My Science School

The literal translation of rhinoceros is ‘nose-horned’. It comes from the Greek word 'rhinokeros' from ‘rhinos’ meaning ‘nose’ and 'keras' meaning 'horn of an animal’. 

Rhinoceros are killed by some poachers for their horns, which are bought and sold on the black market, and used by some cultures for ornaments or traditional medicine. East Asia, specifically Vietnam, is the largest market for rhino horns. By weight, rhino horns cost as much as gold on the black market. Some cultures believe the horns to have therapeutic properties and they are ground up and the dust consumed. The horns are made of keratin, the same type of protein that makes up hair and fingernails. Both African species and the Sumatran rhinoceros have two horns, while the Indian and Javan rhinoceros have a single horn. The IUCN Red List identifies the black, Javan, and Sumatran rhinoceros as critically endangered.

The family Rhinocerotidae consists of only four extant genera: Ceratotherium (white rhinoceros), Diceros (black rhinoceros), Dicerorhinus (Sumatran rhinoceros), and Rhinoceros (Indian and Javan rhinoceros). The living species fall into three categories. The two African species, the white rhinoceros and the black rhinoceros, belong to the tribe Dicerotini, which originated in the middle Miocene, about 14.2 million years ago. The species diverged during the early Pliocene (about 5 million years ago). The main difference between black and white rhinos is the shape of their mouths – white rhinos have broad flat lips for grazing, whereas black rhinos have long pointed lips for eating foliage. There are two living Rhinocerotini species, the Indian rhinoceros and the Javan rhinoceros, which diverged from one another about 10 million years ago. The Sumatran rhinoceros is the only surviving representative of the most primitive group, the Dicerorhinini, which emerged in the Miocene (about 20 million years ago).

 

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Santa Claus, Indiana

The biggest and probably the best-known Santa Claus of all, this happy burg sits in the state’s southern tip near the Ohio River.  Most residents live in Christmas Lake Village, a 2,500-acre development centered around three lakes: Christmas Lake, Lake Holly, and Lake Noel.  You’ll also want to check out Holiday Village, a subdivision on the north side of town.  And if that weren’t enough, US Highway 231 is now under construction, promising to spur new economic development and improve access to Splashin’ Safari and Holiday World, where you can get free soft drinks all day, every day.

Santa Claus, Georgia

Officially dubbed the “City That Loves Children”, this rural hideaway is located just minutes outside Vidalia—home of the Sweet Vidalia Onion.  Housing inventory is limited to just 67 homes and some apartments, with most located on Candy Cane Road, Rudolph Way, Dancer Street, Prancer Street, and Sleigh Street.  Local attractions include the Santa Claus Minit Mart (“Drinks as Cold as the North Pole!”) and the Santa Claus City Hall, where the decorations never come down.

Santa Claus, Arizona

If you really want to get away from it all, this is your Santa Claus—an uninhabited desert town just south of Grasshopper Junction.  There aren’t any houses, no infrastructure, and the last business shut down in 1995. There are, however, still plenty of vandalized buildings, a wishing well, and the "Old 1225", a derailed, pink children's train tagged with graffiti.  As we like to say in the real estate biz, this place is a real “fixer upper”.

Even if you don’t decide to pack up and move to Santa Claus, we want to wish you and yours a very safe, happy holiday season, and extend our best wishes for a peaceful, prosperous New Year.

 

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Henry Cole sent the first Christmas card in 1843. Sir Henry Cole, a wealthy British businessman, wanted a card he could proudly send to friends and professional acquaintances to wish them a "Merry Christmas."

The card depicted a typical English family enjoying the holiday, and people performing acts of charity. An important part of Victorian Christmas spirit. A thousand copies of the card were printed and sold for one shilling. This is reportedly the first Christmas card to be produced and sold to the public.

Christmas Cards appeared in the United States of America in the late 1840s, but were very expensive and most people couldn't afford them. It 1875, Louis Prang, a printer who was originally from German but who had also worked on early cards in the UK, started mass producing cards so more people could afford to buy them. Mr Prang's first cards featured flowers, plants, and children. In 1915, John C. Hall and two of his brothers created Hallmark Cards, who are still one of the biggest card makers today!

The first known 'personalised' Christmas Card was sent in 1891 by Annie Oakley, the famous sharpshooter and star of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show. She was in Glasgow, Scotland at Christmas 1891 and sent cards back to her friends and family in the USA featuring a photo of her on it. As she was in Scotland, she's wearing tartan in the photo! Annie reportedly designed the cards herself and they were printed by a local printer.

In the 1910s and 1920s, home made cards became popular. They were often unusual shapes and had things such as foil and ribbon on them. These were usually too delicate to send through the post and were given by hand.

Nowadays, cards have all sorts of pictures on them: jokes, winter pictures, Santa Claus or romantic scenes of life in past times. Charities often sell their own Christmas Cards as a way raising money at Christmas.

 

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In traditional festive legend, Santa Claus's reindeer are said to pull a sleigh through the night sky to help Santa Claus deliver gifts to children on Christmas Eve. The commonly cited names of the eight fictional reindeer are Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen, although Donner is sometimes called Donder. They are based on those used in the 1823 poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (commonly called "The Night Before Christmas") by Clement Clarke Moore, arguably the basis of the reindeers' popularity.

In traditional lore, Santa Claus's sleigh is led by eight reindeer: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder (variously spelled Dunder and Donner) and Blitzen (variously spelled Blixen and Blixem). The enduring popularity of the 1949 Christmas song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" has led to Rudolph often joining the list, bringing the number of Santa Claus's reindeer up to nine.

 

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An artificial Christmas tree is an artificial pine or fir tree manufactured for the specific purpose of use as a Christmas tree. The earliest artificial Christmas trees were wooden, tree-shaped pyramids or feather trees, both developed by Germans. 

The first artificial Christmas trees were developed in Germany during the 19th century, though earlier examples exist. These "trees" were made using goose feathers that were dyed green. The German feather trees were one response by Germans to continued deforestation in Germany. Developed in the 1880s, the feather trees became increasingly popular during the early part of the 20th century. The German feather trees eventually made their way to the United States where they became rather popular as well. In fact, the use of natural Christmas trees in the United States was pre-dated by a type of artificial tree. These first trees were wooden, tree-shaped pyramids lit by candles, they were developed in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, by the German Moravian Church in 1747.

Feather Christmas trees, originally of German origin, became popular in the United States as well. Feather trees were initially made of green-dyed goose feathers which were attached to wire branches. These wire branches were then wrapped around a central dowel which acted as the trunk Feather Christmas trees ranged widely in size, from a small 2 inch tree to a large 98 inch tree sold in department stores during the 1920s. Often, the tree branches were tipped with artificial red berries which acted as candle holders. The branches were widely spaced to keep the candles from starting a fire, which allowed ample space for ornamentation. Other benefits touted for feather trees included the elimination of a trip to the tree lot and the lack of shed needles.

 

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