ACUMEN March 29, 2017: Fun and Games by Carmel Acumen

Fun and Games March 29, 2017

In the spirit of “fun and games,” here are some of the most iconic toys and characters of all time. 1903 TEDDY BEAR - invented by Michael Michtom and Richard Steiff independently, around the same time - named after Theodore Roosevelt’s nickname

1928 MICKEY MOUSE - initially featured in the animation “Steamboat Willie” - created by Walt Disney - original name: Mortimer

hi@chsacumen.com | chsacumen.com | facebook.com/chsacumen | @chsacumen

EDITOR IN CHIEF: SELENA QIAN

selenaqian@chsacumen.com

ASSOCIATE EDITORS:

Alina Husain, alinahusain@chsacumen.com Sitha Vallabhaneni, sithavallabhaneni@chsacumen.com

3.29 REPORTERS: Jordyn Blakey, jordynblakey@chsacumen.com Jessica Mo, jessicamo@chsacumen.com Rachael Tan, rachaeltan@chsacumen.com Emily Worrell, emilyworrell@chsacumen.com GRAPHICS ARTIST: Aditya Belamkar, adityabelamkar@chsacumen.com PHOTOGRAPHERS: Divya Annamalai, divyaannamalai@chsacumen.com Shraddha Ramnath, shraddharamnath@chsacumen.com < COVER AND PG 2-3 DESIGNS AND PHOTOS // SELENA QIAN

NON-STAFF CONTRIBUTORS: JD Arland, arlandjd@gmail.com Asim Dhungana, adhungana@hilite.org Selena Liu, sliu@hilite.org Lin-Lin Mo, lmo@hilite.org Gabby Perelmuter, gperelmuter@hilite.org Adhi Ramkumar, aramkumar@hilite.org Sam Shi, sshi@hilite.org Sameen Siddiqui, ssiddiqui@hilite.org Amy Tian, atian@hilite.org Alanna Wu, awu@hilite.org Raiha Zainab, rzainab@hilite.org Amber Zhao, azhao@hilite.org

1932 LEGO - created by Ole Kirk Kristiansen - name comes from the Danish “leg godt,” which means “play well”

1996 POKÉMON - created by Satoshi Tajiri - name is an abbreviation of “pocket monsters”

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE: SPRING BREAK

1959 BARBIE - created by Ruth Handler - named Barbara “Barbie” after Handler’s daughter

1. Introduction. Welcome to spring break 2017! School’s not stressing you out anymore, but you may find yourself at a loss for things to do. Not to worry though, because the Acumen staff has you covered. Take a mock spring break adventure and see where your choices guide you. Your first dilemma is this: should you stay-cay or fly away? You deliberate for a while and decide to

>> >>

A. Stay home. You desperately need some alone time after the first half of second semester. Go to #2 on Page 5 B. Go on vacation. Why would you stay in Carmel for more than you need to? Outside the bubble is so much more interesting. Go to #3 on Page 7 FUN AND GAMES | 03

Dearest reader, It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye. This saying dates back to Ancient Rome, and now ends in a variety of ways, depending on who you ask. All the versions, though, share the same meaning: the play and enjoyment continues until a certain point. We focused, of course, on the positive—the kinds of games and the ways people can and do have fun—but kept in mind the not-so-fun. We

explore topics from video games to sports games, from harmless pranks to actual injuries. And, in the spirit of April Fool’s Day, we wanted to have some fun with this issue. So, every part of this edition is focused on visual elements and fun things you, the reader, can do. For you, it’s all “Fun and Games.” -Selena Qian, editor in chief HISTORY.COM, TIME.COM, LEGO.COM & BULBAPEDIA.BULBAGARDEN.NET // SOURCES

IN T HIS ISSU E

Prank Stories What to do for April Foolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day? Boring to Fun

Arcade Games

Video Games Popularity

Play a Board Game

Childhood Games

Water Bottle Flipping Physics

16 Year-Round Sports

14 12

Unexpected Injuries To Do, for Fun

3.29

10 08 06 Starting 03

Vacations Card Games Q&A // Marvelous Magic Choose Your Own Adventure: Spring Break Edition

SELENA QIAN // DESIGN

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE: SPRING BREAK (STARTS PG 3)

2. Stay home. You flop down on the couch after ditching your (unfortunately) heavy backpack on the floor. Netflix warmly welcomes you back into its embrace, and you watch the famous “Treat Yo Self” episode of Parks and Recreation featuring the ever-so-fabulous Donna Meagle and Tom Haverford. They inspire you to indulge yourself, which means grabbing a drink and a snack to enjoy while watching a movie or playing video games. Kick back, relax and revel in the absence of other people.

After a few days, you start to get tired of isolation. Go to #4 on Page 11 FUN AND GAMES | 05

ALINA HUSAIN // PHOTO

Q&A

MARVELOUS MAGIC

QUESTIONS | SAMEEN SIDDIQUI PHOTOS | SHRADDHA RAMNATH Sophomore Brandon Massie demonstrates his favorite magic trick. Massie said he started learning magic in the fall of his freshman year.

Can you spot where he makes the switch?

SELENA QIAN // DESIGN

1 pick a card

Have a volunteer

< senior Gayatri

Balasubramanian

sophomore Brandon Massie

3.29

Show the card

4 3

Give the volunteer the card to hold

Show the new top card

What got you into doing magic tricks? I was watching videos of other people doing magic on YouTube, and then I would try to figure out how they did it, and then it just spawned into doing more magic. What led you to audition for "America’s Got Talent"? I just liked seeing all the other magicians on there, and I thought I could do all their tricks and stuff. Since I could figure out most of (the) tricks they were doing, and since they seemed pretty simple, I thought I could probably get on the show and show them some of the magic tricks that I could do. I actually should be finding out sometime soon if I made it or not. How long does it take you to master a trick? It takes me anywhere from an hour and a half to—I think one of the hardest ones took me three weeks. Are all your tricks self-taught? In the beginning I learned a lot from YouTube, but now I’ll buy certain tricks or tutorials for tricks from a website, or I’ll learn a trick and try to come up with my own application of the trick, using it in a different way.

