This Stuff Is Real!

Accept or Except?

Accept means to “agree to,” “believe,” or “receive.” (Brianna accepted the invitation to the party.) Except means “but” or “not including.” (Alexandra has band practice every day except Tuesdays.) 

If you visit the Star Wars universe, you might accept/except a ride on a landspeeder.
It’s like a motorcycle, accept/except it hovers just above the ground.

Here on Earth, we don’t have landspeeders. But we do have maglev trains, which use magnets to float above the tracks. (Maglev is short for magnetic levitation.)
You can ride one if you want—accept/except you’ll need to go to Asia. Only China, South Korea, and Japan have them. 

The hit series Stranger Things features an alternate dimension called the Upside Down. It’s like our world, accept/except everything is super dangerous and terrifying. In the Upside Down, creatures are connected through a hive mind. That means they all move and think as one. 

Guess what? A kind of hive mind exists for real! It’s called slime mold. 

Slime mold is a single-celled organism. During one stage of its life cycle, it joins with others of its kind to form a big goopy blob. Slime mold doesn’t have a brain. Yet somehow all those organisms can move together as one. The blob can even find its way out of a maze! But don’t worry. Slime mold is harmless.

If Tony Stark offered you his Iron Man armor, would you accept/except it? 

Of course you would. You’d be able to lift a building. You’d be able to fly! Now you just need to visit the Marvel Universe to get your hands on it—accept/except, maybe you don’t. 

Currently, several companies make something called an exoskeleton.
Like Iron Man armor, it is wearable equipment that helps you complete tough physical tasks, like lifting heavy objects. Exoskeletons don’t allow you to fly. But maybe someday . . .