The Weekly Hoplite April 28, 2017 Volume II, Issue 24

The Weekly Newspaper for the Harrisburg Academy Middle School  One Big Doggy Family By Drue Meals There are over 350 breeds in the world, not including cross-breeds like labradoodles. But we all assume that a dog is a dog no matter what shape or size it is, right? Well, that is true, but a new study done by genetics Elaine Ostrander and Heidi Parker may prove otherwise. Ostrander and Parker have made a new evolutionary family tree of dogs using over 160 popular dog breeds’ gene sequences. Leading them to conclude that dogs aren’t just grouped as breeds, but rather clades. The pair found that all of the dogs’ genes that they inspected fell into 23 different clades. When looking at the dogs in each clade, it was determined

that the groups were based upon the dog's’ specific traits, like being herders, or hunters, or their strength. This led them to believe that in the past, those specific breeds were bred for a certain “role,” like how today’s dog breeders breed their dogs to look a certain way. "First, there was selection for a type, like herders or pointers, and then there was a mixture to get certain physical traits," said Parker. "I think that understanding that types of dogs go back a lot longer than breeds or just physical appearances, and that is something to really think about." Knowing this new information, veterinarians can predict genetic problems in the dogs they treat. It can even help humans too, since dogs can often have the same diseases as humans. So next time you look at your pup, think about all the new relatives they now have, and what wonderful work Elaine Ostrander and Heidi Parker have done to help us to understand our four-legged friends better! . Photo Credit: Dog Time.com

Have trouble concentrating? Fidget cubes can help! By Joely Micek All you fidgeters out there -- you know who you are -- I have a solution for you! There is a new invention called a fidget cube. It has many features such as a spinner, a rolling ball, a switch, buttons, and a joystick. It is the ultimate anti-stress cube! You can get it for $30.00! That’s pretty expensive BUT WORTH IT! So go get one and make all your friends jealous.

How “Curious George” escaped the Nazis By Mason Richwine Margret Rey, the author and illustrator of Curious George, was born on May 16, 1906. After completing college at a famous arts school, she and her family immigrated to Brazil and settled down in Rio De Janeiro where she met a man named H.A. Rey who she married. The couple even adopted two marmoset monkeys. For their honeymoon, they went to Paris, and they liked it so much that they decided to live there. In Paris, the couple began writing books about monkeys. The book “Raffy and the Nine Monkeys” was published and they also had the start of a book called “The Adventures of Fifi.” However, this book remained unfinished, because in 1940, Adolf Hitler sent his troops to take over Paris. Once the residents caught the news, they all fled except a few unfortunate people that had waited too long to escape and had no modes of transport. Two of those unlucky souls were Margret Rey and her husband. But they weren't about to give up. They searched the abandoned shops until they had enough materials to make a bike from scratch. Once the bike was complete, they loaded up their monkeys and supplies and rode for 20 miles to a barn where they could sleep. The next morning, they rode on for 30 more miles to a place where they boarded

a boat and sailed safely to New York. But sadly during the trip, the two monkeys died. All of this time, they kept drafts of The Adventures of Fifi at hand. When they got back to America, they finished the book and it was published by Houghton Mifflin in 1951. But the publisher thought it was wrong to have a boy monkey character named Fifi, so the name was changed from The Adventures of Fifi to Curious George. So, Curious George has more history behind it than what we might think, although the book doesn’t need the history to be a great -- it has won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Animated Program! So next time you see the book on a shelf, think of it as an opportunity to experience history and not just a picture book.

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Weekly Tech Update By Joely Micek This week in our Weekly Tech Update, we will be talking about fitness bands and why they are and are not useful. There are many companies that make fitness bands. These companies go to the highest extent to make sure that their band is the highest of quality. These bands do help many with exercise. It helps many keep in shape and lose weight. Sadly, you can cheat with these bands. By moving your arms back and forth you can gain fake steps. So are fitness bands really worth it? Only you can decide.

Did you know? By Julia Toyer Did you know that the musical Hamilton was not always sung through? Creator, Lin Manuel Miranda thought that after the first song there was no way to go back to scenes because the ball “was just thrown too high in the air.” It took Mianda one year to write the first song and another year to write the second song. He wrote King George’s song on his honeymoon and he wrote “Wait for It” on the subway. In “My Shot,” there was originally a verse for Hercules Mulligan, which goes like this: “I’m Hercules Mulligan, a tailor spying on the British Government / I take the measurements, information and then I smuggle it / Up to my brother's revolutionary covenant / I’m running with the Sons of Liberty, and I’m loving it.”

