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Chefchaouen

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Chefchaouen

Chefchaouen is a calming blue.

  • Chefchaouen, also known as ‘Chaouen’, or ‘Xauen’ in Spanish, is a city located in the north of Morocco, North Africa, in the Rif mountains, and it sits approximately 660 m (2165 feet) above sea level.
  • The name ‘Chefchaouen’, meaning ‘watch the horns’ comes from the term ‘chaoua’ meaning ‘goat’s horns’ in one of the tribal languages, in reference to the appearance of the mountains situated over the town, while the term ‘chef’ is translated as ‘looks at’.
  • Chefchaouen is a popular tourist site, with around 200 hotels actively used to cater for visitors that come to experience the natural beauty, and history.
  • In 2004, Chefchaouen had a population of 35,709, which is around 7,000 people less than the census of a decade prior.
  • Chefchaouen is famous for its many buildings and objects, that have either been totally or partially painted the colour blue.
Chefchaouen, Morocco, Street, Blue, Part, Africa, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Place, Town
A Street of Chefchaouen
Image courtesy of Mark Fischer/Flickr
  • Chefchaouen was originally built as a fortress in 1471, used against the Portuguese in their invasion, and the city has been a safe-haven for Jewish refugees at least twice in its history.
  • Chefchaouen is notable for selling an extensive variety of textiles, handcrafts and goat cheese, while the drug cannabis is widely grown in the area.
  • The blue painted buildings of Chefchaouen are a tradition that is believed to have begun in the 1930s, or possibly centuries earlier, started by Jewish refugees, serving as a reminder of God and a reflection of the sky.
  • Chefchaouen was under Spanish command from the 1920s to 1956, and it had been attacked by Spain prior to this occasion.
  • The blue buildings of Chefchaouen are typically repainted every two years to maintain the colour.
Bibliography:
Chefchaouen, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chefchaouen
Chefchaouen, the Blue City of Morocco, 2012, Amusing Planet, http://www.amusingplanet.com/2012/08/chefchaouen-blue-city-of-morocco.html
Neubauer I, Chefchaouen: The electric beauty of Morocco’s incredible blue city, 2015, CNN, http://edition.cnn.com/2015/08/03/travel/morocco-blue-city-chefchaouen/
To Visit the Medina of Chefchaouen, n.d, Chaouen.info, http://www.chaouen.info/in-medina.html

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Airport

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Airport

Airports are the terminals of activity that enable travel to far-off places.

  • Airports are a construction that provides assistance in the flying, taking off and landing of aircraft, as well as the storage, service, repair and maintenance of aircraft.
  • Airports usually consist of a type of runway for aircraft to land on, and often have hangars, terminals and control towers for further functionality.
  • When an airport has large amounts of traffic they will generally have at least one control tower, which is used to monitor aircraft arrivals and departures, dangers due to weather conditions and other factors, and to ensure there are no aircraft collisions.
  • It is generally considered that the world’s oldest airport still in use is the College Park Airport of the United State’s Maryland built in 1909, while one of the earliest commercial facilities still in use is Sydney Airport in Australia which officially opened in early 1920.
  • Airport runways vary depending on the facility size, with smaller ones generally having grass, gravel or dirt based runways of under 1 kilometre (0.6 miles) in length, while larger runways are made of concrete or asphalt and reach lengths of 2 to 5 kilometres (1.2 to 3.1 miles).

Airport, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Invention, Place, Port, Aircraft, Aeroplane, Qantas, Australia

  • Despite the majority of airports being of smaller size, most are owned by a government organisation, rather than by business corporations or an individual.
  • The first airports were, on the most part, reserved for military use until after World War I; many of which were later used for commercial purposes.
  • Each airport has its own letter code, known as an International Air Transport Association (IATA) code, and generally also an International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) code, and the facilities usually have an official name, and sometimes a common name, which may be more well known than its formal title.
  • In 2013, there were 41,821 airports in the world, and almost a third of those were located in the United States, while Brazil had the second biggest number of facilities with almost ten percent of the world’s total.
  • Airports are generally split into two sections, landside – which is open to the public and includes roads and transport options, and airside – which has restricted access and includes airplanes, runways, hangars and so on.
Bibliography:
Airport, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airport
Field Listing: Airport, n.d, The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2053.html
The History of Airports, 2015, AvJobs, http://www.avjobs.com/history/airports.asp

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Raccoon Dog

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Raccoon Dog

Raccoon dogs have more dog to them than raccoon.

