What are Snow Donuts

Snow donut image

Snow donuts are commonly referred as 'snow rollers', 'snowballs' or even 'snowbales'. This natural phenomenon occurs rarely in certain specific weather conditions. Snow donuts resemble donut shaped spiral that rolls the icy ground in unusual cold weathers. This happens when wind pushes snow, making it roll across the vertical ground of the hill surface. But these phenomenons are rare and requires the right mixture of climatic conditions including wind, temperature, snow and moisture.



The snow that rolls across the hill starts gathering in a shape of a hollow cylinder to form a snow donut. But not all of the snow lands to the bottom surface shaped as a snow donut. Most of the cylindrical balls get squashed up. Very few manage to roll on the icy surface down the hills leaving behind a trail.Once the climatic conditions are just right enough to successfully transform the snow clump into a snow donut, the snow doughnut resembles a cylindrical ball with a hole in the center. The shapes of snow doughnuts or snow donuts could vary right from small ball to big wheels.

Snow donuts are usually found in Canada, Poland and on the  Prairies of North America.

Kintsugi - The Art of Healing

"When you come out of the storm, 

you won't be the same person 

who walked in. 

That's what the storm is all about."

- Haruki Murakami 

In Japan, broken objects which we usually throw away are repaired with gold. The damage or crack on the objects are never seen as flaws but as the object's history which is mended by filling the cracks with gold. The Japanese believe that when some object suffers a damage, it also seems to be the object's history and thus adds to it's existing beauty. This ancient Japanese practice is an art which is known as Kintsugi.

So what we learn from Kintsugi! Kintsugi teaches us that whatever struggles we had in life, or whatever damages we suffered in life or whatever flaws we have, we can learn to embrace them and repair ourselves with love. These flaws, struggles and damage that we witnessed are part of our history and they make us more beautiful. They teach us about life and make us strong. All beautiful things around us have their own flaws. Every beautiful object carries it's imperfections with it.

In the similar manner, our wounds and flaws add to our beauty. We are nothing different than Kintsugi. We too can be mended and healed. Mending is nothing but showing the honest parts of our past as a beautiful history. What we faced and what we fought defines us. It is what we are. Our true identity! Every beautiful thing is damaged. We all are that beauty. Lets mend ourselves and be beautiful like Kintsugi.

"We all are a little broken,

and that's okay."

5 Amazing Facts about Puffin Bird

Puffins are pelagic seabirds that feed on fish which they catch by diving in the water. They have black and white feathers and a large and colorful beak(shaped more like parrot's beak). Puffin birds are found in three species, out of which two species the tufted puffin and horned puffin are found in the North Pacific Ocean where as the Atlantic puffin is found in the North Atlantic Ocean.

Atlantic Puffin

5 Amazing Facts About Puffin Birds 

1. Many misinterpret puffin bird with penguins. This could be because they share the same black and white body color. Penguins have black and white skin coat, while puffins have black and white feathers. One more similarity between both penguin and puffin bird is their love for eating fish. But penguins are penguins and puffins are birds. Penguins have wings but can't fly, but puffins are seabirds that fly. They don't even belong to the same family. While penguins belong to the family Spheniscidae, puffin bird belongs to family Alcidae.

2. Puffin birds always breed in large colonies usually on coastal cliffs or offshore islands. They nest in burrows(empty rabbit burrows), or even in rock crevices. They are found in a much larger number and mostly the areas or islands they breed are referred to as Puffin Islands.

Tufted Puffin

3. After the breeding season, puffin birds shed the colorful part of their beak leaving it to look dull and small.  Only during the breeding season the puffin birds have a colorful beak.

4. Puffins feed on fishes like herring, capelin, hake etc and also zooplankton. They have this unique ability to hold and carry as many as dozen small fishes at a time crosswise in their bill.

5. Puffins have the ability of swimming underwater as well as fly in the air. Their webbed feet enables them to swim effortlessly underwater, where they catch many fishes at a time. 

