The Express Tribune hi five - November 2

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Your Proofness: Sarah Munir Master Storyteller: Nudrat Kamal Creativity Analysts: Jamal Khurshid, Essa Malik, Talha Ahmed Khan, Munira Abbas, Omer Asim and Umar Waqas

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, NOVEMBER 2, 2014

Hi light

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When we think of dolls today, we think of Barbie dolls or creepy dolls like Chucky. But dolls have been around for a long time to amuse humans. In fact, dolls are the oldest known toys in human history.

From Japan to India to Mexico, there is evidence of some variety of dolls in every culture. The oldest dolls are those that belonged in the ancient civilisations of Egypt, Greece and Rome. These dolls ranged from simple playthings to elaborate pieces of art. Dolls were used not just as toys for children but as important elements in religious or magic rituals. In some cultures, dolls were considered to have a connection with the supernatural and were thought to be too filled with magic to be given to children.

No matter what dolls were used for, it is, clear that they have great significance in different cultures.

Contrary to what the name suggests, china dolls were not originally produced in China.

They were first produced in Germany in the 1840s and their name refers to the material porcelain, from which these dolls are made.

Porcelain is a sort of clay which is especially strong and translucent. A typical china doll has a head made of glazed porcelain and a body made of cloth or leather. Its facial features and hair are moulded and painted, with the glaze of the porcelain giving the doll a glossy look.

While the earliest china dolls depicted grown women, child-like ones became more popular later. These dolls also depicted what the latest fashion and hairstyles of the day were. Today, rare and antique china dolls have a lot of value and are collected by many.

A Russian nesting doll, also known as the matryoshka doll or the babushka doll is a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside the other. You can open a Russian nesting doll, only to find a smaller one inside it, and an even smaller one inside that one, and so on. The first Russian nesting doll set was carved in 1890 by a Russian doll maker. Traditionally, the outer doll is a woman, dressed in a ‘sarafan’, a long and shapeless traditional Russian peasant jumper dress, while the smallest doll is a baby.

The dolls in between can be of either gender. These dolls are very intricately painted, and sometimes follow a theme, such as fairy tale characters. Each set is made from the same block of wood so that they fit inside each other properly.

Paper dolls have been around as long as there has been paper. The Japanese used the art of origami to fold paper into interesting shapes, and people in Indonesia have been making puppets out of paper and leather for centuries. But paper dolls which came with separate paper-clothes originated in France in the 1700s. The paper was jointed and they were called ‘pantins’ meaning dancing or jumping jack puppets. Each paper doll came with its own wardrobe of fashionable clothes which you could fold on to the doll to dress it. Interestingly enough, these paper dolls were not meant for children at all, but were used to amuse rich and fashionable grownups. When the trend of paper dolls passed to America, they were made to look like famous celebrities and movie stars.

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, NOVEMBER 2, 2014

Hi light

Dolls have been important in our history as well. Traditionally, our dolls were made purely of cotton — soft, cotton-y body and face, with clothes made out of cotton fabric. These dolls could be easily sewn, which is why many girls could create their own.

The dolls went through elaborate rituals. For instance, doll weddings were organised by children with great pomp and show. Today, Pakistani dolls are still thriving.

In fact, in a village in Punjab which is located near Okara, called Thatta Ghulamka Dheroka, specialises in making handmade quality dolls, donned in the traditional dresses of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Azad and Jammu Kashmir and even the Kalash Valley. These dolls, which come under the brand name of Thatta Khedona (Village of Toys), are made by the people living in the village, mostly women. Each doll comes with embroidered costumes and cards, miniature hand knitted shawls, pendants, tin rickshaws and tin toys.

These dolls are sold in most major cities of Pakistan and are exported to more than 40 countries.

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Where do dolls go when they are feeling down? It sounds like the punch line to a joke, but nevertheless, the answer is: a doll hospital.

A doll hospital is a workshop that specialises in the restoration or repair of dolls. Doll hospitals can be found all over the world. One of the oldest workshop is in Lisbon, Portugal, and was established in 1830. There is even a Doll Doctors Association in the US, which is basically a group of people who are passionate about repairing dolls. This association provides instructions on doll repair and its members share techniques and methods with one another.

The internet has changed everything, and that includes dolls. Thanks to the internet, the world now has a new type of doll – the virtual doll. Similar in concept to the paper doll, the virtual doll is also something girls can play dress up with. The only difference is that instead of painstakingly attaching little outfits onto a cut-out doll, you can dress up virtual dolls by a click on the computer.

