Innholdsfortegnelse for You: Did you know? 2017 i You: Did you know?

DID YOU KNOW? THE air around a lightning bolt is hotter than the sun, our feet produce up to a cup of sweat a day, a cheetah can only maintain its top speed for 10-20 seconds, a scorpion can survive being frozen – this magazine is just packed with so much interesting information! The team working on the magazine lost track of the number of times someone announced, “I didn’t know that!” and had to share. All the information is shown in 46 colourful and detailed illustrations done by our talented infographics team. We cover the human body, land creatures, sea creatures, insects, prehistoric creatures, how things work, how things are formed, how things are built plus a section on the planets. And if you scan the 3D icons (there…

YOUR brain is a powerful and complex structure. It’s the body’s most important organ because it sends out messages (via neurons which are cells in the nervous system) that allow you to function. Your feet, for example, get the message to walk; your jaws get the message to chew and your lungs to breathe. Your brain also allows you to perform abstract actions such as thinking and remembering. THE BRAIN CONSISTS OF THREE MAIN PARTS 1 THE CEREBRUM The largest part of the brain is the cerebrum. It consists of two halves (hemispheres) and is further divided into four areas or lobes: the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe and temporal lobe. 2 THE CEREBELLUM The cerebellum (little brain) is beneath the back of the cerebrum. It’s the secondlargest part…

WHAT DO MUSCLES LOOK LIKE? Muscles are made up of long, cylindrical cells that form fibres. Muscles are attached to the bones by tendons. OUCH! Have you ever been really sore during or after exercising? There are two reasons for this: lactic acid builds up in your muscles and causes a burning sensation. But it’s out of your system in an hour. The pain you feel the day after tough exercise is because of tiny tears in your muscles. It hurts and you feel stiff when the body repairs them. FIVE FACIAL EXPRESSIONS Scores of tiny muscles control the face and cause various facial expressions which show how you feel. FEAR Muscles pull the lower jaw down so the mouth opens wide. ANGER Muscles pull the eyebrows down and wrinkle…

THE SCIENCE OF B.O. Considered to be an obvious, different or unpleasant smell, body odour can come from several areas of the body. Sweat (perspiration) itself doesn’t stink. Certain glands (see below) secrete sweat through the skin’s pores or hair follicles. When this released sweat interacts with bacteria that live on our skin and the bacteria naturally break down the sweat into acids, an “unpleasant” body odour is produced. BODY ODOUR GLANDS The human body has up to four million sweat glands including: ECCRINE GLANDS About two million of them are found in the deeper layer of the skin (dermis), mainly on the palms of our hands, the soles of our feet and our scalp. APOCRINE GLANDS These glands are found in the armpits and genital area and kick into…

WHERE IS IT FOUND? This wild cat occurs in Africa and western Asia (Iran). CURRENT HABITAT CHEETAH FACTS • It thrives in open country where prey is plentiful.• Its habitats include grassland, savanna, bushveld, arid country and mountainous areas.•It is classified as vulnerable, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which maintains the red list of endangered species.• It preys mainly on mammals weighing less than 40 kg, such as buck and zebra.• The word cheetah comes from a Hindi word meaning “speckled body”.• The animal’s average lifespan in the wild is 10-12 years. COMPARE THEIR SPEEDS USAIN BOLT 37,5 km/h LION 60 km/h GREYHOUND 63 km/h OSTRICH 70 km/h RACE HORSE 70,7 km/h LEOPARD 88 km/h CHEETAH 113 km/h EXPLOSIVE SPEED It can accelerate from 0-96…

FAST FACTS IT’S RELATED TO SPIDERS Scorpions are arachnids. They have eight legs and are related to spiders, mites and ticks, as well as other members of the Arachnida class. THE SCORPION’S BODY Cephalothorax • Head• Carapace• Eyes• Mouth• Pedipalps• Pectens• Four pairs of legs TRANSVAAL FAT-TAILED SCORPION A species of venomous scorpion that thrive in dry parts of Southern Africa. Found in: South Africa, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Mozambique and Botswana. Description: This dark-brown scorpion is one of the biggest scorpions in the Buthidae family of scorpions, which has about 800 species. Its venom is neurotoxic (affects the nerves) and can be fatal to humans if untreated. It produces sound by scraping its stinger across the ridges on its back to ward off predators. GLOW IN THE DARK Did you know…

