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 Executive Vice President, Kids and Family
Melina Gerosa Bellows
Vice President, Content
Jennifer Emmett
Editor in Chief and Vice President, Kids Magazines & Digital
Rachel Buchholz
Vice President, Visual Identity
14
Eva Absher-Schantz
Design Director, Magazines Eileen O’Tousa-Crowson The Secret
Editorial Andrea Silen, Senior Editor / Digital Producer;
Kay Boatner, Senior Editor / Digital Producer; Language
Allyson Shaw, Associate Editor / Digital Producer
Art Kathryn Robbins, Senior Designer of Dolphins
Photo Shannon Hibberd, Senior Photo Editor These “chatty” animals
Production Sean Philpotts, Director
Digital Laura Goertzel, Director;
Natalie Jones, Senior Product Manager;
F R ETO
ER’S are giving people a lot
to talk about.
C
COLLE
Tirzah Weiskotten, Video Manager
E!
INSID
CARDS
Administration Michelle Tyler, Editorial Assistant
PUBLISHED BY NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PARTNERS, LLC
Chief Executive Officer
Declan Moore
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Gary E. Knell
20 The Lost City of Pompeii
Executive Vice President, Consumer Products Will the volcano that buried this
Rosa Zeegers ancient civilization blow again?
Advertising Offices Kim Connaghan, Vice President, Publisher
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Senior Vice President; Jennifer Jones, Business Manager;
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Manufacturing Phillip L. Schlosser, Senior Vice President,
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22
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Sales and Special Editions; Mark Viola, Circulation Director; Discover the cool science behind
Richard J. Brown, New Business Director solving wildlife mysteries.
Market Services Tracy Hamilton Stone, Research Manager
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24
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Publicity Caitlin Holbrook, Publicist (202) 912-6714
Parents, contact us online: [email protected]
The Truth Behind the New Movie
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS (ISSN 1542-3042) is published ten times a year
by National Geographic Partners, LLC, Washington, DC 20036. For more
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie
information contact natgeo.com/info. Find out how this flick stacks up to reality.
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Please recycle. ALAMY (FOX); © DREAMWORKS ANIMATION (CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS)
 BY MARILYN TERRELL

outrageous facts.
THE
Elephants THE MOST
can be left- or TOR NADOES WORLD’S
right-tusked, just as
people are left-
HAPPEN
IN MAY. TALLEST
or right-handed.
TREE IS

379.1
FEET TALL,

Thomas
Jefferson
was the first
AS HIGH AS
president to serve 188
french fries in the SCHOOL DESKS
White House. STACKED UP.

A frog uses its WIN THE BOOK!

eyeballs
to
AND help
OUSANDS” it
IN
EAT BRITAIN. swallow. TRY ONLINE MAY 25-JUNE 1.
natgeokids.com/june-july
JONATHAN HALLING / NG STAFF (ELEPHANT, ANT, SPRINKLES, FROG); STOCKFOOD GMBH / ALAMY STOCK
PHOTO (FRENCH FRIES); ERIC NGUYEN / JIM REED PHOTOGRAPHY / GETTY IMAGES (TORNADO); CORBIS
4 J U N E / J U LY 2 0 1 7 SUPER RF / ALAMY (PENGUIN); PHIL SCHERMEISTER / NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE (TREE)
 N ISH ING
ASTO IES FROMF
STOR FILES O
Guinness
THE
ords
D’S
WORLD
LEST
SMALL DOG
Milly the Chihuahua may
be small, but she has a
big appetite. The pooch,
who’s the shortest dog
by height on record,
reffuses to eat anything
othher than food cooked
by humans—her favorites
aree chicken and salmon.
Jusst 3.8 inches tall at the
shooulders, Milly is about
as high as a cell phone.
When she was born she
weiighed less than an
ounnce and could fit in
a teeaspoon.

RICH DESSERT
This better be one yummy after-dinner treat. At
$25,000, it holds the record for the most expensive
dessert. The Frrrozen Haute Chocolate (haute
means high-class, not hot) is a slushy mix of the
world’s most expensive cocoas, milk, and edible
gold. If you need a souvenir, you can take home
the spoon: It’s made of 18-carat gold and studded
with white, black, and chocolate-colored diamonds.
GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS (MILLY, GUM WRAPPERS); REUTERS / CHIP EAST (DESSERT).
INFORMATION PROVIDED BY © 2017 GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS LIMITED.

MILES OF
GUM WRAPPERS
It’s the ultimate upcycling project: Instead of throwing
away his gum wrappers, Gary Duschl has been folding them
together for more than 50 years, creating a gum wrapper
chain that stretches nearly 17 miles, the longest on record.
So far the chain has more than 2.1 million wrappers linked
together, and Duschl keeps adding. He doesn’t chew all the
gum himself—many wrappers were donated.

5
 BY JAMIE KIFFEL-ALCHEH

COOL THINGS
ABOUT INDIA

Chutes and Ladders,

a popular board
game, originated in
ancient India.

High Up Over 700

Hotel languages are

spoken here. India produces
more movies
GREEN MAGIC than any other
country.
NATURE RESORT
WHERE Vythiri, India
HOW MUCH About $220 a night
WHY IT’S COOL Riding a pulley-operated
lift 86 feet to your treetop room is just
the start of your adventure. As you look
out your open window—there’s no
glass!—you spy monkeys and birds in the
rain forest canopy. Later you might test
your fear of heights by crossing the
handmade rope bridge to the main part
of the hotel, or just sit on your bamboo
bed and read. You don’t even have to
come down for breakfast—the hotel will
send it up on the pulley-drawn “elevator.”

sleep
here!

elevator
takes
you up

Watch a camel beauty Stroll through the streets Visit the Taj Mahal, a mausoleum Go on safari and spot wild
THINGS TO DO IN contest at the annual of Jodhpur, a city in which (or tomb) in Agra built to house tigers, sloth bears, and
INDIA Pushkar Fair, a cattle-
trading event in Pushkar.
many of the houses are
painted blue.
the remains of an emperor’s
favorite wife.
crocodiles in Ranthambore
National Park.

