After you see the lightning flash, count the seconds that pass until you hear the thunder. Sound travels about 1 mile in 5 seconds. Thus, if there are 5 seconds between the lightning flash and the thunderclap, the storm is approximately a mile away. If 10 seconds pass, it's 2 miles away, and so forth.

The aurora borealis is a luminous phenomenon, usually consisting of streamers of light, visible only at night, and is thought to be of electrical origin. It is best seen in the arctic regions. Its Southern Hemisphere counterpart is called aurora australis.

Although tornadoes occur in many parts of the world, these destructive forces of nature are found most frequently in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains during the spring and summer months. In an average year, 800 tornadoes are reported nationwide, resulting in 80 deaths and over 1,500 injuries. More info.

From a Web site called "The Blue Magoo" [http://www.appstate.edu/~allenmg/"] that features art by a wide variety of interesting artists.

EDO-448 / Katsushika Hokusai (1760&150;1849) The Great Wave off Kanagawa, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, c. 1830–1832; color woodblock print, 26 x 38.4 cm (10-1/4 x 15-1/8 in.); Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

In 1824 John Cadbury opened a grocery business at 93 Bull Street, Birmingham. Using a mortar and pestle, he prepared cocoa and drinking chocolate. This was the beginning of what was to become a worldwide business.