Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Southern Sand Octopus


We just learned about the Joubin's Squid.

Another cephalopod is the Southern Sand Octopus, also called octopus kaurna.

This octopus lives around Australia, and grows up to about 20 inches long, with very thin arms.

This octopus can not change colors like a lot of others can, so it stays hidden by burying itself in the sand.
It goes down by the bottom of the sea, and spits out a big jet of water down into the sand, then use its arms to quickly dive down into the hole it made.


(from: wikipedia - octopus kaurna)


Octopus makes its own quicksand then vanishes inside - New Scientist

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Coqui

Tuesday, August 14, 2018

Dental Notation - ISO


We just learned about Dental Notation - Universal Numbering.

Another way of numbering teeth is the ISO System or the International Standards Organization System, also called the FDI system.

This way of numbering teeth puts teeth in four different sections by number:
1 - top right
2 - top left
3 - bottom left
4 - bottom right

The teeth in those areas are numbered starting from the front with 1, and the numbers go up as you get toward the back.
So the top right front tooth is 1-1, and the top left front tooth is 2-1.
The top right back tooth is 1-7, and the top left back tooth is 2-7.
The bottom teeth go from 3-1 to 3-7, and 4-1 to 4-7.

Some dentists like this way of numbering tooth because they can easily split the mouth up into 4 parts.




(from: wikipedia - dental notation)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Collagen

Monday, August 13, 2018

Citadel of Aleppo


We just learned about the Prague Castle.

Another ancient castle is the Citadel of Aleppo in Syria.

It is one of the oldest and largest castles in the world, built over 2000 years ago, around 300 AD.
The hill where this castle was is so old that people say Abraham from the Bible had his sheep up on this hill.
The conqueror Alexander the Great took over this castle, as did the Roman Empire, the Mongols from China, the Ottoman Empire and the French and Syrian people.

The Citadel is about 1,500 feet long and 1,000 feet wide, and over 150 feet tall.
It used to be covered with shiny blocks of limestone, and some of those blocks are still there.
There is a moat around it that is 72 feet deep and 98 feet wide, made over 800 years ago.

This castle was very hard to take over, because people coming in would have to take over six turns on a ramp that had machicolations above them where people could drop rocks or hot oil on them from above.
There are also secret passageways all over the citadel, and even underground passages going over 400 feet below the building.



(from: wikipedia - citadel of aleppo)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Nunavut

Sunday, August 12, 2018

Rufus - bishop of Thebes


We just learned about Agabus the prophet, one of the seventy disciples

Another of the seventy was Rufus - bishop of Thebes.

Rufus was one of the people that Paul talked about when he wrote a letter to the people of Rome.
After Paul and Luke went to the city of Thebes in Greece, Rufus stayed there as a bishop to help lead the church.


(from: wikipedia - rufus of thebes)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Monks

Saturday, August 11, 2018

Shi Qiang Pan


We just learned about the Qin Bronze Chariot.

Another ancient Chinese sculpture is the Shi Qiang Pan.

This is an ancient bronze bowl made around 900 BC.
There is writing inside the bowl, and some people believe this is the first time anyone tried to write about history in China.

The writing tells about all of the wonderful things the old and new rulers of China, did.
It also tells about the person named Qiang who made the bronze bowl.



(from: wikipedia - shi qiang pan)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Fontana Della Barcaccia - Pietro Bernini

Friday, August 10, 2018

Greek - Counting to Fifty Nine


We counted to 49 in Greek, let's keep going!

