Animals can be extremely protective of their young. But when hard times call, animal fathers can be really a danger to their own kids.

Daddy Lion

    A combination of laziness, pride, cruelty and anger makes the lion one of the most fearsome and worst dads of the animal kingdom. When not walking proudly across the jungle, the father lion just lazes around under the sun, or waits for one of its lioness(母狮子) partners to bring back food. Once the lioness gets home the food, the lion eats up most of it, and leaves little or nothing at all for the kids. The father doesn't even train the kids for hunting and surviving, it is the lioness who teaches them how to fend for themselves.

The Polar Father

    Cute, pure and soft. Protective of young ones and family? Sure. But what makes the polar bears one of the worst dads of the animal kingdom? They don't take care of the young ones, they won't take up the responsibility of feeding them, they won't take care of them like a father should. They just leave that to the mother bear.

The Assassin Bug(猎蝽)

    Size matters, you say? This little bug would eat its own eggs to stay strong and fulfill its hunger needs. The male assassin bug is actually responsible for guarding the eggs. The female assassin bug lays eggs in large numbers. The male bug eats the weaker eggs.

Daddy Bass(岩鲈鱼)

Usually, water calms you down. Not so much for this underwater species. The male bass is known to eat up eggs from its own spawn. It guards the spawn(子，卵) laid by its female partner. However, when hungry and unable to hunt for food, the father won't think twice before eating up the eggs.

    And do you think your father was strict and hard? After reading this article, I'm sure you think your dad is the best in the whole wide world for not eating you up!

    Were you into skateboarding, surfing or snowboarding when you were a kid? We can remember our first (less than successful) go at skateboarding, as well as the first time we managed to stand up on surfboards.

    It was so much fun that we were hooked on extreme sports. However, not everyone thinks that introducing children to extreme sports is a good idea.

    Writer Jon Lackman considers whether sports like snowboarding, climbing and skateboarding could be dangerous to the growing bodies of young children. Lackman also looks for advice from medical professions.”

    “Kids aren't mentally ready for these activities,” says a doctor, Vani Sabesan. “They cannot realize the risks, and their parents can't always be trusted to stop them.”

    Sabesan is particularly worried about the influence of extreme sports on TV and the Internet on children. “What we're seeing is that a lot of kids think they can do what the professional athletes can do.”

    If someone, who was encouraged to go surfing at the age of five, was presented with a surfboard when he/she was seven, I think these worries are a little overstated(夸大的), if not misplaced.

    Extreme sports can be dangerous, but there's as much chance of falling off your bike or your roller skates(四轮滑冰鞋鞋) as off a skateboard or surfboard.

My own experience of extreme sports leads me to think that I'll allow my own kids to try them in the same way my parents allowed me.

    In sports such as surfing and snowboarding, there's a sense of adventure and courage. It is important to tell young children about it.

Did I fall off my surfboard? All the time. Did I get back on? Every time.

    With the development of science and technology, people find it increasingly difficult to keep pace with the most fashionable smart phones in the world, especially when smart phones are connected with robots. If any robot can take over the world, it's RoBohon. He has all the information you put in your smart phone and can read human feelings. So everyone probably wants to own the cutest smart robot phone.

    RoBohon is very useful. He can project photographs and films, tell you he loves you if he senses you are crying and do everything your smart phone can do.

    RoBohon was created by Japanese electronics company SHARP. The robot phone, with a 2-inch screen fitted into its back, stands 20cm tall and weighs 390 grams. Most surprisingly, he can walk on his own legs around your home and act as a super cute personal assistant. He can even dance. He reads your text messages, announces phone calls, dries your tears and wakes you up. He can even recognize your face and call your name when you enter the room. He will be always at your side keeping you company and providing you with great comfort.

    RoBohon can also serve as an alarm clock. The robot can be a wonderful partner in a small conversation. Though he is expensive, more than double the price of iPhone, who wouldn't want a small personal assistant?

