The Daring Book for Girls

by Andrea J. Buchanan; Alexis Seabrook; Miriam Peskowitz

  How many pieces do you wish?

  Skunk in the Barnyard

  (Players each put one foot in a circle. A foot is pointed at for each word said, and the foot on “you!” is considered “out.” Repeat until there is only one foot left. That player goes first.)

  Skunk in the barnyard, pee-you!

  Who put it in there, not you!

  One Potato

  (Players put their fists in a circle. The “potato peeler” puts her fist on the players fists as she says the words. Whoever lands on “more” removes her fist. The last player left goes first.)

  One potato, two potato

  One potato, two potato, three potato, four.

  Five potato, six potato, seven potato, more.

  Queens of the Ancient World V

  Zenobia, Queen of the East

  IN THE THIRD CENTURY AD, Zenobia of Palmyra was the famed Queen of the East. According to the author of Historia Augusta, she had long black hair and warm brown skin, piercing dark eyes and a lyrical, strong voice. Known for her boldness, determination, and fairness as a leader, she was just in her twenties when she built and ruled an empire that covered most of what is now the Middle East.

  Zenobia was born around 240 AD at Palmyra, a sparkling, palm-tree-filled paradise deep in the desert of Syria (now the ruins of Tadmor, about 150 miles northeast of Damascus). Her father was a tribal ruler who had enticed her mother from Egypt to this prosperous and cosmopolitan trading outpost.

  Zenobia’s full given name was Iulia Aurelia Zenobia. “Iulia” was a popular girl’s name in Rome, which, even though it was far away, ruled the Syrian desert. “Aurelia” meant that her family were Roman citizens, an important honor. “Zenobia” came from her family’s Aramaic tribe. Historians know that by the age of eighteen, she had already married the governor of Palmyra, a man named Odainat (known in Latin as Septimius Odaenathus). Then she changed her name to Septimia Zenobia, to match his.

  As wife to the land’s governor, Zenobia was well educated, and her court was filled with philosophers and poets. Many an evening was spent lingering over sumptuous meals, talking about Homer and Plato, making speeches, and laughing at riddles and wit. The peace was disturbed in 260, however, when the Persian king, Shapur, tried to take Syria from the Romans. As allies of Rome, the Palmyrans guarded the frontier where the Roman Empire met the Persian, so Odainat and Zenobia prepared for combat.

  The emperor of Rome, Valerian, faced rebellion everywhere—to the west, north, and now to the east. His troops were dispirited, but nonetheless he marched them to battle. The Persians had superior strength and fighting skills, so they easily routed the weary Roman soldiers. Valerian and Shapur agreed to meet at the city of Edessa and negotiate terms. When Valerian showed up, the Persians ambushed him and took him into captivity.

  That’s when two Roman messengers urged their horses across the desert sand to Palmyra, bringing the terrible news of Valerian’s capture. Odainat and Zenobia were ready. Side by side, the couple donned armor, saddled their horses, and led the army of Palmyra against the Persians, in search of Valerian.

  While Odainat was a courageous and daring warrior, ancient writers tell us Zenobia was even more so, and praised her battle skills, including her exceptional way with the troops. She rallied them, kept them inspired, and at times even handed off her horse to march for miles with the foot soldiers. Unfortunately, the Persians killed Valerian before Odainat and Zenobia could save him, but the couple’s brave leadership earned them the complete respect of the Palmyran army and people.

  Was it odd for these troops to see a woman in front, her long black hair streaming out from beneath her helmet? The ancient cultures of Greece and Rome often portrayed the deity of war as a woman, and female Victory statues graced nearly every city. In fact, the Palmyran soldiers followed Zenobia to battle again and again in the following years.

  In 267 AD, seven years after their first battle together, Zenobia’s husband Odainat was assassinated. The royal line fell to Zenobia’s toddler son, Vaballathus, who was clearly too young to rule. Zenobia, then 27 years old, became queen in his stead. She dreamed of an empire of Palmyra and prepared the troops for a battle of independence.

