Seal of survival Found just 800 miles from the South Pole, Weddell seals live farther south than any other mammal. They spend winters under the ice, periodically coming out through blowholes and cracks to breathe. –animalia.bio

You read it first in this week’s The Factory in Guide magazine.

Seals are cute creatures. The pups especially.  How can you not love their cute, little faces!  It’s fun to see them at zoos. They are always laying around, mostly basking in the sun or swimming when we spot them. But at zoos, they get fed and don’t have to do much more than that.

But, as with all untamed creatures in the wild, they are exactly that - wild, and can be unpredictable. They are predatory. This means they hunt and kill to obtain food to survive. They also have to stay on guard and when needed, fight off other predators.

The special seal we will be reading about today is called a Weddell seal.  The earliest discovery of these seals that we know of is by Captain James Weddell in 1823 when he was on an expedition to the South Pole and studied them.

The Weddell is a rather tubby animal that weighs up to 900 pounds, with a length of about 10 feet. These seals have gray coats and lighter undersides. Their entire bodies are marked with light gray splotches. Their small heads have large eyes that help them hunt prey in dark, icy waters. Fish make up the bulk of their diet. They also eat a fair amount of squid and krill. Their favored food is the large Antarctic cod, which can weigh 154 pounds.

These seals are special because they dwell the farthest south in the Antarctic of any other seal. They usually don’t migrate. They stay within sight of land and don’t usually travel too far from the place they were born. Because they are great divers and can hold their breath for upwards to 90 minutes, they spend most of their time in the water. 

Winter time will find them under the fast-ice - ice that is held fast (attached) to the coastline. They come up only to breathe through the holes they create in the ice. They can create these air holes by using their very sharp lower teeth to cut through the ice. Eventually their teeth wear down because of this, so when they are older it is harder for them to hunt. Even so, they can live about 30 years.

This reminds me of Revelation 4:11 which says, “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.”

Scripture taken from the New King James Version, Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Sweet treat Date honey, AKA silan, isn't made by bees -- it's a Middle Eastern syrup made by boiling and mashing dates. It's added to any dish that might otherwise have honey or another syrup. --purewow.com

You read it first in this week’s The Factory in Guide magazine.

Do you have a sweet tooth? A lot of people do. This doesn't mean that one tooth is sweeter than another. It means that people who have a sweet tooth like things that are sweet. Many people have their favorite dessert or candy. Some people like cake while some only like pie. But all of these things have one thing in common, they all contain some type of sweetener.

Now, I've had honey, and I've had maple syrup, but I have never had date honey - or as they call it in the Middle East, silan date syrup. Have you? It sounds yummy if you like dates. Dates are very sweet and taste great by themselves or in cookie bars or granola.

Strictly speaking, silan date syrup is a very sweet syrup made from boiled and mashed dates. This substance can be used as a substitute for honey or maple syrup in recipes. But the best thing about this natural sweetener is that each serving of date syrup contains amounts of magnesium, potassium, amino acids, antioxidants and other trace minerals.

All these nutritional benefits are so much better for us than standard cane sugar. In fact, a tablespoon of date syrup contains more than twice the potassium, calcium, and magnesium levels of maple syrup or honey, with up to 10 times the antioxidants. Another site states date syrup contains several phytonutrient antioxidants that are shown to have antibacterial properties.

There are different kinds of dates. Two of the most popular are Medjool and Deglet Noor. The Medjool dates tend to be larger, softer and easier to work with in recipe preparation than the Deglet Noor, and require less boiling time because they are not as hard.

The dates come from the date palm tree, which can grow to about 100 feet tall. Leaves on the date palm only appear at the very top of the tree in a crown. Date palms can take 4 to 8 years after planting before they will bear fruit, and start producing viable yields for commercial harvest between 7 to 10 years. Mature date palms can produce 70-140 kilograms (150-300 pounds) of dates per harvest season.

Another cool thing about the date and the date palm tree is that these have been around for hundreds of years. In fact, Jesus probably ate this very fruit when he was growing up here on earth. Now that's sweet!

Scripture taken from the New King James Version, Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Wordsmith Willie William Shakespeare is credited with inventing over 400 words - including bedroom, chopped, courtship, lackluster, shudder and unreal. -- sparknotes.com

You read it first in this week’s The Factory in Guide magazine.

Words! Words can be really fun! Apparently William Shakespeare thought so, too, as he used a lot of them in his poems and plays. And, when there wasn't one that really worked for him, he created new ones. In fact, new words are being created everyday. If you ever play the game Scrabble, and use the dictionary that goes with the game, you can see how often new words are added every year and how often the game's dictionary is updated. According to one estimate, a new word is created every 98 minutes (approximately 14.7 new words per day) and hundreds of words are added to English dictionaries each year.

