Saturday 29 November 2014

This doctor invented Basketball in order to calm down students of a rowdy class!!!


James Naismith (November 6, 1861 – November 28, 1939) was a Canadian American sports coach and innovator. He invented the sport of basketball in 1891. He wrote the original basketball rulebook, founded the University of Kansas basketball program, and lived to see basketball adopted as an Olympic demonstration sport in 1904 and as an official event at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, as well as the birth of both the National Invitation Tournament (1938) and the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship (1939).

Basketball is a sport played by two teams of five players on a rectangular court. The objective is to shoot a ball through a hoop 18 inches (46 cm) in diameter and 10 feet (3.0 m) high mounted to a backboard at each end. Basketball is one of the world's most popular and widely viewed sports. Read more & Watch the video...

Thursday 27 November 2014

This Philosopher, Poet, Fighter, Instructor, inventor and actor did it all in his own stride !!!


Bruce Lee (Born Lee Jun-fan; 27 November 1940 – 20 July 1973) was a Hong Kong American martial artist, Hong Kong action film actor, martial arts instructor, filmmaker, and the founder of Jeet Kune Do. He is widely to be one of the most influential martial artists of all time, and a pop culture icon of the 20th century. Lee's first introduction to martial arts was through his father, from whom he learned the fundamentals of Wu-style t'ai chi ch'uan. At the age of 18, Lee returned to the United States with $100 in his pocket. After living in San Francisco for several months, he moved to Seattle in 1959, to continue his high school education, where he also worked for Ruby Chow as a live-in waiter at her restaurant.mHe also studied philosophy, psychology, and various other subjects. 

Lee appeared in the 1964 Long Beach International Karate Championships and performed repetitions of two-finger push-ups (using the thumb and the index finger of one hand) with feet at approximately a shoulder-width apart. In the same Long Beach event he also performed the "One inch punch", His volunteer was Bob Baker of Stockton, California. Jeet Kune Do:The Jeet Kune Do emblem is a registered trademark held by the Bruce Lee Estate. The Chinese characters around the Taijitu symbol read: "Using no way as way" and "Having no limitation as limitation" The arrows represent the endless interaction between yang and yin.Lee emphasised what he called "the style of no style"
Lee had his first role as a baby who was carried onto the stage in the film Golden Gate Girl. By the time he was 18, he had appeared in twenty films. Enter the Dragon was one of the year's highest grossing films and cement Lee as a martial arts legend. It was made for US$850,000 in 1973 (equivalent to $4 million adjusted for inflation as of 2007). To date, Enter the Dragon has grossed over $200 million worldwide.
His books on martial arts and fighting philosophy are known for their philosophical assertionsboth inside and outside of martial arts circles. His eclectic philosophy often mirrored his fighting beliefs, though he was quick to claim that his martial arts were solely a metaphor for such teachings.He believed that any knowledge ultimately led to self-knowledge, and said that his chosen method of self-expression was martial arts. His influences include Taoism, Jiddu Krishnamurti, and Buddhism. In 1972, he was asked if he believed in God, and responded,"To be perfectly frank, I really do not".
Most of Bruce Lee's poems are categorized as anti-poetry or fall into a paradox. The free verse form of Lee's poetry reflect his famous quote "Be formless ... shapeless, like water." Read more & watch the video...

Wednesday 26 November 2014

The present that laid the country's FOUNDATION; the lengthiest living document of the world !!!


The Constitution was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949, and came into effect on 26 January 1950. The date 26 January was chosen to commemorate the Purna Swaraj declaration of independence of 1930. With its adoption, the Union of India officially became the modern and contemporary Republic of India and it replaced the Government of India Act 1935 as the country's fundamental governing document. 26 November 1949 is also known as National Law Day.
The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. It lays down the framework defining fundamental political principles, establishes the structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions, and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens. 
The Indian constitution is the world's longest constitution. At the time of commencement, the constitution had 395 articles in 22 parts and 8 schedules. It consists of almost 80,000 words and took 2 years 11 months and 18 days to build. It is the longest written constitution of any sovereign country in the world, containing 448 articles in 22 parts, 12 schedules and 118 amendments (Current constitution). Besides the English version, there is an official Hindi translation. 
A Draft Constitution was prepared by the committee and submitted to the Assembly on 4 November 1947. Draft constitution was debated and over 2000 amendments were moved over a period of two years. Finally on 26 Nov. 1949, the process was completed and Constituent assembly adopted the constitution. 284 members signed the document and the process of constitution making was complete.  Read more & watch the video....

