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WOTD #2090

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Do you ever dream of in the Olympic Games? What's the first thing that comes to mind? If you have your sights set on winning, you probably picture a gold medal hanging around your neck.

Today, the gold, silver, and bronze medals are symbols of the Olympic Games. However, that hasn't always been so. The very first Olympic Games were held in ancient Greece way back in 776 B.C.E. If you won an event in those first games, you wouldn't find a medal hanging around your neck. Instead, the received olive wreaths. They were made from branches of the wild olive trees that grew at Olympia.

When did the of Olympic medals start? It began with the first modern Olympic Games. They were held in 1896 in Athens, Greece. Still, the medals given to winners of these events weren't the gold, silver, and bronze we use today. Winners received a silver medal and an olive . Second place finishers received a bronze or copper medal and a . All other participants were given a commemorative medal.

Things changed at the next Summer Games in 1900 in Paris. Instead of medals, winners received cups, trophies, or works of art. Then, in the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, Missouri, gold, silver, and bronze medals were used. They became the standard awards for first, second, and third place.

Still, it wasn't until the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome that medals were designed to be worn around the neck. Until then, they were connected to ribbons with a pin for attaching them to an athlete's chest.

Have you ever WONDERed about the Olympic athletes that don't come in first, second, or third place? All contenders in the games receive participation medals and certificates. These prizes make great souvenirs, but most athletes set their sights on a gold medal.

All that glitters isn't gold, though...at least not solid gold. Both silver and gold medals today are made of about 92.5% silver with the rest being mostly copper. Gold medals are with about six grams of gold. Bronze medals usually consist of a mixture of copper, tin, and zinc.

Today, the medals continue to change with each Olympic Games. Every four years, they are designed to represent the host city and modern taste. In that way, each set of Olympic medals is unique.

Will you win the gold one day? in the Olympics is a major achievement on its own. People train and practice their whole lives to qualify. If you have your heart set on a medal, it'll take a lot of hard work!

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Do you ever dream of in the Olympic Games? What's the first thing that comes to mind? If you have your sights set on winning, you probably picture a gold medal hanging around your neck. Today, the gold, silver, and bronze medals are symbols of the Olympic Games.

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WOTD #2081

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Today's Wonder of the Day was inspired by Julie from Philadephia. Julie Wonders, " Why is softball not a sport in the olympics? " Thanks for WONDERing with us, Julie!

Do you love to watch the Olympics? There's nothing quite like the feeling of patriotism you get when you for your country's athletes in your favorite sports.

Speaking of sports, exactly how many sports are there in the Olympics? Although it might seem like a straightforward question to answer, the number of sports in the Olympic Games can from one set of games to the next. The number can even be debated within a particular Olympic Games, depending upon how sports are defined!

The first modern Olympic Games took place in 1896 in Athens, Greece. The first games featured nine sports: athletics, cycling, fencing, gymnastics, shooting, swimming, tennis, weightlifting, and wrestling. Those nine sports remain part of the Summer Games today, but there have been many changes over the .

In the distant , the country had a over which sports would be included. Today, however, those decisions are made by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Over the years, many different sports have come and gone, including demonstration sports that were tried out but never made part of the official games.

The IOC uses several different terms to describe the competitions that take place during the Summer Games. An "event" is a specific competition that results in the awarding of a medal. For example, the 100-meter freestyle is an event.

The 100-meter freestyle is part of the wider "discipline" of swimming, which also includes various other events, such as breaststroke, butterfly, and backstroke. Swimming is one of the disciplines of the "sport" of aquatics, which also includes other disciplines, such as diving, synchronized swimming, and water polo.

When counting sports, some people only count sports as defined by the IOC. This is why you may hear some people say there were 28 sports in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil. Others, however, count each discipline as a separate sport, which explains why the official website of the 2016 Summer Olympics listed 42 sports.

In other words, the count of 28 sports includes aquatics only as a sport. The count of 42 sports, however, counts swimming, diving, synchronized swimming, and water polo as four separate sports.

To be included as a sport in the Olympic Games, the IOC tries to ensure that a sport or discipline is popular among both men and women across a large cross-section of the world. As new sports , they can start out as a demonstration sport before being officially added to the games.

The list of sports can from one set of games to another. As new sports , such as beach volleyball, they can be added to the games. As other sports in popularity , they might be removed from the games. For example, both baseball and softball were removed after the 2008 Olympic Games.

