The Express Tribune hi five - September 9

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THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, SEPTEMBER 9, 2012

Hi light

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ncient Egypt was once ruled by kings called pharaohs. The people believed that the pharaoh was a living god and so it was very important to keep him happy. The pharaohs had pyramids built for themselves so that they would always be remembered. The pyramids were really big, they had storage rooms, courtyards, secret passageways, and all kinds of fancy traps designed to catch robbers who tried to break into the pyramid to steal treasure! Now you may be wondering about the treasure. The pyramids were full of it. The Egyptians believed that they could take all their treasure with them to the afterlife, so when they died they were buried with all their valuables. Imagine the treasures a pharaoh might feel were necessary to bring along!

Earth’s Shining Star The pyramids of Giza have not always been the colour they are now; they once used to be pure white! About 600 years ago, beautiful smooth blocks known as casing stones covered the entire pyramid. It has been calculated that the original Great Pyramid, with its casing stones, acted like a gigantic mirror and reflected light so powerful that the pyramid would be visible from the moon as a shining star on earth!

How long did it take to build a pyramid?

An estimated 20,000 to 30,000 workers built the Pyramids at Giza over 80 years. Much of the work probably happened while the River Nile was flooded. During the flood, huge limestone blocks could be floated from quarries right to the base of the Pyramids. The stones would then be polished by hand and pushed up ramps onto the pyramid.

The Mysterious Kings Chamber One of the most mysterious parts of the Great Pyramid is the empty coffin in the King’s Chamber, it is made from a solid block of chocolatecoloured granite and is even harder than the granite walls of the King’s Chamber. For thousands of years, researchers have wondered about its purpose. Ancient legend says that it came from Atlantis or even from America.

Tombs Fit for Kings The ancient Egyptians did not simply build a pyramid, bury a pharaoh, and walk away. A whole city grew up around a pyramid during its construction. The pharaoh provided homes for everyone who worked on the pyramid construction. Bakeries found near the Great Pyramids could have produced thousands of loaves of bread every week. All these people were paid for their work in goods and food and homes. After a pyramid was finished, the pyramid city continued to exist. Some of the people who stayed had jobs maintaining and guarding the pyramid. Others, like bakers and basket weavers, were merchants who created needed goods.

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

Wonder of the World The Great Pyramid is the largest pyramid ever built, it is made up of about 2.3 million stone blocks and weighs about 11.5 million tons, that’s the weight of more than 143million cars!

The Great Pyramid is the most a amazing building m ing maz ng b bu uild il ing ng g in existence on the face of ou planet ourr p la ett tod la lan today. ayy Itt a ay. is reported that when the pyramid e pyra p yramid m d wa mid wass ffirst irstt irs broken into, the swivel door which weighed oo or whic w h h weig hic w eigh eig hed hed some 20 tons, was so welll b balanced a nce ala nced d tha tthat hat att it co a ccould uld be opened by pushing outt ffr from inside with rom m th the insid sid de w de ith only minimal force, but when hen closed, wa he was sso was o perfect a fit that it was almost invisible! most st inv invisi is ble e!

The pyramid has three burial chambers. urial cham mb ber errs.

The first is underground, carved into ed int ntto the rock. The second, aboveground ovegro ground nd chamber was called the queen’s ue uee een n’s chamber by early explorers. now rrs. s. We W no ow know it was never intended house ed to ed o hou ouse se one of Khufu’s wives but pe perhaps erha h ps ha p a sacred statue of the king hims himself. third im msse m elf. The thi elf ird d iss the king’s chamber.

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, SEPTEMBER 9, 2012

Check the Body This is a very important step. Make sure the Pharaoh is dead and not just sleeping! If you are sure that the Pharaoh is dead, then send out a messenger to announce his death.

This will allow people to get themselves ready for the mourning period and ceremony.

