Category Archives: WHAT?
357.WHAT IS THE UNITED NATIONS?
In these times of world tension, we hear a great deal about the United Nations. What is it? Why was it established? What is it supposed to do? We can give only a brief description of the United Nations here, but here are some things you should know about it.
The United Nations is an organization of governments. It was set up to prevent war and to build a better world for all by dealing with problems which can best be solved through international action. The UN constitution, known as the Charter, was signed at San Francisco on June 26, 1945, by representatives of 50 nations.
355.WHAT IS USED IN MAKING GLASS?
We may think of glass as being produced by the mixture of some very special chemicals in a very special way, a sort of miracle of chemistry. But actually, glass is made by a rather simple process using quite ordinary materials. Glass is a substance made by “fusing”(melting together) certain materials, and then cooling the mixture so that the atoms arrange themselves in an unorganized pattern. What materials? Well, about 95 per cent of the raw materials in the earth could be used in making glass! The most important materials used in making glass, however, are: sand (silica), soda, limestone, borax, boric acid, magnesium oxide, and lead oxide.
339.WHAT WERE THE MIDDLE AGES?
The story of mankind has been divided by historians into three great sections—ancient times, the Middle Ages, and modern times. The Middle Ages span the time between the fall of Rome and the beginning of modern times in the fifteenth century.
Of course, when you consider such a great period of time, it’s difficult to give exact dates for the beginning and for the end. One age merges gradually into the next. But the date most commonly used as the beginning of the Middle Ages is A.D.476, when the last of the Roman emperors was dethroned. Its end is usually marked at 1453, when Constantinople, the capital of the Eastern Empire, fell to the Turks.
