Olmec Colossal Heads

We just learned about the Nubian Pyramids in Africa.

Another group of ancient sculptures are the Olmec Colossal Heads.

These are in the states of Veracruz and Tabasco, in Mexico.
They were made thousands of years ago, by the Olmec people who lived in that area long ago.

Archeologists have found 17 different heads built in the area, and all of them, from 4 feet to 11 feet tall.
Because they are so big and heavy, people think that these heads must have been made to honor rulers like kings or queens from those days.



(from: wikipedia - olmec colossal heads)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: He Zun

Norwegian - Counting to Seventy Nine

We counted to 69 in Norwegian, let's keep going!

70 sytti - sounds like seh-tee
71 sytti en - sounds like seh-tee ay-uhn
72 syttito - sounds like seh-tee too
73 syttitre - sounds like seh-tee t-day
74 sytti-fire - sounds like seh-tee fee-dah
75 syttifem - sounds like seh-tee fam
76 syttiseks - sounds like seh-tee seh-ks
77 sytti syv - sounds like seh-tee see-v
78 syttiåtte - sounds like seh-tee oh-tuh
79 syttini - sounds like seh-tee nee


(from: wikipedia - norwegian language)

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

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

Italian: settanta, settantuno, settantadue, settantatre, settantaquattro, settantacinque, settantasei, settantasette, settantotto, settantanove

German: siebzig, einundsiebzig, zweiundsiebzig, dreiundsiebzig, vierundsiebzig, fünfundsiebzig, sechsundsiebzig, siebenundsiebzig, achtundsiebzig, neunundsiebzig

Spanish: setenta, setenta y uno, setenta y dos, setenta y tres, setenta y cuatro, setenta y cinco, setenta y seis, setenta y siete, setenta y ocho, setenta y nueve

French: soixante-dix, soixante et onze, soixante-douze, soixante-treize, soixante-quatorze, soixante-quinze, soixante-seize, soixante dix sept, soixante dix huit, soixante dix neuf

Bearing

We just learned about the Axle.

Another part of machine work is a Bearing.

This is something that lets one part of a wheel spin around without moving another.
Like on a fidget spinner, you can hold the middle of it and the outside will spin around.
Or like a front bicycle wheel, the wheel will spin around the hole in the middle where the front handlebar is attached.

Usually this is done using ball bearings, which are tiny little balls covered in slimy grease.
On the outside is one metal cylinder, then a bunch of ball bearings, and then a smaller inside cylinder.

The outside cylinder can spin while the inside one is stopped, or the other way around.



(from: wikipedia - bearing (mechanical))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Attitude Control

String Jellyfish

We just learned about the Freshwater Jellyfish.

Another type of animal is the String Jellyfish, also called the Barbed Wire Jellyfish, Long Stringy Stingy Thingy, and Apolemia Uvaria.

Just like some other animals, this looks like a jellyfish but it's actually a hydrozoan.

One String Jellyfish is really a whole bunch of little ones all attached together.

This animal can get up to about 10 feet long, and 2 inches wide.
They live like one big long string with pink and white tentacles.
The tentacles are all different animals stuck together on the one big long string in the middle.

These tentacles do have a painful sting but will not kill a person.



(from: wikipedia - apolemia uvaria)


Apolemia uvaria - Gaméou (La Ciotat) - AEGYPT0S

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Humboldt Squid

Eye Color

We just learned about the Iris that opens and closes the pupil.

Another part of the eye is the Eye Color.

The iris we learned about has two parts in it that help make up the eye color.
One is the stroma, and the other is the IPE, which stands for Iris Pigment Epithelium.

That's a lot of big words, but it basically means a bunch of stringy like parts that can have different colors that all blend together to make up your eye color.

The part the really makes a difference is something called melanin.
This is basically like dark paint that your body makes, and the more if it you make the darker your skin, hair and eyes are.

So someone with black hair, dark brown skin and brown eyes has a lot of melanin.
Someone with blond hair, pale skin and blue eyes, has less melanin.


(from: wikipedia - eye color)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Dental Notation - Palmer

Portcullis

We just learned about the Drawbridge.

Another castle fortification is the Portcullis.

This is a big heavy door to a castle that opens and closes by sliding up and down.

It was set into grooves on both walls, and then using ropes, pulleys and cranks it could be raised and lowered.

Because it was set into the walls and was very heavy, it couldn't be shoved open as easy as a normal door.

Some castles would even make two portcullis doors, so they could trap the attackers in between them.



(from: wikipedia - portcullis)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Himeji Castle

Four Great Uncials

We just learned about the Codex Vaticanus, the oldest copy of the Bible ever found.

Another part of early Christianity is the Four Great Uncials.
The word Uncial sounds like "uh-nt-shell" and it means a kind of ancient writing.

Just like the Codex Vaticanus we just learned about, there are three other old writings called Codex that were discovered through the years.

- Codex Vaticanus, written around 300 AD
- Codex Sinaiticus, written around 330 AD
- Codex Alexandrinus, written around 400 AD
- Codex Ephraemi rescriptus, written around 450 AD

These all have the Old Testament and New Testament in them, and because they were found from different parts of the world over a hundred years apart, the Bible historians try to use them to make sure that the Bibles we read are all correct.



(from: wikipedia - great uncial codices)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Asyncritus - bishop of Hyrcania