Just because a sport is removed from the games doesn't mean it's gone forever, though. Enthusiasts can lobby the IOC for a revival of a sport. In 2016, for example, golf returned to the Olympic Games after a 112-year absence. Likewise, rugby made an appearance after having been gone for the 92 years.

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Today's Wonder of the Day was inspired by Julie from Philadephia. Julie Wonders, " Why is softball not a sport in the olympics? " Thanks for WONDERing with us, Julie! Do you love to watch the Olympics? There's nothing quite like the feeling of patriotism you get when you for your country's athletes in your favorite sports.

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How Many Countries Participate in the Olympics?

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How Many Countries Participate in the Olympics?

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WOTD #2080

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Today's Wonder of the Day was inspired by Rachel from Irmo, SC. Rachel Wonders, " How many countries enter the Olympics? " Thanks for WONDERing with us, Rachel!

The Olympics represent the of sporting achievement . The whole world waits for the competitions to roll around every four years. Surely all 196 countries participate, right? Or are there only spots for the top 100 countries to compete? Maybe the country gets to decide who gets to take part?

Even though the country has many , choosing which countries can compete is not one of them. The Olympics aren't limited to only 100 countries, either. In fact, Brazil welcomed over 10,500 athletes from 206 countries during the summer of 2016!

Wait just a second...206 countries? How is that possible? Aren't there only 196 countries in the world? Although most sources put the number of countries in the world at 196, the International Olympic (IOC) has a slightly-relaxed definition of what a country is for purposes of competing in the Olympics.

For a "country" to participate in the Olympics, it must have a National Olympic (NOC) approved by the IOC. Currently, there are 206 NOCs, although the Kuwait Olympic was in October 2015.

The IOC rules regarding NOCs were changed in 1996. Today, a new NOC can only be recognized by the IOC if it's from a nation recognized as a country by the United Nations. Prior to 1996, however, the IOC recognized NOCs from several dependent territories of other nations. That explains why there are more than 196 "countries" participating in the Olympics.

For example, 204 countries participated in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England. That number consisted of 193 of the 196 independent countries (all but South Sudan, Kosovo, and Vatican City). The other 11 "countries" consisted of territories of other nations, including American Samoa, Aruba, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cook Islands, Guam, Hong Kong, Palestine, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

If you're about participation in the Winter Olympics, there are far fewer countries and athletes that take part in the Winter Games. This is because many countries around the world do not get the kind of that would allow them to compete in traditional winter sports. At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, there were approximately 2,800 athletes from 88 countries.

The Olympics have come a long way since the first Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, in 1896. According to the IOC, 14 countries participated in those first games. It has come a long way to the summer of 2016 with 206 countries competing in Brazil!

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How Many Countries Participate in the Olympics?

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Today's Wonder of the Day was inspired by Rachel from Irmo, SC. Rachel Wonders, " How many countries enter the Olympics? " Thanks for WONDERing with us, Rachel! The Olympics represent the of sporting achievement . The whole world waits for the competitions to roll around every four years.

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WOTD #663

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One of the most exciting parts of the opening ceremonies of any Games is the lighting of the with the flame. Today, Wonderopolis takes a trip back to Greece to learn more about the origins of the modern flame.

The flame is one of the most important symbols of the Games. It symbolizes the fire Prometheus stole from the Greek god Zeus. In Greece, the organizers of the early Games kept a flame burning throughout the course of the games.

The flame has not always been a part of the Games, though. Fire as a symbol in the form of the flame was first used in the modern era at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam.

An even more modern is the . Started in 1936 before the Summer Olympics in Berlin, the modern carries the flame from Greece to various sites before arriving at the site of the current Games to light the during the opening ceremonies .

Although some legends hold that the flame has been kept burning ever since the first Games, in truth it is relit several months before each new Games. The begins at the site of the Olympics in Olympia, Greece.

As a symbol of the life and competitive spirit of the Games, though, one could say truthfully that the flame has never gone out. People all around the world wait for the coming of each new Games.

During the , the flame is usually carried by runners. However, over time, it has also been transported in some other interesting ways. In 1948, the flame crossed the English Channel on a boat. In 1952, it flew in an airplane to Helsinki, Finland.

Perhaps the most interesting method of transportation was used in 1976. The flame was converted to a radio signal that was sent from Athens via to Canada, where it then a laser beam that was used to relight the flame.

The flame has also traveled by canoe, camel and Concorde. To prove that the spirit of the Olympics is truly unquenchable , the flame also was transported underwater by divers at the Great Barrier Reef in 2000.

