Penguins!!

They're cute, adorable, when they're little babies they are so, so, SO fuzzy!! Everyone wants one! How could you not. The only downfall is that they kind of stink. They poop... A LOT! What do you expect? They're birds. These flightless birds are still fun to watch swim around when you go to the zoo.

What is there to know about penguins? Maybe the fact that they are flightless. They can't fly (a lot of birds can't. It's not something that is uncommon.) Even though that they can't fly, people say that they can "fly" underwater because they sure can swim. They glide through the Antarctic waters when they fish. Haven't you noticed that they look like they're wear tuxedos? Well, it's not for them to look snazzy, it's actually a type of camouflage called "countershading." It's like sharks. They have a darker feathered top so predators above them don't see them, and white on the bottom so fish don't see them when they look up. The white will look like the sunlight coming through the water and the darker colors will look like the water from the top. And although penguins spend most of their lives in the water catching and eating fish, they also go on land Mostly just to raise their young.


Penguins have wing-bones. It's a little hard to believe because they're very flipper-like and with wing-bones, it makes it a little harder for them to swim. However, these bones are suited for swimming. A penguins diet is mainly krill, fish, and squid. Not all penguins eat these though. Penguins that are closer to the equator will tend to eat more fish than fish that are closer to Antarctica, where the penguins tend to eat more krill and squid.

The highest population of penguins is the the Macaroni Penguin. These penguins look a little funny... They have yellow eyebrows that look like macaroni noodles (hence the name, Macaroni Penguins.) Have you seen or heard of that movie "Surf's Up?" That one penguin that wants to learn how to surf from the pro is a Macaroni Penguin. Macaroni Penguins live along the Antarctic Peninsula, Sub Antarctic Regions, South America and the islands that are around them. They prefer colder climate. The "social interaction" between each other is common, especially when it comes to the younger ones. These are a very less aggressive type of penguin, except when it comes to protecting their young, I mean, who wouldn't be aggressive them? Also, the females are known for being aggressive when they want to get the attention of a male when it's time for them to make little babies. (wink, wink.)

The lowest population of penguins is the the Galapagos Penguin. The Galapagos Penguins are small and are the only penguins that are found north if the equator and in the galapagos. The population is the lowest with under 1,000 breeding pairs, which is kind of sad. These penguins are different because unlike other penguins, they don't have a regular breeding season. They can have up to about 3 clutches of a mating "season" a year, which is 2 more than the other species. They're also the smallest penguins. They're only about 50 centimeters (19 inches.) And weigh an average of 5.5 pounds. They're so small and cute! Sadly, because they are so small, they have a lot of predators. On land, the main predator is crabs, snakes, these things called rice rats, cats, hawks, and even owls. In water, their predators are a little more scary. Because they live on islands by the equator, a lot marine life can attack. Things like sharks, fur seals, and sea lions. These poor birds, they can't really survive can they? Life is a struggle for them.

One of my favorite penguins are the Emperor Penguin. They're the biggest penguins out of 17 species of penguins. They stand to be about 45 inches tall (3.75 feet) and weigh about 84 pounds. These birds are the only things that inhabit Antarctica during the winter. They can face up to -76 degrees fahrenheit, which we, as humans, would have no chance of surviving, and blizzards that can have wind speeds that can rise up to about 124 mph. Have you seen that movie Happy Feet? That one scene when the dad's are carrying the eggs and Mambo, the one who dances, egg gets blown but the dad catches it, they were in a blizzard and that's really what it's like for these birds to endure. The only way that they are able to endure these harsh climates is by having a lot of adaptations. For example, their feathers. Emperor Penguins have 4 layers of almost scaly feathers that help them survive those harsh winters. They can also store a lot of fat to help keep them warm, it's like blubber on a whale. Not only have they found ways to adapt heat wise, but also by traveling. They don't just swim, they also have to walk you know. When they walk on the slippery ice, they use these really strong claws that are on their feet to hold on to the ice while they waddle along. They also do the famous belly slide! Their stomachs are sleek and slippery so it makes it easy for them to slide.

The Winter begins in March in Antarctica, and every winter Emperor Penguins travel up to 50 miles up ice to reach a good breeding ground. The males tend to get there first so they can get ready to impress the ladies. Some penguins will find a new mate each year or they stay with the same one. That's pretty cute. Incase you didn't know, the males are the ones to keep the egg safe and warm while the females go out and hunt for food. The males balance the egg on their feet and cover it with a think layer of feathers. They huddle together to stay warm and the male doesn't eat anything until the females come back with food.

Cupcake Wars

YUM! Cupcakes. They're delicious, fantastic and absolutely an all time favorite party food. How could you NOT love cupcakes? They're mini cakes! Portable cakes! Who doesn't love cake? Anyways, cupcakes. They're just like every other food on Earth, you can make something new with it, create your own, have some trial and error with it. On one of my favorite tv channels, there's this whole show dedicated to cupcakes. It's called Cupcake Wars. If you haven't seen it before, I recommend watching it when you can.