  • Raccoon dogs are a species of dog that have an appearance notably similar to that of a raccoon, though they are only distantly related.
  • ‘Raccoon dogs’ are also known as ‘tanukis’ and ‘manguts’, and they are native to some of the eastern areas of Asia.
  • The scientific name of a raccoon dog is Nycetereutes procyonoides and it is form the family Canidae, the family of dogs, and five subspecies of the animal exist.
  • A raccoon dog has an average lifespan of 6 to 7  years, and the animal is generally between 45 to 71 centimetres (18 to 28 inches) in length with a weight from 3 to 10 kilograms (6.6 to 22 pounds).
  • The scientific name of raccoon dogs means ‘night wanderer’ when translated from Greek, which refers to the dog’s mainly nocturnal activity.
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Raccoon Dog
Image courtesy of Tambako The Jaguar/Flickr
  • Raccoon dogs live in woodland and forest habitats near water, and they have a habit of hibernating in winter, particularly when snowy, which is a unique characteristic in its family.
  • During summer months, raccoon dog fur is generally a red or yellow colour, however the fur coat changes to greys, browns and blacks in winter.
  • Raccoon dogs have a diet that consists primarily of rodents, fish, nuts, berries, molluscs, birds and their eggs, grains, insects, reptiles and frogs, and they are adept at climbing trees.
  • Raccoon dogs were first introduced to Europe, including parts of Russia, in the 1900s, and have since become a pest in some areas.
  • The primary predator of a raccoon dog is a wolf, and the animal is also commonly hunted by humans for the purpose of culling, for food, as well as for its fur.
Bibliography:
Raccoon Dog, 2015, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/raccoon-dog/
Raccoon Dog, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raccoon_dog
Raccoon Dog – The Night Wanderer, 2015, Fact Zoo, http://www.factzoo.com/mammals/raccoon-dog-night-wanderer.html

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Scotland Yard (game)

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Scotland Yard (game)

Unleash your detective (or criminal!) self with Scotland Yard.

  • Scotland Yard is a game that involves one team, the detectives, that are to find and capture the criminal (or Mr X), by travelling across a board under a turn limit.
  • The typical goal in Scotland Yard is for the single player criminal, to evade capture by the team of detectives, consisting of multiple players, who strive to capture the criminal.
  • Scotland Yard requires the skill of deduction for the detectives, bluffing for the criminal, and tactics for both.
  • Players of Scotland Yard are required to traverse across the board using marked taxi, subway and bus routes and stations, and specific tickets are used to enable travel through the various transport methods.
  • Generally each detective in Scotland Yard has 22 tickets available for moving, one used up each turn, while the criminal will have the remainder.

Scotland Yard, Board Game, Set, Equipment, Parker Brothers, Trivia, Ten Random Facts

  • Scotland Yard was first released in 1983 in Europe’s Germany, by Ravensburger Games, and was quite successful, receiving the 1983 German game of the year award (Spiel des Jahres).
  • Scotland Yard spread across Europe and eventually reached the United States by 1985, where it was redistributed by Milton Bradley, sporting minor board differences.
  • The setting of Scotland Yard is typically London, although boards featuring New York, Japan and Switzerland have been published.
  • Scotland Yard can become monotonous for the detective team, as actions can become repetitive, frustrating and limited, unlike the criminal, who has a variety of options consistently throughout the game.
  • Scotland Yard is usually played by three to six players and generally takes up to one hour to play.
Bibliography:
Scotland Yard (Board Game), 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotland_Yard_(board_game)
Scotland Yard, 2012, Dad’s Gaming Addiction, http://www.dadsgamingaddiction.com/scotland-yard/
Scotland Yard, n.d, Everything 2, http://everything2.com/title/Scotland+Yard

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Baguette

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Baguette

Bag a few baguettes while you are at it.

