Tag Archives: Facts

Saint Basil’s Cathedral

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Saint Basil’s Cathedral

Gazing… pretty.

  • Saint Basil’s Cathedral has many names, including, but not limited to, ‘Cathedral of Saint Vasily the Blessed’, ‘Protecting Veil of the Mother of God’, ‘Cathedral of the Intercession of the Virgin by the Moat’, ‘Church of Intercession of Most Holy Theotokos on the Moat’, ‘Cathedral of the Protection of Most Holy Theotokos on the Moat’ and ‘Pokrovsky Cathedral’.
  • Saint Basil’s Cathedral is found in the city square known as Red Square in Moscow, the capital of Russia.
  • Saint Basil’s Cathedral is a group of nine churches or chapels, that sit on one foundation, and were built from 1555 to 1561.
  • Saint Basil’s Cathedral was believed to be the work of Barma and Postnik Yakovlev, and was ordered to be built by Ivan the Terrible (Tsar Ivan IV) who was Tsar of All the Russias and Moscow’s prince and ruler at the time.
  • Saint Basil’s Cathedral was built to commemorate Ivan the Terrible’s conquest of Kazan in 1552, which happened during the Feast of the Intercession of the Virgin, hence one of its alternate names.

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Saint Basil’s Cathedral
Image courtesy of Jose Calatayud/Flickr
  • Saint Basil’s Cathedral is part of the Kremlin and Red Square UNESCO World Heritage Site which was listed in 1990.
  • Saint Basil’s Cathedral has many brightly coloured onion shaped domes that have many traditional red, white and gold colours as well as many other colours of the rainbow.
  • Saint Basil’s Cathedral’s structure is made of a traditional white stone foundation, and red bricks walls that contain wooden framework.
  • Saint Basil’s Cathedral has seen much renovation and restoration over the centuries, which includes major restoration by Ivan Michurin after a fire damaged the building in 1737.
  • Saint Basil’s Cathedral contains much symbolism and is said to have represented the Jerusalem temple, although the centre of Saint Basil’s Cathedral is now a museum and is open to public.
Bibliography:
Kubilius, K 2013, Saint Basil’s Cathedral, About.com, <http://goeasteurope.about.com/od/moscowtravel/p/stbasils.htm>
Saint Basil’s Cathedral, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Basil’s_Cathedral>

Prickly Pear

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Prickly Pear

Prickly monster.

  • Prickly pear is also known as ‘nopal cactus’ and ‘paddle cactus’ and comes from the genus Opuntia which contains more than 150 species.
  • Prickly pears are from the family Cactaceae, which is the family of cacti and are native to North and South America and some of the surrounding islands.
  • Prickly pears have green, flat, oval shaped leaves called pads, that have long and short prickles that break off easily and irritate human skin.
  • Prickly pears have become an invasive weed in parts of Africa, Australia and Europe, where they were introduced as ornamental plants, fences and barriers, and for stock feed.
  • Prickly pears have edible fruit known as ‘cactus fruit’, ‘cactus fig’, ‘Indian fig’ and ‘tuna’, and are mainly red in colour, although other varieties include yellowy orange and green, and are high in Vitamin C.

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  • Cochineal, a scale insect, is a common pest on prickly pear plants, and the insects are collected to make a valuable red dye called cochineal, which is used to dye fabric, cosmetics, and food.
  • The fruit and pads of prickly pears can be eaten, once the skin and prickles are removed, and the pads can be cooked like a vegetable and have been used in Mexican cooking for hundreds of years.
  • In 1788, prickly pears were introduced in Australia for the purpose of producing cochineal to dye the red coats required for the British army, however, by the 1920s prickly pears had invaded 58 million acres (24 million hectares) of land, much of it good farming land, so the cactoblastis moth was introduced to control the cactus, and was so effective, that much of the land was reclaimed.
  • The fruit of prickly pears are said to taste like a combination of bubblegum and watermelon, and can be made into candy, jam or beverages, or eaten raw, although some people do not like to eat the hard edible seeds.
  • A prickly pear can be found on the Mexican coat of arms and is said to symbolise the hard times and difficulties that have passed and will come.
Bibliography:
Opuntia, 2013, Wikipedia, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opuntia>

