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Sweet Chilli Sauce

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Sweet Chilli Sauce

These facts are both sweet and hot, like sweet chilli sauce.

  • Sweet chilli sauce is a sauce popular among Asian communities, particularly in Thai and Malaysian cultures, and is also commonly used in western countries, like Australia.
  • Sweet chilli sauce is usually a thick, lumpy sauce that is red or orange in colour.
  • Sweet chilli sauce is typically made with chilli and sweet fruit or sugar.
  • Sweet chilli sauce is typically available in supermarkets and restaurants due to high popularity, and is generally purchased in a bottle, although there are many recipes for the condiment.
  • Sweet chilli sauce is commonly used with Asian spring rolls as a dipping sauce, and is added to various meat and vegetable dishes to add flavour.

Sweet chilli sauce, red, liquid, splotch, plat, blob, Orange, Mae Ploy, Ten Random Facts, Food

  • Sweet chilli sauce sometimes includes extra spices and liquid, like vinegar or water, to add flavour and to create volume.
  • Sweet chilli sauce is a good source of antioxidants, manganese, vitamin A and vitamin C.
  • Sweet chilli sauce is often used as a replacement in western diets, for sauces such as tomato or barbeque.
  • Sweet chilli sauce may contain vegetables, particularly tomato, to reduce the heat of the chilli and thicken the sauce.
  • Sweet chilli sauce is usually made with mild chilli peppers, like Jalapeño or Serrano.

 

Bibliography:
Sweet Chilli Sauce, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_chilli_sauce
Sweet Chilli Sauce, n.d, Tarladalal.com, http://www.tarladalal.com/glossary-sweet-chilli-sauce-1306i
What is Sweet Chilli Sauce?, 2014, WiseGEEK, http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-sweet-chilli-sauce.htm

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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

“I pay no attention whatever to anybody’s praise or blame. I simply follow my own feelings.” – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a musician that helped shape the classical music era, and is commonly referred to as ‘Mozart’.
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born as the youngest of seven children, on 27 January, 1756, in Austria’s Salzburg, in Europe, to Leopold Mozart, a violinist, and Anna Maria Pertl, although Mozart was only one of their two children to survive past their first year.
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was baptised in the St. Rupert’s Cathedral, a Catholic church, as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, and was commonly called by various names throughout his life, and had a preference for the Latin word Amadeus, meaning ‘to love God’, as his middle name, rather than the Greek word ‘Theophilus’, that had the same meaning.
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was originally educated only by his father, and was skilled on the piano and violin and composing at five years of age.
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s first performance was in Munich, Germany, in the Prince-elector Maximilian III’s court at age six.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Portrait, Red, Coat, White, Grey, Old, Ten Random Facts, Flickr, Joseph Hickel

Portrait of Mozart by Joseph Hickel
Image courtesy of WCFsymphony/Flickr
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was the official musician of the Salzburg Prince-Archbishop of the time, Hieronymus Colloredo, from 1773 to 1777, and later moved to Vienna, in Austria, in 1781.
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart married Constanze Weber on 4 August, 1782, and had six children; although only two survived past the age of one year.
  • At 35 years old, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died on 5 December 1791 in Vienna, Austria, after a period of illness, with his death cause unconfirmed.
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart significantly influenced the great classical musician Ludwig van Beethoven, although it is uncertain as to whether they met, and Mozart’s music has long been studied by musicians around the world, having influenced many.
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is said to have learnt 15 languages as the result of much travelling, and produced more than 600 works of music, in every genre of the day.
Bibliography:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 2014, Encyclopaedia Britannica, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/395455/Wolfgang-Amadeus-Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart
 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer, 2014, DSO Kids, http://www.dsokids.com/listen/by-composer/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart.aspx

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                        Mozart’s Music

Spear Thistle

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Spear Thistle

Spear thistles are not used as weapons… but can hurt!

