tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73023006637846172282024-02-08T06:48:56.619-08:00INTERESTING FACTSUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7302300663784617228.post-47369661542884857052010-01-04T10:36:00.000-08:002010-01-04T10:42:22.704-08:00Fast as Lightning<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">The fastest <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">flashes</b> move at 140,000km per second (87,000 miles per seconds) – fast enough to go three times round the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Equator</b> in one second, but of course <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">lightning</b> does not travel that far. The longest flashes of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">lightning</b> are about 30km (19 miles) form cloud to ground.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">If you want to know how far away a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">thunderstorm</b> is, see how many times you count slowly up to five between the flash and rumble. Every group of the five equals a mile. Count in groups of three to get kilometers. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">If you don’t like <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">thunderstorms</b> don’t go near the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Tropics</b>. There are over 3,000 <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">thunderstorms</b> somewhere in the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Tropics</b>, or nearby, every night. <st1:city><st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Bogor</b></st1:place></st1:city> in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Java</b> has thunder on up to 320 nights every year.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Interesting Facts:<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">- The heaviest <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">snowstorm</b> fell on <st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Mount Shasta</b></st1:place> in <st1:state><st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">California</b></st1:place></st1:state>. For six days it never stopped snowing and at the end, the snow was nearly 5m (16ft) deep.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">- In <st1:country-region><st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Britain</b></st1:place></st1:country-region> the <st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Thames</b></st1:place> used to freeze and people held fairs on the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">ice</b>. The last was held in 1814.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7302300663784617228.post-71024615327765884352010-01-02T14:51:00.000-08:002010-01-02T14:54:10.114-08:00A Million People – How Many is that?<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Q:</b> In 1961 in the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">First World War</b> one million men were killed in one <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">battle</b>, the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">battle</b> of the <st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Somme</b></st1:place>. In <st1:country-region><st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Britain</b></st1:place></st1:country-region> in 1992 over three million people were unemployed. Suppose a million people decided to march in rows of four, 1.5m (5ft) apart, form <st1:street><st1:address><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Trafalgar Square</b></st1:address></st1:street> in <st1:city><st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">London</b></st1:place></st1:city>, north to the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">M1</b>, where do you think the front of the column would be when the last people left? Would they reach <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">M1</b> at all? Would they reach <st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">St. Albans</b></st1:place>; 32 km (23 miles) form <st1:city><st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">London</b></st1:place></st1:city>? Or would they get farther?</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">A</b>: The front of the column would have marched 375 km (234 miles) before the millionth person left <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Trafalgar Square</b>. They would have passed through <st1:place>Leeds</st1:place> and be within 6km (4 miles) of <st1:city><st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Richmond</b></st1:place></st1:city> in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">North Yorkshire</b>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Q:</b> An old advertisement began…</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">A million <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">housewives</b> everyday pick up a can of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">beans</b>…if they put all their <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">baked beans</b> together, could they fill a bath tub? 10 bath tubs? A public <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">swimming pool</b>?</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">A:</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Baked beans bonanza</b>: a million cans of baked beans would fill a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">swimming pool</b> 25m by 13.5m to a depth of 1.5m (82ft by 44ft by 5ft)</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Q:</b> If you piled a million <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">soft drink</b> cans on a top of the other, how high would they reach?</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-align:justify;text-indent:-.25in; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">1)<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span>as high as <st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Mount Everest</b></st1:place> (8,848m/ 29,030ft)?</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-align:justify;text-indent:-.25in; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">2)<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span>110km (68 miles) into the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">ionosphere</b> where <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">satellites orbits</b>?</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-align:justify;text-indent:-.25in; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">3)<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span>384,402km (238,867 miles), right to the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Moon</b> itself?