Early Risers People who achieved notable accomplishments beginning at very young ages. Age 3: Mozart learned to play harpsichord. Age 6: Shirley Temple was a Hollywood box office star. Age 8: Tiger Woods won an International Junior World title. Age 9: Pablo Picasso created his first oil painting. Age 11: Franz Liszt gave his first piano recital. Age 13: Mario Andretti started racing cars. Age 14: “Buffalo” Bill Cody became a rider for the Pony Express. Age 14: Robert “Bobby” Fischer won the World Chess Championship. Age 15: Joan of Arc led armies against England in the Hundred Years’ War. Age 19: Jane Austen wrote Sense and Sensibility. Answers to Outside the Box Puzzles from page 48 1. A drop in the bucket 2. Silence of the lambs 3. Lie detector 4. Shot glass 5. Half a dozen 6. Doughnuts Fast Facts A Sure Sign of Spring Obvious choices are daffodils and tulips, but let’s not forget ladybugs. Here are a few facts about this tiny consumer of planteating pests. ▶▶Technically, they’re beetles, not bugs. ▶▶ They hibernate over the winter and come out in the spring. ▶▶ Their average lifespan is one to three years. ▶▶ Over its lifetime, a single ladybug may consume thousands of aphids. ▶▶ There are more than 5,000 different species in the world. ▶▶ They are beneficial predators of plant pests. ▶▶ A hungry ladybug will practise cannibalism. ▶▶ They come in a rainbow of colours, not just the familiar red with black dots. ▶▶ A lot of ladybugs produce toxins to make them distasteful to would-be predators. ▶▶ Ladybug moms lay extra eggs for their newborn babies to feed on. ▶▶ They live all over the world, except for in Antarctica. ▶▶ The antennae are what help a ladybug smell, taste and feel its way around. ▶▶ They have two eyes, but can only distinguish between dark and light. ▶▶Ladybugs are poor flyers. Anything more than seven feet is a longdistance flight. Lend an Ear Various scientific studies suggest that listening to music can have the following positive effects on health. ▶▶ Reduce stress ▶▶ Improve sleep quality ▶▶ Reduce pain ▶▶ Improve blood flow ▶▶ Strengthen memory Easter Island Mystique This remote spot of land in the southeastern Pacific Ocean west of Chili, South America, has nothing to do with traditional Easter celebrations. The island was given its name by its first European visitor − Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen − who arrived there on Easter Sunday, 1722. ▶▶The island’s current native Polynesian name is Rapa Nui. ▶▶It is best known for its 887 massive statues, believed to be sculpted and erected by the island’s early natives. ▶▶ It is believed that the large stone statues were carved between 1400-1650 AD. ▶▶ Each statue is said to have represented the head of a deceased relative. ▶▶ Although commonly known as “Easter Island heads,” it was discovered in 2012 that all of the heads have bodies that have become submerged in the earth. ▶▶ The average statue is 13 feet high and weighs about 14 tons. ▶▶ Nobody knows how they were transported around the island. ▶▶ It’s believed that the statues were carved out of solidified volcanic ash. ▶▶ In 1995, Easter Island became a National Historic Site. ▶▶ Easter Island is one of the world’s most isolated inhabited islands. ▶▶ It covers approximately 67 square miles. ▶▶ Relieve symptoms of depression ▶▶ Increase verbal intelligence ▶▶ Lower blood pressure ▶▶ Improve post-surgery outcomes ▶▶ Enhance blood vessel function. 54 | www.snowbirds.org
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