hot liquids were a mind-

boggling 407°C

(764.6°F). This

is five times

hotter than any

natural liquid

found before.

“This increase

of the record

by 5°C is sig-

nificant as 407°

C at 3,000m

depth marks

the critical tem-

perature where

water is no

longer a fluid

but reaches a

state of „critical

vapor‟,” says

Koschinsky.

“The result of

this process

are super-hot solutions of

highly unusual composi-

tion.”

By Marco N

So hot it‟s never been pos-

sible outside a lab

before,

“supercritical” water

heated by the core of

the Earth has been

found deep under

the Atlantic Ocean.

It‟s neither wholly

water nor gas at

these temperatures,

but a fluid denser

than vapor and

lighter than liquid

water.

Discovered by Pro-

fessor Andrea

Koschinsky from

Jacobs University in

Germany, the liquid

spews from so-called

black smokers, chim-

ney like structures

found in ridges on the

ocean floor. These ridges

are where lava from the

core floats up to create

new sea bed.

Using a special thermome-

ter sensor on a deep-sea

robot, the team found the

World’s Hottest Water

Bethany Hamilton: A True Inspiration

Bethany Hamilton was a 13

year old star surfer when

she became one of Ha-

waii's inspiring person.

November 1, 2003

Bethany was out surfing

when she was attacked by

a shark. Bethany survived

the shark attack but the

shark took her left arm.

But, Bethany survived, she

did not just survive she

started surfing again. And

she still does to this day.

Bethany says that the

trickiest thing about surf-

ing now is getting on and

paddling. She says it is like

doing a push-up on one

arm. And they are hard.

April 16, 2009

Bethany Hamilton, now 19

years old is still in surfing

contests. She is still one of

the most inspirational surf-

ers ever!

Bethany is a perfect exam-

ple of a person who has

come into the world and

has faced head on chal-

lenges.

Last week, Bethany fin-

ished in second place at

the Billabong world Jun-

iors surfing contest. It

seems to me that 2009

will be a good year for

Bethany.

By Whitney Robinson

The Goodreads Magazine

Hotter than hot: Black smokers release

water as hot as 407°C.

Inside this

issue:

World’s Hottest

Water

1

Bethany Hamil-

ton: A True Inspi-

ration

1

CREATURES

FROM THE PAST:

SUPER SHARKS

2

THE SHARK IDEN-

TITIY PARADE

3

Site, Poem, and

Word of the

Month

4

Garfield—Those

Lazy, Hazy Days

of Summer

5

Nuclear Fall-Our

Reveals Fakes

6

Puzzle Section 6

April 2009 Volume 1, Issue 2

Sharks date back almost 425

million years. During this

time, they have evolved into

a variety of highly unusual

forms but, as a group, they

have existed on Earth longer

than the dinosaurs—and far

longer than mammals. With

over 360 different species in

existence today, sharks are

among the most successful

animals on the planet.

Shark scientists, or ichthyolo-

gists, study shark history from

ancient fossil records and

have unearthed some of the

most unusual creature ever to

have evolved.

Shark skeletons are not made

from bone but from carti-

lage—the same flexible mate-

rial found in our nose and

ears. But cartilage rots faster

than bone so fossilized exam-

ples are rare. In most cases,

the only parts of the shark

that have been preserved are

the teeth, because they are

much harder enamel. Megalo-

don teeth are the largest

shark teeth ever found, meas-

uring 21cm in length, the

width of an A4 paper. The

tooth that was found by

Grant Johnson was only about

10cm in length. Great Whites

are only known to have teeth

measuring 7-8cm. Great

Whites can grow five meters

in length, so using this as a

guide, experts believe that

the megalodon grew up to 15-

20 meters and weighing

around 60 tons.

Judging by scanty fossil evi-

dence—which includes huge

bite marks found on the

bones of unfortunate

whales—the megalodon fa-

vored warm, shallow waters.

The species evolved around

20 million years ago, and sur-

vived until a relatively recent

1.6 million years ago.

Nobody is sure why they became

extinct: the coming of the Ice Age

may have drawn down global

ocean level, shrinking their off-

shore habitats, while cooling wa-

ters may have allowed warm-

blooded whales to escape to re-

gions the shark could not follow.

Some people reckon a few megalo-

dons may still be around today.

Back in 1918 for example, a shark

“of gigantic stature” scared fisher-

men from waters around

Broughton Island, Australia,

snatching up crayfish pots and

mooring lines in its jaws.

Believers argue that humans

have yet to explore more than

5% of the ocean depths, giving

plenty of room for megalodon to

prosper, but against that, the

mainstream scientists point out

that megalodons lives and

hunted near the coasts rather

than deep waters. Plus all the

teeth so far uncovered have been

ancient fossils so there’s no hard

evidence of any megalodons still

lurking in the oceans.

By Marco N

CREATURES FROM THE PAST: SUPER SHARKS

Page 2 The Goodreads Magazine

The megalodon was the ocean boss

for several million years before dying

out 1.6 million years ago. One

thought is that its rule ended after

the seas cooled, allowing its main

food source of warm blooded whales

to escape by swimming to waters too

cold for megalodons to survive in.

Background Picture

(ACTUAL SIZE): Nine-year-

old Grant Johnson found

treasure on a Florida

Beach last spring—a

shark’s tooth the size of a

dinner plate. It belonged

to no living animal; it’s a

fossil of the mightiest

predator ever to hunt the

seas, the megalodon.

