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Cotton Swab

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Cotton Swab

Cotton swabs are not limited to ear cleaning.

  • A cotton swab is a small invention that has fibre wrapped around the tips of a small rod, and it is often purchased in a bulk pack from supermarkets.
  • ‘Cotton swabs’ are also known as ‘cotton buds’, and by the prominent brand name of ‘Q-tips’, which stands for ‘quality tips’.
  • Cotton swabs are typically used for various cleaning purposes, from ear wax to lasers in compact disc players and the like; or to assist in a medical environment for tasks like collecting specimens, for testing and diagnosis purposes; as well as applying or removing substances such as paint or makeup.
  • One or both ends of cotton swabs can have fibre attached, depending on the purpose, and they can range in length from 7.5 to 25 centimetres (3 to 10 inches) and the size is generally relevant to its function.
  • The rods of cotton swabs are normally made of plastic, paper or wood, and they vary widely in colour, from white, blue, red, green and yellow among others; while the fibre is generally white and made of cotton or a synthetic material.

Cotton Bud, Bundle, Assortment, Clean, Ten Random Facts, Invention, Hygiene,

  • Cotton swabs were invented by Polish born Leo Gerstenzang, in the United States of America, designed in 1923, and were inspired by his wife’s potentially dangerous innovation that made use of cotton on the end of wooden toothpicks for cleaning ears.
  • The original target audience for cotton swabs marketed by Leo Gerstenzang were babies, on which his wife commonly used the invention, while the name that was initially used for his product was ‘Baby Gays’.
  • Cotton swabs are not recommended for cleaning inside ears, as careless usage can damage ear organs or cause blockage of earwax, both of which are a result of pushing the swab into one’s ear canal, although they are commonly used for this purpose.
  • To make a cotton swab, fibre is generally fed onto the end of a spinning rod that has glue applied, which is then compressed and made smooth, and then packaged into packets or containers.
  • Some cotton swabs, especially those for medical purposes, are singly wrapped to ensure they are sterile, and come with a slim container that is used to hold the swab and its specimen for later examination.
Bibliography:
Cotton Swab, 2015, How Products are Made, http://www.madehow.com/Volume-4/Cotton-Swab.html
Cotton Swab, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton_swab
The History and Evolution of the Swab, 2014, Puritan, http://blog.puritanmedproducts.com/bid/357796/The-History-and-Evolution-of-the-Swab

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The Louvre

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The Louvre

“A place for bringing together monuments of all the sciences and arts” – The Louvre

  • The Louvre is one of the greatest and largest museums on Earth, located in France’s Paris, Europe, and it is officially known as the ‘Louvre Museum’, or ‘Musée du Louvre’ in French.
  • The Louvre started out as a fortress, built in 1190 by King Philip II of France; and the fortress was converted into a palace in the 1500s.
  • The Louvre first opened in August 1793 after ownership rights of the palace were forfeited by King Louis XVI, due to his arrest in 1792 as a result of the French Revolution, and the museum opened with 537 art pieces in its collection.
  • Under the direction of Napoléon Bonaparte in the late 1700s and early 1800s, the Louvre, called ‘Musée Napoléon’ at the time, acquired thousands of artworks through raids, although around 5000 of these were given back to their original owners after his abdication.
  • The Louvre is known for its four glass and metal pyramids that were completed in 1989, with the largest covering the main entrance to the building and reaching more than 21 metres (69 feet) in height.

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The Louvre
Image courtesy of JH Images/Flickr
  • The Louvre saw 9.7 million visitors in 2012, a record breaking year, making it the most popular and visited museum in the world, while 70 percent of visitors are said to be foreigners.
  • Despite having around 35,000 artworks on display, the Louvre is said to have in its collection approximately 380,000 pieces.
  • The Louvre is famed for housing the Mona Lisa, ever since 1797, and other collections include sculptures, paintings, prints, drawings, Egyptian artefacts, and Greek and Roman relics.
  • On a single visit, it is not humanely possible to view each artwork on display in the Louvre, as doing so would take more than 12 days straight, if each piece was viewed for 30 seconds without stopping over the period.
  • The Louvre covers a total of 60,600 square metres or 15 acres (652,300 square feet or 6 hectares) in area, and spreads beyond its original building.

Visit the Louvre using The Paris Pass! The Paris Pass has also provided additional facts that you can view here.

Bibliography:
25 Interesting Facts About The Louvre, 2015, Unpublished Text Document, The Paris Pass, Paris
Louvre, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louvre

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Polenta

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Polenta

Polenta was a peasant’s meal.

