Tuesday, July 31, 2018

Hypodontia


We just learned about the Supernumerary Teeth.

Another thing that can happen in the mouth is Hypodontia, which means teeth that are missing, that never grew in the mouth.

This means when a person grows up and for some reason some of their teeth never came in.
They could be missing molars or incisors or canines.

If a lot of teeth are missing, it is called oligodontia.
If someone is missing all of their teeth, it is called anodontia.


(from: wikipedia - hypodontia)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Connective Tissue

Monday, July 30, 2018

Kronborg Castle


We just learned about the ancient castle of Mehrangarh.

Another famous castle is Kronborg Castle, built in the 1420s in Denmark.

This castle is right by a straight of water called the Øresund, that is one of the only ways to get to the Baltic Sea from the ocean.
Long ago people took ships through there to go trade with countries like Sweden, Finland or Poland.
The king of Denmark put a castle there so that he could charge people money to go through the Øresund, or else he would use his army in the castle to attack them.

There are many famous things in the castle, like a room full of tapestries, which are big carpets that are like story books with words and pictures.
Long ago there was a legend of a great warrior in Denmark called Holger Danske, who sleeps in the castle until he is needed again. There is a big statue of him in the castle, showing him sleeping.





(from: wikipedia - kronborg)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Prince Edward Island

Sunday, July 29, 2018

Aristobulus - Bishop of Britain


We just learned about Stachys - bishop of Byzantium, one of the seventy disciples.

There are some people on the list of seventy that we don't know much about, other than them being listed, or a name being mentioned once in the Bible.

Barnabas, bishop of Heraclea
Phygellus, bishop of Ephesus. He was of the party also of Simon.
Hermogenes. He, too, was of the same mind with the former.
Demas, who also became a priest of idols.

Another of the seventy we know a little more of is Aristobulus - bishop of Britain.

He is believed to be the brother of the apostle Barnabas, and traveled around with the apostles Paul and Andrew.
In his travels he went on to the British islands to tell people about God.

Many people think of him as the first one who helped bring Christianity to Britain.


(from: wikipedia - aristobulus of britannia)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Proverbs 19

Saturday, July 28, 2018

Gouji Zibai Pan


We just learned about the Li Gui.

Another famous Chinese sculpture is the Gouji Zibai Pan, made in 816 BC in China.

Just like the other bronzes we've learned about, this is a famous sculpture because it helps tell the history of China from long ago.

The Guoji Zibai pan is the largest ancient bronze pan sculpture in the world.
It is shaped like a bathtub, 15 inches high, 54 inches long, 34 inches wide, and weighs 475 pounds.
There are rings on the sides held by sculptures of beasts with the rings in their mouth.

The pan was made by the nobleman Gouji Zibai who was a soldier for King Xuan.
After he won some very important battles, the King threw a big party to celebrate.
To help remember the victory, the pan was made.

The pan could have had many uses, like holding water for washing hands and faces, or for a bathtub for people to wash in.
It could also have been used to hold ice cubes, but no one is really sure what it was used for.


(from: wikipedia - gouji zibai pan)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Medal of John VIII Palaeologus - Pisanello

Friday, July 27, 2018

Greek - Counting to Thirty Nine


We counted to 29 in Greek, let's keep going!

30 τριάντα (triánta) - sounds like t-dee-AH-n-tah
31 τριάντα ένα (triánta éna) - sounds like t-dee-AH-n-tah AY-nah
32 τριάντα δύο (triánta dýo) - sounds like t-dee-AH-n-tah DEE-y-oh
33 τριάντα τρεις (triánta treis) - sounds like t-dee-AH-n-tah t-day-ss
34 τριάντα τέσσερις (triánta tésseris) - sounds like t-dee-AH-n-tah TAY-say-dee-ss
35 τριάντα πέντε (triánta pénte) - sounds like t-dee-AH-n-tah PAY-n-tay
36 τριάντα έξι (triánta éxi) - sounds like t-dee-AH-n-tah AY-k-see
37 τριάντα επτά (triánta eptá) - sounds like t-dee-AH-n-tah ay-p-TAH
38 τριάντα οκτώ (triánta októ) - sounds like t-dee-AH-n-tah oh-k-TOH
39 τριάντα εννέα (triánta ennéa) - sounds like t-dee-AH-n-tah eh-NEE-y-ah

center for the greek language
(from: wikipedia - center for the greek language)

ASL: thirty, thirty one, thirty two, thirty three, thirty four, thirty five, thirty six, thirty seven, thirty eight, thirty nine

Italian: Trenta, trentuno, trentadue, trentatré, trentaquattro, trentacinque, trentasei, trentasette, trentotto, trentanove

German: einunddreißig, zweiunddreißig, dreiunddreißig, vierunddreißig, fünfunddreißig, sechsunddreißig, siebenunddreißig, achtunddreißig, neununddreißig

Spanish: treinta y uno, treinta y dos, treinta y tres, treinta y cuatro, treinta y cinco, treinta y seis, treinta y siete, treinta y ocho, treinta y nueve

French: trente et un, trente-deux, trente-trois, trente-quatre, trente-cinq, trente-six, trente-sept, trente-huit, trente-neuf

Thursday, July 26, 2018

Gyroscope


We just learned about the Star Tracker.

