Unseen Passage for Class 3 - Passage 18

Unseen passage - Snakes are very good at hiding. Most snakes can camouflage themselves into their environment. That means they have different colors and patterns on their bodies that allow them to blend in with the colors and patterns of things around them. Camouflage helps them hide from their enemies and helps them be sneaky when they are trying to capture something to eat.

For example, the emerald tree boa lives in the jungle. Its green skin makes it nearly invisible among the green leaves of the trees. Rattlesnakes live in rocky, dry places. The patterns of black, tan, and brown on their backs help them blend in with their rocky environment. The horned viper lives in the desert. Its skin is the same color as sand where it burrows underground. It is hard to see unless it is moving.

Also, some snakes that are harmless look very similar to venomous snakes. The harmless milk snake is colored orange, with yellow and black stripes, much like the poisonous coral snake. The enemies of the milk snake mistake it for a coral snake because they look so much alike.

Unseen passage - A Native American named George Crum invented potato chips in 1853, although that was not his intention! He was a chef at an elegant restaurant in Saratoga Springs, New York, called Moon Lake Lodge. A regular item on the menu was fried potatoes, which was an idea that had started in France.

At that time, French fried potatoes were cut into thick slices. One day, a dinner guest at Moon Lake Lodge sent his fried potatoes back to the chef because he did not like them so thick. So, Mr. Crum cut the potatoes a little thinner and fried them. The guest did not like those either. That made Mr. Crum angry, so he thought he would just show that guy.

He sliced the potatoes paper-thin and fried them, thinking that would hush the complaining diner. However, his plan backfired on him! The diner loved the crispy, thin potatoes! Other diners tried them and also liked them. So, Mr. Crum’s potato chips were added to the menu. They were called Saratoga Chips. Eventually, Mr. Crum opened his own restaurant to sell his famous chips. Now potato chips are packaged and sold in grocery stores worldwide!