Kids News - Articles with 400-600 Words

Columbus Day, which honors the Italian explorer's October 12, 1492, arrival to the Americas, has been a US federal holiday since 1971. However, the holiday, marked annually on the second Monday of October (October 10th this year), has always been controversial. Many believe that the European settlers' mistreatment of the Native American people is not a cause for celebration....

On September 25, 2022, Jewish people worldwide will observe Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. The two-day celebration is held annually on the first and second days of Tishrei — the first month of the Jewish year. While the holiday's exact date changes each year, it is almost always in September or October....

The giant African land snail (GALS) has returned to Florida for a third time. The invasive species was first detected in the state in 1969. It took seven years and $1 million to get rid of them. The gastropods reappeared in 2011 and were eradicated in 2021 at a cost of $23 million. On June 23, 2022, Florida officials reported that the snails had been found in the New Port Richey area of Pasco County....

A famous portrait of former British Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill, has been stolen from the Fairmont Château Laurier in Ottawa, Canada. It has been replaced with a copy. The Hollywood-like heist was uncovered on August 19, 2022, after an employee noticed the portrait's frame did not match that of the other photographs in the hotel's reading room....

Queen Elizabeth II, the United Kingdom's longest-serving monarch, died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8, 2022. She was 96. Her historic 70-year reign spanned several wars, a pandemic, 15 British prime ministers, and 14 US Presidents! Her eldest son, Prince Charles, was sworn in as King of England on September 10, 2022....

A 1952 Mickey Mantle rookie baseball card sold for a record $12.6 million on August 27, 2022. It's the most ever paid for any sports item or memorabilia. The record previously belonged to a 1986 World Cup jersey worn by Argentinian soccer star Diego Maradona. It was auctioned for $9.3 million in May 2022....

Bacteria can be found almost everywhere on Earth, from the bottom of the ocean to the inside of our intestines. However, the single-celled organisms typically measure a few micrometers and can only be seen through a microscope. Now, researchers have identified a thin, thread-like bacteria species that grows up to 0.4 inches (1 centimeter) long. Named Thiomargarita magnifica, it is the largest bacteria found to date....

San Francisco's public trash cans have long outlived their lifespan and need to be replaced. However, the current design is inadequate for the city's burgeoning population and the increasingly larger number of tourists. The garbage receptacles also get rummaged through by scavengers, who leave behind a mess. To alleviate the issues, in 2018, San Francisco Public Works officials set out in search of a perfect trash can. The quest proved harder than they had thought....

Batesian mimicry — where a harmless species mimics a harmful one to escape predators — is widespread in animals. But most recorded examples of the phenomena are visual. For instance, the harmless scarlet kingsnakes have evolved to resemble a venomous species, while the flower-loving hoverflies have adopted the persona of stinging wasps. Now, for the first time, researchers have uncovered a mammal that has developed acoustic Batesian mimicry to scare away predators....