Author Archives: Cris

Crayon

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Crayon

Their actually quite old!

  • Crayons are typically coloured sticks of wax used for drawing purposes, although sometimes are made from chalk or charcoal.
  • Crayons are also known as wax crayons, and are usually made from petroleum paraffin wax and colour pigment.
  • Since crayons aren’t messy, toxic, sharp, expensive and are colourful, they are a common media given to children to use for drawing or colouring pictures.
  • Crayons are generally 8.9 cm (3. 5 inches) lengthwise, and often have a paper wrapper wrapped around them to help them break less easily.
  • A W Faber Company, which were making crayons in the 1880s, was one of the first companies to produce wax crayons.

Crayon, Yellow, Blue, Green, Orange, Red, Peach, non toxic, Many, bundle, Ten Random Facts

  • Crayola, the leading brand of crayons in the world, started making crayons in 1903.
  • Crayola has made over 133 different coloured crayons, some retired, and many special edition crayons.
  • Some early French artists like Francois Clouet (1510-1572) and Nicholas L’angreau (1590-1666) used crayons as their medium.
  • There have been over 300 official crayon manufacturing companies, although only a small amount exist now.
  • Standard crayon colours are black, brown, blue, red, purple, orange, yellow and green.
Bibliography:
Crayon 9 March 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crayon>

Soy Sauce

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Soy Sauce

Just a little flavour.

  • Soy sauce is a liqiud flavouring, generally used in cooking Asian dishes, and has a muddy, dark brownish colour.
  • Soy sauce is also known as soya sauce.
  • Soy sauce is generally made from soybeans, wheat, salt and water, although tamari, a traditional Japanese soy sauce, usually does not include wheat, which makes it suitable for a gluten free diet.
  • Soy sauce is said to have originated in China in 2BC.
  • Most varieties of soy sauce have lots of salt, meaning high sodium.

Light Soy Sauce, Flavour, Japanese, Chinese, Soya, Plate, Small, Chang's Naturally Brewed, Ten Random Facts

  • Soy sauce is high in lactic acid bacteria and dark Chinese soy sauce is very high in antioxidants.
  • Aspergillus, a fungus, is used to produce a mould, koji, which is vital to the fermentation process which produces the distinct flavour of soy sauce.
  • ‘Soy sauce’ comes from the Japanese word ‘Shoyo’ (しょうゆ).
  • There are numerous varieties and styles of soy sauce, and Japan, China, Indonesia, Taiwan, Korea and Vietnam are among those who produce the sauce.
  • Soy sauce can be made in two ways: blended or brewed.
Bibliography:
Soy Sauce 10 March 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soy_sauce>

Rainbow

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Rainbow

Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet.

  • Rainbows are formed when light is reflected off water droplets, and shows a spectrum of colours.
  • Primary rainbows have red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet (ROY G BIV), while secondary rainbows go violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, red (VIB G YOR).
  • Rainbows can form in mist, like waterfalls, and sea spray.
  • When the sky is dull, rainbows are easier to see.
  • Some rainbows don’t fit with the ‘ROY G BIV’ or ‘VIB G YOR’ systems but have their own patterns.

Rainbow, Primary, Dark, Low Contrast, Full, Three Quarter, Roy G Biv, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet, Houses, Australia, Ten Random Facts

  • When viewing a rainbow, the sun is always opposite the centre of the arc, with the sun behind you.
  • Aristotle, the famous Greek scholar from 300 years BC was the first to research and develop a theory regarding rainbows.
  • Some cultures believe that rainbows are the way to heaven, whilst the Bible says that it is a sign from God, reminding us of his promise that he will never flood the whole earth again.
  • Rainbows are popular themes in films, music, literature and art.
  • Nobody can ever see the same rainbow the same as someone else.
Bibliography:
Rainbow 28 February 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow>

Blue-winged Kookaburra

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Blue-winged Kookaburra

Laugh, laugh, laugh like most kookaburras. Well this one doesn’t.

