Bananas in a nutshell:
Bananas originated in Malaysia around 4,000 years ago.
● The term derived from an Arabic word meaning ‘finger’.
● In 327 BC, Alexander the Great’s army recorded them being grown in India.
● The fruit was introduced to America in about 1482 AD by Portuguese explorers. In the early days, it was only eaten
by Americans living in the seacoast towns where the banana
schooners docked; because of the fruit’s fragility, it could not be transported far.
● Bananas come in about 400 varities. Have you seen green-andwhite striped, pink, purple and black bananas? They exist!
● The plant is not truly a tree, even though it can reach a height of 8 metres or more. It is actually a herb, and the fruit is technically a ‘berry’.
● Banana is today the fourth largest fruit under cultivation, after grapes, citrus fruits and apples.
Nutrition Facts:
The average banana contains a whopping 467 mg potassium
and only 1 mg sodium, making it an excellent food for
maintaining normal blood pressure and keeping arteries free
of clogged fats.
● Its potassium content also keeps bones healthy, by preventing urinary calcium loss caused by high-salt diets.
● The fruit protects against stomach ulcers. Combined with
milk, it significantly suppresses acid secretion.
● Stomach upset? Eat a banana. The potassium in it is a vital electrolyte that will rapidly restore your fluid balance. Pectin, a soluble fibre, helps normalise digestive movement and ease constipation.
● Banana contains beneficial bacteria that improves our ability to absorb nutrients. This reduces the time that food stays in the gastrointestinal tract, decreasing risk of colon cancer.
● Bananas with more ‘golden’ flesh contain more arotenoids,
which protect against certain cancers, heart disease and
diabetes.
● A study shows that women who eat bananas four to six times a week halve their risk of developing kidney cancer.
● Women taking diuretics need to eat a banana every day to
compensate for potassium loss.
The banana is unique because it has a lot of uses:
● The root can be ground or chopped up for use as a fertiliser.
● The outer layer of the trunk, being tough, makes good animal feed.
● The young inner trunk is mashed for use in curries, stews and sauces.
● Fibre from banana stem is used to make string, twine or rope, which in turn can be used for everything from weaving place mats, carry bags, hats and purses to tying up portions of herbs and leafy vegetables for sale in the vegetable market.
● And the banana leaf? So versatile! Use it for making environment-friendly containers and trays, or for cooking and wrapping food in asian countries.
● In southern India and South-East Asia, some dishes are prepared by wrapping ingredients in banana leaves and then boiling, steaming or grilling them. Food absorbs the delicate taste and scent of the leaves, and moisture in the leaves helps keep the food fresh longer.
● Young banana leaves are placed on burns.
● In many cultures, leaves serve as plates for holding flowers for prayer, as bridal gifts, or at the bedside of a terminally ill person.
● Dry leaves can be mixed with coconut oil and lime to polish metal.
● Leaves are used in villages across the world as sunshades and umbrellas!
● The sap of the plant is used to dye cloth in a light brown colour.
Traditional healers also use it to reduce hysteria, epilepsy, leprosy, fevers and diarrhoea.
● The blossoms are used in curries, to relieve bronchitis, dysentery and ulcers.
● Sturdy banana stalks can be used for stirring food or dye cauldrons. They can also be moulded to make toys. African girls fashion dolls from it, while boys roll up the leaves to play ball.
● Skins are used in sauces, banana wine, vinegar and fertilisers.
● The inside of a banana skin makes great shoe polish. Just rub it directly on the shoe, and buff with a cloth.
●The fruit itself is incredibly versatile. You can boil, fry, grill, steam, pickle or dry it. Here’s a quick and tasty idea: cook sliced bananas with a little sugar and butter. Mash and enjoy with pancakes. References : http://www.dnaindia.com
Count one wrong if you guessed Death Valley in California. True enough on many days. But El Azizia in Libya recorded a temperature of 136 degrees Fahrenheit (57.8 Celsius) on Sept. 13, 1922 — the hottest ever measured. In Death Valley, it got up to 134 Fahrenheit on July 10, 1913.
2. And the coldest place around here?
Far and away, the coldest temperature ever measured on Earth was -129 Fahrenheit (-89 Celsius) at Vostok, Antarctica, on July 21, 1983.
3. What makes thunder?
If you thought, "Lightning!" then hats off to you. But I had a more illuminating answer in mind. The air around a lightning bolt is superheated to about five times the temperature of the Sun. This sudden heating causes the air to expand faster than the speed of sound, which compresses the air and forms a shock wave; we hear it as thunder.
