It’s a bummer we can’t fly like birds. Sure, we can jump out of a plane and fall at 120 miles per hour, until the parachute opens (hopefully). But a bird called the peregrine falcon has us beat. It hunts animals by doing nosedives out of the sky — at more than 200 miles an hour! That makes this bird the fastest animal on Earth. It even has a third eyelid on each eye to keep its eyeballs from drying out — which makes for some funky math.
Wee ones: If a falcon catches 6 pigeons for dinner, what numbers would it say to count them?
Little kids: Who’s faster, a falcon flying at 200 miles an hour, or a car driving at 100 miles an hour? Bonus: Who has more eyelids, 3 peregrine falcons, or you and 3 friends?
Big kids: If you skydive at 120 miles an hour, how much faster can the 200-mile-an-hour falcon fly? Bonus: The falcon’s strong wings can be up to 47 inches across. If you lay across that bird, how would your length compare to that?
Answers:
Wee ones: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
Little kids: The falcon! Bonus: The falcons. Since everybody has 2 eyes, you can count just everyone’s left eye. The falcons’ left eyes together have 9 eyelids, while you and your friends have 8.
Big kids: 80 miles an hour faster. Bonus: Different for everyone…subtract your height in inches from 47, or vice versa.