6 J U N E / J U LY 2 0 1 7 HORNBIL IMAGES / ALAMY (BOTH)

NEEDS YOU

SEE WHERE
ROCKETS LAUNCH

MEET AN
ASTRONAUT

LEARN WHAT’S
NEXT FOR NASA
 sports uh-oh!

ie
i’m going

n
to hold my

fun
breath until
they give me
a gold
medal.

don’ t look
at me. i have
something in
my teeth.

Uruguay’s Diego Forlán covers his face with his jersey after missing
a goal during a 2008 FIFA World Cup soccer match in Uruguay.

3
where do
you think
you’re
going? Yang Wei of China competes in gymnastics at the
2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.

whoa. i
know that
guy in
seat 15F.

Ireland’s Padraig Harrington chases a ball during a practice Johan Gaume of France practices a snowboarding jump before a
round for the 2008 British Open golf championship. 2008 winter sports and music festival in London, England.

ANDRES CUENCA / REUTERS (1); AMY SANCETTA / ASSOCIATED PRESS (2);

8 JUNE / JULY 2017 RUSSELL CHEYNE / REUTERS (3); KEVIN COOMBS / REUTERS (4)
 re d ib le
Incimal Friends BY KAIT GALLAGHER

n
An
,
i love ya
k
but i thin
at
your co
GOOSE GUARDS BULL needs
washing
.

Gisborne, New Zealand

A big Highland bull like Hamish probably doesn’t need a bodyguard, but this goose disagrees. Whenever
the bull is grazing in the pasture, the goose watches for cattle that—in the bird’s opinion—get way
too close. “Then the goose will stretch out his neck, shriek, and chase the other cows and bulls away,”
says Kees Weytsmans, owner of the Knapdale Eco Lodge where the two live.
Hamish and the goose have been inseparable for 10 years—ever since the bird was found resting
on Hamish’s leg a week after the bull was born. Since then, the goose has rarely left Hamish’s side. DOMESTIC GOOSE
Weytsmans once moved Hamish to another rancher’s pasture for a few nights. But one evening
apart was all the goose could stand. “The next afternoon the goose traveled all by himself to the ORIGIN Europe and Asia
other pasture to find Hamish,” he says. And though Hamish doesn’t seem as eager for friendship as WEIGHT 5 to 10 pounds
REBECCA GRUNWELL / THE GISBORNE HERALD (BOTH)

the goose,, the bull doesn’t mind his bodyguard.

yg Otherwise,, this bull would ruffle some feathers! CLAIM TO FAME The
goose is thought to be
one of the first animals
to be domesticated, prob-
ably in Egypt about 3,000
years ago.
FUN TO KNOW The wing-
span of a domestic goose
can be six feet wide.

step
away
from the
bull!

HIGHLAND BULL
ORIGIN Scotland; these
bulls were brought to Aus-
tralia (near New Zealand)
by Scottish immigrants
WEIGHT 1,500 to 1,800
pounds
CLAIM TO FAME
Highland cattle grow two
coats of hair. The coarse
outer layer protects the
animals from wind and
rain, and the soft bottom
layer keeps them warm.
FUN TO KNOW Experts
think Highland cattle have
been around since the
sixth century.

9
 T EME
from
AROUND BY AMANDA SANDLIN
th WORLD

WEIRDNESS We’d like

to see them
high-five each
other.
ird- meter
we

ird-o-meter
we
COZY CLUCKERS
WHAT
Sweaters for hens THE HANDS GO
MARCHING IN

MARIO ARMAS / REUTERS / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO (BALLOONS); TORU HANAI / REUTERS (CARS)
WHERE
Norwich, England WHAT Carnaval parade

SOUTH WEST NEWS SERVICE (CHICKEN); JOSE MANUEL RIBEIRO / REUTERS (HANDS);
DETAILS Word on WHERE Ovar, Portugal
the farm is that
wool sweaters for DETAILS Need a
chickens are all the hand? Here are a few!
rage. People across Costumed paraders
England knitted marched down streets ird-o-meter
we
“woolly jumpers” for to celebrate Carnaval,
rescued hens that a festival that lets
had lost feathers people express their
from stressful living wild side after a couple
conditions. About months of winter. BLINGED-OUT BENZ
1,500 hens were fit- People often meet
ted with sweaters of WHAT
and walk around in Crystal-covered cars
all designs—stripes, kooky outfits, called
bows, and even a few masquerading, during
holiday themes. Carnaval, which lasts WHERE Chiba, Japan
about a week. DETAILS Someone
Blue
is so her -o-mete went a little crazy with
w eird r the glue gun. A luxury
color.
auto company embel-
lished two cars—one
Honk if painted silver and
you love
VADER RULES THE SKY sparkles!
the other gold—with
300,000 crystals. Each.
WHAT Guanajuato The cars, worth about
International Air a million dollars apiece,
Balloon Festival were on display at the
Tokyo Auto Salon.
WHERE León, Mexico Pedestrians, get out
your sunglasses!
DETAILS This might
be the Rebels’ worst
nightmare. Partici-
pants at this festival
soared across the
sky in giant hot-air
balloons, such as this
one shaped like Darth
Vader’s mask. More
than a hundred bal-
loons fly each year—
anything from pandas
to bees to scarecrows.
But don’t worry. This
The Vader’s only full of
force is hot air.
strong with
this one.

10 J U N E / J U LY 2 0 1 7
 BY VALERIE C. CLARK

8 frog facts to
jump into!
1
A bullfrog
named Rosie the Ribiter
traveled more than
21 feet in 3 hops.
2 A chorus of
frog calls can
be heard more
than a mile away.
3 Certain 4 5 Two frogs
frogs can It rained frogs got married
produce in Kansas City, Missouri,
more than after strong winds in India at a
traditional ceremony
200,000 sucked up the animals attended
eggs in a
lifetime.
and then dropped
them from the sky.
by
2,000
guests.
A species
6 7 Some frogs of frog in
Frogs have been found
in 25-million-year-old
can leap Borneo oozes
20 yellow
more than
DENNIS FRATES / ALAMY

fossilized tree resin

times goo if you
their
called amber. body length. pick one up.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS 11
FOLLOWING
THE HERD
WHO
WANTS
TO PLAY
DOUBLES?

1 “We are
so bored.”

2 3
“Hey, guys!
Same place
“Yahoo!!!!” next week!”

