Tonsils

We just learned about the Parotid Gland.

Another part of the mouth is the Tonsils.

Usually when people talk about tonsils they mean the two lumps at the back of the throat.
There is one on the left and one on the right.

The big long name for these is the palatine tonsils or faucial tonsils.

There are actually three types of tonsils:
- Palatine tonsils - At the back of the throat
- Tubal tonsils - Behind the throat and almost back by the ear
- Adenoids, also called the pharyngeal tonsil or nasopharyngeal tonsil - Up the back of the throat and behind the nose

These tonsils have special tissues in them that help fight against sickness and germs.


(from: wikipedia - palatine tonsil)



(from: wikipedia - tobal tonsil)



(from: wikipedia - adenoid)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Supernumary Teeth

Butter Churn Tower

We just learned about the Outworks.

Another type of a castle part is the Butter Churn Tower.

This is a tower that has an upper and lower defensive wall.

It gets its name because it looks kind of like a butter churn.


(from: wikipedia - butter-churn tower)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Mehrangarh

Christianity in Armenia

We just learned about the First Council of Nicea where people met to talk about what the truth was about Jesus.

Another part of early Christianity was Christianity in Armenia.

In the year 301 there was a religious person named Gregory the Illuminator who grew up learning about Christianity.
When he was older he talked to the King of Armenia named Tiridates III about Christianity, and the King decided to become Christian too.

Gregory baptised Tiridates III, and then the King decided to make Christianity the official religion in the country of Armenia.



(from: wikipedia - gregory the illuminator)



(from: wikipedia - tiridates iii of armenia)



(from: wikipedia - tiridates iii of armenia)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Stachys - Bishop of Byzantium

Obelisk of Axum

We just learned about the Akan Goldweights used as measurements for gold, and to tell stories.

Another ancient African sculpture is the Obelisk of Axum, made some time around 300 AD in Ethiopia.

A very long time ago in Ethiopia when important people died, they would build towers above where they were buried.
The town of Axum where this tower was built has earthquakes sometimes, so most of the towers like this fell down and broke.

During a war, people from another country took this giant obelisk as a war trophy, and then about 50 years later it was finally brought back to Ethiopia and put back together.

The obelisk has carvings of doors and windows on it, and it is also sometimes called a stele or hawelt/hawelti.


(from: wikipedia - obelisk of axum)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Li Gui

Norwegian - Counting to Twenty Nine

We counted to 20 in Norwegian, let's keep going!

21 tjueen - sounds like choo-eh eh-ah-n
22 tjueto - sounds likechoo-eh toh
23 tjue-tre - sounds like choo-eh t-deh
24 tjuefire - sounds like choo-eh fee-dah
25 tjuefem - sounds like choo-eh fem
26 tjueseks - sounds like choo-eh seh-ks
27 tjuesju - sounds like choo-eh shoo
28 tjue åtte - sounds like choo-eh aw-teh
29 tjue ni - sounds like ni choo-eh nee


(from: wikipedia - norwegian language)

Greek: είκοσι ένα (eíkosi éna), είκοσι δύο (eíkosi dýo), είκοσι τρεις (eíkosi treis), είκοσι τέσσερις (eíkosi tésseris), είκοσι πέντε (eíkosi pénte), είκοσι έξι (eíkosi éxi), είκοσι επτά (eíkosi eptá), είκοσι οκτώ (eíkosi októ), είκοσι εννέα (eíkosi ennéa)

ASL: twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine

Italian: ventuno, ventidue, ventitré, ventiquattro, venticinque, ventisei, ventisette, ventotto, ventinove

German: einundzwanzig, zweiundzwanzig, dreiundzwanzig, vierundzwanzig, fünfundzwanzig, sechsundzwanzig, siebenundzwanzig, achtundzwanzig, neunundzwanzig

Spanish: veintiún, veintidós, veintitrés, veinticuatro, veinticinco, veintiséis, veintisiete, veintiocho, veintinueve

French: vingt et un, vingt-deux, vingt-trois, vingt-quatre, vingt-cinc, vingt-six, vingt-sept, vingt-huit, vingt-neuf

Gear

We just learned about the Motor or engine that makes things move.

One very important part of most engines is the Gear.

Gears are wheels that have teeth on the end, and usually a hole in the middle.
The teeth on the end can match up with other gears that also have teeth.
So when one gear moves, it also turns the other gear.

If there is a big wide gear that is moving very slow, it can be hooked to a small gear that will spin very fast.
Or it can be hooked to a gear that is sideways, to change the direction of the movement.

Gears are in everything from car motors to clocks to bicycles.
Pretty much everything with moving parts uses at least one gear to help control the movement made by the energy!

The teeth on gears are called "cogs", and gears are sometimes called cogwheels.
Sometimes people will even refer to themselves as a "cog in the machine" meaning that they are just one part of a bigger machine that makes things work.



(from: wikipedia - gear)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Rockets - Star Tracker

Portuguese Man o' War

We just learned about the Blue Button hydrozoan that looks like a jellyfish.

Another animal that looks like a jellyfish but isn't, is the Portuguese Man o' War, also called the pyhsalia physalis or blue bottle.

Just like the blue button, this is a hydrozoan.
The Man o' War has a very powerful venomous sting, and can kill fish or even humans!

They live on top of the water, floating along the surface with the stingers underneath.
The blowing wind and moving water moves these animals along, as they don't have any way to swim.

Sometimes the tentacles of these animals will fall off and go floating off in the water, but they can still sting someone.
Even if these animals float up onto a beach they can still sting.

Usually a sting from the man o' war is like a mark from a whip, and can sometimes cause people to have trouble breathing.

Because they are so dangerous, usually if they are found on a beach it will be closed until they go away.



(from: wikipedia - portuguese man o' war)


Portuguese Man-of-War | World's Weirdest - Nat Geo WILD

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