by Bill Nye
6. DO SCIENTISTS USE SATELLITES TO MONITOR THE RAIN FOREST, THE WAY JACK AND THE GENIUSES DO IN THE STORY? Well, besides government agencies like INPE, scientists and private citizens are focusing on the problem. Planet, a company that operates a fleet of more than a hundred miniature satellites, hopes to have enough of the spacecraft in orbit to image every spot on Earth at least once a day. Among other things, these images could help governments and organizations discover illegal logging or deforestation operations in the Amazon rainforest. The company now generates more images than people could possibly scan, so Planet launched a competition to encourage software developers to design programs that can automatically find changes in the landscape. It’s the kind of thing that Ava and Matt would probably enter.
7. JACK USES CHERYL TO SURF THE WEB. COULD CUBESATS REALLY PROVIDE INTERNET ACCESS? Bill here. I’d love to see every person on the planet have access to three things: clean drinking water; clean, renewable sources of electricity; and unlimited, unfiltered information. That last one usually means the Internet, but half the world still doesn’t have reliable, high-speed access to the Web. Global access to information is essential. No matter where you are on the planet, you should be able to get online, the way Jack does in the story. Luckily, a number of groups are working on that, and their approaches won’t require the climbing of absurdly tall trees. For example, a company called OneWeb wants to launch a fleet of nine hundred satellites capable of providing Internet access to the entire planet by 2027.
8. OKAY, ENOUGH ABOUT SATELLITES. ON THIS PAGE, THE TAXI DRIVER INSISTS THAT A BRAZILIAN NAMED ALBERTO SANTOS-DUMONT INVENTED FLIGHT, NOT THE WRIGHT BROTHERS. WHO WAS HE? Santos-Dumont, the son of a wealthy coffee-producing family, is an important figure in the history of aviation. At first, he built and flew hot-air balloons and blimps. He studied and lived in Paris and often anchored his dirigible to a streetlamp outside his apartment, then flew it around the city as his own personal air taxi. But his first official flight in an airplane-type craft—known as heavier-than-air flight—was in 1906. That’s a few years after the Wright brothers’ historic 1903 success, and subsequent succesful flights completed before 1906. That’s our take. But we wouldn’t advise arguing this point with a Brazilian.
9. IS BETSY REAL? We based Betsy on an actual device, the Atlas Powered Ascender (APA), which can whisk two people up to the height of a thirty-story building in only thirty seconds. The device was invented by a bunch of big kids—students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology—but it would be tough for Ava to lug through the jungle, since it weighs twenty-two pounds. Oh, and it doesn’t actually feature a wrist-mounted crossbow. But Greg once interviewed a guy who built one of those in his apartment—you know, for fun—and we thought it would be cool to add to Ava’s invention.
10. WHY DO SLOTHS CLIMB DOWN TO THE FOREST FLOOR TO DO THEIR WEEKLY BUSINESS? Ah, yes. The most important question of all. Scientists have been puzzling over this for years. Some speculate that it helps the trees. Others have proposed that it gives the sloths a chance to socialize. “Hey, dude, meet you on the forest floor in three hours, okay?”
Recently, a group of mammalian ecologists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison studied fourteen two-toed sloths to find a possible explanation. They found that when the sloths climb down to the ground and, um, drop off their package, moths living in their fur slip out and lay eggs in the droppings. Usually, a few eggs in preexisting droppings scattered around the area have hatched by that point, and these newborn moths fly up and snuggle into the sloth’s fur. So what’s in it for the preguiça? The researchers discovered that the moths encourage the growth of algae in the sloth’s fur and that these algae can be a great source of nutrients for the slow-moving creatures. So they’re guaranteeing themselves a good snack.
Of course, the sloths aren’t the only amazing creatures Jack and the geniuses come across or panic about in the story. Botos, Brazilian free-tailed bats, golden lancehead snakes, piranhas, jaguars, caimans, and all manner of insects—we’d have to write another book to detail them all. So here’s an idea instead: do some research of your own and see what you can find out. Who knows, maybe you’ll be inspired to travel to the rainforest and discover some species of your own one day!
