Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the world’s busiest airport. In fact, it has been ranked the busiest airport in the world since 1998. It serves about 275,000 passengers each day. Daily, there are about 2,700 airplane departures and arrivals. Each month, the airport handles about 54,000 metric tons of cargo and more than 60,000 metric tons of mail. The airport …
U.S. Skater Makes Olympics History
This week, people around the world have been watching the 2018 Winter Olympics. Pyeongchang, South Korea, is the site of this year’s games. Pyeongchang is a county located about 110 miles east of South Korea’s capital, Seoul. The area’s motto is “Happy 700,” which refers to the fact that Pyeongchang is 700 meters (2,297 feet) above sea level. Because of …
Techno: Detroit’s Musical Export to the World
Techno is a style of electronic dance music pioneered by African American musicians in Detroit, Michigan. While techno never became a large commercial success in the United States, in Europe, this Detroit-born musical style became a multi-billion-dollar industry. Dance clubs in cities like Amsterdam, Paris, London, and Berlin became popular destinations for people who like to dance to techno’s electronic …
Braving Russia’s Winter Roads
Vladimir Kirillin is a truck driver. He has a very important job; he delivers oil to isolated villages and towns in remote Siberia. People rely on truckers like Vladimir Kirillin to survive the harsh Siberian winter. Siberia is a vast area in eastern Russia. Siberia makes up 80 percent of Russia’s land area, but only a quarter of Russia’s population lives …
Happy Birthday, Fiona!
Fiona the hippopotamus is an animal celebrity. On January 24, Fiona celebrated her first birthday at her home, the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden in Ohio. Her birthday party was watched by thousands of fans when it was broadcast on the social media site Facebook. Fiona came to the world’s attention in 2017, when she was born at the zoo …
A Superhero Gets Serious Attention
As he approaches his 79th birthday this coming May, Batman shows no signs of slowing down. The hooded superhero has intrigued fans since his first appearance in Detective Comics—now better known as DC Comics—in 1939. Since then, the Caped Crusader has also had his own live-action television show, animated series, movies, toys, and video games. Now he can add another accomplishment …
Searching the Web
The English language is always changing. One area in which it changes especially quickly is computer science. Because of recent advances in computer technology, some now familiar words might have been meaningless not long ago. One of these words is the verb google. Lots and Lots of Information Google means to look for information online using a search engine. At first it meant looking …
A Chilly Start to 2018
It’s cold—very cold. As 2018 begins, the United States is experiencing record cold weather. On New Year’s Day, Aberdeen, South Dakota, reported a record low temperature of 32 degrees below zero. In Des Moines, Iowa, the weather was so cold local officials closed a downtown ice-skating rink until temperatures rose above zero. Southern states were affected as well. On January …
Many Words for Snow?
If you ask people what they picture when they hear the word winter, the word snow is likely to be a common answer. Like rain, snow is a type of precipitation. However, while rain falls as liquid water, snow falls as ice crystals. If you live in Buffalo, New York, you can expect about eight feet of snow to fall over the course …
Feminism: The Word of the Year
Syzygy? Dotard? Recuse? Do you know what these words mean? If not, you are not alone. These are three of the top ten words people looked up on Merriam-Webster Dictionary website in 2017. The most searched for word on Merriam-Webster’s site for 2017 is feminism. It made it to the top of the list after it was looked-up 70 percent more often …