Trivia of the Week: Japanese English: Mansion

In Japanese, a mansion is a nice apartment. It may be big for an apartment, but it is only one apartment in a building full of other apartments that belong to other people. In English, a mansion is a big, expensive house that belongs to one wealthy person. It may have...

Trivia of the Week: Star Fruit

Star fruit is also called “carambola”. It is called “star fruit” because it forms the shape of a star when sliced. Star fruit is a healthy snack, but should be avoided by people with weak kidneys. Have you ever eaten star fruit? How do you prepare it?...

Trivia of the Week: Lightning Safety

During an electrical storm, it is safest to be indoors or inside a car. In a car, you are safe because you are surrounded by metal. If the car is struck by lightning, the metal will lead the electricity into the ground. Indoors, you should never talk on a phone with a...

Trivia of the Week: Dewclaws

Many four-legged animals such as cats have a fifth toe on the side of their paws. This is called the dewclaw. It’s like a thumb, but it is not opposable like human thumbs. All cats have dewclaws on their front paws but not their back paws. Some dogs have dewclaws on...

Trivia of the Week: Egg-laying Mammals

The echidna and platypus are the only two mammals that lay eggs. They both live in Australia. They are called monotremes. The echidna is also called the spiny anteater. The platypus has webbed feet and its mouth looks like a duck’s beak. That’s why it is sometimes...