4. Can rocks float?
In a volcanic eruption, the violent separation of gas from lava produces a "frothy" rock called pumice, loaded with gas bubbles. Some of it can float, geologists say. I've never seen this happen, and I'm thankful for that.
5. Can rocks grow?
Yes, but observing the process is less interesting than watching paint dry. Rocks called iron-manganese crusts grow on mountains under the sea. The crusts precipitate material slowly from seawater, growing about 1 millimeter every million years. Your fingernails grow about the same amount every two weeks.
6. How much space dust falls to Earth each year?
Estimates vary, but the USGS says at least 1,000 million grams, or roughly 1,000 tons of material enters the atmosphere every year and makes its way to Earths surface. One group of scientists claims microbes rain down from space, too, and that extraterrestrial organisms are responsible for flu epidemics. There's been no proof of this, and I'm not holding my breath.
7. How far does regular dust blow in the wind?
A 1999 study showed that African dust finds its way to Florida and can help push parts of the state over the prescribed air quality limit for particulate matter set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The dust is kicked up by high winds in North Africa and carried as high as 20,000 feet (6,100 meters), where it's caught up in the trade winds and carried across the sea. Dust from China makes its way to North America, too.
8. Where is the worlds highest waterfall?
The water of Angel Falls in Venezuela drops 3,212 feet (979 meters).
9. What two great American cities are destined to merge?
The San Andreas fault, which runs north-south, is slipping at a rate of about 2 inches (5 centimeters) per year, causing Los Angeles to move towards San Francisco. Scientists forecast LA will be a suburb of the City by the Bay in about 15 million years.
10. Is Earth a sphere?
Because the planet rotates and is more flexible than you might imagine, it bulges at the midsection, creating a sort of pumpkin shape. The bulge was lessening for centuries but now, suddenly, it is growing, a recent study showed. Accelerated melting of Earth's glaciers is taking the blame for the gain in equatorial girth. References : http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/101_earth_facts_030722-1.html
April 12th, 2009 at 11:34 am
its a fruit all plants with internal seeds are fruits
References :
April 12th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
a pineapple is a berry.
the longest single vowel word is "strengths"
Dora the explorers last name is "marquez"
References :
April 12th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Plastics take 500 years to break down.
References :
April 12th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
Bananas in a nutshell:
Bananas originated in Malaysia around 4,000 years ago.
● The term derived from an Arabic word meaning ‘finger’.
● In 327 BC, Alexander the Great’s army recorded them being grown in India.
● The fruit was introduced to America in about 1482 AD by Portuguese explorers. In the early days, it was only eaten
by Americans living in the seacoast towns where the banana
schooners docked; because of the fruit’s fragility, it could not be transported far.
● Bananas come in about 400 varities. Have you seen green-andwhite striped, pink, purple and black bananas? They exist!
● The plant is not truly a tree, even though it can reach a height of 8 metres or more. It is actually a herb, and the fruit is technically a ‘berry’.
● Banana is today the fourth largest fruit under cultivation, after grapes, citrus fruits and apples.
Nutrition Facts:
The average banana contains a whopping 467 mg potassium
and only 1 mg sodium, making it an excellent food for
maintaining normal blood pressure and keeping arteries free
of clogged fats.
● Its potassium content also keeps bones healthy, by preventing urinary calcium loss caused by high-salt diets.
● The fruit protects against stomach ulcers. Combined with
milk, it significantly suppresses acid secretion.
● Stomach upset? Eat a banana. The potassium in it is a vital electrolyte that will rapidly restore your fluid balance. Pectin, a soluble fibre, helps normalise digestive movement and ease constipation.
● Banana contains beneficial bacteria that improves our ability to absorb nutrients. This reduces the time that food stays in the gastrointestinal tract, decreasing risk of colon cancer.
● Bananas with more ‘golden’ flesh contain more arotenoids,
which protect against certain cancers, heart disease and
diabetes.
● A study shows that women who eat bananas four to six times a week halve their risk of developing kidney cancer.
● Women taking diuretics need to eat a banana every day to
compensate for potassium loss.
The banana is unique because it has a lot of uses:
● The root can be ground or chopped up for use as a fertiliser.
● The outer layer of the trunk, being tough, makes good animal feed.
● The young inner trunk is mashed for use in curries, stews and sauces.
● Fibre from banana stem is used to make string, twine or rope, which in turn can be used for everything from weaving place mats, carry bags, hats and purses to tying up portions of herbs and leafy vegetables for sale in the vegetable market.
