France and England were deep into the Hundred Years’ War at this point. At that time in
history, the two nations were not as separate as they are now, and there was a battle raging over who should be king of the general area. By 1429, Henry VI of England was claiming the throne and the English occupied Paris and all of northern France. Joan had two missions, thanks to the voices that guided her: to recover her homeland from English domination and reclaim the besieged city of Orleans; and to see the dauphin of France, Charles VII, crowned king. She left her home, without telling her parents, and appealed to the captain of the dauphin’s army, telling him of her divine mission. He initially dismissed the notion of a fifteen-year-old girl having the leadership capacity to head his forces. However, her persistence and clarity of vision ultimately convinced him, and she went on to convince the dauphin as well that she was on a mission from God meant to save him and restore France. After being examined by a board of theologians, she was given the rank of captain and allowed to lead men into battle.
She was seventeen when she led her troops to victory over the English at the battle of Orleans in May 1429. She rode in white armor and carried a banner bearing the likenesses of her three saints. It wasn’t all that unusual at that time for women to fight alongside men; indeed, throughout the Middle Ages women had, when necessary, worn armor, led armies, ridden horses, and defended castles and lands. Joan was an excellent leader. Through her self-assured confidence, her courage, and her determination, she was able to effectively command soldiers and captains alike. She organized her army of men into professional soldiers, and even required them to attend mass and go to confession. So formidable was her leadership that it was said when her troops approached, the enemy fled the battlefield. But by far her most innovative act was instilling among her people a sense of nationalism and patriotic pride: she was one of the first leaders to consider England and France as separate countries, with separate cultures and traditions that were worth fighting to preserve.
Due in great part to Joan’s leadership on the battlefield, Charles VII was crowned king of France on July 17, 1429 in Reims Cathedral. Her victory, however, was short-lived: she was captured by the Burgundians in 1430 while defending Compiegne, near Paris, and was sold to the English. The English turned her over to the court at Rouen to be tried for witchcraft and crimes against the church. Though the witchcraft charge was dismissed (on the grounds that she was a virgin), she was accused of perpetrating crimes against God by wearing men’s clothing. After a fourteenmonth trial, during which she never strayed from her insistence on the divinity of her voices and the absolute rightness of her calling, Joan was convicted and burned at the stake in the Rouen marketplace on May 30, 1431. Her last words were, “Jesus! Jesus!” She was nineteen years old.
Almost twenty-five years after her death, Pope Callixtus III reopened the case at the request of Inquisitor-General Jean Brehal and Joan’s mother Isabelle Romée. Joan was vindicated as a martyr and declared an innocent woman on July 7, 1456. It was nearly 500 years after her death that she was canonized as a saint, on May 16, 1920, by Pope Benedict XV. Joan of Arc is now recognized as the patron saint of France.
The story of a girl guided by voices to change the world has proved irresistible to storytellers and artists from the time of her death to the present day. She continues to serve as an inspiration to daring girls everywhere.
Making a Willow Whistle
YOU WILL NEED
♦ An 8″ straight, smooth, round willow twig
♦ A Swiss Army knife
♦ Water
Find a willow twig that is straight and round, without any side branches, less than an inch thick, and about 8 inches long.
Using your Swiss Army knife, cut one end of the willow twig at an angle to make the mouthpiece. Then cut just the end of the pointy tip off to make it a little blunt.
On the top side of the twig, the side opposite your angled cut, carve a small notch in the willow, starting just past the point where your angled cut ends.
Just more than halfway down, cut a ring around the twig, taking care to cut just the outer layer of bark and not all the way through the wood.
Wet the twig (from the ring to the mouthpiece) with water, tap it gently with your knife to loosen the bark, and then carefully twist and pull the bark off. Try not to rip, tear, or break the bark, because you’ll need to put it back on the twig. Dunk it in water to keep it moist until you need it again.
Go back to the notch you made on the top side of the twig, make it deeper, and cut it some more so that it extends down the length of the twig towards the end that still has bark on. The length and depth of this notch is what determines the pitch of your whistle. Carve off just a sliver of wood from the upper surface of the mouthpiece to make it totally flat.
Dip the bark-less end of your twig into a glass of water and slip the bark back on.
Now all you have to do is blow! It may take a few tries or alterations to get it right, but keep at it and you’ll have your willow whistle blowing.
A dried-out willow whistle can be revived with a thorough soaking in water, but you might want to keep it wrapped in a damp towel so that it doesn’t dry completely.
Periodic Table of the Elements
THE MYSTERIOUS Periodic Table of the Elements holds up to 118 squares with numbers and abbreviations that are, really, the secret code to how the universe works. In these squares rests the true story of how elements combine to create chemical reactions and electricity and the tantalizing mechanisms of life itself.
A scientist named Dimitri Mendeleev of Siberia published The Periodic Table of the Elements in 1869 (beating another European scientist to fame by just a few months). Mendeleev listed all the elements that scientists knew at that time—63, but he had figured out the pattern of those elements, which had gaps, and predicted there were actually 92.
