Planex News

The Magna Carta is a royal charter of rights (a document that is signed by a king or queen) agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. Although it is written in an early form of Latin, there are a few full-english translations such as this one: JOHN, by the grace of God King of England, Lord of Ireland, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and Count of Anjou, to his archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, justices, foresters, sheriffs, stewards, servants, and to all his officials and loyal subjects, Greeting. KNOW THAT BEFORE GOD, for the health of our soul and those of our ancestors and heirs, to the honour of God, the exaltation of the holy Church, and the better ordering of our kingdom, at the advice of our reverend fathers Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury, primate of all England, and cardinal of the holy Roman Church, Henry archbishop of Dublin, William bishop of London, Peter bishop of Winchester, Jocelin bishop of Bath and Glastonbu

History has lots of mysteries that have never been solved. Wether it is the distant past or as recent as WWII, you never run out of questions to ask when you study this bizarre topic. The Bermuda Triangle Since humans just started to be able to read and write, vehicles have gone missing inside the Bermuda (or Devil’s) Triangle. Numerous reports of planes, boats, rafts - and evening people - going missing inside this area of sea have confused scientists, historians and investigators for centuries. Just what is so special about this mysterious patch of ocean? It is very mysterious as no scrap parts, dead bodies, or any objects suggesting that a plane crashed here. Adding to this, planes wouldn’t actually be able to crash, as there is no land in or anywhere near the Bermuda Triangle.   Since humans just started to be able to read and write, vehicles have gone missing inside the Bermuda (or Devil’s) Triangle Reports of vehicles suddenly going out of control are very popular around the Tri

There’s no use sugar coating it: According to one scribe in medieval England, A.D. 1110  was a “disastrous year.” Torrential rainfall damaged crops, there was an extreme shortage of food — and, as if that wasn’t bad enough, on one fateful night in May, the moon simply vanished from the sky. “On the fifth night in the month of May appeared the moon shining bright in the evening, and afterwards by little and little its light diminished,” the scribe wrote in the Anglo-Saxon script known as the Peterborough Chronicle. “As soon as night came, it was so completely extinguished withal, that neither light, nor orb, nor anything at all of it was seen. And so it continued nearly until day, and then appeared shining full and bright.” Clouds weren’t the problem; if they were, the scribe would not go on to describe how bright and twinkling the stars appeared while the moon faded from view. Nor was the moon being blocked from view by Earth’s shadow — if it was, the skywatcher would have seen the orb

Isambard Kingdom Brunel was a Victorian engineer who was one of the main architects of Britain’s industrial revolution. He was famous for his leading work on both Britain’s railways and ships; building railways and designing bridges, tunnels, viaducts and passenger ships. He built lots of bridges not just in London, but all across Britain. These included The Clifton Suspension Bridge (412m), The Royal Albert Bridge (667m), Maidenhead Railway Bridge (128ft), Wharncliffe Viaduct (270m), Winsor Railway Bridge, Gatehampton Railway Bridge, Moulsford Railway Bridge, Avon Bridge and Bishop’s Bridge. Here are some amazing facts about Isambard Kingdom Brunel: Isambard Kingdom Brunel was born on 9th April 1806, to a French father, Marc Brunel, and an English mother, Sophia Kingdom. He was educated in Normandy and England, with his parents giving him the best opportunities possible to learn the skills of an engineer. He completed an apprenticeship as a clockmaker. In 1822, Isambard took on his fi

In Hucknall, Nottinghamshire we go past a theme park testing facility, a local told us. Here, they test exciting rides to see if they are safe before they are shipped all across the world. These, of course, are the latest rides available and I’m sure they will thrill and excite even more than they used to. In 15th century Russia, people would slide down wooden slopes covered in ice. Fast forward four centuries, this sort of entertainment was found in Paris, but with some simple modifications, like adding wheels. Later on, in the 19th century, there was machinery in place that would pull the cars to the top of the track. The first ever modern rollercoaster was revealed to the public in 1884 in the US. Although this only went up to speeds of 6mph, it still entertained people. The revolution in rollercoaster history happened when people decided to use metal instead of wood. Steel, the metal they used, is more aerodynamic, is stronger, and can cope with much faster and more forceful moveme

