Tag Archives: Invention

Candle

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Candle

Shadows flicker in the light of the candles.

  • A candle is an invention that was originally purposed primarily to provide light using a burning flame and wax, and they are typically cylindrical in shape, and can be wide, short, thin or long, although other moulded shapes are also available.
  • Candles generally consist of two primary parts, a wick, which the flame travels along, and the actual wax, which holds the wick and fuels the flame.
  • A variety of different waxes can be used to make candles, and historically bees wax; rendered animal fat, known as ‘tallow’, from sheep or cattle; wax obtained from whales, known as ‘spermaceti’; and plant based wax, were used, while modern candles are mostly made from paraffin that originates from petroleum and other products.
  • It is believed that the Ancient Romans were the first to make traditional style dipped candles, as early as 500 BC, while various methods and materials have been used over the centuries by other civilisations.
  • Candles usually do not need outside assistance once lit, as the flame is fueled by the wax melting and vaporising, which is caused by the heat it produces, combined with the atmospheric oxygen.
Candle, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Invention, Wax, Light, Flickering, Tall, Thin,
Candles
Image courtesy of Esteban Chiner/Flickr
  • When modern candles burn, the wick will generally self-combust slowly, due to it curling over as it does so, and this type of wick is known as a ‘self-trimming wick’, while past versions required the wick to be trimmed for the candle to burn efficiently.
  • The term ‘candle’ originates from the Latin words ‘candela’ and ‘candere’ meaning ‘torch’ or ‘light’, and ‘to shine’ respectively.
  • Candles have been and can be used for the purpose of producing heat, and the flame has a temperature that ranges on average 1000°C to 1400°C (1832°F to 2552°F), and while the wax does not get that hot, care should be taken when using the invention, as the wax can burn skin, and the exposed flame can cause a fire.
  • Time has been measured through the use of candles, often by markings on the invention, and sometimes with weights placed periodically in the wax that would drop and clang on a solid object, once the surrounding wax had melted.
  • Candles in the modern era are often used for decorative purposes or to generate an atmosphere for celebratory purposes especially on cake; in ceremonies; for romantic purposes; or to enhance the general mood of a room, and they are also used in an emergency when electric lighting fails.
Bibliography:
Candle, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candle
History of Candles, 2015, National Candle Association, http://candles.org/history/
History of Candles, 2015, History of Lighting, http://www.historyoflighting.net/lighting-history/history-of-candles/

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Concentration

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Concentration

Unfortunately, I’m not too great at Concentration.

  • Concentration is a game requiring observation and memory skills, generally played with face-down cards, and the game involves flipping the cards face-up to reveal a matching pair.
  • The game of ‘Concentration’ is also commonly known as ‘Memory Match’, ‘Match’, ‘Matching Pairs’, ‘Memory’, ‘Pelmanism’, ‘Pexeso’, and ‘Pairs’.
  • When laying out the cards of a Concentration game ready for play, they are often arranged in a neat square pattern or other format to make memorising their location somewhat easier.
  • The basic game play of Concentration is that each player flips over two cards in their turn, and if they match, they collect the pair and have an extra turn, but if the two cards do not match, the cards are turned back over facing down.
  • A good strategy in Concentration is to first flip over the card that you are unsure of, before flipping the card that you are certain of, in case you remember incorrectly.

Concentration, Memory Match, Card Game, Original, Flipped, Set Up, Begin, Trivia, Ten Random Facts

  • There are numerous forms of the game of Concentration, and the cards are often square in shape, although some simply using traditional playing cards, while others use unique printed designs that often contain pictures, however, each set will have the same colour and design on the back of each of the cards.
  • Children generally prefer to play the game of Concentration, and usually do well at the game, although adults do play to test their memorisation skills.
  • On the assumption that each already revealed card is memorised in a game of Concentration, the probability of flipping over a matching card can generally be defined through the formula 1/(t-1-n), where ‘t’ is the remaining cards in play and ‘n’ is the already revealed cards that are still in play.
  • The person with the most pairs at the end of a game of Concentration is deemed the winner, and while the game is typically played competitively with two or more players, it can be enjoyed by a single player aiming to flip the least amount of cards but revealing the most pairs, or to simply test their memory.
  • A Japanese version of the game of Concentration, known as ‘Kai-awase’ and made from painted clam shells, is said to have been played by the wealthy, as early as the 9th century.
Bibliography:
Concentration (game), 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concentration_(game)

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Chopsticks

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Chopsticks

Have you mastered the art of chopsticks?

