Who? on Pitara Kids Network

Who Invented The Pen?

Thu, 17 Nov 2005 05:01:49 +0000

The history of writing instruments with which humans have recorded and conveyed thoughts, feelings and grocery lists, is the history of civilisation itself. This is how we know about our ancestors and their lives.

The handy sharpened-stone, used for skinning and killing animals was adapted into the first writing instrument. Around 24,000 BC, the cave man started drawing pictures with the stone onto the walls of his cave dwelling. His drawings showed events in daily life such as the planting of crops or hunting victories. Walls at the Apollo site in Namibia, southwest Africa are believed to be the oldest rock paintings to date.

Who Invented the Photocopying Machine?

Sun, 28 Jan 2001 04:02:28 +0000

We have all used it at one time or another to copy our school documents, or parts of a book borrowed from the library, or just about anything we wanted a copy of. It’s just a matter of pressing a button of the xerox machine and hey Presto! a piece of paper comes out at one end, an exact duplicate of the document we needed copied!

However, when the invention was first patented, nobody wanted anything to do with it. Major corporations like IBM, Kodak and General Electric rejected the offer to develop it, perhaps regretting the decision to this day! However, the blood, sweat, and tears of its inventor, Chester F. Carlson did not go wasted, as the success of the machine proves today!

Who or What is a Gladiator?

Wed, 08 May 2002 07:09:37 +0000

It all started in ancient Rome. The most brutal sport that has ever existed in the history of the world was the fights between gladiators. The ‘sport’ traces its roots to the custom among the Etruscan people, a civilisation in Italy that existed before the Roman civilisation. At the death of the master of the house, servants would duel to the death for the right to follow their owners in death and provide help and company.

Who invented Hello?

Fri, 20 Aug 2004 11:15:32 +0000

Hello, Hullo, Hallo, Hull-oo-oo-oo. You may say it softly or you may holler at the top of your voice, but the person at the other end knows that all you are trying to do is get in touch with a greeting.

Legend has it that Thomas Alva Edison was the first to say hello over the telephone. But Edison didn’t invent ‘hello’ by a long shot. As a matter of fact, the greeting has been around for centuries much before the invention of telephone in 1885.

Who discovered Vaccination?

Sun, 24 Feb 2002 05:56:48 +0000

“Mom, I have a stomach ache and I am feeling sick!” Try this out at home and the quick response is bound to be, “Don’t worry, we will take you to the Doctor!” More often than not, if the ache is because you haven’t done your homework, the mere mention of the word ‘doctor’ cures you. Of course, if the problem is genuine no one will know the cure better than a doctor.

Edward Jenner was an English physician who was the pioneer of smallpox vaccine — the world’s first vaccine. rook76 / Shutterstock.com

Know what the scariest thing about a doctor is? – that invariably you get an injection for all aches and pains. Do you know that a newborn child is given vaccination for many diseases? You may throw a tantrum and scream your head off to avoid the injection and inwardly mutter death threats at the person who invented such a painful method for treatment, but the fact remains that whenever we are sick an injection does the trick.
How did it begin? It so happened that one day in 1768, a young milkmaid visited a doctor in Gloucestershire, England. Though nearly everyone in the district was then sick with smallpox, a dreaded disease at that time, the milkmaid was not affected! In the eighteenth century, smallpox was a killer disease, as widespread as cancer now, but with the difference that the majority of its victims were young children.

Who Invented Band-aid?

Sun, 18 Nov 2001 21:20:38 +0000

What happens when you have a small wound? Just apply a small piece of sticky plaster with gauze (a loosely-woven cotton surgical dressing), or band-aid on it for a few days, and ta-da, your wound is healed!

What a stupendous item this band-aid is! So ideal for accident prone people, whether adults or kids. Well it was exactly for this reason that Earle Dickson invented it. He did it for his wife, who though not into rough contact sports was nevertheless accident prone.

Who Invented Traffic Lights?