  The Romans were busy in Europe defending themselves from the Goths, Zenobia knew, so she attacked the Roman province of Egypt. The Egyptians, too, were distracted, off battling pirates in the Mediterranean Sea. She conquered them, and then went to conquer cities in Arabia, Palestine, and Syria. By 269, she declared her empire’s independence from Rome and minted new coins with her image and the word “REGINA”—Queen.

  Historians tell us that Zenobia ruled tolerantly as Queen of the East, drawing on the Palmyran traditions of hospitality and openness to treat all people with fairness, including the pagans, Jews, and Christians of her empire. She opened new trade routes and met with Christian bishops and other leaders of the cities she conquered.

  As Zenobia grew her Palmyran empire, armies threatened the larger Roman Empire on all sides. The new Roman emperor, Aurelian, was battling the Goth and Visigoth tribes in northern Europe. When his messengers arrived with news of Queen Zenobia’s expanding kingdom, Aurelian set off for Egypt, determined to win the territory back, and then to Turkey (which in ancient times was called Asia Minor). After these small victories, he prepared to attack Antioch, a city in northern Syria that Zenobia now ruled.

  Zenobia had never faced the vast legions of the mighty Roman army. She could have given up and returned to the Roman fold, but decided instead to take a last stand and save the heart of her hard-earned empire. She assembled the troops along one side of the northflowing Orontes River. Her soldiers fought all day, Zenobia along with them. Then, as the sun dipped toward the western horizon, the tired soldiers, bleary and water-starved after a long day, fell into a trap, in which the Romans massacred them from all sides.

  Zenobia managed to escape with seventy thousand soldiers and retreated to the city of Emesa. They found a hill and, under cover of night, climbed to the top and lay in wait, ready to rain down arrows on the Roman soldiers. The Romans, though, pulled out their colorful shields, held high overhead, each shield meeting the next to cover the men and protect them from the Palmyrans’ arrows and darts. In this formation, the Romans pushed forward up the hill. When they reached the Palmyran marksmen, they moved their shields forward and down, and attacked.

  Thousands of troops died on the battlefield. Zenobia herself barely escaped and even her trusted horse fell in the battle. She commandeered a camel and turned the slow beast toward the sandy hinterlands of the Syrian desert, with hopes that the plodding animal could take her one hundred miles east to Persia, where she would be safe from Rome.

  “I promise you life if you surrender,” Aurelian wrote to her. Zenobia had other plans, but it was Aurelian’s turn for victory. He lay siege to her beloved Palmyra and sent his best soldiers on horseback to capture the fallen paradise’s fugitive queen. As she neared the Euphrates River, so close to freedom, the emperor’s horsemen reached Zenobia and captured her.

  The remainder of Zenobia’s life is shrouded in myth. Where one ancient historian reports that she died in captivity, another writes that Aurelian took her to Rome. It is said that in 274, Zenobia was wrapped in chains of gold and made to walk down Rome’s main boulevard as Aurelian celebrated his triumph over the many tribes he had battled. Still another tale suggests that some time later, Zenobia was released. In her absence, Palmyra had rebelled against Rome once more and had been crushed. Some tales hold that with no home to return to, Zenobia lived the rest of her life not far from Rome, in Tivoli.

  Japanese T-Shirt Folding

  Folding clothes has never been this much fun. What you need: a short-sleeved t-shirt and just a little patience.

  Step 1: On a nice wide surface, lay a T-shirt flat in front of you, right side up, and with the collar part closest to you.

  Step 2: With your right hand, use your thumb and forefinger to pinch the edge of the fabric about an inch or t
wo to the right of the collar (about halfway between the edge of the collar and the edge of the shoulder seam).

  Step 3: Still holding the fabric with your right thumb and forefinger, take your left hand and draw an imaginary straight line from where you’re pinching with your right hand to about the middle of the shirt (halfway between the top and the bottom). Pinch that with your left hand thumb and forefinger, making sure to get both sides of the fabric.

  Step 4: Still pinching the fabric, bring your right hand over your left hand so that you are folding the shirt in half, the collar part touching the bottom part. With your right hand, grab both the original place where you were pinching and the very bottom of the shirt along the same imaginary line.

