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Daily Dose Of Interesting Information

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#178. Strange Sleeping Sickness!

The survivors of one of the strangest epidemics of the modern world were reduced to mere frozen figures, human statues made of stone, looking bizarre and weird. These men were the victims of a strange sleeping sickness called “ENCEPHALITIS LETHARGIA”.

 This disease appeared in Europe suddenly in 1915 and had spread through out the world by 1918. This strange disease took so many different forms that the doctors were completely baffled and bewildered. They thought that dozens of new diseases were unleashed at the same time! It had affected five million people!

 One out of three affected persons died a miserable death soon. Some others fell into a coma, from which they never came out. Those who had survived had their personalities cruelly altered. The mild mannered and obedient children became impulsive, provocative, destructive and lewd! Yet others were transformed to “non-existing-persons” like ghosts and were as passive as Zombies.

 This viral epidemic is associated with some forms of influenza. The main symptoms were double-vision and extreme muscular weakness. The other predominant traits were apathy in which a person lacked emotions and feelings. He showed a total lack of interest in what normal persons found exciting, interesting and moving. He showed no response to any stimulation.

 This viral epidemic spread through the bites of Tsetse fly—belonging to the blood sucking African flies of the genus Glossina. The bite of the fly transmitted pathogenic trypanosomes to human beings and livestock!

 Visalakshi Ramani
 
#179. The Farmer Ants.


In parts of North Central America, armies of ants can be seen marching–each one holding a tiny piece of leaf hoisted on its back, as if shading itself from the hot Sun!
These “parasol ants” use the leaves neither as umbrella nor as food. They are the “farmer” ants, growing their own supply of food and the leaves are the organic manure for their crop! Another name for these ant is Leaf Cutter Ant.

Once inside their nest, these ants chew up the leaves to a smooth pulp and wet it with a drop of liquid from the tip of their abdomen. It is then added to similarly treated piles on which a fungus grows. The ants then plant fungus on this new pulp and tend it growth.The other ants walk over the crops adding more drops of liquid from their abdomen.

For the parasol ants, the fungus is the sole source of food. Cultivation is vital for their survival. The ant gardens are enormous labyrinths of chambers underground, extending up to 12 feet below the ground level.

A six-year-old ant nest was found to be created by shifting a massive 40 tons of earth, to make 1920 chambers, to accommodate 44,000 ants. This colony had stripped trees of an estimated 6 tons of leaves!

Though the fungus flourishes in the ant farms, it perishes quickly in the wild. Scientists wondered whether the liquid from the abdomen contained antibiotics to protect the fungus.

But later it was found that the liquid drops contained only powerful fertilizers and nutrients. These helped the fungus to overcome all competitions and grow steadily–thus ensuring plenty of food supply for the hard working farmer ants.

Visalakshi Ramani



 
Dear friends!

For some unknown reason I am unable to blog the article # 179 posted today

(post # 252) in this thread. Time to get this problem sorted by the technical team

of this website.

Till it is sorted out, please the read the new article posted from the thread itself.

with warm regards,
Mrs. V.R. :pray2:

 
# 180. Science Specials.

Science has become an integral part of human civilization and development. We may not know how a gadget works but surely we all know how to operate it and make the best us of it.

Science and its numerous inventions have changed the quality of human life and made themselves indispensable, that now it is difficult to imagine a life without their aid!

We will look into a few of the marvels of the science which have revolutionized human life.The list can be endless but we do not have unlimited time. So just a few of the best discoveries and concepts will be discussed here.

 Before we enter the thread I wish to share with you an interesting quotation by the one and only real GENIUS Albert Einstein.

"Why does this magnificent applied science which saves work and makes life easier brings us so little happiness? The simple answer runs: Because we have not yet learned to make sensible use of it"

(In his address in California Institute of Technology in 1931). .

 If this were true in 1931, it can only be more true now- eight decades later! The gadgets can be set to work and go off at the selected time of the day. They respond to your clap or even your voice.

