What is Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy? It is a psychological illness where a parent or caregiver pretends their child is sick in order to get attention and sympathy. Munchausen Syndrome by proxy is technically known as Fabricated or Induced Illness (FII) in the UK or Factitious Disorder Imposed on Another (FDIA) in the USA. It […]
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Why does bread need yeast? Bread doesn’t have to have yeast and there are many breads made without it. However, if you want the bread to rise, then it needs yeast. Yeast is a single-celled organism called Saccharomyces cerevisiae. It is a fungus, which means they make their energy by decomposing other things. There are
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How does an ion thruster work? It creates thrust by accelerating ions using electricity. An ion is a charged atom or molecule. Atoms always have an equal number of electrons and protons. Electrons have a negative charge and protons have a positive charge. Because there is an equal number of each, the charges balance themselves
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Why do we say eleven and twelve, and first, second and third? Why do we say eleven and twelve? All languages have words for the numbers one to ten. However, a large number of languages then go on to count the numbers after ten by saying number plus ten. So, for example, in Chinese twelve
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When did people start eating chickens? People have eaten chickens for thousands of years, but it only became cheap after World War 2. Chickens were domesticated between 10,000 and 7,000 years ago in southeast Asia. The wild chicken that people domesticated was the Southeast Asian Red Junglefowl. They were probably domesticated because of the eggs
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How does a breathalyzer work? The alcohol in a person’s breath reacts with a solution, creating an electrical current. The breathalyzer relies on the fact that when you drink alcohol, some of it gets into your lungs and you breathe it out. That’s why, when you take a late bus home on a Friday night,
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Why can a peregrine falcon fly so fast? Because of their wings, their feathers, their breastbone, their heart, their lungs, and a few other things. Peregrine falcons are one of 40 species of falcon. They are about the same size as a crow and they are birds of prey. They eat medium sized birds, such
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Why do cameras have mirrors? To flip the image so that we can see it the right way up through the viewfinder. There are two types of cameras: ones with mirrors and ones without. The cameras without mirrors are digital and they don’t need to physically rotate the image because they don’t have a viewfinder.
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How can an eagle see so far? Eagles can see about eight times farther than humans because the cones in their eyes are very small and tightly grouped together. There are 68 different species of eagle spread across the world. They are birds of prey that hunt by swooping down on their prey from high
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Why is lead poisonous? It settles in cells and interferes with many different enzymes, preventing the cells from working properly. Lead is a heavy metal that is very dense. It is also fairly soft. These days, a lot is known about lead poisoning, so lead is treated very carefully in factories and in devices that
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