Off to the embalmers Get someone to clean the dead body and send it off to the ‘place of embalming’. Embalming is the art of preserving human remains. The first part of the body to be removed will be the brain; the Egyptians thought it was useless so they just threw it away. In order to remove some of the Pharaoh’s internal organs, a ‘slicer’ priest will make a long cut along the left side of his stomach. All the organs, except the heart, will be removed and embalmed separately.

Coffin Time The Pharaoh will be placed in as many as three coffins all fitting snugly inside another. that ins nside nsid id de one de on o ne a not n other e . Make er Mak ake ke e su sure tha ha at tthey he ey have ey ha ave pic pictures of the go gods and correct painted protect Pharaoh. t co the corre rre ect c sspells p pe ells l pa p paint aint ntted ed on tthem hem m tto o prot p tec ect th the Phar hara aoh.

Removing and Storing the Organs The organs are removed and soaked in chemicals. The body is washed and also soaked in chemicals to dry it out. The organs are dried out over forty days and put in jars.

The liver is kept in a jar which has a human head on the cap, the lungs in a baboon jar, the intestines in a falcon jar and the stomach in a jackal jar.

Remember not to mix these up! p The leftover organs will or org rgans ans wi w illl hav have e tto ob be e placed p pl lla aced backk into int iin nt n nto o tthe he e body. bod b od o dy.

The Beauty Parlour

Bandaging the Body

After forty days in the chemicals the body is completely dried out.

The skin is shrivelled and wrinkled and the Pharaoh looks like a piece of old leather. He now has to be sent to the ‘beautiful house’. First his skin will be rubbed with oils to make it softer. All you need now are false eyes and perhaps some false hair. The Pharaoh is almost looking alive again!

The embalmer’s work is almost done and soon you will have a mummy.

All you need now are your wrappings. It will take fifteen days to wrap up the body and you will need twenty layers of linen bandages.

Organise a Funeral The Pharaoh has now been dead for seventy days and today dayy o off his is the da d h s fu ffuneral. unera erra ra He will be taken to his pyramid and placed stone coffin called a sarcophagus. Don’t p pl laced in iinside sid ide e a la large rge e sst t hire some mourners!

The more people cry, the betforget to oh hi ire som om me m o Pharaoh tter e cchance er hanc an e tthe anc he e Pha Ph hara harao rao ao has of going to heaven.

St Step te epp 8 Arra rang ra n for Security 8:: Ar Arrange Once On Onc O nc n e the the tom tomb iss sseal sealed, eal ale you may think the Pharaoh is ready eternal rea e dyy ffor or etern nal a res rest.. No such luck! Unwanted visitors are already on alr lrea ead ad ady dy o n ttheir h irr way hei ay — tomb robbers have started tunnelling Pharaoh, so hire some security guards! lilin i g towa ttowards owards w rd r tthe he P har aa

Yo ou ha ave s suc ucce cess ssfu f ll mummified the Pharaoh!

You have successfully

Crazy Facts Craz

Mumm Mummified cats were shipped from Egypt to Europe and used for fertilizer. fertilize Mumm Mummies’ arms and legs were sometimes used as torches for explori exploring tombs.

False ey eyes were made out of onions.

illustration by jamal khurshid and design by maha haider

When a person in Ancient Egypt died, he was mummified. The Egyptians believed that mummification would preserve the body for all eternity. They thought that to enter heaven, the dead person would have to use his body and the only way to do this was if the body was recognisable. Now imagine you went back in time to Ancient Egypt and were told to help with the mummification of the Pharaoh! What do you do? Well read on to find out!

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Hi light

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, SEPTEMBER 9, 2012

Activity Corner

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Make Your Own Mummy!

Supplies needed: • Plasticine • White cotton bandages • Paint (acrylic will work best — but it doesn’t wash off, so be careful) • Glue • Paintbrushes • Scissors

step# 1

step# 2

Method:

Step#1: Take a lump of plasticine or modeling clay and work it between your hands until it becomes soft.

Mold the lump into a mummy’s body shape.

Step#2: Fashion a headdress and arms for your mummy. Don’t worry about fine details, they will be covered up later by plaster.

Step#3: Add the arms and headdress to the body.

