210 items in this section. Displaying page 10 of 21
How do Animals Camouflage?
Remember the last time you played hide and seek. You hid behind a bush while your friend tried to find you. If you were wearing a green dress, the chance of you being seen was automatically reduced as you could be mistaken for a bunch of leaves. Hide and seek is a very old game and it seems human beings are not the only ones to play it. Small fish use the tactics of the game to hide from bigger ones, while moths and butterflies use them to hide from birds and other attackers....
How Is Jelly Formed?
Had a good dinner? Now how about some cool custard with jelly on the side for dessert? Doesn’t the jelly look inviting, a transparent red-coloured blob sitting pretty on the plate, making you long to dig your spoon into it? Called Jell-O in the United States of America, jelly changes shape with the change in temperature. It stays sets at room temperature, which is between 0 degrees and 20 degree C. Warm it to about 27 degree C and watch it disintegrate into a watery mixture....
Why Don't Spiders Get Caught in Their Webs?
Spiders are not insects but are classified by biologists as arachnids. Arachnids are different from insects as they have eight legs and no antennae. There are over 40,000 species of spiders and some of them build webs while others rely on speed to catch their prey. A spider building its web is extremely fascinating to watch. Some spin these webs by squirting silken threads from modified excretory glands in their body. Each silk gland (some species have up to five) produces a different type of silk....
How Did the Indian Postal Service Start?
Although methods of postal delivery varied from one country to another, it is believed that in India, Emperor Chandragupta Maurya who ruled the country between 321-297 BC, was the first to introduce a form of postal communication to dispatch confidential reports to distant posts in his empire. However, the first recorded mention in history is to be found in the writings of historian Ziadduin Barni. He mentions that Ala-ud-din Khilji of the Delhi Sultanate, who ruled Delhi over 700 years ago, organized a regular horse and foot runner service called harakuras in 1296 AD....
Who is the real McCoy?
Ever heard the expression, is that the “real McCoy?” No, its not the musical group we are talking about. Real McCoy is actually a reference to one of America’s most prolific inventors, Elijah McCoy. McCoy invented and patented all kinds of mechanical things to help them work smoothly, efficiently and safely. Over time, the expression “real McCoy” has been used for anything that means the real thing, the real solution. Elijah McCoy Elijah McCoy was born in 1843 at Colchester, in Ontario, Canada to George and Mildred McCoy....
What Toothpaste did the Ancients Use?
One of my earliest childhood memories of Delhi is seeing morning walkers, milkmen, or shopkeepers chewing away at the neem stick, much like a cow chewing the cud. It seemed strange that they should go to all that effort when readymade toothpaste was available. Neem (Azadirachta indic a) twig still used as toothbrush in many parts of India The world was divided into four kinds of people: those who used toothpaste and brush, and they were the elite; those who used tooth powder for which the index finger doubled as the brush; people who used indigenous “monkey-brand” tooth powders and lastly, those who used neem sticks which were two-in-one....
What is an Orca?
If you have seen the movie Free Willy, you would be able to instantly recognise an Orca. Willy is an Orca or a killer whale. Orcas (Orcinus orca) are mammals classified under the order Cetacea. Though they are called killer whales, they belong to the dolphin family. Like other whales and dolphins, they, too, come up to the surface to take in oxygen. Orcas can be found in all the oceans of the world. Orcas are found in pods which is the collective term for these animals like ‘a gaggle” for geese or ‘school’ for fish....
Where is the Tower of Babel?
The ‘Tower of Babel’ is a structure that is mentioned in the Bible in the Old Testament in Genesis. The Biblical account describes how the descendants of Noe who migrated from Armenia towards Babylon (in Mesopotamia) decided to build a city and a tower whose architectural excellence would make them famous. But, God caused confusion by confounding their tongues, so that they did not understand each other’s speech. Slowly they moved away from that place and they ceased to build the city....
Who Invented the Frisbee?
At first glance in the park or at the beach, you may confuse it for an UFO (unidentified flying object) and rush home thinking the Martians have really landed from outer space! Soon it becomes clear that the “spacecraft” is actually a harmless toy — a colourful Frisbee, and the creature from outer space is the boy next door! Today, almost all of us have seen one or sent a Frisbee gliding through air. We have seen dogs chase it and leap to catch these flying discs....
Do centipedes really have 100 feet?
They are called centipedes because it is believed that they have 100 feet. Actually, they don’t. Of the 3,000 different types of centipedes on our planet, none have 100 feet. Some have 50 and some as much as 350. The extremely venomous Peruvian Giant Yellow-leg or Amazonian Giant Centipede. These eat everything from insects to birds! All centipedes have an odd number of body segments, and each segment has two legs attached to it....