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

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

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


(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

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

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

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

Blarney Castle

We just learned about Bran Castle.

Another famous castle is Blarney Castle in Blarney Ireland, built in 1210 AD, and then rebuilt in 1446 by the MacCarthy of Muskerry dynasty after it had been destroyed.

This castle is probably most famous for being the home of the "Blarney Stone", which is a rock made out of limestone built into the castle by a machicolation

A machicolation is a hole in the floor by the top of the castle where people could drop things like big rocks down on people trying to invade the castle.

The Blarney stone is at one of these machicolations, so there is a gap between where the top walkway of the castle is, and where the Blarney Stone is.

There are many legends about where the Blarney Stone came from, with some saying it was a gift from an old goddess, and some saying it was a part of a very important stone used in ceremonies to crown the king of Sctoland.

Nobody really knows for sure where it came from, but there is a legend that if you kiss the Blarney Stone you will get the gift of speaking Blarney, which means to be funny and smart and get people to believe whatever you say.

To kiss the Blarney Stone, you have to have someone hold on to you, and you lay on your back leaning way out over the hole and then kiss the stone!
It used to be very dangerous to try this, but now they have some safety rails up to help people not fall.
Kissing the Blarney Stone is so famous that Sherlock Holmes wrote a mystery story about a man who fell off the castle while trying to kiss it!




(from: wikipedia - blarney castle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: New Brunswick

Urban - bishop of Macedonia

We just learned about Amplias - Bishop of Odyssus, one of the seventy disciples.

Another of the seventy was Urban - bishop of Macedonia.

Urban went out and spread the word of God in the land of Macedonia, which is in southern Europe.


(from: wikipedia - urban of macedonia)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Proverbs 17 - A Joyful Heart

Flying Horse of Gansu

We just learned about the Mao Gong Ding.

Another ancient Chinese sculpture is the Flying Horse of Gansu, also called the Bronze Running Horse or the Galloping Horse Treading on a Flying Swallow.

This sculpture was found underneath a monastery in an old tomb with over 200 different bronze sculptures.

The horse in this sculpture is a type of horse called Tianma, which means heavenly horse.
These horses came from a place called Ferghana, and they were such great horses that the Emperor of China gave them the nickname of heavenly horse.

The statue is perfectly balanced on just one foot, which is stepping on top of a bird.
This is supposed to mean that the horse runs so fast it is almost like it is flying through the air with the birds.



(from: wikipedia - flying horse of gansu)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: David - Donatello

Greek - Counting to Twenty

We counted to 15 in Greek, let's keep going!

16 δεκαέξι (dekaéxi) - sounds like day-kah-AY-k-see
17 δεκαεπτά (dekaeptá) - sounds like day-kah-ay-p-TAH
18 δεκαοχτώ (dekaochtó) - sounds like day-kah-oh-k-TOH
19 δεκαεννέα (dekaennéa) - sounds like day-kah-ay-n-EE-ah
20 είκοσι (eíkosi) - sounds like ay-EE-koh-see


(from: wikipedia - center for the greek language)

ASL: sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty

Italian: sedici, diciassette, diciotto, diciannove, venti

German: sechzehn, siebzehn, achtzehn, neunzehn, zwanzig

Spanish: dieciséis, diecisiete, dieciocho, diecinueve, veinte

French: seize, dix-sept, dix-huit, dix-neuf, vingt

Accelerometer

We just learned about the Altimeter.

Another part of rocket science is the Accelerometer.

This is something in the rocket that tells the rocket how fast it is accelerating.
This isn't the same as it's speed, which is just how fast it is going.
Acceleration is the difference in speed over time.

So think about it like if you are walking, and then you are jogging, and then you are running as fast as you can.
When you switch from walking to jogging, there is a difference in speed, and it however long it takes you to get from walking speed to jogging speed is the acceleration.

Gravity is another way to think about acceleration.
If a rock is dropped off of a tall building, it starts falling slowly, but then gets faster and faster, and by the time it hits the ground could be going fast enough to really hurt if it crashed into something.

