Author Archives: Cris

Pomegranate

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Pomegranate

“Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate behind your veil.” Song of Solomon 4:3

  • Pomegranates are fruit that grow on small trees or shrubs that reach approximately 5 to 8 metres (16 to 26 feet) in height, and are native to the Middle East’s Iran.
  • Pomegranates have the scientific name Punica granatum, that are from the family Lythraceae, the family of flowering herbs, although they were originally classified as part of the Punicaceae family.
  • Pomegranates are large, red coloured, roughly spherical berries with diameters of around 5 to 12 centimetres (1.9 to 4.7 inches).
  • Pomegranates contain white membranes and edible red arils (commonly called seeds), that contain a sweet to sour juicy flesh and a seed; with approximately 200 to 1400 seeds in a single berry.
  • ‘Pomegranate’ comes from the words ‘pōmum grānātum’ in Medieval Latin, that mean ‘apple with many seeds’.

Pomegranate, Red, Open, Plant, Two, Arils, Ten Random Facts, Fruit

  • Pomegranate arils are easily accessed by scoring the fruit with a knife, breaking it open, and banging the fruit or placing the fruit in water, where the arils will separate from the membranes.
  • Pomegranates can be eaten raw, and are used in Middle Eastern cuisine as well as Greek dishes, and are made into beverages including alcohol or juice, or used as a flavouring.
  • Pomegranates are sometimes recognised as a symbol of fertility, prosperity and ambition, or in Greek mythology, death.
  • Pomegranates have been used in traditional medicine to treat digestive problems, as well as internal parasites.
  • Pomegranates are very high in vitamin K, vitamin C and fibre, and are high in folate, potassium, copper and manganese.
Bibliography:
The Fruit, 2008, Pomegranates 101, http://www.pomegranates.tv/information.html
Pomegranate, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomegranate

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Maidenhair Fern

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Maidenhair Fern

Keep up the water to your maidenhair ferns.

  • Maidenhair ferns are a group of ferns of which there are approximately 200 species.
  • Maidenhair ferns are from the family Pteridaceae, the family of ferns, and has the scientific name Adiantum.
  • Maidenhair ferns have soft textures and lacy appearances, although textures and appearance vary among the species.
  • Maidenhair ferns are generally green in colour with black or brown leaf stems, although the colours of the leaves can be variegated.
  • Maidenhair ferns are deciduous, grow from rhizomes, and reach up to 1 metre (3 feet) in height.

Maidenhair Fern, Green, Plant, Vegetation, Genus, Adiantum, Ten Random Facts, Australia

  • Maidenhair ferns are typically used as an ornamental plant, both indoors and outdoors, and are often grown in pots, terrariums and hanging baskets.
  • Maidenhair ferns prefer a shady position in the garden, and if kept inside, then need to be grown in a well lit area.
  • ‘Adiantum’, the scientific name of maidenhair ferns, is from the Greek word ‘adiantos’, meaning ‘unwettable’, referring to the foliage of the plant that repels water.
  • Maidenhair ferns dry out quickly if not watered, but can be resurrected by cutting off dead branches and keeping the soil moist, and are not technically dead until green growth has not been seen for 18 months.
  • Maidenhair ferns are native to all continents except Antarctica, and grow best in moist habitats, particularly among rocks or near water features.
Bibliography:
Adiantum, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adiantum
Maidenhair Fern, 2006, Burke’s Backyard, http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/factsheets/Indoor-and-Potted-Plant/Maidenhair-Fern/2156

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Binder Clip

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Binder Clip

Binder clips are binding necessities.

  • Binder clips are small stationery items that can grip onto other objects or hold objects together, typically paper, and can be easily removed.
  • A binder clip’s body is generally a triangular prism shape made of spring steel, with attached metal wire loops that are used as handles for opening and closing the body.
  • Binder clips typically range from 0.5 to 5 centimetres (0.2 to 2 inches) in body size.
  • Binder clips are typically used for temporarily grouping many sheets of paper together, but they can also be used as bookmarks, money clips, and holding objects in place, among others.
  • It is believed that binder clips were originally invented by American Louis E Baltzley, for his father who was a writer, in USA’s Washington D.C. in 1910, and he received a patent for the invention in 1915.

binder Clip, black, large, small, assorted, Bulldog, Ten Random Facts, Stationary

  • Binder clips’ bodies are typically black in colour, but can range in colours and styles, and can include coloured patterns.
  • The original 1910 clip design is very similar to the one used today, and it is said that the first company to manufacture binder clips were the L.E.B Manufacturing Company.
  • ‘Binder clips’ are also known as ‘banker’s clips’, ‘foldback clips’, ‘foldover clips’, ‘bulldog clips’ and ‘handbag clips’.
  • Binder clip handles typically can face upwards or downwards, or they can be removed to make the clip more permanent.
  • Binder clips are often used as a paperclip alternative as they have a better grip and are rust resistant, and with one handle up, the clip can hang papers from a hook.

 

Bibliography:
Binder Clip, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binder_clip
Pash A, Our Favourite Office Objects: The Endlessly Versatile Binder Clip, 2010, Life Hacker, http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2010/09/our-favourite-office-objects-the-endlessly-versatile-binder-clip/

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Taipei 101

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Taipei 101

Taipei 101, a record holder.

