What Am I? · What Am I? A featured mystery object of the month. Click on the image for an 8.5" x 11" sign. Add a "clue" in the textbox, print, and post on your bulletin board. Post

What Am I?A featured mystery object of the month.

Click on the image for an 8.5" x 11" sign. Add a "clue" in the textbox, print, and post on your bulletin board. Post a different clue every day or so and see who can identify the mystery item.

Then plan a "What Am I?" discussion and other related activities.

Do you know what I am? Here are some clues:

1. I am a common household item.

2. Although some people disagree about the facts of my “birth,” I began commonly appearing in the 1940s during World War II.

3. In 1970, I helped save the lives of three astronauts on board the NASA Space Shuttle, Apollo 13.

4. There are hundreds of types of me on the market all over the world.

5. The notable New York Times columnist, William A. Safire, published a column on the meaning of my name in March 2003.

6. I was first available only in the color army green before my more popular-selling shades of silver and black were made.

7. One company that makes me claims to sell enough of me each year to circle the Earth 15 times.

8. For the last ten years, high school students all over the U.S. have created prom dresses and suits out of me for a chance to win college scholarship money.

9. I have had quite a prolific career in the entertainment industry, starring in a popular Canadian television program and in major films.

10. One of my first uses was in helping ship boxes of military ammunition during wartime.

11. I can turn any item of clothing into raingear – thanks to my waterproof properties.

12. On one episode of the television show Mythbusters, the show’s hosts proved that I am strong enough to lift a car.

13. Among my many uses, I can be used to help eliminate common warts.

ActivityConnection.com - What Am I? - June 2011 - Page 1 of 13

14. Sales of me spiked in February 2003 when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued cautionary advice to stock me in home emergency kits.

15. My original name is derived from a common waterfowl.

16. Some of the many names people use for me are “The Ultimate Power Tool,” “The Canoeist’s Companion,” and “First Aid Kit on a Roll.”

17. I am an integral part of the construction industry.

18. I am made of fabric, a coating chemical, and rubbery adhesive.

19. I hold on strong and never “quack” on the job.

20. If you use me once, you’ll surely get STUCK on me.

Have you guessed what I am? That’s right, I can get you out of a sticky situation, I’m duct tape!

Print a copy of the pictures for a closer look at this and other pictures of the dollar bill.Share and discuss the information in this article with your group.

A Sticky Star is Born

By most accounts, the fabric-backed, waterproof adhesive tape called “duct tape” was developed in 1942 for the United States Army by the Permacel division of the Johnson & Johnson company to keep moisture out of ammunition cases and boxes during World War II. It was originally called “duck tape,” its name derived from the natural waterproof characteristics of a duck’s feathers. It came in one color: army green.

Sometime over the next thirty years, building contractors began to use the tape to seal joints in cool air and heating ducts, and called the tape “duct tape.” William A. Safire of The New York Times noted in a 2003 column that one of the first public uses of the name “duct tape” was in 1973, when The Times reported that contractors fighting the infiltration of cold air could place “duct tape – a fiber tape used to seal the joints in heating ducts – over the openings.” It was around that time that the popular tape became available in its trademark silvery-gray color for its use in duct work.

Today, there are hundreds of types of duct tape on the market that come in an array of colors. But with traditional duct tape, one thing always stays the same – the recipe that makes the sticky tool strong.


Duct tape’s base is made from a cotton mesh “web” which makes the tape easy to tear in both directions. Just as with home linens, the cotton thread count is important. If the cotton has a high thread count, the duct tape is stronger and more expensive. The cotton web is coated with melted polyethylene – a synthetic, flexible material that protects the fabric from moisture and damage. When the polyethylene dries, a uniquely-made adhesive, with rubber compounds for a long-term bond, is applied very thickly. The result is a waterproof tape that bonds to nearly any dry surface and holds on for dear life!

“Duck” or “Duct”?

The answer is: both names are correct, and indeed, they’re used interchangeably all over the world. However, only one company can use the name “Duck Tape” on its brand of tape.

ShurTech Brands, based in Avon, Ohio, manufactures its brand of duct tape through its Duck Products division and holds the trademark on the brand name “Duck Tape.” It’s a noticeable brand–a green logo with the big, yellow “Manco T. Duck,” named by ShurTech’s predecessor, Manco, Inc. Manco, Inc. was the first company to shrink-wrap the product, making display easier for retailers and choice easier for customers. Duck Products currently sells duct tape in over 20 colors and patterns–including sports team logos.