50 πενήντα (penínta) - sounds like pay-NEEN-tah
51 πενήντα ένα (penínta éna) - sounds like pay-NEEN-tah AY-nah
52 πενήντα δύο (penínta dýo) - sounds like pay-NEEN-tah DEE-y-oh
53 πενήντα τρεις (penínta treis) - sounds like pay-NEEN-tah t-day-ss
54 πενήντα τέσσερις (penínta tésseris) - sounds like pay-NEEN-tah TAY-say-dee-ss
55 πενήντα πέντε (penínta pénte) - sounds like pay-NEEN-tah PAY-n-tay
56 πενήντα έξι (penínta éxi) - sounds like pay-NEEN-tah AY-k-see
57 πενήντα επτά (penínta eptá) - sounds like pay-NEEN-tah ay-p-TAH
58 πενήντα οκτώ (penínta októ) - sounds like pay-NEEN-tah oh-k-TOH
59 πενήντα εννέα (penínta ennéa) - sounds like pay-NEEN-tah eh-NEE-y-ah

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

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

Italian: cinquanta, cinquantuno, cinquanta due, cinquanta tre, cinquantaquattro, cinquantacinque, cinquantasei, cinquantasette, cinquantotto, cinquantanove

German: fünfzig, einundfünfzig, zweiundfünfzig, dreiundfünfzig, vierundfünfzig, fünfundfünfzig, sechsundfünfzig, siebenundfünfzig, achtundfünfzig, neunundfünfzig

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

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

Thursday, August 9, 2018

Airspeed Indicator


We just learned about the Spacecraft Magnetometer.

Another rocket guidance tool is an Airspeed Indicator.

When the rocket is blasting through the air, it can use this tool to figure out how fast it is going.
The Airspeed Indicator uses something called a pitot tube (pronounced PEE-toh) which is a tube that has some liquid in it.
As the rocket flies along the air flowing into the pitot tube puts pressure on the liquid, and the airspeed indicator uses that pressure to measure how fast the rocket is going.

If it is going very fast, there will be a lot of pressure.



(from: wikipedia - airspeed indicator)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Hypocenter

Wednesday, August 8, 2018

Joubin's Squid


We just learned about the Stumpy Spined Cuttlefish.

Another type of cephalopod is the Joubin's squid, also called Joubiniteuthis portieri.

This squid lives in very deep parts of the ocean, and has some very long arms that it just leaves hanging out floating in the water to catch small animals that accidentally swim into it.

It is a very small squid and is only a little over 3 inches long.


(from: wikipedia - joubiniteuthis portieri)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Golden Mantella

Tuesday, August 7, 2018

Dental Notation - Universal Numbering System


We just learned about Hypodontia.

When a dentist wants to look at your teeth, they give all your teeth a number so they can talk about which ones are healthy or have cavities.

This is called Dental Notation.

There are a few different ways that people number the teeth.
One way is called the Universal Numbering System

Sometimes a dentist will start with the upper right back adult or permanent tooth as #1 and then go 2,3,4,5,6,7,8 to the top middle, and 9,10,11,12,1314,15,16 to the top back left tooth.
Then next is the lower back left tooth at #17, and then toward the front 18,19,20,21,22,23,24.
From the front left around to the front right, 25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32.

Those are for the adult teeth.
If it's a primary or baby tooth, they use ABCDE from top right to top middle, and FGHIJ from top middle to top left.
KLMNO from bottom left to bottom middle, and PQRST from bottom middle to bottom right.


(from: wikipedia - universal numbering system)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Tendon

Monday, August 6, 2018

Prague Castle


We just learned about Kronborg Castle.

Another ancient castle is Prague Castle, built around 870 AD in Prague.

This is the largest ancient castle in the world, taking up about 750,000 square feet.
It was the home for the kings of the land of Bohemia, the Roman emperors, and presidents of the country of Czechoslovakia.
The Bohemian crown jewels are in this castle inside a hidden room.

In 1618, a war started because of something called "defenestration" which means throwing someone out the window.
Some angry mobs came around and tried to throw some rulers out of a window 70 feet high, but the people lived, and other people fought back and started a war.

The castle complex is made up of many buildings, like 4 churches, 4 palaces, 9 gardens, several schools and houses, fountains, statues and even a vineyard for growing grapes to be made into wine.





