Fascinating Geography: Do you know what Pangea is?

I've learned so, so many things by reading the book "The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs" by Steve Bruchette, including about the history of the world's continents. By that I mean the breakup of the giant continent of Pangea. In today's blog you'll learn about it and its breakup into the continents we all live on today. 

WHAT IS PANGEA?   There was one giant ocean, and one supercontinent or massive landmass. That massive landmass is called Pangea.  
  According to LiveScience.com: About 300 million years ago, Earth didn't have seven continents, but instead one massive supercontinent called Pangea, which was surrounded by a single ocean called Panthalassa.
  The explanation for Pangea's formation ushered in the modern theory of plate tectonics, which posits that the Earth's outer shell is broken up into several plates that slide over Earth's rocky shell, the mantle.
Over the course of the planet's 3.5 billion-year history, several supercontinents have formed and broken up, a result of churning and circulation in the Earth's mantle, which makes up most of planet's volume. This breakup and formation of supercontinents has dramatically altered the planet's history. ;

Pangea's breakup created the world as we know it by about 84 million years ago. 

WHAT CAUSED PANGEA TO BREAK UP? The movement is caused by the convection currents that roll over in the upper zone of the mantle. This movement in the mantle causes the plates to move slowly across the surface of the Earth.

Steve Brusatte author: Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs

HOW DO WE KNOW THERE WAS A SUPER CONTINENT? Evidence for Pangaea is found in the geology of adjacent continents, including matching geological trends between the eastern coast of South America and the western coast of Africa. That tells scientists that those two current continents were previously joined. The polar ice cap of the Carboniferous Period covered the southern end of Pangaea.

EARLY DINOSAURS APPEARED ON ALL CURRENT CONTINENTS - That's because at the beginning of the age of dinosaurs (during the Triassic Period, about 230 million years ago) the continents we now know were arranged together as a single supercontinent called Pangea. WhenPangea broke up, dinosaurs evolved differently on different continents. For example, the Tyrannosaurus Rex, one species of tyrannus dinosaurs only developed in the  western U.S. Other types of tyrannuses were found in China and Asia, and all related to the Rex, but not the Rex species itself.

FOR MORE IN PANGEA, VISIT: https://www.livescience.com/38218-facts-about-pangaea.html   

In the news: World War Two mystery solved after Wales wreck discovery

Discoveries of any kind are always interesting, and recently there's been a shipwreck discovery off the coast of Wales, U.K. that dates back to World War 2!  Here's the story from BBC News, Wales>> 

World War Two mystery solved after Wales wreck discovery
BBC NEWS, Wales May 6, 2020

A mystery has been solved with the discovery of a World War Two wreck - more than 100 miles from where it was thought to have sunk.

The Mk III Landing Craft Tank LCT 326 disappeared on its way from Troon to Devon in 1943 with the loss of 14 crew.

The Admiralty thought it had sunk near the Isle of Man, but it has now been discovered off the Welsh coast. (MY GEOGRAPHY NOTE: The Isle of Man also known as Mann, is a self-governing British Crown dependency situated in the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Ireland.)

The discovery was part of a project to identify hundreds of wrecks in Welsh waters.

IMAGE CAPTION:  Sonar images show the wreckage in two parts on the seabed. Credit: BANGOR/BOURNEMOUTH UNIVERSITY 

Designed to land armored vehicles during amphibious operations, of the type used extensively in the D-Day landings in June 1944, the vessel was built in Middlesbrough.

It was part of the 7th LCT Flotilla, which set sail from Troon on 31 January 1943, for Appledore, according to documents in the National Archives.

It was last seen the following day, and it was thought it had hit a mine or run into bad weather.

Now sonar data gathered by researchers from Bangor and Bournemouth universities shows the wreck more than 100 miles away, off Bardsey Island.

Image caption:   landing craft to get troops and equipment on to the Normandy beaches on D-Day. Credit:  ROYAL NAVY

"The aim of this research is to identify as many offshore wrecks in Welsh waters as possible and shed light on their respective maritime heritage," said Dr Innes McCartney.

