The Express Tribune hi five - January 27

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Chief Wizard: Zarrar Khuhro Master Storyteller: Ameer Hamza Knowledge Navigator: Dilaira Mondegarian Creativity Analysts: Maha Haider, Jamal Khurshid, Samra Aamir, Amna Iqbal, Essa Malik, M.Suhaib, Kiran Shahid, Faizan Dawood, Anushay Furqan, Umar Waqas

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, JANUARY 27, 2013

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Nowadays it’s super-quick to contact people on the other side of the world but in the past it could take months or even years for simple letters to travel to their destination. Back then, people had to work hard to communicate over long distances and most communication used to take place through messengers. If you wanted to send a message, you would have to hire a messenger, tell him your message and then he would run or ride to the person who you wanted to send the message to. Have you ever played Chinese whispers? It’s a game in which one person whispers a message to another, which is passed through the circle until the last player announces the message to the entire group. It’s quite a fun game as the message is always different from the original one.

Well, that’s what used to happen when people sent verbal messages with messengers; the message would often be completely changed when the messenger got to his destination. Soon, people started writing their messages down. There were other ways to communicate; the people of Gomera in Spain have a special language which helps them communicate. There are no words in their language, they whistle to communicate with each other! And because the island they live in is filled with mountains and valleys, their whistles can be heard up to 3 kilometres away!

Smoke signals have been around for a very long time. They were first created by the Native North Americans and the Chinese. Long ago, there were even stone signal towers along the coast of Greece and Turkey. The Chinese used smoke signals along the Great Wall of China.

Smoke signals are sent by placing a cover (such as a blanket) over an open fire. After you make the fire, you can create a lot of smoke by adding handfuls of grass or green branches. By quickly lifting the cover for a short time, a puff of smoke will be sent up into the air. What is very important is that everyone sending and receiving the smoke signals must know what they mean. A code needs to be worked out so that everyone can understand the messages being sent. For example, four small puffs in a row might mean that an enemy is approaching. Two large puffs might mean that a friend is coming. Because only the senders and receivers know the code, smoke signals can be used to send secret messages.

While most smoke signals are secret, there are some standard signals that are understood by many people around the world. For example, one puff means ATTENTION, two puffs means ALL’S WELL, and three puffs of smoke means DANGER OR TROUBLE.

When you mail a letter, what happens after you drop that letter in the mailbox? Your letter gets sorted and then travels on an airplane, train, or truck. Mail today usually takes only about two to three days to be delivered. E-mail only takes minutes. But in the past, the mail system was very different. In the past, mail has been sent on dogsleds, balloons, rockets, mules, pneumatic tubes, and even submarines.

Historians believe that the written mail service truly started in Rome. That’s because the Romans used special carriages and horses just for delivering mail.

The Persians used to use a system of relay messengers.

The riders would stop at regularly placed posthouses to get a fresh horse or to pass on their packets of dispatches to another messenger for the remainder of the distance.

Perhaps the best relay system was the one used by the Mongols, who could cover 200-300 kilometres in a day!

Interfering with a Mongol messenger was considered one of the greatest crimes ever!

Around 550 BC, Cyrus the Great (the ruler of Persia) built rows of towers in his capital city, with soldiers stationed atop each tower who could shout messages in a loud voice that could reach to the next tower. Because this was an oral relay system, messages sometimes changed somewhat along the way, as often happens when playing the ‘Chinese whispers’.A very long time ago, before there were newspapers, town criers were used to tell the news. The town crier is a person who would walk around yelling, “Oyez, oyez” (Oh-yea) which translates to “listen” in French but meant “hear ye” in England. “Hear ye” is a call for silence and attention. The town crier would tell about the latest events that were happening.Town criers were known for nailing a proclamation on the door post of a central meeting place like a local inn. This is how newspapers got their name “the post.”

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, JANUARY 27, 2013

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Hi Light

Today, we commonly use telephones when we want to transmit a message over a long distance. However, before the invention of telephones, messages were often sent on paper. More urgent messages may have been sent by Morse code. Morse code is a system of dashes and dots. Each combination of dashes and dots represents a different letter in the alphabet. Samuel Morse developed this language in 1835 to send messages over long distances with a telegraph machine.

You can use a ashlight, a whistle or a buzzer to transmit a Morse code message. Use the code to create a message for a friend.

Then challenge your friend to decode your message.

What would you like to see in Hi Five?

Send an email to hifive@tribune.com.pk and let us know!

Drums were one way to send signals to neighbouring tribes and groups. The sound of the drumming patterns would tell them of problems and events they needed to know. Drums were a very simple method of talking across distances since they could be used just like Morse code.

