For Boys Only

by Marc Aronson

  MOST VENOMOUS SNAKES

  THESE SNAKES HAVE THE MOST VENOM OF ALL SNAKES—one bite from a taipan has enough venom to kill a hundred people—but they are not always dangerous. The taipan lives far from humans, for example, and the sea snake is easily frightened away by humans. Some are large and lethal, almost 10 feet long, while others are not much longer than a common garter snake.

  All venoms are poisons, but not all poisons are venoms. Venom is poison that is injected by animals into their prey, rather than a poison that is rubbed on or eaten by the victim. Snakes and spiders tend to be venomous, whereas plants and frogs are considered poisonous.

  SNAKE WHERE FOUND AVERAGE LENGTH

  Taipan Australia 9 feet

  Black Mamba Africa 8 feet

  Common Krait Southeast Asia 5 feet

  Australian Brown Snake Australia 5 feet

  Russell’s Viper South Asia 3 feet

  Indian Cobra South Asia 4 feet

  Sea Snake Australasian oceans 3 feet

  Saw-Scaled Viper Asia 2 feet

  Coral Snake North America 2 feet

  Boomslang Africa 4 feet

  These snakes are listed in order of just how venomous they are.

  MOST DANGEROUS SNAKES

  ON THE OTHER HAND, THERE ARE PLENTY OF SNAKES that aren’t afraid of people and are frequently involved in attacks. They may not have the most poison, but they’re the ones that cause the most deaths and injuries. In the United States, about a dozen people a year die after being bitten by venomous snakes (although nearly 8,000 are bitten). Worldwide, some 50,000 deaths are reported every year, although some researchers believe that there may be 70,000 more deaths that aren’t reported. Most of the deaths occur in Southeast Asia.

  SNAKE WHERE FOUND AVERAGE LENGTH

  Carpet Viper India, Africa 2 feet

  Russell’s Viper South Asia 3 feet

  Asian Cobra Asia 5 feet

  Puff Adders Africa 3 feet

  Egyptian Cobra Africa 6 feet

  Black Mamba Africa 8 feet

  Common Krait Southeast Asia 5 feet

  Malaysian Pit Viper Southeast Asia 3 feet

  Tiger Snake Australia 4 feet

  Western Diamondback Rattlesnake North America 5 feet

  This is a list of snakes responsible for the most injuries and deaths, beginning with the Carpet Viper, which is involved in more attacks than any other snake.

  EXPLORERS AND ADVENTURERS

  DO YOU LIKE LONG WALKS? Check this out: In 1528, Estevanico—a slave from North Africa—landed in Florida with some 250 Spaniards. Their ships damaged by storms and under attack by local Indians, the captain quickly turned back towards Mexico, abandoning his men on land. So the men built rafts, and headed off into the Gulf of Mexico and reached what is now Galveston, Texas, some 750 miles away. From there, they began walking, hoping to reach a Spanish settlement somewhere. In eight years of walking through lands that were completely new to them, only four, including Estevanico, survived. They crossed all of modern Texas, turned south, and finally made it to Mexico City. They were safe, but the Spanish wanted to know more about the lands to their north. Three years later, Estevanico set off again, searching for the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola—but this time his luck failed, and he was killed.

  “MEN WANTED FOR HAZARDOUS JOURNEY. Small wages. Bitter cold … Safe return doubtful.”Twenty-seven men from throughout the British Empire and one from America responded to this ad, and joined Ernest Shackleton on a trip that was far worse than any could have imagined. In September of 1914, they sailed off from London in the Endurance to reach and then cross the Antarctic. But in January, they were trapped in ice, and would remain so for the next ten months as the ship cracked apart. The men spent another five months on the ice, then used lifeboats to sail to a barren island. Shackleton and five others then set out in a small lifeboat to cross 800 miles of raging sea to reach a whaling station and get help. When they reached land, they had to walk another 26 miles of frozen, rugged terrain. But they did, finally reaching the station. Then they returned to save the other men. Every single member of the crew survived.