Animal of the Week By Drue Meals The tardigrade, or the “hardiest creature on Earth,” is an eight-legged microscopic organism. Though you need a microscope to see one, they aren’t as small as you would think -- only .04 of an inch. The tardigrade got its nickname because it can survive in pretty much any condition, like salt water, mud, sub-zero temperatures, and super hot weather! But the most extreme condition is… outer space! Yes, you heard right, the vacuum of outer space! Now, a little background on the tardigrade: Tardigrades were discovered in 1773, but it was given the name “tardigrada” by an Italian biologist in 1776. “Tardigrada” means “slow stepper,” since it reminded him of the lumbering gait of a bear, hence the name “water bear.” Tardigrades can withstand a lot. From radiation of 1,000 times what a human can stand to the pressure of space, some have been known to withstand temperatures at -328 Image Credit: BBC

degrees Fahrenheit! But to withstand this, they curl up into a thing called a “tun.” This slows down their metabolic process almost to zero. This is also called cryptobiosis, which is practically death, even though they can survive like this for decades.

________________ Student of the Week By Annabel Hathaway What is your favorite food? My favorite food is spaghetti with a Caesar salad What is your favorite subject in school? My favorite subject in school is either Math, English, or Spanish What is your favorite color? My favorite color is either blue or silver What activities do you do outside of school? Swimming What pets do you have? I have a Beta fish and a feral cat What grade are you in? 6th Email Hathaway.A@hbgacademy.org if you have the answer. Win a large candybar!

Saturn’s Super Storm By Drue Meals Admire these beautiful photos taken from the Cassini spacecraft in its last few months of flight. This photo was taken as the spacecraft flew between the planet’s rings getting the closest view ever of Saturn’s atmosphere. The scientists at NASA were not sure if Cassini could make it through the rings, since the “rings” are made up of flying debris. So when this picture came in, it was a sign of success! "No spacecraft has ever been this close to Saturn before," said Earl Maize, Cassini project manager and a researcher at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. "We could only rely on predictions, based on our experience with Saturn's other rings, of what we thought this gap between the rings and Saturn would be like." While traveling through the rings, Cassini took over 380,000 images! Including these of the “hurricane,” NASA scientists call it. Photo Credit: Space.com

Tree Story By Jasleen Mann Once upon a time, there lived a tree. His name was John. John had a big family. He had grandparents that were over 300 years old. One day the trees decided to have a family reunion. Then they called it off, because they were trees. That was when they they heard John’s cousin Bobby scream, except he didn’t actually scream because he was a tree. He was being cut down by a lumberjack. That was when John decided he would save Bobby, but then he realized he couldn’t, because he was a tree. Then they all got cut own, and made a lovely wooded resort.

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Artist Corner 

Chinchilla By Drue Meals

Creepy but TRUE Stories (Read At Your Own Risk) By Roman Jensen The Shadow Girl The father of a girl was going through a divorce. While going through the divorce, he slept at his mother's house. His mother claimed the house was haunted by the shadow of a little girl. One night, the dad was working on his computer and saw his daughter out of the corner of his eye. He figured she would go back to bed and she did. Later that night when he went to check on her he got a sick feeling in his stomach and realized she had been staying at her mother,s that weekend. The Intruder One night a 15 year old boy was sleeping in his bedroom when his screen popped off his window. He thought nothing of it until a tattooed hand reached into his bedroom. The kid grabbed a knife a started screaming. The man ran away. When they called the police they found that someone had been sleeping under their trailer with water, extra clothes, and a…...hatchet. The Basement In the middle of the night a woman heard her bedroom door open and someone walk in. Her back was to the door and could only see the dark reflection. The man shouted, “Are you in here?” The women did not answer and then the intruder said, “Fine. Whatever.” Then the intruder left the room. She phoned the police and when

they got there they asked the creepy question, “Who has been living in your basement?” Elmo A family who lived in Florida received an unpleasant surprise when their son James’s talking elmo started singing, “Kill James.” The doll was meant to repeat the owner's name and sing songs, but this is just creepy. The weirdest thing was it was not doing that until the mother changed the batteries. The Bomb One night this man had a dream that he and his mom were going to die in a bomb blast. The next day he and his mom were at a market. His stomach started to hurt and he whined. His mom could not take the whining so they went home. An hour later the market was blown up in a bomb blast.

_______________ Editors: Joely Micek, Julia Toyer Editorial Staff: Jasleen Mann, Annabel Hathaway, Drue Meals, Mason Richwine, Roman Jensen, Hannah Keep Advisor: Mrs. Haywood