discovery box up close to a lion family

£ 4.15 - N. 146 – September 2010 iSSN 1366-9028
World History Science Nature
Egypt
2
Tony and Alberto, n.9 by Dab’s © Glénat Editions
3

D I Y
M ore in
D I Y
M ore in
D I Y
M ore in
D I Y
M ore in
Va sur
le b
log
Bonus
Va sur
le b
log
Labo
Va sur
le b
log
2 million tonnes
That was the weight of stone
needed to build an Egyptian
pyramid.
Find out more about the

Egyptians
page 25
Travel
to the middle of a Russian
forest and learn all about
Russia in
the time of
the tsars
page 29
To throw
a boomerang
you must be:
Australian
facing into the wind
twisted
To find the answer go to
Boomerangs
page 38
Do you know
your family?
That would be the hominids
or ‘great apes’. Other members are
chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and
orang-utans. We’re all related!
The chimp who knew
he was going to die
page 20
Chamo
What do a dress and
the nose of a high-speed

train have in common?
They’re both made from
Fabrics of the future
page 12
How long
do you think lions sleep?
12 hours a day
20 hours a day
36 hours a day?
To find the answer go to
Face to face

with lions
page 4
Look out for
these symbols:
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DiscoveryBox is a 2010 winner of
a Parents’ Choice Recommended Award.
Photo: Thomas Louapre. Photo of cover: Anup Shah.
Go to our
website:
www. bayard-magazines.co.uk
8
4
5
Face to face
Here we are on the savannah in Kenya, Africa, with
some lion cubs. A camera at ground level brings us
these amazing shots of a pride of lions.
Nature
LIONS
with
6
MOTHER She looks like a big pussy cat
but she’s an awesome hunter. She uses
her powerful muscles, jaws and claws to
catch zebras and wildebeest.
CUB Isn’t he cute with his big, brown eyes?
This lion cub is growing up in a pride (family)
of two males, six females and a dozen cubs.
FATHER His huge mane is a disadvantage
for hunting because it can be seen from far
away. So it’s the lionesses who hunt for
the pride. But the male always gets to eat

first and he can happily gorge on 30kg of
meat a meal!
Family group
NatureNature
7
Nature
Lions don’t like getting into the water but they will lap
up water like cats. These five little cubs play together
all day long. They chase and jump all over each other.
It’s good practice for when they start hunting. But
what they love best is napping. Lions sleep for around
20 hours a day!
Smile,
you’re on camera!
9
Text: P. Bouchié. Photos: Anup Shah
Go to our
website:
www. bayard-magazines.co.uk
C
h
a
m
o
This is the number of cards used to

make the biggest card castle in the world.
It stays together without a single drop of
glue! It’s an exact replica of a hotel and

casino in Macao, China.
An American comic book
published in 1938 has been
sold for a record $877,631!

It contains the first
episode of the
adventures of
Superman.
Crazy!
Prickly golf
218,792
T. A. Clary/AFP
Eyepress News/AFP
D. Carroll/Getty Images-AFP
M
.

B
e
u
r
t
o
n
10
Miss Harriet,
where’s the
shin bone
belonging to

the diplodocus?
In the kitchen,
Professor…
They needed
a marrow bone
for the stew!
What is this? A mop for wiping
the floor? Er… Better not
make fun of
komondors
!
These funny-looking, woolly
sheepdogs are originally from
the plains of Hungary. They
can weigh up to 80kg and are
very strong!
What on earth!
The Arizona desert in the USA used to be
home to Native Americans, cowboys and
a lot of cactuses. The plants are still
there but the Native Americans and

the cowboys have been replaced
by… golfers! But from this
picture, golf tournaments

in Arizona are prickly
affairs!
Look out for the FSC tick tree
logo when shopping for wood

and paper products.

By choosing FSC products,

you are supporting

the responsible management

of the world’s forests.

FSC forests are managed

with care for the environment,
wildlife and the people who live
and work in them.
Friday 24th September

is FSC Friday, for more
information go to:
www.fsc-uk.org
® FSC AC All Rights
ReservedFSC-SECR-0068
11
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12
in
z
o

o
m
FABRICS of the future
Fabrics are flexible materials
made of fibres or threads
that are woven together.
Nowadays all sorts of things
are made of fabric: suitcases,
advertising hoardings, even
bikes and parts of electricity
sensors on high-speed
trains. Some fabrics are
very flexible and others are
ultra-resistant or very hard.
Fabrics are everywhere.
You can’t get away from
them! Turn the page to
follow the thread of our
enquiry…
13
Science
What do a station roof, the nose of a high-speed train,
the suit worn by a triathlon champion and a fireman’s jacket
all have in common? They’re all made of fabric.
FABRICS of the future
Flexible battery
woven into the
fabric so it
doesn’t get in
the firefighter’s

