(1) “Anne of Green Gables” is a famous book about a girl growing up on Prince Edward Island in Canada. What color is her hair?(2) How did “eggplant” get its name in the U.S.? In Britain, it has a different name: aubergine.(3) When children draw a sun in English-speaking countries, what color do they use?(4) The French flag and the Italian flag both have three stripes. What is the difference between them?(5) Japanese money comes in different colors, but American dollars are all the same color. What color are they?(6) Which of these fruits are usually eaten green? (a) grapes, (b) bananas, (c) oranges, (d) strawberries.     (111 words) You can send me your answers at jaremaga@gmail.com 

Yesterday was World Red Head Day. People who have natural red hair get together and celebrate on this day. Why do they do this? Because there are not so many people with red hair in the world. Red heads come from northern Europe. Scotland and Ireland have the most redheads, but you can find people with red hair in many different countries now. Redheads often have fair skin and freckles. They need to be careful of the sun, or they will get sunburned. Have you ever heard of someone named Ginger? It is a nickname for a redhead, either a man or a woman. I know the name of one famous Ginger. Ginger Baker was a redheaded drummer in one of my favorite rock bands called Cream in the 1960s.  (130 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

Congratulations, Nakamura Daiki! You have won the May tournament, and you are now the champion of the sumo world. Most people don’t know you by your real name. They only know you by your sumo name, Onosato. I remember when you entered professional sumo two years ago. You joined a stable in Ibaraki Prefecture, and your stable boss was a Yokozuna, the former Kisenosato. In your first tournament, you couldn’t tie your hair because it was too short. Since then, your hair has gotten longer, and you have gotten much stronger. You became an Ozeki last year, and you won back-to-back tournaments this year. I think you will be a Yokozuna before the next Grand Sumo Tournament in Nagoya this July.   (121 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

Have you ever met someone who was wearing the same thing as you? It happened to me the other day. I was walking with a group of 20 people, and I looked down at a man’s shoes. They were the same color as mine. I checked again, and they were the same brand as mine! I told him that we had good taste in clothes. He laughed at my joke. He said that the shoes were so comfortable that he had two pairs. I agree. They are very comfortable shoes. By the way, do you know the expression “to put yourself in someone’s shoes”? It means that you should think about someone’s life and experiences in order to understand them. It is difficult to understand other people, but you should always try to put yourself in their shoes before you judge them.  (142 words) You can send me a comment or your own

There used to be a swallow nest at the post office in my neighborhood. The mother and father swallows flew in and out, and the baby swallows waited in the nest for food. About 10 years ago, the nest disappeared. I think that the post office manager took it down. Some customers probably complained about the swallow droppings, but I was sad. We don’t see swallows in my neighborhood anymore. People are taking down swallow nests all over Japan. This is bad news. The swallows come from the south in spring to eat insects. If there are fewer swallows, there will be more insects. That isn’t good for farmers or city people. A printing company in Nagoya wanted to help so it worked with a birding group and made a special shelf to catch the droppings. They hope that people will use the shelf and stop taking down swallow nests.  (150 words) You