  • Chopsticks are an invention used to handle food, often to move food from a plate to one’s mouth for the purpose of eating, but also moving or stirring food in cooking, and East Asian countries are the main users of the utensil.
  • Chopsticks are usually used in pairs held in a single hand, and they are long and generally a tapered rod shape.
  • The Ancient Chinese are believed to have invented chopsticks, most likely between 2000 and 1100 BC, and were thought to have initially used them mainly in cooking, and it was not until around the 5th century AD when people used the utensil for eating purposes.
  • Typically chopsticks are created out of wood, plastic, bamboo or stainless steel, although other materials such as gold, brass, jade, ivory, porcelain and silver may be used.
  • Chopsticks range from 18 to 40 centimetres (7 to 16 inches) in length, and generally have a flat or pointed end, and the styles and lengths vary depending on the country of origin and their purpose, where the Chinese ones are generally longer and flat on the end, whereas the Japanese ones are usually shorter and have pointed ends.

Chopstick, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Utensil, Invention, Eating, Assortment, Plastic, Wooden, Disposable

  • To hold chopsticks, the bottom stick is laid between the thumb and index finger and rested on the ring finger and is left immobile, while the second is held between the the thumb, index and middle fingers, and pushed in an up-and-down motion to obtain food.
  • ‘Chopsticks’ are also known as ‘zhu’ in Ancient Chinese, though today they are called ‘kuaizi’ in Chinese and ‘hashi’ in Japanese.
  • Chopsticks are often disposable, with the highest user being the nation of Japan, with 24 billion disposed of annually in the country, most of which are imported from China.
  • China manufactures the greatest amount of disposable chopsticks in the world, with roughly 45 billion produced each year, which equates to around 25 million trees, and as such, they have added a tax on the utensils, to discourage their popular use.
  • Due to the repetitive usage requirements of chopsticks, common users of the utensil have a marginally increased likelihood of developing osteoarthritis in the hand.
Bibliography:
Butler S, A Brief History of Chopsticks, 2013, History.com, http://www.history.com/news/hungry-history/a-brief-history-of-chopsticks
Chopsticks, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chopsticks
Chopsticks, n.d, Asian ArtMall, http://www.asianartmall.com/chopstickshistory.htm

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Trivial Pursuit

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Trivial Pursuit

Trivial Pursuit is the mightiest contest over the most trivial of things.

  • Trivial Pursuit is a board game that involves traversing across a board with a wheel shaped playing area, to fill six wedge shaped sections of a playing piece that is shaped as a wheel, by correctly answering trivia questions.
  • Trivial Pursuit has six categories in the original game, known as the ‘Genus’ edition, that are listed in order as follows: Geography, Entertainment, History, Art & Literature, Science & Nature, Sports & Leisure, and are marked as blue, pink, yellow, brown, green and orange respectively.
  • In the game of Trivial Pursuit, a player must land on all six squares that feature a wedge, and correctly answer a relevant trivia question to obtain the appropriate colour wedge, to eventually win the game.
  • Trivial Pursuit was jointly created by Chris Haney and Scott Abbott, Canadian newspaper editors, over a game of Scrabble, in late 1979.
  • After two years of research, collaboration and design, the Trivial Pursuit game was placed on the market in late 1981, and although it was unprofitable at first, it quickly became a popular game.

Trivial Pursuit, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Pursuit, Board, Cards, Pregame

  • In 1984, the sale of 20 million Trivia Pursuit games declared the game a major success, and by 2014, people from all over the world had purchased over 100 million copies.
  • Two to six players can play Trivial Pursuit at one time, although more players can participate by playing the game in teams.
  • An abundance of versions of Trivial Pursuit have been released since the original edition, often appealing to specific interests, some of which are solely cards of questions, although it is thought that some of the more recent editions have much less challenging questions than the original trivia cards.
  • The creators of Trivial Pursuit were taken to court by Fred Worth in 1984, on the belief that they had breached the copyright of Worth’s published trivia books, which had indeed been used among the resources, although the case was lost by Worth due to the judge ruling that trivia was unable to be copyrighted.
  • Some versions of Trivial Pursuit have questions suitable for younger players, while the age recommendation for the original Genus edition is fifteen and above.
Bibliography:
The Highschool Dropout Who Co-created Trivial Pursuit, 2014, Today I Found Out,  http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/09/brief-history-trivial-pursuit/
Rees J, Why was Trivial Pursuit, the last great family game, so special?, 2010, Daily Mail Australia, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1283588/Why-Trivial-Pursuit-great-family-game-special.html
Trivial Pursuit, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trivial_Pursuit

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Raspberry

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Raspberry

The raspberry is fit for the royals… and the commoners!

