Fascinating Facts!!

Outrageous Facts!!

2011-05-24T17:41:00.000+03:00

Meteorite

2011-04-12T17:56:00.000+03:00

Why do we need to measure time? - Daylight Saving Time

2011-03-30T16:28:00.000+03:00

Daylight Saving Time (or summertime as it is called in many countries) is a way of getting more light out of the day by advancing clocks by one hour during the summer. During Daylight Saving Time, the sun appears to rise one hour later in the morning, when people are usually asleep anyway, and sets one hour later in the evening, seeming to stretch the day longer.

When Do the Clocks Change?

Northern Hemisphere

Daylight saving time begins in the northern hemisphere between March–April and ends between September–November. Standard time begins in the northern hemisphere between September–November and ends between March–April. Many countries in the northern hemisphere may observe DST.

Southern Hemisphere

Daylight saving time begins in the southern hemisphere between September–November and ends between March–April. Standard time begins in the southern hemisphere between March–April and ends between September–November. Many countries in the southern hemisphere may observe DST.

Why Observe DST?

Many countries observe DST, and many do not. The reason many countries implement DST is in hopes to make better use of the daylight in the evenings, as well as some believe that it could be linked to reducing the amount of road accidents and injuries. The extra hour of daylight in the evening is said to give children more social time with friends and family and can even boost the tourism industry because it increases the amount of outdoor activies.

DST is also considered as a means to save energy due to less artificial light needed during the evening hours—clocks are set one hour ahead during the spring, and one hour back to standard time in the autumn. However, many studies disagree about the energy savings of DST and while some may show a positive outcome of the energy savings, others do not.

It is difficult to predict what will happen with Daylight Saving Time in the future. The daylight saving date in many countries may change from time to time due to special events or conditions.The United States, Canada and some other countries extended DST in 2007. The new start date is the second Sunday in March (previously the first Sunday in April) through to the first Sunday in November (previously the last Sunday in October).

Did You Know?

Russia reduced their number of time zones from eleven to nine and are considering getting rid of daylight saving time in 2011.
Egypt changed their clocks four times last year, which means that they observed DST twice in 2010.
The United Kingdom may switch to Single Double Summer Time, which would move the UK to UTC+1 in the winter time and UTC+2 during the summer time.
Northern Mexican border cities share the same DST plan as the United States rather than most of Mexico.

Brief History of DST

Benjamin Franklin first suggested Daylight Saving Time in 1784, but modern DST was not proposed until 1895 when an entomologist from New Zealand, George Vernon Hudson, presented a proposal for a two-hour daylight saving shift to the Wellington Philosophical Society.

The conception of DST was mainly credited to an English builder, William Willett in 1905, when he presented the idea to advance the clock during the summer months. His proposal was published two years later and introduced to the House of Commons in February 1908. The first Daylight Saving Bill was examined by a select committee but was never made into a law. It wasn't until World War I, in 1916, that DST was adopted and implemented by several countries in Europe who initially rejected the idea. There is more information about the history of DST on our website.

In which direction does the clock move?

The clock moves ahead (thus, losing one hour) when DST starts, typically in the spring, and falls back one hour (thus, gaining one hour) when DST ends in the fall. To make it easier to remember which way the clock goes, keep in mind one of these sayings: “spring forward, fall back” or “spring ahead, fall behind.”

Is DST always one hour ahead of normal time?

Today it is almost always one hour ahead, but throughout history there have been several variants on this, such as half adjustment (30 minutes) or double adjustment (two hours), and adjustments of 20 and 40 minutes have also been used. A two-hour adjustment was used in several countries during the 1940s and elsewhere at times.

A half adjustment was sometimes used in New Zealand in the first half of the 20th century. Australia's Lord Howe Island (UTC+10:30) currently follows a DST schedule that moves its clocks forward half an hour to UTC+11, which is Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT) when it is on DST.

Sometimes DST is used for a longer period than just the summer, as it was in the United States during World War II. From February 3, 1942 to September 30, 1945 most of the United States had DST all year; it was called “War Time.”

What is the body made of?

2011-03-23T19:59:00.000+02:00

More than half of the human body is made of water. The rest of the body is built from a huge number of complicated chemicals. These chemicals, together with water, are assembled into tiny building blocks called cells. Each cell is self-contained and has a particular function in the body. There are more than 50.000 billion cells in your body.

Why do stars twinkle?

2011-03-21T16:51:00.000+02:00

Most stars burn steadily, and if we could see them from space they would not be twinkling at all. As the light from a star passes through the Earth's atmosphere, it is bent by changes in the air temperature. This makes the light appear to flicker. Because of this effect, astronomical observatories are situated on mountaintops. Higher up, the air is thinner and is less likely to cause this twinkling effect.

In what direction are our eyes facing when we are asleep?