DID YOU KNOW? The whale is among the animals that make the loudest sounds. They can hear one another from a distance of 1600 km. SIZE AND WEIGHT It’s impossible to weigh a blue whale because it’s so massive. They’re estimated to weigh between 150 and 170 tons. The longest blue whale measured by the National Marine Mammal Laboratory in the United States was about 30 m long. HOW BIG IS A BABY WHALE? HOW BIG IS A BABY WHALE? At birth a blue whale calf is about eight metres long and weighs 2,7 tons. Calves drink only milk and grow fast – in the first year they put on as much as 91 kg a day! WHERE’S THE BLUE WHALE FOUND? The blue whale is found in all oceans…

THE FIDDLER CRAB THIS sea creature lives partly on land. Its most remarkable characteristic is that one of the male’s claws is much bigger than the other. He waves it in the air to display strength and to frighten off enemies. With only one small claw to pick up food, it takes males twice as long as females to feed. The female’s claws are small and all the same size. BODY PARTS The crab’s body consists of two parts: the cephalothorax (the head and thorax fused) and the abdomen (located behind the cephalothorax). EYE The crab has two compound eyes on the front of the cephalothorax. It can extend its eyes outward to see better and retract them into little grooves where they’re safe from harm. CARAPACE The exoskeleton (external…

BEES IN A HIVE ARE DIVIDED INTO THREE CLASSES WORKER BEES 5 to 15 mm • Worker bees are sterile females. It’s their job to collect food (pollen and nectar from flowers), build the hive, keep it clean and keep it cool by flapping their wings.• Worker bees have a poisonous sting at the end of their abdomen. They also have pollen baskets on their hind legs. The queen doesn’t have these baskets.• The life expectancy of a worker bee during a busy summer is about six weeks. In winter worker bees survive for months.• It takes 12 worker bees a lifetime to make about a teaspoonful of honey.• A bee can visit as many as 2 000 flowers a day. She can carry only a limited amount of pollen…

THIS extinct animal is sometimes referred to as a sabre-toothed tiger but this name is misleading as this predator isn’t closely related to today’s tigers or lions. Scientists prefer the name sabre-toothed cat. The species pictured here is called the smilodon populator and is the largest of the sabre-toothed cats. Not only did it have the largest body, it also boasted the longest fangs (canine teeth). It was the leading predator of the ice age (a period of extremely cold temperatures on Earth). But the disappearance of its prey and habitat was probably the biggest contributing factor in its extinction about 10 000 years ago. DID YOU KNOW? It’s believed the smilodon populator would ambush its prey. It lived in dense bushes and trees so its prey would not see…

WHEN people first began going to sea they needed a way to help find their way home, and so lighthouses were built to aid in navigation. They were once the only way for sailors to find land but are no longer as widely used thanks to modern electronic navigational systems. In the old days lighthouse keepers lived in the lighthouse, but these days most lighthouses are automated. This means that machinery and technology are used to operate it. A TYPICAL STRUCTURE Lighthouses come in many shapes – they can be tall, short, square or cylindrical. Some lighthouses also have service rooms for equipment storage and a watch room for lighthouse keepers. THE FRESNEL LENS Invented for lighthouses in 1822 by French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel, this lens concentrates light so it…

LIGHTNING HOTSPOTS New York, USA The Empire State Building is struck by lightning about 23 times a year. Catatumbo River, Venezuela Above the mouth of this river lightning flashes every minute for about 10 hours a day on 140 to 160 days a year. Singapore This country has one of the highest rates of lightning strikes in the world, with thunderstorms occurring on about 170 days a year. Kifuka, Democratic Republic of the Congo his village gets the most lightning strikes in the world – about 158 a square kilometre a year. South Africa SA is one of the countries with the highest lightning ground flashes (when lightning hits the ground) in the world. Annual deaths from lightning are 15 times higher in SA than the global average. Eek! 70%…