Smooth them on using your fingers and thumb.

Step#4: The complete body will be the form for your mummy case.

step# 3

step# 4

Step#5: Take the bandages and cut them into strips.

Make them a size you can handle easily. Apply some glue and carefully wrap your mummy, you might want to start at the feet.

Step#6: You don’t have to wrap the head or the headress since you will be painting those later.

step# 5

step# 6

step# 7

step# 8

Step#7: When painting your mummy you might find it helpful to look at some mummy pictures from books or magazines. Here we painted the headress gold first, let it dry, and applied the black paint afterwards for detail.

Step#8: This is our finished mummy. It looks a lot like a shawabti figure, a magical statuette that Egyptians had buried with them. They believed that the shawabti would act as a servant for them in the afterlife.

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, SEPTEMBER 9, 2012

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

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Birds ‘mourn’ the dead

Money diet

Did you know that some birds actually mourn the loss of their fellow birds!

When Western Scrub Jays encounter a dead bird, they call out to one another and stop foraging. They fly down to the dead body and gather around it.

This behaviour may have evolved to warn other birds of nearby danger, say researchers in California, who have published the findings in the journal Animal Behaviour.

The revelation comes from a study by the University of California. They conducted experiments, placing a series of objects into residential back yards and observing how the birds in the area reacted.

Alarmingly the jays reacted indifferently to the wooden objects. But when they spied a dead bird, they started making alarm calls, warning others long distances away.

Conclusively the results show that “without witnessing the struggle and manner of death”, the researchers write, the jays see the presence of a dead bird as information to be publicly shared.

Spreading the message that a dead bird is in the area helps safeguard other birds, alerting them to danger, and lowering their risk from whatever killed the original bird in the first place, the researchers say. SOURCE: BBC.CO.UK

Some pay through their nose and then there are those who prefer to eat it — quite literally.

Authorities say 35-year-old Larry Jones, of Buffalo, tried to swallow several counterfeit $50 (Rs4,734) bills after he was caught trying to use the bogus money to buy french fries at the Darien Lake Theme Park and Resort in New York.

Park employee spotted the fake bill and called security.

While being taken away, deputies say, Jones stuffed five bills into his mouth and tried unsuccessfully to eat them.

Investigators say Jones told them he had received the bills as pay for a remodelling job.

He was charged with possessing a forged instrument and tampering with evidence and jailed without bail. He’s expected in court with a lawyer Sept 25. SOURCE: HUFFINGTONPOST.COM

Freewheeling

Rescue moo

Artist turned aqua-woman Sue Austin has transformed her wheelchair into a submersible with one hell of a view.

She explores the underwater kingdom with her modified wheelchair which is capable of sublime submarine acrobatics.

Sue, from Devon, who has been wheelchair-bound since 1996, invented and helped create the world’s first self-propelled underwater wheelchair. This modified NHS wheelchair is equipped with swimming floats, fins and two foot-controlled drive propulsion vehicles.

She staged a series of stunning underwater scuba performances called ‘Creating the Spectacle!’ at the Osprey Leisure Centre in Weymouth.

Ms Austin said: “I’m thrilled that lots of people have been inspired by the project already, many of them telling me how seeing the wheelchair underwater has made them want to try it too. As a result, they’re realising that viewing the world from a different perspective inspires them to be free to explore new experiences.” SOURCE: WEB.ORANGE.CO.UK

Trained to rescue humans and the ocassional cats or dogs, firemen in Cumbria were in for a shock when they were asked to rescue a cow that had got stuck in a tree.

The 660lb calf, called Sparkle, had plunged more than 100ft down an embankment and landed in the tree. When Owner Philip Armstrong noticed the animal was missing from his farm, near Penrith, Cumbria, he called for help.

During the delicate four-hour rescue operation, the cow was sedated by vets before being winched to safety by fire crews using specialist equipment and slings.

Mr Armstrong said that the animal had been left “sore and bruised” by the ordeal, but was otherwise unharmed.

A spokesman for Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service said three fire crews were involved in the rescue.