  • Raspberries are a berry grown for culinary use, and while the berry is primarily eaten, the leaves of the plant are occasionally used in herbal tea.
  • The genus name for the raspberry plant, along with other berries, is Rubus, from the family Rosaceae, the family of roses, and while there are more than 200 species, those commonly grown for commercial use are generally a red berry from the species Rubus idaeus, or sometimes the black coloured berry from Rubus occidentalis.
  • Russia was the largest producer of raspberries in 2011, with a total of 127,000 tonnes (140,000 tons), which equated to 26% of the total world production, closely followed by Poland.
  • The berry colour of a raspberry can be red, purple, black and yellow, depending on the species and variety, while the plant’s leaves are green.
  • Typically, raspberries are small with a length of 1.5 to 2 centimetres (0.6 to 0.8 inches) and they generally weigh 3 to 5 grams (0.1 to 0.2 ounces).
Raspberry, Food, Fruit, Berry, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Culinary, Red, Pile
Raspberry
Image courtesy of K Kendall/Flickr
  • Raspberries originated as a wild berry, and they are native across Asia, America, Australia and Europe.
  • The raspberry was cultivated as early as the 300s AD, although wild berries are still commonly eaten.
  • A raspberry has a shape that is roughly cylindrical, with a central core that is hollow once picked, and each berry has roughly 100 tiny sections known as drupelets.
  • The sweet-tasting raspberry can be eaten dried, pureed, juiced or raw, and are popularly added to baked goods, desserts and fruit salads.
  • Raspberries are very high in vitamin C, manganese and fibre, are a good source of vitamin K, and they contain many other vitamins and minerals.
Bibliography:
Raspberries, 2015, The World’s Healthiest Foods, http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=39
Raspberry, 2011, Fresh For Kids, http://www.freshforkids.com.au/fruit_pages/raspberry/raspberry.html
Raspberry, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raspberry

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Sock

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Sock

Instead of putting socks in someone’s mouth, put some in their brain.

  • A sock is a popular article of clothing designed to fit on a human foot, and it is usually sold in a pair, that match in colour and style, so that both feet can be covered by them.
  • People wear socks for a number of reasons, including keeping feet warm; absorbing sweat; increasing foot comfort in shoes; and as a fashion accessory; and they are used in sport and hiking to protect the leg area from abrasions.
  • The English term ‘sock’ comes from ‘socc’, an Old English term, meaning ‘light shoe’ or ‘slipper’, which originates from ‘soccus’, a Latin word that has an almost identical meaning.
  • Socks are found in a wide range of lengths, including foot, ankle, shin and knee lengths, with some reaching the thigh, although these items are generally named ‘stockings’.
  • Synthetic and natural fibres are generally used to make socks, including nylon, silk, wool, linen, polyester and cotton, while thousands of years ago, leather or cloth fabric wrapped around one’s feet, or felted animal hair, were used.

Sock, Clothing, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Invention, Assortment, Pairs, Pink, Red, White, Black,

  • Socks come in a wide variety of colours, and they can be plain, patterned or feature an image, while some are host to protruding ornaments like bows and pompoms, or trimmed with items like decorative lace.
  • The use of socks made from felt in Ancient Greece around the 700s BC is evident, and a knitted pair of Egyptian ones have been found that date back to 200 to 500 AD.
  • A knitting machine was invented in 1589 by William Lee, an English clergyman, that quickened the production of socks, although the process was not widely adopted until the late 1700s and early 1800s, and eventually machines completely replaced hand knitting.
  • A sock is generally a flexible enclosed item with a small opening at the upper end where the foot is inserted, although some versions of the clothing are flat cloth wrapped around the foot, while others have separated toe pockets.
  • Between 400 and 1300 AD, socks became a popular accessory and were adopted by many Europeans, especially the wealthy; and in modern times, socks, which are generally machine knitted, have become readily available and inexpensive in the Western world.
Bibliography:
F Nancy, A Brief History of Socks and Hand-knitted Footwear, 1997, Crofters, http://www.crofters.org/personal%20essays/history%20socks.htm
Sock, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sock
Sock History, n.d, Lonely Sock, http://www.lonelysock.com/SockHistory.html

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