What is an antique?

An antique is an object or work of art which is rare and hence considered a collectable item. It is highly valued due to its age, craftsmanship, quality, historical importance and rarity. The origin of the word ‘antique’ is from the latin word antiquus meaning ‘old, ancient, old-fashioned’. Antiques can include furniture, jewelry, art work, carpets, books, etc.

What age is considered an antique?

As a common rule of thumb, objects that are 100 years or older are considered antiques. While valuing an antique, specialists look to see how rare the piece is, how many were originally made, materials used, the craftsmanship, condition of the antique and how much in demand it is.

What is the difference between an antique, collectable and a vintage object?

Old objects are often slotted under one of three categories – antiques, collectables or vintage. However, their value is not based on this categorisation. It is based on its demand in the market. An antique is an object more than 100 years old, collectables are old but less than 100 years old and vintage items are those that are less than 25 years old or have come back into fashion.

Myth or truth?

Every child has grown up with the warning that swallowed chewing gum will sit in their stomach for seven whole years. Though this is an old wive’s tale, told to children to stop them from chewing too much gum and from swallowing it, there is some truth behind this statement.

What is chewing gum made of?

Chewing gum is primarily made of natural or synthetic materials (gum resin), flavourings, sweeteners and preservatives.

What happens to chewing gum in the stomach?

When chewing gum is swallowed, it travels down the digestive tract and comes out with a trip to the bathroom. Along the way, the digestive system absorbs the flavourings, sweeteners and preservatives. However, the body cannot break down and absorb gum resin, which is passed through the body undigested.

What if my child accidentally swallowed gum?

If a child swallows too much gum or several smaller pieces of gum, it can combine with other undigested food to cause intestinal blockages. This could cause stomach aches, visits to the doctor and in the worst case, a trip to the hospital.

Is swallowing gum harmful?

Swallowed chewing gum rarely leads to such extreme scenarios. But chewing too much gum can also lead to cavities and ingestion of large amounts of sugar. Too much of any chewing gum or candy can be harmful and sweet treats should always be eaten in moderation.

To know or not to know, that is the question! Well, wouldn’t you prefer to know?

Hamlet, an ever-curious hamster, is on a quest to learn new and interesting facts about the world around us. With a new subject each time, Hamlet explores intriguing facts that you may not have heard before. He’s bored of the same old facts about the same old things. You may feel like you already know everything there is to know about everything, but there’s a whole world out there for you to explore and unknown facts you may not already know! Why not shake things up with Hamlet’s curiosity and a great sense of humour? Take this fun fact loaded adventure with him!

10 Amazing hiccup facts

1. Hiccups are a mystery, no one knows for sure why they happen!
2. Almost all mammals have hiccups .
3. The medical term for the hiccups is singultus.
4. The sound of a hiccup is caused by your own body cutting off the air that you have sucked in.
5. Babies in the womb hiccup too!
6. Babies hiccup more than adults.
7. Hiccups can happen up to 60 times per minute.
8. The longest bout of hiccups lasted for 68 years.
9. The medieval term for hiccups were “hockets”.
10. Once you hiccup more than 7 times, you typically will hiccup 63 times or more.

How big is an elephant’s brain?

Elephants are known to have a great memory and have the largest brain mass of all mammals, weighing a whopping 5 kilograms! Elephant Cognition is the study of the mind of an elephant and studies have shown that elephants have a brain very similar to that of humans. They have a highly convoluted hippocampus and an elephant’s brain has almost as many neurons as the human brain.

Why do elephants have such a great memory?

Elephants have a high ‘Encephalization Quotient’ or EQ. This quotient is based on the actual size of the brain as compared to the size projected by scientists (the size they expect it to be based on the animal’s body weight). This means that the smaller the ratio is, the less intelligent the animal is. This ratio contributes to the elephant’s amazing memory!

Do elephant’s remember humans?

Elephants can remember other elephants and humans upon seeing them. They are known to hold grudges against those who have injured or hurt them and raise alarms to protect their herd against these dangers. They are also able to remember the location of sources of water and the location of sources of food.

To know or not to know, that is the question! Well, wouldn’t you prefer to know?
Hamlet, an ever curious hamster, is on a quest to learn new and interesting facts about the world around us. With a new subject each time, Hamlet explores intriguing facts that you may not have heard before. He’s bored of the same old facts about the same old things. You may feel like you already know everything there is to know about everything, but there’s a whole world out there for you to explore and unknown facts you may not already know! Why not shake things up with Hamlet’s curiosity and great sense of humour? Take this fun fact loaded adventure with him!