  • Polenta is a porridge-like food made by boiling ground maize or other grain, and the dish is said to have originated Italy, where it was commonly eaten and eventually became a staple food among the poor and commoners in both Europe and North America.
  • The term ‘polenta’ originates from the Latin word meaning ‘peeled barley’, and is linked to the Latin word ‘pollen’ meaning ‘fine flour’ or ‘mill dust’.
  • Typically the grain used for making modern polenta is ground maize, known as ‘maize flour’ or ‘cornmeal’, and this ingredient is gluten free, making polenta a good alternative for those who can not have gluten.
  • Before the availability of maize in Europe, polenta was eaten by Ancient Romans and was generally made of chickpeas, millet, spelt, chestnut flour, farro, or buckwheat, and today, the dish is sometimes made with a combination of these products.
  • Polenta is most commonly yellow in colour, and can range anywhere between yellow and white, and the colour varies according to the grain used.

Polenta, Food, Culinary, Yellow, Assortment, Sticks, Baked, Cooked, Ten Random Facts

  • Polenta is traditionally made by gradually adding cornmeal to a pot of boiling water, stock or other liquid, and simmering for up to 45 minutes, with occasional or continuous stirring over the period.
  • The finer the grain used to make the polenta, the creamier the final product will be, and sometimes lengthier cooking times and more stirring can also improve the texture.
  • Once boiled, polenta will set if allowed to cool, and is commonly placed in a pan and refrigerated, and later cut into various shaped pieces for frying, grilling or baking, and eaten in various meals, and can be used as an alternative to bread or as a side.
  • Polenta is  high in vitamins C and A, and the food also contains protein, carbohydrates and fibre.
  • Quick cooking polenta is available and is useful for cutting down the boiling time, and pre-made polenta can also be found packaged in supermarkets, and is ready to cut and bake or fry.
Bibliography:
A Brief History of Polenta, 2012, Food in Italy, http://www.foodinitaly.org/blog/2011/04/23/a-brief-history-of-polenta/
Demetri J, Polenta, 2012, Life in Italy, http://www.lifeinitaly.com/food/polenta.asp
Polenta, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polenta

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Atlantic Puffin

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Atlantic Puffin

Atlantic puffins are the parrots of the sea.

  • Atlantic puffins are small flying birds that are native to the North Atlantic Ocean, and they are one of four species of puffins.
  • ‘Atlantic puffins’ are also known as ‘common puffins’, ‘clowns of the sea’ and ‘sea parrots’, and the birds have an average lifespan of 15 to 30 years.
  • The scientific name of an Atlantic puffin is Fratercula arctica, and it is from the family Alcidae, the family of auks, and even though some think that the bird is similar to a penguin, they are not related.
  • Atlantic puffins typically grow to 25 to 30 centimetres (10 to 12 inches) in height; their weight generally ranges from 368 to 500 grams (13 to 18 ounces); and they have a 47 to 63 centimetre (18 – 25 inch) wingspan.
  • The plumage colour of Atlantic puffins is typically coloured a combination of black, white and grey, while the bird’s large beak, legs and webbed feet are a vivid orange, although the beak generally turns grey in winter.
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Atlantic Puffin
Image courtesy of Brain Gratwicke/Flickr
  • The diet of Atlantic puffins consists primarily of fish, and also includes worms, molluscs, shrimp and crustaceans.
  • Atlantic puffins catch their prey by diving underwater; they are excellent swimmers, although they are said to crash into the water when landing; and they are also good flyers and can reach up to speeds of 88 kilometres per hour (55 miles per hour).
  • By bobbing for days on end, Atlantic puffins are able to survive on the surfaces of the ocean with no land in sight, and they spend a significant portion of the year on water, and return to land for breeding purposes.
  • Female Atlantic puffins lay a single white egg annually in a burrow that is cared for by both parents, while hatching can take up to 45 days; and adults usually have only one partner during their life.
  • Despite being listed as least concern, Atlantic puffin numbers have decreased over the past century and are threatened by pollution, especially oil spills; animals introduced to breeding grounds; and humans hunting for food.
Bibliography
Atlantic Puffin, 2015, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/birds/atlantic-puffin/
Atlantic Puffin, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_puffin
Puffin, 2013, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/puffin/

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Lake Vostok

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Lake Vostok

Lake Vostok is a preserved jewel of Antarctica.

