Tag Archives: Facts

Medal

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Medal

Take a medallion as your prize.

  • A medal is a flat, generally disc-like piece of metal, typically engraved and awarded to a person or group, that has accomplished a significant achievement.
  • ‘Medals’ are also called ‘medallions’, and large ones are often known as ‘table medals’.
  • The term ‘medal’ originates from the Latin words ‘medalia’ – a coin having a value of half a denarius, or ‘metallum’ – meaning ‘metal’ which developed into a word meaning ‘coin’.
  • Medals may be hung from a ribbon to be worn around one’s neck or pinned onto clothing, depending on their design and purpose.
  • Typically, medals have an embossed design that may include symbols or faces, as well as text.

Medal, Invention, Award, Trivia, Ribbon, Metal, Facts, Red, Academics

  • The earliest known record of a medal was in the 300s BC, and they were particularly used in the Greek and Roman societies and often made of, or similar to, golden coins.
  • The common metals used in the making of medals are gold, tin, platinum, bronze, copper, iron and silver, and sometimes a combination of materials are used.
  • Medals can vary greatly in size, from those as small as pendants, to those much too large to wear.
  • Medals are commonly distributed to those who are top achievers in the educational, military, sporting and scientific fields.
  • Some artists use medals as their primary canvas, popularly engraving portraits, and they are known as medallists.
Bibliography:
Medal, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medal

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Springbok

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Springbok

Springboks are the liveliest antelope in town.

  • Springboks are a type of antelope of medium stature, native to southwest Africa, and they live in dry savannah areas.
  • The scientific name of springboks is Antidorcas marsupialis and it is from the Antilopinae subfamily, which is part of the Bovidae family, the family of cloven-hoofed mammals.
  • Springboks generally have a red-brown, tan or brown coloured back with a white underside and face, with the addition of distinct markings, although sometimes they can be mostly dark brown or white in colour.
  • Springboks range from 70 to 90 (27.5 to 35 inches) in height, excluding the neck and head, and weigh roughly 30 to 48 kilograms (66 to 106 pounds), and both adult males and females have horns.
  • As one of Africa’s most abundant antelope, the estimated population of springboks in southern Africa is up to 2.5 million, and as such, they are listed as ‘least concern’.
Springbok, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Animal, Antelope, Mammal, Africa, Brown
Springbok
Image courtesy of Damien du Toit/Flickr
  • The diet of springbok consists primarily of grasses, but also bushes and shrubs, which may also serve as its only water source.
  • Springboks generally live in small to large herds, depending on the season, of both male and female sexes, although entirely male and entirely female herds exist.
  • Springboks are notable for leaping vertically upright when scared or excited, known as ‘stotting’ or ‘pronking’, and a number of theories exist as to why this happens.
  • Typically a female springbok will have one young at a time, although twins occur on rare occasions, and the mammal can live to be around 10 years of age.
  • Due to a well thriving population and their natural beauty, springboks are popularly hunted for their skin and meat, or as a sport.
Bibliography:
The Springbok (Antidorcus marsupialis), 2014, SA Venues, http://www.sa-venues.com/wildlife/wildlife_springbok.htm
Springbok, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Springbok
Springbok, n.d, Wildscreen Arkive, http://www.arkive.org/springbok/antidorcas-marsupialis/

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Sweet Corn

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Sweet Corn

You cannot get jokes more sweet corn-y.

  • Sweet corn is a maize variety that has a particularly sweet taste in comparison to other varieties of maize, and it is also known as ‘pole corn’ and ‘sugar corn’.
  • The scientific name of the sweet corn plant is Zea mays saccharata or Zea mays rugosa, and it is from the family Poaceae, the family of true grasses.
  • Sweet corn has a higher quantity of sugar and less starch than other maize varieties, and it is believed that this is caused by a natural mutation, and the cobs are harvested before they are mature, to ensure maximum sweetness.
  • A single sweet corn plant produces a range of one to three cobs each, that typically range from 20 to 25 centimetres (8 to 10 inches) in length.
  • Generally sweet corn hardens and becomes starchy easily, meaning it should be eaten soon after picking and stored only for short periods of time in a cool location.

