People are crowding into the Olympic Stadium in Rome. Banners are flying. Flags are waving. Everyone is talking at once. "Come sta?" ("How are you?") "Mi tanto piacere vederla!" ("I'm so pleased to...
Quick hands, quick eyes
Ten quick fingers can crisscross a string into a cat's cradle in seconds. It's almost like magic. Most people play cat's cradle for fun. But some people believe that a cat's cradle has magic powers!...
Time for Fun
What's the most fun for you? Do you like to shoot marbles? Do you like to swim, or ski, or go camping? Do you like to read, or draw, or make things? People have always thought of ways to have fun. ...
May I help you?
Philippines A dugout canoe called a banca is used as a ferryboat. It takes passengers across a river in the Philippines. "iEn que puedo servirle?" the guard asked. "May maitutulong ba ako?" the...
We make the whole thing
Millions of look-alike socks and shoes, pots and pans, toys and toothbrushes tumble out of machines. But before there were machines, people made things by hand. And there are still people who make...
The Ways We Work
The sun is shining on our backs. In town, we shall be paid fish for our barley. That was a song of Egyptian farmers, more than 3,000 years ago. Wall paintings in ancient tombs show these farmers at...
An African igloo
An igloo in Africa? Oh, that's a silly idea? It would melt, you say? Well, not necessarily. You see, "igloo" is the Eskimo word for house---any kind of house. An igloo can be made of wood, stone,...
Let’s Go to My House
The very first kind of house was a cave. It had walls that kept out harsh winds and prowling animals. It had a ceiling that kept out the rain. It had a floor on which to sit or curl up and sleep. In...
What is it?
Some of the very tastiest foods have the funniest names. Most of the time, you can't tell from the name what the food is. But these funny names do tell us that people in all parts of the world have a...
Seaweed, snails, and frozen fish eyes
If you were offered seaweed, or snails, or frozen fish eyes, what would you do? Would you turn up your nose in disgust? Or would you say, "Yes, thank you!"? In Japan, seaweed is an important food....