Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Opthalmic Artery


We just learned about the Eye Movement.

Another part of the eye is the Opthalmic Artery.

This is what brings the blood up to all of the different parts of the eye.

There are a lot of other arteries that come out of this artery, like the central retinal artery, lacrimal artery, posterior ciliary arteries, muscular branches, supraorbital artery, ethmoidal arteries, medial palpebral arteries and terminal branches.

That's a lot of different arteries for such a small part of the body, but the eye has so many different things going on that there it needs blood in each different place!


(from: wikipedia - opthalmic artery)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Oral Mucosa

Monday, December 30, 2019

Antarctic Ice Sheet


We just learned about Mount Erebus.

Another part of Antarctica is the Antarctic Ice Sheet.

Antarctica is almost totally covered with ice.
About 98 percent is ice, which is close to the whole thing!
The huge chunk of ice covering it all is called the Antarctic Ice Sheet.

It is over 5 million square miles total, and it weighs over 26 million gigatons, which is over 58 quintillion pounds! A quintillion is a number with 18 zeroes, so that's 58,000,000,000,000,000,000 pounds of ice!

The oceans are all made of salt water, but the ice is made of fresh water.
Over half of the fresh water in the world is stored in this huge ice sheet.

In East Antarctica, the ice is sitting on top of some other land like rocks.
But on the west side, the ice goes way down below the water, over 8,000 feet!


(from: wikipedia - antarctic ice sheet)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Sonora

Sunday, December 29, 2019

Christian nations in 600 AD


We just learned about the Saint David.

There were a lot of Christian nations in 600 AD.

Around 325 AD there had been a lot of people going around telling people about God and Jesus, but there were only some spots around the Middle East, Europe and Africa.

By 600 AD, Christianity was in Europe at Great Britain, France, Spain, Greece and more.
It was in the Middle East through Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel and more.
And it was in Africa at parts of Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.


(from: wikipedia - christianity in the 7th century)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Didache - The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles

Saturday, December 28, 2019

Doctor John Witherspoon - Couper


We just learned about the Statue of Charles Sumner by Thomas Ball.

Another famous American sculpture is the statue of Doctor John Witherspoon by William Couper, at Washington DC in 1909 AD.

John Witherspoon was a minister in the Presbyterian church, and one of the people that signed the famous Declaration of Independence.

The sculptor William Couper grew up in Virginia, and then went to Munich Germany and Florence Italy to learn from some of the famous sculptors in Europe for 22 years.

He married Eliza Chickering Ball, who was the daughter of another famous American sculptor named Thomas Ball.


(from: wikipedia - doctor john witherspoon)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Wooden Buddha - Enkū

Friday, December 27, 2019

Russian - Red, Orange, Yellow

We just learned about the alphabet in Russian.

Now let's learn some colors!

red - красный (krasnyy) - sounds like k-dah-ss-nee 文A

orange - оранжевый (oranzhevyy) - sounds like oh-dah-n-zh-ay-vee 文A

yellow - желтый (zheltyy) - sounds like zh-eh-l-tee 文A


russian language
(from: wikipedia - russian academy of sciences)

Norwegian: rød, oransje, gul

Greek: κόκκινο, πορτοκαλί, κίτρινο

ASL: red, orange, yellow

Italian: rosso, arancione, giallo

German: rot, orange, gelb

Spanish: rojo, naranja, amarillo

French: rouge, orange, jaune

Thursday, December 26, 2019

Gasket


We just learned about the Valve Stem that sticks up from the valve.

Another part of a valve is the Gasket.

This is a small circle that goes inside any place where two pieces of a valve have to be connected.
So at the top where the bonnet goes is sometimes a gasket, and then where the ports connect to other pipes is sometimes a gasket.

It's a way to help make sure that the liquid or gas doesn't leak out through where the two parts are connected.

Sometimes they're made out of rubber, but other times they're made out of paper or even metal.


(from: wikipedia - gasket)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: De Laval Nozzle

Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Amebocyte


We just learned about the Velarium.

Another part of a jellyfish's body is an Amebocyte.

These are teeny tiny little animals that live in a jellyfish's body and will help eat up junk that the jellyfish doesn't want to eat.
Some of them look like tiny little crabs or clams.


(from: wikipedia - amebocyte)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Statocyst

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Eye Movement


We just learned about the Fovea in the back of the eye.

Another part of the eye is the group of Eye Movement that move the eye around.