If you guessed Steps 2 and 4, you're right! Massie uses a Have you ever made your own trick? technique I’ve tried to make a trick, but then I finished called the it and realized it was really similar to somebody else’s. I came up with the same idea on my own, "double lift," turning over so that was kind of cool. two cards at once What’s your favorite trick and why? to switch One of my favorite tricks is a trick where you the cards give somebody a card and then you take another around. To see it in a card out and you switch them while the card is video, go to in their hand. It’s (kind of) hard to explain, but chsacumen.com. it was one of my first tricks I learned, and the

trick really surprises them, and they won’t really understand how it worked. So it’s fun to feel that one moment where they don’t really know what’s going on and they’re just kind of surprised. What’s something that you really like about magic? I really like how it can not only be used as a way to fool people, but for me, since I’m naturally a pretty shy person, it’s like an easy way for me to just walk up to a person and say, ‘Hey can I show you a magic trick?’ and then most of the time, most people aren’t going to say no because they don’t really get to see a lot of magic tricks, so it’s kind of a way for me to broaden SEE THE VIDEO AND my horizons and FULL Q&A AT show people CHSACUMEN.COM what I can do.

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE: SPRING BREAK (STARTS PG 3)

3. Go on vacation. As you cross the sweet threshold of freedom and messed-up sleeping schedules, you pull up a Wikipedia page of things to do at your vacation destination. Of course, you aren’t doing the cheesy touristy stuff; the Marble Caves of Patagonia, Chile will spark the wanderlust lost over the last 13 weeks stuck staring at a projector screen. Then maybe you’ll solicit the geothermal springs of Aguascalientes, Mexico. Adventure is out there!

You just got back from your trip, and you think it’s time to catch up with everyone. Go to #4 on Page 11 FUN AND GAMES | 07

5 the volunteer kept the original card Hold the new top card near where

Flip over both cards at the same time, and voilà! They're switched!

IN THE CARDS

Simultaneously fun pastimes and competitive challenges, card games have taken on diverse roles throughout their history. Here’s a look at the origin of modern card decks and some common card games and their rules. A

Different countries develop their own suit symbols. Due to its simplicity, the French suit system is now the standard suit system found throughout the world.

follow suit PRIMITIVE

ITALIAN AND SPANISH

GERMANIC

FRENCH AND ENGLISH

chalice

sword

leaf

heart

spade

heart

baton

money

acorn

hawk bell

diamond

club

everyday objects

euchre

BIDDING BIDDING

Players: Four; two partners seated crosswise Objective: Win at least three tricks Origins: Germany, Midwestern America Deck: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9 of each suit (24 cards)

5 5 Dealer Dealer to deal five5 cards

each deal fiveplayer cards to each player

5 place remaining four cards face down in center place remaining four cards face down in center

5 flip top card and look at the suit flip top card and look at the suit

RANKING: Consider the case where is the trump suit. RANKING: Consider > >the case> where> is the>trump >suit.

J J

TRICKS TRICKS

03.29

>J >J

beginning5to the left of the dealer, players beginning to the left or accept the ofpass the dealer, players card trumpthe pass oras accept card as trump

once a5player accepts, that once a player player maythat begin accepts, the first player maytrick begin the first trick

> is =considered also> known = the same as the trump suit (in this case Q > the A > asK “Left> Bower”; 10 suit>of9this card also known as “Right also known as Bower” “Left Bower”; the suit of this card is considered the same as the trump suit (in this case also known as “Right Bower” 4 0 4 4 4 5 5

players5 place cards in aplace circle players cards in a circle

5 card suit of first becomes highest suit of first card suit besides trump becomes highest suit besides trump

4 must if possible, follow suit if possible, must follow suit

Winner Winner

) )

4 highest player with card wins and player withtrick highest leads next trick card wins trick and leads next trick

after five 0tricks, the teamfive winning after tricks,the the mostwinning tricks wins team the most tricks wins

RENEGING: If a player does not follow suit when he should, it is considered a renege and cheating. LONER: If a player believes he has a good hand, he may declare “loner,” playing all tricks without his partner. SCORING: The number of points awarded per game depends on the degree of achievement. win three or four tricks win five tricks your team selects trump suit

score one point

(if loner)

score two points

(if loner)

score four points

win less than three tricks

opponent scores two points

texas hold 'em poker

Q&A with Brett Slosarek, CHS Poker Club Co-President and Senior What does CHS Poker Club do?

SITHA VALLABHANENI // DESIGN

Players: Two or more Objective: Win all chips Origins: France, America Deck: Standard 52-card pack

We start off meetings by going over a specific part of poker that involves statistics, whether it be how to raise (or) likelihood of pot odds. At the start of the year, we start out with more basic stuff, (and) as the year goes on it gets progressively harder.

Gambling is not allowed in schools. How does your club avoid this? We just use chips. At the start of the year, we preach against gambling to tell people, “This is fun and all, but don’t do this with real money because it’s illegal.” We have a waiver that talks about that and parents sign. We get that it’s a touchy topic with gambling, so we try our best to push people away from it while, at the same time, enjoying the mathematical parts of it.

What makes playing poker difficult? The most difficult thing is interpreting other people’s body language to know if they are bluffing. That’s not something that you can just jump into. It takes a lot of practice.

Is the game based more on luck or skill? I would say about 30 percent is luck, but a lot of it is skill. Poker Club meets after school on Wednesdays in Room A319.

2 2

Dealer

players bid chips to play in the game

STRATEGY

Dealer

deal two cards to each player

dealer deals the flop; players may raise bid, match bid or quit

2 0

Dealer

0 Dealer

dealer deals the turn; players continue bidding

dealer deals the river, players reveal hands and winner takes all bids

The pot is the sum of the money players wager in a game. Players should bid when winning odds are greater than pot odds.

winning odds =

remaining cards in deck needed to win remaining cards in deck not needed

pot odds =

bid required to stay in pot total size of pot

649,739:1

royal flush: A, K, Q, J, 10 of same suit

one pair: pair, ignore suit

no pair: nothing

the flop

full house: three of a kind and a pair

4 1.37:1

Certain hands and their odds of being dealt

693:1

the river

WHAT ARE THE ODDS?

the turn

FUN AND GAMES | 09

community cards (found in center)

personal cards

HAND: Best combination of five cards from community and personal cards.