  NAURO ISL COMMANDER NATIVE KNOWS POS’IT HE CAN PILOT 11 ALIVE NEED SMALL BOAT KENNEDY

  Carved on the side of a coconut, this message reached the U.S. Navy in August of 1942. Lieutenant John F. Kennedy and twelve men were riding in a small patrol boat named PT-109 when their boat was sliced in half by a Japanese destroyer. Two men died, but the other eleven were left in the ocean on a moonless night, desperate to reach land. The men swam for hour after hour, and all the way, Kennedy carried along an injured crewman by holding the straps of his life preserver in his mouth. When one island proved to have no food, Kennedy led them out again to another whose coconuts kept them alive. A search party of Solomon Islanders found them six days later, and Kennedy sent a message back to the Navy with them by using that coconut. When he was elected president, Kennedy kept the carefully preserved coconut on his desk.

  THE RACE WAS ON. The year was 1911 and Robert Falcon Scott, a British Navy man who graduated at the top of his class, was up against Roald Amundsen, a Norwegian who, ever since he was young, left his windows open at night to train himself to endure cold. This was not a contest with a starting line—each could begin where and when he wanted. For the goal was to become the first person ever to reach the South Pole. Amundsen chose a landing place for his boat on the Antarctic ice that was 60 miles closer to the pole than Scott’s. Scott hit weather that was unusually brutal even for the polar region—temperatures that never rose above 0° Fahrenheit, and went down to -22°F Even when blizzards blew through carrying warmer air, they only turned snow into impassable slush but, finally, on January 17, 1912, Scott and his four companions reached the pole. There, he found the flag of Norway: Amundsen and four others had gotten there 33 days earlier. Amundsen returned home safely, but Scott never got out of the Antarctic. He died in the snow sometime in March. Seven members of his party who turned back before the final trip to the pole survived, and his diary recording his final days was later recovered.

  ULTIMATE FRISBEE

  ULTIMATE IN TEN SIMPLE RULES

  If you run out of games to play, just make up your own-like the kids who invented this one.

  1. The Field—A rectangular shape with end zones at each end. A regulation field is 70 yards by 40 yards, with end zones 25 yards deep.

  2. Initiate Play—Each point begins with both teams lining up on the front of their respective end zone line. The defense throws (“pulls”) the disc to the offense. A regulation game has seven players per team.

  3. Scoring—Each time the offense completes a pass in the defense’s end zone, the offense scores a point. Play is initiated after each score.

  4. Movement of the Disc—The disc may be advanced in any direction by completing a pass to a teammate. Players may not run with the disc. The person with the disc (“thrower”) has ten seconds to throw the disc. The defender guarding the thrower (“marker”) counts out the stall count.

  5. Change of Possession—When a pass is not completed (e.g., out of bounds, dropped, blocked, intercepted), the defense immediately takes possession of the disc and becomes the offense.

  6. Substitutions—Players not in the game may replace players in the game after a score and during an injury time-out.

  7. Noncontact—No physical contact is allowed between players. Picks and screens are also prohibited. A foul occurs when contact is made.

  8. Fouls—When a player initiates contact on another player, a foul occurs. When a foul disrupts possession, the play resumes as if possession was retained. If the player committing the foul disagrees with the foul call, the play is redone.

  9. Self-Refereeing—Players are responsible for their own foul and line calls. Players resolve their own disputes.

  10. Spirit of the Game—Ultimate stresses sportsmanship and fair play. Competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of respect between players, adherence to the rules, and the basic joy
of play.

  Copyright ©

  Ultimate Players

  Association, 1993

  FEAR FACTOR

  AMERICA’S SCARIEST AMUSEMENT PARK RIDES

  WHEN YOU GO TO AN amusement park, most of the rides are designed for fun, like the Ferris wheel and the bumper cars. But there are other rides that are designed to do something entirely different. That’s to scare you so much that you’ll scream like a newborn baby—maybe louder.

