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Who On Earth Invented … The Pedal Bin?!
Continuing our series on enterprising inventors of everyday things we take for granted, Sally Anne asks …
Who on Earth invented…the Pedal Bin?!
You’re carrying something to the bin, your hands are full and you don’t want to spill it. Thank goodness for the pedal bin! Read on to find out about the inventor who tried to make life easier.
Ergonomics is the science of making equipment which fits and works with the human body. This basically means making things work as easily and as conveniently as possible. Dr Lillian Gilbreth was a keen inventor who believed in finding the easiest way of getting things done. As such, she invented a range of gadgets to make jobs easier, including the pedal bin in the 1920s. Now we have to admit, pedal bins aren’t very exciting, but Lillian’s life definitely was.
5 Things Parents Wish Their Kids Would Do …
… and 5 Things Kids Wish Their Parents Would Do!
Hello there! I’m Cat and I’m 12 years old, almost 13 (yay!) I’ve picked out 5 things I wish my parents would do, or rather… Wouldn’t do! And my mum has done the same with 5 things she wishes that my brother and I would do.
Go grab a piece of paper and do this with your parents – you might surprise each other!
A Day In the Life Of…a Biologist
Ever wondered what being a biologist might be like? No two scientists work days are the same but I’m going to take you through my typical day to give you an idea
7 AM: I get up and eat breakfast (toast and a cup of tea) before travelling to work.
8 AM: I arrive at work (this is early for scientists, most of my workmates arrive at about 9 AM but I like to get up early!) After checking my email the first job of the day is to turn on the microscope above.
The plant root surface is covered in root hairs. This is what they look like under a microscope.To get an idea of the cells, les than 1mm of plant root can be seen in this image
It is similar to microscopes you may have used at school but with a few added features including a special camera. I am fascinated by plants and in my research I am trying to find out more about how some plants (including peas and beans) can form a friendly relationship (known as symbiosis) with soil bacteria, which provide nutrients that the plants need to grow. I use the microscope and camera to study living cells in plant seedling roots (where the symbiosis is set up).
10:30 AM: Tea break and seminar. I have a tea break with some of my workmates and then go to a seminar where other scientists talk about their research and we discuss it afterwards. Seminars are a great way to find out what experiments other scientists are doing, and to get ideas for new experiments to try.
12:30 PM: I have lunch with my friends.
1:15 PM: More experiments. For some of my experiments I have to grow plants in greenhouses. Today I visit to check on my plants and collect some to take measurements. This involves digging up the plants and cleaning them to look at their roots. This is fun, but messy!
3:30 PM: Afternoon tea break.
3:45 PM: Data analysis. I spend the last part of the afternoon drawing graphs of the data I have collected today and thinking about what it shows (does it answer the research question? Do I need to do further experiments?). I also spend some time reading research articles to find out about experiments other scientists have been doing.
5:30 PM: Hometime! Once I am home I have dinner and then relax.
One of the things I love about being a scientist is the feeling of discovering the “unknown”. The experiments I carry out reveal little details that when combined with other scientist’s data can help us build up a picture of how the plant-bacteria symbiosis is set up so that pea and bean plants can get the nutrients they need to grow. We hope that this knowledge might be able to help improve farming in the future.
About the Author
Sarah Shailes is a plant scientist working at the John Innes Centre, Norwich, UK. She studies how some plants can form a friendly relationship (symbiosis) with soil bacteria, which help the plants gain nutrients they need to grow. When she isn’t in the laboratory she enjoys knitting and hiking, and helps run a local Brownie Guide unit.
Does Atlantis Exist, and Where Does the Name Originate?
Around 350 BC, the Greek philosopher Plato wrote about an island situated in front of the Pillars of Hercules, that disappeared under the sea in one day and one night. According to Plato, the capital of Atlantis was built on a hill and surrounded by rings of water, which were joined by tunnels large enough for a ship to sail through. A huge canal connected the outer rings of water to the ocean.
The possible existence of the island of Atlantis has intrigued scholars and scientists over the centuries.
In 1800s a man called Ignatius Donnelly wrote a bestselling book called Atlantis, the Antediluvian World. After studying flood history, Ignatius put forward the suggestion that Atlantis was not fiction, but the recording of a natural disaster.
Most modern academics insist that Plato created the story, and was perhaps inspired by events that happened during his lifetime, but that the island never existed.
The subject of dreams, of magical tales and many a search, Atlantis has long captured our imagination. But where did all of this spring from?
What is the Big Deal About Finding Richard III?
As skeleton found under a car park in Leicester has been identified as that of King Richard III, who ruled England from 1483 to 1485. Richard has been pictured as a tyrant king. There’s a story that Richard killed his own nephews, the legendary ‘princes in the tower’ in order to usurp the throne.
Nearly a century after Richard’s death, Shakespeare describes Richard as a ‘bottled spider’, a hunchback. Since Shakespeare’s time writers and artists through history have imagined Richard as a terrifying figure, whose physical disabilities are signs of his cruel inner nature.
Some historians argue that Shakespeare must have been writing propaganda to please his queen, Elizabeth I, whose grandfather Henry VII defeated Richard in battle. These historians argue that Richard’s ‘hunchback’ is an insult made up by Shakespeare, but until now, we haven’t been able to know what the truth is.