  • Blue-winged Kookaburras are large kingfishers with long beaks.  The males have blue tails, while the females have red-brown tails.
  • Blue-winged Kookaburras are also known as Barking Jackass, Howling Jackass and Leach’s Kookaburra.
  • Blue-winged Kookaburras were first recorded by Sir Joseph Banks in 1770, who thought the kookaburra was a Laughing Kookaburra. Nicholas Vigors and Thomas Horsfield corrected the mistake in 1826.
  • Blue-winged Kookaburras are found in the southern parts of New Guinea and the wetter parts of northern Australia.
  • Blue-winged Kookaburras eat small animals that live on the ground; like reptiles, insects and mammals
Blue Winged Kookaburra, Male, Australia, Kokkaburra, Kingfisher, Bird, Ten Random Facts Photo courtesy of Val Laird
  • Blue-winged Kookaburras live in trees and nest in tree holes.
  • Blue-winged Kookaburras lay 3-5 eggs that are white and a little shiny.
  • Sometimes, in the first week of being born, Blue-winged Kookaburra babies sometimes aggressively kill their youngest sibling.
  • Adult Blue-winged Kookaburras fly quite slow.
  • Blue-winged Kookaburras cackle, trill, bark and screech.
Bibliography:
Broadfoot, E 10 June 2010, Blue-winged Kookaburra, Australian Museum, <http://australianmuseum.net.au/Blue-winged-Kookaburra>

The Man from Snowy River

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The Man from Snowy River

A good ol’ Aussie outback poem.

  • The Man from Snowy River is a poem by the Australian, Andrew Barton ‘Banjo’ Paterson.
  • The Man from Snowy River poem was first published on the 26 April, 1890 in the magazine ‘The Bulletin’.
  • The Man from Snowy River is a poem about a runaway racehorse who meets up with mountain brumbies (wild horses), and the men that are trying to recapture it.
  • The Man from Snowy River is set at, what is modernly known as, Burrinjuck Dam, near Canberra, Australia.
  • Two of the characters featured in the The Man from Snowy River poem, feature in other Paterson poems.
The Man from Snowy River, Yvette, Poem, Engrave, Script, Words, writing, Banjo Paterson Park, Yass, Australia, Monument, Ten Random Facts, Flickr
‘The Man fom Snowy River’
Image courtesy of Yvette/Flickr
  • As a commemorative gesture, The Man from Snowy River poem is printed on the Australian $10 note, and is in microprint for security purposes.
  •  The ‘man’ from the Man from Snowy River is nameless, but is believed to be based on Jack Riley, a stockman, but it is debatable.
  • Two movies have been made from the Man from Snowy River poem- ‘The Man from Snowy River’ and ‘The Return of Snowy River,’ which is also known as ‘The Man from Snowy River 2’.
  • A celebration is held to honour the poem, The Man from Snowy River, yearly in Corryong.
  • Often it is assumed that The Man from Snowy River poem is set in the Snowy River country, but the ‘man’, the hero of the poem, only came from that area.
Bibliography:
The Man from Snowy River 5th September 2007 , Australian Government, <https://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/man-from-snowy-river>

Moscow

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Moscow

Large city, large population, large money.

  • Moscow is the capital city of Russia, although it was replaced by Saint Petersburg as the capital for more than 200 years from 1712-1917.
  • Moscow is a major city of Europe since it has high political, economical, cultural and scientific standards.
  • Moscow is the 6th largest city in the world, with a population of 11,503,501 in 2010.
  • Moscow has extensive underground rail transportation networks, known in English as the “Moscow Metro”, which includes 188 stations, the deepest being 84 metres (276 ft) underground.
  • Moscow was named after the Moskva River, and the name ‘Moscow’ means ‘city by Moskva River’ in old Russian.
Kremlin, Russia, Moscow, Capital City, Winter, Night, Moskva River, Cescassawin, Free Digital Photos, Ten Random Facts
Moscow
Image courtesy of Cescasawin/ Free Digital Photos
  • Moscow’s earliest known recorded reference as a place was in 1147, and it was a minor town at the time.
  • In Moscow, the temperatures in the weather range from -25°C to 30°C (-13°F to 86°F).
  • Christianity is the main religion of Moscow, most people following the Russian Orthodox Church.
  • Moscow is known for the amazing architecture of the “Cathedral of the Protection of Most Holy Theotokos on the Moat” or “Pokrovsky Cathedral”, commonly known as “Saint Basil’s Cathedral“.
  • Moscow has 96 parks and 18 public gardens, and has more than three times the number of green ‘park’ space per person than each of Paris, London and New York.
Bibliography:
Moscow 6 March 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow>
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