There are six main muscles that move the eye.
Four of them are the "rectus" muscles, and they are attached to the top (superior) bottom (inferior) inside (medial) and outside (lateral) parts of the eye.

Whichever muscle is being used, the eye looks in that direction.
So if the superior muscle is being used, the eye looks up.
If the lateral muscles is being used, the eye looks outward.

The other two muscles are "oblique" muscles, top (superior) and bottom (inferior).
These muscles help control any twisting of the eye, or moving in diagonal directions.


(from: wikipedia - eye movement)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Gingiva

Monday, December 23, 2019

Mount Erebus


We just learned about the Transantarctic Mountains.

Another part of Antarctica is Mount Erebus.

Antarctica is the coldest place on the earth, but it actually has volcanoes!
Mount Erebus is the second tallest volcano in Antarctica, and it is active.
That means that it spits out things like smoke or bits of rock from time to time.

This volcano has been active for over a million years, but it is still not hot enough to melt the south pole!


(from: wikipedia - mount erebus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Summer Palace

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Saint David


We just learned about the Gregorian Chant.

Another part of early Christianity was when Saint David visited the country of Wales.

He told people about God and Jesus and helped people in Wales become Christians.
Saint David did not like monks or priests to be rich.
He said that they should not own anything, not even a book! And he even told them that they should pull their own carts instead of using horses.



(from: wikipedia - saint david)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Sabbath Day in Christianity

Saturday, December 21, 2019

Statue of Charles Sumner - Thomas Ball


We just learned about the The Rescue - Horatio Greenough.

Another famous American statue is the Statue of Charles Sumner made by Thomas Ball in 1878 in Boston Massachusetts.

Charles Sumner was a politician who fought against slavery in America.

The sculptor Thomas Ball started off in music, singing and playing the violin.
Later he started painting, and then he moved to Florence Italy to study art.
He stayed there for a while and would make sculptures and have them sent back to America.


(from: wikipedia - statue of charles sumner (boston))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Noh Masks

Friday, December 20, 2019

Russian Alphabet

We just learned how to Count to ten in Russian.

The Russian alphabet looks kind of like the English one, but there are some new letters and many that sound different.

Аа - sounds like the "a" in father
Бб - sounds like the "b" in bad
Вв - sounds like "v" in vine
Гг - sounds like the "g" in go
Дд - sounds like the "d" in do
Ее - sounds like the "ye" in yes
Ёё - sounds like the "yo" in your
Жж - sounds like the "s" in pleasure
Зз - sounds like the "z" in zoo
Ии - sounds like the "i" in police
Йй - sounds like the "y" in toy
Кк - sounds like the "k" in kept
Лл - sounds like the "l" in lamp
Мм - sounds like the "m" in map
Нн - sounds like the "n" in not
Оо - sounds like the "o" in more
Пп - sounds like the "p" in pet
Рр - sounds like the "r" when it is rolled, the same as the Spanish r
Сс - sounds like the "s" set
Тт - sounds like the "t" in top
Уу - sounds like the "oo" in tool
Фф - sounds like the "f" in face
Хх - sounds like the "ch" in loch, but with more air coming through, almost like a cat hissing
Цц - sounds like the "ts" in sits
Чч - sounds like the "ch" in chat
Шш - sounds like the "sh" in sharp
Щщ - sounds like the "sh" in sharp, and sometimes like "shch" in pushchair
Ыы - sounds like the "i" in hit
Ээ - sounds like the "e" in met
Юю - sounds like the "u" in use
Яя - sounds like the "ya" in yard

The last two letters are strange, because they don't have a sound but they change the way other letters sound when they are in a word.

Ъъ is called the "hard sign", and Ьь is called the "soft sign"

Sometimes when two letters are next to each other they make a different sound.
Just like in English, s and h sound different when they are put together like sh.

In Russian the word "объять" means "hug", and it is pronounced "ah-be-yeh-t"
The letter Ъ makes sure the "yeh" sound comes through.
Without that letter it would be "обять" sound like "ah-bee-t" because of the way that the letters "бя" go together.