way.
Temperature,
sweat and
heartbeat
sensors
Fabric antenna
Today’s jacket made of aramid
fibres and Kevlar = 2kg
Leather jacket used in
the past = 3kg
Fire-resistant suit
The external coating on
their suit protects
firefighters from flames
as hot as 400°C!
But inside the suit,
they get very hot.
Their job can be very
demanding physically.
Transmitter box
Reflective fabric
strips
The antenna transmits
the information about
the firefighter by radio
waves to a base station.
The information tells
the commander of the
unit whether he should
order the firefighters

to leave the scene of
the fire.
Sensors woven into
the firefighters’ t-shirt
record their body
temperature,
breathing rate
and heartbeat.
They even analyse
their sweat!
14
30,000 years ago,
prehistoric people wove ropes
and nets using plant fibres.
12,000 years ago,
humans invented weaving by
twisting together two threads.
This was the start of fabric.
Soon, fabric was used instead
of animal skins to make
clothes.
900 years ago
The Arabs invented knitting.
This was a way of making
fabric using only one thread.

From weaving to
knitting
D I Y
M o r e i n

D I Y
M o r e i n
D I Y
M o r e i n
D I Y
M o r e i n
Va sur
le b
log
Bonus
Va sur
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log
Labo
Va sur
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p.44
The nose of this high-speed train is

made of woven glass fibres that are
heated to 50°C.


Fibreglass can be made into any shape

that engineers need. It’s also lighter

and stronger than steel. Most importantly,
in a fire, fibreglass doesn’t burn. This

means firefighters and passengers are
less exposed to dangerous fumes.
Goodbye metal bike! Cycling champions

now ride bikes made of fabric.


Manufacturers weave a long tube using
carbon fibres. Then they heat the tube in

a mould with resin (a sticky, glue-like
substance). Half an hour later they have

an 800g bike frame. The same frame in
steel would weigh 1.7kg.
15
Science
Lightweight

bike
This train
follows its

nose!
Its aerodynamic
shape means it has
less resistance to the
air, which means it
uses less electricity.
Fork = 1km of

carbon fibres
Frame = 3km of
carbon fibres
16
Dress fit
for a princess
The colour of this dress changes, just
like in a fairy tale!
When it was made,
micro-capsules were attached to
the fibres of the fabric. The capsules
contain a coloured chemical that
becomes transparent when the
temperature rises above 22°C. So

in the summer, a pink dress with blue
capsules stays blue in a cool house.
Outside in the sunshine, it turns pink!
Strong capsules
change colour in
the heat
Fragile capsules
release perfume
to mask the smell
of sweat
Light
roof
over
our heads
Today architects build stadiums and stations

using fabric.
But not any old fabric: it must be both
strong and light and let sunlight through. Some
fabrics are also designed to resist winds of more
than 360km/h. They’re ideal for building in areas
where there are cyclones or earthquakes.
Curved surface so rain or
snow run off it
Steel tension cables
keep the roof
stretched tight
Valleys where water
can run down
Triathlon
suit
This triathlete’s suit
was made using the latest
technology.
l After swimming, it dries
in 5 minutes.
l During running or cycling,
it lets sweat escape.
l It supports muscles and
makes them more
powerful.
All of these help the athlete
run faster.
Science
From hemp thread to

spider goats
Humans first wove fabric using plant fibres and
then animal hairs (such as wool). Today
researchers have discovered that spiders make
silk that’s stronger than steel. They have
genetically engineered goats to produce hair
that can be made into a silk thread as strong as
a spider’s but in much greater quantities!
Surgeons will be able to use this thread to sew
blood vessels in humans.
Fabric around the thighs
is woven in such a way as
to grip the muscles so
that they shake less and
are stronger.
No more seams that rub
against the skin!
The different parts of
this suit are glued
together.

Sponsor’s logo
Text: M. Beynié. Illustrations: P. Hart and D. Grant.
Marion Montaigne
Chamo
Marie Curie?
She was a Polish chemist and
physicist who isolated radium in
1898 with her husband. Radium
is a metal that gives off rays that

can cure cancer. Marie Curie
received two Nobel prizes for
her work with radioactivity (she
invented this name) and she was
the first female professor at
the University of Paris.
a hendecagon?
Triangles have three sides,
squares have four sides, pentagons have
five sides and hexagons have six sides…
All these geometrical shapes are
polygons. A hendecagon is a polygon
with 11 sides.
Crocodile tears
Animal
If we say someone is crying crocodile
tears, it means they’re pretending to cry
but aren’t really sad. When crocodiles eat
their prey, tears run out of their eyes just
as the saliva runs out of their mouth.

