Ross Gyre

We just learned about the Weddell Gyre.

Another gyre in Antarctica is the Ross Gyre.

This one is just like the Weddel Gyre, but it is in the Ross Sea which is on the other side of the Antarctic Peninsula from the Weddell Sea.


(from: wikipedia - ross gyre)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Portcullis

Medieval Inquisition

We just learned about the Dominican Order.

Another part of early Christianity was the Medieval Inquisition.

We've learned that orthodoxy is what the church says you are supposed to do, and heresy is what the church says you are not supposed to do.

Long ago in many states and countries it was against the law to do or say something that was heresy.
If you were caught, the king or lord of the land would have a trial, and if you were found guilty you could be killed.

The church leaders decided that the kings and lords shouldn't be in charge of those trials, because they didn't know the laws that well.
They also wanted to try and give people the chance to learn what they did wrong and stop being heretics instead of being killed.

The church would send people from the Dominican or Franciscan order as judges to rule on trials as to whether the person was really bad or if they were just confused and needed to learn the right orthodox way to believe.
These trials were called Inquisitions.

For a while the Inquisitions were peaceful and did not allow anyone to be hurt. They were actually better than trials from the kings or lords where people were hurt and killed a lot more.

But as time went on the Inquisitions changed, and the Dominican and Franciscan leaders started to hurt people during the trials, to try and force them to admit that they had done something bad and were heretics.



(from: wikipedia - medieval inquisition)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Four Great Uncials

Alexander Macomb - Adolph Alexander Weinman

We just learned about the Nebraska State Capitol - The Sower - Lee Lawrie.

Another famous American statue is the sculpture of Alexander Macomb made by Adolph Alexander Weinman in Detroit Michigan in 1908.

Alexander Macomb was born in Detroit and went on to be the commander of the US Army.
In Michigan the area called Macomb County was named after him.

The artist Weinman was from Germany and moved to the US to live in New York when he was 14.
He spent most of his life working on buildings as an architectural sculptor, but also did some statues like this one in Detroit.


(from: wikipedia - adolph alexander weinman)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Nubian Pyramids

Russian - Counting to Sixty Nine

We counted to 59 in Russian, let's keep going!

60 шестьдесят (shest'desyat) - sounds like sheh-st-deh-s-yah-t 文A

61 шестьдесят один (shest'desyat odin) - sounds like sheh-st-deh-s-yah-t oh-dee-n 文A

62 шестьдесят два (shest'desyat dva) - sounds like sheh-st-deh-s-yah-t d-vah 文A

63 шестьдесят три (shest'desyat tri) - sounds like sheh-st-deh-s-yah-t t-dee 文A

64 шестьдесят четыре (shest'desyat chetyre) - sounds like sheh-st-deh-s-yah-t cheh-tee-dee 文A

65 шестьдесят пять (shest'desyat pyat') - sounds like sheh-st-deh-s-yah-t pee-yah-t 文A

66 шестьдесят шесть (shest'desyat shest') - sounds like sheh-st-deh-s-yah-t sheh-s-t 文A

67 шестьдесят семь (shest'desyat sem') - sounds like sheh-st-deh-s-yah-t seh-m 文A

68 шестьдесят восемь (shest'desyat vosem') - sounds like sheh-st-deh-s-yah-t voh-seh-m 文A

69 шестьдесят девять (shest'desyat devyat') - sounds like sheh-st-deh-s-yah-t day-v-yah-t 文A



(from: wikipedia - russian academy of sciences)

Norwegian: seksti, sekstien, seksti to, sekstitre, sekstifire, sekstifem, sekstiseks, sekstiju, seksti åtte, sekstini

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

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

Italian: sessanta, sessantuno, sessantadue, sessantatre, sessantaquattro, sessantacinque, sessantasei, sessantasette, sessantotto, sessantanove

German: sechzig, einundsechzig, zweiundsechzig, dreiundsechzig, vierundsechzig, fünfundsechzig, sechsundsechzig, siebenundsechzig, achtundsechzig, neunundsechzig

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

French: soixante, soixante et un, soixante-deux, soixante-trois, soixante-quatre, soixante-cinq, soixante-six, soixante-sept, soixante-huit, soixante-neuf

Johnson Bar

We just learned about the Valve Gear.

Another part of a steam locomotive is the Johnson Bar, also called the reach rod or reversing lever.

This is a lever that is hooked up to the Valve Gear, and is up in the Cab so that the engineer can push or pull on it to control the speed.

No one really knows why it has the name of Johnson Bar!


(from: wikipedia - johnson bar (locomotive))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Axle

Jungle Cat

We just learned about the Flat-Headed Cat.

Another type of wild cat is the Jungle Cat, also called the reed cat or swamp cat.

This cat lives in Asia, and has brown or grey fur.
It is a little over 2 feet long and can weigh up to 35 pounds.

The ears on these cats have a little tuft of black hair, and they have a white mouth.
They have a few dark lines on their front legs.

These cats mostly live in wetlands like swamps or grasslands, which is how it got it's nickname the reed cat or swamp cat.




(from: wikipedia - jungle cat)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Freshwater Jellyfish

Lymphatic Vessel

We just learned about the Lymph Capillary.

Another part of the lymphatic system is the Lymphatic Vessel.

These are like the veins and arteries in the body, but they carry lymph around the body.

The lymph is either brough to something called a lymph node, lymph duct or to a blood vein.

There are two types of lymphatic vessles:
- afferent lymph vessels: Bring lymph to a lymph node
- efferent lymph vessels: Bring lymph away from a lymph node


(from: wikipedia - lymphatic vessel)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Iris