Archives: Articles

Money matters

Cha-ching! This puzzle is all about money. Do you know what currencies are used in countries around the world?

Money is a medium of exchange. It is what people use to buy goods and services. In the early days, people used to exchange goods in return for goods, and this was called the barter system. Later on, societies began to use money instead.

Every country in the world has a specific currency. For instance, the currency of India is the Indian rupee while that of Australia is the Australian Dollar. In the U.A.E you would buy products using the dirham while in Malaysia you would use the ringgit.

The below grid has the names of 10 different currencies. Can you spot them all?

Countries and their currencies:

  • Several countries including Algeria, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, and Tunisia use a currency called dinar.
  • Dollar is the name of more than 20 currencies including the Australian dollar, Brunei dollar, Canadian dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Jamaican dollar, Liberian dollar, Namibian dollar, New Taiwan dollar, New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar, United States dollar, and so on.
  • The euro is the official currency of 19 of the 27 member states of the European Union.
  • Countries that use a currency called peso include Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, the Philippines, and Uruguay.
  • Pound sterling is the official currency of the United Kingdom.
  • Countries such as Iran, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen use the rial or riyal.
  • The ruble is the currency of Russia and Belarus (where it is spelled ‘rubel’)
  • Did you know that India is not the only country with rupee as its currency? Rupee is also the common name for the currency in countries such as Indonesia, the Maldives, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka.
  • Won is the currency of South Korea and North Korea.
  • Yen is the official currency of Japan.

    • Ice courts

    Want to play in ice and snow? Check out this activity.

    Winter sports are lots of fun. People who live in regions that experience cold, snowy winters have long enjoyed winter sports such as ice skating, skiing, and sledding. These activities have grown immensely in popularity over the years. Today, millions of people each year take winter sports vacations.

    Guess the name of these sports based on their descriptions

    A spoon of sucrose

    Do you know what common ingredient a ‘capsicum frutescent’ is? Play this game to find out…

    We use many ingredients in the kitchen. Some of the most common ones are salt, sugar, pepper, turmeric, cumin and chilli. Do you know their chemical or scientific names?

    Play this memory puzzle to test your knowledge as well as your memory!

    They thought it up

    Here are some famous inventors who have changed the course of history with their finds.

    Today, we use so many things regularly we tend to forget that there was a time when these gadgets were not in use. If it’s hot, we switch on the Air Conditioner or Cooler. Take, for example, the mobile phone. It is so important that we dare not leave home without it. From pencils to laptops to electric heaters, there was a time when they did not exist.

    How did these come about? There were people behind these inventions and discoveries who studied, analysed, surmounted problems and came up with the final product.

    Now take a look at these images and tick the one you think this inventor discovered. Let your cursor hover over the picture to identify the picture.






    Fun with words

    Get set for a game of snakes and ladders, but with a difference!

    Ready for snakes and ladders? No, it is nothing like the regular board game. This is a different kind, one that involves letters instead of numbers.

    All you have to do is connect the letter pairs in the ladder on the left with the correct pairs in the ladder on the right, with middle letters “GO“. We have solved one to get you started: WAGONS.

    Travelling through time

    Meghnath learns about Einstein’s Theory of Special Relativity.

    The story so far: Sukracharya tells Meghnath about wormholes and how they were used to communicate with ethereal beings.

    Illustration: Sahil Upalekar

    Meghnath has shot down 27 fruits with his agni astra and lined them all up. He is deep in thought, wondering why Brahma laughed when he saw King Kakudmi.

    He sees Sukracharya watching.

    Meghnath: Guru, please tell me why Brahma laughed when he learnt that Kakudmi and his daughter had been waiting for 27 minutes.

    Sukracharya: They waited 27 minutes in Brahmaloka. Actually, 27 Chatur Yugas had passed. Which means 116,640,000 years.

    Meghnath: A yuga is 4,320,000 years. So that’s 27×4,320,000. But the average lifespan of a human is only 70 to 80 years.