Tuesday 25 November 2014

This lesser celebrated physician was overlooked by physicists for his path-braking THERMODYNAMICS & OXIDATION!!!


Julius Robert von Mayer (November 25, 1814 – March 20, 1878) was a German physician and physicist and one of the founders of thermodynamics. He is best known for enunciating in 1841 one of the original statements of the conservation of energy or what is now known as one of the first versions of the first law of thermodynamics, namely that "energy can be neither created nor destroyed". 

In 1842, Mayer described the vital chemical process now referred to as oxidation as the primary source of energy for any living creature. His achievements were overlooked and priority for the discovery of the mechanical equivalent of heat was attributed to James Joule in the following year. He also proposed that plants convert light into chemical energy.
Although he had hardly been interested before this journey in physical phenomena, his observation that storm-whipped waves are warmer than the calm sea started him thinking about the physical laws, in particular about the physical phenomenon of warmth and the question: whether the directly developed heat alone or whether the sum of the amounts of heat developed in direct and indirect ways contributes to the temperature. After his return in February 1841 Mayer dedicated his efforts to solve this problem. Read more & watch the video...

Monday 24 November 2014

Brilliant cricketer invented a game which was given the name of the place where it was invented!!!


Rev. William Webb Ellis (24 November 1806 – 24 February 1872) was an Anglican (English) clergyman who is famous for allegedly being the inventor of Rugby football whilst a pupil at Rugby School.

Rugby is a market town in Warwickshire, England, located on the River Avon. The town has a population of 70,628 (2001) making it the second largest town in the county. The enclosing Borough of Rugby has a population of 100,500 (2011). The town is credited with being the birthplace of rugby football.

Rugby football is a style of football that developed at Rugby School and was one of several versions of football played at English public schools during the 19th century. The two main types of rugby are rugby league and rugby union. Although these two forms share the same objective of getting the ball over the line to score a try, the specific rules are different.  Read more & watch the video...

Saturday 22 November 2014

His invention was an answer to Eiffel tower, which is found in all the amusement parks!!!


George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr. (February 14, 1859 – November 22, 1896) was an American engineer. He is mostly known for creating the original Ferris Wheel for the 1893 Chicago World's Columbian Exposition. Ferris was born on February 14, 1859, in Galesburg, Illinois, the town founded by his namesake, George Washington Gale.

Ferris left Nevada in 1875 to attend the California Military Academy in Oakland, where he graduated in 1876. He graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, in the class of 1881 with a degree in Civil Engineering. At RPI he was a charter member of the local chapter of Chi Phi Fraternity and a member of the Rensselaer Society of Engineers. He was made a member of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Alumni Hall of Fame in 1998. Read more & watch the video...

Friday 21 November 2014

The man who revealed acoustics depth & light scattering effect!!!


Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, (7 November 1888 – 21 November 1970) was an Indian physicist, born in the former Madras Province, whose ground breaking work in the field of light scattering earned him the 1930 Nobel Prize for Physics. He discovered that, when light traverses a transparent material, some of the deflected light changes in wavelength. This phenomenon is now called Raman scattering and is the result of the Raman effect. In 1954, he was honoured with the highest civilian award in India, the Bharat Ratna.

Venkata Raman was born, to a Tamil family, in Thiruvanaikaval, Trichinopoly, present-day Tiruchirapalli, Madras Presidency, inBritish India to Parvati Amma. He was self educated in the field of science. At an early age, Raman moved to the city of Visakhapatnam, and studied in St. Aloysius Anglo-Indian High School. Raman passed his matriculation examination at the age of 11 and he passed his F.A. examination (equivalent to today's Intermediate exam) with a scholarship at the age of 13.Read more & watch the video...