Ancient civilisations around the globe have made many petroglyphs (huge drawing on the ground). But what do they all mean? Did aliens come down to ancient peoples and tell them to create them? As many mainstream archaeologists continue to say they just made them, no reason, Toby Parry-Russell investigates. Most petroglyphs and other huge drawings of its type are carved into usually the desert floor. The most-used technique is to carefully rub away the the darker sand to reveal the lighter sand underneath. When this is repeated in various shapes, it can form amazing patterns and picture most people will never be able to do even in their wildest dreams.  Most petroglyphs show images of the so-called ‘gods’. Usually as figures, the ‘gods’ look like humans except with strange features, like strange hair, small heads, strange scaly skin or something else. For example, among the Nasca lines of Peru - an array of strange petroglyphs, there stands two figures. The first one’s name translates t

Inexplicable noises, spectral sightings, glowing orbs - something very strange is going on at the British Museum. But what? That is exactly the question investigative reporters are asking themselves as piles and piles of ghostly sightings appear on their desks. But what is all the commotion? No-one really knows... When the heavy, bolted gates of the museum are shut, after the last members of  the public have left, the British Museum undergoes a swift change. This grand place is the most popular tourist attraction in the whole of Britain, and without a constant stream of people coming in, the huge, glass dome fades to a whisper. A thick silence fills the cavernous galleries and corridors that surround it. By night, most of the lights have been extinguished, as the security guards carry out most of their duties by torchlight. So, ghosts are free to roam about. To go around the entire museum, you have to open and close 3,000 doors. Some of them are really heavy and hard to open. But one n

The methods of embalming, or treating the dead body, that the ancient Egyptians used is called mummification. Using special processes, the Egyptians removed all moisture from the body, leaving only a dried form that would not easily decay. It was important in their religion to preserve the dead body in as life-like a manner as possible. So successful were they that today we can view the mummified body of an Egyptian and have a good idea of what he or she looked like in life, 3000 years ago. Mummification was practiced throughout most of early Egyptian history. The earliest mummies from prehistoric times probably were accidental. By chance, dry sand and air (since Egypt has almost no measurable rainfall) preserved some bodies buried in shallow pits dug into the sand. About 2600 B.C., during the Fourth and Fifth Dynasties, Egyptians probably began to mummify the dead intentionally. The practice continued and developed for well over 2,000 years, into the Roman Period (ca. 30 B.C.–A.D. 364

Uses: Many, some include moving Users:  Billions Who: Unknown Why: Unknown You might not think of it as an invention, but, yes, the humble wheel is one. In its primative form, a wheel is a circular block of hard, sturdy and durable material, usually stone, with a hole bored through the middle. Then, a pole, usually wood, is fitted through the centered hole. When four wheels and two sticks are put together, the poles go through a hole in or attached onto a board, and when they get the wheels to turn, the vehicle moves forward or backward. Of course, in the stone age, there were no bikes. This is because they wouldn’t be able to get it to balance, but also, they would never think of it anyway.

The Chocolate hills in the Bohol province of the Philippines are a valley of densley-vegetated hills. In the dry season, the grass and crops go brown. From a distance, it looks like the hills are made of bubbly chocolate, thus getting their name. According to legends, the hills came into existence because of two giants who hurled rocks, boulders, and sand at each other. After their fight was over, this eventually led to a huge mess of hills – which is the Chocolate Hills we know today. The Chocolate Hills are a popular tourist destination in The Phillipines, and even feature on the regional flagof Bohol province, where they are the Bohol’s “main attraction”. These unique domed hills can be found in their hundreds in the towns Batuan, Carmen, and Sagbayan in Bohol They are listed as one of The Phillipines Top 3 geographical monuments and there are plans to hopefully include them in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Chocolate Hills are conical karst hills and similar ones can be seen i