"This aspect of the project has resulted in many new and exciting discoveries relating to both world wars."

The wreck is on the seabed in two halves lying 130 meters (426 feet) apart.

The dimensions and appearance of the wreck from the sonar data show it is 58 meters (190 feet) long and 10 meters (32 Feet) wide, which is similar to the dimensions of a MKIII LCT.

Record-Breaking Huge Sized Hail from Argentina Thunderstorms/Learn about Hail, Super Cell Storms

A gargantuan hailstone that fell in Argentina  Credit: Victoria Druetta

The largest hailstone on record was found in Argentina in 2018, and recently a scientific journal reported on it. It came from a supercell thunderstorm in Argentina and it measured up to 9.3 inches across! In today's blog you'll read about it, learn how hail forms and learn about supercell thunderstorms.... so put on your rain gear and read on.

HOW DOES HAIL FORM? - Hailstones are formed by layers of water attaching and freezing in a large cloud. ... Those droplets then freeze to the hailstone, adding another layer to it. The

How hail forms. Cr: Blog.weatherops.com

hailstone eventually falls to Earth when it becomes too heavy to remain in the cloud, or when the updraft stops or slows down. 

Some of the features to be found in a supercell storm. Cr: NOAA

WHAT IS A SUPER CELL THUNDERSTORM? -
A supercell is a thunderstorm characterized by the presence of a mesocyclone: a deep, persistently rotating updraft. For this reason, these storms are sometimes referred to as rotating thunderstorms

WHAT WAS THE PREVIOUS HAIL SIZE RECORD? -The previous hail record belonged to a 2010 hailstone from South Dakota that clocked in at 8 inches (20 centimeters) across. The Penn State team examined images of hail collected from the thunderstorm, interviewed eyewitnesses and surveyed damage in Villa Carlos Paz, a city in central Argentina and found a larger hail stone. Here's the story: 

STORY OF THE RECORD-BREAKING HAILSTONE - 

by Matthew Carroll, Penn State University May 6, 2020 

A supercell thunderstorm pelted a city center in Argentina a few years ago with hailstones so large scientists suggested a new category to describe them—gargantuan hail.

Researchers investigating the 2018 storm found one hailstone likely measured between 7.4 and 9.3 inches across, potentially setting a new world record. The current record belongs to a hailstone that measured 8 inches across, or about the size of a volleyball, that fell near Vivian, South Dakota.

"It's incredible," said Matthew Kumjian, associate professor in the Department of Meteorology and Atmosphere Science at Penn State. "This is the extreme upper end of what you'd expect from hail."

The scientists proposed hail larger than 6 inches should be classified as gargantuan, and said more awareness of these events, while rare, could help piece together a better understanding of the dangerous storms.

"Anything larger than about a quarter in size can start putting dents into your car," Kumjian said. "In some rare cases, 6-inch hail has actually gone through roofs and multiple floors in houses. We'd like to help mitigate the impacts on life and property, to help anticipate these kinds of events."

Argentina hail was the size of a football! 

The storm in heavily populated Villa Carlos Paz, Argentina, offered scientists a rare opportunity to study a well-documented case of gargantuan hail. As the storm unfolded, residents took to social media, posting pictures and videos.

Researchers followed up on the accounts a year later, interviewing witnesses, visiting sites where damage occurred, collecting photogrammetric data and analyzing radar observations. Using photogrammetry—taking measurements from photographs—and video evidence, the scientists estimated one hailstone may have set a world record.

The scientists reported their findings in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.

"Such a well-observed case is an important step forward in understanding environments and storms that produce gargantuan hail, and ultimately how to anticipate and detect such extreme events," Kumjian said.

Hail typically occurs during severe storms, which produce strong, sustained updrafts. The winds hold hailstones aloft long enough to grow in sub-zero temperatures high in the atmosphere. But predicting hail size remains challenging, the scientists said.

Rachel Gutierrez, a graduate student at Penn State and co-author of the paper, found a connection between a storm updraft's rotational velocity, or how fast it is spinning, and larger hail size, but much remains unknown about the relationship.