There are many different doll companies that have expanded their line to include avatars – visual representations of dolls online.

Many tech-savy children around play with virtual dolls by making them try on different clothes and accessories, and even designing their own clothes.

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

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, NOVEMBER 2, 2014

Reading corner

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What do you call a zombie that can move very fast?

A zooombie.

What did the maths book say to the other maths book?

I have more problems than you.

What did one cannibal say to the other while both of them were eating a clown?

“Does he taste funny to you?”

Where can you find an ocean with no water?

On a map.

Why did the boy take a pencil to bed?

To draw the curtains.

What do you call a snobbish criminal walking down the stairs?

A condescending con descending.

Animated Short Films Short films are films that have a running time of anywhere between a few minutes to around half an hour. Short films are different from the regular films we watch in cinemas or in theatres. These films are mostly shown to audiences during film festivals or are released on the internet where they can be viewed for free. Just like regular films, short films can be either live-action or animated. Here are some great animated short films that you can watch online:

La Luna La Luna is the story about a young boy, Bambino, who goes on a midnight boating trip with his father and grandfather.

But this is no usual sea adventure. After they anchor their boat in the middle of the sea, Bambino’s father sets up a tall ladder which reaches up to the moon.

Bambino’s mission is climb on to the moon and sweep up all the stars that have fallen on its surface to take down to earth. La Luna is a simple seven-minute short film depicting aheartwarming story about a boy’s journey towards growing up.

Oktapodi Oktapodi is a story about how true love can overcome all odds — even when you are in danger of becoming someone’s dinner. This two-and-a-half minute film is about two octopuses who are in love and who overcome a series of comical events to stay with each other, and get away from the clutches of the restaurant delivery guy.

Oktapodi is a hilarious and sweet french film which got lots of awards.

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore Morris Lessmore is a bibliophile (someone who loves books). One day, as he is sitting in his balcony and writing a book, a storm sweeps through his city, blowing away the pages of his book. Once the storm is over, the city is completely obliterated. Morris wanders through the city and comes across a magical library where other flying books live. Morris becomes the custodian of this library. The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is a 15-minute short film which won an Oscar award for its whimsical portrayal of the power of books.

Zero Born in a world of numbers, Zero is considered the lowest of the low. After all, the number zero has no value.

All his life, Zero has been bullied and made fun of. He is a loner until a chance encounter changes his life forever: he meets a female zero. Together they prove that through determination, courage, and love, nothing can be truly something. Zero is a 13-minute thought-provoking film with cute yarn puppets as the characters.

Day & Night When Day, a character of a sunny disposition, meets Night, who is dark and gloomy, they become instant enemies. They are frightened and suspicious of each other, and get off on the wrong foot. But as they discover each other’s unique qualities — and come to realize that each of them offers a different window into the same world — the friendship helps both to gain a new perspective. The six-minute Day & Night imagines what it would be like if day and night were two actual people — can two complete opposites find a common ground?

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, NOVEMBER 2, 2014

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

Windowless airplanes A great innovation which can potentially change airplanes as we know them today has been unveiled by a UK-based organisation: a windowless plane that will allow passengers to see what’s going on outside as they fly thousands of miles in the air. This glimpse into the future of aviation will amaze some people and scare those people who get nervous when they board airplanes. The technology that will allow windowless planes to be built is the same technology that is used in mobile phones and televisions — large, hi-definition, ultra thin and lightweight displays could form the inside of the fuselage (the material that makes up the body of the plane), displaying images of outside using cameras mounted outside the plane. These screens could also display important announcements from the airplane management and could also be used by passengers to check their email or surf the internet. CPI, the company that has come up with this idea, says that such windowless planes can be manufactured in the next 10 years.

THEGUARDIAN.COM

World wide weird

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Solar-powered rickshaw

A team of young engineering students in Peshawar have invented a working prototype of a rickshaw which doesn’t need petrol or gas, but instead runs on solar energy. This rickshaw not only saves the cost of fuel but is also environmentfriendly. It is an automatic vehicle which can attain a speed of up to 40 kilometres per hour. Unlike regular rickshaws which have a CNG or petrol-based engine, this rickshaw is equipped with batteries that are charged through electricity generated from the energy that comes from the sun. According to the young engineers, if this project is supported by the government, this rickshaw could be introduced as a means of public transport in Pakistan.

