유령 부대를 아시나요?
Did you know that a ghost army existed in Europe during WWII?
The Ghost Army was a special unit that America created to get the better of the Nazi army.
The Ghost Army was actually made up of 1100 men, who were artists, sound specialists, and radio experts.
Their purpose was not to fight.
Instead, the Ghost Army’s mission was to fool the enemy so that they would believe that America had a larger and more powerful army than it really hard.
To accomplish this, they deceived the enemy with special effects.
Artists made fake tanks out of painted rubber.
They were inflatables, so the army could set up many of them in a few hours.
Radio experts sent fake messages over the airwaves.
Sound specialists blasted the noises of vehicles and soldoers out of powerful speakers.
This Ghost Army was often placed near the front lines of battle where it confused the enemy.
The members of the Ghost Army were forced to keep their mission a secret for national security reasons, even after the war was over.
It was not until 1996 that the world learned of this creative mission.
경제 대공황 덕분에
Scrabble is one of the world's most beloved board games. Players must spell words using small wooden squares with letters on them. Theyput these squares on a board full
of empty boxes. Surprisingly, this fun game was invented during the Great
Depression. At that time, an architect named Alfred Mosher Butts was unemployed, so he didn't have anything to do. He decided to use his free time to invent a fun word game. His idea was to combine anagrams and crossword puzzles into one game. Butts started by studying the New York Times to figure out how frequently each letter of the alphabet was used. He decided that common letters, such as E and A, would be worth only one or two points. But uncommon letters, such as O and Z, would be worth 10. He named his game Criss-Crosswords, but, unfortunately, it did not sell very
well at first. The name was eventually changed to Scrabble after a man named James Brunot bought the rights to the game. Years later, the president of Macy's, a famous department store, played it while on vacation. He thought it was great, so he decided to sell it in his stores. Because of this. Scrabble soon became one of America's most popular games. Now, it is famous all over the world.
어떤 군대보다도 힘이 셌다구요!
Before the year 1500, the Mayas, Aztecs, and Incas had three great civilizations in Mexico and South America. All three were defeated by Spanish armies, but some historians say that with the armies an even more horrifying weapon came: smallpox.
In the early 1500s, the Spanish attacked the Aztecs and Mayas.
At first, the Spanish army couldn't defeat the Mayas and Aztecs, who were much more powerful and familiar with the area.
However, one of the slaves in the Spanish army was infected with smallpox, and it quickly spread throughout the whole region.
The Spanish soldiers were immune to the disease. but the Mava and Aztec soldiers had never encountered smallpox before. 3 It weakened their armies and allowed the Spanish to defeat them.
Smallpox quickly spread south.
reaching the Incas of South America in 1525. Like the Aztecs and Mayas, the Incas were unprepared for the disease. It killed their king and his successor. Without a leader, the Inca 18
Empire was easily defeated by the invading Spanish soldiers, and it fell into ruin.
A Scent for going to Heaven
Perfume has always been an important part of human culture.
These days, of course, we use perfume to make ourselves to smell nicer and feel more attractive.
But this wasn’t always what perfume was used for.
The earliest known use of perfume was in ancient Egypt.
These perfumes were sticks that were burned to give off a pleasant smell.
They were designed to be used in religious rituals.
It was thought the nice smell would attract the favor of the gods.
The Egyptians believed the gods would treat those who smelled nice more kindly than others.
So they used a lot of perfume in their daily lives.
Amazingly, they even thought that perfume would help them after they died.
According to evidence found in ancient tombs, they believed that having lots of perfumes, especially strong ones, would increase their chances of going to heaven.
Tutankhamen’s tomb provides a good example of this.
The tomb's discoverers found jars of perfumes and oils surrounding the body. Surprisingly, their fragrances could still be smelled nearly 3,300 years after the tomb was created. Those must have been strong perfumes when they were put in the tomb!
모니카는 누구?
A man was walking through a grocery store when he saw a women shopping with a three-year-old little girl.
As the women passed some cookies, the little girl asked for them.
And when she was told she couldn’t have any, the little girl whined.
But the mother quietly sad, “Don’t get upset Monica. We will be done soon.”
Then the women walked down the candy aisle, and the little girls began to scream that she wanted candy.
The mother patiently sad, ”No, Monica. Don’t scream. We only have two more aisles to go.”
When they reached the cash register, she saw some gum and began crying, realize that her mother would not buy any.
But she gently said, “Don’t cry, Monica. We will be done in five minutes.”
As they leaving the store, the man walked up to the woman and said, “I couldn’t help noticing how patient you were with little Monica.”
The woman replied, “I am Monica, and she is my daughter, Sofia.”
왕이 내린 현명한 결정
In ancient times, a king decided to go traveling throughout his kingdom.
