{"product_id":"and-another-thing-current-events-mlb-rubbing-mud-monthly","title":"And Another Thing CURRENT EVENTS, MLB Rubbing Mud (MONTHLY)","description":"\u003cdiv data-en-clipboard=\"true\" data-pm-slice='1 1 [\"quoteblock\",{\"style\":null,\"textAlign\":null,\"draggable\":false}]' draggable=\"false\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv draggable=\"false\" style=\"text-align: start;\" data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\" data-en-clipboard=\"true\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv draggable=\"false\" data-pm-slice='1 1 [\"quoteblock\",{\"style\":null,\"textAlign\":null,\"draggable\":false}]' data-en-clipboard=\"true\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-en-clipboard=\"true\" data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\" style=\"text-align: start;\" draggable=\"false\"\u003e\n\u003ch3 data-en-clipboard=\"true\" data-pm-slice='1 1 [\"quoteblock\",{\"style\":null,\"textAlign\":null,\"draggable\":false}]' draggable=\"false\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan\u003e🔒 Monthly Member Version\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cdiv draggable=\"false\" data-pm-slice='1 1 [\"quoteblock\",{\"style\":null,\"textAlign\":null,\"draggable\":false}]' data-en-clipboard=\"true\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eIf you can see it but can’t click it, it’s a VIP thing. \u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003cdiv draggable=\"false\" data-pm-slice='1 1 [\"quoteblock\",{\"style\":null,\"textAlign\":null,\"draggable\":false}]' data-en-clipboard=\"true\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca title=\"Login to your ACCOUNT\" href=\"https:\/\/www.onelessthing.net\/account\"\u003eLogin\u003c\/a\u003e if you are a member or \u003ca title=\"Join the MONTHLY Membership\" href=\"https:\/\/www.onelessthing.net\/collections\/and-another-thing\/products\/and-another-thing-monthly-membership\"\u003eUPGRADE\u003c\/a\u003e to join the club.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv draggable=\"false\" data-pm-slice='1 1 [\"quoteblock\",{\"style\":null,\"textAlign\":null,\"draggable\":false}]' data-en-clipboard=\"true\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003ch3 style=\"caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;\" data-end=\"1080\" data-start=\"941\"\u003e- - - ABOUT THIS WEEK'S CURRENT EVENT ARTICLE ⤵\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003e⚾ \u003cstrong\u003eMLB Rubbing Mud: The Secret New Jersey Mud That Powers Major League Baseball\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"flex flex-col text-sm pb-25\"\u003e\n\u003csection class=\"text-token-text-primary w-full focus:outline-none [--shadow-height:45px] has-data-writing-block:pointer-events-none has-data-writing-block:-mt-(--shadow-height) has-data-writing-block:pt-(--shadow-height) [\u0026amp;:has([data-writing-block])\u0026gt;*]:pointer-events-auto scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]\" dir=\"auto\" data-turn-id=\"request-69a0ef6b-b088-8330-ae95-f51ec6c30d4d-1\" data-testid=\"conversation-turn-42\" data-scroll-anchor=\"true\" data-turn=\"assistant\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-10 [--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-xs,calc(var(--spacing)*4))] @w-sm\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-sm,calc(var(--spacing)*6))] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-lg,calc(var(--spacing)*16))] px-(--thread-content-margin)\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col gap-4 grow\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"223c3efb-dce1-4f7b-b8c0-78eb950495ad\" dir=\"auto\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-5-2-thinking\" class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal outline-none keyboard-focused:focus-ring [.text-message+\u0026amp;]:mt-1\" data-turn-start-message=\"true\" tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"streaming-animation markdown prose dark:prose-invert w-full wrap-break-word dark markdown-new-styling\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eBefore every MLB game, a clubhouse attendant spends nearly an hour rubbing six dozen baseballs with mud collected from a secret riverbank in New Jersey. Most fans have never heard of it — but without it, the game doesn't work the same way.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eThis current event article introduces students to Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud — the single natural resource that every MLB team depends on to prepare baseballs for play — and traces the agricultural and natural resource supply chain hiding inside America's favorite sport.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eStudents will also explore how forests, rivers, and soil science show up across the entire game — from the pitcher's mound to the batter's box.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eStudents will explore the topic through:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul class=\"[li_\u0026amp;]:mb-0 [li_\u0026amp;]:mt-1 [li_\u0026amp;]:gap-1 [\u0026amp;:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [\u0026amp;:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc flex flex-col gap-1 pl-8 mb-3\"\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\"\u003eWhy a brand new baseball is considered dangerous straight out of the box, and what the league learned about that problem the hard way in 1920\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\"\u003eHow Lena Blackburne discovered the mud, what made it outperform every other substance teams had tried, and how one family has supplied all thirty MLB teams for decades\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\"\u003eWhat a 2024 University of Pennsylvania study found about why the mud actually works, including three physical mechanisms no synthetic product has replicated\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\"\u003eHow rosin powder is harvested from Honduran pine trees, processed into a fine powder, and supplied to every MLB team by a single operation on a San Francisco pier\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\"\u003eWhy baseball field dirt is a precisely engineered blend of sand, silt, and clay — and why getting those ratios wrong causes real consequences on the field\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\"\u003eHow the shift from ash to maple bats happened, and why player preference alone doesn't explain why ash nearly disappeared from professional baseball\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\"\u003eHow the emerald ash borer, a beetle native to Asia first detected in Michigan in 2002, devastated the ash forests that bat manufacturers had relied on for more than a century\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eThis article connects natural resources, supply chains, and agricultural science to the business of professional sports — helping students see how forests, rivers, and soil composition shape the game long before the first pitch is thrown.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eA great tie-in for: natural resources and land use, invasive species and forest ecology, supply chain and ag economics, soil science, and current events in agriculture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"429\" data-start=\"69\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003eUtilizing \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong style=\"caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003ecurrent events in agriculture\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e is always just another thing to do that you probably don't have time for. We got you. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;\"\u003eHitting those \u003cstrong\u003eliteracy standards\u003c\/strong\u003e just another thing to do? We got you.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;\"\u003eThe Student Handouts consist of \u003cstrong\u003ereading passage, an informational graphic, associated vocabulary, comprehension questions, and a word puzzle\u003c\/strong\u003e. All answer keys included. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;\"\u003eUse it as a \u003cstrong\u003eBellringer Activity, Class Finisher, or save it for a Sub \u003c\/strong\u003eor on those interrupted\/shortened schedule days that inevitably come up. \u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(49, 176, 200);\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"One Less Thing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48373251113185,"sku":"CE69-M","price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0146\/1812\/files\/2_a37f2fde-534b-4251-9ae2-43f7c7cb0b21.jpg?v=1778899504","url":"https:\/\/www.onelessthing.net\/products\/and-another-thing-current-events-mlb-rubbing-mud-monthly","provider":"One Less Thing","version":"1.0","type":"link"}