A microphone can convert sound waves into electrical signals that fall and rise in a manner that is comparable to the sound wave pattern you are attempting to record. Analog recording techniques, which save sound wave patterns as a wavy groove etched into a plastic disc, can be used to store auditory waves. The model can also be saved as a magnetic print on plastic tape.

In uncontracted braille, every word is spelled out. Contracted braille is a “shorthand” version where common words are abbreviated, much like “don’t” is a shorter version of “do” and “not.” Most children learn uncontracted braille before they learn the contracted version.

When the African Lungfish is in danger of dying, it secretes a mucus cocoon and burrows up to 9 inches into the earth, where it breathes through a built-in breathing tube that leads to the surface. It is thus dependent on rainfall to breathe.

Malta was awarded the George Cross by King George VI of England for its valour against the Axis siege during WWII. The George Cross is still depicted on the national flag.

The northwestern Brazilian city of Manaus, on the banks of the Negro River, is located in the centre of one of the world's most lush jungles. Manaus, the Amazon's largest city and a major port, is a well-developed and busy metropolitan centre with a population of over 2.5 million people. However, the metropolis' position is unusual in that it is totally encircled by the Amazon Rainforest.

Earthquakes may happen over 400 miles below the Earth's surface and be felt practically on the opposite side of the Earth, says Caltech seismologist Zhongwen Zhan. "A magnitude 8 earthquake occurred in the Kuril Islands in 2013, at a depth of around 400 miles. The event was felt in Australia!"

This interesting fact about cats is guaranteed to wow at your next dinner party. Did you know that originally it was thought that Egyptians domesticated the cat? But in 2004, French archaeologists discovered a 9,500-year-old cat grave in Cyprus. This makes this the oldest known pet cat and it predates Egyptian art about cats by over 4,000 years!

One of the most powerful natural resourcesTo protect the Taj Mahal from German bombers during WWII, the British government covered it with bamboo scaffoldings.

Our smartphones may be an important part of our everyday lives. Still, this handy technology may be hiding a not-so-great surprise after all. A study of mobile phones used by secondary school pupils found that they were significantly infected with potentially dangerous germs. According to experts, cell phones, in fact, contain 10 times more germs than most toilet seats.

When the king queried his companions about the wonder of the idol and how it stayed in the air without a prop or support, some said that it was kept up by some secret support. The monarch asked someone to walk around with a spear and feel all around, above and below it, which he did but encountered no obstacles.

In 1940, "Gone With The Wind" became the first color movie to be awarded Best Picture.

In 2016, two people from Northern California filed a class-action lawsuit after suggesting that Starbucks has a system that means lattes are 25% smaller than the menu claims. The company maintains that this is not true and in January, the lawsuit was dismissed, according to Reuters.

According to a recent UBS Global Wealth Management report, 58% of women entrust those critical decisions to their male spouses. And this does not appear to be changing with Generation Y or Z. Younger women between the ages of twenty and thirty-four were 60% more inclined to defer to their significant others.

Since 2004, the Netherlands has seen a continuous reduction in crime, and it has grown so safe that it has closed down one jail after another—23 prisons have shuttered their doors since 2014. To assist reduce employment losses, the nation has begun importing convicts from foreign countries, including 242 offenders from Norway in 2015.

The average snowflake can be as small as a penny or as large as a human hair. However, some unconfirmed sources claim they can grow much larger. Witnesses to a snowstorm in Fort Keogh, Montana in 1887 reported seeing milk-pan-sized crystals fall from the sky. If this is correct, they would be the largest snowflakes ever seen, measuring about 15 inches across.

A line of trombone players performs the routine by bending and standing in time to a drumbeat until one player's trombone is where the head of a neighboring player was just moments earlier. Players who mistime the routine in practice frequently suffer from broken noses or black eyes, earning the routine the moniker "trombone suicide." Another name for it is a "head chop" for obvious reasons.

If you disassembled the Sun and piled up its various elements, you'd discover that hydrogen accounts for 74% of its mass. With a helium content of 24% The remaining 2% consists of trace amounts of iron, nickel, oxygen, and all of the other elements found in the Solar System. To put it another way, the Solar System is mostly made of hydrogen.

When asked what colour is their favourite, people all over the world consistently say blue. Blue is preferred by up to 40% of those polled, with purple being preferred by around 14%. Surprisingly, mosquitoes prefer blue to any other colour; they try to bite people wearing blue more than any other colour.

When in full bloom, the fields of the plant Salvia hispanica, from which chia is derived, are stunning. Sometimes all you can see are purple fields as far as the eye can see. The plant must blossom in order to produce chia seeds, and the flowers are a lovely purple and white hue.

Now for a positive fact about Taiwan. Compared to its neighboring countries like Japan, Korea, and China where LGBT people face discrimination, Taiwan is forward-thinking and progressive.

Joan Benoit Samuelson of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, became the first woman to win a marathon in the Olympic Games. At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, she earned a gold medal. In 2000, she was inducted into the Maine Women's Hall of Fame. She returned to the circuit in April 2019 at the age of 61, finishing the Boston Marathon at 3:04.

Both U.S. Presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, within five hours of each other. Crazy. They were formerly fellow patriots who had become rivals, as well as the last remaining members of the original American revolutionaries.

Ancient trumpets made of silver and bronze have been discovered in Egyptian graves, and similar instruments have also been discovered in Scandinavia, Asia, and South America. The earliest trumpets, however, were used for military and religious purposes rather than for musical performance, so this does not imply that King Tut was playing in a jazz band.

You wouldn't anticipate centipedes to be perfect mothers given how brutal they are. Though it may come as a surprise, some species are actually fiercely protective of their young. In order to shield their eggs from predators until they hatch, females of the aforementioned species will encircle them. Some mothers will stay with their babies until they are old enough to leave the nest on their own, and these mothers will also clean the eggs to stop them from growing fungi.

One of the least expensive hobbies to start is this one. Regular metal hooks typically cost around 2.00 USD each, and you can buy yarn at a craft or big box store for less than 5.00 USD. You only need these two things to get started on a simple doll, hat, or scarf. Once you decide that crocheting is for you, you can always spend more money on better hooks and fancy yarn, but even the best materials are still very affordable when compared to many other hobbies. Check out this hook starter guide to get you going!