Text 26

Armed and dangerous

The yacht was anchored 200 meters off the Qeensland coast when Chris Slough dived into the water. That’s when it got him. “I felt a couple of little stings on my chest,” he says, “but I thought nothing of it and carried on”. But as soon as he got back on the boat he realized he was in a big trouble. “I suddenly came over very nauseous”, he says. Within minutes he was in agonizing pain, vomiting and struggling to breathe. “It felt like my organs were popping out”.

Chris had been stung by an irukandji, a vicious creature named after an aboriginal tribe whose folklore tells of a terrible illness that struck people who went swimming in the sea. Irukandjis, a species of box jellyfish, grow no bigger than a peanut, yet relative to their size are probably the most toxic creatures on earth, putting many people in hospital each year with “irukandji syndrome”. All but invisible in the water, their transparent bodies are covered from head to tentacle tip in stinger cells that discharge at the slightest touch, harpooning your skin with venomous barbs. The sting itself is often so mild that you barely notice it – until the powerful venom kicks in.

Life's Own Battle

by  Emma Jackson

Didn't want a battle, Yet you declared war, Each knock you gave me made me stronger than before, I will not give up, I will not give in, You won't make me fall, I won't let you win.

Text 27 Wedding Information

In this article, you will learn about traditions observed in three different wedding ceremonies.

A common practice among Jewish couples is the tradition of the bride circling her groom seven times under the wedding canopy. She does this because the phrase "and when a man takes a wife" is mentioned seven times in the Bible. The circling is also significant of the seven days of creation and the Bible story in which Jacob labored for seven years for Rachel.

Another tradition Jewish couples observe during wedding ceremonies is the breaking of a glass underfoot by the groom. When he does this, the wedding party shouts Mazel Tov! a dozen times. This is done because of the loss of the Temple in Jerusalem. It is recorded in a sacred Jewish book that during the joyous wedding of an important man, he took a glass of great value and shattered it, startling his guests. When asked why he did this, he told them that even in the midst of the most joyous occasion, one should never forget the destruction and loss of our Temple.

In many American weddings, it is tradition for the bride to throw her bouquet out to her guests. The person who catches it is said to be the one who will be the next to marry. In a typical American wedding, it is said to be bad luck for the groom to see the bride on the day of the wedding before the ceremony has taken place. It is also considered to be bad luck for the groom to see the wedding dress at anytime before the ceremony.

In the days of slavery in America, there was no way to legally recognize the union of slaves in marriage, since slaves were not seen as citizens. So in order for slaves to demonstrate their union in marriage, they would jump over a broomstick, the woman jumping one way, the man jumping the other way. This was their way of recognizing that a marriage had taken place.

Winter

by  Olivia Kooker

If winter was a person she would be a girl with frosty hair.  Winter would wear snow pants snow boots, gloves, a hat and scarf.  Winter would smell like hot chocolate and peanut butter and Hershey Kiss cookies baking in the oven.  Winter would spend the day eating cookies and drinking hot cocoa by a lake. Winter would spend the night by sitting in the snow waiting for morning so children could come out to play.