7 0.995:1

ASIM DHUNGANA // GRAPHIC WOPC.CO.UK, BICYCLECARDS.COM // SOURCES

Twenty five percent of CHS students choose Florida as their favorite vacation spot, and 17 percent of students are going there this spring break.

> Antigua Beach and other places in Mexico and the wider Caribbean region are popular places for CHS studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; dream vacation. Seventeen percent of CHS students dream of going there on vacation.

Spring Break is a time when we let loose and have fun. CHS students travel all around the world to warm destinations like Florida, Mexico and Germany.

V A C A T I O N 03.29

*Survey of 200 CHS students, random selected by grade PIXABAY, PEXELS, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT // SOURCES

BREAKERS

Where are we going this break? Out of 200 students:

47 don’t know

36 are going to other states in the U.S.

Staying in Indiana?

SITHA VALLABHANENI // DESIGN

S PRI N G

34 are going to Florida

Check out these places during spring break:

33 are staying in Indiana 17 are going to Mexico or the wider Caribbean

- White River State Park - Marengo Cave - Clifty Falls State Park - Broad Ripple Village

12 are travelling 8 are going on a cruise 8 are visiting colleges

200

CHS

DREAMING OF Other Countries: 51% Another U.S. State: 25.5%

150

100

According to U.S. News, Las Vegas is the highest-ranked spring break destination. Miami Beach comes in second place.

5 are going to another country 50

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE: SPRING BREAK (STARTS PG 3)

4. Time with others. You’ve had your fill of me time, and Snapchat and texting just aren’t enough anymore. Your parents are nagging you to “socialize” too. Now, who do you spend your time with? You choose to

>> >>

Mexico and the Wider Caribbean: 17.0% Nothing: 5.5%

A. Spend time with your family. Go to #5 on Page 13

Their Home: 1%

B. Spend time with friends. Go to #6 on Page 17 FUN AND GAMES | 11

“Tennessee is a fun place. I went ziplining with my friends, which was really fun. I also got to go whitewater rafting.” - Freshman Eli Porter (left)

“My favorite place is Fort Meyers, Fla., to visit my grandfather. I also love to go to this restaurant right on the water called Doc Fords.” - Sophomore Chase Southard (right)

FAVO RI TE VAC ATIO N S PO T S

“I went to Cozumel, Mexico last with a friend. We went to the backside of the island and basically had the beach to ourselves.” - Junior Amy Smith

“My favorite vacation spot is Sedona, Ariz. (I) explored the red rocks, and took the Pink Jeep tours throughout Sedona.” - Senior Madelyn Cavanaugh

PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY STUDENT SOURCE

EVERYDAY FUN Take a closer look at what CHS students do on a day-to-day basis and how they make everyday activities exciting.

WHAT CHS Students do for fun BE ACTIVE: play sports, bike, run, etc. DIGITAL: watch TV, play video games MUSIC: play music, sing, or listen to music INTERACT: spend time with friends DRAW SLEEP

PERCENT OF CHS STUDENTS

*survey of 181 randomly selected students from all grade levels

03.29

WHAT CHS Students do Every day Homework

Club Meetings

Video Games

Workout/Practice

Hangout with Friends

Nap

Eat

Speak Up! JUNIOR JAMES OLEKSZYK

JUNIOR ERIK PETERSON

SOPHOMORE SAUMYA PRIYADARSHINI

“I do fishing tournaments outside of school out of a kayak. There are several every year around Indiana that I go and participate in. I also have a part time job at Schwartz’s Bait & Tackle, which I enjoy a lot also.”

“My favorite after school activity is the Carmel Tech Hounds Club. It allows me to express how creative I can be in different variations.” CARSON TERBUSH // SPEAK-UPS

CHS students' Favorite After School Activity Workout Friends and Family

Music Reading

Watch TV or Netflix Sleep

“I like to play the viola after school. It’s my favorite. I like expressing myself through music and I’ve been playing viola for a long time, so it’s a good pastime to get rid of stress.”

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE: SPRING BREAK (STARTS PG 3)

5. Family. Whiffing the smell of something luscious wafting out of the kitchen, your spine tingles with an appetite previously absent. Perhaps this kind of meal would be well deserved over a meal, together, around the dinner table? What better way to show appreciation for your parents’ hard work these first 3 months than exclaiming your exaggerated words of praise? Everything has been so hectic, you hardly remember a time spent just for familial enjoyment. This spring break will be different.

Go to #7 on Page 19 FUN AND GAMES | 13

Watch TV

Work

Write/Read/Draw

ALINA HUSAIN // DESIGN

Rehearsal/Music Lessons

Family Time

UNTIL QUESTIONS AND PHOTOS | SELENA QIAN

Senior Julia Miller

“I was going to softball practice—it was the first practice of the season— and I tried on my mitt, and there was a spider in the mitt, and I got bit by the spider. I was in the hospital for a week. It hurt pretty bad. Well, honestly at first I didn’t know what happened. I didn’t know there was even a spider in there. My mom crushed the mitt, and then the spider came ... It was a venomous spider, so that’s why I was in the hospital. It was scary.”

SOMEONE

it’s all fun and games

GETS HURT

a variety of odd, unexpected injuries

THE TWO VENOMOUS SPIDERS OF NORTH AMERICA Brown Recluse - six eyes - symptom: small white blisters - venom is a hemotoxin

Black Widow - red coloration - two puncture marks - venom is a neurotoxin

SPIDER BITE FIRST AID Step 1: Call 911 for immediate medical help. Step 2: If safe, identify type of spider. Step 3: Wash bite area and apply a cold wet cloth. Step 4: DO NOT try to remove venom. Step 5: Elevate bite area if possible, wait for ambulance.

Senior MeiWei Koh “I once had my chin split because I did not buckle my seat belt while I was in the car, and I leaned over to talk to someone, and I fell out of the car and split my chin. I should’ve closed (the door), but then I opened it, and I just fell out. To this day, I still don’t know how I fell out ... They gave me anesthesia, and I was awake while the (doctor) stitched up my chin. It looked really horrifying.”