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One of the most exciting parts of the opening ceremonies of any Games is the lighting of the with the flame. Today, Wonderopolis takes a trip back to Greece to learn more about the origins of the modern flame. The flame is one of the most important symbols of the Games.

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WOTD #133

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If you've watched the Winter Olympics in recent years, you may have noticed an interesting sport called "curling." A unique of shuffleboard and bowling on ice, with the strategy of thrown in for good measure, curling features two four-person teams who alternate sliding a large stone across the ice toward a bull's-eye 126 feet away.

Some believe curling is a relatively new sport. Hardly! Curling dates back to 16 th-century Scotland, where farmers used large, smooth stones they found in local streams to play the game on frozen marshes.

Scottish immigrants eventually brought the game to North America, first to Canada in the 1750s and then to the United States in the 1830s.

Many people do not know that curling was included in the original Winter Olympics in 1924. After that, curling disappeared for many years, only recently returning to the Winter Games as an official medal sport at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

So exactly how is curling played? Each game consists of 10 "ends" or periods (like innings in baseball), in which teams take turns sliding 42-pound polished stones across a sheet of ice toward a bull's-eye of four concentric circles 12 feet in . The bull's-eye is called the "house," and its center is the "tee."

Each player shoots twice in each end. Teams earn points when their stones are closest to the tee after all 16 shots. Some players will aim for the tee, while others may aim to knock other players' stones out of position. Players must strategize how best to keep their stones closest to the tee.

When players their stones, they use a that involves a of the . As the stone slides across the ice, it will "curl" or much like a bowling ball hooks down the lane at a bowling alley.

Once a player releases a stone, then the brooms come into play. Most people unfamiliar with curling wonder why the players chase the stone down the ice, furiously sweeping the in its path.

The captain of the team, called the "skip," keeps an eye on the stone's progress toward its target and shouts out sweeping instructions to the other players.

As the stone curls toward its intended target, the other three team members use brooms to sweep the of the ice in the stone's path, which can cause the stone to change both speed and direction.

The sweeping motion creates , which melts the ice and creates a thin layer of water that makes the stone curl less and travel farther. Sweeping can help a stone travel up to 15 feet farther.

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If you've watched the Winter Olympics in recent years, you may have noticed an interesting sport called "curling." A unique of shuffleboard and bowling on ice, with the strategy of thrown in for good measure, curling features two four-person teams who alternate sliding a large stone across the ice toward a bull's-eye 126 feet away.

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WOTD #1980

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Today's Wonder of the Day was inspired by Lauren. Lauren Wonders, " Who created hockey? " Thanks for WONDERing with us, Lauren!

We were walking past the Wonderopolis barn the other day when we overheard an interesting conversation amongst the cows:

Cow 1: Woo hoo! The has finally over. The ducks challenged us to a game of hockey. Let's go!

Cow 2: You want us to play hockey against the ducks?

Cow 3: Don't underestimate the ducks. They're small, but they're . I'll grab the skates. Someone get the sticks.

Cow 4: I'll grab the sticks. Who has the ?

We're not sure if they found the or not, since we headed off to find the farmer right away. We felt we should him about the very real chance that the could soon be the site of an , with feathers flying and nothing but milkshakes in our future.

The cows' conversation did make us start WONDERing about the origins of hockey, though. Who was the first one to think it was a good idea to go sliding along a with thin strips of metal strapped to your feet while trying to hit a small, round object with a long stick?

Many historians have looked at the question of who invented hockey and, unfortunately , there's not a clear-cut answer. This is probably due to the fact that ice hockey as we know it today over the course of hundreds of years.

Some scholars believe that hockey's roots go back over 4,000 years to ancient Egypt where a crude stick and ball game was played. also exists that similar games were played by the ancient Ethiopians, Romans, Greeks, and Aztecs.

Of course, when we think of hockey, we think of ice hockey. Those early stick and ball games likely evolved into various games that were played on ponds across Europe. Some examples of these early games include hurling or hurly played in Ireland, shinty played in Scotland, and field hockey or "bandie ball" played in England.

Historians have of hockey-like games being played in England in the mid- to late-1700s. For example, an from 1797 has been found that shows a person on skates with a stick and a cork plug (called a "bung") on the River Thames in 1796.

These hockey-like games were brought to North America by British soldiers and other immigrants. Beginning in Nova Scotia in the early 1800s, hockey began to into the team sport we know today. Today, Canada remains the country most closely- associated with hockey.

