Romania

Let's keep learning about the countries in Europe!

Romania is located just south of the Ukraine.

(from: wikipedia - romania)

For dinner in Romania you might have a plate of sărmăluţe cu mămăligă, which is stuffed cabbage rolls, with sauerkraut and porridge.

(from: wikipedia - romanian cuisine)

If you've ever heard the story of Dracula the Vampire it's a made up story about vampires,
but there was a real person person named Dracula (he just wasn't really a vampire).
He was a prince in a part of Romania called Transylvania.

(from: wikipedia - vlad dracula)

There is even a castle there that he used to live in, called Bran Castle.

(from: wikipedia - bran castle)

There is a wild and crazy winding road in the mountains called the Transfăgărășan.

(from: wikipedia - romania)

New Testament

We just finished learning about the last books of the Old Testament.

Let's move on to the New Testament. That is the time of Jesus.

The New Testament has 27 different chapters (called Books),
and you can divide those up into five groups:
- The Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)
- Books of History (Acts)
- Pauline Epistles (14 letters written by Paul)
- General Epistles (7 letters written by other people)
- Books of Prophecy (Revelation)

We'll go through each of these and what they all mean.

(from: wikipedia - new testament)

Red Giant

We learned last time that our sun is a Yellow Dwarf
and that it will burn for 10 billion years!

But what happens after that 10 billion years?
Well that's a long long way in the future, but once a Yellow Dwarf star burns up
it grows larger and becomes a Red Giant.

The closest Red Giant star to us is Gamma Crucis, it is 88 light years away.
Let's look at it's star measurements:
stellar classification: M3.5 (red)
luminosity class: III (giant)

So we can call it M3.5 III, or a red giant.

(from: wikipedia - red giant)

Red giants can be 4,000 degrees and 100 times larger than our Sun!
They usually last about 1 billion years.

French - counting to sixty nine

We just learned how to count to 59 in French, let's keep going!

60 soixante - sounds like so-ay-sawnt /?/
61 soixante et un - sounds like so-ay-sawnt ay un /?/
62 soixante-deux - sounds like so-ay-sawn-doo /?/
63 soixante-trois - sounds like so-ay-sawn-twah /?/
64 soixante-quatre - sounds like so-ay-sawn-cat-uh-ah /?/
65 soixante-cinq - sounds like so-ay-sawn-sahnk /?/
66 soixante-six - sounds like so-ay-sawn-see /?/
67 soixante-sept - sounds like so-ay-sawn-set /?/
68 soixante-huix - sounds like so-ay-sawn-soo-ee /?/
69 soixante-neuf - sounds like so-ay-sawnt-nef /?/

Diode

We've now learned about Doping Semiconductors, and how mixing some chemicals into
a semiconductor can turn it into a conductor.

Doped semiconductors can be used to make something called a diode.

A diode is something that you can put electricity through, but it only goes in one direction.
Kind of like pouring water down hill, it can't flow back up.

If you look on a circuit board you will see all sorts of diodes.
They are a very important part of how things like computers work!

(from: wikipedia - diode)

Duck Billed Platypus

We just learned a little about Squirrels.

When scientists first discovered the platypus and tried to tell
other people about it, everyone thought they were joking!

No one thought there could really be an animal with fur and a tail like a beaver's tail,
and also a bill, webbed feet and lays eggs like a duck!


(from: wikipedia - platypus)

Another interesting thing about the platypus is that they have a small claw (also called a spur)
on their back foot that is poisonous!

Gluteus maximus

Let's keep learning about the muscles in the human body!

Last time we learned about the rectus abdominis

Next up is the gluteal muscles.
The muscles on your back side (or your butt) are called your gluteal muscles.
There are three muscles there, the gluteus minimus, gluteus medius and gluteus maximus.

Sometimes people call those muscles glutes or just talk about the gluteus maximus
since it's the biggest of the three muscles.

You use those muscles when you lift your leg up and down,
or bend your body backwards.

(from: wikipedia - gluteal muscles)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Back Bone