A PUZZLING FACT

The boiling point of olive oil is higher than the melting point of tin. Why is it possible to fry food in olive oil in a fry-pan made from tinned copper ? Why doesn't the pan melt before food gets fried ?

THINK BEFORE YOU READ THE ANSWER...Answer is...right below this....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When the food is fried, it is not the oil that boils but the water in the food. The temperature of the food will not rise above 100 °C until all the water boils away. For the same reason, water can be boiled in a paper bag as burning temperature of paper is higher than the boiling temperature of water.

ELECTRIC CHARGE : WHY '+' ? WHY '-' ?

We all know that there are two types of electric charge. We label them as '+' and '-'. One may wonder why these charges have been labelled so? Historical evidences give no solid reason for this naming practice.

A long time ago people found that certain materials when rubbed with cloth or fur were able to pick up (attract) small objects(like a piece of paper). A piece of ebonite was said to be charged when rubbed with fur. Similarly, a glass was said to be charged when rubbed with silk. But the charge on ebonite was not similar to the charge on glass, i.e. there were two kinds of 'charge' and so for the convenience of description and identification they were labelled '-' and '+',respectively by someone or by a group of some people. '-' and '+' have no mathematical significance nor any magical reason for being labelled like that. Had they named '+' charge as '-' and '-' charge as '+', that would not have had any significant impact on the description of phenomena of electricity. Thus, electron is negatively charged because it has the same electrical properties as a piece of ebonite when rubbed with fur and proton is positively charged because of its electrical behaviour similar to the glass rubbed with silk. So let us recollect Shakespeare : What's in a name ? An electron would behave electrically similarly if it were named 'proton'!!!

DUST BOWL

American state of Oklahoma suffered severe drought situation in 1930s. there was no crop due to lack of rain and the fields had dried to the extent that the soil blew away as dust and created what was called a 'DUST BOWL' region. People had to leave that area for further survival. A similar drought situation development took place in the state of Illinois in July 1988 when the then President Ronald Reagan during his visit to the state told farmers :"This is the worst natural disaster since the Dust Bowl of 1930s."

A NASA scientist in his report to a committee of the US Congress had told that "DUST BOWL DROUGHT" was 99 per cent certain to be caused by pollution of air and that it was an early sign of a dangerous climatic change, a change which leads to a general warming of the global atmosphere. This, in turn, affects the rainfall, as well as having other side effects. He said this atmospheric pollution was the "GREENHOUSE EFFECT". Thus 'DUST BOWL' was blamed on the Greenhouse Effect.

DO YOU KNOW ?

• Gregorian calendar was introduced in 16th century. Before its introduction the new year started on March 25.
  
• The ball-point pen was invented by Lazlo Biro, a Hungarian by birth.
  
• BEZANT was the coin of Byzantine Empire. It contained 2.5 gram of gold.
  
• Evan Lendl won all Grand slams of tennis except Wimbledon.
  
• Canada has the longest coastline.
  

SOME INTERESTING FACTS

• MARCONI discovered radio waves.
• Birds can perch on the overhead power lines without receiving an electric shock because they do not touch the ground and so do not complete an electric circuit.
• Deuterium(sometimes called Heavy Hydrogen) is an isotope of hydrogen whose nucleus contains one neutron and one proton.
• The dolphin can remain under water for 20 minutes and can swim at a speed of 70 km per hour.
• A bat can listen to ultrasonic sounds.
• The potato originated in Peru.
• We produce about 200 billion red corpuscles every day.
• The dog is the oldest domesticated animal.
• HUBERT BOOTH invented the vacuum cleaner in 1902.
• The first practical type-writer was invented by Christopher Scholes and Charles Glidden in 1867. Scholes designed the QWERTY typewriter keyboard layout which is still in use.
• The highest death toll ever reported in an earthquake occurred in the eastern Mediterranean in 1201 AD, with an estimated 1100000 casualties.
  

SOME BIOLOGICAL NAMES

• Indian bee - Apis indica
  
• Cow - Bos indicus
  
• Ass - Equus assinus
  
• Kiwi - Apteryx australis
  
• Dog - Canis familiaris
  
• Goat - Capra hircus
  
• Horse - Equus caballus
  
• Cat - Felis domestica
  
• Housefly - Musca nebulo
  
• Pigeon - Columba livia
  
• House Crow - Corvus splendens
  
• Indian elephant - Elephas indicus
  
• Indian Cobra - Naja naja
  
• Rabbit - Oryctolagus cuniculus
  
• Lion - Panthera leo
  
• Tiger - Panthera tigris
  
• Indian Rhinoceros - Rhinoceros unicornis
  
• Indian frog - Rana tigrina
  
• Onion - Allium cepa
  
• Garlic - Allium sativum
  
• Tomato - Lycopersicum esculentum
  
• Banana - Musa paradisiaca
  
• Rice - Oryza sativa
  
• Green gram - Phaseolus aureus
  
• Apple - Pyrus malus
  
• Pomegranate - Pumica granatum
  
• Pea - Pisum sativum
  
• Radish - Raphanus sativus
  
• Brinjal - Solanum melongena
  
• Potato - Solanum tuberosum
  
• Sweet potato - Batatas edulis
  
• Tamarimd - Tamarindus indica
  
• Tulsi - Ocimum sanctum
  
• Grape - Vitis vitifera
  
• Maize - Zea mays
  
• Mulberry - Morus indica
  
• Betel - Piper betle
  
• Betel-nut - Areca catechu
  
• Sugarcane - Saccharum officinarum
  
• Cashew-nut - Anacardium occidentale
  
• Ground-nut - Arachis hyposea
  
• Coconut - Cocos nucifera
  
• Neem - Azadirachta indica
  
• Peepal - Ficus religiosa
  
• Cotton -Gossypium herbaceous
  
• Chilli - Capsicum frutescens
  
• Bamboo - Babusa tulda
  
• Mustard - Brassica campestris
  
• Lady's finger - Hibiscus esculentus
  
• Banyan - Ficus bengalensis
  

WONDERS OF LIVING WORLD

• Blue or Sulphur-bottom whale is the largest living animal.
  
• A sea-wasp is not a wasp but is a kind of jelly-fish.
  
• Humming birds can fly backwards.
  
• Snails, earthworms, sea cucumbers and sea hares are among the species which have both male and female sex organs in the same organism.
  
• Giraffe have the largest neck and longest tail.
  
• "Abaca"(mainly grown in Philippines) is the toughest of all natural fibers.
  
• Some fish migrate from sea to fresh water for breeding. This phenomenon is called "Anadromy".