Boys' Life magazine » Newz & More

Saturday Sky Show

bradriddell — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 21:35:58 +0000

Look to the western skies after sunset on Saturday, March 20, and watch a rare convergence of the Moon and the Pleiades star cluster. The Moon’s glow will actually cover some of the Pleiades’s lesser stars.

Saturday night also marks an equinox; a date on which spring begins in one hemisphere and fall begins in another. Day and night will be of the same approximate length.

Starfish Beach

bradriddell — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 21:16:21 +0000

Hundreds of thousands of starfish washed up on beaches near Budleigh Salterton, England, this week. Experts say the starfish probably became exhausted after spawning, leaving them susceptible to high tides and storms.

Events like this usually occur once or twice a year in Great Britain, but it had never happened in Budleigh Salterton until now.

BSA Silver Dollar

bradriddell — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 21:13:50 +0000

On March 23, the United States Mint will make available for sale the BSA Centennial Silver Dollar. Proceeds from the coin surcharges will benefit the BSA National Foundation in efforts to bring Scouting into underserved communities. If every coin is sold, $3.5 million will be generated for this very worthy cause. Are you ready to get yours? Beginning at 12 p.m. Eastern on March 23, coins can be ordered through the U.S. Mint at www.usmint.gov or at 1-800-USA-MINT. For the first 30 days, the proof coin will be offered at $39.95 and the uncirculated coin will be offered at $33.95, after which the prices will be $43.95 and $35.95, respectively.

Be sure to visit the coin webpage on the 100 Years of Scouting website.

Ice Creature

bradriddell — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:07:05 +0000

NASA has discovered a shrimp-like creature living in a lightless area 600 feet beneath an Antarctic ice shelf. The 3-inch long creature was found using a small video camera lowered to take the first-ever images of an ice shelf’s underside. Scientists previously believed nothing could live in that environment.

This shrimp-like creature could “lead the way to larger expeditions into harsher environments that scientists previously believed could not support life.”

Dot-Com Anniversary

bradriddell — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 21:20:24 +0000

Today marks 25 years of dot-coms. On March 15, 1985, the very first domain name appeared on the Internet. That first site — Symbolics.com — began the “commercial age of the World Wide Web.”

Domain names made it easier for users to access sites — typing in Symbolics.com was far simpler than entering a long string of code. By 1995, the Internet consisted of about 18,000 domain names. Today there are more than 80 million.

Tourney Time

bradriddell — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 22:34:44 +0000

Let the Madness begin. The 2010 NCAA men’s basketball championship bracket will be announced Sunday. Tune in to CBS at 6 p.m. Eastern to find out if your favorite team made the cut.

The tournament’s round of 64 begins Thursday, March 18. The Final Four will be played April 3 and 5 in Indianapolis, Ind.

Bobcat Kills Lights

bradriddell — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:36:22 +0000

Electricity shut off in southern Oklahoma this week when a bobcat climbed to the top of an electric pole. An Oklahoma Gas and Electric official said repair crews “found the smoldering body of the bobcat Tuesday at the top of a utility pole in Johnson County.”

The power outage affected 3,100 customers.

Scout vs. Malaria

bradriddell — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:15:35 +0000

One First Class Scout celebrated the BSA’s 100^th anniversary by battling malaria. Nathaniel Stafford, 12, put together Trek 4 Nets, a 100-mile hike through five North Carolina counties. Trek 4 Nets benefits Northing But Nets, a global grassroots malaria prevention campaign that provides mosquito nets to families in Africa.

Nathaniel’s hike began on Feb. 22, which is also Scouting founder Lord Baden-Powell’s birthday. He finished the journey March 2 in Fayetteville, N.C.

While Nathaniel has already collected hundreds of dollars, he won’t stop until he’s raised enough to purchase 1,000 nets. Click here to get involved.

Scouts Meet Olympian

bradriddell — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:54:45 +0000

Atlanta-area Scouts met a gold medal-winning Eagle Scout this week. Steve Holcomb participated on the United States bobsledding team at the Vancouver Olympics last month. Holcomb—a bobsled driver from Park City, Utah—guided the first U.S.A bobsled team in 62 years to win Olympic gold. Holcomb’s team set a track record by finishing the second heat in 50.86 seconds. Holcomb’s bobsled also posted a top speed of 95 miles per hour.

The Atlanta Scouts met Holcomb at Atlanta Motor Speedway. They were able to talk with the Olympic Eagle Scout and pose with his gold medal.

Scouting for Adventure

bradriddell — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:54:13 +0000

The second season of BL’s very own television show, Scouting for Adventure, will re-air starting April 1 on the Outdoor Channel. See episodes each Thursday at 1 p.m. Eastern and each Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Eastern.

Reruns of the second season will lead up to the premiere of Season Three in July.