Asian Golden Cat

We just learned about the Marbled Cat.

Another type of wild cat is the Asian Golden Cat, or the Catopuma temminckii.

This type of cat lives mostly in south India and China.
They are about 4 feet long, and weigh about 35 pounds.

Asian golden cats are golden, brown, or red-brown.
Some even have dark black fur like a panther.

These cats live alone and mostly stay up at night to hunt.
They hunt a lot of different animals, and can even climb trees to hunt birds.

When they want to talk, these cats can hiss, meow, purr or growl just like other cats.



(from: wikipedia - asian golden cat)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Sea Wasp

Myokymia

We just learned about the Rheum.

Another part of the eye is a Myokymia, which is a type of eye spasm where the eyelid twitches.

Sometimes without doing it on purpose the upper or lower eyelid might twitch a little.
It usually goes away after a while, and is usually caused by not getting enough sleep or not drinking enough water.

If it is really bad and doesn't go away for months, then it is called a blepharospasm.


(from: wikipedia - blepharospasm)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Vermillion Border

Antarctic Sea Ice

We just learned about the South Pole.

Another part of Antarctica is the Antarctic Sea Ice.

We've learned before about the big Antarctic Ice Sheet that covers the continent.
And we've learned about the Ice Shelves that stick out from the Ice Sheet above the water.

The ice shelves are very thick, sometimes 1 kilometer deep.
Sea ice is a lot thinner, and is usually only a few meters thick.
Sometimes it is touching the shelf ice, and sometimes it's just floating out in the ocean close to Antarctica.

During the winters in Antarctica, the frozen sea ice goes out very far from the main land of Antarctica, and then in the summer most of it melts back to the ice shelves.



(from: wikipedia - antarctic sea ice)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Barbican

Teutonic Order

We just learned about the Knights Templar.

Another military group in the Catholic church was the Teutonic Order, also called the Order of the Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem.

Just like the Knights Hospitaller and the Knights Templar, these were soldiers who wore armor and worked for the church.

The job of the Teutonic Order was mostly to protect Christians that were traveling to the Holy Land of Jerusalem, and to also help set up some hospitals.

This group is actually still around but the people are not soldiers anymore, they are just a group of people who try to do good things for the world.


(from: wikipedia - teutonic order)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Church of Holy Sepulchre

Johns Hopkins - Hans Schuler

We just learned about the Civil War Memorial by Martin Milmore.

Another famous American work of art is the statue of Johns Hopkins, made in 1935 in Baltimore Maryland by Hans Schuler.

Schuler was born in Germany in 1874, and then came to American when he was young.
He went to art school in Maryland, and then later moved to France to work with some famous sculptors there.

When he was 32, he moved back to Maryland and stayed there for the rest of his life.
He was famous for making public monuments in Baltimore, and was called "Baltimore's Monument Maker".
There are a few cemeteries in town that he made a lot of sculptures for.

When he was 61 he made the statue of Johns Hopkins.
Johns Hopkins was famous for helping build hospitals and schools, and also was famous for fighting against slavery.
This statue of him was placed at Johns Hopkins University.


(from: wikipedia - hans schuler)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Mask for King Obalufon II

Russian - May, June

Let's keep learning about the months of the year in Russian!

We already learned that January, February is Январь (Yanvar'), Февраль (Fevral'), and March, April is Март (Mart), Апрель (Aprel').

Let's keep going!

May - Май (May) - sounds like mah-ee 文A

June - Июнь (Iyun') - sounds like ee-oon 文A



(from: wikipedia - russian academy of sciences)

Norwegian: Mai, Juni

Greek: Μάιος (Máios), Ιούνιος (Ioúnios)

ASL: May, June

Italian: Maggio, Giugno

German: Mai Juni

Spanish: Mayo, Junio

French: Mai, Juin

North River Steamboat

We just learned about the Sun and Planet Gear.

Another part of early machines was the North River Steamboat, also called the Clermont.

After all the pieces were invented to make a working steam engine, people started to try and use them to move things around.

In 1807 in New York, the North River Steamboat was built to take people along the Hudson River from New York City to Albany.

The boat was 142 feet long, and went about 5 miles per hour on the river.
It went about 150 miles, and took about 30 hours to make the trip!
Today in a car that takes about 2 hours, but back then it was a big deal.



(from: wikipedia - north river steamboat)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Forensic Epidemiology