Blue Swimmer Crab

Blue Swimmer Crab

Clickety Click, Clickety Click… big nippers.

  • Blue swimmer crabs are also known as blue manna crab, flower crab, blue crab, sand crab and ‘blueys’.
  • The scientific name of the blue swimmer crab is Portunus armatus, originally Portunus pelagicus.
  • Blue swimmer crabs are large crabs native to the Indian and Pacific Ocean, and the middle east coast of the Mediterranean.
  • Male blue swimmer crabs are blue with white spots and female crabs are a dull green brown.
  • The main body, or carapace, of blue swimmer crabs can grow up to 25 cm (9.8 inches) in width.

Blue Swimmer Crab, Coast, Live, Australia, Queensland, Undersize, Ten Random Facts

  • Blue swimmer crabs can’t live very long out of water.
  • Blue swimmer crabs bury themselves in the sand or mud for most of the day.
  • Blue swimmer crabs feed at high tide, mainly on fish, worms, molluscs and, crustaceans.
  • Blue swimmer crabs are often caught for its meat, as it is very sweet.
  • Male blue swimmer crabs are believed to become more territorial in cold waters than warm waters.
Bibliography:
Portunus Pelagicus, 2013 Wikipedia,<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portunus_pelagicus>

Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal

What is the Taj Mahal??

  • The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum, or tomb, in Uttar Pradesh, India, that is constructed mainly of white marble.
  • Shah Jahan, a Mughal Emperor, commissioned the Taj Mahal for his third wife and the building started the year after she died.
  • The Taj Mahal was built between 1632-1653.
  • The Taj Mahal is commonly viewed as a Muslim masterpiece and includes designs from Turkish, Islamic, Persian, and Indian architecture.
  • The Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983, and is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Taj Mahal, Indian, Palace, Muslim, Tomb, Asia, Ten Random Facts, Free Digital Photos

Taj Mahal
Image courtesy of Hal Brindley/ Free Digital Photos
  • At the Great Gate of the Taj Mahal there is calligraphy that says ‘O soul, thou art at rest, return to the Lord at peace with him, and he at peace with you’.
  • The garden of the Taj Mahal is 30o meters (980 feet) square.
  • By the 1800s parts of the Taj Mahal were badly damaged and restoration took place under the supervision of Lord Curzon, a British viceroy, which was completed in 1908.
  • The wooden structure of the tomb in the Taj Mahal is rotting, which could possibly cause the tomb to collapse by 2016.
  • Two million people visited the Taj Mahal in 2001.
Bibliography:
Taj Mahal, 2013 Wikipedia,<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taj_Mahal>

Soy Sauce

Soy Sauce

Just a little flavour.

  • Soy sauce is a liqiud flavouring, generally used in cooking Asian dishes, and has a muddy, dark brownish colour.
  • Soy sauce is also known as soya sauce.
  • Soy sauce is generally made from soybeans, wheat, salt and water, although tamari, a traditional Japanese soy sauce, usually does not include wheat, which makes it suitable for a gluten free diet.
  • Soy sauce is said to have originated in China in 2BC.
  • Most varieties of soy sauce have lots of salt, meaning high sodium.

Light Soy Sauce, Flavour, Japanese, Chinese, Soya, Plate, Small, Chang's Naturally Brewed, Ten Random Facts

  • Soy sauce is high in lactic acid bacteria and dark Chinese soy sauce is very high in antioxidants.
  • Aspergillus, a fungus, is used to produce a mould, koji, which is vital to the fermentation process which produces the distinct flavour of soy sauce.
  • ‘Soy sauce’ comes from the Japanese word ‘Shoyo’ (しょうゆ).
  • There are numerous varieties and styles of soy sauce, and Japan, China, Indonesia, Taiwan, Korea and Vietnam are among those who produce the sauce.
  • Soy sauce can be made in two ways: blended or brewed.
Bibliography:
Soy Sauce 10 March 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soy_sauce>

Black Pepper

Black Pepper

Many different types of pepper; black, white and more.

  • Pepper is a vine that flowers and produces fruit, peppercorns, that are simply referred to as pepper.
  • Cooked and dried, unripe peppercorns makes black pepper; dried unripe peppercorns makes green pepper; and dried peppercorn seeds makes white pepper.
  • Pepper is native to South and South-East Asia, most notably India.
  • Dried peppercorn is most often used as a spice, and out of all known spices, peppercorn is traded the most.
  • The chemical piperine is responsible for the peppercorn’s spice.

Pepper, Black Pepper, Grounded, Powder, Ten Random Facts

  • Oil and pepper spirit, which is used in beverages such as Coca Cola, can be extracted from peppercorn when dried.
  • Pepper vines grow up to 4 metres (13 feet) in height and produce numerous pepper drupes (berry fruit) on long curvy shaped spikes on the stems of the plant.
  • Peppercorn was discovered rammed up the Egyptian Pharaoh Rameses II’s nose (1213 BC).
  • Historically, pepper was said to cure many health problems, from earaches to heart and lung diseases, and it is still sometimes used in modern times for medicinal purposes.
  • Vietnam, the world’s biggest producer of pepper, produces 34% of the world’s pepper products.
Bibliography:
Black Pepper 4 March 2013 , Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_pepper>

Snow Leopard

Snow Leopard

Snow leopard sneaks among the white snow…

  • Snow leopards are medium large cats and the scientific name is panthera uncia or uncia uncia.
  • Snow leopards are native to the mountainous regions of Central Asia and they live in snowy, rocky or forest terrain usually by themselves.
  • Snow leopards typically weigh 27-55 kg (60-120 pounds), and have a short body but a long tail, 80-100 cm (31 to 39 in) long.
  • Snow leopards can’t roar but instead hiss, chuff, mew, growl and wail.
  • Snow leopards have litters of, on average, one to five cubs.

 

Snow Leopard, Melbourne Zoo, Victoria, Australia, predator stare, portrait, Ten Radnom Facts, National Geographic, Jason Edwards

Snow Leopard
Image courtesy of National Geographic
  • When travelling, snow leopards generally don’t like to make there own tracks so travel along another animal’s tracks instead.
  • Snow leopards live at altitudes of 2,700-6,000 meters (8,900-20,000 feet) in summer and in winter live at altitudes of 1,200-2,000 meters (3,900-6,600 feet)
  • Snow leopards dig up snow and then spray urine in the hole to mark its territory.
  • The snow leopard’s white coat helps it to be camaflouged in the snow.
  • Snow leopard’s diet consists of meat of various animals, depending on the season, and sometimes grass.
Bibliography:
Snow leopards 23 February 2013 , Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_leopard>

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