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Hill of Crosses

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Hill of Crosses

Have you ever seen thousands of crosses in one place, like the Hill of Crosses?

  • The Hill of Crosses is a 60 metre (200 feet) long hill, covering more than 4500 square metres (1.1 acre), north of the city of Šiauliai, in Lithuania, in northern Europe.
  • The first crosses to be placed on the Hill of Crosses were probably erected there sometime after 1831, to remember dead relatives that were killed in a rebellion around that time.
  • In 1900, 130 crosses existed on the Hill of Crosses, and now it is believed to have a collection of more than 200,000 crosses on site.
  • The Hill of Crosses originally held a fortress that was destroyed, and now it attracts Catholic pilgrims, who bring, and leave there, crosses, crucifixes, carvings, rosaries, statues and the like.
  • During its history, more than 6,200 crosses and other items have been destroyed on the Hill of Crosses in many demolition attempts by the Soviet government, but these were quickly replaced by new crosses each time.

Part of the Hill of Crosses, metal, Wood, crucifix, crowded, statue, many, Ten Random facts, Flickr

Part of the Hill of Crosses
Image courtesy of Arian Zwegers/Flickr
  • The crosses placed on the Hill of Crosses are symbolic of faith, love and sacrifice, and many prayers for peace over the centuries have been offered, amid religious and political unrest.
  • Most crosses on the Hill of Crosses are made of wood, metal or plastic, and can be found in many different colours, shapes and sizes.
  • In 1993, the Hill of Crosses was visited by Pope John Paul II, which brought attention to the site, and caused it to gain in popularity.
  • Although entry onto the Hill of Crosses if free, parking at the base of the hill requires a fee.
  • At the pope’s urging, a monastery was built a few hundred metres away from the Hill of Crosses, and it was consecrated in the year 2000.
Bibliography:
Hill of Crosses, 2002, Sanctuaries and Pilgrimage Sites, http://www.lcn.lt/en/bl/sventoves/kryziuk/
Hill of Crosses, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill_of_Crosses
History of the Hill of Crosses, 2012, HillofCrosses.com, http://www.hillofcrosses.com/hill-of-crosses-history.html

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Meerkat

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Meerkat

Stay alert like a meerkat.

  • ‘Meerkats’ are also known as ‘suricates’, while their scientific name is ‘Suricata suricatta’, and they are from the family Herpestidae, the family of mongooses.
  • Meerkats are mammals native to the grassy plains and desert areas of southern Africa, residing in burrows, sometimes sharing them with fellow mongoose or squirrels, and they live in clans, generally consisting of 10 to 30 individuals, but up to 50.
  • Meerkats have a typical lifespan of 4 to 14 years, often depending on their position in the mob that they live in, and are mainly preyed on by birds such as hawks, vultures and eagles, although jackals and snakes also take an interest in them, and the venom of some potentially dangerous animals, such as snakes or scorpions, do not affect them.
  • ‘Meerkat’ comes from the Dutch word for a long tailed monkey and ‘lake cat’ and they have a thin tail that is used for balance and signals, and they have small ears that can be closed to prevent dirt entering them.
  • Meerkats generally weigh between 720 to 900 grams (1.6 to 2 pounds), can grow to be a height of 25 to 35 centimetres (10 to 14 inches) from the head to the body, and have a tail length of 17 to 25 centimetres (6.7 to 9 inches).

Meerkat, Family, Guard, Clan, Burrow, Botswana, africa, Ten Random Facts, National Geographic Stock

Meerkats on Guard
Image courtesy of National Geographic
  • Meerkats are typically brown in colour, with their own, individual decorative patterns, such as stripes of black or with a red tinge, and they have a wide range of vision with dark coloured skin around their eyes, that work a bit like human sunglasses.
  • Meerkats’ diets typically consist of insects, small birds, reptiles and mammals, and vegetation, and they usually gain moisture from the foods they eat.
  • Individual meerkats in a clan will stand erectly on guard to lookout for danger, while the rest scavenge for food, using barks or whistling noises as warnings.
  • Meerkats can have up to four litters in a year, of one to five pups, and they are taught to defend and forage for food by older clan members.
  • Meerkats have a dominant pair in the group, that are the main breeders, and sometimes they will kill the offspring of other meerkats to give their’s the best chance of survival.
Bibliography:
Meerkat, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meerkat
Meerkat, n.d, Melbourne Zoo, http://www.zoo.org.au/melbourne/animals/meerkat

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Slender Vervain

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Slender Vervain

Slender vervain: a pest in some places, an ornament in others.