Do you have any favorite words? Some are just fun to say, and even more fun to spell. The word plethora, for example, means overabundance. There are a plethora of words in the dictionary. Or superfluity, also means overabundance or in excess. Then there are the words shenanigans, brouhaha, monkeyshine and tomfoolery. These words all mean trouble or funny business. They definitely give you the feeling that mischief is right around the corner!

If you like to write poetry, words are very important. Sometimes a poem just isn't complete unless it has just the right words here and there, in order to carry just the right meaning. In Shakespeare's day, which was from 1564 - 1616, often the words that he created were single words that he brought together to create a word with a different flavor or meaning, like bedroom or lackluster. Or, he would take a noun and use it as an adjective. I wonder how he would feel about the word "mindblower" today? Or the adjective mind-blowing? I think he would like those.

There is a game that my friends used to play. One person would choose a word from the dictionary, and everyone playing had to write a definition for it. The person that chose the word would also write the actual meaning and then collect all the other people's definitions. All the definitions would be read and people had to guess which was the correct meaning. The person to guess five correct definitions first was the winner. Some of the definitions people write can be really funny. It is a very entertaining game. But it is also a learning game, too, as we learned about many words we had never known before. And it definitely came in handy when playing Scrabble!

The books of Psalms and Proverbs in the Bible quite often read like poetry. They can be very uplifting and meaningful, as well. There are many promises of reassurance for us in these books, to increase our faith. Why not try reading some today?! And you might just find a word or two that you never knew before!

Scripture taken from the New King James Version, Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Zap The electric eel species Electrophorus voltai, found in the Amazon region, discharges 860 volts of electricity - more than any other known animal. --phys.org

You read it first in this week’s The Factory in Guide magazine.

Imagine having the shock power to take down a horse - something many times that of your body weight!  What can do this? Why, the electric eel, of course!

For a long while scientists believed there was only one species of electric eel  - Electrophorus electricus. But lately, they have found two more species!  The one we will review today is of the species Electrophorus voltai.  This marvel of creation can give a whallopping jolt of 860 volts of electricity! While this is not enough to kill a horse outright, it will knock it to the ground.

The electric eel is actually a knifefish. Its elongated body looks more like a wide snake with a long fin on its underside. This fin is what helps it move through the water. Their coloring varies, but typically they are dark gray or brown with a reddish or yellow underbelly. Its wide mouth has several sharp teeth to help it hold onto its food, like shrimp, crabs or even small mammals.

They find their home in the dark and muddy freshwater rivers like the Amazon and Orinoco in South America. Because they are nocturnal, they usually feed during the night. However, their eyesight is poor, so they use what’s called electroreceptors to help them find their food. They can actually send out small electrical pulses so if there are any fish hiding nearby, they are caused to twitch and reveal their hiding place. Then when the eel finds a good meal it sends out the larger, lethal electrical dose that renders their meal helpless.

Three specialized electric organs—the main electrical organ, the Hunter’s organ and the Sachs’ organ—make up about 80 percent of the fish’s body. Its remaining vital organs are tightly packed within the anterior, or front, part of its body.  Once the eel has discharged its full shock, it takes awhile to build back up in the creature’s body again.

This fishy eel is also unique in that it must rise to the surface to gulp air into its mouth, where the blood vessels absorb the oxygen. It does not have lungs, but does need oxygen to survive. It can grow up to 8 feet long and weigh as much at 44 pounds.

The electric eel is also known for its unusual breeding behavior. In the dry season, a male eel makes a nest from his saliva into which the female lays her eggs. As many as 3,000 young hatch from the eggs in one nest. Male electric eels are much smaller than the females. Eels are known to live for about 15 years in the wild.

Well, this very unique creature with its electric hunting abilities is amazing. It would be interesting to see it in action! It causes me to ask, “How do I use up my energy?” Just like the eel has to recharge, we need to recharge by praying and reading God’s Word, so that we can be energized again to share with others.  How does this help you to exercise your faith?

"Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing." 1 Thess 5:11 NKJV

Scripture taken from the New King James Version, Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

High trees The unusual-looking plants called Joshua trees aren’t actually trees at all. They’re the world’s largest yuccas, and only grow between elevations of 2,000 and 6,000 feet. –tentree.com

You read it first in this week’s The Factory in Guide magazine.

Have you ever had a chance to visit Joshua Tree National Park? It is a national park in southern California where the Mojave and the Colorado deserts come together. (The Mojave includes parts of Nevada, Utah and Arizona, as well). And it has a lot of Joshua Trees. So, what is so special about the Joshua Tree? And why is it called the Joshua Tree?

