Two hundred twenty-eight years ago today Thomas Jefferson celebrated his 44th birthday riding a mule over the Alps on his way to Italy. Jefferson’s first official federal position after writing the Declaration of Independence was serving as Minister to France under President George Washington.  Jefferson’s job was to grow America’s economy, which he did by forming trade agreements to sell whale oil and tobacco overseas.  He also looked for new crops that could be grown in the U.S. and sold in Europe.  

     One thing he noticed was that the French ate a lot of rice, but they didn’t buy rice grown in America.  The French preferred dry or upland rice. American farmers grew “swamp” rice and suffered with mosquitoes and malaria.  Jefferson thought that if American farmers switched to upland rice they would not only be able to sell it abroad, they would also be healthier. 

     Jefferson asked for samples of upland rice from friends, farmers, ship captains who traveled to far off lands, and even the seven-year-old prince of Cochin China.  The most prized rice, however, was grown in Italy and banned from export.   

     Determined to help America, Jefferson rode over the Alps and found the unhusked grain. “I could only bring off as much as my coat and surtout [overcoat] pockets would hold,” he wrote a friend.  Under penalty of death, he smuggled it across the border.  

     Back in France, Jefferson sent rice to farmers in South Carolina and to his farm manager at Monticello, his home in Virginia. He even grew samples of rice in pots on his windowsill when he returned to New York to be Secretary of State. 

     Unfortunately, the upland rice didn’t grow well in the South and didn’t become a big export for the U.S., but Jefferson was not discouraged. He had already set his sights on another amazing plant that he hoped would be “the source of the greatest wealth and happiness.” Olive trees.  

     Many years later when Jefferson listed his achievements, along with writing the Declaration of Independence he included his attempts to bring rice and olives to the United States. “The greatest service which can be rendered any country,” he said, “is to add an useful plant to its culture.” 

     Celebrate his birthday with a salad made from some of the useful plants he brought to our culture— kale, tomatoes, peppers and chickpeas with a splash of olive oil.

     Happy Birthday, Thomas Jefferson!

Peggy Thomas is the author of Thomas Jefferson Grows a Nation.  Among her other books are:
* For the Birds: the life of Roger Tory Peterson
* Snow Dance 
* Farmer George Plants A Nation
* Joshua the Giant Frog
* Forensic Anthropology: the Science of   Talking Bones
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Peggy Thomas is a member of iNK's Authors on Call and is available for classroom programs through Field Trip Zoom,  a terrific technology that requires only a computer, wifi, and a webcam.  Click here to find out more.
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The Trung sisters of ancient Vietnam were quite a pair. They raised up an army of 80,000 soldiers and drove the Chinese from Vietnam -- and you'll never guess who their general was.  Cheryl Harness will tell you tomorrow.

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​Peggy Thomas
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Curiosity Queen
Writing science, history, and everything in between. 

Question: If your favorite snack was just out of reach, what would you do? 
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            That’s what Preston Foerder, who studies animal behavior, asked Kandula, a male Asian elephant at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C.  Scientists have always thought that using a tool to solve a problem was a sign of higher intelligence.  They also thought that only humans were tool users. But then Jane Goodall discovered chimps using sticks to fish termites out of a hole, and ravens were observed making hooks to nab a treat.  People who’ve worked with elephants have long known that they are highly intelligent, but no one ever tested an elephant’s ability to use a tool to solve a problem.  

            To set up the experiment, Preston skewered Kandula’s favorite fruits on a branch and suspended it well out of trunk reach. Then he scattered potential tools such as long bamboo sticks and a heavy-duty plastic cube around the yard. 

            At first Kandula just stared at the fruit longingly.  Occasionally he picked up a stick, but only played with it. On the seventh trial, Kandula got an idea. He rolled the cube several yards so it was beneath the fruit. He placed his two front feet on the cube, stretched his trunk as high as he could, and plucked the fruit off the branch. The next day, as soon as Preston suspended the fruit, Kandula was already shoving his cube into place. He seemed to enjoy his new tool. He used it to peek over walls, to check out birds in a nearby tree, and to eat blossoms off another tree that grew outside his yard. 