The letter Ьь is a little different and is used sometimes to make something plural няня or нянъ.
It is supposed to make the letter "softer" in the word, but a lot of times it is really just something you have to remember to spell in a Russian word but you don't usually say it out loud.

russian language
(from: wikipedia - russian academy of sciences)

The Norwegian alphabet: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z, Æ, Ø, Å The Greek alphabet: Α, Β, Γ, Δ, Ε, Ζ, Η, Θ, Ι, Κ, Λ, Μ, Ν, Ξ, Ο, Π, Ρ, Σ, Τ, Υ, Φ, Χ, Ψ, Ω

ASL alphabet: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z

The Italian alphabet looks the same as the English alphabet.

The German alphabet has the letters ä, ö, ü, ß

The Spanish alphabet:
A, B, C, D, E, F, G H, I, J, K, L, LL, M, N, Ñ O, P, Q, R, RR, S, T, U V, W, X, Y, Z

The French alphabet:
A, B, C, D, E, F, G H, I, J, K, L, M, N O, P, Q, R, S, T, U V, W, X, Y, Z

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Valve Stem


We just learned about the Valve Seat.

Another part of a valve is the Valve Stem.

This is the part that sticks up out of the valve, and is used to help open and close the valve disc which lets gas or water go or stop.

There is a valve stem on a bicycle tire that sticks out.
If you hook a pump up to the valve stem, it will push in a pin which will allow air to go in or come out.


(from: wikipedia - valve stem)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Nell Rocket - Robert Goddard

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Velarium


We just learned about the Jellyfish Statocyst.

Another part of some jellyfish is the Velarium.

For the box jellyfish, underneath the edge of the bell on the inside it folds in, kind of like a little shelf.
This makes it so that when they squish their bell to swim, it makes it like a torpedo and pushes water out faster than normal.

Because of this these are the fastest jellyfish in the world, and we already know they are one of the most dangerous because of their sting!
They can swim up to 20 feet per minute.
That's still not even one mile per hour, but for a stinging jellyfish that's pretty quick.


(from: wikipedia - box jellyfish)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Cephalopod Skin

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Fovea


We just learned about the Photoreceptor Cells.

Another part of the eye is the Fovea, sometimes called the fovea centralis, central fovea or fovea of the retina.
The word fovea just means a pit or a depression, and there are other parts of the body that have small pits so sometimes people have to say fovea centralis of the retina to make sure everyone knows which fovea they are talking about.

In the back of the eye by the macula on the retina is a small pit that is full of the cones we talked about.

This part of the eye is where the best sight comes from, when you are focused on looking at something while reading a book or driving a car.


(from: wikipedia - fovea centralis)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Periodontal Ligament

Monday, December 16, 2019

Transantarctic Mountains


We just learned about the Antarctic Peninsula.

Another part of Antarctica is the Transantarctic Mountains, sometimes just called TAM.

This mountain range goes from one end of Antarctica to the other, and splits it between the East and West sides.
It is about 3,500 kilometers long,
The high summits and low valleys of the TAM are some of the only places on the continent that are not totally covered up by ice.


(from: wikipedia - transantarctic mountains)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Mysore Palace

Sunday, December 15, 2019

Gregorian Chant


We just learned about the Christianity in Britain.

Another part of early Christianity is Gregorian Chant.

This is a type of singing that monks or people in church would do, where choirs would sing very slowly with not a lot of different notes.

It was very popular in the churches for choirs to learn songs in Gregorian chant and then sing them during service.
They were usually sung in the Latin language.

Many people have believed for a long time that Pope Gregory I was the one who came up with this and told everyone to learn it, but other historians now think maybe it was someone else.

The legends say that a dove came down and spoke into Gregory's ear and told him what to do.


(from: wikipedia - gregorian chant)


Gregorian chant - Deum verum - Callixtus


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: The Great Fire of Rome

Saturday, December 14, 2019

The Rescue - Horatio Greenough


We just learned about the Statue of Freedom by Thomas Crawford.

Another famous American sculpture is The Rescue by Horatio Greenough in 1850, built to be by the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C.

In the early years of America, there were many wars between the American settlers and the Native Americans.

This statue shows a scared American pioneer woman holding her child, and a Native American warrior holding a tomahawk.
A large pioneer man is holding on to the Native American to keep him from attacking the woman, but also trying not to hurt the Native American.

In those days people were afraid of Native Americans and thought they were just savages that only wanted to kill Americans and did not know anything about the world like books or science or church.

So this statue was a way to show that the powerful Americans would come in and stop the Natives from killing people, and also help teach them how to be smart and good like Americans.

After the wars with the Native Americans were over, people looked at this statue again and did not like it anymore, because people felt differently about the past.

