1 . Three years ago, Nikki Robinson found a little raccoon (浣熊) by the road. She saved him and after a bunch of attempts at taking him to wildlife centers and vets, Nikki was disappointed in the lack of help. However, her mother Linda had experience in raising raccoons and after a little persuasion, took the little creature in.

They named him Little Hands and fell in love with the trash panda. Linda and Nikki fed him, raised him, and eventually let him go. To their surprise, Little Hands kept coming back, sometimes after a few days, sometimes a few months. He would come back and ask for hugs, food, and just love.

Little Hands was taken care of by Linda. He was released onto her large property and was allowed to come and go as he pleased. He was very fearful of any human or animal that he didn’t grow up with, but would come back to visit them most nights. Linda would leave food out for him every night and sit outside on the porch swing before bed, waiting for his visit. The first thing he would do is that he would climb over to Linda on the swing, sit beside her, and want pats from her.

“Little Hands stayed with us for about two and a half months before he was fully released into the wild. He has always been a calm, peaceful raccoon, very loving and compassionate, even as he matured. But still wild enough he thrives on his own,” Nikki said.

People asked Nikki what their reaction was when Little Hands returned to them. “Pure joy. And every time he came back it was a more and more joyous occasion especially because he wanted our attention as well as our food.”

At last, Nikki said: “Be kind. We share the planet with so many creatures that need to be respected. They are capable of complex social systems and emotions.”

2 . Art is a powerful tool for telling a scientific story. Many scientific fields deal with the strangest of the animal kingdom — like creatures with a handful of eyes and bodies so different from our own. Art can help us experience these hard-to-imagine parts of the natural world and shed light on new scientific discoveries.

Alia Payne, an interactive arts professor came to the National Museum of Natural History to work with the live jellyfish collections. She always got the same question from visitors, “How do jellyfish stings work?” She had the scientific answer for them but found it difficult to explain without a clear visual. That’s when a lightbulb went off in Payne’s mind. She built a 3D model of one of the stinging cells that visitors could touch and interact with. “I’ve always loved art for education,” said Payne. “We learn more easily when we have something to play and interact with.”

While art helps society experience, it also helps scientists understand the natural world. Dr. Karen Osborn, a zoologist at the museum, specializes in the striking creatures of the ocean’s largest habitat—the midwater. Midwater creatures are equipped with all sorts of unique features to get them through life in their extreme habitat, and Osborn’s research helps us understand how these animals came to be. “So I started learning photography,” Osborn explained. “It was really important because these animals don’t look so great when they’re preserved in a jar in the museum’s collections.”

Artistic creativity provides an opportunity to show off the bright colors, attractive body plans and cool adaptations of these creatures to the museum’s scientists, visitors and the world. In turn, art connects scientists to their own creativity and aids in their scientific process and the communication of their discoveries. By weaving together science with imagination and storytelling, art helps highlight the beauty of the ocean’s creatures even those fit for horror movies — and connects people to their innate curiosity for the strangeness of the animal kingdom.

5 . Mosquito bites are unavoidable in summer—or is that so? Scientists recently found that mosquitoes are more attracted to some colors than others, which could possibly prove useful to those trying to avoid the annoying bites.

The study found that after a common type of mosquitoes smelled CO₂ the gas humans breathe out—they decided to land on some colored dots (色点) but ignored others.

“Imagine you’re on a sidewalk and you smell toasty,” the lead researcher said in a press release announcing the study’s findings. “That’s probably a sign that there’s a bakery nearby and you might start looking around for it. Here, we started to learn what visual elements that mosquitoes are looking for after smelling their own version of a bakery.”

The research team put different colored dots at the bottom of a box and sprayed (喷洒) them with CO₂. They found that mosquitoes were drawn most to red, orange and black. They also found that mosquitoes ignored green, blue and white. When a researcher reached his hand into the box wearing a green glove, mosquitoes ignored it, even when it was sprayed with CO₂.