10 Interesting Facts About Bananas

1. A cluster of bananas is called a ‘hand’, while a single banana is called a ‘finger’.
2. Bananas are naturally slightly radioactive.
3. Bananas can float in water.
4. Bananas contain a natural chemical called ‘Serotonin’ which makes people happy.
5. A strawberry is not a berry, a banana is.
6. Bananas are made of 75% water.
7. India produces more bananas than any other country.
8. Humans are 50% identical to bananas as they share about half of the same DNA.
9. Bananas have been depicted in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.
10. More songs have been written about bananas than any other fruit.

Emotions can be defined as a conscious mental reaction which comes in the form of strong feelings usually felt towards or because of a particular object. This can cause a variety of changes in the body. To study emotions better, scientists divide these reactions into three categories – physiological, psychological and behavioural.

What kinds of emotions can animals feel?

Charles Darwin was the first scientist to suggest that animals had emotions, much like humans, However, his theories were disregarded until recently. Scientists are now suggesting after extensive research, that animals do feel a certain range of emotions.

These emotions – such as fear and love influence an animal’s behaviour and lead them to make decisions. New research shows that animals can have physiological reacts to emotions (Example: an increase in heart rate) and behavioural reactions to emotions (Example: their hair stands up). Conclusive proof is yet to be discovered that animals can think deeply into their emotions and have psychological reactions.

Can animals understand human emotions?

Research has shown that social animals like dogs can read human expressions and react when they see facial expressions depicting extreme emotions such as love, fear and anger. Hence, dogs are a highly common support animal.

To know or not to know, that is the question! Well, wouldn’t you prefer to know?

Hamlet, an ever curious hamster, is on a quest to learn new and interesting facts about the world around us. With a new subject each time, Hamlet explores intriguing facts that you may not have heard before. He’s bored of the same old facts about the same old things. You may feel like you already know everything there is to know about everything, but there’s a whole world out there for you to explore and unknown facts you may not already know! Why not shake things up with Hamlet’s curiosity and great sense of humour? Take this fun fact loaded adventure with him!

10 Dinosaur facts you didn’t know!

• Dinosaurs lived on Earth for about 160 million years, 64 times longer than people have been around.
• Palaeontologists believe that birds are the only surviving dinosaurs.
• Most meat-eating dinosaurs had bones filled with air similar to that of birds.
• A lot of dinosaurs were usually human sized or smaller.
• Mary Anning, born in 1799, was one of the most famous fossil hunters of all times.
• The Stegosaurus had a body that was the size of a van, but its brain was the size of a walnut.
• Dinosaurs often swallowed large rocks that stayed in the stomach and helped them grind up food.
• Corythosaurus had a big, hollow crest connected to its nose which helped it make a loud blast of a noise.
• All dinosaurs can either be Ornithischia (bird-hipped) or Saurischia (lizard-hipped).
• A Spinosaurus can grow over 50 feet long and weigh 20 tonnes.

Here are a few more amazing facts about dinosaurs!

What is earwax?

Earwax is a secretion produced by special glands in the outer ear canal. It is produced by humans and most mammals. Its technical name is ‘cerumen’. It is a waxy substance that can either be dry and flaky or sticky and wet. It can range in colour from being yellow/orange to reddish/dark brown.

Why do we need earwax?

Earwax has many important jobs. It moisturizes the skin of the ear canal to prevent dry and itchy ears. It also contains special chemicals that fight off infections and acts as a protective layer that keeps the sensitive eardrum safe.

Can earwax create a blockage?

In most humans, the earwax naturally migrates out of the ear canal and is washed away when we bathe. As the ear canal constantly creates earwax, the skin is always moisturized and protected. However, sometimes there is an excessive build-up of earwax which can cause earaches and a mild loss of hearing. It is best to go visit a doctor, who can prescribe ear drops or safely remove the wax.

Using earbuds or other cleaning tools only pushes the earwax deeper and can cause a blockage or damage to the eardrum.

Get to know all about the sense of hearing here https://mocomi.com/sense-of-hearing/

To know or not to know, that is the question! Well, wouldn’t you prefer to know?