Many Native Americans were killed in the wars, and all of the land was taken over by Americans.
So when people looked at this statue they saw it as an American being cruel to the Native Americans.

In 1958 the statue was removed from the Capitol and put into storage, and later on in 1976 when it was being moved it was dropped and broken into many pieces.


(from: wikipedia - the rescue (statue))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: The Great Buddha of Kmakura

Friday, December 13, 2019

Russian - Six, seven, eight, nine, ten

We learned in Russian that 1-5 is раз (raz), два (dva), три (tri), четыре (chetyre), пять (pyat').
Now let's count up to ten!

6 шесть (shest') - sounds like she-s-t 文A

7 семь (sem') - sounds seh-m 文A

8 восемь (vosem') - sounds like voh-seh-m 文A

9 девять (devyat') - sounds like deh-v-yah-t 文A

10 десять (desyat') - sounds like deh-s-yah-t 文A


russian language
(from: wikipedia - russian academy of sciences)

Do you remember how to say it in other languages?

Norwegian: seks, syv, åtte, ni, ti

Greek: έξι, εφτά, οχτώ, εννέα, δέκα

ASL: Six, seven, eight, nine, ten

Italian: sei, setto, otto, nove, dieci

German: seis, sieben, acht, neun, zehn

Spanish: seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez

French: six, sept, huit, neuf, dix

Thursday, December 12, 2019

Valve Seat


We just learned about the Valve Disc.

Another part of a valve is the Valve Seat.

We know that the holes where the water or gas come in are the ports, and that the part of the valve that closes those holes is the disc.
The part of the valve that touches the disc and makes it a tight seal so nothing can get through is called the seat.


(from: wikipedia - valve)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: L'Astronautique - Robert Esnault-Pelterie

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Jellyfish Statocyst


We just learned about the Ocelli.

Another part of a jellyfish's body is Jellyfish Statocyst.

We've learned about the Octopus Statocyst before, and it's pretty much the same thing.

The jellyfish has a small sac in it's body, with small hairs on the inside, and a hard ball inside.
When the jellyfish moves around, the ball rolls around and touches the hairs.
These hairs tell the jellyfish which way is up or down and which way they are swimming.


(from: wikipedia - statocyst)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Cephalopod - Cirrus

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Photoreceptor Cells


We just learned about the Cone Cells.

Another part of the eye is the Photoreceptor Cells.

These are the rods and cones that we already learned about.
The different photoreceptor cells all take light and turn it into chemicals and electrical signals that tell the brain what you are seeing.


(from: wikipedia - photoreceptor cell)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Alveolar Process

Monday, December 9, 2019

Antarctic Peninsula


We just learned about the West Antarctica.

Another part of Antarctica is the Antarctic Peninsula.

This is the most northern part of Antarctica that sticks out toward South America.

Many countries have made scientific bases to study the continent on this peninsula, because it has the mildest climate in all of Antarctica.


(from: wikipedia - antarctic peninsula)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Pena Palace

Sunday, December 8, 2019

Christianity in Britain


We just learned about the Pope Gregory I.

Another part of early Christianity is Christianity in Britain.

Long ago living in England and Scotland were people called the Anglo Saxons.
They didn't believe in Jesus and God, so Pope Gregory I sent a man named Augustine on a mission to tell them about God.

Augustine talked to King Æthelberht of Kent and helped him be a Christian, and then people all over Britain became Christians too.


(from: wikipedia - gregorian mission)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Ante Nicene Period

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Statue of Freedom - Thomas Crawford


We just learned about the Benjamin Franklin by Hiram Powers.

Another famous American sculpture is the Statue of Freedom by Thomas Crawford in 1857 AD.

This is a 20 foot tall bronze statue of a woman holding a sword, a wreath for victory and the shield of the United States.
She has a helmet with stars on it and an eagle's head with feathers.

The statue is on top of the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C.


(from: wikipedia - statue of freedom)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Sahasrabhuja-arya-avalokiteśvara - Tankei

Friday, December 6, 2019

Russian - One, two, three, four, five


We just learned that dog and cat in Russian is собака (sobaka) and кошка (koshka)

Let's count to five in Russian!