The development of the modern version of ice hockey played as a team sport is often credited to James Creighton. In 1872, he moved from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Montreal, bringing skates, hockey sticks, and a game with a basic set of rules with him.

In 1875, Creighton indoor hockey practices at the Victoria Skating Rink. After practicing for about a month, the first indoor game of hockey was played on March 3, 1875.

The game featured nine players on each team, including Creighton and students from McGill University. Rather than using a ball or a bung, the teams played with a flat, circular piece of wood created by Creighton.

Today, hockey remains a popular sport around the world. From youth leagues and colleges to professional teams and the Olympic Games, hockey continues to entertain millions of fans each year.

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Today's Wonder of the Day was inspired by Lauren. Lauren Wonders, " Who created hockey? " Thanks for WONDERing with us, Lauren! We were walking past the Wonderopolis barn the other day when we overheard an interesting conversation amongst the cows: Cow 1: Woo hoo! The has finally over.

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Lots of great videos here!

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The Winter Olympics begin this week. I'm looking forward to the skiing events and the bobsled events. The start of the Winter Olympics presents an opportunity to incorporate some science lessons into your students' interest in a current event that they may be following at home.

The National Science Foundation offers a YouTube playlist of sixteen videos on the science of Winter Olympics events. These short videos teach lessons on the physics and engineering behind the events we see on television. The videos are almost eight years old now, but the science concepts covered are just as relevant to these Olympic games as they were to previous Winter Olympics.

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16 Videos About the Science of Winter Olympics Sports

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The Winter Olympics begin this week. I'm looking forward to the skiing events and the bobsled events. The start of the Winter Olympics presents an opportunity to incorporate some science lessons into your students' interest in a current event that they may be following at home.

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Check out the Parade of Nations!

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The athletes from all participating nations walk the Olympic Stadium as part of the Opening Ceremony to the London 2012 Olympic Games (27 July). Subscribe to the Olympic channel: http://bit.ly/1dn6AV5 Every two years, the world's finest athletes gather at the Olympic Games - a spectacular celebration of sporting excellence that captures the attention of billions of people around the world.

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PyeongChang Olympics | Next Winter Games in Korea

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PyeongChang will host the XXIII Olympic Winter Games, 9-25 Feb. Find voting results and all the latest news as South Korea prepares for the Games.

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WOTD #67

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Today's Wonder of the Day was inspired by carina from AL. carina Wonders, " How was skating invented " Thanks for WONDERing with us, carina!

Ice skates have been around for a really long time. An pair of ice skates was found at the of a lake in northern Europe. Scientists the skates may have been worn in about 3000 B.C.

The skates were made from the leg bones of large animals. Holes were drilled on each end of the , and skaters used straps as laces to tie the skates onto their feet.

In the 14th century, the Dutch invented skates with on the . Much like skiing, skaters would then use poles to push their body over the ice.

In the next century, the Dutch added a double-edged to the of ice skates, which meant poles were no longer . Skaters could themselves by pushing and gliding with their feet.

Until the 17 th century, ice skating was mostly used for transportation . Sometime in the 17th century, however, King Charles II saw ice skating in Holland and decided to it to England.

Historians believe that the British used the blades of their skates to make tracings and drawings on the ice. In 1763, England became the site of the first official ice skating competition, as skaters raced across 15 miles of canals.

Historians give credit to an American, Jackson Haines, for making figure skating what it is today. Haines developed a special skating in 1865.

With this new , he was able to accomplish new skating moves, jumps, and spins. A few years later, Haines added the toe pick to his skates, which allowed skaters to master all sorts of new leaps and jumps.

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Today's Wonder of the Day was inspired by carina from AL. carina Wonders, " How was skating invented " Thanks for WONDERing with us, carina! Ice skates have been around for a really long time. An pair of ice skates was found at the of a lake in northern Europe.

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WOTD #109

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In 1939, Frank , his brother and his cousin built a skating in Paramount, California. Their , named "Iceland," was one of the largest ice rinks in the country. It was at Iceland that Frank learned about ice management.

Frustrated by the process of resurfacing the ice by hand, Frank began to experiment with Jeep and tractor parts in his quest to create the first automated ice resurfacing machine.

He eventually perfected his design and his machine, the , became a staple at ice rinks around the world.

The cleans and renews the icy surface of hockey and skating rinks. If you've ever seen an ice after hockey players or ice skaters have torn up the ice with their sharp blades, you'll appreciate how quickly a can return that icy surface to its original, condition.