Well, I’m glad you asked!  The Joshua Tree isn’t even really a tree, it’s a plant. But it can grow very big like a tree, some even over 40 feet tall. It is actually in the lily family, and is the world’s largest yucca plant. Another name for it is the yucca palm, an evergreen plant. It has pointy sword-like leaves, and is quite prickly.

An interesting fact about these special yucca plants is that they can only grow between an elevation of 2,000 - 6,000 feet, as is mentioned above. They apparently like really hot days and cool nights, and dry places where there is not much water.

Legend has it that a group of Mormon believers were migrating through the area in the 1800s, and when they saw the Joshua Tree and its branches reaching out, they said it reminded them of Joshua of the Bible, stretching his hands out to God in prayer. They felt like the trees were guiding them on their way. That’s why they called these plants Joshua trees.

Another interesting fact about these plants is they are dependent on the yucca moth.  The yucca moths are the only things capable of pollinating Joshua trees, yet the yucca moth also relies on the Joshua tree for seeds, which the moth larvae feed on.

The plant blooms from February to April, but only during the rainy years. It has creamy-yellow or green flowers. They are bell-shaped and arranged in clusters. Apparently, their flowers produce an unpleasant smell.

Well, just like the Joshua Tree relies on the yucca moth to keep it alive through pollination, we must rely on Jesus. Without Jesus we would soon perish. He gives us the air we breathe, the water we drink, the sunshine and everything else we need, and especially the chance to choose eternal life.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version, Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Fluorescent fur Platypus fur glows under UV light. --livescience.com

You read it first in this week’s The Factory in Guide magazine.

God has made some pretty strange and awesome creatures on this planet! Without a doubt, the platypus of Australia has to be one of the most unique and wonderful of them all.

Why do I think this? Well, for starters it is a mammal that looks more like a duck in many respects. It lays eggs and it has a large looking duck-like bill, and it has paddle flippers kind of like duck’s feet. It also spends a lot of time in the marshy water, probably eating some of the same kinds of things a duck would eat.

But it also reminds me of a beaver. Its body has fur and is similar in color to a beaver. While in the water its tail floats behind him like a beaver’s. However, the platypus’ tail is covered with fur. And like the beaver, they swim very well and spend a lot of time in the water. In fact, the beaver’s tail looks kind of like the platypus’ bill!

When the platypus dives to find food it closes its eyes and ears, so it can’t see or hear in the water.  They have a system of thousands of specialized nerve endings in their snout. The nerve endings allow them to move around and detect electrical signals given off by the muscles of prey.

There is another striking feature to the platypus, apparently its fur glows differing shades of green and blue under ultraviolet light! Under visible light a platypus’s extremely dense fur — which insulates and protects them in cold water — is a drab brown, so the trippy glow revealed under UV light on a stuffed museum specimen was a big surprise. 

Biofluorescence — absorbing and re-emitting light as a different color — is widespread in fish, amphibians, birds and reptiles. But the trait is much rarer in mammals, and this is the first evidence of biofluorescence in egg-laying mammals, also known as monotremes, scientists reported in a new study.

Platypuses navigate their twilit, aquatic environments through mechanoreception, the detection of mechanical stimuli such as touch and sound, and electrostimulation, the perception of natural electrical signals. Because they don't rely heavily on sight, it's possible that their biofluorescence is not used to communicate with each other, but to reduce their visibility to predators, as in the case in some biofluorescent crustaceans.

While scientists are still studying why some mammals glow different colors in UV light, they do know that most of these are nocturnal or most active in dusk and dawn. The platypus is indeed a wondrous work! Psalm 145:4, 5 says, "One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts. I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, And on Your wondrous works." NKJV

Scripture taken from the New King James Version, Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Life under pressure The ocean’s midnight zone, from about 3,300 feet to 13,100 feet under the surface is a realm of perpetual darkness.  The only light comes from bioluminescent creatures and it has a steady temperature of 39 ℉ (4℃ ). –whoi.edu

You read it first in this week’s The Factory in Guide magazine.

Did you know there are different layers of Ocean? That’s right! Just like the Earth has different layers like crust, mantle, outer core and inner core, the oceans have layers as well.

The different layers of the ocean are Sunlight Zone, which goes down to about 200 meters or about 656 feet; Twilight Zone, which goes down the next 1000 meters or about 3280 feet; Midnight Zone, which goes down the next 4000 meters or about 13,123 feet; Abyssal (Abyss) Zone, which goes down the next 6000 meters or about 18,685 feet; and finally Hadal (Trench) Zone, which continues down the last 11,000 meters or about 36,089 feet. 

