The Express Tribune hi five - July 26

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, 2015 LY 2 6

Your Proofness: Dilaira Dubash Master Storyteller: Hurmat Majid Creativity Analysts: Jamal Khurshid, Essa Malik, Talha Ahmed Khan, Mohsin Alam, Eesha Azam, Maryam Rashid, Hira Fareed and Umar Waqas

Minions 101 PAGE 2-3

The silk legend PAGE 4

Alfreda the hero PAGE 6

Cookie truffles PAGE 8

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, JULY 26, 2015

Hi light

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Minions are small, yellow, cylindrical, creatures who have one or two eyes. They are impulsive, with little or no self-control, but with a wide-eyed wonder and innocence that endears them to viewers and makes them relatable. They can be pesky when they are interacting with people, animals or objects. Minions have standard English names even though they speak Minionese. They were first introduced to us in the 2010 production Despicable Me and became an instant hit with young and old alike. Now with the latest installment of cuteness just released in the form of their own movie called Minions we have brought you some minion facts to brighten up your day.

Eyes: Two Hair: Spiky Body: Slim Height: 105cm

Eyes: Two Hair: Flat, center-parted Body: Slim Height: 95 cm

vie, Jerry was looking In the first movie, after the children as G Gru was b busy with his master plan. Edith maligned him in front of Gru saying, “It was your cousin’s idea,” after making a mess with lots of toilet paper rolls. In response Jerry goes “Whaaaaaaat” and wins our hearts with his perfect expressions.

Eyes: Two Hair: Standing up on ends Body: Stubby Height: 96 cm

In a presentation from Mr Perkins from the Bank of Evil in Despicable Me, Gru demonstrated the Shrink Ray on Kevin. The loveable minion was shrunk to 6 cm, and now holds the record for the shortest minion. In spite of the incident Kevin, loves Gru all the same.

Bob drank an anti-gravity serum created by Dr Nafario. Since then he has been orbiting the earth in outer space. Bob’s stunt tells us that Minions don’t need oxygen to survive.

When the minions were first being designed, the original idea was that they would be around six feet tall and much scarier, but somebody had the bright idea to make them cuter, smaller and funnier. This makes them the perfect antidote to Gru's evil shenanigans.

Minions have been around since the dawn of time, and Minions the film will be very much an origin story, showing us how they evolved. The film will show through history, minions have served a range of evil masters that will include the T-rex, Genghis Khan, Dracula and Napoleon.

While we have all looked forward to the release of Minions, we are slightly disappointed that Gru won’t be making an appearance in this movie. The good news though, is that there’s a third Despicable Me film in development now, and it’ll be released in the summer of 2017.

The minions were partly inspired by the Jawas in the original Star Wars franchise, and the Oompa Loompas in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, JULY 26, 2015

3 In the second Despicable Me film, the mutated minions turn purple, which isn’t a random colour choice, as purple is on the opposite side of the colour spectrum to yellow. The colour choice was made to show that the mutated minions are complete opposites to the original ones.

Although there are literally thousands of minions, there is only a limited amount of combinations, so some will have one eye and others will have two, while there are three variations of minion body shape and a range of hairstyles.

Combine all that together and it gives you 36 possible types of minion. Tall minions all have the same haircut. Oneeyed minions are rarely tall.

Due to the fact that all minions have very little hair, there’s only a limited number of hairstyles they can choose from — five, in fact. Also, all of the tall minions have exactly the same hairstyle.

Hi light

If you listen closely, you may be able to notice that different minions have different accents, which is because they’re all voiced by two actors — one French and one American. In fact, the voices are supplied by the directors of both Despicable Me films and the Minions movie, Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin.

Eyes: One Hair: Flat, center-parted Body: Slim Height: 94 cm

Eyes: Two Hair: Flat, center-parted Body: Slim Height: 105 cm

In Despicable Me, while trying to escape Vector’s house the minions and Gru ended up in the ventilation shaft. As they needed light, Jerry picked Stuart up and cracked him, turning him into a minion-sized glowstick.

In the first film, when Gru was about to share his latest nefarious scheme, Dave set off his bazooka early in his haste and excitement.

