Tag Archives: Facts

Iguazu Falls

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Iguazu Falls

Iguazú falls, the fall of the iguanas.

  • Iguazú falls is a collection of 275 waterfalls laid out in a ‘J’ or a horseshoe shape in the Iguazú/Iguaçu National Park that makes up part of the border of Brazil and Argentina.
  • ‘Iguazú falls’ is the Argentinian name of this group of waterfalls, while ‘Iguaçu falls’ is the Brazilian name, and they are also known as ‘Iguassu falls’ or ‘Iguazu falls’,and mean ‘great waters’ in the local indigenous language.
  • In 2011, the New Seven Wonders of the World Foundation declared Iguazú falls as one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature.
  • The total length of Iguazú falls measures 2.7km (1.7 miles, while the waterfalls reach anywhere from 60 to 82 meters (1097 to 269 feet) in height.
  • Argentina is the home of approximately 220 of the waterfalls of Iguazú falls, while the other 55 waterfalls can be found in Brazil.

Iguazu Falls, Iguacu, Water, Splash, Spray, Overveiw, Many, Argentina, Brazil, Waterfalls, Border, Ten Random Facts, Flickr

Iguazu Falls
Image courtesy of Patrick Nouhailler/Flickr
  • Iguazú falls has the second largest water flow of all waterfalls on Earth, second to Niagara Falls, with an average of 1,750 meters cubed (62,000 feet cubed) of water per second.
  • Iguazú falls has dry periods for a few weeks every year, where the waterflow is significantly reduced, but in the drought of 2006, the water of the waterfalls was reduced for a significantly longer period.
  • The best seasons to view Iguazú falls is during spring and autumn, which are the rainy seasons, as the waterfalls reach its greatest velocity.
  • The mist produced by Iguazú falls reaches up to 30 – 150 meters (100 – 490 feet) in height, depending on the location.
  • The power of Iguazú falls has been used to create hydroelectricity, creating 40% of the electricity need of both Argentina and Brazil.
Bibliography:
Hamre B, Iguazu Falls, 2013, About.com, <http://gosouthamerica.about.com/cs/southamerica/a/IguazuFalls.htm>
Iguazú Falls, 2013, Welcome Argentina, < http://www.welcomeargentina.com/puertoiguazu/iguazu-falls.html>
Iguazu Falls, 2013, Wikipedia, < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iguazu_Falls>

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Mandarin Orange

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Mandarin Orange

Orange, juicy mandarins.

  • Mandarins are small, orange coloured, citrus fruits that usually grow on a small to medium sized trees and are similar to an orange, but are often sweeter.
  • Mandarins, also known as ‘mandarines’, are said to be named after the Chinese officials of the same name who wore orange robes, and are often used in celebrating Christmas in United States and Canada and are a symbol of Chinese New Year.
  • Mandarins are native to south east Asia, and the scientific name is Citrus reticulata, belonging to the Rutaceae family, the family of citrus fruit.
  • Mandarins are peeled easily by hand and the segments inside can be pulled apart easily without making a mess.
  • China is by far the major producer of mandarins, producing just over half of the world total’s mandarin production of 24.6 million tonnes (27.1 million tons) in 2011.

Mandarins, Mandarines, Orange, Open, Skin, Whole, Four, Orange, citrus, Australia, Woolworths, Ten Random Facts

  • Mandarins are a good source of dietary fibre and vitamin A, and are an excellent source of Vitamin C, with one mandarin providing up to 80% of your daily needs, as well as being high in antioxidants, and helping to prevent heart disease and cancer.
  • Mandarins are most commonly eaten raw but can be eaten in salads, main dishes and desserts and can even be canned.
  • Mandarin peel has valuable essential oil that is used as a commercial flavouring ingredient in liqueurs, soft drinks, confectionery, ice cream and baked goods.
  • Some mandarin varieties have many seeds, while others only have a few, and there are some cultivars that are seedless.
  • Mandarins have a fairly short shelf life, and start to deteriorate after  2 to 4 weeks in storage.
Bibliography:
Mandarin Orange, 2013, Purdue Agriculture, <http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/mandarin_orange.html>
Mandarin Orange, 2013, Wikipedia, < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandarin_orange>

 
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Rakali

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Rakali

Rakali, the swimming rat.

  • Rakali are also known as ‘water rats’, or ‘Australian water rat’ and are native to Australia and Papua New Guinea.
  • Rakali are amphibious rats that have webbed back feet, waterproof fur, a flat head and a long and thick, white tipped rudder like tail.
  • The scientific name of rakali is ‘Hydromys chrysogaster’ and they are one of the largest rodents native to Australia.
  • Rakali live in fresh or salt water environments, and burrow and dig along riverbanks, lakes, and estuaries.
  • The diet of a rakali includes water insects, mussels, fish, crustaceans, frogs, birds and their eggs.

 

 

Rakali, Water, Float, Sim, Water Rat, Igneous, Australia, Ten Random Facts

Image courtesy of Val Laird

 

  • Rakali have bodies that grow to 23 to 37 cm (9 to 15 inches) in length, and have a total length of approximately 60 cm (23 inches), including the tail, and are grey, black or brown in colour, with an orange, cream, white or golden belly.
  • The original name of ‘rakali’ was ‘water rat’ until an agreement occurred to change the name to the Australian indigenous name for the rat, ‘rakali’.
  • Rakali are most commonly seen and observed a little before sunset and look like otters when swimming in the water.
  • The typical litter of rakali is three to four babies, with up to five litters in a year.
  • Rakali are preyed on by large fish, birds, cats and foxes.
Bibliography: Rakali, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rakali>
The Rakali – Australian Water Rat (Hydromys Chrysogaster), 2011, Bayside City Council, < http://www.bayside.vic.gov.au/walksandtrails_environmenttrail_rakali.htm>

