Tag Archives: Facts

Tulip

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Tulip

“Tip-toe through the tulips!”

  • Tulips are eye-catching plants, 1o to 71 centimetres (4 to 28 inches) in height, and are grown from bulbs.
  • Tulips are often thought to be endemic to the Netherlands, however they were introduced there and are actually native to parts of the Middle East and Central Asia, most notably Turkey.
  • The scientific name for tulips is tulipa, and they come from the family liliaceae, which is the family of lilies.
  • There are 150 species of tulip and 3000 varieties, and they generally have two to six green leaves but can have up to 12 leaves.
  • The Netherlands produces 3 billion bulbs every year, more than any other country, and is the main exporter of commercial tulips.

Tulip, Pink, Red, Vase, Green, Tall, six, Australia, Ten Random Facts

  • Variegated patterns on tulips were originally caused by a mosaic virus known as ‘tulip breaking virus’ spread by the flower pest, aphids, however the patterns on modern varieties are usually a result of special breeding.
  • The largest collection of growing tulips can be found in the Netherlands garden, Keukenhof.
  • Tulip flowers bloom in spring, and can be red, yellow, orange, blue, purple, pink and white in colour.
  • Tulips are one of the most popular flowers in the world, but they do not like warm climates and grow well in cold temperatures.
  • Allergen chemicals can be found in tulips, as well as the chemical ‘tulipanin’ that is poisonous to dogs and cats.
Bibliography:
Facts about Tulips, n.d, Lifestyle Lounge, <http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/facts-about-tulips-5119.html>
Tulip, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip>

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Human Heart

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Human Heart

Boom-boom… boom-boom… goes the heart.

  • The heart is a muscle that pumps approximately 5 litres (1.3 gallons) of blood around the human body every minute..
  • The Greek word for ‘heart’ is kardia, which is where the word ‘cardiac’, and other heart related medical words like ‘cardiology’ come from.
  • The human heart beats an average of 72 beats per minute, and will beat approximately 38 million beats in a year, although animal beatings can range from 20 to 600 beats per minute.
  • The human heart is typically 250 to 350 grams (9 to 12 pounds) in mass, depending on gender, and is approximately the size of a fist.
  • The heart has four chambers and valves that control the flow of blood and that the blood travels through before it enters veins or arteries.

Human Heart, Graphic, 3D, Computer generated, aorta, Ten Random Facts, Free Digital Photos

 

Heart
Image courtesy of Dream Designs/ Free Digital Photos

 

  • The job of the heart is to send deoxygenated blood to the lungs, where it becomes oxygenated and then pumped around the body.
  • The valves of the heart are said to have been first discovered in the 300s BC.
  • It was originally thought that emotions were formed in the heart, but later it was discovered emotions were formed in the brain.
  • Smoking and eating unhealthy foods can damage the heart but eating healthy foods and exercising makes it stronger.
  • An average of 7.2 million people in the world die annually due to heart disease, such as cardiac arrest.
Bibliography:
Heart, 2013, National Geographic, <http://science.nationalgeographic.com.au/science/health-and-human-body/human-body/heart-article/>
Heart, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart>

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Balloon

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Balloon

The balloon goes up, up and away!

  • Balloons are like an artificial sac and are inflated by filling with a type of gas, so that they become 25 – 3o cm (10 – 12 inches) in diameter, although larger and small size balloons are manufactured.
  • Historically, balloons were made from dried animal bladders or intestines and modern balloons are made from rubber, latex, polychloroprene, nylon fabric or foil.
  • In 1824, modern style rubber balloons were invented by an English scientist, Michael Faraday, who was using them in his gas related experiments.
  • Party balloons, the most common type, are typically made of latex and are inexpensive.
  • Balloons will naturally deflate, because the gas inside eventually escapes through the balloon wall, although foil balloons will hold the gas in for much longer periods of time.

Balloon, latex, inflated, deaflated, lotes, small, tied, waterballoons, Ten Random Facts, Australia

  • Balloon modelling involves long tubular balloons that are inflated, that can then be twisted into animals or objects, and are common at parties or fairs.
  • Dropping or releasing balloons outside is popular at celebrations, such as New Year’s Eve or weddings, although many authorities disagree with releasing balloons as they can damage wildlife, environment or power lines.
  • Some balloons are intended to contain water and are easily popped, and are great for throwing at each other, creating a water ‘fight’.
  • Balloons are commonly filled with air or helium, but other gases include oxygen, nitrous oxide and hydrogen.
  • Large balloons have been used in transportation, and are generally known as hot air balloons.
Bibliography:
Balloon, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balloon>
The History of Balloons, 2002, Balloon HQ, <https://www.balloonhq.com/faq/history.html>

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Chia Seed

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Chia Seed

Teensy little chia seeds.

  • Chia seeds are generally small ovular shaped seeds that are brown, black, grey or white in colour.
  • Chia seeds are said to have the most omega 3, fibre and protein of all plant based food, and are also a good source of manganese, phosphorous, and calcium.
  • The scientific name of chia seeds is salvia hispanica, and they grow on a blue, purple or white flowering herb from the family of Lamiaceae, which is the family of mint.
  • Chia seeds are a traditional ingredient that comes from Mexico and Guatemala, where the plant is native, and in the south west of the United States they are also commonly consumed.
  • It is suggested that a small quantity, a tablespoon for an adult and a teaspoon for a child, of chia seeds be eaten each day, because of their source of nutrients.