She said the data, especially from a storm outside the United States, is invaluable.

"There typically isn't a lot of data from storms outside the U.S.," Gutierrez said. "Having this shows us these crazy, high-impact events can happen all over the world."

Gargantuan hail events may be more common than once believed, but researchers need volunteers willing to report hail and provide accurate measurements, either by including a common item for scale, or a ruler, Gutierrez said.

Amazing Science Book: The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte

Author Steve Brusatte and his book

If you love dinosaurs and want to get a better handle on their evolution and demise, you need to read Steve Brusatte's New York Times best-selling book "The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs ." If you follow this blog, you've seen some of my postings that were inspired from my reading of the book- including on the Tyrannosaurus Rex, Prehistoric birds and Pangea. In today's blog you'll read my 5 Star Review, and my friend Liz's review. You NEED to read this book. Read on>>> 

  The author, a young paleontologist, provides a lot of information in a story form, that covers his experiences with others, and highlights the rise and fall of the greatest beasts the Earth has ever seen. He goes over the timelines, and the millions of years it took to get to different points in evolution. He also provides info about a couple  of mass extinction events. One that involved high volcanic activity and the other, the famous asteroid that hit the Gulf of Mexico and scattered debris all over the world causing instant deaths of any living thing that wasn't in the ocean or living in a burrow, or otherwise protected. 

   I was so inspired by this book that I listened to a lecture on-line about the Cretaceous Period end time by the asteroid. BTW, the author also explains how that asteroid impact can be seen in layers of rock around the world as a thin layer. It's all pretty fascinating. 

MY FRIEND'S REVIEW:  My Friend Liz also read the book and here's her review: I finished “The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs”. I really enjoyed it, thank you for suggesting it.
   What I enjoyed most about the book is that Brusatte uses a storyline format. He weaves the history of the dinosaurs as seen through his own career, making each discovery an exciting connection to another piece of the dinosaur puzzle. 
   Usually an academic will write with a highbrow narrative that leaves me uninterested in exploring further. 
    This book provided factual evidence as it was discovered in the field, connecting the geography with the paleontology, taking a more holistic view of a very distant past. It is also helpful to know which dinosaurs lived during which periods, so much of their growth and where they were on the food chain depended upon the meteorology happening on earth. Just fascinating!
***********************************************************

Publisher's Summary

A sweeping and groundbreaking history of the age of dinosaurs, from one of our finest young scientists.

The dinosaurs. 66 million years ago, the Earth's most fearsome and spectacular creatures vanished. Today their extraordinary true story remains one of our planet's great mysteries.

In this stunning narrative spanning more than 200 million years, Steve Brusatte, a young American paleontologist who has emerged as one of the foremost stars of the field - discovering 10 new species and leading groundbreaking scientific studies and fieldwork - masterfully tells the complete, surprising, and new history of the dinosaurs, drawing on cutting-edge science to dramatically bring to life their lost world and illuminate their enigmatic origins, spectacular flourishing, astonishing diversity, cataclysmic extinction, and startling living legacy. Captivating and revelatory, The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs is a book for the ages.

Brusatte traces the evolution of dinosaurs from their inauspicious start as small shadow dwellers - themselves the beneficiaries of a mass extinction caused by volcanic eruptions at the beginning of the Triassic period - into the dominant array of species every wide-eyed child memorizes today, T. rex, Triceratops, Brontosaurus, and more. This gifted scientist and writer re-creates the dinosaurs' peak during the Jurassic and Cretaceous, when thousands of species thrived, and winged and feathered dinosaurs, the prehistoric ancestors of modern birds, emerged. The story continues to the end of the Cretaceous period, when a giant asteroid or comet struck the planet and nearly every dinosaur species (but not all) died out, in the most extraordinary extinction event in earth's history, one full of lessons for today as we confront a "sixth extinction".

