SCIENCE YEAR NEWSLETTER - ISSUE 78 Week ending Friday, 2nd August 2002 Welcome to another bundle of hot news and information. This week we're feeling kinda ROUGH ROUGH because of this week's dramatic report about our canine friends and their arithmetical capacities. Dogs may not be able to speak, but they can count. Which is more than some famous rich people. So in tribute, this week we're investigating the wonderful ways of our 4-legged friends, including the psychology behind excessive barking, escapee behaviour, and undue fear of thunderstorms. And that's not all that's running around in the Science Year garden this week, we also have free tickets and toys on first-email, first-served basis - so get ready to email - hilarious jokes and a summer holiday activity that will make your bones go bendy... Here's the batting order: • MOUSES AT THE READY 1: Free tickets to Banham Zoo in Norfolk • MOUSES AT THE READY 2: Free tickets to Sensation in Dundee • GET HAPPY, GET HOPPING - another freebie on offer • ACTIVITY OF THE WEEK - bendy bones, curvy carrots • SEE INTO THE FUTURE with our downloadable cootie-catchers (WHAT??) • DOG-TELLIGENCE - they're smarter than you think • CANINE QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK • RECOMMENDED DOG-SITES OF THE WEEK (includes a few cats) • DOG JOKE OF THE WEEK • A.O.B. First of all congratulations to everyone speedy enough last week to win free passes for Bletchley Park and the 'Jet Age to Genome' exhibition. Namely: Andrew Harmsworth, Tony Terry, Max + Helen + David + Laura Bender, James Adkins, Ian Driver, Katy Hewis, Terry Graham, Terry Hayes, Pam Large, Lesley Wood, Pari Collis, Chris Dudley, Simon Howard-Field, Carolyn Bryan, Sue Baker, Havard Thomas, Mrs T James. Top mousing skills one and all. Your passes will be with you shortly if they're not already... This week we have two Summer Science offers: BANHAM ZOO, NORFOLK – FREEBIES AHOY If you live in the Norfolk area or you're going to be around there during the holidays, why not have a crack at winning a family pass for Banham Zoo? The zoo - 40 mins from Norwich, 50 mins from Ipswich - is set in 35 acres of beautiful countryside and is ideal for a day out even if you just fancy a walk amongst some rather exotic habitats and inhabitants. But why just go for a walk, when you can visit eg. the Children's Farm Barn, the reptile house, Marmoset Island and the Birds of Prey display. And listen to talks by the keepers about penguins, fur seal, and tiger feeding... Check it all out at http://www.banhamzoo.co.uk . They zoo was voted top Norfolk Family Attraction in 2001 and was recently rated as 5-star for quality in a recent Which? report so it must be good... and if you fancy visiting it, we have four family passes to give away. Sounds tempting? If so, send an email NOW to david.tasker@scienceyear.com, with 'Banham Zoo Tickets' in the subject field, and your name and postal address. >top WHAT MORE FREE TICKETS? Yes - this time for the 'Sensation!' science centre in Dundee. If you've not been before, visit their website at http://www.sensation.org.uk to find out what's in store, but all you really need to know is that Sensation is a state of the art interactive-science explore-o-rama that will keep a whole family or group of kids or adults fully occupied for hours. There are plenty of permanent exhibits, but over the summer they are also running two special workshops. In one, you're invited to Make Your Own Volcano and Erupt It. The other, 'Bubble-tastic', will allow you to hone your bubbling skills, including they say, making bubbles that humans can fit in (yes that's what they claim!), making bubble bridges and creating your own bubble art... In addition to Sensation's own exhibits, they are currently also hosting the GSC "Tour de Force", a travelling exhibition with a further 25 hands-on exhibits. This is another sensational selection of the most popular science exhibits exploring the physics of light, sound, forces, and brain teasing puzzles. And in September, they'll be hosting a Dinosaur Dig, where visitors can use paleontological detective skills to try and uncover a dinosaur skeleton... Sounds tempting? Then why not email NOW for one of two free family passes... Just send your email to david.tasker@scienceyear.com, with 'Sensation Tickets' in the subject field, and a note of your name and postal address. (Please note that the