The hilarious result was an exploding fountain of minions.

The language that the minions speak is called 'Minionese'. Although you can get online translators, unfortunately it's not a complete language. Several words and phrases are repeated though, and most of those are borrowed from various languages including French, Hindi, Spanish, Italian and English.

Here are some words that the minions do say repeatedly:

The story of Minions begins at the dawn of time. Starting as single-celled yellow organisms, Minions evolve through the ages, perpetually serving the most despicable — yet unsuccessful — masters from a T-rex to Napoleon. Minions once again find themselves without someone to serve and fall into a deep depression. But one Minion named Kevin has a plan, and he — alongside teenage rebel Stuart and lovable little Bob — ventures out into the world to find a new evil boss for his brethren to follow. The trio embarks upon a thrilling journey that ultimately leads them to their next potential master, Scarlet Overkill, the world's first supervillainess ever. They travel from frigid Antarctica to 1960s New York City, ending in modern London, where they must face their biggest challenge to date: saving all of ‘minionkind’ from annihilation.

DESIGN BY MARYAM RASHID What would you like to see in Hi Five? Send an email to hifive@tribune.com.pk and let us know!

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, JULY 26, 2015

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Fun Facts about Sheep China has the largest number of sheep in the world.

What did the fish say when he swam into the concrete wall?

Dam

Sheep have a field of vision of around 300 degrees, allowing them to see behind themselves without having to turn their head.

Sheep like to stay close to one another in a herd which makes it easier to move them to new pastures.

Why don’t oysters share their pearls?

Because they’re shellfish

Domesticated sheep are raised for a number of agricultural products including fleece and meat.

Evidence has been found that wool existed as far back as 10,000 BC, by the time the Romans invaded Britain in 55 BC.

What is the strongest creature in the sea?

A mussel

Which part of a fish weighs the most?

The scales

How do oysters call their friends?

On shell phones

Sheep milk is ideal for making cheese. It contains higher levels of calcium, vitamins A, B and E and other nutritional elements. Famous types of sheep milk cheese include Greek feta, French Roquefort, Spanish manchego and sheep milk ricotta and pecorino romano from Italy.

In the 15th Century, Spain’s thriving wool trade financed the expeditions of its conquistadors, including the voyage Christopher Columbus made to the New World. Indeed, Columbus came from a family of wool traders.

A sheep, depending on its type, can produce anywhere from two to 30 pounds of wool per year.

Did you know?

The silk legend According to well-established Chinese legend, Empress Hsi Ling Shi, wife of Emperor Huang Ti, the Yellow Emperor, was the first person to accidentally discover silk as weavable fibre.

One day, when the empress was sipping tea under a mulberry tree, a cocoon fell into her cup and began to unravel.

The empress became so enamored with the shimmering threads, she discovered their source, the Bombyx mori silkworm found in the white mulberry. The empress soon developed sericulture, the cultivation of silkworms, and invented the reel and loom. For nearly three millennia, the Chinese had a global monopoly on silk production. Though first reserved for Chinese royalty, silk spread gradually through the Chinese culture both geographically and socially. From there, silken garments began to reach regions throughout Asia. Silk rapidly became a popular luxury fabric in the many areas accessible to Chinese merchants.

Demand for this exotic fabric eventually created the lucrative trade route now known as the Silk Road, taking silk westward and bringing gold, silver and wool to the East. It was named the Silk Road after its most valuable commodity — silk was considered even more precious than gold! The Silk Road was some 4,000 miles long stretching from Eastern China to the Mediterranean Sea. The Chinese realised the value of the beautiful material they were producing and kept its secret safe from the rest of the world for more than 30 centuries. Travellers were searched thoroughly at border crossings and anyone caught trying to smuggle eggs, cocoons or silkworms out of the country were summarily executed. Thus, under penalty of death, the mystery of sericulture remained a well-kept secret for almost three 3,000 years.

By about 300 CE, sericulture had spread into India, Japan and Persia, thus making silk a part of the history of these cultures. The Roman Empire knew of and traded in silk. Despite its popularity, however, the secret of silk-making was only to reach Europe around 550 CE, via the Byzantine Empire. According to a legend well enshrined in silk history, monks working for the emperor Justinian smuggled silkworm eggs to Constantinople in hollow bamboo walking canes. The Byzantines were as secretive as the Chinese, and for many centuries the weaving and trading of silk fabric was a strict imperial monopoly.

