Category Science

An amusement ride turns into escalator

Every time you visit a shopping mall or a metro station (if your city has one), one aspect of it that you can’t fail to notice are the escalators that take you from one floor to another. These places are also provided with an elevator, but i bet most of you would rather be out there on an escalator, than inside an elevator.

A number of people have been involved in the development of what we see as escalators in the modern day. Even though the idea came about in the middle of the 19th Century, it was only by the end of the century that we had our first working models. The first working escalator, which came about as an amusement ride, was courtesy of American inventor Jesse W. Reno.

Reno’s idea

Reno was born in Kansas in 1861 and spent his early life in the mid-western and southern states of the U.S. After moving with his family to Georgia when he was 16, he started making his first plans of an inclined elevator.

He graduated from Lehigh University’s emergent engineering programme in 1883 and got to work with a mining company and then an electrical company. He moved to New York soon enough, the stage for his strong ambition and aptitude in engineering.

It was in the final decade of the 19th Century that Reno came up with his invention, which had a conveyor belt inclined at an angle of 25 degrees. The conveyor belt had planks of metal with a serrated surface and the design allowed for a smooth transition, especially in the top and bottom  landings where people had to get on and off. The overall contraption provided the passenger with an added sense of security by having handrails that moved with the conveyor belt.

Patents “inclined elevator”

Reno received the patent for his “inclined elevator” on March 15, 1892. He didn’t meet with success immediately though. He had a huge professional setback when his extensive plans to New York City officials were turned down. These plans included building a double-decker subway system beneath the city’s streets, with his inclined elevators transporting passengers from the street to the underground station and vice versa.

In the end, Reno had to agree to his inclined elevator appearing as an amusement ride. One of the world’s first working models of an escalator thus appeared at the Old Iron Pier, Coney Island, New York as a temporary amusement ride. With a vertical rise of 2.1 m (7 feet) and the belt moving at a rate of 22.8m (75 feet) per minute, the ride attracted an estimated 75,000 people during the fortnight-long installation.

Features still remain

Within years of showcasing it thus, Reno’s invention was finding its way into railway stations and department stores. Reno Started his own company to manufacture them after the turn of the century and it was later bought out by Otis Elevator Company, that also got the rights to Reno’s patents.

It was Otis that came up with the name “escalator” – combining the words “elevator” and “scala” (the Latin word for steps) – for their own invention that worked similarly. When the term turned out to be popular with the larger masses to refer to all such machines as a whole, it came into generic public use.

The strength of Reno’s invention lies in the fact that many features of his inclined elevator are still found in modern escalators. Be it the comb of projecting fingers at each end of the machine or the rubber-covered chain handrail that moves in sync with the steps, they were all envisioned by Reno for the very first working model of an escalator.

 

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What is special about koalas?

They may look like soft, cuddly teddy bears with their big ears and black button eyes, but koalas are not even remotely related to bears and they are certainly not soft! Their silver-grey fur is similar to the coarse wool of sheep.

Koalas are marsupials, animals that carry their young in a pouch. Marsupials are native to both Australia and the Americas, but the largest number of species is found in Australia, New Guinea and nearly islands.

Found in southeastern and eastern Australia, mainly in Victoria and Queensland, koalas live in eucalyptus forests. Their sole diet consists of leaves from a handful of eucalyptus species. They also live high in the branches of eucalyptus trees, safe from predators who would otherwise find them easy prey because they move so slowly and sleep so much.

Koalas need time to digest their meal. Eucalyptus leaves are poisonous to most animals but koalas have special bacteria in their gut that break down the toxic compounds. They have cheek teeth to help grind the tough leaves. Digestion takes along time since all the nutrients and water have to be extracted from leaves which hardly contain any! This is why koalas sleep almost 20 hours a day and move only if they have to.

Even their bodies are adapted to living in the crooks of branches. They have a barely-there tail, a cushiony, rounded rear end and and a curved spine. Their hands and feet are ideal for clinging to branches, with two opposing thumbs that make for a tight grip. The hands are tipped with sharp claws to dig into the bark. The feet have a long grooming toe and a clawless toe as well that behaves like a thumb!

When a koala baby (called a joey) is born, it is the size of a jelly bean and can’t see or hear. It crawls into the mother’s backward-facing puch and drinks milk from one of two teats. There it remains, warm and safe for six months. The mother also feeds it with her own faeces to give it more immunity.

The joey rides on its mother’s belly and when full-grown, on her back. It becomes independent when a year old.

The male koala’s scent glands are located in a bare patch on his chest. He rubs it on a tree trunk to leave his smell. The scent is made up of 35 different chemicals. The male is smelliest in spring, the mating season!

Today, the koals is listed as vulnerable. It is threatened not only by dogs and being run over by cars, but by habitat loss and disease. There are an estimated 40,000 to 100,000 of these cute animals left in the wild.

 

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How animals stay clean and make themselves presentable?

Grooming (also called preening) among animals is the art of cleaning and maintaining parts of the body. It is a species-typical behaviour.

Animals groom themselves in many ways – rats lick their bodies, zebras take dust baths, birds preen their feathers, monkeys pick lice from their fur and insects rub their antennae to keep them clean and functional.

Individual animals regularly clean themselves and put their fur, feathers or other skin coverings in good order. This activity is known as personal grooming, a form of hygiene.

Extracting foreign objects such as insects, leaves, dirt, twigs and parasites are all forms of grooming. Among animals, birds spend considerable time preening their feathers. This is done to remove ectoparasites, keep the feathers in good aerodynamic condition, and waterproof them. To do that, they use the preen oil secreted by the uropygial gland, the dust of down feathers, or other means such as dust-bathing or anting. During oil spills, animal conservationists that rescue penguins sometimes dress the in knitted sweaters to stop them from preening and thereby ingesting the mineral oil, which is poisonous.