            Later, Kandula showed off by using a tractor tire and then a large ball as a stool. He even figured out that if he stacked one small block on top of another he might be able to reach higher fruit. Although he came up short (he needed to stack 3 blocks), he still showed that his brain was working out the problem. 

            So, congratulations! If you said you’d use a stool to reach your favorite snack, then you are as smart as an elephant. 

Through carefully planned and executed games or problems that they give to elephants to test their intelligence, an organization called Think Elephants International has started to explore how animals think. For more information, click here.

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Peggy Thomas is co-author of Anatomy of Nonfiction, the only writer’s guide to crafting true stories for children. She is currently working on a book about elephant intelligence.  To learn more, visit her website.



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Peggy Thomas is a member of iNK's Authors on Call and is available for classroom programs through FieldTripZoom,  a terrific technology that requires only a computer, wifi, and a webcam.  Click here to find out more.

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When you think of Thomas Edison, you think light bulb or phonograph, but more than likely, you don't think Hollywood.  Reading Jim Whiting's minute tomorrow might change that.​

Peggy Thomas
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Curiosity Queen:
writing science, history, and everything in between

My knees shake as I stand behind Poonlarb, a towering female Asian elephant who rocks back and forth while the veterinarian explains the procedure. I pull on a rubber glove that goes up to my armpit, and grease my entire hand and arm with a lubricant.

            Taking an elephant’s temperature is one way the vet can assess the animal’s health, which is important at the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation (GTAEF) in Thailand where many of the elephants have been rescued from harsh lives hauling lumber, or begging on the busy streets of Bangkok. The GTAEF is one of many organizations struggling to protect abused, captive elephants, as well as educate people on the plight of the dwindling wild population. Loss of habitat and poaching for ivory has made the Asian elephant ten times more endangered than their big-eared African cousin.

            When the vet hands me the thermometer, I laugh. I was expecting something…well… elephant-sized. But the thermometer is no bigger than the one I use at home.  Protecting the glass tip with my finger, I ask Poonlarb if she’s ready, and inch my hand into her rectum. “More,” the vet says, and I reach further pushing up on my tip-toes. Poonlarb’s muscles gently contract around my arm. If the mahout (elephant handler) wasn’t holding her tail, this nearly two ton female could easily knock me off my feet with one swish. I rub Poonlarb’s rump, and assure her it will be over soon, but four minutes is a long time when you have your hand up an elephant’s backside.

            I pull the thermometer out and hand it to the vet. “36.2 Celsius,” she says. “Normal.” That’s 97.2 degrees Fahrenheit. Poonlarb is one healthy elephant, and luckily for me, a patient patient.

To learn more about Asian elephants, click here to go to Think Elephants International

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Peggy Thomas is a member of iNK's Authors on Call and is available for classroom programs through FieldTripZoom,  a terrific technology that requires only a computer, wifi, and a webcam.  Click here to find out more.

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​We all know about the brave explorers Lewis and Clarke -- but tomorrow Larry Pringle is going to introduce you to an important member of their expedition that you've probably never heard of.

Writing a recipe is harder than it looks. I found this out when a children’s magazine editor asked me to add a recipe to my article about eating insects.        

 First, I thumbed through my recipe file mentally substituting bugs for a vital ingredient. Mushrooms stuffed with millipedes was out. (Most kids don’t like mushrooms.)  I nixed beetle sausage, also. (Too much chopping and frying in a hot skillet.)  Flipping to desserts, I chose toffee.  I could substitute bugs for nuts.

 After my trip to the grocery store for butter, sugar and chocolate chips, I visited the pet shop, and asked for a cup of mealworms, which are fly larvae (also known as maggots, but that’s not very appetizing). The man handed me a little carton that looked like a Skippy cup of ice cream. I wrote that down because I would need to pass that information on to readers who, like me, had no clue how to purchase creepy-crawlies.