“This will save fuel/CNG and is more economical than the regular rickshaw,” said Deputy Director Inamullah Khan of the Design Facilitation and Training Centre.

TRIBUNE.COM.PK

Course on internet surfing While for some of us wasting time on the internet comes naturally, others have to take a class on it. For such people, there is good news. A class called ‘Wasting Time on the Internet’ will be offered during the coming semester at the University of Pennsylvania. Students will spend three hours a week in that class, and all they have to do is surf the internet. The only course material required is a laptop with a working Wi-Fi connection. The class is taught by English professor Kenneth Goldsmith, an advocate of the internet who wants to dissuade the notion that it’s making us stupid. “I’m very tired of reading articles every week that make us feel bad about spending so much time on the internet, about dividing our attention in so many ways,” he says.

“I think the internet is making us smarter.” Forcing his class to think about the so-called ‘wasted time’ might prove that they’re actually getting smarter because of it, Goldsmith says. MIC.COM

Halloween dog parade Dogs clearly won in the costume department this Halloween. Dogs from all over the city congregated in the 24th Annual Halloween Dog Parade which was held at the Tomkins’ Square Park in New York. Pooches let their alter-egos shine as they dressed up in cute and creative costumes and paraded around the park with their owners. The event was a competition in which hundreds of dogs participated. The winner got a purple ribbon and a brand new iPad. Pet owners take this annual event very seriously, preparing for weeks — sometimes even months — in advance. Some spend hundreds of dollars on hiring stylists and costume designers to dress their canine companions. Dressed as zombies, lobsters, unicorns and aliens, these dogs were clearly having a great time. Some of the greatest dog alter-egos that could be seen were Indiana Bones, Chewbacca (from Stars Wars) and the Pope. DAILYMAIL.CO.UK

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, NOVEMBER 2, 2014

6 Did you know?

Why do we dream?

Everybody has dreams. They can be exciting and action-packed, like a thriller movie, or confusing and nonsensical. They can be pleasant or terrifying, vague or vivid.

The question of why we dream has perplexed philosophers and scientists for a long time. There has been a lot of research to figure out what purpose dreaming serves.

Although nobody knows for sure why we dream, there are many different theories which try and answer this question. One theory argues that dreams reflect the wishes and fears that are buried so deep within our minds that we might not even be aware of them. Another theory says that when we are sleeping, certain parts of our brain continue to send signals to each other, and dreams are a result of these signals. Yet another theory states that dreams are a way for the mind to process all the information it receives during the day. Whatever the reason may be, the fact remains that dreams are a fascinating phenomenon. For instance, did you know that your mind cannot invent faces, so the strangers you see in your dreams are real people that you have met but have forgotten? Another interesting thing about dreams is that often, the things happening around you or to you while you sleep get filtered into your dreams. This is called dream incorporation. For instance, if you are thirsty while you are asleep, you might dream of drinking a cold drink of water, only to feel thirsty again right after. This is the brain’s way of sending you a message through the dream. Because dreams are usually made up of images, it would be easy to assume that blind people don’t dream. But the fact is that every one of us dreams, including people who cannot see. But blind people’s dreams make use of other senses, such as sound, taste and touch.

Words in Different Languages that Don’t Exist in English There are so many ideas, emotions and views in the world that only one language cannot possibly encapsulate them all. Here are some words in different languages that describe certain things that the English language has no specific word for.

Iktsuarpok (Inuit): The frustration of waiting for someone to show up.

Prozvonit (Czech): To call a mobile phone only to have it ring once so that the other person would call back and you can save your mobile credit.

Fernweh (German): Feeling homesick for a place you have never been to.

Papakata (Maori): To have one leg shorter than the other.

Jayus (Indonesian): A joke so poorly told and so not funny that one cannot help but laugh.

Kyoikumama (Japanese): A mother who relentlessly pushes her children toward academic achievement.

Fun facts about hurricanes A hurricane is an intense tropical storm with powerful winds and heavy rain.

Other names for a hurricane include cyclone, typhoon and tropical storm. While they are essentially the same thing, the different names usually indicate where the storm took place.

Tropical storms that form in the Atlantic or Northeast Pacific (near the United States) are called hurricanes, those that form near in the Northwest Pacific (near Japan) are called typhoons and those that form in the South Pacific or Indian oceans (near Pakistan) are called cyclones.

Hurricanes develop over warm water and use it as an energy source.

Along with violent winds and heavy rain, hurricanes can also create tornadoes, high waves and widespread flooding.