The difference in how fast it is falling every second is the acceleration.
That is what the accelerometer measures, so that the rocket knows how much faster it is getting every second.



(from: wikipedia - accelerometer)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Plasma Cutting

Armhook Squid

We just learned about the Broadclub Cuttlefish.

Another cephalopod is the Armhook Squid, also called the Gonatidae.

These are a type of squid that don't have just normal suction cups on their arms.
Most squids have rows of two cups all the way down their arm, but the armhook squid has four, and some of the suckers are actually more like hooks.

They are red, purple or brown, they live in the ocean, and they grow to about 10 inches.





(from: wikipedia - gonatidae)



The Hidden Ocean, Arctic 2005: Boreo Atlantic Armhook Squid - oceanexplorergov

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Pacman Frog

Maxillary Second Molar

We just learned about the Maxillary First Molar.

Another tooth is the Maxillary Second Molar.

These ones are just like the Maxillary First Molars, just further back on the jaw.
They have 4 cusps, and they work to help grind up the food.

Some people get another row of teeth behind these, but for other people these are the last teeth in the mouth.


(from: wikipedia - maxillary second molar)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Nail Plate

Bran Castle

We just learned about the Malbork Castle.

Another famous castle is Bran Castle, built in 1300s in Romania.

This castle is sometimes called "Dracula's Castle" because the famous ruler Vlad Țepeș stayed in this castle a few times.

The book Dracula by Bram Stoker is just a made up story, but the writer Bram Stoker used the real person Vlad Țepeș (also known as Vlad the Impaler) as part of his book and made up a story about him being the vampire Dracula.

Vlad was a real person and Dracula was a fake story, but since Vlad stayed in Bran Castle they like to tell stories about this castle!



(from: wikipedia - bran castle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Nova Scotia

Amplias - Bishop of Odyssus

We just learned about Andronicus, Bishop of Pannonia, one of the seventy disciples.

Another of the seventy is Amplias - Bishop of Odyssus, also known as Ampliatus.

Paul the Apostle talks about Amplias in the book of Romans and says "Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord.".

Historians believe he went on to the country of Bulgaria to help spread the word of God.


(from: wikipedia - ampliatus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Proverbs 16 - Wisdom better than Gold

Mao Gong ding

We just learned about the Da Ke ding and the Da Yu ding.

Another ancient Chinese sculpture is the Mao Gong ding.

Along with the other two dings, these three are some of the most famous Chinese sculptures.

This ding weighs 75 pounds, and is made of bronze.
People think it was made around 800 BC.

There are carvings on the inside of 497 characters telling about the history of the Kings of China in the old days.



(from: wikipedia - mao gong ding)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Leonardo's Horse

Greek - Fifteen

We counted to 10 in Greek, now let's learn some bigger numbers!

11 ένδεκα (éndeka) - sounds like AY-n-day-kah
12 δώδεκα (dódeka) - sounds like DOH-day-kah
13 δεκατρία (dekatría) - sounds like day-kah-t-DEE-ah
14 δεκατέσσερα (dekatéssera) - sounds like day-kah-TAY-say-dah
15 δεκαπέντε (dekapénte) - sounds like day-kah-PAY-n-tay


(from: wikipedia - center for the greek language)

ASL: eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen

Italian: undici, dodici, tredici, quattordici, quindici

German: elf, zwölf, dreizehn, vierzehn, fünfzehn

Spanish: once, doce, trese, catorce, quince

French: onze, douze, treize, quatorze, quinze

Altimeter

We just learned about GNC - Guidance Navigation and Control.

One type of tool used to help navigation is an Altimeter.

This measures the pressure in the air to figure out how high up off the ground a rocket is.
When a rocket is close to the ground it has higher air pressure, and when it goes further up off the ground, the air pressure gets less and less.

With an altimeter inside the rocket's controls, the rocket can tell how high up in the sky it is.



(from: wikipedia - altimeter)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Water Jet Cutting