Did You Know?

History Of Ice Cream

Once upon a time, hundreds of years ago, Charles I of England hosted a sumptous state banquet for many of his friends and family. The meal, consisting of many delicacies of the day, had been simply superb but the “coup de grace” was yet to come. After much preparation, the King’s french chef had concocted an apparently new dish. It was cold and resembled fresh- fallen snow but was much creamier and sweeter than any other after- dinner dessert. The guests were delighted, as was Charles, who summoned the cook and asked him not to divulge the recipe for his frozen cream. The King wanted the delicacy to be served only at the Royal table and offered the cook 500 pounds a year to keep it that way. Sometime later, however, poor Charles fell into disfavour with his people and was beheaded in 1649. But by that time, the secret of the frozen cream remained a secret no more. The cook, named DeMirco, had not kept his promise.

• One gram of Uranium produces as much energy as 30000 grams of coal

• An electric eel (fish) can produce sufficient electricity to light up 10 bulbs. Its surface potential can measure upto 500 volts, enough to kill any swimmer who touches the fish. 

• A drop of water contains 1.5*1022 molecules.

• The largest volcano in the universe is on Mars- Olympus Mons.It is 600 km wide and 24000 metres high and is nearly 3 times the size of Mt.Everest.

• The gravitational field inside a black hole is so strong, that it can swallow anything in the universe, even a passing star . If a book weighing one kilogram is brought within 6 metres of a black hole, it would weigh about a million million tonnes.

• During the last 3000 years, the greatest single volcanic explosion was of Krakatoa (Indonesia) on August 27th, 1883. It is equivalent to 1500 megatons of TNT, making it 25 times more powerful than the biggest ever nuclear explosion. It’s sound of explosion was heard in Australia at a distance of 4700 km.

• El Nino is caused by warm surface water flowing from the western pacific towards South America. This phenomenon can cause severe weather, flooding and high tides on the west coast of North and South America.

• The research indicates that chicken feathers can be used to make products ranging from paper to diapers and high quality animal feed.

• Like milk, unfertilized eggs are of animal origin but not non-vegetarian. 80-90% of the eggs available are unfertilized eggs.

• Milk is good for chickens! Recent studies show that milk products have a positive effect on the performance and health of chickens.

• A hen requires 24 to 26 hours to produce an egg. Thirty minutes later, she starts all over again.

• White shelled eggs are produced by hens with white feathers and ear lobes. Brown shelled eggs are produced by hens with red feathers and red ear lobes.

• Egg yolk is one of the few foods that naturally contains Vitamin D.

• To tell if an egg is raw or hard boiled, spin it! If the egg spins easily, it is hard-cooked but if it wobbles, it is raw.

• New guidelines from the American Heart Association permit an egg a day, rather than the previous limit of three a week.

• The blue whale has been the largest animal that has ever lived , bigger than the largest Dinosaurs, But even the blue whale is dwarfed by the Redwood and giant Sequoia trees  that grow in California.

• A fully matured Redwood tree towers over a space shuttle or a jumbo jet . It is 50 times as tall as a fully grown person. Yet it grows from a seed weighing 1/250th of a gram.

• The heart pumps 6500 liters of blood each day.

• If man’s leg could move as quickly as of ant’s he would run at a speed of 160 km. per hour.

• A giraffe has the biggest heart of all the land mammals. It takes a 25 pound heart to pump blood all the way up through its long neck to its brain.

• The tongue of a Jackson’s Chameleon is twice as long as its body.

• Koalas of Australia sleeps 22 hours a day .

• The size of an Ostrich’s eye is equal to that of a tennis ball .

• A tree kangaroo can leap 60 feet out of a tree and land uninjured.

• The world’s smallest winged insect is smaller than the eye of a housefly . It is the Tasmanian Parasitic Wasp, which has  a wingspan of 0.2mm.

• An Octopus’s brain lies between its eyes and encircles its mouth . One of the disadvantages of this arrangement is that any food going down the wrong way gets lodged in its brain.

• The great white shark is so sensitive to the smell of blood that it can detect a single drop in 46,00,000 liters of water.

• The largest Octopus named Octopus apollyon is found in America. Its length is 7.68 meters and weight is about 118 pounds 10 ounce, or 53 Kgs.

• The largest snails are Tethys which are found in Great Britain. They can weigh up to 7 Kgs.

• The largest ants named Dinophonera grandis, found in Africa, are about 3.25 cm. long.

• The largest spiders on earth are found in South America and are named Theraphosa Leblondi. Their normal length is 9 cm which can become more than 25 cm once they spread out their legs.

• The largest centipedes are found in the Bay of Bengal, named Scolopendra marsitans, their length is 33 cm and width is 4 cm.

• A millipede named Graphidostreptus gigas is the largest of its kind in the world. It is about 28 cms. long.

Environment Calendar

February 2 World Wetland Day – On this day, in 1971, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance was signed. Wetlands are a very important part of our biodiversity and it is essential to see that they are well protected.

February 28 National Science Day – It is necessary to highlight the role of science in the protection of the environment. This day should be taken as a platform to put forward the message.

March 21 World Forestry Day – Activities such as the planting of trees and highlighting the urgency to increase the green cover.

March 22 World Water Day – The decision to celebrate this day has been taken recently as drinking water sources are fast depleting. The world must wake up to the problem and begin conserving it.

March 23 World Meteorological Day – Everyone has to be reminded that weather is an integral part of the environment.

April 7 World Health Day – The World Health Organisation (WHO) was constituted on this day in 1948. In the changing environment around us health is becoming an important issue.

April 18 World Heritage Day – Environment includes not just the natural surroundings but also the manmade ones.

April 22 Earth Day – In 1970 a group of people in the United States of America got together to draw the attention of the world to the problems being caused to the earth due to modernisation. Since then this day has been celebrated all over the world as Earth Day.

May 31 Anti Tobacco Day – The world is now aware of the problems faced by not only the smokers but also the people who inhale the smoke. You can take up an anti smoking campaign in your family or the neighbourhood.

June 5 World Environment Day – On this day, in 1972, the Stockholm Conference on Human Environment was held in Sweden. There was a large gathering from all over the world and people expressed their concerns for the increasing environmental problems.

July 11 World Population Day– Population has to be given special attention, as it is an ever-increasing problem especially in India.

September 16 World Ozone Day–The United Nations declared this day as the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer. It is the day the Montreal Protocol was signed.

September 28 Green Consumer Day–The problems of consumerism and its impact on the environment is an area of major concern in today’s world. Awareness building on the importance of recycling-reusing-reducing should be taken up seriously.

October 3 World Habitat Day–The earth is the habitat of not only human beings but also all living creatures. Increasing human activities is threatening the habitat of other living things.

October 1-7 World Wildlife Week –Celebrate this week by building awareness on the importance of preservation of our wildlife.

October 4 World Animal Welfare Day–The welfare of animals has to be looked into and given due importance.

October 13 International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction–Due to a change in the environment there has been an increase in the number of natural disasters. Efforts have to be taken to reduce these disasters.

November 14 Children’s Day in India– Children can work together for a better tomorrow by improving the environment around them.

December 2 Bhopal Tragedy Day– Mark this occasion by taking a pledge to put in your best efforts to prevent such a tragedy from occurring again.