Who invented the Yo-Yo?

The Yo-Yo is an ancient toy, with the oldest surviving model dating back to 500BC. Ancient Greaks made the toy from wood, metal and terracotta. In the Philippines, hunters used yo-yos as retractable weapons – rocks were attached to 6.09m long thick ropes which were hurled at wild animals. The yo-yo derives its name from a native Filipino word meaning ‘come back’.

In the 18th and 19th century, the simple yet dynamic toy that worked on the principles of physics became very popular in Europe and was known by various names like bandelore, quiz and L’emigrette.

In 1928, a Filipino American named Pedro Flores opened a small toy factory in California, USA, becoming the first person I the world to mass-produce yo-yos. The yo-yos became such a rage that a businessman, Donald Duncan bought over Flores’ company. Doncan’s factory manufactured 3600 yo-yos in an hour, earning the town of Luck in Wisconsin, the epithet of ‘Yo-Yo Capital of the World’!

The yo-yo has undergone various innovations to make it spin faster and longer. Today, yo-yo competitions are held all over the world.

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Amazing Facts about Earth

Earth is a volcanic bomb

Yes, earth has more than 500 volcanoes above and below its surface. More than 80 percent of the earth, both above and below the surface is completely made of volcanic soil! Earth is a volcanic bomb!!

Earth has a twin planet

Earth had a twin planet and it has another planet called Theia. According to the current research, the twin planet disappeared. However, almost before 4.5 billion years ago, the twin planet, Theia, which was in the size of the planet mars shared the same orbit as shared by earth.

Earth don’t take 24 hours for self-rotation

We believe that earth takes 24 hours to spin it, which gives us day and night. We don’t have 24 hours a day as we follow. We run short of 3 minutes and 56 seconds a day! The actual time is 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds. However, the duration of a day can be extended by 1.5 hours extra. This could happen after 250 million years and caused due to slower rotation of the earth.

Earth is blue 

The colour of the earth is blue! Yes, the colour due to water. Around 70 percent of the earth is covered by water bodies and earth appears blue! Guess what, not more than 5 percent of the earth is explored by the humans! Earth is a mystery!

No equal gravity 

Gravity isn’t equally distributed to all regions on the earth! A few places have less gravity and vice versa. For instance, Hudson Bay, Canada has lesser gravity. Lower rate of land mass is the major reason for reduced gravity.

Water 

Around 70 percent of earth’s fresh water (almost more than two-third) is found in Antarctica.

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Animal Facts for Kids

There are so many species of animals in this world. From the smallest insect to the biggest mammal whale, every animal has its unique set of characteristics and facts we are unaware about. Here we put together some of the most astounding, amazing and interesting facts about animals you never knew about. Check them out; we are sure that you would be surprised at most of these facts. Amaze your friends with your new found knowledge.

• Ostriches are one of the fastest running animals; they happen to run faster than horses. To top this, the male ostriches are known to roar like lions.
• Houseflies have an extremely short lifespan of 14 days. While they are alive, they always hum in the ‘F’ key.
• Although they belong to the same family, snow leopards are different from lions and tigers when it comes to roaring. Snow leopards cannot roar because of their under-developed vocal cords.
• Bats are the only mammals that possess the ability to fly.
• Everybody knows that kangaroos hop to move from one place to the other. However, very few know that they use their tail in order to hop.
• Therefore, if its tail is held off the ground, then kangaroos would not be able to hop.
• Spiders are creepy little insects. On an average there are around 50,000 spiders crawling on a green bed of grass.
• The stripes on a tiger’s body are not only printed on the fur but they are also imprinted on their skin. Hence, no tigers have similar pattern of stripes on their body.
• The tallest dog in the world is, the Great Dane, and the heaviest dog in the world is, the St. Bernard dog.
• Gorillas are prone to catching human cold and other illnesses.
• A lion living in the wild forests does not kill more than 20 preys in one year.
• The female lion on the other hand is known to hunt 90% of the food killed for the family.
• One of the species of ant named, Mycocepurus Smithii, do not require male ants for reproduction. Their queens are capable of reproducing clones without having to follow the normal reproduction process.
• Chow is the only dog in this world that does not have a pink tongue like the other dogs.
• Water creatures like crocodiles, whales, alligators, dolphins, turtles and water snakes if kept underwater for a very long time, have a tendency to drown.
• Chinese farmers are known to keep almost half of the pigs in the world on their farms.
• Dogs have better eyesight than humans do. However, what dogs see is not as colourful as what humans see.
• Surprisingly deer have no gall bladders.
• There are different types of zebras. Every type of zebra is distinguished with the stripe pattern on their body.
• In order to escape from a crocodile’s jaw, one must push in a thumb into his eyeball. This will make him release the grip.
• Fleas are able to jump 200 times their height, which is same as a man jumping over the New York’s Empire State Building.
• Cows have four stomachs inside their body. A single cow can produce harmful methane gas to fill approximately 40 litres of bottles in one day.
• Cats have 32 muscles in each ear, which gives them a very good hearing sense.
• Bats cannot walk as the bones in their leg are extremely thin.
• Elephants and humpback whales are the only mammals to undergo menopause apart from human females.
• A species of spider named tarantula spider has the capability to survive without food for more than two years.
• The humps on camels are used to store fat which when required during extreme situations can be turned into food and water.
• Snow leopards also feed upon vegetation like grass and twigs besides eating animals like sheep and goats.
• Titanomyrma Giganteum was the largest ant discovered. It measured 2.4 inches long with 6 inches of wingspan.
• When a dog is feeling hot, they tend to sweat through the pads of their claws. They lie down on the floor and start panting which helps them to cool down quickly.
• Zebras are black skinned animals covered with white fur and black stripes over it.
• Cows are capable of sleeping while they stand. However, they can only dream when they lie down and sleep.
• Alligators can survive up to 100 years.
• On an average, a fox can weigh up to 14 pounds and an elephant tooth can weigh up to 9 pounds.
• If a scorpion is injected with even a small drop of alcohol, it will go crazy and sting itself to death.
• Ants o not sleep and they also do not have lungs.
• The flamingo bird is only able to eat when its head is upside down.
• An African butterfly can kill up to six cats with a poison from inside its body.
• Baby kangaroos are only 1 inch long after birth, which is the size of a queen bee.
• A grasshopper is capable of taking leaps that are 20 times higher than its own body height.
• Animals can produce 30 times more waste than humans can, which adds up to 1.4 billion tons per year.
• The male rabbits are known as, a buck, while the female rabbits are known as, does.
• The nose of a snow leopard is small, however it has a wide nasal cavity that allows the air that is breathed in, to warm up, before it reaches the leopard’s lungs.

There are so many animals on this planet, and even more amazing facts about them. Watch out for this space every week, and we will keep you updated with more facts. Please go through our archives and if you know about any interesting fact, please feel free to mention it in the below comments section.

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