The Express Tribune hi five - March 29

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

One thousand and one nights PAGE 2-3

The origins of ‘OK’ PAGE 4

Tummy matters PAGE 6

Dealing with peer pressure PAGE 7

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, MARCH 29, 2015

Hi light

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One Thousand and One Nights is the oldest known collection of short stories in the world. Although the collection is often referred to as Arabian Nights, the tales trace their roots back to ancient and medieval Persian, Indian, Egyptian, African, Mesopotamian and Chinese folklore and literature and not just the Arabic tradition. The collection has many different translations, the most famous of which are Alf Laylah in Arabic, Hazar Afsan in Persian and Tantropakhyana in Sanskrit.

The history of One Thousand and One Nights is extremely complex and modern scholars have made many attempts to untangle the story of how the collection as it currently exists came about. The work was collected over many centuries by various authors, translators, and scholars around the world. The Nights was a composite work the earliest tales in it came from India and Persia and were later translated to Arabic. This core collection is the basis of The Thousand and One Nights. Then, in Iraq in the 9th or 10th century, Arab stories were added to the core collection, among them some tales about the Caliph Harun al-Rashid and his court. In the 10th century, independent sagas and story cycles were added to the compilation. Then, in the 13th century, a further layer of stories was added in Syria and Egypt, many of these revolving around magic. The first European version, a French translation, came along in the 16th century.

The translator Antoine Galland added even more stories to the collection. His version was later translated to English and is now popularly known as Arabian Nights.

The collection includes stories, within stories, within stories. The story that wraps around them all is about Scheherazade, the last bride of Shahryar, the vicious Shah.

Shahryar mistrusted women and punished each of his brides until Scheherazade tricks him into pardoning her by telling him one of the 1001 tales each night. The tales vary widely: they include historical tales, love stories, tragedies, comedies, poems and burlesques. Many stories depict jinns, ghouls, apes, sorcerers, magicians, and legendary places. These mythological creatures often intermingle with real people and geography in the tales and not always in a logical manner. The most intriguing part is that the three most famous tales from the Arabian Nights, ‘Aladdin and the magic lamp’, ‘Sinbad the Sailor’ and ‘Ali Baba and the Forty’ Thieves are actually from non-Arabic origins. Let’s take a look at the actual origins of these tales.

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, MARCH 29, 2015

Hi light

3 In the earliest version of the story Aladdin is a poor young boys living on the streets of China. He’s a native Chinese boy, not an Arabian youth who’s ended up in China. These facts are well known to anyone who has read the actual One Thousand and One Nights but the popular belief is that Aladdin was an Arabian sneak thief as shown in the 1992 Disney animation. The orphan’s tale was an addition to the ‘rags to riches’ section of the Nights by Antoine Gallad during the 18th century. Although Galland heard the tale from an Arabian storyteller, the Aladdin story is firmly set in China, not the Middle East.

The tale had nothing to do with the original One Thousand and One Nights tales, and doesn’t appear in any of the manuscripts. But, since Galland added it to his version, it has become arguably the most famous story in the collection. Another reason why the story is taken as one of the true-born Arabian Nights is that many of the characters in the tale of Aladdin are Arabian Muslims with Arabic names. In the original story, Aladdin’s female friend is called Badroulbadour, which means ‘full moon of full moons’ in Arabic. The pronunciation of the name is the main reason why Disney chose to change it to Jasmine.

The story is attributed to Abu Abdulla Ibn Abdus al-Jashyari. Abu is also believed to be the original Persian writer of the One Thousand and One Nights. The story today, however, is nothing like it used to be when Abu told it. This is another tale that may have been a real-life story and not merely a work of fiction. In the ninth and tenth century A.D. the whole of the Middle East was infested by gangs of well organised bandits. One of their problems was guarding their accumulated loot. There were no banks, and honour among thieves was as rare then as it is now. The bandits solved their problem by employing men without tongues and eyes to live inside caves they used as makeshift lockers. Simsim was probably such a man who had nowhere to go and nothing special to do. He could betray no one, but could push a heavy stone around better than most. So it was he who was employed by a gang of 40 thieves to let them in and out of their secret treasure house. In return, the bandits kept him supplied with food and drink, and the necessities of life. The phrase “Open Sesame,” then did not actually, magically make rocks move. What the thieves did say was, “Open up Simsim, you old thief!” for him to open the door to the cave up. The rest of the story falls in to place pretty much as it is told now.