  • Lake Vostok is a very large water lake that exists underneath an ice glacier in Antarctica, and despite being submerged in darkness, it contains numerous micro-organisms, some of which are not uncommon in other water bodies.
  • Lake Vostok is the largest known underground lake in Antarctica, covering up to 14,000 square kilometres (5405 square miles) in area and reaching estimated depths of 510 to 900 metres (1700 to 3000 feet).
  • Andrey Kapitsa, Russian geographer, accurately predicted the existence and location of Lake Vostok in the early 1960s.
  • ‘Lake Vostok’ was named after the Russian research station, Vostok Station, that is situated directly above the lake.
  • The Russians were not only the discoverers of Lake Vostok, but also the earliest to theorise the existence of underground lakes in Antarctica, first led by Peter Kropotkin, scientist, in the 1800s.
Lake Vostok, Satellite, Colour, Blue, Ice, Ten Random Facts, NASA, AntarticaSatellite Image of Lake Vostok
Image courtesy of NASA
  • Despite evidence of Lake Vostok’s existence, the lake was never actually confirmed until 1993, and it was not until early 2012 when the lake’s surface was first penetrated.
  • It is possible that the water of Lake Vostok is gradually cycled throughout thousands of years, as water is lost while the above glacier is mobile, and is in turn replaced by ice melting.
  • Despite the freezing temperatures of Antarctica, and even though the water temperature of Lake Vostok is approximately minus three degrees Celsius (26.6 degrees Fahrenheit), the lake remains unfrozen due to the enormous pressure it sits under.
  • Tides are evident in Lake Vostok, and therefore are dependent on planetary positioning, while the lake’s surface can reach up to 1.2 centimetres (0.47 inches) higher than normal as a result.
  • One of the longest ice cores,  drilled from more than 3,600 metres (11,811 feet) deep, has been extracted during the studies of Lake Vostok, despite the lake being only 500 metres (1640 feet) below sea level, as the ice above is up to 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) thick.
Bibliography:
Lake Vostok, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Vostok
Lake Vostok mysteries: Biologists find over 3,500 life forms in isolated Antarctic basin, 2013, RT, http://rt.com/news/lake-vostok-bacteria-dna-745/
Maxwell B, Broughton D, Rogers J & Weymouth W, Ethics of Subglacial lake Exploration in Antarctica, 2012, University of Canterbury, http://www.anta.canterbury.ac.nz/documents/PCAS_14/SyndicateReports/Subglacial%20Lake%20Exploration%20Syndicate%20Report.pdf

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Slow Worm

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Slow Worm

Do not be fooled! Slow worms are not worms or snakes!

  • Slow worms are lizards, found across Europe and Asia, that do not have legs, and move using body muscles.
  • ‘Slow worms’ are also known as ‘slowworms’, ‘blindworms’ and ‘blind worms’, while the scientific name is Anguis fragilis, from the family Anguidae, a family of lizards.
  • Slow worms are commonly found in urban gardens, as well as grass plains and farming areas, where areas are damp and warm, and they are often hidden under objects.
  • The length of a slow worm typically reaches 20 to 50 centimetres (8 to 20 inches) in length and it can weigh 20 to 100 grams (0.7 to 3.5 ounces).
  • The colour of slow worms is generally a combination of black, grey, brown, tan and yellow, while males are occasionally spotted blue.
Slow Worm, Anguis fragilis, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, Trivia, Animal, Reptile, Lizard, Ten Random Facts, Head, Slither
Slow Worm
Image courtesy of Peter O’Conner/Flickr
  • Despite similar appearances, a slow worm can be distinguished from a snake, as the lizard has blinking eyelids; ears that are typical of a lizard; and it discards only portions of its skin at one time.
  • The diet of slow worms consists primarily of insects, worms, spiders, snails and slugs.
  • A slow worm can break off its tail to escape predators like birds, that will regrow to a shorter length, although this escape method is not always effective against other predators such as cats and dogs.
  • Female slow worms produce an average of around 8 young at a time, and the babies form inside eggs in the mother’s body, although they are born live (the process known as ovoviviparity).
  • Slow worms can move at speeds of up to 0.5 kilometres per hour (0.3 miles per hour), and have an average lifespan of 10 to 30 years.
Bibliography:
Angius fragilis, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anguis_fragilis
Slow Worm, 2013, A-Z Aniamls, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/slow-worm/
Slow Worm, n.d, RSPB, http://www.rspb.org.uk/makeahomeforwildlife/wildlifegarden/atoz/s/slowworm.aspx

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