In the 7th Century, the Arabs conquered Persia, capturing their magnificent silks in the process. Sericulture and silk weaving thus spread through Africa, Sicily, and Spain as the Arabs swept through these lands. Andalusia was Europe’s main silk-producing centre in the 10th Century.

By the 13th Century, however, Italy had gained dominance and entered the hall of fame in silk history. Venetian merchants traded extensively in silk and encouraged silk growers to settle in Italy. By the 13th Century, Italian silk was a significant source of trade. Italian silk was so popular in Europe that Francis I of France invited Italian silkmakers to France to create a French silk industry, especially in Lyon. By the 17th Century France was challenging Italy’s leadership, and the silk looms established in the Lyons area at that time are still famous today for the unique beauty of their weaving.

China gradually re-captured her position as the world’s biggest producer and exporter of raw silk and silk yarn. Today, around 125,000 metric tonnes of silk is produced in the world. Almost two-thirds of that production takes place in China.

The other major producers are India, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Uzbekistan and Brazil. United States is by far the largest importer of silk products today.

SOURCE: TEXERESILK.COM

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, JULY 26, 2015

Get your weekly dose of unusual and funny news from across the globe!

Fowling?

Chris Hutt owns the Fowling Warehouse, a 34,000-square-foot repurposed industrial site in Hamtramck, US that’s devoted to a football/bowling hybrid sport — fowling — he and some buddies invented years ago. The facility features 20 lanes, where players or teams try to be the first to knock down all 10 of their opponents’ bowling pins by tossing a single football from a distance of up to 48 feet. The game is not complicated, Hutt said, but it’s not easy, either. In the Fowling Warehouse’s first six months of operation, only 29 strikes had been thrown over 100,000-plus games.

There’s another quick way to end a fowling match: a unique shot called a ‘bonk’, which occurs when a player knocks the middle pin — and only the middle pin — off the board on the first throw. The other nine pins must remain standing.

According to Hutt, there are about 60 ‘bonks’ per month.

Those who record one are allowed to “honk your ‘bonk’,” or sound a Great Lakes freighter horn at the bar. The sonic blast is deafening, Hutt said, but it lets “everyone know ...that you’re the coolest person in the room.” Hutt, 46, said he eventually would like to expand his fowling empire. “This will work in any major city,” he said, “and we really want to target the college towns.” TELEGRAPH.CO.UK

Unusual munchies Tiki, an 8-year-old black Labrador, visited the Good Shepherd Veterinary Hospital this week in Mars, Pennsylvania, a small town about 45 minutes north of Pittsburgh. Dr Hisham Ibrahim, known as ‘Doctor I’ examined Tiki’s stomach and made a remarkable discovery: a mass in her stomach. When Ibrahim operated, he quickly found the mass was comprised of 62 hair bands, and many other odd items including a bandage. It took two hours of surgery to remove all the items, USA Today reported.

“Doctor I started pulling handfuls of different items out,” Emily Cottle, his head technician, told WTAE’s reporter on Wednesday. “It was quite an experience to see.”

Ibrahim said that he has found some unusual items in his 12 years working in Pittsburgh, but Tiki wins the award for the strangest taste buds. “It was just amazing, and it’s not easy,” Ibrahim, said while doing a follow-up. “But, we were able to pull through, and Tiki has recovered very well.” NBCWASHINGTON.COM

World wide weird

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Adopt a dino

Dippy the dinosaur has never bit anyone and is as quiet as a mouse — but now he’s looking for a new home. He’s a 70ft long and 16ft tall replica of a four-legged dinosaur that lived in North America 150 million years ago.

