What are "time zones"

 I live in India and if I call someone in the US in my afternoon I will probably be waking them from their slumber.

Why does this happen?? Well because of time zones.

What are these time zones??

A time zone is an area that observes a uniform standard time for legal, commercial and social purposes.

Why do we need a standard time?? 

In Britain the followed a local and Railway time. This made people miss trains so they adopted a single standard time used all over the country. Every country can’t have a single standard time because earth is a sphere and sunlight does not cover everywhere. 

Each time zone is 1 hour apart. That is if you go one-time zone forward you gain an hour but if you go one-time zone backwards you lose an hour except you don't really gain or lose time.

Time zones don't follow the longitudes, instead, they bend in weird shapes. Standard time can vary on whether the country follows daylight saving or not. Some countries like Kiribati changed their standard time to Australia’s to trade with them.

click here and click here for more info

LONGEST WORDS

 Hey, I found the longest English word in the world 

- pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis -    a 45-letter word for a disease  It's a technical word referring to the lung disease more commonly known as silicosis.

and this is the fear of long words

-Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia 

Why do we get hiccups

Hey, Its me. Sometimes in the middle of a conversation we get hiccups which can be really annoying but have you ever wondered why. 

It is because each of us has a flat plate of muscle just beneath our lungs, separating our chest from our abdomen. It's called the diaphragm, and it helps us breathe: when it moves downward, it causes the lungs to pull in air through the nose and mouth. And when it moves upward, it forces air out of our lungs. The movement of the diaphragm is directed by the brain, which sends signals down nerves that end in the diaphragm. A hiccup occurs when the brain sends a signal for the diaphragm to shift forcefully downward, suddenly pulling a lot of air into the back of the throat. The sudden change in pressure causes a narrow area in the throat to temporarily snap shut, causing the "hic" sound of a hiccup. Why the brain sends the signals that cause hiccups, however, is still a mystery.

 for more info https://youtu.be/9e5lcQycf2M

STRIPED HORSES🦓

 Hey, It's me. Do you know why zebras have stripes? 

The answer is simple - Camouflage, but it is not. Actually, the mammals that hunt can clearly see in the long coarse grass of the savanna.

• Thermoregulation has long been suggested by scientists as the function of zebra stripes. The basic idea is that black stripes would absorb heat in the morning and warm up zebras, whereas white stripes reflect light more and could thus help cool zebras as they graze for hours in the blazing sun.
• some researchers think that the stripes help them repel flies. As these flies have a monochrome vision they can`t see the zebra

        Zebra`s might use its strip for any one both the reasons but it definitely makes it look cool.

Dreams😴

Hey, it's me. Have you ever been to this situation? Bathing in a large scoop of delicious ice cream with your friends and then you hear your alarm[most likely you`re mother] just to realize it is a dream.

If you have let me tell you what is a dream.

Dreams are basically stories and images that our mind creates while we sleep. They can be entertaining, disturbing, or downright bizarre. If you think you`re brain is not active when you`re asleep you`re wrong it is the most active at that time[ sounds weird but true]. 

Dreams can happen at any time during sleep. But you have your most vivid dreams during a phase called REM [rapid eye movement] sleep when your brain is most active. Some experts say we dream at least four to six times a night.

 

Nightmares 

A nightmare is a bad dream. It may be you stuck in a pit of spiders or running from a monster it is less likely to happen in real life.

It is caused due to anxiety or emotional issues.

  

Lucid dreams

A lucid dream is one in which you know you’re dreaming. Lucid dreaming is a brain state between REM sleep and being awake. While lucid dreaming you can change the story. But many dream experts say it’s better to let your dreams flow naturally.

Why Do We Dream?

In our sleep our brain recollects all the memory we had to understand more and make us a better person tomorrow. In this it sort of tests out possibilities. But researchers think that we dream to help us become better, help find answers[sleep before you go to exams], and satisfy our wishes. 

How Long Do Dreams Last?

On average it lasts for about 30 mins. In REM sleep we have bizarre dreams when our brains test out possibilities but in our Non-Rem sleep, we just experience real-life situations.

So in Non-Rem sleep, you will be driving a car on a lane but in Rem sleep, you will be flying a car in cotton candy clouds

Can Dreams Predict the Future?

Sometimes, dreams come true or tell of a future event. When you have a dream that plays out in real life, experts say it’s most likely due to Coincidence and linking thinks but it is not likely to happen

Why Are Dreams Hard to Remember?

Researchers don't know for sure why dreams are easily forgotten. Maybe we’re designed to forget our dreams because if we remembered them all, we might not be able to tell dreams from real memories.

Also, it could be harder to remember dreams because, during REM sleep, our body may shut down systems in our brain that create memories. We may remember only those dreams that happen just before we wake when certain brain activities are turned back on.

                            for more info https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/dreaming-overview

                                                  https://youtu.be/XB7HqZc2p2Y

                                                   

Do plants think🌴

Hey, it's me, do you ever think about plants thinking? We humans, as well as animals, think before doing something so does that means plants think too

First, we need to know do they really need the ability to think. We know that plants are immobile so they can`t move. What do you do when a lion is coming you`re way you run but plants can`t run when they meet hungry cattle. They can think but not as advanced as we can.

