Tag Archives: Facts

Mario Franchise

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Mario Franchise

“It’s-a me, Mario!” – Mario from the Mario franchise.

  • The Mario franchise is the most popular video game franchise ever, and is produced by Nintendo, featuring the main hero, Mario.
  • The main series from the Mario franchise is Super Mario (from 1985), which involves the player to venture through the setting, ‘Mushroom Kingdom’.
  • There are more than 200 games that are based or derived from the Mario franchise, and together the number of copies sold is over 865 million.
  • Spin-offs of the Mario franchise include Mario Party (from 1999) and Mario Kart (from 1992), which are some of the longest running series.
  • The first release in the Mario franchise was Donkey Kong in 1981, designed by Shigeru Miyamoto, involving the player known as ‘Jumpman’ (later known as Mario) to jump over objects and save ‘Lady’.

Mario Franchise. Games, Nintendo 64, Wii, New Super Marios Bros Wii, Mario and Sonic at the London 2012 OLympic Games, Mario Party 8, Mario Tennis, Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64

  • Hudson Soft, another video game publisher, has been responsible for producing some of the Mario franchise games, including Mario Party until 2012.
  • The Mario franchise has released anime, comics, an unsuccessful film, and manga as well as general items such as shirts or pens.
  • The Mario franchise is mainly a platform genre, but other games in sport, racing, puzzle, party and role-play have also been published.
  • The common logo of the Mario franchise features a red ‘M’, on a white circle, which is in a red square, and is usually featured on the character Mario’s hat.
  • The first 3D game of the Mario franchise was Super Mario 64, featuring a camera that follows the path of Mario, for the Nintendo 64 console.
Bibliography:
Mario Franchise, 2013, Giant Bomb, http://www.giantbomb.com/mario/3025-1/
Mario (Franchise), 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_(franchise)

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Gray Wolf

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Gray Wolf

The boy that called ‘gray wolf’.

  • The scientific name of the gray wolf is canis lupus, and they are largest in the family Canidae, which is the family of dogs, wolves, foxes and other similar animals, and they can have the spelling ‘grey wolves’, while the females are known as ‘she-wolves’.
  • Gray wolves have a lifespan, in the wild, for about seven to eight years and are native to North America, North Africa and Eurasia, but are now mainly found in Alaska, Canada, North America, Russia, Eurasia.
  • Gray wolves have a diet that consists of mainly of medium to large hoofed animals but sometimes they consume other small animals, fruit, vegetation and other food they can find.
  • As the name suggests, the furry coat of gray wolves is generally grey, but they can be brown, black, white or red in colour.

 

Gray Wolf, White, Grey, Alaska National Park, Adult, Glow, Grass, Rock, Ten Random Facts, National Geographic Stock

 

Gray Wolf
Image courtesy of National Geographic
  • Gray wolves range from 36 to 45 kilograms (79 to 99 pounds) in weight, and can reach speeds up to 60 kilometres per hour.
  • Gray wolves have large, sharp teeth that, with enough pressure, can crush bones, and in a single meal, they can consume and digest food equal to 15 to 19% of their own weight.
  • Gray wolves can control their body-heat by quickening or slowing their flow of blood and while their sense of smell is not as advanced as some others in the canine family, they make it up with good tracking skills and nocturnal eyesight.
  • Gray wolves usually live in packs of 5-11 wolves and generally pair for life, usually having a litter of 5 to 6 pups each year.
  • Gray wolves can make a very loud howl to communicate with each other, to signal a gathering, to locate or to warn, that can be heard 130 kilometres (50 mile) away, and they can also make whimpers, growls, barks, snarls, yelps and whines.
  • Gray wolves do not often attack humans, particularly since they have a fear of humans embedded by hunters who killed one third of the original population.
Bibliography:
Gray Wolf, 2013, Defenders of Wildlife, http://www.defenders.org/gray-wolf/basic-facts
Gray Wolf, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_wolf

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Agapanthus

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Agapanthus

The agapanthus are high above all the rest.

  • Agapanthus have been recently placed in the Amaryllidaceae family, which is the family of amaryllis, that contains three subfamilies – Allioideae (onion family), Amaryllidoideae (amaryllis family) and Agapanthoideae (agapanthus family).
  • ‘Agapanthus’ are also known as the ‘lily of the Nile’ and the ‘African lily’ even though they are not a lily.
  • Agapanthus generally have clustered bell shaped flowers, that bloom mainly in the summer months on tall stems.
  • Agapanthus are native to South Africa and there are between six and ten species of the plant.
  • ‘Agapanthus’ comes from the Greek words ‘agape’ and ‘anthus’, and when put together, mean ‘love flower’, although it is not certain why they are so named .

Agapanthus, pueple, large, flowering, stem, row, Ten Random Facts, Australia

  • During the flowering period, agapanthus can grow up to 2 metres (6.6 feet) in height, although the main part of the plant, the leaves, are usually around 60 cm (23.6 inches) tall.
  • Agapanthus flowers are usually blue, purple or white in colour, although a variety with pink tips is also available.
  • Agapanthus are grown from seed or division of their roots and are classified as an invasive weed in some countries such as New Zealand.
  • Agapanthus prefer sunny conditions and do not like cold, and are often potted in warm areas during these months.
  • Agapanthus are best grown close together, producing a spectacular wave of colour in a garden and are great plants to grow along fences and driveways.
Bibliography:
Agapanthus, 2013, The Flower Expert, http://www.theflowerexpert.com/content/growingflowers/flowersandseasons/agapanthus
Agapanthus, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agapanthus

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Pumpkin (Winter Squash)

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Pumpkin (Winter Squash)

Pumpkin… a versatile vegetable.

