210 items in this section. Displaying page 13 of 21
Why do Plants Lean Toward Sunlight?
Plants kept inside a room always grow in the direction of the window. In woodlands where there is a thick canopy of trees and sunlight rarely falls on earth, very few plants survive. Those that do, do not require sunlight to make their food. People have long wondered about this phenomenon until the answer was discovered and explained by the English naturalist Charles Darwin. He demonstrated that the growing shoot of a grass seedling always bends towards light....
How did the Teddy Bear Get Its Name?
It was party time for the 40 giant teddy bears. They had succeeded in achieving what most fashion conscious people in the world would give their right arm and eye for: a party dress made by the most famous couturiers or dress designers on earth. And it was all for a grand auction in the tiny principality of Monaco, in Europe. On October 15, world celebrities, both rich and famous vied to make the highest bid for each of the 40 giant stuffed teddies so that their money could be donated to a charitable cause....
Why Do Knuckles Pop?
Have you ever laced your fingers together and bent your fingers back? If you pressed hard on any bent finger, you would have heard a popping sound? Finger joints produce that loud c-r-a-c-king sound. The sound comes when bubbles in the fluid around the joint burst! Our entire body is made of a skeleton of 206 bones. Bones help in giving shape and support to the body and help us move about. Our bones are not too long otherwise we would not be able to bend or grasp things....
How did the Modern Horse Originate?
Many millions of years ago a fox-like animal roamed across the plains of what is now the American continent. At that time the continents were not even divided as they are today. This animal had four soft toes on its feet like a cat or dog. This animal came to be called the ‘eohippus’ by modern day scientists who discovered skeletal fossils of this specie. Horses running in snow The skeletal remains of this animal had many things in common with the skeletal structure of the modern horse, especially in the structure and distribution of its teeth....
Is Bamboo a Grass!
If you look at a blade of grass and a bamboo tree they remind you of a mouse and an elephant. But unlike those animals, the grass and the bamboo belong to the same family. They are brothers! The bamboo is the largest member of the grass family. It grows in Asia, South America and Africa. It has about 500 different varieties. They all have smooth, hollow jointed stems with a strong watertight partition at each joint....
How do Spiderwebs Help Skydivers?
While dusting the house have you ever cross jhalis (webs) in the corners of the wall? Sometimes you may come across them under table corners or at rarely used places. Yes, the webs are woven by spiders. It’s a nuisance clearing them for just when you manage to remove one sticky web, the spider scurries off to a corner to spin yet another! How do Spiderwebs Help Skydivers? [Illustration by Anup Singh] But before you destroy these webs with a sweep of the broom, here’s some food for thought – you are about to dismantle one of the strongest structures in the natural world!...
Do Some Animals Farm?
We all live the way we do in villages and cities because a long, long time ago, the early humans gave up hunting for farming. They domesticated plant species by cultivation, ploughed the land and harvested the grain. That was the beginning of civilisation as we understand it. But, do you know that certain ant species were actually farming fungus years before humans learnt how to farm? For many millions of years, ants belonging to the attines group were farming and cultivating fungi in their anthill nests....
Why Do we Get Tired?
Sumit was a tireless bundle of energy. He was always up to some mischief or the other. As he grew, to his mother’s relief he became a more relaxed child, and over the years his energy level seems to have come down considerably. However, now he feels tired and fatigued. At times he wonders why he gets so tired so soon when there is so much that he wants to do? What is it in our body that causes fatigue?...
Why do People Kiss Under the Mistletoe?
In millions of homes in Europe and America, a sprig of mistletoe with berries is hung outside the doorway at Christmastime. According to custom, a man is allowed to kiss a girl if she is standing under the mistletoe. Why do People Kiss Under the Mistletoe? Legend has it that when Balder, the son of the Norse goddess Frigga was killed by an arrow made of mistletoe by Loki, an evil spirit, Frigga wept tears of white berries which brought him back to life....
How does a Juggler Juggle?
Yesterday, after seeing a circus show, I made up my mind about a career. I was at home busy throwing an orange in the air with one hand to catch it while the other hand was passing me a second orange. I wanted to juggle oranges the same way a clown juggles balls. I could manage it with two. But my hand started to fumble when it came to the third. The clown we saw yesterday was throwing plates in the air and I knew my mother would kill me if I broke any!...