10 Funny Phobias One Cannot Believe Existed

Phobia is an extreme fear of something. One could get anxious or extremely upset or even fear persistently about any object or certain situations. Phobia is one such situation which an individual would go to lengths to avoid. But not all phobias may sound serious to us. There are certain phobia which we may at times find too weird or funny. Here are ten such funny phobias which one cannot believe existed.

1.  Ablutophobia

Ablutophobia is the fear of bathing. With this phobia an individual may persistently fear bathing or cleaning oneself. This kind of phobia is more common in children and females. Wonder whether it is this phobia that keeps dogs away from bathing!

2. Arachibutyrophobia

Peanut butter lovers would never imagine, someone would have a phobia related to it. Well not entirely about eating peanut butter but arachibutyrophobia is the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth.

3. Chrometophobia

Chrometophobia is one such phobia one may find funny, as it could affect one's life at a great extent. Chrometophobia is the phobia where a man fears money. Now money is used by us in our day to day life to buy commodities, and also to live and make a living. A phobia as such can affect an individual vastly. How can one survive like that, I wonder!

4. Chronophobia

Now even this phobia is weird! Chronophobia is a phobia where an individual suffering from it fears of time passing. Such person may fear watches and clocks. Existence of such phobia can really put an individual's life in great trouble, I must say!

5. Lachanophobia

Meat lovers won't mind this at all! Lachanophobia is one such phobia where an individual may have great fear of vegetables. A  person suffering from this phobia may suffer panic attacks at the sight of certain vegetables, for example say peas, potatoes, cereals. This phobia could relate to one or two such vegetables or many. Now, vegetables is one such thing that provides us with nutrition and good health, but some people may indeed be afraid of them.

6. Peladophobia

Now how can one survive with such a thing! Peladophobia is the fear of bald people or baldness. Being bald or having bald people around cannot be helped. But imagine some people actually getting anxious around bald people or fearing the thought of becoming bald themselves. 

7. Photophobia

This phobia I wished never existed! Photophobia is a phobia where one is afraid of light. This fear resembles a condition known as light sensitivity where a person could get over-sensitive around light. He or she may feel that light is hurting their eyes and would prefer remaining in dark.

8. Pogonophobia

Pogonophobia is one such funny phobia where an individual may take extreme dislike for beards or even fear the presence of someone who has beards. Though we may find such a phobia silly, but for those who suffer from it it is not funny at all. Such people suffering with pogonophobia can get extremely upset around people with beards.

9. Syngenesophobia

Maybe I have this phobia! Syngenesophobia is a phobia where one individual may get extremely afraid or upset around relatives. This fear could be about being around relatives or even siblings. In such condition a person may really get anxious about meeting relatives - either all or some of them. For example this fear could be related to fear of aunts, fear of cousins, fear or uncles or anyone else in particular. Such person may get extremely anxious in such people's company.

10. Tonsurephobia

Tonsurephobia is a phobia where a person can be extremely upset or afraid  about getting haircuts. The existence of such phobia in an individual could really affect his or her physical well-being. But such phobia does exist, however weird it may sound.

How Do We Get High Blood Pressure

Blood pressure is the force of our blood that pushes against the arteries. We do need some blood pressure so that it helps the blood to move throughout the body. But at times, the pressure rises more than one needs and stays high over time. This high pressure keeps pushing against the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps blood. In many ways this high rise in the blood pressure can damage our body. This process of the rise in the regular blood pressure and staying high over the time is known as high blood pressure.

High blood pressure is also referred as 'hypertension'. This condition of high blood pressure in one is dangerous as it makes one's heart pump and push more than normal stages. Understand this, the higher one's blood pressure, the greater is the damage risk. High blood pressure needs to be controlled to avoid major damage such as a heart stroke, heart attack or other complications. The situation at times could be fatal.

Symptoms and Causes of High Blood Pressure

Some symptoms of high blood pressure include severe headache, chest pain, tiredness, irregular heartbeat and difficulty in breathing. Some foods that may get you blood pressure higher include intake of salt, packaged foods, frozen food items, heavy creams, etc. Packaged foods and canned foods are the many culprits as they have heavy doses of sodium in it. Foods like canned beans, canned fruits, frozen meats, soft drinks, pastries should be avoided as much as possible.

