Interesting FAQs

What is mobile elbow?
The mobile elbow results from using the mobile for long hours. Called the ‘cubital tunnel syndrome’, it is also called ‘cell phone elbow’. The problem occurs when the ulnar nerve, which runs across the elbow, down to the ring and little fingers, gets over-stretched and blood supply is restricted, sparked by holding a phone to the ear for long periods.

Why does steel glow when it’s hot?
Hot steel glows red when hot because its atoms vibrate with a lot of energy. The amount of energy varies in atoms resulting in a range of colours.

What does January mean?
The original Roman calendar had 10 named months from March to December and two unnamed months during winter. These two months were named January and February by Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome circa 700 BC. January is named after Janus, the Roman ‘god of gates, doors and the beginnings’.

What’s the Aafbau principle?
The physical and chemical properties of elements are determined by the atomic structure. This, in turn, is determined by electrons and the shells, sub-shells and orbitals they reside in. The rules of placing electrons within shells is known as the Aafbau principle, which originally means ‘building up’.

What is Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US?
A case filed under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection is commonly referred to as a ‘reorganization or restructuring bankruptcy’. Chapter 11 is a part of the US Bankruptcy Code under which an insolvent company is allowed to reorganize and is not liquidated. It is not shut down and sold off.

Why does the jasmine bloom only at night?
Like all other flowering plants, jasmine also produces a flowerinducing hormone in its leaves when exposed to bright sunlight. This hormone is called florigen (flower-generating hormone) and it migrates from the leaves to flowering shoots during the day. It accumulates in the flowering shoots of the jasmine plant and induces flowering during the night.

What is a Roman circus?
It was an open air stadium used for public events in the Roman empire. empire. The events usually held in such a circus were chariot and horse races and performances commemorating historical events. The performance space would be rectangular or oval surrounded by several tiers of seats for spectators. The circus would be decorated with ornate columns, obelisks and statues. The first circus built in Rome was the Circus Maximus which also happened to be its largest.

What does the phrase ‘chicken out’ mean?
To chicken out is to stop doing something because of fear or lose courage while doing something. Sometimes, it is also used to ask a person, “Are you chicken?” or even as “Jack chickened out...”. The chicken is a timid bird, which also gave rise to ‘chicken-hearted’.

ANY ANSWERS?
Why are cellphones switched off while travelling in flights?
How is the mass of heavenly bodies measured?
What is an electron gun?
Who invented the speech bubble and when was it first used?
What is a dirty bomb?
How do ears help balance the body?

How did the term ‘yorker’ originate?

What is a prebituary?
A prebituary is an obituary composed or published prior to a person’s death — it is a writeup of the lifetime achievements of famous personalities to mark their 65th birthdays. Most newspapers and media networks keep such obituaries of famous people ready.

What is passive immunity?
There are two types of immunity for infectious microorganisms: active immunity and passive immunity. Passive immunity is provided by artificial means such as injections of antibodies and vaccines. The agents used for passive immunity include antibodies from humans or animals.

Why are viruses at the borderline of living and non-living things?
A virus has a very simple composition. It has a protein sheath inside which there is a strand of DNA. A virus shows some properties akin to living organisms. However, unlike other organisms, they show some properties that are akin to non-living things. They can undergo crystallization and in that form, survive for billions of years. They can survive high temperatures, freezing cold and UV radiation in space vacuum, in crystallized form.

How did the term ‘yorker’ originate?
‘Yorker’ is a cricketing term for a straight ball that passes underneath the striker’s bat, especially by pitching it right up to or just inside the popping crease. To ‘york’ means to cheat, trick or over-reach a person. It is also called so because its aim is to ‘entice’ the batsman, who, in moving forward to play it as a full toss, may be yorked as the ball passes under the bat.

If the density of gold is more than that of iron, why is gold softer than iron?
All metals have specific crystalline structures. There exist line defects and plane defects in a crystal system. The more these defects, the more easily the metal deforms. Noble metals like platinum, gold and silver have a high density of such defects and they deform easily, making them soft metals.

What is Burundanga?
Burundanga is the other name of the drug Scopolamine, used for criminal activities like rape or robbery. The drug is passed on to the victim through business cards, pamphlets, etc. Even if the skin, through touch, absorbs just a very small quantity of the drug it has the desired effect. The drug is also administered through tablets added to drinks. This is known as the ‘dating drug’.

