Stump the Librarian

Join Jill and Liz as they answer the questions “How do we know what stars are made of?” and “Why does my stomach growl when I’m hungry?” We also have a fact about a megaldon shark and a book recommendation you are sure to love! To submit your own question, go to KDL.org/Stump. We can’t wait to hear from you!   

Hannah’s Fact of the Day: https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C1018270 

Liz’s Book Recommendation: https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C947178 

Regarding stars... 

https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/research/science-field/stellar-astronomy 

https://www.sciencefocus.com/space/cecilia-payne-gaposchkin-the-first-to-describe-what-stars-are-made-of 

https://science.nasa.gov/universe/stars/ 

https://science.nasa.gov/universe/exoplanets/symphony-of-stars-the-science-of-stellar-sound-waves/ 

"Star." World Book Kids, 2024, 

   www.worldbookonline.com/kids/article?id=ar831371. Accessed 15 Oct. 2024. 

The Fire of Stars by Kirsten W. Larson 

Regarding Stomachs... 

https://research.ebsco.com/c/sbdrh4/viewer/html/7uqk6tomrj 

https://research.ebsco.com/c/sbdrh4/viewer/html/23uhqty5gf 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqwTeM9h-Rc 

school.eb.com/levels/elementary/article/digestive-system/353054 

In this episode we answer the questions, “How do animals that live underground know where they’re going?” and “Why can’t I tickle myself?” We learn a fact of the day from an East Grand Rapids librarian and share a realistic fiction chapter book that would be a great family readaloud. To submit your own question, go to KDL.org/Stump. We can’t wait to hear from you!   

Jenny’s Fact of the Day: Why? Encyclopedia: Brilliant Answers to Baffling Questions: 

https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C1124549 

Jill’s Book Recommendation: The Turtle of Michigan by Naomi Shahib Nye 

https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S980C6329781 

Concerning underground animals: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIaawmwyFvQ  

https://research-ebsco-com.kdl.idm.oclc.org/c/qctlkj/viewer/pdf/n6agbt7wgv  

https://research.ebsco.com/c/5h4gt5/viewer/html/53sgntcegb  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossorial  

Concerning being ticklish: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knismesis_and_gargalesis  

https://www.livescience.com/33378-ticklish-animals.html  

https://www.britannica.com/story/why-cant-you-tickle-yourself  

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-cant-a-person-tickle/  

Evolutionary protection via tickling: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqzCr7J7YW8  

Rat tickle video: https://youtu.be/78PfGQbL-g0  

Join Jill and Liz as they answer the questions, “Why are Dalmatians associated with fire trucks?” and “How do hamsters fit so much stuff in their cheeks?” We also share a fun fact of the day about the Artic Birds and a graphic novel about DND playing dogs. To submit your own question, go to KDL.org/Stump or email us at [email protected] We can’t wait to hear from you! 

Concerning Dalmatians: 

https://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/Dalmatian/28606 

https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/dalmatian/ 

https://www.livescience.com/33293-dalmatians-official-firehouse-dogs.html 

https://www.rd.com/article/why-firehouse-dogs-usually-dalmatians/ 

https://youtu.be/BJBH2unSQBI 

Concerning Hamsters: 

Curious About Hamsters: https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C913386 

Homemade for Hamsters: https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C486355 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheek_pouch 

https://www.ifaw.org/animals/wild-hamsters 

Hamster stuck in candle jar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkZ6gzyg7yY 

Hamster makes a U-turn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWzuNr0ulUY 

Jill and Liz are BACK for season 5. As always, we are here to answer your questions! Follow us to get a new episode every other Wednesday afternoon. 

In this episode we answer the questions “Why are some people left-handed?” and “Are all mosquitoes that bite female?” We also share a fact of the day from a Rockford librarian and share a historical fiction book with adventure and spy stuff! To submit your own question, go to KDL.org/Stump. We can’t wait to hear from you!  

Shannon’s Fact of the Day: Yes? No! Maybe So… by Julie Beer 

https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C1124562 

Jill’s book recommendation: Max in the House of Spies by Adam Gidwitz 

https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C990059 

Concerning left-handedness: 

https://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/01/brain#:~:text=But%20handedness%20has%20its%20roots,in%20language%20and%20speech%20areas.  

https://www.dictionary.com/e/sinister-dexter-left-right-word-origin-history/  

https://www.history.com/news/why-are-left-handers-called-southpaws  

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-37423-8  

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3258574/  

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-causes-some-people-t/  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handedness  

Concerning mosquitoes: 

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/mosquito  

school.eb.com/levels/high/article/mosquito/53915.  

https://www.cdc.gov/mosquitoes/index.html  

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK585164/  

Join Jill and Liz as they answer the questions “How do bees make honey?” and “How does a possum play dead?” You can send us your question at KDL.org/stump or email us at [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you! 

Regarding Bees... 

Sarah Ridley. Bee to Honey. Crabtree Publishing Company, 2018. EBSCOhost, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=0ef16ae6-cda2-3e2d-8ecc-36897af19cb9. 

https://www.manawahoney.co.nz/blog/the-wonder-of-how-bees-make-honey/ 

https://www.perfectbee.com/beekeeping-articles/outside-the-swarm/a-closer-look-at-how-bees-make-honey 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey_bee 

The Secret Life of Bees by Moira Butterfield 

https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C808599 

You Wouldn’t Want to Live Without Bees! By Alex Woolf https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C486864 

Regarding Possums... 

https://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/opossum/57213 

https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/opossum 

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/opossum 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apparent_death 

Feeling Queasy 

Join Jill and Liz as they answer the questions, “Why is there a metric system and an imperial system?” and “Why do people get seasick?” We also share a fact of the day about fast airplanes and recommend a library mystery novel. To submit your own question, go to KDL.org/Stump. We can’t wait to hear from you! 