1 раз (raz) - sounds like rah-ss 文A
2 два (dva) - sounds like d-vah 文A
3 три (tri) - sounds like t-dee 文A
4 четыре (chetyre) - sounds like cheh-tee-dee 文A
5 пять (pyat') - sounds like pee-yeah-t 文A


russian language
(from: wikipedia - russian academy of sciences)

Norwegian: en, to, tre, fire, fem

Greek: ένα (éna), δύο (dýo), τρία (tría), τέσσερα (téssera), πέντε (pénte)

ASL: One, two, three, four, five

Italian: uno, due, tre, quattro, cinque

German: Ein, zwei, drei, veir, fünf

Spanish: Uno, dos, tres, quatro, cinco

French: Un, deaux, trois, quatre, cinq

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Valve Disc


We just learned about the Valve Handle.

Another part of the valve is the Valve Disc.

Inside the valve body is the part that moves to open or close to control the water or gas coming through.

There are a lot of different types of discs, that move in different ways to open up and close.


(from: wikipedia - valve)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Tsiolkovsky Rocket Equation

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Ocelli


We just learned about the Rhopalium.

Another part of a jellyfish is the Ocelli.

In the parrs of the jellyfish's bell where it dents in called the rhopalium, sometimes a jellyfish will have eyes called the ocelli.

They are very simple and do not have a lot of parts like human eyes, but they can sense some darkness and light, and use that to swim toward or away from something.


(from: wikipedia - carybdeida)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Cephalopod Eyes

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Cone Cells


We just learned about the Rod Cells.

Another part of the human eye is the Cone Cells.

Cones are different than rods, because they help us see in color.
There are only about 6 million cone cells in the eye, versus about 90 million for rods.
Rods are mostly used just for dark and light, but cones have a different shape so they bring in different types of light.

There are three types of cones in the human eye: S-cones, M-cones and L-cones.
Each type brings in a different type of light.

Remember before we learned about the colors in ROY-G-BIV, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet.
The colors are put in that order for their "wavelength" which basically just means how the light travels through the air.

The long wavelengths start at the R, G is in the middle, and V is the shortest.
They overlap, and L, M and S cones share some color vision.

L-cones help us see Red, Orange, Yellow and Green.
M-cones help us see Orange, Yellow, Green and Blue.
S-cones help us see Green, Blue and Violet.


(from: wikipedia - cone cell)



(from: wikipedia - color vision)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Dental Alveoli

Monday, December 2, 2019

West Antarctica


We just learned about the East Antarctica.

The other part of Antarctica is called West Antarctica.

It is much smaller than East Antarctica, and is sometimes called "Lesser Antarctica".

West Antarctica has the warmest part of the continent, and actually even have parts that have no ice on them during the summer, which is in January for Antarctica.

This part of Antarctica has a long peninsula that goes north toward South America, and is the closest to any other continent to Antarctica.


(from: wikipedia - west antarctica)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Potala Palace

Sunday, December 1, 2019

Pope Gregory I


We just learned about Anno Domini.

Another part of early Christian history was Pope Gregory I.

When Gregory was younger, he was born to a rich family, and went to school.
Later on he joined the church and lived the life of a monk, giving to the poor and spending days quietly praying.
When his parents died, he took their land and turned it into a monastery for other monks to live.

One day he became Pope.
At that time there were many poor and sick people in Rome.
He worked to use his farms to make food to be sent to poor people all over the country.

He also tried to make it so the church was more organized, and he also sent people out as missionaries to other countries like England to tell them about Jesus.


(from: wikipedia - pope gregory i)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Christian Name

Saturday, November 30, 2019

Benjamin Franklin - Hiram Powers


We just learned about the Water Nymph and Bitterna.

Another work of American sculpture is the sculpture of Benjamin Franklin by Hiram Powers.

Hiram grew up in Vermont and Ohio, where he learned how to do some sculpture.
When he grew up he moved to Washington D.C. to get better jobs and get noticed for his sculpture, and made sculptures of some of the American heroes like Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin.

Most of the very famous sculptors of that time were living in Italy, where there were a lot more places to make the art, and it was also a lot easier to get the marble and other things he needed to use.

So Powers moved to Florence, Italy and would make some sculptures there and send them back to America.


(from: wikipedia - hiram powers)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Seated Yuima - Jōkei

Friday, November 29, 2019

Russian - Dog, Cat


We just learned that to ask if someone speaks Russian you say Ты говоришь по-русски? or Вы говорите по русски?.