Did you know that pigeons have been used to carry messages for thousands of years? About 2,800 years ago, Greeks used pigeons to deliver news of the winners from Olympic Games. They were even used to deliver messages during World War I and II. Pigeons can fly very fast and very far. If soldiers were in rocky, mountainous areas and it was too difficult to use the radio, they would use pigeons.

Enemies made delivering important messages very difficult for the birds. It was a very dangerous job. A pigeon called Cher Ami (French for My Dear Friend) was injured while delivering its message but it still delivered its message, saving the lives of hundreds of soldiers. Cher Ami received several awards for her courage!

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, JANUARY 27, 2013

4 Scrabble Tile Coaster Craft

: d e d e e n s ie l p p u S • Craft Foam or Felt • Scrabble Tiles • Craft Glue • Ruler • Scissors • Foam Paint Brush

Instructions: Start off by laying out your scrabble tiles how you want them to look when your coaster is done. Make sure all of the sides are touching and then measure your tiles across and down. Use these measurements and cut out a piece of craft foam or felt that size.

Spread a generous amount of glue over the craft foam or felt. Carefully place the scrabble tiles, in order, onto the glue. Grab a toothpick and use it to spread some glue from the craft foam or felt up onto the sides of the scrabble tiles so they stick to the tile next to them. If any glue gets on top of the tiles, wipe them off with a damp cloth. Set this aside and let the glue dry completely.

There you have it, a personalised drink coaster!

Recipe

Cheese Buns

Method:

Put some butter into a frying pan and put your bun sesame side down into the fry pan, put your egg and cheese mixture on top and flip it over till the egg is cooked.

Flip once more for golden sides and place the bun on a plate, wait for it to cool and cut in half.

Cheese toast served!

The perfect snack!

Ingredient Buns Eggs beaten 2 Green chilli 2

Kraft cheese cut into small cubes

Remember kids, always get permission from your parents before you start.

It’s always a good idea to have a helper nearby.

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, JANUARY 27, 2013

World wide weird Get your weekly dose of the unusual and funny from across the globe!

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Batmobile zaps auction

Animal farm

Sought after by fans for decades, this futuristic car was finally put up for action and sold for $4.62 (Rs451.6) million.

The Batmobile used in the Batman live action TV series that ran from 1966-1968 finally made one fan very happy. If you haven’t guessed by now, we’re referring to the original Batmobile that was built

by Hollywood custom car builder George Barris almost five decades ago. He bought a 1955 Lincoln Futura at a junk yard for just $1 (Rs97.64) and transformed it into one of the most recognisable vehicles in entertainment history.

The sale took place at the Barrett-Jackson car auction in Scottsdale, Arizona. The buyer has not been formally identified, but the Hollywood Reporter newspaper said it was Rick Champagne, owner of a Tempe, Arizona-based logistics company. SOURCE: AFP

This is what happens when your love for animals knows no bounds.

Humane society members wearing protective masks removed nearly 300 animals including pigeons, chickens and rabbits from an Ohio man’s reeking house.

Most of the animals are expected to survive including some that were sick, Sheila Marquis, an officer with the Humane Society of Dayton, Ohio, said. Workers took away 60 pigeons, chickens and roosters from the house in Huber Heights, a suburb of Dayton. They returned the following day for 223 animals including 100 pigeons and 30 rabbits.

The sheer number of pigeons, which can carry airborne diseases, created a health hazard inside the house, Marquis said. Authorities were tipped off by complaints about a stench coming from the property.

The animals’ owner, who has not been identified, was very cooperative and knowledgeable about the birds, which included homing pigeons, Marquis said.

“He told us he took some animals from other people and other pigeon organisations. That’s how the cycle happens. He kept getting more birds and building more cages,” Marquis said.

The man will be allowed to keep two dogs and some cats in the house. There was no word on whether he will be charged with animal neglect or abuse. SOURCE: REUTERS

“Endless” house

Surf Sensation

A Dutch architect is thinking a little bigger about 3-D printing than the tiny-to-midsize trinkets we’ve seen so far. He wants to print a house!

“Landscape House” is the brainchild of architect Janjaap Ruijssenaars. He describes it as “one surface folded in an endless Mobius band,” or sort of a giant figure eight. According to its creator, walking through its continuous looping design will seamlessly merge indoors and outdoors in an effort to model nature itself.

There’s already been interest expressed by museums, private individuals and others. Ruijssenaars said that someone in Brazil plans to buy one to display native art he’s found in a nearby national park.

