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Red Panda

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Red Panda

These facts shed some light on the mysterious red panda.

  • Red pandas are mammals that generally live alone in trees of forest habitats in Asia, particularly south-west China and eastern Himalayas.
  • ‘Red pandas’ are also known as ‘red cat-bears’ and ‘lesser pandas’, and they are a red-brown colour, with dark legs, ringed tails and white faces.
  • There are two subspecies of red panda, and the animal’s scientific name is Ailurus fulgens, from the family Ailuridae, and it is the only living member of the family.
  • The diet of red pandas mainly consists of bamboo, as well as other vegetation, eggs, insects, small birds and small mammals.
  •  Red pandas grow to be 50 to 65 centimetres (20 to 26 inches) in length and range from 3 to 9 kilograms (6.6 to 20 pounds) in weight.
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Red Panda
Image courtesy of Davejoe/Flickr
  • Red pandas generally sleep during the day, and are active during dawn and dusk periods as well as during the night.
  • Female red pandas make nests for their young in tree hollows or crevices using vegetation, and later give birth to one to four cubs.
  • Red pandas can live up to 15 years of age, although they generally live 8 to 10 years, and they are preyed upon by snow leopards and martens.
  • Red pandas are threatened by loss of habitat by deforestation and poaching for their fur coat, while some are kept as pets.
  • Two red pandas escaped from two different zoos, one in England, in Europe in 2005, and another in the United States of America’s Washington DC in 2013, although they were both recaptured.
Bibliography:
Red panda, 2014, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/mammals/red-panda/
Red panda, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_panda

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Nutcracker

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Nutcrackers have many uses: nut cracking, displaying, starring in ballets…

  • Nutcrackers are items used to break nut shells to access the nut, using combined mechanical and human power.
  • A nutcracker in ancient times was a partially hollowed stone that held the nut, and another stone was used to crack the nut shell.
  • The oldest nutcracker known to the world and made from metal, was found in the Taranto area in Italy, Europe, and dates back to 300 to 200 BC.
  • Modern nutcrackers are generally similar to pliers, except the ends near the nut are pivoted, causing a different lever action, and they are typically made of metal or wood, but ivory, china, bone, silver, and brass have been used.
  • From the 1400s, nutcrackers were very decorative, resembling a person or fictional character, and were commonly made in France and England.

Nutcracker, Old, Black, Macadamias, Ten Random Facts, Invention, Culinary, Food, Tool

  • Nutcracker figurines today are used more often ornamentally, notably during the Christmas season, and for this reason they are becoming a Christmas symbol.
  • The nutcracker has been depicted in the famous book and ballet of the same name, and the English term was in use as early as 1481.
  • Some nutcrackers have a screw type mechanism which is wound down on to the nut to force the shell to crack, and these can be useful to crack very hard shelled nuts like macadamia nuts.
  • In the early years of German nutcrackers, the crackers were believed to be protectors based on their appearance and stature.
  • Decorative nutcrackers are popular items to be collected, particularly those from the remote mountainous region of Sonneberg, in Thuringia, Germany.

Bibliography:

History of Nutcrackers, 2014, Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum, http://www.nutcrackermuseum.com/history.htm
Nutcracker, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutcracker

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Baked Beans

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Baked Beans

Do you delight in baked beans?

  • Baked beans are a culinary dish that includes both stewed, or less commonly baked, beans and a sauce.
  • Baked beans are most commonly made of white navy or haricot beans, that are one of the many varieties of Phaseolus vulgaris, which includes common beans, and others.
  • Baked beans are a popular quick-preparation meal, and for this reason, are often eaten at camps or rural areas.
  • Baked beans are commonly eaten for breakfast, along with other meals, and are popular with toast, chips, pork or waffles, among others.
  • Baked beans were canned and sold as early as 1861 in the United States, and they often contained pork and molasses, and of all convenience foods to become popular in the Western world, beans were among the first.

Baked Beans, Red, White, Sauce,Container, Ten Random Facts, Food, Convenience,

  • Baked beans have a savoury-sweet taste, and are typically coloured red, orange or brown, and they are typically sweetened by sugar, molasses or maple syrup, and the sweetener varies by country.
  • Traditionally, baked bean products have been high in salt and sugar, although some producers have lowered the quantities to make a healthier product.
  • Baked beans are very high in fibre, and are high in phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, thiamine, copper and protein, and they contain significant quantites of other vitamins and minerals.
  • Baked beans are sometimes homemade, although they are commonly sold commercially in a can, and a notable manufacturer is Heinz.
  • Baked beans originated as a mixture of British and, particularly, American bean dishes, with the notable Boston variety.
Bibliography: Baked Beans, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baked_beans
O Thring, 2011, Consider Baked Beans, http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2011/feb/22/consider-baked-beans

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Saint Lucia

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Saint Lucia

‘The Land, The People, The Light’ – the motto of Saint Lucia.