  • Spear thistles are a biennial or annual thistle plant native to Europe, Asia and Northern Africa.
  • Spear thistles have the scientific name Cirsium vulgare and they are from the family Asteraceae, the family of asters, sunflowers and daisies.
  • ‘Spear thistles’ are also known as ‘bull thistles’, ‘black thistles’,  ‘scotch thistles’  ‘Fuller’s thistles’, ‘swamp thistles’ and ‘common thistles’ among others.
  • Spear thistles grow to be 1 to 1.5 metres (3.3 to 5 feet) in height, with flower stems at the end of the branches, and look similar to the well known Scotch thistle or cotton thistle, although they are a different species of plant and have the scientific name Onopordum acanthium.
  • Spear thistles have flower heads that are bristle like and are coloured pink to purple, and the plant has green, sharp spiny leaves.

Spear Thistle, Green, Purple, Pink, Flower, Dead, Green, Ten Random Facts, Australia, Plant, Weed, Spiky, Prickly,

  • Spear thistles are classified as a noxious and an environmental weed in some countries, and is a particular problem in Australia, parts of the United States and the United Kingdom.
  • Spear thistles typically grow in sunny open areas, such as paddocks and fields.
  • Spear thistle stems, flowers, roots, and seeds can be eaten and the stems and leaves can be peeled and then steamed or boiled.
  • Spear thistles flower during spring to autumn, but only in their second year of growth.
  • Spear thistle plants have been used medicinally and parts of the plant can be made into paper.
Bibliography:
Bull Thistle, 2014, King Country, http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/animalsAndPlants/noxious-weeds/weed-identification/bull-thistle.aspx
Cirsium vulgare, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cirsium_vulgare

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Plitvice Lakes National Park

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Plitvice Lakes National Park

Plitvice Lakes National Park is an old park with new splendour.

  • Plitvice Lakes National Park is a national park located in the mountains of Croatia, Europe, where it is the largest park, and it was established in 1949.
  • Plitvice Lakes National Park has an area of 296.85 square kilometres (114.61 square miles).
  • Plitvice Lakes National Park became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, and in 2000, the parks borders were extended to include underground water flows.
  • Plitvice Lakes National Park is seen by more than 1 million people annually, and there are hiking paths and boardwalks for visitors to use.
  • Plitvice Lakes National Park contains 16 lakes, as well as beautiful waterfalls, sporting colours of green, grey, blue and azure, caused by the surrounding limestone’s calcium carbonate content.
Plitvice Lakes National Park, Green, Water, Limestone, Calcium Carbonate, Blue, Aqua, Clouds, Croatia, Ten Random Facts, Flickr
A Plitvice Lake
Image courtesy of Grant Bishop/Flickr
  • Plitvice Lakes National Park has over 320 types of butterflies and moths, and 150 bird species including the eagle owl and the white-throated dipper.
  • ‘Plitvice Lakes National Park’ in Croatian is known as ‘Nacionalni Park Plitvička Jezera’, and the origin of the name ‘Plitvice’, most likely comes from the river called ‘Plitvica’, that flows into the lakes, while the Croatian words ‘plitko’, ‘plitvak’ and ‘pličina’ all mean ‘shallow’.
  • Plitvice Lakes National Park has forests of fir, beech, and spruce trees, and is the home to over 1260 species of plants, with more than 70 that are endemic to the area.
  • The Croatian War of Independence broke out in 1991 in the Plitvice Lakes National Park and lasted until 1995, causing the park to be endangered until 1998 and during this period it was successfully cleaned of land mines, although many buildings in the area were destroyed during the war.
  • The symbolic logo of Plitvice Lakes National Park is the European brown bear, which can be found in the park, along with 50 other mammal species, like deer, pine martens, hedgehogs, lynx, otters, and wolves.
Bibliography:
Bryan K, The history and little known facts behind Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia, n.d, Europe A La Carte, http://www.europealacarte.co.uk/blog/2010/05/03/the-history-and-little-known-facts-behind-plitvice-lakes-national-park-croatia/
 The Plitvice Lakes National Park, 2014, Nacionalni Park Plitvička Jezera, http://np-plitvicka-jezera.hr/en/
Plitvice Lakes National Park, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plitvice_Lakes_National_Park

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Rainbow Trout

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Rainbow Trout

No, rainbow trout do not cause rainbows.

