Tag Archives: Europe

Dormouse

By | |
Leave a comment
Dormouse

The dormouse is very cute.

  • Dormice are small, furry mammals that are native to Europe and parts of Asia and Africa.
  • The dormouse has the scientific and family name Gliridae, that has also been known as Myoxidae and Muscadinidae, and includes 29 species.
  • Dormice can grow to be 6 to 19 centimetres (2.4 to 7.5 inches) in length, in addition to their long tail, and they can be 15 to 180 grams (0.5 to 6.35 ounces) in weight.
  • Dormice are rodents that are a similar shape to a mouse, although they have a furry tail.
  • Dormice have diets that mainly consist of vegetation, including fruit, nuts and flowers, along with insects, and they have many predators that include birds and mammals like cats, foxes and weasels.
Dormouse, Mouse, Rodent, Ten Random Facts, Animal, Flickr, Household, Wood, Stare
Dormouse
Image courtesy of Moscardino/Flickr
  • Dormice have a life span of up to five years, and females have litters one or two times a year, and on average have four mice per litter.
  • Doormice are mostly nocturnal, live in small groups mostly among trees and are good climbers.
  • The word ‘dormouse’ possibly comes from the term ‘dormeus’ or ‘dormir’, an Anglo-French word meaning ‘sleepy’, and the animal does have notably extended hibernation periods that can last longer than six months.
  • Dormice have been eaten historically by the Ancient Romans, as well as today by some cultures.
  • The fur of a dormouse can range from brown, tan, gold, white, grey or black in colour, and their whiskers are black.
Bibliography:
Dormouse, 2014, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/dormouse/
Dormouse, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dormouse

 

Amazon:   

Typewriter

By | |
1 Comment
Typewriter

Tap, tappety, tap-tappety tap.

  • Typewriters are machines that print carbon or ink characters on paper, requiring input from a person by pressing buttons, and are mechanically or electro-mechanically driven.
  • Most typewriters were replaced by word processors and computers by the late 1980s, although they are still in use in developing countries, as well as in prisons due to the ban of computers.
  • Typewriters were commonly used in offices and sometimes in homes, for the purpose of typing letters, documents, and other information.
  • The first typewriter ever invented was possibly by Englishman Henry Mill in 1714, for which he received a patent, and other early typewriters include inventions by Pelligino Turri, an Italian, in 1808 who also invented carbon paper, and William Austin Burt, an American who is most commonly credited for the invention of the typewriter, in 1829.
  • Fast typists can type around 100 words a minute on a manual typewriter, although records have been set for more than 150 words a minute.

Typewriter, Black, Old, QWERTY, Museum, Ten Random Facts, Invention

  • Typewriters generally require the manual insertion of a sheet of paper, and when the end of a page is reached, it is removed, and a new piece of paper is inserted into the machine.
  • Due to the permanency of the printing, typewriters would require a high level of typing accuracy, with competitions deducting points for inaccuracy, although mistakes could be erased with an abrasive hard rubber, or correction fluid, and various other means were also employed.
  • Thomas Edison invented the first electric style typewriter in 1870, which used an electrical input to type remotely, however the technology was not widely used until decades later.
  • The typically used English QWERTY keyboard layout on typewriters, known as the ‘Sholes’ or ‘Universal’ keyboard, were originally arranged by Sholes & Glidden typewriters in 1874, and are said to be laid out so that the most commonly used keys were separated to decrease the likelihood of jamming from fast typing.
  • The word ‘typewriter’ is generally considered the longest English word (10 letters), that only uses one row of the QWERTY keyboard layout, although a flower, ‘rupturewort’ can beat that record (11 letters).

 

Bibliography:
Typewriter, 2014, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typewriter>
Typewriters, 2014, Mary Bellis, http://inventors.about.com/od/tstartinventions/a/Typewriters.htm

Amazon:     

Maidenhair Fern

By | |
1 Comment
Maidenhair Fern

Keep up the water to your maidenhair ferns.

  • Maidenhair ferns are a group of ferns of which there are approximately 200 species.
  • Maidenhair ferns are from the family Pteridaceae, the family of ferns, and has the scientific name Adiantum.
  • Maidenhair ferns have soft textures and lacy appearances, although textures and appearance vary among the species.
  • Maidenhair ferns are generally green in colour with black or brown leaf stems, although the colours of the leaves can be variegated.
  • Maidenhair ferns are deciduous, grow from rhizomes, and reach up to 1 metre (3 feet) in height.

Maidenhair Fern, Green, Plant, Vegetation, Genus, Adiantum, Ten Random Facts, Australia

  • Maidenhair ferns are typically used as an ornamental plant, both indoors and outdoors, and are often grown in pots, terrariums and hanging baskets.
  • Maidenhair ferns prefer a shady position in the garden, and if kept inside, then need to be grown in a well lit area.
  • ‘Adiantum’, the scientific name of maidenhair ferns, is from the Greek word ‘adiantos’, meaning ‘unwettable’, referring to the foliage of the plant that repels water.
  • Maidenhair ferns dry out quickly if not watered, but can be resurrected by cutting off dead branches and keeping the soil moist, and are not technically dead until green growth has not been seen for 18 months.
  • Maidenhair ferns are native to all continents except Antarctica, and grow best in moist habitats, particularly among rocks or near water features.
Bibliography:
Adiantum, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adiantum
Maidenhair Fern, 2006, Burke’s Backyard, http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/factsheets/Indoor-and-Potted-Plant/Maidenhair-Fern/2156

Amazon:      

Cyclamen

By | |
Leave a comment
Cyclamen

Cyclamen… a hardy but beautiful plant.