Liz’s Fact of the Day: 1,000 Amazing World Facts 

https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C1018270 

Jill’s Book Recommendation: The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead 

https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C943273 

Concerning the metric system: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtKbq_zAr-A 

https://usma.org/origin-of-the-metric-system# 

"Metric system." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 19 Nov. 2018. school.eb.com/levels/high/article/metric-system/52355. Accessed 15 May. 2024. 

https://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/measurement-system/108505 

Concerning motion sickness: 

https://www.asha.org/public/hearing/dizziness-and-balance/ 

https://www.brainfacts.org/thinking-sensing-and-behaving/movement/2019/the-vestibular-system-the-brain-and-balance-013119 

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fncir.2023.1150233/full 

https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/condition/motion-sickness/#causes 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patricia_S._Cowings 

Do astronauts get motion sickness? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCBXiOvdCF4 

Join Jill and Liz as they answer the questions “Why doesn’t gravity work on balloons?” and “How do you make money when I don’t pay the library?” You can send us your question at KDL.org/stump or email us at [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you! 

Regarding Balloons... 

Up & Away! How Two Brothers Invented the Hot-Air Ballon by Jason Henry https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C612205 

"Balloon." World Book Kids, 2024, 

   www.worldbookonline.com/kids/article?id=ar830355. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_air_balloon 

https://howthingsfly.si.edu/gravity-air/buoyancy 

https://www.omnicalculator.com/everyday-life/helium-balloons 

https://stratocat.com.ar/indexe.html 

https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/heres-why-meteorologists-launch-weather-balloons-every-day/877665 

Regarding libraries... 

https://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/library/106477 

https://www.ala.org/aboutala/before-1876 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_library 

https://www.milibraries.org/penal-fines 

https://www.milibraries.org/state-aid-to-libraries#:~:text=Public%20libraries%20in%20Michigan%20are,fines%2C%20millages%20and%20State%20Aid. 

Potty Training for Astronauts 

Join Jill and Liz as they answer the questions, “How do astronauts go to the bathroom in space?” and “What causes thunder and lightning?” We also share a fact of the day about diamonds and an awesome graphic novel recommendation. To submit your own question, go to KDL.org/Stump. We can’t wait to hear from you! 

Liz’s Fact of the Day: 513 Weird Facts Every Kid Should Know by Thomas Canavan 

https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C1000498 

Jill’s Book Recommendation: Frizzy by Claribel A. Ortega 

https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C895871 

Concerning space toilets: 

The Astronaut’s Guide to Leaving the Planet by Terry Virts 

https://science.howstuffworks.com/bathroom-in-space 

https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/ 

https://www.nasa.gov/podcasts/houston-we-have-a-podcast/space-hygiene/ 

Concerning thunder & lightning: 

https://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/thunder/72323 

https://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/lightning/48228 

https://www.weather.gov/media/pah/WeatherEducation/lightningsafety.pdf 

https://www.nssl.noaa.gov/education/svrwx101/lightning/ 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEiVi9TB_RQ 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUNEFefftt8 

Join Jill and Liz as they answer the questions “Do animals make friends?” and “How do bubbles work? Why are they always round?” You can send us your question at KDL.org/stump or email us at [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you! 

Regarding Animal BFFS... 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interspecies_friendship 

"Animal social behaviour." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 3 Mar. 2017. school.eb.com/levels/high/article/animal-social-behaviour/110427. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024. 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/animal-behavior 

"Charles Scott." Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1936. Gale In Context: U.S. History, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/BT2310003891/UHIC?u=madi17239&sid=UHIC&xid=cccdcb74. Accessed 7 Nov. 2020. 

Regarding Bubbles.... 

https://www.cmosc.org/category/resources/ 

https://exetersciencecentre.org/projects/nibbles/bubbles/ 

https://science.howstuffworks.com/why-do-bubbles-pop.htm 

Make a square bubble: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12UIOlzai5M 

Join Jill and Liz as they answer the questions, “Why are ladybugs and four-leaf clovers lucky?” and “Why do some foods taste salty and some taste sweet?” We also share a fact of the day about mapmaking and several heartwarming book recommendations. To submit your own question, go to KDL.org/Stump. We can’t wait to hear from you! 

Liz’s Fact of the Day: The Maps Book by Joanne Bourne 

https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C972130 

Jill’s Book Recommendations: A Day with No Words by Tiffany Hammond 

https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C935518 

The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn by Sally J. Pla 

https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C978558 

Good Different by Meg Eden Kuyatt 

https://kdl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S174C951435 

Concerning ladybugs & four-leaf clovers: 

https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/ladybug 

https://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/ladybug/46799/related#nodeId=websites&page=1 

https://www.celticbug.com/Legends/Lore.html 

https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/facts/ladybug 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8261899/ 

https://www.woodlandsonline.com/npps/story.cfm?nppage=69552 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four-leaf_clover 

Concerning tastebuds: 

https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/taste-buds.html 

http://cst.ufl.edu/that-neat-and-tidy-map-of-tastes-on-the-tongue-you-learned-in-school-is-all-wrong.html 

https://school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/tongue/72870 

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/24684-taste-buds 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279408/ 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZn2PMUWO-Y