11 Things We Learned This Week!

What did you learn this week? Let us know in the comments or at education@ngs.org.

This week, we learned …

… who the most murderous mammals really are. Editor’s pick of the week!

• What is a meerkat’s mob mentality?
• What factors contribute to meerkat survival?
• Make your own meerkat … then make it kill.

 

… this orchestra literally plays with its food.

• What vegetables can you turn into instruments? TRY IT

 

… Earth laws may not apply to Mars. Or Antarctica.

• Besides rampant lawlessness, what are some characteristics Mars and Antarctica have in common?

 

… why humans are mammals, and how a baby can have three biological parents.

• Where do Homo sapiens fit in the “tree of life”?

 

.. teenage defiance, an abundant and renewable resource, might be able to be manipulated for the good of our world.

• Were teenagers always defiant?
• How do you talk to teenagers, anyway?

 

… China just built the biggest radio telescope in the world.

• What’s a radio telescope?

 

… free-range chickens are an all-you-can-eat buffet for bald eagles, and the Depression was great for the American kitchen.

• How do you think “Victory Gardens” contributed to American diet and health in the 1930s and 1940s?

 

… there is a millennial underemployment crisis, but only among liberal-arts majors.

• What are the most lucrative college majors?

 

… France has banned plastic cups, plates, and cutlery in a bid to save the planet—but the developing world is outspending richer countries on renewables.

• What renewable energy resources can the developing world harness?
• What sort of renewable energy projects do you think are being developed?
• Crucial: What organizations do you think are developing renewable energy projects?

 

… why milk is always in the back of the store.

• What are the different “regions” of a grocery store?
• Are different grocery stores or supermarkets designed in the same way?

 

… how to read a map.