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Great Sphinx of Giza

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Great Sphinx of Giza

The Great Sphinx of Giza has survived the ages.

  • The Great Sphinx of Giza is a statue depicting a mythical sphinx – a lion with a human head, located near the Pyramids of Giza, near Cairo in Africa’s Egypt.
  • ‘The Great Sphinx of Giza’ is also known as ‘the Sphinx’, and can be literally translated as ‘the terrifying one’ or ‘Father of Dread’.
  • The height of the Great Sphinx of Giza reaches 20 metres (66 feet), while the statue is approximately 73 metres (239 feet) in length and 19 metres (63 feet) in width.
  • The Great Sphinx of Giza is the largest statue carved from a single rock and the oldest statue of its kind, in the world, and it is believed that the monument was carved from limestone around 2558 to 2532 BC, by the Ancient Egyptians.
  • The Great Sphinx of Giza is generally accepted to depict the Old Kingdom Pharaoh Khafre (or Khafra) who reigned at the time of its construction, although there are no known records of the Sphinx until the New Kingdom beginning 1550 BC.
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The Great Sphinx of Giza
Image courtesy of Jack Versloot/Flickr
  • The Great Sphinx of Giza remained mostly covered by sand for thousands of years, although there were efforts to excavate it by some Ancient Egyptian pharaohs of the past, including Thutmose IV, around 1400 BC.
  • The first excavations of modern times on the Great Sphinx of Giza, were performed in 1817 by Italian Giovanni Battista Caviglia, an Egyptologist, while the statue was fully uncovered by 1936, after multiple excavations in the 1800 and 1900s, led by various people.
  • The nose of the Great Sphinx of Giza appears to have been chiselled or broken off on an unknown occasion in the past, and there is evidence the statue once featured a beard.
  • The Great Sphinx of Giza has been commonly depicted, and occasionally mocked, in artistic media, with early depictions from the 1500s being notably amusing.
  • There is evidence of the Great Sphinx of Giza being significantly eroded by wind-blown sand over thousands of years, and protecting the statue from further decline is of continual concern.
Bibliography:
Great Sphinx of Giza, 2015, Sacred Destinations, http://www.sacred-destinations.com/egypt/giza-sphinx
Great Sphinx of Giza, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Sphinx_of_Giza
Winston A, The Great Sphinx of Giza, an Introduction, 2013, Tour Egypt, http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/sphinx1.htm

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Leafy Seadragon

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Leafy Seadragon

Let’s play ‘Hide and Seek’. Can you find the leafy seadragon?

  • Leafy seadragons are aquatic animals native to the southern coast of Australia, and are found in water with maximum depths of 50 metres (164 feet).
  • ‘Leafy seadragons’ are also known as ‘Glauert’s seadragon’ and ‘leafies’, and Australia’s state of South Australia has them as its marine animal emblem.
  • Though it is related, a leafy seadragon is not a seahorse, but a species of seadragon, and it has the scientific name Phycodurus eques, being from the family Syngnathidae, the family of seahorses and pipefish.
  • The typical length of leafy seadragons ranges from 20 to 35 centimetres (8 to 14 inches), and they tend to be a yellow and green colour with black patches.
  • The diet of leafy seadragons typically consists of plankton, shrimp and fish larvae, which are consumed via an intriguing, long cylindrical snout using a suction force.
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Leafy Seadragon
Image courtesy of VirtualWolf/Flickr
  • In the leafy seadragon reproduction process, females produce pink eggs, numbering around 250, that are transferred to males, who carry the eggs on a special patch on their tail until they hatch, and during the process, the eggs change colour.
  • Leafy seadragons have many appendages that form on their body that look like leafy branches, and these cause the fish to be camouflaged by having the appearance of seaweed.
  • On average, only one in twenty leafy seadragons survive until adulthood, and when they do, they have a lifespan of two to ten years.
  • Leafy seadragons are listed as ‘near threatened’ due to loss of habitat from pollution and accidental catching by commercial fisheries, as well as their collection for the pet industry, and they are now a protected species.
  • Leafy seadragons are slow movers, swimming via their transparent fins and appearing to drift like seaweed, although they are sometimes stationary for days.
Bibliography:
Leafy Seadragon, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leafy_seadragon
Leafy and Weedy Seadragons, 2015, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/fish/sea-dragon/
Sea Dragon, 2013, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/sea-dragon/

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Maunsell Forts

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Maunsell Forts

Imagine living out in the isolated sea on the Maunsell Forts.