CDC.GOV // SOURCE

3.29

Freshman Elias Kessilyas “I was outside; I was playing (basketball) with my friends, and then it started raining. I could hear the squeaking of my shoes, and I was like, ‘Oh, I should probably take them off.’ But I needed to grab one thing inside, so I just kept them on. I run in, real quick, and I passed my kitchen, and as soon

as I was leaving the entryway of my kitchen, I slipped and hit my head on the granite. I didn’t feel it. I got up, and then I went to go get a towel and put it on my head, and it instantly filled up with blood. I screamed, and then I went to the emergency room.”

“When I was five years old, I had nothing better to do, so I started skipping (rope) with a towel, which ended me with a sprained ankle. I was rushed to the ER, where I was made

SPINAL SPRAINS

Spinal cord injuries across the United States percent of spinal cord injuries occur here, in the cervical spine.

11,000

new spinal cord injuries occur each year.

percent of spinal cord injuries occur in the thoracic, lumbar, and sacral regions.

250,000

people in the United States have a spinal cord injury.

percent of those with spinal cord injuries are between 16 and 30 years old.

MEDSCAPE.COM // SOURCE

SELENA QIAN // DESIGN AND GRAPHICS

Senior Sheetal Prasanna to sit in a wheelchair for three hours before they could just wrap it and send me back home. “Another time, I was jumping on the bed, and I sprained the same ankle again, but I did not go to the hospital. I just wrapped it myself.”

Sophomore Tim Metken “I was at my friend’s house, and this was 2014, so I was in between seventh grade and eighth grade. My friend had this rope swing, and I’d been on it once before. I wanted to go on it again, and so I climbed up there. You sit on this plank at the top of the tree, and you have to throw the rope up. Then you come off the plank, but the rope doesn’t catch slack until four or five feet after the drop. “The rope was starting to fray, but I was already up there, so I was like, ‘Alright, I’ll just do it.’ I got there, (and) it took them like 30 minutes to get me the rope swing, so I was up there for a super long time before it happened. I just leapt, and I caught slack with the rope. The rope just immediately snapped. I fell right on my butt, and it compressed my back. I had a fractured back for the next FUN AND GAMES | 15

four weeks. And my friend, he got it on video too, so there’s a video of it. Right before it, my friend’s like, ‘Yeah the rope might snap, Tim might die.’ He was just messing around, and then the rope snapped.”

JD ARLAND // PHOTO

03.29

KICKINâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; IT

YEAR RouND WORDS | RAIHA ZAINAB

SITHA VALLABHANENI // DESIGN CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE: SPRING BREAK (STARTS PG 3)

6. Friends. It’s easy getting fed up with your relatives. You know what would make that better? Being around people who don’t annoy you! You and your friends navigate through the treacherous terrain of making plans through a group chat, only arriving at a conclusion some hours later. If only everyone’s time was as free as yours. Maybe you buy group tickets to a concert, hike through the woods or taste test every hipster ice cream shop/ café in North Square Neighborhood, Indianapolis. Nevertheless, the day ends in good food and company.

Go to #7 on Page 19 FUN AND GAMES | 17

Students dedicate most of their time to their sport, learning life lessons along the way.

long stretch of water lies ahead. It’s a familiar feeling. “Take your mark.” It’s just like all the years before. But this time it’s thirteen years of consecutive practice. And a promise is at stake. Everyone stands in ready position. The whistle is heard and the clock starts ticking. Swimmer and senior Sammie Burchill has dedicated a large portion of her life to the sport of swimming, starting when she was five years old and

swimming year round at the age of ten. Now she practically lives in the pool, practicing for hours and training all twelve months of the year. This year, Burchill stood in front of the pool at a state competition with the goal of breaking the state record, a promise she said she had made to her coaches a few days before. As the race finishes and the clock stops. Burchill can’t help but stare at her time. “This is not real,” she said she thought as she dripped with water. “This is not real.”

>> She had just broken the 200 Individual Medley State Record with a time of 1:56.67. Burchill’s swim coach, Chris Plumb, watched her as she achieved her goal after coaching her for many years prior. Plumb said it is moments like these when he really realizes his work is paying off. “Watching athletes with the look on their face when they do something they weren’t sure they could do, that’s priceless,” Plumb said. “And that’s just a valuable lesson you could apply to anything, and once you learn how to do it, you can use it in other parts of your life.” Plumb has spent 13 of his 20 years of coaching swimming at Carmel. Throughout his years coaching, he’s seen his athletes grow up from young kids into young adults. “It gives me tremendous joy to be able to help mold who they become and give them really the work ethic and understanding of what it takes to be successful in the world,” Plumb said. Burchill has been one of the students Plumb has watched grow up while swimming. Spending so much time in swimming, Burchill said she’s gotten close to her coaches and everyone on her team. For Burchill, the time commitment she has put into her sport has allowed her to get to the level of swimming she is at now. “My life revolves around the pool. I wake up, go to the pool, go to school and then back to practice. Especially during the school year, school is my break time and then it’s back to practice,” she said. Spending around 20 hours a week at the pool, Burchill remains very committed to her sport and works hard to keep improving at each practice.

Plumb said he agreed his swimmers put in a lot of effort to get where they’re at. “Practices are challenging. They’re intense. We do stuff on land and in the water. We want our athletes getting stronger on land and in the water. It’s highly detailed. The workouts are very focused. They pinpoint on what skills we’re working on and trying to improve, and there’s a lot of racing and competition going on in workout,” Plumb said. “It’s definitely a challenging, but I’ve seen a lot of improvement.” Along with Burchill, Taylor Crull, soccer player and senior, has also put in much of his time into his sport. Crull started playing at the age of 5 and continued from there, playing ten months out of the year. For Crull, the time commitment he has to put into soccer has been a great challenge, particularly when he was in middle school, as he lost motivation to play during his eighth grade year. “My priority was for friends above soccer, which I think it should be, but my drive was gone and every time I remembered I had practice, I’d be sad and wouldn’t want to go,” Crull said. “It was at a tough stage because it was something I’d done my entire life but didn’t know if I wanted to continue.” Still, he said he continued to play for one more year, thinking, “I’m going to play and if there’s anything I don’t like about it, I’m going to quit.” Looking back, Crull said he is happy to have stuck with it. “I felt this whole new drive and motivation,” he said. “It’s hard to explain, but it’s something inside you that drives you to pursue it.” Crull is now a varsity athlete and plans to continue playing as he goes into college. Despite the obstacles,

03.29

JD ARLAND // PHOTO

Swimmer and senior Sammie Burchill waits to receive her medal for winning the Individual Medley category. Burchill said she spends around 20 hours a week at the pool, so she can improve each practice.

