Reading Time: 2 minutes Have you ever heard someone say I’ll be back in a jiffy, or it will only take a jiffy? We’ve all heard it from time to time, but what is a jiffy? It sounds like it is a piece of confectionery, but people use the word as if it’s a unit of measurement. Well I …
Reading Time: 2 minutes Have you ever wondered how many people have lived on Earth and if the number of dead outnumber that of the living? When Arthur C Clarke wrote 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1968 he included this sentence, “Behind every man now alive stand 30 ghosts, for that is the ratio by which the dead outnumber the …
Reading Time: 2 minutes Does green tea repel mosquitoes? Of all the supposed health benefits of green tea, the ability to repel mosquitoes is perhaps the most bizarre. So how does it work? Is it some holistic voodoo magic, or is there a more scientific explanation to the answer? How does green tea repel mosquitoes? OK, so this isn’t …
Reading Time: 2 minutes It may sound unbelievable, and even inconceivable, but would you believe that Sir Isaac Newton’s apple tree is still growing today? That’s some three hundred and fifty years after the now famous, and might we also say groundbreaking incident which spurned his theory on gravity. Now, if you don’t know the story about Sir Isaac Newton’s apple …
Sir Isaac Newton’s Apple Tree is Still Alive and Growing Today Read More »
Reading Time: 3 minutes With the arrival of summer every year I always anticipate the day where I let my guard down when it comes to protection from the scorching sun. I mean, I’m usually pretty good when it comes to outdoor activities, but if I’m preoccupied with another task I can forget about protection, and I don’t mean …
Reading Time: 2 minutes Popsicles were invented by an 11-year-old boy. But as inspiring as that is for such a young person, what this 11 year old kid did next was pure genius. He kept it secret for a staggering 18 years until he could patent his invention in his own right. I only wish that I was this …
Reading Time: 2 minutes Would you believe that water boils faster at high altitudes, and at the summit of Everest at a significantly lower temperature than it does at sea level? Why is this so? Well there is a really cool scientific explanation as to why this is the case, and when you discover the reason you may just start …
Reading Time: 2 minutes The discovery of phosphorus was made when an alchemist, Hennig Brand, tried to make gold from urine. It’s something that most people wouldn’t even think of trying to do, but back in the mid seventeenth century peoples general knowledge of chemistry was not as advanced as it is today. So why did he try to …
Hennig Brand Discovered Phosphorus When He Tried To Make Gold From Urine Read More »
Reading Time: 2 minutes It may come as a surprise to many that the wheel is not one of the oldest inventions of the human race. Some items that pre-date the wheel include boats, sewing needles, woven cloth, rope and even the flute. The reason the wheel was a late comer in the world of human invention is because …
Reading Time: 2 minutes Have you ever looked at a chef and asked this question? Why are chefs hats shaped the way they are? Is it for style, comfort or tradition? I mean, they really do look quite ridiculous, so why wear them? Well when digging into this question we discovered several possible answers. I’s really rather difficult to …
