Today I learned that Caroline Rhea is the host of the reality show, "The Biggest Loser".
Well, not everything you learn is useful, you know.
01 February 2006
31 January 2006
Camels
What I thought I knew: The camels that had one hump had a name starting with "D" and the camels with two humps had a name starting with "B". (Because, you know, putting the letters on their sides, "D" is like a hump while "B" is like 2 humps.) Camels also store water in their humps.
What I learned: Camels do not store water in their humps, it's a common myth. They store fat in their humps. This fat provides them with nutrition, so they can go a long time without food. Their bodies also conserve water - e.g. they can keep from sweating too much.
Camels with one humps are called dromedary camels while the ones with two humps are called bactrian camels.
Source: Camel Information
What I learned: Camels do not store water in their humps, it's a common myth. They store fat in their humps. This fat provides them with nutrition, so they can go a long time without food. Their bodies also conserve water - e.g. they can keep from sweating too much.
Camels with one humps are called dromedary camels while the ones with two humps are called bactrian camels.
Source: Camel Information
30 January 2006
29 January 2006
The World's Oceans
What I already knew: I thought that the earth only had 4 oceans: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian and Arctic. I also knew that the Pacific was the largest of the oceans.
What I learned: The earth actually has 5 oceans, as the Southern Ocean was recognized by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) only as recently as 2000. The name is used to describe the waters surrounding Antarctica. But many still dispute the existence of a 5th ocean, preferring to use "South Pacific" or "South Atlantic" or whatever to describe those waters.
The largest ocean is indeed the Pacific, followed by the Atlantic, Indian, Southern and Arctic Oceans (in that order.)
This material is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses some information from the Wikipedia article "Ocean". Its list of authors can be found here.
What I learned: The earth actually has 5 oceans, as the Southern Ocean was recognized by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) only as recently as 2000. The name is used to describe the waters surrounding Antarctica. But many still dispute the existence of a 5th ocean, preferring to use "South Pacific" or "South Atlantic" or whatever to describe those waters.
The largest ocean is indeed the Pacific, followed by the Atlantic, Indian, Southern and Arctic Oceans (in that order.)
This material is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses some information from the Wikipedia article "Ocean". Its list of authors can be found here.
28 January 2006
Amish Rumspringa
Thanks to the reality show "Amish in the City", today I learnt that the Amish people have a rite of passage called "rumspringa" where young adults (in their late teens or so), have an opportunity to experience life outside the strict rules of the Amish. So it's basically a sort of "rebellious" phase where they can explore the world outside (although usually not wandering far from home), and after the experience, they can decide whether they want to be baptized and make a life commitment to the Amish lifestyle, or whether they want to leave their Amish life along with their family and friends, and start a whole new lifestyle. Most Amish teens do get baptized into the church, though.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)