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Monday, June 28, 2010

Who stole the British crown jewels?

You might think nobody would have the skill or the courage to steal something as precious and easily recognizable as the crown jewels. But on 9 May, 1671, a daring Irishman, Colonel Thomas Blood, made a near successful attempt to steal them. Although he and his accomplices were caught and imprisoned in the Tower of London, they were not executed, as everyone had expected. Instead, the King, Charles II was so impressed by the audacity of the robbers that he pardoned them, and even gave Colonel Blood a place at court and lands in Ireland!

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Monday, June 21, 2010

Where will you see Orion the hunter?

In the sky, as Orion is a constellation of stars above the celestial equator. In Greek mythology Orion was a mighty hunter, and when he was slain by Diana he was taken up to the heavens together with his dogs. The constellation contains the shoulder stars. Betelgeuse, an orange-red, first magnitude, irregular variable star, and Bellatrix, and the giant pure white star known as Rigel.

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Sunday, June 20, 2010

In which country would you see the zebra mouse?

This tiny creature with its black and brown stripes running its back is now only found in Africa. As well as being known as the zebra mouse it is also called the striped fieldmouse. It is found in many regions, amking its home in a grassy hollow, where it rests during the hot time of day, after a busy morning scampering about on the savannah. It goes searching for food in the form of pulses and grasses, but it always wary of snakes or birds of prey for whom this little mouse makes an excellent meal!

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Thursday, June 17, 2010

Which American President was born in a log cabin in Kentucky?

Abraham Lincoln. Lather the family moved to Indiana where the family built a ‘half-face’ which was a three-sided shelter, framed with poles and thatched with bark. He ate wild berries and learned to shoot wild turkeys for food. Later still the family went by covered wagon to New Salem, and years later his new home became the White House in Washington.D.C

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Sunday, June 13, 2010

Why do we shake hands with our right hands?

The western custom of shaking hands has its origins in the past. Centuries ago men carried weapons; usually in their right hands (most people are right-handed). When one man wanted to show friendship to another, he threw down his weapons and offered his empty right hand to the other person as a sign of peace. The custom has remained. You should shake hands firmly as it is a sign of friendliness or agreement, and a limp, weak handshake does not seem genuine. But you have to be careful not to overdo it, or hurt the other person’s hand!

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Monday, June 7, 2010

Who was Sir Isaac Newton?


Sir Isaac Newton is often considered to be the world’s finest scientist. Born in Lincoln in 1642, he studied at Cambridge and went on to discover the law of gravitation, and invent the first reflecting telescope. He was knighted in 1702 and died in 1727. He is buried in Westminster Abbey. He wrote his masterpiece, Principia, in 1687.

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Who is Anastasia?


In 1917 the Bolshevik revolutionaries in Russia forced the Tsar, Nicholas II, to abdicate, and then imprisoned him and his family, his wife, his son and four daughters, in various places in Russia. Then in 1918 an announcement came that all the royal family as well as four of their servants, had been killed. No bodies were ever found, and there was doubt at the time as to whether all the royal family were killed. Several people later claimed to the members of the Tsar’s family, and the one who claim to be the Tsar’s youngest daughter, Anastasia. Although some relatives of the Tsar refuted her claim, others have confirmed it. Her claim is still being urged by her friends and certain members of the Romanov family. If she is indeed Anastasia, she may be able to tell the world exactly what happened to her family. And so solve a very puzzling mystery.

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Inventions, science, useful topics for students.