SITHA VALLABHANENI // DESIGN

MIKE JOHNSON // PHOTO

Taylor Crull, soccer player and senior, (right) practices set pieces in preparation for a game. He said he likes playing a year-round sport because he never gets to miss playing soccer.

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE: SPRING BREAK (STARTS PG 3)

7. What’s next? Your mind is going a 100 miles a minute. All that pent-up energy is usually expended in school and afterschool activities.

HOW THEY RANK AMONG THEIR PEERS Swimmer and Senior Sammie Burchill

2 14

Taylor Crull, Soccer Player and Senior

IN INDIANA

148

IN THE NATION

IN INDIANA IN THE NATION

COLLEGSWIMMING.COM, COLLEGESOCCERNEWS.COM // SOURCES

But what is there to do on break? You choose to:

>> >>

A. Expand your knowledge and interests. Go to #8 on Page 21 B. Head outside. Go to #9 on Page 23 FUN AND GAMES | 19

he said he’s learned a lot from soccer and wouldn’t have it any other way. Many athletes, like Crull, have to remain very committed in order to improve. Plumb said he has seen this first hand through his time coaching. “It’s a commitment. You know what’s coming. You know what you got to do. You know what to expect,” Plumb said. “Coaches and members of the team put a lot of value in what we’ve been able to accomplish. I think there’s a physical and mental challenge, but I feel the athletes learn what it takes to be great, and they can learn and they can push themselves more than they thought they could and that’s the true value in the sport.”

Through everything, the thick and the thin, athletes like Burchill continue to advance in their sports because they love them. Burchill said she has learned many lessons in her years playing the sport, lessons that brought her to beat a state record and push her to continue to work hard. “My coaches tell us that swimming’s important, but (they’re) also working on shaping you to be better people through the principles they teach in swimming: hard work, commitment, determination and integrity,” she said. “It’s helped me use those in everyday life and I’m definitely not the person I was when I started swimming.” A

physics

THE 1 BOTTLE SELECTION

Tall & skinny = harder to find optimal water level Pronged bottom = least surface to land on

Hard

Bendable plastic = deforms so more difficult after multiple flips Flat bottom = middle amount of surface to land on

Medium

3a THE THROW:

RELEASE ANGLE Practice until you can reliably get the bottle to release at a 90° angle every time. This makes the center of gravity move upward so the bottle flips perfectly.

90°

Wide = easy to find optimal water level Large, flat bottom = most surface to land on

Easy

3.29

2 OPTIMAL WATER LEVEL Lower the water level to about one-third of the way up the bottle to move the center of gravity down. This will help the bottle stay upright by keeping the top from tipping over. Applies to all bottle types. THE GAME THEORISTS YOUTUBE // SOURCE

Pro Tip:

You can test this level without flipping. 1. Hold the bottle at a 45° angle. 2. Drop the bottle. If the level is correct, the bottle should land upright. If not, drink or pour out some of the water.

SELENA QIAN // DESIGN

water bottle flipping PHOTOS | DIVYA ANNAMALAI ILLUSTRATIONS | SELENA QIAN

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE: SPRING BREAK (STARTS PG 3)

8. Culture. People say the world is the best teacher. You want to see for yourself if that’s really true. You’re also getting pretty bored at this point. What are thesis statements and dramatic irony if you can’t see them in action? You plan for a day in the city chock-full of learning opportunities. Maybe your day starts out with a Saturday matinee at the Private Bank Theatre in Chicago, lunch, and then a drive past Carmel to Indianapolis. After a hazardous clothing change in a restaurant off of Monument Circle, you emerge with your dignity intact and bow-tie tied (or dress zipped up) as you make towards an evening concert at the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.

Go to #10 on Page 25 FUN AND GAMES | 21

3b THE THROW:

FORWARD MOMENTUM Make sure the throw goes mostly upward rather than forward. If you throw the bottle too far forward, the water will keep moving after landing and then tip the bottle over.

SEE THE VIDEO AT CHSACUMEN.COM

TIPPING THE ICEBERG

WORDS | ALANNA WU

As the popular web game ‘Club Penguin’ prepares to shut down and transition to an app, CHS students struggle to understand the motives behind the change.

s a child, sophomore Oakley Blake played “Club Penguin” regularly. When he discovered that the popular web game will be shutting down on March 29 as part of its transition to an app, “Club Penguin Island,” he said he was disappointed. “It was the only thing that I really played,” Blake said. “It’s really upsetting because, you know, it’s something that I did during my childhood. And it’s sad to hear they’re taking it away

OLD CLUB PENGUIN

solely so they can promote other platforms.” “Club Penguin” is certainly not the first website to make this transition; in recent years, several popular websites such as Google, YouTube and Poptropica have created apps. Business teacher Theresa Kane said this is largely because companies can expand their outreach by changing to mobile platforms. “If they hit the market with a software that runs on Androids and iPhones, then they will sell more and reach more people. Everybody has a cell phone now (whereas not everybody has a computer), and everybody uses a cell The old Club phone throughout the day and in the Penguin’s evening, so it’s going to be much more parties had free accessible,” Kane said. items, scavenger However, “Club Penguin” is hunts and parties unique in the fact that, unlike lasted only a week. other companies, Disney The graphics are more has decided to shut down classical. Over the years, Club Penguin witnessed many changes to its game. The majority of the game’s graphics were completely redrawn with mini games, and quests were added in 2014. Despite changes, Club Penguin remained in a decline of popularity.

NEW CLUB PENGUIN

CLUBPENGUINSPACE.COM // SOURCE

3.29 100

The game was announced to be discontinued on March 29, 2017.

CLUB PENGUIN INTEREST OVER TIME*

*Based on Google Trends numbers, represents search interest relative to the highest point on the chart for the given region and time. A value of 100 is the peak popularity for the term.