Another part of rocket navigation systems is the Gyroscope.

Gyroscopes are sort of like a spinning top, with a few other circles on them.
The top is a circle shaped disc spinning around sideways, with a post in the middle, like an anchor for it.

There are usually three circle shaped frames, called "gimbals" around the spinning top.
On the very inside there is a circle holding on to the post for the top. This is the "inner gimbal".
Another circle is hooked onto that inner gimbal, and that is called the "outer gimbal".
The one on the outside of the outer gimbal is called the "outer ring".

If the disc in the middle is spinning, and you move the outer ring around, the inner gimbal and outer gimbal will move up, down or sideways, and the disc will stay straight up and spinning.
This might seem like magic, but really it's the same kind of science that keeps a toy top spinning on the ground, or helps you ride a bike.
The fancy name for it is "angular momentum", but it really just means a spinning wheel doesn't like to fall over, so for a gyroscope it makes the inner and outer gimbal move instead of falling over when you move the outer ring.

Rocket scientists figured out that if you hook the outer ring up to sensors in the rocket, you can tell when the rocket is tilting, and they can hook up the nozzle to a gyroscope to use the gimbaled thrust we learned about and steer the rocket back on course!

The science behind gyroscopes was discovered hundreds of years ago, and used to help steer ships on the water.
These days gyroscopes are even used in video games and cell phones, to tell the phone when it is being tilted!
The ones inside phones aren't spinning wheels though, they are microscopic sensors that move around when you move your phone.





(from: wikipedia - gyroscope)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Earthquakes

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Ammonoidea


We just learned about the Flapjack Octopus.

Another type of cephalopod is the Ammonoidea, also called ammonite.

These cephalopods look a lot like a nautilus in their spiraled shell, but because of the way their body parts are inside of the shell, they are actually a lot like a squid, octopus or cuttlefish.

The spiral shaped ammonoidea get their name from a scientist a long time ago that thought the shells looked like ram's horns.
In Egyptian mythology, Ammon was shown in artwork wearing ram's horns, so the scientist Pliny the Elder named these cephalopods "ammonis cornua" which means "horns of Ammon".

Ammonites can come in many different shapes, like having sharp points on the outside of it's shell, or even shaped more like a corkscrew.

The ammonites are not around anymore, they all went extinct many years ago.






(from: wikipedia - ammonoidea)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Bumblebee Toad

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Supernumerary Teeth


We just learned about the Wisdom Tooth.

Another set of teeth in the mouth are the Supernumerary Teeth or hyperdontia.

Usually grown up humans get up to 32 teeth.
Sometimes people don't get their last set of 4 molars, so they only have 28 teeth.
But sometimes people get even more teeth in places where they are not supposed to!

These are the supernumerary teeth, and they can show up as extra teeth anywhere in the mouth.
The most common place for them to show up is right by the maxillary central incisors, but sometimes they come up by the molars or somewhere else.


(from: wikipedia - hyperdontia)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Eponychium and Cuticle

Monday, July 23, 2018

Mehrangarh


We just learned about the Blarney Castle.

Another famous castle is Mehrangarh, also called Mehran Fort, built around 1460 AD in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India.

This castle is built up over 400 feet above the city of Jodhpur, and there are large walls around it.
It was a military fort that survived many battles, and there are marks on the walls from many cannonballs that were fired at the fort.

Inside the walls are several palaces with very fancy carvings and courtyards, and there is a winding road that leads to the fort from the city.
Some of the palaces are the Moti Mahal Pearl Palace, Phool Mahal Flower Palace, Sheesha Mahal Mirror Palace, and the Sileh Khana and Daulat Khana.
There are also museums with old palanquins which were seats for kings to sit on and be carried on by people, and howdahs, which were seats for kings to sit on and be carried by elephants.

The castle has seven gates that were built for seven battles that the ruler at the time called Maharaja Man Singh had won.





(from: wikipedia - mehrangarh)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Newfoundland and Labrador

Sunday, July 22, 2018

Stachys - bishop of Byzantium


We just learned about the Urban Bishop of Macedonia one of the seventy disciples.

Another of the seventy was Stachys - bishop of Byzantium.

