Author Archives: Cris

Statue of Zeus at Olympia

By | |
Leave a comment
Statue of Zeus at Olympia

Don’t be intimidated by the Statue of Zeus at Olympia.

  • The Statue of Zeus at Olympia is an ancient statue that depicts the king of Greek gods, Zeus, on his throne.
  • The original site of the Statue of Zeus at Olympia was located in the Temple of Zeus, located in Olympia, in Europe’s Greece.
  • The Statue of Zeus at Olympia was constructed to be 13 metres (43 feet) in height, and was included in the list of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
  • The Statue of Zeus at Olympia was primarily made of cedar wood covered with ivory and gold, and was decorated with precious metals and stones, wood and ivory.
  • The Statue of Zeus at Olympia towered over the people who visited it, causing fear, and it was customary for athletes who participated in the ancient Olympic Games to swear an oath regarding the rules of the games, in the presence of the statue.
Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Painting, Yellow, Greek, God, King, Temple, Ten Random Facts, Flickr
A Painting of the Statue of Zeus at Olympia
Image courtesy of David Casteel/Flickr
  • All modern depictions of the Statue of Zeus at Olympia are based on historical descriptions, and Ancient Greek artists’ depictions that can be found on Ancient Greek coins.
  • The Statue of Zeus at Olympia was built by the legendary sculptor and architect Phidias, from Ancient Greece, around 435 BC.
  • The Statue of Zeus at Olympia included a sceptre, accompanied with a perched eagle in the statue’s left hand and in the right, a statue of Nike, the Ancient Greek victory goddess.
  • According to Greek legend, when Phidias completed the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the temple was struck by lightning in response to Phidias’ request of a blessing.
  • The Statue of Zeus at Olympia was most likely destroyed by fire in the 5th century, either in the Ancient Roman capital Constantinople or in the Temple of Zeus in Olympia.
Bibliography:
How the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World Work, 2014, How Stuff Works, http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/seven-wonder-ancient-world4.htm
Olympia2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Zeus_at_Olympia

Amazon:     

Oven Glove

By | |
Leave a comment
Oven Glove

Protect your hands with oven gloves.

  • Oven gloves are gloves or mittens used for hand protection when handling hot items, usually in a kitchen, like pots on stoves, bakeware and other items placed in ovens.
  • ‘Oven gloves’ are also known as ‘oven mitts’, and a variation of the glove style is a square, that is placed in the palm of one’s hand, and is known as a ‘pot-holder’ or ‘potholder’, and this term is often used for the glove and mitt styles as well.
  • Oven gloves are typically made of textiles, such as cotton, or silicone materials, and those made from fabric are usually insulated with heat resistant material.
  • Oven gloves are regularly sold individually but sometimes they are sold as pairs, and connected pairs are also available, where there is one long section of fabric that has a pocket at each end for the hands to go into.
  • Textile oven gloves are often decorated in colourful patterns and are usually washable in a washing machine, so that any food residue can be removed.

Oven Gloves, Mittens, Red, Green, Square, Together, Seperate, three pairs, fabric, Ten Random Facts

  • Oven gloves are often said to be invented in the United States’ Texas, in the 1870s, by the American baker Earl Mitt, that were made of wool and leather.
  • Typical household oven gloves generally do not work efficiently if hot items are to be held for lengthy periods, as the heat can transfer to the hand.
  • Early patented oven gloves, or potholders, in the 1890s, used paper as an insulating material.
  • Depending on the materials they are made from, oven gloves generally only protect hands from heat up to 93°C (200°F) with fabric gloves, 204°C (400°F) with neoprene, and 260°C (500°F) with silicone.
  • Some oven gloves are designed with finger sockets, for better grip and hand control, and heavy duty mitts, known as ‘furnace gloves’ are able to withstand much higher temperatures than the typical gloves used.

 

Bibliography:
The Development of Modern Oven Gloves, n.d, ProCook, http://www.procook.co.uk/news/the-development-of-modern-oven-gloves
How do I Choose the Best Oven Glove?, 2014, WiseGEEK, http://www.wisegeek.com/how-do-i-choose-the-best-oven-glove.htm
Oven glove, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oven_glove
What are Different Types of Oven Gloves?, 2014, WiseGEEK, http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-different-types-of-oven-mitts.htm

Amazon:     

Swiss Chard

By | |
Leave a comment
Swiss Chard

Unlike Swiss cheese, Swiss chard does not have holes.