Yet is man really happier and more contented now than he was a hundred years ago?

The answer is a definite "NO!"

It is the same reason. "The more you have the more you want!" Now the complaint may be that

" I still have to load and unload the machine" or
"I still have to fold my clothes"!

Man's demands for comforts ARE endless!

Now back to the thread if you please!
 
#181. L. C. D.


The display on calculators, Television screens and computer monitors are fast becoming Liquid crystal Display, popularly known as LCD.

 A unique group of natural substances give rise to LCD. These substances are neither quite solids nor quite liquids, at normal room temperatures. They are called Liquid Crystals.

 Liquid crystals are complex organic chemicals which can flow like a liquid and can also form regular patterns like the solid crystals.

 Liquid crystals were first observed and studied in detail by Friedrich Reinitzer in 1888. The full potential of the liquid crystals has been exploited only in the past few decades.

 In LCD, the crystals are sandwiched between two transparent electrodes, which transmit electric current. Depending on the current sent through the electrodes, images are displayed.

 For displaying numbers as in a watch or a clock, seven equal segments are used, to form the shape of two small squares, placed one on top of the other. By controlling the current sent to one or more of these segments, all the other numbers ranging from zero to nine are formed.

 LCD screens are flat, thin and light in weight. This has made it possible, for the size of the home television, to grow from big to bigger, all the time.

 In a few years’ time we may have an LCD screen big enough to cover the entire surface of a wall in our drawing room, giving us the pride and pleasure of having a theater our very own!.

Visalakshi Ramani
 
#182. G. P. S.



Global positioning system or G.P.S is the only functional Global Navigator Satellite System or G.N.S.S. A constellation of 24 or more medium Earth Orbit Satellites (which can transmit precise microwave signals) is utilized to enable the G.P.S Receiver determine its location, speed, direction and time.

 Officially named as NAVSTAR G.P.S, this was developed by the US Department of Defense. It is managed and maintained by the US Air Force 50th Space Wing, at an enormous cost of 750million US Dollars per year!

 Following a shoot down of a Korean Air Line Flight 007, in 1983, The President of USA, Ronald Reagan issued a directive, making G.P.S system available for free, for the civilian use, for the common good.

 Since then, the G.P.S has become the most widely used aid in navigation, in the making of maps, land surveying and many other scientific uses. G.P.S provides a precise time reference used in many scientific applications, in the study of earth quakes, and in the synchronization of telecommunication net works.

 A point on a straight line can be defined by just one dimension while we need two for locating a point on a flat surface. For locating a point in space we need three dimensions, X, Y and Z. G.P.S requires accurate time also as the fourth factor.

 Hence a G.P.S receiver calculates it position using the signals received from 4 or more G.P.S satellites. These four (or more) values are made available in a user friendly form such as latitude, longitude or location on a map.

 Each G.P.S has an atomic clock. It transmits message containing the time and the parameters to calculate the location of the satellites. These signals travel at the speed of light in the outer space and at slightly reduced speed in atmosphere.

 The G.P.S receiver uses the arrival time of these signals to compute the distance of each of each satellite. Using geometry and trigonometry these values are used to determine the position of the receiver on a map.

 G.P.S receiver can relay position data to a P.C. It can also be integrated into cars, mobile phones and watches. Although mobile handsets with integrated G.P.S were launched in 1990s, they became available in large number for the consumers only in 2006.

 Solar flares can affect the G.P.S reception over half the earth, facing the Sun. Geomagnetic storms, found near the poles of earth’s magnetic field, can affect the reception of G.P.S.

 Thanks to the G.P.S and its accurately positioning, you can not get lost even if you wanted to!

Visalakshi Ramani
 
#183. L. E. D.


A light emitting diode (LED) is a semi conductor light source. When a semi conductor diode is switched on, it can release energy in the form of photons. This effect is named as Electroluminescence.
This effect was first discovered in 1907, by H.J.Round of Marconi Labs. No practical use was made of this discovery for several decades.