</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b>A:</b> the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">soft drink</b> cans would reach 110km (68 miles). Not to the <b>Moon</b> – even the fizziest <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">drink</b> in not that spectacular!</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7302300663784617228.post-74067992678013617592009-12-31T08:58:00.000-08:002009-12-31T08:59:37.711-08:00WARMING UP OR COOLING DOWN?<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Some <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">scientists</b> warn that another <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Ice Age</b> is on the way. In a thousand of years time <st1:country-region><st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Britain</b></st1:place></st1:country-region> and much of northern <st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Europe</b></st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">, </b><st1:country-region><st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">America</b></st1:place></st1:country-region> and <st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Asia</b></st1:place> may be covered with snow and ice all round. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In the meantime the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Earth </b>is getting warmer. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Cars, truck</b>, factories and power stations are polluting the air with <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">carbon dioxide</b>. This gas hangs in the air and forms a warm blanket around the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Earth</b> keeping in the heat. But don’t think the weather will get better as the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Earth</b> warms up. There will be more <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">storms</b>, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Hurricanes</b> and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">droughts</b>. Much of <st1:place>Southern <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Europe</b></st1:place> will become like the <st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Sahara</b></st1:place>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The highest winds are whipped up by <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">tornadoes</b>. In 1958 winds of 450km per hours (280 miles per hour) hit <st1:city><st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Wichita</b> Falls</st1:place></st1:city> in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Taxes, </b><st1:country-region><st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">USA</b></st1:place></st1:country-region>. That is faster than the fastest passenger train and as fast as a racing car.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Tornadoes</b> seldom last more than an hour and move very slowly across the country. Yet in that time they do tremendous damage. In 1925 a tornado killed 700 people in the southern-central <st1:country-region><st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">United States of America</b></st1:place></st1:country-region>. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The world’s worst <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">hurricanes</b> hit <st1:country-region><st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Bangladesh</b></st1:place></st1:country-region> in November 1970. A million people were killed by the floods whipped up by the winds and the rain. </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7302300663784617228.post-70308194214534285992009-12-30T15:51:00.000-08:002009-12-30T15:55:32.348-08:00FACTS INTERESTING ABOUT ATLANTIS<p class="MsoNormal">The Ancient <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Greeks </b>write of an <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">idyllic</b> island called <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Atlantis</b> which disappeared into the sea. Why did it disappear? According to the story, the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">sea God</b> was so angry at how greedy and dishonest the people had become, he shook the island for a day and a night before the sea swamped it forever. Many people have wondered whether <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Atlantis</b> really existed and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">historians</b> think that the legend is based in the <st1:place><st1:placetype>island</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Thera</b></st1:placename></st1:place>, now known as <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Santorini</b>. In 1450 BC a huge volcanic explosion shook the island. Most of the island disappeared beneath the sea and a tidal wave flooded the island round about, probably destroying the Minoan civilization of the nearby island, <st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Crete</b></st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">.</b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">BERMUDA</b></st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"> TRIANGLE</b></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">There is an area in the <st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Caribbean Sea</b></st1:place> known as the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Bermuda Triangle</b>. Many <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">ships</b> and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">planes</b> have mysteriously disappeared here. Is there some <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">supernatural</b> force at work here, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">spiriting</b> people away to another <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">planet </b>or pulling them to their death in the sea below? Although many disappearances are reported to have happen in the calm weather, investigations show that the area is given to sudden storms. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Hurricanes </b>often begin here and it is not surprising that many <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">planes</b> and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">ships</b> have been lost. </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7302300663784617228.post-65368552126452773712009-12-29T09:17:00.000-08:002009-12-29T09:18:38.906-08:00SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">The <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">supernatural</b> seems to hate scientific <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">laboratories</b>. Experiments have been set up with <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">clairvoyants </b>– people who can see things that are going on out their range of vision. