What makes the ring around the moon?

The ring around the moon or sun is caused when the rays of light are bent and reflected by clouds of ice crystals high in the sky.  A big, shining ring of light sometimes appears around the moon.  The ring is not really around the moon—it only seems to be:

The “ring around the moon” is caused when the moon shines on clouds of tiny ice crystals high in the sky.  The ice crystals bend and reflect the moonlight to make a halo, or circle of light.  Sometimes two bright spots, that look like a little moons, can be seen in the halo.  They are called “moon dogs.”  We can sometimes see a halo around the sun, and we can also see “sun  dogs,” as the sun shines through clouds of ice crystals.

Haloes are often seen in Arctic regions.  These colored rings are generally red on the inside, then orange, yellow and white on the outside.  When you see a ring around the moon or sun, it usually means that a storm is coming.  Smaller haloes sometimes appear around the moon of sun when light rays are bent and reflected by clouds of droplets.-Dick Rogers

What Is A Minotaur?

Minotaur

The Minotaur of Greek legend was a man-eating monster with the head of a bull and the body of a man.

The Minotaur (pronounced MIN O TAWR) was a mythical monster with the head of a bull and the body of a man.

One of the myths of ancient Greece told that King Minos of Crete, an island in the Mediterranean Sea, kept the Minotaur imprisoned in a labyrinth—a winding maze of passageways from which no one could escape.

It happened that Androgeos, son of King Minos, was killed by the people in a town in Greece.  As a punishment King Minos sacrificed seven Greek youths and seven maidens each year to the Minotaur (who ate them).

The Greek hero Theseus, at last, killed the Minotaur and escaped from the labyrinth by following a thread.

Nowadays, we do not believe in myths.  But there probably was a King Minos.  And it so happens that the ruins of an ancient palace on the island of Crete has so many winding passageways that it resembles the legendary labyrinth!–Dick Rogers

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

What Is A Ballad?

Ballad

A ballad is a simple song or poem that tells a romantic or sentimental story.  When you sing a song such as “Casey Jones” or “John Henry,” you are signing a ballad.

A ballad is a simple song or poem that tells a story.  Ballads are often songs of romance and songs of praise about heroes and events.

No one knows when ballads were first made up, but they were sung by European poets hundreds of years ago.

These early ballads were known in many places simply as songs, tales, and duties.  The ballads were passed along from one generation to another, and finally no one remembered who first sang them.

Often the tune and the story told by the ballad stayed the same, but the words were changed.

Sang old British ballads as models, Americans, for example, created popular ballads about such Western outlaws as Jessie James and Billy the kid.

No one knows for certain, in many cases, if what the ballad tells is true or is just a fanciful tale made up by the singer.–Dick Rogers

How did February get its name?

February

February gets its name from the Latin word “februare,” which means “to purify” (in English, it became February).  The early Romans devoted this month to ceremonies of purification. February is the second month of the year—and the shortest.  February has 28 days, except in “leap years,” when it has 29 years.

In the early Roman calendar February was the last month of the year.  During this month, the Romans held religious rites to purify themselves for festivals held at the start of the new year.

Later, when Romans emperor Julius Caesar set up a new calendar, he moved the start of the year from March to January, February became the second month.

An old story tells (though there may be no truth in it), that when August Caesar’s month (July) longer than the one named after himself.  So he stole a day from February to make August 31 days, as long as Julys.–Dick Rogers

What Is A Fable?

A fable is a special kind of short story made up to teach a lesson.  Fables are often about animals who can talk and act like people.  The lesson to be learned is usually made clear in the end by what one of the animals wisely says.

Fable

Many fables are many hundreds of years old.  Among the best-known fables are those by Aesop.  Aesop is believed to have been a slave in ancient Greece and a skillful storyteller.  His stories are simple moral lessons.

Nearly everyone knows Aesop’s fable, “The Lion and the Mouse.”  A mouse persuades a lion not to kill him.  Later the lion is captured and tied up by hunters.  The mouse frees the lion by gnawing away the ropes.

The lesson to be learned in this fable is: “Little friends may prove to be valuable friends.”  Today some fables are written in the form of newspaper comic strips.–Dick Rogers

How Does A Skywriter Write In The Sky?

To skywrite, the pilot releases smoke-making chemicals into the airplane’s exhaust pipe.  The trail of smoke they produce traces the letters.

Skywriting is a method of writing in the sky with an airplane.  A trail of smoke traces the letters.  Most skywriting message are advertisements that promote products advertisers want to sell.

Skywriter

The smoke used for skywriting is made from special, smoke making chemicals carried in a tank.  When the pilot wants to write a smoke letter, he releases some of the liquid chemicals into the airplane’s exhaust pipe.

The heat from the hot gases of the engine changes the chemicals into a very thick smoke.  This smoke then comes out of the plane’s smoke tubes in long streams.

It takes many hours of practice for a pilot to become a good skywriter.  He has to learn not only how to write backward, but also to write quickly before the wind blows his message away.

Each letter may be about a mile long.  People can see the giant letters spread out across the sky for many miles.–Dick Rogers