Hamlet, an ever-curious hamster, is on a quest to learn new and interesting facts about the world around us. With a new subject each time, Hamlet explores intriguing facts that you may not have heard before. He’s bored of the same old facts about the same old things. You may feel like you already know everything there is to know about everything, but there’s a whole world out there for you to explore and unknown facts you may not already know! Why not shake things up with Hamlet’s curiosity and a great sense of humour? Take this fun fact loaded adventure with him!

10 Interesting Facts about Sleep

1. The albatross bird can multitask by sleeping while flying.

2. The sensation of falling when half asleep and jerking yourself awake is called a ‘hypnic jerk’.

3. Within 5 minutes of waking up, 50% of your dream is forgotten

4. Humans can sleep with their eyes open.

5. 12% of people dream in black and white.

6. Somniphobia is the fear of sleep.

7. You can only dream about faces you have already seen.

8. Dreams are experienced during REM sleep when the brain is most active.

9. Everyone dreams 4 to 7 times every night.

10. By the time you are 75 years old, you’ll have spent approximately 25 years sleeping.

Have you ever wondered how some animals can sound as though they’re speaking a human language? Many animals, such as parrots, songbirds, beluga whales and dolphins have the ability to mimic humans. They may sound like they are talking, while in fact, they are just great copycats!

Animals mimic human speech!

These animals have a special circuit in the frontal lobes of their brains, making them vocal learners. Only a handful of animals have these circuits, which gives them the ability to mimic human speech and other sounds they hear around them. These circuits play a role in helping these animals learn new noises from their surroundings and recreate them using the muscles in their vocal tracts.

Some animals in captivity (who are vocal learners), such as chimpanzees, also learn to communicate with humans by copying noises and actions. Studies have shown that these actions come out of loneliness and a need to socialize. The pick up social cues from humans around them and copy them.

Why don’t animals speak?

With some vocal learners, especially parrots, you may feel as though they understand what they are saying. However, all these noises are mimicry, which they recreate with their vocal chord muscles.

To know or not to know, that is the question! Well, wouldn’t you prefer to know?

Hamlet, an ever curious hamster, is on a quest to learn new and interesting facts about the world around us. With a new subject each time, Hamlet explores intriguing facts that you may not have heard before. He’s bored of the same old facts about the same old things. You may feel like you already know everything there is to know about everything, but there’s a whole world out there for you to explore and unknown facts you may not already know! Why not shake things up with Hamlet’s curiosity and great sense of humour? Take this fun fact loaded adventure with him!

10 Interesting Facts about Cats!

1. A cat’s nose is as unique as a human’s fingerprint.
2. A cat’s urine glows under a black light.
3. Purring actually improves bone density and helps a cat heal.
4. The average cat can leap 8 feet in a single jump – nearly six times its body length!
5. Cats sweat through their paws.
6. They can rotate their ears 180 degrees with the help of 32 muscles.
7. Cats have the capacity to run faster than Usain Bolt, the fastest living human.
8. Each cat has a membrane within their eye, similar to a third eyelid.
9. Cats spend nearly 1/3rd of their waking hours cleaning themselves.
10. For 20 years, the mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska was a cat named Stubbs.

Rainwater and Minerals

The rainwater which falls on land contains some carbon dioxide dissolved from the surrounding air, making it slightly acidic in nature. This acid weathers rocks as it flows over them, dissolving the rocks and creating electrically charged particles (ions). These ions primarily consist of sodium and chlorine which are salty in nature and once they reach oceans and seas – are the reason why the water is salty.

Underwater Volcanoes and Hydrothermal Vents

Some of these minerals are used up by organisms living in the water, while the remainder is left to build up over time. It is millions of years of accumulation which has led to oceans and seas being as salty as they are today. Underwater volcanoes and hydrothermal vents present on the ocean and sea beds also release salts into the water.

Evaporation and Salinity

The process of evaporation also plays a role in adding salinity to the water. Water evaporates, leaving the dissolved salts behind. The salt content in oceans and seas is regulated by the rivers which flow out of them – constantly balancing the level of salt. Isolated bodies, such as the Dead Sea, have grown increasingly salty as minerals have been constantly added over millions of years, without being drained out, creating hypersaline water.

To know or not to know, that is the question! Well, wouldn’t you prefer to know?

Hamlet, an ever curious hamster, is on a quest to learn new and interesting facts about the world around us. With a new subject each time, Hamlet explores intriguing facts that you may not have heard before. He’s bored of the same old facts about the same old things. You may feel like you already know everything there is to know about everything, but there’s a whole world out there for you to explore and unknown facts you may not already know! Why not shake things up with Hamlet’s curiosity and great sense of humour? Take this fun fact loaded adventure with him!

