COLUMNS

This and That

Italy

By Ashton Amirianfar

Italy is a beautiful place to visit. I went to Italy, and it was terrific. The first destination I went to in Italy was Venice/Venezia. My family and I landed at the Venice airport and took a speedboat to the city. There is no driving in this city; the boats are the cars in Venice. I visited the Doges Palace, the Venice prison, and other lovely places. My hotel was perfect and had a 1500s aesthetic to it. The tours were fun and gave you an understating of the city's history. Venice also has a ton of restaurants, churches, and gelato spots. The restaurants were okay. Overall, the whole experience was an 8.5 out of 10

When the Venice trip finished, my family and I went to the Venice train station and took a train to Florence, which took a long time. After I arrived at the Florence train station, I walked to my hotel. My hotel was enormous and friendly, but it was spotless, too. The food at my hotel was horrible; the omelet looked and tasted like rubber. The tours were pretty fun. We went to a medieval city and got the best gelato ever, and I also went to the Pisa Tower and climbed up it. It felt bizarre climbing up because the building was slanted. After I returned to my hotel, I went out for dinner. My family and I got tomato soup, which was chunky. It was like a sauce. It was disgusting. When my birthday came, my family took me to the mall in Florence and bought cologne and nice stuff.

When the Florence trip finished, I went to Rome. I went to my hotel, and it was very nice. The next day, I visited the Colosseum, which was very beautiful, and I also went to Vatican City in Rome, probably the smallest country in the world. Vatican City is independent from Italy, which I didn't even know. I bought some clothes from stores and went to the best pizza shop in Rome. It was so good. A few days later, I went on a tour. My family and I went to Naples, Pompeii, and Positano. Naples was very cool, but I do not remember it. After Naples, I went to Pompeii. I explored the destroyed part of Pompeii where the volcano disaster happened. It was very cool.

I also saw real people who were stone now because of the volcano, and I saw a dog like that, too, which was excellent and sad at the same time. Of course, the people and the dog are not alive anymore, so you do not need to worry about it. The last spot is, of course, Positano. Positano is the most excellent place I've ever been to. The vibe is perfect, and the gelato and lemon products are delicious. There were lemons everywhere. I had a lemon slush made homemade from actual lemons. It was so good. I also had a lemon sorbet, which was very good. The lemon ice cream was inside an actual lemon peel. My family and I then walked around Positano. Lastly, it was time to go back to Rome. The tour bus ride was three hours long and was very exhausting to be on. A day or two later, I went to the Rome airport and returned home.

In conclusion, I enjoyed this vacation and recommend that you go to Italy. Trust me, you will not regret it.

Are Extinct Animals in Movies Historically Accurate?

By David Rad

Many people have watched a movie with a dinosaur or an extinct animal. These movies can include Jurassic Park, Jurassic World, Land Before Time, Ice Age, and more. After watching this type of movie, some may wonder, "Are the dinosaurs historically accurate?" Well, I am going to use modern-day science to determine if they are accurate or not.

The simple answer is "No," mainly because most dinosaur movies were made before modern discoveries of dinosaurs. Alternatively, they want to make them look cooler.

The most notable inaccurate dinosaur from the film is the Dilophosaurus from Jurassic Park (1993). The first erroneous part about Dilophosaurus is that they did not have a frill that spits venom at their victims. No known dinosaur has had venom or killed its prey with venom. This is just inaccurate to a whole new level, but I must admit, the frill and venom look pretty cool on the dinosaur. The venom part is incorrect, and the size needs to be more accurate. The size of Dilophosaurus is much smaller than the actual size of Dilophosaurus.

Another instance where extinct animals were depicted wrongly is in the 2002 movie Ice Age. The ground sloth, Sid, looks much different than the actual animal. First, it's much smaller than ground sloths. The real Ground Sloths are anywhere near 9,000 pounds as the most significant species. Next, their body is also much skinnier and frail, and their head resembles a hammer. Also, many mammals lived near each other in the Ice Age, but some lived on an entirely different continent. For example, a Woolly Mammoth was seen with a glyptodon, which is historically inaccurate. Woolly Mammoths lived in Eurasia and North America and never reached South America, where Glyptodons lived.

As many know, only some things will be 100% as accurate as they look. Then again, it is all about creativity and having fun.

The Truth About the Boeing 737 Max

By Ashton Amirianfar

Boeing is a plane manufacturer for many airlines, including Delta, United, Korean Air, American Airlines, etc. Boeing was founded on July 15, 1916, in Seattle, Washington. A year later, they produced their first aircraft. The company continued expanding to make more planes in their 700s series, with the 737 being the most problematic model.

What made the 737 dangerous was on December 1st, 2010, when Airbus, another plane manufacturing company, released a new version of their A320 called the Airbus A320 Neo. The Neo is 15% more fuel efficient than the standard A320. Boeing had to compete against this, so they got an idea. Boeing made a new models of the 737 called the 737 Max. There are four variants of this plane, too. Boeing finally got an idea for a more efficient plane to compete with Airbus. Boeing rushed the production of these planes. They announced the aircraft in 2011, and production finally started in 2017. Disaster struck in both 2018 and 2019 when an Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed and also a Lion Air flight crashed. Everyone on board both aircraft passed away. The cause of these crashes was the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), a flight control system. Boeing didn't tell the pilots or airlines about this, which caused the crash because Boeing did not want to teach these pilots more training. They did this because it took time and money away, so they kept quiet. People also almost left the plane because the door plug fell out. The pilots for the 737 Max now have more experience, so you do not have to worry.

Are Drugs Bad for People?

By Ashton Amirianfar

When most people hear the words drugs, they think of gangs, jail, bad people, etc. Are drugs terrible for you, though? Well, I am going to tell you my opinion on them. Drugs are used for good purposes and destructive purposes. The good in drugs is mainly medical use. Drugs are used for medical purposes to replace missing substances or correct low levels of natural body chemicals such as hormones or vitamins. Everyone has taken a drug in their life; antibiotics are a drug, and medicine is a drug, too.

When most people hear the word drugs, they are mainly seen as harmful to humans because they could get them high or act strange. When you are high, it makes you feel like you're in a video game. When drugs are used in the wrong way, they can mess up people's brains. Have you ever seen a random person screaming or talking to themselves in the street? Well, if you have, then that is from the effects of drugs. Sometimes, the dealers that supply drugs to buyers lace the drugs with harmful substances that can either ruin someone's body or even kill them.

Overall, any drugs, even medical-approved drugs, can and will cause harmful side effects if taken in a high dose. Anything could be detrimental and deadly to humans in high doses; everything you eat or put in your body should be in moderation, and you should only consume drugs if you have a prescription for them. Not only are non-prescribed drugs harmful and deadly to humans, but sometimes they are laced with fentanyl, which plays a significant role in dying and making you insane when taking drugs. If anyone offers you drugs, always say no. Also, do not accept food or drinks from people you do not know, as those people probably put drugs in the drink or food. Drugs can also get you in big trouble with law enforcement. To conclude this article, do not take medications unless prescribed for you.

Life Without a Phone

By Layla Silvera

If you are addicted to your phone, try this little trick. Next time you go shopping with your friends, put your phone on the other side of the table and try not to look at your phone no matter what. You can make more conversation that way. I know this because the last time I went to a bat mitzvah, nobody was on their phones, and it was a great party. But one of my friends told me everybody was on their phones, which was not fun. This proves that our generation is now addicted to their phones. So try this trick and get to know your friend even better than you did before.

Report abuse