    When was the last time you used plastic plates? Next time, why not try some edible ones? You'll help the environment and your guests won't go hungry. "I used to work in school catering and saw a lot of money being thrown away. I thought that was criminal, so I decided to do something about it," said Italian school chef Tiziano Vicentini.

    Now, Vicentini has an amazing range of edible plates for schools. The plates are made out of bread dough, so you can eat them afterwards. "These dishes cost a few pennies each and are either eaten by the kids, or go into recycling bins for animal food," explained Vicentini, 50, of Milan. But now other companies are developing edible plates, too. The Edible-Plate Company offers edible plates, bowls, trays and cups. Their products are environmentally-friendly, 100% biodegradable and can be used for all types of catering and home use. And they're made from a natural plant. After use, they can be fed to animals or left to degrade naturally.

    They also have a range of cutlery（餐具） made from corn and potato starch（淀粉）. These plates will also help reduce the amount of plastic; we create. Waste from plastic causes a lot of damage to the environment, as well as costing governments millions m waste management. Plastic bags often end up in landfill sites or on the street. And the burning of plastic waste causes toxic gases that pollute the air. In response to this, governments around the world are introducing tough recycling regulations. And many shops are offering biodegradable plastic bags and eco-safe packaging on their products. To help matters, the International Organization for Standardization (the ISO) has also developed a system to evaluate the biodegradability of products, with a certification and logo scheme, Meanwhile, how about a nice plate for lunch?

    A recent study followed nearly 1,500 old people for 10 years. It found that those who had a large network of friends lived longer than those with fewer friends by more than 20%.This study isn't the only one that shows friendships can be good for our health.

    Lots of research has shown social support and good health are connected. One recent study focuses on people with ovarian cancer. It says those with lots of social support had much lower levels of a protein connected to more dangerous cancers. This made their treatments (治疗) work better. In another study, women with breast cancer in a support group lived twice as long as those not in a support group. They also had much less pain.

    Sheldon Cohen, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, says strong social support helps people deal with stress. "There may be more benefits as well," Cohen says. "Friends encourage you to look after yourself better. And people with more friends have higher self­confidence, so they feel they have more control over their lives."

    Other studies show people with fewer friends are likely to die sooner after having a heart attack, compared with people having a strong social network. Having lots of friends may even lower your chance of catching a cold. "People with social support have fewer immune (免疫的) problems and lower levels of stress," says Tasha Howe, who works at Humboldt State University. "We are social animals, and we were born to be in groups," Howe says. "We have always needed others to survive better. It's in our genes." People with a big social group are likely to be more at peace, which leads to better health, Howe says.

    For many of us, summertime means road trips to the beach or mountains, or at the very least some additional dust and bird poop on the exterior of our vehicles. The extra dirt leads us to do one of two things: wash our car in the driveway or head to the car wash. But which choice is better for the environment?

    The main concerns with either choice are the amount of fresh water being used and the types of chemicals used to remove the dirt. Both of these concerns can be closely monitored when washing the car at home, says Katy Gresh, spokeswoman for the Southwest Region of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. She advises car owners to put aside a set amount of water for the entire wash. "It's just like brushing your teeth," she says, "You don't want to leave the water running of more than you need for the job." But even following this advice comes with an environmental risk: Washing your car in the driveway or street flushes the dirty water into storm drains.

    John Schombert, executive director of 3 Rivers Wet Weather, his organization works to educate the public about storm sewers (下水道) and water runoff, keeping this untreated water from entering the Allegheny region's waterways. "We ask people to, consider washing their cars on lawns or other permeable (透水的) surfaces where the water gets absorbed," Schombert says. "Soil can break down and help filter (过滤) those things," Schombert says. "Storm sewers are not made for waste disposal." Even when car owners use natural soaps to wash their cars, which Schombert says are probably ineffective at breaking down grease anyway.

    The commercial car wash down the street knows full well the rules regarding wastewater in storm sewers. According to the International Carwash Association (ICA), professional car washes must use water reclamation systems. These mandated processes not only keep the dirty water out of storm sewers and regular water treatment systems, but they also work to reduce water usage at commercial facilities.