● And the banana leaf? So versatile! Use it for making environment-friendly containers and trays, or for cooking and wrapping food in asian countries.
● In southern India and South-East Asia, some dishes are prepared by wrapping ingredients in banana leaves and then boiling, steaming or grilling them. Food absorbs the delicate taste and scent of the leaves, and moisture in the leaves helps keep the food fresh longer.
● Young banana leaves are placed on burns.
● In many cultures, leaves serve as plates for holding flowers for prayer, as bridal gifts, or at the bedside of a terminally ill person.
● Dry leaves can be mixed with coconut oil and lime to polish metal.
● Leaves are used in villages across the world as sunshades and umbrellas!
● The sap of the plant is used to dye cloth in a light brown colour.
Traditional healers also use it to reduce hysteria, epilepsy, leprosy, fevers and diarrhoea.
● The blossoms are used in curries, to relieve bronchitis, dysentery and ulcers.
● Sturdy banana stalks can be used for stirring food or dye cauldrons. They can also be moulded to make toys. African girls fashion dolls from it, while boys roll up the leaves to play ball.
● Skins are used in sauces, banana wine, vinegar and fertilisers.
● The inside of a banana skin makes great shoe polish. Just rub it directly on the shoe, and buff with a cloth.
●The fruit itself is incredibly versatile. You can boil, fry, grill, steam, pickle or dry it. Here’s a quick and tasty idea: cook sliced bananas with a little sugar and butter. Mash and enjoy with pancakes.
References :
http://www.dnaindia.com
April 12th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
1. What is the hottest place on Earth?
Count one wrong if you guessed Death Valley in California. True enough on many days. But El Azizia in Libya recorded a temperature of 136 degrees Fahrenheit (57.8 Celsius) on Sept. 13, 1922 — the hottest ever measured. In Death Valley, it got up to 134 Fahrenheit on July 10, 1913.
2. And the coldest place around here?
Far and away, the coldest temperature ever measured on Earth was -129 Fahrenheit (-89 Celsius) at Vostok, Antarctica, on July 21, 1983.
3. What makes thunder?
If you thought, "Lightning!" then hats off to you. But I had a more illuminating answer in mind. The air around a lightning bolt is superheated to about five times the temperature of the Sun. This sudden heating causes the air to expand faster than the speed of sound, which compresses the air and forms a shock wave; we hear it as thunder.
4. Can rocks float?
In a volcanic eruption, the violent separation of gas from lava produces a "frothy" rock called pumice, loaded with gas bubbles. Some of it can float, geologists say. I've never seen this happen, and I'm thankful for that.
5. Can rocks grow?
Yes, but observing the process is less interesting than watching paint dry. Rocks called iron-manganese crusts grow on mountains under the sea. The crusts precipitate material slowly from seawater, growing about 1 millimeter every million years. Your fingernails grow about the same amount every two weeks.
6. How much space dust falls to Earth each year?
Estimates vary, but the USGS says at least 1,000 million grams, or roughly 1,000 tons of material enters the atmosphere every year and makes its way to Earths surface. One group of scientists claims microbes rain down from space, too, and that extraterrestrial organisms are responsible for flu epidemics. There's been no proof of this, and I'm not holding my breath.
7. How far does regular dust blow in the wind?
A 1999 study showed that African dust finds its way to Florida and can help push parts of the state over the prescribed air quality limit for particulate matter set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The dust is kicked up by high winds in North Africa and carried as high as 20,000 feet (6,100 meters), where it's caught up in the trade winds and carried across the sea. Dust from China makes its way to North America, too.
8. Where is the worlds highest waterfall?
The water of Angel Falls in Venezuela drops 3,212 feet (979 meters).
9. What two great American cities are destined to merge?
The San Andreas fault, which runs north-south, is slipping at a rate of about 2 inches (5 centimeters) per year, causing Los Angeles to move towards San Francisco. Scientists forecast LA will be a suburb of the City by the Bay in about 15 million years.
10. Is Earth a sphere?
Because the planet rotates and is more flexible than you might imagine, it bulges at the midsection, creating a sort of pumpkin shape. The bulge was lessening for centuries but now, suddenly, it is growing, a recent study showed. Accelerated melting of Earth's glaciers is taking the blame for the gain in equatorial girth.
References :
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/101_earth_facts_030722-1.html
April 12th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
kangaroo cannot jump if its tail not touch the ground
References :