Tag: Discover,wordpress,blog,the wordpress.com blog

• August 23, 2020

  The Chicxulub Hit

  One of the largest collisions by an extraterrestrial object with the Earth was the Chicxulub hit, 66 million years ago.  The asteroid is estimated to have been six to nine miles in circumference. Its impact created an impact crater more than a hundred miles across and twelve miles deep.  It was only discovered in 1978…
• August 23, 2020

  Bee Hummingbird

            The Bee Hummingbird, Mellisuga helenae, is the world’s smallest bird. These birds weigh less than a dime. They are found in parts of Cuba and nearby islands. They really are not much bigger than bees, so the name is quite accurate.            Bee hummingbirds eat small insects and nectar. They are agile flyers, beating their wings…
• August 20, 2020

  Flying snakes

  The thought of flying snakes could give nightmares to people fearful of snakes. Flying snakes are somewhat misnamed, because they actually glide.  There are five species of these airborne snakes in the genus  Chrysopelea, native to South and Southeast Asia from India to Indonesia. They range from two to four feet long.  When they start…
• August 20, 2020

  Kilt

  The kilt really is a kind of men’s skirt, pleated at the back and made of a plaid said to belong to the wearer’s clan. The kilt originated in traditional clothing of men in the mountainous Scottish Highlands, men who spoke Gaelic and were Roman Catholic. Lowland Scots were not Celtic, but the kilt now…
• August 20, 2020

  Dollar

  The word “dollar” is associated with the United States and its currency system, but the word has an interesting history that began long before the US became a country.  The story of the dollar starts in 1518, when a rich vein of silver was found in a valley in Bohemia, then part of the Hapsburg…
• August 16, 2020

  The Wall Street You May Not Know

  Wall Street is an actual street in lower Manhattan. It has been near the center of the American economy for two centuries, and is associated with the stock market, banks and other financial institutions. Because of the association, the words “Wall Street” have come to mean the whole financial apparatus of banking and finance. The…