  Step 5: This step is the most crucial part of the whole endeavor—it has the potential to be the place where it all goes wrong, or the moment where all the magic happens. So: Your right hand, the hand farthest away from you, should be pinching the top and the bottom of the T-shirt, and your left hand, the hand closest to you, should still be pinching the shirt in the middle. Lift both hands up directly, picking up the shirt, then—still with your thumbs and forefingers pinching the shirt in those two spots—pull your hands away from each other. (Your right hand moves to the right, your left hand moves to the left.)

  Step 6. Your right and left hands should be in front of you, still pinching the shirt, and the shirt should be hanging down. Gently swing the shirt away from you and lay it on the table without letting go. Bring your right and left hands simultaneously away from you so that the fabric folds over to cover the sleeve of the shirt. Let go of the fabric and you should see the shirt folded in a perfect rectangle.

  Step 7: Marvel at the glory of your awesomely folded T-shirt!

  States, Statehood, Capitals, Flowers, and Trees—plus Canada!

  Statehood of the original 13 colonies: Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Virginia—1776

  Fourteenth State: Vermont, March 4, 1791

  Forty-ninth and Fiftieth States: Alaska, January 3, 1959; Hawaii, August 21, 1959

  Union States in the American Civil War: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky*, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri*, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin

  (*Missouri and Kentucky did not secede, but a rival government, or rump group, proclaimed secession within both of these states)

  Confederate States in the American Civil War: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee

  National Plant: Rose (Official since October 7, 1986)