2011-03-09T20:02:00.000+02:00

Upward, usually. Our eye muscles relax when we are asleep, and the natural tendency, known as Bell’s Phenomenon, is for the eyes to roll back above their usual position. Of course, when we experience rapid eye movements during sleep, our eyes dart back and forth.

Bell's phenomenon is a medical sign that allows observers to notice an upward and outward movement of the eye, when an attempt is made to close the eyes. The upward movement of the eye is present in the majority of the population, and is a defensive mechanism. The phenomenon is named after the Scottish anatomist, surgeon, and physiologist Charles Bell. Bell's phenomenon is a normal defence reflex present in about 75% of the population, resulting in elevation of the globes when blinking or when threatened (e.g. when an attempt is made to touch a patient's cornea). It becomes noticeable only when the orbicularis oculi muscle becomes weak as in, for example, bilateral facial palsy associated with Guillain-Barré syndrome. It is, however, present behind forcibly closed eyelids in most healthy people and should not be regarded as a pathognomonic sign.

Why does heat make us sleepy in the afternoon when we’re trying to work but restless when we’re trying to sleep at night?

2011-02-28T19:17:00.000+02:00

Fewer experiences are more physically draining than sitting in an overheated library in the winter (why are all libraries overheated in the winter?) trying to work. You can be reading the most fascinating book in the world, (e.g., one of ours), and yet you would kill for a spot on a vacant cot rather than remaining on your hardback chair.
So you trudge home, eventually, to your overheated house and try to get a good night’s sleep. Yet the very heat that sent your body into a mortal craving for lassitude now turns you into a twisting and turning repository of frustration. You can’t fall asleep. Why? There is no doubt that heat saps us of energy. Many Latin, Asian,
and Mediterranean cultures routinely allow their work force to take siestas during the hottest portions of the day, aware both that productivity would slacken during the early P.M. hours without a siesta and that workers are refreshed after an hour or so of sleep. Yet all of the sleep experts we consulted agreed with the eclaration
of the Better Sleep Council’s Caroline Jones: “Heat is not what makes us sleepy in the afternoon. Researchers have documented a universal dip in energy levels that occurs in the P.M. regardless of the temperature.” These daily fluctuations of sleepiness within our body are known as “circadian rhythms.” David L. Hopper, president of the American Academy of Somnology, told Imponderables that late evening and early afternoon are the “two periods during the twenty-four-hour cycle when sleep is possible or likely to occur under normal conditions.” Some sleep specialists believe that circadian rhythms indicate humans have an inborn predisposition to nap. But somnologists seem to agree that the natural sleepiness most of us feel in the afternoon, when it happens to be hottest outside, has little or nothing to do with the other very real enervating effects heat has upon us.
Environmental temperatures do affect our sleep patterns, though. Most people sleep better in cool environments, which explains why many of us are restless when trying to sleep in hot rooms even when we are exhausted at night. And if the temperature should shift while we are asleep, it can cause us to awaken, as Hopper explains: Our body temperature is lowest in the early morning hours and highest in the evening. During deep NREM and REM sleep, we lose our ability to effectively regulate body temperature, so if the outside temperature is too warm or too cold, we must arouse somewhat in order to regulate our body temperature more effectively. During sleep we are not unconscious, so signals are able to get through to arouse us when needed, much as when we awaken from sleep when we need to go to the bathroom.

Τσικνοπέμπτη-Καρναβάλι

2011-02-25T19:41:00.000+02:00

Η λέξη "τσικνοπέμπτη" προέρχεται από την λέξη "τσίκνα" (η μυρωδιά του ψημένου κρέατος) και από την λέξη "Πέμπτη". Γιορτάζεται αλώστε την Πέμπτη, 11 ημέρες πριν την Καθαρά Δευτέρα. Είναι μια μέρα διασκέδασης και ετοιμασίας για την νηστεία της Σαρακοστής πριν από το Πάσχα.

Η Τσικνοπέμπτη βρίσκεται στη 2η εβδομάδα της περιόδου που ονομάζεται Τριώδιο, η οποία αποτελείται απο τρεις εβδομάδες: την 1η εβδομάδα Προφωνή ή Προφωνέσιμη, την 2η εβδομάδα Κρεατινή ή Κρεοφάγος και την 3η εβδομάδα Τυρινή ή Τυροφάγος.
Η Τσικνοπέμπτη είναι ντυμένη στα κόκκινα. Θέλει κόκκινο κρέας και το κόκκινο κρέας φυσικά κόκκινο κρασί.

