pillans put several slates together to create a large board. Problem solved! From there, the idea spread quickly as teachers could finally show a concept to the whole class at one time. By 1815, the massive writing spaces were common enough to earn their own name: blackboard.

    The color change came in the 1960s when companies sold, steel plates, coated with green enamel (漆) instead of the traditional dark slate. The new material was lighter and less fragile than the first blackboards, so they were cheaper to ship and more likely to survive the journey. Teachers weren't complaining either. After all, the new "greenboards" made the chalk powder easier to erase. Plus, the enamel left less of a glare and the color was nicer to look at. At that point, people started using the word "chalkboard "as a more accurate descriptor, but "blackboard" still stuck around.

    Vinegar is great. It makes salad, fries and dumplings taste better, and you can even clean your windows with it. And now, according to scientists, it may even help the planet's population to ease hunger.

    Researchers from the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS) in Japan found that growing plants in vinegar makes them more resistant to droughts.

    This could mean that in the future, worries about climate change affecting the world's supply of food will be much lower.

    The discovery was made after the researchers studied the Arabidopsis, a plant known for its ability to survive in dry weather. It was found that when the plant was placed in drought-like conditions, it produced a chemical called acetate(醋酸盐) – the main component of vinegar.

    After discovering this, the scientists experimented further by adding acetate to the soil of other plants, before they stopped giving them water completely. After leaving the plants for 14 days, they found that the ones treated with acetate had survived, while the untreated plants had dried up and died. It's hoped that this simple method of survival could soon be used to help farmers in dry countries keep their crops alive.

    Jong Myong Kim, co-author of the study, told Popular Science magazine that he's already been in touch with people all over the world who are interested in trying this simple and cost-effective method out for themselves from flower growing companies to amateur gardeners.

    Although at this point keeping thirsty plants alive isn't as easy as just pouring vinegar over them, Kim said he and his team are working on making the process as simple as possible. "Now we are trying to cooperate with some farmers, and also some companies, to make a method to apply this system." he said.

    And for those of us who always forget to ask our neighbors to water our plants when we go away, hopefully this means the end of returning home from a trip to find our favorite flowers have died.

    Finding a suitable name for a baby is a big deal in China. When picking out a Chinese name, parents usually select two or three characters that have a carefully thought out meaning, but when deciding on an English name, many of them struggle. That's where Jessup and her company, Special Name, come in. In the last few years, Jessup has helped name 677,900 Chinese babies, and earned over $400,000 in the process, more than enough to pay her college fees.

    Jessup came up with the idea for Special Name in 2015, after accompanying her father on a business trip to China. One of her dad's business partners, a Mrs. Wang, asked her to help choose an English name for her daughter. Jessup felt honored and quickly realized the importance of choosing a proper name in Chinese culture. The woman wanted people to be surprised by the things her daughter could achieve, so Jessup suggested the name "Eliza" after the character Eliza Doolittle from the play Pygmalion. Mrs. Wang seemed delighted with Jessup's choice. "If Mrs. Wang needed this service, maybe other parents would as well," Jessup thought.

    After returning to UK, Jessup borrowed ￡1,500 from her parents and paid a web designer to build a website, She then spent her free time filling up a database(数据库)with around 4,000 English names, associating them with five major personality characteristics, like honesty and optimism.

    In the beginning, Jessup offered the service for free to promote the website, but later, she started charging fees. The business is almost completely self-sufficient, requiring only a small team in China that manages technical operations. She updates the database each month, allowing her to focus full-time on studies.