Spitfire Grubs

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Spitfire Grubs

Tap… Tap, Tap, Tap… TapTapTapTapTapTapTap

  • Spitfire grubs look similar to the caterpillars of buttterflies and moths, however they are the larvae of a species of sawfly, the adult having a saw-like egg laying system, and are a relative of the wasp.
  • Spitfire grubs, also known as ‘sawfly larvae’, are an Australian species of Perga from the sub family Perginae, from the family Pergidae (sawflies), which comes from the order of Hymenoptera, which includes sawflies, wasps, bees and ants.
  • Spitfire grubs are the babies of the sawfly species that includes the Steel Blue Sawfly (Perga dorsalis), Large Green Sawfly (Perga affinis), and the Eucalyptus Sawfly (Perga kirbyi), and the adult sawflies are rarely seen and are said to only live for about a week.
  • The most well known spitfire grubs, the Steel Blue Sawfly larvae, have black bodies and white hairs, with yellow ‘tails’ and a shiny black head, and the Large Green Sawfly larvae also look the same.
  • Spitfire grubs are herbivores and generally eat the leaves from Eucalyptus trees, and can sometimes strip the tree of all its leaves, although some species feed on Melaleuca, Callistemon and Angophora trees.

 Spitfire Grub, Sawfly larvae, black, yellow, thump, tree, hairy, eucalyptus, Australia, Ten Random Facts

  • Spitfire grubs are said to be harmless although they can kill a young tree by eating all of its foliage, and the adult sawfly does not sting.
  • Spitfire grubs feed during the night, usually alone, and during the day they cluster together in large groups of 20-30 (sometimes more) as a defence against potential predators.
  • Spitfire grubs have three pairs of front legs, and none at the back, with a ‘tail’ that they thump up and down or tap, with which they use to communicate to others in the group.
  • Spitfire grubs grow up 80 mm (3 inches) in length and when they have finished growing they burrow into the soil to pupate and become an adult sawfly.
  • As a defence, spitfire grubs squirt from their mouths a yellow liquid made from eucalyptus oil then they are attacked or threatened, hence the name ‘spitfire’.
Bibliography:
Sawfly Larvae, n.d, University of Sydney, <http://bugs.bio.usyd.edu.au/learning/resources/Entomology/internalAnatomy/imagePages/sawflyLarvae.html>
Bug of the month – Steel Blue Sawfly, 2012, Museum Victoria <http://museumvictoria.com.au/about/mv-blog/jul-2012/bug-of-the-month-steel-blue-sawfly/>
Spitfires – Defoliating Sawflies, 1992, PIRSA Forestry, <http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/forestry/forest_health/forest_health_fact_sheets/factSheets/spitfires_-_defoliating_sawflies>
Sawflies, Spitfire Grubs – Suborder Symphyta, family Pergidae, 2010, Brisbane Insects, <http://www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane_sawflies/index.html>

Wheel

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Wheel

Roll, roll, roll.

  • Wheels are generally circular in shape, and rotate, primarily on an axis, and are said to be one of the most important inventions of all time.
  • A basic standard wheel has a rim which is the outside of the wheel, spokes that attach to the rim and go to the centre of the wheel, and a central hub where the spokes meet and the axle is held.
  • Wheels are most commonly found on transport, which allow the vehicle to move, although they are used in many other applications including machinery.
  • Modern wheels are made from metal, although they were originally made from wood, and they often have a rubber tyre on the outside of the rim of the wheel to protect the metal wheel and to reduce shock from bumps, holes and rocks on the ground.
  • Wheels are often used in transportation, farming and industry machines, as well as on moving toys.