Cats are well known for their extensive grooming. Cats groom so often that they often produce hairballs from the fur they ingest.

Animals also groom other members of their species (social grooming). The manner of grooming is so typical of a species that it can be used to distinguish it from a closely related one.

Grooming is pre-wired in the brain. If a mouse that is grooming its face with its paw is interrupted in the act, it ‘automatically’ begins to rub the air in front of its face with the other paw! Animals use their head, paws, claws, beak, tongue, etc. for grooming.

Some animals like the starfish have special, pincer-shaped organs called pedicillariae to remove debris from the body surface.

It was earlier believed that animals groomed themselves to maintain hygiene but now it is known that grooming serves many purposes – signaling, courtship, coalition-building and appeasement.

When two mountain rams fight for dominance, the one who loses licks the neck and shoulders of the victor to appease him. The winner may even kneel down to receive he apparent salute.

In a beehive it is essential for all the worker bees to recognize the queen bee’s scent, which assures them of her presence and vitality. A few worker bees pick up the queen’s scent when they groom her by licking her. The workers then move through the nest and contact other workers with their legs, tongues and antennae. Bee-to-bee grooming spreads the queen’s scent quickly and thoroughly.

Many social animals adapt preening and grooming behaviours for other social purposes such as bonding and the strengthening of social structures. Grooming plays a particularly important role in forming social bonds in many primate species, such as chacma baboons and wedge-capped capuchins. Among primates such as chimps, close relations groom one another loyally. This is called allogrooming. On the other hand, outsiders tend to groom members higher up on the social structure.

Grooming apparently gives an animal an advantage that helps in obtaining privileges at a later date.

 

Picture Credit : Google

Why is wildlife trade a matter of concern?

Species loss

Wildlife trafficking threatens the survival of some of the Earth’s most iconic species. For instance, between 2014 and 2017, more than 1,00,000 African elephants were killed for ivory. In 2011, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) declared the Western black rhinoceros extinct and cited poaching as the primary reason. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), wildlife crime is second only to habitat destruction in overall threats against species survival.

Biodiversity loss

Wildlife trade affects food chain and threatens the local ecosystem. For instance, the loss of a predator species can results in the overpopulation of the prey species, leading to disruption in the ecological balance.

Poor conditions of animals kept for trade

Animals captured for pet trade are transported in poor conditions. They are stuffed into boxes, suitcases, or sacks. Even if they survive the transport, they often suffer in their new, unnatural surroundings. Many animals are kept in markets for months, waiting to be sold, with even their basic needs unattended to.

Impact on humans

As we saw earlier, poached animals can spread diseases, such as Ebola and SARS. Poaching also puts local people and officials at risk. In Africa, nearly 600 rangers in charge of protecting wildlife were gunned down by poachers between 2009 and 2016 while in the line of duty.

Different countries employ different methods to curb poaching. Though some efforts have borne fruit, illegal wildlife trade continues unabated.

 

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What is wildlife trade?

  • Wildlife trade is a big business, run by international networks. Animals and birds are trafficked across the globe for meat, skin, bone, fur and other body parts. In addition, many species are sold as pets. Experts at TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, estimate that the illegal wildlife commerce runs into billions of dollars.
  • Not all wildlife trade is illegal. The sale or exchange of wild animals and plant resources are done legally for various purposes. Regulated by the United Nations’ Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), it is done in a sustainable manner. Wild plants and animals from tens of thousands of species are caught from the wild and then sold legitimately as food, pets, ornamental plants, leather, ornaments and medicine.
  • A trade becomes illegal when wildlife listed as protected under domestic or international law is hunted. Fishing and hunting without a licence and capturing wildlife from protected areas and during certain seasons also amount to wildlife crimes.

Did you know?

  • Elephants are poached for their tusk, skin and meat. Ivory is used to make billiards balls, piano keys, art objects and jewellery.
  • Rhinoceros are killed for their horn, which is predominately used in traditional Chinese medicine.
  • While freshwater turtles and pangolins are hunted for their meat, their body parts namely, carapace and scales, respectively, are used in Chinese medicine.
  • Tigers and leopards are killed for their skin.
  • Snakes, ape and monitor lizards are consumed as meat.
  • Song birds, finches, macaws, weavers, cockatoos, geckos, aquarium fish, turtles are captured alive so that they can be kept or sold as exotic pets.

 

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What is wildlife crime?

In the wake of the corona virus epidemic, China has temporarily banned the sale of wildlife in markets, restaurants and over e-commerce as part of efforts to contain the outbreak. While welcoming the move, conservationists are calling for a permanent ban as it will contribute to the recovery of wildlife populations worldwide, besides saving human lives.

The corona virus, which results in a zoonotic disease, is thought to have originated in a “seafood” market in Wuhan that sold much more than fish. Chinese authorities found everything from hedgehogs and wild boars to crocodiles for sale there, providing ideal conditions for viruses to jump to new hosts and ultimately, to people. (Zoonotic diseases spread from animals to humans.) Consumption of several vulnerable species – for example, pangolins, rhinos, elephants – is common in China. There is another theory that believes that pangolin may have passed the virus from bats to humans. Pangolin is imported in huge numbers to Chinese markets for food and medicine.

A host of other animals too are important to China for meat, medicine etc. through illegal wildlife trade. China may be the world’s largest market for wildlife products, but wildlife trade is rampant throughout the world. Wildlife trafficking puts many animals and birds at risk of extinction. A study published last year estimated that one in every four bird or mammal species on earth is caught in the wildlife trade.

 

Picture Credit : Google