***

A wounded animal flaps

helplessly in dangerous

waters. It is not long be-

fore the inevitable hap-

pens and a group of cir-

cling sharks, their distinc-

tive dorsal fins pointing

out of the water, close in

and finish off the hapless

creature. It is a scene that

is familiar in waters all

over the world, but these

sharks are different. They

are immense, much bigger

than the biggest Great

White, with jaws wide

enough to swallow a rhi-

noceros and serrated

teeth the size of large

kitchen knives. These kill-

ers are megalodon sharks

(Carchardon megalodon)

the biggest to have ever

existed, and the scene is

16 million years ago.

tles, like an upside-down hair brush. It

had more bristles on its head to match

those on its fin—these strange append-

ages, found only on males, may have

been used during courtship displays or as

weapons during male-to-male combat.

Also looking like it needed a shave was

Listracanthus, which lasted for 100 mil-

lion years from 310-210 million years

ago. The strange 10cm long, feathery

bristles are called denticles and modern

day sharks still have the, (though much

smaller) giving the skin a sandpaper-like

feel.

Strange circular-saw like fossils over a

meter in diameter were first found in the

19th century. Today, ichthyologists think

these belong to the lower jaw of Helico-

prion from 285-220 million years ago.

Sharks continuously grow new teeth—in

modern sharks these fall out but Helico-

prion’s teeth were locked together so the

The Shark Identity Parade

Sharks had existed for hundreds of

millions of years even before megalo-

don. Xenacanthus, was one of the earli-

est, its fossils stretch back to 400 mil-

lion years ago.

If you could go back in time and swim

though murky freshwater swamps,

you’d be forgiven for thinking Xenacan-

thus was more eel than a shark, with

its long body and flattened dorsal fins.

It also had unusual forked teeth.

370 million years ago Cladoselache was

a common sight. It had a deeply forked

tail, suggesting it was a fast swimmer

but lacked scales unlike all other

sharks.

One of the oddest sharks ever found

was Stethacanthus. Living 370-345

million years ago, it had an enormous

flat-topped dorsal fin covered with bris-

outgrowths curled downwards to form a

spiral. The species existed for 60 million

years so clearly these strange jaws

were helpful.

Hybodus swam the seas as dinosaurs

walked the Earth 180 million years ago.

These two-meter long sharks resembled

modern-day sharks but had many other

features including a long sharp dorsal

spine next to the dorsal fin, two sets of

teeth for crushing as well as cutting and

gripping, plus horns above its eyes.

It survived for over 100 million years

but fell the same Great Extinction that

wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million

years ago.

Today’s sharks and rays are thought to

have descended from a common ances-

tor that survived the Great Extinction,

although no one is quite sure what this

ancestor may have been. By Marco N

Page 3 Volume 1, Issue 2

EduFire is a commu-

nity of people pas-

sionate about teach-

ing and

learning

online. As a

student

you‟ll find

out-

standing

tutors from

all around the world,

all available at the

click of a button. As

a teacher you‟ll be

able to reach new

students and teach

from anywhere.

So if you want to

learn a new lan-

guage (or teach

one!), join this cool

site to learn or even

teach and join in the

community.

Edufire.com

2. Short-lived;

existing or continu-

ing for a short time

only.

Rather, we must

separate what is

ephemeral... from

the things that are of

lasting importance.

– Patrick Smith

Ephemeral

\ih-FEM-er-ul\,

adjective:

1. Beginning and

ending in a day; ex-

isting only, or no

longer than, a day;

as, an ephemeral

flower.

Ephemeral derives

from Greek ephem-

eros, from epi, upon

+ hemera, day.

Dictionary.com

Website of the Month

Word of the Month

hatching cocoons

Playing outdoors eve-

ryday

Just gazing at the

moon.

Springtime is in

the pond, taking

a dive

Watching rabbits

scurry by

Seeing things

come alive.

Spring is having a joy-

ous, free time,

Experiencing Nature‟s

beauty

Seeing Earth at its

prime.

Poem of the Month

Springtime is climbing

up trees

Listening to twittering

birds

Swaying in the warm

breeze.

Springtime is new life

under my toes

Being surrounded by

lush green

Sniffing blossoms like

tulips, or a rose.

Springtime is watching

Page 4 The Goodreads Magazine

Ephemeral: Mayflies from a few

minutes to a few days, depend-

ing on the species

“Spring is having

a joyous, free

time,

Experiencing

Nature’s beauty

Seeing Earth at

its prime.”

Ever wanted to be on your very own

magazine? Now you can! You are the

writer. Research and write your very own

articles, then they will be published to our

monthly magazine.

We are the Goodreads Magazine, a neo-

phyte group formed from the social net-

working site of book-lovers, Goodreads.

We publish our online magazines every

month, with the help of our columnists.

Our group on Goodreads is also called

"The Goodreads Magazine."

Our magazines are for everyone to read,

with topics ranging from cryptozoology to

global warming. When we broaden out

and have more members, we will have

new columns and topics, games and

much more!

The Goodreads Magazine

The Goodreads Magazine

Where facts are stranger than fiction...

We’re on the web!

thegoodreadsmagazine.weebly.com

strontium-90. These have found their

way into the Earth‟s soil and plants,

which then get used in the production

of paints.

The idea came to a curator of art called

Elena Basner, who has spent many years

identifying fakes of Old Masters. She

A surprising method of finding out

whether a painting is the real thing has

been discovered.

Pictures created after 1945, when the

world‟s first nuclear blast occurred,

contain tiny traces of nuclear material,

namely the isotopes caesium-137 and

contacted a number of scientists to

test her theory and now has a patent

on the

technique.

By Marco N

Nuclear Fall-Out Reveals Fakes

Summer Crossword