Thursday, September 22, 2016

Drawing Down


We just learned about the Slack Tub.

Another thing a blacksmith does is called Drawing Down.

If a blacksmith wants to make some metal thinner, they can hit the metal sideways with the peen hammers or fuller that we've learned about and try and keep it the same width but make it longer.

If you think of the metal like clay, and you tried to push the clay out the long way to make it thinner, that is what the blacksmith is doing with the hammer and the metal when they are drawing.

After they have spread it out with the peen hammer or fuller, they use the flat part of the hammer with the anvil to flatten out any bumps they may have made in the metal.


(from: wikipedia - blacksmith)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Snow Roller

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Black Headed Python


We just learned about the Reticulated Python.

Another type of snake is the black headed python.

This snake lives mostly in Australia, and can grow to be 11 feet long.

They have brown and black stripes, and a black head.
These snakes are not venomous, and they almost never bite so a lot of people have them as pets.


(from: wikipedia - aspidites melanocephalus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Beagle

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Thoracic Nerves


We just learned about the Cervical Nerves in your neck.

The spinal nerves in your upper back are called the Thoracic Nerves.

There are 12 of these nerves, numbered T1 through T12.
They help control and talk to the organs in your chest, back and stomach area.


(from: wikipedia - posterior branches of thoracic nerves)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Iliac Veins

Monday, September 19, 2016

Tian Shan Mountains


We just learned about the Hengduan Mountains.

The next largest mountain range is the Tian Shan Mountains in China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

The name means sky, or heaven.

It is one of the longest mountain ranges, and was made when the earth shifted and crashed the Indian and Eurasian earth land plates together.

The glaciers on top of the mountains have been getting smaller, and have lost over 5 billion tons of ice in the last 50 years.

(from: wikipedia - tian shan)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Wyoming

Sunday, September 18, 2016

Elemental Symbols


We just learned about the Shamrock.

Another Christian symbol is the symbol for fire or water.

Sometimes just pictures of dripping water are meant to show baptism, or pictures of fire are for when the holy spirit came down on the apostles at pentecost.


(from: wikipedia - christian symbolism)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Paul's Letter to the Phillipians

Saturday, September 17, 2016

Gemma Augustea


We just learned about the sculpture the Campana Reliefs.

Another ancient Roman sculpture is the Gemma Augustea.

This is a sculpture made out of a type of gem stone called Arabian onyx.
This type of stone has both black and white colors in it, and the gem was cut until there was white on top and black in the background.
When a stone is carved like this it is called a Cameo.

The sculptor then carved out a picture of Ceasar Augustus, surrounded by mythical Roman gods on the top row, and a bunch of workers putting up a trophy on the bottom row.

The artist was Dioscurides, who was a famous gem cutting sculptor for Caesar Augustus thousands of years ago.


(from: wikipedia - gemma augustea)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Fruit Dish on Checkered Tablecloth - Gris

Friday, September 16, 2016

Italian - One Hundred


We counted to 99 in Italian, let's keep going!

100 cento - sounds like sen-toh /?/
101 centuno - sounds like sen-too-noh /?/
102 centodue - sounds like sen-toh-doo-ay /?/
103 centotre - sounds like sen-toh-t-day /?/
104 centoquattro - sounds like sen-toh-koo-ah-t-doh /?/
105 centocinque - sounds like sen-toh-chee-n-koo-ay /?/
106 centosei - sounds like sen-toh-say-ee /?/
107 centosette - sounds like sen-toh-say-tay /?/
108 sentotto - sounds like sen-toh-toh /?/
109 sentonove - sounds like sen-toh-noh-vay /?/


Goethe Institute
(from: wikipedia - Goethe Institute)


German:
: einhundert, einhunderteins, einhundertzwei, einhundertdrei, einhundertvier, einhundertfünf, einhundertsechs, einhundertsieben, einhundertacht, einhundertneun

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

French:
cent, cent, cent deux, cent trois, cent quatre, cent cinq, cent six, cent sept, cent huit