One can include fresh fruits and vegetables, oatmeal, leafy vegetables, fishes with omega 3s, cow milk and berries to maintain a healthy heart. Other than foods, some other factors that lead to high blood pressure include body temperature, mental state, sleep apnea, over exertion and certain medications or drugs.

How is Blood Pressure Measured?

Blood pressure is measured with an instrument known as the sphygmomanometer, commonly also known as the blood pressure monitor or blood pressure gauge. The blood pressure is measured as systolic and diastolic pressures. Here 'systolic' refers to blood pressure while pumping blood and 'diastolic' means blood pressure when heart is at rest in between beats. 

What is Soundproof Glass

There are numerous occasions when we wish, we were sitting in a room with soundproof glass; especially when we are with friends spilling out secrets. Soundproof glass help us achieve that level of privacy where conversation stay intact with no secrets been revealed to the outside world.

Soundproof glass is a type of glass which refrains sound from penetrating from one side to the other. This could either be from inside to outside or from outside to inside. Such type of glass are used by people who spend time in noisy environment. For example, people living on busy streets or cabins of noisy offices.

How Does Soundproof Glass Work 

Sound in the form of energy pass through various mediums such as solid, liquid or gas. The closer the molecules in the medium, the faster the sound energy pass from one point to another. Since the molecules of a solid medium are closely held, the sound travels faster through it. But when a soundproof glass is installed, it absorbs the sound waves and reduces vibration thus working as a barrier and preventing the sound from passing.

How can Soundproof Glass be Made

A sound proof glass can be made by simply using a thicker glass. The thicker the glass, the stiffer it would be and lesser the vibration. One of the other option to make a sound proof glass is using a material between two panes of glass. One of the most common material used for glass sound proofing is lamination. Lamination of glass is where a thin piece of plastic is placed between two glass panes. This cuts down significant amount of sound and allows noiseless atmosphere. Laminated glass work as the best soundproof glass and best soundproof windows.

What are Waterspouts

Tornadoes that form over water are called as waterspouts. A waterspout is a strong columnar whirlpool that resembles funnel shaped cloud and move over water. At times they form over water and move over land from water. A waterspout could be accompanied by heavy hail storm, lightnings and strong winds. A waterspout has a five part life cycle, which include a dark spot formation on the water surface followed by spiral pattern of water surface and formation of a spray ring along with a development of visible cloud like condensation funnel which finally decays.

Waterspouts can form in an area less than 2 km in width. The column of rotating cloud that is funnel shaped, descends over water. This cloud that develops could be mild or even harmful. Some of the waterspouts formed are strong and usually tornadic in nature. At times these waterspouts could be mild and weak. Such mild waterspouts are caused by different atmospheric pressures and develop in moisture laden environment. Though weaker than a tornado, waterspout can still manage to cause considerable damage to it's surroundings.

Where are waterspouts witnessed?

Waterspouts are witnessed in tropics and subtropical areas. Europe, Australia, New Zealand have common occurrences of waterspout. One of the area which witness waterspouts frequently is Florida Keys with around 400 waterspouts approximately around the world. 

What is Chromite

Chromite is an oxide mineral. The main composition of Chromite is chromium along with iron and oxygen. It is the only ore of Chromium. The color of chromite varies from grey to black  and has a sub-metallic lustre with a high specific gravity. Chromite is relatively hard and metallic. It is found in basic and ultra-basic igneous rocks or metamorphic rocks and even sedimentary rocks. Their occurrence is a result of altering of these rocks by heat or weathering.

Being the only ore of chromium, chromite is highly used in the production of stainless steel, nichrome and chrome plating. Given it's high heat stability, it is also used as a refractory material. 

What Are Sinuses

If you are suffering from cold and headache for more than 10 to 14 days, then maybe you have an infection of sinus, also know as Sinusitis. Sinus headaches can be too irritating and keep recurring frequently, unless sinusitis is not treated. Sinuses are air-filled spaces within the bones of the head and face that contribute to the upper tract of your respiratory tract from the nose to your throat. The sinuses develop even before one is born. There are four parts of sinuses - one located in the cheeks on either side of your nose, one located in the forehead, one located behind and between our eyes and one located at the back of one's nasal cavity.