10 Amazing alligators facts for kids!

1. Alligators can be described as ‘living fossils’ as they have been living on the Earth for millions of years.
2. Damaged bones suggest that dinosaurs were a regular part of the ancient alligator’s diet.
3. The pressure exerted when an alligator bites down equals the weight of a small pick up truck.
4. An adult human can hold the jaws of an alligator shut with their bare hands as the muscles used to open the jaw are much weaker.
5. An alligator can go through over 2,000 teeth in its lifetime.
6. Other than meat, alligators also eat fruit when they get the chance.
7. American alligators can climb very well and sometimes climb trees to get a better spot to bask in the sun.
8. These animals keep to themselves and usually don’t attack humans unless they are threatened.
9. The alligator’s rough skin makes it look like a floating log, which is helpful when stalking prey.
10. Alligators have no vocal cords, but can bellow loudly by sucking air into their lungs and blowing it with a roar like sound.

What is the cause of smelly feet?

The scientific name for stinky feet is bromodosis. Foot odour is caused by the build up of bacteria which multiply in sweaty areas. They inhabit sweaty, dark places, such as your feet that, have been in your socks all day long. Some socks do not effectively absorb your sweat and as a result your feet remain damp.These bacteria feast on the dead skin and sweat on your feet and produce a smelly organic acid or by-product. It is this acid, which causes stinky feet.

Why do only your feet smell?

The feet have more sweat glands as compared to the rest of the body, producing sweat to keep the feet moist and supple. Hence, more bacteria are attracted to your sweaty feet and as a result, create an unpleasant smell. Also, your feet spend their day trapped in your socks and shoes, creating the perfect environment for the bacteria to breed.

Is there a treatment for smelly feet?

There are several things you can do to reduce the build-up of sweat bacteria such as wear fresh cotton socks everyday to absorb sweat, wash your feet regularly and make sure your shoes aren’t too tight.

Where are igloos found?

Igloos are often associated with the Eskimo or Inuit community. They are built as temporary houses or camping stations for hunters living in areas of extreme cold, such as the Arctic regions of Greenland, Canada, the United States and Russia.

Are igloos warm inside?

Despite being made from snow, igloos are able to keep its inhabitants warm due to many properties. Instead of ice, blocks of wind-blown snow are used to build igloos. These blocks have interlocked pieces of ice, which help trap heat and insulate the igloo. The inside of the igloo also has many levels or tiers. A small fire is built on the lowest tier and the inhabitants sleep on the upper tiers. They are able to stay warm as warm as rises to the higher tiers, while cold air sinks down to the bottom. The body heat radiated from the inhabitants also plays a part in keeping the igloo warm on the inside. Bodily heat is insulated and trapped within the igloo and helps keep its inhabitants warm.

The entrance of the igloo is also connected with a tunnel built at a right angle. Hence, cold air blowing outside cannot blow directly into the igloo and make its inhabitants feel cold.

Melting helps the igloos!

Igloos are not immune to the sun outside or to heat being insulated inside. However, when the igloo melts slightly, it creates a thin layer of ice, which makes the igloo sturdier and helps make it a better insulator.

To know or not to know, that is the question! Well, wouldn’t you prefer to know?

Hamlet, an ever curious hamster, is on a quest to learn new and interesting facts about the world around us. With a new subject each time, Hamlet explores intriguing facts that you may not have heard before. He’s bored of the same old facts about the same old things. You may feel like you already know everything there is to know about everything, but there’s a whole world out there for you to explore and unknown facts you may not already know! Why not shake things up with Hamlet’s curiosity and great sense of humour? Take this fun fact loaded adventure with him!

12 Fascinating Facts about the Human Heart

1. The thump thump of a heart beat is the sound made by the valves of the heart opening and closing.
2. The adult heart is the size of a large fist.
3. The human heart beats 35 million times a year. That’s 2.5 billion times through your life!
4. All of the blood in your body travels through your heart once every minute.
5. A woman’s heart beats faster than a man’s, with a woman’s at 78 beats per minute and a man’s at 70 beats per minute.
6. Every cell in the body gets blood from the heart except your corneas.
7. Blood is actually a tissue.
8. If all the blood vessels in your body were laid out end to end, they would extend to a 100,000 kms! That’s almost 2 ½ times around the Earth!
9. A kitchen faucet would need to be turned on all the way for 45 years to equal the amount of blood pumped by the heart in an average life time.
10. The youngest person to receive heart surgery was one minute old.
11. Laughing is good for your heart. It lowers blood pressure and reduces stress hormone levels, improving overall cardiovascular health.
12. The heart has its own electrical supply and will continue to beat when separated from the body as long as it has a supply of oxygen.