The one we want to talk about today is the Midnight Zone. Some scientists say that this zone has three layers in it and just include the Abyssal Zone and Hadal Zone in this one layer. Either way, it is a most interesting section of the ocean, one in which we have hardly been able to research!

This is the layer where the sun doesn’t ever shine, and so anything living in this layer has to get by without sight as we know it.  Also, the temperature of this layer stays at a fairly consistent 39 degrees F or 4 degrees C, so just above freezing. All this to say, it is always dark and cold.

Another amazing thing about living so far down in darkness is that creatures here are bioluminescent, which is a big word! It means they have the ability to glow! A possible reason for this is so they can attract a mate and reproduce.

All the water above creates tremendous pressures, up to 5,800 pounds per square inch (680 kg per square cm). The pressure is so great it is hard to imagine any life other than bacteria could survive here. Yet it does. Many of the animals here are soft-bodied, which allows them to absorb pressures which might injure or kill other species. These creatures often survive by eating organic material which drifts down through the depths. Others feed off the earth itself, consuming bacteria produced from the methane and sulfides seeping through the ocean floor. These are one of the few food webs on the planet which do not include the sun.

As scientists uncover more fantastic facts about wonders of the deep oceans, the more we see a very creative God. "O LORD, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all. The earth is full of Your possessions--This great and wide sea, in which are innumerable teeming things, living things both small and great." Psalms 104:24-25 NKJV

Scripture taken from the New King James Version, Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Stayin’ alive Cardio-pulminary resuscitation (CPR) is a life-saving technique used for someone whose heart has stopped beating. In 1740 the Paris Academy of Sciences recommended mouth-to-mouth resuscitation for drowning victims. Today, hands-only CPR is recommended in an emergency until professional help can arrive.--surefirecpr.com

You read it first in this week’s The Factory in Guide magazine.

Have you ever been around someone who started choking or having a heart attack? Was there someone around who could help them?  What did you do? Were you really nervous? I always get nervous in times like that.  But I am a lot less nervous when I know more of what to do for people.

Health issues or accidents happen all the time, and am I sure glad there are people who know what to do in those situations!  But the truth is, a lot of us could learn more so we can be ready to help if it should be needed. Even kids can learn to help. Ask your parents or your teachers if you are interested in learning more about CPR or First Aid.

CPR stands for three big words (cardio-pulminary resuscitation) that simply mean a special way to help someone’s heart start beating and for them to keep breathing if they are not, until professional help can come.  Although it wasn’t always called CPR, aspects of this method have been around for a long time.

The Bellows Method was used to hopefully restore breathing, first used by Swiss physician Paracelsus from the 1530s - 1800s. This method used a bellow device to blow air into someone’s mouth which would help to expand their lungs and keep them breathing.

In 1891, external compressions, (which means pushing down on someone’s chest over their heart in repeated movements), successfully restarted the hearts of 2 young human patients of German surgeon Dr. Friedrich Maass. He became the first to advocate chest compressions, rather than ventilation alone, to help with circulation. 

Resusci Anne was produced in 1960. The life-size training manikin (a collaborative effort by Drs. Safar, Elam, and Gordon and Norwegian toymaker Åsmund Lærdal) used to teach CPR skills to more than 400 million people—and counting—worldwide.

And today, we have CPR as well as AEDs. AEDs are portable, life-saving devices called automated external defibrillators. This simply means, if your heart is suddenly out of rhythm or has stopped altogether, someone can use this device on your chest and it will give an electric shock to your heart, hopefully successfully restoring proper heart beat and rhythm, until professional help can come.

All these methods will help to save lives in this world. But what about after this life? I am very glad that Jesus came to make a way to save our lives in the world to come - Heaven. Because He was willing to come to earth and give His life in our place, we can have eternal life!  All we have to do is believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.  John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." Acts 16:31 says, … “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” NKJV

Scripture taken from the New King James Version, Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Cat mystery How do cats purr? Signals from their brain make their voice box and diaphragm [a muscle between the chest and abdomen] vibrate. One reason why is that purring helps stimulate healing of the bones and tendons. --greatpetcare.com

You read it first in this week’s The Factory in Guide magazine.

Many people have pets. Some people love dogs, some love cats. Some love both and many other pets, too! I know a young lady who had a chinchilla. It was kind of messy, but she loved it! Do you have a pet? Pets are fun and keep us company. They give us lots of love. But they also require love and care, as well.

