Which country was the first to officially use a national anthem ??

In earlier times,  countries did not have national anthem as we have today.

There was no single song officially chosen to represent the nation as a whole.

With the raise of  nationalism in 18th century, countries started using songs that reflects the feeling, hope and struggles of ordinary people.

FRANCE   is the first country to officially adopt a national anthem.

The anthem was written during French revolution when French people were fighting against monarchy and foreign threats.

In 1795, France officially recognized this song as national anthem.

Rare and fun facts about lizards

  1.  Lizards are the largest group in reptile family.

2.  Lizards can detach their tails as a defence mechanism to escape predators.

3.  Lizards inhibit every continent except Antarctica.

4.  Some desert dwelling lizards might go their entire life without drinking water  !!!

5.  Komodo dragon is the notable venomous lizard.

6.   Chameleon from lizard family can change their colour.

7.   Lizards lack eyelids.

8. Some lizards can run on water .

Windiest places in the world

 Wind is invisible yet its strength is unmistakable be it a gentle breeze or tropical storm.

Around the world, powerful winds remind us that powerful nature is the dominant force.

These are the places with strongest winds -----

1. Baku , Azerbaijan 

2. Barrow island , Australia 

3. Cape Blanco , Oregon 

4. Cape Dennison , Commonwealth Bay , Antarctica 

5. The Cairngorm , Scotland 

6. Kirkwood Mountain , California 

7. Mount Everest 

8. Mount Washington , New Hampshire 

9. Patagonia , Argentina 

10. Wellington , New Zealand 

Why homemade frys are not crispy as restaurant ones ??

 Reason is  "  Restaurants almost always fry their potatoes twice at two entirely different temperatures   " !!!

To prepare FRENCH FRYS, we use raw potatoes.

Then,

 WATER , STARCH  AND HEAT CONTROL 

1.  Water is the enemy of crispiness 

                     Potatoes are 80% water. In restaurants,  they cut potatoes    soak then blanch them.

                     That removes surface starch and drives out moisture before frying. If we skip this, water streams inside the oil and we end up in soggy frys  !!!

2.  Starch management 

                      Restaurants often do DOUBLE FRY.

                      First fry at low temperature, cooks the inside of potato.  

                     After cooling, the second fry at high temperature, dehydrates the surface fast and makes it shatter crisp.

3.  Equipment and oil

                      In restaurants, they use deep fryers with massive oil volume and precise temperature control.

                      In home, it is difficult to maintain precise temperature and we END UP WITH SOGGY FRYS   !!!!

Why is Venus hotter than Mercury ??

  Planet Mercury is closest to Sun than planet Venus.

But, Venus is hotter than Mercury  !!!

This is because of 3 reasons   ----

1.  Venus has a super thick atmosphere 

                   Venus is wrapped in a very thick atmosphere.  Its 96% CO2 !!!

CO2 traps heat. Sunlight gets in but can't escape back out.

                   Mercury barely has an atmosphere. Heat just radiates back into space.

2.  Mercury swimgs widely, Venus doesn't 

                      Mercury has no air to spread the heat around.

                     Venus thick CO2 spreads heat everywhere. No cold nights.  Day and night both are hot.

3.  Venus has bright clouds that bounce 70% of sunlight away. So Venus gets less direct sunlight than Mercury !!!

But the heat which gets in, get trapped by CO2 and never leaves making Venus hottest planet in solar system.