Tuesday, September 7, 2021

Eardrum


We just learned about the Vestibule of the Ear.

Another part of the ear is the Eardrum also called the tympanic membrane or myringa.

This is a thin piece of skin and tissue that works almost like a drum.
When sound comes into the ear, the eardrum vibrates.
There are nerves connected to the eardrum, so when it moves it sends signals to the brain telling it that the ear is hearing sounds.


(from: wikipedia - eardrum)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Blood Cell

Monday, September 6, 2021

East Timor


We just learned about the country of Tajikistan

Let's learn a little about the country of East Timor, also called the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste!

This is a small country in Asia, that is just on the eastern half of the island of Timor.
The other half of the island is part of the country of Indonesia.

It is about 6,000 square miles, and has a little over 1 million people living there.
People in this country speak either Portuguese, Tetuma or English.


(from: wikipedia - east timor)

The flag of East Timor has a red background, with a yellow triangle covered by a black triangle, and a white star.
The yellow is for the country's history, the black is for truth, the red is for freedom, and the star is for peace.


(from: wikipedia - flag of east timor)

To eat in East Timor you might have bibinka, which is a kind of coconut cake.


(from: wikipedia - bibingka)

Visiting East Timor you might go see the statue Cristo Rei of Dili, which means Christ the King of Dili.
It is an 88 foot tall sculpture of Jesus standing on a globe, on top of a hill.
Below the statue is a small church, and behind the statue is a beach called Jesus' Backside Beach.




(from: wikipedia - cristo rei of dili)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Valley Glacier

Sunday, September 5, 2021

Silent Night


We just learned about the Lift High the Cross, by Joseph Mohr and Franz Xaver Gruber in 1818 in Austria.

One of the most famous Christmas songs is Silent Night.

The German name for this song is "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht".
Mohr had written the song as a poem, and wanted Gruber to write the music to go with it for a Christmas church service.
A river had flooded the church and the organ didn't work anymore, so Gruber wrote music for the guitar.
It was later written in English in 1859 in New York City.

One time on a Christmas Eve in 1914 when British and German soldiers were at war, both sides stop fighting for one night and sang Silent Night in English or Stille Nacht in German, and went out to meet each other on the battlefield in peace.
It was called the Christmas Truce of 1914.


(from: wikipedia - silent night)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Divine Comedy - Purgatorio

Saturday, September 4, 2021

Codex Arundel


We just learned about Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Atlanticus.

Another one of Leonardo da Vinci's famous books of inventions is the Codex Arundel, written around 1500 AD.

While da Vinci was working on his art, he also took a lot of notes about how the world works.
He was learning about how weights and pulleys worked, how mirrors worked, and even had ideas about the sun and moon.

One of his ideas was to use a curved mirror to take sunlight and use the solar power it to heat up cauldrons.
His book Codex Atlanticus is 283 pages of his writings about how things work.


(from: wikipedia - codex arundel)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Hugo Grotius - C. Paul Jennewein

Friday, September 3, 2021

Swahili - Counting to Ninety Nine


We counted to 89 in Swahili, let's keep going!

90 tisini - sounds like tee-see-nee 文A

91 tisini na moja - sounds like tee-see-nee nah moh-jah 文A

92 tisini na mbili - sounds like tee-see-nee nah m-bee-lee 文A

93 tisini na tatu - sounds like tee-see-nee nah tah-too 文A

94 tisini na nne - sounds like tee-see-nee nah n-nay 文A

95 tisini na tano - sounds like tee-see-nee nah tah-noh 文A

96 tisini na sita - sounds like tee-see-nee nah see-tah 文A

97 tisini na saba - sounds like tee-see-nee nah sah-bah 文A

98 tisini na nane - sounds like tee-see-nee nah nah-nay 文A

99 tisini na tisa - sounds like tee-see-nee nah tee-sah 文A


swahili
(from: wikipedia - swahili language)

Russian: девяносто (devyanosto), девяносто один (devyanosto odin), девяносто два (devyanosto dva), девяносто три (devyanosto tri), девяносто семь (devyanosto sem'), девяносто восемь (devyanosto vosem'), девяносто девять (devyanosto devyat')

Norwegian: nitti, nittien, nittito, nittitre, nittifire, nittifam, nittiseks, nittisyv, nittiåtte, nittini

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

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

Italian: novanta, novantuno, novantadoue, novantatre, novantaquattro, novantacinque, novantasei, novantasette, novantotto, novantanove

German: neunzig, einundneunzig, zweiundneunzig, dreiundneunzig, vierundneunzig, fünfundneunzig, sechsundneunzig, siebenundneunzig, achtundneunzig, neunundneunzig

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

French: quatre-vingts dix, quatre-vingt onze, quatre-vingt douze, quatre-vingt treize, quatre-vingt quatorze, quatre-vingt quinze, quatre-vingt seize, quatre-vingt dix sept, quatre-vingt dix huit, quatre-vingt dix neuf

Thursday, September 2, 2021

Tire Valve Stem


We just learned about the Tire Tread.

Another Tire Valve Stem.

This is the part that sticks out from the side of the tire, that you use to fill it up with air.

In the old days there used to be an inflatable tube inside called an inner tube, kind of like a pool floatie, and the valve stem would be part of that.
Now these days tires don't have an inner tube, so that is just part of the outside of the tire.

When you push down on the little metal post inside the tire it opens up the valve and lets air out, or lets you pump air in.
This type of valve is called a Schrader valve named after the person who invented it.



(from: wikipedia - valve stem)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Air Brakes

Wednesday, September 1, 2021

Tufted Capuchin


We just learned about the Wedge Capped Capuchin.

Another kind of New World Monkey is the Tufted Capuchin also called the brown capuchin, black-capped capuchin, pin monkey, or sapajus apella.

This monkey lisves in South America and the Caribbean islands.
They mostly live in the trees and eat fruits and bugs.
Most of these monkeys will grow to be about 10 pounds and 2 feet long.

Tufted Capuchins are very smart, and have learned how to use tools for food and water.
They know how to take a rock and bang it against a nut to open it, or how to find something like a cup they can use to drink water.
Not many animals know how to do anything like this, so these monkeys are really smart!



(from: wikipedia - tufted capuchin)



Amazingly Intelligent Monkeys | Brazil - Nat Geo WILD


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Chinese Mountain Cat