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Woolly Nightshade

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Woolly Nightshade

Woolly nightshades may look harmless, but they can be deadly.

  • Woolly nightshades are shrubs or small trees that generally grow up to 4 metres (33 feet) in height, however they can sometimes grow much taller than this.
  • Woolly nightshades are native to South America and can live up to 30 years.
  • Woolly nightshades have become an invasive weed where they were introduced as ornamental vegetation in New Zealand, and are also a significant problem in Australia, India, some countries of southern Africa, and many islands, particularly in the Pacific.
  • ‘Woolly nightshades’ are also known as ‘ear-leaved nightshades’, ‘flannel weeds’, ‘bugweeds’, ‘tobacco weeds’, ‘wild tobacco trees’, and ‘kerosene plants’.
  • The scientific name for woolly nightshade is Solanum mauritianum, and it comes from the Solanaceae family, which is the family of tomatoes, potatoes and nightshades.

Woolly Nightshade, green, plant, pest, weed, Ten Random Facts, Australia, Flower

  • Woolly nightshades have a hairy green stem, or trunk, with large leaves covered in very fine hairs  and smell like herbicide, especially when torn or scrunched.
  • Woolly nightshades have purple coloured flowers with yellow middles, which flower mostly in early spring, although they can flower throughout the year.
  • All parts of woolly nightshades are highly poisonous and can cause fatalities, particularly if the yellow berries are consumed, and the hairs can cause irritation to the skin.
  • Woolly nightshades can produce at least 2,000 seeds a year, which come from the yellow berries the plant produces, that are often dispersed by birds.
  • Woolly nightshades is a fast growing plant, and can be killed by cutting or uprooting the plant, and spraying with herbicide.

 

Bibliography:
Solanum mauritianum, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solanum_mauritianum
Woolly Nightshade (Solanum mauritianum), n.d, Vegetation Specialists, http://www.vegetationspecialists.co.nz/woolly-nightshade.html

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Human Ear

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Human Ear

Your ear helps you hear.

  • Ears are located in the middle of either side of a human’s head.
  • Ears are the only hearing organs in the human body, functioning mainly to receive sound, but also help maintain balance.
  • The visible portion of an ear is part of the outer ear, and is called an ‘ear flap’, ‘auricle’ or ‘pinna’.
  • The ear flap or pinna provides protection for the internal parts of the ear, and it also collects and helps to transport sound to the inner ear.
  • Ears consist of three main sections – the inner ear, middle ear, and outer ear.

Ear, Pink, White, One, Girl, Child, Blond, Ten Random Facts, Organ, Body

  • Human’s hear due to sounds being channeled through the ear to the eardrum, which vibrates three small bones that cause vibrations into a fluid in the cochlea, where 20,000 nerve cells send messages to the brain.
  • Earaches and sometimes other pains in the ears, are caused when the tube that removes mucus and helps control pressure, the Eustachian tube, is blocked by cold.
  • Rough treatment of the visible ear can cause deformation, or a ‘cauliflower’ appearance, due to blood cutting off nutrients, killing parts of the organ.
  • Glands in the ear create earwax or cerumen, which is a yellow substance that helps clean and protect the organ.
  • Piercing the earlobe, visible at the bottom of the ear flap, is and has been a common practise in the past millenniums, although too much pressure on the earlobe can cause it to tear.

 

Bibliography:
Ear, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ear
The Human Ear, 2013, The Physics Classroom, http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/sound/u11l2d.cfm

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Baking Paper

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Baking Paper

Rip off the baking paper and put it on the tray.

  • ‘Baking paper’ is also known as ‘parchment paper’, ‘bakery release paper’, ‘silicone paper’, silicone baking paper’ and ‘butter paper’.
  • Baking paper is a non-stick paper used in baking, often to line tins, pans and trays, to prevent food from sticking to the pans.
  • Baking paper is typically made by submerging paper pulp in chemicals, such as sulphuric acid or zinc chloride, or paper is covered with an agent such as silicone.
  • Baking paper is also often reusable, although can wear after a number of uses, and it can be disposed of easily.
  • Baking paper is made from vegetable or plant based materials, specifically cellulose.

Baking paper, white, parchment paper, Woolworths Select, Ten Random Facts, Australia

  • A French tradition, called ‘en papillote’ (in parchment) involves wrapping food with baking paper.
  • Baking paper is a practical replacement of cooking grease and wax paper.
  • Baking paper can be used as a stencil or template, an icing cone or a bag.
  • Parchment, which is made in a similar way to baking paper, was first invented in the Ptolemaic Dynasty, in Egypt, during 305 to 283BC.
  • Baking paper is heat resistant, and generally a partially transparent white colour.
Bibliography: Parchment Paper (Baking), 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parchment_paper_(baking)
What is Parchment Paper, 2013, WiseGEEK, http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-parchment-paper.htm

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Broccoli

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Broccoli

Don’t let the broccoli grow too high!

