Category 2 Hurricane

We just learned about the Category 1 Hurricane.

The next level of damage on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale is the Category 2 Hurricane - Extremely dangerous winds will cause extensive damage.

These hurricanes have winds between 96 and 110 mph.

These will cause damage to roofing, uproot or snap trees, destroy mobile homes and cause power outages.


(from: wikipedia - hurricane juan)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Hail

Emerald Tree Boa

We just learned about the Green Tree Python.

Another type of snake is the Emerald Tree Boa.
This snake looks and acts a lot like the Green Tree Python, but they are from totally different parts of the world, and they are not the same snake.

The Emerald Tree Boa is from South America, and the Green Tree Python is from Indonesia and Australia.

They both live in trees, grow to about the same size, attack their prey by wrapping their bodies around them, and they even coil themselves up in trees the same way.

If you found one of these snakes in the wild, it would be really tough to tell which type it was!

A few differences are that the Emerald Tree Boa has large fangs and eats birds, and the boa has live snake babies, while the python lays eggs.


(from: wikipedia - emerald tree boa)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Basenji

Parietal Lobe

We just learned about the frontal lobe in the cerebrum part of the brain.

Another lobe in the cerebrum is called the parietal lobe.

This part of the brain is used for your skin and feelings, so when you touch something you can tell if it is soft or hard, smooth or sharp.

The parietal lobe is also used to help understand and speak languages.

And it is used to figure out where you are when you are moving around, which is called spatial awareness. An example of this is when you are in a house you can tell if you are in a smaller room versus a larger room, or if you go upstairs you can figure out which room you are above.


(from: wikipedia - parietal lobe)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Femoral Artery

Lake Issyk-Kul

We just learned about Reindeer Lake in Canada.

The next largest lake is Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan.

This lake is in a mountain range, and even though through the winter the mountains are covered in snow, the water never freezes because there are hot springs feeding the water into the lake.
Hot springs doesn't mean the water is hot though, it just means the temperature is above freezing.
At the warmest part of the year when people go to the beach for swimming, the water is usually from 64 to 73 degrees F.
That's really cold for most people!


(from: wikipedia - issyk-kul)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Nevada

Good Friday

We just learned about Maundy Thursday.

The next special day of Holy Week is Good Friday.

This is the day for remembering when Christ died on the cross.

Some churches will have prayers to remember each part of Jesus' walk to the cross.
Other countries have parades with large crosses and floats to remember what happened.


(from: wikipedia - good friday)

In some places they make hot cross buns, which have frosting of a cross on the top to remember the cross, and spices inside to remember the spices used when Jesus was buried.


(from: wikipedia - hot cross buns)

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jesus' Empty Tomb

Younger Memnon

We just learned about Nefertiti Bust sculpture.

Another ancient sculpture is the Younger Memnon statue.
This is the sculpture of an ancient Egyptian Pharaoh named Ramesses II or Ramesses the Great, and it is over 8 feet tall and 6 feet wide.
The statue used to have a lower body and legs, but they were broken.

This statue used to stand outside a large temple called the Ramesseum, a temple built for the pharaoh.
Rameses II was pharaoh for a long time and had many temples, statues and sculptures built through the time he was a ruler.


(from: wikipedia - younger memnon)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: A Bar at the Folies-Bergère - Manet

Italian - Our table is short

We just learned in Italian their car is tall is La loro auto è alto.

To say our table is short you would say Il nostro tavolo è breve.
We can break it up like this:
Our - Il nostro - sounds like eel noh-st-doh /?/
table - tavolo - sounds like tah-voh-loh /?/
is - è - Sounds like ay /?/
short - breve - Sounds like b-day-vay /?/


So all together Il nostro tavolo è breve sounds like eel noh-st-doh tah-voh-loh ay b-day-vay.


(from: wikipedia - accademia della crusca)

In German:
Unser Tisch ist kurz

In Spanish:
Nuestra mesa es bajo

In French:
Notre table est courte