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Stencil

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Stencil

Versatile stencils!

  • Stencils are art, craft or stationery items used to imprint designs on a surface with the use of paint or other medium, and are generally made from plastic, paper or metal sheets, although other materials can be used.
  • Stencils are typically reusable, as long as they can be removed from surfaces and don’t break.
  • Stencil designs often have an inner section to the design, called an ‘island’, that will be a loose piece, unless attached by a small portion of stencil material, known as a ‘bridge’.
  • Stencils are an ancient innovation, and hands or other objects were painted over in cave paintings thousands of years ago.
  • Home-use stencils are common, often used for neat painting and decorating features on walls or furniture, and are commonly used in craft related hobbies for embossing, painting and decorating, or lettering.

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  • Stencils are used by government, business and military organisations, often to letter objects, signs or vehicles.
  • Stencils for children are commonly available, which enables them to draw basic or more detailed shapes or letters, and gives them the opportunity to be creative by filling in more details, or colouring the shape.
  • Stencils were historically used by Eskimos and Ancient Egyptians, Romans, Chinese, Greeks and Japanese, while some of the materials used were cloth, leaves and animal skin.
  • Throughout history, stencils were commonly used for mass production, for clothing, religious art and wall designs among others.
  • Today, stencils are often used professionally by artists especially for screen printing and airbrushing, and some graffiti artists use them for their unique and ‘political’ look.

 

Bibliography:
Gilbert M, The History of Stencilling, 2014, EHow, http://www.ehow.com/about_5380158_history-stenciling.html
History of Stencilling, 2011, Royal Design Studio Stencils, http://www.royaldesignstudio.com/blogs/how-to-stencil/3763542-history-of-stenciling
Stencil, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stencil

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Spotted Hyena

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Spotted Hyena

“Cackle, cackle,” laughs the spotted hyena.

  • Spotted hyenas are mammals native to areas south of the Sahara Desert in Africa, and are found in woodland, desert and savannah habitats.
  • ‘Spotted hyenas’ are also known as ‘laughing hyenas’, and have the scientific classification of Crocuta crocuta and are from the family Hyaenidae, the family of hyenas.
  • Spotted hyenas grow to be 86 to 150 centimetres (34 to 59 inches) in length and weigh around 40.5 to 86 kilograms (89 to 190 pounds), and can run at speeds of 60 km per hour (37 miles per hour).
  • Spotted hyenas have short manes and fur coats of grey-brown to yellow-grey in colour, spotted with darker coloured spots.
  • Spotted hyenas can live up to 25 years in the wild, and females typically have litters of two cubs, sometimes three, and the cubs are born eyes opened and may attack fellow cubs at birth.

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Spotted Hyenas
Image courtesy of Steve Jurvetson/Flickr
  • Spotted hyenas live in clans of up to 80, living in dens often made by other animals and later deserted, and commonly with multiple adults and their cubs in a single den.
  • A spotted hyena’s diet mostly consists of animals of all shapes and sizes, and they are typically hunters, although they may occasionally scavenge, often hunting in small to medium sized groups.
  • Spotted hyenas typically compete for food with lions, with lions sometimes stealing their hunted food, and they may attack humans, out of threat or desperateness, but it is not common.
  • Spotted hyenas vocalise with sound including laughing, grunts, whines, squeals and whoops, among others.
  • Spotted hyenas generally consume all parts of an animal, including bones, horns, hooves, teeth, skin and fur, most of which is broken down by their internal organs.
Bibliography:
Spotted Hyena, 2014, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/mammals/hyena/
Spotted Hyena, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_hyena

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Hibiscus

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Hibiscus

The hibiscus genus.