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Clairvoyants</b> have been asked to guess what shapes are on hidden cards, but the number of correct answers is not significantly better than those chose by chance. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">But, say the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">clairvoyants</b>, predicting shapes on card has no emotional importance – unlike an impending disaster. The police have used <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">clairvoyants</b> and look for missing people. The difficulty of investigating these <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">facts interesting supernatural</b> phenomena using scientific equipments is illustrated by toci-toci <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">beetles</b>.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">The male <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">beetle</b> attracts a mate by tapping on a stone. He can be heard by females up to 5km (3 miles) away, but no sound can be detected by even the most <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">sensitive microscope</b>. Those who believe in the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">supernatural</b>, might say that just because the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">microphone</b> does not pick up the sound, it does not prove that something is not prove that something is not happening. The scientific might say that the females do not use <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">supernatural </b>powers to detect the male, but hear the sound waves caused by his tapping. </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7302300663784617228.post-74729586239919086442009-12-28T16:23:00.000-08:002009-12-28T16:24:24.066-08:00WHAT ARE TRUFFLES?<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Truffles</b> are an expensive food delicacy used in the very best <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">French pates</b>. They look like large spongy walnuts and grown in the ground. Because they like to eat them, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">pigs</b> are often used to find <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">truffles</b>. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">*what is the difference between rabbits and hares? <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; ">The hare is often mistaken for its cousin, the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">rabbit</b>, yet it is very different. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Hares</b> are larger with long legs; they do not live underground like <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">rabbits</b> and are immune to the disease <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">myxomatosis</b> that kills many <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">rabbits</b>.</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">*what are baby hares called? <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; ">They are called leverets and are born with a full coat of fur.</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">*what is a Tasmanian Devil? <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; ">The fierce animal used to live in <st1:country-region><st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Australia</b></st1:place></st1:country-region>, but is now found in <st1:state><st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Tasmania</b></st1:place></st1:state>. About 1m (40in) long form nose to tail, it only comes out at night. It feeds on small animals, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">birds, lizards </b>and even<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"> wallabies</b> if it can catch them.</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">*what makes bread rise? <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Bread </b>dough is made to rise by the reproduction of minute <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">fungus</b> cells of yeast. Add yeast to a sugar solution and it multiplies rapidly. When flour is kneaded with yeast, water and salt, the yeast generates bubbles of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">carbon dioxide</b> and makes the dough rise, which retains its shape when baked in the hot oven.</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">*what was tulipmania? <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; ">Although still one of the world’s favorite <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">flowers</b>, when it was introduced into <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Europe</b> 400 years ago the tulip caused ‘<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">tulipmania</b>’ Rare bulbs were worth as much as a house particularly in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Holland.</b> <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7302300663784617228.post-11854673726633416432009-12-27T13:54:00.000-08:002009-12-27T13:55:02.813-08:00WAS THE ISAAC NEWTON REALLY HIT ON THE HEAD BY APPLE?<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">The story of this great <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">English Scientist</b> discovering the law of gravity by being hit on the head is not true, although it was an <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">apple</b> that started him thinking about the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">gravity</b> that led to great development in science and the study of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">astronomy</b>. He also invented a reflecting telescope and it was <st1:city><st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Newton</b></st1:place></st1:city> who first realized what causes a glass prism to split light into the color of the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">rainbow</b>, the spectrum. The <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">apple</b> tree which started it all was blown down in 1820.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">*<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Who cooked an Omelette while on a tightrope: </b>The great tightrope <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">walker Blondin</b> performed many daring feats, but one of his strangest was in 1862 at <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">London’s Crystal</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Palace</b>. He carried a 23 kg (50 lb) stove out to the middle of the rope. After lighting it, he cooked an <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">omelette</b>, still balancing himself and the stove high above the crowd.