Timor Python

We just learned about the Mandarin Ratsnake.

Another type of snake is the Timor Python.

These snakes are constrictors, and they are not venomous.
They can grow to be 7 feet long, but they are thinner than most pythons.
They live in trees, and mostly hunt at night in the trees.

Even though they are called the Timor Python, none of these snakes live on the island of Timor in Indonesia.
When they lay their eggs, they will stay curled up around them until the eggs hatch.
Sometimes to warm up their bodies they can twitch and contract and that helps keep the eggs warm.


(from: wikipedia - python timoriensis)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Curly Coated Retriever

Intercostal Nerves

We just learned about the Cervical Plexus.

We know that there are 12 thoracic nerves in the spinal cord, T1 - T12.
The first 11 of those, T1 - T11 are called the Intercostal Nerves.

These nerves control your arms, your muscles around your chest and stomach, and the feeling in your skin.


(from: wikipedia - intercostal nerves)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Radial and Ulnar Veins

North American Cordillera

We just learned about the Saint Elias Mountains in Alaska.

Most of the mountain ranges we've learned about have been in Asia, as those are the highest mountains in the world.

In North America, there are mountain ranges that are part of a group of mountain ranges.
The word cordillera means a group of different mountain ranges.

The North American Cordillera is a group of five different areas called belts that all have mountain ranges in them.


(from: wikipedia - north american cordillera)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: US Virgin Islands

Noah

We just learned about Abel.

Adam and Eve had another child named Seth, who had many children.

The Great Great Great Great Great Great Grandson of Seth was Noah.

God told Noah to go build a giant boat called an ark that was 300 cubits long, which is about 1 and a half times as long as a football field.
He told Noah to bring animals on the ark, and then the flood came and flooded everything for 150 days.
After 150 days the waters started to go down, and the ark landed on a mountain.
Noah sent out a dove to go see if there was land.

After 40 days the water had gone down enough, and Noah and his family came out of the ark and built an altar to God.
God was happy, and promised to never flood the earth again.

The Bible tells the story of Noah in Genesis Chapters 5 - 9.


(from: wikipedia - noah)


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Golden Madonna of Essen

We just learned about the Archangel Ivory.

Another ancient statue is the Golden Madonna of Essen.

This is a statue of the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus.
The Virgin Mary is sometimes called the Madonna.

It has a wooden sculpture inside, and is wrapped in gold leaf, which is thin sheets of gold.
The eyes are made from a type of colored glass.

It was made around the year 980, so it is over 2,000 years old.
It is the oldest known sculpture of the the Madonna.


(from: wikipedia - golden madonna of essen)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Le Bal élégant, La Danse à la campagne - Laurencin

ASL - Good Morning

We just learned a few ways to say hello and goodbye in ASL.

Let's learn how to say Good Morning, Good Afternoon, and Good Evening.

To start with, the word "Good" again uses the the "Open Hand" shape we learned about.


(from: wiktionary - appendix:sign language handshapes)

With your fingers pointing up and your palm toward your face, put your fingers on your chin, and then move your hand out forward and down.
That is the sign for Good.

Usually this sign is also done with your left hand out as your "base hand", and your right hand slaps down into your left hand.

For morning, put your left forearm up in front of you in a horizontal line.
Think of this like the horizon that the sun comes up from in the morning.

Take your left hand and put it on near the inside of your right elbow, and then bend your elbow inward, bringing your right hand up and toward your face.

Think of this like your left arm is the horizon, and your right hand is the sun coming up over the horizon.

For afternoon, use your left arm as the horizon again, but touch your left hand to the outside of your elbow by your forearm, and pointing your hand away from your face make a motion like the sun is going down a little.

For evening, your left arm is the horizon, and your right wrist goes onto the back of your left hand, and your hand goes over and down your left arm, almost like you are slam dunking a basketball.
That is the sun going down for evening.

So for each of these times of day, just put the sign for "Good" in front of them, and that is how you say Good Morning, Good Afternoon and Good Evening.

Here is a helpful video showing these signs:


GOOD MORNING, AFTERNOON, NIGHT | ASL - American Sign Language - ASL THAT



(from: wikipedia - american sign language)


Italian:
buongiorno, buon pomeriggio, buonasera, buona notte

German:
Guten Morgen, Guten Tag, Guten Abend, Gute Nacht

Spanish:
Buenos días, buenos tardes, buenas noches

French:
bonjour, bonsoir, bonne nuit

Forge Welding

We just learned about the Punching.

Another thing blacksmiths do is called forge welding.

When a blacksmith has two pieces of metal that they want to stick together, like maybe a handle for a shovel, or a hilt for a sword, they get the two pieces of metal really hot, and then hammer them against each other.

The metal has to be so hot that it is almost melting into a liquid, and then the two metals get joined together.

In ancient times when people would make swords, they would take two types of metal and forge them together.
One type of metal would bend easily but never break, another type of metal would never bend, but could break.
By forge welding them together, they could make a sword that would never bend and never break.


(from: wikipedia - bladesmith)


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