Category Kids Queries

Researchers have found that between 65 and 80 percent of all conversations could be considered gossip – idle chatter and rumors about people’s private lives. Surprised? Don’t pretend you’ve never dished some dirt yourself! But gossip isn’t all bad, and it does serve a purpose. According to one study, about 5 percent of it is mean-spirited. The rest is considered crucial to making people feel connected and establishing the rules for a functional society.

As a general rule, people associate the concept of gossip with unnecessary, not very relevant information. And sometimes, it’s exactly like that. Think about the rumors we hear about famous people who don’t actually affect our lives.

But other times, gossip can be useful from an individual point of view. Asking a lot of questions can get you valuable information, which can then open up new opportunities to you. However, this type of behavior could be labeled as opportunistic. On top of that, it can also hurt your reputation.

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It’s the price of fame. When movie stars, pro athletes, politicians, and other famous folks are out and about, crews of camera-wielding paparazzi tag along hoping to capture the celebs not looking their best. Paparazzi stalk stars because the perfect unflattering photo can be worth a fortune – sometimes in the millions of dollars – to gossip magazines, TV shows, and websites. Celebrities, meanwhile, are striking back by releasing their own pics on photo-sharing sites before the paparazzi can get their cameras ready.

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Honey mushroom is the largest living thing. Just feet below the floor of Malheur National Forest in Oregon, U.S.A., sprawls the world’s largest living organism: the honey mushroom. For more than 2,500 years, it has spread its fungal filaments through the soil and grown to the size of 1,600 football fields. Now that’s one humongous fungus!

Different types of honey fungus are found all over the world. They fruit nearly year round in warmer ecosystems, and in the late summer to fall in North America. The most well known species is probably Armillaria mellea. The majority of honey fungus species have “rhizomorphs” or “mycelial cords”. These rhizomorphs are black, stringy tendrils that are made up of fungus cells. Their purpose is to channel nutrients and spread the infection of the fungus. Many other types of mushrooms have these as well, but they’re smaller and white.

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Goliath Birdeater is the largest spider. The size of a catcher’s mitt and sprouting inch-long fangs, this relative of the tarantula feeds on rodents and even birds that wander into its burrow. The giant huntsman spider of Southeast Asia has longer legs, but the Goliath birdeater beats it in body size.  The Goliath can reach up to 1-foot in body length and has 1-inch long fangs. The Goliath has tiny hairs on its body that it shoots at whoever or whatever is threatening it. Its bite isn’t deadly to humans (unless you’re allergic), but if you get bit by one, expect to experience severe pain, nausea and profuse sweating.

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African elephant is the largest land animal. Topping 13 feet (4 m) at the shoulder, African elephants are just a bit bigger than their Asian cousins. You can tell the two species apart by their ears: Africa elephant ears are shaped like their home continent.

An African elephant’s large ears also serve many purposes. The ears’ large surface area helps radiate excess heat under the harsh African sun. The ears are also often used to communicate visually. Flapping their ears can signify either aggression or joy. And finally, elephants’ ears, used in conjunction with the soles of their feet and their trunk, aid in the ability to hear sounds over long distances. On average, an elephant can hear another elephant’s call at 4 km (2.5 mi.) away. Under ideal conditions, their range of hearing can be increased to 10 km (6.2 mi.).

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Whale shark is the largest fish. It grows up to 46 feet long (14 m), rivaling a humpback whale in size. Its mouth can open large enough to swallow a human whole. (Reflex, these gentle giants eat only pinhead-size plankton). As thick as the walls of a bank vault, whale sharks skin is six inches (15 m) deep – the thickest of any animals’ – and covered in constellations of yellow spots. Marine biologists photograph these spots to identify whale sharks. Like fingerprints, the spots are unique to each animal.

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