The Daring Book for Girls - Andrea J. Buchanan [135]
North Dakota 1889 Bismarck Wild Prairie Rose American Elm
Ohio 1803 Columbus Scarlet Carnation Ohio Buckeye
Oklahoma 1907 Oklahoma City Oklahoma Rose Eastern Redbud
Oregon 1859 Salem Oregon Grape Douglas Fir
Pennsylvania 1776 Harrisburg Mountain Laurel Eastern Hemlock
Rhode Island 1776 Providence Violet Red Maple
South Carolina 1776 Columbia Yellow Jessamine Cabbage Palmetto
South Dakota 1889 Pierre Pasque Flower Black Hills Spruce
Tennessee 1796 Nashville Iris Tulip Poplar
Texas 1845 Austin Bluebonnet Pecan
Utah 1896 Salt Lake City Sego Lily Blue Spruce
Vermont 1791 Montpelier Red Clover Sugar Maple
Virginia 1776 Richmond American Dogwood Flowering Dogwood
Washington 1889 Olympia Coast Rhododendron Western Hemlock
West Virginia 1863 Charleston Rhododendron Sugar Maple
Wisconsin 1848 Madison Wood Violet Sugar Maple
Wyoming 1890 Cheyenne Indian Paintbrush Plains Cottonwood
SEVEN THINGS YOU PROBABLY DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT CANADA
1. A Canadian invented basketball. (James Naismith, a physical education instructor from Almonte, Ontario, came up with the game in 1891 while working at the YMCA International Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts.)
2. Parts of Canada are located further to the south than parts of the US. (Toronto is further south than much of New England and the northern Midwest.)
3. Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving on the second Monday in October, not in November.
4. Canadians do not have $1 and $2 bills. Instead, they use coins, known unabashedly as Loonies ($1) and Toonies ($2).
5. America actually invaded Canada twice, in 1775 and 1812, and was rebuffed both times.
6. Canada has 10 provinces and three territories. The provinces are Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Saskatchewan. The three territories are the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon. Nunavut was the last territory to be added, in 1999.
7. The languages most spoken in Canada are English, French, and Chinese. New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual province (English and French), and in Quebec, French is the official governmental language.
Make Your Own Paper
ANCIENT EGYPTIANS wrote on paper made from papyrus plants and parchment, which was made from stretched and dried skins of calves, goats, and sheep. In China, early paper was made with silk, bark from mulberry trees, and other plant fibers. Today, paper is mostly made from wood fibers, though specialty paper is made from linen, cotton, and even synthetic materials like latex. But the most basic technique for making paper is essentially the same today as it was in ancient times, and you can try it out right in your own home.
To make your own paper, you’ll need:
Recycled paper (such as newspaper, magazines, toilet paper, paper bags, notebook paper, construction paper, tissue paper, napkins)
A sponge
Wire mesh screen (an old door or window screen)
A wood frame (you can use an old picture frame, or you can build a frame yourself using four pieces of wood and some nails)
Plastic basin or tub (should be large enough to fit your frame)
A blender
Felt, blotting paper, flannel, or other absorbent fabric (newsprint will work in a pinch)
Stapler
Liquid starch
Rolling pin
Iron
Tear your paper into small pieces and fill the blender halfway full with it. Add warm water until the blender is full. Blend the paper and water for about 30 seconds, starting at low speed and then gradually increasing. Blend until you get a smooth, well-blended pulp with no chunks or bits of paper.
Use your screen and wood frame to make what’s called a mold. Stretch the screen over the frame as tightly as possible and use a stapler to affix it. Trim off any excess. Now is also a good time to lay out the felt or blotting paper that you will use later. Place it next to your basin so that it will be ready when you need it.
Fill up the basin or tub about halfway full with water. Add your blender full of pulp. Make two more blenders of pulp and add these