Which dinosaurs used claws to kill their prey? A dinosaur named Deinonychus meaning ‘terrible claw’ and its kin had claws to kill their prey which would comprise even larger animals. They would leap at their prey and slash them with their claw. The claw was...
Why is the mocking bird called so? The mocking bird is very good at imitating the songs and cries of other birds. It even improves on a bird’s song by adding its own runs and trills. The bird also imitates other sounds like a dog’s...
Why do plants turn toward the sunlight? Plants use chlorophyll to make their food and it is found in leaves. Chlorophyll needs sunlight to produce food or sugar. Plant cells have something called auxins which collect in the cells on the side of the stem...
Why is the White House called so? The White House didn’t always have this name. But it has always been the official residence of the American president. Initially it was called the President’s house or mansion or palace. It was built of grey sandstone at...
Where was the first theatre? Theaters developed in Greece first as part of religious worship. The stage was a circle of turf on which worshippers danced around the altar of Dionysus. There were theatres in Greece as early as 500 BC. The first permanent stone...
What causes lightning? A Cloud has droplets of water which have a positive electrical charge at the top of the cloud and a negative charge at the bottom. Sometimes the negative charge comes near an attracting positive charge on the earth or another cloud. This...
Did the Persians and Greeks wage war? The Persians and Greeks fought each other for several years. In 480 BC, the Battle of Salamis occurred. In this war, the Persian fleet had to retreat before the might of the Greek triremes. Triremes were ships powered...
How many constellations are there in the sky? As of now there are totally 88 constellations in the sky. Not all of them are visible from any one place on earth. While some are in the skies of the southern hemisphere, others are seen south...
Where do parrots originate? One of the oldest birds in existence is the parrot. More than 600 species of parrots exist today. They are found mostly in the tropics, including places like southern Asia, Australia, North Africa, and the Malaysian islands. Parrots are very adaptable,...
Do mermaids exist? Mermaids are half-human and half-fish. But they exist only in folklore. The sirens who tempt sailors to their deaths in ancient Greek mythology are mermaids. Germans call them Rhine maidens who live in a castle at the bottom of the river. The...
