Nomura's Jellyfish

We just learned about the Moon Jellyfish.

Another type of jellyfish is Nomura's Jellyfish.

This is the biggest jellyfish in the world, and can grow to be over 6 feet wide and weigh over 400 pounds!
In only six months they can grow from the size of a grain of rice to 6 feet wide.

They live over near China in the Yellow sea and East China sea.
For food these jellies start eating small things like plankton, but then as they get bigger they will eat some kinds fish.
Other animals that eat these jellies are swordfish, tuna, sunfish and leatherback turtles.
Even some people eat these, and in Japan someone makes a type of vanilla and jellyfish flavored ice cream.

They do have a sting that is painful, but as long as the person gets to a doctor they will be ok.





(from: wikipedia - nomura's jellyfish)


Nomura's Jellyfish, Japan - SuiTube5


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Blue Ringed Octopus

Circumvallate Papillae

We just learned about the Foliate Papillae.

Another part of the mouth is the Circumvallate papillae.

We know the filiform papillae are just for touch,
the fungiform papillae have taste buds,
and the foliate papillae are soft folded skin on the sides and back of the tongue with taste buds.

The circumvallate papillae are rounded on top, and the tongue has around 8 to 12 of them.
They are on the back part of the tongue, with one row on each side.
These papillae are usually bigger bumps than the other types of bumps on the tongue.



(from: wikipedia - lingual papillae)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Patellar Ligament

Frankenstein Castle

We just learned about the Cairo Citadel.

Another famous castle is Frankenstein Castle built around 1252 AD near Darmstadt Germany.

In German, the word stein means "stone" and the Franks were a group of people who lived in Germany.
So Frankenstein castle means "stone of the Franks".

In the year 1818, a writer named Mary Shelley wrote the famous book about Frankenstein's Monster, and many people think that she visited the castle and got ideas for her book from the area.

Near the castle there are many scary stories about ghosts, witches and fairies living in the forest.
There is one special water fountain that stories say witches use to stay young, and there is another place with rocks that are so magnetic compasses do not work there.
Another story is that a man lived there long ago who studied chemicals and human bodies and was almost like the Doctor who made Frankenstein.

All of these stories together bring a lot of people to this castle to visit and see if any of the stories are true, but most people believe they are just stories used to scare little kids.

Either way, it really is called Frankenstein castle!






(from: wikipedia - frankenstein castle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Aguascalientes

Gospel Harmony

We just learned about the First Apology.

Another part of early Christianity is the Gospel Harmony.

We know that the four Gospel books of the New Testament in the Bible are Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Long ago around 160 AD in Syria, a man named "Tatian" decided to try and put those four books together into one book, since they are all about Jesus' life.

He called this book the "Diatessaron" which means "made of four" or "mixed Gospel".

Because the word "harmony" can mean a mixture of music that sounds nice together, people call this type of writing a "Gospel Harmony".

Other people have made gospel harmonies through the years, but Tatian's Diatessaron was the first one we know about.



(from: wikipedia - diatessaron)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Saint Matthias

Konark Sun Temple

We just learned about the Rajagopuram.

Another Indian sculpture is the Konark Sun Temple, built around 1238 AD in Konark, Odisha, India.

The name Konar comes from the words Kona meaning "corner" and Arka meaning "the sun".

This 100 foot Hindu temple is made to look like a giant chariot with wheels being pulled by horse sculptures.
There are 24 wheel sculptures, and each one is over 12 feet tall.

There are seven horse sculptures made to look like they are pulling the chariot.
It has sculptures all over the building, and some other sculptures around it like elephants and people.

Next to the temple is another building called the Nata Mandir, which means Dance Temple.





(from: wikipedia - konark sun temple)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Kushan Maitreya

Norwegian - We are surprised

We just learned that in Norwegian I am happy is jeg er glad,
you are sad is Du er lei deg, he is angry is Han er sint,
and they are excited is De er begeistret.

Let's learn how to say We are surprised.

Vi er overrasket

We can break it up into two words:

We - Vi - Sounds like Vee
are - er - Sounds like ah-r
surprised - overrasket - Sounds like oh-veh-d-ask-et

So all together Vi er overrasket sounds like vee ah-r oh-veh-d-ask-et.


(from: wikipedia - norwegian language)

Greek: Είναι έκπληκτοι

ASL: We are surprised

German: Wir sind begeistert

Spanish: Estamos sorprendido

French: Nous sommes surpris

Ariane

We just learned about the SM-65 Atlas.