The origins of this story are not definite but one thing is for sure, Galland came across the manuscript for the Seven Voyages of Sinbad in Constantinople even before he translated the One Thousand and One Nights tales in French. The name Sinbad seems to come from the Persian word ‘Sindbad’, meaning “Lord of the Sindh River.” The Voyages of Sinbad tell of giant, magical creatures: whales the size of islands, snakes so large that they could swallow elephants, and birds so large that they could carry a caravan of men on their backs. But what if these creatures were real and later fictionalised because of oral tradition? Many people believe that the Voyages of Sinbad are based on the voyages of Soleiman Siraf, the first western Asian man to navigate the seas from his home in Siraf, Persia, to Western India, around the Malabar Coast and across the Bay of Bengal to Burma, Thailand and eventually to Southern China through the Straits of Mallaca. Other historians believe that he is a composite character derived from various bold seafarers who plied the monsoon winds and braved the roaring seas.

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

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, MARCH 29, 2015

4 At birth the human skeleton is made up of around 300 bones. By adulthood, some of these bones fuse together and we end up with 206 bones.

Q: How does a bird with a broken wing manage to land safely?

A: With its sparrow chute.

Q: Why does a stork stand on one leg?

A: Because it would fall over if it lifted the other one.

The human skeletal system has six major functions including the production of blood cells, for support, for movement, for protection, for storage of ions and endocrine regulation.

The smallest bone found in the human body is located in the middle ear. The staples (or stirrup) bone is only 2.8 millimeters (0.11 inches) long.

The longest bone in the human body is the thigh bone called the femur.

Q: How did the bubble gum cross the road?

A: On the bottom of the chicken’s foot.

Q: Why do ducks fly south?

A: Because it’s too far to walk.

Q: How did the egg cross the road?

A: It scrambled across.

Like our skin, the human body’s bones are also constantly worn down and remade, to the point where every 7 years we essentially have a new bone.

Bone marrow makes up 4% of a human body mass. It produces red blood cells which carry oxygen all over the body. Marrow is also produces lymphocytes, key components of the lymphatic system, which support the body’s immune system.

Bones are held in place at joints by muscles and also tissues called ligaments.

Another type of tissue called cartilage covers each bone joint surface area to prevent the bones rubbing.

There are a number of skeletal disorders. Osteoporosis is a bone disease that increases the chance of fractures, scoliosis is a curvature of the spine, while arthritis is an inflammatory disease that damages joints.

Did you know?

The origins of ‘OK’ Did you ever wonder about the origins of the word ‘okay’?

Millions of people all over the world use the word ‘okay’ or ‘OK’ to express agreement. OK generally means all right or acceptable.

Some people say the word came from the Native American Indian tribe known as the Choctaw. The Choctaw word ‘okeh’ means the same as the American word ‘okay’. Experts say early explorers in the American West spoke the Choctaw language in the nineteenth century and it influenced the American language. But many people dispute this claim including language expert Allen Walker Read who wrote about the word ‘OK’ in reports published in the1960s. He said the word began being used in the 1830s. It was a short way of writing a different spelling of the words “all correct.” Some foreigners people wrote “all correct” as “o-l-l k-o-r-r-e-c-t” and used the letters O and K. Other people say a railroad worker named Obadiah Kelly invented the word long ago. They said he put his initials O and K on each object people gave him to send on the train. Once the initials were on the item, it was ready to go, which means it was OK. Still others say a political organization invented the word. The organisation supported Martin Van Buren for president in 1840. They called their group, the ‘OK Club’. The letters were taken from the name of the town Old Kinderhook, where Martin Van Buren was born. Not everyone agrees with this explanation either. But experts do agree that the word is purely American, although it is now used all over the world and universally understood.