(from: wikipedia - prague castle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Northwest Territories

Sunday, August 5, 2018

Agabus the prophet


We just learned about the Aristobulus - bishop of Britain, one of the seventy disciples.

Some more people on the list of seventy that we don't know much about are:.

Narcissus, bishop of Athens
Phygellus, bishop of Tarsus.

Another of the seventy we know a little more about is Agabus the prophet.

Agabus was talked about in the Bible as one of the apostles who was around when the Holy Spirit came down to the apostles.
He went to Jerusalem, and helped tell people about a really bad famine that was coming, where there would be no food.


(from: wikipedia - agabus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Proverbs 21

Saturday, August 4, 2018

Qin Bronze Chariot


We just learned about the ancient Chinese sculpture Gouji Zibai Pan.

Another ancient Chinese sculpture is the Qin Bronze Chariot, made some time around 200 BC.

This sculpture is of a driver with two seats in a chariot, with a large bronze umbrella.
The chariot is being pulled by four bronze horses, about half the size of a real horse.

It was found broken into many pieces, and it took five years to put the whole sculpture back together.


(from: wikipedia - qin bronze chariot)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Saint Bibiana - Bernini

Friday, August 3, 2018

Greek - Counting to Forty Nine


We counted to 39 in Greek, let's keep going!

40 τσαράντα (saránta) - sounds like sah-RAH-n-tah
41 τσαράντα ένα (saránta éna) - sounds like sah-RAH-n-tah AY-nah
42 τσαράντα δύο (saránta dýo) - sounds like sah-RAH-n-tah DEE-y-oh
43 τσαράντα τρεις (saránta treis) - sounds like sah-RAH-n-tah t-day-ss
44 τσαράντα τέσσερις (saránta tésseris) - sounds like sah-RAH-n-tah TAY-say-dee-ss
45 τσαράντα πέντε (saránta pénte) - sounds like sah-RAH-n-tah PAY-n-tay
46 τσαράντα έξι (saránta éxi) - sounds like sah-RAH-n-tah AY-k-see
47 τσαράντα επτά (saránta eptá) - sounds like sah-RAH-n-tah ay-p-TAH
48 τσαράντα οκτώ (saránta októ) - sounds like sah-RAH-n-tah oh-k-TOH
49 τσαράντα εννέα (saránta ennéa) - sounds like sah-RAH-n-tah eh-NEE-y-ah

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

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

Italian: quaranta, quarantuno, quarantadue, quarantatre, quarantaquattro, quarantacinque, quarantasei, quarantasette, quarantotto, quarantanove

German: vierzig, einundvierzig, zweiundvierzig, dreiundvierzig, vierundvierzig, fünfundvierzig, sechsundvierzig, siebenundvierzig, achtundvierzig, neunundvierzig

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

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

Thursday, August 2, 2018

Spacecraft Magnetometer


We just learned about the Gyroscope.

Another tool used for navigation and guidance is a Spacecraft Magnetometer.

This uses a magnet that is wrapped in metal coils, with electricity running through the metal coils.
If there are other magnetic forces around, these electric coils will give off fields that can tell the rocket which way to go.


(from: wikipedia - spacecraft magnetometer)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Cross Peen Hammer

Wednesday, August 1, 2018

Stumpy spined cuttlefish


We just learned about the Ammonoidea.

Another type of cephalopod is the Stumpy spined cuttlefish, also called the dwarf cuttlefish, or sepia bandensis.

This is a cuttlefish that is very small. It's about 3 inches long, and doesn't even weigh one pound!
They are light brown or yellow, with white spots on their heads, white stripes on their body, and blue spots on their fins.

These cuttlefish live in shallow waters near the country of Indonesia, usually by coral reefs.
One interesting thing about these cuttlefish is that they don't swim!
They use their arms and flaps on their body to walk along the floor of the sea.


(from: wikipedia - sepia bandensis)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Fox Snake

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