Kongōrikishi

We just learned about the Tamamushi Shrine.

Another type of Japanese sculptures is the Kongōrikishi (金剛力士), also called Niō (仁王).

These are two big mean looking sculptures with big muscles and weapons that were made as guardians for Buddhist temples.

One guard is making the "ah" sound and the other is making an "uhm" sound.
The ah is supposed to be like the first sound you make when you are born, and the uhm is the last sound you make before you die.
So the statues represent all life from birth to death.



(from: wikipedia - nio)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Arc de Triomphe - Cortot

Norwegian - Hello and Goodbye

We've now learned a whole year of Greek!
Wow!

Let's try another language now, how about Norwegian?
This is the language of the people of Norway, and it also is a lot like the languages of Danish and Swedish from the countries of Denmark and Sweden.
The vikings from long ago spoke a language called Old Norse, which later turned into Norwegian, so in a way it's the language of vikings!

Norwegian uses mostly the same alphabet as English, but it has some accents on the letters, like some of the other languages we've learned about.

It has three extra letters that are not in English: Æ, Ø, Å
These are vowels that make sounds like the a in apple, the u in cut or i in girl, or the o in lock or short.

Let's learn how to say hello and goodbye in Norwegian!

There are a few ways to say Hello.

Hi - Hei - Sounds like High
This is like saying Hi to your friends.

Hello - Hallo - Sounds like Hah-loh
This is like saying hello to a grownup, saying hello on the phone, or yelling hello to a friend from far away.

Bye - Ha det - Sounds like Hah-duh
This is just like saying bye to your friends.

Good Bye - Ha det brah - Sounds like Hah duh brah
Usually people just say hah det, but sometimes they say hah det brah, just like usually in English you say bye, but you might say goodbye sometimes.


(from: wikipedia - norwegian language)

Greek: Γειά σου, Χαίρετε, Αντίο

ASL: Hello and Goodbye

Italian: Ciao, arrivederci

German: Hallo, Auf Wiedersehen

Spanish: Hola! Adiós!

French: Bonjour! Au Revoir!

Bellifortis Rockets

We just learned about the Shock Diamond.

For the history of rocket science, the inventions were made either for war, or for fun like fireworks.

There was a book called Bellifortis written by a German scientist named Konrad Kyeser around 1400 AD that talks about rockets.
It says how rockets were being used for war but also for fun like fireworks.

Because there were no pictures back then, some people made drawings of the rockets, but no one knows for sure what they looked like.
In this book there was a drawing of the famous Alexander the Great holding a big rocket.

Konrad's book talks about rockets that were launched in the air, rockets that floated on the water, or rockets that were tied on a string.
These rockets probably all used the solid rocket fuel of gunpowder to launch them along.


(from: wikipedia - bellifortis)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Aftershock

Cephalopod - Funnel

We just learned about the Octopus Gills.

Another part of a cephalopod's body is the Funnel, also sometimes called a siphon.

When a cephalopod like a squid or octopus breathes in, they suck water into their mantle and then push it through their gills.

When they breathe out, they shoot the water out of a tube called a funnel.
They can even use that water shooting out like a little water jet and push their body along under water.


(from: wikipedia - octopus)


Octopus jet siphon system - clarkq


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Mission Golden Eyed Tree Frog

Odontoblast

We just learned about the Tooth Root.

Another part of the tooth is the Odontoblast.

These are the cells inside where the pulp is that help make the dentin part of the tooth.


(from: wikipedia - odontoblast)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Supraspinous Ligament

Palace of Versailles

We just learned about the Chateau de Chantilly.

Another famous castle is the Palace of Versailles, built around 1600 AD.

This was the home of the leaders of France for 100 years until 1789, and is now a museum.

It has many famous rooms inside, like the Hall of Mirrors, the Royal Opera, the Grand Trianon, Petit Trianon, small Hameau and the famous gardens.

It is the second most visited place in France, just after Louvre.







(from: wikipedia - palace of versailles)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Chiapas

Apollos - Bishop of Cæsarea

We just learned about the Sosipater - Bishop of Iconium, one of the seventy disciples.

The next three of the seventy listed were bishops that also lived along with Sosipater in the same area and helped tell people about Jesus:

Tertius - Bishop of Iconium
Erastus - Bishop of Panellas
Quartus - Bishop of Berytus

Another of the seventy was Apollos - Bishop of Cæsarea.

Apollos worked with the Apostle Paul to help tell people about Jesus in Corinth.
Paul talks about Apollos a few times in the Bible as he goes and teaches him about Jesus and how to teach other people.

Apollos became the leader of the church in Corinth, and Paul talks about him in the book of the Bible called Corinthians, which was a letter to the church leaders in the town of Corinth.


(from: wikipedia - apollos)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lavra