Thursday 20 November 2014

Tipu Sultan's Rockets, Tiger and sword !!!!


Tipu Sultan's father had expanded on Mysore's use of rocketry, making critical innovations in the rockets themselves and the military logistics of their use. Hedeployed as many as 1,200 specialised troops in his army to operate rocket launchers. Also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was a ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore and a scholar, soldier and poet.

Tipu expanded the iron-cased Mysorean rockets which he deployed in his resistance against military advances of the British. He laid the foundation for a dam where the famous Krishna Raja Sagara Dam across the river Cauvery was later built. He was a devout Muslim although the majority of his subjects were Hindus, and few were also Christian. At the request of the French, Tipu built a church, the first in Mysore. He was fluent in Kannada,Hindustani, Persian, Arabic, English and French. 

It is said that Tipu Sultan was hunting in the forest with a French friend. When he came face to face with a tiger, his gun did not work, and his dagger fell on the ground as the tiger jumped on him. He reached for the dagger, picked it up, and killed the tiger with it. That earned him the name "the Tiger of Mysore". He even had French engineers build a mechanical tiger for his palace. The device, known as Tipu's Tiger, is on display in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Not only did Tipu place relics of tigers around his palace and domain, but also had the emblem of a tiger on his banners and some arms and weapons. The British Army's National Army Museum named Tipu Sultan among the 10 Greatest Enemy Commanders that the British Army ever faced, including him among the ranks of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Read more & watch the video...

Wednesday 19 November 2014

IRON LADIES OF THE INTERNATIONAL MEN'S DAY !!! N Its WORLD TOILET DAY TOO...


Lakshmibai, the Rani of Jhansi  (19 November 1828 – 18 June 1858; was the queen of the Maratha-ruled princely state of Jhansi, situated in the north-central part of India. She was one of the leading figures of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and for Indian nationalists a symbol of resistance to the rule of theBritish East India Company in the subcontinent

In the British report of this battle, Hugh Rose commented that Rani Lakshmibai is "personable, clever and beautiful" and she is "the most dangerous of all Indian leaders". Twenty years after her death Colonel Malleson wrote in the History of the Indian Mutiny; vol. 3; London, 1878 Whatever her faults in British eyes may have been, her countrymen will ever remember that she was driven by ill-treatment into rebellion, and that she lived and died for her country.
Wishing on their birthday to a few more women who made their name heard out loud:
Tatyana Afanseyeva, Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi, Ann Curry, Zeenat Aman, Elizabeth Ann Hulette , Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra, known professionally as Meg Ryan, is an American actress and producer. Jodie Foster & Sushmita Sen

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL MEN'S DAY!!! Read more & watch the video...

Tuesday 18 November 2014

This passionate footballer won a nobel prize & had a lasting effect in the field of physics!!!


Niels Henrik David Bohr (7 October 1885 – 18 November 1962) was a Danish physicist who made foundational contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum theory, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922. Bohr was also a philosopher and a promoter of scientific research.

Bohr developed the Bohr model of the atom, in which he proposed that energy levels of electrons are discrete and that the electrons revolve in stable orbits around the atomic nucleus but can jump from one energy level (or orbit) to another. Although the Bohr model has been supplanted by other models, its underlying principles remain valid. He conceived the principle of complementarity: that items could be separately analysed in terms of contradictory properties, like behaving as a wave or a stream of particles. The notion of complementarity dominated Bohr's thinking in both science and philosophy.
Niels was a passionate footballer as well, and the two brothers played several matches for the Copenhagen-based Akademisk Boldklub, with Niels as goalkeeper. Read more & watch the video...

Monday 17 November 2014

Overcoming all the hindrances, this village boy with no interest in traditional education, provided world-class automobiles!!!