Brusatte also recalls compelling stories from his globe-trotting expeditions during one of the most exciting eras in dinosaur research - which he calls "a new golden age of discovery" - and offers thrilling accounts of some of the remarkable findings he and his colleagues have made, including primitive human-sized tyrannosaurs; monstrous carnivores even larger than T. rex; and paradigm-shifting feathered raptors from China.

An electrifying scientific history that unearths the dinosaurs' epic saga, The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs will be a definitive and treasured account for decades to come.

©2018 Stephen Brusatte (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

History Uncovered by Drone! - New drone view of William Wallace's 'hidden fort'

It's amazing what you can see from the sky, and recently in Scotland, a drone revealed an ancient "hidden fort" of an historic figure in Scotland's history. Here's the story:

New drone view of William Wallace's 'hidden fort'
BBC News May 5, 2020

Image copyrightFLS BY SKYSCAPE SURVEY 2020

Image captionHundreds of aerial photographs of the site were taken using a drone

An aerial archaeological survey has produced new views of a "hidden fort" reputedly built by William Wallace in southern Scotland.

The site near Lochmaben is recorded in The New Statistical Account of Scotland published in the 19th Century.

It described the hidden stronghold as his base to "sally forth to annoy the English".

A drone was used to help survey the site - known as Wallace's House - and create a three-dimensional model.

Forestry and Land Scotland archaeologist Matt Richie oversaw the work by Skyscape Survey to examine the massive earthen rampart and promontory in Dumfries and Galloway.

'Fascinating and revealing'

He said they had been working to combine accurate surveys with "innovative visualisation techniques".

"Hundreds of photographs taken from the air by remote-controlled drone are stitched together using point-matching software to create a 3D terrain model, stripping away scrub and ground vegetation," he explained.

"It’s a fascinating and revealing technique that really begins to open up the landscape and this seemed like an ideal site to investigate.

"There isn’t much evidence on the surface, but the rampart and topography matches the historic description very well."

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

Image captionWilliam Wallace is reputed to have built the fort near Lochmaben in Dumfries and Galloway

The New Statistical Account of Scotland was compiled using responses to a questionnaire sent to every minister in Scotland.

It covers a wide range of subjects including evidence of historic ruins in their parishes.

The account describes the site of the fort with an "extensive view" to the south as a "strong place of defence".

"Sir William Wallace, while meditating the capture of the castle of Lochmaben in 1297, is said to have kept 16 men there, with whom he sallied forth to annoy the English garrison under Greystock and Sir Hugh of Moreland," it added.

Image copyrightORDNANCE SURVEY

Image captionWallace's House is marked on the original Ordnance Survey map of the area

Image copyrightFLS BY SKYSCAPE SURVEY

Image captionThe terrain model shows the deep gullies and rampart

Mr Ritchie said the latest study added to map work which started with the Ordnance Survey of 1857.

"Our new 3D model enables the massive rampart of the fort to really stand out, and the deep gullies of the two linns to be appreciated," he said.

"It must have been the 'strong place of defence' described by the account, the rampart topped with a timber palisade and enclosing timber buildings built to house the soldiers and their horses.

"But could the fort really have been built by William Wallace and his men? I’d like to think so – and, either way, the survey has added a new chapter to an old story."

FLS regional environment advisor Bill Coombes described it as a site where ecological and heritage objectives had come together to create a "special place".

The organisation is working to restore the area to a "native condition".

Idiot of the Week: UK Church Selling Fake Covid-19 cure

The fake COVID19 cure sold for 91 pounds ($115.00 U.S. dollars)! 

This week's Idiot of the Week is a United Kingdom 'church' of some kind that has decided to take advantage of people and sell them a fake cure. The unemployment rate in the UK is high as it is in the U.S., and the church is BILKING people for 91 pounds (114.00 U.S. dollars) for this fake cure. It's despicable. Here's the story:

UK Camberwell church continuing to sell fake Covid-19 cure
BBC NEWS, April 30, 2020 

A church in London has continued selling a fake Covid-19 cure, despite being under investigation by the charity watchdog.

The Charity Commission launched a probe into the Kingdom Church, in south London, earlier this month for selling coronavirus "protection kits".

