Bonfire of the Vanities

We just learned about Christianity in the New World.

Another part of early Christianity is the Bonfire of the Vanities.

In 1497 one of the church leaders named Friar Girolamo Savonarola said that there were a lot of things out there that might make people sin, and he wanted to get rid of them.

Some of these things were like mirrors, makeup or pretty dresses that might make someone be vain, or think about wanting to be pretty instead of thinking about God.

Other things were like paintings, games, musical instruments or books.

He thought they were bad because if someone played a game, sang a song or read a book and it wasn't about God then it must be bad and should be destroyed.

So he made a big fire and had thousands of these things burned up.
Some things were just owned by people who lived in the town, but other things were famous paintings and sculptures that were destroyed by this fire.


(from: wikipedia - bonfire of the vanities)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Christianity in Britain

Bearing Witness - Martin Puryear

We just learned about the sculpture of Students Aspire by Elizabeth Catlett.

Another famous American sculpture is Bearing Witness by Martin Puryear made in 1998 in Washington D.C.

This sulpture is 40 feet tall and weighs 20,000 pounds.
It is made out of sheets of bronze metal, wrapped on a steel sculpture underneath to hold it up.

Puryear was famous for sculpting abstract art.
He liked to use big shapes and simple things like metal to make sculptures taht could really stand out.

He grew up in Washington D.C, went to college for art, and then went into the peace Corps and traveled to Sierra Leone and Sweden where he learned some other kinds of art.


(from: wikipedia - martin puryear)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Statue of Freedom by Thomas Crawford

Swahili - One, two, three, four, five

We just learned that dog and cat in Swahili is mbwa and paka

Let's count to five in Swahili!

1 moja - sounds like moh-jah 文A
2 mbili - sounds like m-bee-lee 文A
3 tatu - sounds like tah-too 文A
4 nne - sounds like n-nay 文A
5 tano - sounds like tah-no 文A



(from: wikipedia - swahili language)


Russian: раз (raz), два (dva), три (tri), четыре (chetyre), пять (pyat')

Norwegian: en, to, tre, fire, fem

Greek: ένα (éna), δύο (dýo), τρία (tría), τέσσερα (téssera), πέντε (pénte)

ASL: One, two, three, four, five

Italian: uno, due, tre, quattro, cinque

German: Ein, zwei, drei, veir, fünf

Spanish: Uno, dos, tres, quatro, cinco

French: Un, deaux, trois, quatre, cinq

Brake Hose

We just learned about the locomotive Headlight.

Another part of a steam locomotive is the Brake Hose.

Remember we learned before that when the engineer wants to stop the train he pulls a lever that uses the high pressure air brakes to push the brake shoe and stop the train.

When a train has a lot of passenger or supply cars behind the main engine, they can have brake shoes to help slow them down too.

The high pressure air brakes have tubes that go from car to car to bring the air pressure that closes the brake shoes to slow down the train.


(from: wikipedia - gladhand connector)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Valve Disc

Chantilly-Tiffany

We just learned about the Bengal Cat.

Another type of cat is the Chantilly-Tiffany.

This type of cat has a long full coat with soft and silky fur.
They have golden eyes that get brighter as they get older.

These cats usually are in a chocolate brown color, but they can also be blue, light brown or even tabby.


(from: wikipedia - chantilly-tiffany)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Ocelli

Spleen

We just learned about the Basophil.

Another part of the lymphatic system is the Spleen.

This is a small organ about 3 inches long in the upper left part of the body, behind the stomach.

The spleen has a few jobs: - Remove old red blood cells that aren't good anymore
- Keep some extra blood in case of bleeding
- Recycles iron from old blood back into the body
- Fights bacteria and viruses using lymphocytes


(from: wikipedia - spleen)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Cone Cells

Bosnia and Herzegovina

We just learned about the country of Belarus

Let's learn a little about the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina, also called BiH, B&H, Bosnia–Herzegovina, or sometimes just Bosnia.

This country is bordered by Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, and the Adriatic Sea.
It is about 20,000 square miles, and about 3 million people live there.

(from: wikipedia - bosnia and herzegovina)

The flag for Bosnia and Herzegovina is blue, with a yellow triangle and white stars.
The colors are for neutrality, peace and for Bosnian culture and history.

The triangle is for the three different types of people living there, Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs.


(from: wikipedia - flag of bosnia and herzegovina)

To eat in BiH you might have ćevapi, which is grilled meat with fruit and spices in it, and usually some bread.

(from: wikipedia - ćevapi)

Stari Most is a very old bridge in the town of Mostar, that was built in the 1500s.

(from: wikipedia - stari most)

Sarajevo is the biggest city in BiH, and has many famous old buildings and neighborhoods.
One of the most famous moments in history was in this city when someone assassinated the Archduke Ferdinand, which many people say was what started World War I.


(from: wikipedia - sarajevo)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: West Antarctica