Turks and Caicos Islands

We just learned about the country of Martinique

Let's learn a little about the country of Turks and Caicos Islands!

This is a territory owned by Britain in the Caribbean Sea, and is southeast of Florida.
There are about 30 islands, with Caicos being the biggest ones and Turks the smaller ones.
They make up about 1,000 square kilometers, and about 57,000 people live there.
The people in this country speak either English, Creole or Spanish.


(from: wikipedia - turks and caicos islands)

The flag of Turks and Caicos Islands has a blue background, with the British flag on the top left, and the coat of arms of Turks and Caicos on the right.
The coat of arms has a yellow shield with a conch shell, lobster and Melocactus.

The Melocactus that is found on the island has a red top that looks like a Turkish hat called a fez, which is where the island got the name Turks.


(from: wikipedia - flag of the turks and caicos islands)

To eat in this country you might have conch fritters.


(from: wikipedia - turks and caicos islands)

Visiting this country you might go to one of the beautiful beaches on the island, like Columbus Landfall Beach, which was named this because some people think this is where Columbus first landed when he crossed the ocean.

(from: wikipedia - turks and caicos islands)

There is a statue of the Friendship 7 spacecraft on the island, because after it went into outer space, it came down and splashed into the ocean right next to the Turks and Caicos islands and was brought to the island.

(from: wikipedia - turks and caicos islands)


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Up on the Housetop

We just learned about the Christmas Song Here Comes Santa Claus.

Another famous Christmas song is Up on the Housetop.

This song was writen in America by Benjamin Hanby in 1864.
It is the oldest Christmas song that is about Santa Claus.

This song was written right after the book "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" came out, which told the story about Santa landing up on someone's roof with the reindeer.
So people think that Hanby came up with the idea for his song from the story in the book.


(from: wikipedia - up on the housetop)


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The Punishment of Haman - Sistine Chapel - Michelangelo

We've learned about two of the corner stories from Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel paintings: David Slaying Goliath, and The Brazen Serpent.

Another of the corner pictures is The Punishment of Haman.

In the Bible book of Esther chapter 3, a man named Haman is trying to get the king to have all of God's Hebrew people killed.
Esther is the king's wife and she tells the king about it, and Haman is put to the death.


(from: wikipedia - sistine chapel ceiling)


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The chair is small

We just learned that in Hindi this house is big is यह घर बड़ा है (yah ghar bada hai).

Let's learn about more things we see every day.

To say The chair is small, we say कुर्सी छोटी है (kursee chhotee hai).

chair - कुर्सी (kursee) - sounds like k-er-see - 文A

small - छोटी (chhotee) - sounds like ch-hoh-tee - 文A

is - है (hai) - sounds like hay - 文A

So all together कुर्सी छोटी है (kursee chhotee hai) sounds like k-er-see ch-hoh-tee hay.


(from: wikipedia - devanagari)

Swahili: Mwenyekiti ni mdogo

Russian: Стул маленький (Stul malen'kiy)

Norwegian: Stolen er liten

Greek: Η καρέκλα είναι μικρή

ASL: This chair is small

Italian: La sedia è piccolo

German: Der Stuhl ist klein

Spanish: La silla es pequeña

French: La chaise est petit

Operating System

We just learned about the Image Scanner.

Another part of a computer is the Operating System.

A while ago we talked about the difference between computer Hardware and Software.
Hardware is the parts of the computer you can see and touch, and software is what makes the computer work and shows pictures on the monitor.

An Operating System is the main part of a computer software that makes the computer work.
For a laptop this might be Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, Linux, Unix or Chrome OS.
Phones and tablets also have an operating system, like an iPhone runs on iOS, a Samsung or Google phone might runs on Android.

Whatever the operating system is called, it's the one that puts the pictures on the screen, takes in anything you click, tap or swipe, plays any sounds, and listens to any recordings you make.

The Operating System is what makes the computer Operate.


(from: wikipedia - operating system)


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European Badger

We just learned about the Greater Hog Badger.

Another type of badger is the European Badger.

This type of badger has the same kind of fur coloring as the hog badger, honey bader and american badger, but it is the calmest and nicest of all the badgers.
Some people keep this badger as a pet, and during the winter sometimes these badgers will share their homes with foxes or rabbits.

They grow to be about 10 kilograms, and they eat just about anything but prefer small things like bugs and worms.
With their long sharp claws, these badgers are great diggers, and usually make their homes next to a tree so they can scratch to keep them sharp.
Badgers make really big homes underground called setts, that can have 15 different rooms, shared with other members of the badger family.

In Europe there are old legends saying that some ancient families in Ireland were actually shape shifters and could become badgers.


(from: wikipedia - european badger)


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Vomeronasal Cartilage

We've now learned about 4 different types of cartilage in the nose: Septal Nasal Cartilage in the middle, Lateral Nasal Cartilage on the outside upper part, Major Alar Cartilage the big flare out of the nostril, and the Minor Alar Cartilage the bottom of the nostril by the face.

The fifth and last of the nasal cartilages is the Vomeronasal Cartilage.

We leaned a while back that the vomer a bone that is part of your skull, behind your nose and above the roof of your mouth.

The vomeronasal cartilage is between the nose and the vomer, and helps support other parts of the nose that help you smell things.


(from: wikipedia - vomeronasal cartilage)


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