Bronze alloy facts

   The alloy called bronze is a mixture of copper and tin. Bronze has been used for at least 5,000 years—much longer than iron.
   People of the Old Stone Age used tools and weapons made of stone. In the New Stone Age they had much better stone weapons. When copper was discovered, our early ancestors began making tools of copper. But copper was not hard enough to take the place of stone entirely.
   Probably bronze was first made by accident. Some rocks have in them both copper ore and tin ore. When early man discovered bronze, he found it was much harder than copper. Early man learned to use bronze for tools and weapons. Later it was found that iron made even better tools and weapons. Iron gradually took the place of bronze.
   The time when people used bronze for tools and weapons is called the Bronze Age. The Bronze Age came at different times in different parts of the world. The early civilizations of the Near East were in their Bronze Age more than 4,000 years ago. The Indians of South America were still in their Bronze Age when Columbus reached the New World more than 500 years ago.
   Today many beautiful bowls and statues and doors are made of bronze. Much hardware is made of it. Bronze is used in bells, too. One big use of bronze in the United States is for pennies.
   Things made of bronze last for a very long time. Bronze can stand heat and cold, wind and rain, and much handling. It lasts so well that it is sometimes called the "eternal metal."
 

Buffalo Bill facts

    A century ago there were no western movies and television shows to watch. But when Buffalo Bill's (William F. Cody, 1846-1917) famous Wild West show came to town, the people could crowd into a big circus tent and see real Indians and cowboys of the old West. Indians in war paint riding bareback on their western ponies and shouting war whoops thundered into the ring. Behind them came buckskinned cowboys shooting as they rode. Buffalo Bill himself was the star of the show. He performed amazing tricks with his guns.
   William Cody was born in Iowa, but his family soon moved to Kansas. When he was only 14 he was hired as a rider for the Pony Express. He learned to know the Great Plains well. He knew both the land and the Indians who lived on it. Before long he became a scout for the army and helped fight the Indians.
   Buffalo Bill got his nickname because he killed so many "buffaloes," or bison. When the Kansas Pacific Railroad was being built across the plains, young Cody agreed to furnish the workmen with meat. In one year he killed nearly 5,000 bison.
   In 1883 he gathered many Indians and cowboys together and started his Wild West show. People liked it so much that he traveled about with it for many years.
   The town of Cody, Wyo., was named for Buffalo Bill.

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Facts about Roman Caesars

Caesar Augustus

   The Caesars were rulers of ancient Rome. The words "czar" and "kaiser" both came from the word "Caesar." "Caesar" was at first the last name of a famous ruler, Julius Caesar. Then it became a title that meant "emperor."
   Julius Caesar was a great warrior. He conquered all the part of Europe that is now France. He even marched his armies into Britain. He also took them to the east and conquered part of Asia.
   After one of his battles in Asia, Caesar sent back a famous message to Rome. It is famous because it told so much in so few words. The message was Veni, vidi, vici. Translated into English the message is, "I came, I saw, I conquered."
   Julius Caesar was more than a good warrior. He brought about many changes that were good. For one thing he made a new calendar. It has come down to us almost as he made it. The month of July was named for him.
   The month of August was named for an-other famous Caesar—Augustus. Augustus was the ruler of the great Roman Empire when Christ was born. It was an order of his that sent Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem. But Augustus did not have any idea that people in later centuries would think that the birth of Jesus was the most important happening in his reign.
   The real name of Augustus was Octavius. The Romans gave him the name Augustus because they admired him so much. "Augustus" means "admired" or "revered." Some of his people even thought that he was a god.
   Augustus was a good ruler. He ruled for 45 years. This long reign was one of the bright spots in the history of Rome.
   There were other Caesars. Some were good. Some were bad. At least under them the Romans had peace and prosperity for two centuries.