HOW A RAINBOW IS FORMED • Which colour comes to mind when you think of sunlight? Chances are you’ll think of yellow or white, yet sunlight is made up of all the colours of the rainbow – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.• Rainbows are created by the effect of sunlight on millions of tiny raindrops. As sunlight passes through these drops of water, the raindrops bend the different colours the white light is comprised of, causing them to fan out in a band of colours. And, voilà, you have a rainbow! DID YO UKNOW? Hawaii is known as the Rainbow State because so many rainbows are seen there. This is because it has plenty of sunshine and lots of short rain showers. A RAINBOW IS VISIBLE WHEN…

THE INNER PLANETS Earthlike planets in the inner circle of our solar system MERCURY Mercury has no atmosphere or moons. Diameter 4 880 km Mercury year) 88 Earth days Rotation on its axis (a Mercury day) 58,7 Earth days – nearly two Earth months. Temperature-183 to 467 °C Missions There have been few missions to Mercury. Mariner 10, an unmanned spacecraft, flew past the planet in 1974 and 1975. Messenger was launched in 2004 and carried out a flyby in January 2008. In 2011 the craft began orbiting the planet. VENUS Venus is roughly the same size as Earth. Venus’ atmosphere consists mainly of carbon dioxide and its surface is hidden in thick clouds of sulphuric acid. Diameter 12 104 km Revolution around the sun (a Venus year) 224,7 Earth…

SIGHT Light enters your eye through your pupil (the black circle in the middle of your eye). The eye's lens then focuses this light onto the retina which uses calls called rods (black and white) and (colur) to trun what we see into message travels along the optic nerve to the brain. Images are sent to the brain upside down and our brain makes sense of what it receives by turning the image right-side up. SMELL Behind our nose is a space called the nasal cavity. Our sense of smell is thanks to many parts in the cavity. On the roof of the nasal cavity is the olfactory epithelium (a thin tissue) containing receptors (about 10 million of them!) which pick up odour molecules in the air. When these receptors…

THE EFFECTS OF ADRENALINE When we are confronted by very exciting or dangerous situations, large quantities of adrenaline are released into our bodies which helps us react to the danger quickly. Our strength and speed increases, while our ability to feel pain decreases. ADRENAL GLANDS In humans the adrenal glands are found just above the kidneys, where they sit like a little hat on top of each kidney. Adrenaline is one of many hormones made by the adrenal glands. FIGHT OR FLIGHT The response of our body to adrenaline is often called the “fight or flight” response. It allows us to flee a stressful situation or stay and fight it. This stress goes hand in hand with the following: DID YOU KNOW? Synthetic adrenaline can help save lives. It is…

CANADA Beaver This semiaquatic (lives partly in water) rodent was chosen because trade in beaver fur was a big part of Canada’s economy for about 250 years. The beaver appears on stamps and the country’s five-cent coin. GUYANA Jaguar Found in Central and South America, this endangered big cat is the third largest after the tiger and lion. It appears on the coat of arms of Guyana. ELIZE Baird’s tapir This endangered herbivore (plant-eater) is related to the horse and rhino and was chosen as the Central American country’s national animal when it gained independence SCOTLAND Unicorn This mythical animal has been found on Scottish heraldry since the 12th century and represents purity and joy. In myths the unicorn’s enemy is the lion so it’s a fitting symbol for Scotland…

THREE-BANDED ARMADILLO • Type: Mammal• Diet: Termites, ants• Total length: 22-27 cm HABITAT Along with most other armadillo species, the Brazilian three-banded armadillo can be found in sunny South America. Due to low body fat, they prefer warmer climates and favour the savannas, dry woodlands and forests in Brazil. Sadly, their habitat is being destroyed by agriculture, mining and charcoal harvesting and may soon cause them to become an endangered species. REPRODUCTION single, well-developed and golf-ball sized pup is born to a female armadillo. They can already walk and roll into a ball to protect themselves. They stay close to their mom for about three months and may begin breeding at about one year. The life expectancy for three-banded armadillos is about 16 years. TOES AND FEET A distinctive feature…

