You may remember that a few months ago we held a Selfie Contest. Though we announced the winner then, we decided to publish some of the other notable entries. Here are two that stood out: Abigail Herrington, 11 Ewa Beach, HI Lauren Thompson, 10 Chelsea, MI Have a Selfie that you’re particularly proud of? Send it to us via Submittable!
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
The Properties of Feelings Molecules
Photo via Creative Commons by Ramesh NG Have you ever wondered why you feel happy, sad or angry? I’m here to explain these phenomenons with a bit of science and fun. Before we begin, you’ll need a basic knowledge of something, namely diffusion. Let me explain this a bit. If you’ve ever had a tea party, you’ll know the conversation scenario goes something like this: Host: “Good day, Sir/Ma’am. Would you like some tea?” Guest: “Yes, please.” Host: “And how many lumps of sugar would you like?” Guest: “Seven, please.” Please do NOT go pouring seven lumps of sugar into your tea. This is merely an example. Anyway, the point is, the guest goes pouring their sugar into their cup of tea. The sugar cube, as you may realize, has a large amount of particles in a relatively confined space, or high concentration. The tea, however, does not have sugar in it, so there is a low concentration of sugar particles in the tea. Therefore, the sugar’s particles will spread out from their high concentration into the low concentration in diffusion or what we call dissolving. The molecules don’t shrink or change; they just spread out. So today we’ll use this to learn about the properties of certain specialized molecules rarely heard about: the Feelings Molecules. There are a few main types of those molecules: Happiness molecules: Happiness molecules can be gained in a variety of ways (fun time with friends, etc.), but the point is that happiness diffuses! If one is very happy, they want to spread the happiness to others. However, the molecules in this case do not need to spread out on contact, and can travel in many complicated ways. Unlike regular molecules, Happiness molecules can travel through people’s Thought passages, and actually try to do so. You may think that “Hey, then how come you don’t get less happy if your molecules diffuse to other people?”. Well, this is because after a certain point, a balance of happiness molecules is reached between the both of you, and then they start passing back and forth between you both, so you do not keep losing them. Anger molecules: Anger tries to diffuse very fast. If you’re angry, you may feel like hitting or punching something and diffusing the anger you feel. This is especially why you shouldn’t stand near someone while you’re angry. 🙂 Fright molecules: More fright molecules means more fear. Fear, however, does NOT diffuse throughout others, and just stays confined to your body. The only way to get rid of fright molecules is to overpower them with some one of the other types mentioned. Now, really, the “overpowering” is just diffusion of other molecules into the area of the fright molecules. Complicated, right? Tension molecules: These molecules are from anxiety, nervousness, etc. For example, an oral report will most probably increase your tension because the number of tension molecules increases. Tension molecules usually do diffuse. You can spread anxiety to others and make them nervous, but you may feel better if their happiness molecules pass to you! These are the main properties of the four Feelings molecules. You may wonder about molecules like sadness molecules as well, but they really don’t exist. Sadness is caused by a lack of happiness molecules from the regular healthy amount. A regular decline of the happiness molecules can lead to depression, so that’s why they should always be kept up. I hope you enjoyed reading! Here’s your “professor,” signing out!
Rain
Photo by Alex Adkins via Creative Commons It rained. Or rather, it poured. Large grey clouds darkened the sky, their heavy droplets collecting in puddles and soaking the ground, wind altering the direction of their descent as gravity pulled them towards the earth. From through the house window, I thought to myself, It sure is dreary out there. But upon further inspection, I found that this might not totally be the case. The wind seemed to be whistling a tune, accompanied by the soft percussion of rain hitting the ground and splashing in puddles. Dancing to that tune were the trees, swaying back and forth, rejoicing in the water that so eagerly rushed down to quench their thirst. The frogs too, could be heard from inside the house, their chorus befitting the scene. And the frogs too, were rejoicing in the long – needed downpour. When one looked up at the sky, one could see the clouds. On this particular occasion, they weren’t just a simple, massive screen of grey, hiding the sun and the bright blue of the atmosphere. For though they were dark and foreboding, they had a certain beauty about them as well. They were fluffy and rounded, and if one could have touched them, they might have felt soft like a chick’s down. I moved to a different window, looking out upon a different part of our yard. The geese frolicked and squawked in the field. A few stragglers had been left behind in the pond, and were rushing to catch up with the rest of the gaggle. Even the horses, soaked as they were, did not seem unhappy. They stood under a tree, tails stock still, for the rain had chased off any flies. Their eyes were bright, as if excited by this storm. The pond sent waves crashing against the shore, sticks and algae being stranded on its gravelly beaches. No fish jumped, but that may have been because of the lone white egret that swam about in the water, daring a silly fish to show itself. If there had been such a silly fish, it didn’t jump out of the water to taunt the bird of prey. And all the while the rain came down, splashing upon the ground. Finally, I decided to don a raincoat and feel what it was like out there for myself. After pulling on my boots, I ran out the door. Immediately, a pleasing smell filled my nose. It was the smell of rain. It was comforting and nice, but not sharp enough to feel like an assault. Along with the sound of the wind and the frogs, I could now fully hear the rain, pattering softly onto the earth and my raincoat. It was cool out there, but pleasantly so, not quite cold, but then leaning more to that side. Underneath my layers, I felt that even if we were to set the thermostat at exactly this temperature, it would not be the same. There was something very vague about the entire feel, but detectable as the soft caress of nature upon my surroundings. I lifted my head to the sky, blinking constantly as water hit my eyes. The water did not hurt at all, rather felt quite nice. I opened my mouth and stretched my tongue out, yearning for a taste of this caress of nature. And it tasted unlike most water. Once again, it had nature’s faint touch to it, like the secret ingredient in a recipe, but this was truly a secret ingredient. I could not place the taste as anything my tongue had experienced before. But it was good. I sighed as my mother called me in for dinner. I thought to myself, Well, I suppose that upon further inspection, the rain may not be so dreary at all. I put my hand on the doorknob, and drank in the last of this beautiful image.
