Monday 31 December 2012
Sunday 23 December 2012
Amazing Christmas trees
Nr. 10, Downing Street 2012 Christmas Tree came
from a farm in Scotland and was truned on by this
year's X.Factor finalists
Christmas Tree outside Rockefeller Centre New York
Every year thousands of tourists come to see it and ice skate in front of it.
Thursday 20 December 2012
Saturn's stunning backlit image from Nasa spacecraft
A stunning new backlit image of the planet Saturn and its rings has been released by Nasa.
The view of Saturn being lit up from behind by the Sun was taken by the Cassini spacecraft in October.
Carolyn Porco from Cassini's imaging team said: "Of all the many glorious images we have received from Saturn, none are more strikingly unusual than those taken from Saturn's shadow."
Cassini has been orbiting gas giant Saturn for more than eight years.
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and has beautiful rings made of ice particles.
It's the second largest planet in the Solar System but is the least dense - it would float in water if there was a bathtub big enough to hold it!
From CBBC News
Wednesday 19 December 2012
Saltwater crocs have the strongest bite
Saltwater crocodiles have the strongest bite of any living animal - and that's a fact - scientists say.
The huge reptiles, which can be more than 6m long, have jaws that snap shut with a force of around 1,700kg - almost twice as strong as a great white shark!
The bite of all 23 living species in the crocodile family were measured, including alligators and caimans.
Scientists say it's been important for crocs to develop strong bites for them to survive.
But even the saltwater crocodile doesn't chomp as strongly as the largest of its extinct ancestors, some of which had bites double the strength of Tyrannosaurus rex.
From CBBC
Sunday 16 December 2012
Vodka 'saved' elephants in Siberian freeze
Alcohol can lower an elephant's core body temperature
Two elephants have been saved from the deadly Siberian cold by drinking vodka, Russian officials say.
They say the animals had to be taken out into the bitter cold after the wooden trailer they were travelling in caught fire in the Novosibirsk region.
The elephants, aged 45 and 48, suffered frostbite to the tips of their ears amid temperatures of -40C (-40F)
But they were warmed up by two cases of vodka mixed with warm water, one official was quoted as saying.
"They started roaring like if they were in the jungle! Perhaps, they were happy," the official told Russia's Ria Novosti news agency.
The animals continued their recovery in a heated garage of a local college where they were brought by a truck under police escort.
The elephants belong to a Polish circus, which has been touring the region, reports say.
Like with humans, alcohol can make animals feel warmer but it actually lowers their core body temperature, scientists say.
But Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper quoted Novosibirsk zoo director Rostislav Shilo as saying that the elephants were not harmed or intoxicated by the vodka, and that without it they would have died of hypothermia or pneumonia.
From BBC News
From BBC News
Monday 10 December 2012
Christmas cake for dogs invented in Japan
A cake for dogs has been invented in Japan for people who want to treat their pooches to a special treat at Christmas.
It's not made of meat though, owners can share the sponge and cream cake with their dog.
The cake does not have any chocolate or alcohol in it because those ingredients are dangerous for dogs.
Naohiko Nagatani, the chef behind the idea, first came up with it six years ago and says it has really caught on.
He already has 70 Christmas orders for the doggy dessert.
Nagatani explained why he thinks it's popular:
"The birth rate's declining here in Japan, so dogs have pretty much become like children and people want to share Christmas with them."
He said: "If it's just the humans eating cake, the dogs put on a really sad face. They want to have some themselves and get upset if you don't give them cake too."
From CBBCNews
Saturday 8 December 2012
Vienna bus driver returns life savings to passenger
An Austrian bus driver has been praised for his honesty, after handing in a bag he found on his bus containing 390,000 euros (£315,000; $506,000) in cash.
The sum represented the entire life savings of an elderly lady whom the police managed to track down.
The 77-year-old had withdrawn the funds from the bank earlier the same day before forgetting them on the bus.
The driver, named as Wolfgang R, said he initially thought the bag behind the driver's seat might contain medicines.
"I always do my rounds, and see if someone has forgotten something," he told a local newspaper of the incident, which happened in late November.
"I took the bag, looked into it and saw some of the money. There were many notes - something you never see."
Police were able to trace the owner through a passport and bank deposit slips which had also been left in the bag.
The man's employers, public transport authority Wiener-line, said they were very proud to have such an honest employee.
It is not known whether he was given a reward for returning the cash to its rightful owner.
From BBC News
Tuesday 4 December 2012
Questions with question words ( Wh- questions)
Do you want to practice the questions?
Try the links below!
Monday 3 December 2012
William and Catherine expecting a baby
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Catherine, have announced that they are expecting a baby.
Members of the Royal family and the duchess's family, the Middletons, are said to be delighted at the news.
Since they were married in 2011, lots of people have been wondering when the Royal couple would start a family.
It's been confirmed that whether it's a boy or a girl, the Royal baby will be third in line to the throne.
The duchess is currently in hospital in London with severe sickness, which some women get when they are pregnant.
She is expected to stay in hospital for several days so doctors can make sure all is well.
Sunday 2 December 2012
Baked, flushed, inside a cow? Weirdest ways to lose a phone
Baked in a cake, flushed down the toilet and lost inside a cow - a new report shows the weird ways that people have lost their mobile phones.
A mobile phone insurance company, mobileinsurance, found out the most bizarre ways that people have managed to break their mobiles.
They found that 60 phone owners smashed their handsets by walking into something while texting.
One lady baked her mobile into her daughter's birthday cake, and one man flushed his down the toilet.
The weirdest loss was reported by a farmer, whose mobile ended up INSIDE one of his cows!
From CBBCNews
Giant remote-controlled robot is built in Japan
Kogoro Kurata grew up watching futuristic robots in movies and animation, wishing he could bring them to life.
Now, his childhood dream has become a reality as he's built a massive robot that he can control.
His 4-tonne, 4-metre tall Kuratas robot has a built-in pilot's seat and hand-held controller.
It lets him move the robot's massive arms, and make it walk at speeds of up to six miles per hour.
"The robots we saw in our generation were always big and always had people riding them," said Kurata, who's a 39-year-old artist from Japan.
His robot also comes with an operating system that allows people to control it using a mobile phone.
It's not cheap though. One of Kurata's robots would set you back 110 million yen (well over £800,000).
The robot can be controlled by a pilot or remotely with a smartphone
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