What is a steppe? A steppe is a dry, grassy plain that is found in a temperate climate. It is one of the many biomes on Earth. The word “steppe” comes from the Russian word “step” (степь), which means low lying land. It came into English through German. In Russian, it us pronounced stjepj, and […]
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Why is Jakarta sinking? Jakarta is sinking by as much as 30 cm a year in some places, and the cause is overextraction of groundwater. Jakarta is the capital city of Indonesia, and home to 11.3 million people, which is roughly 4% of all Indonesians. It is on the northwest coast of Java and is
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Why is the moon covered in dust? The fine layer of dust that the moon is covered with is called lunar regolith and it has been made by meteoroids and the solar wind. If you look at videos of the moon landings, the astronauts jump around, and every time they impact the surface of the
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Who is the richest person ever? This is an incredibly difficult question because society and economics were vastly different in the past. Still, Mansa Musa is often said to be the richest person who ever lived. The richest person today is Elon Musk, although his wealth fluctuates wildly. At its peak, he was worth $425
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How many layers does the Earth have? At its simplest, the Earth has four layers. These are the crust, the mantle, the outer core, and the inner core. However, these layers can be divided up into smaller layers as well, depending on how you define a layer. The crust is the rocky outer layer that
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Why do bees buzz? Bees buzz because of the speed with which they beat their wings. All insects with wings make a sound, but some of them are too high pitched for us to be able to hear it. Sound is made by something vibrating and passing that vibration on to the molecules near to
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Can alcohol keep you warm? No, alcohol can’t keep you warm. It might make you feel warm for a short period of time, but it will actually make you lose heat in the long term. There is often a scene in a movie where someone comes in from the cold and has a quick shot
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What causes gout? Gout is caused by a buildup of uric acid crystals in joints, which leads to a form of inflammatory arthritis. You have probably heard of gout. King Henry VIII was, amongst other things, famous for suffering from gout. It was often an illness associated with rich and powerful people because the majority
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How does deodorant work? There are three ways that deodorants work. They can cover the smell of sweat with a scent, they can kill the bacteria that make the smell, or they can reduce the amount that a person sweats. When the summer comes around, we all sweat. Some people sweat more than others, and
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What causes an avalanche or landslide? The causes of avalanches and landslides do have some similarities, but landslides involve the movement of rock, earth, and debris, while avalanches involve snow and ice. An avalanche starts when an unstable mass of snow and ice breaks loose and slides down the slope. The avalanche picks up speed
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