Jan. 2017

Club Penguin is founded. Oct. 2005

2005

GOOGLE.COM/TRENDS // SOURCE

Dec. 2010 - Peak of Club Penguin search interest Aug. 2007 Disney buys Club Penguin from New Horizon Production for $350 million.

July 2013 Club Penguin reaches 200 million users.

2017

SAMEEN SIDDIQUI, SAM SHI & AMBER ZHAO // DESIGN & GRAPHICS

THE

APP The Poptropica App was released in March of 2014. The main difference between the app and the web game is that the app only allows users to play on certain islands, but they are then able to download them to play offline.

Google Play Reviews:

PLAY.GOOGLE.COM // SOURCE

4.1

stars out of five

the website in order to fully endorse the app. Sophomore Victoria “Tori” Moss plays Club Penguin and said she does not approve of Disney’s decision. “I think it’s not a very good business decision, and they won’t get as many users because so many people are used to it being on desktop, and they won’t want to switch to an app, because it’s a whole different way of gameplay,” Moss said. Kane said she also does not understand why the website cannot be kept open alongside the app. “They could really do both; they could go with the mobile application, and they could keep their website open, so I’m not for sure on why they would close, unless they wanted to encourage people to buy an application,” Kane said. But Blake said he does not want to dwell on the specific reasons for the change and prefers to appreciate the memories he has of playing “Club Penguin.” “It shaped me to become the person that I am today,” Blake said. “It was just a part of my childhood, and it’s something that I will never forget.” A

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE: SPRING BREAK (STARTS PG 3)

9. Heading outside. Ironically, you are absolutely exhausted by sitting indoors. It feels like you’ve been breathing the same stuffy air for years, and the nice weather is finally unfurling itself from its fetal position on the ground it has maintained for five months. The birds are annoyingly yapping by your windowsill again, and the hills are alive with the clouds of pollen. That means one thing: spring is finally here. Your family breaks out the tents and sleeping bags hibernating in the garden shed (or attic, whichever you prefer). But wait! Why would you go camping in allergy infested grounds when you can go skydiving? Or feel all sorts of queasy on a Zero-G plane ride? Heck, you could run the FUN AND GAMES | 23

CLUB PENGUIN ISLAND Club Penguin Island is the app that will completely replace Club Penguin. It launches today. Features: - Free - Customizable clothing - 3-D graphics - Penguin Levels PLAY.GOOGLE.COM // SOURCE

3100 mile race, the world’s longest marathon. (Note: We advise against participating in a 3100 mile race crossing various extreme terrains, at least without extensive training first.) Might as well be literally “on top of the world” in Mount Kilimanjaro before grades and deadlines start bringing you down.

Go to #10 on Page 25

THE RISE FLAPPY BIRD Take a look at a timeline of "Flappy Bird’s" rise to popularity:

AND FALL Here's a closer look at the rise and fall of popular apps, from their creation to their demise. How "Flappy Bird" compared to other immensely popular apps:

Dec. 3, 2013 "Flappy Bird" is ranked 74 in the Family category and 395 in all US games Jan. 17, 2014 "Flappy Bird" becomes the number one free app in the US

Nov. 14, 2013 The game climbs to rank 393 in the Family category Jan. 10, 2014 The game enters the Top 10 Free Apps list for the US at rank eight Jan. 25, 2014 The phrase “Flappy Bird” passes the mark of 500,000 uses per day on Twitter

Angry Birds (2000)

Subway Surfers (1000)

Oct. 29, 2013 "Flappy Bird" enters the Family category of the App Store ranked 1469

September 2013 Nguyen releases the first update for the game

Despicable Me (800)

May 24, 2013 "Flappy Bird" is released by Dong Nguyen

Flappy Bird (50)

Total Downloads (in millions)

Although "Flappy Bird" was only able to generate 50 million total downloads, it was able to do so primarily in a span of 28 days. Other much more popular apps took much longer to develop their downloads. Take a look at some information about the creator of "Flappy Bird", Dong Nguyen: Nguyen was interested in programming at an young age, Nguyen dreamed of creating a game that people could play on the go: this dream evolved into "Flappy Bird".

03.29 Feb. 1, 2014 The game becomes the number one free game in 53 countries

Feb. 10, 2014 "Flappy Bird" is removed from the App Store, with Nguyen citing the addictive nature of the game as a major factor

MASHABLE.COM, QZ.COM, BUSINESSOFAPPS.COM, TECHCRUNCH.COM, FORBES.COM // SOURCES ADITYA BELAMKAR // GRAPHIC ALINA HUSAIN // DESIGN

THE RISE FLAPPY BIRD Take a look at a timeline of "Flappy Bird’s" rise to popularity:

AND FALL Here's a closer look at the rise and fall of popular apps, from their creation to their demise. How "Flappy Bird" compared to other immensely popular apps:

Dec. 3, 2013 "Flappy Bird" is ranked 74 in the Family category and 395 in all US games Jan. 17, 2014 "Flappy Bird" becomes the number one free app in the US

Angry Birds (2000)

Subway Surfers (1000)

Oct. 29, 2013 "Flappy Bird" enters the Family category of the App Store ranked 1469

September 2013 Nguyen releases the first update for the game

Despicable Me (800)

May 24, 2013 "Flappy Bird" is released by Dong Nguyen

Flappy Bird (50)

Total Downloads (in millions)

03.29 Feb. 1, 2014 The game becomes the number one free game in 53 countries

Feb. 10, 2014 "Flappy Bird" is removed from the App Store, with Nguyen citing the addictive nature of the game as a major factor

MASHABLE.COM, QZ.COM, BUSINESSOFAPPS.COM, TECHCRUNCH.COM, FORBES.COM // SOURCES ADITYA BELAMKAR // GRAPHIC ALINA HUSAIN // DESIGN

LIFE IN

Students, teachers reflect on creation of video games.

