Ranger Rick articles from January 1996

Ranger Rick archives from January 1996

Battery included! (poem and short article on electric eels)
January 1, 1996... An electrical eel In search of a meal Has manners most shockingly rude. Yet this slow-swimming fryer Requires no wire To sizzle and frizzle her food. How amazing to glide With a battery inside, For she may not be clever or...

Adventures of Ranger Rick: Elmo Armadillo goes on a shopping spree. (short story)
January 1, 1996... Elmo Armadillo goes on a shopping spree. Ranger Rick and his friends stood in a large clearing in Deep Green Wood. "Looks like everyone's here," said Becky Hare, spinning a ball on her paw. "Let's start the game!" Becky sprang into action,...

Scarlett, what are you doing when you're not answering questions?(Ask Scarlett)(question and answer column for children)(Column)
January 1, 1996... Scarlett, what are you doing when you're not answering questions? Jed Miller; Neligh, NE Seems like I'm always answering questions! I get about 100 a month from you kids, and I try to answer every one. The hard part is choosing the few that...

Why don't aquarium sharks eat the other fish in the tank?(Ask Scarlett)(question and answer column for children)(Column)
January 1, 1996... Why don't aquarium sharks eat the other fish in their tanks? Joel Conrad; St. Petersburg, FL Sharks can--and do--sometimes treat themselves to their tankmates. So what can be done to keep all the little guys from disappearing? The small fish...

I saw Simba eating bugs in The Lion King. That made me sick! Do lions really eat bugs?(Ask Scarlett)(question and answer column for children)(Column)
January 1, 1996... I saw Simba eating bugs in The Lion King. That made me sick! Do lions really eat bugs? Brendan Walsleben; Downingtown, PA Probably not. Lions are BIG hunters that go mostly for BIG prey-on-the-hoof, such as zebras. They also can be pretty lazy...

Kelp. (photos and essay on kelp beds and the animals that live in them)(Cover Story)
January 1, 1996... There's an underwater wonderland off the coast of California. It's a forest, but it's not full of trees. Instead, it's made up of seaweed! These forest plants (see photos) are giant kelp, a type of algae (AL-jee). Giant kelp--and other types...

Do you eat seaweed? (food products made from seaweed)(Cover Story)
January 1, 1996... If you dip into ice cream or add dressing to your salad, you could be eating kelp without even knowing it. Yum! The foods shown below and many other products contain algin (AL-jin), an ingredient that comes from giant kelp. Algin helps keep...

No way! I can't be a gerbil! (short story)
January 1, 1996... Still half asleep, I knew that my alarm hadn't gone off yet. I rolled over and tried to snuggle deeper into my pillow. But my pillow didn't feel right. It felt crumbly. It felt grainy. It felt a lot like sand. Sand? I jerked awake and...

Rangers: gerbils are popular pets in the United States. (introduction of gerbils to the U.S.)
January 1, 1996... Rangers: Gerbils are popular pets in the United States. But before 1954, there were no gerbils here at all. That year, a scientist brought some wild gerbils over from Mongolia to use in scientific studies. As the gerbils multiplied, the scientist...

Reader riddles. (collection of jokes submitted by children)
January 1, 1996... Wow! Our readers made up hundreds of goofy riddles after finding out how to write them in last May's issue. We've stopped laughing long enough to print some of the ones you sent us, but we wish we had room to include them all. Thanks to all of...

Bashers, furry fliers, and other ancient wonders. (short article on anatomical similarities between dinosaurs and living animals)
January 1, 1996... Bet you know at least one way that scientists find out about ancient animals. They study old bones and other fossils, right? But scientists also get some great clues about long-ago life by looking at animals that are alive today. Really....

Glove-o-saurus. (directions for making a dinosaur puppet)
January 1, 1996... With just a wiggle of your fingers, you can take this dinosaur puppet for a walk. What You Need * old rubber glove * strip of felt*, 1 1/2 X 12 inches (3.5 X 30 cm), for the row of points * pieces of felt* for making spots or stripes...

Crazy about cranes. (International Crane Foundation's efforts to breed cranes in captivity and release them into the wild)
January 1, 1996... It may sound strange, but I'd do almost anything for a crane! Look--that's me holding a crane puppet (see photo, left). And there's a baby whooping crane being fed by a puppet (below). Why all the puppets? Well, I'm a scientist who studies...