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A porcupine has an excellent defense against most predators. Porcupines are covered with sharp, needle-like quills. They use these to puncture the skin of any predator that tries to attack. The fisher cat, however, has found a way around a porcupine's defenses. The fisher cat isn't big, but it is very fierce and has sharp teeth. It attacks the porcupine's face, where it has no quills. When the porcupine is tired or injured, the fisher cat can then roll its prey over to finish the attack.

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The United States court system has three main levels. The first is the District Court, where trials are first held. This trial court's decision is final unless a party appeals to the Court of Appeal. The appeals court considers arguments from both sides and decides who is right. The last level is the United States Supreme Court. The Supreme Court chooses carefully which cases to hear. Those cases usually involve important issues. The Supreme Court may also take a case if something egregious happened in the lower courts. For example, the court might consider a case where someone was denied a fair trial. The Supreme Court hears less than one percent of the cases brought to it.

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In 1803, the Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the United States by adding 828,000 square miles of land to the nation. This acquisition resulted in the U.S. having unexplored territory. So, in 1803, President Thomas Jefferson asked Congress for approval to fund an expedition. The goals of the expedition were to explore the new territory and to find a practical route to the western part of the country. Jefferson chose Meriwether Lewis to lead this expedition. Lewis selected William Clark as second in command. This was the birth of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

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Astronauts in space usually stay inside their vehicles, but sometimes they'll go out on what's known as a spacewalk. They might need to fix something on the outside of the spacecraft or space station. Or they might do science experiments outside. On a spacewalk, astronauts wear spacesuits that contain oxygen needed for breathing. The suits also contain water to drink. While on the walk, astronauts wear backpacks with small jets that can help steer them in space. Steering can be tricky, though, because astronauts are often tethered to their ships. The cords connecting astronauts to their ships let them return to the ships safely if the jet packs should fail.

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For some tasks, smaller is better. In 2013, two men exploring a South African cave found some bones in an underground chamber. When anthropologist Lee Berger saw photos of the chamber, he thought it was important. But reaching it required squeezing through narrow cave passages, some less than eight inches wide. Berger couldn't fit. He published an ad seeking experienced scientists who could work in caves. Six women met the requirements. These "underground astronauts" dug up more than 1,500 fragments of bones from the cave. From these specimens, Berger's team was able to rebuild fifteen partial skeletons. They concluded that they had discovered a new human ancestor, which they named Homo naledi. 

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The Industrial Revolution lasted from the 1700s to the mid-1800s. During this time, new machines were invented that changed the way businesses made their products. Some of the machines could spin thread and weave cloth much more quickly than people could. There were machines making other types of products as well. However, the improvements in machines that made fabric created the most new jobs. For this reason, textiles became the dominant industry. People moved to cities in record numbers to work in new factories. The Industrial Revolution changed their lives greatly. In fact, many historians see the Industrial Revolution as one of the most important events in our history.

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The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest of the ancient Egyptian pyramids. When completed around 2560 BCE, it stood 481 feet high, as tall as a modern 44-story building. The Great Pyramid was the world's tallest building for more than three thousand years. More than two million huge stone blocks were used to construct it. The builders of the pyramid positioned it meticulously so that it perfectly faces true north. Scientists aren't sure how the ancient Egyptians knew how to place the base. Experts also disagree about how those huge blocks were moved into place. They don't even fully understand the design of the inside of the pyramid. More work must be done to solve these mysteries.

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After Bobby Fischer learned to play chess, he said it was all he wanted to do. He started playing when he was six and was soon beating older players. At fourteen, he became the youngest person ever to win the United States Chess Championship. He won the World Chess Championship in 1972, becoming the first American-born world champion. Fischer's victories led to an increase in chess's popularity in the United States. They also made Fischer famous around the world. Fischer, though, did not seem to enjoy the fame. He stopped seeing his friends, choosing instead to live as a recluse. Fischer played very little chess in the decades that followed, but he did play one more famous match. On the twentieth anniversary of his World Championship victory, he played a rematch against Boris Spassky. Showing that he was still a champion, Fischer once again defeated Spassky and claimed a 3.6 million dollar prize.

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Bloodhounds' sense of smell is about a thousand times better than humans'. Because of this ability, they can help people in many ways. For example, bloodhounds have been used to help hunt animals for hundreds of years. Bloodhounds can also be helpful in finding missing people. For instance, they can track a missing hiker's scent through the woods. In one famous story, a bloodhound was taken to the scene of a fire. Although the fire had been out for days, the dog picked up a scent and followed it. In a house a mile away, the dog located the man who had set the fire. Police can use bloodhound evidence like this in court to help make sure that the right person is prosecuted.

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Since at least 4000 BCE, people have worn jewelry made of gold. These days, however, gold is used for reasons other than just decoration. Gold is malleable, so it can be molded into many forms. This makes gold ideal for use in many modern technologies. For example, a small amount of gold is used to carry electrical signals in devices like cell phones and computers. The face mask of an astronaut's helmet can be coated with gold to block the sun's rays. Thin pieces of gold can even be used as a lubricant to protect moving parts in space.