dates of all the temporary events mentioned above can be checked on Sensation's website). >top FEELING HOPPY? And are you between 3 and 5 years old? Or do you know someone who is...? We have two 'Happy Hoppers' to give away to the first two people to send in an email. What's a Happy Hopper? It's like a spacehopper - but for little kids. Why are we giving them away? Because we are tidying up the office, and we found two (boxed, that is) high up on the highest shelf ... Just send an email to katie.walsh@scienceyear.com, with 'I'M HOPPING MAD!' in the subject field and a note of your name and address... >top SUMMER ACTIVITY OF THE WEEK: BENDY BONES! Find out how to tie chicken bones into knots... All you need is a little help from some simple household ingredients. (Not suitable for vegetarians.) You'll need: - 1 large jar or glass - some small, long, thin chicken bones, washed and clean. Not attached to chicken. - vinegar What to do: Put the chicken bones in the jar or glass and pour in enough vinegar to cover them. Leave them somewhere safe for 3-4 days. Remove the bones from the jar and try bending them. What happens? You're now ready to practice your knot-tying technique! Once you've finished playing, tie the bones up into a tangle and leave them out to dry. They'll go hard again, leaving you with a permanent knot. What's going on science-wise? You probably know that bones contain calcium. This is found in the form of calcium carbonate, which helps give bones their hardness. When you put the bones into the vinegar, which is a weak acid, the calcium carbonate starts to react with it. You can even see the reaction taking place - if you observe the bones at regular intervals when they're submerged, you'll see small bubbles forming on their surface. These are bubbles of carbon dioxide gas, formed as the calcium carbonate breaks down. Without it, the bones become much softer and are less rigid than before. Hey presto - bendy bones! But leaving the soft bones out in the air for a while allows them to harden again - they'll react with carbon dioxide in the air to regain some of their hardness. So - feel like chicken tonight?? >top WE’VE SEEN THE FUTURE – AND IT ROCKS! We have two new additions to the Parents area of the Science Year website to tell you about... Firstly, the new – illustrated – Magic Box. A set of science tricks for kids which are so good we had to get a special dispensation from the Magic Circle to tell you about them. Thank you to Adam and Rachel Boon who demonstrated the tricks for our pics. Very cool! But <drumroll> brand new - may we present a selection of what the Americans call ‘Cootie Catchers’ and we in the UK call Fortune Tellers. These origami-style squares with pre-printed images, words and science-career fortunes are available to download and print off. If you can get your hands on a colour printer then they will look even more gorgeous than in black and white, but either way, they’re fun for hours. Even for kids. And as the fortunes concern careers in the wonderful world of science and technology, there’s a very positive message buried deep inside each one! Download your fortune-tellers here >top DOG-TELLIGENCE Everyone knows dogs are smart animals, but New Scientist this week reports on a study which appear to show that our canine companions are even more switched-on to the world than previously thought: they can count. How do you know if a dog can count, if it can’t tell you? This sort of challenge is all part of the fun if you’re an animal psychologist, and the devising of experiments can be almost as intriguing as the results. In this case, the experimenters tested the canine counting by borrowing a set-up that’s previously been used to test the skills of 5-month old babies. In those experiments, a number of dolls were placed in front of the baby, then a screen was raised; some dolls added or taken away in the baby’s sight – and, sneakily - sometimes one doll added or taken away surrepticiously. When the screen was lowered, the researchers found that if the total number of dolls was ‘incorrect’ from the baby’s point of view, the baby would look at the dolls much longer than if they were ‘correct’. Hence a 5-month baby would appear to have a working mental concept of number, addition and subtraction. Back to the dogs: a similar experiment was conducted using doggie treats in bowls – and when the number of