Kids Questions & Answers

Kids Questions & Answers

Are snakes really modified lizards?

Several features of the monitor lizards are not found in other lizards but are found in snakes. For example, the monitor lizards are the only lizards to swallow their prey whole, or if it is too big, pieces of it. Other lizards chew and crush their food before eating. Another snake-like characteristic unknown in snakes. These clues indicate that monitors …

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Are gorillas man-eaters?

Stories of great attacking and eating explorers are very much in the realms of fiction, for gorillas are strictly vegetarian. Despite their huge size they eat mainly twigs and leaves. The fearsome-looking canine teeth which they possess are used for threat displays, and for setting disputes among their own kind. On the whole, gorillas are shy, retiring creatures which have …

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With which Indian tribes did the American settlers come in contact?

When Christopher Columbus made his first landfall in the Bahamas he was so certain that he had reached the East Indies that he called the natives ‘Indians’, the name by which they are still known today. He found them a friendly, peaceful people. Spaniards who explored what is now the southwestern United States found the natives equally friendly. They lived …

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Why’s it hard for Ketchup to flow?

 When you overturn a sauce bottle that has been left untouched for some time, chances are, either the sauce will not come out at all or a gigantic blob will plop down on your plate. Getting ketchup to �flow� out of the bottle can be quite an ordeal. However, if you shake the bottle before overturning it, the thick gooey …

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Why’s the Sun Red during Sunrise and Sunset?

As day breaks, a reddish-white ball of light that we call the sun, rises. This red haze gives way to a golden-white sheen as the day advances and reappears when the sun sets in the evening. Does the sun really change colours, or does it only seem so? The explanation lies in-between. Light from the sun consists of three kinds …

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Why was the ‘penny-farthing’ so called?

Bicycles of many shapes and sizes have led up to the bicycle was know today. The ‘penny-farthing’ bicycle was first seen on the roads of England in 1871. it was invented by James Starley, who later became known as the ‘father of the cycle industry’. It had a large front wheel which varied between 100-150 cm in diameter, and a …

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Why was Africa the center of the slave trade?

Trade in human slaves began in the earliest times and went on until the nineteenth century. But it was in the sixteenth century, after the discovery of America when the need grew for labour on the new plantations, that the slave trade began to increase. Its center was Africa. Millions of slaves were transported from that continent. The British, French, …

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Why some creepy crawlies give you the creeps

A large number of people count snakes and spiders among their fears. Now, a new study claims to have unlocked the psychology of the common phobias. Researchers have found that contrary to assumptions that humans possess an evolutionary predisposition to fear the creepy creatures, it is the exposure to negative information about snakes and spiders, which causes phobias. “Previous research …

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Why should we wash our hands before meals?

We should wash our hands before meals as a protection against infections. We live in a world full of germs (micro-organisms or microbes) and those, which are dangerous to us, prefer to live and multiply in organic material. So it is wise to remove as many as possible before coming into contact with food, which provides an ideal breeding ground. …

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