Quickreads World

  We all must have witnessed this in the picture, birds sitting on a power cable. Of course, electricity flows through them. But nothing happens to the birds. They seem to be so relaxed sitting there. Do you know why birds don’t get electrocuted? Read on to find out. The flow of electrons through a conductor is defined as electricity. The power cables are made of copper, as it is a very good conductor of electricity and also has least resistance. Electricity always takes the path of least resistance. Bird’s body offers greater resistance therefore, electricity ignores the bird’s body. Thus, birds don’t get electrocuted while sitting on a power cable. But there is also a chance of the bird getting electrocuted. Electricity flows from highest potential to lowest potential.  The power cables run at different potentials. If both legs of the bird are on the same power cable, the bird is safe. But if the bird’s legs are on two different power cables, then the electricity flows through bird t

Yes, you read the title right. Do you know why whale vomit is so valuable? Read on to find out. Some research suggests that when sperm whales eat animals like squids, most of their parts are digested except their sharp beaks. These sharp beaks cause irritation in the whale’s digestive tract. Their digestive system produces a waxy substance known as ambergris , which covers the sharp beaks, thus enabling it to pass through the tract easily. Some believe that whales vomit these out, while some believe that it comes out from the other end. This expelled ambergris, reacts with air, salty water etc. and over time hardens to form a waxy rock. Ok, what makes this waxy rock worth thousands of dollars? This waxy rock or ambergris is used by perfume companies to use it in the production of perfumes, as it helps perfumes last longer. One pound of ambergris can cost up to $10,000!!! Yes, the perfumes we use every day contains whale vomit. I write articles, mostly short ones, perfect for quick read

  A science fiction concept has now become a science-based reality. Yes, augmented reality is already here, and, in a few years, it is going to be even more popular than it is today. In case you don’t know about augmented reality(AR in short), it is a way by which the real world is viewed with elements enhanced by computer generated input. For instance, if you are planning to buy a new sofa for your living room and don’t know what color of the sofa matches with the walls, you can use AR to choose the right color(pointing the device camera at the place where the sofa is to be placed and then choosing different colours), instead of having it delivered to your home and you return it in case you feel the color doesn’t go with the walls. Waste of time and effort, right. AR proved helpful here. So, what’s the future of AR? The AR industry is expected rise above $25B by 2025, gaming industry predicted to dominate. Other industries such as healthcare and engineering also have roles to play. Re

  Ok, you are sitting, minding your own business and all of a sudden you hear loud sound. BANGGGG!!! How will you respond? You will turn to see what it is. Not only that, you will also blink your eyes. Ever realized that? Do you know why do you blink your eyes? Read on to find out. This blinking is actually a protective mechanism, scientifically termed as the acoustic startle reflex eye blink . In the past, people were very vulnerable to attacks, and loud sounds meant that they were being either attacked or about to be injured by objects. Eyes are to be protected first, as they are very sensitive. So, in response to loud sounds, a cluster of giant neurons called caudal pontine reticular nucleus gets instantly activated, which activates the motor neurons in the brain. These motor neurons inform the facial nerves and muscles to close the eyes, thus preventing it from any kind of harm. In short, it is a natural reflex developed over the years by humans to keep the eyes safe. I write arti

  Ever seen people talking in sleep? Or have people told you that you have been do so in your sleep? Pretty awkward right? Who knows what we might  blabber when we sleep? Do you know why that happens? Read on to find out. This condition is called somniloquy. It is defined as talking during sleep without being consciously aware of it. They are 4 stages of sleep: • Drowsy sleep • Light sleep • Deep sleep • Active brain The first 3 are categorized under NON-REM sleep and the last one is REM sleep. We dream in REM sleep and according to experts, sleep talk occurs in this stage. To prevent us from acting out our dreams, 2 neurotransmitters called Glycine and GABA are released by our body, which paralyses our muscles, thus preventing us from acting out our dreams. Very rarely, the neurotransmitters fail to act upon the muscles of the vocal cords and mouth(called the motor breakthrough), leading to voicing out our dreams. Yes, this is why sleep talk occurs. I just hope I don’t sleep t

