The original word for chess is the Sanskrit chaturanga, meaning four members of an army, which were most likely elephants, horses, chariots and foot soldiers. According to a German Indologist researching on the origin of chess, in the 6th century, the Maukhari rulers of Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh, used to play chaturanga with 16 cabinet terracotta…
Goats have no upper front teeth. In place of the upper front teeth, they have a padded gum plate known as a dental pad. However, they do have a full set of lower teeth along with very strong molars at the back of the mouth. Cows, antelopes and other ruminants also do not have front incisors.
Prof. Henrich Focke, a German inventor, devised the first practical helicopter called the Focke-Wulf Fw 16, which was successfully flown in 1936. By 1938 it set many world records for altitude, speed and flight duration. It could be flown by a pilot after only one hour of pilot briefing.
A fortnight means fourteen days. The word ‘fortnight’ is derived from the old English word ‘fēowertīene niht’ which means ‘fourteen nights’. In the US, ‘two weeks’ is more commonly used instead of ‘a fortnight’. ‘Fortnightly’ is commonly used in the context of payment of salaries. In North America, however, ‘biweekly’ is more frequently used.
Researchers have come to the conclusion that fungi are genetically more closely related to animals and humans than to plants. Earlier it was believed that fungi were close to plants. This finding is based on the genetic data obtained recently. Accordingly, fungi have been assigned a separate kingdom along with the plant kingdom and animal kingdom.
Lightning bolts are electric discharges that originate in the clouds during a storm and travel to the earth’s surface. About 100 lightning bolts strike the earth every second. One bolt can contain up to one billion volts of electricity.
