Gangue

We just learned about slag.

The glassy chemicals that the blacksmith tries to remove from the iron ore are called Gangue.

One kind of gangue that is seen a lot is the rock Quartz.


(from: wikipedia - gangue)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Steam Devil

Snake - Fangs

We just learned about the Snake Skull.

Another interesting thing about snakes is their fangs.

Some snakes have fangs that point straight down or almost a little forward, so they can poke people with their fangs.
Other snakes have fangs in the front of their mouth, but they curve backwards, so they can only bite something if they can get it into their mouth, but they will be able to hang on and not lose their bite.
There are even snakes with fangs in the very back of their mouth, so they really aren't able to bite much, but if they have managed to really get a deep bite on their prey they can use their venom.

The snakes fangs are all hollow, and fill up with venom that they get from inside their mouth, just like the saliva or spit that is in a human's mouth.


(from: wikipedia - snake)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Yorkshire Terrier

Enteric Nervous System

We just learned about the Parasympathetic Nervous System.

Another part of the Autonomic Nervous System in the Peripheral Nervous System is the Enteric Nervous System.

This part of the nervous system is mostly in control of the body's digestion.


(from: wikipedia - enteric nervous system)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Heart Valves

Cascade Range

We just learned about the Olympic Mountains in the Pacific Coast Belt of the North American Cordillera.

Another mountain range in the belt is the Cascade Range which goes from British Columbia Canada, through Washington, Oregon and Northern California.

There are a lot of volcanoes in this mountain range, and for the last 200 years all of the volcanoes that have erupted in the lower US states were in the Cascades.

The most famous eruption was Mount St. Helens in 1980.

The famous people Lewis and Clark came through the Cascades mapping their way across the US.




(from: wikipedia - cascade range)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lake Malawi

Joseph

We just learned about the person from the Bible Leah.

Another person from the Bible is Joseph.

Joseph was the favorite of Jacob's 12 sons, and he had given Joseph a nice coat with lots of colors.
His brothers were so jealous of him being the favorite that they kidnapped him and sold him to some travelers.
The traveler went to Egypt, where Joseph worked for him for a long time and did very well.

Joseph helped the Pharaoh of Egypt understand some of his dreams, and the Pharaoh was so happy he made Joseph very powerful, almost like a prince that was more powerful than anyone but the Pharaoh himself.

A great famine came long where no one could grow food in their farms, and Joseph had been wise and saved up food to help people survive.
His family came to visit him, and he gave them food and a new home to stay in so they would be protected from the famine.


(from: wikipedia - joseph (genesis))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jude

Reliquary of St. Maurus

We just learned about the Gloucester Candlestick.

Another ancient sculpture is the Reliquary of St. Maurus.

Just like the Shrine of the Three Kings these are sarcophagi, coffins with people's bones in them.
Inside the silver plated golden covered boxes are the bones of St. Maurus, St. John the Baptist, and St. Timothy.

During World War II, this reliquary was buried underneath a church to protect it from armies that would steal it.

It was buried for around 40 years and forgotten, until someone went looking for it and dug it up.


(from: wikipedia - reliquary of st. maurus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Composition II - Mondrian

ASL - Red, Orange, Yellow

We just learned about the alphabet in ASL.

Now let's learn some colors!

red - Hold up your pointer finger in front of your chin below your mouth, and pull it down two times, almost like you are scratching your chin.

orange - Hold your hand out like a fist in front of and below your mouth, and squeeze it two times, almost like you are squeezing a bottle of orange juice into your mouth.

yellow - Hold up your hand in the finger spelling sign for "Y" and spin your hand two times.

Here is a helpful video showing these signs:

Learn to sign: COLORS in American Sign Language - Meredith ASL




(from: wikipedia - american sign language)

Italian: rosso, arancione, giallo

German: rot, orange, gelb

Spanish: rojo, naranja, amarillo

French: rouge, orange, jaune