Η Τσικνοπέμπτη, είναι ένα ετήσιο έθιμο στην Ελλάδα την περίοδο του καρνάβαλου το οποίο έχει τις ρίζες του βαθιά μέσα στους αιώνες. Είναι μια μέρα κατά την οποία όλοι οι Έλληνες τρώνε κρέας και πηγαίνουν φυσικά στις ταβέρνες.
Για την ορθόδοξη παράδοση, οι νηστείες της Τετάρτης και της Παρασκευής είναι σημαντικές, οπότε η Πέμπτη θεωρούνταν η καταλληλότερη μέρα για κραιπάλες.
Αν νομίζετε ότι είμαστε μόνο εμείς κάνετε λάθος. "Schmutziger Donnerstag" γερμανιστί, "Mardi Gras" γαλλιστί αλλά και "Mardi Gras" αγγλιστί στις νότιες Ηνωμένες Πολιτείες και ειδικά στη Νέα Ορλεάνη.

Ήρθε πάλι η εποχή του καρναβαλιού και μπορούμε, για μια ακόμη φορά, να απολαύσουμε τις εορταστικές εκδηλώσεις πριν από την μεγαλύτερη περίοδο νηστείας του έτους τη Σαρακοστή. Η λέξη "καρναβάλι" προέρχεται από το λατινικό "carnem levare" ή "carnis levamen", που σημαίνει τη "διακοπή της κρεατοφαγίας". Η ελληνική λέξη είναι "αποκριά". Και επομένως, η περίοδος των τριών εβδομάδων ξεφαντώματος και κατανάλωσης άφθονου κρέατος και γαλακτοκομικών ονομάζεται Απόκριες (αν και την τελευταία εβδομάδα καταναλώνονται μόνο ψάρι και γαλακτοκομικά).

Η έναρξη των Αποκριών ξεκινά με το άνοιγμα του Τριωδίου. Αυτό είναι ένα εκκλησιαστικό βιβλίο που περιέχει ύμνους τριών ωδών (τριώδιον) αναφερόμενο στην προετοιμασία και την αναμονή του Πάσχα. Οι ψάλτες ανοίγουν αυτό το βιβλίο κατά την εσπερινή λειτουργία του Σαββάτου πριν από την Κυριακή της παραβολής του Τελώνου και του Φαρισαίου. Με αυτό τον τρόπο η Εκκλησία αναγγέλλει την έναρξη των Αποκριών, μια διαδικασία αλλαγής από το ξεφάντωμα και την κατανάλωση όλων των ειδών φαγητού σε μια βαθμιαία πνευματική κατάσταση μετάνοιας και μεταμέλειας, και μιας σταδιακής μείωσης της κατανάλωσης κάποιων τροφίμων.
Κατά την πρώτη εβδομάδα του Τριωδίου, επιτρέπεται η κατανάλωση κρέατος όλη την εβδομάδα, ακόμα και την Τετάρτη και την Παρασκευή. Οι διάφοροι τρόποι ετοιμασίας των πιάτων με κρέας είναι τόσο ποικίλοι όσο και οι τοπικές παραδόσεις. Μαζί με αυτά, υπάρχει και η παράδοση του μασκαρέματος. Αυτή προέρχεται από την ειδωλολατρική παράδοση του μασκαρέματος για να διώξουν τα κακά πνεύματα του χειμώνα και να εξασφαλίσουν μια επιτυχημένη ανοιξιάτικη σοδειά από την σπορά του φθινοπώρου. Στη λαϊκή παράδοση, οι στολές και τα σατιρικά έργα έχουν ως θέματα γάμους, ζώα και μάγους όλα σύμβολα της νέας ανάπτυξης, της καρποφορίας και της εκδίωξης των κακών πνευμάτων.
Μια από τις πιο εορταστικές ημέρες αυτής της περιόδου είναι η Τσικνοπέμπτη, που είναι η τελευταία ημέρα κρεατοφαγίας της εβδομάδας κατά την διάρκεια της Κρεατινής εβδομάδας. Σύμφωνα με την παράδοση, όλοι, ακόμα και οι πιο φτωχοί μιας κοινότητας, πρέπει να ψήσουν κρέας με λίγο λίπος επάνω του ώστε ο καπνός, η τσίκνα, να γεμίσει την ατμόσφαιρα και οι άλλοι να ξέρουν ότι γιορτάζουν αυτή τη μέρα. Έτσι πήρε το όνομά της η Τσικνοπέμπτη. Η κάθε οικογένεια έψηνε το κρέας της και το πήγαινε σε άλλο σπίτι, ή όλοι μαζεύονταν σε ένα σπίτι για να ψήσουν μαζί, στέλνοντας την μυρωδιά του ψητού κρέατος σε όλη τη γειτονιά. Σήμερα, οι περισσότεροι γιορτάζουν την Πέμπτη αυτή σε ταβέρνες της γειτονιάς με οικογένεια και φίλους. Έτσι οδηγούμαστε στην Κυριακή των Απόκρεω που σημειώνει την τελευταία μέρα κατανάλωσης κρέατος.
Έπειτα από αυτή την Κυριακή έρχεται η Τυρινή εβδομάδα, όπου επιτρέπεται μόνο η κατανάλωση γαλακτοκομικών και ψαριού. Κατά την τελευταία εβδομάδα των Αποκριών, υπάρχουν πολλά παραδοσιακά πιάτα που φτιάχνονται με τυρί, γάλα και αυγά. Για παράδειγμα, οι κοινότητες των Βλάχων φτιάχνουν τις παραδοσιακές γαλατόπιτες, τυρόπιτες, ή πίτες με τραχανά όλες φτιαγμένες βέβαια με σπιτικό φύλλο.
Σε μερικά μέρη της Ελλάδας υπάρχουν παραδοσιακά πιάτα με μακαρόνια. Μάλιστα, από αυτή την παράδοση προέρχεται η ονομασία των μακαρονιών. Στην λειτουργία της Ορθόδοξης Εκκλησίας υπάρχουν ειδικά Σάββατα κατά την διάρκεια αυτής της περιόδου που είναι αφιερωμένες στους νεκρούς. Ονομάζονται Ψυχοσάββατα, όπου μνημόσυνα τελούνται κατά την διάρκεια της λειτουργίας. Εκτός από την διανομή, σε όσους παρακολουθούν την λειτουργία, βρασμένου σιταριού που συμβολίζει τη ψυχή του νεκρού, σε μερικές περιοχές της Ελλάδας σερβίρεται επίσης ένα παραδοσιακό γεύμα που ονομάζεται "μακάρια" προς τιμήν των νεκρών. Το γεύμα αρχικά αποτελούνταν από σπιτικά ζυμαρικά. Υπάρχει επίσης μια ευχή για τους νεκρούς ώστε η μνήμη τους να είναι "αιώνια". Έπειτα οι δύο λέξεις συνδυάστηκαν σχηματίζοντας το "μακαρ-ώνια". Αυτό έγινε μετά το παραδοσιακό γεύμα που σερβίρεται την Τυρινή Κυριακή.