There are many misconceptions about people who are left-handed. It is still rare, as 10-12% of the population are lefties. Till the mid-20th century, it was common belief that left-handedness was a defect. It is in fact, left-handed people who face difficulties as the world is not designed to cater to them. A tool as common as a pair of scissors is designed to be used by right-handed people, as are certain sporting goods and most guitars!

Is left handedness determined by genetics?

Till recently it was believed that the inheritance of left-handedness was based on your parents and their genes. Research had previously focussed on the fact that your brain is the determiner for left or right handedness. However, new research suggests that the brain is not the deciding factor in the establishment of handedness.

The science of being left handed

When a child is in its mother’s womb, by 8 weeks, they have chosen a dominant hand. By the 13th week, they are either sucking their right or their left thumbs. However, it is interesting to note that it is only by the 15th week, that the motor cortex in the brain begins sending messages to the spinal cord. If the brain and the spinal cord aren’t connected in the 8th to 13th week, how did the child choose which thumb to suck? It has been suggested that gene expressions in the spinal cord lead it to make the choice, rather than the brain.

What exactly is a social network?

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram… all these are nothing but different social networking websites. But what exactly is a social network? Just like you interact with your friends and family on a day to day basis, a social network is a platform which allows you to send and accept information. It is a web of different interactions – both social as well as personal.

Social network is not limited to humans!

Recent research has shown that the concept of a social network is not limited to us humans. Ants, through their colonies, have exhibited social behaviour, a belief which was earlier limited to humans. An ant colony is a series of complex tunnels and chambers, shared together by the colony. They use a system of chemical signals to communicate with each other. These pheromones are transferred between ants using their antennae. By doing this, they are sharing important information to help one another – to sense food, protect themselves from predators or share where they have previously been.

Communication in ants

Through the passing on of pheromones, ants are able to optimize the manner in which the colony functions. Ants in search of food for the colony have information which guides them in the right direction.

This shows us how ants created a social network long before we had Facebook!

To know or not to know, that is the question! Well, wouldn’t you prefer to know?

Hamlet, an ever curious hamster, is on a quest to learn new and interesting facts about the world around us. With a new subject each time, Hamlet explores intriguing facts that you may not have heard before. He’s bored of the same old facts about the same old things. You may feel like you already know everything there is to know about everything, but there’s a whole world out there for you to explore and unknown facts you may not already know! Why not shake things up with Hamlet’s curiosity and great sense of humour? Take this fun fact loaded adventure with him!

13 Interesting Facts about the Moon (Luna)

1. The moon was formed when an astronomical body about the size of Mars crashed into Earth 4.5 million years ago. This is known as the Theia Impact.
2. The sun is 400 X larger than the moon but is also 400 X farther from Earth. As a result, the sun and moon look the same size.
3. The moon is 81 X lighter than Earth.
4. The moon is slowly drifting away from Earth, approximately 4 cms a year.
5. The Earth rotates on its axis at the same speed as the moon rotates around the Earth, so we always see the same side of the moon.
6. The Moon and the Earth orbit each other.
7. The moon is not round, rather, it is shaped like an egg.
8. The moon experiences ‘moonquakes’ much like Earth experiences earthquakes. However, moonquakes can last up to an hour, unlike earthquakes.
9. The lunar maria (singular – mare) are large and dark basaltic plains on the moon made by ancient volcanic eruptions. They are known as moon seas as ancient astronomers first believed them to be filled with water.
10. An astronaut’s footprint could last for a million years, as there is no wind or water on the surface of the moon.
11. When pieces of moon rock were brought back from the Apollo 11 mission, scientists were surprised to find out they had magnetic qualities.
12. The original tapes of the Apollo moon landing were erased and re-used by accident.
13. The Moon takes 27.3 days to rotate on its axis and the same amount of time to complete one revolution around Earth. To us Earthlings, it may look like it isn’t rotating at all! Scientists call this synchronous rotation.

Did you know that almost 40% of the species of birds in the world practice migration on a regular basis? As amazing as this statistic is, what is even more interesting is the different tools that birds use to navigate during these migrations!