Sweet Corn, Yellow, Green, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Food, Maize, Culinary, Cob

  • Sweet corn can be steamed, microwaved, baked, boiled and barbecued, and is readily available in supermarkets and can be bought fresh, frozen or canned, and sometimes ‘creamed’.
  • Even though sweet corn is technically a grain, it is often eaten as a vegetable, commonly with peas, as a side to a main meal; with beans in Central and South America; and once the kernels are removed from the cob they are commonly used in salads and main meal dishes.
  • Sweet corn kernels are typically a yellow or white colour and they have a sweet flavour, and while on the cob, they are typically surrounded with a green leafy husk and strands of hair, known as ‘silk’.
  • Native American tribes were the original growers of sweet corn, and it grew in popularity around the late 1700s, when it became accessible to Europeans.
  • Sweet corn is very high in fibre, folate, thiamin, magnesium, phosphorus, vitamin C, and contains many other vitamins and minerals.
Bibliography:
Corn, 2013, Fresh For Kids, http://www.freshforkids.com.au/veg_pages/corn/corn.html
How To Grow: Sweet Corn, 2013, SBS, http://www.sbs.com.au/food/article/2012/09/06/how-grow-sweet-corn
Sweet Corn, 2015, Victoria State Government Agriculture, http://agriculture.vic.gov.au/agriculture/horticulture/vegetables/vegetables-a-z/sweet-corn
Sweet Corn, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_corn

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Tornado Alley

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Tornado Alley

There are no boundaries in this Tornado Alley.

  • Tornado Alley is a section of the United States of America that experiences a significant amount of tornado activity each year.
  • ‘Tornado Alley’ as a term, originated as a project name for an investigation into tornadoes in central United States in 1952.
  • There is no official territory designated as Tornado Alley, however the rough location is mostly in central North America, particularly the states of Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas, as well as Nebraska, in the United States.
  • The use of the term ‘Tornado Alley’ was mostly popularised and influenced by the media, however it has since been adopted by some scientists.
  • An extensive quantity of tornadoes develop in Tornado Alley due to the convergence of cold dry wind, warm dry air, and warm moist wind.
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In Tornado Alley
Image courtesy of Lauri Väin/Flickr
  • Although in a notable tornado danger zone, there has been no or little increase in regulations in building requirements in the states that are in the Tornado Alley region.
  • An average of around 268 tornadoes occur each year in the Tornado Valley, which equals to about 30 percent of the tornadoes that occur in the United States annually.
  • Due to the large amount of tornado formations, Tornado Alley is a prime zone for scientific observations by storm chasers.
  • The ideal conditions for tornado creation in Tornado Alley, generally develop tornado formations of a higher violence.
  • In May 1957, the New York Times was among the first media outlets to use the term “Tornado Alley”, which was used as an article headline.
Bibliography:
Heberton B, A Tornado’s Cost: Living in Tornado Alley, 2014, United States Tornadoes, http://www.ustornadoes.com/2014/04/24/a-tornados-cost-living-in-a-tornado-alley/
Tornado Alley, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado_Alley
Tornado Alley, n.d, National Centers for Environmental Information, https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/climate-information/extreme-events/us-tornado-climatology/tornado-alley
Zimmermann K, Tornado Alley: Where Twisters Form, 2012, Live Science, http://www.livescience.com/25675-tornado-alley.html

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Railroad Track

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Railroad Track

Railroad tracks are quite directional and controlling, if you think about it.