  • Maunsell Forts are a group of buildings that were erected in the ocean for the defence of the United Kingdom, in Europe, near the mouths of the River Thames and the River Mersey.
  • Maunsell Forts were built for use in World War II, serving as forts for either the navy or the army, depending on the fort, with the army forts consisting of a set of seven connected towers.
  • Four navy forts and three army forts were built in the Thames estuary as part of the Maunsell Fort system, named ‘Rough Sands’, ‘Sunk Head’, ‘Tongue Sands’, ‘Knock John’, ‘Nore’, ‘Red Sands’ and ‘Shivering Sands’, numbered U1-U7 respectively, and are collectively known as the ‘Thames Sea Forts’.
  • Observing, searching for and halting German aircraft and other threats, during World War II, were the primary uses of the Maunsell Forts.
  • The main material used in the construction of Maunsell Forts was concrete and steel, with the navy forts sitting on a flat bed supported by two cylindrical columns, and the army fort towers sitting atop four cylindrical legs that sit like a square pyramid.
Maunsell Sea Forts
Image courtesy of Steve Cadman/FlickrMaunsell Forts, Brown, Water, Thames, England, United Kingdoms, Group, Five, Navy , Ten Random Facts, Flickr
  • Maunsell Forts were designed by engineer Guy Maunsell from Britain, hence their name, and were built in the early 1940s.
  • A number of Maunsell Forts or towers have been destroyed since World War II, due to watercraft collisions and weather conditions, while the forts in the Mersey estuary were removed due to the hindrance to ships travelling in the area.
  • By the 1950s the Maunsell Forts were no longer used for their original purpose and were mostly left abandoned, however, during the 1960s, a number of the forts were overtaken by pirates as a base to broadcast pirate radio.
  • Many of the remaining Maunsell Forts are in a state of deterioration and they can be quite hazardous to approach, so viewing is generally performed from a distance.
  • Restoring the Maunsell Forts has been considered, and a preservation project, known as Project Redsand began in 2003 to restore the Red Sand towers so that they could be used commercially for communications, recording of music, experiments, and history related activities.
Bibliography:
Maunsell Army Sea Forts, 2014, Atlas Obscura, http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/maunsell-army-sea-forts
Maunsell Forts, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maunsell_Forts
World War II: ‘Fort Madness: Britain’s Bizarre Sea Defense Against the Germans, 2010, Spiegel Online International, http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/world-war-ii-fort-madness-britain-s-bizarre-sea-defense-against-the-germans-a-728754.html

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Plastic Wrap

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Plastic Wrap

Do you get frustrated wrapping up food with plastic wrap?

  • Plastic wrap is an invention that is generally used to cover food objects and keep them airtight, or to bundle loose items.
  • ‘Plastic wrap’ is also known as ‘Glad wrap’, ‘cling film’, ‘Saran wrap’, ‘cling wrap’ and ‘food wrap’.
  • Typically, plastic wrap is rolled around a cylinder that is purchased in a box, that generally features an attached, toothed metal bar for cutting.
  • Plastic wrap was originally made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic, which is notoriously hard to recycle and its toxicity has been questionable, however low density polyethylene (LDPE) is becoming more common, and manufacturers have been continually improving their products to create totally non-toxic food wraps.
  • Plastic wrap is commonly used to cover plates, bowls or other dishes, especially leftovers, to protect and seal the food they contain, often for storage in the refrigerator.

Glad Wrap, Plastic, Thin, Cover, Roll, Clear, Transparent, Ten Random Facts, Food, Culinary, Invention

  • The accidental invention of plastic wrap in 1933 is attributed to Ralph Wiley from Dow Chemical, and the substance was originally used by the military as a spray on planes and other vehicles, to protect them from rust and other deterioration.
  • Plastic wrap usually sticks to itself, and it also generally adheres to smooth surfaces, making it a flexible system for sealing all sorts of items of varying shapes and sizes; and wrap with similar qualities is used to bind items as small as a rolled newspaper, or as a large as a pallet-load of goods.
  • Plastic wrap was not developed as a food wrap until 1949, when it was first used in the food industry, and it was not until 1953 that it was available for home use.
  • Plastic wrap boxes usually have tabs on either end of the box, that can be pushed inside the box to hold the roll in place as the wrap is pulled from the roll.
  • Plastic wrap for home use usually comes in rolls that are 29 to 33 cm (11.5 to 13 inches) wide, and in varying lengths from 15 to 150 metres (16.4 to 164 yards), although much wider and longer rolls are available in the catering industry.
Bibliography:
Plastic Wrap, 2015, MadeHow, http://www.madehow.com/Volume-2/Plastic-Wrap.html
Plastic Wrap, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_wrap
What is Plastic Wrap, 2015, WiseGEEK, http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-plastic-wrap.htm
Who Invented Plastic Wrap, 2015, Who Invented It?, http://www.whoinventedit.net/who-invented-plastic-wrap.html