WHAT THEY EAT They’re meat-eating and eat mostly: • fish• reptiles• birds• mammals NOW YOU SEE IT, NOW YOU DON’T A crocodile stays afloat by filling its lungs with air. It sinks under the water by exhaling some of this air. It also swallows rocks and stones to add to its weight to make sinking easier. These stones aid with digestion, crushing and grating the crocodile’s food. CROC ATTACK! Crocs lunge out of the water onto land to surprise and capture their prey. The croc waits in the water until it can see its prey before using its tail and feet to push itself several metres forward at high speed. The croc bursts out of the water to grab the animal standing on the bank. It grabs the prey and…

THE giant squid remained elusive for centuries because its habitat is in the deep sea – about 1 000 m below the ocean’s surface. This carnivorous creature seems to occur throughout the world’s oceans but most carcasses have been found on the beaches of New Zealand and the Pacific islands, on the eastern and western shores of the Northern Atlantic as well as along the southern coast of Africa. Because it lives so deep in the ocean it’s been difficult to photograph and study what’s now known as the world’s largest invertebrate. DID YOU KNOW? Giant squid would not taste good, scientists say, because its body contains a horrible-smelling liquid ammonia to help it stay afloat. PREY AND PREDATOR The giant squid is believed to eat mostly deep-sea fish, other…

CHARACTERISTICS • It’s a saltwater creature that lives at depths of 50 cm to 8 m.• It hides from predators such as crabs and stingrays by changing colour to camouflage itself and can change from an off-white to yellow, brown and black.• Its diet consists of tiny fish and shellfish.• A typical adult seahorse is about 12 cm long. To compare: FEMALE The seahorse is sexually mature from about one year after birth. To mate, the fe-male seahorse lays her eggs into the male’s pouch. VISION Its eyes are on either side of its head and move independently, so while one eye can look for food the other can watch out for danger. SNOUT It sucks up food through a thin snout. It has to eat often because it doesn’t…

THE silkworm undergoes complete metamorphosis (change in the form of an animal during development). There are four stages in a silkworm’s life cycle – from egg to larva to pupa to moth. The adult moth lays eggs and the cycle starts all over again. Follow the life cycle starting at No 1. DID YOU KNOW? Silkworm moths don’t eat or drink. They crawl around because though they have four wings they can’t fly. Male moths vibrate their wings while searching for female moths. POP QUIZ 1.What do silkworms eat? 2.True or false? Silkworm moths can fly far. 3.What does the larva spin around itself? ANSWERS 1. Mulberry leaves. 2. False, they cannot fly at all. 3. A silk cocoon.…

THE Tyrannosaurus rex, or T Rex, is a ferocious predator that is longer than a bus and weighs as much as an elephant. This was once the most fearsome beast to roam the planet and wasn’t called the king of the dinosaurs for nothing! Lived during late Cretaceous, 66 million years ago 250 million years ago (mya) TRIASSIC 200 mya JURASSIC 145 mya CRETACEOUS 65 mya AGE OF MAMMALS Present Significant finds The most complete fossil of a T Rex is at the Field Museum in Chicago, America. Discovered in 1990 near Faith, South Dakota, it’s named Sue, after Sue Hendrickson, the palaeontologist who found it. The museum paid the owner of the land where it was found about R35 million (then) for the fossil. DID YOU KNOW? The T…

PRETTY much anything can already be printed in 3D (that means three-diamensionally so it’s not flat) so there is so much we can do. And you can now buy a 3D printer for between R6 000 and R55 000. DID YOU KNOW? Scientists are already working on 4D-printing methods! This involves 3D-printed objects that can change shape after they are printed when exposed to heat or water, for example. DID YOU KNOW? Astronauts are testing a3D printer on the International Space Station with the idea that when they need anything during long space missions, such as spare parts, they can print it themselves. POP QUIZ 1.Instead of ink, a 3D printer usually uses … 2.Why are astronauts testing a printer in space? 3.True or false: A 3D printer prints in…