What is Sinusitis

Sinusitis is a medical condition in which one suffers from the infection of sinus. The cold virus damages the delicate cilia of one's nose and causes the mucous lining of the nose to swell. Due to this swelling, the narrow opening from the sinuses are blocked causing more and more mucous to produce; which could be harder and stickier, thus making it difficult to flow out of the sinuses. It results in an infection of the sinuses and this condition is referred as Sinusitis.

Sinusitis symptoms include headaches, severe cold, runny nose, blocked nose, congestion, sore throat and facial pain. Sinus headaches can be painful and discomforting. Causes of sinusitis could be anything from pollution, infection, allergy to certain substances such as dust, pollen etc. Individuals suffering from asthma, chronic cold or allergies are more prone to sinusitis.

Acute sinusitis is a short term condition which responds well to antibiotic treatment or recovers on it's own in a matter of few days. But chronic sinusitis on the other hand, could last for many days, even weeks or may keep recurring. Medication course for the same is advisable. Sinusitis is a matter of concern and could cause unnecessary pain and discomfort.

Sinus Surgery

Sinus surgery is a boon to patients suffering from chronic sinusitis.  Mucus is developed by the body and acts as a lubricant that moves across the sinus cavities. Sinusitis swells the mucous membrane thus blocking the mucous movements. When in the cases of sinusitis, antibiotics and other prescribed medical treatment don't work, sinus surgeries are suggested to correct the problem. Endoscopic Sinus Surgery is considered to be safe and perfect solution for the problem of sinusitis. 

What are UV Rays

UV Rays or Ultraviolet rays are invisible rays which are part of the solar energy. UV rays help our body to make Vitamin D and hence we are suppose to walk in morning sun. Vitamin D is essential for the strengthening of our bones and teeth. It helps us to build strong immunity against body disorders like Rickets or even colon cancer. UV rays are also used to slow down the growth of skin cells and treat diseases like psoriasis.

Commercial uses of UV rays include disinfection and sterilization. Few animals perceive in ultraviolet and can see things. Animals such as birds, bees and even some fishes can see in ultraviolet. For example by perceiving ultraviolet, bees can collect pollen from flowers. Human eyes can however detect wavelengths only in visual spectrum.

How Harmful is UV Rays?

 UV rays are useful for the ecosystem.  But too much UV rays can be a threat to our existence. UV light is a type of a electromagnetic radiation which is responsible for sun tans and sun burns. The ultraviolet rays have the potential to burn eyes, skin as well as hair if these human parts are not properly protected. Too much exposure to sun affects our skin. Too much UV rays can damage the skin cells and also cause cancer. And hence one should always use a sunscreen when opting to be out in hot sun. Also wearing a hat helps.

The ozone layer in the upper part(Stratosphere) of the atmosphere absorbs UV radiation and thus prevents most of the harmful rays to reach the earth's surface. And hence ozone layer is very important. The depletion of ozone layer is a great matter of concern. 

Why Do We Feel Itchy

Our skin is the largest organ that we have, and we put it through several potential irritants knowingly or rather unknowingly. It just happens! With so many pollutants, toxins and irritants in the air, our skin comes in contact with daily. No wonder we are bound to itch. Itch is also known as Pruritus. Itching is a built-in mechanism of our body which alerts us about a potential threat that is bothering us or being harmful to us.

 At times, itching could be nothing much severe, but this won't be the case most of the times. Some type of external stimuli which could include a bug, dust, a clothing fiber or even a hair can trigger itching. Moreover an allergy to certain thing or food or smell can trigger itching. So when external objects such as dust, mosquito or bug land on our skin, they bother it somehow and result into itching. It does not have to start immediately, but the rubbing or an allergy could trigger out itching.

And then there is food allergies which can trigger itching and redness of your skin. A person who is allergic to a particular food, or dust particles can experience severe itching. Once the dust layer scratches your skin area the receptors of the skin will become irritated. These receptors send signal through fibers into the skin to your spinal cord and then to your brain - the result you start itching.