To say dog in Russian, you say собака (sobaka) and it sounds like soh-bah-kah 文A

To say cat in Russian, you say кошка (koshka) and it sounds like koh-sh-kah 文A

Also in Russian, cats say Мяу-мяу (myaoo myaoo) and dogs say Гав-гав (gahf-gahf)

russian language
(from: wikipedia - russian academy of sciences)

Norwegian: hund, katt

Greek: σκύλος (skýlos), γάτα (gáta)

ASL: dog, cat

Italian: cane, gatto

German: Hunt, Katze

Spanish: perro, gato

French: chien, chat

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Valve Handle


We just learned about the Valve Port.

Another part of a valve is the Valve Handle.

To open or close a valve, you can turn the handle one way or another.
This is just like the faucet that you use on a sink or a water valve outside the house.

There are a lot of types of valve handles.
The one on the faucet outside the house is usually a wheel handle that spins around.
The handle on the sink faucet is usually some kind of lever handle.
The handle underneath the sink that connects to the water line is usually a T shaped handle.

Some valves don't have handles because they are automatically opened by some other type of machine.


(from: wikipedia - valve)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jules Verne - From the Earth to the Moon

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Rhopalium


We just learned about the Lappet.

Another part of a jellyfish is the Rhopalium.

Remember we learned about the lappet that goes the bell and dents in on some spots.
The part where the bell dents in toward the middle is called the Rhopalium.

In these rhopalium are things that jellyfish can use to sense light and movement.


(from: wikipedia - rhopalium)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Cephalopod Suckers

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Rod Cells


We just learned about the Zonule of Zinn.

Another part of the eye is the Rod Cells.

In the back of the eye at the retina there are things called Rods that help take in light and turn it into a message for your brain to understand what you are seeing.

An adult human has about 92 million rods in one eye!
These rods mostly help see brightness and darkness, and help people see better at night.


(from: wikipedia - rod cell)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: amelogenesis

Monday, November 25, 2019

East Antarctica


We just started learning about Antarctica.

Antarctica is split up into two parts, Wast and East Antarctica.

The East part is the bigger part, and is sometimes just called Greater Antarctica.
It is closer to Africa and Australia, and the Indian Ocean.
The East and West parts of Antarctica are separated by a 2,000 mile long mountain range.


(from: wikipedia - west antarctica)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Forbidden City

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Anno Domini


We just learned about the Hagia Sophia ancient church.

Another part of early Christianity is Anno Domini.

When we talk about what year it is, we sometimes put the letters AD at the end, like 2019 AD.

The AD stands for "Anno Domini" which means "Year Of"
"Anno Domini" is just a short way to say "anno Domini nostri Jesu Christi" which means "year of our Jesus Christ".

A long time ago a man named Dionysius Exiguus was working on a new calendar to be different than the one that the old emperor Diocletian had used.
Diocletian was very bad for Christians and had many of them killed.

So Dionysius made a new calendar and said that the year was 525 AD.
By putting AD at the end, he was taking away the naming of the years from the bad Diocletian and giving it to Jesus.

In the new AD calendar, people believe that Jesus was born around 1 AD.
The time before that we call "BC" for "Before Christ".

In the old days before people used English they used "aCn" which was for "Ante Christum Natum" meaning "before Christ's birth".


(from: wikipedia - anno domini)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Split of Christianity and Judaism

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Water Nymph and Bitterna - William Rush


We just learned about the Chacmool statue of the person laying down.

Let's learn about some sculpture from America long ago.

In the early 1800s there were not a lot of famous sculptures until William Rush came along.

His first famous sculpture was the Water Nymph and Bittern.

In the city of Philadelphia Pennsylvania, there was a river called the Schuylkill River that brought water into the city.
William Rush was asked to make a fountain for the city, so he made one of a woman and called her the water nymph, to be like a spirit that was living in the river that brought water to the city.
A bittern is a type of bird that lived around the river.


(from: wikipedia - william rush and his model)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Amitabha Triad of Jōdo-ji - Kaikei

Friday, November 22, 2019

Russian - Do you speak Russian?


Remember that to say please or you're welcome in Russian, you say пожалуйста (pozhaluysta).

To ask if someone speaks Russian, you say:
Ты говоришь по-русски? (Ty govorish' po russki)
which sounds like tee goh-voh-dree-sh poh roo-skee - 文A
This is if you know the person pretty well.