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, MARCH 29, 2015

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

Scarecrow village Tsukimi Ayano, a 65-year-old woman, filled up Nagoro village in southern Japan with scarecrows, to make up for its meager population. The town has 35 human inhabitants and 350 scarecrows. She made her first scarecrow 13 years ago to frighten off birds pecking at seeds in her garden.

Frozen in time for a tableau that captures the motions of everyday life the scarecrows pose in houses, fields, trees, streets and at a crowded bus stop. The village school was shut in 2012 after its two pupils graduated but the building is now occupied by Miss Ayano’s scarecrows. Each of the 350 scarecrows crafted by Miss Ayano over the years was built on a wooden base, with newspapers and cloth used to fill them out. Nagoro, like many villages in Japan’s countryside, has been hit hard by inhabitants flocking to cities for work and leaving mostly pensioners behind.

Its greying community is a microcosm of Japan, whose population has been falling for a decade and is projected to drop from 127 million to 87 million by 2060. MIRROR.CO

Selfie stick banned The Museum of Modern Art in New York is the latest to ban selfie sticks, which allow users to hold their phones far away to take group pictures. The stick has been dubbed “the wand of Narcissus.” The clampdown follows a similar ruling against the selfie stick by the Cooper-Hewitt and Smithsonian Design Museum. A spokesperson from the museum said that the sticks could pose a danger to visitors and the objects. Other museums that have banned the gadget include the National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian and the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington DC. Museum curators have watched anxiously as visitors edged close to fragile artefacts to snap selfies using the sticks. The galleries also fear that visitors could take risks when posing and fall off balconies or tumble down stairs. In January, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal banned fans from using selfie sticks during matches after spectators complained they could be used as weapons.

Although the sticks were already banned at almost all Premier League clubs, football bosses warned they would be confiscated if found at their grounds on match days. The ban came just months after South Korea clamped down on the devices, warning that those selling uncertified selfie sticks faced prison sentences of up to three years or fines of up to £17,000.

The country’s government claimed that the sticks had not been tested properly and could cause other Bluetooth gadgets to malfunction. OBSERVER.COM

World wide weird

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Spaceship clouds

Amateur photographer Glenn Spencer, 42, was driving to town when he noticed lensshaped blobs overhead. He was so impressed by the clouds he pulled over and took pictures over Chester, Cheshire. The photos show a sky full of the extremely rare lenticular clouds, known as altocumulus standing lenticularis. The clouds looked like alien spaceships to Spencer. The amateur photographer said that he was mesmerised by the sight and followed the clouds to a higher ground in order to take the pictures. The clouds are formed when the wind blows over high ground and then undulates down in a stream of waves creating an odd rippled effect as the air cools.

The clouds usually form when the air meets objects — like buildings or mountains — and the thickness of the cloud creates the incredible contrasts of light. Rare in the UK, they are the most common explanation given for UFO sightings. EXPRESS.CO.UK

‘Good citizen’ gift cards The Farmington, New Hampshire, police department began issuing gift cards for free pizza and fries to residents who use crosswalks, turn signals and otherwise obey laws that are easy to ignore.

Farmington Police Chief Jay Drury said he came up with the idea amid a stretch of particularly bad winter weather, after watching a man downtown make his way to a crosswalk despite heavy snow. A couple of days later, he came up with the plan to award that man and others like him in a small way. He teamed up with a local convenience store to set up the programme. An area credit union, Holy Rosary Credit Union, gave a $250 donation to the convenience store to fund the programme and has promised to make more donations if it continues.