For those of you who have cats and kittens, have you ever wondered why they purr? I always thought it was because they were content and felt loved. And it might be, it’s hard to know for sure.  Let’s see what the experts have to say.

Kittens have the ability to make sounds from birth, and may be heard making little mews to let their mother know they're hungry, says Catster. Purring typically begins during week three, and kittens tend to become more vocal as they start being able to walk, play and explore their surroundings.

The cat is the only animal that makes a sound called a purr. Cats produce purring in their throat. No one knows exactly why cats purr, but it may be a sign of comfort. Cats also make other sounds, including meowing, hissing, yowling, and growling.

Cats purr for several reasons.  One, could be because newborn kittens are born blind and deaf, so the vibrations of the mother’s purr help her kittens find their way to her for nursing, care and warmth.  Another reason could be that when cats are ill or stressed they will purr to help relieve their pain and anxiety. In fact, science has discovered that cats release feel-good endorphins when purring. Also, cats may purr to get their human’s attention to give them some affection.

Inside each of these cats' brains is a special timer.  This timer can send rhythmic nerve messages -- at 25 electrical pulses per second -- to a particular muscle in the cat's voice box. With the first pulse from the brain's timer, the muscle swings the vocal folds in the larynx together. It almost closes off the air passage through the voice box. With the next pulse, the muscle relaxes. The airway again opens. These opening and closing folds change the airflow through the cat's voice box. The airflow is usually steady as the mountain lion or bobcat inhales and exhales. When the timer's working this steady stream turns into a putt-putt-putt of air through the larynx. What does this putt putt putt sound like? Purrrrrr.

Of course a full-grown mountain lion purrs about twenty times louder than that friendly puss who sleeps most of the afternoon at the foot of your bed. Not all kinds of cats can purr. Cats that can roar -- such as tigers, jaguars and African lions -- can not purr. And cats that can purr --such as cougars, bobcats and household tabbies -- cannot roar.

Well, our pets show us lots of love most of the time. There are times when they can get stressed out, too. But, usually if we show them love they will love us back.  This reminds me of Luke 6:31, “And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.” NKJV   I think this works for animals, as well. And when our pets - especially cats are happy - we may even hear them purr!

Scripture taken from the New King James Version, Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

More than just a fluffy stick Cattails -- also known as reed mace and corn dog grass -- have many uses in nature. Their fluff provides nesting for hummingbirds, while beavers use their leaves to decorate and line their lodges. -- kidadl.com

You read it first in this week’s The Factory in Guide magazine.

Have you ever been walking around a lake surrounded by lots of vegetation, or near a marsh and heard the redwing blackbird's song? They love areas like this. These are areas where we can see a lot of birds because of all the good food and building materials that grow there for them. Especially if there are bulrushes or cattails!

Cattails are called by a few different names. The one I like best is corn dog grass. It does look like a corn dog on a stick, doesn't it?! Do you get kind of hungry when you see this plant? Well, you may be interested to know that this plant is good for people food as well as for birds and animals.

These plants grow as tall, green stalks and can get upwards to 9 feet. They produce a brown corndog shaped flower. And they usually grow in clumps in wetlands or watery, marshy places. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) tells us that, "From spring to summer, cattail shoots offer a nutritious treat. One must simply peel away the outer layers of the base of the cattail to reveal a white inner core that is slightly sweet and has a refreshing taste, similar to cucumber or zucchini. While they are good raw, they are also especially tasty when sautéed with wild carrots and ginger."

You can get a healthy dose of beta carotene, niacin, riboflavin, potassium, phosphorus and vitamin C just from the shoot itself! But wait! There's more! Did you know that the shoots produce a sticky type of jelly. This can be collected and used as a type of starch or thickening agent in soups and gravies, as well.

Birds love to collect the long leaves of the plant to build their nests. And they eat the fluffy seeds that emerge from the flower of the plant around the middle of the summer. The bigger birds like to nest in the plants because they offer lots of shade and protection. Larger animals also like to hide in them as well, like deer, raccoon, rabbits and turkeys.

But food and shelter are not the only benefits of this plant. The cattail stock is similar to papyrus and other sedge plants which the ancient Egyptians of the Bible used to make paper. They would cut and collect the stalks, then soak them. Then they would pound them, making a pulpy substance which they would press and dry. All this would take much time, but the end result would be a paper they could write on.

The long leaves of the cattail are also good for weaving baskets. This reminds me of baby Moses in Exodus 2:3, when God directed his mother to make a basket out of bulrushes to put him in so she could save him. The baby basket was placed among the bulrushes which also provided Moses protection, as well. You can read the exciting story in Exodus 2! Enjoy!

Scripture taken from the New King James Version, Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.