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)


(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?

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

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

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

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

Benedict of Nursia

We just learned about the Mar Saba, the monastery in Bethlehem.

Another monk from history is Benedict of Nursia.

Saint Benedict helped set up 12 different monasteries throughout Italy.

He also wrote a very famous book called The Rule of Saint Benedict.

This was a long book that gave instructions for how monks should live together.
It has everything from what they should eat, how they should work, where they should sleep, and how they should act toward each other and the people in the community.

One of the most important rules for monks was to be humble, and they had 12 rules for how to be humble:

"(1) Fear God, (2) Subordinate one's will to the will of God; (3) Be obedient to one's superior; (4) Be patient amid hardships; (5) Confess one's sins; (6) Accept the meanest of tasks, and hold oneself as a "worthless workman"; (7) Consider oneself "inferior to all"; (8) Follow examples set by superiors; (9) Do not speak until spoken to; (10) Do not readily laugh; (11) Speak simply and modestly; and (12) Express one's inward humility through bodily posture."


(from: wikipedia - benedict of nursia)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Isaac

The Prinzessinengruppe - Schadow

We just learned about the Axel Oxenstierna and History by Swedish sculptor Johan Tobias Sergel in 1772 in Stockholm Sweden.

Another famous sculpture is The Prinzessinengruppe, a statue of the famous Princess Friederica and her sister Louise, sculpted by German artist Johann Gottfried Schadow, in Berlin, 1797.

These two sisters were very beautiful and charming, and they went on to marry brothers that were Frederick and Louis.
Frederica married Louis, and Louise married Frederick.
The sculpture is called Prinzessinengruppe, which means princess group.

Their children went on to be kings, queens, emperors and empresses of many countries like Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, Germany, Russia and Poland.

Louise was also the Great, Great, Great, Great Grandmother of the famous Anastasia from the stories from Russia.


(from: wikipedia - johann gottfried schadow)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Aberlemno Sculptured Stones