Πηγή:http://voice.pblogs.gr

Why Are the Oceans Salty? What Keeps the Oceans at the Same Level of Saltiness?

2011-02-22T15:17:00.000+02:00

Most of the salt in the ocean is there because of the processes of dissolving and leaching from the solid earth over hundreds of millions of years, according to Dr. Eugene C. LaFond, president of La- Fond Oceanic Consultants. Rivers take the salt out of rocks and carry them into oceans; these eroded rocks supply the largest portion of salt in the ocean.
But other natural phenomena contribute to the mineral load in the oceans. Salty volcanic rock washes into them. Volcanos also release salty “juvenile water,” water that has never existed before in the form of liquid. Fresh basalt flows up from a giant rift that runs through all the oceans’ basins. With all of these processes dumping salt into the oceans, one might think that the seas would get saturated with sodium chloride, for oceans, like any other body of water, keep evaporating. Ocean pray is continuously released into the air; and the recycled rain fills the rivers, which aids in the leaching of salt from rocks. Yet, according to the Sea Secrets Information Services of the International Oceanographic Foundation at the University of Miami, the
concentration of salts in the ocean has not changed for quite a while—about, oh, 1.5 billion years or so. So how do oceans rid themselves of some of the salt?
First of all, sodium chloride is extremely soluble, so it doesn’t tend to get concentrated in certain sections of the ocean. The surface area of the oceans is so large (particularly since all the major oceans are interconnected) that the salt is relatively evenly distributed.
Second, some of the ions in the salt leave with the sea spray. Third, some of the salt disappears as adsorbates, in the form of gas liquids sticking to particulate matter that sinks below the surface of the ocean. The fourth and most dramatic way sodium chloride is removed from the ocean is by thelarge accumulations left in salt flats on ocean coasts, where the water is shallow enough to evaporate.
It has taken so long for the salt to accumulate in the oceans that the amount of salt added and subtracted at any particular time is relatively small. While the amount of other minerals in the ocean has changed dramatically, the level of salt in the ocean, approximately 3.5 percent, remains constant.

Why are men’s neckties tapered at the bottom?

2011-02-17T20:53:00.000+02:00

Neckties don’t have to be tapered on the bottom. In fact, they weren’t until the early twentieth century. Before then, ties were cut straight down from a piece of material. But now, the vast majority of silk ties are cut on a bias (on an angle to the floor) According to fashion writer G. Bruce Boyer, there are two main benefits to cutting on an angle: it produces a tie “more impervious to the rigors of knotting and maximizes the natural elasticity of the silk.” When the end of the necktie is finished, it is “trimme square” (along the lines of the weave) so that the end forms a natural point. The larger point, the one presented to the outside world, is known as the “blade” or “apron” end, and the smaller, covered-up point is known as the “upper end.” Have you ever noticed that knitted ties are not tapered on the bottom? You may have figured out the reason already. Knitted ties (whether made out of yarn or silk) are cut and seamed straight across the blade end, rather than on a bias—circumstantial evidence that ties are tapered for purely functional rather than aesthetic reasons.