What is a cobblestone race?
It is part of the Paris-Roubaix cycling race over 257 km, from Paris to Roubaix, near the Belgium border. Of this distance, nearly 53 km is over cobblestones, which is the most dangerous part. The winner gets a mounted gravel cobblestone as a trophy.

How are sunrise and sunset determined for a place?
Sunset occurs when the upper edge of the sun — called the upper limb — sinks just under the horizon; sunrise occurs when the upper limb rises just above the horizon.

ANY ANSWERS?
Why are danger signals in red, when the eye is most sensitive to yellow and green?
Which is the oldest dance form?
How is doldrum pressure formed?
What is ratware?
Where did the phrase ‘throw in the towel’ originate?
What is bio-amplification?

What is a slumpometer?

What is a slumpometer?
The global slumpometer is a yardstick economists use to measure the severity of the recession in various economies across the world. It takes into account unemployment, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Gross Domestic Income (GDI). To the average person, rising unemployment and pink slips mean a recession. While for many economists, a recession has arrived when there’s a dip in GDP for two successive quarters. For others, a recession is when the GDI begins to dip, and is a more reliable factor than GDP.

What is a surgical strike?
A surgical strike is an attack using missiles, bombers or on the ground against certain specific targets. The strike is planned with surgical precision so that they cause damage only to the planned targets and cause minimum damage to their surroundings. These attacks are usually carried out against terrorist camps or facilities such as power stations, armouries, etc.

How did the term ‘window dressing’ originate?
Textile and readymade shops dress mannequins (models of human bodies) with attractive clothing they sell and place them in display windows. Likewise, mutual funds and banks add more temporary assets and liabilities on year ends to ensure their balance sheets remain attractive to the public, especially to investors. As their intention is to dress up their balance sheets to make them attractive like a shopper does to the mannequins, the term ‘window dressing’ is used to mean artificial inflation of assets which will wear off after the year-end.

What are ‘first serve’ and ‘second serve’ in tennis?
In tennis, there is a specified boundary marked on the court behind which the ball should fall as a player serves. So, if the ball hits the net and falls back to the server’s court or goes beyond the marked boundary on the opponent’s court, it is a wrong serve. As a rule, a player is allowed to serve again if the ‘first serve’ is wrong; this serve is called ‘second serve’.

At what speed does electricity travel compared to light?
Electrical fields in theory do transmit at the speed of light. In real systems, wires have capacitance and other effects that slow the propagation. Typical propagation speeds are 0.3 to 0.7 times the speed of light.

What is a stalemate in chess?
When a player has no legal moves, it is not possible to proceed further in the game. This results in a stalemate, provided his king is not in check. The game is declared a draw when such a situation arises, no matter what advantage one side has over the other.

How do clouds move?
Clouds are formed when water evaporates from rivers, ponds, oceans, and lakes. High cirrus clouds are moved by a jet stream and sometimes travel at 100 kmph. When clouds are a part of a thunderstorm, they usually travel at 30-40 kmph.

What is the Jagd and Hund fair?
It is the ‘Hunting and Hounds’ fair where exhibitors present the latest trends in fishing
and hunting.

ANY ANSWERS?

What is a google bomb?

Why is the empty space in a car measured in litres?

What is a delta triangle?

What is the significance of concentric circles on boards in metro stations?

Which is the first GPRSenabled cellphone in the world?

What gives sunrise and sunset an orange glow?

What does Roadrunner refer to?

What does Roadrunner refer to?
It’s the world’s fastest supercomputer built by scientists at IBM and Los Alamos National Laboratory for the US military. It can compute about 1.026 quadrillion calculations per second. It will be primarily used for military problems, particularly to ensure the accurate functioning of ageing nuclear weapons.

Who are the youngest and oldest captains to win the soccer world cup?
The youngest captain was Cafuaka Marcos Evangelista de Moraes from Brazil. Born on June 7, 1970, he won the World Cup in 1994 and 2002. The oldest captain is Dino Zoff from Italy, born on February 28, 1942. He won the World Cup in 1982.

What is the Armenian genocide?
The Armenian genocide was carried out by the Young Turk government of the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1916 and from 1922 to 1923. About 1.5 million Armenians out of the 2.5 million in the empire were killed. Armenians all over the world commemorate the tragedy on April 24 every year.

