Page Type: Elementary

Do you like cockroaches? You might become a fan, after reading this story!

Scientists say that roaches might someday be a big help to humans. They’ve invented an electronic roach “backpack” that could allow people to control the insect as it moves through areas that humans can’t reach.

A team of scientists in Japan created a thin, flexible device that fits on the body of a large roach. Scientists can send signals through the device to make the roach move in the direction they choose. The backpack is solar powered (powered by the Sun), so it never runs out of energy. Scientists say that the backpacks turn roaches into “cyborg roaches,” meaning it’s as if they’re partly roach and partly robot. 

Scientists hope to be able to send cyborg roaches into disaster areas to find people who are waiting to be rescued. They could also use the robotic roaches in hard-to-reach places to collect information on things like pollution. 

But the scientists aren’t quite ready to do that yet. First, they plan to make the backpacks even smaller and then add equipment, like thermometers or cameras, onto the backpacks. This type of equipment would allow the roaches to become true six-legged helpers.

Everyone has a favorite emoji. Some people love the red heart. Others go for the sparkles. 

Did you know that experts keep track of which emojis are used the most? Recently, experts revealed which emojis were most popular in the first half of 2022. Can you guess what’s on the list? 

Now that you’ve made your guesses, let’s count down the top five most-used emojis.

When Sonia Sotomayor was a kid in New York City, she watched a TV show about a lawyer and dreamed about working in a courtroom. Today, there’s a statue of Sotomayor in her old neighborhood. Why? She’s now one of the most important judges in the country! 

Sotomayor is one of the nine justices (judges) on the United States Supreme Court. That’s the most powerful court in the nation. Supreme Court justices are chosen by the U.S. president and approved by the Senate. The justices make decisions about whether laws are fair—and their decisions affect the entire country. When Sotomayor joined the Supreme Court in 2009, she became the first Hispanic justice on the court.  

Sotomayor grew up in the Bronx, which is part of New York City. In September 2022, Sotomayor returned to her old neighborhood to see the unveiling of a statue that was created in her honor. The statue is now on display in a shopping center that’s not far from her childhood home.

“[The statue is] quite amazing,” Sotomayor told the Associated Press. “Looks a lot like me.” 

Although Sotomayor now works in Washington, D.C., where the Supreme Court is located, she’s proud to be from the Bronx. 

“I love the Bronx. I love my community,” she said.

She’s still a huge fan of the New York Yankees, the baseball team that plays its home games in the Bronx. When she wasn’t watching baseball games, young Sotomayor watched Perry Mason, a TV show about a lawyer. The show made her decide she wanted to become a lawyer. It put her on a path that eventually led to the Supreme Court.  

“[Being chosen for the Supreme Court] was the most electrifying moment of my life,” she once told TV host Oprah Winfrey. “[It was] a moment in which you sit and realize that you’ve gone further than any dream you ever had, that you’ve reached something that never seemed possible.”

Dogs get very excited when their human families come home after a few hours away. They wag their tails. They jump up and down. A scientist in Japan recently found that some dogs may even get tears in their eyes. Tears of joy, that is!

Takefumi Kikusui is a scientist. He studies the relationship between humans and animals. A few years ago, Kikusui noticed that one of his dogs got teary-eyed as she was nursing her puppies. He wanted to find out if dogs shed tears when they are happy, like humans sometimes do. So he and other scientists measured the amount of tears dogs shed in two situations: when seeing someone they know and when seeing a member of their human family, both after being apart for a few hours. The dogs shed more tears when they were reunited with their family members than when they were reunited with other people. 

Kikusui knows that dog and human brains both make something called oxytocin in response to happiness. He found that when there is more oxytocin in a dog’s body, the dog’s eyes produce more tears. This led Kikusui to believe that dogs are shedding tears of happiness when they see their human family members after a long time apart.

It’s sweet to think dogs love their humans so much that they cry. But the tears may also help the dogs. Scientists have done studies showing that humans are more likely to give care and attention to a dog with teary eyes than a dog without tears.

Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom (U.K.) has died. She was 96 years old. 

The U.K. has had many kings and queens. Queen Elizabeth was the one who served the longest. She became queen when her father, King George VI, died in 1952. She was queen for 70 years. 

In the U.K., the monarch (king or queen) isn’t the head of the government. That job belongs to the prime minister. But the monarch has many duties. Queen Elizabeth traveled all over the U.K. and the world. She met with world leaders and attended events. She also supported charities—groups that help people who are in need.

In the summer of 1787, leaders from all over the United States met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Their goal was to write a Constitution for the United States. 

This was a big deal. America had been ruled by Britain for more than 100 years. Now, it was an independent country, free from British rule. The Constitution would say how the new nation’s government would work. Writing the Constitution took all summer, but on September 17, 1787, it was signed. Getting to that point wasn’t easy, though. Here’s a little more about the meeting in Philadelphia, which was called the Constitutional Convention.

Who was there?

Most states sent leaders (called delegates) to the Constitutional Convention. These leaders included George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton.

Where did the delegates meet?

The delegates met at the Pennsylvania State House. They kept all the windows closed so no one outside would hear what they were saying. 