  These are called “thrill” rides, because you’ll be thrilled just to make it through them alive. Here are the scariest ones we’ve ever seen.

  1. X-SCREAM

  Top of the Stratosphere Hotel, Las Vegas, NV

  The X-Scream is a huge teeter-totter on top of the largest freestanding observation tower in the U.S. You are lifted up and then over the edge of the tower, staring down 866 feet to the ground, before being yanked up into the air and going through it all over again. This is the kind of ride that will make even grown-ups wet their pants.

  So is X-Scream this year’s foremost outrageous ultimate ride? We think so. If you ride it, tell us whether you agree.

  2. SKYCOASTER

  Various Parks in the U.S. (including Lake Compounce, CT, Joyland Park, KS, and many Six Flags parks)

  On this ride, you are attached by a harness to a wire that hangs between two towers. The wire slowly pulls you nearly 200 feet straight up, where you are left hanging in the air for several seconds. Then you have to work up the courage to pull your own release cord. When you do, you drop straight down in a free fall before the wire snatches you up and you swing back into the sky like a pendulum. You think you’re going to die, then realize you can actually fly.

  3. TOP THRILL DRAGSTER AND KINGDA KA

  Cedar Point, OH, and Six Flags Great Adventure, Jackson, NJ

  Known as TTD and KK, these are the fastest and highest roller coasters in the world. Almost identical in size and shape, each one launches you 40 stories straight into the sky at 120 miles an hour. Once your car hits the top, it curves and starts spinning before free-falling straight back down to the ground. This ride won’t operate in the rain because at such a high speed raindrops feel like needles flying in your face.

  4. X

  Six Flags Magic Mountain, Valencia, CA

  This roller coaster adds something special to loops and a 200-foot drop: You’re strapped into a seat backwards off the side of the track. When you get to the top of X and start speeding up, suddenly, your seat flips upside down and you’re screaming headfirst to the ground. Since you’re hanging off the side of the track, there’s nothing between you and the concrete below. And just as your body is about to scrape the ground, your seat flips upside down again so that you’re facing the clouds. The ride keeps flipping you up and down, so you can’t tell if you’re coming or going. Of course, you’ll be screaming the whole time, so that might not even matter.

  5. INSANITY

  Top of the Stratosphere Hotel, Las Vegas, NV

  Back on top of the tower next to the X-Scream is Insanity. You sit in a circle of seats at the end of a long metal arm. The arm then stretches out 64 feet over the edge of the tower and spins so fast that your seat flings out to face the street and cars nearly a thousand feet below. We think it’s called Insanity because you might just have to be insane to ride it.

  NATURE’S DEADIEST

  POISONS

  Fig. A

  Fig. B

  Fig. C

  Fig. D

  Fig. E

  Fig. F

  POISON DART FROG

  (FIG. A)

  Found in South American rain forests, this tiny, halfinch frog—smaller than a double-A battery—is the most poisonous creature on Earth. Just touching its skin will kill you.

  CASTOR BEANS

  (FIG. B)

  The castor bean (really a seed) contains ricin, an extremely potent poison. Eating two of these seeds can be deadly, yet the oil made from them is regularly added to food and is also helpful in treating skin rashes and burns. Castor beans are grown all over the world.

  PUFFER FISH

  (FIG. C)

  These ocean fish contain tetrodoxin, a poison that affects the nervous system. Some people eat them as a delicacy (after the poison has all been—hopefully—removed), but the poison in one fish is enough to kill two dozen people.

  BLACK WIDOW and the BRAZILIAN WANDERING SPIDER (FIGS. D-FIGS. E)

  Two of the world’s deadliest creatures (spiders aren’t insects), these two are in competition for most venomous spider. While there are more black widows than Brazilian wandering spiders, the wandering spider is more aggressive and likely to attack humans. Black widows live in North America, and Brazilian wandering spiders live in South America.