 The first practical visible spectrum of LED was developed in 1962, by Nick Holonyak Jr, rightfully called “The father of LED”. In 1962, LED was introduced as a practical electronic component. Early LED emitted very low intensity light.

 Until 1968, LED was extremely costly and had very little use. The first commercial LED was a replacement for incandescent and neon lamps. Later LED was used in T.V, radio, telephone, calculator and watches.

 Very bright modern versions of LED are available now, in the visible, infrared as well as ultraviolet wave lengths. Today LED is used for aviation lighting, automobile lighting, in indicators and traffic signal lights.

 The compact size of the LED has made it possible to develop new text and video displays and sensors. The faster switching frequency is useful in advanced communication technology. Infra red LED is used in the remote control units of the T.Vs, DVD players and other domestic appliances.

Visalakshi Ramani


 
#184. An Array of Rays.

A RAY is a thin line or narrow beam of radiation, especially of light. A straight line extending from a point, with an arrow head on the other end denoted a ray. We have a complete race or rays around us! How many of them do you know?

 COSMIC RAYS are high energy particles, originating from the outer space (Extra Solar sources within our galaxy) and enter earth’s atmosphere. Cosmic rays are made up of 90% Protons, 9% Alpha particles and 1% of electrons. These particles arrive individually and not as a beam of particles.

 ALPHA RAY has 2 Protons and 2 neutrons (identical to a Helium nucleus). It has high ionizing energy but low penetrating power. It can be stopped by an ordinary paper.

 BETA RAY is made up of high speed and high energy electrons or positrons. It has a high ionizing energy and is more penetrating than an Alpha ray. But it can be stopped by an Aluminum plate.

 GAMMA RAY is produced by the subatomic particle interaction or by radio active decay. It consists of high energy photons (with highest frequency and shortest wavelength among all the rays).

 DELTA RAY is any recoil particle that causes “Secondary Ionization”. The name was coined by J. J .Thomson. When fast moving charged particles collide with an atom, they can knock out some of the orbiting electrons, out of the atom! When the “Knock-on-electrons” have sufficient energy to ionize more atoms on their own, they are called as Delta rays.

 EPSILON RAY is a form of particle radiation composed of electrons. When Delta Rays can cause a Tertiary Radiation, an Epsilon Ray is obtained. This is again a name coined by J. J. Thomson.

 NEUTRON RAY is an ionizing radiation consisting of neutrons. Neutron Ray has no charge and is more penetrating than Alpha, Beta and Gamma rays. It can damage healthy cells and tissues of a living organism.

 The best form of rays known to mankind is “The Light Rays”. Rays from the Sun give us both heat and light. Three different Rays namely,
The Infra Red Rays, the visible light, and the Ultra Violet Rays are emitted by the Sun.

 INFRA RED RAY (meaning the ray below-the-red) is actually a Heat Ray from the Sun. It has a wavelength larger than the visible light. It can be used as a heating source in cooking, heating food and de-icing the wings of an aircraft.

 VISIBLE LIGHT RAY is a mixture of seven colours namely; Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet.

 ULTRA VIOLET RAY (meaning the ray beyond-the-violet) has shorter wavelength than the visible light. It can cause sun burns and skin cancers. Originally this was named “The Chemical Ray”. This has very high energy due its high frequency. It is very dangerous, since we do not feel the heat, the way we do when exposed to Infra red rays.

 X RAY or RONTGEN RAY (named after its inventor) is a highly penetrating ray consisting on high-speed-photons. It can penetrate through a human body. X Rays are very useful in the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases. X Rays are also used in Radio therapy, Crystallography, Astronomy and in microscopes.

Visalakshi Ramani
 
#185. The miracle mineral!


A miracle mineral had been in the prehistoric axe as much as it is in today’s precision watch. Its name is Quartz!
Quartz is the most abundant mineral found in nature—forming one eighth of the earth’s crust. It is undoubtedly the most versatile mineral known too.