But instead of stopping the sale, the church renamed the kits and is now selling "divine cleansing oil".

The church said it was "convinced" the oil cured Covid-19.

Bishop Climate Wiseman, of the Kingdom Church which is based in Camberwell, claimed his kits - a bottle of oil and some red yarn, priced at £91  ($115.00 U.S. dollars) - would protect his followers from the virus.

When the story came to light, the Charity Commission, which regulates charities in England and Wales, as well as Trading Standards launched an investigation into the church for selling the fake cure.

But BBC London, posing as a customer this week, found the church was still selling so-called "divine cleansing oil" which it says prevents and cures Covid-19 if taken three times a day.

In secretly-recorded conversations, BBC London was told the oil would work if inhaled via a towel or hot water in a bowl.

An employee of the Kingdom Church said on the phone: "We are helping the nation.

The Kingdom Church in South London selling a fake "COVID19 cure"

"We are convinced this cures coronavirus. We have sold nearly 2,000 of these."

The Charity Commission said it continued to "examine serious concerns about Kingdom Church GB" and was investigating the charity's involvement in the sale of "false Covid-19 protection devices".

Trading Standards are also carrying out an investigation.

Asked whether it was looking into the church, the Metropolitan Police said it was a matter for Trading Standards rather than itself since it involved the sale of goods.

The Charity Commission said it had been liaising with Southwark Council's trading standards department, which in turn confirmed it was investigating the issue.

Southwark Council said there were "many scams relating to Covid-19" and warned consumers should "be on guard for bogus test kits, cures and treatments and other financial scams".

Former Met Police inspector Peter Kirham said: "This is dangerous.

"I can't believe that people are so callous and reckless with personal and public safety - to put this product on the market, with the claims that go with it."

Some of our Favorite Franklin Photos

Franklin and Dolly loved looking out the back of the pickup truck window

We thought we'd share some of our favorite photos of our Dachshund Franklin, who passed last week. Franklin was 16 and lived a full life. He loved chasing squirrels, birds and bunnies in the backyard. He didn't mind when I dressed him up for Halloween. and he loved walks and rides. He enjoyed doing everything with our Weimaraner, Dolly (who is now 15 1/2 and misses him terribly). 

Dolly and Franklin celebrate Franklin's 2nd birthday in March 2006

He Loved all food and treats and never turned anything down to eat! But hated getting his teeth brushed.  Like most Dachshunds, he liked to eat things outside that he shouldn't, so that meant more teeth brushing and sometimes he'd snarl when I came near him with a toothbrush! 

Franklin also LOVED sitting outside in the sunshine. I didn't matter how cold or how hot it was outside. As long as he was outside and it was sunny, he'd sit on the grass. In the last couple of months of his life, he had no tolerance for sitting outside. 

Tom, Dolly, Franklin, Rob and Tyler on a drive 

He was independent, and loving. 

He was bonded with Tom and always looked for Tom wherever he went. As he aged, he liked sitting on the big bed with Tom when I was upstairs blogging or writing at night and our other 3 dogs would stay with me. 

Franklin as a youngster in the sunshine he so loved

He made quite the impression on so many and he's still very, very much around. Enjoy these pictures! 

Franklin wink

Dolly as a shark and Franklin as skeleton  one Halloween

Friends Jane and Rose Share Memories of Franklin the Dachshund

Picnic at Ft. Mc Henry

This Franklin Friday features a tribute to our Dachshund Franklin who passed away on May 8 this year. He made an impression on everyone he met. Today's blog has some memories that our friends Jane and Rose shared about their meetings with Franklin. 

Franklin and Dolly SQUIRREL CHASING! 

JANE'S MEMORIES: Franklin was such a cool dog with a big personality, so smart and handsome, too. My first memory of him was at the American Visionary Art Museum annual July 4th Pet Parade (too many years ago to believe!). He sat on Tom's lap and was clearly so over all the silliness surrounding him at the "butt-sniffing, trick-turning, leg-lifting" shenanigans. 

