Nose news

Fred for Kids

For middle-schoolers, movies looking great

Considering this is a Pirate-free, Transformer-free, Harry Potter-free summer, the news for middle-schoolers is about as good as it gets.Tuesday

Celebrate biking with safety first

Now that the warmer weather has arrived, we’re sure you’ve taken your bike for a spin or two around the neighborhood.Biking has become so popular that you can see people cycling all over the place – that includes entire families.Tuesday

Space shuttle Discovery flies to new home at Smithsonian

Look, up in the sky. It’s a bird; it’s a plane; it’s a space shuttle!May 1, 2012

Being nosy

Do you pick your nose? Apparently, a lot of people do. A 1995 study reported that 91 percent of people acknowledge picking their nose.
Here are some nose facts we picked just for you:
•If you pick your nose all the time, you might suffer from rhinotillexomania, which is habitual nose picking.
•Many nosebleeds are caused by picking your nose.
•Some people use their noses for their jobs, such as smelling wine, making perfume and food.
•Dogs have good noses. A dog’s sense of smell is hundreds of times more sensitive than that of a human’s.
•There are many famous noses: literary hero Cyrano de Bergerac, in which plays were written regarding his large nose; Cleopatra was thought to have a big nose; vaudeville actor Jimmy Durante; and, of course, Pinocchio.

Make your own snot

Try this “Snot-licious” experiment. (Just don’t try to eat it.)
What you’ll need:
Water
Borax (can be found at any grocery store in the detergent aisle)
Clear, non-toxic school glue
Food coloring
Large resealable freezer baggies (zipper bags)
2 large mixing bowls
Spoon
What you do:
1. Get 4 cups of hot water from the tap. Pour into one of the mixing bowls.
(You might need to ask a parent to help pour.)
2. Add 1/4 cup of Borax to the hot water and stir until the powder dissolves. Stick the mixture in the fridge for a few minutes to let it cool completely.
3. Mix 2 tablespoons of glue with 3 tablespoons of water in the other mixing bowl. Stir until the solution is fully mixed and there are no lumps of thick glue.
4. Add food coloring to your glue mixture. This recipe will require only a few drops. If making green snot and you have only primary colors, use one drop of blue and two drops of yellow.
5. Add an additional teaspoon of Borax powder to the glue mixture; stir well.
6. Pour both glue and water solutions into a freezer bag and seal it. Try to squeeze out as much air as possible. Mix the snot by sloshing and squishing the baggie with your hands, but be sure to hold the bag over a large bowl or the sink while you do this in case it breaks.
7. Open the bag and remove your snot. It will be solid enough to handle, but be sure to wash your hands afterward.

Ever wonder why our nose seems to leak like a faucet when we are sick?

Did you know that you produce 1 liter of mucus each day?

We swallow a quart of snot each day.

Why is snot so runny?

Snot is made up of 95 percent water, but also includes proteins (that give it elasticity), fats, carbohydrates and salt. Now that’s a gooey situation!

Why is snot green?

Mucus or snot contains white blood cells, which have green-colored enzymes that destroy infection-causing viruses and bacteria. The dead white blood cells, along with the dead viruses, are removed in the mucus, making it look green.

Snot can also be a rainbow of colors: red, brown, yellow, clear or multi-colored because of what is in it, like blood, dirt/pollution or an infection.

Mucus is “snot” sharing with everyone. Help stop the spreading of germs by washing your hands and sneezing onto your sleeve!

For more information, visit www.mcmillencenter.org, and click on “FRED.” If you are a NISTEM member and want to earn points for rewards, go to www.NISTEM.org, log in and complete the FRED November 2009 quiz. If you are not a NISTEM member, you can become one at www.NISTEM.org.

Source: Various Web sites and The Journal Gazette

Fred for Kids

Nose news

Like it or snot, here are facts about mucus