Everyone has heard about the aztecs, who lived in Mexico. But hardly anyone has ever heard of the Mayans, an advanced civilization who ruled before the Aztecs took over. Using the new ‘LiNEAR’ technology, experts are shedding light on the most mysterious civilization. Drones or aircrafts fly over the jungle or forest and shoot hundreds of lasers down to the ground. These scan the area around them and upload them to a special computer. When you view the image back, it deletes the trees so you can see any hidden structures. You can also get LiNEAR on an augumented realty app that you can get on an iPAD, if you’re dwn on the ground. This can be very helpful if you are an archaeologist and want to discover lost treasures. By now, you’re probably wondering ‘how did the Mayans tame the jungle’ or something like that. But the answer is the landscape was less densley vegetated, and thus making it easier to build there. LiNEAR technology has revealed some suprising things - castles, watchtowers

What would it be like if your tummy had see-through skin? Probably a bit weird, I’ll wager. But, if you happen to be a Glass Frog, then, dear reader, it is your everyday reality! Want to check if your liver is tickety-boo? No trouble if you’re a glass frog. They are mostly green, but their bellies are transparent. They live up in the trees in rainforests, where they eat bugs. They can live for 10 to 14 years! That’s pretty impressive for a little froggy-woggy! But that’s not all, Glass Frogs have been declared by Victor Wanyama, captain of the Nigerian national football team, as the best animal that has ever lived. But did you know something even more extraordinary? The Ancient Roman writer Virgil actually wrote extensively about Glass frogs back in 67AD. Here’s what he had to say (in the original latin): “Obist, ut glassus frogus accabor ehentur, officiaspis in plibus eos et aut apelent, utatur magni rem hiciam laciend andae. Itas nonserf ernatqu istius. Otatur sum deseres utaturi non

The ancient aztec city of Teotihuacan (say tee-otto-hoo-i-can) has puzzled more experts than the Great Pyramids Of Giza have! The pyramid complex  consists of quite a few building and temples. At the front of the city, The Temple Of The Sun sits proudly overlooking the rest. A few more pyramid-like buildings follow, all leading to what is now known as the Avenue Of The Dead. This is quite a few miles long, but all of the buildings are the same, except one. Temple of the Feathered Serpent Quetzalcoatl is the third-largest pyramid in the whole site. Also on the avenue is the Great Pyramid Of  Cholua and The Pyramid Of The Moon. Interestingly, a lake of liquid Mercury was discovered in an excavated tunnel beneath the Feathered Serpent Pyramid. There has been various lakes of other metals in other areas of the Mayan empire, but never Mesoamerica. Even more interestingly, Mercury is a superconductor. Although it is extremely dangerous to human beings, scientists have performed experiments w

Electricity is everywhere. But what is it? Let’s find out. Electricity is the flow of tiny particles called electrons. They are one of the particles that make up an atom (see last week’s issue). The other two, protons and neutrons, are stuck in the centre and usually don’t move. But electrons are free to move from atom to atom, causing an electrical current. If an atom has fewer electrons than it wants, it is called positively charged. It tries to pull electrons from neighbouring atoms that have more electrons than they want and are called negatively charged. If you get the electrons to flow through an electrical component, some of the energy can be converted to another form of energy like  light, heat, sound or movement. So how do we get this electricity to flow? Well, we have to make a circuit. In it there is an energy source liken a battery. Electrons get pushed out one end of the batteryand flow from atom to atom until they reach the other end. The wire is made of the most conducti

On Friday night, citizens of Hull got a mysterious visit by a pirate ship containing no driver. Some people reported that it only comes every 50 years, as they had seen it all those years ago. When some explorers started to join the crowd of confused people, they decided to board the ship and hunt down civilization. A long table was roughly nailed to the rustic floor of the living room. Over this hung a very expensive chandelier made with 102 wax candles that were still lit. Bowls of ripe fruit were scattered across the table. Two old wooden staircases lead up to various places, but the explorers decided to go up the right one. They then found themselves in a metal storeroom. Flashing yellow rectangular lights hung from chains above huge metal barrels. All of a sudden, the lights went off and eerie sounds echoed around the thik metal walls. A loud crackling sound came on, as purple fog lifted out of the ground. The ship was disappearing! In a rush, the five brave people sped out of the