The giant diplodocus has spent 36 years in London’s National History Museum. He was cast in 1898 from fossils unearthed in Wyoming, US. Rather than take him apart and leave him to gather dust, museum bosses want Dippy to take prime place in other locations across the UK. Museum chiefs have made up a checklist for anyone looking to give him a temporary home for six months. They must have enough space, meet their security requirements and be able to reach large audiences of families and schools. MIRROR.CO.UK

Unexplained fairy circles Bizarre grass-ringed patches of barren land cover more than 1,000 miles of the Namib desert in Southern Africa. Each ring can measure between two and 20 metres in diameter. Images of the mysterious craters, known as Fairy Circles were caught by photographer Thomas Dressler, between 2010 to 2014. Theories of how the ‘fairy circles’ got there have ranged over the years. Scientists have not found a definite explanation for the ‘fairy circles’ yet. But people talk about fungi, spirits and even dragons. “It’s difficult to form an opinion about something which is still a mystery — even for those who studied and investigated these circles extensively for years.” said the photographer. EXPRESS.CO.UK

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, JULY 26, 2015

Reading corner

6 Zaina Fatima Sindhu has been collecting figurines from the ‘My Littlest Pet Shop’ toy series since third grade. She started collecting the figurines when her dad got a few of them for her from Dubai. She says she immediately fell in love with the little figurines and has been taking care of them like actual pets ever since. Zaina has been on the hunt for more figurines to add to her collection ever since. She has collected 16 figurines in the past two years.

Alfreda the hero

By Aleena Usman Mr Crind’s moving circus was popular all over the kingdom. Wherever it went the townspeople flooded in day after day to watch all of the amazing performances.

Alfreda was the helping hand at the circus, but what he really wanted was to be a hero. He wanted people to admire him like they did Jackie the ringmaster or Tibias the gymnast. Poor Alfreda on the other hand only did odd jobs at the circus, like being the magician’s helping hand.

Then one day his luck changed. Late one night, when everyone was asleep, he slowly made his way to the circus ring. When he got there Alfreda saw that someone was trying to open the white canary’s cage. The canary belonged to Madam Penelope, and she too had come out to the ring when she heard the commotion. She, however, made the mistake of walking in plain sight and as soon as the thief saw Madam Penelope. He knocked her out with a blow, tied her up and stuffed her in one of the caravans. Alfreda stood paralysed his, he was afraid to breath in case the thief heard him.

Once the bandit had left with the bird, Alfreda rushed to the caravan and untied Madam Penelope. “My bird, my beautiful bird!” were the first words she said as soon as she came around. “Don’t worry Madam, I will get it back for you,” said Alfreda sounding braver than he felt.

He then went looking for clues to find the thief, vowing to keep his promise. He found footprints leading out of the circus ring that looked unfamiliar, so he decided to follow them, until he reached the opening of a cave. There he hid in the bushes and listened for clues. He heard two people talking, it seemed as if the bandit had a partner and they were discussing the sale of the expensive white canary that had to take place the next day.

Alfreada waited for them to fall asleep and then quietly crept into the cave. He saw that the canary was tied to a rock, so he quietly Alfreda untied it and started to make his way out of the cave. As he was about to leave an idea struck Alfreda, “This is my chance to be a hero,” he thought. Very quietly he crept back into the cave and tied both the bandits with the ropes they had used to tie the canary.

Alfreda then informed the guards at the town gate to go find the bandits in the cave. The bandits were caught and Alfreda was given a reward. Everyone in the town thought Alfreda was a real life hero.

Share your short stories with us. Email them to hifive@tribune.com.pk

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, JULY 26, 2015

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Artwork

Summiya M Asif Winner

Umm-e-Hania

Muzammil Asif

Nahil Memon

Noor-Alsabha Winner

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, JULY 26, 2015

Cookie truffles Method:

Ingredients: Chocolate cookies

24 pieces

Marshmallows

100g

Milk chocolate

250g

• Blitz the chocolate cookies in a food processor until you have a chunky powder.

• Carefully melt the marshmallows in a microwave for three minutes. Make sure you use a microwave-safe bowl for this.

• Combine the marshmallows with the cookie powder and let it cool for a while.

• Create golf ball-sized spheres with the mixture and place them on a tray.

• Melt the chocolate in the microwave and let it cool a little before you dip the spheres in it.

• Let the truffles set in the fridge until the coating is hard.

Remember kids, always get permission from your parents before you start. It’s always a good idea to have a helper nearby.