  DEATH CAP MUSHROOM

  (FIG. F)

  This mushroom is found in Europe, the Americas, and Australia. Eating a single mushroom can be fatal, and one of the only cures is a liver transplant.

  BRAIN TEASER

  THE MISSING MONEY

  THREE FRIENDS CHECK INTO A HOTEL AND decide to split the cost of one room, which costs thirty dollars for the night. They each give a $10 bill to the hotel manager. Then they go up to their room. Suddenly, the manager realizes that the cost for the room is really $25 dollars. He calls a bellboy and tells him to take $5 up and return it to the three friends.

  The greedy bellboy realizes that the friends don’t to get any money back, so lie decides to keep some of it for himself He gets to the room, tells the friends that there’s been a mistake, and gives them three dollars back, one (or each of them, dollars for himself.

  And no one is the wiser. one dollar. That meant they had each spent $9 on the room. Nine dollars times three is $27. And the bellboy kept $2 for himself $27 plus $2 is $29. But the three friends had originally paid the hotel manager $30.

  Where did the other dollar go?

  GREAT MYSTERIES

  WHAT THEY LEFT BEHIND

  THE STATUES ON EASTER ISLAND

  RAPA NUI, ALSO KNOWN as Easter Island, is located in the Pacific Ocean, 1,290 miles off the coast of South America. Its inhabitants live farther away from other civilizations than anyone else in the world. Strewn throughout the island are at least 800 stone statues of giant heads with small bodies. Each one is carved from a single piece of rock, weighing as much as 80 tons and standing 30 feet tall. Scientists estimate they were crafted roughly 800 years ago, and are all from a single quarry on the island. But the current inhabitants of the island have no records of who actually built the huge statues or why. And no one knows how such huge stones could be moved from the quarry to distant points all over the island—some more than 10 miles away—without the help of machines or tools.

  MA: Ever read about Thor Heyerdahl? Really interesting guy, he had this theory about folks from Peru building boats out of reeds and sailing to Easter Island. He built Kon-Tiki, his own reed boat, and managed to cross the Pacific to the island. But scientists now are pretty sure he was wrong. Still, his books are fun to read.

  STONEHENGE

  WEIGHING AS MUCH as 50 tons, the stone monuments at Stonehenge, England, are believed to have been everything from ancient altars and burial stones to an observatory for studying the universe. The huge stones are arranged almost like a circle of tables. No one is sure why these stones were dragged for more than 20 miles to this particular place, but archaeologists know that it happened for some reason nearly 5,000 years ago. And no one knows how the ancient people placed them on top of one another without the use of cranes or sophisticated lifting devices. Archaeologists believe that it took hundreds of years to complete Stonehenge, and that some of the stones may have been lifted by intricate wooden levers and hoists.

  THE LOST COLONY OF ROANOKE

  THE FIRST ENGLISH settlement in the Americas was established on Roanoke Island, Virginia, in 1585. Two years later, the first English child was born in what would become the United States. Her name was Virginia Dare. But in 1590, when a British boa
t came to bring supplies to the settlers, there was no one on Roanoke. Ninety men, 17 women, and 11 children had disappeared. Three chests left by the settlers had been broken open, with books, maps, and metal left exposed to the wind and rain. The supply crew found only one clue: the word “Croatoan” carved into a tree. As they knew, Croatoan was an area controlled by a nearby friendly group. Historians speculate that the settlers may have moved to Croatoan and blended in with the native peoples. But no one has ever determined for sure what happened to the settlers or to Virginia Dare.

  MA: Dr. Lee Miller is an expert on this. She wrote a book about the Lost Colony. She told me she thinks the colony was sabotaged by one of its founder’s rivals. And believe me, if you read about the guys from that time, they all had plots within plots within plots. So, it could be true.