Tag Archives: Invention

Smarties

By | |
Leave a comment
Smarties

“Only Smarties have the answer” – the brand’s slogan in Europe.

  • Smarties are food items produced by Nestlé, and are made primarily of chocolate that has been coated in a coloured shell made of sugar and other ingredients.
  • Smarties are particularly common in countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Spain, Germany, Italy and Netherlands.
  • Smarties are circular in shape, and they are like a flat sphere, generally 15 millimetres (0.6 inches) in diameter and approximately 5 mm high.
  • Smarties typically come in the eight colours of green, yellow, orange, mauve, red, pink, brown and blue, while the latter has been previously substituted with white.
  • Smarties are not commonly found in the United States, as the name has already been trademarked by another company for a candy that looks like a tablet or pill.

Smarties, Food, Colourful, Chocolate, Confectionary, Bowl, Ten Random Facts, Company, Handful

  • Smarties were invented in 1882 by Rowntree’s of York, an English confectionery company which Nestlé bought in 1988, however, they are no longer manufactured in York, but they are produced in other countries, including Germany, Canada, and Australia.
  • Smarties were not named as such until 1937, and they were originally called ‘chocolate beans’, although variations of this former term have been used as names for other brands of similar candy not produced by Nestlé.
  • From 2006, Smarties produced in various countries gradually changed from artificial to natural colours, causing blue to be changed to white, until a natural replacement was found.
  • Smarties are commonly eaten as a sweet snack, and are sometimes used as a topping with ice-cream, or for decorative baking purposes.
  • Smarties can be commercially bought in cylindrical or hexagonal containers, packets, or boxes, or purchased combined with ice-cream, chocolate or other confectionery.

 

Bibliography:
Smarties, 2014, Nestle, http://www.nestle.co.uk/brands/chocolate_and_confectionery/chocolate/smarties
Smarties, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smarties

Amazon:      

Gear

By | |
Leave a comment
Gear

Gears are in nature and in machines… just where to look?

  • Gears are items used in machinery, and have the primary function of transferring power from a source to an application.
  • ‘Gears’ are also known as ‘cogwheels’, and when different sized ones are meshed against each other, the result is that the application speed will be different to the source speed.
  • Gears have protruding spikes, or ‘teeth’ , that interlock, or ‘mesh’ with others that have teeth of the same size, causing all those that are meshed to move when a force is applied to one.
  • Gears originated in Ancient Greece, particularly around 300 to 200 BC, when Archimedes, a Greek polymath, discovered many of the item’s properties and physics.
  • The most common type of gear is named the ‘spur’, that is circular or cylindrical in shape, and has teeth that sit on the circumference, parallel to the central rotating point; while other types can have curved or other differently shaped or positioned teeth, including internal teeth, or teeth that are placed along the item’s width.
Gear, Silver, Ten Random Facts, moving, Invention, Grey, Small, Large, Mechanical
Gears
Image courtesy of Brent 2.0/Flickr
  • When a gear changes direction while moving, a lapse, or ‘backlash’ is created, caused by a space, due to the positioning of the teeth as they mesh.
  • Gears are typically made of metals such as steel or iron, but plastic ones are also available, and they come in numerous shapes and sizes.
  • The size of gears can be measured in ‘modules’, which is typically the item’s diameter divided by the number of teeth, although they can be measured in ‘pitches’ when using imperial units, which is a teeth per inch measurement.
  • Gears are generally made using a mold, and the molding technique generally reduces or eliminates the need for finishing touches.
  • Insects from the planthopper family, Issidae, such as an Issus nymph, have legs that include a gear mechanism, that causes the insect to jump at a tremendous speed.
Bibliography:
A Brief History of Gears, 2014, Ronson Gears, http://www.ronsongears.com.au/a-brief-history-of-gears.php
Gear, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gear

Amazon:     

Bacon

By | |
Leave a comment
Bacon

Do you like the smell of bacon frying?

  • Bacon is a type of meat derived from pigs, usually preserved using salt in a process of curing.
  • Bacon is generally cut from the side, back or the belly of pork, and is sold as pieces, strips, or ‘rashers’ as they are known, as well as cubes.
  • Bacon is typically made by curing the pork with salt and generally then left to sit, and is often boiled, smoked and or dried before commercially packing.
  • Bacon is popularly eaten for breakfast, accompanying eggs, but it has more recently been served coated in chocolate, put in sandwiches or deep fried in a batter.
  • The popularity of bacon has recently increased in the United States, with sales in 2013 increasing by 9.5%.

Bacon, Uncooked, Raw, Pink, White, Light, Food, Culinary, Ten Random Facts, Delicious

  • Bacon has fat that becomes runny when hot, which usually solidifies when cool, and it makes lard or grease that meat and other foods can be cooked in.
  • Bacon was originally produced on farms or in homes, with various recipes and methods, although they mostly used a dry curing process, until the introduction of mass production during the Industrial Revolution, and the modern processing methods that followed.
  • Other meats can be prepared in a similar way to bacon, such as turkey meat, and vegetarian versions are also available.
  • Bacon is generally required to be cooked before consumption, and it is typically pink and white when raw, and it usually darkens when cooked.
  • Bacon is high in protein, sodium, niacin, selenium, saturated fat and phosphorus, and due to the high salt content, when large quantities are eaten over periods of time, cardiovascular problems can occur.

 

Bibliography:
Bacon, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacon
History of Bacon, 2014, The English Breakfast Society, http://englishbreakfastsociety.com/history-of-bacon.html

Amazon:  

Wallet

By | |
Leave a comment
Wallet

Do you look fashionable with a wallet?

