Edict of Serdica

We just learned about the The Great Persecution.

Another part of early Christianity was the Edict of Serdica.

Remember that in 303 AD the Emperor named Diocletian started the Great Persecution, where Christians were killed and churches were burned down.
Later on a new Emperor took over named Galerius, and in the year 311 AD he decided that they should stop the Great Persecution.

He wrote a letter that was called the Edict of Serdica, which said that they tried to stop Christians from worshipping Jesus and tried to force them to worship Roman gods but it wasn't working.
So they decided to just let Christians worship Jesus, and not try and force them to worship Roman gods anymore.

This was the first time ever in history that rulers of any country made a law saying that it was ok to be a Christian.


(from: wikipedia - edict of serdica)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Nicanor

Chola Nataraja

We just learned about the Ajanta Caves.

Another famous Indian sculpture is the Chola Nataraja.

From around 400 years in India around 800 AD there were kings and rulers known as the Cholas.

These people really tried to improve the buildings and artwork of their country, and build things that would last for a thousand years.

There are many famous bronze statues that were made during this time.
One of the most famous is the Nataraja.

One of the hindu deities is named Shiva, and sometimes they call him Nataraja which means lord of the dance.



(from: wikipedia - chola art and architecture)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Bianzhong of Marquis Yi of Zeng

Norwegian - Our table is short

We just learned that in Norwegian:
This house is big: Dette huset er stort
This chair is small: Stolen er liten
My drink is cold: Min drikke er kald
your food is hot is Maten er varm
and their car is tall is Deres bil er høy

To say our table is short you would say Vårt bord er kort.

Our - Vårt - sounds like voh-rt
table - bord - sounds like boo-r
is - er - Sounds like ay-r
short - kort - Sounds like koh-rt

So all together To say our table is short you would say voh-rt boo-r ay-r koh-rt.


(from: wikipedia - norwegian language)

Greek: Το τραπέζι μας είναι σύντομο (To trapézi mas eínai sýntomo)

ASL: Our table is short

Italian: Il nostro tavolo è breve

German: Unser Tisch ist kurz

Spanish: Nuestra mesa es bajo

French: Notre table est courte

Toxicology

We just learned about the Fingerprints.

Another part of forensic science is Toxicology.

Long ago when someone died and it was a mystery, it was very hard to tell what happened.
If a bad person had killed someone by using poison, there was no good way to prove it so they could be sent to jail.

In 1832, a scientist named James Marsh came up with a test that could be used to show if a poison called arsenic was used to kill someone.
Arsenic did not have a smell or a strong taste, so people would sometimes sneak it into someone's food to poison them.
With the Marsh test, they would take some liquid from the body of the person that was poisioned.
Either some blood, or saliva (or spit) from their mouth, or urine from their bladder.
That liquid would be put into a bottle with some other chemicals, then burned up with some other gases, and then if it left a silvery black stain after being burned, it was proof that arsenic was used.

After Marsh proved to everyone that this test worked, it was used by police all over the world to put people in jail for trying to poison other people!

Because this worked so well, people worked on coming up with other ways to test for chemicals in a person's body.
These days scientists can test hair, blood, saliva, sweat or even food that is in the intestines that was not totally digested yet.

Toxicology helps the police prove what the truth is, using the evidence that is in the body!


(from: wikipedia - marsh test)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Liquid Rocket Propellants

Lion's Mane Jellyfish

We just learned about the Cannonball Jellyfish.

Another type of jellyfish is the Lion's Mane Jellyfish, also called the Giant Jellyfish or the Hair Jelly.

This is the largest type of jellyfish in the world, with the biggest one ever found being over 7 feet wide, and over 120 feet long.
That's taller than a house, and even longer than the blue whale!

Most of these jellies only grow to be about 2 feet wide, and they live in the very cold parts of the pacific ocean.
They swim about 65 feet under the water, and eat very tiny animals.
Other big animals like leatherback sea turtles love to eat these jellyfish for a snack!

They have over a thousand stinging tentacles, but they don't hurt too bad for humans, just the tiny animals they want to eat.




(from: wikipedia - lion's mane jellyfish)


Lion's Mane Jellyfish - Matteo Endrizzi


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Flamboyant Cuttlefish

Fimbriated Fold

We just learned about the Frenulum.

Another part of the mouth is the Fimbriated Fold of the tongue, also sometimes called the Plica Fimbriata.
The word fimbria comes from the latin word for "fringe"
These are two folds of skin on the bottom of the tongue, going front to back on either side of the frenulum.

For most people these just look like lines with bumps going down the tongue, but for some people there are small pieces of skin sticking out longer.


(from: wikipedia - fimbriated fold of tongue)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Transverse Tarsal Ligaments

Zwinger

We just learned about the Enceinte.

Another part of a castle is a Zwinger.

Some castles would have an outside wall and then an inside wall.
The place in between the two walls is called the zwinger.

This was made so that if attackers broke through the outside wall, the people defending the castle would be able to attack them easily in a small space before they could break into the main castle space.



(from: wikipedia - zwinger)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Baja California Sur