Duct tape is made by countless tape manufacturers, but the other major seller is the 3M Corporation, which sells duct tape under its trademarked “Scotch” products brand. It is said that duct tape got its beginnings in 1925 when the young 3M lab assistant, Richard G. Drew, invented masking tape. The 3M company, whose ubiquitous Post-it® notes bring in billions of sales dollars each year, also created the first transparent duct tape.

Though both the “duck” and “duct” tape monikers are synonymous with the fabric-backed waterproof tape, duct tape means something completely different in Australia and New Zealand. In those countries, “duct tape” refers to a 1.9-inch (48 mm)-wide, silver PVC tape with no cloth backing and much weaker clear adhesive. 3M sells a similar tape in the U.S. under the name “electrical tape.”

Other Fun Names for Duct Tape

Here are some other names you might have heard for duct tape, and the origins of the nicknames, as compiled by Jim Berg and Tim Nyberg, “The Duct Tape Guys”:

Gaff Tape (also Gaffer’s Tape): A special grade of duct tape developed by the entertainment industry. It’s black with a dull finish so it won’t reflect set lights, and has a less tacky adhesive that doesn’t leave a sticky residue. It’s used mostly to hold lighting equipment and cables in place.

100 MPH Tape: This tape was used by the U.S. military to repair damage to helicopter propellers that can rotate at speeds of up to 100 mph.

200 MPH Tape: This name is used by pit crews across the U.S.’s auto racing circuit to attest to the tape’s holding power when a driver is traveling at over 200 mph.

1,000 Mile Tape: Norman Vaughan, the explorer for whom Antarctica’s Mount Vaughn was named, put duct tape on his dog sled runners to prevent ice build-up and said it lasts 1,000 miles.


Canoeist’s Companion: Duct tape can actually mend a rip in a boat hull – as long as the hull is dry when the tape is applied.

Minnesota Chrome: It’s said that in the land of lakes, snow, road salt, and rusty cars, Minnesotan drivers use duct tape for car repair more often than they visit the auto body shop.

Hikers’ Helper: If hikers have a good sleeping bag, a Swiss Army knife, dry matches, and a roll of duct tape, they’ll be prepared for any obstacles the outdoors can throw at them.

Jesus Tape: In Finland and Sweden, people refer to duct tape as “Jesus Tape” – perhaps for all the miracles it can perform.

First Aid Kit on a Roll: Duct tape is a great emergency substitute for splints, bandages, tourniquets, and sutures.

Discussion Break

• Do you remember seeing duct tape appear on store shelves for the first time, during or after World War II? What do you remember about it? Did your family buy any for household use?

• Did you know duct tape has two names? Which do you think sounds more like it rolls off your tongue – “duck” tape or “duct” tape?

Duct Tape: An Unlikely Hero and Celebrity

Did you know duct tape can save lives? Well, thank goodness for the three NASA astronauts on board the Apollo 13 in 1970, it did just that. The spacecraft got into trouble, and the astronauts had to travel back to Earth in the lunar module after an explosion in the command module on route to the moon. The astronauts had to modify square carbon dioxide filters from the failed command module to fit round receptacles in the lunar module in order to return to Earth.

They used duct tape and other items on board the ship, with the ground crew relaying construction directions to the spacecraft’s crew. The lunar module carbon filters began working again, and Apollo 13’s astronauts were saved. The NASA space program continues to use duct tape in many of its operations today.

Then, there’s duct tape’s celebrity status. Most Canadians are likely familiar with The Red Green Show, a television comedy that ran on Canada’s CBC television and other stations, and on PBS stations in the U.S. The show ran for 15 years, from 1991-2006, and featured Red and Harold Green and friends in a parody of home improvement. And, as a

home improvement show, you can guess one of its main stars. That’s right: duct tape. The title character, handyman Red Green, tried to solve his project problems with duct tape shortcuts–calling the tape “the handyman’s secret weapon” and the “universal adapter.”

In 2003, Red Green took to the big screen in Duct Tape Forever, a comedy in which Red and Harold enter a 3M-sponsored duct tape sculpture contest in Minnesota in order to pay off a court fine on their property. They construct a duct tape goose, and travel across Canada and the U.S. with ensuing hilarity.ActivityConnection.com - What Am I? - June 2011 - Page 4 of 13

A Festival That’ll Stick with You

Duct tape makes live public appearances, too – the most popular of which is the Avon Heritage Duct Tape Festival in Avon, Ohio, the home of Duck Brand duct tape.