To take it a step further, the architect plans to build “Landscape House” using the emerging technology of 3-D printing. This requires a printer of enormous size. And Ruijssenaars found one in the D-Shape. Described as a “megascale free form printer” by its makers, the massive aluminum structure uses sand, which it forms back into a material that’s like marble. For “Landscape House,” it will be used to print out blocks that are about 20 feet by 30 feet. Those, along with some fiberglass and concrete reinforcements, will be used to create the building.

“3D printing is amazing,” Ruijssenaars said. “For me as an architect it’s been a nice way to construct this specific design -- it has no beginning and no end, and with the 3-D printer we can make it look like that.”

He says his first “Landscape House” is expected to be completed by the end of 2014. SOURCE: CNN

The inventors of a jet-propelled surfboard are struggling to keep up with demand.

The Jetsurf is a cross between a surf board and a jetski and can reach speeds of 40mph.

The flat carbon fibre board has a 100cc engine attached to the back and features a 2.5 litre fuel tank.

Users stand upright on the board and use their body weight to steer it from side to side like a surfer would.

The craft sucks in water from the front and shoots it out behind, helping it to build up speed very quickly. Meanwhile, an electronic leash which is attached to the surfer’s wrist acts as both a throttle and an emergency kill-cord.

It was developed by jet-surf.com and the company says it is struggling to keep up with demand for the £7,000 (Rs1,082,879) product.

Technician Ben Gibson said: “It handles like a surf board and the weight of it isn’t much more than a kite board or a surf board. Out of all the sports out there it is actually closest to snowboarding, as you are not getting pulled around or waiting for waves like on a surf board.” SOURCE: WEB.ORANGE.CO.UK

BOOK REVIEW A Children’s History of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

By Heba Adawy If you want to change your view of history as the most boring subject in school, then Hamida Khuhro’s Children’s History of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the right book for your bookshelf. Intelligent and curious Hafsa, on a trip to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, writes a series of letters to her father and engages with the history of the province. The sights and sounds of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa capture your interest, and the rich heritage influenced by Persians, Greeks, Aryans and Buddhists is brought to life from the ruins of the past. You will not only feel Hafsa’s excitement during the trip, but also witness Ashoka’s transformation from a warrior to a man of peace as well as the Mongol’s suspense-filled approach from Central Asia. You will hear Babur’s thoughts from his diary, Baburnama, and the poetry of Khushal Khan Khattak. And most importantly, you will learn about Bacha Khan’s important role in fighting for independence from the British. It is not just any other history book, but one filled with adventurous stories as well as lessons for our times.

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, JANUARY 27, 2013

Did you know?

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s n i g i r O d r o W Latrines, laundry and lavatory Do you know what latrines, laundry and lavatory all have in common? All of them come from the same Latin verb: lavare which translates to ‘wash.’

Lavatorium began was a word in Latin to describe a ‘place to wash,’ just as laboratorium was originally ‘a place to work’ and then as laboratory became a place to do scientific work.

The lavatorium actually referred to a basin or bowl that held the water used for cleaning. Similarly, the word ‘latrine’ comes from the Latin word ‘lavatrina’ which means ‘washbasin or washing room.’

It was once used by the French to describe a military toilet, the English soon added the word to the English language. Laundry comes from the Latin word ‘lavandiere’ which means washerwoman. Have you ever wondered why people say WC? Well, it means water closet. The British didn’t think it was proper to say toilet, so they started calling it a WC!

How to say 'I understand' in different languages!

Afrikaans Alsatian Amharic Arabic Assamese Basque Breton Catalan Cherokee Cornish Corsican Croatian Czech Estonian French Galician German Haitian Indonesian Italian Japanese Malay

: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :

Ek verstaan Ich versteh Gebany Befham Moi buji pow Dut ulertzen Kompren a ran Entenc Goliga Gonn Aghju capitu Razumijem Rozumím Esperanto Mi komprenas Ma saan aru Je comprends Entendo Ich verstehe Creole Mwen konprann Saya mengerti Capisco Wakarimasu Saya faham

Cool facts The inventor of the Waffle Iron did not like waffles.

George W. Bush was once a cheerleader.

In Japan, it is completely acceptable to name your child ‘Buttocks’.

In 1895 Hampshire police handed out the first ever speeding ticket, fining a man for doing 6mph!

Each year, there are more than 40,000 toilet related injuries in the United States.

Mewtwo is a clone of the Pokémon Mew, yet it comes before Mew in the Pokédex.

Every year more than 2500 left handed people are killed from using right handed products.

Madonna suffers from garophobia which is the fear of thunder.

China has more English speakers than the United States.

Kleenex tissues were originally used as filters in gas masks.

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, JANUARY 27, 2013

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Fun & games

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Send your drawing with your name and age to: hifive@tribune. com.pk

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, JANUARY 27, 2013

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