National Geographic Kids USA - June, July 2017

10 JUNE / JULY 2017

BY AMANDA SANDLIN

SOUTH WEST NEWS SERVICE (CHICKEN); JOSE MANUEL RIBEIRO / REUTERS (HANDS); MARIO ARMAS / REUTERS / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO (BALLOONS); TORU HANAI / REUTERS (CARS)

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WHAT

Crystal-covered cars

WHERE Chiba, Japan

DETAILS Someone

went a little crazy with

the glue gun. A luxury

auto company embel-

lished two cars—one

painted silver and

the other gold—with

300,000 crystals. Each.

The cars, worth about

a million dollars apiece,

were on display at the

Tokyo Auto Salon.

Pedestrians, get out

your sunglasses!

BLINGED-OUT BENZ

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WHATGuanajuato

International Air

Balloon Festival

WHERE León, Mexico

DETAILS This might

be the Rebels’ worst

nightmare. Partici-

pants at this festival

soared across the

sky in giant hot-air

balloons, such as this

one shaped like Darth

Vader’s mask. More

than a hundred bal-

loons fly each year—

anything from pandas

to bees to scarecrows.

But don’t worry. This

Vader’s only full of

hot air.

VADER RULES THE SKY

WHAT

Sweaters for hens

WHERE

Norwich, England

DETAILS Word on

the farm is that

wool sweaters for

chickens are all the

rage. People across

England knitted

“woolly jumpers” for

rescued hens that

had lost feathers

from stressful living

conditions. About

1,500 hens were fit-

ted with sweaters of

all designs—stripes,

bows, and even a few

holiday themes.

COZY CLUCKERS

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We’d like

to see them

high-five each

other.

Blue

is so her

color.

The

force is

strong with

this one.

Honk if

you love

sparkles!

WHATCarnaval parade

WHERE Ovar, Portugal

DETAILS Need a

hand? Here are a few!

Costumed paraders

marched down streets

to celebrate Carnaval,

a festival that lets

people express their

wild side after a couple

months of winter.

People often meet

and walk around in

kooky outfits, called

masquerading, during

Carnaval, which lasts

about a week.

THE HANDS GO

MARCHING IN

AROUND

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from

WORLD

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T EME

WEIRDNESS