 Quartz is a compound of Silicon and Oxygen. It can vary from the size of a pin head to a five ton block!

 Pure quartz is colorless and is called the “Rock crystal”. The presence of impurities renders the quartz colorful and we get the gemstones widely used in jewels. Some of the much sought after colored gems stones are Yellow citrine, Pink Rose quartz, Apple Green Chrysoprase, Red carnelian, Violet tinted Amethyst as well as the multi colored Agate, Jasper and the Onyx.

 Rock crystals have many uses. Fortune tellers use crystal balls. Prisms and lenses made from quartz are used in optical instruments and spectacles.

 Quartz is heat-resistant and is widely used in electrical insulators and the molds for casting metals. “Silica glass” can withstand very high temperatures and is ideal for making the oven-proof dishes and tubes used in labs. Drawn into thin fibers, quartz plays a vital role in fiber optics.

 The most amazing property of quartz is that it is “Piezoelectric”. Like any other crystal quartz produces electricity when subjected to pressure. Conversely quartz can also change its shape when electricity is applied to it.

 This helps in controlling the movements of the hands of a clock or the digital numbers in watches. Quartz is not affected by weather and keeps very accurate time.

 When compressed by a force of 1000 pounds, a half-an-inch-cube of quartz can generate an amazing 25,000 volts! So it is widely used in gas stove lighters, to start gasoline engines and to set off explosive devices.

 As the supply of natural quartz dwindles and diminishes, synthetic quartz is being used increasingly. But synthetic or natural, quartz will continue to be the most versatile of all minerals known to man!

 Visalakshi Ramani
 
#186. Another Ugly duckling?



Uranium is the metallic element that fuels the nuclear power plants of the world. In the future, the countries with significant deposits of Uranium will become politically powerful, as the oil producing nations did in the past!
Yet strangely, Uranium had not been considered an important element when it was accidentally discovered in the year 1789! The German Chemist, Martin Klaproth was analyzing a sample of the heavy mineral ore “Pitchblende”, for the presence of silver.

 Pitchblende, also called as “Black tin ore” was thought to be a compound of iron, zinc, and tungsten. But after months of diligent analysis, Klaproth found that it was a new element –very different from all the known elements. He named it after the recently discovered planet “Uranus” as “Uranium”.

 In fact uranium is more commonly found in nature than silver! It is dense and lustrous but tarnishes rapidly when exposed to Oxygen. Ironically, this precious element was used only for making yellow paint and for colouring glass and chinaware for over a century.

 In 1896, Pitchblende was found to be radioactive, but again, the scientists dismissed it as of very little importance or practical use. The potential of Uranium still remained unrecognized!

 It was the husband and wife team of Pierre and Marie Curie, who in 1898 isolated “Radium” the element responsible for the radioactive property of Pitchblende. They obtained a mere one Centigram of Radium from one ton of pitchblende they processed!

 Radium was highly radioactive, since its nucleus was unstable and broke down, releasing minute particles and electromagnetic energy.

 Even though Uranium was also radioactive in nature, it went unnoticed for a long time. With respect to their radio activities, Radium and Uranium can be compared to a Search light and a candle flame.

 One ton of pitchblende gave only a fraction of a gram of Radium but half a ton of Uranium—then considered as a useless by-product!

 The break through came only in 1938, when it was proved that Uranium atom when bombarded by neutrons, split into two parts releasing fresh neutrons. Thus a
“Chain-reaction” can take place, resulting in the “nuclear fission” or breaking of Uranium atoms.

 When the chain reaction takes place in controlled conditions, it is a nuclear reactor which can provide us limitless energy. But if the rate of fission is not controlled, it becomes a deadly and destructive weapon called Atom bomb.

 So “The Ugly duckling” Uranium, once thought as a mere useless by product has now emerged as the “Dazzling Swan”, wielding untold power over the destiny of Humanity.

 Visalakshi Ramani
 
#187. Metals with memory!