Soichiro Honda (November 17, 1906 – August 5, 1991) was a Japanese engineer and industrialist. In 1948, he established Honda and oversaw its expansion from a wooden shack manufacturing bicycle motors to a multinational automobile and motorcycle manufacturer. Honda was born in TenryÅ«, Shizuoka, a small village under Mount Fuji near Hamamatsu on November 17, 1906. He spent his early childhood helping his father, Gihei, a blacksmith, with his bicycle repair business. Honda was not interested in traditional education, his school handed grade reports to the children, but required that it will be returned stamped with the family seal, to make sure that a parent had seen it. Soichiro created a stamp to forge his family seal out of a used rubber bicycle pedal cover. The fraud was soon discovered when Honda started to make forged stamps for other children. 

Even as a toddler Honda had been thrilled by the first car that was ever seen in his village and often used to say in later life that he could never forget the smell of oil it gave off. Soichiro once borrowed one of his father's bicycles to see a demonstration of an airplane made by pilot Art Smith, which cemented his love for machinery and invention. At 15, without any formal education, Honda left home and headed to Tokyo to look for work. He obtained an apprenticeship at a garage in 1922, and after some hesitation over his employment, he stayed for six years, working as a car mechanic before returning home to start his own auto repair business in 1928 at the age of 22. Read more & watch the video(in his own words)...

Saturday 15 November 2014

The LAND OF FORESTS was born on this day after a long wait!!!


Jharkhand  is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Odisha to the south, and West Bengal to the east. It has an area of 79,710 km2 (30,778 sq mi). Jharkhand It was formed after almost half a century of people's movements to evolve a Jharkhandi identity, which disadvantaged societal groups articulated to augment political resources and influence the policy process in their favour. It is the 28th state of India. 

The Jharkhandi identity and the demand for autonomy was not premised solely on the uniqueness of its tribal cultural heritage but was essentially a fallout of the failure of development policy to intervene in socio-economic conditions of the adivasis and non-adivasis in the region. Most of the state lies on the Chota Nagpur Plateau, which is the source of the Koel, Damodar, Brahmani, Kharkai, and Subarnarekha rivers, whose upper watersheds lie within Jharkhand. Much of the state is still covered by forest. Forest preserves support populations of tigers and Asian Elephants.
The state was formed with 18 districts that were formerly part of south Bihar. Some of these districts were reorganised to form 6 new districts, namely, Latehar, Saraikela Kharsawan, Jamtara, Sahebganj, Khunti and Ramgarh. At present, the state has 24 districts:Ranchi, Lohardaga, Gumla, Simdega, Palamu, Latehar, Garhwa, West Singhbhum, Seraikela Kharsawan, East Singhbhum, Dumka, Jamtara, Sahebganj, Pakur, Godda, Hazaribag, Chatra, Koderma, Giridih, Dhanbad, Bokaro, Deoghar, Khunti and Ramgarh. One interesting thing about Jharkhand is that all its districts, except Lohardaga and Khunti, share a border with a neighboring state. Read more...

Friday 14 November 2014

How many CHILDREN'S DAYS should a child remember ? It's World Diabetes day too!!!

HAPPY CHILDREN'S DAY INDIA....

Children's Day is recognized on various days in many places around the world, to honor children globally. It was first proclaimed by the World Conference for the Well-being of Children in 1925 and then established universally in 1954 to protect an "appropriate" day. Major global variants include a Universal Children's Day on November 20, by United Nations recommendation. Children's Day is often celebrated on other days as well.International Day for Protection of Children, observed in many countries as Children's Day on June 1 since 1950, was established by the Women's International Democratic Federation on its congress in Moscow (22 November 1949).

World Diabetes Day is the primary global awareness campaign of the diabetes mellitus world and is held on November 14 of each year. It was introduced in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation and the World Health Organization in response to the alarming rise of diabetes around the world. Healthy Living and Diabetes is the World Diabetes Day theme for 2014-2016. Read more & Watch the video...

Wednesday 12 November 2014

This reject of TOP FINE ACADEMY made THE GATES OF HELL, THINKER, AGE OF BRONZE, THE KISS & went on to become a great sculptor!!!


Fran̤ois-Auguste-Ren̩ Rodin (12 November 1840 Р17 November 1917), known as Auguste Rodin was a French sculptor. Although Rodin is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture, he did not set out to rebel against the past. He was schooled traditionally, took a craftsman-like approach to his work, and desired academic recognition, although he was never accepted into Paris's foremost school of art.