ccording to a 2015 Pew Research Center study, 72 percent of all teenagers play video games on game consoles, computers or smart devices. However, beneath the display screen lies the product of video-game developers’ hard work. Take Parker Lawrence, video game developer and sophomore. Lawrence said he wanted to be a video game designer since he was very young. “When I was really young,” Lawrence said, “I was really into video games at the time. But I realized that if I wanted to design video games, I had to be a programmer also and so I began to learn to program at a really small age. It’s kind of ironic that I don’t really play video games anymore, but I’m rather really into making them.” According to both game development teacher Theresa Kane and Lawrence, a deep understanding of mathematics and computer science is necessary to create a successful product. “You have to think in terms of design elements and you have to figure out how the game works. There’s a lot of mathematics because movement itself is a mathematical model. With developing computer games where you’re aiming things, you have to consider, ‘By how many units do I have to move my sprite?’ and so there’s a lot of

Lawrence is currently working on a physics engine, which, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Scratch website, is a method for creating the sound movement of an object, in an attempt to produce what he hopes to be a first-person shooter game. “Normally, designers have got a lot of 3D-modeling programs where they make all the objects that are going to go in the game, and it’s a very detailed process. I myself am not very good at it at all, and I try to make

ARCADE MANIA Marquee:

Brightly colored sign above monitor that displays game’s title and logo

Bezel:

Border around the monitor. Often contains additional artwork

AY W ID

Monitor:

Where the actual game is displayed

3.29 trigonometry involved. You want to get some good content into the game that represents a topic people are interested in and gives feedback to the user,” Kane said. Lawrence said he has been creating video games for many years, with a combination of both successes and failures. He started to make games on Python, but later switched over to other programming languages such as C and C++ due to certain limitations in the functionalities of Python. Some of his past projects have included building an arcade cabinet and programming a robot to play chess against a opponent, among many others.

Control Panel:

Holds the various joysticks and buttons necessary to play the game

Service Door:

Contains the coin slots for insertion of

money or tokens

Coin Door:

Used for the retrieval of money or tokens

GAMEFACE101.COM // SOURCE

IGITAL WORDS | ADHI RAMKUMAR

my games in such a way that (they’re) mostly programming and its not an emphasis on the design aspect. Most of my games will use a series of rules to generate what would ordinarily be designed because I’m just not good at that artistic aspect,” Lawrence said. Furthermore, Kane said she has made games for elementary school students to help them learn to spell in an interactive format. She has launched a program that will allow students at this school to create video games for patients at Riley Children’s hospital. In order for that to happen, she said the games given have to be at a professional level. Lawrence said it is essential to build up a project from the most basic functions to complex tasks in order to avoid facing flaws in the program, with regard to the approach a game developer must take. “First you start out with a plan. You start with a general set of rules and you implement them and you go from there I guess,” Lawrence said. “You sort of do one layer at a time; the first layer might just display very basic stuff, and on top of that is stuff will create the environment, and on top of that is how the environment is supposed to be, and you just keep going on. But it’s very important to make sure that you do a little

bit at a time because it helps avoid problems which might emerge.” “I would say just make sure you’re interested in developing the game,” Kane said. “There are so many tutorials available on the Internet, and there’s nothing stopping you from learning by yourself. Code.org and Scratch are great places to start.” “Don’t give up, I guess,” Lawrence said. It might seem like you’re not making progress at first, and it seems like a bunch of code that’s not connected, but the more you write the faster it takes to shape. I’m definitely going to continue making games, and I’ll see where it takes me.” A CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE: SPRING BREAK (STARTS PG 3)

11. More to do. You spend the rest of break getting ahead on everything you need to do. You finish up your homework and maybe even get going on some of those big projects or study for exams. You clean your room and reorganize all of your random stuff. At the end, you’re tired but feel like you’ve done something important.

Go to #12 on Page 31 FUN AND GAMES | 27

TOP 3 GROSSING ARCADE GAMES OF ALL TIME “THE WORLD’S HOTTEST GAME”

MIDWAY’S

1. Pac-man

MIDWAY

Cabinets Sold: 400,000 Revenue: $7,681,491,635 USGAMER.NET // SOURCES

2. Space Invaders

Cabinets Sold: 360,000 Revenue: $6,612,228,000

3. Street Fighter II

Cabinets Sold: 200,000 Revenue: $3,582,553,228 ALANNA WU, AMY TIAN, & SELENA LIU // DESIGN & GRAPHICS

APRIL FOOLS’ FRENZY WORDS AND PHOTOS | SAM SHI

Take a look at some CHS students’ April Fools’ experiences and memories.

Senior Mitchell Adzema

Senior Stone Chen

“I have really bad allergies, I’m allergic to a lot of stuff, really bad eczema, and so in elementary school, I was kind of known as the kid who was allergic to everything. Me and Stone Chen were in the same class and then one day at lunch it was April Fools’ Day. He was drinking a cherry flavored juice pouch, and he got a little on my hand. So I took the opportunity to scratch my arm throughout lunch. Through the lunch period I continued to scratch my arm, acting like something was bothering me. But as I was scratching it, it was turning red, until eventually I go, ‘Stone, I don’t know what was in that stuff, was there like cherry in there or something?’ Knowing that it was cherry, but he grabbed it and looked at it and said, ‘Yeah there’s cherry, is that an issue?’ And I’m like ‘Yeah Stone I’m allergic to cherry!’ In hindsight maybe not the safest prank ever, but (I) pretended to be like, ‘Stone I’m having trouble breathing,’ and as soon as he raised his hand to get a lunch monitor, I’m like ‘No Stone I’m just messing with you.’ He was freaking out, he was really freaking out.”

“In third grade, April Fools’ Day, I completely forgot it was April first, and we’re at lunch and I had a Capri Sun, and it was Wild Cherry Flavor, and I accidentally spilled some on my friend Mitchell who happened to be sitting next to me. And at the time he was allergic to a lot of things, so when I spilled some on him, I felt bad so I was like, “My bad, man.” He goes, “Oh it’s fine. It’s not cherry right?” I was like, “Yeah it is cherry, why?” He starts freaking out like “I’m allergic to cherries!” (He) starts to frantically scratch himself over and over again. He pretends like he’s about to have an allergic reaction. And me, in my opinion being a good friend, I started freaking out and I felt horrible because, you know, I thought he was (going to) die. I got really really emotional because I felt horrible, of what I thought was happening, and just before I was (going to) go call for help, he stops and goes, “April Fools’!” It was probably one of the biggest April Fools’ jokes played on me because I was really impressed by how he was able to think of the joke so quickly and in the moment.”