Mendeleev was correct in his prediction of elements in the gaps. And we now know, in fact, that there are 111 natural elements, along with seven (slightly controversial) elements made in the laboratory. Our chart shows 109 of them.
Some elements—like silver, gold, tin, sulfur, copper, and arsenic—were known in classical antiquity, and native peoples of the Americas knew about platinum. Others were discovered during Europe’s Age of Science, or more recently. Six elements are the core of life as we know it: phosphorous and sulfur (the main components of DNA), carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. Women scientists have discovered several elements:
Element Abbreviation/Atomic Number Discovered By Date
Polonium Po/84 Marie Sklodowska Curie 1898
Radium Ra/88 Marie Sklodowska Curie with her husband Pierre Curie 1898
Rhenium Re/75 Ida Tacke-Noddack with her colleagues Walter Noddack and Otto Carl Berg 1925
Francium Fr/87 Marguerite Catherine Perey 1939
WHAT IS AN ELEMENT?
Elements are basic pieces of matter, composed of a single unique kind of atom. There is nothing that’s not made of elements.
WHAT IS AN ATOM?
An atom is the basic structure of everything. A group of atoms is called a molecule, and molecules form everything we know, sense, live in, and touch.
WHAT IS IN AN ATOM?
Protons, neutrons, electrons, quarks, and gluons, none of which are visible to our eyes, unfortunately. Protons are in the atom’s nucleus and carry a positive charge. Each element has a unique number of protons. In fact, the protons determine the order of the elements in the chart. Os, or Osmium, is not the random 76th element, it has 76 protons—hence its place on the chart. The number of protons in an atom never changes. Hydrogen, H, always has 1 proton. Aluminum, Al, always has 13. The proton number distinguishes one element from the others and accounts for each element’s character and behavior. Neutrons also are in the nucleus, and carry a neutral charge. Both protons and neutrons break down into quarks, and quarks are held together by gluons.
Electrons have a negative electrical charge and they orbi
t around the nucleus. The sharing of electrons between atoms creates bonds. In metals, the movement of electrons can generate electrical current.
WHAT DO THE ABBREVIATIONS AND NUMBERS IN EACH BOX MEAN?
The top number is the relative atomic mass, or how heavy the element is.
This is measured in atomic mass units, or amu’s. One amu weighs about one trillionth of a trillionth of a gram.
The letters are the atomic symbol, or abbreviation, of each element.
B stands for Boron.
The atomic number, at the bottom, tells how many protons are in the nucleus.
WHAT DO THE COLUMNS AND ROWS STAND FOR?
Mendeleev observed that some of the elements behave similarly. He organized the elements into columns, according to eighteen family groups, such as gas or metal. He organized the rows according to the pattern of atomic numbers, or number of protons, known as the seven periods.
Vimeiar and Baking Soda
SCIENTISTS across the globe have studied and debated the concept of acid-base reactions since the 1700s. This chemical reaction can get quite complicated, but it’s easy to understand the basic idea and use your knowledge straightaway for everyday projects. All you need is a stand trip to the supermarket (or your own pantry) for two ingredients: vinegar and baking soda.
ACID-BASE BASICS
* * *
Acids corrode and dissolve things. They work by releasing hydrogen bubbles. Vinegar is a medium acid. On the pH scale, which measures the “potential of Hydrogen,” it ranks 3 or 4 on a scale of 1-7.
Bases cancel out acids. Another word to know, science-wise, is alkali, which is a base that can be dissolved in water. Baking soda is a base, or at least it acts like a base, which is good enough for us. Together vinegar and baking soda, acid and base, can tackle many a small task—and some bigger projects, too.
EVERYDAY VINEGAR USES
* * *
Vinegar corrodes and dissolves, it has a repellent smell, and it counteracts things that act as a base. Use it to:
Treat skin irritations. Certain itches, like poison ivy and mosquito bites, and pains like jellyfish stings and sunburns, act as bases, so vinegar will counteract them. Mix vinegar half and half with water and spray directly on skin, or soak in towels for compresses. (Apple cider vinegar smells a bit better than white, if you prefer.)
Get rid of rust. Take rusty hand shovels and other items, dip them in a bowl filled with vinegar, and leave overnight. You can do this to shine pennies, too.
Remove sticky goo. For stubborn stickers or the like, soak a cloth in vinegar, then drape it over the sticky area for a few hours.
Repel mosquitos and ants. Apply it to your body with a cotton ball as a mosquito repellent. Leave a cup of it open to persuade ants to camp somewhere other than your family kitchen.
Counteract stink. Put smelly things in a half-andhalf mixture of water and vinegar overnight. Or, if something stinky happens in your family car, leave a bowl of vinegar in there overnight to capture the smell.
EVERYDAY BAKING SODA USES
* * *
Baking soda neutralizes acidic things, and can act as an abrasive for scrubbing. You can use it to:
Soothe bee stings. Apply a baking soda and water paste to a bee sting (which acts as an acid) to neutralize it. Now, if your sting is from a wasp or yellow jacket (which actually act as bases), you’ll want to treat those stings with vinegar on a cotton ball.
Remove stains. If you get food coloring on your hands, scrub them with baking soda and water. However, if that food coloring gets onto your clothes, you’ll want to soak those in vinegar.
