80 items in this section. Displaying page 5 of 8
The Straightened Leaning Tower of Pisa
You must have heard about the Leaning Tower of Pisa. In 1990, the tower was made off limits when engineers pointed out that the weight of people climbing the spiral steps could increase the inclination of the tower, and topple it eventually. After some 11 years of restoration work, a ‘straightened’ Leaning Tower was opened again to the public in November 2001. Why does the tower lean? The tower is actually the belfry (tower from which a bell is hung) of the Pisa Cathedral, which stands alongside....
Music-loving Plants and Music-giving Plants
Are your ferns drooping more than usual? Perhaps a bit of music may perk it up, for it is a known fact that music plays an important role in plant growth. But plants are choosy about the kind of music they want to hear. Experiments show that plants thrive if soothing instrumental music is played in the background. On the other hand they shrivel and die if exposed to heavy metal or rock music. And now a Japanese company has created a gadget that puts you in touch with the ‘feelings’ of plants....
Why do Some People snore More than Others?
If you ever slept in a room with an uncle or an aunt who snores, you would know how annoying it can be. The person causing all the noise sleeps like a log, while the room partner spends the night tossing and turning; waking up bleary-eyed the next morning. Did you know that snoring is a common ailment all over the world? Believe it or not, but on an average one in every four adults snores, says the website sleepquest....
Shirt That is a Mobile Phone
Clothes that can make phone calls, play music, dial your pal’s number, keep you snug during cold weather, operate your computer… Shirt That is a Mobile Phone [Illustrations by Sudheer Nath] This is not fantasy. A British company, called Electrotextiles, has created a dazzling range of clothes — clothes that have a mind of their own! Scientists, working for the company, have invented a fabric that can be blended with flexible electronic materials to create intelligent clothing....
Monsoon in Mumbai
To the people of Mumbai, the thought of rain is as natural as breathing. And they think they are always prepared for it. As the temperature drops, and there is a slight nip in the air they cannot help thinking of piping hot pakoras and garam chai or hot tea. But the visitor often drops down from the sky unexpectedly. It has the power to disrupt the lives of the people. Like it did recently....
Why do we Yawn?
Do you think that a great big yawn means you are really bored? Well, if you do, then you cannot possibly be further from the truth. Until recently many researchers used to think yawning is essential to increasing the oxygen intake to the lungs. A few on the other hand insisted that yawning is similar to stretching as it increases blood pressure and heart beat rate. While both research findings are correct, new studies show that yawning actually perks you up instead of doing the opposite (as many of us seem to think)....
Spiders and their Magical Web
Most of us have come across cobwebs that accumulate in our walls, and ceilings when we dust our homes. The webs are under tables, cellars, and sometimes across branches and leaves at the park. All these cobwebs are the work of spiders. Spider webs are fine silken threads. Originally spiders spun silk to protect their eggs and to line their nests. But later they adapted to use this silk to weave a web and trap their prey....
How do Spiderwebs Help Skydivers?
While dusting the house have you ever cross jhalis (webs) in the corners of the wall? Sometimes you may come across them under table corners or at rarely used places. Yes, the webs are woven by spiders. It’s a nuisance clearing them for just when you manage to remove one sticky web, the spider scurries off to a corner to spin yet another! How do Spiderwebs Help Skydivers? [Illustration by Anup Singh] But before you destroy these webs with a sweep of the broom, here’s some food for thought – you are about to dismantle one of the strongest structures in the natural world!...
Logging on to Aliens
Do you believe that there might be life on other planets? Would you like to be the first ‘Earthling’ to make contact with an alien? Well, you can start your search from home. All you need is a computer and Internet access, and you can join the project of the US-based National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Logging on to Aliens [Illustrations by Kusum Chamoli] NASA launched the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) project, eight years ago....
Sea Turtles
Can you name an animal that returns to the place of its birth, every single year, journeying more than 1,000 km to do so? Well, here is another hint: this animal is a sea creature that originated on earth more than 200 million years ago- making the species older than the oldest ever dinosaur. Give up? They are none other than marine turtles, more commonly known as sea turtles. Seven existing species of sea turtles exist in the world today of which at least four (the Olive Ridley, Green Hawksbill, Leatherback and Flatback) are fairly common in the waters of the Indian Ocean....