It happens automatically and has nothing
to do with them being sad.
Who was
71,000

kilometres
Name:

Arctic tern

Latin name:
Sterna

paradisaea

Job:
migratory
sea bird
Weight:

100g
What
is
This is the distance travelled each year by Arctic terns
when they migrate from the South Pole to the North
Pole and back again! To find out about their journey,
scientists attached a 1.4g tracking device to the leg

of some of these magnificent birds.
DR
DR
Michel Beurton
R
u
e

d
e
s

A
r
c
h
i
v
e
s
/
M
.

E
v
a
n
s
Michel Beurton
18
Words
When it’s time for the class photo,
the snail is always asked not to smile!
Not because it has bad teeth…
… but because it has 20,000 teeth
on its tongue!
close your mouth!
Look this way…
aaand…
smile!
Ready,

children?
Got it?
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19
20

Life
his story starts in 1950 in the
rainforest in Guinea in Africa.
Some chimpanzees were moving
from branch to branch up in the
trees. Two men watched them
from the ground. One man had a
gun.
“Be careful not to shoot the
baby…” said the other man.
The hunter was aiming at a
mother chimpanzee whose baby
was clinging to her tummy. He
fired. Pow!
The mother had been hit and
fell to the ground, protecting her
baby with her arms. She fell on
her back with a thud.

The chimp
who
(maybe)
knew
he was going
to die
Chimps are intelligent
T
Scientists have been studying chimpanzees for
300 years. They now know that chimps can learn to
understand the meaning of up to 250 different signs.

They can give their keepers short orders, such as,
“Give banana”. Today, by hitting the keys on a
special computer, chimpanzee X can communicate
with a human being and respond to complicated
orders, such as, “If X gives the soft toy an injection
and puts it on the second shelf, Paul will give him
a banana.”

Hurvinek the chimpanzee,

aged 6
© J. V. Stanek
© Cyril Ruoso
21
Science
Nature
“Good shot! She’s dead,” said
the first man. “The baby is groggy
but alive. Look, it’s a male. See his
face with those sticking-out ears?
He will be fine for the order from
the Czechs! Put him in the bag.”
That’s how, three months
later, the little chimp arrived at
Prague Zoo in Czechoslovakia. He
was called Hur vinek after a
puppet with funny ears on Czech
television.
Two or three years passed.
Almost every Sunday, a 10-year-

who
(maybe)
knew
he was going
old boy called Vilem visited the
zoo with his parents. He liked the
apes best, especially Hurvinek.
In the chimp’s big cage there
was a door a few metres off the
ground that led to a smaller cage
where he could sleep without
being seen by the people visiting
the zoo. Sometimes Hurvinek
grabbed the edge of the door,
p u l l e d h i m s e l f u p a n d
disappeared.
“See, Mum,,” said Vilem. “Even
a gymnast couldn’t do that!”

22
© P. Eglin
hen Vilem was 14 he went to the
zoo so often that all the keepers
and even the director knew who
he was. He was allowed in for free.
He still loved the apes and wanted
to understand them and be able
to communicate with them…
But Hurvinek ignored Vilem,
despite all the boy’s attempts to

make friends.
Vilem complained, “I know he
recognises people because he
greets them by shouting ‘ooh-
ooh’. He’s so annoying!”
The chimp may have been
annoying but he was also a clown!
When there was a crowd of people
he would do a dance.
“He’s so funny!” laughed the
visitors.
When the young ape
thought the crowd was big
enough, he collected rubbish
and threw it at them. Then
they all started shouting, which
he seemed to find funny.
“Don’t think I don’t know
what you’re up to,” thought Vilem
smiling. “I’m
sure you keep
a little stash of
peelings so you
have things to
throw!”
Then one day, Hurvinek’s fur
suddenly bristled as he grabbed
an apple core and threw it at
Vilem, hitting him on the chest.
People in the crowd burst out

laughing. The boy was really
One day Hurvinek
threw an apple core
at Vilem, hitting him
on the chest.
W
23
We’re mammals of the

order of primates. Among
primates, there are simians,
which include old world
monkeys (or tailed apes), and
great apes or hominids (who
don’t have tails) including
orang-utans, gorillas, chimps,
bonobos and human beings.
Humans and apes: same family
25 million
years ago
12 million
years ago
10 million
years ago
6 million
years ago
2 million
years ago
Humans
Bonobos