HOW THEY FORM Pearls are formed when a foreign substance such as a grain of sand or other material gets into an oyster’s shell, it’s a little like when you get a splinter and it irritates you. In response to this irritation, the animal deposits material around the foreign body. THE INTRUDER First, it forms a sac around the intruder which consists of the outer cells of its mantle, called the epithelial cells. The mantle is the organ that produces the animal’s shell. FORMING LAYERS The mantle then coats the foreign body with layers of a material known as nacre or mother-of-pearl (it is the same material used to grow the animal’s shell). As more and more layers are applied, it grows larger and larger until a pearl is formed.…

ARCTIC The Arctic isn’t a continent but a region found at the northernmost part of Earth. It consists of vast stretches of floating ice and parts of surrounding countries such as Canada and Russia that are covered permanently in ice. The icebergs of the Arctic Ocean, located mostly in this region, are huge, irregularly shaped chunks of ice that have broken off glaciers. Their size is given in cubic metres (m³) and they’re much smaller than the icebergs that occur in the southern Antarctic region. NORTH ANTARCTICA Antarctica is a continent in the Antarctic region, which is found at the southernmost part of Earth. About 98 percent of Antarctica is covered in ice. The icebergs in the south break off the icy continent all year long and are so large…

CAPE Town’s Castle of Good Hope, as it’s known today, replaced the earlier Fort de Goede Hoop built by governor Jan van Riebeeck from clay and wood. The castle was built between 1666 and 1679 by the Dutch East India Company after Van Riebeeck had left. Its purpose was to defend the Dutch halfway station for ships sailing around the southern tip of Africa. The ships were following the spice route to the East (Indonesia). Soldiers, sailors, Khoi workers and slaves helped build the star-shaped fortress. 1666 The foundation of a stronger fort to protect the settlement from the British is laid by governor Zacharias Wagenaer, who replaced Van Riebeeck. 1679 The Castle is completed and becomes the centre of civic, administrative and military life at the Cape. Simon van…

LAYERS OF THE EARTH 1 CRUST Consists mainly of volcanic and sedimentary rocks. 2 OUTER MANTLE Consists mainly of the minerals iron and magnesium silicate, as well as calcium and aluminium. 3 INNER MANTLE Consists of iron and magnesium silicates and oxides. 4 OUTER CORE Earth’s core liquid consists of iron and nickel. 5 INNER CORE The inner core also consists of mostly iron and nickel, but it is solid. A solar system refers to a star and all the objects that orbit around it. Our solar system consists of the sun (our star), eight planets and their satellites (such as the moon), dwarf planets (such as Pluto), asteroids and comets. Our solar system is in the galaxy called the Milky Way. DID YOU KNOW? Earth is the only planet…

STRUCTURE OF A BONE Trabecular Bone marrow Cortical bone TYPES OF FRACTURES A fracture is a term for a broken bone. There are many kinds – here are four common fractures. Greenstick: The bone cracks but not all the way through. Bowing: The bone bends but doesn’t break. Torus or buckle: A bone is squeezed on one side, causing the other side to bend. Complete: The bone breaks into two pieces. HOW BROKEN BONES HEAL Once a broken bone is set and placed in a cast, the break heals in stages. A blood clot and bony tissue form around the broken bone. ew bone cells begin to grow towards each other on both sides of the break. The break closes and bony tissue is absorbed by the new cells. DID…

WHAT IS A PHOBIA? Everyone is afraid of something, but some people are so afraid they’re paralysed by their fear. This is called a phobia, an illogical fear of an object or situation that holds little or no threat. If a person can’t avoid the object or situation that causes their phobia they could: Feel panicky Start shaking Become breathless and their hearbeat could increase dramatically While they experience extreme fear, other people nearby hardly bat an eyelid. A phobia is much worse than just being afraid. CHILDREN AND PHOBIAS No one knows exactly why kids develop phobias. Many scientists believe phobias can be inherited. Sometimes phobias could be the result of trauma at some point in their lives. Experts say more girls than boys suffer from phobias. THREE TYPES…

THE springbok is a very agile animal and has a special way of repeatedly leaping up high – this is how it got its name (“spring” is Afrikaans for jumping or leaping). It is found only in southern Africa and is South Africa’s national animal. It also lends its name to the national rugby team. REPRODUCTION Springbok usually mate during the dry season but can do so at any time of the year. The gestation period is 25 weeks (about six months) and females give birth to a single calf. Calves are kept under bushes for the first two days of their lives to protect them from predators. They then join the herd. Calves are weaned four to six months after birth. Females stay with the main herd and male…