Baltimore,
Maryland
Police may know
how to arrest
criminals, but
these officers were
scratching their heads when they had to capture some odd fugi-
tives: a herd of bison! Nine woolly animals escaped from a farm
early one morning and invaded a nearby neighborhood. Police
arrived to find the massive mammals shuffling across front lawns
OWL as startled homeowners looked on. Linking hands to form
SOUTHAMPTON,
ENGLAND
a human chain, the officers herded the animals onto an empty
DOG tennis court. Some bison even started leaping over the net!
RICHLAND, BISON
WASHINGTON BALTIMORE,
“For such big animals, they moved pretty gracefully,” Officer
MARYLAND Shawn Vinson says. Finally, police officers and local farmhands
guided the bison into an animal trailer using deck chairs and
mesh fencing. Why did they roam in the first place? “One of them
probably got out,” Vinson says. “And the rest just followed!”

AP / WIDE WORLD (BISON, 1); STEVE RUARK / ASSOCIATED PRESS (BISON, 2); ASSOCIATED

12 J U N E / J U LY 2 0 1 7 PRESS (BISON, 3); CHRIS BALCOMBE / REX USA (OWLS); CHASE JARVIS (FAITH)
 “OWL”
ALWAYS
LOVE THESE BY AMANDA PRESSNER
GUYS.

NEST BEST THING

Southampton, England
Snowy the owl may be a stuffed animal, but her “adopted” babies
sure give a hoot about her! After five tawny owl chicks were found
orphaned, rescuers at the New Forest Otter, Owl, and Wildlife Park
placed them with the cuddly toy to help the babies feel more com-
fortable. At first the chicks were afraid of the large white bird. But
when animal manager John Crooks warmed Snowy on the radiator,
the chicks crawled under her wings to take advantage of her “body
heat.” After several months, the chicks were ready to leave the
nest. What happened to dear old stuffed mom? “She was a bit messy
from all the babies,” Crooks says. So Snowy took her own trip—to the
washing machine!

To feed
her chick,
owl brushes a female HELLO,
fo
the whiskers od against THiS iS
abov
chick’s beak e the DOG
, an
the baby op d SPEAKiNG.
ens
its mouth.

SPEED-DIALING DOG
Richland, Washington
Faith the Rottweiler sure has a nose for handling emergencies—
the four-year-old service dog used her snout to call 911 after
her physically disabled owner became unconscious! “I was in
the kitchen when I passed out and hit my head,” owner Leana
Beasley says. “Most helper dogs need a command to do what
Faith did, but she put the clues together and went for the
phone.” Just as she was trained to do, the pooch used her
snout to knock the special phone off the hook and press a
button to speed dial 911. Then Faith barked into the handset.
“The dispatcher could tell that this call was no mistake,”
Beasley says. “She could hear the urgency in Faith’s bark.” An
ambulance arrived, and Beasley was rushed to the hospital. “A
lot of people wouldn’t have known what to do,” Beasley
says. “Faith did—and I’m eternally grateful.”
Faith
used a strap
to pull open the
front door and
let in emergency
workers.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS 13

 WANT TO
HAVE SOME
FUN?

LET’S
PLAY!

BACK OFF,
BUD!

The Secret
Language
of

14
Dolphın
JUNE / JULY 2017
BY CRISPIN BOYER
 LET’S
CHASE
BUBBLES!

PLAYING
UPSIDE DOWN
IS AWESOME!

H ere’s a conversation worth talking about:

A mother dolphin chats with her baby … over
the telephone! The special call was made in
an aquarium in Hawaii, where the mother and her two-
year-old calf swam in separate tanks connected by a
special underwater audio link. The two dolphins began
squawking and chirping to each other—distinctive
dolphin chatter.

CRACKING THE CODE

“It seemed clear that they knew who they were talking

ns
© AUGUSTO STANZANI / ARDEA (BIG PICTURE); © TOM & PAT LEESON /
ARDEA (UPPER INSET); © BRANDON COLE / ALAMY (LOWER INSET)
with,” says Don White, whose Project Delphis ran the
experiment. “Information was passing back and forth
pretty quickly.” But what were they saying? That’s what
scientists are trying to find out by studying wild and
captive dolphins all over the world to decipher their
secret language. They haven’t completely cracked the
code yet, but they’re listening … and learning.

15
 If you
bottleno were a
CHATTY MAMMALS you couldse dolphin,
speed of swim at a
In many ways, you’re just like the more than 30 species of hour. Th 20 miles an
at’s
dolphins that swim in the world’s oceans and rivers. Dolphins times as about four
are mammals, like you are, and must swim to the surface Olympic fast as an
swimme
to breathe air. Just as you might, they team up in pods, or r.
groups, to accomplish tasks. And they’re smart.
They also talk to each other. Starting from birth, dolphins
squawk, whistle, click, and squeak. “Sometimes one dolphin
will vocalize and then another will seem to answer,” says Sara
Waller, who studies bottlenose dolphins off the California TOSS ME
coast. “And sometimes members of a pod vocalize in different A TREAT!
patterns at the same time, much like many people chattering
at a party.” And just as you gesture and change facial expres-
sions as you talk, dolphins communicate nonverbally through
body postures, jaw claps, bubble blowing, and fin caresses.

THINKING DOLPHIN
Scientists think dolphins “talk” about everything from basic
facts like their age to their emotional state. “I speculate that
they say things like ‘Good fish are over here,’ or ‘Watch out for
that shark because he’s hunting,’” says Denise Herzing, who
studies dolphins in the Bahamas.
When the going gets tough, for instance, some dolphins
call for backup. After being bullied by a duo of bottlenose
dolphins, one spotted dolphin returned to the scene the next
day with a few pals to chase and harass one of the bully bottle-
nose dolphins. “It’s as if the spotted dolphin communicated to
his buddies that he needed their help, then led them in search
of this guy,” says Herzing, who watched the scuffle.

