221 Facts Tell Me What

A balloon is a cylindrical or a spherical body made up of rubber, silk, rubberised fabric or paper. It inflates when hot air, hydrogen or helium is filled in it. These three gases are lighter than normal air. Hence, when they are filled into the balloon, the balloon rises in the air. Another factor that […]

In the period of mechanical timepieces, there was no country which was leading the clock and watch making industry. However, the migration of skilled workers from one nation to another resulted in clock and watch-making becoming an international trade. Some of the leading clock-making countries include England which is famous for the production of ship

Concrete is the most popular and useful artificial building material that man has ever developed. The main properties of concrete are that it is economical, durable, strong, easy to work with and long-lasting. It can withstand fire, water, weather harshness, etc. Concrete is made out of Portland cement, water, sand, and gravel. These materials are

The word ‘gypsy’ comes from the Egyptian language, as gypsies are thought to have originated from Egypt. But the original gypsies are the tribal people of north-west India; they migrated to a number of places like Persia, Turkey, Syria, Egypt and North Africa. Gypsies spoke a language related to Sanskrit as their land of origin

Our heart is a pump. As it performs its pumping action, it sends blood to the entire body, thus enabling us to live. A heart-beat* is the contracting and relaxing of the heart. A human heart-beats around 60-100 times per minute approximately 1,00,000 times per day. As the heart contracts, blood is pumped out and

Ocean waters circulate, horizontally and vertically. These circular movements are known as currents. Ocean currents are driven by wind, water density differences, and tides. The flow of wind above the surface of the ocean is the main cause of these currents. The two main types of wind flow are the Westerlies–west to east and the

People in ancient times observed that there were certain stars in the sky, which appeared in particular patterns or groups. They called them constellations (group of stars–Latin). They were named after gods, heroes, animals, etc. Among these, mainly twelve constellations were noticed. People observed that the sun and the moon also rose and set in

Glass is a thing through which we can see. It is made by melting certain materials together and cooling them down afterwards. Commonly used ingredients to make glass are sand (silica), soda, limestone, borax, magnesium oxide, boric acid and lead oxide. Natural glass is made when hot lava containing silica gets cooled rapidly. This glass

Gum is something which we can chew on. It is mostly of plant origin. Gums are used in foods, in pharmaceuticals and in cosmetics. It has adhesive properties. Gums are extracted by making an incision in tree bark and collecting the liquid throughout the season. ‘Gum Arabic’ comes out as a thick sticky liquid from

‘Skyscraper’ is a term used for describing very tall building. The Bible mentions a tall building, ‘the Tower of Babel’. People of northern Europe started building huge cathedrals of great height, in the Middle Ages, which remained the tallest buildings for many years. Great architects designed tall buildings to which tall spires were added to

Green Revolution was a movement that began in the 1960’s to boost the food supply of the world using high-yielding seeds, hybrid cereals and modern agricultural techniques along with better management. It was highly successful in India and Mexico. The need for such a movement rose due to worldwide occurrences of famine and drought. The

Humans have existed on the Earth for hundreds of years now and have always made and worked with tools. But it was only in the last 200 years that a major change took place in the way man lived or worked. This was due to the invention of the ‘machine’. This significant period has been

Geometry is the study of the shape, size and position of objects in space. The word ‘geometry’ is a Greek word, meaning ‘earth’ and ‘measure’. The ancient Egyptians used geometry to construct pyramids and measure pieces of their lands washed away by River Nile during flood. Geometry is divided into two major sections: plane and

The metric system is a way of measuring things. In the past, there existed many variations in the weights and measurements used all over the world; hence the need for an international system of measurement arose. The metric system is based on the measure of length called the metre. It was worked out in France

The game of tennis has an ancient history. Ancient Greeks and Romans played ball games which gave rise to a French handball game known as ‘jeu de paume’ around the 12-13th century; most probably, this was where tennis originated from. Louis X of France was a keen player of jeu de paume. Eventually, indoor racquets