This year marks the 8th annual event to take place June 17-19 at Avon’s Veterans Memorial Park. Surprisingly, the event is not run by the city of Avon or ShurTech Brands, which manufactures Duck-brand duct tape there. According to the festival’s website, the city’s residents were trying to revive a community event back in 2004. After speaking with ShurTech to be a potential sponsor of the event, the Duct Tape festival idea hatched. Today, the event is run by a handful of community members who just want everyone to come out and have a sticky-good time.

The festival includes the typical fair-type activities, such as carnival rides, food vendors, games, and live entertainment. But it also includes many duct-tape-centered activities not found at your run-of-the-mill county fair. Participants can make duct tape sculptures, crafts, and fashions, take part in a duct tape parade, and win daily Duck-brand duct tape prizes and giveaways. And the best part is – it’s all totally free.

A Few Wacky Uses for Duct Tape

General

• leak stopper

• snow boot repairer

• computer bag strap fixer

• dog leash substitute

• Christmas stocking fixer

• car bumper crack concealer

• costume-making boredom fighter

• dome light dimmer

• dental work supporter (yuck!)

• waterproofer, for just about anything

Medical

• wart remover

• thumb-sucking stopper

• neck-stabilizer

• emergency broken-bone setter

• wrist guard


• bursitis “cure”

• ankle mender

• poison ivy helper

• frostbite preventer

• sunburn peeler/exfoliator

• doggie paw protector

• over-sutures shower protector

• splinter remover

Discussion Starters

• Do you have a silly or practical fix-it tip using duct tape? Share it with the group.

• In December 2010, the University of Southern California (USC) college football program duct-taped its prized mascot statute, the bronze USC Trojan, from head to toe before the annual rival game with UCLA to prevent prank damage on game day. Though the coverage probably worked, do you think it was a little excessive? What do you think was going through the mind of the poor soul who had to tape up the 10-foot-tall monument? What would you have done if the method of prank protection had been left up to you?

• Have you ever torn a piece of duct tape from a roll with your fingers? Could you make a clean tear, or did you leave fraying threads of cotton? (It IS an art, you know!)

• Did you ever wear a roll of duct tape around your wrist for quick use as you worked around your home? While packing boxes to move? While fixing a mess the kids made? Describe your project for the group.

• What feats do you think duct tape could accomplish now or in the future?

Taking it to the Next Level

1. If you’re near Avon, Ohio, plan an outing this month to the 2011 Avon Heritage Duct Tape Festival. It takes place June 17-19 at the Veterans Memorial Park and promises fun with all things duct tape – from fashion to sculptures and everything in between.

2. Rent the film Duct Tape Forever, starring the wacky Canadian television stars from The Red Green Show. Accompany them on their crazy trip to a Duct Tape Festival in the U.S., where they intend to win first prize by creating a sculpture made of at least 50% duct tape.

3. Check out this duct tape crafting book by Ellie Schiedermayer, or this silly all-things-duct-tape book by the Duct Tape Guys, Jim Berg and Tim Nyberg, from your local library for some reading fun!

4. Make a duct tape wallet for Father’s Day.


Click on the image for an 8.5" x 11" sign. Add a "clue" in the textbox, print, and post on your bulletin board. Post a different clue every day or so and see who can identify the mystery item.

Then plan a "What Am I?" discussion and other related activities.

Do you know what I am? Here are some clues:

1. My recorded history dates back to about 5,200 years ago in ancient Egypt, and I have been found and “made” all over the world since then.

2. Before Columbus set sail from Spain in 1492, his supporters, Ferdinand and Isabella, listed me as the top-most expected souvenir from the sailing expedition.

3. It is written that Queen Cleopatra of Egypt once dissolved me in a glass of wine and drank me, winning a wager with Antony, ruler of Rome.

4. I have been painted by many artists over my long lifetime.

5. It can be seen through a scanning electron microscope that every single one of me in existence has a completely different inner microstructure.

6. Famous versions of me include the “Abernathy,” the “Arco Valley,” the “Big Pink,” the “Gogibus,” the “Hope,” and the “Orphan.”

