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Verdon Gorge

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Verdon Gorge

Do not tumble down the walls at Verdon Gorge.

  • Verdon Gorge is a canyon with a river running through it, that is located in Europe’s France, in the south-east of the country.
  • Verdon Gorge is approximately 25 kilometres (15.5 miles) in length and, at its deepest depth, 0.7 kilometres (0.4 miles).
  • Verdon Gorge has stunning, turquoise coloured water, and some say this is due to tiny particles of rock  (most likely limestone), known as ‘rock flour’ or ‘glacial flour’, in the water, and others say it is because the water contains microscopic algae.
  • Verdon Gorge is a popular tourist destination, with more than a million visitors a year, and it is especially popular for rock climbing, as there are approximately 1500 courses to choose from, while other sports enjoyed include rafting, hiking, canoeing, fishing and paragliding.
  • ‘Verdon Gorge’ is also known in French as ‘Gorges du Verdon’ and ‘Grand Canyon du Verdon’, and it is named so, due to the colour of the water of the Verdon River, that flows through the gorge.

Verdon Gorge, River, Walls, Limestone, Wonder, France, Ten Random Facts, Flickr

Part of Verdon Gorge
Image courtesy of Kirandulo/Flickr
  • Out of all the gorges and canyons in Europe, the Verdon Gorge is the largest, and it is part of the Regional Natural Park of Verdon (Parc Naturel Regional du Verdon).
  • Verdon Gorge was formed from erosion caused by the Verdon River, and the gorge ends with a man-made lake called ‘lac de Sainte-Croix’ (Lake of Sainte-Croix).
  • Verdon Gorge runs through five different hydro-electric dams, constructed during the years of 1929 and 1975.
  • Verdon Gorge was the subject of an expedition in 1905, by Frenchman Édouard-Alfred Martel, a speleologist, a scientist that study caves, who completed a geological survey of the area.
  • Much of Verdon Gorge is made of limestone, with the highest, vertical wall reaching 300 metres (1000 feet).
Bibliography:
Collins R, Verdon Gorge, 2013, Provence Beyond, http://www.beyond.fr/sites/verdon.html
Verdon Gorge, 2013, Gorges to Visit, http://www.gorges-to-visit.com/VerdonGorge.html
Verdon Gorge, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verdon_Gorge

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Yellow Tower Cactus

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Yellow Tower Cactus

Yellow tower cacti do not taste like lemons or give you pins and needles.

  • The yellow tower cactus is from the Cactaceae family, which is the family of cacti, and it is also known as a ‘golden ball cactus’ and a ‘lemon ball cactus’.
  • The yellow tower cactus is native to South America’s Brazil, where it can become considerably cold at nights during the winter time.
  • The scientific name of the yellow tower cactus is Parodia leninghausii, and at an earlier stage it was known as a Notocactus leninghausii, and has also been listed in other genera.
  • German Karl Schumann, a botanist, chose the scientific name for the yellow tower cactus, in honour of the 19th century (and early 20th century) German cacti collector, Wilhelm Lenninghaus, or Guillermo Lenninghaus, as he was later known.
  • Yellow tower cactus flowers usually bloom in summer, once the cactus grows to an adult height of 15 to 20 centimetres (6 to 8 inches), and it can take 5 years for the plant to mature.

Lemon Ball Cactus, Double, Yellow Flower, Tower, Green, Bloom, Garden, Ten Random Facts, Val Laird

Tower Cactus
Image courtesy of Val Laird
  • The yellow tower cactus has yellow coloured flowers, approximately 5 cm (2 inches) in diameter, that sit at the top of the cactus, and they have many papery petals.
  • A yellow tower cactus starts off as a ball shape, but as the cactus ages, it grows as a column, with small ones that cluster at its base.
  • Yellow tower cacti are green with a blanket of spines, that are long and golden coloured, and not so harmful.
  • A yellow tower cactus can tolerate a mild frost, as long as the cactus is relatively free of moisture content.
  • The yellow tower cactus can reach a height of up to 1 metre (3 feet) and a diameter of 12 centimetres (5 inches), however, the plant will take many years to reach that height.
Bibliography:
Parodia leninghausii, 2012, Cactus-bg.com, http://cactus-bg.com/kaktusi/notocactus-leninghausii-241/
Parodia leninghausii, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parodia_leninghausii
http://www.yourgardeninginfo.com/golden-ball-cactusparodia-leninghausii

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Thorny Devil

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Thorny Devil

These facts are a lot easier to digest than thorny devils.

