Beauty is a vital and central element of human experience. Poets praise it, artists strive to capture it in their works, moralists warn against its deceiving influence, scientists seek to uncover its secrets, and philosophers reflect on its illusive nature.
Classical Western philosophy has regarded beauty as one of the three fundamental concepts of human understanding: truth (and falsehood), good (and evil), beauty (and ugliness).
In the sixteenth century Elizabeth I (1533 – 1603) took only four baths a year! Mary Queen of Scots chose to bathe in wine. Milk was recommended for a pale skin. In the next century water was still considered unhealthy and wife of Samuel Pepys (1633 – 1703) preferred to wash her face in puppy’s urine.
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A mirror is a smooth surface that shows images of the objects near it. Most mirrors are a sheet of glass with a shiny metallic coating on the back.
The appearance of an image in a mirror is called a reflection. Reflection happens when light hits a surface. If the light cannot pass through the surface, it bounces off, or reflects. Most surfaces absorb some light and reflect some light, Mirrors, however, reflect almost all the light that hits them. The metallic coating on the back causes the reflection.
Most mirrors are flat. They are called plane mirrors. Images in a plane mirror are reversed. People use plane mirrors to check their appearance.
Mirrors are made in factories with special machinery. First, a sheet of glass is polished smooth and cleaned. Next, the back of the glass is covered with a thin layer of silver, aluminum, or another metal. Then the metal is covered with copper, varnish, or paint to protect it from scratches.
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As historians and archaeologists say the Greeks chewed the prototype of modern chewing gum, derived from the bark of the mastic tree.
In 1870, Thomas Adams, creator of the popular in those days chewing gum Black Jack, was the first to use a variety of flavors.
In 1871, he had patented a machine for the manufacture of chewing gum.
In 1880, William White offered minty taste in his trademark product Yucatan Gum. Since then peppermint had become one of the most common fillers in the “bubble” industry.
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The official name is People’s Republic of China. Its area is 9,596,960 square kilometers (3,705,407 square miles). China is Asia’s largest country.
China is the world’s oldest surviving civilization. In 221, Zheng, ruler of the small state of Qin, from which the country’s modern name comes, annexed the last of the six rival kingdoms and took the title of Qin Shi Iluangdi, meaning ‘First August Emperor of Qin’.
China’s oldest written history dates from about 90 BC. Known as the Shi Ji (‘Historical Records’), it was compiled by Sima Qian, a court astrologer and Grand Scribe. The 130-chapter book became the model for a series of 26 standard histories.
Ancient China traded with imperial Rome, but the Chinese and the Romans never met. The only link between the two civilizations was the Silk Road, which ran overland around the northern edge of the Himalayas from China to the eastern Mediterranean coast, with a branch leading south into India. During the 2nd century BC, camel caravans laden with silk, then a Chinese monopoly, began to move regularly along this arduous 11,200 km (7000 miles) route.
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Airedale
This terrier with its rough, wiry coat, originated about 100 years ago in the Valley of Aire in England. Airedales are used to hunt large game in the United States, Canada, Africa, and India. This breed was one of the first to be used for police work.
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Tuatara is the closest living relative to the dinosaurs of the past. Dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago, but tuataras didn’t. Scientists think that they survived because of their small size. Tuataras have a third eye on the top of their heads. They don’t actually see with it but use it as a light sensor.

Dinosaurs roared for about 150 million years before they disappeared. We humans have only been around for about 2 million years. But cockroaches are 350 million years old and still going strong! Cockroaches can survive in extreme conditions. They can be frozen, then thawed, and walk away as if nothing had happened. They can go for incredibly long time without eating anything. And that is the secret of their success. When there’s nothing to eat at all, they’ll turn on each other and dine on their friends. They can even recover after being frozen!
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An eclipse happens when one object in space blocks another from view. For example, during a solar eclipse the Moon comes between Earth and the sun. The Moon blocks the sun for a time so that people on Earth cannot see it.
Solar eclipse is one of nature’s most breathtaking eclipses. It happens when the Moon moves in front of the Sun for a few minutes, blocking its light and underneath the Moon’s shadow darkness falls. There are three types of solar eclipses: total, partial, and annular. Total solar eclipses are rare.
Unlike a solar eclipse, where the Sun is hidden, we can still see the Moon during a total lunar eclipse. This is because there is enough scattered light from the Earth to illuminate the lunar surface, but in a deep blood red.
Eclipses are very short, with totality lasting just a couple of minutes. Others can last six or seven minutes. You can see the planets during an eclipse.
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