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">* <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Facts interesting about </b><st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Stonehenge</b></st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">: </b>Standing on Salisbury Plain is the greatest relic of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">prehistoric</b> times to be found in <st1:country-region><st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Britain</b></st1:place></st1:country-region>. It is a circle of huge stones, which look like doorways. No one knows who built it or why. It was probably built around 1700 BC and may have been a temple for <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Sun worship</b>. Centuries later it was used by <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Celtic druids</b> for their ceremonies. </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7302300663784617228.post-55668196219700545132009-12-27T03:41:00.000-08:002009-12-27T03:43:05.473-08:00WHAT HAPPEN TO St LUCIA?<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Christmas</b> is <st1:country-region><st1:place>Sweden</st1:place></st1:country-region> begins on December 13, which is <st1:country-region><st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">St Lucia</b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">’s day</b>. Long ago the early <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Christians</b> were persecuted and had to meet in dark underground caves. <st1:country-region><st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">St Lucia</b></st1:place></st1:country-region> risked her life to bring them food. On her head she wore a crown of candles to light her way. One day she was caught by the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Rome Emperor’s</b> soldiers and killed. Today she is remembered each Christmas by young Swedish Girls. They get up early on <st1:country-region><st1:place>St Lucia</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s day, dress as she did to take buns and coffee to their families – who are still in bed!</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">*<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">What does word Advent mean?<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Christians</b> all over the world celebrate Advent during the four weeks before <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Christmas</b>. Advent means ‘arrival’ or ‘coming’, and people prepare for the coming of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Christ</b> on Christmas Eve.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">*<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Facts interesting about Advent Calendar?<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In <st1:country-region><st1:place>Germany</st1:place></st1:country-region> children look forward to opening the 24 numbered doors on this special calendar. Just one door us opened each day to find a small <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Christmas</b> picture inside. The last one is opened on <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Christmas Eve</b>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">*<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">What hits a Pinata?<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In <st1:country-region><st1:place>Mexico</st1:place></st1:country-region> all through the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Christmas</b> festival, children have great fun when they are blind-folded and hit a piñata with a stick. The hallow clay <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">piñata</b> jars are hung above the children’s heads. They hit them with sticks, and when at last the jar splits, sweets and treats spill all over the floor!</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">*<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Who are Julnissen?<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In Scandinavian countries these are little elves that live under the floorboards and in barns. They look after the family and the animals. On <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Christmas Eve</b>, if a bowl of porridge is left for these little fellows, they will come out and hide presents all round the house. If the porridge is forgotten the Julnissen will play tricks on the family all the next year! </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">*Who is Befana?<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In <st1:country-region><st1:place>Italy</st1:place></st1:country-region> children wait for the good <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">witch Befana</b>. She rides over the rooftops astride her broomstick on <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Epiphany Eve </b>or Twelfth Night. She drops gifts for the good children down the Chimney, and a piece of coal for the naughty ones!</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">*What is Epiphany?<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This is <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Christian</b> festival celebrated on January 6<sup>th</sup>, when the three kings arrived in <st1:city><st1:place>Bethlehem</st1:place></st1:city> to bring their gifts to the Christ child. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">*Facts interesting about reindeer?</b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; ">In <st1:country-region><st1:place>America</st1:place></st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region><st1:place>England</st1:place></st1:country-region> and many other countries, Father <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Christians</b> or <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Santa Claus</b> has become the symbol of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Christmas</b> for children. With his white beard and red cloak, carrying a sackful of presents over his shoulder, he travels from North Pole on his sleigh pulled by reindeer. On <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Christmas Eve</b> he rides over the rooftops and climbs down the chimney with gifts for well behaved boys and girls. </span></b></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7302300663784617228.post-15439214511821771722009-12-26T17:27:00.000-08:002009-12-26T17:30:41.816-08:00WHERE DID THE FIRST OLYMPIC GAMES TAKE PLACE?