What is a gluten-free diet?
Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. In some genetically predisposed children, food containing gluten causes small-bowl mucusal damage resulting in a disease called gluten-sensitive enteropathy or celiac disease. The treatment is a strict gluten-free diet i.e. elimination of wheat, rye and barley products from the diet.

What is Riemann Hypo thesis?
Riemann Hypothesis is an important result in Mathematics whose truth or otherwise is not yet known. This was conjectured by the German mathematician Gerhard Riemann in 1859. A lot of results have been proved on the assumption that the Riemann Hypothesis is true. They would all stand or fall based on whether the hypothesis is proved or disproved.

What is Fat Tuesday?
Fat Tuesday is Mardi Gras, where gras is French for fat and Mardi is French for Tuesday. The name comes from the tradition of slaughtering and feasting on a fattened calf on the last day of a carnival. The annual festivities start on January 6 and build to a climax on Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, which always occurs on the day before Ash Wednesday.

What is a gazebo?
A gazebo is a pavilion structure, often octagonal, commonly found in parks, gardens, and spacious public areas. Gazebos provide shade, basic shelter, ornamental features in a landscape and a place to rest.

What’s distinctive about Davos?
Situated at an altitude of 1,560 metres, in the heart of the Alps in Switzerland, the town of Davos has the distinction of being the largest mountain resort in the Alps and the highest town of Europe. Its major tourist attraction are winter sports. It is also a preferred place for holding international conferences like the World Economic Forum.

ANY ANSWERS?

Who owns Antarctica and its resources?
Who came up with the concept of vacuum?
Who are carpet-baggers?
What is apomixis? How does it differ from amphimixis?
How much data does the Internet contain?
What is the unit of magnetic power?

Interesteing FAQ

What is mooching?
Mooching refers to aimlessly wandering around, begging or sponging off others. Due to market crises all over the world, families in the US have taken to mooching others as a means to cut costs on a daily basis. This includes bumming rides from friends more frequently than before, asking colleagues if they need their wallet when going out for lunch and not meeting the bellboy’s eyes to avoid tipping.

What is the Hadrian Wall?
Hadrian Wall was a frontier that began to be built in 122 AD by Roman Emperor Hadrian. It is located in northern Great Britain. It stretched for 120 km, was 15 feet high and 10 feet wide. It ran from Wallsend to Bowness-on-Solway in the west to the Tyne River near Newcastle in the east. It was established to prevent military raids on Roman Britain by the Pictish tribe in the north, to improve economic stability and provide peaceful conditions in Britain. It is thought that the gates of the wall would also have served as customs posts to allow trade taxation. A significant portion of the wall still exists. One of the most popular tourist attraction in northern England, it was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.

Which is the oldest lighthouse in the world?
The first definite and documented lighthouse in the world was the Pharaohs of Alexandria built in 200 BC, although beacons were certainly used before that. The oldest working lighthouse in the world is at La Coruqa in north-west Spain near the town of Ferol. A lighthouse has been on this site since the time of the Roman emperor Trajan. The world’s first stone lighthouse tower at sea was the Smeaton Eddystone lighthouse built in 1756-9. Smeaton is today known as ‘the father of civil engineering’. When his lighthouse was finished, it was lit with just 24 candles. Today, the power of lighthouse lights can be equivalent to as many as several million candles.

How is an atom’s mass measured?
The atomic mass of a specific atom or molecule is determined by using an experimental technique called mass spectrometry. This technique separates different isotopes of atoms to allow determination of the percent abundance or isotopic composition of the element in the given sample. Each isotope of the element appears as a peak in the mass spectrum. The intensity (height) of each peak depends on the abundance of that isotope in the sample and the unique location of the peak on the x-axis indicates the mass-to-charge ratio of the isotope. Knowing the charge on the isotope, we can calculate the mass of the isotope and from the relative abundance of different isotopes of the elements, the average relative atomic mass is calculated.

What is Bowman’s Capsule?
Each human kidney contains about 1 million filtering units called nephrons. The nephron has a renal tubule and dilated blind end like a funnel. This dilated funnel like part is called Bowman’s Capsule. It has a tuft of capillaries. The fluid which comes out of these capillaries is filtered by Bowman’s Capsule. The renal tubules do further processing to make 1.5 litres of urine out of 180 litres of filtered fluid in 24 hours.

