The Great Hanshin earthquake, or the Kobe earthquake as it is more commonly known overseas, was an earthquake in Japan that measured 7.2 on the Japanese Scale. It occurred on January 17, 1995 at 5:46 am 52 seconds in the southern part of Hyogo Prefecture and lasted for approximately 20 seconds. The epicentre of the […]
When early humans hunted and gathered food, they were not in control of their environment. They could only interact with their surroundings as lower organisms did. When humans learnt to make fire, however, they became capable of altering their environment. To provide themselves with fuel they stripped bark from trees, causing the trees to die.
Much of the blood on the street flows essentially from uncivil behaviour of drivers who refuse to respect the legal and moral rights of others. So the massacre on the road may be regarded as a social problem. Safety standards for vehicle have been raised both at the point of manufacture and through periodic road-worthiness
Modern scientific and technological developments in the practise of medicine and public health have drawn nursing into new and wider fields of activity and its functions have been expanded accordingly. Therefore, nursing is no longer limited mainly to activities within the hospital, or to what is called curative nursing. It has become also a community
When the air is clear, the sunset will appear yellow, because the light from the sun has passed a long distance through air and the blue light has been scattered away. If the air is polluted with small particles, natural or otherwise, the sunset will be more red. Sunsets over the sea may also be
The Bermuda Triangle occupies a disturbing and almost unbelievable place in the world’s catalogue of unexplained mysteries. More than a hundred planes and ships have vanished in this area into the air since 1945 and more than a thousand lives have been lost, without a single body or even a piece wreckage from the vanishing
Fictional stories about people who have extraordinary abilities have always attracted people’s attention. One of them is the story of Vera Petrova, who is able to perceive things with different parts of her skin and through solid walls. One day she comes into his father’s office and puts her hands on the door of a
Theories about how the brain works remain a topic of debate. It is agreed, though, that the hippocampus, a part of the brain, is undeniably important for memory. When we experience something, the information is sent via our senses to the hippocampus, where it is processed. Scientists believe that brain cells called neurons first transform
Data from the Pioneer spacecraft of NASA apparently prove the theory that the high surface temperature of Venus is due to an atmospheric greenhouse effect caused mainly by a blanket of carbon dioxide. Such a greenhouse effect is created when energy in the form of sunlight easily passes through a planet’s atmosphere, warms its surface
Erosion of America’s farmland by wind and water has been a problem since settlers first put the prairies and grasslands under the plow in the nineteenth century. By the 1930s, more than 282 million acres of farmland were damaged by erosion. After 40 years of conservation efforts, soil erosion has accelerated due to new demands
Naval architects never claim that a ship is unsinkable, but the sinking of the passenger-and-car ferry Estonia in the Baltic surely should never have happened. It was well designed and carefully maintained. It carried the proper number of lifeboats. It had been thoroughly inspected the day of its fatal voyage. Yet hours later, the Estonia
Dolphins are regarded as the friendliest creatures in the sea and stories of them helping drowning sailors have been common since Roman times. The more we learn about dolphins, the more we realize that their society is more complex than people previously imagined. They look after other dolphins when they are ill, care for pregnant
Opera refers to a dramatic art form, originating in Europe, in which the emotional content is conveyed to the audience as much through music, both vocal and instrumental, as it is through the lyrics. By contrast, in musical theatre an actor’s dramatic performance is primary and the music plays a lesser role. The drama in
The Atlanta Falcons were born in 1965 when the city of Atlanta elected to build the team a new stadium (Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium). The name “Falcons” was chosen as a result of a fan contest. Local businessmen made the deal but it was the NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle who named Rankin Smith Sr. the owner
Mars, commonly referred to as “the red planet,” is the fourth planet from the sun. Its reddish colour comes from the high amounts of iron oxide on its surface. Mars has surface features similar to those found on the moon and on Earth. It has mountain ranges, volcanic fields, valleys, ice caps, canyons and deserts.