Red-Shanked Douc

We just learned about the Maroon Leaf Monkey.

Another type of Old World Monkey is the Red-Shanked Douc.

This monkey lives only in Vietnam, Laos or Cambodia.

They spend most of their lives in the trees, and only sometimes come down to the ground for water.
Since they live in the trees they are great jumpers, and can jump up to 20 feet!
Red-Shanked Doucs grow to about 2 feet long, with a tail about 2 and 1/2 feet long, and they can weigh up to 24 pounds.

These monkeys are one of the most colorful of all monkeys, and have been called the queen of primates because of their colors.
Their fur has many different colors, like red, orange, yellow, brown, black, and grey.
They have red legs, grey and white arms, black hands and feet, and a yellow face with blue eyelids and white whiskers.

For food these monkeys mostly only eat leaves, and when they digest those leaves in their stomachs it makes a lot of gas, so these monkeys are known to burp a lot!



(from: wikipedia - red-shanked douc)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Caracal

Antihelix

We just learned about the Helix.

So we now about the outer ear, which has a part called the auricle or pinna, which has a part called the helix.

Another part of the auricle is the Antihelix.

The antihelix is the bump that sticks out on your ear that is sort of "Y" shaped.


(from: wikipedia - antihelix)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Far Sightedness

Kuwait

We just learned about the country of North Korea

Let's learn a little about the country of Kuwait!

Kuwait is a small country in the middle east that borders Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the Persian Gulf.
People in Kuwait speak the Arabic language.

It is about 6,800 square miles, and over 4 million people live there.
Even though many people live in Kuwait, only about 1 million of the people living there are actually citizens of Kuwait.
The other 3 million are people who are from other countries, that have come to Kuwait to work.


(from: wikipedia - kuwait)

The flag of Kuwait is a black trapezoid on the left, next to sideways stripes of green, white and red.
Black is for the winning battles, green is for the land, white is for purity, and red is for the blood of warriors who died fighting for Kuwait.

There are lots of shapes on other flags like diamonds, circles and stars, but Kuwait is the only flag with a trapezoid on it.


(from: wikipedia - flag of kuwait)

To eat in Kuwait you might have Balaleet, which is a breakfast made with sugar, cardamom, rose water, saffron noodles and eggs.

(from: wikipedia - balaleet)

Visiting Kuwait you might go to Sea City, which is a city in Kuwait that was built by digging canals into the ground to make a fake shoreline where 250,000 people built houses on the water, without being right on the persian gulf.

(from: wikipedia - sabah al ahmad sea city)

In Kuwait they have the largest dhow ever built, called the Al-Hashemi-II.
A dhow is a type of sailing ship, and this one is 274 feet long.


(from: wikipedia - al-hashemi-ii)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Subglacial Lakes

Blessed Assurance

We just learned about the All Hail the Power of Jesus Name.

Another famous hymn is Blessed Assurance, written by Fanny Crosby and Phoebe Knapp in 1873.

Phoebe and Fanny were working together in the church one day, and Phoebe played a tune on the piano.
She asked Fanny what it should be called, and right away she said Blessed assurance; Jesus is mine, which became the first words of the hymn.

Phoebe wrote music for over 500 hymns through her life.
Fanny was blind ever since she was a baby, and she wrote over 8,000 hymns and was sometimes called the Queen of Gospel Song Writers.

She was well known throughout America, and also wrote songs about the Civil War supporting the Union, as she liked Abraham Lincoln and wantd to get rid of slavery.

In 1843 when she was trying to get better education for blind people, she went and talked to the Senate to ask for help.
This was long before women were allowed to be part of the Senate, and in 1843 she was the first woman to speak to the US Senate.


(from: wikipedia - fanny crosby)

(from: wikipedia - phoebe knapp)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Basilica of Saint-Denis

Truncated Pyramid Room - Bruce Nauman

We just learned about the sculpture Tower by Sol Lewitt.

Another Truncated Pyramid Room by Bruce Nauman, made in Germany in 1982.


(from: wikipedia - bruce nauman)

This is a 24 foot high sculpture that is shaped like part of a pyramid with the top cut ouff and the insides open.
The pyramid is all black, and has some yellow lights shining on it at night.

Bruce Nauman was born in 1941 in Indiana, and studied art at the University of California.

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: George Washington as President - Alexander Stirling Calder

Swahili - November, December

We already learned that January, February is Januari, Februari, March, April is Machi, Aprili,
May, June is Mei, Juni,
July, August is Julai, Agosti,
and September, October is Septemba, Oktoba.

Let's keep going!

November - Novemba - sounds like noh-veh-m-bah 文A

December - Desemba - sounds like day-say-m-bah 文A



(from: wikipedia - swahili language)


Russian: ноябрь (noyabr'), декабрь (dekabr')

Norwegian: November, December

Greek: Νοέμβριος (Noémvrios), Δεκέμβριος (Dekémvrios)

ASL: November, December

Italian: Novembre, Dicembre

German: November, Dezember

Spanish: Noviembre, Diciembre

French: Novembre, Décembre

Car Battery

We just learned about the Manual Transmission.

Another part of a car is the Car Battery.

This is a rechargable battery in the car that helps start the car and run other electrical things in the car like lights and radios.

When the car is running, the alternator charges up the battery.

Sometimes a car battery can run out of power.
This can happen if the alternator isn't working, or if someone leaves a light on in the car and the battery all gets used up.

If this happens, the battery has two metal posts on it called terminals.
You can hook those terminals up to another car's battery, and use that electricity to recharge your battery.


(from: wikipedia - automotive battery)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Salamanca