Sculpturally, Rodin possessed a unique ability to model a complex, turbulent, deeply pocketed surface in clay. Many of his most notable sculptures were roundly criticized during his lifetime. 
From the unexpected realism of his first major figure – inspired by his 1875 trip to Italy – to the unconventional memorials whose commissions he later sought, Rodin's reputation grew, such that he became the preeminent French sculptor of his time. He was largely self-educated, and began to draw at age ten. Between ages 14 and 17, Rodin attended the Petite École, a school specializing in art and mathematics, where he studied drawing and painting. In 1857, Rodin submitted a clay model of a companion to the Grand École in an attempt to win entrance; he did not succeed, and two further applications were also denied. Given that entrance requirements at the Grand École were not particularly high, the rejections were considerable setbacks. Read more & watch the video...

Tuesday 11 November 2014

Pioneer of Toxicology, gave Zinc its name, blended astrology with medicine & quoted,"Let no man belong to another who can belong to himself"!


Paracelsus ( born Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, 11 November or 17 December 1493 – 24 September 1541) was a Swiss German Renaissance physician, botanist, alchemist, astrologer, and general occultist. He founded the discipline of Toxicology. He is also known as a revolutionary for insisting upon using observations of nature, rather than looking to ancient texts, in open and radical defiance of medical practice of his day. He is also credited for giving zinc its name, calling it zincum. Modern psychology often also credits him for being the first to note that some diseases are rooted in psychological illness.

Paracelsus' most important legacy is likely his critique of the scholastic methods in medicine, science and theology. Astrology was a very important part of Paracelsus' medicine, and he was a practicing astrologer — as were many of the university-trained physicians working at this time in Europe. Paracelsus pioneered the use of chemicals and minerals in medicine. He used the name "zink" for the element zinc in about 1526, based on the sharp pointed appearance of its crystals after smelting and the old German word "zinke" for pointed. In 1536, his Die grosse Wundartznei ("The Great Surgery Book") was published. His motto was "Alterius non sit qui suus esse potest" which means "Let no man belong to another who can belong to himself."
Paracelsus adopted the idea of triparite alternatives to explain the nature of medicine, taking the place of a combustable element (sulphur) a fluid and changeable element (mercury) and a solid, permanent element (salt.) The first mention of the mercury, sulphur, salt model was in the Opus paramirum dating to about 1530 Paracelsus believed that the principles sulphur, mercury, and salt contained the poisons contributing to all diseases. 
He saw each disease as having three separate cures depending on how it was afflicted, either being caused by the poisoning of sulphur, mercury, or salt. Paracelsus drew the importance of sulphur, salt and mercury from medieval alchemy, where they all occupied a prominent place. He demonstrated his theory by burning a piece of wood. the fire was the work of sulphur, the smoke was mercury, and the residual ash was salt. Paracelsus theorized that materials that are poisonous in large doses may be positive in small doses, he demonstrated this with the examples of magnetism and static electricity, where a small magnet can attract much larger metals.
Paracelsus pioneered the use of chemicals and minerals in medicine. His hermetical views were that sickness and health in the body relied on the harmony of man (microcosm) and Nature (macrocosm). One of his most overlooked achievements was the systematic study of minerals and the curative powers of alpine mineral springs. Paracelsus is credited as providing the first clinical/scientific mention of the unconscious. In his work Von den Krankeiten he writes: "Thus, the cause of the disease chorea lasciva is a mere opinion and idea, assumed by imagination, affecting those who believe in such a thing.   Read more & watch the video...

Monday 10 November 2014

An aspiring poet who dodged death in adolescence, grew up to revolutionize machine gun weaponry!!!