  • Broccoli is an edible flower head and colours rang from green to purple-green.
  • Broccoli is native to the Mediterranean region and is also known as ‘Italian asparagus’, due to the popularity of the vegetable in Italy.
  • Broccoli is from the family Brassicaceae, which is the family of cabbages, and its scientific name is Brassica oleracea italica.
  • Broccoli is often cooked, steamed or boiled, but can be eaten raw, with leaves of the plant sometimes included.
  • ‘Broccoli’ is named after the plural of ‘broccolo’, an Italian word, meaning the flower head of a cabbage, which comes from ‘brocco’ meaning ‘branch’ or ‘shoot’.

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  • Broccoli is very high in vitamin C and vitamin K, and has significant cancer preventing and DNA cell repairing properties.
  • Broccoli likes growing in cool weather, being at best supply during winter and preferring temperatures from 18 to 23°C (64 to 73°F) during the day.
  • There are three types of broccoli typically grown, and the most common type, Calabrese, has large heads that are 10 to 20 centimetres (4 to 8 inches) in diameter.
  • In 2008, China produced over two fifths of the total world production of 19,000,000 tonnes (21,000,000 tons).
  • Bitter, yellow flower heads grow from broccoli, so they are best stored in temperatures less than 2°C (35.6°F) to prevent their onset.

 

Bibliography:
Broccoli, 2011, Fresh for Kids, http://www.freshforkids.com.au/veg_pages/broccoli/broccoli.html
Broccoli, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broccoli

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William Shakespeare

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William Shakespeare

“The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.” – William Shakespeare.

  • William Shakespeare has no known birth date, but was baptised on 26 April, 1564, and died on 23 April, 1616, and spent most of his life at Stratford-upon-Avon in England.
  • William Shakespeare was a tragic and romantic genre playwright and poet, most active in 1589 to 1613, and is commonly said to be one of the best English writers of all time.
  • ‘William Shakespeare’ is also known as the ‘Bard of Avon’, the ‘Swan of Avon’ and ‘England’s native poet’.
  • William Shakespeare married at the age of 18 to 26 year old Anne Hathaway, and later had three children (one died young), who all had children that didn’t have any offspring.
  • William Shakespeare officially wrote 38 plays, 154 sonnets and many poems, and took part in writing many other works.

William Shakespeare, Portrait, Painting, Art, Playwrite, Ten Random Facts, Flickr

Shakespeare
Image courtesy of Books18/Flickr
  • William Shakespeare’s birth date is celebrated on Saint George’s Day, 23 April, coincidentally the same day he died, due to a scholar’s mistake in the 1700s.
  • According to William Shakespeare’s will, most of Shakespeare’s property was given to his eldest child.
  • William Shakespeare’s works have influenced many authors, including Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy, and Shakespeare’s language has influenced the modern English language.
  • Famous works of William Shakespeare include Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet.
  • William Shakespeare’s works grew in significant popularity in the 1800s, although the work was popular in his time.
Bibliography:
William Shakespeare, 2013, Bio, http://www.biography.com/people/william-shakespeare-9480323?page=1
William Shakespeare, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare

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Pressure-sensitive Tape

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Pressure-sensitive Tape

Broken something? Use some pressure-sensitive tape!

  • ‘Pressure-sensitive tape’ is also known as ‘PSA tape’, ‘tape’, ‘sticky tape’, ‘adhesive tape’, and ‘self-stick tape’.
  • Pressure-sensitive tape is an adhesive tape, commonly plastic-backed, that sticks onto surfaces when pressure is applied.
  • Pressure-sensitive adhesive was invented in 1845 by surgeon Dr Horace Day, who applied it to fabric to make a surgical, pressure-sensitive tape.
  • In the 1900s, many pressure-sensitive tapes were invented and sold commercially, using the formula of Dr Day’s, or something similar.
  • There are many versions of pressure-sensitive tape, including clear tapes, decorative backed tapes, paper-backed tapes (masking tape), strong adhesive tapes (duct tape) or thick tapes (Gaffer tape).

Pressure-sensitive tape, Sticky Tape, Clear, PSA Tape, Adhesive Tape, Bundle, Roll, Three, Wide, Ten Random Facts

  • Pressure-sensitive tape can sometimes decrease the recycling efficiency of a recyclable object.
  • Pressure-sensitive tape has many uses, depending on the type of backing and adhesive  is is made from, and uses can include sticking pieces of paper together, and taping down or sealing boxes, and the tape is usually found in most homes and offices, in a tape dispenser.
  • Pressure-sensitive tape generally has four layers, a release coat, backing, primer coat and adhesive under-layer.
  • If left on a surface, particularly paper, for a considerably long length of time, many pressure sensitive tapes become oily, yellow and start to merge into the surface.
  • Pressure-sensitive tape can destroy the value of documents or papers, although it can be professionally removed in layers to protect valuable documents from the aging process of the tape.
Bibliography:
Pressure-senstive Tape, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pressure_sensitive_tape
Smith M, Jones N, Page S & Dirda M, Pressure-Sensitive Tape and Techniques for its Removal From Paper, 1983, Conservation Online, http://cool.conservation-us.org/coolaic/sg/bpg/annual/v02/bp02-13.html

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