    Sukracharya: Brahmaloka is designed in such a way that it moves at speed of light. For people there, it is normal.

    Meghnath: How is that possible?

    Sukracharya: Like Einstein’s explanation of Special Relativity.

    Experiment time

    Sukracharya takes Meghnath to one of the glass-enclosed chariots. He also takes a bowl of water and a bee with him. He orders the charioteer to drive the horses as fast as he can.

    Sukracharya: Now look outside. What do you see? And how do you feel inside the chariot?

    Meghnath: Things seem to be moving fast outside but, inside, it feels normal.

    Sukracharya: The bowl of water, the bee, you and I are all moving at the speed of the chariot but feel as if we are standing still.

    After few rounds, Sukracharya drops Meghanth at one spot and again makes the chariot move fast. After few rounds, he gets down.

    Sukracharya: Now after I dropped you, you observed the chariot. What did you see?

    Meghnath: The chariot was travelling at a very high speed.

    Sukracharya: So you observed the movement from two perspectives. Think of the chariot as Brahmaloka. Standing outside it is like being on Earth. This relative motion happens throughout the universe.

    Meghnath: Got it. Brahmaloka moves at the speed of light, like the chariot at high speed. For people inside, it is still. For people from Earth, one minute in Brahmaloka is equal to 27 minutes.

    Sukracharya: Exactly. So what will Kakudmi find if he returns to Earth?

    Meghanth: Several yugas have passed, the Earth will be different. He won’t find his country or his people.

    Sukrachraya: That is why Brahma laughed.

    Meghanth: But Brahma is a god. Can’t he take Kakudmi back in time?

    Sukrachraya: Humans can only go to the future by travelling fast. We can’t go back to the past. Brahma had a better solution.

    Meghnath: Even after he lost his kingdom?

    Sukracharya: The Bhagavata Purana mentions that Vishnu’s incarnation marries Revathi in Treta Yuga.

    Meghnath: Basically Revathi time travelled to the future to marry an incarnation of God.

    Sukracharya: Yes, and the same can happen now. To avoid these issues, we can pass information as audio and images using electro-magnetic waves. What other explanation can you give for your dreams, Meghnath?

    Meghnath: This is really exciting, Guru. Please teach me to travel at the speed of light and pass/get information.

    Sukracharya: Of course, Prince of Lanka. That’s why your father brought you here. But, first, you need to learn about electromagnetic waves and antenna.

    Sukracharya leaves Meghanth trying to relate his dreams with science.

    The author is the founder and CEO of Vaayusastra Aerospace, an IIT-Madras incubated ed-tech startup that offers Air Science workshops for children between five and 14 years.

    Based on what you have read, here is a little game. How many of the words from the story can you spot?

    To do or not to do?

    Do you know what you shouldn’t do in case of a first-aid situation? Click here to find out.

    Knowledge of first-aid comes in handy at all times. It is important to know what to do in case of an injury or any other emergency. It is also equally important to know what NOT to do!

    Below are a few Dos and Don’ts for a minor burn injury. Drag and drop the DO and DON’T buttons into the right text box. And check if you got them right!

    Route Master

    There are 7 differences between these pictures. How many can you spot?

    Transportation is what people use to move from one place to another. Just as they have for thousands of years, people today rely on walking to travel short distances. For longer distances, people depend on animals, bicycles, automobiles, trucks, railroads, ships, and airplanes. Here is a picture with different modes of travel. Now try your hand at spotting the 7 differences between the two.

    Click on the picture on top to mark the differences.

    A Winter’s Day

    Cold, chill, ice, snow… check out this crossword based n winter words.

    As the wind blows and the cold intensifies, grab a hot drink and try your hand at this activity.

    My Monthly Planner: January 2022

    Discover interesting facts about your favourite characters from the world of Harry Potter and download your own calendar to keep yourself organised.