Stachys was a friend of Saint Andrew and Saint Paul, and was set up as a church leader in the Byzantine area, which is in Turkey.
This place would eventually become the home of the emperor Constantine.


(from: wikipedia - stachys the apostle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Proverbs 18

Saturday, July 21, 2018

Li gui


We just learned about the Flying Horse of Gansu.

Another ancient Chinese sculpture is the Li gui, a small bronze bowl about 11 inches tall, made some time around 1,000 BC.

This sculpture is very important in China, because long ago they did not save records of all of their history, so people are not sure what happened or when it happened.

The Li gui is the oldest bronze sculpture from the time in Chinese history called the Zhou dynasty that lasted about 800 years.

There is some writing on the inside of the bowl that has helped people figure out important dates in history, thousands of years ago.
The writing mostly talks about King Wu winning a battle over the Shang dynasty, the people that ruled before the Zhou dynasty took over.



(from: wikipedia - li gui)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Madonna and Child - Laurana

Friday, July 20, 2018

Greek - Counting to Twenty Nine


We counted to 20 in Greek, let's keep going!

21 είκοσι ένα (eíkosi éna) - sounds like ay-EE-koh-see AY-nah
22 είκοσι δύο (eíkosi dýo) - sounds like ay-EE-koh-see DEE-y-oh
23 είκοσι τρεις (eíkosi treis) - sounds like ay-EE-koh-see t-day-ss
24 είκοσι τέσσερις (eíkosi tésseris) - sounds like ay-EE-koh-see TAY-say-dee-ss
25 είκοσι πέντε (eíkosi pénte) - sounds like ay-EE-koh-see PAY-n-tay
26 είκοσι έξι (eíkosi éxi) - sounds like ay-EE-koh-see AY-k-see
27 είκοσι επτά (eíkosi eptá) - sounds like ay-EE-koh-see ay-p-TAH
28 είκοσι οκτώ (eíkosi októ) - sounds like ay-EE-koh-see oh-k-TOH
29 είκοσι εννέα (eíkosi ennéa) - sounds like ay-EE-koh-see eh-NEE-y-ah

center for the greek language
(from: wikipedia - center for the greek language)

ASL: twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine

Italian: ventuno, ventidue, ventitré, ventiquattro, venticinque, ventisei, ventisette, ventotto, ventinove

German: einundzwanzig, zweiundzwanzig, dreiundzwanzig, vierundzwanzig, fünfundzwanzig, sechsundzwanzig, siebenundzwanzig, achtundzwanzig, neunundzwanzig

Spanish: veintiún, veintidós, veintitrés, veinticuatro, veinticinco, veintiséis, veintisiete, veintiocho, veintinueve

French: vingt et un, vingt-deux, vingt-trois, vingt-quatre, vingt-cinc, vingt-six, vingt-sept, vingt-huit, vingt-neuf

Thursday, July 19, 2018

Star Tracker


We just learned about the Accelerometer.

Another guidance system that rockets can use is the Star Tracker.

When a rocket is way up in the sky, it might not be able to talk to any of the computers on the ground to find out where it is, especially if there are a lot of clouds or bad weather.

But if the rocket is up above the clouds and it is dark, the rocket can use cameras to look up into space and see the stars.
These stars can be compared to a star chart that says where each star is, and it can use this chart to keep itself on course, whether it's going to the moon, outer space, or even another planet!


(from: wikipedia - star tracker)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Numerical Control - CNC

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Flapjack Octopus


We just learned about the Armhook Squid.

Another cephalopod is the Flapjack Octopus, also known as the opisthoteuthis californiana.

These octopuses are able to flatten themselves out very thin, almost like a pancake or flapjack, so that's where they get the nickname.

Just like the Dumbo Octopus, their arms are all webbed together like a skirt, and they also use the fins on their head or mantle to help them swim.
They very deep in the ocean, and like the Vampire Squid just eat whatever garbage is floating around in the water.

The little octopus named Pearl in the movie Finding Nemo was a Flapjack Octopus.
Unlike the movie though, the flapjack octopus does not have an ink sac, so they can not squirt out ink like Pearl does in the movie!


(from: wikipedia - opisthoteuthis californiana)


Flapjack Octopus - GirlScientist

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Common Reed Frog

Tuesday, July 17, 2018

Wisdom Tooth


We just learned about the Maxillary Second Molar.

The next tooth back in the mouth is the Wisdom Toothor Third Molar.

This tooth is a molar just like the first and second molars.
Many times there is not enough room in a person's mouth for these teeth, so a dentist or orthodontist will pull the teeth out.

If these teeth stay in the mouth, they can push up against the other teeth and hurt them.
Sometimes the gums in the mouth can get swollen or bruised by these teeth.




(from: wikipedia - wisdom tooth)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lunula