7. Kokichi Mikimoto of Japan changed the course of my history in just 50 years when he invented and perfected a way to “farm” me.

8. I am found naturally in the colors white, champagne, gray, pink, blue, green, black, and purple – though some of these colors are extremely rare.

9. The penetration of light rays to my inner layers creates the illusion that I glow from within.

10. In history, I was associated with nobility and great wealth.

11. Pocahontas’ father, Chief Powhatan, gave me to his daughter as a wedding gift.

12. Ancient Romans believed me to be the frozen tears of the gods.

13. If I am of inferior quality, I can be crushed into a powder and used for medicinal purposes.


14. A harbor in Hawaii is named after me because I could be found in abundance in the ocean waters there.

15. I have been called the Queen of Gems.

16. In his 1850 novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathanial Hawthorne named the daughter of the heroine, Hester Prynne, after me – because she was her mother’s only jewel.

17. In my natural state, I am a calcium carbonate secretion that forms within mollusks without human intervention.

18. I was a very popular woman’s name in history throughout the early 1900s, and am making a comeback with hip, young parents today.

19. Freshwater versions of me are sometimes given as traditional first wedding anniversary gifts.

20. I am the birthstone for people born in June.

Have you guessed what I am? That’s right; I’m the PEARL!

Print a copy of the pictures for a closer look at this and other pictures of the dollar bill.Share and discuss the information in this article with your group.

A Lustrous Beginning

A natural pearl is a precious gem formed by living things in nature. The jewel itself is actually a calcium carbonate deposit called “nacre” that is secreted by mollusks such as oysters, clams, snails, slugs, and mussels. When an irritant, such as a parasite – or even oil remnants from an oil spill – becomes lodged in the tissue of a mollusk, the animal responds by secreting nacre to coat the irritant and protect the mollusk. Over a period of several years, this build-up of nacre forms a natural pearl.

Traditionally, most pearls were gathered from saltwater-dwelling mollusks in the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, and the coastal waters of India and Japan. Natural saltwater pearls are still found, but the yield is very small – today, even pearls cultivated (cultured) in any saline waters are considered saltwater pearls. The three most common types of saltwater pearls are akoya pearls, Tahitian pearls, and South Sea pearls.

Freshwater mussels, which live in ponds, lakes, and rivers, can also produce pearls (called “freshwater pearls”). China has harvested freshwater “mabe” pearls since the 13th century, and has now become the world’s undisputed leader in freshwater pearl production.


Most of the time, freshwater pearls are not as round as saltwater pearls, and they do not have the same sharp luster and shine as akoya pearls. However, they appear in a wide variety of shapes and natural colors, and they tend to be less expensive than saltwater pearls, making them very popular with younger people and designers. Also, because freshwater pearls are solid nacre, they are also quite durable, resisting chipping, wear, and degeneration.

Pearls are prized as intrinsically beautiful objects because of their luster, color, shape, and silky surface. The most common color of natural and cultivated pearls is white or ivory, but

pearls come in an array of colors. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but they also can be found in seven other shapes: semi-round, button, drop, pear, oval, baroque, and circled.

The Queen of Gems

Since mollusks have lived in the oceans for countless thousands of years, it’s guaranteed that pearls have been around just as long. And people have probably been wearing shells of mollusks and pearls as adornments for as long as humans and mollusks co-existed together. Historical accounts of the use of pearls for decorative purposes are many and date as far back as 4,000 B.C., when ancient Egyptians used mother-of-pearl for decoration.

In 2,300 B.C., Chinese records indicate that pearls were the prized possessions of (and gifts to) royalty. There are many ancient accounts of the use and adornment of pearls from Greece and Rome – whose leaders reveled in hedonism – and from India, Persia, Ceylon, and the Philippines.

Indeed, pearls have long been treasured and highly valued in many cultures throughout history. Because of the rarity and exquisite beauty of natural pearls, they were a gem worn mostly by royalty and the very well-to-do. Pearls became synonymous with purity, refinement, religious virtue, glamour, and wealth, and steered society’s prevailing thought of pearls as the queen of gems.