In the rear of the , a machine called a " conditioner " does most of the work. First, a large blade scrapes off the top layer of the ice, removing the damaged ice that has been chipped away and by the blades of ice skates. Shaving the top layer of ice also removes some of the dirt and that gets stuck on the ice.

Behind the blade sits the washer, which cleans the ice. A bit like a carpet cleaner, the washer sprays water on the ice and a sucks it up again.

Rubber flaps at the back and sides of the prevent the water from spilling out before it can be vacuumed up again. Any dirt or vacuumed up with the water is filtered out. This allows the water to be recycled for washing the ice over and over throughout the day.

Finally, a flat towel located behind the washer is coated with hot water and spread on the ice. The hot water helps even out any bumps in the ice by melting the top layer slightly before it refreezes.

When the is finished, it leaves behind smooth, clean ice, and the is ready for skaters to return and have some fun!

Zamboni facts

A travels approximately 3/4 of a mile for each resurfacing of a typical hockey . If there are four resurfacings per game, a will travel an average of three miles during each hockey game.

Before the invention of the , resurfacing was done by hand. Each resurfacing required three or four workers and took more than an hour to complete!

When a resurfaces the ice, it can remove up to 2,500 pounds of snow.

When a operator in the Midwest passed away, a led his funeral procession .

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In 1939, Frank , his brother and his cousin built a skating in Paramount, California. Their , named "Iceland," was one of the largest ice rinks in the country. It was at Iceland that Frank learned about ice management.

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Soohorang is the mascot. Click here to learn more! https://www.olympic.org/pyeongchang-2018-mascot

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Where to watch the 2018 Winter Olympic Games on TV

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Where to watch the 2018 Winter Olympic Games on TV

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What's The Difference Between Snow, Sleet, and Freezing Rain? 

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What's The Difference Between Snow, Sleet, and Freezing Rain? 

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WOTD #97

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All precipitation falls through the atmosphere on its way to the Earth's . Imagine a drop or flake falling through a long tube that contains the air between the clouds and the Earth.

The air inside the imaginary tube is the atmosphere . Differences in temperatures in different parts of the atmosphere account for the differences we see between , , and .

The liquid precipitation that falls to Earth's is . can begin as , but by the time it reaches the Earth's , it has melted because the temperature closer to Earth is warmer.

If you've ever thought it strange that it's raining when the temperature outside is below , it's probably because the temperature higher up in the atmosphere is still above .

forms in clouds at temperatures below . As falls through the atmosphere , the air remains at least 32° F or colder. In order for a to reach Earth, it must remain frozen from to .

But can it be too to ? Sometimes! The colder it gets, the less water there will be in the air...and less water in the air means less chance of .

occurs when a falls through the atmosphere and warms up a bit before refreezing. The begins its journey frozen. As it passes through a thin layer of warm air in the atmosphere , it melts a bit.

It then re-enters another pocket of air before reaching the . The refreezes and becomes an pellet we call . typically bounces when it hits the ground.

follows a similar journey as , but instead of a thin pocket of warm air, falls through a larger pocket of warm air in the middle of its journey. begins as , but when it reaches the warm pocket, it melts and becomes .

Before hitting the ground, it passes through a very pocket of air, which cools it some but not enough to turn it into . Instead, when the water droplet reaches the of the Earth and comes in contact with objects (such as cars, streets, or trees), it freezes immediately and turns into .

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What's the Difference Between Snow, Sleet, and Freezing Rain?

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All precipitation falls through the atmosphere on its way to the Earth's . Imagine a drop or flake falling through a long tube that contains the air between the clouds and the Earth. The air inside the imaginary tube is the atmosphere .

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WOTD #745

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Today's Wonder of the Day was inspired by stephen. stephen Wonders, " what are hockey pucks made of " Thanks for WONDERing with us, stephen!

When it comes to winter sports, there are plenty that take place on . From to figure skating, the offers a chance to in battles of and beauty. But for some sports fans, there's nothing quite like the battle that is hockey.

As two teams skate rapidly around the , they fight with sticks - and sometimes fists! - to get a little black object past the into the back of the . At times they skate so fast and shoot the puck with such force that's it's almost impossible to keep track of.

For those who have never watched an hockey game before, one of the first things they usually notice is that, unlike many sports, there's no ball. If you think about it, so many other sports, from soccer and baseball to basketball and volleyball, feature a ball. In fact, "ball" is part of the sport's name in many cases.

