Stapes

We just learned about the Malleus and Incus, also called the hammer and anvil.
.

Another bone in the ear is the Stapes also called the stirrup.
This is the smallest bone in the human body, at about 3 millimeters.
It gets the name stirrup because it looks like a stirrup from a saddle used to ride a horse.

Just like the malleus and incus, when these bones move they also move the stapes and it sends the vibrations on toward the inner ear.


(from: wikipedia - stapes)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Eosinophil

Costa Rica

We just learned about the country of Panama

Let's learn a little about the country of Costa Rica!

This is a small country in Central America that borders Nicaragua, Panama, Ecuador, the Pacific Ocean, and the Caribbean Sea.
It is about 19,000 square miles, and has about 5 million people living there.
In Costa Rica they speak Spanish.


(from: wikipedia - costa rica)

The flag of Coast Rica is 5 sideways strips of blue, white and red, with the coat of arms in the red stripe.
Blue is for the sky and opportunities, white is for peace and happiness, red is for blood of the people who fought for freedom.


(from: wikipedia - flag of costa rica)

To eat in Costa Rica you might have casado, which is a meal served with rice, black beans, plantains, salad, a tortilla and meat.
The word casado means "married man", and some people think the name of the meal came from people who went to restaurants and wanted a meal like they would get if they were a married man eating a home cooked meal.


(from: wikipedia - casado)

Visiting Costa Rica you might go see the Poás Volcano National Park.
This park has old volcanoes that are usually not active, and you can walk into the craters and see geysers and lava.


(from: wikipedia - poas volcano national park)

In Costa Rica there was an old ancient group of people called the Diquis, and they made some stone spheres that are still around today that people visit to study the old history.


(from: wikipedia - stone spheres of costa rica)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Azerbaijan

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

We just learned about the Christmas song Joy to the World.

Another famous Christmas song is God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, also called Tidings of Comfort and Joy.

This song is very old, and has been found in song books going back before the year 1700 AD.
No one is really sure who wrote the song, but it became very famous after Charles Dickens had it as part of his book A Christmas Carol, where Ebeneezer Scrooge hears carolers singing this and chases them away.

One interesting thing about this song is that the old meaning of "God rest ye merry gentlemen" really meant something like "May God give rest and happiness to the gentlemen", but now these days we think of it more like "May God give rest to the happy gentlemen".

The difference all came when someone moved the comma in the sentence:
Old: God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
New: God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen


(from: wikipedia - god rest you merry, gentlemen)



Pentatonix - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (Official Video) - Pentatonix


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Italian Renaissance

Michelangelo - Sistine Chapel - The Separation of Land and Water

We just learned about Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel - The Creation of the Sun, Moon, and Plants.

Another famous part of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel is The Separation of Land and Water.

This shows God flying along with his arms stretched out as he separates the land from the water and makes the oceans and continents.


(from: wikipedia - sistine chapel ceiling)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Alice in Wonderland - Jose de Creeft

Hindi - Please, You're Welcome

Remember that to say thank you in Hindi, you say Asante.

To say please in Hindi is कृपया (krpaya) - Sounds like k-ree-pee-ah. 文A

To say you're welcome, you say आपका स्वागत है (aapaka svaagat hai) - Sounds like ah-p-kah s-wah-gah-t hay. 文A




(from: wikipedia - devanagari)

Swahili: tafadhali, karibu

Russian: пожалуйста (pozhaluysta)

Norwegian: Vær så snill, Værsågod

Greek: Παρακαλώ (Parakaló)

ASL: Please, You're Welcome

German: bitte, bitte schön

Spanish: Por favor, de nada

French: s'il vous plait, de rien

Computer Keyboard - Special Keys

We just learned about the Computer Keyboard - Function Keys.

Another bunch of keys on the computer keyboard are the Special Keys.

We know the keyboard has all of the letters of the alphabet on it, but it also has some special keys that aren't used to type letters or numbers.
These special keys can do things like delete letters, move around the place on the monitor where you are typing, scroll up and down, or even do special things like save or quit.
A lot of the special keys have to do with moving the "cursor".
The cursor is the place on the screen that you are currently working at.
Sometimes it looks like this: | and sometimes it is just something highlighted a different color.
You move around your cursor to type words in different places, or to choose different parts of a program on the screen.

On most keyboards these are the special keys and what they can do:

Esc - This key can either leave or stop a program.
Tab - Can either put a big [   ] space in between a sentence, or it can be used to make different choices in other programs or switch programs.
Backspace - This will get rid of one letter to the left of where you were typing.
Insert - This can turn on "type over" meaning typing new letters will take the place of old ones.
Home - This moves the cursor to the beginning of a text line.
Page Up/Down - This scrolls the window up or down.
Delete - This will get rid of one letter to the right of where you were typing, or it can be used to get rid of files or emails or other things the cursor is selecting.
Shift - If you hold down Shift and type, the letters will be ALL CAPITALS.
Caps Lock - This is like using Shift, but you don't have to hold it down for the letters to BE ALL CAPITALS.
Print Screen - This can take a screenshot of what your monitor looks like that you can save in another program.
Scroll Lock - Some programs use this to change the way they scroll up or down.
Pause/Break - Some programs use this to pause.
Num Lock - If your computer has a number pad, turning this on uses numbers, off uses whatever special options are there.
Ctrl - This is a key used with others to do special tasks.
These special tasks work with most programs: Ctrl+A = Select all, Ctrl+B = bold, Ctrl+C = Copy, Ctrl+F = Find, Ctrl+I = italics Ctrl+N = New, Ctrl+O = Open, Ctrl+P = Print, Ctrl+S = Save, Ctrl+U = underline, Ctrl+V = Paste, Ctrl+X = Cut, Ctrl+Z = Undo.
Alt - Use the menus at the top of the program, like Alt+F usually opens the File menu.
[Windows] - The key that looks like 4 boxes is the windows key that opens the menu for programs.
Arrows - Arrow keys help move the cursor around on the page.


(from: wikipedia - computer keyboard)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Superheater

Red-Faced Spider Monkey

We just learned about the Black Howler.

Another type of new world monkey is the Red-Faced Spider Monkey, Guiana spider monkey, or ateles paniscus.

Just like their name says, these monkeys have a bright red face, with black fur on the rest of their bodies.
They live in South America, and spend most of their lives in the trees.

They grow to be about 2 feet long, and weigh about 20 pounds.


(from: wikipedia - red-faced spider monkey)



Baby Red Faced Spider Monkey - Jay the Ram


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Sphynx Cat