3. Leonardo da Vinci was born on
April 15, 1452 and died on May
2, 1519. He was Italian.
Different to a typical surname
you might think of today, "da
Vinci" simply means "of
Vinci", the Tuscan town where
he was born.
He lived during the
Renaissance, a cultural
movement that led to
important developments in
areas such as art and science.
4. Leonardo d Vinci is perhaps
best known as a painter, with
his legendary works including
the Mona Lisa, the Vitruvian
Man and the Last Supper,
among others.
Leonardo da Vinci wasn't just
an incredible artist, he was an
inventor, scientist,
mathematician, engineer,
writer, musician and much
more. Talk about talented!
5. Leonardo was the first
man to even consider some
things that we take for
granted today. His
conceptual drawings
included plans for musical
instruments, war machines,
calculators, boats and
other ideas. Many of these
plans were limited by the
level of technology at the
time.
Da Vinci’s Helicopter
designs, approximately 500 years
before the first helicopter was built
6. Da Vinci’s tank
designs, approximately 400
years before the first modern
tank was built
Da Vinci’s tank designs, were so
detailed, engineers were able
to create a small working
version of his tank here
7. Da Vinci’s design for a catapult
Da Vinci’s design for a glider
Da Vinci’s designed
the first parachute
too. Modern
parachutists have
proven that it was a
good design!
8. Da Vinci was a very interesting
man with lots of interesting
quirks and habits – he wrote in
the opposite direction to what
is normal, meaning you’d need a
mirror to read it properly.
So the next time somebody
says that Da Vinci was a
painter, make sure to remind
them that he was an amazing
inventor too!
9. Space Facts
• Footprints and tyre tracks left behind
by astronauts on the moon will stay
there forever as there is no wind to
blow them away.
• Jupiter's 4 biggest moons are named
Europa, Ganymede, Callisto and Io.
• Halley’s Comet was last seen in the
inner Solar System in 1986, it will be
visible again from Earth sometime in
2061 (get your camera ready).
• Because of lower gravity, a person
who weighs 100kg on earth would only
weigh 38kg on the surface of Mars.
• Saturn isn't the only ringed
planet, other gas giants such as
Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune also
have rings, they are just less
obvious.
11. Explanation – The Deepsea Challenger
Say hello to the ‘Deepsea Challenger’!
On March 26th 2012, James Cameron (the man who
directed Titanic) navigated this submarine down to
the bottom of the Marianas Trench, the deepest
place on Earth hidden under a huge volume of water.
This had not been done since 1960.
It took Cameron over 70 minutes to travel the 7
miles down to the bottom of Earth to take videos
and to collect scientific data of the plant and animal
life that live in this deep and dark place.
13. Explanation – The Urine Powered Phone
The newest source of battery power for your mobile phone
is both cheap and abundant. Scientists at the University of
the West of England in Bristol report that bacterial fuel
cells made using human urine can charge a mobile phone
battery through a normal USB cable and socket. The
researchers first demonstrated in 2011 that urine is a
viable way to create enough electricity to charge small
electrical items just like coal or turf does in large
electrical stations: As it cascades through a series of fuel
cells, hungry bacteria consume it and release
electrons, which generate an electrical current.
However, the devices are not quite portable enough yet….
It may be some time before we can use this eco friendly
technology in our everyday life but the results so far are
promising.