In hockey, though, it's all about the puck: that little round black object that flies with lightning speed around the . If you're curious to know more about the hockey puck, you've come to the right place.

Hockey pucks are flat and round. Made of solid, vulcanized black rubber, they are three inches across and one inch thick. Each puck weighs about six ounces.

If you've ever seen a hockey puck up close, you've probably noticed that the edge of the puck has a bunch of bumps or grooves. Sometimes these slightly raised patterns have a shape. A completely smooth puck would be hard to shoot, so the raised patterns give the hockey stick something to grip when a player shoots a puck.

The hockey puck came into existence in 1875. It's unclear who actually invented it, but experts believe the first hockey puck was likely just a rubber ball sliced in half. Early hockey players needed an object with a flat side that would slide on the rather than bounce around.

Today, hockey pucks are only made in four countries: Canada, Russia, China, and the Czech Republic. At large factories, rubber is mixed with a special material and a type of coal dust called black. The mixture is then poured into a mold and compressed .

About 5,000 pucks can be made in a week. After they're molded, special team logos can be added to each side through a process called .

So how cool are hockey pucks? As a matter of fact, they're extremely cool. Pucks are kept , so that they slide on the slippery and don't bounce around.

After the Zamboni® smoothes out the and the players lace up their skates, it's off to the races, chasing the puck around the ! How fast can a hockey puck travel on the ? Believe it or not, it's not uncommon for hockey pucks to reach speeds of up to 100 miles per hour or more!

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Today's Wonder of the Day was inspired by stephen. stephen Wonders, " what are hockey pucks made of " Thanks for WONDERing with us, stephen! When it comes to winter sports, there are plenty that take place on . From to figure skating, the offers a chance to in battles of and beauty.

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WOTD #1855

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When the days get short and the temperature drops, what do you look forward to? If you're like many kids, you can't wait until the day when you wake up to a fresh of white snow covering the front .

A snow day means a day filled with fights, building a snowman, and mugs of hot . Since most kids can't drive yet, they don't have to worry about bad conditions . They for lots of snow. The more, the better!

Depending upon where you live, you may get lots of snow...or none at all. Generally, the farther north you live, the more likely you are to snow. Even in the northern parts of the United States, there are certain areas known for receiving large snowfalls every year.

If you want to the amount of snow you see each year, you might want to find a home somewhere in Michigan or New York near the shores of one of the Great Lakes. In those areas, you're most likely to experience what meteorologists call lake effect snows.

Lake effect snows are exactly what they sound like. They're large snowstorms that result from the effect that the Great Lakes have on the local weather.

As large masses of cold air, usually from Canada, move south, they pass over the huge open waters of the Great Lakes. Compared to the Arctic air above, the waters of the Great Lakes are relatively warm. The larger the difference in temperature between the air and the lake waters, the greater the for snowfall.

Warm from the Great Lakes rises into the lowest level of the atmosphere . As this warm air rises, clouds form in narrow bands that can produce two to three inches of snow per hour.

Lake effect snowstorms can be difficult to predict, because they can be affected by many factors. The local and the temperature of the surrounding land and water play a role.

Wind can also affect lake effect snows. It's not uncommon for lake effect snow to fall over one area while the Sun shines over nearby areas just a mile or two away.

Lake effect snow is most often associated with the Great Lakes region of the United States. However, there are at least two other places where this phenomenon also occurs: the east of Hudson Bay in Canada and the west coasts of the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido off of Japan.

So how much snow could you get during a lake effect snowstorm? A lot! The most significant lake effect snowstorms can produce snow continuously for nearly two days straight. Accumulation rates of up to six inches per hour have been measured, with 24-hour totals reaching 76 inches or more!

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When the days get short and the temperature drops, what do you look forward to? If you're like many kids, you can't wait until the day when you wake up to a fresh of white snow covering the front . A snow day means a day filled with fights, building a snowman, and mugs of hot .

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WOTD #1332

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If you're going to play soccer, you need a soccer ball. If you're going to play baseball, you need a baseball, a bat, and a glove. Do you know what sport you'd be engaged in if you needed some , uneven bars, a pommel horse, and a ? Gymnastics , of course!

If you're a fan of the Olympics, then you've probably seen women and men competing in gymnastics . The variety of different types of gymnastic events is one of the unique things about the sport that draws the interest of so many fans.

