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Looking at the World Upside Down
Have you seen trapeze artists hanging upside down from bars in a circus? They do it with great concentration. Bats also hang upside down from cave walls or tree branches. And they do not need to put in any effort to do so. For they hang upside down only when they are resting. They use their legs to hold on to some cracks or crevices on walls or branches of trees. This way, their stretched muscles take the entire weight of the body....
World's Largest Blanket
Val Stone, a Devon, UK,-based pensioner has made the world’s largest crocheted blanket and plans to sell it to raise money for a cancer fund. Stone, a leukaemia patient, has spent 11 years making the blanket, which is larger than a tennis court. The blanket measures about 24 metres by 8 metres when stretched out and weighs about 90 kilograms. World’s Largest Blanket [Illustration by Shinod AP] She hopes to raise £3,000 (Rs....
Why do Dogs and Cats Eat Grass?
Cats and dogs sometimes eat grass or leaves. Have you ever wondered why these non-vegetarians should be interested in vegetarian food? A dog eating grass It has been found that dogs and cats use certain kinds of grass and leaves as medicine. So, if you find your pet cat is nibbling grass, it might be ill. But, not always. It is possible that the cat has discovered some deficiency in its body....
Scales for Safety
When you go swimming in the river, you are told to be careful about the rocks, as you may bruise yourself if you hit against them. But, fish swim in the water all the time. Through cracks and crevices in rocks inside the water, and between the branches of thorny water plants. They do not get bruised so easily. And its not because their parents had given them sound advice. They don’t have to. They know the little fish are safe....
English and Indlish
July 15: Students are often rebuked for using what is known as ‘Indian English’ words. Perhaps these teachers need to know that many Indian words have actually become a part of an Oxford Dictionary. The Asian Age newspaper reported that the Oxford Advance Learner’s Dictionary of Correct English has a section on Indian English. The section has 2,500 words The fifth edition of the dictionary was released recently. Words like bandicoot, bungalow, jungle, chit, cushy, juggernaut are commonly known....
Road of Jute
You must have seen jute rugs, jute dolls, even jute clothes. But, have you seen, or even heard of jute roads? A research centre in Calcutta, the National Institute of Research on Jute and Allied Fibre Technology (NIRJAFT), is planning to make a road with jute. It will be 24 kilometres long. Road of Jute [Illustration by Nitin Vishwakarma] The scientists at the centre say the road will be stronger than normal roads....
Rat Menace
August 12: About 26 people in Mumbai and nearby Thane died recently due to a strange fever. Initially the doctors in Mumbai were unsure which disease had afflicted these people, because no tests were conducted to find out the nature of the fever. Most patients had avoided getting the test done because it cost a lot of money (Rs. 750) and they did not see why they should spend so much money for what appeared to be just an ordinary fever....
Are Fish Dumb?
There was a time when people thought that fish were dumb creatures. Until they invented machines which could detect sounds under water. And guess what these machines heard? A string of grunts, clicks, thumps and other kinds of sounds. It was the fish doing a lot of underwater talking! It seems that they have a lot to talk about, for each sound has a different meaning. There is a kind of fish called the croaker. They actually croak like a frog!...
Microbes begin Deforestation
May 19: The conifer trees on the hills of Himachal Pradesh may soon become history. No, they are not being cut by humans. This time, it is the turn of microbes to go on a rampage. Insects, fungi and various kinds of insects are eating into the deodar, pine and kail trees of Chopal and the stretch that lies between Sundernagar and Jhenjheli, Suket division in Mandi and at Bharari and Mashobra in Shimla. The trees are drying up due to this....
The Gardener Bird
Look at this nest. Doesn’t it remind you of a hut? It is built by a bird with an appropriate name. It is called the gardener bird. It works hard at building its house and decorating it. The Gardener Bird [Illustration by Shridevi R.] And, after building the house, it makes a garden around it. The gardener bird likes colourful objects. So, its house is always surrounded with colourful flowers and shells....