Where? on Pitara Kids Network

Where Did Numerals Originate?

Sun, 11 Feb 2001 13:28:15 +0000

We deal with numbers all the time. Not just while doing math lessons at school, but also while counting money at the shop, memorising the numbers of our favourite TV channels or even keeping tabs on the number of hours we spend in front of the Internet! But we are so used to numbers that it has never occurred to us to find out where these numbers come from.

For that, we must travel back in time. We must go back to 6th century India. It was around this time, that the great Indian astronomer Aryabhatta invented a set of numerals that is now used by people all over the world.

Where did Jazz Originate?

Fri, 20 Dec 2002 06:12:23 +0000

One has just to blow a note on a sax and your feet start tapping to the rhythm and your body starts swaying to the music. That’s Jazz for you. Ragtime, hip-hop, be bop, cool, blues – the very names make your finger snap and do a Texas two-step, no?

Jazz has often been called the only art form to originate in the United States, though even this is not exactly true. Jazz, is a kind of music that was sung or played by the African slaves in the plantations of America. In the 18th and 19th century, Africans were lured or kidnapped from their villages and sold in faraway America as slaves to work in large plantations.

Where Did Shoes Come From?

Thu, 14 Apr 2005 17:14:08 +0000

Ooh, aah, ouch! People in ancient times must have yelped like this when they walked on rough ground without any shoes on. And it was probably the pain and discomfort that propelled them to cover their feet for protection.

Footwear has a history which goes back many thousands of years, and has long been an article of prestige for people in different societies.

Where Did Shoes Come From? [Illustration by Anup Singh]

The earliest footwear, probably made of plaited grass or rawhide held to the foot with thongs was undoubtedly born of the necessity to provide some protection when moving over rough terrain in varying weather conditions.

Where does the Pigeon Post Operate?

Sun, 17 Nov 2002 19:30:46 +0000

Among birds, pigeons have a natural and unerring instinct of returning to their nests or homes after long flights. In the early days besides domesticating animals like the horse, dog and cow, people also bred pigeons to carry messages back and forth. These pigeons are called homing pigeons.

Racing pigeons have a life span of 15-20 years. A healthy bird can fly stretches upto 1,000 km. Normally the message is tied around the feet of the pigeon in a plastic capsule to protect the paper. Two pigeons are released with the same message, as pigeons are prone to attacks from other birds of prey particularly the hawk.

Where did the Yo-Yo Originate?

Sun, 01 Jul 2001 13:56:27 +0000

Yo! Man! Know where the yo-yo comes from? No, I am not asking you to name the local toy store. Sorry, let me rephrase it. Gimme its history, guys. You thought the yo-yo was created by Donald Duncan, huh? Forget it! The yo-yo is nearly a millennium old!

So, it wasn’t called the yo-yo then. But for want of a better name let’s stick to calling it the yo-yo, okay? Kids all over the world have played with a similar toy. It is believed that the yo-yo originated in China. Ancient Greek kids (500 BC) played with a little spool-like toy and archaeologists have found samples in many other countries including Egypt.

Where Do Penguins Live?

Fri, 11 Feb 2000 03:32:04 +0000

Short, fat and looking as if they were attending a formal dinner dressed in a tuxedo, penguins could easily be mistaken for people from a distance!

Penguins are flightless birds found in the southern hemisphere. No, they are NOT found near the North Pole. Scientists feel that these birds became flightless as food was available in plenty. But their food was located underwater so they adapted to the sea with short flipper-like wings.

Penguins have short legs and when they want to move fast, they slide on the ice on their bellies. Penguins eat fish and squid and live in large colonies called rookeries. There are 18 penguin species ranging from the smallest, the Little Blue at 40 cm to the Emperor Penguins at 120 cm. Only two species – the Adelie and the Emperor penguin – live in the Antarctic.

Where are the Shaking Minarets?

Thu, 15 Feb 2001 22:32:46 +0000

Among the many architectural marvels of the world, like the leaning tower of Pisa, the whispering gallery at St Paul’s Cathedral at London or the musical pillars of South India, are the astonishing and historical shaking minarets of Ahmedabad, in Gujarat state, India. The minarets are so unique that if one minaret in shaken, the other sympathetically shakes too!

Barely a kilometre away from the Ahmedabad city railway station is the Sidi Bashir mosque (Muslim equivalent of a temple) famed for its jhulta minars or shaking minarets (tall tower-like structures, either at the entrance gate or on the four corners).

Where is the Twins Day Festival Held?

Sat, 11 Jan 2003 06:25:24 +0000

Are you a twin? And if so, are you a “double” too? Then Ohio, United States is the place for you to be for an August weekend of twin fun. Every year, in August, twins from all over the world gather at Twinsburg, Ohio, for a special day dedicated to twins and for a weekend of socialising, celebration and fun?

The Twins Days festival at Twinsburg is the world’s largest annual gathering of twins. It’s a big club-like event in which twins, “doubles”, triplets, quadruplets and their parents come to this small town near Cleveland.

Where Did Piggy Banks Come From?

Tue, 30 Oct 2001 14:58:39 +0000

You can find a piggy bank at almost every home. But whoever heard of pigs and savings? Pigs in a poke, yes, and pigs in a sty. But what is the connection between the sty residents and a home saving bank?

Actually none. The connecting link has to do with clay. Clay? Yes. Though coin-slotted money boxes in the shape of animals, including pigs have been in existence for centuries, the actual term came to be associated with Europe in the middle ages.

Where is the Rare Blind Dolphin Found?

Tue, 20 Mar 2001 03:21:47 +0000

What comes to mind at the mention of Varanasi? The peals of temple bells in this ancient pilgrim town; people performing puja at the ghats and elsewhere; bodies being cremated at the banks of the river Ganga. Do dolphins come to mind?

Dolphins?! That happy looking performing artist which looks more like a shiny inflated balloon toy? Yes, and this freshwater dolphin is a rare specie, found in Indian and Pakistan – in the Ganga and in the Indus. It is a blind dolphin.

Where did Coffee Originate?

Wed, 28 Nov 2001 04:22:36 +0000

The aroma of coffee beans was one of the earliest smells to intoxicate me as a child – such was its flamboyant richness. That, and the lush sight of frothy white milk becoming creamier as it mixed with the nut-brown coffee decoction, served in steel tumblers, was perfect happiness.

It is a memory shared by many Indians living in the southern states, the main coffee growing as well as drinking regions in the country.

The pleasure that the beverage gave was so intense that it never occurred to me that coffee could have originated anywhere but in India.