  • Railroad tracks are constructions that direct and provide a platform for trains to move along.
  • ‘Railroad tracks’ are also known as ‘railway tracks’, ‘train tracks’, ‘permanent ways’, and simply ‘tracks’.
  • The width of railroad tracks can vary greatly, from 0.38 to 2.14 metres (1.25 to 7 feet), with the standard gauge measuring 1.435 metres (4.7 feet).
  • Four main parts make up a railroad track – a pair of rails, which hold the train’s wheels; sleepers, which support and hold the rails in place; fasteners, that secure the sleepers and rails together; and the ballast that the sleepers sit on, which allows water to drain away and reduces the growth of vegetation around the track.
  • Early railroad tracks were known as ‘wagonways’ and were grooves cut into the ground or rock, to guide the movement of wheeled vehicles, and these are believed to have existed as early as 600 BC, and later they were commonly used in mines, from the first century BC.

Railroad Track, Invention, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Train, Line, Transport, Station

  • Railroad tracks are typically made of wooden or concrete sleepers and steel rails, that are placed on a ‘ballast’, a track bed of crushed stone, or a concrete platform known as a ‘ballastless’.
  • Improvements on wagonways in mines were made with the use of timber, until iron railroad tracks were first crafted in the early to mid 1700s, while more practical steel rails emerged in 1857, which boasted increased durability.
  • The rails of railroad tracks were originally too fragile to support the heavy weight of a steam locomotive, although an innovation of long wrought iron rails, created by English railway engineer, John Birkinshaw, in 1820 led to viable, durable tracks.
  • The fasteners of railroad tracks have historically included the combination of baseplates and spikes, bolts or screws, while springs or clips attached to baseplates are becoming increasingly common in modern times.
  • Railroad tracks are to be maintained on a routine basis to avoid train derailments, which includes the spraying of tracks to ensure no plants grow there.
Bibliography:
Lewis M, Railways in the Greek and Roman World, n.d, Science News, http://www.sciencenews.gr/docs/diolkos.pdf
Permanent Way (History), 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permanent_way_(history)
Track (Railway Transport), 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Track_(rail_transport)

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Weaver Ant

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Weaver Ant

Weaver ants boast a skill that no one could ever teach.

  • Weaver ants are an ant species native to the tropical habitats of Australia, southeast Asia and India, and they are also known as ‘orange gasters’, ‘red ants’, ‘green tree ants’, ‘kerengga’, and ‘green ants’.
  • The scientific name of a weaver ant is Oecophylla smaragdina and it is from the family Formicidae, the family of ants.
  • Weaver ants are notable for constructing nests using a number of leaves, which are held together with silk, that they carefully squeeze out of their larvae.
  • Weaver ants are typically an orange or red colour, though sometimes they will have green abdomens, while the queen is often a combination of brown and green.
  • Weaver ants span gaps and bend leaves into usable positions by grabbing onto leaves with their legs and mandibles, and linking with one another in chains.

Weaver Ant, Trivia, Insect, Animal, Ten Random Facts, Leaves, Nest, White, Brown, Branches,

  • The diet of weaver ants consists primarily of insects and honeydew collected from scale bugs, and the ants live in trees.
  • Worker weaver ants range from 5 to 10 millimetres (0.2 to 0.4 of an inch) in length, and their size is relative to their role in the colony, while the queen ant reaches up to 25 millimetres (1 inch) in length.
  • Weaver ants have a natural territorial attitude towards other creatures, so farmers have used them to reduce pest numbers among crops.
  • A bite of a weaver ant is generally quite painful, as the ant commonly injects the bite with formic acid that it produces.
  • Communities in parts of southeast Asia collect the pupae and larvae of weaver ants for a variety of purposes, including food, traditional medicine ingredients, or as bait for fishing.
Bibliography:
Oecophylla smaragdina, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oecophylla_smaragdina
Tan R, Weaver Ants, 2001, Mangrove and wetland wildlife at Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve, http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/inverts/weaver_ants.htm
Weaver Ant, 2015, AntARK, http://antark.net/ant-species/weaver-ant-oecophylla-smaragdina/

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