  • Hibiscus are perennial and annual flowering small trees and shrubs of the same-named genus, of which there are approximately 300 different species.
  • Hibiscus are from the family Malvaceae, the family of mallows, and they generally have glossy green leaves, and a distinct long stamen.
  • Hibiscus often have brightly coloured flowers that are sometimes variegated and can have double petals, in colours of pink, purple, white, yellow, orange and/or red.
  • Hibiscus flowers have at least 5 petals forming a trumpet, and spread 4 to 18 centimetres (1.5 to 7 inches) in diameter.
  • The word ‘hibiscus’ comes from ‘hibískos’, a Greek word named for the plant, and they are also known as ‘rose mallows’, with different species having other common names.

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  • Hibiscus plants grow to be around 1.5 to 3 metres (5 to 10 feet) in height, although there are some species that grow taller than this, and they are commonly used for ornamental or landscaping purposes in gardens.
  • Hibiscus flowers are commonly dried and can be made into tea, cold drinks, used as food colouring, added to salads, or be cooked and eaten, typically in Mexican cuisine.
  • Hibiscus are native to mainly warm areas around the world, with different species being native to specific areas, including Asia, Australia and the Pacific islands.
  • Hibiscus is the recognised national flower of Malaysia, South Korea and the Republic of Haiti.
  • Hibiscus can be made into shampoo and has been used medicinally, notably for lowering blood pressure.
Bibliography:
Hibiscus, 2002, Burke’s Backyard, http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/factsheets/Flowering-Plants-and-Shrubs/Hibiscus/107
Hibiscus, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibiscus

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Mount Kilimanjaro

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Mount Kilimanjaro

Mount Kilimanjaro… not for the faint and weary!

  • Mount Kilimanjaro is a volcano mountain with three volcanic peaks, Mawenzi, Shira and Kibo, and the first two are extinct, while Kibo is dormant, and is located in Kilimanjaro National Park in Tanzania, Africa.
  • At 5,895 metres (19,341 feet), Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest African mountain and highest mountain that is free-standing on earth, as well as one of the largest volcanoes.
  • The name ‘Kilimanjaro’ of ‘Mount Kilimanjaro’ is often regarded to mean ‘Mountain of Greatness’, although ‘Kilima’ means ‘hill’,  while it also could be called ‘Mountain of Caravans’ or ‘Mountain of Light’, and is often spelt incorrectly as ‘Mount Kilamanjaro’.
  • The summit of Mount Kilimanjaro was first climbed successfully by German Hans Meyer, a geologist, and Austrian Ludwig Purtscheller, a mountaineer, and their team in 1889.
  • Mount Kilimanjaro covers an area of around 388,000 hectares (958,000 acres), and its summit can be reached by 7 official paths, taking around 5 to 8 days.
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Mount Kilimanjaro
Image courtesy of Pius Mahimbi/Flickr
  • It is said that 6 to 8 people die on Mount Kilimanjaro every year, often caused by heart attacks, hypothermia, or altitude sickness.
  • Mount Kilimanjaro is the native home of the giant groundsel plant, among other vegetation found on the mountain, and in the forest areas, although seen rarely, there are honey badgers, primates, leopards, bush pigs, rodents, birds and bugs.
  •  Mount Kilimanjaro’s peak was originally covered by a glacier, although over 80% has melted, and it is said that the ice will possibly disappear by 2022 to 2033.
  • Mount Kilimanjaro is visited by approximately 35,000 people every year, and while no special skills are necessary to climb the mountain, many thousands never reach the summit due to altitude sickness, not being properly equipped, and lack of fitness.
  • In 2010, Spanish 22 year old Kilian Jornet became the record holder for the fastest two way climb of Mount Kilimanjaro, and completed the round trip in 6 hours and 29 minutes.
Bibliography:
Background Information on Kilimanjaro, n.d, Climb Mount Kilimanjaro, http://www.climbmountkilimanjaro.com/kilimanjaro-conquered.html
Mount Kilimanjaro, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Kilimanjaro

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African Buffalo

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African Buffalo

African buffalo are too unpredictable, so they have never been tamed.

