What are icebergs?

Icebergs are large, floating chunks of ice that have broken off from glaciers,  to drift about in the ocean.  Icebergs are the broken-off end of glaciers that tumble into the water and drift out into the sea.  The biggest are huge, floating blocks of ice that weigh several million tons.  Some are a mile or more across and tower hundreds of feet above the surface.

An iceberg floating in the sea does not look nearly as big as it really is.  About seven-eighths of it is below the water, out of sight.  Icebergs are made up of fresh water ice, since they are formed on land from snowfalls.  Their white color is caused by tiny bubbles of air trapped in the ice.

Ocean currents often carry icebergs hundreds of mile out to sea before they melt and finally disappear.

In 1912, a large ocean liner, the Titanic, struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean and sand, with a great loss of life.  Since that time, the United States Coast Guard has patrolled the North Atlantic shipping lanes, warning ships of the location of large icebergs.

Who Invented Roller Skates?

No one really knows who invented roller skates or even when they first used.  They were probably invented by ice skaters in Europe, some 200 years ago, who wanted to skate when there was no ice.

Roller skating is the popular sports of skating on wheeled skates.  People were roller skating on the roads of Holland and Belgium  about 200 years ago. 

Some early skates had several wheels in a line like the blade of an ice skate.  Others had only two wheels.

In 1862, a man named John L. Plympton of Boston invented the four-wheel skate, much like those we skate on today.  These skates made roller skating widely popular.

The first skates had wooden wheels which broke easily.  The next development was the introduction of all-metal skates with ball bearings in the wheels to make them turn faster.  This completed the skate as we know it today.

Skating to music at indoor rinks is a year-round sport followed by many thousands of skating enthusiasts.–Dick Rogers

How is curling played?

Curling Game

Curling is a game played by sliding stones toward a target marked on the ice.  If you live in Canada or the northern United States, then you might see a curling game.

Curling is a winter sport similar to bowling or shuffleboard, but is played on frozen lakes or indoor ice rinks.

The game consists of sliding large, smooth stones toward a largest marked on the ice.

The game is played by two “rinks” (teams) of four players each.

Each player has two stones and takes turns curling against a player from the opposite team.  Curling players run ahead of then sliding stone with brooms and sweep the ice so that the stone will slide easily.

An “end” (inning) is completed when all the stones of both teams have been played.

The team placing the most stones nearest the center of the target wins the end.    Ten ends usually make a game.

Curling is believed to have started in Scotland in the early 1500s.  The game is enjoyed today in many countries in the world. – Dick Rogers