COBRA’S FANGS AND VENOM GLAND Primary venom duct Accessory gland Secondary venom duct enom Brain ang CLOSE-UP OF FANG Venom duct Compressor muscle Venom gland Venom WHERE THEY’RE FOUND The Cape cobra is endemic to large areas of the Western Cape and also the bushveld and arid regions. Endemic means it occurs in a particular place. When the cobra is threatened it lifts the front part of its body and spreads its hood. VENOM POTENCY A single bite is enough to kill 20 people, or even an elephant. VITAL STATS LENGTH 1,5 m (average) DIET Mice, lizards and small mammals POISON Neurotoxic (it affects the nervous system) REPRODUCTION Lays 8-20 eggs and babies hatch 60 to 80 days later. A cobra can lift part of its body about 1,2 metres off…

THESE sharks are found in coastal surface waters in all major oceans (especially around South Africa and Australia). The great white shark’s body temperature has become adapted to be warmer than the water where it’s found. WHAT DO THEY EAT? • Great whites prey on a variety of marine life, including fish, pinnipeds (such as seals) and seabirds. They have been known to eat objects they can’t digest.• A great white eats about 11 tons of food in a year. Scientists estimate that after a big meal a shark can go without food for up to three months.• Humans are not the preferred prey of great whites. They rarely attack people; when they do it’s because they mistake them for their usual prey, seals. HOW DOES IT EAT? • The…

BLOBBING ALONG IN THE OCEAN FROM TINY TO HUGE! DID YOU KNOW? Jellyfish have existed for at least 500 million years. WHAT TO DO IF A JELLYFISH STINGS YOU • Remove the stings without touching them with your fingers – use gloves, tweezers or a stick.• Don’t rub or put pressure on the affected area as this can aggravate the situation.• It can help to wash the area with vinegar. But don’t use vinegar on the eyes – rather use a salt solution.• Bicarbonate of soda mixed with sea water (not fresh water) can provide relief, especially with bluebottle stings. Make a paste and spread it on the affected area.• Carefully scrape out any nematocysts (stinging cells) left using a knife, razor blade or bank card, then apply vinegar or…

FLEAS The long-jumpers • Fleas are tiny, only 1,5 to 3,3 mm long, but can jump proportionately (in relation to their size) further and higher than Superman. They can jump up to 18 cm high and 33 cm forward. • A flea can go without food for a year! • The reason a flea bite is so itchy is that the flea’s saliva causes an allergic reaction. TERMITES Super eaters • Termites eat materials such as wood, paper and fabric, and can damage wood structures badly. • A bank in India once opened a vault to discover termites had eaten their way through R2 million. Talk about an expensive pest. LADYBIRDS Pest killers • They must be among the prettiest bugs in the world but don’t be fooled - ladybirds…

THE woolly mammoth is thought to be related to today’s elephant. These hairy animals often moved in large herds for protection and warmth, with one of the older females leading them. Its long, woolly fur was waterproof and kept it warm in the freezing climate of the ice age (a period of extremely cold temperatures on Earth). Its huge teeth, known as tusks, were used for digging and foraging for food, and to intimidate and ward off predators or rivals. Because of its size it initially had only one real threat – the sabre-toothed cat, which often hunted down younger calves. Later the woolly mammoth was also hunted by people. This – along with the fast melting ice of its habitat, which affected their food supplies – led to their…

ROLLER COASTERS & GRAVITATIONAL FORCE Few things are as exciting as riding a roller coaster at a frightening speed. It feels as if your stomach is in your throat and you’ll never be able to move your feet again. It’s all caused by gravitational force or G-force. WHAT IS G-FORCE? The G in G-force refers to gravity. In everyday life, the force our bodies feel under the influence of gravity is 1 G. But this can change if our bodies are subject to acceleration. In scientific terms acceleration does not only mean going faster, but also slamming on the brakes or changing direction. So if your car stops incredibly fast, your body will be subject to about 5 G – and if you crash, it can be up to 100…