The discovery that certain alloys have memories came in the beginning of the 20th century. These alloys are compounds of different metals and are known as Shape memory alloys. If shaped at one temperature and then distorted in another temperature, they return to their original form and size when the original temperature is restored.
The shape memory effect was first noticed in 1938. Most alloys can be trained to form two different shapes -one in each phase- by repeated cooling, distorting and reheating. When thus trained, the alloys remember both the shapes and can change from one to another indefinitely.

 Today, the shape memory alloys are widely used in engineering and medicines. The first practical application was the coupling used in hydraulic fluid pumps, in air planes. The coupling is made smaller than the pipes. It is cooled and stretched till it can slip over the pipes. When it returns to the room temperature, it returns to its original size and holds the pipes in a tight grip.

 Nowadays, these alloys are used in ships, automobiles, under water pipes for securing a tight grip on the ends of the pipes. Shape memory alloys are used in thermostatic devises for central heating system, in automobile engines, in electrical circuit breakers and in window openers in green houses.

 The alloy “Nitinol’ is widely used in medicine. The word is created from the names Nickel, Titanium and Naval Ordinance Laboratory in Silver Spring, where it was first developed.

 Nitinol is widely used in fixing the broken bones, in hip replacement surgery, dental braces and in correcting the spinal curvature. When made into a fine mesh and fitted in the main vein leading to the heart, it can prevent blood clots from reaching the heart.

 Shape memory alloys do have a very bright future in various fields of science, medicine and engineering.

Visalakshi Ramani
 
#188. Music and Colors!


In a study among a group of college students it was found that at least 15% of them imagined colorful images which made the music more enjoyable. The idea that there is a link between music and the color is a very old one.
The interlinking of senses is named as “Synaesthesia”. It is most common in the form of “color-hearing”, the involuntary perception of color by a person listening to music. It varies from person to person and is difficult to be measured or standardized.

 Synaesthesia has been reported and supported by many scholars. Sir Isaac Newton believed that each of the seven notes in the musical scale corresponded to each of the seven colors in the spectrum. Whenever he saw a color, he could hear the note associated with it.

 Newton’s Music and Color Theory states that the interval tone between D and E corresponded to Red, the minor 3rd to Orange, 4th to Yellow, 5th to Green, major 6th to Blue, minor 7th to Indigo and the octave to Violet.

 Synaesthesia had wide appeal to artists and writers, as a source of metaphors. Famous composers have based their musical compositions on the beautiful art work of famous painters. Conversely, famous painters have derived inspiration from the musical compositions or the abstract idea of music.

 To the neurologist, Synaesthesia remains an inexplicable and mysterious phenomenon. It is known that the information coming from the different senses are processed in different parts of the brain. The person who experiences Synaesthesia may have some kind of connections between these areas.

 Drug induced “fusion and confusion of senses” may indicate that we all have such connections but under normal conditions they remain suppressed or inhibited.

 The International Synaesthesia Association has its head quarters in U.K.

Visalakshi Ramani
 
#189. Ice Concrete.



Engineering in ice began during World War II, when British Engineers drew up plans for an aircraft carrier made of ice. Addition of saw dust would make the ice stronger. Although no air crafts actually landed on an ice-warship, several planes did touch down on an ice runway built on the sea, off the Alaska coast, by U.S Navy, in the winter of 1952-53.
The location of the runway was a natural ice sheet off Point Barrow, Alaska. A confined area 3000 feet long and 150 feet wide was flooded with sea water until a block of ice 16 feet thick was formed. But water pockets formed due to the defective freezing method rendered the structure weak.

 Further research showed that tougher surfaces can be formed by freezing wooden cross members into the ice, similar to the steel reinforcement in cement concrete. Another form of “Ice- concrete” was formed by mixing crushed ice with fiber glass.

 In 1986, The Amoco Corporation built one of the largest oil exploration platforms ever built. Named as “Mars I”, it took only seven weeks to be completed and cost only one-third of comparable drilling rigs. No shipyard was needed to build the platform. The building material (water) cost nothing and was available in plenty.