Pearl Portraits

Since the pearl’s history is so intertwined with nobility and great wealth, it’s no surprise that it has been seen in artistic renderings for hundreds of years. In the famous (but slightly scary-looking!) Darnley Portrait (1575) of England’s Queen Elizabeth I by an unknown artist, the queen wears a long double strand of pearls that loops curiously across her right breast, and it appears that there are pearls embroidered on her gown. Indeed, other portraits of the queen and Sir Walter Raleigh show the popularity of pearl-embroidered clothing with both men and women of wealth in the Renaissance, when pearls became the gem of choice for the super rich.

Elizabeth’s sister, Mary, Queen of Scots, appears in a 1559 oil painting by an unknown artist wearing her famous rope of black pearls – an extreme rarity. Since cultivation of pearls had not yet begun in the 16th century, it most likely took several years to uncover such precious natural gems in such a large quantity – unless excavators stumbled upon a treasure trove all in the same waters.

One of the most well-known pieces of “pearl art” – the oil painting by Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, Girl with a Pearl Earring (1665) – looks as if it actually captures a girl who was middle or lower class. There are no factual details about the origin of the painting’s model, but author Tracy Chevalier wrote a historical novel about how the Vermeer painting came to be, with Vermeer


befriending a fictional servant girl whom he hires to pose for the portrait while wearing one of his wife’s pearl earrings. The novel inspired a 2003 film by the same name.

Other paintings of pearls adorning nobility include those of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France (1791), Maria Feodorovna, Empress of Russia (1885), and Margherita of Savoy, Queen of Italy (late 19th century).

Cultivation Changes the Tides

In the early part of the 20th century, Japanese researchers discovered an artificial method of producing pearls. They began inserting a foreign substance into the tissue of the oyster or mollusk, then returning it to the sea, allowing a cultured pearl to develop naturally. Even with a foreign object artificially implanted in the mollusk’s body, the mollusk still produced the nacre to coat the object and protect its own body, thus forming a pearl.

Kokichi Mikimoto had been using the method to culture hemispherical pearls known as “mabe” pearls, and received a patent for producing such pearls in 1896. In 1916, Mikimoto perfected and patented the technique for artificially stimulating the development of round pearls in akoya mollusks. By 1920, his method was making commercially viable harvests. The technique has since been improved upon and used extensively throughout the pearling world – no longer simply used to culture akoya pearls, but freshwater, South Sea, and Tahitian pearls as well.

Mikimoto opened the door to a greatly expanded pearl industry in which pearls could be farmed like an agricultural crop. These cultured pearls could now be produced in sufficient quantities to make them available to virtually anyone.

The cultured pearl industry has now far surpassed that of the natural pearl industry. Although a market still exists for pearls gifted to us by nature, these pearls are becoming more and more difficult to find, with rare full strands being auctioned for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Today, purchasing pearls from nearly any store in the world means purchasing a strand of cultured pearls.


Today, China holds a monopoly over the entire pearl industry. Freshwater pearls are now produced not only in Shanghai, as they have been historically, but in all its surrounding provinces. The largest marketplace for these freshwater pearls is the world’s pearl trading hub, Hong Kong.

Discussion Break

• Does it surprise you that the pearl was once considered the queen of gems, worn by royalty throughout the earliest centuries? Would you have thought it would be the diamond? Why or why not?

• Did you have any natural or cultivated mother-of-pearl embroidered clothing or other items when you were growing up? Describe it for the group.

Famous Pearl Gems

“La Peregrina” - A perfect pear-shaped pearl found by a 16th century Spanish slave in the Gulf of Panama; worn by a succession of Spanish Queens and Joseph Bonaparte in the 19th century.

“The Jomon Pearl” - The oldest known pearl in the world. It reportedly dates back more than 5,500 years, and is named after a period in Japanese history called the Jomon era (10,000-300 B.C.). Although there are no written records of this era, dating has been deduced through the many artifacts recovered at the site where it was found.

“The Hope Pearl” - Most likely the largest and most famous natural saltwater pearl ever discovered, the Hope Pearl weighs in at 450 carats / 4 ounces. It’s a white, drop-shaped blister pearl, measuring approximately 2 x 4 inches, and ranging in color from greenish-gold on one end to white on the other. Currently residing in the British Museum of Natural History, the Hope Pearl was once owned by Henry Philip Hope, who at one time owned the Hope Diamond.

“The Big Pink Pearl” - This baroque gem was found by Wesley Rankin while he was diving at Salt Point State Park in Petaluma, California, in 1990. It is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as being the largest natural abalone pearl ever found. It weighs 470 carats and was valued in 1991 at $4.7 million.

