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In Marin / CURRENTS
CREEPY CRAWLERS
Halloween time conjures up
images of frightening crea-
tures: bats, vampires and
more. But the
bloodsuck-
ers parents
should be most concerned
about are far more com-
monplace, and as it turns out,
the ever-rising popularity of
selfies could be propagating
these pests. We’re talking
about lice, of course. Lice are
highly contagious and can
spread quickly from head to
head, so all those close-up
snaps your kids are taking
with their friends are putting
them at #risk. Research pre-
sented at this year’s national
American Chemical Society
meeting exposes another
alarming side to the story:
lice in at least 25 states are
currently resistant to over-
the-counter treatments.
While “who gave it to whom”
is often a mystery, here’s
what we do know about
these tiny creatures. K.P.
BY THE
NUMBERS
3ModMath ModMath helps students with
dyslexia and dysgraphia (inability to
write coherently) by circumventing
the need for a pen and pencil when
solving equations. The app functions like a virtual piece of graph
paper that allows students to set up
math problems in an easy-to-under-stand and legible way. Students can
then print out the pages or email
their teachers directly. A new version with updated features that will
work for algebra students was just
released. modmath.com
1Tales Untold Parents are right to be con-
cerned about their kids spending
time in front of screens, but what if
there was a program that featured
both fiction and nonfiction stories,
each with its own plot and resolution,
that came together to form a bigger
narrative much like a podcast? For
kids ages 3 to 7 that is exactly what
Tales Untold offers. “The culture
at large is becoming normalized to
the concept of podcasts, and adults
clearly love them. So why wouldn’t
kids?” says founder Nick Vidinsky.
talesuntold.com
2Marin County Free Library
While many libraries are keeping
things old school, the Marin Library
is making itself more accessible to
the masses by diving into the 21st
century with a mobile app. The
app lets you locate and search the
library’s catalog of movies, books,
music and other resources wherever
you are. With the MarinLibrary app
you can reserve or renew books as
well as download and listen to audio-books for free. marinco.boopsie.com
How much media should kids be exposed to, even when that media relates to education?
Many teachers and parents are finding a real upside to embracing technology in the
classroom. Here are a few free educational apps that were born in Marin. K.P.
For the Good of the Kids
FALSE CLAIM Something that probably hasn’t crossed your mind when you walk your dog or watch
the migrating whales on Limantour Beach is the unsavory past of the place’s namesake. In fact, about 175 years
ago you might have seen the name Limantour in many other locations around the Bay Area. A French-born
trader, Joseph Yves Limantour was living in Mexico City when he first landed — literally:
he beached his vessel — on the Point Reyes Peninsula. The merchant continued to make
frequent trips to and from San Francisco and resolved to own land in the area — and he did.
Capitalizing on the lax laws of the Wild West, Limantour filed claims to more than 17,000 acres in Tiburon, the
Farallones and beyond. The ploy didn’t stand for long and in 1858 the trader was found guilty of massive land
fraud; the name of the larger estero was changed from Limantour to Drakes. K.P.
WHAT’S
IN A NAME
3 MARIN LICE
REMOVAL SALONS
3–8 eggs
LAID DAILY
8–9 DAYS TO HATCH
2– 3 MILLIMETERS LONG (ADULT)
2 day survival
OFF HOST
30DAY LIFE ON HOST
60% HAVE NO BITE REACTION