 “Spray-ice” was formed by spraying water high into the air at sub-zero temperatures. The water froze into ice granules before it hit the surface. These granules compacted under their own weight to form a tough but flexible material.

 An island 950 feet in diameter and 50 feet thick was formed by spraying water from four cannons. Forty workers worked for seven weeks drilling holes 8300 feet deep. The oil wells were capped. When the spring came the island of ice simply vanished!

 The present methods are suitable for temperature less than16 degree F. In future bacteria called “Pseudomonas Syringe” may be added in powder form, to make ice which will withstand the higher temperature of the summer.

 When ice is compressed, some of it melts and the rest of it freezes into a solid lump. This is the principle used in ice skating. When this process is repeated several times a substance called “Ice 9 “is formed. This is so hard that only by a blow torch can cut through it.

 Environment friendly ice islands will be welcomed in future. Who can complain about an industrial complex that simply vanishes with out a trace, once the job is over?

Visalakshi Ramani
 
#190. To shoot or to spot?


A Radar Gun is used to detect the speed of moving objects and vehicles. Though it does not pinpoint the position of the object, it can measure the speed of the object very accurately.

 The Radar Gun was first invented by Bryce .K. Brown, in March 1954. It came into use almost immediately in April 1954!

 A Radar Gun works on the principle of “Doppler Effect”. You must have noticed that the whistle of a train or the sound of the horn of a car, become sharper as they approach us and become flatter when they recede. This is the Doppler Effect, which studies the shift in the frequency of the waves due to motion.

 A Radar Gun is in fact a radio transmitter cum receiver. It can send out and receive radio signals, as they get scattered by the moving objects. The reflected signal is different from the transmitted signal. This difference or “the shift” is used to calculate the speed of the objects.

 A Radar Gun must be stationary to measure the speed. In a moving Radar, the frequency shift between the various images is compared and used to calculate the speeds.

 All bands of radar work on the same principles, but on different frequencies namely X, K, Ka and Ku bands. There are different models, hand-held, stationary and moving. Hand-held models are battery operated. Stationary models, with one or two antennas, are fitted on parked vehicles. Moving radars are Hi-fi and can track the speeding vehicles in the front as well in the rear!

 With the advance of science, the fast drivers now have at their services, “Radar Detector,” which can detect police radar in action, and warn them!

 Not to be left out of the rat-race, the policemen have come up with a more complex tool to help them—“The Detector of (an operating) radar detector”!

How do you like it?

 Visalakshi Ramani
 
#191. Bloomer.



Amelia Jenks Bloomer, the editor of an American magazine the Lily- was a staunch supporter of dress reform for women. In the 19th century, women wore tightly laced corsets and voluminous dresses which gave them a “bee’s waist”.

 The dress reform advocated by Amelia was wearing a jacket and a knee length skirt. Beneath the skirt, a long pair of trousers was firmly tucked into the boots.

 This out fit, which is more than modest by the standard of dresses worn today, caused a storm of controversy. This dress had already been designed and worn by another contemporary dress reformer, Mrs. Elizabeth Smith Miller.

 “Bloomer girls” were considered as rebels. They were denied entry to churches and other public buildings. It was predicted by media that bloomer girls would fail in their career and end up in lunatic asylums or state prisons.

 Soon bloomers were widely and wisely accepted on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. The reason was the newly developed past time of the ladies, namely riding bicycles. Bloomer was the ideal dress for women for riding bicycles.

 Soon bloomer came to denote just the long pair of trousers worn under the skirt or just any other from of long under garment.

Visalakshi Ramani
 
#192. Joyful Jacuzzi!

The whirl pool bath widely known as Jacuzzi is named after Candido Jacuzzi, an Italian immigrant to the U.S.A.

 Originally his family business was production of aircrafts. In 1921, one of the Jacuzzi brothers died in the crash of a prototype mono plane. The family then changed over to a less dangerous business–manufacture of hydraulic pumps.