What’s the bellows in the accordion?
The bellows is the flexible part which controls the air for musical notes in an accordion. This is made of leather, rexine, etc. Bellows is also used by goldsmiths for gilting purposes and shaping metals by heating as the air let out of bellows fans the fire.

ANY ANSWERS?
What is radioactive toothpaste?
Why is the money plant named so?
Why are cats and dogs great enemies?
Why doesn't the number zero have a positive or negative sign?
What is zero budgeting?
Can fish hear?

Interesting FAQ's

What is the Network Relief Kit?
It’s a portable device that provides steady internet access in remote areas. It was used in Banda Aceh, Indonesia when a tsunami destroyed communication infrastructure on the island. NetHope, a collaboration between NGOs and technology companies, created this contraption that is powered by solar energy.

What is a volantor?
A volantor is a prototype of a flying saucer-style hovercraft. It is also known as VTOL (Vertical Take Off and Landing) craft. It was invented by Paul Moller. It’s currently under development. ‘Volantor’ is a term coined by Moller meaning: a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft that’s capable of flying in a quick, nimble and agile manner. It has ducted fans powered by Wankel rotary engines. The fans allow for vertical takeoff and landing and, once the vehicle is aloft, it relies on the ground effect to create a cushion of air that the vehicle sits upon while flying. The vehicle has only two controls, one for speed and direction and the other for altitude. The driver does not need to know flying but only needs to know how to control speed, direction and altitude.

What is a Bolero?
It’s a Spanish dance and song in moderate tempo and triple metre that was popular at the end of the 18th and throughout the 19th century. Its rhythms are closely related to the polonaise, a Polish slow dance. The Cuban Bolero, which superseded the Spanish version in Latin America, is in double time. Beethoven wrote the ‘Bolero a solo WoO 158’. Later examples in classical music include those by Berlioz, Chopin and Ravel.

What is vishing?
Vishing, coined from the words voice and phishing, is a criminal practice of using voice over phone to gain access to details about PIN, date of birth and expiry date of credit card holders and using it for fraudulent activities. The criminal configures the system to pretend that the questions asked are for either verification or statistical purposes and records the information so gained for committing financial fraud.

Is it possible for all planets in our solar system to align in a straight line?
Theoretically, no, as the plane of orbit of each planet is tilted slightly in relation to other planets. However, if we ignore the intraorbital plane tilt, then the chance of all planets (eight now excluding Pluto) to be at the right ascension with respect to sun at same time would be once in 180 trillion years. For an exact alignment, when all the planets are inclined with respect to the ecliptic, we must factor the line-of-nodes recession into calculations, that makes the chance once in 86 billion trillion trillion trillion years (86 followed by 45 zeros). The odds strongly favour the fact that an exact planetary alignment will never occur within the lifetime of the solar system that now has only about 12 billion years left.

How do anti-allergen drugs work?
On contact with an allergent, chemical substances are released from mast cells and basophils. The chemical mediators (e.g. histamines) in turn attach themselves on to H-1 receptors to produce allergic effects. Anti-allergen drugs block these chemical mediators. The drugs also produce down regulation of H-1 receptors.

What is RTGS in banking?
Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) is an online system for settling transactions of financial institutions, especially banks. RTGS systems are push payment systems with transactions initiated by the paying bank. If Bank A or one of its customers needs to pay $1,000 to Bank B or one of its customers, Bank A initiates the transaction and Bank B is immediately paid $1,000 electronically by Bank A. Examples of RTGS systems include CHAPS in the UK and Fed Wire in the United States. Each country has its own RTGS system. This electronic payment system is normally maintained or controlled by the central bank of a country. The RTGS system is suited for low-volume, high-value transactions. It lowers settlement risk, besides giving an accurate picture of an institution’s account at any point of time.

Why is Wuhan called the ‘thoroughfare of the nine provinces’?
Wuhan is the capital of the Hubei province in the central part of China and is one of the largest and most populous cities of the region. It is also an important centre for trade, finance, industry, and information technology. Wuhan is also the place where the river Hans joins Changjiang, the third largest river of China. Three major railways meet and two major expressways intersect here. That’s why since the 14th century, Wuhan has been known as the ‘thoroughfare of nine provinces’. The term nine provinces stands for multiple directions.

