Cam

We just learned about the linear actuator.

Another type of actuator or moving machine is a Cam.

A cam is a disc usually on a rotor that is spinning around.
The disc is mostly shaped like a circle, but it as a part that sticks out like a bump.
The circle disc is called the camp plate, disc cam or radial cam.

When the rotor spins around, that bump part of the cam can push down on something like a shaft or a pole.
Machines can use this to push those shafts down over and over again.
So every time the rotor spins around, it pushes the shaft down and then back up.


(from: wikipedia - cam)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lagari Hasan Çelebi

Tentacles

We just learned about the Oral Arms of a jellyfish.

Another part of a jellyfish is the Tentacles.

These are the arms that hang down from the edge of the big circular bell of the jellyfish.
The tentacles have stingers on them that help them catch prey, and then the oral arms help bring them up to their manubrium mouth.


(from: wikipedia - jellyfish)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Cephalopod Ink

Fibrous Tunic

We just learned about the Aqueous Humour.

Another part of the eye is the Fibrous Tunic.

We learned before about the clear cornea bubble at the front of the eye, and the white sclera that makes the outside white part of the eye.

These two parts together are called the fibrous tunic.
The word tunic is an old word for clothing that people wore long ago.

Sometimes the words cornea and sclera are smushed together and just called the corneosclera.


(from: wikipedia - fibrous tunic of eyeball)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Odontoblast

Dragon's Teeth

We just learned about the Witch Tower.

Another type of fortification is Dragon's Teeth.

Much later than the old times of swords and arrows, one of the most powerful weapons in war was the tank.

Tanks were pretty much just armored cannons on wheels, and could not be destroyed by soldiers or simple guns.
So people made other ways to stop them, like putting giant spikes into the ground that tanks could not drive over.


(from: wikipedia - dragon's teeth (fortification))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Bellver Castle

Saint Patrick

We just learned about Mariology the study of Mary.

Another part of early Christianity is Saint Patrick.

Some time around 430 AD, at the age of 16 a man named Patrick was captured by pirates from the island of Ireland.
He was taken back to Ireland, and was made a slave for 6 years.

Later on he escaped and went back to his home in Britain, and learned to be a Christian.
He knew the people in Ireland were not Christian, so he decided to go back there and tell people about Jesus.

When he went there, some people listened to him and became Christians, and other people did not like him and would put him in jail.
After many years of traveling around Ireland, he helped many people become Christians, and even after he died people still believed and spread the news.

When he died, because he did such a good thing they named him a Saint, so now they call him Saint Patrick.
The day of his death was March 17th, so on that day people celebrate Saint Patrick's day, and his life of service bringing news of God to the people of Ireland.


(from: wikipedia - saint patrick)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Tychicus - Bishop of Colophonia

Montezuma's Headdress

We just learned about the Teocalli of the Sacred War.

Another ancient mesoamerican work of art is Montezuma's Headdress.

This is a crown made of feathers sewn together, and decorated with some gold plates.
It is about 46 inches tall and 69 inches wide.
There are feathers from four birds: the cotinga amabilis, the roseate spoonbill, the squirrel cuckoo, and the quetzal.

Most of the feathers on the headdress are from the quetzal
.

(from: wikipedia - montezuma's headdress)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Kongōrikishi

Russian - Hello and Goodbye

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

Let's try another language now, how about Russian?

This is the language of the people of Russia, where over 250 million people speak the language.
A lot of the other countries near Russia also speak it, like Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, and a bunch of other countries.

Russia uses a different alphabet than English, using letters called Cyrillic.

There are some letters that look and sound almost the same, like A and T.
But there are some that are very different like the letter Я which sounds like "ya" or the letter Ш that sounds like "sh"
Let's learn how to say hello and goodbye in Russian!

There are a few ways to say Hello.

Hi - Привет (privet) - Sounds like p-dee-v-yet
This is like saying Hi to your friends.

Hello - Здравствуй (Zdravstvuy) - Sounds like z-d-rah-v-st-voo-ee
This is like saying hello to a grownup, or someone you are meeting for the first time.

There are a few ways to say Goodbye also.

Bye - Пока (poka) - Sounds like pah-kah
This is just like saying bye to your friends.

Good Bye - до свидания (do svidaniya) - Sounds like dah s-vee-dah-n-yah
This is like saying goodbye to people you don't know really well, or to grownups to show respect.


(from: wikipedia - russian academy of sciences)

Norwegian: Hei, Hallo, Ha det, Ha det brah

Greek: Γειά σου (Geiá sou), Χαίρετε (Chairete), Αντίο (Antío)

ASL: Hello and Goodbye

Italian: Ciao, arrivederci

German: Hallo, Auf Wiedersehen

Spanish: Hola! Adiós!

French: Bonjour! Au Revoir!