LANGUAGE LESSONS
Kathleen Dudzinski, director of the Dolphin Communi-
cation Project, has listened to dolphins for more than
17 years, using high-tech gear to record and analyze
every nuance of their language. But she says she’s far
from speaking “dolphin” yet. Part of the reason is the
elusiveness of the animals. Dolphins are very fast
swimmers that can stay underwater for up to 10
minutes between breaths. “It’s like studying
an iceberg, because they spend most of their
lives underwater,” Dudzinski says.
Deciphering “dolphin speak” is also tricky
because their language is so dependent on what they’re doing,
whether they’re playing, fighting, or going after tasty fish. It’s
no different for humans. Think about when you raise a hand to
say hello. Under other circumstances, the same gesture can
mean goodbye, stop, or that something costs five bucks. It’s
the same for dolphins. During fights, for example, dolphins clap
their jaws to say “Back off!” But they jaw clap while playing too,
as if to show who’s king of the underwater playground.
“I have not found one particular dolphin behavior that
means the same thing every time you see it,” Dudzinski says. Dolphin
“If you like mysteries and detective work, then this is the compete s
job for you.” And who knows—maybe someday you’ll get a dominan for
ce.
phone call from a dolphin.

16 JUNE / JULY 2017

 PLAY KRILL
SMACKDOWN
natgeokids.com
/june-july

Dolphin 12
2
months:
5 to 20:
Digits miles:
distance
time before
a baby dolphin
is born that a
individual high- mother might
dolphins in Over 4: frequency Over start “singing” to
her unborn
an average
pod types of
whistles can
travel 30: calf
vocalizations nonverbal
dolphins use behaviors
(These include (for instance
squawks, whis- tail slapping or
tles, clicks, and rubbing fins)
squeaks.) dolphins use to
communicate

© FLIP NICKLIN / MINDEN PICTURES (BIG PICTURE); © DOUG PERRINE / SEAPICS.COM (UPPER INSET); SEAPICS (LOWER INSET).
© ANUP SHAH / NPL / MINDEN PICTURES (LION, PAGES 18-19) NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS 17
Female lions often do most of the hunting for the pride. Lions rest about 20 hours a day. A lion cub can’t roar until it’s about
two years old. These big cats don’t chew—they gulp their meals in chunks. Lions can communicate by swishing their tails.
THE LOST CITY OF
POMPEII
TODAY MILLIONS OF TOURISTS
Whe n w ill th
this ancie
e
n
v
t
olc
c
a
iv
n
il
o
iz a
th
ti
a
o
t
n
buried
blow again?
VISIT THE RUINS OF POMPEII,
INCLUDING THE FORUM, BELOW. RATTINI
BY KRISTIN BAIRD UDIOS
ART BY MONDOLITHIC ST

AUGUST 24, A.D. 79

deafening boom roars through will happen. More than three million people people took shelter in their homes. But

A Pompeii’s crowded marketplace.

The ground shakes violently,
throwing the midday shoppers
off balance and toppling stands of
fish and meat. People start screaming and
pointing toward Mount Vesuvius, a massive
volcano that rises above the bustling city,
live near the volcano, in the modern-day
city of Naples, Italy. Correctly predicting
when the eruption will take place will make
the difference between life and death.

THE SKY IS FALLING

Through excavations that started in 1748
the debris kept falling. Piles grew as deep
as nine feet in some places, blocking door-
ways and caving in roofs.
Around midnight, the first of four
searing-hot clouds, or surges, of ash,
pumice, rock, and toxic gas rushed down
the mountainside. Traveling toward
located in what is now southern Italy. and continue to this day, scientists have Pompeii at up to 180 miles an hour, it
Vesuvius had been silent for nearly been able to re-create almost exactly what scorched everything in its path. Around
2,000 years, but it roared back to life, happened in Pompeii on that terrible day. 7 a.m., 18 hours after the eruption, the
shooting ash and smoke some 20 miles into “The thick ash turned everything black,” last fiery surge buried the city.
the air. Almost overnight, the city and most Pompeii expert Andrew Wallace-Hadrill says.
of its residents vanished under a blanket of “People couldn’t see the sun. All the land- LOST AND FOUND
ash and lava. marks disappeared. They didn’t have the Visiting the ruins of Pompeii today is like
Now, almost 2,000 years later, scientists foggiest idea which way they were going.” going back in time. The layers of ash actu-
agree that Vesuvius is overdue for another Some people ran for their lives, clutch- ally helped preserve buildings, artwork,
major eruption—but no one knows when it ing their valuable coins and jewelry. Other and even the forms of bodies. “It gives you

20 J U N E / J U LY 2 0 1 7 VACCLAV / DREAMSTIME (RUINS); © ROGER RESSMEYER / CORBIS / VCG / GETTY IMAGES (CAST); MARTIN WALZ (MAP)
 WHICH
HISTORIC
CIVILIZATION
ARE YOU?
natgeokids.com/june-july

THIS ARTIST’S CONCEPT RE-CREATES

THE FORUM AT POMPEII AS IT
LOOKED THE DAY OF THE ERUPTION
IN A.D. 79. THE FORUM WAS THE
CENTER OF PUBLIC LIFE.

the feeling you can reach out and touch the WARNING SIGNS CREEPY CASTS
ancient world,” Wallace-Hadrill says. Pompeii may be ancient history, but Volcanic ash settled
UR
OP
E

There are kitchens with pots left on the there’s little doubt that disaster will around many of the E ITALY

stove and bakeries with loaves of bread— strike again. Luckily people living near victims at the moment
now turned to charcoal—still in the ovens. Vesuvius today will likely receive evacua- of death. When the AFR
ICA
Narrow corridors lead to magnificent man- bodies decayed,
tion warnings before the volcano blows. holes remained
sions with elaborate gardens and fountains. Scientists are closely monitoring inside the solid
I

Mosaics, or designs made out of tiles, deco- Vesuvius for shifts in the ground, earth- ash. Scientists
rate the walls and floors. Some houses even quakes, and rising levels of certain gases,
T

poured plaster
have mosaics of guard dogs with “Beware which could be signs of an upcoming into the holes to
A

of dog” written in Latin, the language of eruption. The Italian government is also preserve the shapes
L

the Pompeians. working on a plan to help people of the victims. Rome Y

Ancient graffiti, including love notes flee the area in an emergency. Naples Vesuvius
and other messages, is carved into build- It’s a shame Pompeians Pompeii
ings. Some graffiti even lists the results of didn’t know what we now know
gladiator matches at the amphitheater— about volcanoes. They could
an ancient outdoor arena—where trained have lived on to tell the story
fighters once battled to the death. of the city that was lost in time.

