Social Science Questions & Answers

The soft, absorbent, natural sponges used in baths are the skeletal remains of a marine animal. Biologists once thought sponges were plants. This seemed natural as sponges have no special shape and attach themselves to one spot on the sea-bed like plants. Also, they have no limbs, mouths or internal organs. Today, however, they are classified as animals. The familiar …

A spider does not have a readymade web. She spins one. If you are lucky, you may be able to watch the female spider doing this. The material that makes the thread for the spider’s web is a liquid, which she produces from tiny spinning tubes. These spinning tubes are to be found on small lumps on her body, known …

Atlantic salmon, called the greatest game fish in the world by sportsmen, spawn in the fresh water streams of Europe, from Portugal to northern Russia, and in the streams of the eastern seaboard of North America, from Maine up to northern Canada. They are found also in the streams of Greenland and Iceland. Pacific salmon, of which there are several …

We all know that birds build nests. Some find trees the most convenient. Others prefer hedges, the eaves of roofs, chimney pots, rocky ledges or holes in trees. But what does a bird do that can neither fly nor swim? Living on the dry, open plains of eastern and southern Africa, the ostrich takes no pains to hide its nest. …

The Golden Eagle is probably the best known of all the birds of prey. It is a magnificent bird, up to 3 feet in length and with a wingspan of up to 8 feet. Golden Eagles patrol enormous areas of remote mountainous country throughout the northern hemisphere. They are long-lived birds which pair up for life, usually returning to the …

During winter flies will hibernate, sometimes in large groups, in any available dry and warm space such as an attic. The reason there are so few houseflies in winter is that their eggs will hatch only at temperatures between 24º Centigrade and 35º Centigrade (75º Fahrenheit and 95º Fahrenheit). Meanwhile their numbers steadily diminish owing to insecticides and natural causes. …

When it rains butterflies settle on the stems of flowers or stalks of grass. They hang head downwards with their wings folded together over their backs. Most butterflies are difficult to see when their wings are closed, because the undersides have only pale colors and fain patterns. There are about 10,000 known species of butterfly. They range in size from …

The parakeets are a widespread group of small Old World parrots. Best known is the Grass Parakeet or Budgerigar which is popular as a cage bird in so many homes. Budgerigars come from Australia. Large, chattering flocks feed among the grasses of the wide, inland plains. They eat the seeds of a variety of grasses, the fresh shoots of plants …

Sunbathing has its origins in ancient civilizations. Greeks, Romans, and Sumerians considered Sun as a God, because Sun was the most powerful natural source of heat and light; as a part of Sun worship, they used to expose their bodies to sunlight. Another reason was ancient man’s liking for bronzed skin, which could be easily acquired by sunbathing.

When you throw in the towel, you are giving up. You are admitting surrender or defeat. In its original form, it was called ‘to throw up the sponge’; this appears in The Slang Dictionary (1860). The reference is to sponges used to cleanse combatants faces at prize fights. A contestant’s manager throwing in the sponge would signal that the fighter …