63 items in this section. Displaying page 4 of 7
Why Does Time Start in Greenwich?
Its six in the morning and the sun is streaming through the window of your home in Delhi. In New York, people are just packing up to go home as it is six in the evening! Nothing amazing about it. We know that the earth is round and that it revolves once in 24 hours. So while it is daytime in the east, it is still night in the west. But for ages, people measured time based on the position of the sun – it was noon when the sun was highest in the sky....
Why was the Berlin Wall Built?
A few tentative steps across Checkpoint Charlie and you were transported to a different world. One side had McDonalds, Coke, Toyota cars and a democratically elected government. Across the Checkpoint, was a world of state-owned factories, rows and rows of identical apartments, and a self-imposed government. This was the world of the two Berlins divided by barbed wire, watch dogs, tanks, and an imposing wall. In 1945, following World War II, Germany was divided into two countries – East Germany and West Germany....
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....
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....
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....
Why are Moths Attracted to Light?
Have you seen moths zoom into a flame and die? It looks as if they are pulled by some unseen force. It is an unseen force that attracts the moth — the ultraviolent light in the flame, which is invisible to humans. The moth finds it irresistible. It is driven to the light by its mating instinct. Why are Moths attracted to light? Ultraviolet vision helps moths get together in the dark....
Why do Flies have Compound Eyes?
Just like a man woos the woman he loves, takes her to nice restaurants, buys her presents, and courts her to impress her before marriage, animals too choose their mates through courtship. Since animals cannot do all these, they do it differently. Some animals put up a colourful display, while others give little gifts to their beloved – a choice worm, a designer nest and so on. A few species display their love through a series of grunts and others, like the Saurus crane or the stickleback fish, perform an intricate courtship dance....
Why do Aircrafts Have a Black Box?
Often, after an air disaster, we hear about the black box in the news. The black box does not play any part in making an aircraft fly but it serves an important function. It is basically an electronic device used by investigators to discover the cause of a crash and may be, prevent others. Why do Aircrafts Have a Black Box? [Illustration by Shiju George] The black box can be inserted or removed from an aircraft....
Why were the 1904 Olympics Such a Disaster?
The 2000 Summer Olympics at Sydney were a millennium extravaganza unparalelled in the history of the Games. Techno-wizardry was at its best and the spectacular pageantry and the actual Games thrilled millions of viewers worldwide. Hosting the Games is big business. What the host country spends is trifling compared to the amount of money it receives by way of advertising revenue and tourist influx. Since 1896 when the modern Olympic Games were first held, the Games have undergone many upheavals....