Answers to Questions Kids Ask! - Where "Why?" Turns to "Wow!"
Born on this day
September 19, 20111931 - Brook Benton
1934 - Brian Epstein
1928 - Pete Murray
1933 - David McCallum
1940 - Zandra Rhodes
1940 - Bill Medley
1945 - Kate Adie
1946 - Michael Elphick
1948 - Jeremy Irons
1949 - Twiggy
1963 - David Seaman
A clear, sticky oil called urushiol (pronounced yoo-roo-shee-ol) puts the “poison” in poison ivy. This oil oozes from the plant whenever it gets cut or crushed. It also causes an allergic reaction in almost nine out of every ten people who touch it.
Even the tiniest droplets of urushiol from poison ivy can leave you with an itchy rash that will last for ten to fourteen days. Most of this oil gets produced in the spring or summer, so now’s the time to be extra careful. The best way to ditch the itch is to avoid poison ivy to begin with. Unfortunately, this plant doesn’t come with a warning label. So on your next walk in the woods, beware of plants with white berries, yellow or green flowers, and shiny green leaves that turn red in the fall. This old saying may also come in handy when dodging poison ivy: “leaves of three, let them be.” That’s because poison ivy leaves often grow in clusters of three (but can be seen in groups of as many as nine).
Link to this question!
Why is a banana a fruit? Where are the seeds?
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Why do mosquito bites itch?
Because that female mosquito who bit you was very smart! She wanted to take a drink of your blood. But she’s only got a narrow tube for sucking blood. You…
How can plants deep in the ocean grow without sunlight?
Good question! Sunlight can penetrate the ocean to a depth of about 600 feet. This is called the “euphotic zone.” Ninety percent of ocean life lives here, including ALL the…
If you are color-blind does that mean you see things in black and white like those old movies on TV?
Eyes are miraculous contraptions! When light goes through the lens at the front of your eye, it travels back to a projection screen called your retina which is packed tightly…
What do the Olympic rings mean?
The colors of the five interlocking rings represent the five participating continents: Australia, Africa, America, Asia, and Europe. The colors are always arranged with blue, black, and red across the…