PROPRIOCEPTION                                                                                                                                    Proprioception is the ability to sense direction. plants have this that's why the roots don`t grow upwards and shoots don`t grow downwards.  A plant knows in which direction to grow. They have cells called statoliths which lie at the tip of the root. They can sense gravity so the root grows below the ground.

  

SMELLING:                                                                                                                                                  Have you ever seen you`re mother putting a ripe banana with unripened ones in a bag. After a few days the all the bananas will be ripe. This is because plants can smell. The ethylene gas is the ripening Hormone for fruits. When one fruit ripens the other fruits sense the ethylene gas and ripe faster.

WARNING SIGNALS                                                                                                                                   When there is an insect invasion the plants warn others. When an insect chews on one leaf. That leaf  lets out chemicals the other leaves sniff out those chemicals and produce toxins that are harmful to the insects.

TOUCH                                                                                                                                                           When a vine touches a tree it starts winding around it. This sense of touch is incredibly sensitive that even rubbing a bristle of a brush could activate it.

MEMORY                                                                                                                                                       When you drop a touch me not plant it closes. this response is to scare away insects. In a research, they dropped the leaf of the plant. After weeks of throwing the plant from the same height about 5 cm, it stopped closing. It is because it realized the stimulus was not harmful.

For more info: https://youtu.be/zm6zfHzvqX4 

        

Meet Nessie the Lochness monster

Hey, it's me! and I am back as promised. Have you ever visited Lochness[lake] in Scotland? You might have heard about a monster living inside the lake.

Nessie, a large marine creature believed by some people to inhabit Loch Ness, Scotland.

Much of the alleged evidence supporting its existence has been discredited, and it is widely thought that the monster is a myth.

First sighting:

The first written account appears in a biography of St. Columba from 565 AD[so many years ago]. According to that work, the monster bit a swimmer and was prepared to attack another man when Columba intervened, ordering the beast to “go back.”[what a wonderful monster]. It obeyed, and over the centuries only occasional sightings were reported. So this is not enough to prove a monster living under the lake.

In 1933 the Loch Ness monster’s legend began to grow. At the time, a road adjacent to Loch Ness was finished, offering an unobstructed view of the lake. In April a couple saw an enormous animal crossing the road.

In December 1933 the Daily Mail commissioned Marmaduke Wetherell, a big-game hunter, to locate the sea serpent. It seems along the lake’s shores, he found large footprints that he believed belonged to “a very powerful soft-footed animal about 6 meters long.”After close inspection, they found it was the footprints of a hippopotamus.

1934 English physician Robert Kenneth Wilson photographed the alleged creature. The iconic image—known as the “surgeon’s photograph”—appeared to show the monster’s small head and neck. Many speculated that the creature was a plesiosaur. So is it true that the monster exists?? 

Nope, in 1994 it was revealed that Wilson’s photograph was a hoax spearheaded by a revenge-seeking Wetherell.[ never try to get revenge].

Then continued to be some occasional sightings.

Surgeon`s photograph

So, what could be that the people saw? so here is my conclusion in 2018 researchers conducted a DNA survey of Loch Ness to determine what organisms live in the waters. No signs of a plesiosaur or other such large animal were found, though the results indicated the presence of numerous eels. This finding left open the possibility that the monster is an oversized eel.

But then due to Nessie Scotland has made millions of dollars.

Masters of disguise : frog fishes

Hey, it's me! Varsha. I couldn`t write due to online classes and other reasons. But I am back. For this mistake, I will be posting every Sunday at 10:00am[IST]

Today it is about frogfishes, what`s amazing about them is you will see

Frogfish are any members of the family Antennariidae, a type of anglerfish that includes about 50 species.  

They have modified pectoral fins that resemble legs, which allow them to “walk” along the ocean floor looking for prey.                                                                                                                                   

They are found in the warm oceans of the Indian and Pacific oceans.     

Frogfish are masters of disguise—they use various types of camouflage to hide from predators and sneak up on prey.                                                                                                                                             

The Commerson’s frogfish can change its colours to mimic colourful sponges.                                                           

   The Psychedelic frogfish has colourful stripes that represent rocky coral.                                                                

   Now comes my favourite, the hairy frogfish which has long, waving appendages that can resemble algae or even a spiny urchin.                                                                                                                                           

What if the prey does not come near, they have another trick up their sleeve[or fins]. They have a dangling lure, which is a type of modified fin called an illicium, that acts as a fishing rod for prey. It resembles a worm or shrimp that looks very tasty to other fish and crustaceans. when they come near to eat the shrimp[lure] the frogfish eats it.                                                                                                                                   

Now comes the best part                                                                                                                              The frogfish can swallow fish, that are larger in size than themselves. It lowers its lower jaw and expands its upper jaw to expand the mouth, then it sucks the prey in by creating suction in the mouth, a manoeuvre called gape and suck.  This manoeuvre is reported to take only 1/6th of a second[ our muscles can`t even twitch at that speed.                                                                                                                                                

If you want to see more jet-speed action check this out https://youtu.be/pJXmJsIaHy8.