  • A ‘slender vervain’ is also known as a ‘tuberous vervain’, ‘purpletop’, ‘purple verbena’, ‘veined verbena’, ‘large-veined verbena’, ‘sandpaper verbena’, and it also has many other common names.
  • Slender vervains are native to many countries in South America, and more specifically Brazil and Argentina.
  • Slender vervains can grow up to 60 centimetres (24 inches) in height.
  • The scientific name for slender vervain is ‘Verbena rigida’, and it has also been known as ‘Verbena venosa’, and it comes from the family Verbenaceae, the family of vervains or verbenas.
  • Slender vervains have purple or magenta coloured flowers that bloom on the top of spikes at the top of the plant in summer and autumn, and the plants have rigid, rough and hairy leaves that have serrated edges.

Slender Vervain, Purple, verbena rigidia, weed, Australia, Flower, Ten Random Facts

  • In 1993, Slender vervains were awarded the United Kingdom Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit.
  • Slender vervains are best grown in areas with full sun and damp, well drained soil, and are often grown to add colour in the garden, in pots, or for cut flowers.
  • Slender vervains grow from rhizomes, and are herbacious perennials with parts of the plants dying off each year.
  • Slender vervains are classified as a weed in South Africa, Australia and some parts of the United States, and are found near roads, inhabiting forests, fields and river areas, as well as cotton farming land.
  • Slender vervains were introduced into Europe by Dr John Gillies, a Scottish botanist and retired navy surgeon, in approximately 1820.
Bibliography:
Bourne V, How to Grow: Verbena Rigidia, 2013, The Telegraph, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/howtogrow/3348813/How-to-grow-Verbena-rigida.html
Verbena Rigidia (Herb), 2010, Global Invasive Species Database, http://www.issg.org/database/species/ecology.asp?fr=1&sts=&lang=EN&si=1371
Verbena Rigida, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verbena_rigida

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Artemis Fowl Series

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Artemis Fowl Series

“Criminally Good”- Slogan of the Artemis Fowl Series

  • The Artemis Fowl series is an octadic novel series, belonging in the fantasy-science fiction genre, and has been published in 44 languages.
  • The Artemis Fowl series is written by Eoin Colfer, a former primary school teacher and author from Ireland, and Artemis’ manor is located in Ireland.
  • The Artemis Fowl series is based on a criminal mastermind teenager and his conflict/interactions with the underground Fairy people.
  • The first book of the Artemis Fowl series was published in 2001, with the rest of the series following in order: 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2012.
  • In 2001, the concept of a film based on the Artemis Fowl series was revealed to the public, and is currently in production, although it was at a standstill for many years.

Artemis Fowl, Hardcover, Atlantis Complex, Lost Colony, Puffin, Time Paradox, Library, Eoin Colfer, Series, five, six, seven, Ten Random Facts

  • The Artemis Fowl series sees the growth in the primary character ‘Artemis Fowl’, with other themes of greed, magic and trust explored throughout the series.
  • The main characters portrayed throughout the Artemis Fowl series include two humans, Artemis Fowl and Butler, and the fairies Holly Short, Mulch Diggums, Foaly and Julius Root, while the number one antagonist is a pixie known as Opal Koboi.
  • The Artemis Fowl series has seen the sale of over 21 million books, and therefore has taken its place among the most popular of all fantasy novel series.
  • The Artemis Fowl series is aimed at teenage readers, and has its own pictographic language.
  • The Artemis Fowl series has been published by various publishers including Puffin Books, Viking Press, and Disney Hyperion.
Bibliography:
Artemis Fowl (Series), 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_Fowl_(series)
Artemis Fowl: The Books, 2014, Artemis Fowl Confidential, http://www.artemis-fowl.com/artemis-fowl-the-books/

Artemis Fowl Series

Silicone Bakeware

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Silicone Bakeware

Your cookies will not stick with silicone bakeware!

