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

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

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

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

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

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

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.


(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