  • Saint Lucia is an island located in the West Indies, in the Caribbean Sea, close to the Atlantic Sea, and is one of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles volcanic island arc.
  • Saint Lucia covers an area of 617 square kilometres (238.2 square miles) and its highest peak, Mount Gimie, is 950 metres (3,120 feet) high.
  • It is believed that Saint Lucia was first discovered by Europeans around the early 1500s, most likely by the Spanish navigator, Juan de la Cosa.
  • Saint Lucia was first settled unofficially in the 1550s by a French pirate named François le Clerc, and it wasn’t until the mid 1600s that French Jacques Dyel du Parques is said to have successfully built a settlement and appointed a governor there, although previous failed attempts had occurred by both the French and British.
  • Saint Lucia has a significant musical culture, particularly in folk music, and it hosts an annual jazz festival.
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Part of Saint Lucia
Image courtesy of Charles Kenny/Flickr
  • Saint Lucia officially became a part of the Commonwealth in 1979, and therefore has the British monarch as its head of state, and it is ruled by a prime minister and a democratic government.
  • Saint Lucia’s population in 2010 was 174,000 and its capital is Castries.
  • Saint Lucia is divided into eleven districts, or quarters, created by the French, and despite being settled by the French, it was fought over by the British for 150 years and changed hands between France and Britain numerous times.
  • The majority of Saint Lucian residents speak Creole French, a French dialect which is also known as ‘Patois’, though the official language is English.
  • Saint Lucia has a UNESCO World Heritage Site that includes two volcanic spires called the ‘Pitons’ and Sulphur Springs that are active hot springs, and its main industries are bananas and tourism, as the island sees a large quantity of tourists each year.
Bibliography:
History of Saint Lucia, 2011, Geographia, http://www.geographia.com/st-lucia/lchis01.htm
Saint Lucia, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Lucia

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Sea Otter

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Sea Otter

Sea otters are very unique and affectionate animals.

  • Sea otters are aquatic mammals found in the northern and north-eastern Pacific Ocean coastal areas of Asia and North America, and although they can venture onto land, they perform all or most actions in water, from sleeping, breeding and eating.
  • Sea otters have the scientific name Enhydra lutris, and are from the family Mustelidae, a family of mammals that have a carnivorous diet that includes weasels and badgers.
  • Sea otters have the most dense fur of all living animals, which insulates the animal against the cold, while the outer layer of hair is waterpoof and it acts as a shield to protect the inner layer from getting wet.
  • Sea otters have a lifespan of up to 23 years, but on average they live up to 10 to 20 years, and they grow to be 1 to 1.5 metres (3.3 to 4.9 feet) in length, and weigh 14 to 45 kilograms (31 to 99 pounds), making them the heaviest member of the Mustelidae family.
  • Sea otter’s fur is coloured dark brown, black, brown-grey or yellow in colour, and is occasionally speckled with a silver colour.
Sea Otter, Mammal, Aquatic, Animal, Ten Random Facts, Brown, Two, Northern, Flickr
Northern Sea Otters
Image courtesy of Gregory Smith/Flickr
  • Sea otters can swim submerged at a rate of 9 km/h (5.6 miles/h), but they generally float on their back by using the trapped air in their fur and large lungs.
  • Sea otters use their whiskers to sense underwater movement, along with their good sense of smell, as well as their vision and hearing abilities, and their diet mainly consists of fish, crustaceans, sea urchins and molluscs.
  • Sea otters spend much of their time sleeping by floating on their backs in water, and grooming, which increases the air capacity of their fur, their floating ability, the fur’s water repelling ability, and protection from cold.
  • Female sea otters generally have a single pup per litter, that is treated with much affection and attention, and any extra pups are generally abandoned.
  • Sea otters remain endangered, due to the mammal almost being obliterated by human hunting from 1741 to 1911 for their valuable fur, causing the world population to drop from 150,000 – 300,000 down to 1,000 – 2,000 animals, and since they have been protected in various capacities since 1911, the population has somewhat recovered with 100,000 – 150,000 animals that now exist.
Bibliography:
Sea Otter, 2014, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/mammals/sea-otter/
Sea Otter, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_otter

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Skewer

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Skewer

Skewers are really ancient inventions.

  • Skewers are long, thin utensils, or sticks, most often used to hold food items, and they usually have at least one pointed end so that food can be easily slid on to the utensil.
  • Skewers are commonly used to cook small pieces of food on, especially in barbecues, and meat and/or vegetables are common ingredients to make items like kebabs, yakitori and other food dishes.
  • Skewers have been used for centuries, and while their origins are uncertain, they were likely to be sticks of wood that were used to cook meat over an open fire.
  • Fresh fruit and other food items are sometimes served on skewers, and small decorative ones may be used for ornamental purposes in beverages.
  • Wooden skewers should be soaked in water for 30 minutes to an hour, before being placed over a heat source, as this helps to prevent the burning of the wood.

Skewer, Multiple, Three, Cream, Metal, Wood, Red, Decorative, Ten Random Facts, Culinary

  • Skewers have been used prominently throughout history in the cuisine of Asia’s Japan, Europe’s Greece, the Pacific islands and also Turkey in the Middle East.
  • Skewers come in a range of sizes, colours and shapes, and are typically made of stainless steel, wood like bamboo, and sometimes glass.
  • Some skewers, like twigs of rosemary, are pleasantly scented and the aroma permeates the cooked food.
  • When cooking on skewers, it is a good idea for food items to be placed with a small gap between each piece, to allow for each item to be cooked evenly, and each stick should contain items that cook at the same rate to prevent burning of some, and under-cooking of others.
  • Skewers are often used at market stalls or public events to serve food, as the food is easily handled and portable, making it good for takeaway purposes.

 

Bibliography:
History of the Skewer – Origins and Invention of Skewers, n.d, Eating Utensils, http://www.eatingutensils.net/history-of-other-eating-utensils/skewer-history/
Kelley P, What are Skewers?, 2014,eHow, http://www.ehow.com/info_8242571_skewers.html
Skewer, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skewer

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