Chia seeds, Brown, White, Seeds, Focus, Large, Pile, Ten Random Facts, Australia

  • The word ‘Chia’ comes from the native Mexican language, from the Nahuatl word ‘chian’, which means ‘oily’.
  • Chia can be eaten whole in its raw form or milled, or can be added to foods such as bread, drinks, cereals, muesli bars, baked goods, or yoghurt.
  • Chia seeds do not have much flavour so they do not change the flavour of foods that they are combined with.
  • Chia seeds are 1 millimetre (0.04inches) in diameter but the chia herb grows to 1 metre (3.3 feet) in height.
  • Chia seeds can be used as an egg replacement, as the seeds form a gel-like substance which thicken and combine with other ingredients.
Bibliography:
Salvia Hispanica, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvia_hispanica>
Seeds of Goodness, 2013, Life & Style, <http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/diet-and-fitness/blogs/chew-on-this/seeds-of-goodness-20130429-2inue.html>

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Ngorongoro Crater

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Ngorongoro Crater

‘The Garden of Eden’ – Ngorongoro Crater.

  • Ngorongoro Crater is the largest intact caldera, a cooking pot shaped collapsed volcano, in the world, with a crater 259 square kilometres (100 square miles) in area and with walls 600 meters (1970 feet) in height.
  • Ngorongoro Crater is situated in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Tanzania, Africa.
  • It is believed that the Ngorongoro Crater volcano was originally taller than, or as high as Mount Kilimanjaro, one of the highest mountains in the world.
  • Ngorongoro Crater is host to approximately 30,000 to 40,000 birds and animals, most notably some stunning pink flamingos and the rare black rhino.
  • In the centre of the Ngorongoro Crater is a salt-water lake by the name of ‘Makat’ or ‘Magadi’, and to the east of the crater is a spring named Ngoitokitok Spring.

Beautiful, Sharp, Colour, Lush, River, Africa, Ten Random Facts, Flickr

Ngorongoro Crater
Image courtesy of William Warby/Flickr
  • The Ngorongoro Crater sees approximately 450,000 tourists a year, who are required to be accompanied by a guide and a permit.
  • ‘Ngorongoro Crater’ is also known as the ‘Garden of Eden’, due to the crater’s beauty and it being a paradise for animals.
  • Many significant fossils have been found in the area surrounding the Ngorongoro Crater, some of which can be found in a nearby museum, and burial mounds have been found in the crater itself.
  • Ngorongoro Crater became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, as part of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, which also includes two other craters.
  • A native African tribe, Masaii, can be found in the area of the Ngorongoro Crater, and the crater has the highest density of lions in the world.

 

Bibliography:
Ngorongoro Conservation Area, 2013, UNESCO World Heritage, <http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/39>
 Ngorongoro Crater, n.d., Base Camp Tanzania, <http://www.basecamptanzania.com/NP_NgorongoroCrater.htm>

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Albert Einstein

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Albert Einstein

“Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.” – Albert Einstein.

  • Albert Einstein was a German Jew who worked in the area of theoretical physics, teaching at many universities as a professor, and amongst other things, discovered the theory of relativity, the law of the photoelectric effect, and the equation: E = mc², meaning ‘energy equals mass multiplied by the speed of light squared’.
  • Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, Württemberg, Germany on the 14 March, 1879 and died in Princeton, New Jersey, United States, due to internal bleeding which he refused surgery for, on the 18 April, 1955.
  • Albert Einstein received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921, as well as a few other awards while he was alive, and has been honoured in numerous ways since his death.
  • When Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany in 1933, Albert Einstein was touring the United States, and being a Jew he did not return to Germany and took America’s side, as well as eventually learning that he was a German assassination target.
  • Albert Einstein published over 450 documents, with the majority based on the topics of science and physics.

Albert Einstein. Person, Sitting, Thinking, Scientist, Black and White, Ten Random Facts, Flickr

Einstein
Image courtesy of Sharon Doaner/Flickr
  • The term ‘Einstein’ has become a dictionary word meaning ‘genius’, due to Albert’s achievements and intellect, and he has been said to be ‘the greatest physicist of all time’.
  • Many believe Albert Einstein was left handed and had trouble speaking which are both incorrect beliefs, and due to his appearance, he has often been a symbol of an absent-minded or crazy scientist.
  • Albert Einstein married Mileva Marić in 1905, with whom he had at least two children by the names of Hans and Eduard, and a mentioned daughter ‘Lieserl’, and later married, Elsa Löwenthal, who was his first and second cousin, in June 1919.
  • Besides Germany and the United States, where he eventually settled, Albert Einstein lectured in and toured various countries around the world, most notably Singapore, Palestine and Japan, with Einstein liking the Japanese people the most.
  • Albert Einstein enjoyed music and learnt to play the violin from 5 years of age, but only gained interest in learning the instrument at 13 years when he heard Mozart’s music.
Bibliography:
Albert Einstein, 2013, Biography, <http://www.biography.com/people/albert-einstein-9285408>
Albert Einstein, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein>

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