  National Tree: Oak

  National Bird: Bald Eagle

  State Date of statehood Capital State Flower State Tree

  Alabama 1819 Montgomery Camellia Longleaf Pine

  Alaska 1959 Juneau Forget-Me-Not Sitka Spruce

  Arizona 1912 Phoenix Saguaro Cactus Blossom Palo verde

  Arkansas 1836 Little Rock Apple Blossom Loblolly Pine

  California 1850 Sacramento California Poppy California Redwoods

  Colorado 1876 Denver Rocky Mountain Columbine Colorado Blue Spruce

  Connecticut 1776 Hartford Mountain Laurel Charter White Oak

  Delaware 1776 Dover Peach Blossom American Holly

  Florida 1845 Tallahassee Orange Blossom Sabal Palmetto

  Georgia 1776 Atlanta Cherokee Rose Live Oak

  Hawaii 1959 Honolulu Hawaiian Hibiscus (ma’o hau hele) Kukui Nut Tree

  Idaho 1890 Boise Mock Orange Western White Pine

  Illinois 1818 Springfield Violet White Oak

  Indiana 1816 Indianapolis Peony Tulip-tree

  Iowa 1846 Des Moines Wild Prairie Rose Oak

  Kansas 1861 Topeka Sunflower Cottonwood

  Kentucky 1792 Frankfort Goldenrod Tulip Poplar

  Louisiana 1812 Baton Rouge Magnolia Bald Cypress

  Maine 1820 Augusta White Pine Cone and Tassel Eastern White Pine

  Maryland 1776 Annapolis Black-Eyed Susan White Oak

  Massachusetts 1776 Boston Mayflower American Elm

  Michigan 1837 Lansing Apple Blossom Eastern White Pine

  Minnesota 1858 Saint Paul Pink and White Lady’s Slipper Red Pine

  Mississippi 1817 Jackson Magnolia Magnolia

  Missouri 1821 Jefferson City White Hawthorn Blossom Flowering Dogwood

  Montana 1889 Helena Bitterroot Ponderosa Pine

  Nebraska 1867 Lincoln Goldenrod Cottonwood

  Nevada 1864 Carson City Sagebrush Single-Leaf Pinyon

  New Hampshire 1776 Concord Purple Lilac American White Birch

  New Jersey 1776 Trenton Violet Northern Red Oak

  New Mexico 1912 Santa Fe Yucca Flower Pinyon

  New York 1776 Albany Rose Sugar Maple

  North Carolina 1776 Raleigh American Dogwood Longleaf Pine

  North Dakota 1889 Bismarck Wild Prairie Rose American Elm

  Ohio 1803 Columbus Scarlet Carnation Ohio Buckeye

  Oklahoma 1907 Oklahoma City Oklahoma Rose Eastern Redbud

  Oregon 1859 Salem Oregon Grape Douglas Fir

  Pennsylvania 1776 Harrisburg Mountain Laurel Eastern Hemlock

  Rhode Island 1776 Providence Violet Red Maple

  South Carolina 1776 Columbia Yellow Jessamine Cabbage Palmetto

  South Dakota 1889 Pierre Pasque Flower Black Hills Spruce

  Tennessee 1796 Nashville Iris Tulip Poplar

  Texas 1845 Austin Bluebonnet Pecan

  Utah 1896 Salt Lake City Sego Lily Blue Spruce

  Vermont 1791 Montpelier Red Clover Sugar Maple

  Virginia 1776 Richmond American Dogwood Flowering Dogwood

  Washington 1889 Olympia Coast Rhododendron Western Hemlock

  West Virginia 1863 Charleston Rhododendron Sugar Maple

  Wisconsin 1848 Madison Wood Violet Sugar Maple

  Wyoming 1890 Cheyenne Indian Paintbrush Plains Cottonwood

  SEVEN THINGS YOU PROBABLY DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT CANADA

  1. A Canadian invented basketball. (James Naismith, a physical education instructor from Almonte, Ontario, came up with the game in 1891 while working at the YMCA International Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts.)

  2. Parts of Canada are located further to the south than parts of the US. (Toronto is further south than much of New England and the northern Midwest.)

  3. Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving on the second Monday in October, not in November.

  4. Canadians do not have $1 and $2 bills. Instead, they use coins, known unabashedly as Loonies ($1) and Toonies ($2).

  5. America actually invaded Canada twice, in 1775 and 1812, and was rebuffed both times.

  6. Canada has 10 provinces and three territories. The provinces are Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Saskatchewan. The three territories are the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon. Nunavut was the last territory to be added, in 1999.

  7. The languages most spoken in Canada are English, French, and Chinese. New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual province (English and French), and in Quebec, French is the official governmental language.

  Make Your Own Paper

  ANCIENT EGYPTIANS wrote on paper made from papyrus plants and parchment, which was made from stretched and dried skins of calves, goats, and sheep. In China, early paper was made with silk, bark from mulberry trees, and other plant fibers. Today, paper is mostly made from wood fibers, though specialty paper is made from linen, cotton, and even synthetic materials like latex. But the most basic technique for making paper is essentially the same today as it was in ancient times, and you can try it out right in your own home.

  To make your own paper, you’ll need:

  Recycled paper (such as newspaper,
magazines, toilet paper, paper bags, notebook paper, construction paper, tissue paper, napkins)

  A sponge

  Wire mesh screen (an old door or window screen)

  A wood frame (you can use an old picture frame, or you can build a frame yourself using four pieces of wood and some nails)

  Plastic basin or tub (should be large enough to fit your frame)

  A blender

  Felt, blotting paper, flannel, or other absorbent fabric (newsprint will work in a pinch)

  Stapler

  Liquid starch

  Rolling pin

  Iron

  Tear your paper into small pieces and fill the blender halfway full with it. Add warm water until the blender is full. Blend the paper and water for about 30 seconds, starting at low speed and then gradually increasing. Blend until you get a smooth, well-blended pulp with no chunks or bits of paper.

  Use your screen and wood frame to make what’s called a mold. Stretch the screen over the frame as tightly as possible and use a stapler to affix it. Trim off any excess. Now is also a good time to lay out the felt or blotting paper that you will use later. Place it next to your basin so that it will be ready when you need it.

  Fill up the basin or tub about halfway full with water. Add your blender full of pulp. Make two more blenders of pulp and add these to the basin. Stir the water and pulp in the basin—feel free to use your hands—and then stir in two teaspoons of liquid starch. Mix well, then submerge your mold (the screen and wood frame) into the basin, with the screen side on the bottom. Move the mold from side to side until the pulp settles on top of it evenly.

  Carefully raise the mold out of the water and hold it above the basin while the water drains. The pulp mixture should be in a uniform layer across the screen. (If there are holes, or if the pulp is not lying evenly, submerge the mold again and give it another try.) Press down on it gently to squeeze out the moisture, and use a sponge to soak up excess water from the bottom of the screen.