With all the ingredients on the counter I recorded each step: 

                        1. Separate mealworms from packing material. I tried several methods.   Blowing on it worked, but when I blew too hard I got a face full of bran and mealworms. (I’d recommend a blow dryer set on low and cool.) 

                        2. Wash mealworms. Use a strainer with very small holes, and pat dry. 

                        3. Spread mealworms on cooking tray (one with sides so they don’t crawl off).    Preheat oven to 200 degrees. (I’d have to add a note about parent supervision for young readers.) Roast until dry and crunchy. 

After that, I was on familiar ground blending butter and sugar, and sprinkling chocolate chips. 

I called my concoction Toffee Surprise, and taste-tested it in a large group setting where peer pressure encouraged full participation -- my mother’s birthday party!  The verdict: The toffee was yummy, crunchy, and sweet with a subtle earthy aftertaste.  

Although I don’t plan on cooking more edible vermin, I did learn some important rules for writing a recipe: Choose a food that is reader-friendly; be aware of your readers’ abilities and safety issues; record every step in order; pay attention to even the smallest details;  and prepare it yourself so you can work out the bugs (no pun intended).  

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​Peggy Thomas is the co-author of Anatomy of Nonfiction, the only  writer's guide for children's nonfiction.  To find out more about Peggy, visit her website.  She also has a blog for writers, based on the book.

Peggy Thomas is a member of iNK's Authors on Call and is available for classroom programs through FieldTripZoom,  a terrific technology that requires only a computer, wifi, and a webcam. Click here to find out more.

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 Monday is Martin Luther King Day.  Tomorrow Amy Nathan will offer a post in honor of Dr. King. 

 

Peggy Thomas
Curiosity Queen: writing science, history, and everything in between ​

Regular visiting hours are over at the Buffalo Botanical Gardens, but the line to see Morty reaches out the door.  It’s an event that comes once in a decade, so I’m happy to wait for my chance to see, and smell, what’s inside. 

       A year ago the Botanical Gardens acquired corms or bulbs of a tropical plant called the corpse flower. These aren’t little tulip bulbs you hold in your hand. The corpse flower corm weighs 120 pounds and looks like a giant potato. A corm that big needs a lot of energy to grow, so, it spends several months dormant underground. When the first hint of green peeks through the soil, it’s a guessing game as to what it will look like. Most of the time, the corpse flower will send up a slender shoot and one complex leaf that looks like a tree canopy. Through photosynthesis, this leaf will provide energy that will be stored in the corm.  When   there is enough energy stored up, Morty will flower. And that’s what I’m excited to witness.

    Weaving my way through displays of cactus, palms, and banana trees, I wonder if someone forgot to take the trash out. The odor of rotting meat wrinkles my nose, and I realize why Morty is called a corpse flower. As we move closer, the air grows thicker. This plant has been dumpster diving.  

   The stink Morty sends forth is the plant’s way to attract pollinators in its native jungle of Sumatra. The flower only lasts a day or two, so the scent has to be pungent enough to quickly draw in dung beetles and carrion flies that will collect the pollen and distribute it to other plants before it wilts. It’s curiosity that lures me in.   

I round the corner and catch my first glimpse of the stinker.  Since it poked out of the ground it has grown five to six inches every day, and now Morty’s seven-foot spire, called a spadix, towers over me. I have to step back to catch the entire plant in my camera lens. Like a wicked witch’s collar, Morty wears a single pleated, blood red flower petal wrapped around the spadix. By midnight the flower will be fully opened and have reached maximum reek. 

    I click more pictures and take a deep breath. It will be a long time before Morty blooms again, and I want to remember every smelly detail. 

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Peggy Thomas certainly is a Curiosity Queen.  You'll recall that her last Nonfiction Minute showed her taking an elephant's temperature -- not an easy task. Her book Anatomy of Nonfiction shows other authors how to write about real events.
  To read about some of Peggy's other adventures and to find out about her books, visit her website.  


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Tomorrow Larry Pringle, who has had a life long love of frogs, is going to tell you about some newly-discovered that are so small that at first they could only be heard, not seen.