Why Do Our Noses Run in Cold Weather?

2011-02-15T17:21:00.000+02:00

The nose and sinuses are lined by a mucous membrane that contains both mucus-secreting glands and small cells called goblet cells, which also secrete a component of mucus. This mucus is produced in normal mucous membranes and in those that are infected or inflamed. Many medical problems, such as viral or bacterial infections or allergies can cause your nose to run. But the nose’s response to cold is a little different, the nasal and sinus mucous membranes are innervated [stimulated] by nerves which control, to some extent, the rate of mucus secretion. The response of the nose to cold air is in part a reflex mediated by these nerves. The cold air is sensed by the mucosa [mucus membrane], which then sends a signal back to the brain, which then sends a signal back to the mucosa: the result is a secretion of mucus. What good does a runny nose do anyone but Kleenex? Keith Holmes, an ear, nose, and throat specialist from Dubois, Wyoming, believes that it is “a natural physiologic phenomenon of the organ to protect the warm lining of the nose,” as cold irritates the mucous membrane. Marks speculates that “the increased mucus flow may be necessary to improve the humidification and cleaning of the air in the cold environment.”

Happy Valentines Day!

2011-02-14T20:37:00.000+02:00

February 14th is known in many cultures as St Valentine's Day. On this day, it is tradition for lovers to express their love for each other through sending cards and gifts. We've gone through our database and found some ‘big love' records for you:
Most couple married underwater - simultaneously
On 14 February 2001 (Valentine's Day), 34 couples from 22 countries simultaneously exchanged wedding vows 10 metres (32.8 ft) underwater near Kradan Island, Southern Thailand. This was organized by Trang Chamber of Commerce and Thai Airways International.
Most couples kissing simulatenously
The most couples kissing simultaneously was 6,980 (13,960 participants) at an event organized by Radio Kameleon in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina on 1 September 2007.
Largest group hug
The largest group hug involved 6,623 participants who gathered in Chamizal Park in Juárez, Mexico on 25 September 2005.
Longest kiss
The record for the longest kiss was achieved by James Belshaw and Sophia Severin (both UK) who kissed continuously for 31 hr 30 min 30 sec, in an event organised by PMW Communications, at the Plaza Shopping Centre, London, UK, on 6-7 July 2005.
Most couples hugging simultaneously
The most couples hugging simultaneously is 1,451 at a World Children's Day charity event organised by McDonalds Restaurants, Taiwan at Taipei Arena, Taipei, Taiwan on 18 November 2007.
Πηγή: Guinness World Records

“Mainstream”

2011-02-10T16:21:00.001+02:00

Μουσική mainstream, ταινίες mainstream αλλά και ρεύματα σκέψης. Ο όρος έχει μπει στην καθημερινότητά μας, στη γλώσσα των μέσων μαζικής ενημέρωσης αλλά και της νεολαίας. Για να είμαστε κι εμείς mainstream, οφείλουμε να τον χρησιμοποιούμε!

ΤΙ ΣΗΜΑΙΝΕΙ ΟΜΩΣ;

ΚΥΡΙΟΛΕΚΤΙΚΑ: Η αγγλική λέξη εμφανίζεται για πρώτη φορά σε γραπτό κείμενο του τέλους του 17ου αιώνα και σημαίνει το «κύριο ρεύμα» ενός ποταμού. Από τα μέσα του 19ου αιώνα έλαβε μεταφορική σημασία, υποδηλώνοντας τις κυρίαρχες τάσεις, αντιλήψεις, δημοφιλείς απόψεις, επικρατούσες πολιτικές ιδεολογίες. Σήμερα ο όρος χρησιμοποιείται σε πολλούς τομείς, με παραπλήσια αν και όχι ταυτόσημη σημασία.

ΜΟΥΣΙΚΗ Σηματοδοτεί τη συμβατική, τη μαζικής κατανάλωσης μουσική σκηνή, στον αντίποδα της ριζοσπαστικής, αντισυμβατικής και εναλλακτικής, με όποιο περιεχόμενο κι αν έχουν εμπλουτιστεί οι όροι αυτοί κατά εποχές. Mainstream χαρακτηρίστηκε το είδος της τζαζ που στη δεκαετία του ’50 ακολούθησε την παράδοση των μεγάλων big bands και απευθυνόταν στο ευρύ κοινό, σε αντιδιαστολή με την παραδοσιακή (traditional) αλλά και την μπίμποπ τζαζ, που στην εποχή της είχε θεωρηθεί πιο ανατρεπτική. Σήμερα ο όρος αναφέρεται στην ποπ, ραπ, σοφτ ροκ κ.λπ. μουσική σκηνή.