  • In 1841, John Gray, a zoologist from Britain, wrote about thorny devils, and he applied the scientific name of ‘Moloch horridus’ to them, naming them after an ancient god, ‘Moloch’, and the Latin word ‘horridus’, meaning prickly.
  • ‘Thorny devils’ are also known as ‘thorny lizards’, ‘mountain devils’, ‘thorny dragons’ and ‘molochs’, being the only species of ‘Moloch’ lizards, and they are from the family Agamidae, the family of dragon lizards.
  • The typical length of thorny devils is 15 to 20 centimetres (6 to 8 inches), with males being typically smaller than females, and they have a lifespan of 15 to 20 years.
  • Thorny devils are native to the shrubby deserts of Australia, particularly in Western Australia and usually live among areas that have sandy soil.
  • Thorny devils are typically brown, cream and tan in colour, that camouflages them in desert, but the colour shades can change with the temperature.

Thorny Devil, Lizard, Dragon, Sand, Australia, Brown, Ten Random Facts, National Geographic

Thorny Devil
Image courtesy of National Geographic
  • The body of thorny devils is covered with sharp thorns, mainly acting as protection against predators, however sometimes a lizard becomes the meal of a goanna or bird of prey.
  • Thorny devils have a head-like bump on their back that is shown to predators when feeling threatened, instead of their real head.
  • Thorny devils feed on thousands of ants every day, that they gather with their sticky tongue.
  • In Australia’s spring and summer, thorny devils lay three to ten eggs, in a hole approximately 30 centimetres deep.
  • Thorny devils collect dew on their backs, that is channeled to their mouth via grooves that sit between their spikes.
Bibliography:
Pianka E, Australia’s Thorny Devil, n.d, Varanus, http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~varanus/moloch.html
Thorny Dragon, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorny_dragon

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Mary Poppins

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Mary Poppins

“It’s Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” says Mary Poppins.

  • Mary Poppins is often rated among the best movies ever produced, and is a musical film with a fantasy based theme, set in 1910, in London.
  • Mary Poppins was made by the Walt Disney film company, directed by Robert Stevenson, and the screenplay was written by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi.
  • Mary Poppins was based mainly on the first of eight books in the series of the same title, authored by Australian born Pamela Lyndon Travers (P.L. Travers, originally Helen Lyndon Goff), who did not like, and regretted, the overall film production.
  • Mary Poppins is based on the character of the same name, who is a supernatural nanny, performed by Julie Andrews, who won an Academy Award for the best actress as Poppins.
  • Mary Poppins was chosen to be preserved by Library of Congress for the United States National Film Registry in 2013.
Mary Poppins Poster, Film, Walt Disne, Julie Andrews, Magic, Disney, Ten Random Facts
 Mary Poppins
Image courtesy of Disney
  • Mary Poppins was nominated for thirteen Academy Awards, winning five of them, the most ever in Walt Disney history.
  • The Mary Poppins producers took twenty-three years to obtain production rights from the author of the books, Pamela Travers, to create the movie, due to her belief that a film would detract from her books.
  • The Mary Poppins film runs for approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes, and was first released on 27 August, 1964.
  • Mary Poppins had over 30 music pieces written by the Sherman brothers, Robert B Sherman and Richard M Sherman, for the production, although only 17 were used.
  • Mary Poppins had the top profits of 1965, with a $28.5 million net profit, a budget of 6 million, and to date, a worldwide gross of over $146 million.
Bibliography:
Mary Poppins (Film), 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Poppins_(film)
Pohn K, The History of Mary Poppins, 2007, Cosmic Play, http://www.cosmicplay.net/Kaleid/Mary/scenebehind1.html

Garden Hose

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Garden Hose

SNAKE!!! Oh… it is just a green garden hose.