Wheel, Blue, Grey, Black, Car, bicycle, Ten random Facts

  • The idea for the wheel is said to have come from the process of moving heavy items by sitting them on logs or similar, and this process was developed further by having a platform that sits on the logs, which eventually became a basic cart.
  • Other inventions such as propellers, jet engines and wind turbines were derived from the idea of the wheel moving on an axis.
  • Evidence of the use of a wheel, a potter’s wheel, dating back to 3500 BC, has been found in Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq).
  • Other significant types of wheels throughout history include spinning wheels, water wheels, cogwheels (toothed wheels), steering wheels and grinding wheels.
  • Hub-less wheels do exist and are very eye-catching, although they are not widely used due to their practical limitations and expensive manufacturing process.
Bibliography:
Wheel, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel>

Bread

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Bread

Bread for breakfast, bread for lunch, bread for dinner.

  • Bread is a very common meal, snack or ingredient, and has become one of the staples of billions of people’s diets around the world.
  • Bread is mainly made from wheat flour, although many other flours can be used, and water, and often yeast is added so the bread will rise.
  • Different quantities of each ingredient creates a different type of bread texture, size, colour and shape, and this has resulted in endless varieties of bread around the world.
  • Bread has a very long history, and was originally made without yeast, resulting in relatively flat breads, although yeast was used as early as 4000 BC in Ancient Egypt.
  • Bread is normally made by baking it an oven, but it can be steamed or fried to make different varieties.

Bread, White, Homebrand, Bread Rolls, Woolworths, Pita Bread, Tortilla, Lots, Varities, Ten Random Facts

  • A natural preservative made from lactic acid bacteria, similar to those found in yoghurt and cheese, was discovered in 2004, and was patented in 2009, and  is used to increase the shelf life of bread from a few days to two weeks, and is said to be good for you.
  • Eating bread crusts is said to make your hair grow curly, although this isn’t true, and it has been proven that it is one of the healthiest parts of the bread, due to the increased dietary fibre and antioxidants that can help prevent cancer, contained in the crust.
  • Many religious communities use bread for religious celebrations such as the Jewish Passover.
  • Fruits, nuts, herbs, seeds, spices, vegetables and other flavourings are sometimes added to bread to make it more interesting or different.
  • It has been said that the making of bread changed ancient society, as it enabled people to remain in one location, without the need for hunting and gathering, and made farming popular.
Bibliography:
Bread, 2013, Wikipedia, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread>

Swimming

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Swimming

Splash, Splash, Splash

  • Swimming has a long recorded history over thousands of years, with early cave drawings, written references, and mosaic and clay work depicting the sport.
  • Swimming events have been included in the Olympic Games since the first modern Olympics in 1896 in Athens.
  • Although swimming’s popularity grew in the 1800s, the first book about swimming was published in 1538, written by German Professor, Nicolas Wynman.
  • The Japanese have the earliest record of swimming competitions, dated 36 BC.
  • There are four typical styles of swimming called freestyle or front crawl which has its origins in Native America, Pacific Islands and West Africa; breaststroke, the style most used in early British competitions; butterfly, a variant of breaststroke which came about in 1933; and backstroke.

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Swimmer
Image courtesy of Franky/ Free Digital Photos
  • Special swimming clothes are used for swimming, and they can be called ‘swimsuits’, ‘bathers’, ‘togs’, ‘swimming costumes’, ‘cossies’ and other names, depending on where you live, and they can include one piece suits; two piece, which are generally called ‘bikinis’; board shorts; swim or racing briefs, often known as ‘speedos’; as well as others.
  • The 20th century has seen many significant developments in swimming styles, and has included underwater studies of the various strokes, and the official recognition of butterfly as its own style in 1952.
  • The International Swimming Federation (FINA) was founded in 1908, and began keeping records on world record swimming results.
  • Swimming can  be dangerous in certain environments, such as in the ocean when rips and currents are present, or without proper knowledge and skill, and can be fatal, resulting in drowning.
  • Basic swimming and water safety skills have been included as part of the school curriculum in some countries around the world, and many parents pay for their children to attend swimming lessons with recognised trainers outside of school hours.
Bibliography:
Swimming (Sport), 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swimming_(sport)>
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