03.29

JUNIOR ZOEY DAET “I put clear tape around the sink hose handle, and I had this girl rinse out a cup for me, and she turned it up all the way and it sprayed her in the face. She was like “What the heck?” And she didn’t turn off the sink so it just kept spraying her, and she couldn’t figure out why it was happening.”

SOPHOMORE ANDREW SLEUGH “(When I was) seven years old, I didn’t know you could lock the microwave by holding the off button for three seconds. So my brother did this to me, so I couldn’t microwave food for about a week. I was really confused because no one else was upset.”

FIENDISH FORTUNES

Create one or get your friend to believe a fake article. Works best with a group.

Z FE E

Secure a sheet of saran wrap across a doorway. Get your victim to run into it.

Tape a piece of paper with “kick me” or “fool” on your victim’s back.

YO U

E VIN

’VE

H C EN

BE SE FO EN RE TH I

LIS

BU Z

Create a note Make a bowl telling the recipi- of cereal and ent to keep the freeze it overvictim delivering. night. Give it to Have your victim your victim in deliver it to the morning and someone. Don’t enjoy. let them read it.

N LA E R

Get a group of friends and yell at random times to startle your victim.

Freeze ice cubes with Mentos in them and put them in your victim’s soda.

ME SS Y

AD R T G A L? N LI E FE

D ITE OM UN GD N KI

N E AT

JU S TP LA IN EV IL

Cut out bug shapes and tape them on the inside of lamps.

NO ITI

Follow the directions on the bottom of the page to create your own fortune teller and get ideas for your April Fools’’ Day prank. Each choice correlates with the result, so choose wisely.

FUN AND GAMES | 29

1. Cut out square

2. Flip over and fold in half on both sides

RACHAEL TAN // GRAPHIC HISTORY.COM, INFOPLEASE.COM, WIKIPEDIA.ORG // SOURCES

3. Fold each colored corner towards the center

4. Flip again and fold each corner toward the center

5. Flip over and fold along the length. Place your index fingers and thumbs in the flaps and enjoy! ALINA HUSAIN // DESIGN

The Origins of April Fools’: The complete origins are unknown, but there are some speculations: 1. When the Gregorian Calendar replaced the Julian Calendar, the date of New Years’ Day was changed from Apr. 1 to Jan. 1. Those who refused to accept the change were called April Fools. 2. Many different cultures have had days of foolishness around the start of April. 3. During Constantine’s rule, a jester became king for one day. The jester passed an edict calling for April Fools’ to be an annual event. Unfortunately, this explanation was later admitted to be an April Fools’ joke.

3.29

ALINA HUSAIN // DESIGN

EVERYDAY FUN

Explore some of these games that you can play with your friends anywhere, anytime with little to no materials.

WORDS AND PHOTOS | RACHAEL TAN

MORIARTY

Number of people: 2 only Directions: 1. Each player is blindfolded and given a rolled up newspaper to use as a weapon. 2. The players then lie on their fronts head to head with about three feet of space between them. 3. The starting player says, “Are you there Moriarty?” 4. The second player, when ready, says, “Yes.” At this point the starting player attempts to hit the second player with his newspaper by swinging it over his head, while the second player does the same.

HiLite staff members demonstrate how to play Moriarty (bottom left) and the Laughing Game (bottom right and top). These games can both be played without any special materials.

LAUgHInG GAmE

Number of people: 2+ Directions: 1. Have everyone sit in a circle facing each other. 2. When it is someone’s turn, they have to say or act something out to get everyone else to laugh. If you laugh, you are out.

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE: SPRING BREAK (STARTS PG 3)

12. The End It’s been a nice, long spring break, and you don’t feel quite ready to go back to school. But it’s starting back up. There’s no new adventures to explore right now. In the meantime, you can replay this scenario, or the Acumen staff is taking suggestions for next year through email (hi@ chsacumen.com) or our social media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and chsacumen.com. See you next issue, and as always, thank you for playing.

FUN AND GAMES | 31

START

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR BOARD GAME TRIVIA? 1. What game was used to help WWII prisoners escape by sending them maps and compasses? A. Monopoly B. Clue

INSTRUCTIONS 1. Find something to be your piece (paperclip, eraser, etc.) 2. Roll a die,* and move that number of spaces. 3. If you land on a spot with a question, try to answer it. If you answer correctly, take another turn. If you answer incorrectly, roll the die and move backward that number of spaces. The winner is the first one to reach the end of the path.

5. What caused controversy in the original cover of the Battleship game? A. depiction of casual fighting B. depiction of gender roles C. depiction of racial stereotypes

*If you need a die, cut along the solid lines below, fold along the dashed lines, and glue/tape the flaps.

2. What was the first popular indoor game in the United States? A. Checkers B. The Game of Life

4. What food was used to make a special edition of Monopoly? A. chocolate B. cake C. carrots

3. What game has been often criticized for its lack of diversity? A. Clue B. Settlers of Catan C. Guess Who?

6. Where was the concept of Snakes and Ladders and Sorry! first created? A. India B. China C. Japan

8. How many territories are there on a Risk board? A. 32 B. 38 C. 42 D. 45

9. What game features characters such as Plumpy, Lord Licorice and Queen Frostine? A. Clue B. Candyland C. Guess Who? D. Monopoly

11. How many colors of Monopoly properties are there? A. 8 B. 9 C. 10 D. 11

MENTALFLOSS.COM, STANFORDDAILYARCHIVE.COM, MEDIUM.COM, PLAYBILL.COM, & HASBRO.COM // SOURCES

10. What are the colors of checkers in Canadian Connect 4? A. red and yellow B. blue and yellow C. green and black D. red and black

Answers: 1. A, 2. B, 3. C, 4. A, 5. B, 6. A, 7. A, 8. D, 9. B, 10. D, 11. A, 12. C

END

12. What is the earliest known board game? A. Go B. Mancala C. Senet D. Tabula

7. What board game was made into both a movie and a musical? A. Clue B. Monopoly C. Settlers of Catan D. Candyland