  • ‘Garden hoses’ are also known as ‘hoses’, ‘water hoses’ and ‘hosepipes’, and are typically green in colour, but can be black, silver or blue, among others.
  • A garden hose is a portable and flexible tube that carries water from a water supply, typically around the garden.
  • Garden hoses commonly have a nozzle or sprinkler attached to focus or disperse water onto a particular area.
  • Garden hoses are generally made of waterproof materials like vinyl or rubber, or a combination of the two, with the addition of reinforcing to add strength.
  • Garden hose materials are typically hardy and strong, although they are not normally made for use with heated water.

Garden hose, lawn, grass, green, gardenpipe, pile, Ten Random Facts, Garden

  • The ends of garden hoses can generally be connected together to make a longer hose.
  • Garden hoses have their origins in fire fighting hoses, originally made from ox intestines from 400BC, and the invention of stitched together leather hoses were by the Dutch inventor (among other things), Jan van der Heyden in the 1600s.
  • In the 19th century, fire hoses saw numerous improvements to the materials and methods of production, that included cotton and rubber hoses, and by the 1900s, people were purchasing the new and improved hoses for garden hose use.
  • Some garden hoses leak poisonous chemicals into the transported water, and are therefore, not safe to drink from.
  • Garden hoses come in various lengths, thicknesses and weights, and it is important to consider these options before purchasing a hose, especially the weight, as some hoses can be quite heavy, especially if they contain rubber.
Bibliography:
Garden Hose, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_hose
Stackhouse J, How to Avoid Kinked Hoses, Homelife, http://www.homelife.com.au/gardening/features/how+to+avoid+kinked+hoses,5423
Swauger D, The Garden Hose, 2012, Snippets from Springdale, http://deannaswauger.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/garden-hose.html

 

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New Year’s Resolution

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New Year’s Resolution

What should your New Year’s resolution/s be?

  • New Year’s resolutions are the tradition of vowing, often to one’s self, to make an improvement in one’s life.
  • New Year’s resolutions are typically made on New Year’s day or New Year’s eve, and usually the goal is to achieve the resolution/s by the end of the new year.
  • People from western countries are more likely to make New Year’s resolutions than those from the rest of the world.
  • New Year’s resolutions have a long history, as the Ancient Babylonians of 2000 BC and the Ancient Romans had similar traditions of wanting to please their gods, so they vowed they would return items and pay back any owed money.
  • Throughout history, many Christians, Catholics and Jews have made types of New Year’s resolutions, commonly with a religious or moral slant, and often at special religious-related activities, such as Lent.

New Year's Resolution, Tidy Bedroom, 2014, Example, Written, Pen, Paper, Ten Random Facts

  • In 2007, a study was held by psychologist Richard Wiseman of Britain, of 3000 individuals, that resulted in data that showed that 88% of New Year’s resolution makers do not achieve their resolution goals.
  • Popular New Year’s resolutions are those that vow to improve health, inner self, finance, education, career and stopping addictions.
  • Strategies to help keep New Year’s resolutions include social support, writing them down, and setting goals or steps.
  • Many New Year’s resolutions are not fulfilled due to being unachievable, imprecise or hard to complete vows.
  • The most common New Year’s resolution is to achieve weight loss, however studies have shown that willpower is affected by food, and if you are not well-fed, the willpower to achieve your goals will be diminished.
Bibliography:
Dicker L, History of New Year’s Resolutions, 43 Things, http://www.43things.com/resolutions/history
New Year’s Resolution, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Year%27s_resolution

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