ANY ANSWERS?
What is the Hadrian’s Wall?
Which is the oldest lighthouse in the world?
How is an atom’s mass measured?
What is the Sorlod Space System?
What is Bowman’s Capsule?
What is Ekistics?

Interesting FAQ's

Who’s the youngest king?
Who is the world’s youngest king?Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk of Bhutan is, at 28, the world’s youngest king. This Oxford-educated monarch took over from his father Jigme Singye Wangchuk on November 6. His coronation took place at the Golden Throne Room at Tashichhodzong, a fortress and the power centre of Bhutan.

Why are the people of Japan also known as Nipponese?
Nippon is the Japanese name for Japan. It literally means ‘the sun’s origin’, which is often translated as the land of the rising sun. The Japanese name Nippon is used mostly for official purposes, including on the currency, in the constitution, on postage stamps and at many international sporting events. Nippon first appeared in history only at the end of the 7th century in the Old Book of Tang which said that the Japanese envoy disliked his country’s then name Woguo and changed it to Nippon. Another 8th -century chronicle, True Meaning of Shiji states that the Chinese Empress Wu Zetian ordered a Japanese envoy to change the country’s name to Nippon. And hence, people of Japan are also known as Nipponese.

What is a go-go fund?
It’s a mutual fund that invests in highly risky but potentially rewarding stocks. During the 1960s, many go-go funds shot up in value, only to fall dramatically. In some cases, they even went out of business.

What is the meaning of kemo sabe?
The phrase kemo sabe is often heard in the American radio and TV serial Lone Ranger. Its hero, a Texas Ranger, and his assistant, an American Indian called Tonto, keep calling each other Kemo Sabe. In an early episode, these characters run into each other for the first time. When they recognise each other as childhood friends, they utter the phrase kemo sabe. This phrase is not found in English or Spanish. Therefore, it is likely that the series writer coined the phrase based on some words in American dialects. According to many, the director of the radio version of Lone Ranger derived it from a Michigan dialect and suggested it to the writer. Apparently, in this dialect, the phrase means faithful friend or trusty scout. There are other theories related to kemo sabe as well.

What is green fluorescent protein?
Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) is a naturally fluorescent protein isolated from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria. GFP is a fluorescent marker that makes possible the visualisation of protein in the cell. Cells can be stained by them and examined by fluorescence microscopy to reveal the location of a protein of interest. For example, glucocorticoid receptor protein is a transcription factor that controls gene expression in response to the steroid hormone cortisone. The receptor is linked to the GFP. Fluorescence microscopy reveals that, in the absence of the hormone, the receptor is located in the cytoplasm and in its presence, the receptor is translocated to the nucleus, where it binds with the DNA.

If noble gases are supposed to be inert and unreactive, how is krypton difluoride formed?
While krypton is generally an inert element, in extreme volatile conditions, it can form compounds in very small quantities. There are several ways that krypton can form its fluoride: by passing through an electrical arc, proton bombardment or photochemical process. All these processes require a very heavy amount of energy. Krypton has achieved a unique importance in science. In 1960, it was decided that the fundamental unit of length, the metre, should be defined in terms of the orange-red spectral line of Krypton 86.

What is VIX?
The VIX is calculated and disseminated in realtime by the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). It’s a weighted blend of prices for a range of options on the S&P 500 index. The formula uses a kernel-smoothed estimator that takes as inputs the current market prices for all out-of-the-money calls and puts forth front month and second month expirations. The goal is to estimate the implied volatility of the S&P 500 index over the next 30 days. Investors believe a high value of VIX (CBOE Volatility Index) translates into a greater degree of market uncertainty, while a low value of VIX is consistent with greater stability.

What is the Cuban Wushu?
The term Wushu consists of two Chinese characters: wu meaning martial or military and shu meaning skill or method. Together, it translates as martial art. Bruce Lee films brought the first images of kung fu to Cuba. Since then, martial art fans in Cuba started discovering the harmonic, philosophical and therapeutic bases of what is known as Wushu today — a combination of Chinese martial art. In 1990, Roberto Vargas Lee, a fifth Dan black belt holder in Jyoshinmon karate went to China to learn the secrets of Wushu and developed it later in Cuba. He later established the Cuban school of Wushu.

ANY ANSWERS?
What is a volantor?
What is the bolero?
Is it possible for all planets in our solar system to align together in a straight line?
How do anti-allergen drugs work?
What is RTGS in banking?
What is vishing?