What was it like?

Since it was summer and the windows were closed, the building was very hot. The delegates wore coats, long-sleeved shirts, and breeches (a type of pants that went just past the knee) with stockings. Air conditioning hadn’t been invented yet. In fact, there was no electricity back then, so the delegates couldn’t even get a cool breeze from an electric fan.

What did the delegates talk about?

The delegates talked about how the new government should work. They didn’t agree on everything. Some thought the new national government had to be powerful. A powerful government could do things like make laws to protect the people and collect taxes to pay for important things. But others were worried that a powerful government could take away the people’s freedom. 

How did the delegates work things out?

Even after the Constitution was written, some delegates were still worried about the people’s rights. They felt there should be a list of rights, or freedoms, that the government couldn’t take away. This list was written down just a couple of years after the Constitution. It’s called the Bill of Rights.

A pilot named Mack Rutherford just became the youngest person ever to fly solo (alone) around the world. Rutherford is 17 years old.

Rutherford’s small plane took off from Bulgaria, a country in Europe, on March 23, 2022. As Rutherford circled the globe, he flew over 52 countries and stopped in 30 countries to rest and refuel his plane. On August 24, 2022, he finished his journey in Bulgaria, where it had begun five months earlier.

If you’re going to have a vehicle, why not get one that can drive and fly? That’s just what the Switchblade flying car does—and it could be available soon.

A company called Samson Sky has been working on the Switchblade for 14 years. The vehicle has already been tested on the road. In July 2022, the Switchblade got a boost from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which is the government agency that makes rules for aircraft. The FAA approved the Switchblade for flight. Samson Sky is now doing flight tests and says the vehicle could be available to buy within weeks.

When it’s on the road, the Switchblade looks like a very unusual car. It has three wheels, a large windshield, and a sleek, sloping hood. There’s enough room inside for two people. When the driver decides to fly, the vehicle easily changes into a plane. With the push of a button, wings and a tail come out! 

To take flight, the Switchblade requires a runway, which means the driver needs to take it to airport. In the air, it can reach speeds of 160 miles per hour (257.5 kilometers per hour) and climb to 16,000 feet (4,876.8 meters). That’s much lower than a commercial plane, which flies at about 35,000 feet (10,668 meters). 

Several other flying cars are also being developed by other companies. These companies will also need government approval before they can sell their vehicles.

People who want to buy and operate Samson Sky’s Switchblade will need a few things first. For one, they’ll need about $170,000. That’s how much the vehicle is set to cost. They will also need a driver’s license and a license to fly private planes. 

Check out the video, which shows how the Switchblade spreads its wings.

Experts have good news about tigers! There are more of them than they thought. 

A group called the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) keeps track of plant and animal populations. The IUCN says there are between 3,726 and 5,578 tigers in the wild. That’s a lot more than the number of tigers the IUCN counted in 2015. That year, the IUCN estimated that the tiger population was 3,159.

It seems like there are many more tigers than there were in 2015. But experts say they’ve gotten better at counting animal species…so the old count was probably too low. 

Still, it’s good news for tigers, which are endangered (in danger of dying out). In the year 1900, there were about 100,000 tigers in the wild. They lived all across the continent of Asia. But it has become harder for tigers to survive. Much of the rain forests, grasslands, and swamps where tigers live has been taken over by humans—for building and for farming. Humans also hunt tigers. In many cases, it’s because tigers kill livestock (farm animals). Today, tigers are found in the wild only in India and a few other parts of Asia.

Governments and scientists are working hard to save tigers. They are expanding the amount of land that cannot be built on. They are also working to catch people who hunt tigers. Because of this, the tiger population is rising in some countries!

Experts hope that the next time they count the world’s tigers, their numbers will be even higher.

Bellen Woodard is an author, a public speaker, and the head of her own company. And she’s only 11. Woodard has already achieved so much, but she still has big dreams. She wants to help people be proud of who they are.

That’s why Woodard wrote a book called More than Peach. In the book, Woodard writes that when she was 8 years old, a boy in her class asked her to hand him the “skin-colored” crayon. The boy actually wanted the peach-colored crayon. It wasn’t the first time Woodard had heard someone called the peach crayon “skin-colored.” It made her wonder why this happened, when skin can be so many other colors.

“I found it pretty strange that…only one [color] was being called ‘skin-color’ crayon,” she writes in the book.

Soon after, Woodard started a project called More than Peach. She wanted to get more colorful crayons into classrooms—crayons that would let kids draw people with many different skin tones, or colors. Over time, Woodard turned her project into a company and started making crayons. The crayons are called More than Peach, just like the company. Woodard wants to show that it’s important to include everyone. 

Her efforts have attracted a lot of attention. Woodard has made speeches to organizations like the Girl Scouts and has met many leaders, including gymnast Simone Biles and former first lady Michelle Obama. She hopes to inspire other kids. She wants them to know that, if they see something that needs to be changed, they can do something about it.

Woodard’s message isn’t just that crayons need to be available in more colors. It’s also that everyone has value. Because peach isn’t the only skin color.