  • African buffalo are stocky mammals, that look similar to cattle, and are native to areas south of Africa’s Sahara Desert.
  • ‘African buffalo’ are also known as ‘Cape buffalo’, ‘Congo buffalo’, ‘savanna buffalo’, ‘widowmakers’ and ‘black deaths’, and are included in Africa’s ‘big five’ game animals that are the most dangerous and difficult animals to hunt, and are considered more dangerous than African lions, leopards and elephants, and black rhinoceros that make up the other ‘big five’.
  • African buffalo have the scientific name of Syncerus caffer, being the only species in the genus, and are from the family Bovidae, the family of cloven hoofed (split into two toes) ruminants with non branching horns.
  • African buffalo can grow up to 1.7 metres (5.6 feet) in height, up to 3.4 metres (11.2 feet) in length, and depending on habitat, have a weight of 250 to 900 kilograms (600 to 2000 pounds).
  • There are four or five subspecies of African buffalo, and they typically have brown, black, brown-red or, if juveniles, red fur colour.

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African Buffalo
Image courtesy of Harvey Barrison/Flickr
  • The inward curving horns of African buffalo can grow up to 150 centimetres (5 feet) long, although forest buffalo, the smallest of the buffalo subspecies, have horns half that length, and on the male buffalo, the base of the horns extend across the head to form a shield, called a ‘boss’.
  • The African buffalo diet consists mainly of grass, and they live in marshlands, savannahs, mountains, plains, grasslands and forests, in herds of 50 to 500 animals in savannah areas, and under 20 in forests.
  • African buffalo are preyed on by lions, cheetahs, crocodiles, leopards hyenas, and humans, although they are only hunted by the experienced, as they are highly dangerous when threatened or attacked, and many people are killed each year by the buffalo.
  • African buffalo make sounds of grunts, growls and other deep cow sounds.
  • African buffalo typically have litters of one calf, and have a life span in the wild of around 20 years, although they can live up to 29 years.
Bibliography:
African buffalo, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_buffalo
Quick Facts, 2013, Ultimate Ungulate, http://www.ultimateungulate.com/Artiodactyla/Syncerus_caffer.html

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Typewriter

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Typewriter

Tap, tappety, tap-tappety tap.

  • Typewriters are machines that print carbon or ink characters on paper, requiring input from a person by pressing buttons, and are mechanically or electro-mechanically driven.
  • Most typewriters were replaced by word processors and computers by the late 1980s, although they are still in use in developing countries, as well as in prisons due to the ban of computers.
  • Typewriters were commonly used in offices and sometimes in homes, for the purpose of typing letters, documents, and other information.
  • The first typewriter ever invented was possibly by Englishman Henry Mill in 1714, for which he received a patent, and other early typewriters include inventions by Pelligino Turri, an Italian, in 1808 who also invented carbon paper, and William Austin Burt, an American who is most commonly credited for the invention of the typewriter, in 1829.
  • Fast typists can type around 100 words a minute on a manual typewriter, although records have been set for more than 150 words a minute.

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  • Typewriters generally require the manual insertion of a sheet of paper, and when the end of a page is reached, it is removed, and a new piece of paper is inserted into the machine.
  • Due to the permanency of the printing, typewriters would require a high level of typing accuracy, with competitions deducting points for inaccuracy, although mistakes could be erased with an abrasive hard rubber, or correction fluid, and various other means were also employed.
  • Thomas Edison invented the first electric style typewriter in 1870, which used an electrical input to type remotely, however the technology was not widely used until decades later.
  • The typically used English QWERTY keyboard layout on typewriters, known as the ‘Sholes’ or ‘Universal’ keyboard, were originally arranged by Sholes & Glidden typewriters in 1874, and are said to be laid out so that the most commonly used keys were separated to decrease the likelihood of jamming from fast typing.
  • The word ‘typewriter’ is generally considered the longest English word (10 letters), that only uses one row of the QWERTY keyboard layout, although a flower, ‘rupturewort’ can beat that record (11 letters).

 

Bibliography:
Typewriter, 2014, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typewriter>
Typewriters, 2014, Mary Bellis, http://inventors.about.com/od/tstartinventions/a/Typewriters.htm

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