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In a lineup of major league baseball players, Pete Gray would be conspicuous. Why? Gray was a baseball player with just one arm. Gray had lost most of his right arm in an accident at age six. Naturally right-handed, he had to learn to do everything with his left hand. This meant that he had to relearn how to throw a ball and swing a bat. Gray was determined to become a professional baseball player, though. He finally got his chance in 1945, when many players were fighting in World War II. Gray played as an outfielder for the St. Louis Browns. People from all over would come to cheer for him when he played. Gray became a role model to many people, including soldiers injured in the war. One of Gray's gloves is now at the Baseball Hall of Fame.

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In 1860, the Pony Express was started. It was created to meet the demand for faster mail service between California and the eastern states. Pony Express riders carried their bags of mail long miles over rugged western trails. During their routes, the riders faced many dangers. For example, many riders told stories about encounters with wild animals and robbers. Despite these dangers, Pony Express riders were known to be very fast. They were able to carry word of Abraham Lincoln's election as president from Nebraska to California in just five days. In less than two years, though, the Pony Express became obsolete. Once the telegraph was invented, there was no need for the Pony Express.

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In 1910, two groups of explorers landed on the coast of Antarctica. Both groups had the same goal: to be the first to reach the South Pole. The men set up camps to wait for warm weather to arrive. When spring began, each group started across the icy mountains toward the pole. Roald Amundsen led one party, using dogsleds to carry supplies over the ice. In the other party, led by Robert Falcon Scott, the men pulled their own sleds. Amundsen's group arrived at the South Pole first. The date was December 14, 1911. If Scott had used dogsleds, he might have reached that destination sooner.

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During the winter, road crews often put salt on the roads after a snowstorm. They want to keep the roads safe by getting rid of the ice quickly. So they put the salt on the roads to hasten the melting of the ice. The salt works by lowering the temperature at which water will freeze. Pure water turns to ice at 32°F. Salty water doesn't freeze until it reaches a lower temperature. So even if it's 20°F outside, the salty water won't turn to road ice.

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One famous hero of the Civil War was a Union Army general named Phil Sheridan. In 1864, Sheridan's soldiers were losing in a battle at Cedar Creek, Virginia. Sheridan, who had been away at a meeting, heard the sound of gunfire twelve miles away. He needed to get to his men quickly, so he hopped on his horse, Winchester. Winchester did not falter but carried the general straight toward the fighting. Sheridan rode into the battle in time to lead his troops to victory. A popular poem called "Sheridan's Ride" celebrates Winchester's role in the victory at Cedar Creek.

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Amelia Earhart was born in 1897, a time when few women worked outside the home. Earhart, however, loved flying airplanes. In 1932, she became the first woman to fly alone across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many other flight records during her life. But Earhart is remembered most for her last flight. In 1937, she set off to fly around the world at the equator. Her plane was lost, and what happened to it is a mystery. Debris found on Gardner Island in the Western Pacific, however, suggests that Earhart may have landed there. Researchers say that a piece of metal found on the island matches a patch from Earhart's airplane.

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Each year, about three million people visit a cliff tucked into South Dakota's Black Hills. They make the trip to admire the American presidents on Mount Rushmore. The faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt are carved into the mountainside. Among the four faces, Washington's is the most prominent. He is positioned in front, with the others appearing somewhat behind him. Each carving is about sixty feet tall, the height of a six-story building. About four hundred people worked to make these rock faces. The work took fourteen years to complete. The faces will probably last for hundreds more.

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Every spring on the beaches of Delaware, New Jersey, and Maryland, the horseshoe crabs gather. Crowds of them make nests on the beach, and the females lay their eggs. Soon the crabs are joined by a multitude of shorebirds. Thousands of birds stop at these beaches each year. The birds stuff themselves with small green horseshoe crab eggs. The birds depend on these eggs to get enough energy for the long flight ahead. Many of them are flying from South America to the Arctic. Scientists say that this gathering of crabs and birds has been occurring for thousands of years.

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Italy's Leaning Tower of Pisa is famous because of a mistake. It was built on earth that wasn't stable enough to hold it straight. Soon after building began in 1173, the tower started leaning. The work stopped even though the building wasn't complete. A new engineer came in almost one hundred years later. He tried building the stories higher on one side to fix the tower, but his plan didn't work. Still leaning, the building was completed in 1372. The leaning got worse over hundreds of years. In 1990, the tower was closed so engineers could reinforce the tower. Steel cables were wrapped around the tower, and the tower's base was improved. Now slightly straighter, the tower is safe and open again for visitors.

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In the 1820s, farmers from Vermont had to deliver turkeys to Boston on foot. They walked up to three hundred fifty miles with as many as seven thousand turkeys. It was hard to control all those birds. When it got dark, the turkeys would refuse to keep going. They would just fly away and find a place to sleep. On a lucky night, they'd try to rest on strong tree branches. An unlucky night could bring about quite a commotion, though. For example, if too many turkeys landed on a barn roof, the building might come crashing down.

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