Unfortunately, avoiding mosquitoes isn’t as easy as choosing the right color of clothes. Human skin delivers a vivid red-orange “signal” to mosquitoes, the researchers said, making it hard to hide completely

“We previously discovered there are three major hints that attract mosquitoes: your breath, your sweat and the temperature of your skin,” the lead researcher said. “Now we have found a fourth hint: the color red, which can not only be found on your clothes, but is also found in everyone’s skin. The shade of your skin doesn’t matter. We are all giving off a strong red feature.”

While the research found that the mosquitoes appeared to prefer certain colors, it did not measure whether wearing colors like green or blue would help keep away from the mosquitoes. The researchers hope that their findings can help find other methods to drive back the biting insects.

6 . A flower festival is an event during which many types of flowers are shown to the public. In some cases, a flower festival may be a small event attended by local people who grow plants as a hobby.

    1     They may attract large numbers of flower growers flower sellers and tourists.

Usually, a flower festival takes place at a time of year when many types of flowers are fully open.     2     In this case, the organizers must make sure that the event is scheduled during the right time of year for that type.

Some festivals are arranged to encourage flower growers to grow certain types of plants. People are invited to show their flowers at the festival.     3     Prizes are given to those who grow the largest, most colorful or hardiest (最耐寒的) plants.

Besides competing for prizes, many flower growers show their plants in flower shows for business purposes. Some people use these events to win contracts with companies that buy large numbers of flowers. Some take the chance to market flowers to customers,     4     They put their newly created plants on show at these festivals.

    5     Local restaurants provide meals and drinks for attendees. Musicians and other entertainers (演艺人员) are sometimes hired to provide attendees with pleasure. Nearby hotels and shops are full of people. They all can make a lot of money from the event.

8 . Batteries are extremely useful. Many ordinary household items are powered by single-use batteries including TV remotes, toys, flashlights, and even smoke detectors. But what happens when the batteries are used up and have to be replaced? Many of them end up in the trash where the chemicals can get into the soil causing environmental damage. In fact in Australia, 97 percent of single-use batteries end up in landfills.

While batteries can be traditionally recycled, this involves using high heat to melt the metals that can then be reused. The method doesn’t allow for the repurposing of other elements that actually have to be mined. It is allowing valuable resources to go to waste.

Envirostream — a part of the battery recycling company Lithium Australia — came up with an innovative way to turn old batteries into plant fertilizer. While some of the chemicals in batteries are poisonous, the company engineered a new method that takes the micronutrients like zinc and manganese oxide out of the alkaline (碱性的) batteries by crushing (碎) them and removing the poisonous elements. Lithium Australia has tried to find a solution for these waste batteries that is better for the environment and creates better value.

The company began field trials in 2020, testing a fertilizer supplement made from the upcycled batteries on wheat and found that it compared well to commercial fertilizers. After that, they tested the fertilizer in soil that was lacking in the minerals. Now, the fertilizer has been successfully applied to growing tomatoes, avocados, and cotton crops.

Going from powering remotes to powering plants completes a cycle for elements that come from the earth to then go back to the earth. Recycling batteries for useful components and keeping them out of landfills is good for the planet.

9 . Incredibly Beautiful Villages in China

Built in the year 1010, Likeng Village in Wuyuan County, Jiangxi Province preserves the area’s unique Hui architecture. Though the village charges tourists an entrance fee, it is a worthwhile point from which they can view the blossoming canola flowers (油菜花) in the spring and admire the local calligraphy under camphor trees (樟树) as old as the village itself.

With few tourists aware of Sichuan Province’s Garzȇ Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, those who do make the trip are rewarded with views unlike those anywhere else. And within the heart of the area, far away from polluted cities, lie the Danba Villages, considered by some as the most beautiful villages in China. Each village is made up of unique Tibetan-style folk houses.

Though Hongcun is one of China’s most well-known ancient villages，its popularity has not ruined its uniqueness. After a climb through the great Yellow Mountains in Anhui Province, rest for a while in this foothill village, which was the filming site for select scenes from Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Centered around a moon-shaped pond, the village was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000 for its well-preserved Ming-and Qing-era architecture.

Nicknamed “China Snow Town” for its annual seven-month-long snowfall, Shuangfeng Forest Farm in Mudanjiang City, Heilongjiang Province is where you want to go if you wish to experience China’s deepest snows. Over the years, the village has transformed into a charming tourist destination.