Are you an only child? Thank your lucky stars. Don’t EVER wish for a sibling. Here’s what I think…
You know who I envy? My friends who are only children. Who aren’t weighed down by an annoying, uncool, pesky brother or sister. Who don’t have to fight over the last slice of pizza with someone. Who don’t have to argue over who gets to control the remote when watching television. Who don’t have to hide in the bathroom when they need some alone time.
Check out this slider to find out everything I have to deal with.
What makes biodiversity hotspots so special? How many of them are there around the world? Find out with this quiz.
June 5 is World Environment Day – an opportunity to reflect on what we can do for Planet Earth. This year the theme is Time for Nature is centered around biodiversity. Biodiversity refers to all the variety of life that can be found on Earth – from plants and animals to fungi and bacteria – and the ecosystems that house and support them.
In an effort to protect biologically rich and deeply threatened places, 36 regions have been identified as biodiversity hotpots – regions which together support more than half of the world’s plant species and nearly 43% of bird, mammal, reptile and amphibian species as endemics. Endemic species are those that are found nowhere else on Earth.
This quiz is based on some biodiversity hotspots around the world. Can you answer these questions?
A fun find-the-object puzzle. How many items from the list can you find in the picture?
Fridge magnets make for great souvenirs. They serve as reminders of people, places and events. Here’s a fridge choc-a-bloc with such magnets. Can you find those mentioned in the list below in the picture that follows?
(Photo: Raimundo Pastor/cc-by-sa-4.0)
India is home to some record breaking sports persons. Can you identify them from these blurred images? Check it the pictures.
Are you a sports enthusiast? Can you identify these blurred images of these sports personalities? They are some of India’s finest. Watch the video and make your guess.
What’s a better way to brush up on your vocabulary and spelling skills than with a puzzle. Try this one out.
Here’s a game to try out if you want to build up your vocabulary and spelling.
This a puzzle has seven clues, with seven words and 21 tiles. You can solve it arranging the the tiles in the right order to form the answer.
World Environment Day is a reminder to us about the need to conserve and protect our environment. Try your hand at this crossword and see how well informed you are.
June 5 is World Environment Day and here’s a crossword that’s all about nature and habitats.
Hop, skip and jump…but do you know how to do it correctly? Watch this video to learn.
Watching movies at the theatre is a popular pastime. But did you know that a play can be as entertaining? Watching the story unfold in real time with live actors can be an unforgettable experience.
Have you been to a theatre? Oops…not to watch a movie, but to watch live performers on stage, before an audience. Yes, much like your school plays. The artistes communicate their story through speech, song, music and dance.
In the West End of London, U.K (popularly referred to as the West End) are several such theatres. This is the commercial and entertainment centre of the city. All aspiring actors hope and wish that one day they will perform at the West End.
The longest running play at the West End is Agatha Christie’s Mousetrap. This whodunit play has been running at the St. Martins Theatre for an astonishing 68 consecutive years and with over 27,000 performances.
Now let’s take a look at other plays which have had a long run. Some of had to be stopped when the pandemic struck.
Starlight Express is about a child’s train set that comes to life and competes to become the fastest engine in the world. This is rock musical show combined with skating. It opened in March 1984 and had a long, successful run till January 2002.
You must have watched the movie, but can you imagine The Lion King on stage? It offers a spectacular theatrical experience exploding with glorious colours and stunning effects. It has been running since 1999.
If you love music then Mamma Mia is going to be favourite. It features all the best of ABBA hits ‘Super Trouper,’ ‘Dancing Queen’ and, of course, ‘Mamma Mia.’ It has been on since 2012.
Now this can be tricky. Cat lovers will love the play. Yes, Cats. But, what happens if you don’t love cats? Jellicles, the tribe of cats featured in this play will set you right. It played from May 1981 to May 2002.
Sometimes, especially at times like this when you are stuck at home, alone, you wish you had a twin right? And then, imagine, if you suddenly discover you had one? That’s the story of Blood Brothers. A heart warming show that is said to have left theatre-goers in tears night after night. It opened in July 1988 and ran for almost 15 years.
The Wizard of Oz is a captivating story. Now, Wicked, is a play that tells the story from the perspective of the witches of the Land of Oz. The story begins before Dorothy arrives in the Land of Oz. It opened in 2003 and had to stop performances in 2019 because of Covid-19.
Matilda opened in 2011 much to the joy of Roald Dahl fans. As you are well aware, this is the story of Matilda, and intelligent girl whose parents would prefer her to watch television than read or study.
In a town struck down by a mining strike, Billy Elliot is keen on ballet. This is his story. The play opened in 2005 and ran for almost 11 years.
Now that you have read this brief synopsis of the longest running plays in the West End, try this wordsearch. The grid has the names of the plays, but it is not as easy as it seems. Some of the titles are there only in part. Have fun.
Here are some logos of well-known companies that feature animals. Can you identify them?
Have you seen the logo for the World Wide Fund for Nature? It features a panda. Similarly, lots of other organisations – fashion companies, automobile manufacturers, media companies, publishers, and more – also have animals in their logos.
With World Environment Day coming up on June 5, let’s take a look at the more famous logos that feature animals. Here are ten well-known logos and clues to identify the company.
1. The first logo for this company was a phoenix. When they changed the company’s name, they decided to use an animal that is not well known and they chose the red panda. But a mistake in translation from Chinese to English led to the name it has now.
2. This famous multi-national publisher already had Penguin and Pelican logos. So when they launched a children’s book division, they decided to use this little bird.
3. This leaping animal represents strength, precision, power, and elegance — all traits that the car manufacturer thinks are important.
4. This television company changed its logo in 2018 with a new representation of a majestic and intelligent animal that everyone will recognise.
5. Two elephants trying to pull apart two pieces of wood stuck together is a representation of what this adhesive brand hopes to achieve.
6. This iconic little fellow is named after a well-known basketball player Larry Bird and is a symbol of the quick and simple messages that this platform offers.
7. Based on a painting by Francis Barraud, who noticed that his brother’s dog would run over to the phonograph and listen intently whenever its dead master’s voice was played.
8. This logo comes from the founder’s coat of arms, referring to family name which meant nest in German. Later three young birds being fed were added as a link to the baby food which the company manufactured.
9. The royal lion was chosen as a symbol of the power and importance of this organisation across the world.
10. The reptile became the logo of this brand because it was the nickname of the founder.
Now take a look at the logos and see how many can you identify?
Apart from the 28 states of India, there are also eight Union Territories. Do you know what they are? Find out with a few interactive games.
A Union Territory is a like a small state, however unlike the states of India, which have their own governments, union territories are federal territories governed directly by the Central Government of India. As of 2020 there are eight union territories, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Ladakh and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (DNHDD).
Did you know: Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu is made up of four separate geographical entities Dadra, Nagar Haveli, Daman and the island of Diu. All four areas were part of Portuguese India. Initially they were divided into two union territories, Dadra and Nagar Haveli as one and Daman and Diu as the other. However, recently they were combined to become one, with the capital being Daman.
Here is a game for you to try, do you know which are some of the states these union territories border with? Play the game to match the union territory to its neighbouring state.
Do you know the order in which these Union Territories came to be? Arrange them from the oldest formed to the most recent formed territories.