A migratory bird does not have a map it can use to find its way nor can it stop and ask for directions. Then how is it that at least 4,000 birds on Earth successfully migrate each year?

How do birds navigate?

There are several tools a bird can use to navigate itself to ensure it gets home safely. Birds are able to use the sun in order to have a sense of the time of the day and even nocturnal birds use the setting sun to guide themselves. Since nocturnal birds do not have the option of the sun as a reference through the night, they instead use the stars to guide themselves.

How do birds use the magnetic field of the earth?

Certain birds also have a trace amount of the mineral ‘magnetite’ in their beaks. Magnetite works like a bird’s compass, aligning itself with Earth’s magnetic field to help them gauge the direction of Earth’s magnetic poles.

Why don’t migrating birds get lost?

Birds also use familiar landmarks to help navigate themselves – such as mountain peaks, valleys, rivers and roads. Scientists have continued their research into the field of migration and migratory patterns in birds to try and also look at the role of a bird’s sense of smell in their navigation systems.

Scientists have been fascinated by the science of how a bicycle stays upright for almost as long as bicycles have existed! There are several contributing factors which aid our ability to remain upright while riding a bicycle.

How does a bicycle work?

Bicycles function through the conversion of muscular energy (energy created by the cyclist peddling) into kinetic energy (energy created by movement). The bicycle itself has several components which are simple machines – a combination of levers, pulleys and wheels and axles, which help convert the action of pedalling into movement. This may answer any confusion as to how bicycles work, however, does not address how exactly it stays upright.

Gyroscopic Effect

Till a few decades ago, scientists believed that bicycles remained upright owing to the ‘Gyroscopic Effect’ – which means that a spinning wheel will stay aligned to its original direction during motion. The momentum, in this case, is an Angular Momentum, created when a cyclist pedals and propels the bicycle forward. Though the Gyroscopic Effect explains how a bicycle remains stable, experiments conducted revealed that even if the Gyroscopic Effect were to be cancelled, the bicycle would still remain upright!

Caster Effect

The Caster Effect is another effect in play which helps guide the front tire of the bicycle in order for it to stay upright. The centrifugal force of the back wheel also plays a part in ensuring the bicycle does not fall over.

Why does a bicycle stay upright?

A bicycle stays upright due to a combination of different effects – Gyroscopic as well as the Caster Effect. Alongside this, the rider must be taken into consideration. Our mind also plays a role in making sure we do not fall over while riding a bicycle. The body unconsciously balances itself whenever it is needed. If we feel a tilt to the left, we automatically balance ourselves, by leaning into the right.

What do you think of when you hear the word ‘orange’?

Do you think of the colour, or the fruit?

Do you imagine the vivid, sweet citrusy fragrance and tangy taste of the fruit, or do you see the colour and its myriad shades?
Don’t you think its fun to eat a colour? No, you aren’t really eating the colour!

Origin of the word orange

The word orange did not exist in the English dictionary till 1300s. So what did people refer to when they wanted to refer to the colour orange? They called it geoluhread or yellow – red. Till some one decided to call the colour orange, ORANGE colour!

Wow! Wonder how he did that? Do you think he saw the exotic fruit and thought, hmm, it reminds him of the colour yellow – red.
But first, let’s see where the fruit’s name originally came from.

What was the colour orange called before oranges?

The fruit’s homeland is in India. The Indians referred to it as narange or naranga, which may have its root in the word for smell in Dravidian languages. The fruit travelled to Europe with Indian, European and Arab traders. The Arabs refer to it as burtakal, which originates from the word for Portugal and the Persians refer to it as naranje.

The word naranje probably worked its way to into the English dictionary from the French, who called it pomme d’orange. The english simplified the word to simply call it orange, in the 1500s.
In 1600s, someone decided to adopt the name of the fruit to the colour, they have previously referred to as yellow – red.

Did the colour orange come before the fruit?

So, now you know, what came first. The fruit ofcourse, and the colour is named after the fruit.

The fruit came first.

People across the world follow the Gregorian calendar.

The world converted to the Gregorian calendar in 1752. Otherwise different people around the world followed different calendars. Infact people who do agriculture and farming, still use a combination of solar and lunar calendars.

Who came up with the 12 month calendar?

The 12 months in the calendar, as we know them today, were first introduced by Julius Caesar, in the year 45 BC, on 1st January.

How many months were in the original calendar?