Why do we scratch a itch is really a wonder. Scratching the itch makes us feel better, and that is our first response to the itch. Once we scratch the itch with our finger nails we feel much better and get some relief. Very often scratching helps relieving itch by removing the irritant as soon as possible. When the itching is triggered due to an allergy, we need certain medications to help us solve the problem.

Why Vultures are Not Affected By Eating Rotten Carcasses

If humans were made to consume rotten food, we would definitely fall sick. Even if our food loses some of it's freshness, we could get digestion problems. Most of us suffer problems of food poisoning by eating stale foods, or foods left open for a long time. Not just humans but many animal fall prey to food poisoning. On the other hand, vultures are seen striving on decaying meat and rotten carcasses. And this is what we wonder - how can vultures eat rotten carcasses and still remain unaffected?

First of all, as we know a vulture is a scavenger and eats dead and rotten meat. They contribute tremendously to maintain the balance in the ecosystem by playing this role. It is said that they have this super ability of smelling a rotten carcass from far distances. And they can survive feeding on dead meat. The stomach acid of the vulture is significantly stronger and corrosive - to an extent that it can burn away almost anything. Even the harmful bacteria and other dangerous microbes present inside the rotting meat could be easily destroyed by the stronger stomach of a vulture. Hence even if a vulture feeds on a rotting carcasses which has been badly infected with these dangerous bacteria, the stomach acid would make it a point to kill the bacteria and make the meat safe enough for the vultures to survive on. 

What is Curium?

One of the rare metals, curium is radioactive in nature. It is hard, brittle and silvery. It's occurrence is not in nature and hence is a synthetic element. It has to be made in a nuclear reactor. The process of making curium in a nuclear reactor is by neutron capture reactions from plutonium and americium isotopes.

Curium glowing in the dark

Curium was discovered by American Chemist Glenn T. Seaborg, Ralph A. James and Albert Ghiorso in 1944 in USA. The metal was named after chemist and physicist Marie Curie and her husband Pierre Curie, who are known to be the pioneers of radioactivity.

One of the property of Curium is that, it tarnishes slowly in dry air at room temperature. Most of it's compounds are faintly yellow. Curium is highly radioactive and glows red in dark. Curium is considered to be dangerous. If curium enters the body it gets accumulated in the bone marrow and with it's radiation starts destroying the marrow and further stops red blood cell formation.

What is Curium used for?

Presently curium is used only for basic scientific research. Curium 244 is a power source in radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs). It is also used in the Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer (AXPS) which is used in measuring the abundance of chemical elements and soils on Mars.

How is Bone Marrow Formed

Bone marow

Bone marrow is a flexible, spongy tissue located within the bone interiors. This semi-solid tissue is in a jelly form and helps to produce blood cells and also protect the innermost core of the bone. The average weight of bone marrow is 4% of the individual's body weight. This gelatinous tissue fills the cavity of the bone. The bone marrow is found in the spine, hip and the shoulder bones of an adult.The richest source of bone marrow cell can be found in spine as well as hip of an individual.

Bone marrow consists of two type of cells - the Hematopoietic stem cells, which produce the blood cells and the Stromal stem cells, which can produce the cartilage, fat and the bone. Hemopoiesis is the process in which the the blood cell is produced. There are two types of bone marrow, one is the red marrow which contains the hematopoietic stem cells. The red blood cells, platelets as well as most of the white blood cells arise in red bone marrow. The red marrow mainly exists in flat bones of an individual's body such as hip bone, skull, ribs, vertebrae  and also in shoulder blades. Similarly the other type of bone marrow is the yellow marrow which houses the stroma stem cells.The presence of higher amount of fat cells give the yellow marrow it's colour. Some of the white blood cells are also developed in yellow marrow.

The formation of bone marrow in an individual takes place even before his birth. It's formation is similar to that of the formation of other organ's or tissue in one's body. Usually during birth the bone marrow is red which gets converted into yellow as one ages. Bone marrow is considered as an life saving agent for patients with severe blood loss, because the body has the tendency to convert the yellow marrow into red marrow in order to increase the blood cell production. 