21
 3
1 Saturn has a moon that’s Some of the ashes
bigger than MERCURY. of Gene Roddenberry,
who created the television
2 Many of the 4,000 show Star Trek,
ASTEROIDS that travel were sent into SPACE.
through space on the same
path as Jupiter are named
after Greeks and Trojans who
fought in the Trojan War.

3 Satuurn,
Juupiter,
Urannus,
andd Neptune
all have ring
rings.
gs
4 If it twinkles,
31 THE HOTTEST PART
OF THE SUN IS ITS CORE, WHICH IS ABOUT
it’s probably a star—
27 MILLION DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.
not a planet.

5 THE SURFACE OF THE

MOON IS SMALLER THAN ASIA.

6 On average,
astronauts SLEEP two
hours less than normal each
night while they’re in space.

7 ABOUT 95 PERCENT OF
THE STUFF IN THE
UNIVERSE IS INVISIBLE. 32 PLUTO used to be
considered one of the major planets
8 in our solar system, but in
Two satellites
2006 it was reclassified
collided in space as a dwarf planet.
for the first time in 2008.

9 The largest comets

come from the outer edge 33 ASTRONAUTS GET
of our solar system—
TWO TO THREE INCHES
more than 80 BILLION TALLER WHILE LIVING
miles from the sun. AT THE INTERNATIONAL
SPACE STATION.
10
Astronomers think there’s a
MONSTER BLACK 11 MOST PLANETS 12 Our galaxy is 13 Astronauts 14 CONDITIONS ON VENUS HAVE
HOLE at the center of IN THE UNIVERSE speeding toward the drink crushed or melted
the Milky Way—and that it PROBABLY HAVE WATER— ANDROMEDA GALAXY RECYCLED MANY SPACECRAFT THAT HAVE
has eaten other black holes. BUT NOT AS A LIQUID. at 186 miles a second. URINE. LANDED ON THE PLANET.

22 J U N E / J U LY 2 0 1 7
 BY STEPHEN ORNES
29 The coin used

ABOUT SPACE
in the COIN
TOSS at the 20100
Super Bowl had been
b take
take
ken
k n
to space months earlier.

28
EARTH’S MOON
IS BIGGER THAN PLUTO.

27 The first space tourist

paid $20 million
for his trip.
34 When scientists 26 The Russian space
launch a rocket, station Mir RECYCLED THE
35 Scientists
they have to watch intentionally
SWEAT of cosmonauts.
out for about CRASHED
20,000
25 If you’re 12 years old
a spacecraft
into the moon on Earth, then you’d be
to look for about 6 on Mars and
water. almost 50 on Mercury.
pieces of large
space junk 24 During a space walk
(and 500,000 in 2008, an astronaut
accidentally lost a bag
more tiny pieces). of tools worth
about $100,000.

23 IN JULY 2009, A SMALL

ASTEROID OR COMET
SMASHED INTO JUPITER
SO HARD THAT YOU COULD
SEE THE IMPACT FROM
EARTH (WITH A TELESCOPE).

22 When satellites
CRASH together, their
broken pieces stay in orbit
around Earth.

21 MORE THAN 400

planets HAVE BEEN
DISCOVERED IN OUR
CHECK OUT GALAXY, AND ASTRONOMERS
THINK HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS
BOOK! MORE ARE OUT THERE.

20 Venus and Uranus spin in

the OPPOSITE direction
from the other planets
in our solar system.

19
GALAXIES
COLLIDE,
MAKING BIGGER GALAXIES.

18 IF YOU COMPARE THE

AGE OF THE UNIVERSE TO
ONE DAY, AND IT’S NOW
15 The winds on one distant planet 16 ASTRONOMERS THINK 17 One volcano on 11:59 P.M., THEN EARTH WAS
are so fast that on Earth they could THAT THE MOON WAS FORMED Mars is more than three FORMED AT ABOUT 4 P.M.,
blow from San Francisco, California, WHEN A MARS-SIZE OBJECT times as tall as AND PEOPLE SHOWED UP
to New York City in 30 MINUTES. SMASHED INTO THE EARTH. Mount Everest. ABOUT 28 SECONDS AGO.

B & M PRODUCTIONS / GETTY IMAGES (BACKGROUND); NASA / JPL / STSCI (3); MARV SMITH / NASA (29); PARAMOUNT PICTURES / THE KOBAL
COLLECTION (30); NASA JPL-CALTECH (31); NASA, ESA AND M. BUIE (SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE) (32); NASA (33, 34, 35) NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS 23
 The cool science behind solving wildlife mysteries
BY KRISTIN BAIRD RATTINI
stray bullet. A single fingerprint. A drop of

A blood. Like detectives, scientists examine

the evidence left behind at crime scenes
to help solve mysteries. But the scientists
working at the National Fish and Wildlife Service’s
(FWS) Forensics Laboratory in Ashland, Oregon, are
different: They use cutting-edge technology to help
solve crimes against animals. “We’re like supersleuths
ENE EVID
for wildlife,” deputy director Ed Espinoza says. The IM
E SC EN
cases they investigate help catch the crooks who

CR

CE
kill animals—and make others think twice before
harming more.
FINGERPRINT
THE VICTIMS: ELK
THE CRIME SCENE: COLORADO
THE EVIDENCE: FINGERPRINT

STICKY FINGERS
To passersby, the man was enjoying a campout. But he was
really illegally sneaking into reserved hunting grounds and
using a gun instead of the permitted bow and arrow to kill elk
for their prized antlers.
The hunter couldn’t move the large antler racks home during
hunting season; there were too many game wardens checking to
make sure hunters killed their game legally. Instead, he wrapped
the racks in duct tape and hid them in tree branches. He’d
return for them after hunting season.
But the suspect left something else behind. After wardens
found one of the racks, FWS lab technicians discovered a finger-
print on the duct tape. No two people have the same fingerprints.
So the scientists searched a database, which matched the print
with the suspect. They could confidently point their finger at the
hunter, who pleaded guilty and went to jail.
STOCKBYTE / GETTY IMAGES (HANDCUFFS, MICROSCOPE); © MARK RAYCROFT / MINDEN PICTURES (ELK);
DAVID MCGLYNN / TAXI / GETTY IMAGES (FINGERPRINT); SIEDE PREIS / GETTY IMAGES (BULLET); © THEO
ALLOFS / MINDEN PICTURES (TIGER); © ALASKA STOCK / ALAMY (FOX); OTMAR THORMANN / NORDIC
24 JUNE / JULY 2017 PHOTOS / GETTY IMAGES (MEATBALLS); © PURESTOCK / GETTY IMAGES (DNA)
 CRIME SCENE EVIDENCE

