Read Online Uncle John’s Did You Know? by Bathroom Readers’ Institute - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Bathroom Readers’ Institute
Ads: Link
forms little balls that drop out when we yawn, chew, or swallow.
• In 1973, folks near Dallas and Boston panicked when slime molds tried to take over their neighborhoods. Slime molds don’t move very fast, but they do move.
• Head-shrinking (displaying heads cut off in battle) probably dates back to 200 B.C. or earlier, and was common only in a few tribes in Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil. The Jívaros, a tribe in the Amazon rain forest, used shrunken heads in victory celebrations and feasts—and then discarded them or let the kids use them as toys.
LANDMARKS
• At 555 feet tall, the Washington Monument is the tallest stone building in the world.
• Emperor Shah Jahan of India built the Taj Mahal as a tomb for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal.
• The Grand Coulee Dam in Washington state is the largest concrete structure in the world.
• When it was first built, Egypt’s Great Pyramid was 482 feet high, but erosion and settling have shrunk it by about 30 feet.
• When it was first built about 5,000 years ago, England’s Stonehenge monument had 30 upright stones. Today, only 16 are still standing.
• The tallest occupied building in Europe is London’s Canary Wharf, at 50 stories high.
• Remember the Alamo? The Texas fort was defended by 187 men, all of whom were killed in the battle.
• Armed with sledgehammers, the citizens of East and West Berlin began the destruction of the 26-mile-long Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989. The dismantling was taken over by the government and finished in November 1991.
• The Mason-Dixon line—the imaginary line that separates the northern U.S. from the southern U.S.—is 244 miles long.
THE DEADLIEST
SNAKES
Here are nine of the most dangerous snakes in the world .
• Fierce snake (Australia): One bite from this killer contains enough venom to slaughter 100 people.
• Brown snake (Australia): One drop of its venom—as small as a grain of sand—can kill a human being.
• Malayan krait (Southeast Asia): 50% of the Malayan krait’s victims die, even if they’re treated.
• Tiger snake (Australia): This aggressive snake kills more people than any other Australian snake.
• Saw-Scaled viper (Africa): It kills more people than all other African snakes combined.
• Boomslang (Africa): Stand back! The boomslang has very long fangs and can open its mouth to a full 180°.
• Coral snake (United States): The coral snake has small fangs, but extremely potent venom. Though it has trouble penetrating clothing, it can easily puncture human skin.
• Death adder (Australia): One bite from this snake will paralyze you—and can kill you in six hours.
• Beaked sea snake (Asia): It’s responsible for more than half of all sea-snake bites. 90% of its victims die.
COOKING GOOD
• To make the perfect boiled egg, make a pinprick in the round end of the shell before boiling, so the air can escape. (And be careful—don’t crack the egg.)
• Always cook pasta in plenty of boiling water so the pasta can move around as it cooks. That’s what prevents it from sticking together.
• Humans are the only creatures on Earth that cook their food.
• Why do onions make you cry? Blame it on the sulfur compounds in the onion—they make your eyes water while you’re chopping.
• Anti-crying trick: Stick out your tongue while you’re cutting onions. The moisture on your tongue will soak up the onion’s airborne chemicals before they hit your eyes.
• Cooked food is easier to digest than raw food.
• Why do vegetables get soggy when they’re overcooked? The cellulose in their cell walls (which normally keeps them rigid) softens when it’s heated.
• What makes food turn golden brown when it’s cooked in a frying pan? “Browning” is what happens naturally when the sugar molecules and the amino acids in the food are heated together.
THE CALENDAR
• The ancient Romans were the first to celebrate January 1 as New Year’s Day. When? In 153 B.C.
• There was no
• In 1973, folks near Dallas and Boston panicked when slime molds tried to take over their neighborhoods. Slime molds don’t move very fast, but they do move.
• Head-shrinking (displaying heads cut off in battle) probably dates back to 200 B.C. or earlier, and was common only in a few tribes in Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil. The Jívaros, a tribe in the Amazon rain forest, used shrunken heads in victory celebrations and feasts—and then discarded them or let the kids use them as toys.
LANDMARKS
• At 555 feet tall, the Washington Monument is the tallest stone building in the world.
• Emperor Shah Jahan of India built the Taj Mahal as a tomb for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal.
• The Grand Coulee Dam in Washington state is the largest concrete structure in the world.
• When it was first built, Egypt’s Great Pyramid was 482 feet high, but erosion and settling have shrunk it by about 30 feet.
• When it was first built about 5,000 years ago, England’s Stonehenge monument had 30 upright stones. Today, only 16 are still standing.
• The tallest occupied building in Europe is London’s Canary Wharf, at 50 stories high.
• Remember the Alamo? The Texas fort was defended by 187 men, all of whom were killed in the battle.
• Armed with sledgehammers, the citizens of East and West Berlin began the destruction of the 26-mile-long Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989. The dismantling was taken over by the government and finished in November 1991.
• The Mason-Dixon line—the imaginary line that separates the northern U.S. from the southern U.S.—is 244 miles long.
THE DEADLIEST
SNAKES
Here are nine of the most dangerous snakes in the world .
• Fierce snake (Australia): One bite from this killer contains enough venom to slaughter 100 people.
• Brown snake (Australia): One drop of its venom—as small as a grain of sand—can kill a human being.
• Malayan krait (Southeast Asia): 50% of the Malayan krait’s victims die, even if they’re treated.
• Tiger snake (Australia): This aggressive snake kills more people than any other Australian snake.
• Saw-Scaled viper (Africa): It kills more people than all other African snakes combined.
• Boomslang (Africa): Stand back! The boomslang has very long fangs and can open its mouth to a full 180°.
• Coral snake (United States): The coral snake has small fangs, but extremely potent venom. Though it has trouble penetrating clothing, it can easily puncture human skin.
• Death adder (Australia): One bite from this snake will paralyze you—and can kill you in six hours.
• Beaked sea snake (Asia): It’s responsible for more than half of all sea-snake bites. 90% of its victims die.
COOKING GOOD
• To make the perfect boiled egg, make a pinprick in the round end of the shell before boiling, so the air can escape. (And be careful—don’t crack the egg.)
• Always cook pasta in plenty of boiling water so the pasta can move around as it cooks. That’s what prevents it from sticking together.
• Humans are the only creatures on Earth that cook their food.
• Why do onions make you cry? Blame it on the sulfur compounds in the onion—they make your eyes water while you’re chopping.
• Anti-crying trick: Stick out your tongue while you’re cutting onions. The moisture on your tongue will soak up the onion’s airborne chemicals before they hit your eyes.
• Cooked food is easier to digest than raw food.
• Why do vegetables get soggy when they’re overcooked? The cellulose in their cell walls (which normally keeps them rigid) softens when it’s heated.
• What makes food turn golden brown when it’s cooked in a frying pan? “Browning” is what happens naturally when the sugar molecules and the amino acids in the food are heated together.
THE CALENDAR
• The ancient Romans were the first to celebrate January 1 as New Year’s Day. When? In 153 B.C.
• There was no
Similar Books