 When his son was crippled by rheumatoid arthritis, the senior Jacuzzi used one of his firm’s pumps to give the boy a hydro massage.

 This technique caught up and was perfected in 1950. Soon it became the latest fad of the rich and affluent. This revolutionary bath became popular, particularly in California. Today it is a multi million dollar business.

 Who would ever think that an air crash and an attack of rheumatoid arthritis would be the root cause of a new multi-million dollar business?

 Visalakshi Ramani
 
#193. Laudable Lipogram!



Books in which certain letters of the English alphabets are omitted deliberately are called Lipograms. Writing such a book is difficult by itself. But imagine writing a novel, without the use of the letter “e”– the most used alphabet in English!
But the American author Ernest Vincent Wright has performed this miraculous task. He had written 300 pages long novel “Gadsby” containing more than 50,000 words, without using the vowel “e” even once!

 Wright had taped down the key with “e” on it, so that it would be impossible to use it. He chose his words carefully and succeeded in writing a novel, in which words seem to flow freely and naturally and are not noticeably forced or strained!

 It took him 165 days to write this unique book. Not a single word of the text contains the letter “e”! However the strain of writing such a book was too much for him. He died on the very day of the publication of his book!

 Gadsby has become highly prized by the collectors of rare books. Today a copy can be sold for more than 1000 U.S Dollars!

 Well! Wright’s willful wrestling with words wasn't wasted!

Visalakshi Ramani
 
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#194. The Royal Car!



The wealth of the Indians kings and princes in the past was legendary. The Rajahs exhibited their wealth in the form of exquisite jewels, enormous palaces, gala parties and sumptuous dinners.

 In the 20th Century, the new status symbol became the Rolls-Royce– tailor made to suit the whims and fancies of the Kings and Queens. Between 1907 and 1947, a total of 36,000 Rolls-Royces were produced in Great Britain. Of these about 1000 were exported to India!

 The Maharajah of Patiala owned none less than 38 royal cars. The Maharajah of Mysore placed an order for 8 Rolls-Royce in 1947. The Maharajah of Nawangar, Jamsaheb, had a garage that could accommodate 450 cars–eight of which were the Rolls-Royces. Each car had a chauffeur and a cleaner.

 The Maharajah of Nabha desired and got made a Rolls-Royce in the shape of a swan. The exhaust was discharged through the beak of this giant metal bird, making it look like a Fire-breathing-bird!

 The Maharajah of Patiala had his Rolls-Royce upholstered in Salmon pink silk and its body work was painted in a matching color. The diamond studded dashboard of the car was so valuable that, four armed guards had to stand in protection, whenever that car was being serviced!

 The Raja of Monghyr commissioned a silversmith to decorate his Rolls-Royce with silver to make it look like an ornate chariot!

 Due to an export ban introduced in 1969, these opulent cars can not be taken out of India. The cut on the Privy purses of the princes coupled with the ever hiking price of petrol has made the maintenance of these “white elephants” practically impossible. Though some cars are maintained in good condition, most of them lie in ruin.

 Apparently the hay days of Rolls-Royce are over along with the hay days of the Royal Maharajahs of India.

Visalakshi Ramani
 
#195. A Taj Mahal in U.K!



A fairy tale palace– a rare combination of pinnacles, domes and minarets– has been a busy tourist spot in Brighton, for over 160 years. This Royal Pavilion was the brain-child of an impulsive and extravagant Prince of Wales, who later became king George IV.
Originally it was a simple farm house of the Prince and his secret bride. Fashionable friends from London started visiting the Prince, and soon Brighton became one of the most popular resorts in Europe.

 For nearly 35 years (from 1786 to 1821), the house was constantly being redesigned and refurnished by the leading English Architects–costing an astronomical 750,000 U.S.$! Several contractors were ruined for life as the Prince ran out of money often enough!