ΚΙΝΗΜΑΤΟΓΡΑΦΟΣ Οι εμπορικές ταινίες μαζικής κατανάλωσης και υψηλού, συνήθως, προϋπολογισμού, σε αντίθεση με τις πειραματικές, σινεφίλ ή καλτ κατηγορίες.
ΜΕΣΑ ΜΑΖΙΚΗΣ ΕΝΗΜΕΡΩΣΗΣ Έντυπα και ραδιοτηλεοπτικά μέσα μεγάλης κυκλοφορίας και ακροαματικότητας, σε αντίθεση με τα αντίστοιχα εξειδικευμένα ή εναλλακτικά, με μικρότερη κυκλοφορία και ακροαματικότητα.

ΠΑΙΔΑΓΩΓΙΚΗ Χρησιμοποιείται ως ρήμα (στον τύπο μετοχής mainstreaming) για να δηλώσει τις μεθόδους «επανένταξης» μαθητών με διαφόρων ειδών προβλήματα (μαθησιακά, συμπεριφοράς, κοινωνικοποίησης, παραβατικότητας) στην «κανονική» σχολική ζωή. Έτσι, λοιπόν, στην εισηγητική έκθεση του νόμου για τη Διά Βίου Μάθηση, που ψηφίστηκε τον Σεπτέμβριο του 2010 από την ελληνική Βουλή, κάποιες μορφές Διά Βίου Μάθησης, όπως τα Σχολεία Δεύτερης Ευκαιρίας, εντάσσονται στο mainstreaming.
Πηγη: scienceillustrated

Ξέρατε ότι....

2011-02-09T17:51:00.000+02:00

Τα ρωσικά είναι η κυρίαρχη ξένη γλώσσα σε πέντε ευρωπαϊκές χώρες: Λιθουανία (83% του πληθυσμού μιλά Ρωσικά), Λεττονία (59 %), Εσθονία (53%), Πολωνία (περίπου 30 %) και Βουλγαρία (21 %) (1). Οι τέσσερις πρώτες έγιναν κράτη μέλη της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης το 2004.

Στην Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση, η γλώσσα σάμι (ή λαπωνική) είναι η μητρική γλώσσα 100.000  ανθρώπων περίπου, που κατοικούν στις βόρειες  περιοχές της Φινλανδίας και της Σουηδίας. Η σάμι ανήκει στη  φινοουγγρική ομάδα γλωσσών.

Μ΄ όλο που λέμε ότι οι γλώσσες πεθαίνουν, σήμερα, σε ολόκληρο τον κόσμο μιλιούνται περί τις 10.000 γλώσσες. Από αυτές, η μανδαρινική κινεζική είναι εκείνη που έχει το μεγαλύτερο κοινό, με 1.123 εκ. ομιλούντες, είτε ως πρώτη γλώσσα,είτε ως δεύτερη. Ακολουθεί η αγγλική με κοινό 470 εκ., παρόλο που έχει γίνει αποδεκτή ως lingua franca. Όσο για την τελευταία νεκρή γλώσσα, αυτή είναι η Bo των Βόρειων Νήσων Andaman της Ινδίας, καθώς ο τελευταίος άνθρωπος για τον οποίο αποτελούσε μητρική γλώσσα πέθανε τον Ιανουάριο του 2010 .

Οι γλώσσες που χρησιμοποιούνται περισσότερο στην Ε.Ε. παραμένουν η αγγλική (51%), η γερμανική (32%) και η γαλλική (26%).

'I am.' : Είναι η πιο σύντομη ολοκληρωμένη πρόταση στην Αγγλική γλώσσα.

Στα χρόνια του Shakespeare, τα στρώματα των κρεβατιών κατασκευάζονταν από σχοινιά. Όταν τραβούσαν τα σχοινιά ,έσφιγγε το στρώμα και έκανε το κρεβάτι σταθερό ,για ύπνο. Έτσι βγήκε η φράση 'goodnight, sleep tight'.

Σύμφωνα με τον Ethnologue, τον πιο ολοκληρωμένο κατάλογο, οι γλώσσες είναι 6.809. Στην Ευρώπη, καταμετρά 230 διαφορετικές γλώσσες και στην Ασία περίπου 2.197. Στην Παπούα της Νέας Γουινέας, 3,9 εκατομμύρια άνθρωποι μιλούν περίπου 832 διαφορετικές γλώσσες.

Ο όρος "mayday" είναι η αγγλική παραφθορά της γαλλικής έκφρασης "m' aidez!", που σημαίνει "βοηθήστε με".