What is an eBook

An eBook is an electronic version of a printed book.The eBook is a any printed book in a digital form which may include text and images.  In today's era of digitization, eBook is the most crucial want of the day. With everything made available at the touch of your finger, traditional reading has been switched into an 'e-mode'; where we get to read any printed book as a eBook on a computer or a tablet, mobile phone or even best, e-reader.  Nowadays thousands and thousands of title could be read with eBook, that had once been printed on paper. Be it fiction, non-fiction, history, recipes, stories, study material, reference books or even classics - everything can be read with an eBook.

How is an eBook Produced?

To produce an eBook, usually one needs an existing published paper book or hard copies. Robotic book scanners are used to scan these paper books without damaging the original print edition. These robotic book scanners can scan book quickly and efficiently. These scanners help produce set of image files which can then be converted into text format by Optical Character Recognition Programme (OCR). This programme thus helps the mechanical or electronic conversion of these scanned images into a computer readable text. And thus forms an eBook which exactly looks exactly like book only in digital form.

Advantage of eBook over Paper Books

An eBook has a superiority over paper books. This is so because while printing paperbacks or hardcovers of a particular book, huge amount of paper needs to be produced, for which innumerable trees are cut down. It is said that to make just one ton of paper, over 24 trees need to be cut. Then in case, a book that is printed contain printing errors, the books are destroyed before reaching the shelves. That is a huge wastage of paper. Many printed books that do not make a good sale are usually destroyed or recycled. It also takes about seven gallons of water to produce one printed book, while it takes only two cups of water to produce a digital book. Hence not just trees but water is also wasted while producing paper books.

eBooks have a great advantage over the paper books, as

- eBooks save the transportation costs for shipping books.

- eBooks can help preserve books.

- eBooks help saving trees and thus avoid deforestation.

- eBooks are portable and can help one carry an entire library along with him.

- eBooks are much cheaper to produce as compared to paper books.

- eBooks offer free downloads of few books or if chargeable are much cheaper than the paperback or hardcover editions.

- eBooks promises convenient reading with its varied features such as change of fonts, in-built light, change of style, bookmarking, highlighting and more, thus offering a personalized reading experience.

- eBooks help in conversion of languages with such features made available.

- eBooks such as Kindle offer assistance with word-wise enabled features to understand meanings of words.

- With immense storage space, eBooks allows us to store as many books as possible.

- eBooks allows readers to rate a book and suggest other readers if the book is a good read.

Environmental Footprint of an eBook

Environmental footprint is the impact any activity or a product or a person has on the earth's environment system. This includes e-waste. As per research a paper book can create 7.5 kg of carbon dioxide whereas an iPad or Kindle can create nearly 130 kg 168 kg of carbon dioxide respectively. Once a Kindle is bought by a reader, he or she would start downloading as many books as possible in order to make up for the carbon dioxide during it's use. Use of electricity for charging the e-devices also needs to be taken under consideration. 

Fascinating Facts about Dwarka City

Dwarka is a Hindu Pilgrimage city located in the state of Gujarat in India. Dwarka includes herself in the Char Dham Pilgrimage which is a highly sacred pilgrimage for Hindus and help them attain moksha. The other four cities, part of the Char Dham Pilgrimage include Badrinath, Puri and Rameshwaram. Dwarka is also one of the Sapta Puris. Sapta Puri means the seven holy cities of India, every Hindu must visit. The seven cities in Sapta Puri include Ayudhya, Mathura, Varanasi, Kanchipuram, Ujjain, Haridwar and Dwarka. Dwarka literally means 'gateway to heaven'. This city was build by Lord Krishna. It was considered to be his capital city. Lord Krishna along with the other Yadavas are said to have spent most of his time in Dwarka.