 The inside of the palace was at first furnished in French style. Later this was replaced by the oriental style. Fake bamboo furniture, Chinese wall papers, silk wall hangings and bright colors replaced the more sober French style.

 The Royal stables were built in the picturesque style of Islamic India, with magnificent domes. In 1815, the Prince became a Regent and could spare more money to throw in his lavish dream project. He could add to this unusual pavilion more domes, miniature pagodas, slender columns with lotus flower tips, and strange Gothic figures.

 The interior has two magnificent chambers, one for music and one for banquet. A chandelier found there weighs over a ton! The enormous and elaborate domed ceilings and the rich color scheme of red, gold and blue is fascinating and eye-catching.

 The Prince became a King in 1820, but he rarely visited his dream palace. He died in 1830 and his successors rarely used the palace. The palace was further stripped of all its furnishings and stood empty and forlorn till 1850!

 Then the residents of Brighton bought the palace and restored it to its earlier glory. This Mahal at Brighton is now a busy resort. The dream of the whimsical Prince has become a reality at last!

 Visalakshi Ramani.
 
#196. Steady as a rock?



“Death valley” in California, is the lowest, driest and hottest place in USA. It is a place of extremes, situated nearly 300 feet below the sea level. The most amazing of the many natural wonders found in this valley is the “mystery of the moving stones”!
These ordinary looking stones vary from the size of a pebble to that of a boulder. They lay sprawled over the cracked surface of the dried up lake “Racetrack”, about three miles long.

 Each stone has a long and shallow furrow trailing it-just like a tail! Some of these furrows are straight while some others zigzag. Some trails are curved like arcs. Apparently the stones move on their on accord and quite fast too, since some of the tracks are hundreds of feet long!

 Why and how do these stones move?

 Dr. Robert .P. Sharp, a professor in Geology at the California Institute of technology , spent seven long years in studying this mysterious phenomenon.

 He has put forward this theory to explain the mystic movements of the stones.

 The combined forces of the wind and water are responsible for this eerie movements of the stones. The courses of their tracks correspond with the direction of the wind prevailing at that time.

 Though the average rain fall in the place is rarely more than 2 inches, it is quite enough to form a thing sheet of moisture over the hard clay surface of the dried up lake. On this slippery surface, pushed by a strong wind, a stone can move as fast as three feet per second!

 The “Moving Stones” of the “The Racetrack” have become a great tourist attraction. The mystery and amazement caused by the seemingly
“LIVE STONES” on “THE DEATH VALLEY” lingers on!

 Visalakshi Ramani
 
#197. Holy Swastika defiled!



The 20th century had been dominated by the Swastika–one of the most feared symbols of the modern world. It came to represent Hitler and the Nazi Germany; the horrors of destruction, oppression and persecution.
Hitler chose the Swastika as his emblem and had it depicted in black in a white circle on a blood red background! Swastika was not Hitler’s creation or invention. It has been known for thousands of year before Hitler was even born.

 The Swastika is Aryan in origin. In Sanskrit it means “Be well” and “Good Luck”.

 Swastika was associated with the Fire-God Agni as the symbol stands for the “spindle and drill”, the oldest known way of making a fire.

 The symbol of Swastika had spread across the ancient world. It had assumed different meanings in different places as the revolving Sun, Four winds, Four quarters of the Moon, the four main seasons etc.

 Swastika was depicted in two forms–the left handed (anti clockwise) and the Right handed (the clockwise). In Buddhism these two represent the YIN and YANG–the balance between the Solar and the Lunar forces.

 Early Christians used this symbol to denote Christ’s resurrection and second coming. It was the symbol of God Thor– who hurled the thunder bolts from the Heaven.

 In Tibet and Peru, Swastika was used for Religious and ritualistic purposes.

 Until Hitler adopted the Swastika, it stood for everything good, powerful, auspicious and strong. By adopting it, Hitler had corrupted and defiled one of the oldest and most fascinating symbols known to humanity.

 Visalakshi Ramani
 
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