중3 미래엔 최연희 – 해석하기 Lesson. 3 Plant That Feed Us
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Lesson. 3 Plant That Feed Us Hidden Stories about Plants
Popeye and the Great Spinach
Popeye is a world-famous cartoon character.
He gets his super power by eating spinach.
When Popeye became popular in the 1930s in the United States, a lot of children began to eat spinach.
Crystal City in Texas, which is called the spinach capital of the world, even built a statue of Popeye.
Although eating spinach will not give us super powers, spinach does have a lot of nutrients.
It is actually considered one of the ten healthiest foods on the planet.
Spinach can be used in a surprising way.
When it absorbs water, spinach also absorbs many other things from the soil.
Some scientists have used this characteristic of spinach to find bombs hidden in the ground.
중3 미래엔 최연희 – 해석하기 Lesson. 3 Plant That Feed Us
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They make special spinach plants with sensors on their leaves.
When these plants soak up traces from bombs, the sensors light up.
Carrots in World War II
In 1940, the Royal Air Force defeated German fighters during World War II by using a radar system.
The British government wanted to keep this technology a secret, so it published an article in the newspaper.
It said that British pilots improved their night vision because they ate a lot of carrots.
Everybody believed the story and began to eat a lot more carrots than before.
Can we really improve night vision by eating lots of carrots?
Not really, but carrots contain a lot of vitamin A, which does keep our eyes healthy.
In the future, carrots may actually be used in wars.
Scottish researchers have discovered a way to turn carrots into a very strong and light material.
It can even be used to make battleships.
중3 미래엔 최연희 – 해석하기 Lesson. 3 Plant That Feed Us
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This new material has already been used to make snowboards and bicycles.
Tomatoes, the Scariest Vegetables
We all know that tomatoes are good for our health.
Up until the 1800s, however, most Americans thought that tomatoes were poisonous.
In 1820, a man named Robert Johnson wanted to prove that tomatoes were safe to eat.
So, he ate a basket of tomatoes in front of many people watching him.
They all expected him to die, but nothing happened to him.
Ever since then, Americans have enjoyed eating tomatoes.
We are no longer afraid of tomatoes, but some insects are still scared of them.
If you want to keep insects away from your room, place a bowl of crushed tomatoes in a corner of your room.
Insects will not come near the tomatoes.