Another famous rocket was the Ariane.

In Europe, a few countries worked together to make a rocket that would be used to launch things up into space, like satellites or even for space exploration.

France, Germany and the UK came up with it and its first launch was in 1973.

They were multi-stage rockets, using liquid rocket fuel.
These rockets change a little every few year, but some are still mostly working today, launching satellites and exploration things into outer space.


(from: wikipedia - ariene (rocket family))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Mercalli Intensity Scale

Moon Jellyfish

We just learned about the Flower Hat Jelly.

Another type of jellyfish is the Moon Jellyfish.

This type of small jellyfish only grows to be about 12 inches wide, and is mostly see through.
It lives in cold or hot water in just about every part of the ocean in the world.

They do not move very much, just mostly float around and try to eat up some plankton or fish eggs floating in the water.
Other animals eat these jellyfish a lot, like fish or birds.
Their sting is so little that most people can even pick up this jellyfish and hold it in their hand.




(from: wikipedia - aurelia aurita)


Moon Jellies - PtDefianceZoo1


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Hawaiian Bobtail Squid

Foliate Papillae

We just learned about the Fungiform Papillae.

Another part of the mouth is the Foliate Papillae.

So we know the filiform papillae are just for touch, and the fungiform papillae have the taste buds.

The foliate papillae are on the back and sides of the tongue, and almost look like they have folds on them.
They are soft, and don't have any keratin, but they do have taste buds on them.



(from: wikipedia - lingual papillae)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Medial and Lateral Meniscus

Cairo Citadel

We just learned about the Castillo de Colomares.

Another famous castle is the Cairo Citadel, built in 1176 in Cairo, Egypt.

It was built by Salah al-Din (Saladin) during the wars known as the Crusades.

The wall and castle were built in the cities of Cairo and Fustat, and near the Nile so that they could try and control that part of the country from invaders.

To get water to the Citadel, they built a 280 foot well in the castle, called the Well of Joseph, that is still there today.

This well has a spiral staircase of 300 stairs going all the way down to the well.

Later on they built a bunch of water wheels that helped bring the water up to the citadel and then the water would go on things called acqueduct which were like ramps that helped bring water from one place to another.




(from: wikipedia - cairo citadel)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Quintana Roo

First Apology

We just learned about the Decian Persecution.

Another part of early Christian history is the First Apology.

The word apology used in this way comes from Greek, where it means a speech in defense.

There was a man named Justin Martyr who was a Christian long ago, and when Christians were being treated badly by the Roman empire, he wrote a letter called the First Apology.

It was a letter trying to explain that Christians were not bad people, and that the Roman empire should not treat them badly.

People did not like Christians because they thought they did not want to be part of the Roman empire, and wanted to start their own kingdom.
Justin wrote that they wanted to be in God's kingdom, but that was after they were in heaven.

There were some people that said Christians were bad people and caused lots of crimes.
He wrote that those people should be put in jail for their crimes, but not because they called themselves Christians, just because they did bad things.

He also used the word Logos which means something like "Word" or "talking with reason" to talk about Jesus and tell people about the Word of God.
People used the word Logos to say that someone was speaking with good reason.
So if Jesus was with Logos then he had to be good.


(from: wikipedia - justin martyr)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Cleopas

Rajagopuram

We just learned about the Elephanta Caves.

Another famous Indian sculpture is the Rajagopuram Gopuram.

A gopuram is a tower with a lot of sculptures all over it, that is at the entrance of a Hindu temple.
The sculptures are usually telling Hindu stories, and have hundreds of sculptures all over them.

There are many gopurams all over India at different temples, but the tallest one is at the Ranganathaswamy Temple, in Srirangam, Tamil Nadu, India.

This temple area has 21 different gopurams around it that have been built over time for hundreds of years.
The tallest one in the temple is the Rajagopuram, which is 240 feet high was built in 1987.


(from: wikipedia - ranganathaswamy temple, srirangam)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Vajrasana, Bodh Gaya

Norwegian - They are excited

We just learned that in Norwegian I am happy is jeg er glad,
you are sad is Du er lei deg, and he is angry is Han er sint.

Let's learn how to say they are excited.

De er begeistret

They - De - Sounds like day

are - er - Sounds like ah-r

excited - begeistret - Sounds like bay-gay-s-treh-t

So all together De er begeistret sounds like day ah-r bay-gay-s-treh-t.


