Wednesday, October 7, 2020

Calico Cat


We just learned about the Napoleon Cat.

Another type of cat is the Calico Cat.

This type of cat has fur with three different colors, usually white, orange, and black.

There are a bunch of different types of cats that sometimes have this type of fur, like the American Shorthair, the Persian Cat, or the Japanese Bobtail.

Calico is just a way to describe the type of fur a cat has, it is not an actual type of cat like Napoleon Cat.

One interesting thing about these types of cats, is that they are almost always girl cats!
It is very rare for boy cats to have calico three color patched fur.


(from: wikipedia - calico cat)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Manubrium

Tuesday, October 6, 2020

Lymphocyte


We just learned that there are three types of blood cells, white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets.

Let's learn a little more about the white blood cells.
There are 5 different types of white blood cells!

One of the types of white blood cells is called a Lymphocyte.

Remember we learned that lymph is a white liquid carried in the lymph capillaries and then the lymphatic vessels, and the lymph nodes help clean out all the bad stuff in the lymph.

Lymphocytes are types of white blood cells that help fight off bad diseases, and in the white lymph liquid there is more of this type of cell than any of the other ones.

There are 3 different types of lymphocytes: T cells, B cells and NK (natural killer) cells and they each have a different job to help fight the bad diseases that attack the body.


(from: wikipedia - lymphocyte)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Vitreous Body

Monday, October 5, 2020

Alexander Island


We just learned about the Cirque Glacier.

Another part of Antarctica is Alexander Island.

This is the biggest island on Antarctica, and it is the second largest island in the world that no one lives on, just after Devon Island which is up by the north pole.

It is about 240 miles long, and 50 miles wide.
That is bigger than each of the US states of Rhode Island, Deleware, Connecticut, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and Hawaii.

Even though it is an island, most of the time it is connected by ice to the rest of Antarctica, so it doesn't always look like an island.




(from: wikipedia - alexander island)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Trou de Loup

Sunday, October 4, 2020

Avignon Papacy


We just learned about the Mirabilia Descripta.

Another part of early Christianity is the Avignon Papacy.

Remember that there were church leaders in all the different countries called Bishops, and that the Bishop in Rome - Italy was supposed to be the leader of all the other Bishops, called the Pope.

In the early 1300s, the king of France was very powerful, and helped a French person get elected as the Pope.
But to make France more powerful, he wanted him to live in the city of Avignon instead of Rome.

So in 1305 this Pope and the 6 popes after him all lived in Rome and were the heads of all the other churches.
It made the people in the city of Rome angry because they believed they were the most important city, and also having the Pope live in your city means you get a lot of power and money that they didn't get anymore.

After 74 years in 1379 AD the new Pope moved back to Rome.


(from: wikipedia - avignon papacy)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Saint Augustine of Hippo

Saturday, October 3, 2020

Richard Yates - Albin Polasek


We just learned about the Two Circus Women by Nadelman.

Another famous American sculpture is Richard Yates by Albin Polasek made in Springfield Illinois in 1923.

Richard Yates was the Governor of Illinois in 1860.
Before the Civil War he said he did not like slavery, and helped get soldiers to fight with the north in the Civil War against slavery.

Abraham Lincoln was also from Illinois, and he was friends with Richard Yates.

The sculptor Albin Polasek was born in 1879 in the Czech Republic.
When he was 22 years old in 1901 he moved to Pennsylvania to try and get a good job and make money.


(from: wikipedia - albin polasek)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: The Wrestler

Friday, October 2, 2020

Russian - Fruits


We just learned how to say some things to drink in Russian.

Let's learn how to say some fruits.

apple яблоко (yabloko) - sounds like yah-bloh-kah 文A

orange апельсин (apel'sin) - sounds like ah-pel-seen 文A

banana банан (banan) - sounds like bah-nah-n 文A


russian language
(from: wikipedia - russian academy of sciences)

Norwegian: eple, appelsin, banan

Greek: μήλο (mílo), πορτοκάλι (portokáli), μπανάνα (banána)

ASL: apple, orange, banana

Italian: mela, orange, banana

German: Apfel, Orange, Banane

Spanish: manzana, naranja, banana

French: pomme, orange, banane

Thursday, October 1, 2020

Coupling Rod


We just learned about the Brake Shoe.

Another part of a steam locomotive is a Coupling Rod or Side Rod.

When the steam engine uses its power to turn the wheel of a steam locomotive, it is usually only turning one wheel.
That wheel is connected to the other wheels by a big metal rod called the coupling rod.

So when the driving wheel is turned, it makes all the wheels turn and spin at the same speed so it makes the train more stable and gives it more power.


(from: wikipedia - coupling rod)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Air Gap