Saturday, December 29, 2007

Bird that lives the longest.....

The British record is 68 years in the case of a female European eagle-owl which was still alive in 1899. Other records regarded as probably reliable include 73 years (1818-1891) for a Greater Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo, 72 years (1797-1869) for an African Grey Parrot, 70 years (1770-1840) for a Mute Swan and 69 years for a raven. In 1972, a southern Ostrich aged 62 years and 3 months was killed in the Ostrich Abattoir at Oudtshoorn, Cape Province, South Africa. Jimmy, a red and green Amazon Parrot owned by Bella Ludford of Liverpool, England was allegedly hatched in captivity on December 3, 1870 and lived for 104 years in his original brass cage, dying on January 5, 1975. On October 28, 1982 the death of London Zoo’s famous Greater Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo — Cocky — was reported, after spending 57 years in the parrot house. He was already a mature bird when he was acquired by R Stevens at the turn of the century, and was probably at least 40 years of age when he was presented to the zoo in 1925.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Denuclearisation...

Denuclearisation means states disposing of nuclear weaponry or power in their possession. It includes removal, banning, or eliminating nuclear weapons or nuclear power sources from a place, industry, or organisation.

Saturday, December 15, 2007

World’s first post office...

Although the origins of the postal system date back to antiquity, the British Postal Museum claims the oldest functioning post office in the world is on High Street in Sanquhar, Scotland. According to the museum, this post office has functioned continuously since 1712 AD. Sanquhar is a quiet, insignificant town, but in its heyday, its residents included many influential aristocrats, who must have played a significant role in having the first post office located there. Those days, horses and stage coaches would carry mail.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Invention of the clock....


The earliest way of telling the time was by looking at the progress of the shadow cast by a twig stuck upright in the ground. Round about 1300 BC, this was developed by the inhabitants of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia into the sundial. The sundial served for a thousand years until the invention of the clepsydra, or water clock. This was the first clock with moving parts. The mechanical clock was not invented until the 13th century and it was driven by weights. The spring-driven clock was invented sometime around 1450 AD.

 
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