by Kathy Wolfe This week, Tidbits counts to five to bring you the facts on this prime number. • What exactly is a prime number? It’s one that is only divisible by itself and the number one! • The Latin and Greek languages give us many words related to the number five. The Latin word for five, “quintus,” is the root for the word “quintet,” a group of five musicians. Quintuplets are a group of five babies, while in card games, a “quint” is a sequence of five cards in the same suit. The Greek word for five is “pente,” […]
February 2024
The Nervous System – BEAUTIFUL BODY –
– BEAUTIFUL BODY – It’s all about communication. That’s the job of the body’s nervous system! This week, Tidbits communicates the following facts about the body’s billions of nerve cells. • As the body’s inner means of communication, the nerve cells take in information via the body’s sense of touch, taste, smell, sight, and sound. The brain then interprets these sensory signals, allowing a person’s body to interact with the surrounding environment and prepare for action. • The nervous system has two parts – the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. The CNS includes the nerves in […]
The Worst Winter
• In the winter of 1886-87, western artist Charlie Russell was working for the O-H Ranch near Utica, Montana. When the ranch foreman needed to write to Helena to inform the owners of the ranch that all 5,000 head of the stock had died because of the harsh winter, Charlie painted a postcard depicting a starving cow beleaguered by coyotes. The drawing, entitled, “Last of the 5000” became one of his most famous paintings. • This terrible winter was responsible for ushering in the modern methods of cattle ranching. Previously, cattle had been left to wander on the Montana prairie, […]
TIDBITS® Admires Opals
by Janet Spencer It’s said that people in Ancient Greece thought opals were formed from the tears of joy shed by Zeus. In reality, opal is formed in subterranean crevices in rock due to the coming and going of silica-laden water over millions of years. Come along with Tidbits as we ogle opals! OPAL FACTS • The word “opal” dates back to around 250 BC, starting with the Sanskrit “upala” which became the Latin “opalus” meaning “precious stone” then morphed into the Greek “opalliois” meaning “changing color.” • Silicon is the second most common element in the crust of the […]
Pinky Finger – BEAUTIFUL BODY –
– BEAUTIFUL BODY – • It’s called the pinky, or the pinkie, or the little finger. It looks insignificant enough, but it carries a lot of power. Whereas the thumb works alongside the index finger and middle finger in precision work, the pinky works with the ring finger for sheer brute strength. The loss of the pinky means the loss of 50% of the gripping strength of the hand. Lose the ring finger as well, and you’ve lost 67% of the power of the hand. This is crucial for things like swinging a baseball bat, wielding an axe, using a […]
Uncomfortable Fashions
These days, most fashions are all about comfort. Not so with these historical trends! • The crinoline was worn in the 1800s by Victorian women. This bell-shaped petticoat undergarment was originally made of linen stiffened with horsehair in order to spread a skirt wider. The linen crinolines transitioned into cane and whalebone, and finally, the steel-hooped cage crinoline, which would provide a skirt circumference of about 6 yards (5.5 m), with a diameter of 6 feet. It wasn’t unusual for petticoats to weigh 30 lbs. In 1859, a New York factory employee 1,000 girls, who fabricated 300,000 yards (270,000 m) […]
TIDBITS® Explores Medieval Castles
by Kathy Wolfe This week, Tidbits uncovers the facts on some ancient fortresses from around the world. • A medieval king spent around 40% of his annual income building and maintaining castles. During the Middle Ages, the average time to build a castle was 10 years, with a cost in today’s dollars anywhere from $4 million to $120 million, depending on size and location. Unskilled workers earned a penny each day they worked, while masons and carpenters made about 5 pennies a day. Between 1282 and 1289, British King Edward I built Harlech Castle on the Irish Sea using 546 […]
The Heart – BEAUTIFUL BODY –
– BEAUTIFUL BODY – It’s the week of hearts and flowers, so how about putting the spotlight on the human heart? • A kind person is sometimes described as“having a heart as big as all outdoors.” In reality? The average heart is about the size of an adult fist and weighs somewhere between 7 and 15 ounces (200 to 425 grams), less than 0.5% of a person’s total body weight. The male heart typically weighs about 2 ounces (57 grams) more than a female one. • The heart sits between the lungs at the front of the […]
Tourmaline: The Gem
• Tourmaline is a crystal made up of boron silicate, or “borosilicate.” During formation, borosilicates are capable of joining with a whopping 35 other minerals in various combinations. Therefore, tourmaline is not a single mineral, but a group of minerals. • The presence of other minerals results in a rainbow of colors, giving tourmaline a wider range of colors than any other gemstone. There are over 100 different colors of tourmaline including white, clear, and black. Tourmaline can even display two or more colors in a single crystal. A crystal can be one color on one end, and a different […]
TIDBITS® Writes Left-Handed
by Janet Spencer Today, it’s generally accepted that neither hand is better or worse, but that each hand has specialized tasks. It’s taken us a long time to conclude that left-handed people are not “sinister.” They are just wired differently. Come along with Tidbits as we use our left hands! LEFTIES THROUGH HISTORY • Anthropologists estimate that 1.5 million years ago, 44 percent of early humans were lefties. About 30,000 years ago, during the last ice age, around 23 percent were left-handed. Numbers dropped steadily until about a century ago. A hundred years ago, only two percent of Americans were […]
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