  • Wallets are items used primarily to hold items including, but not limited to, money, identification cards, credit cards, personal items and other types of cards.
  • A ‘wallet’ is also known as a ‘notecase’ or a ‘billfold’, and it is also sometimes called a ‘purse’, although not all purses are described or classified as such.
  • Wallets are typically small enough to fit in one’s pocket, but they do vary in size, and can often be folded.
  • The term ‘wallet’ was first used in the 1300s, used to describe knapsacks and bags that often stored food, although the modern use of the term did not originate until the 1800s.
  • Wallets are most often black or brown in colour, but vary, often depending on the gender targeted, and the materials used, and they can be decorated with images and patterns.

Wallet, Leather, Black, Brown, Male, Female, Ten Random Facts, Money, Fashion, Invention

  • Leather or other textile fabrics are the most commonly used material in wallets, although metal or other materials can be used.
  • Wallets often have numerous slots or bands to organise items, and the pockets vary in size by country, due to different money sizes.
  • Wallets can be easy targets for pickpockets, and to prevent this, they can be attached to garments using a strap or chain, or placed in a difficult to access pocket.
  • Some wallets have particular purposes, like those used for travel documents, and some are designed to attach to one’s shoe, wrist or around one’s neck, so that hands can be kept free, especially when exercising.
  • Wallets became particularly modernised and popular by the 1950s, with the introduction of credit cards.
Bibliography:
Brief Overview and History of The Wallet, 2014, Street Directory, http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/34774/modelling/brief_overview_and_history_of_the_wallet.html
History of Wallets, 2014, Wallets – The largest collection of Wallets for Men and Women, http://www.wallets.org/wallets/the-history-of-wallets/
Wallet, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallet

Amazon:     

Tapioca

By | |
Leave a comment
Tapioca

Tapioca is a diverse substance.

  • Tapioca is a starch taken from the root of the plant with the scientific name, Manihot esculenta, that is commonly known as cassava.
  • The cassava or manioc tuber, as it is sometimes called, that tapioca is derived from, is native to South America, and was eventually taken to Africa and Asia as a result of explorers from Portugal and Spain.
  • Tapioca can be bought as powder, flakes, pearls, sticks and meal, and the latter four often require soaking before use.
  • Tapioca is often made into desserts; is used as a thickener in liquids; and can be used as a flour in baked goods.
  • The roots of cassava are poisonous and contain cyanide until they are thoroughly processed, after which the tapioca is extracted.

Tapioca, Starch, White, Pearls, Ten Random Facts, Food, Culinary, Invention

  • Tapioca was a staple food item during the food shortages in Southeast Asia during World War II.
  • The word ‘tapioca’ comes from the native Tupí language term for the method of making the cassava root fit for consumption, known as ‘tipi’óka’.
  • Tapioca is commonly used in gluten free cooking, and it helps to give a crispy or chewy feel to baked goods, depending on the item.
  • Tapioca is high in iron and manganese and is very high in carbohydrates.
  • Tapioca is typically white in colour, but very rarely does it affect the colour of other food, and it generally does not provide flavour, although too much of the starch in a food item can cause an unpleasant or slimy texture, as well as taste.
Bibliography:
Tapioca, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapioca
Tapioca Flour, 2014, Bob’s Red Mill, http://www.bobsredmill.com/tapioca-flour.html
WHAT IS TAPIOCA STARCH AND TAPIOCA FLOUR? {GLUTEN FREE FOOD FACTS}, 2012, Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures, http://www.lynnskitchenadventures.com/2012/10/what-is-tapioca-starch-and-tapioca-flour-gluten-free-food-facts.html

Amazon:     

Crochet Hook

By | |
Leave a comment
Crochet Hook

Crocheting without a crochet hook must have been pretty difficult.

  • A crochet hook is a tool used in the art and craft of crocheting, and the tool is manipulated with one’s hand to make a series of loops from yarn, thread or other fibres, to create fabric or cord.
  • ‘Crochet hooks’ are also known as ‘crochet needles’ and the word ‘crochet’ is a French word that comes from the Old Norse word ‘krókr‘ meaning ‘hook’.
  • Crochet hooks are typically long and stick like with a hooked end, and sometimes they have a handle for better comfort and/or grip.
  • Crochet hooks come in a variety of sizes and thicknesses, with at least 25 different sizes that are graded using letters or numbers.
  • Crochet hooks can be used in knitting to pick up dropped stitches, and for other craft purposes, and they can also be used to maintain hair dreadlocks.

Crochet Hook, Many, Wooden, Shiny, Textile, Tool, Craft, Invention, Ten Random Facts

  • Crochet hooks can be held like a knife or a pencil, although one technique is not necessarily better than the other, and it comes down to personal preference as to which is used.
  • Crochet hooks were most likely invented in the early 1800s, and first made of wire, and possibly originated in Ireland, Europe.
  • Some unique versions of crochet hooks include the much longer Tunisian hook, used in Tunisian crochet; and the cro-hook, used for double-sided crochet, that is particularly effective using two different colours of yarn.
  • Crochet hooks are typically made of plastic, wood, or aluminium, and originally they were made of steel, bone, ivory, and other materials.
  • It is common that only a single crochet hook is used in the practice of crochet, and it can be used in either the left or right hand, depending the user’s dominant hand.

 

Bibliography:
Crochet Hook, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crochet_hook
Marks R, History of Crochet, 2009, CGOA, http://www.crochet.org/?page=CrochetHistory

Amazon:     

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...