Bread is a dietary staple throughout much of the world and has been throughout history. This food can be made from the flour of grains such as wheat, corn, spelt, rice, millet, rye, or barley, or from nuts including almonds and coconut... Read more
The great white shark, also known as the white shark or white pointer, is the largest extant species of mackerel shark. This animal can grow to a length of 20 feet (6.1 meters) and weigh up to 5,000 pounds (2,268 kg). They may live 70 years or more in the wild... Read more
A tea cup or teacup is a type of drinking glass especially designed for serving hot tea. Teacups are generally shorter but wider than coffee mugs. Morning tea cups may be larger than afternoon tea cups. Oriental tea cups are often smaller still and lack handles. Teacups are generally part of a tea set for preparing and serving the beverage. Such a set may include a teapot, saucers, teaspoons, and other paraphernalia... Read more
A tea pot or teapot is a special cooking vessel used for steeping leaves to make tea. It is similar to the tea kettle used for heating water over a fire or stove. The teapot, however, typically has a sieve built into it or one that can be used with it to strain the tea leaves from the water... Read more
Starbucks is a chain coffee shop known around the world. The company was named after a character in Herman Melville's Moby Dick. Its logo is a "twin-tailed mermaid, or siren as she's known in Greek mythology." The green color represents the college of the founders... Read more
A katana is a curved sword that was used by the samurai of feudal Japan. Katana have been in use since the 1300s. As trade with Japan increased, these weapons became famous around the world: "Western historians have said that katana were among the finest cutting weapons in world military history... Read more
The bass is a North American game fish or sport fish, part of a family of fishes known as sunfish. A number of unrelated saltwater fish are known as sea bass... Read more
The skull has, naturally, long been a symbol of death. In one famous scene from the 1948 film Hamlet, the title character holds and speaks to the skull of his friend while... Read more
Lips have long featured in popular culture. Since time immemorial, poets have waxed romantic about the fleshy protuberances surrounding the mouth. William Shakespeare cast young Romeo to swoon over his Juliet: "Thy lips, two blushing pilgrims ready stand." Love letters are sealed with a kiss, and school supplies, clothing, and everything in between may be emblazoned with puckered lips, especially near the... Read more
Hand washing or hand hygiene is important to everyone's health. Long ago, before the discovery of germs, people thought that sickness was caused by "miasma" or "bad air." It wasn't until the mid-1800s that doctors and nurses realized how important handwashing was in protecting their patients from infection... Read more
A helicopter, also called a chopper, is a type of aircraft that uses a rotor, or spinning blade, to take off and land vertically. Unlike airplanes, helicopters don't need a runway. Other rotorcraft include convertiplanes, autogiros or autogyros, and V/STOL aircraft... Read more
For most of human history, weapons of war consisted of various types of clubs, blades such as daggers and swords, and piercing, poisoned, or flaming projectiles launched from slings, bows, or catapults. The face of war changed drastically with the invention of the gun around the year AD 1000... Read more
The term grape describes about 80 species of vining plants native to the northern hemisphere. The plants grow quite large, reaching lengths of 56 feet (17 meters) or more... Read more
The Vikings, called Northmen or Norsemen, were a seafaring people from the Scandinavian region of Europe... Read more
The toucan is a tropical bird famous for its large, colorful beak. There are about 15 species of toucan native to South and Central America. Smaller birds similar in appearance to toucans are called toucanets or aracaris... Read more
In Greek mythology, Poseidon was best known as the god of the sea and water. He was also the deity of earthquakes, storms, and horses. His name means "lord or husband of the earth."... Read more
The trumpet, also spelled trompette or trompete, is a musical instrument of the brass wind family. The term "trumpet" describes a number of instruments throughout history played by vibrating the lips against the mouthpiece. The earliest trumpets were made from the horns of animals such as rams or bulls, or conch shells. Today, trumpets are made of metal... Read more
Thermometers are instruments used to measure temperature. The first thermometer was built in 1592 by Galileo Galilei. They did not become widely available until the 1800s... Read more
Totoro is the title character of an animated 1988 fantasy film. My Neighbor Totoro follows the adventures of two young girls in rural post-war Japan who move into a new home. Their friends include dust-like spirits called susuwatari, a cat-shaped bus, and the large rabbit-like spirit of the woods known as Totoro... Read more
Before the advent of refrigeration and electricity, preserving food for later use was a major concern. Some foods could be kept in root cellars, others fermented, others dried. Then, in the year 1800, a French inventor developed a means of sealing food in airtight containers. Canning was born... Read more