The calendar used previously consisted of 10 months. But it couldn’t account for the cyclic revolution of the earth around the sun, which takes exactly 365.2422 days.

The 10 month calendar

The previous Roman calendar, began the year in March and ended it in December. It had been in use from 753 BC, by Romulus, the legendary first king of Rome.

This calendar was later modified because it accounted for only 304 days in a year.

Who started the leap year?

The second king of Rome, Numa Pompilius added two months at the end of the calendar, Ianuarius and Februarius, to account for the missing days. He also introduced an intercalary month that occured after Februarius in certain years. These years became known as leap years. In addition, he deleted one day from all the months that had 30 days, so that they had 29 days instead.

Around for 700 years!

This resulted in a total of 355 days in a common year and 377 days in a leap year. The leap years were declared at the whim of the king. Although unstable, the calendar was in use for 700 years.

But it got very confusing because seasons and calendars did not match. It played havoc with the farmers.

So Julius Caesar, in 45 BC, under the guidance of his astronomers, decided to alter the calendar and make it more stable. Finally, the seasons had a chance to catch up!

For sixteen centuries!

When did we switch to the Gregorian calendar?

The same calendar had been in use since 1752, when the Gregorian calendar was adopted all over the world, to synchronise it to the English and American Colonies. The world and its boundaries had expanded quite a bit, from Caesar’s times! The Gregorian calendar fixed the Julian calendar error of calculating one revolution of the earth around the sun to take 365.2422 days, into account.

So, there you have it! It was originally Julius Caesar, who initiated the 12 months we have in the calendar today!

What exactly are dragons?

Stories of Dragons have existed since the time stories were told. Dragons generally are said to have wings, scales, and claws and breathe fire. They are also thought be majestic creatures of mystery and Magic.

Different cultures have varying stories about dragons

• The Greek called them serpents of the sea and the first mention of the word Greek word δράκων pronounced drakon is from the Iliad by Homer.
• The Europeans early on thought of them as sea creatures and had maps depicting them waiting to eat unsuspecting sailors at the edge of the earth
• Generally, the dragons were thought of as bringers of destruction and terror often depicting them as hoarders of treasure or maidens or both
• At the other side of the planet the Japanese, Koreans and Chinese revered and worshipped them as mythical creatures who brought wisdom, prosperity and good luck.
• Japanese ones are water deities and celestial beings associated with rainfall and bodies of water and are typically depicted as large, wingless, serpentine creatures with clawed feet.
• Chinese dragons traditionally symbolize potent and auspicious powers, particularly control over water, rainfall, typhoons, and floods. The dragon is also a symbol of power, strength, and good luck for people who are worthy of it. With this, the Emperor of China usually used the dragon as a symbol of his imperial power and strength.

Has there been proof that dragons existed?

1. Well, ancient people may have discovered dinosaur fossils and understandably misinterpreted them as the remains of dragons. Chang Qu, a Chinese historian from the 4th century B.C., mislabeled such a fossil and gave credibility to the myth of dragons.
2. A Stegosaurus, was a giant beasts 30 feet in length and typically 14 feet tall and were covered in armored plates and spikes for defense.
3. Even in a small town of Austria they mistook the skeleton of the ancient Rino and called it Dragons, A Statue of a Dragon still stands in the Middle of the town square
4. Humans usually try to find meaning in things they can’t explain.
5. The closest thing we can call to actual Dragons is the KOMODO Dragon, not entirely a dragon but fearsome anyway.
6. So we know now that Dragons are fictional but as they say, there is no smoke without fire.

Time has always fascinated man. Early civilisations first divided the day based on light and dark. They constructed sun dials to calculate the movement of the sun and hence time. As thinking and understanding progressed, days were divided into hours and minutes and seconds, even nano seconds.

But did you think, how time sometimes goes by really fast or really slow? And how you cannot measure it in hours or minutes?

Have you noticed how…
Time sometimes seems to go by really fast
And sometimes really slow

So, does time move at different speeds?

Time always moves one second per second.

It moving slow or fast depends on how your brain experiences it.

Time or your experience of it slows down when you encounter a boring moment. When you are not doing anything in particular, boredom draws your attention to time and gives you the feeling of time slowing down.

Time tends to fly when you are experiencing fun moments and do not think about time or pay any attention to it. The amount of time you have spent might be the same as a boring moment you’ve had earlier but you have so much fun that you do not realise how time passed by.