City of Dwarka

The Existence of Dwarka City

According to the Hindu Mythology, the city of Dwarka submerged in the Arabian Sea, not once but six times. The present city of Dwarka is considered to be the seventh such city built in the same area. The Marine Archaeology Unit of the National Institute of Oceanography has been engaged in the offshore excavation and exploration of the legendary Dwarka City since 1983. The boulders on which the city walls were erected, were found in this excavation which proved that the land indeed was reclaimed by the sea. Dwarka finds it's mention in various ancient texts, especially in Mahabharata. In Mahabharata, Dwarka has been mentioned as a well-fortified and prosperous city, which again proved it's existence.

Fascinating Facts About Dwarka City

1. It is believed that worshiping Lord Krishna in Dwarka can help you get rid of your sins and help you attain moksha.

2. Because it is believed that Lord Krishna lived in Dwarka as a Prince, the city of Dwarka worships him in the same mood. The idol of Krishna, also referred as the Dwarkadhish is dressed in extravagance.

3. The Dwarkadhish deity holds conch, club, disc and lotus flower in his four hands and each of these are covered in silver.

4. The compound of the Dwarkadhish Temple include many small shrines, namely Lakshmi Temple, Radhika Temple, Balarama Temple, Pradyumna Temple, Anirrudha Temple, Satyabhama Temple and Purshottama Vishnu Temple.

5. The present Dwarkadhish Temple was built in the sixteenth century.

6. The original temple of Dwarka was said to be built by Vajranabha, the grandson of Lord Krishna.

7. The temple of Dwarkadhish is built using soft limestone. The temple consists of a sanctum, vestibule and a big rectangular hall with porches on three sides.

8. The Dwarkadhish Temple has two entry points, known to be the Swarga Dwar or heaven gateways. There is one exit point for the pilgrims which is known as the Moksha Dwar.

9. The amazing discoveries and explorations by marine archaeologists over the four decades pointed to the fact that the remains of the city found over the years dated back to the Mahabharat Era.

10. Thousands of devotees and pilgrims from all over the world gather at the Dwarka City to celebrate Janmashtami in full swing every year.

How Are Valleys Formed?

Valleys are the low lying areas present between two hills or two mountains. Valleys are usually formed near water bodies such as rivers and hence they are dense with vegetation and have great soil fertility. When water bodies such as rivers flow through mountains or hills they wear out the rock and the soil thus creating grooves within. These grooves over a period of time get deeper and deeper causing big dents within the mountain. These grooves are usually V-shaped or U-shaped and the curve deepens over a period of time to form valleys.

U-shaped Valley

The formation of valleys usually depend upon the speed of the flow of the water. Faster the flow, deeper and wider the valley. When glaciers form valleys they are called glacial valleys. The shape of glacial valley is U-shape. However when a valley is formed due to soil erosion it is usually V-shaped and these valleys are know as rift valleys. Due to it's rich soil fertility and dense vegetation, valleys can cater to civilizations. The valleys also tend to offer a favorable climate for living. And hence many such civilizations had known to flourish in the valleys. One such known civilization of valley is the Indus Valley Civilization on the Indus River. The world's deepest valley is the Kali Gandaki River in Nepal. It is known to lie between two Himalayan Peaks namely, Dhaulagiri and Annapurna which are 8000 meter high respectively.

Why Do We Have Different Skin Color?

We often wonder why we and all around us differ so much when it comes to skin color. The color of the human skin varies almost from light translucent to almost black. All these wide varied colors that we human being have come from a particular pigment known as melanin. The type and amount of melanin present in an individual's body defines his or her color.

The color of every individual is more or less affected by the presence of four pigments in the body - melanin, oxygenated hemoglobin, reduced hemoglobin and carotene. However melanin stands out as the most powerful of all and gives us the color that we have. Melanin pigment are produced by special cells known as melanocytes which are found in the epidermis of our skin. Genes control the production of melanin cells in an individual body. The melanin producing cells in every adult ranges from 60,000 in each square inch of the skin. Few melanocytes mean less pigment which means lighter skin. Hence we have different skin color depending upon the production of melanin.

Besides melanin one more factor that affects one's skin color is haemoglobin. Haemoglobin combines with oxygen to produce the rosy complexion which is often referred as a sign of good health. Reduced haemoglobin causes anemia which makes a person appear pale. 