  • Swiss chard is a biennial vegetable primarily grown for its edible leaves.
  • ‘Swiss chard’ is also known as ‘silverbeet’, ‘spinach beet’, crab beet’, ‘seakale beet’, ‘mangold’, ‘chard’, ‘white beet’, ‘perpetual spinach’, ‘strawberry spinach’, ‘Roman kale’ and ‘bright lights’.
  • Swiss chard has the scientific name Beta vulgaris cicla and is from the beet genus, Beta vulgaris, and is related to beetroots and sugar beets.
  • Swiss chard is from the family Amaranthaceae, the family of amaranths, which is the same family that the leaf vegetable, spinach, is from, and the plant is native to Europe’s Mediterranean.
  • Swiss chard is commonly used raw or cooked, in salads or other dishes, or sauteed as a side vegetable, and is regularly used in Mediterranean cuisine.

Swiss chard, leafy, green, leaves, stalk, white, Ten Random Facts, Silverbeet, Australia

  • Swiss chard can have a bitter taste when raw that can be removed by cooking, mostly caused by the oxalic acid in the vegetable, and large quantities can cause health issues for some people.
  • Swiss chard is extremely high in vitamin K, very high in vitamin A, high in vitamin C, and has many other beneficial vitamins and minerals.
  • ‘Swiss chard’ is said to have been named to communicate a difference between another, similar looking or similarly named vegetable.
  • Swiss chard has large, glossy looking, bubbly textured leaves that can be green or a reddish purple colour, and the thick stems or stalks can be white, red, yellow, orange or purple.
  • It is best to store Swiss chard unwashed, as it can otherwise easily deteriorate, and it is recommended that it be kept in a sealed plastic bag with air removed, in the refrigerator.

 

Bibliography:
Chard, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chard
Swiss chard, 2014, The World’s Healthiest Foods, http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=16

Amazon:     

Mountain Gorilla

By | |
Leave a comment
Mountain Gorilla

Mountain gorillas are powerful but shy.

  • Mountain gorillas are one of the largest primates in the world, and are native to eastern and central areas of Africa, specifically in the Virunga mountains in Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, and Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
  • Mountain gorillas are a type of Eastern gorilla, or Gorilla beringei, from the Gorilla genus, that come from the family Hominidae, the family of great apes.
  • Mountain gorillas have black coloured long, thick fur, and range from 100 to 220 kilograms (220 to 490 pounds) in weight and can stand as tall as 1.2 to 1.9 metres (4 to 6.2 feet).
  • Mountain gorillas are the smallest out of the two Eastern gorilla subspecies, and have the scientific name Gorilla beringei beringei, and the males are often known as ‘silverbacks’ due to the fur on their back that changes to a silver or gray colour as they grow older.
  • Mountain gorillas are commonly found in dormant volcanic mountainous regions, at elevations of 2,200 to 4,300 metres (7,200 to 14,100 feet).

Gorilla, Black, single, Arms folded, Tree, Bush, Ten Random Facts, Flickr

Mountain Gorilla Image courtesy of David Bacon/Flickr
  • Mountain gorillas typically live in groups of ten or more, often with a dominant male and many females, and live, on average, up to 35 years.
  • A mountain gorilla’s diet mainly consists of vegetation, up to 34 kilograms (75 pounds) a day, and vertebrates of small size.
  • Mountain gorillas are classified as critically endangered, with only 800 to 1000 individuals left in the wild, due to poaching, disease, war and habitat loss.
  • Mountain gorillas have been shown to be afraid of caterpillars and chameleons, and have a dislike of water.
  • The young of mountain gorillas hang onto their mothers’ back for up to 3 years, from approximately 4 months old.
Bibliography: Mountain Gorilla, 2014, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/mammals/mountain-gorilla/
Mountain Gorilla, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_gorilla

 

Amazon:  

Pocket Knife

By | |
Leave a comment
Pocket Knife

‘A man without a knife is a man without a life.’