So what is this Cupcake Wars you may be asking. Well let me tell you:
Cupcake Wars is a show where bakers from their bakeries want to get their names out there and win money to help with their businesses. They also have celebrity judges who are either famous people from movies, tv shows or just a random person. They don't pick them randomly like a reality show, they contribute to it in a way. Say they needed to make cupcakes for a TV Series. Say, The Walking Dead. At the end of the show, the last 2 competitors will have to make something related to that. Like a Zombie Apocalypse themed display and something that will have the cupcakes look related to that. So their display can be a graveyard and little arms could be coming out the top of the cupcake to make it look like their crawling out of the dirt. The challenge will vary. If that sounds a little lame to you, here's something that will hopefully change your mind on that. The competitors will have to make their cupcakes out of strange things! Have you ever seen that show "Chopped" it's like that. The same idea... In a way.

So why do I enjoy this show so much? Cupcake Wars is a fun show to watch because you can see people's creativity while watching it. You can see their ideas come to life and watch them make these delicious cupcakes. I would eat only some of them though. In one episode, they had to make cupcakes out of SEAWEED for the anniversary for Sea World. Neat huh? The thing is that the people who win that show, they will have to take their dessert to the place that the cupcakes are made for. Say for a new movie premiere. They will have to take their cupcakes and display out to the movie premiere. Something that is related to it. Let's say Big Hero 6 (got to love that movie. Even though it's a big emotional rollercoaster ride!)

So how does this work? There will be 5 teams competing but only one team can win. There will be 3

Frozen Yogurt History and Facts

In my last bog, I talked about food that may seem a little gross and nasty but is still loved in different countries. In this blog, I'll be talking about the History of an amazing dessert. A dessert that should be known about and loved around the world! The desert that is frozen. The desert that is smooth. You might be thinking about ice cream but, I'm not. This dessert is so, so, so, SO much better than ice cream (my opinion) This amazing, fabulous, scrumptious dessert is the one. The only. FROZEN YOGURT! Amazing, I know. Delicious, of course!
Now what is the history behind frozen yogurt? You may think that it doesn't have a very exciting, interesting or cool history. Maybe someone just froze their yogurt on accident and it became a trend. If that's what you're thinking then... maybe you're right. Frozen yogurt has very short history as it was only invented about three decades ago. That, however, won't stop me from sharing it with you.
Frozen yogurt, basically the healthy ice cream. It was created in the early 1970s in New England by a man named H.P Hood. In about 1978, they started to sell frozen yogurt in tubs. After that, a popular yogurt company Dannon started to sell it on a stick under the name Danny. Another fun fact I bet you didn't know is that Frozen Yogurt was first called "Frogurt." What an appetizing name.
A lot of people didn't really like the tart taste that frozen yogurt had at the time. More sugar was added to balance out the tartness and gained popularity in the 1980s. Frozen yogurt began to become more and more popular all across America. Shops and stores started to sell for the more "health-minded" customers. Even though the popularity of the dessert increased, it was still no match for ice cream, king of frozen desserts! In the 1990s, "Frogurt" had taken 10% of the frozen dessert share. Even though in the 90s, the dessert had a steady rate of popularity, when self serve frozen yogurt machines were introduced in the 2000s, the fro-yo industry boomed with popularity. Unlike the 90s, the self serve frozen yogurt machines gave people more of choice of how they wanted their dessert. They can pick more than one flavor, they can have more toppings, it was just better than before!
With the "freedom" of having more of a choice when it came to their frogurt, the frozen yogurt shops continued to help make the franchise expand. Frozen Yogurt shops had an inviting atmosphere and made everyone feel welcomed. This helped yogurt shops get more business. It was like a coffee house, people came in to hang out and talk while having some delicious frozen yogurt. They were like meeting places. Have you ever seen that show "Friends"? When they go to the coffee shop, The Central Perk, they are always hanging out there. That's what Frozen Yogurt shops were like. People would hang out, talk, and even made it their own hangout spots.
Can you think of any cool frozen yogurt fun facts? No? Then here's some! (Be sure to tell your friends all these interesting fun facts!!)

1.) It contains helpful, "good bacteria." The bacteria that's in it is shown to help keep the digestive system healthy and the help the immune system fight infections.
2) It got it's name from the Turkish word "yogurur" which means "long life." There's been a belief that eating yogurt will give you a long life! So keep on eating!
3) Before leaning in for that one quick kiss, why don't you just go out and eat frozen yogurt before hand instead of reaching for a breath mint. Frozen yogurt has been shown to improve your breath.
4) It'll help you burn fat and lose the weight. It makes you feel fuller so if you eat it as a snack, you won't eat as much when you have your next real meal.
5) This is for if you're lactose-intolerant. Frozen yogurt is easy to digest. So even though it may have milk in it, it's easy for everyone to digest because of this one thing called the "Fermentation Process" which basically means it's a chemical breakdown.
6) Although I said that in the 1970s frozen yogurt was introduced, that doesn't mean that it was made then. People have actually been eating plain flavored yogurt for over 4,000 years!
7) In 1981, a Frozen yogurt company (like Danny) was introduced and got a way better turn out in sales than Danny because their yogurt was much sweeter. The frozen yogurt company TCBY was an arcanum and people always wondered what it was stood for. At first, it stood for " This Can't Be Yogurt" but that got changed to "The Country's Best Yogurt" and I'm sure that many people would agree.
Have you learned something new about the creamy, delicious, scrumptious frozen dessert that is frozen yogurt?! I hope you did. There are some really interesting things about frozen yogurt that I never knew and now I have better knowledge about it.