Richard E. Byrd

   The most famous American explorer of modern times, Richard E. Byrd (1888-1957), gave signs at an early age of what he would be when he grew up. At the age of 12 he took a trip by himself around the world.
   In 1925 Byrd went on a polar expedition to Greenland. What he learned there made him sure that an airplane would be able to fly over the North Pole. The following year he, with Floyd Bennett as the pilot, set out from Spitsbergen to fly to the Pole 680 miles away. Airplanes in 1926 were not nearly as reliable as they are today. But the two explorers made the trip safely. They were the first men ever to make a flight over the North Pole.
   Three years later Byrd set out from a base on the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica and became the first man ever to fly over the South Pole. He claimed a great amount of Antarctica for the United States.
   On several expeditions to Antarctica, the last in 1956, Byrd mapped 450,000 square miles of this icy continent. He spent many months alone studying its harsh climate.
   Twice Byrd almost lost his life on adventures. A plane in which he was flying across the Atlantic was forced down at sea in 1927. In 1934 gas fumes from a stove almost killed him in a hut in Antarctica. Many movies and books tell of Byrd's experiences.

What is a Fraternity?

   A fraternity is a society, usually at an American college or university. The word "fraternity" comes from the Latin frater ("brother"). Fraternities are also called Greek-letter societies because most of them have Greek mottoes and use the first letters of the words as their name. Some fraternities are social in nature, and others are professional or honorary. Fraternities may be for men or women or both. Women's fraternities are usually called sororities. Many social fraternities are national organizations with many local chapters, and include both undergraduate and alumni members.

   Membership in social fraternities is by invitation. In most colleges that have fraternities, there is a rushing period during which each fraternity invites freshmen to parties. From these a fraternity chooses a number of pledges and assigns them many tasks to prove their interest and to determine whether they would be good members. At the end of this hazing period the successful pledges are initiated into the fraternity in a secret ritual that includes an oath, a special handclasp, and the receipt of a fraternity pin.

College fraternities now stress campus activities far more than secrecy. They compete in sports and academic work, support candidates in college elections, and may give scholarships to members. Fraternities have been criticized, however, as being snobbish and discriminatory. Many people think that members have too little contact with persons of different backgrounds. The National Interfraternity Conference was formed in 1909 to maintain standards and consider reforms, and reforms have been made by many individual fraternities and local chapters.
Honorary and professional fraternities also have national and local organizations, in which membership is based on academic achievement. Phi Beta Kappa is an honorary society that accepts those who have a high general scholastic record, and Sigma Xi accepts those proficient in the sciences. Members of Alpha Omega Alpha belong to the medical profession, and Tau Beta Phi is for engineers.

   The first fraternity, Phi Beta Kappa, was founded in 1776 at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va. Its purpose was originally social, but it later became honorary. The pattern for modern social fraternities was set by three groups founded at Union College in Schenectady, N.Y., in 1825 and 1827.

   Most of these early fraternities began as literary and debating societies that gradually expanded their activities and spread widely in the 19th century. By 1950 there were 60 social and more than 100 professional fraternities in the United States. Recently high school students have formed fraternities, but these organizations are not recognized by colleges and have been declared illegal by many states.

What is flame photometry?

   Flame photometry is a method of chemical analysis based on measurement of flame coloration. Many chemical elements cause characteristic flame colorations. By measuring the light emitted by such colored flames, the amounts of such elements present in substances can be determined. Although flame photometry is most frequently used to determine amounts of sodium and potassium, the technique can be applied to determine about 48 different elements. Flame photometry is of particular use in the analysis of body fluids and tissues. However, it can be applied to the analysis of many other substances.

The Romani people (gypsies)

    Fortunetellers' are often dressed as gypsies. Sometimes they are real gypsies. For telling fortunes is one of the chief ways in which gypsies, wherever they are, make a living.
   Gypsies are nomads. They wander about from place to place. No one knows much about their early story. About 600 years ago tribes of gypsies wandered into Europe from Asia. Perhaps in the beginning they came from India. They are dark-skinned and black-haired like the people of India. And their language makes scientists think that they came from India. But the early gypsies said that they came from Egypt. "Gypsies" is short for "Egyptians."
   In Europe the gypsies kept on wandering, moving northward in summer and southward in winter.    They traveled in wagons pulled by horses. At night they built big campfires and sang songs around them.
   The gypsies were soon famous for their horse trading and their for tune telling. Some of them were good smiths, too. Some earned money by mending pots and pans. And some were good musicians. Many composers have used gypsy tunes in their music.
   The lives of the gypsies seemed to be very happy and carefree. Many other people wished that they could live as easy a life. But the gypsies were not always well treated. They sometimes had to steal to get enough food. People began to be afraid of them. They were even driven out of some countries for a time.
   From Europe some of the gypsies wandered to the Americas and to Australia. In all their wanderings they have kept very much to themselves. They also cling to their own customs and their own language. Their language is called Romany.
   There are thousands of gypsies in the United States now. As they wander about they now usually use automobiles instead of horses and wagons. Many of them spend the winters in cities. With their gay clothes and bright jewelry they are easy to tell from other people.

