Who invented rockets and when was the first time rockets were used in warfare?

How would you explain the “rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,” written during the War of 1812?

Now go back even further, to A.D. 1232. That year signaled the oldest known reference to using rockets in battle. At the time, the Chinese were fighting against Mongol invaders.

The written record shows that the Chinese, experts at gunpowder, repelled the Mongols with a torrent of “arrows of flying fire.” This arrow was a simple solid-propellant rocket—a tube of gunpowder attached to a long, pointed stick.

When launched, they headed more or less in the direction they were pointed. The rockets weren’t particularly accurate, but they were cheap to make, and could be launched in large quantities over a long distance.

The actual physical effects were bad enough, but equally powerful were the psychological effects of hissing, flaming arrows flying into the Mongol ranks.

The Mongol armies fled in panic.

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What causes the sound a whip makes when it is cracked?

The sound a whip makes is the tip of the whip being propelled at over 700 miles per hour.

When flicked just right, the end breaks the sound barrier, creating a small sonic boom.

The sonic boom is what you hear when it’s “cracked.”

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Which ancient culture invented time and when?

No one invented time; it was likely discovered, even if subconsciously, by every culture.

At some point early on, humans were aware of time passing and began keeping track of it. Although we don’t know who was the first, archaeologists are discovering more and more ancient civilizations that devised their own unique ways of marking time.

Stonehenge is an example. The earliest clock—a shadow clock similar to a sundial—can be dated all the way back to 3500 B.C., and the hourglass came into being not long after. Over time, humans invented the mechanical clock, then the pendulum clock.

Today we use a twenty-four-hour clock and have the world divided into time zones. The zones start at zero at the original site of the Greenwich Observatory in Greenwich, England.

We go by what is called the Scientific Standard of Time, based on the second, which is defined by scientists as “the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of radiation,” and in other circles as “one Mississippi.”

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How do self-winding watches work by winding themselves?

Self-winding watches wind themselves by using a little pendulum that swings when you move your arm.

A few hours of natural arm movement will wind a self-winding watch enough that it can go for thirty-six hours without further winding.

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How do the bubbles in champagne make you drunk faster?

Yes, there is a type of wine that will make you tipsy faster than other wine. It’s champagne.

The little bubbles in champagne are carbon dioxide, which moves into your bloodstream faster.

But there could be a more contextual reason why it gets you intoxicated more quickly than regular wine.

It’s usually consumed during momentous and celebratory occasions, allowing the giddiness of the event to add to the intoxication of the alcohol.

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How do we measure how many calories there are in food?

To measure how many calories there are in food, we use a hot little device called a bomb calorimeter.

It burns foods and measures the difference between how much energy went in versus how much energy comes out.

Here’s where it gets confusing if you ever talk to a physicist about your weight loss program: What we call a “calorie” is actually equal to a thousand scientific calories, or a kilocalorie.

So to a scientist, a doughnut doesn’t actually have 235 calories, but 235 kilocalories (235,000 calories). You’d better start jogging.

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How do popcorn kernels pop and what type of corn kernel is it?

Not all corn kernels are equal. In order to pop, the kernel needs a water content of about 13.5 percent.

Each popcorn kernel consists of soft, moist starch inside a hard outer shell. When heat is applied, the moisture expands and the starch is cooked.

Eventually, the pressure gets so high that it bursts the outer shell with a loud pop!

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How many calories can I burn while watching TV?

No matter how much high-impact channel surfing you might do with the remote control, you burn only 1 to 2 calories per minute when you watch TV.

What you should do instead is get off your bum and get outside. Do something. Anything.

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What is the T.W.I.N.K.I.E.S. Project?

T.W.I.N.K.I.E.S. stands for Tests with Inorganic Noxious Kakes in Extreme Situations, and was conducted by students at Rice University during finals week in 1995.

These tests were conducted on Twinkies, with a special emphasis on experiments using the force of gravity, radiation, flame, and heat, etc.

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How long do you have to leave a tooth in Coke for it to completely dissolve?

You have to leave a tooth in Coke for mighty long time for it to completely dissolve.

Despite the facts, this long-running myth just keeps going and going.

A tooth won’t dissolve in Coke or carbonated soda of any kind. However, if you eat lots of candy and drink lots of pop, and you don’t brush your teeth, bacteria can and will eat away at your teeth, leaving cavities that can cause your teeth to fall out.

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