Gymnasts can in over a dozen different types of individual events. Many events use a special piece of , known as an . Some of the apparatuses you may have seen or heard of include the , uneven bars, bars, pommel horse, and the .

The gymnastic routines performed on the various apparatuses require gymnasts to possess a wide of abilities and skills. A well-rounded gymnast will have exceptional body , , flexibility, agility, power, coordination, control, discipline , and self-confidence.

Gymnastics is also one of the unique sports that allows you to as both an individual and as part of a team. When a gymnast performs, he or she does so as an individual . Each individual gymnast's is then added together with those of teammates to reach a total for the team.

Scores in gymnastics start with a (usually a perfect 10), from which points are subtracted based upon the difficulty of the , how many mistakes are made, and the overall artistry of the performance. A gymnast who performs a difficult, artistic flawlessly would receive a perfect of 10.

Some experts believe that the sport of gymnastics is thousands of years old. In fact, some historians believe its roots may go back over 4,000 years! They think gymnastics likely evolved from exercises the ancient Greeks developed to improve skills for the mounting and dismounting of horses.

Modern gymnastics as we know it today began in Germany in the 1800s. Experts give credit to two pioneering physical education experts: Johann Freidrich GutsMuths and Friedrich Ludwig Jahn.

In the United States, women first received gymnastics instruction in 1862 at Mount Holyoke College. Women first competed in gymnastics in the Amsterdam Olympics in 1928. Men competed in gymnastics as early as the first modern Olympic games in 1896.

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If you're going to play soccer, you need a soccer ball. If you're going to play baseball, you need a baseball, a bat, and a glove. Do you know what sport you'd be engaged in if you needed some , uneven bars, a pommel horse, and a ? Gymnastics , of course!

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WOTD #437

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We love snow days in Wonderopolis! When the first snowflakes begin to fall just as we're going to bed, we wonder what the will look like in the morning.

If we wake up to a blanket of white, we have one thing on our minds: sledding!

Do you have a ? Or a ? Maybe even a ? What's the difference between these things anyway?

Whatever you call them, they all work in a similar way. Whether they have a smooth bottom or a small platform that sits on long, narrow , they travel by sliding across a low- surface, such as snow or ice.

For example, the blades of grass on a hill would normally not allow you to slide down very quickly because they help your body stay in contact with the ground. The blades of grass and the ground itself both create , which is a force that generates heat and tends to slow objects down.

Try rubbing your palms together, pushing slightly as you move your hands. The resistance you feel is . slows an object down.

If those blades of grass and the ground get coated with ice or snow, however, things change dramatically. Ice and snow create a between you and the ground, allowing you to speed down the hill because the forces of are greatly reduced.

Have you ever wondered why people downhill? If you combine the force of with the reduced force of , a will travel downhill easily with just the weight of the and its rider.

On flat ground, however, you don't have the added boost of from the of the hill. If you want to go somewhere, you'll need a source of power, such as a push from a friend or a pull from an animal.

And that brings us back to the difference between sleds and sleighs. Sleds are smaller vehicles used mainly for recreational activities, like sledding.

Sleighs, on the other hand, are much larger vehicles. They usually have open tops, seats for multiple passengers and must be pulled by animals, such as horses... or reindeer!

In many cold-weather countries, sleighs are used as alternatives to traditional carriages or wagons. They were often the primary means of transportation until the 20th century.

Today, sleighs are still used in many countries as a means of transportation when roads get bad. But the confusion doesn't end with sleds and sleighs!

There are also toboggans (long sleds without with a curled front), saucers (round, curved sleds without , often made of plastic or metal) and tubes (inflatable plastic sleds that weigh very little).

There are also special sleds used for specific sports. These, too, have their own special names. If you watch the Winter Olympics, you may have seen bobsleds, luges and skeletons!

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We love snow days in Wonderopolis! When the first snowflakes begin to fall just as we're going to bed, we wonder what the will look like in the morning. If we wake up to a blanket of white, we have one thing on our minds: sledding! Do you have a ?

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WOTD #1605

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What do you look forward to when winter arrives and the temperatures outside begin to drop? If you're like millions of children all over the world, the answer to that question is one thing and one thing only: !

When falls and piles up outside your front door, you may start hoping for a day. After all, it's always fun to have a surprise day off school, so you can enjoy playing in the . Some kids will grab their sleds and head for the nearest .

Others may look forward to a more exciting adventure, zipping down the side of a on thin strips of . What are we talking about? skiing, of course!