Tue, 29 May 2001 01:06:14 +0000

Long before roads needed traffic lights, railways were using a system of signals to control train traffic. In the early railways, a single track was used for both up-going and down-going trains, and safety depended on spacing the arrival and departure of trains according to time intervals.

These signals consisted of a ball and something that looked like a kite. When the kite was raised on top it indicated danger while if the ball was raised, it indicated the all clear.

Who Invented the Frisbee?

Sat, 08 Dec 2001 11:46:28 +0000

At first glance in the park or at the beach, you may confuse it for an UFO (unidentified flying object) and rush home thinking the Martians have really landed from outer space! Soon it becomes clear that the “spacecraft” is actually a harmless toy — a colourful Frisbee, and the creature from outer space is the boy next door!

Today, almost all of us have seen one or sent a Frisbee gliding through air. We have seen dogs chase it and leap to catch these flying discs. The toy has proved enormously popular and there are Frisbee throwing competitions held in America.

Who's the Brainiest animal of Them All?

Tue, 22 Oct 2002 04:42:41 +0000

The next time someone calls you an ape or a bird brain, ask her to think again. Brain scans of animals have revealed similar patterns of electrical activity in human and animal brains, so obviously humans aren’t the only smart ones around.

Who’s the Brainiest of Them All?

The brainiest animals are chimpanzees, which share 99 per cent of the human deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA as it is known. (DNA is a chain of molecules within the nucleus of a cell that have all the genetic information influencing the characteristics we inherit from our parents.)

Who stole the Candle Wax?

Wed, 30 Oct 2002 17:03:57 +0000

On every Diwali, known as the festival of lights, our family has a big discussion on the kind of lighting we should have. And after talking about candles or electric bulbs we invariably choose the _diya_s or earthen lamps for their beautiful flames. But last year, we reached the kumhara or potter’s roadside shop a bit too late. The lamps had been sold out and the potter had a big smile on his face. So we decided to light candles.

Who is the real McCoy?

Tue, 25 Dec 2001 05:47:12 +0000

Ever heard the expression, is that the “real McCoy?” No, its not the musical group we are talking about. Real McCoy is actually a reference to one of America’s most prolific inventors, Elijah McCoy. McCoy invented and patented all kinds of mechanical things to help them work smoothly, efficiently and safely.

Over time, the expression “real McCoy” has been used for anything that means the real thing, the real solution.

Elijah McCoy was born in 1843 at Colchester, in Ontario, Canada to George and Mildred McCoy. His parents had once been slaves at a large manor in Kentucky, America. However, they managed to escape to Canada before the American Civil War began in 1865. Following the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery and the McCoy family returned to settle at Ypsilanti, Michigan.
As a child, Elijah was fascinated with all things mechanical. Encouraged by this interest Elijah’s parents saved money and sent him to Edinburgh in Scotland to study mechanical engineering.

Who Sold the Eiffel Tower Twice?

Wed, 21 Feb 2001 19:53:39 +0000

There have been conmen and cheats, cardsharps, and crooks but when it comes to deception and trickery few could match the style of international conman Victor Lustig.

Victor Lustig was the king of conmen with forty-five known aliases and nearly fifty arrests in the United States alone. He was born in 1890 in Czechoslovakia. Though brilliant as a child, he turned to a life of crime, excelling in gambling, card games and scams.

Lustig became a riverside gambler plying the various cruise boats that invariably consisted of the rich and famous. Here he met other experts and under their tutelage fine-tuned his skills.

Who was the US President for a Day?

Fri, 06 Apr 2001 11:04:08 +0000

Quick all you quizzards and prospective Who Wants to be a Millionaire candidates: Who was the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth Presidents of the United States? James Polk, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore . .? Yeah, but what about David Atchison? Wasn’t he sworn in after Polk? So shouldn’t Atchison be the 12th president and not Zachary Taylor?

Yes. It’s true. There was a gap of a day between Polk stepping down and Taylor taking over. And Atchison stepped in as President – just for one day! The term for it is President pro tem.