treats was ‘incorrect’ eg. 1 + 1 = 3, the dogs looked at the bowls for an comparatively long time. As you would yourself no doubt! The full study will appear in the American Journal, ‘Animal Cognition’ this month but you can read the potted version in this week’s New Scientist. >top CANINE QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK Not surprisingly perhaps given our national love of dogs, Science Line have been asked quite a few questions about them… Here you are: How much better are dogs at smelling than humans? - and the answer’s at: http://www.sciencenet.org.uk/database/Biology/9706/b00736d.html And: Why do dogs wag their tales when they're happy? - find out at: http://www.sciencenet.org.uk/database/Biology/0104/b00873d.html Peruse their other questions and answers while you're there - they've got loads. And you can post your own question too. Or you can ring them, their lines are open from Monday to Saturday 1pm-7pm, on 0808 800 4000. And it’s FREE, with no strings attached. Don't delay, ask a science question today! >top RECOMMENDED DOG-SITES OF THE WEEK First up: hats off to the American site, ‘Encyclopaedia of Psychology’. The area we’ve picked features pet behaviour. But even if you’re not a pet owner, the articles they’ve rounded up are fascinating to read. Subjects include ‘canine vision’, ‘controlling barking’, ‘dog training’, ‘fear of thunder’ and ‘understanding aggressive behaviour’. And if you’re not a dog-person, you might enjoy ‘headshaking in horses’, ‘herbivorous housecats’ (stop them eating your pot plants!)’ and ‘destructive scratching’. They’re all there. And we thought you also might like to read a bit about those four-footed heroes, HM Customs’ sniffer dogs at: http://www.hmce.gov.uk/protect/ourfight/snifferdogs.htm . >top SHAGGY DOG STORY OF THE WEEK One day a busy butcher looks up from his chopping and notices a dog in the shop. He shoos him away. But later, he notices the dog is back again. So he goes over to the dog, and notices he has a note in his mouth. He takes the note, and it reads "Can I have 12 sausages and a leg of lamb, please? The dog has money in its mouth as well". The butcher looks inside and, lo and behold, there is a £10 note there. So he takes the money, and puts the sausages and lamb in a bag, placing it in the dog's mouth. The butcher’s well impressed, and since it's close to closing time, he decides to shut up shop and follow the dog. So off he goes. The dog is walking down the street when he comes to a level crossing. It puts down the bag, jumps up and presses the button. When the lights turn, he walks across the road, with the butcher following him all the way. The dog then comes to a bus stop, and starts looking at the timetable. The dog checks out the times, and then sits on one of the seats provided. Along comes a bus. The dog walks around the front, looks at the number, and goes back to his seat. Another bus comes. Again the dog goes and looks at the number, notices it's the right bus, and climbs on. The butcher, by now open-mouthed, follows him onto the bus. The bus travels through the town and out into the suburbs, the dog looking at the scenery. Eventually he gets off, his groceries still in his mouth. Dog and butcher are walking along the road, when the dog turns into a driveway. He walks up and drops the groceries on the step. Then he walks back down the path, takes a big run, and throws himself - Whap! - against the door. He goes back down the path, runs up to the door and - Whap! - throws himself against it again. There's no answer at the house, so the dog goes back down the path, jumps up on a narrow wall, and walks along the perimeter of the garden. He gets to the window, and beats his head against it several times, walks back, jumps off, and waits at the door. The butcher watches as a big guy opens the door and starts laying into the dog. Yelling and swearing at him. The butcher runs up, and stops the guy. "What the heck are you doing?" he says, "That dog’s a genius. He could be on TV, for heaven's sake!" To which the guy responds, "Clever, my foot! This is the second time this week that he's forgotten his key." >top A.O.B. That’s all for this week, but we’ll be back with another round of freebies, goodies and groaners next Friday. If you have any contributions you’d like us to include, please send them to jenni.french@scienceyear.com . And have a great week!