Author: Lisa Mungovan

Christmas tradition says a star overhead marked the location where Jesus was born. The Bible describes how wise men followed a star to Bethlehem. Some people think the star was really a UFO! They also think Jesus was an alien who could shift shapes. Whatever you believe, Happy Christmas!

A popular Christmas gift for kids years ago used to be a chemistry set. But those sets could be dangerous! They contained poisonous cyanide to dissolve gold, blowtorches to make glass test tubes, radioactive uranium to practice measuring radiation, and carcinogenic asbestos to dust for fingerprints. Now some chemistry sets don’t even contain chemicals!

Today is Christmas, a festival celebrated by billions of people to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. We don’t know the date Jesus was actually born, but Christmas has been December 25th since the year 336. It is marked with gift giving and Santa Claus, Christmas trees and lights, church services, songs and gatherings.

Did something on TV ever look so delicious, you could almost taste it? A scientist in Japan, invented a television you can taste. Taste TV has a removable film, that has flavors dispensed onto it. If you want to taste a different food, you put a different film on the screen. Don’t shock yourself!

Tomorrow morning, at 7:20 AM Eastern time, the James Webb Space Telescope is finally scheduled to launch. The telescope has a gigantic 21.5-foot-wide mirror coated with gold, and is protected by a sunshield, which unfolds to the size of a tennis court. You can watch it begin its mission, on NASA TV, at nasa.gov.

Everyone knows Santa’s sleigh, is pulled by reindeer. But did you know, that they’re all girls? Male reindeer shed their antlers in early December, so any reindeer that still have antlers on Christmas Eve, must be female. Of course, since they’re magical flying reindeer, I suppose it’s possible Santa’s crew doesn’t follow the rules.

Most of the time NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, is in charge of aerospace and maritime warning and control. But on Christmas Eve, NORAD tracks Santa Claus! They use radar, satellites, jet fighter escorts, and Santacams to get some pictures. Visit the noradsanta.org website to follow Santa’s travels around the world today!

Today is Eggnog Day. Also known as egg milk punch (which I think sounds kind of gross), eggnog is a drink made from milk, cream, sugar, spices and eggs. It’s also good in coffee! Sometimes it’s served spiked with liquor, so make sure you ask an adult, before you drink any!

After a Confederate statue was removed in Richmond Virginia, workers began dismantling the base. Workers discovered a time capsule inside the pedestal, from 18 87. The lead box held an 18 75 almanac, 2 wet books, a cloth envelope, and a coin. Conservators are working on drying out and preserving the items.

During the winter, many cities depend on rock salt, to keep the roads free of ice. But salt can kill plants, cause cars to rust, and contaminate fresh water. Transportation departments are trying other ways, to melt ice. Pickle juice, cheese brine, leftover beer, and sugar beet juice, are some alternatives to salt.