He walked from town to town, looking at the sights and speaking with people he met.
When he returned to his palace, however, he found that his feet hurt.
Complaining that the kingdom’s roads were too hard, he ordered his servants to cover them with leather in order to make them more comfortable.
The servants who heard this order were shocked.
Covering every road in leather would be almost impossible.
Nearly every cow in the kingdom would have to be killed!
They ran to the king’s wisest advisor and asked for his help.
After some thought, the wise man approached the king.
“Instead of covering all the roads with leather,” he suggested, “why don’t you just cover the bottom of your feet?”
The king thought this was a wonderful idea.
He had a pair of leather shoes made for him and told everyone to do the same.
Simply by changing the king’s point of view, the wise man helped him make a good decision.
대작가, 소년에게 한 수 배우다
More than 200 years ago, the writer Jonathan Swift lived near a rich, elderly woman's house. The woman sometimes had a boy bring presents to Swift. Swift conceived her presents gladly, but he never gave the boy anything for bringing them.
One day, when Swift was busy with his writing, the boy ran into his room. He threw his package on the desk and said.
"Mrs. Anderson has sent you two of her rabbits."
Swift looked at him and said, "That is not the way to give me a package. Now, sit in my chair and watch how I do it."
Swift then went out. knocked on the door and waited.
The boy said, "Come in." Swift entered, walked to his desk and said, "Good morning, sir. Mrs. Anderson says hello to you. She hopes that you will accept these rabbits. They were shot by her son in the field this morning?"
The boy answered, "Thank you, my boy. Give Mrs. Anderson and her son my thanks for their kindness, and here is sixpence for yourself."
Swift laughed, and after that, he never forgot giving the boy a tip.
A Delicious Success Story
As a child, Chul-Ho Lee was separated from his family during the Korean War. After being badly injured, he was sent to Norway to receive medical treatment. After he recovered recovered. he stayed in Norway, where he eventually became a king. Not the actual king of Norway, of course! Instead, Lee became Norway's
"Ramen King." He started out working as a dishwasher at a hotel, but he soon learned how to cook. After receiving a cooking license, he became a chef at a popular hotel. In 1968. Lee returned to Korea for a visit. While he was there, he tasted ramen for the first time. He thought it was delicious. so he wanted to introduce indicate it to Norwegians. In 1989, he began importing ramen to Norway, but people found it too spicy for their taste. So Lee began to experiment with different stvles until he found a mild flavor that Norwegians enjoyed. He used this flavor to create his own brand of ramen, known as Mr. Lee. Today. nearly 80% of the ramen sold in Norway is Mr. Lee Ramen. Chul-Ho Lee started out as an injured child without any family, alone in a strange country.
Today, however, he is an extremely successful businessman. So next time you feel discouraged, remember the Ramen King of Norway. If he could succeed despite his difficulties. so can you!
조금 특별한 옥수수
Corn may seem like an ordinary vegetable, but some corn has a secret superpower: It can pop! Have you ever wondered why corn can do this? Popcorn is actually made from a special variety of corn. If you use other varieties, they won't pop. The popcorn variety is special because its kernels have a hard outer layer that water and other materials can't pass through. There is a little water inside each kernel. and when the kernels are heated up, this water eventually turns into steam. However, due to the hard outer layer, the steam can't escape, which results in a build-up of pressure.
Finally, when the temperature and pressure get to a certain point, the kernels explode with a popping sound, turning themselves inside out. Scientists used to think that the popping sound came from the cracking of the kernels, but it has been found that the sound is actually caused by the sudden escape of the steam. If you want to hear popcorn pop for yourself, try making some at home. It will be the most delicious science experiment you ever try!
슈퍼맨이 아니라 슈퍼문!
If you have ever seen a full moon that seemed brighter and larger than normal, you probably saw a supermoon. But what causes a supermoon? The moon goes through phases. As a result, we can sometimes see the whole moon and other times see only part of it. These phases occur because the moon orbits the earth.
We see a full moon when the sun and the moon are on opposite sides of the earth. However, the moon doesn't move around the earth in a perfect circle - the shape is more like an oval. This means that the moon’s distance from the earth is constantly changing. If a full moon happens when the moon is as close to the earth as possible, it is called a supermoon. A supermoon can appear to be 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than a normal full moon.
Only about one out of every 14 full moons is a supermoon. So, if you have a chance to see one, don't miss it!