Jane and Steve took this pic of us at Ft. McHenry

Another time, I saw him sprint across a yard in Bowie to chase a squirrel. He was very, very fast. I always liked seeing him and Dolly together.

ROB'S NOTE: We also brought Franklin and Dolly to a picnic with Jane and Steve at Fort McHenry. That was a very memorable event! 
  Jane and Steve also took one of our favorite photos of us with Franklin and Dolly at Fort McHenry that day. 

Rose's Daughter posed with Franklin

ROSE'S MEMORY: Rose and her family met Franklin and Dolly in the mid-2000s when we met them on a fundraising walk for a Baltimore Animal Rescue around a reservoir in Baltimore City. During the event, Rose's daughter posed for a photo with Franklin. Rose sent that photo to us last week after Franklin passed. She still had it on her phone after 15 years!

Tom and Franklin, Rob and Dolly at the Baltimore Walk

Great Childhood book: 1972's Prehistoric Mammals and ABOUT the How and Why Wonder Books :

Earlier this month I spotlighted a 1972 book I had when I was a kid and recently re-read. It was in the
"How and Why Wonder Book"series, called "Dinosaurs." I actually have several in the series, and just re-read another called "Prehistoric Mammals." Yes, I was fascinated with fossils, dinosaurs and ancient mammals as a kid. In today's blog you'll read about the Prehistoric Mammals book and learn about the series of "HOW AND WHY WONDER BOOKS" and what were in the series!  Read on!

MY THOUGHTS- This book was a great introduction to prehistoric mammals for me. I'm sure that a LOT of this info has changed since 1972, in fact, I know it has (because I've read newer findings), but this was a great baseline. The book has a really cool timeline in the beginning. - The first26 of 47 pages is a recap from the pre-Cambrian and Paleozoic periods (no life to early sea life) to the end of the Jurassic Period (dinosaurs), so the mammals part is just 21 pages at the end.
   It's fascinating to see how some prehistoric mammals evolved into some of today's mammals. Well worth reading!
  NOW... let's look at the history of these How and Why books of Wonder 

ABOUT HOW AND WHY WONDER BOOKS -How and Why Wonder Books were a series of illustrated American books published in the 1960s and 1970s that was designed to teach science and history to children and young teenagers. The series began in 1960, and was edited under the supervision of Dr. Paul E. Blackwood of the Office of Education at the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare. The series was published by Wonder Books, Inc., a division of Grosset & Dunlap. There were 74 unique titles in the series, each one starting with the phrase The How and Why Wonder Book of… as a key component of the book's name. All 74 volumes were published in a softcover format.

The Author was Martin L Keen.  and it was very nicely illustrated by John Hull. I found it interesting that Paul E. Blackwood, who worked at the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, DC, over saw this and the book on Dinosaurs. Published by Grosset and Dunlap NY (1962 and again in 1971.

WHAT WERE THE OTHER HOW AND WHY WONDER BOOKS? 

The softcover books were numbered consecutively in series starting
 at 5001 (with the only exception being the final book in the series 
entitled Fossils). The hardcover versions were numbered differently
 from the softcover issues.