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Cookie

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Cookie

Do you call it a biscuit or a cookie?

  • Cookies are food items that are made usually by baking a mixture of flour and other ingredients in an oven, and they are commonly eaten as a snack.
  • In Britain and other European countries, ‘cookies’ are typically called ‘biscuits’, while the American versions of ‘biscuits’ are known as ‘scones‘ elsewhere, and the term may also refer to ‘crackers’.
  • The word ‘cookie’ comes from the Dutch word ‘koekje’, meaning ‘little cake’, while ‘biscuit’ comes from the word ‘bescuit’ which means ‘twice cooked’ when translated from Old French.
  • Cookies, or biscuits, were originally used as easily transportable food items, and they were commonly used as a staple food when at sea, especially in the British Royal Navy.
  • Cookies are available in a wide variety of shapes and colours, although they are typically coloured brown, tan or white, and they can be made at home or purchased in supermarkets.

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  • Biscuits, or cookies, were originally baked at least twice, and sometimes more, making them very hard, to increase their durability and to decrease their spoilage properties, and as a result extend their storage life.
  • In 600 AD, the Persian community were making sweeter and softer cookies and biscuits, compared to the original hard, dry and bland versions evident around that time.
  • Cookies are most commonly a rough circular or rectangular shape, often around 5 centimetres (2 inches) across, although they are often made larger or smaller.
  • Butter or oil, sugar, flour, and egg are common ingredients for making modern cookies or biscuits, with fillings and/or coatings common, using foods including chocolate, nuts, fruit and jams.
  • Biscuits were originally often dunked in a hot beverage or other liquid, so that they became soft enough to eat easily, and this practice is not uncommon today, even though modern cookies are generally much softer and only baked once.
Bibliography:
Biscuit, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biscuit
Cookie, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cookie
Olver L, Food Timeline: cookies, crackers & biscuits, 2015, Food Timeline, http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodcookies.html

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Elephant Seal

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Elephant Seal

Don’t let an elephant seal squash you.

  • Elephant seals are two species of seal, the ‘northern’ and the ‘southern’, native to Pacific Ocean coastal waters of North and Central America, and coastal waters of the Southern Hemisphere, respectively.
  • The scientific name of an elephant seal is Mirounga, and it is from the family Phocidae, the family of earless or true seals, and it is also known as a ‘sea elephant’.
  • Elephant seals can grow to be 3 to 6.1 metres (10 to 20 feet) in length, and weigh 900 to 4,000 kilograms (2,000 to 8,800 pounds).
  • Elephant seals can hold their breath for up to two hours or more, which exceeds the time of any other marine mammal.
  • The diet of elephant seals primarily consists of fish, squid, eels, sharks and skates, and they are preyed on by sharks and orcas.
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A Northern Elephant Seal
Image courtesy of Frank Schulenburg/Flickr
  • Elephant seals have a greater blubber layer than fur, which traps body heat and protects the animal from the cold; and they shed their skin each year, and remain on land for a couple of months as it regrows.
  • Mature female elephant seals usually give birth to one pup annually, and they have a lifespan typically ranging from 14 to 22 years.
  • Although classified as ‘least concern’, elephant seals are threatened by collisions with boats and fisheries, as well as rubbish and wreck entanglements; and the mammal has been previously hunted to dangerously low populations, but they have been protected since 1972 in the United States.
  • Elephant seals are generally coloured a combination of brown, grey, black and tan in colour, and the males feature a nose similar to an elephant trunk, hence their common name.
  • Elephant seals can dive to depths of over 2,300 metres (7,546 feet), although 300 to 600 metres (984 to 1,968 feet) is the average.
Bibliography:
Elephant Seal, 2013, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/elephant-seal/
Elephant Seal, 2015, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/mammals/elephant-seal/
Elephant Seal, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_seal


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