The first thing that comes to our mind is that there will be darkness all around. Just darkness? Nope. • No sun means no moon, as moon does not produce light of its own. • The planets stay in their orbit due to sun’s massive mass and gravitational power. So yes, all the planets would go off, flying in the space. Creating complete chaos in the solar system. • Darkness would cover the earth only after 8 minutes, as it takes that amount of time for light to reach earth.(not complete darkness as the stars would continue to shine). • Plants would die as photosynthesis won’t occur. • Temperature would go below -74 degrees Celsius, impossible to survive on earth. • Ocean surface would freeze, exception being the water in the inside, which remains liquid due to the heat from the geothermal vents on the ocean floor. • Only animals near the core would survive, as they don’t need the sun for energy. Instead they depend on the heat from the geothermal vents. I write articles, mostly

Earth spins around its axis everyday, which is responsible for sunrise and sunsets. So, what will happen if the earth stopped spinning? Read on to find out. Even if the earth stopped spinning, the atmosphere around would be still in motion, which means everything on the earth surface would be swept into the atmosphere(huge DESTRUCTION). Next, centrifugal force(force due to the circular motion of an object) is generated due to spinning of the earth and is responsible for the huge bulge of water around the equator. No spinning, no centrifugal force and as a result, all the water will rush towards the poles, where the gravity is the strongest. Then, the earth would have one giant supercontinent around the equator and act as a separation between two massive seas on the north and the south. Even if the earth stopped spinning, earth will be still revolving around the sun, so we will have 6 MONTHS long day and night. Wake up in the morning, wait for 6 MONTHS for night!!! Earth spins generates

Moon is such a beautiful thing, isn’t it? There is a single moon on earth , we all know that, 79 moons on Jupiter, 2 on mars and none on mercury. So, what if earth had 2 moons? Read on to find out. Well, that won’t be great. Moons help in generating tides(yea the sea tides). So, in the case of 2 moons, the tides will amplify(the moons being close to each other), thus eroding shorelines and flooding many parts of the world. And in the case the moons being far away from each other, there will no tides(as the moons cancel out each other). Not only about the tides, the combined pull of the earth and the first moon would have an effect on the second moon. The second moon would be caught between the gravitational pull from both the ends, which would trigger volcanic activity on the second moon. Also, the existence of the second moon would slow down earth’s rotation, so a single day may be longer than 28 hours. Sounds good about having extra time in our busy lives? But this is actually where

The name is Loch Ness, the name of the lake. It is in the north of Scotland and is the biggest lake in Britain. Not many people visited the lake, as it was always cold and dark, until a road was made around the lake. People began to use the road, and this is when the talks about the MONSTER started. It all began when someone said that they actually saw a 12 metres long monster in the lake. Then others joined in too. In 1963, a London doctor took  a photograph of the monster which was not clear. The newspapers printed the picture and called the monster ‘Nessie’. Later in 1961, underwater cameras and even a submarine was used so that they could confirm the existence of the monster. They failed to do so, but did find something else, a huge underwater cave, which was big enough to be home of the monster. In 1975, a search team consisting of some American scientists used underwater cameras which took pictures every 70 seconds. Some of the pictures showed a red-brown creature , 4 metres long

Yes, this article is about walking. We walk a lot every day, we see a lot of people walking, don’t we? So, have you ever noticed or pondered that why people swing their arms forwards and backwards while walking? Or do people keep their arms straight while they walk?( Just imagine that way, mmm it doesn’t seem right) According to the scientific researches, it has been found that when the arms swing that way while walking, people use 12 per cent less metabolic energy than not moving the arms at all. It is found that swinging arms provide balance our body’s rotational motion. Also, while we walk, the pelvis(part of the skeleton that includes the hip bones and the other lower bones of the backbone) rotates sideways and this movement of our arms helps counterbalance this rotation, thus enabling us to walk straight.  So yes, swinging arms helps in energy conservation and provides balance. I write articles, mostly short ones, perfect for quick reads. If you like this article, please consider

Keyboard has become a very important part of our lives these days, isn’t it? We use keyboard everyday constantly. I don’t know how many have really pondered over why the letters are not arranged in the alphabetical order. Want to know why? Read on to find out. So, let’s go back to the typewriters. In them, the letters were arranged in the alphabetical order. People who used it, typed sooo fast that the keys often got tangled up because the letters that often come together in words were closely placed. To solve this, a gentleman named Christopher Sholes suggested that the letter pairs used often together should be placed in different rows. He worked for 5  YEARS to find this solution. And today we know it as the QWERTY layout. Later, Sholes business associate sold this QWERTY layout to a typewriter manufacturer, who made certain adjustments , creating an arrangement leading to the modern QWERTY layout. Yea, this is why keyboard is not arranged in the alphabetical order. I write articles

