210 items in this section. Displaying page 2 of 21
What Is The Origin Of Silk Fabric?
My mother took out her favourite blue silk saree for the dinner party. I looked at it, mesmerised by its shimmer and lustre. The rich fabric draped around her body, making her look so very elegant. Definitely no other fabric can match the qualities of silk. But have you ever wondered, how silk fabric came into existence? Silk production, or ‘Sericulture’ as it is known, has a long history, unknown to most of us. What Is The Origin Of Silk Fabric?...
What is the Mystery of Dracula?
As bats flap through the musty castle, a coffin lid creaks open and an ashy white hand gropes for the cover. The lid slides off and a caped figure rises in the gloom – Dracula is on the prowl! Vampires have enthralled generations of readers and moviegoers; and the most popular ‘vampire’ is the fearsome Count Dracula of Transylvania. Of course, these blood-sucking monsters do not exist and are merely the figment of our imagination....
What Makes the Egg Shell so Strong?
Have you ever wondered why hens don’t break their eggs when they sit on them? The secret lies in the shape of the egg. An egg is a great example of nature’s excellent skills in packing. If you squeeze the ends of an egg between the palms of your hands, it won’t break. However, if you squeeze it in the middle, it pops and creates a terrible mess. If you have seen the way eggs are sold in the market, you would have noticed that they are kept with their ends pointing up and are never left lying horizontally....
Elevator Physics
You get into an elevator (or a lift, as we sometimes call it) and for a second or two, just as the elevator moves down, we feel weightless. On the other hand, if we go up in an elevator, we suddenly feel heavier just as the elevator lurches upwards. To understand this feeling of weightlessness, we need to understand a few basic things first. Mass: The amount of matter that constitues us results in our mass....
Where Did Shoes Come From?
Ooh, aah, ouch! People in ancient times must have yelped like this when they walked on rough ground without any shoes on. And it was probably the pain and discomfort that propelled them to cover their feet for protection. Footwear has a history which goes back many thousands of years, and has long been an article of prestige for people in different societies. Where Did Shoes Come From? [Illustration by Anup Singh] The earliest footwear, probably made of plaited grass or rawhide held to the foot with thongs was undoubtedly born of the necessity to provide some protection when moving over rough terrain in varying weather conditions....
Why doesn't our stomach get digested?
All the food we eat goes into our stomach. Here, it is broken into smaller and simpler substances and get absorbed into the blood. Then, the blood carries these food particles to the different cells of the body, where they are used to provide energy to our body. Why doesn’t our stomach get digested? How is food broken into smaller particles? When we eat, the glands lining the walls of the stomach secrete a thin, strongly acidic, almost colorless liquid, called gastric juice....
Why Do We Have Wrinkly Fingers After Swimming?
You’ve been playing in the pool for almost an hour now, practicing your best underwater somersaults. Now it’s time to get out, and as you look at your hands, it’s . . . it’s . . . it’s the attack of the wrinkly fingered monster! Don’t get frightened or run for cover under your towel yet. After spending lots of time in the water, it’s totally normal for fingers (and sometimes toes) to wrinkle. Why Do We Have Wrinkly Fingers After Swimming?...
What is Artificial Intelligence?
If you touch a hot metal object, you will yank your hand away immediately. When this happens to you the first time, the sequence of events and the result (the burning of your hand) gets stored in your brain. This is what we call an experience. When you see a hot metal object next time, you will not touch it. You will use the knowledge of your previous experience and decide to not repeat it again....
Why is the Dead Sea dead?
The Dead Sea is indeed a very scary name for a lake. It is called so because nothing lives in it. There are no sea weeds or plants, no fish either. This is because the Dead Sea is nearly six times as salty as the ocean. It also contains many other dissolved minerals, including magnesium chloride, calcium chloride and potassium chloride in large quantities. Whereas in fresh water, only minute quantities of these minerals are found....
Why's it hard for Ketchup to flow?
Why is it so tough to get ketchup out of the bottle? Why’s it hard for Ketchup to flow? [Illustration by Shinod AP] When you overturn a sauce bottle that has been left untouched for some time, chances are, either the sauce will not come out at all or a gigantic blob will plop down on your plate. Getting ketchup to ‘flow’ out of the bottle can be quite an ordeal....