  • Taipei 101 is a blue-green coloured skyscraper that was the tallest building in the world from 2004 to 2010.
  • ‘Taipei 101’ is also known as the ‘Taipei World Financial Center’ or ‘Taipei Financial Center’.
  • Taipei 101 is located in the city of Taipei, in east Asia’s Taiwan, and it cost US$1.76 billion to build.
  • When the building was finished, Taipei 101 was the tallest sundial in the world, it contained the largest and heaviest tuned mass damper sphere (like a pendulum to keep the building more stable), the largest countdown clock, and had the fastest elevator.
  • Taipei 101 is made to withstand severe typhoons and earthquakes, using its tuned mass damper sphere, 380 foundation piles rammed 80 metres (262 feet) into the earth, and other features.

Taipei 101, Green, Tower, skyscraper, Taiwan, Financial center, World Record, asia, Ten Random Facts, Ground

Taipei 101
Image courtesy of Luke Ma/Flickr
  • Taipei 101 has 101 floors, symbolising a new century, the coming of new years, and perfection, and it contains 8 sections, referring to the symbolic Chinese number for prosperity.
  • Taipei 101 is the home to apartments, observatories, offices, meeting centres, a club and restaurants, and has an attached shopping mall.
  • Since its construction, Taipei 101 has been the home to New Years Eve firework displays each year, with the longest display lasting 288 seconds in 2010/2011, and in 2011/2012 it is said that 30,000 rocket fireworks were launched.
  • Taipei 101’s architect was the Chinese company, C.Y. Lee & Partners, and planning started in 1997, construction began in 1999/2000, and the building opened on New Years Eve, 2004.
  • Taipei 101 boasts a height of 509 metres (1,670 feet), surpassing the 1998 built Petronas Towers in Malaysia on completion, and being surpassed by Burj Khalifa in Dubai in 2010.
Bibliography: Clancy R, The Building of the Taipei 101 Skyscraper, 2009, Property Forum, http://www.propertyforum.com/emerging-property-markets/230-the-building-of-the-taipei-101-skyscraper.html
Taipei 101, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taipei_101

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Alpaca

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Alpaca

Not quite a llama…

  • Alpacas are grazing mammals native to South America, especially the Andes mountain regions, that have been domesticated and are not known of or found in the wild.
  • Alpacas have the scientific name of Vicugna pacos and come from the family Camelidae, the family of camels, and are related to llamas.
  • Alpacas are commonly kept in agricultural herds, particularly in South America, up to altitudes of 5000 metres (16000 feet), for fibre and meat.
  • Adult alpacas grow on average to be 81 to 100 centimetres (2.7 to 3.3 feet) from the shoulder in height and in total grow to be 1.2 to 2.2 metres (3.9 to 7.2 feet) and weigh 48 to 84 kilograms (106 to 185 pounds).
  • Alpacas spit the contents of their stomach and use their hooves to protect themselves against predators like coyotes, lions and bears, and they also spit at displeasing peers, as well as vocalise with hums, clicks, whines and clucks, and others.

Alpaca, Brown, Black, White, Three, Graze, Shade, Grass, Green, Ten Random Facts, Animal, Domestic, Australia

  • Alpacas live in small herds and can live to be 20 to 25 years old.
  • Alpacas have a diet that mainly consists of grass, hay and some other foliage.
  • The fibre of alpacas is soft, warm, strong and silky, as well as hypoallergenic, and it is considered a high quality fibre that is typically used in textiles, for projects such as clothing or blankets.
  • Alpacas only require an acre (0.4 hectare) of land to support between six to ten of the animals, and they generally toilet in the one area, known as a communal dung pile.
  • Alpacas have around 22 official natural fibre colours, ranging from blacks, browns, whites and greys.

 

Bibliography:
Alpaca, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpaca
Alpaca Facts, n.d, Aragon Alpacas, http://www.aragonalpacas.com/alpaca_info.html

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Computer Mouse

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Computer Mouse

Click, click, click-click, click; goes the computer mouse.

  • A computer mouse is a technology input device, generally used to move a pointer on a computer screen, although the technology is also used for some game consoles.
  • A computer mouse typically has two buttons, one on the left and one on the right, and a small wheel in the middle, known as a ‘scroll wheel’, and in some designs, it can also be pressed like a button, but it is generally used to scroll through information on a computer screen.
  • A computer mouse typically fits underneath one’s hand, with a finger on each of the left and right buttons, and was named so, because it originally resembled a mouse, with the cord as its tail.
  • The plural of computer mouse is ‘computer mice’, and ‘computer mouses’ is also an acceptable plural, often used by a person to distinguish it from the rodents.
  • Computer mice were invented by American Douglas Engelbart, an engineer, in the United States, in 1963, and were proven to be one of the most efficient cursor moving devices, although they were not commonly available for personal computer use until the early 1980s.

Computer mouse, blue, microsoft, logitech, wireless, wire, USB, Black, Silver, Ten Random Facts, Three

  • A computer mouse can perform actions via clicks of the buttons, with single and double clicks performing different actions depending on the button, and holding or moving the mouse with a button held activates different responses on the computer screen.
  • A computer mouse is typically connected to a device via cord, such as a USB, or wireless, often with a USB or serial receiver that plugs into the computer.
  • The outer layer of a computer mouse was originally made of wood, but are now typically made of plastic, and are found in all shapes, sizes and colours.
  • A computer mouse movement is measured in mickeys, as in ‘Mickey Mouse’,  which refers to the number of pixels the cursor has moved, compared to how many inches or centimetres the mouse has moved.
  • A modern computer mouse generally contains optical sensors like light-emitting diodes and photodiodes, and sometimes laser diodes, that track movement of the device.
Bibliography:
1963: Douglas Engelbart invents the Mouse, 2014, Berkley Engineering, http://coe.berkeley.edu/about/history-and-traditions/1963-douglas-engelbart.html
Mouse (computing), 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mouse_(computing)

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