This is the story of the greek soldier Hercules. In the first bit of this 12-part story, Hercules went mad, and to pay everyone back, he became a slave to King Eurestyus. Last time, he fought this huge lion thing and made its skin into an invincibility cloak. “Now, Hercules.” began King Eurestyus one sunny morning. “I now want you to kill the dreaded Hydra in the Argos Marshes. He has been  terrorising my people for too long now.” He pointed at a man in a toga running away from a sign reading ‘Argos Marshes’. “OK, sir.” replied Hercules. “But is it a snake or a dog? People have sent letters to me that say both. I’ve got mixed messages.” the King lowered one eye as if to say ‘really?!’. “What do you think, dumbo!?!?” said Eurestyus, starting to get a bit annoyed. Hercules shrugged his shoulders. “Oh, just go!” exclaimed the king. With that, Hercules ran off. The soldier was getting tired when he reached a sign that read ‘Argos Marshes - One Mile’. “Nearly - There.” panted Hercules. Soon

To celebrate 75 years since World War Two ended, we’ve got a special article for you... this one! So don’t go just yet, this won’t be boring! World War 2 was a battle between two groups of countries – the “Allies” and the “Axis“. The major Allied Powers were Britain, France, Russia, China and the United States. The major Axis Powers were Germany, Italy and Japan. The terrible Adolf Hitler lead the Axis, but don’t think he was nice. Hitler and his army marched across the whole world, sparking many battles in different places. At one point in the war, the Nazis (Hitlers army) were said to had been building ‘Die Glocke’, or ‘The Bell’. Nazi documantary writers said that The Bell was some sort of ‘time-travel machine’, but nobody really knows the truth. Die Glocke, says authors, was inspired by alien technology. The were said to have come down to earth in the war, and told the chief scientist about their machines. Strangely, he disappeared at the end of WWII. Many believe he went through a

We eat it when we're happy, sad, celebrating or commiserating. It's an incredibly important (and delicious) aspect of people's lives across the world. But have you ever thought about where chocolate comes from? We have the ancient Mayans of Mesoamerica (what we now know as South America) to thank for chocolate. Although the Mayans weren’t scoffing the bars we know and love today. It all starts with the cacao bean. Yes, we spelled that right - cacao is the Spanish word for chcahuatl, which is what Aztecs called the beans chocolate is made from. It’s thought that English traders misspelled cacao when they brought the beans home, and so cocoa stuck. Back to the Mayans though. They would dry, grind, and mix the beans with water to create a drink. You might think yum, hot chocolate - in fact it was quite bitter and frothy, and was often mixed with chilli. After the Aztecs conquered the Maya, they went berserk for the stuff. The Mayans and the Aztecs believed (and perhaps some pe

There were many species of dinosaur long ago, but sadly they have all died out. Sometimes, we wonder how people find the same creatures on different continents, but the answer to this has been found. In truth, all the continents of Earth were once one supercontinent, known as Pangea. The species Tyrannosaurus rex (rex meaning “king” in Latin), often called T. rex. Tyrannosaurus lived throughout what is now western North America, on what was then an island continent known as Laramidia. Tyrannosaurus had a much wider range than other tyrannosaurids. Fossils are found in a variety of rock formations dating to the Maastrichtian age of the upper Cretaceous Period, 68 to 66 million years ago. It was the last known member of the tyrannosaurids, and among the last non-avian dinosaurs to exist before the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. Stegosaurus, from Greek stegos which means roof and sauros, which means lizard, is a genus of herbivorous thyreophoran dinosaur. Fossils of this date to t

The Great Pyramid of Giza (also known as the Pyramid of Khufu or the Pyramid of Cheops) has many mysteries, all of which will be answered today. Egyptologists believe that the pyramid was built as a tomb over a 10- to 20-year period concluding around 2560 BC. The original entrance to the Great Pyramid is on the north, 17 metres (56 ft) vertically above ground level and 7.29 metres (23.9 ft) east of the center line of the pyramid. From this original entrance, there is a descending passage 0.96 metres (3.1 ft) high and 1.04 metres (3.4 ft) wide, which goes down at an angle of 26° 31’23” through the masonry of the pyramid and then into the bedrock beneath it. After 105.23 metres (345.2 ft), the passage becomes level and continues for an additional 8.84 metres (29.0 ft) to the lower chamber, which appears not to have been finished. The horizontal passage continues in the south wall of the lower chamber; there is also a pit dug in the floor of the chamber. Some Egyptologists suggest that th