VIRTUAL reality (VR) is technology that creates a three-dimensional (3D) virtual environment that you can explore and interact with. It’s usually done via a headset you strap on to block out external light and shut you off from the real world around you. Screens in front of your eyes show you a new environment – such as a fantasy world, another planet or the bottom of the sea. The feeling of immersion and really “being there” comes from the fact the environment is 360 degrees – in other words, it surrounds you completely. This means if you turn your head to the side, the VR screen’s perspective changes too. Look behind you or up and it shifts again. The environment you’re exploring seems as if it’s all around you. The…

TOP DIAMONDPRODUCING COUNTRIES • Angola• Australia• Botswana• Brazil• Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)• Ghana• Guinea• Guyana• Canada• Lesotho• Namibia• Russia• Sierra Leone• South Africa• Tanzania• Zimbabwe Russia produces 20 percent of the world’s diamonds, the most in the world. Botswana is the second-largest producer, but its diamonds are generally bigger and of better quality than those found in Russia. COMPOSITION A diamond is carbon in its most concentrated form. 100% CARBON Carbon also makes up 18 percent of our body weight. 18% CARBON DID YO UKNOW? Diamonds are measured in carats. The word comes from carob, a type of tree of which the seeds were used as a measure for weighing precious stones in ancient times. HOW ARE DIAMONDS FORMED? When carbon is under enormous pressure and exposed to intense…

IT LOOKS like something you’d see in the movies but these water vortexes, called ocean eddies, really do occur. The smallest-scale eddies may last for just a few seconds while the larger ones (which can be as large as 500 km in diameter) may go on for months to years. Because eddies sometimes have a vigorous circulation associated with them, they can affect shipping routes and have even been known to damage oil platforms. A VORTEX A whirling mass of water or air, often turbulent, that sucks everything near it towards its centre. A TORNADO A tornado is a spiralling cone of air which is in contact with the ground surface and a cloud at the same time. They form from thunderstorms when warm, moist air and cool, dry air…

THE Taj Mahal (which means “crown of palaces”) is set in an extensive garden on the Yamuna River in Agra in northern India. It was built by Mogul emperor Shah Jahan as a mausoleum (an impressive building with a tomb inside) for his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal (her name means “the chosen one of the palace”), who died giving birth to their 14th child in 1631. There are other buildings on the complex, at the far end there’s a mosque and guesthouse. It is a world heritage site. 22 YEARS The time it took to build the Taj Mahal. It was completed in 1653. 20000 WORKERS were used to build the palace which is made of white marble. 2-4 MILLION How many people visit the palace each year. DID YOU…

LOCATION Acropolis, Athens, Greece. DATE CONSTRUCTED Building began in 447 BC and was completed in 432 BC. WHO BUILT IT? The people mainly responsible for the construction of the Parthenon were the statesman Pericles, sculptor Phidias and architects Ictinus and Callicrates. BUILDING STYLE The Parthenon is regarded as the finest example of Greek architecture and best example of the Doric building style – a simple style with distinctive fluted stone pillars. FUNCTIONS It was built in honour of the goddess Athena, who the people of Athens regarded as their protector, and housed a giant statute of her (read more below). But through history it’s been used as a church, a mosque and for storing gunpowder. WHY IS IT CALLED THE PARTHENON? Parthenon means “house of parthenos”. The Greek word “parthenos”…

MARS AT A GLANCE ORBIT AROUND SUN AVERAGE TEMP 687 days -63 oC WE’VE seen images of it, we know that water has been found on it and that it has “favourable soil conditions” – it seems Mars really could be our future second home! If all goes according to plan, the first humans will visit Mars in about a decade – so not that long to go. The journey from Earth to Mars will last about five months. EARTH VS MARS Some comparisons: MARS ONE YEAR Mars 687 days Earth 365 days YOUR WEIGHT Mars 17kg Earth 45kg EARTH ONE DAY (called sols on Mars) Mars 24,6 hours Earth 24 hours HIGHEST VOLCANO Mars 25km Earth 10km LIFE ON MARS It won’t be easy living on Mars. It’s very…