  • Rainbow trout are fish native to North American and north east Asian areas of the Pacific Ocean, and are also native to cold, North American lakes and rivers.
  • ‘ Rainbow trout’ are also known as ‘steelheads’, ‘steelhead trout’, ‘redband trout’ and ‘ocean trout’.
  • Rainbow trout adults have a typical length between 51 to 76 cm (20 to 30 inches) and depending on their habitat, they can weigh between 0.5 to 9.1 kilograms (1 to 20 pounds).
  • Rainbow trout have a red stripe from the tail to the head, and have a silvery, grey or brown skin colour and have numerous small dark coloured spots.
  • Rainbow trout have been introduced into every continent except Antarctica, and as a result, have decreased native fish population in many countries.

Rainbow Trout, Hold, Fish, Fisherman, Silver, Caught, Ten Random Facts, Alaska, United States, National Geographic

Rainbow Trout
Image courtesy of National Geographic
  • Rainbow trout, or steelhead trout as they are called in the United State’s Washington, became an official symbol of the state of Washington in 1969.
  • Rainbow trout has the scientific name Oncorhynchus mykiss and is from the family Salmonidae, the family of ray-finned fish, that migrate to fresh water to spawn, and either return to the ocean or further down stream after reproducing.
  • Rainbow trout can live to be 11 years, but their typical lifespan ranges from 4 to 6 years in the wild, and they always breed at the same place they were born.
  • Rainbow trout has a diet of crustaceans, small fish, water insects and fish eggs is popularly hunted for sport, food and bait.
  • Rainbow trout can be cooked and are easily eaten, while having a nut-like taste, and are commonly farmed commercially, with 604, 695 tonnes (666,562 tons) produced in 2007, with Chile being the largest producer.
Bibliography:
Rainbow trout, 2014, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/fish/rainbow-trout/
Rainbow trout, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_trout

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Rubber Band

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Rubber Band

Do not stretch the rubber band or it will… SNAP… too late.

  • Rubber bands are typically circular bands that stretch and are generally used to hold groups of items as one, or holding items in position.
  • It is said that the biggest consumer of rubber bands on earth is the US Postal Service that use them to sort and group mail, and they are also used in the floral industry and newspaper delivery services, and for holding other items together, like cut asparagus and other food stalks; pens and pencils and decks of cards.
  • ‘Rubber bands’ are also known as ‘elastic bands’, ‘lackey bands’, ‘laggy bands’, ‘binders’, and ‘elastic’.
  • Modern rubber bands were invented by the Englishman Stephen Perry, a businessman and inventor, that were patented on 17 March, 1845 in England.
  • Rubber bands are made from natural rubber (latex) or synthetic rubber, although they are generally manufactured with natural rubber due to the increased elasticity in this product.

Rubber band. elastic, small, assorted, blue, red, thick, large, brown, tan , yellow, Ten Random Facts

  • Rubber bands release heat energy when stretched, but absorb heat energy when retracted.
  • Rubber bands are found in many different sizes, shapes, colours and stretchiness, and can be larger than 43 cm (17 inches) or as small as 3 mm (1/8 inch), although they typically range from 3 to 18 centimetres (1.25 to 7 inches) in length.
  • In Britain, the use of rubber bands by the Britain’s Royal Mail postal service has caused significant media attention in the country, due to the large quantity of elastic bands found discarded on the ground everyday, so much so, that at one stage they changed the bands from brown, to red, to make them more visible, and therefore more likely to be picked up by postal workers.
  • Rubber bands are created by heating a mixture of rubber, sulfur and other chemicals into strips, that are then extruded into tubes, cured and cut into bands.
  • Rubber strips, similar to rubber bands, were first historically made by the Maya people, Aztecs and other Mesoamericans thousands of years ago.

 

Bibliography:
Roux G, The Birth of the Humble Rubber Band, 2013, Sciencelens, http://sciencelens.co.nz/2013/03/17/rubber-band/
Rubber band, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_band
Berlow L H, Rubber Band, 2014, How Products are Made, http://www.madehow.com/Volume-1/Rubber-Band.html

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