THE VICTIMS: TIGERS

THE CRIME SCENE: ILLINOIS
THE EVIDENCE: BULLET
BULLET

SMOKING GUN
The truck rolled past the razor-wire fence
and into an abandoned warehouse. It pulled
a horse trailer, but the animals inside were
tigers bought from roadside zoos.
Two men pointed guns and shot the
endangered tigers, hoping to sell the hides,
skulls, and meat. But the suspects did a
sloppy cleanup job. When an undercover
FWS agent bought a full-body tiger-skin
rug from the ringleader, she found a bullet
in the tiger’s skull.
A gun leaves a telltale pattern of nicks
and scratches on the bullet it fires. Those
marks enable scientists to match a bullet
to a particular weapon. At the lab, scien-
tists fired a test round of bullets from
the ringleader’s gun. Using a microscope,
investigators compared the marks from
the test round to the bullet they found.
They matched. “The scientific evidence
really sealed the case,” FWS agent Tim
Santel says. The ringleader was locked
up—instead of the tigers that would
have been his next victims.

SCENE EVIDEN
ME C
RI
E
C

NE EVID
E SCE EN
IM C
CR

YOU CAN
E

MICROSCOPE
HELP TOO!
MEATBALLS

DNA
Go online to get info on
Photo Ark, a project that aims
THE VICTIMS: FOX, COYOTE, BIRDS to help threatened animals.
THE CRIME SCENE: IDAHO natgeokids.com /photo-ark
THE EVIDENCE: DNA
BAD MEAT
The meatball trail stretched two miles in the snow. Any animal would
find the treats tasty—and deadly. They were poisoned with a pesticide,
and FWS agents found the bodies of a fox, coyote, and three magpies
that had died after eating the tainted meat. Based on a tip that some-
one was using poisoned meatballs to kill wolves, which were endan-
gered at the time, agents searched a man’s garage. They discovered a
blood-stained tool and a bottle containing pesticide.
A chemist identified the bottle’s contents as the same pesticide
that was in the meatballs. Agents knew that if they could prove the
man made the meatballs, they would know he also had tried to kill
endangered wolves.
A geneticist gathered DNA samples from a meatball and the tool.
Found in the body’s cells, DNA determines the traits of all living things.
And no two living things have the same DNA. The DNA samples from
the meatball and tool matched, which proved the man had made the
poisoned meatballs. The trail of evidence led straight to the killer.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS 25

 TH BEHIND
THE TRU NEW MOVIE

pt
THE

ain Un d
Ca pic Movie e
The First E
BY KAREN DE SEVE
ook out, Professor

L Poopypants! Captain
Underpants is on a
mission to defeat
your evil plan to get rid
of laughter in the world.
At least, that’s what
grumpy Principal Krupp
thinks he’s doing after
he’s hypnotized into
believing he’s a super-
hero in the movie Captain
Underpants: The First Epic
Movie. Based on the book
series by Dav Pilkey,
the film is packed with
zany superpowers and
plenty of potty humor. But
how realistic are the silly
stunts in real life? Nat
Geo Kids flew behind the
scenes for answers.

STRONG MAN TAKING FLIGHT

Captain Underpants is strong enough A mysterious gooey substance—aka
to lift an entire building with one hand. lunch from the school cafeteria—gives
Ordinary humans aren’t as mighty, but the Captain Underpants the power to fly.
Allegheny mound ant can lift up to several ALLEGHENY In real life, leftovers don’t allow people
MOUND ANT YVES ROSSY
thousand times its body weight. The tiny to soar. But jet-powered wings do. Pilot
insects are superstrong because their bodies are so light. Yves Rossy uses his to fly to heights of 17,000 feet. The
Inside their exoskeletons, or the hard covering that protects wings get their boost from four small engines, which enable
their bodies, their muscles don’t need to provide much sup- Rossy to reach speeds of 200 miles an hour. Unlike Captain
port. They can apply their strength to lifting heavy objects. Underpants, though, Rossy takes flight fully dressed.

26 J U N E / J U LY 2 0 1 7
erp BOUT
T
ERWE
EAR
R

© DREAMWORKS ANIMATION (MAIN); ANDREY KUZMIN / DREAMSTIME (CURTAINS, SEATS); ALAN COTTON / DREAMSTIME (UNDERWEAR); RMARTORELLI / DREAMSTIME (CLOTHESPINS); KATRINA BROWN / DREAMSTIME (TWINE);
tian pharaoh
Ancient Egyp ried with
bu
King Tut was derwear
n un

GREGORY REC / PORTLAND PRESS HERALD / GETTY IMAGES (ANT); FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP / GETTY IMAGES (YVES ROSSY); MEDUSA GRAPHICART / DREAMSTIME (BRAIN); FLUXFOTO / GETTY IMAGES (CAR OIL)
loots of clea
fo r the af terlife.

It’s a tradition
in Ital
u derpants fo y to wear
red un
r go
on New Year’s od luck
Eve.

nness
and holds a Gui
A man iin Engl tle for putting on
s ti
World Record s of underpants
the most pair 4!
in one hour: 14

National Under
evvents take pl wear Day
ac
thhe world ever e around
y August.

es make
S me compani derwear
So
e un
annti-flatulenc ly filters
th at supp osed
out stinky odors.