Interesting FAQ's

What does precycling mean?
Precycling is a form of waste minimisation. It involves reducing the use of outer packaging and instead opting directly for what’s inside. This would involve buying things loose instead of opting for a prepackaged product, bringing your own container to the store and shopping for locally-produced things. The rationale is to accumulate less waste.

What is Strepulsion Physics?
In the 17th century, Sir Isaac Newton discovered the universal gravitational force. In the 21st century, Navinchandra K Shah, Prof. P N Jain and Prof. P P Jain of Hubli discovered a universal repulsion force (URF). It’s an astronomical force exerted by the sun and stars and therefore called stellar repulsion force (SRF). The science which deals with repulsive phenomena of stellar universe and the strepulsion force of stars is Strepulsion Physics.

Why is an august gathering called so?
The word ‘august’ in itself means magnificent or majestic. The term ‘august gathering’ refers to a gathering marked by dignity or grandeur. August originates from Augustus Caesar, the first emperor of the Roman Empire. The month of August, earlier known as Sextilis, was also named so in his honour.

What is anthropophagy?
Anthropophagy means cannibalism — the practice of human beings eating other human beings. The word is a combination of Greek words: anthropos meaning human being, and phagein meaning to eat. Cannibalism might involve eating other humans after killing them intentionally or eating body parts of those whose death has occurred due to other causes. The practice of eating humans of one’s own community is called endocannibalism and eating humans of other communities is called exocannibalism. According to anthropologists, cannibalism might have been more common in the early human evolution than in modern societies. Today, it is rumoured to be practised by tribals in different parts of the world as part of their rites. Due to the extreme stigma associated with such things, evidence and claims related to cannibalism are highly unreliable.
If it has existed, the causes must be the following:
1. Situations of extreme food scarcity, such as famine;
2. Insanity;
3. Superstitions such as the belief that eating of another’s brain would serve to increase one’s own powers and
4. In wars, to show one’s power over the enemy. The universal symbol of cannibalism is a lolling tongue.

What are Codd’s Rules?
Codd’s Rules that are 12 in number specify what a database must support in order to be relational. The rules were defined by Edgar F Codd in a paper published in 1985. Hence, they are known as Codd’s Rules. For example, data are represented only one way; as values within columns and rows. Every value can be assessed by providing table name, column name and key, and all data are unique.

Who is a troglodyte?
Originally, troglodyte referred to a prehistoric cave dweller. The name was also used to denote an anthropoid ape such as a gorilla. Now, it often refers to an old-fashioned person or to one who is a wilfully brutal obscurantist.

What is the origin of the name Belarus?
The word Belarus means white Russians. The Scandinavians who moved in the east were called Rus and from them came the word Russia. During the Mongol era, the Russians were classified into three different groups: Belarussians (white Russians), little Russians, and great Russians. The name Belarus and the country evolved from Belarussians.

Belarus was known as Belorussia or Byelorussia in the days of Russian monarchy headed by tsars to underscore the extent of their empire. Russians occupied this country in 1919 and then it came to be known as Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR). Later, BSSR was a founding member of the USSR in 1922. This status continued till July 27, 1990 when BSSR issued a declaration of state sovereignty. In 1991, the Supreme Soviet of BSSR decreed by law that the independent country be called Belarus, henceforth, in Russian and all other languages and its language be known as Belarussian. The country’s name was changed to Republic of Belarus on August 25, 1991. The heads of state of Belarus along with those from Russia and Ukraine jointly announced the dissolution of the USSR and formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States in December 1991.

What is a Pipestone Pipe?
A Pipestone Pipe, also called a peace pipe, calumet or medicine pipe is a ceremonial smoking pipe used by many native American tribes, traditionally as a token of peace. The most common and sacred thing smoked was tobacco. A prayer would be said to each of the four directions as well as `Mother Earth’ and `Father Sky’ as they filled the pipe. Also, some tobacco would be sprinkled on the ground. To show respect, smoke would be blown into one’s face. Captives would, at times, take this the wrong way, but it was actually a sign of kindness or respect.


ANY ANSWERS?
Why are the people of Japan also known as Nipponese?
What is a go-go fund?
What is VIX?
What is green fluorescent protein?
If noble gases are supposed to be inert and unreactive, how is krypton difluoride formed?
What is the meaning of ‘kemo sabe’?