<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">These ancient <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">games</b> were part of a religious event, sacred to the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">God Zeus</b>. They were held every four years on the plain<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"> </b><st1:city><st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Olympia</b></st1:place></st1:city>, at the foot of the <st1:place><st1:placetype><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Mount</b></st1:placetype><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"> </b><st1:placename><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Kronos</b></st1:placename></st1:place> in the <st1:place>Southern Greece</st1:place>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Were the games held in special buildings?<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">On the site at <st1:city><st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Olympia</b></st1:place></st1:city><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"> </b>was a great temple and altar to <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Zeus</b>. Athletic events were held in the stadium, and races for horses and chariots took place in the Hippodrome. There was a wrestling ground by the river, a gymnasium and baths. Ruins of the site can still be seen today.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">How many years did the ancient Olympics last?<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">games</b> lasted for almost 1200 years form 776 BC until AD 393, when the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Christian</b> emperor of <st1:city><st1:place>Rome</st1:place></st1:city>, Theodosius I, abolished them. He said the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">games</b> were pagan!</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Which five events make up the ancient pentathlon?<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Running, jumping, discus, javelin and wrestling.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">What happen to </b><st1:city><st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Olympia</b></st1:place></st1:city><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">?<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Most of the building collapsed during an earthquake 1000 years after they were built.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">How did the ancient competitors dress?<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">They didn’t! Ancient athletes wore no clothes at all when they competed in the events.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Did the Grecian women break any record?<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">None at all! Women were barred form competing in the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">games</b>. Young girls were allowed in as spectators, but wives could be put to <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">death </b>for watching or taking part. All competitors had to be male, of Greek descent and Greek speakers. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">How did the marathon get its name?<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Marathon</b></st1:place> was a town in the ancient <st1:country-region><st1:place>Greece</st1:place></st1:country-region>. In 490 BC a great battle was held there between the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Greeks</b> and the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Persians</b>. News of the Greek victory was taken 26 miles to <st1:city><st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Athens</b></st1:place></st1:city> by a runner named Pheidippides, who fell dead from exhaustion as he entered the city. The <st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Marathon</b></st1:place> commemorates his amazing run.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7302300663784617228.post-58206495893952065162009-12-26T15:00:00.000-08:002009-12-26T15:01:03.219-08:00WHO WAS THE FIRST SANTA CLAUS?<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">Many people believe it was Saint Nicholas. He was the bishop of <st1:city><st1:place>Myra</st1:place></st1:city> in <st1:place>Asia Minor</st1:place> back in the fourth century. One day this kind old man heard of a merchant who was too poor to give his three daughters money to be married. So <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">St Nicholas</b> dropped three bags of gold down the chimney of their house. Next morning the three girls found the bags of gold in their stocking, which they had hung up the night before. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">That is why children in some countries hang up straight hoping that <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Santa Claus</b> will fill those gifts. St Nicholas becomes the patron saint of children, and his feast day is on December 6<sup>th</sup>. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><o:p>What happens on St Nicholas’s Day?</o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; ">In some countries it is a children’s holiday and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">St Nicholas</b> bring his gifts on December 6<sup>th</sup>, three weeks before <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Christmas</b>. Other countries look forward to the visit of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Santa Claus</b> on <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Christmas Eve</b>, but some lucky children receive gifts on both days!</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><o:p><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">How does St Nicholas arrive in </b><st1:city><st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Holland</b></st1:place></st1:city><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">?</b></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">On <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">St Nicholas</b> Eve, December 5<sup>th</sup>, a boat sails into <st1:city><st1:place>Amsterdam</st1:place></st1:city> carrying <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">St Nicholas</b> and his servant Black Peter. Good children get presents, but Black Peter chases the bad ones with his stick! <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Santa Claus</b> comes from sankt Klaus, which was the Dutch name for St Nicholas. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Who leaves shoes by the fireside?</span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; ">On <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Christmas</b> Eve in <st1:country-region><st1:place>France</st1:place></st1:country-region>, children put their shoes by the fireside to be filled with presents by Pere Noel or<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"> Father Christmas</b>. In some parts of <st1:country-region><st1:place>France</st1:place></st1:country-region> they keep a yule log burning for all the 12 days of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Christmas.</b></span></span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0