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Loudspeaker

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Loudspeaker

Boom, Boom, Boom

  • Loudspeakers are also known as ‘speakers’ and they convert and project sound in response to an electric signal.
  • Loudspeakers are found in most radios, music players and TV receivers, and can be also found in many other electrical devices that produce sound.
  • In 1861, Johann Philipp Reis put a loudspeaker in his telephone, and in 1876, Alexander Graham Bell gained a patent for a loudspeaker as part of his telephone, and Ernst Siemens, a German, patented an improved loudspeaker in 1877.
  • Loudspeakers can be either wired using audio cables, or wireless with the speaker transmitting sound via radio signals.
  • The position of a loudspeaker in a room, as well as the position of the person, the size of the room, and how sound absorbing the room is, all affect the sound quality coming from the speaker.

 loudspeaker, brown, expensive, four, large, long ways, Ten Random Facts

  • The most common type of speakers uses a cone that is attached to an electromagnet, which responds to an electrical signal, causing the cone to vibrate and produce sound.
  • Many different types of loudspeakers have been produced over the years, including horn, electrostatic, magnetostrictive, bending wave, flat panel, plasma arc and digital loudspeakers.
  • Loudspeakers are usually housed in a type of box, so the sound waves at the back and the sound waves at the front don’t interfere with each other and negatively affect the sound quality.
  • Loudspeakers often have different drivers to reproduce different frequencies of sound, and these are called ‘woofers’, ‘sub woofers’, ‘tweeters’, ‘supertweeters’ and ‘mid-range speakers’.
  • Loudspeaker cones or diaphragms are usually made from paper, polypropylene or aluminium, or a combination of these materials.
Bibliography:
Loudspeaker, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudspeaker>
Loudspeaker, n.d., Encyclopaedia Kids.net, < http://encyclopedia.kids.net.au/page/lo/Loudspeaker>

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Moon

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Moon

The light of the night, the Moon.

  • The fifth biggest moon, or ‘natural satellites’ as they are called, in our solar system is the Moon, and it orbits the Earth.
  • We only ever see one face of the Moon because it takes 27.3 days to complete one revolution on its axis and one orbit around the Earth.
  • Humans only see the Moon because it reflects the light of the sun, and when you can see the moon, it outshines anything else in the night sky.
  • The Moon is believed to have a small, hot core like the Earth, and it contains a significant amount of iron and magnesium as well as other natural materials.
  • The Moon has many craters that will never disappear due to the lack of weather on the rock.

Moon, Full, Bright, Light, reflection, Small, Earth, Clouds, Australia, Planet, Ten Random Facts

  • The Moon has temperatures that range from -153°C to 134°C (-243°F to 273°F) depending on the position of the Moon and the sun.
  • The Moon is responsible for tidal changes on Earth due to the gravitational force it creates, and low tides and high tides occur depending on which side of the Earth the Moon is on.
  • The first spacecraft to visit and observe the Moon was sent by the Soviet Union in 1959, while the first humans to land on the moon was in 1969 in the spacecraft Apollo 11.
  • The Moon is approximately 384,400 km (238,855 miles) from the Earth, although this varies due to the way it orbits the Earth.
  • It is believed that more accidents occur on nights of a full moon since the gravitational force pulls at the brain’s fluids, but no proven evidence exists.
Bibliography:
Choi C, Earth’s Moon: Formation, Composition and Orbit, 2013, < http://www.space.com/55-earths-moon-formation-composition-and-orbit.html>
Moon, Wikipedia, 2013, < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon>

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Rubik’s Cube

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Rubik’s Cube

Twist, turn, twist, turn Rubik’s cube

  • A Rubik’s Cube is a 3D puzzle, typically a 5.7 cm (2.25 inches) cube, that involves turning connected smaller cubes to create a solid colour on each side of the large cube.
  • Ernő Rubik, who was a Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture, invented the Rubik’s Cube in 1974, and it took him more than a month to solve it.
  • Rubik’s Cube was the game of the year in Germany in the 1980s, and became a craze in the same decade, as well as the most popular puzzle, with 350 million cubes being sold up to 2009.
  • The classic Rubik’s Cube has 26 cubies, which are the smaller cubes that make up the large one, six faces of nine tiles, also known as the 3 x 3 x 3 cube, with the tiles traditionally white, red, blue, orange, green and yellow.
  • Rubik’s Cube is also known as the ‘Magic Cube’, or ‘Büvös Kocka’, the original names, as well as the ‘Hungarian Horror’.

Rubik's Cube, Green, Half Complete, unfinished, Blue, Yellow, Red, orange, Coloured, 3 x 3 x 3, Puzzle, Game, Magic Cube, Ten Random Facts

  • It is said that some Rubik’s Cube experts can solve the puzzle in 24 to 28 moves, in the standard puzzle position.
  • The Rubik’s Cube has variations that range from pocket sized 2 x 2 x 2 cubes to enormous, most expensive  17 x 17 x 17 cubes that cost over $1000 as well as virtual versions in both 4D and 5D.
  • The quickest official time to solve a Rubik’s Cube is in 5.55 seconds, achieved in March 2013 by Mats Valk from the Netherlands.
  • There is only one correct answer to the Rubik’s Cube, with 43 quintillion incorrect ones and both Rubik and experts believe that the cube would take more than a lifetime to solve if the pieces were moved randomly.
  • Rubik invented the Rubik’s Cube to answer the following question: “How could the blocks move independently without falling apart”.
Bibliography:
Bellis, M 2013, Rubik’s Cube, About.com, <http://inventors.about.com/od/rstartinventions/a/Rubik_Cube.htm>
Rubik’s Cube, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubik’s_Cube>

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