  • Cyclamens are flowering perennial plants, that grow from tubers and are also called ‘sowbread’, as the tubers have been commonly eaten by wild pigs.
  • Cyclamens are native to parts of Europe, north Africa and west Asia.
  • Cyclamens were originally considered to belong to the family Primulaceae, the family of primroses, but are now considered to be part of the family Myrsinaceae, the family of myrsine.
  • Cyclamens develop flowers with five petals that point upwards, in various shades of white, red, pink or purple colours.
  • There are approximately 20 species of cyclamens, and they have different flowering seasons, depending on the species.

Cyclamen, Red, Green, Flower, Plant, Large, Fence, Decorative, Ten Random Facts, Australia

  • Cyclamens can be found in woody or rocky areas, and are generally hardy plants, although some species do not cope with frost.
  • Cyclamens prefer shady conditions and are popularly used as a decorative house or garden plant, and are often grown in pots.
  • Cyclamen leaves are are often heart shaped, and typically green with sometimes a red coloured underside, and the leaves usually have a distinctive pattern in a lighter colour.
  • Cyclamens grow to be 15 to 25 centimetres (6 to 10 inches) in height and the flowers usually sit above the leaves of the plant on thin stems.
  • Some cyclamens go dormant in summer and appear to be dead, however, they will generally re-sprout leaves in autumn.
Bibliography:
Cyclamen, 2014, Burke’s Backyard, http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/factsheets/Flowering-Plants-and-Shrubs/Cyclamen/1296
Cyclamen, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclamen
Perry L, Considering Cyclamen, n.d., University of Vermont Extension, http://perrysperennials.info/articles/cyclamen.html

Amazon:     

Wadden Sea

By | |
Leave a comment
Wadden Sea

Appear to walk on water at Wadden Sea.

  • Wadden Sea is a large body of shallow water in the North Sea, off the coast of Northwest Europe.
  • Wadden Sea is the home of many islands called the same name that are also known as ‘Frisian Islands’.
  • Wadden Sea is an intertidal zone, and the “largest unbroken system of intertidal sand and mud flats” on earth, and it includes kilometres of mud flats, channels, sand banks and salt marshes.
  • Wadden Sea is located on the coast of three countries – Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands; and the countries cooperatively protect the area.
  • Ever since 2009, Wadden Sea has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Wadden Sea, Aeroplane, view, Overtop, Large, Netherlands, Ten Random facts, Water, Flickr

Netherlands part of Wadden Sea
Image courtesy of Eutrophication & Hypoxia /Flickr
  •  Wadden Sea has an area totalling just under 10,000 square kilometres (3,861 square miles), and covers a distance of 400 km (248 miles).
  • Wadden Sea is the migration site of up to 12 million birds of more than 30 species, and is a significant nesting area, and moulting area for numerous birds.
  • Wadden Sea is popular for beach activities, including swimming, as well as bird watching, boating, cycling, seal watching, and mudflat hiking site.
  • The Wadden Sea area is home to more than 5,000 different species of animals and plants, with some being seals, porpoises and, historically, whales.
  • The name ‘Wadden Sea’, comes from the Dutch word ‘wad’, meaning ‘mudflat’.
Bibliography:
Wadden Sea, 2014, UNESCO World Heritage, http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1314
Wadden Sea, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wadden_Sea
About the Wadden Sea, 2013, Common Wadden Sea Secretariat, http://www.waddensea-worldheritage.org/wadden-sea-world-heritage/unique-its-kind

Amazon:      

Brown Bear

By | |
Leave a comment
Brown Bear

Be wary around those brown bears!

  • Brown bears are large mammals native to northern Europe, Asia and North America, and along with polar bears, are the largest bears and land predators.
  • Brown bears have the scientific name Ursus arctos, meaning ‘bear’ in Latin and Greek respectively, and they are from the family Ursidae, the family of bears.
  • Brown bears have a formal subspecies count of 16, although there is debate about this number and others suggest between 5 and 90 exist.
  • Brown bears typically have a fur colour of a variety of brown shades, depending on the subspecies, with the fur in winter growing up to 11 to 12 centimetres (4 to 5 inches) long.
  • Brown bears are generally 1.5 to 2.5 metres (5 to 8 feet) in height and can weigh 55 to 680 kilograms (121 to 1500 pounds) depending on the subspecies and the environment in which they live, and they can weigh twice as much as they would normally before winter when they store fat on their bodies, so that they can semi-hibernate in dens during the cold season.

Brown Bear, Fur, Water, Stalking, Grass, Mammal, Alaska, Ten Random Facts, America, National Geographic

Brown Bear
Image courtesy of National Geographic
  • Some subspecies of brown bears are extinct or endangered, but the species is classified as a ‘least concern’, and they have a population of approximately 200,000 bears in the wild.
  • Brown bears are mostly nocturnal, and are typically found in forests with open land areas, as well as mountainous environments.
  • Brown bears do not often attack humans, but leading causes include surprise or curiosity, and they can run at speeds of 48 kilometres per hour (30 miles per hour).
  • Female brown bears give birth in their den in winter, and litters range from one to four cubs.
  • Brown bears can live up to 37 years in the wild, although longer in captivity, and their diet mainly consists of vegetation such as berries, roots and grass, small mammals and salmon, but sometimes larger animals are preyed upon.
Bibliography:
Brown Bear, 2014, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/mammals/brown-bear/
Brown Bear, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_bear

Amazon:      

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...