BRAINPOWER FOOD FUEL

Supervillain Professor Poopypants’s evil The same glowing cafeteria goo
plan is to zap away everyone’s hahaguffaw- that helps Captain Underpants
chuckleamalus, or the giggle-making part fly powers the enlarged mobile
of the brain. In real life, different parts toilet that Professor Poopypants
of your brain work together to make you gets around on. Some real-life
laugh. The left hemisphere, or side, of your brain figures out cars also run on food goo: french fry oil and cooking
what a joke means; the right hemisphere decides if it’s funny. grease! First the oils are filtered to remove bits of food.
If it is, the parts of your brain that control muscle movement Mix in a few more chemicals, and a car that normally
tell your body to make laughing sounds. All in a few seconds. runs on diesel fuel can zoom away on grease power.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS 27
 SPLASHDOWN!
things that are
Find and circle at least 15
ANSWERS ON PAGE 32
wrong in the scene.
JAMES YAMASAKI

28 J U N E / J U LY 2 0 1 7
 CHECK OUT
THIS BOOK!
ROUND AND ROUND
These photographs show close-up
and faraway views of spiral-shaped
things. Unscramble the letters to
identify each picture. Bonus: Use
the highlighted letters to solve
the puzzle below. ANSWERS ON PAGE 32

IONANMNC LORL LO E R R L E C R TA S O IPLOPLOL

BOTTOM ROW (LEFT TO RIGHT): CHANTAL DE BRUIJNE / SHUTTERSTOCK; NASA AND THE HUBBLE HERITAGE TEAM; © PETE OXFORD / MINDEN PICTURES.
MIDDLE ROW (LEFT TO RIGHT): © ALEX HYDE / NPL / MINDEN PICTURES; © EXACTOSTOCK / SUPERSTOCK; © AGE FOTOSTOCK / SUPERSTOCK.
TOP ROW (LEFT TO RIGHT): WALLACE AND WYANT / GETTY IMAGES; ALEX LINGHORN / GETTY IMAGES; © PETER FRANK / CORBIS.

EOLHAMCNE ITLA TEVOS ERRBUN WOLLIOHPR

A CTA S S E I R YAAXGL DELIMPELI

HINT: On your plate, it’s a pile—on your fork, it’s a spiral.

ANSWER: T
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS 29
30
5
2

J U N E / J U LY 2 0 1 7
PAGE 32
ANSWERS ON
which two are fake?
not real. Can you figure out
Two of these funny signs are
Seeing isn’t always believing.

3
1

7
MATTHIAS CLAMER / GETTY IMAGES, IMAGE DIGITALLY COMPOSED (1); DA PHOTO / ALAMY (2);
ROYALTY-FREE / CORBIS (3); FRANK DIMARCO / ALAMY (4); ANNIE GRIFFITHS (5); JAMIE MANN /
ALAMY (6); J.D.S / SHUTTERSTOCK, IMAGE DIGITALLY COMPOSED (7)
 shap
Museum Mi
BY ERIN WHITMER
Ask a friend to give you words
to fill in the blanks in this story
without showing it to him or her.
Then read out loud for a laugh.

I’ll never forget the day my class took a field trip to the Museum of Natural
school subject

History. While everyone else went to the museum cafeteria, I headed for the shop to
noun

buy a poster of the galaxy. By the time I got back to the cafeteria, my classmates were
candy bar

nowhere in sight. I through the exhibit and passed

past-tense verb insect

some -looking cavemen. Then I stopped in my tracks. In front of me was the

adjective

coolest skeleton I’d ever seen. Its must have

type of dinosaur animal body part

been as big as a(n) . I was trying to dig a camera out of my backpack when
type of automobile

I on my and into the skeleton. With a loud

past-tense verb item of clothing past-tense verb

, at least bones clattered to the ground. That’s when I looked up

noise big number

and saw my entire class at me. “ !” yelled.

verb ending in -ing your name teacher’s name

“I have a bone to pick with you.” At that moment, I was sure I was

about to become history.

MARTY BAUMANN

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS 31

Sh t
Junglefowl demijour

Answers
Signs 1 and 7 are fake.
“Signs of the Times” (page 30):

Fireworks puka
Bonus: spaghetti
turn the
ter and started to
staircase, galaxy, millipede.

“I released the shutTurning the focus faster or

stove burner, whirlpool. Bottom row:

picture into focus. rent effect.”

lollipop. Middle row: chameleon tail,
—puka
hs
These photograp s
Top row: cinnamon roll, roller coaster,
slower makes a diffe “What in the World?” (page 29):

were taken by kid

like you!

Cartwheel photos4china “Splashdown!” (page 28):

Flight froot

brown.eyed.girl
Palm Sunset
Very Green Frog ReganC

Elsa byrdsong

Overcast skies Perfection poison dart frog

Cloudy day? Head outside!n light without
give your subject an eve
harsh shadows.
Water Mirror CatsAndDogsRule14

32 J U N E / J U LY 2 0 1 7
 Aw esome
Giveaw ay!
Seepage

27 .

TELL US
WHAT YOU
FEBR
UAR

THINK!
Join the National Geographic Kids Team.*
’ invite
Throughout the year we’ll i i you by email i to complete our latest
online survey. The surveys ask for opinions about current magazine issues,
articles we’re working on, and topics that affect kids like you.

Apply online!

I GN I NG U P IS
S
E For each
survey you
complete, you’ll be
entered into quarterly
drawings to win an

1 Grab a par
rent.
AMAZON
2 Go to ngkiidsandfamilyteam.com GIFT CARD!
/join2017.. Hav
ave
e your paarent ffill
out the consent
se formm.
3 Look for e
email conf
nfirrmation
n
from Nat Geo
G Kids.
ds
If you have any questio s‚
contact [email protected].
© DAMEDEESO / DREAMSTIME

* Children of NGS stafff, NGP staff, and

contractors are not eligible to par-
ticipate. Only those selected will be
notified. If you are aalready a member
of the panel, you do not neeed to
reapply.
A tone Squirrell X
Nick Y., 13
Fort Myers, Florida
For

ANIMAL JAM IDEAS

In the virtual world of Animal Jam, what
creature would you be? Nat Geo Kids readers
imagined new characters for this digital game.