Calm animal smells. If you’re stink-sprayed by a skunk, mix hydrogen peroxide (available at all pharmacies) with baking soda and some liquid dish soap—that works like a charm. Similarly, if your dog smells, sprinkle her all over with baking soda, rub it in, and brush through her hair.
Brush teeth. Mix baking soda with water into a thick paste (without the unnecessary extras in toothpaste).
Extinguish fires. Baking soda, when heated, emits carbon dioxide, which can smother small flames. That said, if you see fire, shout quickly for the nearest adult, and call 911 immediately.
WASHING THE CAR
You can forgo expensive non-eco-friendly store-bought cleaners for our two wonder products instead.
Before you start washing, sprinkle baking soda through the car’s interior to remove odors. Vacuum it up when the outside washing is done.
For the car body, grab a bucket, and pour in ½ cup of vinegar for every gallon of water; scrub car with a big sponge.
For windows, mirrors, and interior plastic, mix 2 cups of water and ½ cup vinegar in an empty spray bottle. You can add up to ¼ cup of rubbing alcohol and, to make it look fancier, one drop each, no more, of blue and green food coloring. Instead of rags, use newspapers to clean and shine windows.
VOLCANO PROJECT
In an old soda bottle, pour a little more than a ½ cup of vinegar, and a little more than a ½ cup of dishwashing liquid. Add red food coloring, if you wish, for a lava effect.
Make a foundation from a piece of cardboard. Stick the bottle onto that with tape. Then build up a volcano around it. Mound up old newspapers, leaves, or whatever material you have on hand. Once it attains a mountain shape, cover the whole thing with a large sheet of foil, crimping it a bit so it looks volcano-like.
For the eruption, measure 1 heaping tablespoon of baking soda. Wrap it in a small piece of paper towel or pour it straight in. Either way, when you deposit the baking soda, the concoction will erupt before your eyes. It’s very second grade, but always fun, no matter what your age.
Here’s the chemistry behind the volcano: vinegar is acidic acid, baking soda is sodium bicarbonate, a base. When they react together they produce carbonic acid, and that decomposes very quickly into water and carbon dioxide. The foaming bubble explosion is the carbon dioxide gas escaping.
Rules of the Game: Bowling
IN THE 1930s, a British archeologist named Sir Flinders Petrie discovered items in an Egyptian grave that appeared to have been used in an ancient version of the game we know today as bowling. By his estimation, bowling is a 5,000-year-old game. In the Middle Ages in Britain, bowling was so popular—and distracting—that King Edward III was said to have outlawed it, so that his troops could keep focused on honing their archery skills for battle. Bowling’s first mention in American literature was by Washington Irving: his Rip Van Winkle is awakened by the sound of “crashing ninepins.” In 1895, Americans established the American Bowling Congress to regulate the rules of the game and establish national bowling competitions. They forgot to include women, however, so in 1917 women bowlers rectified that by forming the Women’s National Bowling Association. Today bowlers all over the world compete and play for fun with friends. Here are some rules for playing and scoring the game.
HOW TO KEEP SCORE
* * *
There are ten frames in the game, and each bowler is given up to two opportunities to try to knock down all ten bowling pins in each frame. The object of the game is to have the highest score. The pins knocked down on a player’s first attempt are counted and recorded on a score sheet. (The score sheet has a place for each players name, and next to that ten boxes, one for each frame of the game. At the top of each box are two squares, which is where the scores for each of the two balls thrown per frame are recorded. At the far right is a larger box, which is where the total score for all ten frames should go.) If there are still pins left standing, the bowler then has a second try at knocking them down, and the number of pins knocked down on her second try is recorded. Her score is the pins from the first roll, plus the pins from the second roll; the resulting amount is then added to any previous score. Scores continue to accumulate as each bowler takes her turn until all ten frames have been played by each of the bowlers.
BONUS SCORING
* * *
When a bowler rolls a strike or a spare, she gets bonus points. Both a spa
re and a strike are worth 10 pins, but how they are scored actually depends on what the bowler does in the next frame. With a spare, marked by a “/” on the score sheet, you add ten to the number of pins knocked down in your next attempt. With a strike, marked by an “X” on the score sheet, you add ten to the number of pins knocked down in your next two attempts.
If you bowl a spare in the tenth frame, you get an extra ball. If you bowl a strike in the tenth frame, you get two extra balls. If you happen to bowl a strike in the tenth frame, and then score a spare with your two extra balls, you’re awarded a score of 20 for the tenth frame, and your game is over. If you bowl a spare in frame ten, and then a strike with your additional ball, you get a score of 20 for frame ten, and your game is over. If you bowl a strike in the tenth frame, and then get two additional strikes with your two extra balls, you get a score of 30 for the tenth frame, and your game is over.
BOWLING TERMINOLOGY
Approach
This 15-foot-long area is where bowlers start. The approach ends at the foul line, which marks the start of the bowling lane. Your feet cannot cross the foul line, or even touch it, not even after you’ve released the ball.
Average
This is the sum of all a bowler’s games divided by the number of games played.
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