Friday Fun Fact Feb 26

 

Jelly Beans!!

image from AtraFloor

Jelly beans are small sugar candies in the shape of a bean.  The inside has a thick gel and the outside has a soft candy shell.  Cherry, orange, lemon, and lime are some of the most common flavors of jelly beans.

It is believed that jelly beans first appeared in 1861 in the United States.  Boston candy maker William Schrafft made the jelly bean and encouraged customers to send the candy to soldiers fighting in the Civil War. 

In the 1930's, jelly beans became a popular candy to find in plastic Easter eggs.

If you would like to see how jelly beans are made, you can click on this Wonderopolis link:

Wonderopolis - How Jelly Beans are Made

According to The Candy Store, the jelly bean flavor that is most popular in Missouri is buttered popcorn.

image from Two Sisters Crafting

Two Sisters Crafting came up with a cute idea for jelly beans - jelly bean necklaces!  You need jelly beans, a sewing needle, and thread. (They suggested using stretchy thread that can be found in the jewelry and beading section of a craft store.)

Here is a link to the directions:  Jelly Bean Necklaces

Have a great weekend!

Monday Fun Fact Feb 22

 

How are Crayons Made?

image from Bags in Bulk

image from Thrive Global

Crayola produced its first box of Crayola crayons in the year 1903.  The box sold for a nickel, and it included 8 crayons:  red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, brown and black.

Crayola says that the crayon color blue is its most popular color.

Crayola also has a name for the little crayon stubs that are too small to use anymore:  Leftolas.

The Crayola company decided to celebrate their 100 anniversary by asking everyone to send in their blue "Leftolas" crayon stubs.  They then created the biggest crayon ever:  Big Blue.  Big Blue weighs 1500 pounds and is 15 feet long!

image from Getty Images

Have you ever wondered how crayons are made?  Here are two videos to demonstrate:

How Crayons are Made

Mr Roger's Crayons

Finally, how about a crayon joke?

Did you know that Crayola now has imaginary colors?

They are pigments of your imagination!  LOL!

See you on Friday!!

Friday Fun Fact Feb 19

 

Stop Motion Animation

image from FunTech

Stop motion animation is a way of making still objects look like they are moving. Stop motion animation requires a camera that can take still photos.  The animator photographs the object, moves it a tiny bit, and then photographs it again. When the photos are run together, the still object seems to move by itself.

This process is very similar to the concept of flipbooks.  In a flipbook, the artist uses pieces of paper to draw an object over and over.  On each paper underneath the top sheet, the artist moves the object more and more.  Here is a video of flipbooks:

Flipbook examples 

How to make a flipbook

In 1898 the first stop motion animated film was created.  It was The Humpty Dumpty Circus, and it featured a toy circus set.

                                     image from Public Domain

The picture at the top of the page is a scene from Wallace and Gromit.  You can see the artist's hand setting up the characters for the next photo.  According to Kids Encyclopedia Facts,  Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park "made the decision to create the dog, Gromit, without a mouth when he realized he couldn't reach past the character's eyebrows to adjust the face.  Instead, Park felt even a small eyebrow movement would give the loveable dog a range of expressions."

Here is a clip from Wallace & Gromit:

Wallace & Gromit on the Moon

Here is another fun stop motion short video:

 

Lego Cake

Have a great weekend!  See you on Monday!

Monday Fun Fact Feb 15

Matchbox Cars

image from National Toy Hall of Fame

image from AACA Museum

Matchbox cars were first introduced in 1953.  These die-cast toys were given the name Matchbox because they were sold in boxes that were of similar size to the boxes in which matches were sold.

Matchbox vehicles were made to look exactly like the "real-life" vehicle.  Great effort was put into painting and adding details to the die-cast toy.  Die-casting is a method of forcing melted metal into a mold. When the metal has cooled, the mold is opened and the metal has hardened and taken the shape of the mold.

   The British die-casting company Lesney Products created a small model of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation coach which sold over a million models.

After this success, the company created a toy version of the Lesney green and red road roller.  This toy could fit inside the a matchbox, which is the only way children at the schools could bring toys.

A dump truck and a cement mixer were also created, and the start of Matchbox cars was begun.

Stay warm!  See you on Friday!

Friday Fun Fact Feb 12

 

        How Are Jawbreakers Made?

image from Candy Warehouse

                                    Have you ever tried one of these?

Jawbreakers are hard candy shaped like spheres.  They are made in a variety of sizes, but all of them are made from sugar, water, corn syrup and food coloring. 

It takes several days to make jawbreakers.  They start out with a gum or sugar center ball and placed in a large round pan that turns.  Layers of sugar are poured on and given time to dry before another layer is added - this creates the layers that you see in the photo above.

It is suggested that you break a jawbreaker up into smaller bites to eat.  You can also lick and lick and lick it until it fits comfortably in your mouth.

You can click on this link to watch jawbreakers being made:

https://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/how-jawbreakers-gobstoppers-are-made

By the way...What does tutti frutti flavor taste like?  According to Hawaiianshavedice.com, it tastes like  "a whirlwind of fantastical fruit flavors!"

         Have a great weekend!       

Monday Fun Fact Feb 8

 

Jack Frost

- image from Popsugar                                                                                                                                 -  image from Unsplash

 Have you seen Jack Frost?

If your windows have a delicate and feathery pattern of ice, or if you see branches and other outdoor objects covered in beautiful ice crystals, you have!

I remember as a child being told that Jack Frost is a playful winter elf who skips around during winter "painting" windows with lovely icy designs.  He is also mentioned in the song The Christmas Song:  

"Chestnuts roasting on an open fire,

Jack Frost nipping at your nose."

According to Farmers Almanac, this ice magic occurs when the temperature on surfaces such as windows, trees, cars and grass blades drops below freezing.  This causes water vapor on these surfaces to freeze.  This happens on cold nights when the night sky has no clouds to hold in the warmth.

Jack Frost may be visiting soon!

Friday Fun Fact Feb 5

 

The Dodo Bird

image from Britannica

 

Mason in Mr O'Connell's class reported that the Dodo bird, pictured above, went extinct in the 1600s.  The Dodo was a bird that did not fly and lived on the island of Mauritius only.  This island is located off the southeast corner of Africa.

The Dodo grazed on fruits and nuts and had no natural predators on the island.  Scientists believe that the Dodo was an intelligent bird.  

In 1507 Portugese sailors landed on the island, and the dogs that they brought with them began to prey on the dodo birds.  Cats, pigs, and monkeys arrived on later ships and also began to find dodo birds to be good food.  Humans began to cut down the trees that the dodo bird needed for fruit and grain.

By the late 1600's, the last surviving dodo bird was gone.  Scientists warned that more animals could disappear if humans did not take care, and so thanks to the dodo bird, we now try to protect animals in danger of going extinct.

Here's to protecting our wonderful world!

See you on Monday :)