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Apple Strudel

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Apple Strudel

Apple strudels with their juicy apples and crispy pastry are mouth-watering delights.

  • An apple strudel is an apple-filled pastry popularly eaten as a dessert or snack, and it is most commonly served warm, though it is also eaten cold.
  • ‘Apple strudel’ is also known as ‘Apfelstrudel’, which is the German term for the dessert, while ‘strudel’ is German for ‘swirl’ or ‘whirl’.
  • Apple strudels consist of a light and very thin unleavened pastry, rolled and filled with an apple mixture that commonly includes cinnamon, raisins, sugar and breadcrumbs, with the crumbs helping to soak up excess liquid during the cooking process.
  • While apple strudels are the most popular strudel, other fruits and nuts may be used, and savoury strudels can also be made that can include meat, vegetables and herbs.
  • Apple strudels are believed to have originated in the territory of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and they were being made by the 1800s, while various strudels were produced as early as the 1500s.
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An Apple Strudel with Custard
Image courtesy of LHG Creative Photography/Flickr
  • Although it can be eaten plain, ice-cream, custard or cream are common apple strudel accompaniments, and the strudel is usually sliced into pieces to serve.
  • Once apple strudel dough is kneaded and stretched out to be extremely flat and thin (so writing is visible under it), the filling is placed on the dough and then encased and wrapped by it, after which it is cooked in an oven.
  • Apple strudels were the United State’s Texas’ official state pastry from 2003 to 2005, as it is thought to have been one of the first pastries cooked in the state.
  • The shape of an uncut apple strudel is typically a flattened cylinder, and the pastry is crispy and golden brown when cooked.
  • Due to the accessibility and quantity of apples during hard times, apple strudels were perhaps one of the earliest strudel types.
Bibliography:
Apfelstrudel, or the “Apple Whirlpool”, 2014, The Palate, https://uchicagopalate.wordpress.com/2014/04/14/apfelstrudel-or-the-apple-whirlpool/
Apple Strudel, 2016, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_strudel
Apple Strudel, n.d, ifood.tv, http://ifood.tv/european/apple-strudel/about
The History of Strudels, 2015,  Kitchen Project, http://www.kitchenproject.com/german/recipes/Desserts/Strudel/Strudel-History.htm

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Devil’s Flower Mantis

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Devil’s Flower Mantis

Devil’s flower mantises are dressed up all day, every day.

  • The devil’s flower mantis is a species of large praying mantis, found among wildflowers of eastern Africa.
  • The scientific name of the devil’s flower mantis is Idolomantis diabolica, the sole species of its genus, and it is from the family Empusidae, a family of mantises.
  • Devil’s flower mantises grow to be roughly 10 to 13 centimetres (4 to 5 inches) in length, with the females generally larger than the males; and they are among the largest of all praying mantises.
  • ‘Devil’s flower mantises’ are also known as ‘giant devil’s flower mantises’; and they have a lifespan of around one year.
  • Adult devil’s flower mantises are mostly green coloured on their top side, while underneath, they are coloured green, white, red, black and purple, though some of these colours are not visible unless threatened.
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A Male Devil’s Flower Mantis
Image courtesy of Steve Smith/Flickr
  • While an adult can assume the appearance of a flower, a young devil’s flower mantis is brown and appears to be a dead leaf, causing it to be camouflaged in its surroundings.
  • If threatened, a devil’s flower mantis will rear up its body and front legs, resulting in its hidden flaps to flare out and display vibrant colours, causing it to look somewhat like a flower; and the mantis often waves about, to frighten the predator.
  • Devil’s flower mantises have a diet consisting of flying insects like butterflies, flies, beetles, and moths, and the prey is snatched from mid air by the mantis if the insects come too close.
  • Female devil’s flower mantises produce a number of foam-like capsules of eggs, out of which between 10 and 50 nymphs hatch after approximately 50 days.
  • Devil’s flower mantises are popularly sought after as exotic pets; however they do not thrive in captivity and are quite expensive.
Bibliography:
Devils Flower Mantis, 2015, Our Wild World, https://adlayasanimals.wordpress.com/2015/06/03/devils-flower-mantis-idolomantis-diabolica/
Devils Flower Mantis, 2016, Keeping Insects, http://www.keepinginsects.com/praying-mantis/species/devils-flower-mantis/
Idolomantis Diabolica, 2016, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idolomantis_diabolica
Sain T, Devils Flower Mantis, n.d, Our Breathing Planet, http://www.ourbreathingplanet.com/devils-flower-mantis/

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Rubber Duck

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Rubber Duck


No bath is the same without a rubber duck.

