Travel

Carnivals Around the World

You might have heard of the carnival in Rio, but did you know that there are carnivals around the world – from Germany to Greece, USA to Italy?

Millie Slavidou explains where Carnival comes from on her blog

Long before the advent of Christianity, people held celebrations at this time of year. In Germany, they once looked forward to sending Hel, the goddess of the underworld, back down to her abode so they could herald the coming of the spring. In Greece, it was a time to worship the god Dionysus. With the arrival of Christianity, the celebrations continued, but changed in nature, gradually becoming more and more linked to the new religion. The Carnival is held in the period before the start of Lent, and Lent is the time when good Christians were supposed to fast, to abstain from meat 

In the UK, we don’t celebrate Carnival, but we do prepare for Lent – that is what Pancake Day is all about, after all. Traditionally, pancakes were made to use up the eggs, fat, and butter, that were not to be eaten during Lent!

Take a trip around the world with us, to find out how other countries celebrate Carnival!

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Popular, Science, Nature and Tech

Untangling Quantum Entanglement and Teleportation – A Child-friendly Explanation

child friendly explanation of quantum entanglement

You may have heard something on the news recently about an exciting scientific discovery, of Quantum Entanglement and Teleportation. Sometimes it can be quite hard to untangle a news story like this, because it all sounds rather complicated. Our new Science Writer, Samantha Gouldson has ironed out the details and explains Quantum Entanglement and Teleportation in a child-friendly manner.

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Written By You

The Necklace – A Shooting Star Story – Written By You

When I first saw the silver sparkling necklace in the jewellers shop window, I thought it was just an ordinary diamond necklace. However, the twinkling diamond at the centre of the polished masterpiece held an emotional attraction for me, as it reminded me of a similar diamond on my grandmother’s ring, so I went in to inquire its price.

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Home, Health & Style

Health Matters … Threadworm

threadworms

In the second of a series of articles on health, pharmacist and writer Asha Fowells looks at threadworms. This may make you go ‘euuuuuw’, but it is an important thing to know about, because while threadworms are icky, they are reasonably easy to treat.
The term “parasitic infection” may make you think of intrepid explorers in rainforests and jungles, but there is one parasite that lurks much closer to home: threadworm.

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Art & History, Popular

Awesome Women Who Disguised Themselves as Men to Follow their Dreams

Throughout history girls and women have been told, ‘You can’t do that! You are a girl!’ Luckily, this attitude is becoming less common in many countries and cultures, but what did women do in the past? If they wanted to be a doctor, a musician, a sportsperson or even a soldier?

Most women put aside their dreams or practised other activities that were deemed appropriate for women. Some women protested, like the suffragettes who demanded to be allowed to vote. And a small number of women went much further. Today we are taking a look at the women who disguised themselves as men in order to follow their dreams.

 

The first woman to circumnavigate the world – to go all the way around the globe. Born in France, and with an interest in botany (the study of plants), Jeanne became first the housekeeper, and later the partner of a famous botanist Philibert de Commerson.

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