Unknown secrets
Creating a harmony, these instruments lend their sounds to create music. Watch this video and identify them.
Archives: Articles
Sweat it out
How many things at the gym can you identify?
The best way to stay healthy is to get your daily dose of fitness. And what better way to get fit than hitting the local gym?
Once you hit the gym, you can figure out which muscle you want to work on, or even opt for a full-body workout.<.p>
In this word search, spot 10 gym equipments that will help you in your fitness goal.
Which emergency worker are you?
How do you react when you are faced with a crisis? Find out which emergency worker your personality matches.
Whenever there is a calamity, an accident or a crisis, who is the first to spring into action? Emergency workers, of course! Be it a firefighter, a doctor or a lifeguard, these personnel deal with such situations on a daily basis. Saving lives is a part of their job.
Would you like to find out which such professional your personality matches? Take this for-fun-only quiz.
Quiz Whizz – March 25, 2021
It’s time to get the mind racing as you figure out the answers for this week’s round of quiz questions. Are you ready?
It’s always fun to learn new and interesting facts from various genres and topics. Here is your weekly fill of general knowledge.
Do you know the answers to these questions?
On top of the world
(Part #4) As he travels at a super speed, across Earth’s atmosphere, Hanuman encounters an obstacle in his journey towards the “orange”.
A very hungry Hanuman is still chasing the orange. As he gets closer, it seems to be moving father away.
Hanuman (to the air molecules): Friends, help me move faster. I am very hungry!
Air Molecules: But Hanu…
Hanuman: Shhh! Just do as I say!
Air molecules (to each other): Didn’t Hanuman say we are friends? Now, he has started ordering us!
Hanuman: Faster!
Air molecule: Okay. But there are various levels of speed: Sonic, Subsonic, Supersonic, Hypersonic. Which speed would you like to travel at?
Hanuman: How is one different from the other?
Air molecules: Sonic means travelling at the speed of sound — 343 miles per second. Subsonic means slower than the speed of sound; supersonic means faster than the speed of sound; and hypersonic means five times faster.
Hanuman: I want to go at hypersonic!
Air molecules: But then, you will break the sound layer, which can cause a heavy explosion-like noise called sonic boom. This may disturb people in Heaven and Earth.
Hanuman: I don’t care. Let’s go!
Air molecules: Okay. (In whispers) Lord Vaayu, please help us.
Hanuman flies through the atmosphere like a rocket, which creates a thunderous sound. He crosses Bhuvar Loka (Troposphere) and reaches the peak of Mount Meru, arriving at Svarga Loka — the place ruled by Indra (Ozone layer and Stratosphere). People on Earth are shocked by the sonic boom.
Enter Indra
Indra comes out of his palace to check what is happening and sees a young monkey chasing the sun. He mounts Airavat, his flying elephant, and goes to stop Hanuman, unaware that he is the son of Vaayu.
Indra: Hey monkey! How are you flying? And why are you creating a ruckus?
Hanuman: I have no time! I am hungry and I have to get that orange!
Indira: You mean the sun?!
Hanuman: Get out of my way!
Indra: Do you know who you are talking to? I am the king of Svarga Loka!
Hanuman (to the air molecules): Friends, this man doesn’t know how powerful you are. My dad always says, ‘When someone tries to pull you down, show them what you are capable of’. Let’s show him!
Indra: Ha ha ha! Show me!
Hanuman: Dear Vaayu sena, help me blow air 10 times faster than hypersonic speed.
Hanuman blows with so much power that Indira and Airavat are thrown away. Indira is shocked by the force (Mass x Acceleration) generated by Hanuman. He takes out his weapon and creates lightning bolts and directs them at Hanuman. One of them partly hits Hanuman’s cheeks. The air molecules are shocked. They remember Lord Vaayu’s order to protect Hanuman.
Air Molecules: Hanuman, remove the jewellery that you are wearing and throw them away. Metals are better conductors of electric charges (lightning) than your body. The lighting bolt will be directed towards your jewellery and we can escape to the Mahar Loka (Mesosphere).
The plan works and Hanuman reaches Mesosphere. Indra continues to chase Hanuman as he moves towards Mahar Loka (Mesosphere; 50-70 km above the planet); Jan Loka (Ionosphere; 70-90 km above the planet); Tapa Loka (Thermosphere; 90-700 km above the planet) and Satya Loka (Exosphere and Beyond 700 km and more above the planet).
The air molecules start to worry now; as Hanuman moves higher, they are becoming weaker. The Vaayu sena’s numbers start to dwindle (air density becomes lesser as you move away from Earth’s gravity). They call out to Lord Vaayu, who appears and takes stock of the situation.
As Hanuman reaches the airless space, he begins to feel breathless. To save him, Vaayu pulls out every single air molecule from Earth and diverts them into Hanuman, who expands as there is no air pressure outside. Hanuman becomes bigger than the sun and blocks it. Suddenly, there is no air or light on Earth and the people are distressed.
Hanuman opens his mouth to swallow the sun. Suddenly, he hears a booming voice: “Stop!” He sees a person with four heads standing there…
To be continued…
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.
Layers of the atmosphere
Based on your reading of the story, can you drag and drop the different layers of the atmosphere in the right order?
When cities rose
Do you know which is the oldest city in India? Find out this and more with this interactive exercise.
Behind every city is a story of its past, of how it was established and how it grew into its current, bustling state. While some cities gradually took shape over the years, others sprouted quickly.
Do you know how old various Indian cities are? Try arranging these cities in the order in which they were founded/built.
Now that you’re done, scroll through the below slides to read about each city. They are arranged in the correct order.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons
Colourful times
With the festival of colours coming up later this week, here is a crossword about various hues and the terms used in association with them.
Holi is the festival of colours. See if you can solve this crossword all about hues and shades.
Hit it!
A fun game that helps you unravel some interesting ball facts…
Did you know that squash balls jump higher when heated? Or that cricket balls are traditionally dyed red, and that red balls are used in Test cricket and first-class cricket?
Well, there’s so much to find out about balls used in various sports. Try your hand at this memory game and see what you discover.
Pictures: Freepik
How the brands got their names
Most of us have heard of brands like Nike, Google, Intel and more. But how did these brands get their names? Find out with this interactive game.
When we go shopping, most of us look for specific brands. For sportswear, Nike, Adidas, Reebok are popular. For something cold, we reach out for a Pepsi or a Coca-Cola. And, of course, Google is ubiquitous.
But did you ever think of how these brands came by their names? Take this quiz to see how much you know about how these brands were named.
Images: pixy.org, flickr, Wikimedia Commons, Pixabay
Linguistic loan – 1
The English language is full of words that are not English! Confused? Click here to find out more.
Loan words are those adopted from one language and incorporated into another language without translation.
English is full of such loan words; you’d be surprised to learn that some commonly used words aren’t originally from English. In fact, contributions from as many as 350 other languages comprise around 80% of the English language. Words originating from French and Latin are the most common, making up 29% of the English language.
Can you drag and drop the 8 words given below into their respective language of origin?