Flamingo T
ll M
IIssabelle M., 12
r lina
rrth Caro
Zeebra T
Rolesvillle, No
R Madylin N., 10
n , Indiana
Whitelaand

nX
Python
Shea K., 13
Durango, Colo
lorado

Happy-Heart
rteed Sea Creatu
Grace C., 13 ure
r T
raw your
Dillon, Montana

dream job.
Send us your original drawings:
Nat Geo Kids—Dream Job Art Zone
P.O. Box 98002
Washington, DC 20090-8002
Include your name, address, phone
number, date of birth, a title for
your drawing, a statement that it
is your own work, and the name
of your parent or guardian. Your
parent or guardian must sign a
release for publication if your
illustration is selected. Submissions
become the property of National
Geographic Partners, and all rights
thereto are transferred to National
Geographic Partners. Submissions
cannot be acknowledged or
returned. Selection will be at the
derr X
Silly Spid discretion of Nat Geo Kids.
Toni B., 10
Minneapolis, Minnesoota

34 J U N E / J U LY 2 0 1 7
 Cute spots Not so cute spots

Target Acne
with the New OXY®
On-The-Go Acne Stick
for Spot Free Skin.
©2017 Mentholatum Company, Orchard Park, NY 14127

TRY THESE OTHER PRODUCTS,

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Awesome Animals!

MEERKAT

TEXT BY RUTH A. MUSGRAVE COPYRIGHT © 2017 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PARTNERS, LLC

 MEERKAT
A meerkat is merely a cat.
A FALSE. It’s a member of the mongoose
family, and its relatives include civets,
genets, and fossas, not cats.
Meerkats have different calls to
B warn about different kinds of
predators.
TRUE. For example, if a meerkat spots
an eagle, it gives one kind of alarm call. If
it sees a snake slithering nearby, its alarm
sounds different.
C They’re excellent divers.
TRUE. They dive into their burrow’s
access holes to escape predators.
D Meerkats are fat-free.
TRUE. Meerkats don’t store fat, so these
mammals must eat every day.
You don’t need to bother cooking for
E your meerkat friend—just send her
to the garden to eat grubs.
TRUE. She’ll also devour spiders, crickets,
centipedes, millipedes, and scorpions.

© MARGUERITE SMITS VAN OYEN /

NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY
 Awesome Animals!

DUBENARD’S LUNA MOTH

 DUBENARD’S LUNA MOTH
A Dubernard’s luna moth might
A rest on Lincoln’s nose at Mount
Rushmore in South Dakota.
FALSE. This species of luna moth lives in
parts of China, Laos, and Vietnam.
If you’re hosting their family
B reunion, rent a gigantic room.
TRUE. Their family includes about 1,500
species, including giant silk moths, royal
moths, and emperor moths.
Luna moth caterpillars eat night-
C blooming flowers.
FALSE. They eat leaves of trees and
shrubs.
Luna moths stuff themselves silly
D as adults.
FALSE. Their mouthparts don’t even
work. Since they live only about a week,
they live on fat they stored when they
were caterpillars.
E They love the nightlife.
TRUE. They’re active at night and rest
during the day.

© ROBERT THOMPSON / NHPA / PHOTOSHOT

 Awesome Animals!

BLACK-TAILED JACKRABBIT
 BLACK-TAILED JACKRABBIT
A A black-tailed jackrabbit is a kind
of hare, and hares are not rabbits.
TRUE. Hares are born with fur and with
their eyes open, and can run within min-
utes. Rabbits are born naked and with their
eyes closed, and can’t run for many days.
If a man had a jackrabbit’s ears, they
B would be about as long as your arm.
TRUE. Those big ears help a hare
regulate body temperature and listen
for predators.
A black-tailed jackrabbit is too
C slow for your baseball team.
FALSE. No need for it to slide home from
third—it’s just a few hops away.
D Jackrabbits can outrun any predator.
FALSE. They’re fast, but coyotes, foxes,
bobcats, owls, and other predators still
can catch them.
A newborn hare weighs as much
E as a baseball.
FALSE. It would take at least two baby
hares to equal one baseball.

© TIM FITZHARRIS
 Awesome Animals!

GRAY KANGAROO
 GRAY KANGAROO
A This ’roo would be the most valuable
player on your football team.
TRUE. At 30 miles an hour, it’d make it
from the 50-yard line to the end zone in
less than five seconds.
Kangaroos rely on their speed to
B catch food.
FALSE. They eat grass—you can’t get
slower than that.
C A gray kangaroo is the real Bigfoot.
TRUE. With 18-inch-long feet, it would
need shoes twice as long as most men’s.
It’s no wonder scientists call them macro-
pods, which means “big feet.”
D Male kangaroos are called boomers.
TRUE. Females are called does and babies
are joeys.
Moving at top speed, a kangaroo
E tires quickly.
FALSE. Due to its body design, the faster
it moves, the less energy it uses.

© FRANS LANTING / NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE

 Awesome Animals!

LUNA LIONFISH
 LUNA LIONFISH
The lionfish’s beauty advertises it
A as a deadly beast.
TRUE. Venomous spines on the fins keep
predators away. A sting causes excruciat-
ing pain to people too. So stay away!
B It sweeps up for dinner.
TRUE. The fluttering fins sweep prey
into a corner or startle fish, crabs, and
shrimp from hiding places. The lionfish
sucks in and swallows prey whole.
C Lionfish are found in Japan.
TRUE. They’re also found in warmer
waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
D A luna lionfish is as long as this card.
FALSE. Its body is as long as this
magazine, and its fin-span is as wide
as an open copy.
If you’re having a lionfish over
E for dinner, three shrimp will be
enough.
FALSE. A lionfish may eat more than 10
shrimp a day. But let it serve itself so you
can stay away from the venomous spines.

© NORBERT WU / MINDEN PICTURES

 Awesome Animals!

AFRICAN WILD DOG

 AFRICAN WILD DOG
Do not wear your antelope costume
A in African wild dog territory.
TRUE. Though secretive and shy, their
reputation as fierce hunters is real. They
prefer medium-size hoofed animals such
as antelopes, impalas, and gazelles.
Wild dogs are more successful
B hunters than lions.
TRUE. African wild dogs catch their
prey about 70 percent of the time. Lions
succeed less than half that often.
African wild dogs have something
C in common with snowflakes.
TRUE. Just as no two snowflakes are
alike, no two African wild dogs have
exactly the same pattern of spots.
D Young dogs eat last.
False. Unlike many predators, the
young animals along on the hunt are
allowed to eat first.
E Wild dogs prefer fresh meat.
TRUE. No begging for leftovers or table
scraps by these dogs!

© ANDY ROUSE / NHPA / PHOTOSHOT