  • Rubber ducks are popular buoyant, duck-shaped toys that are stereotypically yellow.
  • Rubber ducks are typically played with in the bathtub, especially by young children, and they have been used to encourage children to be less fearful of having a bath.
  • A ‘rubber duck’ is also known as a ‘rubber duckie’ and ‘rubber ducky’; and in 2013, the duck was included in the Toy Hall of Fame.
  • The rubber duck originated in the late 1800s, and was originally made of the newly available hard rubber, and as they were intended as a toy to chew on, they were not hollow, so they were not buoyant.
  • Since the 1950s, flexible PVC (polyvinyl chloride) plastic has been used to make rubber ducks, and they are usually relatively soft and squeezable, sometimes making a squeaky noise; and many variations to the common simple-shaped yellow ducks have since been produced.
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Rubber Ducks
Image courtesy of Felix/Flickr
  • Sesame Street’s Ernie popularised the rubber duck in 1970, when he first sang a song about his own ‘Rubber Duckie’, the Muppet’s favourite toy, and the song became a hit and had significant impact on some aspects of western culture.
  • The modern style of the rubber duck is believed to be based upon one that was patented in 1949 by Peter Ganine, a Russian-American artist, and it is said that at least fifty million ducks of his design were sold.
  • Rubber ducks are collected by a small population of people, and the largest collection, as of 2011, that was recognised by the Guinness World Records, included 5631 unique ducks, and these were owned by Charlotte Lee of the United States.
  • The largest floating rubber duck in the world, as of 2016, made its debut in 2014, and it was created from inflatable vinyl with a steel pontoon for a base; was 18.6 metres (61 feet) in height; and owned by American Craig Samborski; though other giant rubber ducks exist or have existed and have been placed in harbours and other waterways around the world – an idea originally birthed and designed by artist Florentijn Hofman from the Netherlands.
  • Rubber duck derbies are events held around the globe, often as fundraisers, consisting of thousands, or as many as a hundred thousand ducks set afloat in the race, and the first to cross the finish line is designated the winner.
Bibliography:
Meyer L, Rubber Ducks and Their Significance in Contemporary American Culture, 2006, Celebri Ducks, http://www.celebriducks.com/pdf/rubber_duck_history.pdf
Rossen J, Wise Quacks: A History of the Rubber Duck, 2016, Mental Floss, http://mentalfloss.com/article/79740/wise-quacks-history-rubber-duck
Rubber Duck, 2016, The Strong National Museum of Play, http://www.toyhalloffame.org/toys/rubber-duck
Rubber Duck, 2016, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_duck

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Common Sunflower

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Common Sunflower

You’ll need some shades if you visit a field of common sunflowers.

  • Common sunflowers are a species of annual flower, popularly cultivated for agricultural purposes, and are native to parts of the North American countries of Mexico, the United States, and Canada.
  • The scientific name of the common sunflower is Helianthus annuus and it is from the family Asteraceae, the family of daisies; and there are a large number of cultivars, these varying greatly in height and flower colour and size.
  • Common sunflowers flowers generally have yellow petals, although orange and red tones are available, surrounding a brown central disc, and the flowers are usually a diameter of 10 to 50 centimetres (4 to 20 inches) and bloom during autumn and summer months.
  • Contrary to popular belief, common sunflower flower heads do not continually change direction to face towards the sun, rather, they face east, though the flower buds do turn with the sun.
  • Common sunflowers, also known simply as ‘sunflowers’, grow best in full sun, and they grow to heights between 0.5 to 5 metres (1.6 to 16.4 feet), depending on the variety.
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Common Sunflower
Image courtesy of Stig Nygaard/Flickr
  • Seeds and oil can be extracted from common sunflowers, which are edible by both humans and livestock, and the oil is often used in cooking and in margarine, cosmetics, soap and paint.
  • Common sunflowers were introduced to Europe for food purposes in the 1500s by Spanish explorers, and this eventually spread to mass cultivation of the plants in Russia, Caucasus and Ukraine by the 1800s.
  • The central disc of a common sunflower features a spiral pattern that can be mathematically defined using a formula that is part of the Fibonacci sequence.
  • Common sunflowers are sometimes grown in domestic gardens for ornamental purposes; and they can be used to decontaminate soil and water from poisonous or otherwise harmful chemicals.
  • Common sunflower petals have been used by native Americans to create a yellow dye, and the seeds to produce a black or blue dye.
Bibliography:
Helianthus annus, 2016, Wildflower Center, http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=HEAN3
Helianthus annus, 2016, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helianthus_annuus
Helianthus annus, n.d, Missouri Botanical Garden, http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=a583
Helianthus annus (sunflower), n.d, Kew Royal Botanic Garden, http://www.kew.org/science-conservation/plants-fungi/helianthus-annuus-sunflower

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Maldives

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Maldives

Diving around the coral reefs of the Maldives is well worth it!