Famous “Pearl” People

• Zane Grey (born Pearl Zane Grey), male American novelist (Westerns)

• Pearl S. Buck, female American novelist; Nobel Prize for Literature, 1938

• Pearl Bailey, American actress/singer

• Pearl Sinn-Bonanni, Korean-American U.S. LPGA golfer

• “Pearl” Washington, male U.S. college basketball player

• Pearl White, American actress/stunt queen of silent films

• Pearl Aimen Van Sciver, 20th century American female artist


A “Gem” of a Story

In ancient Rome, pearls were a highly prized accessory, and worn as a symbol of wealth and prestige. They were such a status symbol that an effort was actually made to prohibit the wearing of pearls by those not deserving of them.

Perhaps the most celebrated incident in Roman history involving pearls has to do with a banquet given by Cleopatra, the last Egyptian queen, for the Roman leader Marc Antony. According to historians, the banquet itself can be verified as having taken place. It’s the truth of what happened at the banquet that historians quibble about – read on and ask yourself: is it fact or fiction?

As the story goes, Cleopatra wanted to convince Rome that Egypt’s wealth and heritage put it above conquest (while Rome was trying to conquer it), so she wagered Antony that she could give the most expensive meal ever provided. When the only thing placed in front of her was a vessel of sour wine (basically vinegar), Antony took the bet. Cleopatra removed one of her pearl earrings – said to have been worth the equivalent of thousands of pounds of gold – and dropped it into the vinegar. Allegedly, the pearl dissolved in the strongly acidic solution, and Cleopatra drank it down, winning her wager. Antony declined his meal – the matching pearl – and admitted she had won.

Pearl Trivia

Here are some interesting tidbits about pearls that you can talk about at your next social gathering (where, perhaps, you’ll wear pearls)!

• Actor Richard Burton bought the “La Peregrina” pearl for his wife, actress Elizabeth Taylor, in 1969 at a price of $37,000.

• In 2007, a double strand of 68 perfect natural pearls known as the “Baroda Pearls” was auctioned at Christie’s Auction House for $7 million.

• Queen of Italy, Margherita of Savoy, whose 22-year reign ended in 1900, owned one of the most famous collections of natural pearls in her time.

• Crushed pearl powder, which is just a very concentrated calcium dosage, has been used throughout history to treat all kinds of medical conditions – from physical ailments to insanity.

• The U.S. began farming cultured freshwater pearls in the mid-1960s, but it wasn’t until 1985 that National Geographic magazine introduced the American cultured pearl as a commercial product. (The U.S. no longer cultivates freshwater pearls because of over-harvesting and increasing pollution.)

• The pearl’s surface luster is critical – the more brilliant and mirror-like the surface of the pearl is, the higher its quality. A dull or chalky surface indicates an inferior pearl.

• The Leatherback Turtle has a special pouch in its neck where handfuls of natural pearls have been discovered by researchers – somehow the pearl emigrates there after the turtle feasts on the host mollusk.

• Pearls have long been attributed with having great powers, and have been incorporated into the mythology of virtually every culture that has encountered them. Many ancient cultures believed they were a gift from the gods.


Discussion Starters

• Do you now or did you ever own a pearl of any kind? A pearl ring? A strand of pearls on a necklace? A bracelet? What did you like to wear it with? Share your story with the group.

• Have you ever given pearls to a loved one? Was it for a special occasion?

• Does the pearl gemstone have any significance for you? Is it your birthstone? Do you have any family members or friends whose birthdays are in June and have the pearl as their birthstone?

• Do you know anyone named Pearl?

• Have you ever found a natural pearl inside a mollusk shell? On a beach vacation or somewhere else? If so, that’s exciting! Share your story.

Taking it to the Next Level

1. Rent and watch the film A Man Named Pearl (2006) which tells the inspiring story of self-taught topiary artist, Pearl Fryar. A review states: “It is a subtle and intriguing film that is certain to open hearts and minds. It offers an upbeat message that speaks to respect for both self and others, and shows what one person can achieve when he allows himself to share the full expression of his humanity.”

2. If you like history, read one historian’s argument about why the claims of Cleopatra’s actions at the Pearl Banquet are probably untrue.


Documents

What Am I? · What Am I? A featured mystery object of the month. Click on the image for an 8.5" x 11" sign. Add a "clue" in the textbox, print, and post on your bulletin board. Post