  • A pocket knife is a knife, that sometimes has other blades, that can be easily stored in a pocket, as the blade or blades fold into a holder or handle.
  • A ‘pocket knife’ has also been known as a ‘spring knife’, ‘penny knife’, ‘jackknife’, ‘jack-knife’, ‘farmers knife’, ‘peasant knife’, ‘sodbuster knife’ and a ‘folding knife’.
  • Pocket knife blades generally range from 5 to 15 centimetres (2 to 6 inches) in length, and are usually made of steel and have a plastic, metal, or wooden handle or holder.
  • A pocket knife has multiple uses, and can be used for opening items, cutting items or for self defence, among others.
  • Basic pocket knives have been produced for at least two thousand years, and became more commonly available in the 1700s due to the Industrial Revolution in Britain, as well as more affordable.

Pocketknife, red, blade, open, lots, sharp, Ten Random Facts, invention

  • Pocket knives became popular among farmers and gardeners of the 1800s and 1900s, due to the knife’s cheapness and small size.
  • Pocket knife blades generally do not lock in place, but, when opened, are stable, sometimes due to a spring.
  • A pocket knife is typically opened using one’s fingers or fingernails, and they often have small grooves for fingernails to slot into.
  • In some countries there are restrictions regarding the use, or having in one’s possession, a pocket knife, and in the United Kingdom one can not be carried publicly, if the blade is over 7.6 centimetres (3 inches), although there are exceptions.
  • Pocket knives are often produced as multi-tools, meaning that they are not limited to blades, and one pocket knife can include a number of blades, as well as tweezers, scissors, corkscrew, screwdriver, saw, bottle opener and more.

 

Bibliography:
The History of Pocket Knives, n.d, Egginton, http://www.eggintongroup.co.uk/history/the-history-of-pocket-knives.html
Pocket Knife, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocket_knife

 

Amazon:      

Benjamin Franklin

By | |
Leave a comment
Benjamin Franklin

‘Either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing.’ – Benjamin Franklin

  • Benjamin Franklin is known as one of America’s founding fathers, and is said to be a ‘polymath’ – a person who has significant knowledge and ability in a wide variety of fields, and during Franklin’s lifetime, he was a politician, author, scientist, printer, postmaster, inventor, and more.
  • Many towns, companies, warships and the like have been named after Benjamin Franklin, and he has been featured on numerous postage stamps, and is featured on America’s $100 note.
  • Benjamin Franklin was born on 17 January, 1706, in Boston, in the United States’ Massachusetts, and died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at 84 years of age, on 17 April, 1790, from pleurisy.
  • Benjamin Franklin was only schooled for two years, due to being withdrawn because of his parents lack of money, and was then mostly self-educated by reading.
  • Benjamin Franklin proposed to Deborah Read in 1723, when they were both young, however her mother did not grant permission, so Deborah later married John Rogers who abandoned her, and as she was not able to divorce her first husband, she entered a common-law marriage with Franklin on 1 September, 1730.

Benjamin Franklin, Portrait, Sketch, Black and White, 1882, Ten Random Facts, Flickr

Portrait of Benjamin Franklin
Image courtesy of El Biblioteca /Flickr
  • Benjamin Franklin wrote many texts under pen names, some of which included Mrs Silence Dogood, Richard Saunders, Harry Meanwell, Timothy Turnstone and Alice Addertongue.
  • Benjamin Franklin and Deborah Read had a son who died of smallpox at age 4, and later a daughter named Sarah, and Franklin also fathered a son before his marriage to Read, although it is not known who the mother was.
  • Benjamin Franklin played the violin, harp and guitar; composed music; was a keen player of chess; and invented a lightning rod, the Franklin stove, bifocal glasses, and a glass armonica, among others; and is also known for his kite and lightning experiments.
  • Benjamin Franklin was the President of Pennsylvania in 1785 to 1788, and the US Minister to France and Sweden, from 1778 to 1785 and 1782 to 1783, respectively.
  • Two United States cities, Boston and Philadelphia, were beneficiaries of £1000 that Benjamin Franklin left them in his will, which was to be held in trust for 200 years, and during that time the money had built up to $5 million in the Boston trust, and $2 million in the Philadelphia one.
Bibliography:
Benjamin Franklin, 2014, History, http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/benjamin-franklin
Benjamin Franklin, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin
Name that Ben, 2002, Public Broadcasting Service, http://www.pbs.org/benfranklin/l3_wit_name.html

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...