  • The Maldives is a tropical Asian archipelago consisting of 26 atolls, broken into 1,192 individual coral islands, found in the Indian Ocean, southwest of India.
  • The ‘Republic of Maldives’ is the official name of the ‘Maldives’, which is likely derived from the Malayalam or Tamil words for ‘garland island’ – ‘maala’ and ‘dweepu’, or ‘maalai’ and ‘theevu’ respectively.
  • From the top to the bottom most islands, the Maldives stretch 820 kilometres (510 miles), and the territory extends over an area of approximately 90,000 square kilometres (34,750 square miles); while the land area of the islands covers around 298 square kilometres (115 square miles).
  • Of all the Maldives islands, only 200 of the islands are populated, with the total number of people living on the islands to be approximately 393,000 (as of 2015), while 80 more of the islands are used as resorts for the large number of tourists that visit each year.
  • The settlers of the Maldives is often disputed, but are thought to have been from Sri Lanka, India or other parts of Asia.
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Part of the Maldives
Image courtesy of Mac Qin/Flickr
  • The Maldives were once ruled by kings, who encouraged Buddhism, and during the Islamic conversion of 1153, they were remodelled as sultans; and since the country became a republic in 1968, the ruler has been a president.
  • The capital of the Maldives is the island of Malé, and the island’s city has a very dense population.
  • If sea levels continue rising, the Maldives risk being completely submerged by 2100, due to the country being the lowest on earth, with only a small portion of land being higher than 1 metre (3.3 feet) above sea level.
  • The Maldives area features over 1000 individual fish species, and at least 328 species of crustaceans, 400 molluscs and 187 coral species, that populate its stunning coral reefs.
  • The Maldives’ coral reefs and crystal clear waters have rendered the site quite popular among tourists since 1972, when the first resort was opened.
Bibliography:
Maldives, 2016, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maldives
Maldives, 2016, Encyclopaedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/place/Maldives
Maldives, 2015, The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/mv.html
Maldives: History, 2016, The Commonwealth, http://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries/maldives/history
Maldives History, 2016, Lonely Planet, http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maldives/history

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Burmese Python

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Burmese Python

Burmese pythons are a length and a half!

  • Burmese pythons are a species of lengthy snake, native to parts of south to southeast tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, and they can be found in (but not limited to) Indonesia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Thailand, China, Nepal, Laos, Cambodia, China, and India.
  • The scientific name of the Burmese python is Python bivittatus, formerly known as Python molurus bivittatus (up until 2009), and it is from the family Pythonidae, the family of pythons.
  • Burmese pythons are generally between 3.7 to 5.7 metres (12 to 18.7 feet) long, and are among the lengthiest snakes in existence; and while the longest of this species was originally thought to have been 7.6 metres (25 feet) or more in length, this measurement has been disputed.
  • Brown coloured patches are found over the entire length of Burmese pythons, which are surrounded by a cream to beige colour, although albino colourings exist; and they are a popular pet, in part due to the interestingly patterned appearance.
  • Burmese pythons are typically found among thick undergrowth; in trees; or in water, as the python can remain up to 30 minutes underwater without air; and their diet consists primarily of small mammals, including rodents, as well as the odd reptile or bird.
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A Burmese Python
Image courtesy of Rushen/Flickr
  • Burmese pythons generally have a maximum weight between 90 to 137 kilograms (198 to 302 pounds), and females tend to be larger than males.
  • To locate prey, a Burmese python uses its tongue to sense chemicals in its environment, while it can detect the body warmth of other animals due to its own inbuilt sensors; and it kills its prey by suffocating it by constriction and subsequently consuming it whole.
  • Burmese pythons are listed as a vulnerable species, threatened by exotic pet trade; hunting for their skin and food; and a decline in habitat quality.
  • Florida’s wetland Everglades, in the United States, saw the introduction of Burmese pythons around the 1980s, which have since become invasive; this being a serious issue as many native mammals they eat as prey, have had significant population decline over the past few decades.
  • During a breeding season, female Burmese pythons can lay as many as 80 to 100 eggs, and the snake surrounds the eggs to incubate them at a consistent temperature, which it helps to control by its own muscle movements.
Bibliography:
Barker D, Barten S, Ehrsam J & Daddono L, The Corrected Lengths of Two Well-known Giant Pythons and the Establishment of a New Maximum Length Record for Burmese Pythons, Python Bivittatus, 2012, Vida Preciosa International, Inc., http://vpi.com/sites/default/files/Barker-et-al_CorrectPythonLengths_2.pdf
Burmese Python, 2016, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/reptiles/burmese-python/
Burmese Python, 2016, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burmese_python
Padgett J, Python molurus, 2003, Animal Diversity Web, http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Python_molurus/
Stuart B, Nguyen T, Thy N, Grismer L, Chan-Ard T, Iskandar D, Golynsky E & Lau M, Python Bivittatus, 2012, The ICUN Red List of Threatened Species, http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/193451/0

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