우주에서 가장 반짝이는 비
If you ever visit Saturn, make sure you bring a strong umbrella. According to research conducted by NASA. there could be as much as 1.000 tons of diamonds being created in Saturn's atmosphere each year. The reason for this is that Saturn, a gas planet with a small solid core, has an atmosphere consisting mostly of hydrogen and methane. When thunderstorms occur, lightning could strike the methane, producing a mix of pure hydrogen and burnt carbon called soot. This soot would then fall from the atmosphere and begin to join together, forming graphite. As it moved closer to Saturn's core. pressure would increase. eventually compressing the graphite into diamond. Therefore, it could literally be raining diamonds. Unfortunately, it would be nearly impossible to get to Saturn and travel down to where the diamond rain would be falling. The pressure there is about 100,000 times higher than on
Earth. And if we didn't move fast enough, the diamonds would slip past us, falling deeper into the planet. There, the temperatures are so high that the diamonds would surely melt into liquid.
Heating with Human Bodies
Being in a big crowd of people is often uncomfortable and inconvenient. But Swedish engineers have found a way to use
crowds for a good purpose. They have invented a way to recycle people's body heat for wintertime heating. In Sweden, more than 200,000 people use Stockholm's main train station every day.The station's ventilation system captures body heat and moves it to large underground tanks of water. The heat in this water can then be used as a heat source.
A similar system is used in the Mall of America in Minnesota.
The mall recycles body heat from shoppers and uses it to help heat water that keeps the huge building warm. After storing in large underground tanks, the heated water is pumped through pipes to a new office building nearby. There, it is reused by the building's main heating system. This reduces the cost of heating the office building by twenty percent.
Energy is expensive in places that have cold climates.
This system can help people save money and energy.
작은 것만 속인다! 난 양심적이니까!
Do you ever cheat?
According to an author, almost everybody does.
However, people cheat only a little, to a degree where they still do not feel guilty.
To prove this, the author gave people a quiz with 20 questions.
Some people had to hand in their answer sheet to have it checked.
They got an average of four questions correct.
Other people, however, were allowed to check their own answer sheet.
On average, they said they got six questions correct.
Clearly, some of them cheated, but they didn’t cheat a lot.
The author also conducted another experiment to prove this theory.
He went into college dormitories and left dollar bills and cans of soda in public areas.
He found that students were likely to take the soda, but not the money.
The author believes that there is a good reason for this behavior.
All people have selfish desires, but, at the same time, they want to be a good people.
It’s a little like dieting. Few people follow their 100% of the time.
Instead, they might think it’s okay to have cookies for a snack because they’ve been eating salad for lunch.
In this way, they can keep their positive-image.
마치 제 3자처럼
Many people get nervous when they have to speak in public.
They find it stressful and scary.
However, researchers have some good news.
They’ve found a way to make these kinds of difficult situations easier to handle – talking to yourself.
More specifically, you should talk about yourself in the third person.
In other words, use your own name.
Instead of thinking “I’m doing well,” you should say “David is doing well.”
By examining your own performance as if you were examining that of someone else, you can reduce your stress levels.
In their study, the researchers found that people who talked to themselves this way showed fewer signs of stress.
It seemed to help them control their feelings.
What’s more, their public speaking skills were rated higher than those of people who used first-person language.
The researchers believe that this small change in the language people used to refer to themselves can make a big difference.
So the next time you have to speak in front of your class, give it a try!
모두 저만 쳐다봐요!
Dear Britney,
I'm a 13-year-old boy, and I'm afraid there's something wrong with me. I feel like people are staring at me all the time, judging the way | look.Before I go out, I change my clothes again and again. And last week, I tripped and fell in the school cafeteria. Everyone saw! Only a few people laughed, but now I feel sick every time I think about it. What's wrong with me?
- Anonymous
Dear Anonymous,
I have some good news for you: There's absolutely nothing wrong with you. What you have is called "adolescent 'egocentrism." which is a normal stage in adolescent development. Most people experience it between the ages of 12 and 15. Unfortunately, it isn't something you can control. It just gradually fades away as you get older. Lots of teenagers describe it as feeling like they are always being
watched by an imaginary audience. Wherever they go or whatever they do, it seems like this audience is watching their every move.
So don't worry! You're not the only one who feels this wav. And as you get older, it will bother you less and less.
- Britney
Is It Hard to Forget Something?
Salespeople can't stop thinking about the deal they are working on until they have closed it. And fishermen can never forget the one that got away. Do you know why?
According to Russian psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik, people are more likely to think about unfinished tasks than completed ones. This is called the Zeigarnik effect.
Surprisingly. she didn't first notice it in a scientific laboratory or an interview, but in a restaurant. She noted that the waiter could remember a large number of items ordered by his customers. However. the moment he had delivered the meals to the customers, he would forget what he had served them.
From this experience. Zeigarnik theorized that an unfinished task creates psychological tension. That means people remain anxious about an unfinished task and try to complete it as soon as possible. In other words, people are motivated by the desire to get closure.
Think about the Zeigarnik effect the next time you
study for an exam. Before the exam, your head will be filled with knowledge and details.
But once the exam is over, it will probably feel
completely empty!