Author Archives: Cris

Florist’s Cineraria

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Florist’s Cineraria

Intensely coloured flowers…

  • The Florist’s Cineraria is commonly known as ‘Cineraria’.
  • Florist’s Cinerarias are a flowering plant from the family Asteraceae, and their official name is Pericallis x hybrida.
  • Florist’s Cinerarias are a small, bushy plant that grow to 30 -60 cm (1 -2 ft) in height.
  • Florist’s Cinerarias are a hybrid of two types of Pericallis, ‘Pericallis cruenta’ and ‘Pericallis lanata’, which are native to the Canary Islands, off the coast of northwest Africa.
  • The British Royal Gardens developed the hybrid Florist’s Cineraria in 1777.

purple cineraria, lots, bunch, flower, pretty, bundle, AUSTRALIA, Val Laird, Ten Random Facts

Image courtsey of Val Laird
  • Florist’s Cinerarias were originally part of the genus ‘Cineraria’, and were known as ‘Cineraria x hybrida’, however the genus ‘Cineraria’ now only contains South African species.
  • Florist’s Cineraria flowers can be blue, purple, rose, white, or pink coloured, and often the base of the petals are white.
  • The Florist’s Cineraria is a perennial plant, although it is commonly grown as an annual, especially in cold climates.
  • Florist’s Cinerarias are a popular garden plant and are easily grown from seed.
  • Aphids are one of the pests that can attack Florist’s Cineraria, and can damage the plant so that the foliage loses some of its brilliant green colour.
Bibliography:
Cineraria, 2010, Botany.com, <http://www.botany.com/cineraria.html>

Rugby League

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Rugby League

Remember, pass backwards and run fowards.

  • Rugby league is a ball contact sport, that involves passing and kicking an oval shaped ball.
  • Rugby league is a two team game; 13 players on each side.
  • In rugby league, players score by landing the ball on the goal line, and this is called a ‘try’.
  • Rugby league is most popular in Australia, New Zealand, England, Tonga, France and Papua New Guinea.
  • Rugby league’s proper name is ‘rugby league football’ although it is also known as ‘league’, ‘rugby’, ‘footy’, ‘The Greatest Game of All’ and ‘NRL’ (in Australia) which stands for ‘National Rugby League’.

Rugby League, University, Varsity, Players, tackle, ball, game, play, yellow, black, red, green, Ten Random Facts, Flickr

Rugby League
Image courtesy of Nottingham Trent University/Flickr
  • Rugby league is played on a grassy rectangular field 68 x 116 metres (223 x 380 ft), and requires a high level of fitness due to the amount of running needed to play the game, and strength, to tackle and pull down an opponent.
  • Rugby league is the national sport of Papua New Guinea.
  • Rugby league was first played in England in 1895, and was originally called Northern Rugby Football Union, after it broke away from the Rugby Football Union, and changed some of its rules.
  • Rugby league is often said to be the most rough team sport, and many injuries occur in rugby league, due to the tackling of opponents who are trying to run with, or pass the ball.
  • In rugby league it is common to have a ‘scrum’, a formation of up to six people from each team, arms interlocked and heads down, pushing against each other to get the ball (that is passed in from underneath), through to their own side.
Bibliography:
Rugby league, 2013, Wikipedia, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_league>

Shoe polish

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Shoe polish

Polish, polish.

  • Shoe polish is also known as boot polish.
  • Shoe polish is a substance generally used to protect and restore the colour and shine of leather boots and leather shoes and it also helps to keep them water resistant.
  • Before shoe polish, dubbin was used, a product made with wax, tallow (rendered animal fat), oil and soda ash, and it is still sometimes used although it does not make shoes shiny.
  • Modern shoe polish is made from a combination of ingredients, sometimes including dyes, naphtha, turpentine, wax, lanolin and gum arabic.
  • The popularity of shoe polish increased in the two World Wars because the troops used the polish to keep their army boots shiny and water proof.

Shoe Polish, Black, Kiwi, Open, Opener, Dried, Hard, Limited edition, Australia, Ten Random Facts

  • Shoe polish is generally applied with a brush, rag or cloth and then buffed to enhance the shine.
  • The ‘Kiwi’ brand shoe polish was the first modern style shoe polish, and was produced in a Melbourne (Australia) factory by two Scotsman, William Ramsay and Hamilton McKellan, who launched the product in 1906.
  • The Australian ‘Kiwi’ brand shoe polish was classified as the best shoe polish in the world, and is now sold in over 180 countries, and remains as the most sold shoe polish in the world.
  • Shoe polish can be heated up to temperatures of 85°C (185°F) in it’s manufacturing process, which melts the wax and other ingredients so they are more easily combined.
  • Shoe polish is traditionally sold in a round flat cylindrical 60 gram (2 ounce) tin, which prevents the polish from drying out.
Bibliography:
Shoe Polish, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoe_polish>