The gyroscope toy

   A toy gyroscope spins like a top. In fact, this toy is often called a gyrotop. The chief parts of the gyrotop are a wheel which is weighted around the rim and a rod, or axle, that goes through the center of the wheel. In spinning a gyrotop, a string is first wrapped around the axle. Then the string is pulled suddenly as the end of the axle is rested on something solid. Once a gyrotop starts spinning it does not change its position until it runs down. Its axle keeps on pointing in the same direction. It can remain in amazing positions as it spins. The whirling of the heavy wheel keeps it from falling.
   Not all gyroscopes are toys. Some are used in boats as compasses. Some are used to keep boats and airplanes on a straight course. A gyroscope used in this way is called a gyropilot. One nickname for a gyropilot is "metal Mike." In fighting at sea during a war gyroscopes are used to guide torpedoes. On some ships enormous gyroscopes are used to help keep the ships on an even keel so that passengers will not be seasick.
   Only toy gyroscopes are set to spinning by the pulling of a string. As a rule other gyroscopes are set in motion and kept spinning with electricity.

The ginkgo tree

   In America the ginkgo is often called the maidenhair tree. Its leaves are fan-shaped. Although the ginkgo is a distant relative of the pines and firs, it is not an evergreen. Its leaves turn yellow and fall off in the autumn.
   The fruit of the ginkgo has an unpleasant smell. But the seed inside is good to eat.
   This tree has lived on the earth for a very long time. The ginkgo trees we have now are almost exactly like their ancestors of ten million years ago.
   Once the ginkgo had many close relatives. But they all disappeared. The ginkgo, too, would probably have disappeared if the Chinese and Japanese had not planted ginkgo trees in their temple gardens. They thought of these trees as sacred.
   Ginkgoes are found in many cities. They are well liked partly because they have few insect enemies.

The ginseng plant

   The plant we call ginseng grows wild in China and in the eastern part of the United States. It is also cultivated in the United States, China, and Japan.
   Ginseng has pretty red berries in the fall, but the plant is not raised for them. It is raised for its roots. They bring high prices in China. So far as anyone knows, the roots are of little real use. But for hundreds of years the Chinese have thought that the roots would cure many kinds of sickness. There are Chinese stories which tell how wild animals protect this wonderful plant. There are other Chinese stories which tell that the plant travels underground to escape its enemies.
   Probably the shape of the ginseng roots gave the Chinese the idea that they would be good medicine. "Ginseng" means "likeness of men." Wild roots bring higher prices than cultivated ones because they are more likely to be shaped like men. Cultivated roots look very much like parsnips.

Gourami fish

   Gourami is a fish belonging to the family Osphromenidae, celebrated for its fine flavor. Its original home is the rivers and streams of the East Indian Archipelago. The gourami, Osphromenus olfax, has an oblong, oval body of a greenish brown color, banded by dark, vertical stripes in the immature fish. Though generally about two feet in length, it sometimes attains a length of six feet. The average weight is 12 or 14 pounds. The gourami builds a nest of grass and roots attached to aquatic plants and is assiduous in the care of its young. It is omnivorous in diet and extremely tenacious of life. Attempts have been made to introduce this fish into France but they have not been very successful. It is a highly valued article of food in the East Indies.

