Sunday, November 26, 2017

Bruno of Cologne


We just learned about Benedict of Nursia who wrote The Rule of Saint Benedict.

Another famous monk is Bruno of Cologne.

Bruno started off as a leader in the church, but then decided that he wanted to live like a hermit, or a heremitic monk.


(from: wikipedia - bruno of cologne)

He started a monastery in the Chartreuse mountains in France with a couple of other monks living separately in log cabins.


(from: wikipedia - grande chartreuse)

His monastery became very famous and lasted a long time, and the monks there started a group called the Carthusian Order, with rules for how everyone should live, and a motto "The Cross is steady while the world is turning"


(from: wikipedia - carthusians)

Hundreds of years later, the Chartreuse monastery made a special type of drink called Chartreuse, that is green and yellow.
This drink was so well known for its green-yellow color, that the word chartreuse is now the name for a green-yellow color.

(from: wikipedia - chartreuse (liqueur))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Rebekah

Saturday, November 25, 2017

Tomb of the countess of Celles - Kessels


We just learned about the sculpture The Prinzessinengruppe by Johann Gottfried Schadow.

Another famous neoclassical sculpture is the Tomb of the countess of Celles by Dutch artist Mathieu Kessels, in Rome 1828.

Kessels was born in the Netherlands, and traveled to Paris France and St. Petersburg Russia to learn how to be a sculptor.

Later he moved to Rome Italy, and met the famous artist Bertel Thorwaldsen, who became his teacher and helped him become a very good and famous artist.

This sculpture was made for a tomb of a famous Countess, showing her lying down as an angel comes to take her to heaven.


(from: wikipedia - mathieu kessels)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Muiredach's High Cross

Friday, November 24, 2017

Greek - Do you speak Greek?


Remember that to say please or you're welcome in Greek, you say Παρακαλώ (Parakaló).

To ask if someone speaks Greek, you say Μιλατε ελληνικα? (Milate ellinika?).

It sounds like mee-lah-tay ay-lee-nee-kah  

In the Greek language, the word for Greek comes from the story of Helen, the father of all of the famous rulers of Greece.
Other languages like English call it Greek, because of some other tribes of people that have lived in the area, that called themselves Greek.


To say yes you would say Ναί (Naí) which sounds like nay  

or to say no you would say Οχι (ochi) which sounds like oh-xhee  

Yes and no can be tough for English speakers to remember, because Ναί (Yes) sounds like no, and Οχι (No) sounds kind of like OK.


The letters for these new words are:

Μ (Mu) ι (iota) λ (lambda) α (alpha) τ (tau) ε (epsilon) ε (epsilon) λ (lambda) λ (lambda) η (eta) ν (nu) ι (iota) κ (kappa) α (alpha)?
Ν (Nu) α (alpha) ί (iota)
Ο (Omicron) χ (Chi) ι (iota)

center for the greek language
(from: wikipedia - center for the greek language)

ASL: Do you speak ASL?

Italian: Parli italiano?

German: Sprechen Sie Deutsch?

Spanish: ¿Hablas español?

French: parlez-vous français?

Thursday, November 23, 2017

Intraplate Earthquake


We just learned about the Interplate Earthquake where two plates bump into each other and cause an earthquake.

Another type of earthquake is an Intraplate Earthquake.

This is when an earthquake happens in the middle of a tectonic plate, not near the edges.
Because this isn't by a fault line or border of the plate, scientists are not really sure why these happen, and they do a lot of research to see if there is a hidden fault line somewhere they did not know about.


(from: wikipedia - intraplate earthquake)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Sponge Iron

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Japanese Tree Frog


We just learned about the African Dwarf Frog.

Another type of frog is the Japanese Tree Frog.

This frog lives in Japan, Korea, China and Russia.
They sometimes live in rice paddies and on rice leaves.

When the Japanese person Toyohiro Akiyama went to a space station called Mir in 1990, he took some of these frogs into outer space with him.

These frogs have figured out a special way to call out to each other without interrupting other frogs.
Scientists have used this to come up with better ways to use wifi networks.


(from: wikipedia - japanese tree frog)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Snakes Forked Tongue

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Costoxiphoid Ligaments


We just learned about the Superior Costotransverse Ligament that connects your spine to your ribs.

Another piece of connective tissue in the body is the Costoxiphoid Ligaments.

These are ligaments that connect the rib, sometimes named the "costo" to the xiphoid process in the middle of the chest.


(from: wikipedia - costoxiphoid ligaments)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lumbar Plexus

Monday, November 20, 2017

Guerrero


We just learned about the Mexico State of Chihuahua, the biggest state in Mexico.

Another Mexico State is Guerrero.

This state was named after the second president of Mexico, Vicente Guerrero, and is the only state named after a Mexican president.

It is on the southwest part of Mexico, on the Pacific Ocean.

(from: wikipedia - geurrero)

The coat of arms of Guerrero is a blue shield with a tiger knight on it, who is wearing a battle suit with a jaguar skin.
In his left hand he has a Mexica shield, and his right hand a weapon called a Maccahuitl, which is a piece of wood with sharp edged stones on it.

(from: wikipedia - geurrero)

The largest city is Acapulco. It is a famous place for people to go to on vacation for it's beaches and sunshine.


(from: wikipedia - acapulco)

There are famous cliff divers in Guerrero, called the La Quebrada cliff divers.
These divers dive into water from cliffs that are 135 feet tall, that's like a 13 story building!


(from: wikipedia - la quebrada cliff divers)

There are large caves called the Grutas de Cacahuamilpa, some of the largest caves in the world, with tunnels and rivers.


(from: wikipedia - grutas de cacahuamilpa national park)

Some of the oldest cave paintings ever found are in Juxtlahuaca. People believe they are about 3,000 years old.

(from: wikipedia - juxtlahuaca)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Chugach Mountains