The woman who mapped the ocean floor
In the 1920s, Marie Tharp was a little girl who spent many days bumping along country roads with her dad in his rickety green truck. He worked for the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Soils, visiting farms. He tested soil and drew planting maps for the farmers. Because of her dad’s job, her family moved a lot. By the time she finished high school, Marie had attended 17 schools. When she wasn’t on the road with her dad or in a new school, there was lots of time alone, reading, drawing, and playing violin.
Marie wanted to become a soil surveyor like her dad. But she knew that was unlikely. In those days, women rarely had careers in the sciences. Most were only encouraged to work as a teacher, secretary, or nurse.
She began her freshman year at Ohio University as an art major and planned to become a teacher. Then she switched to music. Nothing felt right, so she tried classes in German, zoology, paleobotany, philosophy, and finally geology. She loved geology. One of her geology teachers suggested that she also take a drafting class. Drafting is a type of technical drawing. The teacher thought Marie would never find work as a geologist. But if she could draft, she might work in a geologist’s office.
Working around Geology
Marie graduated in 1943 with degrees in English and music. She heard about a petroleum geology program offered by the University of Michigan. Most men were away fighting in World War II. So the school was allowing women to enroll in the program for the first time. Best of all, they guaranteed a job in the petroleum industry after graduation. Marie didn’t hesitate. She graduated from Michigan with a master’s degree in geology. Then she stayed on to take classes in physics, math, and chemistry.
Denne historien er fra May - June 2019-utgaven av Muse Science Magazine for Kids.
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Denne historien er fra May - June 2019-utgaven av Muse Science Magazine for Kids.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Who's Your Cousin?
The great apes are among the most popular animals in most zoos. Their actions, facial expressions, and family life remind us so much of ourselves. Have you ever wondered, though, how we might look to them?
Is it possible to die of boredom?
To figure out if we can die of boredom, we first have to understand what boredom is. For help, we called James Danckert, a psychologist who studies boredom at the University of Waterloo in Canada.
THE PROBLEM WITH PALM OIL
Palm oil is all around you. It’s in sugary snacks like cookies and candy bars. It’s in lipstick and shampoo and pet food.
SERGE WICH
Serge Wich’s favorite days at work are spent out in the forest, studying orangutans in Sumatra and Borneo or chimpanzees in Tanzania.
ELODIE FREYMANN
When you’re feeling sick, it probably doesn’t occur to you to try eating tree bark.
Guardians of the Forest
EARLY, MAKESHIFT WILDLIFE DRONES HELPED TO DETECT AND PROTECT ORANGUTANS.
APE ANTICS
The Whirling World of primate play
Dr. Ape Will See You Now
HUMANS AREN’T THE ONLY PRIMATES THAT USE MEDICATION.
THE LEFT OVERS
A lot has happened for modern humans to get to this point. We lost most of our hair, learned how to make tools, established civilizations, sent a person to the Moon, and invented artificial intelligence. Whew! With all of these changes, our bodies have changed, too. It’s only taken us about six million years.
SO, WHAT IS A PRIMATE?
What do you have in common with the aye-aye, sifaka, siamang, and potto? If you said your collarbone, you re probably a primatologist—a person who studies primates. If you’re not, read on.