Η γλώσσα που ομιλιέται από τους περισσότερους ανθρώπους στο κόσμο χωρίς να είναι η μητρική τους γλώσσα είναι τα Αγγλικά. Περίπου τα 2/3 των ανθρώπων μιλούν Αγγλικά.

Η αρχαιότερες γλώσσες που υπάρχουν ακόμα και σήμερα είναι τα Ελληνικά και τα Κινέζικα. (Περίπου από το 1500π.Χ.)

Η γλώσσα με τις περισσότερες λέξεις είναι τα Αγγλικά με περίπου 250.000 ξεχωριστές λέξεις.

Οι Άθλιοι του Βίκτορ Ουγγό, περιέχουν την μεγαλύτερη πρόταση στη Γαλλική Γλώσσα με 823 λέξεις χωρίς διακοπή.

Why Do Pianos Have 88 Keys?

2011-02-09T14:52:00.000+02:00

Our pianos have a peculiar configuration, with 52 white keys and 36 black keys, ranging from A, 3 1⁄2 octaves below middle C, to C, four octaves above middle C. Why not 64 keys? Why not 128?
Before there were pianos, there were pipe organs. In medieval times, some pipe organs included only a few keys, which were so hard to depress that players had to don leather gloves to do the job. According to piano historian and registered piano technician Stephen H. Brady, medieval stringed instruments originally included only the white keys of the modern keyboard, with the raised black keys added gradually: “The first fully chromatic keyboards [including all the white and black keys] are believed to have appeared in the fourteenth century.”
Clavichords and harpsichords were the vogue in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, but they kept changing in size and configuration— none had more than four octaves’ range. Octave inflation continued along, as the ever more popular harpsichord went up as high as a five-octave range in the eighteenth century.

In 1709, a Florentine harpsichord builder named Bartolomeo Cristofori invented the pianoforte, an instrument that trumped the harpsichord by its ability to play soft (piano) or loud (forte) depending upon the force applied on the keys by the player. Brady notes that the first pianos looked very much like the harpsichord but
were fitted with an ingenious escapement mechanism which allowed the tones to be produced by tiny hammers hitting the strings [the mechanism attached the hammers to the keys], rather than by quills plucking the strings as was the case in the harpsichord.
Others soon created pianos, but there was little uniformity in the number of keys or even in the size of the piano itself. Michael Moore, of Steinway & Sons, theorizes that it was a combination of artistic expression and capitalism that gave rise to the 88- key piano. Great composers such as Mozart were demanding instruments capable of expressing the range of the music they were creating. Other composers piggybacked on the expanded range provided by the bigger, “modern” pianos. Piano makers knew they would have a competitive advantage if they could manufacture bigger and better instruments for ambitious composers, and great changes were in store between 1790 and 1890, as Stephen Brady explains: By the end of the eighteenth century, toward the end of Mozart’s career and near the beginning of Beethoven’s, piano keyboards had reached six full octaves, and a keyboard compass of six and a half octaves was not uncommon in early nineteenth-century grands. For much of the middle to late nineteenth century, seven full octaves (from lowest A to highest A) was the norm. A few builders in the mid-nineteenth century experimented with the seven-and-a-quarter-octave keyboard, which is in common use today, but it did not become the de facto standard until about the 1890s. Steinway’s grand pianos had 85 or fewer keys until the mid- 1880s, but Steinway then took the plunge to the 88 we see today,and other manufacturers rushed to meet the specifications of their rival. But why stop at 88? Why not a nice, round 100? Michael Moore explains: Expansion into still greater numbers of keys was restrained by practical considerations. There is a limit to the number of tones that a string can be made to reproduce, especially on the bass end, where low notes can rattle, as well as a limit to the tones that the ear can hear, especially on the treble end. There is a type of piano, a Boesendorfer Concert Grand, which has 94 different keys, [and a full eight-octave range, with all six of the extra keys added to the bass end], but by and large our 88 keys represent the extent to which pianos can be made to faithfully reproduce tones that our ears can hear.
Even if more keys would gain the slightest advantage in tones, there is also the consideration of size and weight. The Boesendorf is almost ten feet in length, exceeded only by the ten-feet, two-inch Fazioli Concert Grand. Only a handful of compositions ever ask to use these extra keys, not enough reason to motivate Boesendorfer to add the keys in the first place. According to Brady, “The Boesendorfer company says the extra strings are really there to add sympathetic resonance and richness to the regular notes of the piano’s range.”

Why Are Our Fingers Different Lengths? For Example, Is There a Reason Why the “Pinkie” Is Shorter Than the “Index”?

2011-02-08T15:22:00.003+02:00

About the only angry letters we get around here are responses to answers of ours that assume the validity of evolutionary theory. But if you ask an authority, such as Dr. William P. Jollie, chairman of the Anatomy Department at the Medical College of Virginia, about this Imponderable, an evolutionary approach is what you are going to get:

…anatomically, fingers are digits (our other digits are toes) and people, like all four-legged vertebrate animals, have digits characteristic both for the large group to which they belong (called a class: amphibians, reptiles, mammals) and for a smaller group within the class (called an order: rodents, carnivores, primates).