11. WAIT, SO MOTHS LIVE IN THEIR FUR, TOO—NOT JUST BEETLES? Yep. Plus bacteria, fungi, and other creatures. It’s a real party. And we’re glad we’re not invited.
12. IS ELECTROPHORUS ELECTRICUS MAGNUS A REAL CREATURE? No, but Electrophorus electricus is the scientific name for the electric eel. And electric eels are very real inhabitants of the Amazon basin and other areas. Plus, they’re not really eels. They’re actually a species of knifefish. Anyway, we consulted with James Albert, a biologist and electric eel expert at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, who noted that all living things create electricity. Humans included. “What makes electric fish so cool is that they can control the electricity,” he said. They can emit weak electric fields to find prey in murky waters or stronger ones to shock curious scientists. In late 2017, Vanderbilt University neurobiologist Ken Catania described an experiment in which a one-foot-long electric eel leaped out of its holding tank to strike him in the arm when he reached into the water. The shock he received wasn’t too painful, but Catania estimated that a large eel would be capable of delivering a jolt stronger than a police Taser.
So remember, kids: never pet an electric eel.
GROWTH IN THE RAINFOREST—AN EXPERIMENT BY BILL NYE
One of the surprising features of the rainforest is that it’s not all thick vegetation and growth. Near riverbanks and on hillsides, you might find the kind of thick, tangled plants and bushes that Jack and the crew hack through on their way to find Hank. But in the depths of the rainforest, beneath the canopy, the forest floor isn’t so crowded with vegetation.
Why? I’m glad you asked! It’s all about the light. Plants need sunlight to thrive, and the canopy—the thick layer of intertwined treetops—swallows up most of the sunlight striking the region, preventing light from penetrating down to the ground.
Here’s an experiment you can conduct at home to see the difference.
MATERIALS
Seeds (I’m kooky for cabbage seeds, but any kind will do)
Potting soil
Two small flowerpots or paper cups
A table
A lamp
Three books (the Jack and the Geniuses series works best)
A recyclable plastic bag
STEPS
1. Plant the seeds in two separate pots or cups packed with potting soil.
2. Read the books, then place them in the plastic bag and set them on the table.
3. Place one cup on top of the books and under the lamp. The stack moves the seeds a little closer to the light.
4. Measure the cup’s distance from the lamp—fifteen centimeters (about six inches) is good.
5. Place the other pot/cup under the table, so that it’s not directly under the lamplight.
6. Measure the distance of the cup from the lamp—150 centimeters (about sixty inches) is ideal.
7. Keep the soil damp but not soggy.
8. Watch the plants grow.
In only a week or two, you should be able to see the difference light makes and why the rainforest canopy thrives, while the light-deprived plants on the forest floor struggle to survive. After the experiment, give the plants under the table some light. They deserve it.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Bill Nye is a science educator, mechanical engineer, CEO of The Planetary Society, television host, and New York Times bestselling author with a mission: to help foster a scientifically literate society and help people everywhere understand and appreciate the science that makes our world work. Nye is best known for his Emmy Award–winning children’s show, Bill Nye the Science Guy, and for his new Netflix series, Bill Nye Saves the World. As a trusted science educator, Nye has appeared on numerous television programs, including Good Morning America, CNN’s New Day, La
te Night with Seth Meyers, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and Real Time with Bill Maher. He currently splits his time between New York City and Los Angeles. Follow him online at billnye.com.
Gregory Mone is a novelist and science writer. He has authored several children’s adventure novels, including Fish and Dangerous Waters: An Adventure on the Titanic, and as a contributing editor for Popular Science magazine, he has written about robotics, artificial intelligence, and menacing asteroids. He lives on Martha’s Vineyard, in Massachusetts, with his family. Follow him online at gregorymone.com.
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