210 items in this section. Displaying page 17 of 21
How Did Santa Claus Originate?
Its nearly midnight and with a jingle of bells a sled comes streaking from the north, pulled of course by Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer. Sitting in the sled is a jolly round red robed figure with flowing white beard and a bag slung over his shoulder that lands on the rooftop with a merry ho-ho-ho. Hey! Its Christmas and its Santa Claus. If you’ve been nice, he slides down the chimney and loads up little stockings hung there with lots of toys and goodies....
What is the Rubik's Cube?
My nephew Akshay was a brat. No two ways about it. When he was not occupied with dismantling everything that moved, ticked, or clicked he would be engaged in stuffing an icecube down your shirt when you were busy working on whatever it is that didn’t involve him. After a lot of thought, my uncle and I decided to purchase something that would rack his brains till kingdom come. We scouted the market for all sorts of things and luckily we came to a shop that sold a colourful cube – the Rubik’s cube....
How do Houseflies Spread Diseases?
The housefly (musca domestica) is one of the most common of all insects. It is a major health hazard, particularly in parts of the world where sanitary conditions are poor. The housefly has a dull gray, bristled body that is about 7 mm in length. It has large reddish compound eyes. Its mouth cannot bite but consists of a spongy pad. It has a peculiar system of feeding itself. At first it releases saliva and digestive juices over food and then sponges up the resulting solution....
What is Daylight Saving Time?
People in some parts of the world gain an extra hour in winters and are able to sleep and snore that much longer thanks to a suggestion by Benjamin Franklin about daylight saving time. But when the suggestion was first made, it raised such a furore not only from those kept awake by the extra snoring but also from others and they wasted a lot of time fighting over this extra hour. Actually the confusion began when the postal service and the railways began to connect far-flung cities....
How does the Army Post Office System Work?
It’s the one thing every soldier away from home looks forward to: mail. So everyday it is ‘Hey, Mister Postman, look and see, if there is a letter for me’? For a solider in his outpost, the letter from a loved one is his most cherished and valued document, read and re-read a million times till the next one arrives. The soldiers in the Indian defence forces are from every nook and cranny of India – from Kashmir in the North to Kanyakumari in the South from Tawang in the state of Arunachal Pradesh in the East, to Porbandar in the State of Gujarat in the West....
What is Blood Pressure?
The heart is a live pump that delivers blood to different parts of the body. Blood flows in or flows out when the heart contracts and expands. The blood is forced into the arteries, which expand to receive the oncoming blood. The force with which the blood moves through the arteries is knows as blood pressure. The arteries have a muscular lining which resists this pressure. The blood is thus squeezed out into smaller blood vessels....
What is a Tsunami?
Last year there were three more fishing villages in the Pacific island country of Papua New Guinea than there are today. You might ask why. The answer is that these three villages were washed away by an ocean wave that was more like a giant wall of water. It goes by the name tsunami, a Japanese term meaning a harbour wave. Ocean that Becomes a Giant Wall [Illustrations by Kusum Chamoli] A tsunami is caused by a disturbance in the sea floor, just like the disturbances on land....
Cigarette Packs that Talk
Cigarette smoking is injurious to health – everyone knows that. Well, till a few decades ago, people were unaware that smoking could cause lung and heart diseases and cigarette packs never had a warning on them, like they do now. In recent years, research has shown that smoking is dangerous and it has now been made compulsory for all cigarette manufacturers to have what is known as, a ‘statutory warning’ printed on the cover. It states that ‘cigarette smoking is injurious to health’....
Which Insects Live the Longest?
Take a look around. Which insects do you see? A fly sitting on your computer screen, a mosquito buzzing in your ear just as you drop off to sleep, a butterfly flitting about in the garden outside, or how about the ants that made off with the remains of a dead moth? Most of the insects we see around us have rather short lives. A few hours, a few days, that’s about how long most insects last....
Why is it Harder to Walk Uphill?
Raju heard the familiar cry of the ice-cream seller reach his ears, clear as a bell, even from his fourth floor apartment. He flew out of the flat and bounded down the stairs four steps at a time. The lift being under temporary repair, he had to take the stairs. He arrived downstairs a little breathless, and extremely impatient to have his ice-cream. After buying it, he decided to rush home so he could eat it in peace....