The names of hurricanes are assigned by meteorologists.

The World Meteorologist Organization (WMO) has feminine names for hurricanes in one year and masculine names in the next. The names also follow an alphabetical order. The first hurricane of the season is given a name starting with the letter A, the second with the letter B and so on. As the storms affect varying portions of the globe, the naming lists draw from different cultures and nationalities.

Hurricanes lose strength as they move over land.

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, NOVEMBER 2, 2014

7

Artwork

Notable Entries for the Liberty Books Cards Competition

Rehma Khurram Irfan

Kamran

Nadia Aziz

Syed Sabeeh-ul-Hasan Winner

Khan

Hasnain Iqbal

Mahnoor Iqbal Winner

Rizwan

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, NOVEMBER 2, 2014

by Anum Shaharyar Eleven-yearold Rania, who had never owned a pet before, was very excited when her eldest brother told her that they were planning on buying a kitten for the family. Rania, who loved animals of all shapes and sizes, was especially happy because her mama had informed her that Rania would get to choose her own special kitten for herself.

Because this was the first time she was going to make such a big, important decision, she went around to everyone in her family whose advice she valued and trusted, and asked them which kitten she should buy.

In the room upstairs, she found her older sister Aysha, who was carefully plaiting her hair into long braids.

“I think a nice, pretty kitten is what you should look for,” Aysha told her as Rania helped locate a clamp for Aysha to tie her hair with.

“But why does it matter what she looks like?” Rania asked, confused. But her sister had no answer. So Rania left the room and went looking for her older brother, Shoaib.

“I think you should buy a huge cat, that can fight other cats for you,” Shoaib told her when she found him in the garage, whistling as he cleaned the car and got it ready for their trip to the animal shelter.

“But why would I want my kitten to fight other cats?” Rania asked him

in a confused way, but her brother didn’t know what to say, so Rania went looking for her next source of advice.

In the lounge she found her mother, who was reading a newspaper and sipping her tea.

“What kind of kitten do you think I should get?” she asked her. Her mother

You will need: * A few old, rusted and non-shiny coins * 1/4 cup white vinegar * 1 teaspoon salt * Non-metal bowl lowered her newspaper and said, “Well there are quite a few options.”

“Yes,” her father, who had just entered the room with a cup of tea from the kitchen added. “You can buy Persians, or Siamese...”

“But it all depends on what you want to buy,” her mother added. “Why don’t you decide once you see the kittens?”

So the next day, they all went to the shelter, where Rania saws kittens of all types. She saw ones with black spots and orange spots, with thick fur and thin fur, with huge blue eyes and startling green eyes; she saw kittens which were curled up fast asleep and kittens which played with her fingers and darted around everywhere. Finally, in a corner, she saw a kitten sitting in the shadows, away from all the other animals.

“Can I see that one?” she asked the nice woman showing them all the cats.

When she had the kitten in her lap though, she realized why no one had paid it any attention. The kitten was missing its front paw and looked smaller and weaker than the other kittens.

“I want this one,” Rania told her father, and even though everyone was surprised at her decision, they let her keep it.

Two years later, when Rania’s older brother returned from studying abroad, he came home to see a big, fat cat sitting on Rania’s chair.

“Who is this? Where’d your small kitten go?” he asked, but Rania just smiled at said, “This is my cat. Look at her paw.”

And indeed, the cat had one paw missing. And that was how Rania showed her family that anyone can be happy and content, if treated with love and care, the way Rania had treated her cat.`

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

* Paper towels

What to do: 1. Pour the vinegar into the bowl, add the salt and stir the mixture.

2. Put about five coins into the bowl and count to 10 slowly.

3. Take out the coins and rinse them out in some water. Admire their shininess!

What is happening: There is some pretty fancy chemistry going on in that little bowl of yours. It turns out that vinegar is an acid, and the acid in the vinegar reacts with the salt to remove what was making the coins look dull, a material which is called copper oxide.

One step further: - Add more pennies to the bowl for 10 seconds, but this time, don’t rinse them off. Place them on a paper towel to dry off. In time the pennies will turn greenish-blue as a chemical called malachite forms on your pennies.

- Place one or two nuts and bolts in the vinegar and watch — they may become copper in colour. The vinegar removed some of the copper from the pennies, and if there is enough copper in the vinegar, the copper will be attracted to the metal in the nuts and bolts and they will take on a new copper colour.

SCIENCEBOB.COM