We all know the importance of oxygen, don’t we? Ok, what might happen if the earth ran out of oxygen for 5 seconds. Thinking nothing much would happen? Yes, most of us can hold our breath up to 30 seconds, so 5 seconds without oxygen on earth would not do any harm, you might think. NO. Read on to find out. Our atmosphere is roughly 21 per cent oxygen. Coming to the point, what would happen without oxygen for 5 seconds?   • All the concrete buildings around the world would collapse as oxygen acts as a special binding agent for concrete. Without oxygen, concrete is just dust. • If at this moment, people out exposed to the sun will experience severe sun burns as the ozone layer(which protects us from the harmful UV rays of the sun) would vanish, as the ozone layer is made up of oxygen. • Our inner ear would explode, as without oxygen, 21 per cent of air pressure would be lost and our ears won’t be able to handle such a drastic drop in air pressure. • Vehicles on the road(those tha

  This is about certain good manners from different countries around the world. If people follow them, they will be considered polite, kind and well-behaved. China People in China slurp while having their meals. Slurping is considered as a compliment for the cook . Poland Children in Poland are expected to load their plates with food and are also expected to accept second helpings at parties. Japan Children in Japan are expected to leave their shoes at the door and put slippers when they enter the home Brazil Children in Brazil are asked to avoid eating food their hand, unless the food is covered in a napkin, even pizza. India In India, Hindus touch the feet of their elders to get blessings. Egypt People are expected not to put salt on food, as it is considered as an insult because the person who cooked the meal cooked it to taste in a certain way. By adding salt, it is as if people did not like the way the food is cooked. Bonus In France, children receive training in how to eat a four

It is known as the Ryugyong hotel, 105-story,2 and a half times more than the height of the Great Pyramid of Giza. Located in the heart of city, this hotel was supposed to bring in huge amounts of profit. But the hotel is empty for 33 years! Why? Read on to find out. Construction begin in 1987 and was expected to finish by 1989. Unfortunately, due to some engineering problems, the construction was stopped. The construction resumed in 1992 and was again stopped due to financial problems. It was stopped in such a hurry that they left a crane at the top. And the crane was there for 2 DECADES. Later in 2008, an Egyptian firm came forward to fund the construction, with an agreement to install phone towers at the top. By 2011, the exterior work was completed. It was expected to open in 2013 but was pulled out a few months later. The reason was that the interior was built in the 1980s style and it was quite difficult to set up the necessary services and ventilation systems in the modern style

 You might have heard people saying that sweating is good for the body, as it helps removing the harmful toxins from the body. But did you know that sweating leads to hair loss? Yes, sweating at the scalp may lead to the loss of hair, as the lactic acid in the sweat affects keratin, which plays an important role for the growth of hair. Also, the sweat mixes with the bacteria on the scalp leads to infections. We cannot prevent ourselves from sweating. So, what can be done? • Wash the hair more often, especially during the summers. • Brush the hair regularly. • Massage the scalp with oil. • Do not tie up the hair too tight. • Let steam on hair as it helps in opening up of pores and removes the dirt from the scalp. So, yes, sweating leads to hair loss. Take care. I write articles, mostly short ones, perfect for quick reads. If you like this article, please consider sharing it. Thank you.

To start, picture a plane in your mind. Did you think of a plane that is white in color? (I had a white one in my mind while writing this). So, have you ever wondered why planes are white in color? Read on to find out. First thing, planes fly at great heights(we all know that). White color has the property of reflecting sunlight most effectively. As a result, the amount of heat from the sun on the body of the plane will be reduced and does not let the plane heat up easily. Also, defects, cracks and other damages to the plane are easily identifiable on a white surface. White planes are cheap as well, as white is the color soon after production(painting the whole plane in a different color is quite expensive, right?) So, white planes.(mostly) I write articles, mostly short ones, perfect for quick reads. If you like this article, please consider sharing it. Thank you.

We know twins are similar in many ways, be it their interests or physical characteristics. But this twin proved similar in a most bizarre and unique way. Read on to find out. Identical twins, Mansi and Manya, born 9 minutes apart, from India, were waiting for their Central Board for Secondary Education(CBSE) grade 12(2020) results and guess what, they scored 95.8 per cent each, and also managed to score the exact same marks for all the subjects. YES, you read it right, the exact same marks for all the subject, not one less or more. They have scored 98 in English and Computer Science and 95 each in Physics, Chemistry and Physical Education. Another level twins goals, isn’t it? I write articles, mostly short ones, perfect for quick reads. If you like this article, please consider sharing it. Thank you.