|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
Join us on 
Follow us on  |
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
Garfield's® Question of the Month
For fun and games with Garfield and to start you on your path to college, go to www.scholarshopkids.org.
January
Q: How much of the earth's land area is covered by forests?
A: 31% of the earth's land area is covered by forests.
December
Q: How many tastebuds do people have in their mouths?
A: We have almost 10,000 taste buds inside our mouths; even on the roofs of our mouths.
November
Q: Who thought the turkey should be our National Bird? When the Founding Fathers were discussing which bird should be the symbol of the United States of American one of them strongly recommended that the turkey would make the best national bird.
He said, "Turkey is in comparison a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America... He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a bird of courage, and would not hesitate to attack a grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his farm yard with a red coat on."
Which Founding Father said this?
A: Benjamin Franklin.
October
Q: Growing tobacco and making cigarettes causes the destruction of millions of trees each year. The average smoker will "smoke" one tree in two weeks. On average it takes one tree to make how many cigarettes?
A: One tree makes about 300 cigarettes.
September
Q: Who was the first person to have his or her head on a United States coin?
A: In 1909, Abraham Lincoln was the first historical figure to appear on a U.S. coin when he was portrayed on the penny to mark his 100th birthday.
August
Q: How fast can the fastest butterfly fly?
A: The top butterfly flight speed is 12 miles per hour. Some moths can fly 25 miles per hour!
July
Q: How many words can you come up with that contain the word "sun" inside?
A: The Sun has been important to mankind. In fact, the word "sun" appears inside of many words and names. To see the full list, click here. Here are just a few examples:
- Sunder - To break or tear apart.
- Sundew - A small, insectivorous plant with red edged leaves. Each leaf has about 100 tiny tentacles, each has a drop of sticky, enzyme-containing material that attracts insects. When an insect touches a tentacle, the other tentacles move and trap it in place. Enzymes digest trapped insects. Secretion does not take place when inorganic substances are imprisoned however.
- Sundry - Various or miscellaneous.
- Sunfish - If there was a vote taken for which fish was the strangest the Sunfish would probably win. It is named for its habit of laying on its back near the surface to "Sunbathe". It is rather squarish, missing a tail, and its fins are in the wrong place! It's weight has been recorded at up to two tons and it inhabits all of the tropical seas.
- Sunflower - The Sunflower is named for its ability to track the Sun throughout the day. There are 67 species of Sunflowers. The Sunflower is not one flower, but a cluster of more then 2000 tiny flowers growing together. A Sunflower's head can grow to be as big as 2 feet across and the plant itself can be as tall as 18 feet.
June
Q: How long can a shark go without eating?
A: A month!
May
Q: What was Mark Twain's real name?
A: Samuel Clemens. Join thousands of people across America who are reading his book, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer! Learn more about America's well-known and well loved humorist, journalist and writer of classic, entertaining books. Visit The Big Read at the National Endowment for the Arts.
April
Q: On whose birthday do we celebrate Earth Day?
A: April 22 is the birthday of Julius Sterling Morton, the founder of Arbor Day, a national tree-planting holiday started in 1872. Arbor Day became a legal holiday in Nebraska in 1885, to be permanently observed on April 22. According to the National Arbor Day Foundation "the most common day for the state observances is the last Friday in April... but a number of state Arbor Days are at other times in order to coincide with the best tree-planting weather." It has since been largely eclipsed by the more widely-observed Earth Day, except in Nebraska, where it originated.
March
Q: How many teaspoons of sugar are in one can of soda?
A: There are about 10 teaspoons of sugar in one can of soda. To get an idea of how much sugar that is, each paper packet of sugar at restaurants has about 1 tsp. of sugar. A can of soda has the same amount of sugar as 10 of those packets.
Average size kids ages 9-13 need about 2000 calories a day. For good health, experts recommend that less than 10 percent, or 200 calories a day, be sugar. Many foods eaten during the day have sugar including bread, cereal, processed foods, sauces, ice cream and more. Even lasagna sauce has sugar in it.
One can of soda has about 168 sugar calories. That means it equals nearly one day of sugar intake. A plate of spaghetti with marinara sauce can have 23 grams of sugar. That's another 92 grams. If you had a soda and a plate of spaghetti, you are already over your limit!
February
Q: Women were first allowed to compete in the Olympics in what year?
A: 1900.