Farmington, located north of Rochester near the Maine border, is not free of crime. It only has a population of around 6,800, and there were 22 violent crimes in 2013, according to federal crime data. The police officers say they kept seeing the same law-breakers again and again until they started handing out the gift cards, which are helping them build trust in the community. NBCNEWS.COM

The merchant and the camel driver

By Noor bint e Shahid Ali was a wealthy merchant from the enchanting town of Baghdad. He was taking his finest silk to Damascus with a caravan of gypsies. The night before his journey, there was a celebration at the caravan camp site. Ali ate too much and fell sick. He was in no condition to travel so he gave his bales of silk to Javed, a camel driver and said, “I will come to Damascus as soon as I recover. Until that time, keep my silk with you. I’ll pay you 200 dinaars for your service when I reach Damascus.” When the camel driver reached Damascus, he sold the fine silk himself and earned a large sum of money. He then changed his appearance and started dressing like a rich man. The camel driver also changed his name to Asif. After a few weeks, Ali recovered and travelled to Damascus with another caravan. When he finally reached there, he looked for Javed all over the city but there was no sign of him. Then one day, Ali saw a man in the market. He recognised gnised him at once as Javed. When Ali asked for his silk, Javed refused to recognise him and said, “I don’t know you. My name is Asif and I am a merchant from Samarkand.” Guessing what had happened, Ali took Javed to the open court but the judge could not do anything for him as there were no witnesses for the act, the other gypsies in Javed’s caravan had long moved on in their travels. Although the judge could not hold Javed accountable for his acts, he did believe Ali’s story, as Ali was a famous and honest merchant. Suddenly the judge had an idea. Just as Javed was about to walk out of the court, the judge shouted,”Javed!” The camel driver turned around. The moment he did, he realised what had happened: he had answered to the wrong name. He tried in vain to make up other lies to explain his act but his game was over. Javed was ordered to pay Ali all his money back and was banished from Damascus forever. Ali thanked the judge and made his way back to Baghdad.

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, MARCH 29, 2015

Reading corner

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Materials:

• Old tinned food can • Rice grains • Masking tape • Coloured paper • Glue • Markers

Directions: • Take the old tin can and fill it with four tablespoons of rice grains.

• Cover the mouth with paper and secure with masking tape.

• Wrap the can with coloured paper and secure the wrapping with glue.

• Use markers to make patterns on it using a marker.

• You can use different-sized cans and plastic bottles to make different-sized shakers.

• Use other grains such as lentils or dried peas to create varying sounds.

SOURCE: LETSPLAYMUSIC.COM

Tummy Matters Ratatouille Ratatouille is the tale of arat named Remy who dreams of becoming a great French chef despite his family’s wishes and the obvious problem of being a rat in a decidedly rodent-phobic profession. When fate places Remy in the sewers of Paris, he finds himself ideally situated beneath a restaurant made famous by his culinary hero, Auguste Gusteau. Despite the apparent dangers of being an unlikely and certainly unwanted visitor in the kitchen of a fine French restaurant, Remy’s passion for cooking soon sets into motion a hilarious and exciting rat race that turns the culinary world of Paris upside down.

Cloudy with a chance of meatballs Flint Lockwood thinks he’s a genius. But none of the things he invented are things that make sense or are useful. However, he has the support of his mother. When she dies, he’s left alone with his father who thinks he should give it up. When the community that he lives in is in an economic crisis because their primary source of income, a sardine cannery, was shut down, Flint decides to try his latest invention, a machine that can turn water into food. But something goes wrong and the machine ends up in the atmosphere.

Later it starts raining food. The shifty mayor tries to use this as a way to help their community, but when Flint senses something wrong with the machine, the mayor convinces him to ignore it. However, as Flint predicts, chaos ensues.

In the Night Kitchen Maurice Sendak’s In the Night Kitchen tells the story of young Mickey who is awakened in the middle of the night and begins a fantastical journey. He falls through the dark into the Night Kitchen where three fat bakers are making the morning cake. So begins an intoxicating dream fantasy, where he helps the bakers, falls in the batter, and travels in a plane made of dough. When morning comes, a milk bottle slide deposits Mickey back in his bed. The book is described by the artist himself as ‘a fantasy ten feet deep in reality’.