So we have five fingers of a length that is characteristic for the hands of primate mammals.

Of course, there is variation among different species and even variation among individual members of the same species. Some people have ring fingers noticeably longer than their index fingers; in others, the fingers are the same length. We once knew a woman whose second toe was an inch or more longer than her “big” toe.
But is there any rhyme or reason for the relative size of our digits?
Dr. Duane Anderson, of the Dayton Museum of Natural History, was the only source we contacted who emphasized the role of the fingers (and hands) in grabbing objects:
Pick up a tennis ball and you will see the fingers are all the same length. Length is an adaptation to swinging in trees initially, and then picking things up. An “even hand” would be less versatile. A long little finger, for example, would get smashed more often.
Biologist John Hertner, of Kearney State College, says that two characteristics of the digits of higher vertebrates reflect possible reasons for the unequal lengths. First, there is evidence that we can locomote more effectively with smaller outer toes. Second, over time, many higher vertebrates have a tendency to lose some structures altogether (e.g., horses have lost all but one toe). Might humans lose a digit or two in the next few hundred million years? Unfortunately, neither the evolutionists nor the creationists will be here to find out.

How do they measure the vitamin content of foods?

2011-02-04T16:47:00.003+02:00

There are only a few micrograms (millionths of a gram) of the vitamin per hundred grams of food, while other vitamins might constitute ten milligrams per hundred grams of food. The techniques that work to measure the abundant vitamin often won’t work to evaluate the presence of the other.

Jacob Exler, nutritionist for the Nutrient Data Research Branch of the Human Nutrition Information Service, told us that there are two types of analytical procedures to measure the vitamin content of foods, chemical and microbiological: The chemical procedures measure the actual amount of a vitamin or a derivative of the vitamin, and the microbiological procedures measure the biological activity of the vitamin on some selected organism.

Today, chemical procedures are in vogue. In the past, microbiological studies were more common, and researchers tested not only on bacteria but on live rats. In fact, as late as the 1970s, the FDA used approximately twenty thousand rats a year just to test foods for vitamin D content! Roger E. Coleman, of the National Food Processors Association, explains the theory behind microbiological studies:

An older, but still very acceptable method for vitamin assay is to measure the amount of microbiological growth a food supports. There are certain bacteria that require an outside source of one or more vitamins to grow. The growth of these bacteria is proportional to the amount of the required vitamin in the food. But microbiological work is extremely sensitive. If conditions are not perfect, results can be skewed. As an example, an article in FDA Papers states that “the organism used for measuring vitamin B12 activity will show a measurable response when dosed with less than one ten-billionth of a gram of the vitamin.” Microbiological assays work more effectively than chemical methods for measuring B12 levels (and some other vitamins, such as biotin, B6) because chemical analysis isn’t sensitive enough to respond to the minute amounts of the vitamin contained in food. In a chemical analysis, each vitamin in a given food must be measured separately. There are many chemical procedures to choose from, with catchy names like “gas-liquid chromatography” and “infrared

spectroscopy.” Coleman explains a few different types of chemical analysis that are a little more comprehensible:

Each measuring technique is based on a property of the vitamin. For example, riboflavin fluoresces [produces light when exposed to radiant energy] and is measured by a fluorometer or fluorescence detector. Vitamin C combines with a certain purple dye and makes it colorless. By measuring the amount of this dye that is changed from purple to colorless, we can calculate the amount of vitamin C present. Despite the high-tech names, chemical analysis tends not to be as sensitive as old-fashioned microbiological methods, but it is cheaper and faster—and doesn’t necessitate twenty thousand rats a year sacrificing their life for vitamin D.

Where do butterflies go when it rains?

2011-02-03T16:50:00.003+02:00

Butterflies don’t just prefer sunny days. They need sunlight in order to regulate their body temperature. Whether it is raining or not, when the sun is obscured or the sun sets, butterflies fly for cover immediately.

Just as human might duck for cover underneath the canopy of a tree, butterflies seek the protection of natural coverings. According to Rudi Mattoni, editor of the Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera, the favorite resting sites includes the undersides of leaves or stems of bushes and on blades of grass.

Butterfly bodies are exceedingly delicate, so nature has provided them with other kinds of protection against rain. When resting, the teardrop configuration of the butterfly prevents rain from pooling on the wings or body, and the surfaces of the butterfly’s skin do not absorb water.

Richard Zack, curator/ director of the James Entomological Collection at Washington State University, adds that many butterflies could not survive flying during rainstorm. Not only does wind wreak havoc with their ability to fly, but the big raindrops themselves would pose a major risk.