Chimpanzees
Gorillas
Orang-utans
Tailed apes
Science
Nature
pleased. “He aimed at me, straight
at me. He recognises me!” thought
Vilem happily.
That was how their friendship
began. Vilem visited the chimp
often. Hurvinek started greeting
him with little ‘ooh-ooh’ sounds.
Vilem thought he was saying, “I
know you, but I’m not really
interested in you!”
When Vilem was 18 he was
still really interested in apes. He
got the chance to do a student
work placement over the summer
at the zoo. By this time, Hurvinek
had become an adult. He was
1.20m tall and weighed 75kg. But
he had contracted tuberculosis.
Great apes can easily catch
human respiratory (breathing)
diseases. Although the vet treated
Hurvinek, the chimpanzee didn’t
get better.
All summer long, Vilem fed

him, looked af ter him and
cleaned out his cage… But he
never forgot that he was dealing
with a powerful wild animal. He
had noticed that the keepers
never took hold of the chimps’
hands through the bars. They
only stroked the back of their
hands so the chimps could not
catch hold of theirs. In zoos,
more serious accidents happen
with chimpanzees than with
wild cats.
One evening in August, Vilem
found Hurvinek lying in his cage.
He was almost completely still.
The young man was worried
about him and he went back to
see the chimp before going home.
To his surprise, Hurvinek stood
up, walked slowly towards
Vilem on all fours and…
put his hand through
the bars.
Chimps’ hands
are longer than
ours. Chimps are
four times stronger
than humans.
Chimp

language
”Hello“
Fear
Laughter
D I Y
M o r e i n
D I Y
M o r e i n
D I Y
M o r e i n
D I Y
M o r e i n
Va sur
le b
log
Bonus
Va sur
le b
log
Labo
Va sur
le b
log
p. 42
© Rudolf Pucholt/DR
24
Text: M. Beynié. Illustrations: J. Brasseur. Thanks to Vilem Bischof for his memories and his documents.
Science
Nature

“He gave the boy
a last look and lay
down on his back.”
he young man looked at the
hand and then at the chimpanzee
who was gazing at him. He
hesitated… but then decided to
take hold of it. His heart beat fast
as Hurvinek’s hand was very
strong.
For a second, Vilem thought,
“He’s going to pull my arm into
the cage! He will get me in the
end.”
But the sick chimpanzee just
held the young man’s hand for 20
seconds or maybe a minute.
Vilem lost count. Then Hurvinek
gently let go of his hand, looked
away and lay down on the ground
again.
Vilem switched off the lights
and went home. But he didn’t
sleep a wink. He tossed and
turned in his bed. At dawn, he
hurried back to the zoo.
When he got to the monkey
house, he switched on the lights
a n d he a de d s t r a ig ht f or
Hurvinek’s cage. The chimpanzee

was still in the same position but
he was no longer breathing.
Fifty years have passed. Vilem
left his country a long time ago.
He became a journalist and a
recognised expert in great apes.
H e s t i l l
wonders about
Hurvinek’s last
gesture. “Did
he k now he
was dying? Did he want to say
goodbye to his friend? Would a
chimp be capable of such a
thing?” He often thinks about
what happened and tears trickle
down his face.
T
© Cyril Ruoso
GEOATLAS® WORLD VECTOR - GRAPHI-OGRE® - France - 1997
25
Turn the page and pull out your poster
Howard Carter, an English archaeologist,
discovered Tutankhamun’s tomb in the Valley
of the Kings at Luxor.
This is the number of amazing items found in the
tomb. They’re in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
This is the weight of Tutankhamun’s gold mask.
1922
3, 500

10 kilos
We know a lot about the pyramids in Egypt that
were tombs for the pharaohs. But pyramids were
built in other countries too…
Pyramids around the world
China: 4500bce
Egypt: 2650bce
Peru: 2600bce
Mexico: 600ce
Canary Islands: period unknown, but
probably relatively modern
Huge treasure for a small king…
Tutankhamun’s reign was not long – only ten years.
But the many treasures found in his tomb were
fabulous. Imagine what must have been in the tomb
of a great pharaoh, such as Ramses II… Unfortunately,
thieves knew what was in there too and everything
was stolen over the years, starting in ancient times.
First coffin made of wood
covered in gold leaf
Second coffin made of wood,
decorated with gold and
glass
Third coffin made of solid
gold. It weighs 11kg
Tutankhamun’s mummy with
gold mask
Pink stone sarcophagus
Nemes,
pharaoh’s

headdress
with blue and
gold stripes
Rearing cobra and vulture
to protect the pharaoh and
destroy his enemies
False beard,
symbol of authority
Necklace made of
12 rows of stones
Eyes made of obsidian
(volcanic glass)
Photo poster: Araldo de Luca. Illustrations: L. de Reyniès and B. Veillon (pyramids and mask), J. Torton (sarcophagus).
Age: became pharaoh
when he was 9. Died when
he was 18 in 1327bce.
Height: 1.65 metres
Famous for: treasures
found in his tomb
Name: Tutankhamun,
which means ‘living image
of the god Amun’.
Fact sheet
History
Famous
pharaoh
Tutankhamun