  • Baguettes are bread-based foods that are well known as a French product, and they are also known as ‘French loaves’ and ‘French sticks’.
  • Baguettes are typically 5 to 6 centimetres (2 to 2.4 inches) in diameter and 65 to 100 centimetres (26 to 39 inches) in length.
  • The term ‘baguette’ translated from French is ‘wand’, ‘stick’ or ‘baton’, referring to the bread’s long, thin shape.
  • Baguettes originated in France, from the mid 1700s, and were used in particular, as breakfast foods, though the earliest use of the modern term in reference to the bread was in 1920.
  • The basic ingredients of a baguette are wheat flour, salt, water and yeast or other rising alternative, and due to having no preservatives, they are best eaten the same day they are made.
Baguettes, Food, Bread, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Brown, Sticks, Long, Tray, Homemade
Baguette
Image courtesy of Nicola/Flickr
  • In France, a number of regulations are in force concerning the commercial production of the traditional baguette – that those sold contain only the four basic ingredients, with only slight variations allowed; that they be baked and sold at the same premises; that they be preservative and additive free; and that they are not frozen prior to selling.
  • Commonly, baguettes are cooked using steam in a deck oven at temperature minimums of 205°C (400°F) to assist in developing its light, fluffy interior, before the exterior crusts over and becomes crispy.
  • Due to the fact that they cook quicker than the rounded alternative, baguettes were particularly popular for baking in the early mornings, especially early in the 20th century when a law was passed regarding bakery employees not being permitted to start work until after 4 am.
  • Baguettes can be eaten plain, although they are sometimes eaten with the addition of butter, cheese or condiments like jam, or used as bread for sandwiches, and the like.
  • Baguettes are eaten in many countries around the world, however, in France, they are so popular that at least ten billion are made annually in the country.
Bibliography:
Baguette, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baguette
A Brief History of the French Baguette, 2015, Le Petit Français Inc, http://www.lepetitfrancais.com/history
Marsh J, The Very French Baguette of France, 2015, The Good Life France, http://www.thegoodlifefrance.com/the-very-french-baguette-of-france/
Saint K, History of the Baguette, 2015, The Good Life France, http://www.thegoodlifefrance.com/history-baguette/

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Rothenburg ob der Tauber

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Rothenburg ob der Tauber

You cannot get architecture more classical then Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

  • Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a town of significant historical importance, found in Germany’s Bavaria, in Europe,
  • As a German phrase, ‘Rothenburg ob der Tauber’ means ‘red fortress above the Tauber’, referring to its elevated location over the River Tauber.
  • A city wall encircles Rothenburg ob der Tauber, which was built in the 1200s, and the town is notable for its preservation of medieval architecture and history.
  • Rothenburg ob der Tauber covers an area of 41.68 square kilometres (16.09 square miles), and is located along the scenic route known as the Romantic Road.
  • Settlement of Rothenburg ob der Tauber first began in 970 AD, but only become a town and fortress from the 1100s to the 1200s, with the fortress being primarily initiated by King Conrad III.
Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany, Place, Buildings, Stone, Trivia, Random Facts, Europe
Part of Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Image courtesy of Edward Dalmulder/Flickr
  • Rothenburg ob der Tauber was considered to be an example of ideal town life to the German citizens, by Nazi Germany during World War II, when it was also armed for enemy protection.
  • The town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber was partially bombed during World War II, and approximately 45% was destroyed before the Germans surrendered, however, it was rebuilt in the original style with financial contributions from around the world.
  • The films Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2010, 2011) both had significant scenes filmed at Rothenburg ob der Tauber.
  • In 1274, Rothenburg ob der Tauber was designated a Free Imperial City, which meant it was self-governed and only answerable to the emperor.
  • Rothenburg ob der Tauber is visited by approximately 2.5 million tourists annually, particularly by day trippers or backpackers.
Bibliography:
Rothenburg ob der Tauber, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rothenburg_ob_der_Tauber
Rothenburg ob der Tauber, n.d, Romantic Road Germany, http://www.romanticroadgermany.com/rothenburg/
Short History of the Town of Rothenburg, 2013, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, http://www.tourismus.rothenburg.de/index.php?id=578
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