1. 5001 Dinosaurs
2. 5002 Weather
3. 5003 Electricity
4. 5004 Rocks and Minerals
5. 5005 Rockets and Missiles
6. 5006 Stars
7. 5007 Insects
8. 5008 Reptiles and Amphibians
9. 5009 Birds
10. 5010 Our Earth
11. 5011 Beginning Science
12. 5012 Machines
13. 5013 The Human Body
14. 5014 Sea Shells
15. 5015 Atomic Energy
16. 5016 The Microscope
17. 5017 The Civil War
18. 5018 Mathematics
19. 5019 Flight
20. 5020 Ballet
21. 5021 Chemistry
22. 5022 Horses
23. 5023 Explorations and Discoveries
24. 5024 Primitive Man
25. 5025 North America
26. 5026 Planets and Interplanetary Travel
27. 5027 Wild Animals
28. 5028 Sound
29. 5029 Lost Cities
30. 5030 Ants and Bees
31. 5031 Wild Flowers
32. 5032 Dogs
33. 5033 Prehistoric Mammals
34. 5034 Science Experiments
35. 5035 World War II
36. 5036 Florence Nightingale
37. 5037 Butterflies and Moths
38. 5038 Fish
39. 5039 Robots and Electronic Brains
40. 5040 Light and Color
41. 5041 Winning of the West
42. 5042 The American Revolution
43. 5043 Caves to Skyscrapers
44. 5044 Ships
45. 5045 Time
46. 5046 Magnets and Magnetism
47. 5047 Guns
48. 5048 The Moon
49. 5049 Famous Scientists
50. 5050 The Old Testament
51. 5051 Building
52. 5052 Railroads
53. 5053 Trees
54. 5054 Oceanography
55. 5055 North American Indians
56. 5056 Mushrooms, Ferns and Mosses
57. 5057 The Polar Regions
58. 5058 Coins and Currency
59. 5059 Basic Inventions
60. 5060 The First World War
61. 5061 Electronics
62. 5062 Deserts
63. 5063 Air and Water
64. 5064 Stars
65. 5065 Airplanes and the Story of Flight
66. 5066 Fish
67. 5067 Boats and Ships
68. 5068 The Moon
69. 5069 Trains and Railroads
70. 5070 Ecology
71. 5071 The Environment and You
72. 5072 Extinct Animals
73. 5073 Snakes
74. 5076 Fossils

When publication of the How and Why Wonder Book series 
first commenced in 1960, only the initial six titles in the series 
were produced. As time went by, and as the series 
proved to be highly successful, more new titles were added 
to expand its scope.

At the same time, a handful of titles also disappeared from 
the comprehensive "checklists" (located on back covers) when
 these volumes were revised and republished under a different
 title and/or series number. Specifically, there were six titles that
 were  removed from checklists when they were reissued with a 
later series number. They were:

1. 5006 Stars (reissued as 5064 Stars)
2. 5019 Flight (reissued as 5065 Airplanes and the Story of Flight)
3. 5038 Fish (reissued as 5066 Fish)
4. 5044 Ships (reissued as 5067 Boats and Ships)
5. 5048 The Moon (reissued as 5068 The Moon)
6. 5052 Railroads (reissued as 5069 Trains and Railroads)

Hero for Animals in the Pandemic: UK Actress Maisie Williams

Doctors, Nurses, healthcare workers, grocery workers, delivery drivers, auto care folks and so many others have been rightly noted as heroes during this Pandemic. Today's blog highlights an actress from the United Kingdom who is a hero for animals during this crisis. Here's the story from BBC News on April 30.

Coronavirus: Maisie Williams donates £50,000 to animal charity after fundraising halted
BBC News April 30, 2020

Image copyrightCARLY WONG

Image captionMaisie Williams adopted Sonny from the charity in 2016

Game of Thrones actor Maisie Williams has donated £50,000 to an animal rescue centre which had lost most of its income because of Covid-19.

Staff at the Bristol centre said they were "absolutely stunned and completely overwhelmed" to receive the cash.

Bristol Animal Rescue Centre launched its appeal after coronavirus forced it to postpone all of its upcoming fundraising events and activities.

Bristol-born Williams, 23, adopted a dog from the charity in 2016.

'Dark times'

She said adopting Sonny, her "rescue pooch", had changed her life for the better.

"It's so important in these difficult times not to forget about charities like Bristol ARC that need our help," said Williams, who played Arya Stark in the HBO drama.

"We all need to stick together in these dark times and keep the world spinning regardless."

The charity, which opened in 1887, was forced to close its doors to the public last month as the pandemic took hold.

It also had to postpone all of its upcoming fundraising events and activities, and suspend all their animal adoptions for the foreseeable future.

Staff at the centre posted a video on Facebook express their thanks.

Jodie Hayward, who manages the centre, said knowing Williams respects and "loves what we do so much means the world to us".

"I couldn't believe it when I heard what she had done to support us, I had to hold back a few tears.

"It really will make the world of difference to us right now and we can't thank her enough for her generosity."