Even a light dusting of will allow you to have some fun sledding down a grassy in your backyard. But what about skiing down the side of a tall ? How much needs to to permit skiers to hit the slopes in search of adventure?

As experienced skiers and the owners of ski resorts will tell you, there are many factors that contribute to a fantastic skiing experience. Snowfall is, obviously, an important factor. But how much is enough? That largely depends upon what's under the .

In some areas, pistes (the slopes or trails that skiers follow down a ) cut across grassy pastures. In these areas, as little as 2-4 inches of may be sufficient. Other pistes, however, may uneven, rocky . In these areas, several inches to several feet may be necessary to cover the rocky surface.

Even more important than the amount of snowfall is the amount of that is retained on the slopes. If a deep base layer of already exists, new snowfall is likely to stick around longer. If it's the first of the season, though, ski resorts must use heavy machinery to the pistes on the in order to keep new snowfall from blowing away or melting too quickly.

A particular doesn't necessarily have to get the most snowfall each year to have the best skiing conditions. Those resorts that have that sticks around the longest tend to have the best, longest seasons. Some factors that influence how long sticks around include the of the , the orientation of the , and how sheltered the is from weather patterns that can lead to melting more quickly.

Of course, today's modern ski resorts are big businesses. And they don't necessarily like to rely on Mother Nature to keep their customers happy. Most ski resorts today rely on modern making technology to keep their slopes covered in powder all throughout the year. Some resorts even make artificial early in the season in order to open the slopes as soon as possible, even before the first major snowfall hits!

Resorts must be careful not to make too much artificial , though. If Mother Nature decides to dump an incredible amount of during a particular season, skiing can suffer rather than thrive. Too much ? Yes! It can be a problem for ski resorts. When too much falls, it can be impossible to pistes safely. A heightened danger of avalanches can also cancel skiing for days or weeks at a time.

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What do you look forward to when winter arrives and the temperatures outside begin to drop? If you're like millions of children all over the world, the answer to that question is one thing and one thing only: ! When falls and piles up outside your front door, you may start hoping for a day.

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WOTD #494

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When winter weather hits and and snow abound, all sorts of surfaces can get and . If you're a driver, this is not such a good thing. and snow can make driving treacherous .

Of course, if you want to go sledding, it's a great thing! When it comes to sliding down a hill on a or a , you want the snow to pack down into that's as as possible.

No one would deny that is , but have you ever thought to wonder why? After all, is a solid, right? Can you think of any other solids that are ?

Think of a player for a moment. Can you imagine trying to on a sidewalk? How about a wooden floor? These are solids, too, so why aren't they ?

After years and years of research, scientists can explain what makes ...but not exactly why. So what makes ? The answer is definitely water - the liquid form, not the solid!

Scientists have discovered that a very thin layer of liquid water exists at the edge of - even that is extremely cold. For years, scientists believed that this thin layer of liquid water was the result of being applied to .

Water has an unusual property: its solid form () is less dense than its liquid form. This is why cubes float in a glass of water. The lower of means that its melting temperature can be lowered by applying .

So, for example, when an glides over , scientists once believed that the applied by the would lower the melting point of the solid . This would cause the layer to melt. The would then slide across on a thin sheet of water that would immediately refreeze as soon as the passed.

Unfortunately, scientists later discovered that the applied by skates or people's shoes standing on was not great enough to cause these changes. So, they had to look for another explanation. In recent years, two other theories have been developed to explain the presence of the thin liquid water layer that exists on .

One of these theories is that causes the liquid layer of water to form on . is the force that generates heat whenever two objects slide against each other. If you rub your hands together, you can feel them heat up. That's at work. When a moves over the surface of , the between the and the generates heat that melts the layer of .

But is still even when you're standing still. If you stand on without moving, no exists to generate heat, yet the is still . So there must be something else going on.

The other theory is that is just , because the layer never turns to a solid. According to this theory, the water molecules at the surface of the move more, because they're at the edge and there aren't any molecules above them to help keep them in place. As a result, the layer stays in a liquid state even at temperatures way below freezing.

So far, scientists haven't been able to decide which of these two theories is correct. Without a definitive answer at this point, it's safe to say that both theories play a role in keeping .

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When winter weather hits and and snow abound, all sorts of surfaces can get and . If you're a driver, this is not such a good thing. and snow can make driving treacherous . Of course, if you want to go sledding, it's a great thing!

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WOTD #814

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We hope you don’t think today’s Wonder of the Day is too flaky!