Charles Gounod

   Charles Francois Gounod, 1818-93, French composer, was born in Paris. His father was a painter, his mother a pianist, and from her he received his first musical instruction. He entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1836 where his teachers were Halévy, Paer, and Lesueur, all operatic composers. He was awarded the Prix de Rome in 1839, as a result of which his interest in the music of the church developed, and the stage was set for the lifelong struggle in Gounod's soul between the sacred and the secular, the mystical and the worldly, a struggle apparent in much of his creative work. Returning to Paris via Austria and Germany, he became organist of the chapel of the "Missions Etrangeres," wrote considerable religious music, and even considered entering the priesthood. However, about 1850 he was commissioned to compose an opera, Sapho. Several others followed before he achieved a real success in 1859 with Faust, upon which his fame still chiefly rests. Herein is the struggle between the flesh and the spirit set forth with especial clarity. La reine de Saba, Mireille, Romeo et Juliette and others followed at intervals, during which time Gounod was also producing masses, oratorios, and other sacred music. Among these are Messe de Sainte Cecile, Messe du Sacre Coeur, The Redemption and Mars et vita. Though praised by Saint-Saens, this music, according to most critics, tends toward monotony and heaviness.
   Among the many honors bestowed upon him, Gounod was made a member of the Institute de France in 1866 and grand officer of the Legion of Honor in 1880. He continued to compose until his death at St. Cloud, though he was content in his later work to use methods he had used repeatedly before. His music is sweet and melodious, often for too extended a period without the relief of contrast and dramatic intensity.

What is liquefied gas?

   All gases may be changed into liquids by the combined effects of lowering their temperature and allowing them to expand from a sufficiently high pressure.
   Before air is liquefied it must first be freed from dust, moisture, and carbon dioxide which, at the low temperatures used, would solidify and thus obstruct the expansion valves. The remaining gas is compressed and allowed to expand in a series of three or four cycles, the pressure becoming successively greater. The cooling effect of the final expansion becomes great enough to lower the temperature to —191 °C., at which point the gas begins to change into a liquid. Liquid air thus made may be separated into oxygen and nitrogen by fractional distillation, nitrogen (bp — 195.8 °C.) boiling off first and leaving liquid oxygen (bp —182.9 °C.). Both oxygen and nitrogen are prepared commercially in this way. Liquid air may also be used to produce high vacua, to maintain very low temperatures and to dry and purify gases.
   Liquid air is considerably richer in oxygen content than is gaseous air. It is a nonconductor of electricity, supports the combustion of fuels immersed in it, and has a pale blue color. A coil of lead wire immersed in liquid air becomes elastic, due to the low temperature. Liquid oxygen is strongly magnetic. It is used with fuels to propel ROCKETS and rocket bombs.
   Hydrogen (bp -252.7 °C.) and helium (bp -269 °C.) are the gases most difficult to liquefy. The former yields the lightest known liquid, its specific gravity being only 0.07. Many gases are liquefied before being marketed because liquids are easier to handle and occupy less space than gases. Chlorine, ammonia, sulfur dioxide, and carbon dioxide are among the commercial gases sold in liquid form.
   Hydrocarbon gases from oil wells, as well as those produced in the cracking of petroleum, may be liquefied and sold in steel cylinders, for heating and lighting to residents who do not have access to natural or manufactured gas.
   Other liquefied hydrocarbon gases, such as ACETYLENE, are important industrial fuels. The vaporization of some liquefied gases, such as ammonia, sulfur dioxide, METHYL CHLORIDE, and FREON, produces the cooling effect used in many refrigerators.

What is Genetics?

   GENETICS is the biological science that deals with inheritance and variation among living organisms. In the reproduction of plants and animals it is obvious, even to the casual observer, that parents and offspring tend to resemble each other in many respects. For example, when a particular species of plant reproduces, it gives rise to other plants with the same general characteristics; the same holds true for the various species of animals. Even in human beings certain traits can be traced through families. This transmission of traits from one generation to another, and consequently the resemblance between closely related organisms, is called heredity.
   Although there may be many hereditary resemblances between individuals, no two individuals are ever exactly alike. All organisms, particularly higher animals, show some differences or variations. These may be due to the definite manner in which traits are distributed to the offspring, to environmental factors, such as temperature, light, moisture, food supply, etc., or to many other causes. Genetics, then, is that branch of the biological sciences that is concerned with the mechanisms of heredity and variation and with the relationship between the two phenomena.