Lieutenant-general Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov (10 November 1919 – 23 December 2013) was a Russian general, inventor, military engineer, writer and small arms designer. He is most famous for developing the AK-47 assault rifle and its improvements, AKM and AK-74, as well as the PK machine gun. Kalashnikov was, according to himself, a self-taught tinkerer who combined innate mechanical skills with the study of weaponry to design arms that achieved battlefield ubiquity. Even though Kalashnikov felt sorrow at the weapons' uncontrolled distribution, he took pride in his inventions and in their reputation for reliability, emphasizing that his rifle is "a weapon of defense" and "not a weapon for offense". Because of his small size and engineering skills he was assigned as a tank mechanic, and later became a tank commander. While training, he made his first inventions, which concerned not only tanks, but also small weapons, and was personally awarded a wrist watch by Georgy Zhukov. He was wounded in combat in the Battle of Bryansk in October 1941 and hospitalised until  April 1942. While in the hospital, he overheard some fellow soldiers complaining about the Soviet rifles of the time.

 Although his first submachine gun design was not accepted into service, his talent as a designer was noticed. From 1942 onwards Kalashnikov was assigned to the Central Scientific-developmental Firing Range for Rifle Firearms of the Chief Artillery Directorate of the Red Army. Read more & watch the video...

Saturday 8 November 2014

He made calculations easy with handheld calculators made thermal printer, considered co-inventor of Integrated circuit!!!



Jack St. Clair Kilby (November 8, 1923 – June 20, 2005) was an American electrical engineer who took part (along with Robert Noyce) in the realization of the first integrated circuit while working at Texas Instruments (TI) in 1958. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics on December 10, 2000. He is also the inventor of the handheld calculator and the thermal printer, for which he has patents. He also has patents for seven other inventions. Along with Robert Noyce, Kilby is generally credited as co-inventor of the integrated circuit. Read more & watch video...

Friday 7 November 2014

Having started to build fountains, he's attributed for microscope with two convex lenses & first navigable submarine in 1620!!!


Cornelis Jacobszoon Drebbel (1572 – 7 November 1633) was the Dutch builder of the first navigable submarine in 1620. Drebbel was an innovator who contributed to the development of measurement and control systems, optics and chemistry. A small lunar crater has been named after him.

In 1600, Drebbel was in Middelburg where he built a fountain at the Noorderpoort. He met there with Hans Lippershey, spectacle maker and constructor of telescopes, and his colleague Zacharias Jansen. There Drebbel learned lens grinding and optics. In 1619 Drebbel designed and built telescopes and microscopes and was involved in a building project for the Duke of Buckingham. William Boreel, the Dutch Ambassador to England, mentions the microscope that was developed by Drebbel. Drebbel became famous for his invention in 1621 of a microscope with two convex lenses. Several authors, including Christiaan Huygens assign the invention of the compound microscope to Drebbel. 
Drebbel's most famous written work was Een kort Tractaet van de Natuere der Elementen (A short treatise of the nature of the elements) (Haarlem, 1621). He was also involved in the invention of mercury fulminate. He had found out that mixtures of “spiritus vini” with mercury and silver in “aqua fortis” could explode. The invention of a working thermometer is also ascribed to Drebbel.He also built the first navigable submarine in 1620 while working for the English Royal Navy. Read more...

Thursday 6 November 2014

Starting making own musical instruments at 14, he invented a whole new family of musical instruments!!!


Antoine-Joseph "Adolphe" Sax (6 November 1814 – 7 February 1894) was a Belgian musical instrument designer and musician who played the flute and clarinet, and is well known for having invented the saxophone. He also invented the saxotrombasaxhorn and saxtuba. Antoine-Joseph Sax was born in Dinant, Belgium.  Adolphe's first important invention was an improvement of the bass clarinet design, which he patented at the age of 24. Sax relocated permanently to Paris in 1841 and began working on a new set of instruments exhibited there in 1844. The period around 1840 saw Sax inventing the clarinette-bourdon, an early unsuccessful design of contrabass clarinet. By 1846 Sax had designed, on paper, a full range of saxophones (from sopranino to subcontrabass).