Yellow-bellied Sunbird

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Yellow-bellied Sunbird

Darting here and there…

  • The Yellow-bellied sunbird is also known as an ‘Olive-backed sunbird’ and a ‘Yellow-breasted sunbird’ and its scientific name is Cinnyris jugularis or Nectarinia jugularis.
  • Yellow-bellied sunbirds can be found from north-east Australia to south Asia, including parts of China, Philippines and Malaysia.
  • The yellow-bellied sunbird’s diet generally consists of nectar, and sometimes insects.
  • Yellow-bellied sunbirds are normally 11-12 cm (4.3-4.7 inches) in length, and are quick fliers and have fast beating wings.
  • Yellow-bellied sunbirds are a species of sunbird and belong to the song bird family, Nectariniidae, and although they look similar to a hummingbird, they are not related.

Yellow-bellied sunbird, Yellow, green, female, red, flowers, background, bird, small, cute, Val Laird, Ten Random Facts

Yellow-bellied Sunbird
Image courtsey of Val Laird
  • Yellow-bellied sunbirds have a curved beak and are yellow underneath, or on their ‘bellies’, and have an olive coloured back and brown coloured wings.
  • Male yellow-bellied sunbirds have an iridescent blue throat, face and upper chest.
  • Yellow-bellied sunbirds build woven nests of branches and plant material, and generally include an overhanging porch.
  • Female yellow-bellied sunbirds lay 1-2 green/blue coloured eggs.
  • Yellow-bellied sunbirds are significant pollinators of mangrove trees, their native habitat, although they have become accustomed to human populated areas.
Biliography:
Olive-backed sunbird, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive-backed_Sunbird>

Truck

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Truck

Honk, honk!!

  • A truck is also known as a lorry.
  • Trucks are vehicles generally used to transport various items, often large and heavy, from one place to another, and often special truck trailers can be attached to the vehicle.
  • The word ‘truck’ was used as early as 1611, in reference to the special heavy duty wheels on the canon carriages of a ship, and by 1771 was used in reference to carts designed to carry heavy loads.
  • Most trucks run on diesel, which gives better fuel economy.
  • In many countries, a special licence (different to a general driver’s licence) is required for a person to be able to drive a truck.

Truck, Blue, Old, Half, Cab, Front View, Australia, Ten Random Facts

  • Trucks come in various shapes and sizes and have a cab, an engine, chassis, wheels, suspension, and sometimes a sleeping area in the cab, especially in large trucks designed to travel long distances.
  • In 2011, Isuzu, a Japanese company, manufactured the most trucks in the world, producing 447,359 trucks in the year.
  • In 2010 in the United States, there were 500,000 truck accidents with over 5,000 related deaths.
  • The first motorised truck was built in 1896 by German Gottlieb Daimler, who also invented the first motorbike and taxi.
  • There are numerous different types of trucks used for different purposes, including tip trucks, semi trucks, concrete trucks, fire trucks, refrigerated trucks.
Bibliography:
Truck, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truck>

Maple Syrup

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Maple Syrup

Amber coloured syrup.

  • Maple syrup is a flavoured syrup from the sap of certain maple trees, tapped mainly during early spring over a 4-8 week period, when the stored winter starch in the roots and trunk rises in the tree and is converted to sugar.
  • Maple syrup was first collected, made and used by the indigenous North Americans.
  • Quebec, Canada, produces three quarters of the world’s maple syrup, with Canada exporting over US$141 million worth of maple syrup every year.
  • To collect maple syrup sap, holes are bored in the maple trees; special taps are inserted into the holes; and the sap drips into the bucket underneath or into tubes that go direct to the processing building.
  • To produce maple syrup, the sap is boiled to remove  most of the water content, the liquid is then filtered to remove any small sugar crystals, and what remains is maple syrup.

Maple syrup, gold, amber, flavour, food, canada, 100% brookdale real,

  • Although maple syrup is mostly sucrose and water, with its sugar content being over 60%, it contains a significant  amount of manganese and zinc.
  • Maple syrup is most often used on pancakes, waffles, and French toast, although it is also used as a sweetener and flavouring in baked goods, drinks and other food items.
  • Maple syrup was the main food sweetener in North America and the United States in the 1600s and 1700s, and remained so until after the American Civil War in the 1860s, when cane sugar became more cheaply, and readily available.
  • Approximately 40 litres (10.5 US gallons) of maple syrup sap, makes 1 litre (0.26 US gallons) of maple syrup.
  • Imitation maple syrup is also produced, and usually doesn’t contain any maple sap syrup, or very little, and is an inferior product and generally much cheaper than real maple syrup.
Bibliography:
Maple Syrup, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maple_syrup>
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