  • Pumpkins are also known as ‘winter squash’ depending on where you live, and are part of the Cucurbita genus, which also includes gourds and summer squash.
  • Pumpkins are typically roundish-flat with indented stripes, have thick skins that allows them to be stored longer than summer squash, and generally deep orange to strong yellow, but sometimes red, green, greenish blue, cream or white, in colour.
  • Pumpkins are from the family Cucurbitaceae, which is the family of gourds, and are mostly native to Central America, especially Mexico.
  • Pumpkins are generally eaten cooked, and can be served as a cooked vegetable, or be made into soup, puree, baked goods like bread, or a sweet pie.
  • Pumpkins are commonly carved, and lighted, to make Jack-o’-lanterns for Halloween, or made into pie for Thanksgiving celebrations in the United States.

Pumpkin, multiple, Orange, Spherical, Seven, Box,Ten Random Facts, Halloween, Australia

  • Pumpkins grown on large vines, usually on the ground, and once a fruit has matured it will generally weigh between 2.7 to 8.2 kilograms (6 to 18 pounds), depending on the species.
  • ‘Pumpkin’ came from the word ‘pepon’, meaning ‘large melon’ in Greek.
  • Pumpkin weighing competitions are common across the globe, with a world record set in 2012 for the heaviest pumpkin ever grown, being 911.3 kilograms (2009 pounds) in mass, and was grown by Ron Wallace from Rhode Island, United States.
  • Pumpkins are made up of approximately 90% water and are extremely high in vitamin A, and a good source of vitamin C.
  • The flowers of pumpkin plants are sometimes eaten, and the seeds are commonly consumed as a snack, and they can also be ground into meal or flour and used in baking.
Bibliography:
Curcubita, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cucurbita
Pumpkins, n.d, Hospitality Services Group, http://www.hsgpurchasing.com/Articles/pumpkin.htm

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Lint Remover

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Lint Remover

Are you sick of the lint? Try a lint remover!

  • Lint removers are objects that when rolled or brushed on fabric, remove lint and other foreign fibres.
  • A type of lint remover, a lint roller, features a handle and a small barrel usually coated with sticky adhesive, that is rolled over fabric to remove lint and other fibres, and is disposable or is able to be refilled with more sticky adhesive.
  • Prior to especially designed lint removers, clothes brushes were used to clean and remove lint from clothes.
  • A lint brush, a type of lint remover that lasts a long time, is a cushioned brush covered in fibrous material that collects lint and other fibres and sometimes they have a swivel head so that the brush can be used in either direction.
  • Lint removers are common items among pet owners, since the remover easily collects fur or dead skin off pets.

Lint remover

  • It is commonly believed that Nicholas McKay from the United States invented the first lint remover in 1956, however, there are number of patents filed years earlier for lint rollers and brushes, most notably Charles F Slater and Homer T Clark, who both filed patents in the US for lint rollers in January 1944.
  • Different types of lint removers are suited to different materials as some may cause damage or wear to the fabric.
  • Lint should be cleaned or removed from lint removers regularly to avoid lint being put back onto the fabric.
  • Lint removers are best used by lightly, rather than firmly, brushing or rolling.
  • Lint removers are commonly used by those that regularly wear black suits or other dark formal clothes, as lint can easily be seen on dark fabrics.
Bibliography:
Lint Brushes, 2010, Lint Brush Online, http://www.lintbrushonline.com/lint-brushes/
Nicholas McKay (inventor), 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_McKay_(inventor)
What is a lint brush?, 2013, Wise-GEEK, http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-lint-brush.htm

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Thomas Edison

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Thomas Edison

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work” – Thomas Edison

  • Thomas Edison was born in Milan, Ohio, United States on February 11, 1847, and his full name was ‘Thomas Alva Edison’ and was also known as the ‘Wizard of Menlo Park’.
  • Thomas Edison was an American inventor who invented the practical electrical light bulb, the phonograph and other communication items, including moving images, although these were only some of Edison’s 1000 inventions.
  • Many of Thomas Edison’s inventions shaped the way we live today which caused him to be dubbed ‘the greatest inventor ever’, and during his lifetime he was the most prolific inventor in known history, a position he held through the 1900s.
  • Thomas Edison became a telegraph operator as a young teenager, due to receiving the training as a reward for saving a young boy from death by a train, and he went on to become a successful businessman, founding 14 companies during his lifetime.
  • Thomas Edison caught scarlet fever when he was young, which contributed to poor hearing, and later, deafness.

Thomas Edison, Image, Portrait, Many, Inventor, Lightbulb, Ten Random Facts, Ohio, America, Flickr

Portraits
Image courtesy of Intel Free Press/Flickr
  • In 2013, Thomas Edison ranked 4th for ‘the most prolific inventor in the world’, with 1093 patents.
  • Thomas Edison married Mary Stilwell in 1871, who died later in 1884, and had three children, and after Mary’s death, married Mina Miller in 1886, and had three more children.
  • Thomas Edison constructed a laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey, named the ‘Menlo Park Laboratory’, which contained virtually every material available and he was the recipient of a number of various medals and awards during his lifetime.
  • Thomas Edison, the youngest of 7, was a very curious child, and ended up being schooled at home by his mother due to his wandering mind and many questions which weren’t welcome at the school he attended for 3 months.
  • Thomas Edison died aged 84, on 18 October 1931 from complications of diabetes, in the house that was his wedding gift to his wife Mina, in West Orange, New Jersey, United States.
Bibliography:
Beals G, The Bibliography of Thomas Edison, 1999, Thomas Edison.com, http://www.thomasedison.com/biography.html
Thomas Edison, 2013, Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Edison

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