If it is a grownup or teacher that you don't really know, you would say:
Вы говорите по русски (Vy govorishtay po russki)
which sounds like vee goh-voh-dree-tay poh roo-skee - 文A

To say yes you would say да (da) which sounds like dah - 文A

or to say no you would say нет (net) which sounds like nee-yet - 文A


russian language
(from: wikipedia - russian academy of sciences)

Norwegian: Kan du norsk?

Greek: Μιλατε ελληνικα? (Milate ellinika?)

ASL: Do you speak ASL?

Italian: Parli italiano?

German: Sprechen Sie Deutsch?

Spanish: ¿Hablas español?

French: parlez-vous français?

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Valve Port


We just learned about the valve Bonnet.

Another part of a valve is the Valve Port.

This is the part of the valve that lets water or gas in or out.
They can have as little as just two ports, but many valves have more.
Some valves even have up to 20 ports!

Simple two port valves are just open or closed.
Other valves with a lot of ports might have a few open and others closed depending on how it is set up.


(from: wikipedia - valve)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: HMS Erebus Rockets

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Lappet


We just learned about the Nerve Net that is like a jellyfish's brain.

Another part of a jellyfish is the Lappet.

The circle shaped bell of a jellyfish is sometimes split up into parts by a small indent on the outside of the bell.
This little part where the bell dips toward the middle helps the jellyfish bell be able to flex and pull in and out so the jellyfish can swim.

Each of the parts of the outside of the bell between the indents is called a lappet.


(from: wikipedia - aurelia aurita)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Cephalopod - Tentacle Hooks

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Zonule of Zinn


We just learned about the Uvea.

Another part of the eye is the Zonule of Zinn.

This are the tiny little things like strings that go from the ciliary body to the lens.
Remember the lens is like the magnifying glass that changes shape so you can see far or close,
and the ciliary body is where the muscles are that help push and pull the lens to change it's shape.

It might sound like someone just wanted to come up with a funny name for a part of the body, but the word "zonule" means like tiny zone or tiny area, and the person who discovered this part of the body was named Johann Gottfried Zinn, so he named the area the Zonules of Zinn.

Sometimes it is also called Zinn's membrane, or the ciliary zonule, but Zonule of Zinn sounds the most fun.


(from: wikipedia - zonule of zinn)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Tooth - Bell Stage

Monday, November 18, 2019

Antarctica


We just learned about the Half Tower, and a whole lot of other types of castle Fortifications.

Let's learn about something else. The continent of Antarctica!

Even though we think of it as just a big chunk of frozen ice at the bottom of the earth, people have studied it and given names to all the parts of it from the east to the west.

There are even seas inside Antarctica, and hundreds of islands!

Some people even live down in Antarctica to study the ice and the climate.
There are some crazy animals down there too living on the land or even deep down in the cold sea.

We are trying to study it and learn more about it every year!


(from: wikipedia - geography of antarctica)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Westminster

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Hagia Sophia


We just learned about the Pentarchy of people ruling the church.

Another part of early Christianity is the Hagia Sophia.

This is a very big church that was built in the city of Constantinople in the year 532.
For almost a thousand years it was the biggest church in the world.

It is now a museum in the city that is now called Istanbul.


(from: wikipedia - hagia sophia)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Apostolic Age

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Chacmool


We just learned about the art pattern of Xicalcoliuhqui.

Another ancient Mesoamerican work of art is the Chacmool.

These are sculptures of warriors on their backs, propped up on their elbows with their knees bent and their head turned.
They have a bowl on their stomach, and many people believe these were used to offer sacrifices to mythological gods for fallen warriors.



(from: wikipedia - chacmool)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Six Patriarchs of Hossō - Kōkei

Friday, November 15, 2019

Russian - Please, You're Welcome


Remember that to say thank you in Russian, you say Спасибо (Spasibo).

To say please in Russian is пожалуйста (pozhaluysta) - Sounds like pah-zha-lih-stah. - 文A
The "zha" sound is like the sound the "s" makes in the word "vision".

And to say you're welcome, you say the exact same word! пожалуйста (pozhaluysta) - Sounds like pah-zha-lih-stah. - 文A


russian language
(from: wikipedia - russian academy of sciences)

Norwegian: Vær så snill, Værsågod

Greek: Παρακαλώ (Parakaló)

ASL: Please, You're Welcome

German: bitte, bitte schön

Spanish: Por favor, de nada

French: s'il vous plait, de rien