Interesting FAQ's

What is Iceland’s HDI ranking?

With a ranking of 0.968, Iceland had the highest Human Development Index (HDI) ranking in 2007. The HDI ranking takes into consideration a country’s life expectancy, literacy, educational attainment and GDP per capita. Currently though, Iceland’s top-ranking status is rather ironic, considering the global financial crisis has almost wiped out its economy and the country is virtually bankrupt.


What is the Aufbau Principle?

The Aufbau Principle states that in the ground state of an atom, an electron enters the orbital with lowest energy first and subsequent electrons are fed in the order of increasing energies. The word ‘aufbau’ in German means ‘building up’. Here, it refers to the filling up of orbitals with electrons.


What is Chargaff’s rule of base equivalence?

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is the genetic material found in the chromosomes of all animals and plants. It is made up of only four types of organic nitrogenous bases: adenine (A), guanine (G), thymine (T) and cytosine (C). Of these, A and G are the purines and T and C are the pyrimidines. Chargaff gave the base pairing rule or the rule of base equivalence which states that only one purine can combine with one pyrimidine. That means A can combine with T and G with C. Two purines or two pyrimidines cannot combine with each other; if they do so, there will be a sudden change in the characteristic of an organism. This sudden change is called mutation.



Why are acentric chromosomes genetically inactive?

Acentric chromosomes are formed as a result of inversion of genes in one of the chromosomes in a homologous pair. This is a type of chromosomal aberration. Homologous loci are paired at meiosis. The meiotic anaphase will contain a chromatid connecting the two centromeres, called a chromatid bridge; a chromatid lacking a centromere altogether is called an acentric fragment. Neither of these behaves normally in cell division and both are eventually lost. The only viable products of meiosis in inversion heterozygotes are the chromatids that underwent no crossing over within the inverted section. Thus, the acentric chromosomes are genetically inactive due to absence of centromere.


What are auroras?

The beautiful patterns of green and blue lights that occur in the atmosphere of the polar region are known as auroras. Although there are several mythological stories related to auroras, perhaps the first scientific research on auroras began in Europe in 1716. They occur in the mesosphere, which is present about 50 to 80 miles above sea level. They are known as Aurora Borealis or northern lights, and Aurora Australis or the southern lights, in northern and southern hemisphere respectively. Auroras are natural phenomena and occur when a flow of charged particles from the sun (called solar wind) collide with air molecules in the atmosphere. Ionization takes place and this produces coloured light. Although such collisions only take place near magnetic poles of the Earth, auroras are also visible in mid-latitude regions in case of intense solar activity.


Who invented the board game Snakes and Ladders?

The board game, today called Snakes and Ladders, originated in ancient India, where it was known with the name Mokshapat or Moksha Patamu. It’s not exactly known when or who invented it, though it’s believed the game was played at a time as early as 2nd century BC. According to some historians, the game was invented by Saint Gyandev in the 13th century AD. Originally, the game was used as a part of moral instruction to children. The squares in which ladders start were each supposed to stand for a virtue, and those housing the head of a snake were supposed to stand for an evil. The snakes outnumbered the ladders in the original Hindu game. The game was transported to England by the colonial rulers in the latter part of the 19th century, with some modifications. The modified game was named Snakes and Ladders and stripped of its moral and religious aspects and the number of ladders and snakes were equalized. In 1943, the game was introduced in the US under the name Chutes and Ladders.


Who are NEO consumers?

The NEO consumers are new highvalue consumers of the new economic order (NEO). It is a newly emerging segment of customers from all age groups, ethnicities, income bands, locations and have high propensity to spend their income on disposable goods. NEO consumers are valuable as they consume constantly and favour a sense of investment, discretionary choices and value-added services. They seek rich information and authenticity; are motivated by choice, options and quality; sceptical about whether deals and discounts will deliver to their expectations; loyal to brands that understand them and comfortable with calculated risk.


What is Pansori?

Pansori is a folk art which has lasted since the 17th century in Korea. Singers sing and gesture according to the beats of the traditional Korean drum, tambour. Pansori consists of 12 episodes and is based on classical literature. It typically takes a few hours to complete a Pansori performance. Most young Koreans don’t go see to see it now. It is aired on television on traditional Korean holidays like the lunar new year day and Korean thanksgiving day called ‘Chuseok’.

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