It can’t feel good to be known as the world’s worst-smelling animal. But that’s life for skunks. Sure, they have that cute white stripe running down their black fur, but skunks are scary. Near their hind legs they have small “glands,” or little pouches, filled with really yucky-smelling liquid that skunks spray at anything attacking them. If you aren’t sure what a skunk smells like, read on to learn how to make that smell at home!
Wee ones: To make your own skunk smell, you mix rotten eggs, coffee, and chopped garlic. How many ingredients is that? (Exact recipe is below!)
Little kids: Skunks can spray you from up to 10 feet away. If you’re only 8 feet away, how many feet farther away should you run to escape that squirt? Bonus: If a skunk could double that spray distance, how far could it squirt?
Big kids: The baby skunk shown here, called a skunk kit, is only about 9 inches long, including the tail. But some skunks can grow to 37 inches long. How much more does this little guy need to grow to reach that size? Bonus: Actually, a 3-foot-long skunk like that sounds pretty huge. If you lay down next to it, how would that 37-inch skunk compare to your length?
The sky’s the limit: You need 8 rotten eggs, 2 cups of coffee and 5 spoons of garlic to make each batch of skunk smell. If you have 42 eggs, 12 cups of coffee and 34 spoons of garlic handy, which ingredient will run out first if you mix only full batches at a time?
Answers:
Wee ones: 3 ingredients.
Little kids: 2 more feet. Bonus: 20 feet. Watch out!
Big kids: 28 inches more. Bonus: Different for everyone…subtract your height in inches from 37, or subtract 37 from your height. Yuck!
The sky’s the limit: The eggs will run out first. 42 eggs allow only 5 batches, because it can fit only 5 full sets of 8 eggs (40 total). To compare, you have enough coffee for 6 sets of the 2 cups, and the 34 spoons of garlic also allow 6 full sets of 5 spoons, with leftover.