So times doesn’t fly or stand still. Time always continues at the same speed. It is your experience of time that makes it seem to go by slow or fast.

Related article – Is time travel possible, according to science?

What is memory?

Memory is when something happens or when you learn something or meet someone new; your brain determines whether or not to store this information. Just like a computer that saves the data in files, your brain too saves memories in various parts or files. The human brain has different parts and each part saves data of various types.

How are memories stored and retrieved in the human brain?

Usually the brain stores memories in two ways…

Long term memory which is stored in a deeper section of the brain. The part that stores the long term memory is the hippocampus and is one of the most important parts of the brain to store and retrieve memories.

Short term memories like the room number of your hotel. Short term memories are sometimes transferred to the hippocampus based on their importance. The brain decides which type of memory is worth remembering.

How do you remember things from the past?

When some information is determined to have long term value or is worth remembering, the hippocampus links significant elements from that event or information, puts the experience together to form a permanent or long term memory.

Information that cannot be stored by the hippocampus cannot be remembered or retrieved. If the hippocampus is damaged then all memories are lost.

An emotional memory is the strongest to recall and retrieve. An excellent performance in an exam, a final dance with that someone special, a goal scored when you were about to lose are some special emotional moments that will be stored as long term memories and are easy to recall or retrieve.

Will you remember this video?

To understand if beauty is measurable, let us first understand the terms, ‘measure’ and ‘beauty’.

What is measurement?

Measurement means, to define something in a clear and precise way.

What is beauty?

Beauty refers to the quality of being pleasing, especially to look at.

What makes something or someone beautiful?

The debate on ‘What makes something or someone beautiful’ has been going on for centuries. (thinker)

Western theory of beauty

The earliest Western theory of beauty can be found in the works Greek philosopher Pythagoras who saw a strong connection between mathematics and beauty.

This was the time when It was believed that proportionate and symmetrical objects were more attractive.

This definition is still held as relevant by many, so in that manner we can say that beauty can be measured.

The question then arises of whether beauty is universal.

The painting of Monalisa by Leonardo da Vinci is considered beautiful and so is Van Gogh’s Sunflowers. What do they have in common? What makes them both beautiful despite the lack of symmetry here?

The Taj Mahal is considered beautiful and so is Beethoven’s ninth symphony. What element that could describe beauty is common here? In this case it definitely cannot be measured by math.

A combination of qualities, such as shape, colour, or form, arrangement that pleases the senses, be it sight or sound makes something beautiful.

It is also found that people around the world find different music, visual art, performance, and physical attributes to be beautiful. It’s on the basis of those considerations that many believe that beauty is a label we attach to different sorts of experiences based on a combination of cultural and personal preferences.

So the saying, ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,’ used to express the fact that not all people have the same opinions about what is attractive and pleasing, holds true.

When you buy a piece of land, it is of common understanding that you are given unrestricted access to a predetermined amount of land.

But how much of that land do you own? Do you own the sky above it? How about the land below it?

“Cuius est solum, eius est usque ad coelum et ad inferos”  A Latin maxim which is considered to be a traditional starting point to the property law states, “whoever owns the soil, holds title all the way up to the heavens and down to the depths of hell“.

So yes, historically, if you owned a piece of land, you owned everything, both above and below the soil from the deepest reaches of the Earth right up to the heavens themselves.

What is land ownership?

But property laws today have come a long way. Now, they vary from country to country.
As a property owner, one only has a right to the airspace above their land located in lower stratum, the precise boundaries for which is still up for debate.

For example, one can’t ask commercial planes to stop flying over their house, because the sky is considered to be a public highway. At the same time, there have been cases where trespassers have been fined to use the airspace above one’s house.

The most famous case of this kind comes from 1945 when a chicken farmer sued the US government for flying approximately 83 feet above his property. The noise of the airplane caused a bunch of his chickens to accidentally kill themselves by running into walls. The farmer won his case and the court agreed that although a property owner wasn’t entitled to own all the air above their land, they were entitled to own enough so that planes flying overhead wouldn’t kill their chickens.

And what about the earth below our land?

Just like the airspace, this varies. This depends upon, whether one has mineral rights along with ownership of land.

For example, if a home-owner finds out that there is a huge deposit of gas under their home but they don’t have any mineral right under their land then they can stake no claim over the gas deposit.

So, one can say if you own a piece of land, you may own more than you’d expect, but in a lot of cases, perhaps lesser than you might wish.