  • Silicone bakeware is primarily made of silicone rubber, a synthetic compound, and used for baking or cooking purposes.
  • Silicone bakeware is often used as the cooking container or mould for flour-based products, such as cake, but also chocolate, ice or the like, and it is popular for its non-stick and long life properties.
  • Silicone bakeware is used as a replacement for metal bakeware, baking paper, and non-stick Teflon, the last of which can be a health hazard when used at considerably high temperatures.
  • Silicone bakeware can be treated to temperatures from -50°C to 260°C (-58°F to 500°F), which makes it suitable for refrigerator, freezer and oven use.
  • Silicone bakeware has been moulded into numerous shapes, and can be purchased in similar forms to typical bakeware, like flat sheets, round, square, or muffin tins, but also festive and other more intricately shaped moulds.

Silicon Bakeware, Cookware, Molds, Muffin, Pan, Star, Blue, red, Four, Ten Random Facts, Tupperware brand

  • Silicone bakeware comes in a very broad range of sizes and colourful colours.
  • Some manufacturers of silicone bakeware include impurities in their silicone products, which has negative effects, such as wear and bad odour, which can be detected as a white colour in the product when it is twisted or stretched.
  • Silicone bakeware has a flexible property that can make it easier to store, but this property can cause spillage or uneven baking, so it is recommended that the bakeware sit on a rigid tray when in use.
  • The Frenchman, Guy Demarle, a chemist, created non-stick silicone bakeware, when he coated baking sheets with silicone in the 1960s, and founded a cookware company named ‘Sasa Demarle Inc’.
  • Silicone bakeware became available for purchase in the 1980s in Europe, and its use spread to other countries by the 1990s.
Bibliography:
Campbell L, Silicone Bakeware the Hype and the Truth, 2007, Culinary Arts 360, http://www.culinaryarts360.com/index.php/silicone-bakeware-the-hype-and-the-truth-30503/
Chechar L, Silicon Cookware Dangers, 2014, EHow, http://www.ehow.com/about_5690548_silicon-cookware-dangers.html

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Saffron

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Saffron

Saffron, an expensive spice, use it wisely!

  • Saffron is a spice that comes from the stigmas of the purple flowers of the plant Crocus sativus, and each flower contains three stigmas that are handpicked, and then dried.
  • Saffron is native to the Middle East, and is from the family Iridaceae, the family of irises, and was historically popular among royalty, particularly kings and pharaohs.
  • To make 1 gram (0.033 oz) of dried saffron, approximately 150 flowers are needed, making it the most expensive spice in the world.
  • Saffron is typically an orange-red colour, due to the content of crocetin, a type of acid and crocin.
  • Saffron spice sometimes has additives, such as dyed vegetable or plant fibres, making the spice impure.

Saffron, Bowl, dried, String, Raw, Spice, Expensive, Bowl Ten Random Facts

  • Saffron has historically been used in cooking and to make cloth dye, perfume, herbal medicine, body wash, hair dye, and woven into textile items.
  • The Middle East’s Iran produces more than 90% of the world’s production of saffron, much of which is exported.
  • Saffron is typically prepared by toasting or soaking the spice in hot water to release the flavour before adding to other ingredients, and is most commonly prepared in dishes from India, Persia, Europe, Arab and Turkey, such as risotto, paella, and bouillabaisse, and as a flavouring for rice, while it is occasionally used in alcohol, cakes, lollies and other drinks.
  • Saffron can be sold, or bought, for up to $11,000 USD per kilograms and $5,000 USD per pound.
  • Saffron has the taste of hay-like, bitter honey, and contains significant amounts of vitamin C, manganese and magnesium, while it is said to have a number of medicinal benefits, including improvement of vision, anti cancer properties, and benefits for depression.
Bibliography:
Saffron, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saffron
Stradley L, Saffron – Crocus sativus, 2004, What’s Cooking America, http://whatscookingamerica.net/saffron.htm

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