(from: wikipedia - norwegian language)

Greek: Είναι ενθουσιασμένοι

ASL: They are excited

Italian: Sono eccitati

German: Sie sind aufgeregt

Spanish: Ellos estan emocionados

French: Ils sont excité

SM-65 Atlas

We just learned about the R-7 Rockets.

Another famous rocket in history is the SM-65 Atlas.

After the Russians had developed missiles that could go from one continent to another, the USA worked to try and do the same so they could have the same kinds of weapons.

The SM-65 Atlas was the first rocket that the US made that was an ICBM, meaning it could fly all the way to another continent.

It was made in 1959, was over 75 feet tall, and weighed over 260,000 pounds.
The rocket fuel was liquid oxygen, held in thin stainless steel tanks that were held in place by the pressure of being full of fuel like a balloon.
It used radio guidance to keep it's path, and vernier rockets to help make small steering changes.

This rocket type was used for many years, and was the one used for the Mercury space program that launched American astronauts into orbit.


(from: wikipedia - sm-65 atlas)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Richter Magnitude Scale

Flower Hat Jelly

We just learned about the Crystal Jelly.

Another type of Jellyfish is the Flower Hat Jelly.

These jellies live in the Pacific ocean near Japan and South Korea.
The grownup jellies only live for a few months.

They rest on the bottom of the ocean during the day, then at night they float up to catch their prey, like small fish.
It's bell is mostly clear with a few darker stripes on it.
Around the bell it has tentacles around the rim of their bell that it can use to sting prey.
If a person gets stung by a flower hat jelly they will usually just get a painful rash.

A full grown jelly can grow to be about 6 inches wide.
When they are just starting to grow up, they are usually less than 1 inch wide.




(from: wikipedia - flower hat jelly)


Welcoming Flower-hat Jellies! - Tennessee Aquarium


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Coconut Octopus

Fungiform Papillae

We just learned about the Filiform Papillae.

Another type of lingual papillae is the Fungiform Papillae.

Remember the lingual papillae are the bumps on the top of your tongue, and there are a few different types.

The fungiform papillae are shaped like a club, and are usually red.
They are mixed in along with all of the filiform papillae, but they are mostly found on the tip and sides of the tongue.

These bumps have taste buds, and can sense the five different tastes: sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami.



(from: wikipedia - lingual papillae)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Knee Ligaments

Castillo de Colomares

We just learned about the Chillon Castle.

Another famous castle is Castillo de Colomares, in Benalmádena, Spain in 1987 by an American doctor named Dr Esteban Martín Martín.

This is actually a monument, not really a castle.
It was built to honor the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus.

At a size of 1,500 square meters it is the largest monument to Christopher Columbus, but it also has a tiny church inside that is only 1.96 square meters.

It was made in a way to try and look like some of the different building and castle styles from when Columbus made his journey.
There are also parts of the monument shaped like a boat, for the trip he made across the ocean.






(from: wikipedia - castillo de colomares)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Zacatecas

Decian Persecution

We just learned about the Antilegomena.

Another part of early Christian history is the Decian Persecution.

In the year 250 AD, there was a Roman emperor named Decius.
Persecution means being treated badly, usually because of something you believe in.

He did not believe in Jesus and did not want anyone to worship anyone else except for mythological Roman gods like Jupiter.
So he made it a law that everyone in the country had to make a sacrifice to the Roman gods.
If they would not do it, they would be killed.

There were even some people that the emperor liked very much that were killed.
Mercurius was a soldier in the Roman army who helped Decius win battles, but was a Christian and refused to make sacrifices to Roman idols.

Even though Decius liked Mercurius, he still had him killed.
Many Christians had to go into hiding during this time to survive, and many were killed because of this persecution.


(from: wikipedia - decian persecution)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: James son of Alpheus

Elephanta Caves

We just learned about the Ellora - Jain Caves.

Another work of ancient Indian art is the Elephanta Caves.

Just like the Ellora caves, these are caves with ancient carvings going back to before 200 AD.
There are many caves with many different statues, and some statues that are over 20 feet tall.

Most of the caves have Hindu sculptures, and the entrances to the caves all have columns with special carvings on them.
There are more than a dozen sculpted walls in these caves, each telling a different Hindu story, and the whole cave area covers over 60,000 square feet.

The caves get their name from a giant elephant sculpture that was found at the site.





(from: wikipedia - elephanta caves)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Bimaran Casket