Castillo de Colomares

We just learned about the Chillon Castle.

Another famous castle is Castillo de Colomares, in Benalmádena, Spain in 1987 by an American doctor named Dr Esteban Martín Martín.

This is actually a monument, not really a castle.
It was built to honor the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus.

At a size of 1,500 square meters it is the largest monument to Christopher Columbus, but it also has a tiny church inside that is only 1.96 square meters.

It was made in a way to try and look like some of the different building and castle styles from when Columbus made his journey.
There are also parts of the monument shaped like a boat, for the trip he made across the ocean.






(from: wikipedia - castillo de colomares)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Zacatecas

Decian Persecution

We just learned about the Antilegomena.

Another part of early Christian history is the Decian Persecution.

In the year 250 AD, there was a Roman emperor named Decius.
Persecution means being treated badly, usually because of something you believe in.

He did not believe in Jesus and did not want anyone to worship anyone else except for mythological Roman gods like Jupiter.
So he made it a law that everyone in the country had to make a sacrifice to the Roman gods.
If they would not do it, they would be killed.

There were even some people that the emperor liked very much that were killed.
Mercurius was a soldier in the Roman army who helped Decius win battles, but was a Christian and refused to make sacrifices to Roman idols.

Even though Decius liked Mercurius, he still had him killed.
Many Christians had to go into hiding during this time to survive, and many were killed because of this persecution.


(from: wikipedia - decian persecution)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: James son of Alpheus

Elephanta Caves

We just learned about the Ellora - Jain Caves.

Another work of ancient Indian art is the Elephanta Caves.

Just like the Ellora caves, these are caves with ancient carvings going back to before 200 AD.
There are many caves with many different statues, and some statues that are over 20 feet tall.

Most of the caves have Hindu sculptures, and the entrances to the caves all have columns with special carvings on them.
There are more than a dozen sculpted walls in these caves, each telling a different Hindu story, and the whole cave area covers over 60,000 square feet.

The caves get their name from a giant elephant sculpture that was found at the site.





(from: wikipedia - elephanta caves)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Bimaran Casket

Norwegian - He is angry

We just learned that in Norwegian I am happy is jeg er glad,
and you are sad is Du er lei deg.

Now let's learn how to say He is angry.

Han er sint

He - Han - sounds like han
is - er - sounds like eh-r
angry - sint - Sounds like sih-nt

So all together Han er sint sounds like han eh-r sih-nt.


(from: wikipedia - norwegian language)

Greek: Είναι θυμωμένος

ASL: He is angry

Italian: Lui è arrabbiato

German: Er ist wütend

Spanish: Él está enojado

French: Il est en colère

R-7 Rockets

We just learned about the PGM-11 Redstone.

Another type of rocket from history is the R-7 Rocket.
Sometimes it's called the R-7 Semyorka, because the Russian word for seven is "Семёрка" which sounds like Semyorka.

After World War II when the Russians brought German scientists to work for their country making missiles, they learned a lot about making missiles, and made the R-1, R-2, and R-5 missiles.
Then they sent the Germans home and started making their own missiles.

The Russians made a missile called the R-7, and it was the first "ICBM" missile which stands for "Intercontinental Ballistic Missile".
This means it could be launched from one continent like Europe or Asia, and fly all the way in the air to land on another continent like North America.

For the first time in history, someone could launch a missile from over 5,000 miles away to bomb another city.
Because this was such a scary thing, it pushed the scientists in the USA to try and make their own ICBMs to fight back if they were being bombed from across the Atlantic ocean.

The R-7 rocket was not just used for war, it was used for space exploration.
Sputnik was the first satellite to be launched into space to orbit the earth.
In 1957 the Russians used a type of R-7 rocket to launch it up into space.
This also pushed the other countries of the world like the USA to make rockets for space exploration.



(from: wikipedia - r-7 (rocket family))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Seismogram

Crystal Jelly

We just learned about the Upside Down Jellyfish.

Another type of jellyfish is the Crystal Jelly.

This type of jelly is mostly clear, with lines called radial lines in the bell part of its body called the bell that help it swim.

Around the outside of the bell are small tentacles that it uses to sting its prey, but the sting does not hurt humans.

It's mouth is hanging down in the middle, and this jelly eats very tiny things like plankton or barnacles.

They live mostly in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of California.



(from: wikipedia - aequorea victoria)


Crystal Jellyfish Are Clearly Awesome! - Monterey Bay Aquarium


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: European Squid

Filiform Papillae

We just learned about the Taste Buds.

Another part of the tongue is the Filiform Papillae.

The lingual papillae that we learned about come in a few different shapes and sizes.
One of those is the filiform papillae, which are small and cone shaped, with small threads at the top.

These papillae do not have any taste buds, they are only used by the tongue for feeling, and to give the tongue a rough feeling.

The tongue has more filiform papillae than any other type of papillae.



(from: wikipedia - lingual papillae)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Hip Femur Ligaments