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Peanut Butter

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Peanut Butter

Peanuts are spreadable! Try peanut butter.

  • Peanut butter is an edible spread, usually used on bread or toast, made from ground roasted peanuts, generally with the addition of sugar, salt and oil or fat.
  • United States and China are the major exporters of peanut butter, and it is eaten in many countries around the world, being popular in North America, Australia, Netherlands, the United Kingdom and others.
  • The Native American Aztecs and Incas mashed peanuts in to a compound that could be described as the first peanut butter.
  • In 1884, Marcellus Edson, from Canada, patented peanut butter that was made by heating up roasted peanuts, and in the early 1890s, the substance was given to patients who had difficulty chewing food.
  • In the United States, over 340 million kilograms (750 million pounds) of peanut butter is eaten annually, and national Peanut Butter Day is held on 24th of January.

Crunchy Peanut Butter, Homebrand, Scoop, Jar, Bottle, Ten Random Facts, Australia

  • A type of oil, typically vegetable oil, is added to peanut butter to make the product easier to spread.
  • Peanut butter is full of nutrients and is high in protein, vitamin B6, vitamin E, niacin, manganese, magnesium, folate, copper, zinc, phosphorous, and potassium, but it is very high in fats.
  • Peanut butter sandwiches have been banned in many schools due to severe peanut allergies.
  • Peanut butter generally comes in two types, smooth or crunchy, and the crunchy version contains small chunks of peanut in the spread, and can be made into cookies and candy, and eaten with chocolate, cheese or jam.
  • Peanut butter is sometimes known as ‘peanut paste’ and in World War II, it was dubbed ‘monkey butter’.

 

Bibliography:
Brooks S, The Truth about Peanut Butter, 2013, She Knows’ Foods & Recipes, <http://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/981321/the-truth-about-peanut-butter>
Peanut Butter, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peanut_butter>

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Christ the Redeemer Statue

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Christ the Redeemer Statue

The statue of the amazing Christ the Redeemer.

  • Christ the Redeemer is a statue of Jesus Christ, in the art deco style, with his arms open symbolising peace, and is located on Corcovado Mountain in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the statue’s Portuguese name is ‘Cristo Redentor’.
  • Christ the Redeemer is believed to be the largest art deco statue and is the fifth largest Jesus statue on earth, seeing approximately 1 million visitors every year, and was deemed one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007.
  • Christ the Redeemer statue is 30 metres (98 feet) in height, standing on an 8 metre (26 feet) high podium, with arms spread 28 metres (92 feet) wide.
  • The material used to make Christ the Redeemer statue was 635 tonnes (700 tons) of concrete, reinforcements, and small 3 cm triangular soapstone tiles from Sweden and was in made in separate pieces and put together on site.
  • In the mid 1850s, it was proposed that a religious statue be built on Corcovado Mountain, but the idea was dismissed, and it wasn’t until the 1920s that a proposal was put forward by the Catholic Circle of Rio de Janeiro to build a religious statue, and accepted, and the design that was settled upon was Christ the Redeemer.
Christ the redeemer statue, Looking up, Arms Out, Jesus Christ, Brazil, Rio de Janerio, Free Digital Photos, Ten Random Facts
The Redeemer
Image courtesy of Zole4/ Free Digital Photos
  • Christ the Redeemer statue took 9 years to build, from 1922 to 1931, and was designed and engineered by Brazilian Heitor da Silva Costa and sculpted by Paul Landowski, a Polish-Frenchman.
  • At the time of construction, Christ the Redeemer would have cost approximately $250,000 USD to build, which would equate to about $3.2 million USD in 2013.
  • In 2008, Christ the Redeemer was struck by lightning in an intense lightning storm, leading to a large, four month restoration project  in 2010, costing $4 million USD.
  • In celebration of Christ the Redeemer’s 75th anniversary in 2006, a chapel was built at the base of the statue.
  • In 2010, during the restoration process, the head and an arm of Christ the Redeemer was the subject of graffiti, which was said to be done by a house painter, and the act was declared ‘a crime against the nation’.
Bibliography:
Christ the Redeemer (Statue), 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_the_Redeemer_(statue)>
Christ the Redeemer Statue – 1 of 7 New Wonders of the World (45 Inspiring Pics), 2011, Love these Pics, <http://www.lovethesepics.com/2011/04/christ-the-redeemer-statue-1-of-7-new-wonders-of-the-world-45-inspiring-pics/>

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The Walt Disney Company

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The Walt Disney Company

Mickey Mouse, the hero of the Walt Disney Company.

  • The Walt Disney Company is an American mass media company, and has become one of the largest film companies in all of the film industry.
  • The ‘Walt Disney Company’ is also known as ‘Disney’, and has number of divisions or segments within the company itself, which include Disney Media Networks, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, The Walt Disney Studios, Disney Consumer products and Disney Interactive.
  • The Walt Disney Company was founded in 1923 by Walt and Roy Disney, although the company was originally named the ‘Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio’.
  • The first films produced by the Walt Disney Company were a series called the Alice Comedies, which were silent films.
  • The Walt Disney Company owns the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) television network, as well as other cable networks, a number of Disneyland theme parks and resorts, and a fleet of cruise ships.
The Walt Disney Company, Sign, Studio, Califronia, America, Betty White Tour, flickr, Ten Random Facts, Film
Disney
Image courtesy of Loren Javier/Flickr
  • The Disney cartoon character, ‘Mickey Mouse’ (originally ‘Mortimer’), was created in 1928, and is a popular mascot of the Walt Disney Company.
  • The first full-length animation film produced by the Walt Disney Company was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfsreleased in 1937, with production starting in 1934, and was a huge success at the box office.
  • In 2012, the Walt Disney Company had a total revenue of over $42 million USD.
  • The Walt Disney Company studio is located in Burbank California, United States.
  • The first Disneyland, a fun theme park created by the Walt Disney Company, opened in 1955 which eventually became a success for the company, and within a few years it also housed the first monorail system in America.
Bibliography:
Disney History, The Walt Disney Country, n.d, <http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/about-disney/disney-history/1920-01-01–1929-12-31>
The Walt Disney Company, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Walt_Disney_Company>

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Giraffe

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Giraffe

Very, very tall giraffe necks.