Julia, Child In her introduction to Julia, Child author Kyo Maclear notes that her story “should be taken with a grain of salt and perhaps even a generous pat of butter.” A playful, scrumptious celebration of the joy of eating, the importance of never completely growing up and mastering the art of having a good time, Julia, Child is a fictional tale loosely inspired by the life and spirit of the very real Julia Child, the famous food genius. It is the tale of Julia and Simca, two young friends who agree that you can never use too much butter and that it is best to be a child forever. Sharing a love of cooking and having no wish to turn into big, busy people who worry too much and dawdle too little, they decide to create a recipe for growing young.

Do you have a favourite book or movie you would like us to review? Write to us at hifive@tribune.com.pk and tell us all about it.

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, MARCH 29, 2015

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Artwork

Avoiding peer pressure It is important feel that you fit in with your peers — other kids in your group or school or neighbourhood. But sometimes you may find yourself doing something because others are doing it, even if it makes you feel uncomfortable or unsafe.

You always have the right to say ‘no’ to something that you don’t feel right about. Here are some ways to recognise and avoid peer pressure • The first step is to learn to recognise the signs that your body gives you when something doesn’t feel quite right. Do your legs feel shaky, does your mouth feels dry or your tummy feel full of ‘butterflies’ or do you feel sick? Does your heart beats faster or your head feel hot or cold?

• When you feel any of these sensations the next thing to do is to stop and think.

Ask yourself some questions. Could this be trouble? Will it break the school or home rules? Will my family be angry or ashamed if I do this? Will someone be hurt physically or emotionally? Will I be safe? Do I feel good about this?

• Now that you have asked yourself these questions, you might want to back out of the situation. Your peers might try and stop you by saying something like: “Everyone does it”, “No one will know”, “You’re a chicken”, “Who’s going to find out?” or “Go on, I dare you.”

• Now that you know how you feel about the idea, you need to know how to say “No.” • Some ways to avoid doing something you don’t want to do: 1. Just say ‘No!’ Keep on saying it.

2. Make an excuse and leave.

3. Talk about something else that your peers are interested in and don’t let them change the subject.

4. Have a better idea.

5. Give friendly advice such as “That could be a dumb thing to do. Whose idea was it? You’re too smart to get into that.”

6. Say, “That’s a bit unkind. How would you feel if someone did (said) that to you?”

It’s hard to say no to friends especially if you’re the only one doing it. It’s a good idea to find a friend who is willing to say ‘no’ along with you. What’s even better is to find friends who think more like you. That way you will get into fewer peer pressure situations.

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, MARCH 29, 2015

You will need:

• A plate • A glass jar • Ice cubes • Very hot water

What to do:

1. Heat water until it is steaming.

2. Carefully pour the hot water into a jar until it is about 1/3 filled.

Put a plate on the top of the jar. Wait a minute or two before the next step.

3. Put the ice cubes on top of the plate and watch closely to see what happens inside the jar.

4. Streaks of water will run down the side of the jar, making rain!

Ingredients: Bananas Milk Yoghurt Ice

2, sliced 1/2 cup 4 tbsp 4 cubes

Method:

• Blend together the milk and the yoghurt.

• Add the banana slices and blend again.

• Drop the ice cubes in a tall glass then pour the smoothie over them.

• Your delicious banana smoothie is now ready.

What is happening:

The ice cubes are cooling the plate down, while the steam in the jar is warming it up. The cold plate causes the moisture in the warm air, which is inside the jar to condense and form water droplets. This is the same thing that happens in the atmosphere. Warm, moist air rises and meets colder air high in the atmosphere. The water vapor condenses and forms precipitation that falls to the ground.

SOURCE: ICANTEACHMYCHILD.COM

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

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

If you want your story to feature in Hi Five, email us at hifive@tribune.com.pk