The saxophone is a family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones are usually made ofbrass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet
The saxotromba is a valved brasswind instrument invented by the Belgian instrument-maker Adolphe Sax around 1844. 
The saxhorn is a valved brass instrument with a conical bore and deep cup-shapedmouthpiece. The sound has a characteristic mellow quality, and blends well with other brass.
The saxtuba is an obsolete valved brasswind instrument conceived by the Belgian instrument-maker Adolphe Sax around 1845. The design of the instrument was inspired by the ancient Roman cornu and tubaRead more & watch the video...

Tuesday 4 November 2014

Starting as a bicycle mechanic, he became first Irishman to to fly & build plane; also pioneered 4 wheel drive in formula 1 race


Henry George "Harry" Ferguson (4 November 1884 – 25 October 1960) was a British engineer and inventor who is noted for his role in the development of the modern agricultural tractor, for becoming the first Irishman to build and fly his own aeroplane, and for developing the first four-wheel drive Formula One car, the Ferguson P99. Today his name lives on in the name of the Massey Ferguson company. Harry Ferguson became the first Irishman to fly and the first citizen of the United Kingdom to build and fly his own aeroplane. Ferguson and his team of longtime colleagues, including Willie Sands and Archie Greer, soon developed a hydraulic version, which was patented in 1926.  Ferguson's research division went on to develop various cars and tractors, including the first Formula One four-wheel-drive car. Feguson's four wheel drive system, utilising an open centre differential gear, were used in Formula 1 race cars and in the Range Rover and later in constant four-wheel-drive Land Rovers. Read more... 


Monday 3 November 2014

In addition to support of quinine's use for malaria; this father of occupational diseases had observations on breast cancer too!!!!


Bernardino Ramazzini (3 November 1633 – 5 November 1714) was an Italian physician. Ramazzini was an early proponent of the use of cinchona bark in the treatment of Malaria. His most important contribution to medicine was his book on occupational diseases, De Morbis Artificum Diatriba ("Diseases of Workers"). He studied medicine at the University of Parma, where his interest in occupational diseases began. He is often called "the father of occupational medicine". He proposed that physicians should extend the list of questions that Hippocrates recommended they ask their patients by adding, "What is your occupation?" 

In regards to malaria, Ramazzini was one of the first to support the use of the quinine-rich bark cinchona. Many falsely claimed that quinine was toxic and ineffective, but Ramazzini recognized its importance. He quoted, "It (quinine) did for medicine what gun powder did for war." Bernardino Ramazzini said that nuns developed breast cancer at a higher rate than married women because they did not engage in sexual intercourse, and the "unnatural" lack of sexual activity caused instability of the breast tissues that sometimes developed into breast cancer. In a lifestyle article "Sitting can lead to an early death," the writer acknowledged Ramazzini's pioneering study of this field in the 17th century.
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by parasitic protozoans (a type of single cell microorganism) of the Plasmodium type. Breast cancer is the development of cancer from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, fluid coming from the nipple, or a red scaly patch of skin. Read more...

Saturday 1 November 2014

Happy Birthday Karnataka & Kerala!!!


Kannada Rajyotsava "Birth of the Karnataka state" is celebrated on 1 November every year. This was the day in 1956 when all the Kannada language-speaking regions of South India were merged to form the state of Karnataka. Rajyotsava day is celebrated with great joy and vigour all over the state of Karnataka. The entire state wears a festive look on this day as the red and yellow Kannada flags are hoisted at different strategic locations across the state and the Kannada anthem "Jaya Bharatha Jananiya Tanujate" is chanted. Religion not being a factor, the Rajyotsava is celebrated by Hindus, Muslims and Christians as well.


Kerala Piravi marks the birth of the state of Kerala in India. The state of Kerala was created on November 1, 1956. November 1 is therefore known as Kerala Piravi Dinam (day) in the state. Malayalees around the world celebrate November 1 as Kerala Piravi, which in Malayalam "the birthday of Kerala". Kerala, the southernmost state of India, was formed long after Indian independence on 15 August 1947. Prior to that date it was three independent provinces named Malabar, Cochin and Travancore. Kerala originally got its name after the first ruler, Keralian Thamboran, who ruled one of these independent provinces earlier in the millennia. But some historians say that the name 'Kerala' comes from "kera", which means coconut tree which is widely seen in the region. Read more...