  • Giraffes are mammals native to Africa and are the tallest non-extinct, land dwelling animal.
  • Giraffes have large eyes, and almost 360° vision, very long legs and necks with two horn-like bumps on its head, known as ‘ossicones’.
  • The scientific name of giraffes is Giraffa vamelopardalis and they come from the small family, Giraffidae, the family of some long necked mammals.
  • Giraffes grow to five to six metres (16 to 20 feet) in height and weigh 830 to 1600 kilograms (1800 to 3500 pounds), depending on the gender, and can run up to speeds of 56 kilometres/hour (35 miles/hour) .
  • Giraffes have dark patches of colour on their bodies, which can be chestnut, brown, orange or almost black, separated by white or cream, and no two have the same coat pattern.

Giraffe, Yellow, Brown, Adult, Two Babies, Young, Day, Ruma Park, Kenya, Africa, National Geographic Stock, Rothchild's

Rothschild’s Giraffe
Image courtesy of National Geographic
  • The giraffe species contains nine subspecies, recognised by the pattern on their coats, with some endangered, such as the Nubian giraffe that has an estimated population of 250.
  • Giraffes generally do not make noise but if they do, they make snoring, mooing, hissing and moaning type sounds.
  • Giraffes can live up to 25 years of age in the wild, although only one quarter to a half of the young grows to be an adult.
  • Giraffes are common tick hosts, and birds, usually billed ox-peckers, remove the ticks.
  • Giraffes have approximately 53 cm (21 inch) long tongues, are herbivorous and can eat 34 kg (75 lb) of plant material, generally leaves from trees, in one day.
Bibliography:
Giraffe, 2013, National Geographic, <http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/mammals/giraffe/>
Giraffe, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giraffe>

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Tulip

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Tulip

“Tip-toe through the tulips!”

  • Tulips are eye-catching plants, 1o to 71 centimetres (4 to 28 inches) in height, and are grown from bulbs.
  • Tulips are often thought to be endemic to the Netherlands, however they were introduced there and are actually native to parts of the Middle East and Central Asia, most notably Turkey.
  • The scientific name for tulips is tulipa, and they come from the family liliaceae, which is the family of lilies.
  • There are 150 species of tulip and 3000 varieties, and they generally have two to six green leaves but can have up to 12 leaves.
  • The Netherlands produces 3 billion bulbs every year, more than any other country, and is the main exporter of commercial tulips.

Tulip, Pink, Red, Vase, Green, Tall, six, Australia, Ten Random Facts

  • Variegated patterns on tulips were originally caused by a mosaic virus known as ‘tulip breaking virus’ spread by the flower pest, aphids, however the patterns on modern varieties are usually a result of special breeding.
  • The largest collection of growing tulips can be found in the Netherlands garden, Keukenhof.
  • Tulip flowers bloom in spring, and can be red, yellow, orange, blue, purple, pink and white in colour.
  • Tulips are one of the most popular flowers in the world, but they do not like warm climates and grow well in cold temperatures.
  • Allergen chemicals can be found in tulips, as well as the chemical ‘tulipanin’ that is poisonous to dogs and cats.
Bibliography:
Facts about Tulips, n.d, Lifestyle Lounge, <http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/facts-about-tulips-5119.html>
Tulip, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip>

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Human Heart

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Human Heart

Boom-boom… boom-boom… goes the heart.

  • The heart is a muscle that pumps approximately 5 litres (1.3 gallons) of blood around the human body every minute..
  • The Greek word for ‘heart’ is kardia, which is where the word ‘cardiac’, and other heart related medical words like ‘cardiology’ come from.
  • The human heart beats an average of 72 beats per minute, and will beat approximately 38 million beats in a year, although animal beatings can range from 20 to 600 beats per minute.
  • The human heart is typically 250 to 350 grams (9 to 12 pounds) in mass, depending on gender, and is approximately the size of a fist.
  • The heart has four chambers and valves that control the flow of blood and that the blood travels through before it enters veins or arteries.

Human Heart, Graphic, 3D, Computer generated, aorta, Ten Random Facts, Free Digital Photos

 

Heart
Image courtesy of Dream Designs/ Free Digital Photos

 

  • The job of the heart is to send deoxygenated blood to the lungs, where it becomes oxygenated and then pumped around the body.
  • The valves of the heart are said to have been first discovered in the 300s BC.
  • It was originally thought that emotions were formed in the heart, but later it was discovered emotions were formed in the brain.
  • Smoking and eating unhealthy foods can damage the heart but eating healthy foods and exercising makes it stronger.
  • An average of 7.2 million people in the world die annually due to heart disease, such as cardiac arrest.
Bibliography:
Heart, 2013, National Geographic, <http://science.nationalgeographic.com.au/science/health-and-human-body/human-body/heart-article/>
Heart, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart>

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