“They had to wear body armour in case a stray hoof lashed out at them,” he said.

Top view

Burger king

The next stage in air combat, a new Top Gun helmet for fighter pilots allows them to see through their aircraft — even if they are looking down.

The BAE Systems Striker system, made by the UK firm, interacts with cameras dotted all over the plane. Sensors in the helmet are able to tell exactly where the pilot is looking.

When matched up with cameras around the plane, the system is able to apply a picture from the outside of the plane onto the pilots display — allowing them to see through the plane.

‘If a pilot wears a Striker helmet — which is essentially a helmet with an integrated display — when he sees something on the ground he can just turn his head, put a symbol across on to the point of interest, press a button, and the system will calculate the object’s co-ordinates,’ Alan Jowett of BAE Systems said.

The Striker helmet can also be fitted with dual night vision goggles, and BAE says it is even developing a 3D audio system to allow pilots to hear information from all around them.

The system has been compared to playing a video game, and one retired RAF pilot said that pilots have too much technology. “You’re not flying — the computer does the flying,” said Andrew Brookes, a retired RAF pilot. SOURCE: DAILYMAIL.CO.UK

This beats all the mighty burgers in the world.

A Minnesota casino has cooked up a worldrecord bacon cheeseburger that’s 10 feet in diameter and weighs more than a tonne.

The behemoth burger was served up at the Black Bear Casino Resort near Carlton.

It tipped the scales at 2,014 pounds.

Guinness Records representative Philip Robertson verified the record for biggest burger. He called the feat a result of “remarkable teamwork” and said the burger “actually tastes really good.”

Black Bear’s burger included 60 pounds of bacon, 50 pounds of lettuce, 50 pounds of sliced onions, 40 pounds of pickles and 40 pounds of cheese.

It took about four hours to cook the patty and believe it or not, a crane was used to flip it.

SOURCE: WEB.ORANGE.CO.UK

SOURCE: HUFFINGTONPOST.COM

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, SEPTEMBER 9, 2012

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Did you know?

s n i g i r O d r o W Toe the Line Has your teacher told you to “toe the line or else”? Have you ever wondered about the mysterious line she is talking about? How do you toe a line anyways? The phrase means to follow the rules. One possible origin is that it came from the British House of Commons. Since the debates there are very heated, two parallel red lines, the length of two swords, are marked on the floor of the House. The members are supposed to stay behind the lines during a speech or debate to keep order and to stop them from attacking their political rivals. This is a traditional reference rather than an actual one as there are no sources suggesting that members of Parliament were allowed to carry swords into the House of Commons. Most sources suggest that even at the time when gentlemen carried swords, they were hung outside. Another possible origin comes from the Navy, where sailors had to line up on deck along the seams of the wooden planks, and stand attention for inspection. Thus they ‘toed the line.’ e the start of a match Another possible origin is from boxing where fighters had to stand behind a line before or of sprinters putting their toes behind the starting line for a race.

How to say 'White' in different languages?

Arabic Bulgarian Cantonese Danish Dutch Esperanto Estonian Filipino French Greek Hawaiian Indonesian Japanese Malay Thai

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

Abyadh Bjal Baahk Hvid Wit Blanca Valge Puti Blanc Aspro Ke’oke’o Putih Shiro Putih See-kharw

Cool facts Dogs have sweat glands in between their paws.

We share 70% of our DNA with a slug.

We share 98.4% of our DNA with a chimp.

Fireflies do not bite or have pincers. Fireflies are harmless, they don’t even carry diseases.

Chocolate, macadamia nuts, cooked onions, or anything with caffeine is harmful to dogs.

No two tigers ever have the same stripes, and this is how individual tigers can be identified.

The longest recorded life span of a slug was 1 year, 6 months.

A whale’s heart beats only nine times a minute.

Elephants are covered with hair.

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, SEPTEMBER 9, 2012

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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, SEPTEMBER 9, 2012

Make your way through the maze

SOURCE: PRINTACTIVITIES.COM

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