Mount Wycheproof in Australia - The Smallest Mountain in the World

Located in the Wycheproof town in Victoria, Australia; Mount Wycheproof is the smallest mountain in the world. Formed around thousand years ago, Mount Wycheproof is a granite outcrop and surfaces as a rocky, conical peak. Sustaining about 43 meters above the landscapic topography, this mountain is known for its elegant and distinctive pinkish colored geological substance - Wycheproofite!! The Mount Wycheproof is located in a flat grassland area. This hill plays a major role within the local community. Annual races are held within hill top. Apart from that,  there are several walking trails throughout the hill. The wildlife of Mount Wycheproof comprises of animals including kangaroos and emus. 

Amazing Facts About Bats

Bats are the second largest mammal after rodents with almost 1000 species found all around the world. Most of the bats are nocturnal and could be found hanging upside down on trees, mountain cliffs or caves roosting during day. After roosting, a bat bird starts flying from its resting place in search of food. Bats roost a lot during day time and between bots of feeding during night.

Echolocation

During nights bats find their food either by sight or scent by using sound waves. This process is called echolocation. A microbat burst high frequency sound to find prey in the dark. This high frequency sound bounces off the prey such as a moth or a rat and thus the bat pinpoints the location of its food; by listening to the returning echo of their sound. Fishing bats too use echolocation to detect fish below the water surface.

Types of Bats

Bats species are divided into two groups - Megachiroptera or megabats and Microchiroptera or microbats.

Megabats

A Malaysian Flying Fox is a large fruit bat

Fruit bats fall under the category of megachiroptera or megabats. Fruit bats are also known as flying foxes and are found in tropical and subtropical parts of the continents of Asia, Africa and Australia. Most of the megabats eat fruits but few species are known to eat flowers, insects, pollen etc. The fruit bats prefer living in tropical belt due to abundant food supply. Megabats lack a tail unlike most species of microbats.

Microbats

Microbats are often mislead with the term insect-eating bats but they also feed on fruits, meat, fish, pollen as well as blood. These bats are found in tropical as well as temperate regions. Microbats are often known to roost in tree holes. Large microbats such as  False Vampire bats eat mice, rats and frogs.

20 Amazing Facts about Bats

1. Bats are the only mammals that can fly.

2. Bats find their food either by sight or scent by using sound waves which is a process called echolocation.

3. A bat's wing consists of an elastic membrane that is stretched between the elongated fingers of its front limbs and back of its hind limbs.

4. Btas have a clawed thumb on the edge of each wing.

5. Bats could get killed by frost and hence they hibernate in cold places where they would be protected by frost.

6. The place where a bat roosts is known as hibernaculum. This place has to be damp so that bats do not dry out. Perfect locations for roosting includes caves, tree holes, loft spaces etc.

7. Insect eating bats have large ears which are essential for echolocation.

8. In a long-eared bat, ears are almost as long as bat's head and body combined.

9. A horseshoe bat catches prey by emitting sounds through their noses.

10. Epauletted fruit bats have large eyes and nose.

11. Vampire bats feed on the blood of mammals or small birds. They make a wound on the ear or ankle of the prey with help of their razor like incisor teeth.

12. Smaller bats such as pipistrelles catch tiny gnats and mosquitoes.

13. Large bats such as noctules feed on cockchafers and dung beetles.

A Bumblebee bat is also known as Kitti's hog-nosed bat

14. Fruit bats squash ripe fruits against ridges on the roof of their mouth.. They then spit out the rind and large seeds.

15. Some species of bats are in danger of extinction due to greatest threats to their survival which  include destruction of habitat, pesticide and human vandalism.

16. Some animals that prey on bats include Mongrove rat snake, bat hawks, owls and cats.


17. The largest bat known is the Malaysian Flying Fox which can have a wingspan of up to 5 to 6 feet.

18. The smallest bat is known to be a Bumblebee bat which weighs only about 2 grams and is 30 mm long.

19. During sleeping, the toes of the bat have special locking mechanism which prevents fall when hanging upside down.

20. Like any other mammal, a female bat carries her young inside her womb until birth.