Hedgehog

Hedgehogs look kind of like tiny little porcupines.

And just like porcupines, they have poky hairs on their back (called spines) made of keratin.

Their spines don't come out like a porcupine's quills, they are just sharp.


(from: wikipedia - hedgehog)

Hedgehogs also do a funny thing called anointing.
When they find something with a new smell in the wild,
they will lick and bite that thing, and then spit on their spines.

Scientists aren't totally sure why they do this,
but some think it is so they can hide their smell from other animals that want to eat them!

Calf Muscle

We just learned about the Quadriceps muscle.

The muscle on your leg below your knee is called your Triceps Surae muscle,
but most people just call it your Calf Muscle.

You are using your calf muscle when you move your ankle.

(from: wikipedia - triceps surae muscle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Thoracic Cage

Austria

Let's keep learning about the countries in Europe!

Last time we learned about Romania.

Next up is Austria.

Austria is a country just East of Italy, and South of Germany.

(from: wikipedia - austria)

For dinner in Austria, you might have a Wiener Schnitzel,
which is a flat piece of meat covered in breading.

(from: wikipedia - austria)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart from Austria was one of the
most famous musical composers to ever live.

(from: wikipedia - wolfgang amadeus mozart)

A family of singers called the von Trapps were very famous through Austria,
and a movie called The Sound of Music was based on their life.


(from: wikipedia - maria von trapp)

Sigmund Freud from Austria is a very famous scientists who studied the way people think,
which is called psychology.


(from: wikipedia - austria)

Matthew

The first books of the New Testament are the four Gospels.
The word gospel means good news, and these books in the bible
all tell about Jesus and the miracles he performed.

The first gospel is the book of Matthew.

In the book of Matthew, he tells of 23 different miracles that Jesus performed.

He healed blind and sick people, walked on water, calmed a wild storm,
and fed thousands of people from just a basket of bread and fish.

He tells of the story of Jesus birth, tells of the wise men visiting baby Jesus.
He also tells of Jesus dying on the cross, and being resurrected three days later.

Matthew started off as a tax collector, but became one of Jesus followers.


(from: wikipedia - saint matthew)

White Dwarf

We've now learned that our Sun is a Yellow Dwarf,
and that after it burns for 10 billion years it will turn into a Red Giant.

After that Red Giant burns for 1 billion years, it will turn into a white dwarf

A White Dwarf is much smaller than a Red Giant or Yellow Dwarf, but very thick.

The big star Sirius A has a very small neighbor Sirius B that is a white dwarf.

It's measurements are:
stellar classification: A1 (white)
luminosity class: V (main sequence, or dwarf)

So we can call it an A1V star, or a white dwarf.

If you look in the picture of Sirius A, you can see a very small white dot
that is the small white dwarf Sirius B.

(from: wikipedia - white dwarf)

French - counting to seventy nine

We just learned how to count to 69 in French, let's keep going!

Seventy is a little different, because instead of a different word for seventy,
you just use the word for sixty (soixante) add ten (dix) and you get soixante-dix!
Seventy one is sixty-eleven, and so on.

70 soixante-dix - sounds like so-ay-sawnt dee /?/
71 soixante et onze - sounds like so-ay-sawnt ay ownz /?/
72 soixante-douze - sounds like so-ay-sawnt dooze /?/
73 soixante-treize - sounds like so-ay-sawnt tuh-ay-z /?/
74 soixante-quatorze - sounds like so-ay-sawnt kay tow-z /?/
75 soixante-quinze - sounds like so-ay-sawnt kay uh-nz/?/
76 soixante-seize - sounds like so-ay-sawnt sez /?/
77 soixante dix sept - sounds like so-ay-sawnt dee set /?/
78 soixante dix huit - sounds like so-ay-sawnt dee oo-ee /?/
79 soixante dix neuf - sounds like so-ay-sawnt dee nef /?/


(from: wikipedia - OIF)

Photons

We just learned about the Diode.

When you turn on a light bulb or use your flashlight, it makes things brighter.

But does light actually have parts?
Is it made up of little bits, or is it just light?

It turns out light is actually made up of something called photons.

Photons have no mass meaning they don't weigh anything like an atom does,
but they do move around and they are tiny little particles!

(from: wikipedia - photon)