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Interior Design Fail: Popping bubble wrap is a universal source of satisfaction, but its original purpose may surprise you. Bubble wrap was initially invented by two engineers in 1957 as a textured wallpaper. However, their creation didn’t take off in the interior design world. Fortunately, its true destiny was found in protecting fragile items during shipping and bringing joy to stress-relieving enthusiasts worldwide.
This Scale Is Broken: Clouds may appear fluffy and weightless, but they’re heavier than they seem. On average, a cloud weighs around 1.1 million pounds (500,000 kilograms). To put that into perspective, it’s equivalent to the weight of about 100 adult Asian elephants! So, next time you find yourself looking up at the sky, remember the colossal weight that floats above you.
The Royal Game of Ur is the oldest playable board game in the world, originating around 4,600 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia. The game’s rules were written on a cuneiform tablet by a Babylonian astronomer in 177 BC. From this, curator Irving Finkel was able to decipher the rules – two players compete to race their pieces from one end of the board to the other. The central squares were also used for fortune-telling. If you want to try the game for yourself, you can buy your very own replica from Amazon.
J’s Periodic Plight: The periodic table, a tabular arrangement of chemical elements, has a unique quirk. Among the 118 known elements, none of them have a symbol starting with the letter ‘J’. From Hydrogen to Oganesson, every letter in the English alphabet gets its moment to shine, except for ‘J’. This absence is primarily due to the fact that ‘J’ is not a commonly used letter in the languages where many of the elements were discovered and named. So, while ‘J’ might feel left out in the world of chemistry, it certainly has its presence felt elsewhere!
Pizzly or Grolar? Nature often throws in delightful surprises, and the “Pizzly Bear” is one such marvel. When a Polar Bear and a Grizzly Bear mate, their hybrid offspring is humorously called a “Pizzly Bear.” These hybrids, also known as “Grolar Bears,” inherit characteristics from both parents. They might have the long neck of a polar bear and the humped back of a grizzly. While such occurrences are rare in the wild, climate change and the resulting habitat overlap might lead to more such unions.
TRIVIA
- What is the name of the main character in the “Half-Life” series?
- Which animal is known for its ability to change color to match its surroundings?
- What is the capital city of Australia?
- What is the smallest unit of matter?
- Which American president issued a proclamation in 1863, establishing Thanksgiving as a national holiday?
(See below for answers)
CELESTIAL WATCH
November 3 – Jupiter at Opposition – Jupiter will be at its closest approach to Earth, and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. It will be brighter than any other time of the year and will be visible all night long. This is the best time to view and photograph Jupiter and its moons. A medium-sized telescope should be able to show some of the details in Jupiter’s cloud bands, while a good pair of binoculars should allow you to see Jupiter’s four largest moons.
November 4, 5 – Taurids Meteor Shower – The Taurids meteor shower is a minor meteor shower that produces only about 5-10 meteors per hour. It is unique in that it consists of two separate streams, with the first produced by dust grains left behind by Asteroid 2004 TG10, and the second produced by debris left behind by Comet 2P Encke. The shower runs from September 7 to December 10 annually, and this year it will peak on the night of November 4 and the morning of November 5. The second-quarter moon will block most of the dim meteors this year, but a few good ones can still be seen with patience. Best viewing will be just after midnight from a dark location far from city lights, and meteors can appear anywhere in the sky.
November 13 – New Moon – The new moon will occur at 09:28 UTC, and it will not be visible in the night sky. This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere.
November 13 – Uranus at Opposition – Uranus, the blue-green planet, will be at its closest approach to Earth and fully illuminated by the Sun, making it brighter than any other time of the year. It will be visible all night long, making it the best time to view Uranus. However, due to its distance, it will only appear as a tiny blue-green dot in most telescopes, except the most powerful ones.
November 17-18 – Leonids Meteor Shower – The Leonids meteor shower is expected to produce up to 15 meteors per hour at its peak. This annual shower is produced by dust grains left behind by comet Tempel-Tuttle and runs from November 6-30. This year, it will peak on the night of November 17 and early morning of November 18. The shower is unique as it has a cyclonic peak every 33 years where hundreds of meteors per hour can be seen. The crescent moon will set before midnight, offering dark skies for an excellent early morning show. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Leo, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
November 27 – Full Moon – The Moon will be located on the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun, with its face fully illuminated at 09:17 UTC. This full moon is known as the Beaver Moon by early Native American tribes, as it was the time of year to set the beaver traps before the swamps and rivers froze. It has also been called the Frosty Moon and the Dark Moon.
KICKS & GIGGLES
- “You’re barking up the wrong tree.” – This phrase means that someone is pursuing the wrong course of action or asking the wrong person for help.
- What has a heart that doesn’t beat? (Answer: a deck of cards)
- I am full of holes but still hold water. What am I? (Answer: a sponge)
- Why don’t eggs tell jokes? Because they might crack up!
BACK IN TIME
November Birthday – American frontiersman Daniel Boone (1734-1820) was born in Berks County, near Reading, Pennsylvania.
November 3, 1839 – The first Opium War between China and Britain began after British frigates blew up several Chinese junks.
November 6, 1860 – Abraham Lincoln was elected as the 16th U.S. President and the first Republican. He received 180 of 303 possible electoral votes and 40 percent of the popular vote.
November 13, 1956 – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation on public buses was unconstitutional.
MEMORABLE QUOTES
- “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
- “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” – Robert Louis Stevenson.
ANSWERS TO TRIVIA
- Gordan Freeman
- Chameleon
- Canberra
- Atom
- Abraham Lincoln
Read last month’s edition, here [October 2023 Edition]