The Eiffel Tower

Have you all ever heard of the Worlds Fair? I hope so. It was basically a fair, that lasted several weeks-to several months, and was held in various places around the world. It's actually a super cool idea. Get all the most brilliant inventions from your country, put them together in one place, and maybe collaborate a little bit with all the other brilliant people from around the world. The worlds fair hasn't been as popular for quite a while now, but I guess little ones do still exist.

We can also thank some of the coolest architecture to the world's fair. The Seattle Space Needle was built for the 1962 World's Fair. Also, the Eiffel Tower was built for the 1889 World's Fair.

Standing at 1,050 feet tall, The Eiffel Tower was the tallest building in the world for over 40 years. The World's Fair was also the Centennial of the French Revolution, so the monument meant more than just a fancy gate way to the fair to them. The tower was named after Gustav Eiffel, an Engineer whose company designed the monument. The construction took just over 2 years, and when finished, the Eiffel Tower had surpassed the Washington Monument in size.

The tower was host to famous visitors, like Thomas Edison and other daredevils, such as Robert Moriarty, who flew and airplane through the arches. When Germany occupied Paris in 1940, the elevator cables were cut, and could not be fixed. The Germans had to march up all 600 steps and climb the last two levels, to hang their flag, only to have it blown away hours later. The lifts of the towers were in working order, within hours of the liberation of France.

During construction

So there you have it! A little bit of information about the Eiffel Tower!

Define Healthy

Today, you probably woke up, and were thinking about what happens when hot water, strange bacteria, and the occasional geyser mix.

This is what happens.


This is Morning Glory Pool at Yellow Stone National Park. It's beautiful. The water is very hot,  the bacteria and sulfur color the rocks, and it is not swimmable. Incase you were wondering. The occasional earthquake, or strange seismic activity does send a geyser off. Which would be interesting too.

Yellow Stone is a GORGEOUS national park. I think I'd like to go there someday. Did you know that Yellowstone is actually a massive super volcano? I kid you not. And the Ash would cover America. It could have happened once before. Which would explain the petrified forest in the afore mentioned park. The entire park could explode. Which would be pretty devastating. But, it makes sense, right? The whole random geyser thing. All that pressure. And the strange hot water, and other incredible yet weird natural wonders. A volcano!


P.S. I wrote about the Eiffel Tower, Elaina, but it didn't post it cause my computer was being stupid!!! It will come up soon though!


P.S.S. If any of you are confused about the title of this post, that's ok. I am too.

OH Canada

Lately, I've been . . .
Reading about Canada
Blowing my nose
Pretending it's summer
and
Making strange but strangely delicious foods.

Some of you may be wondering "What in the world is there in Canada to read about?" And I thought that too, and so I picked up a book that Mom had about Canada (she went to college there) and I've been reading it. So far, it's a lot like America. Explorers. Indians. Treacherous land. It doesn't get interesting till it starts talking about those Rebel Americans who called themselves Patriots. Then, the Loyalists all escaped into Canada. So, question of the day. Have you ever read a history book that is NOT written through an American perspective??
If you haven't, you should. It's interesting.


I've been blowing my nose, because I have a cold. It's annoying. But I'm getting better.
The End to the Story of My Nose

The weather has been super sunny this week, but the clouds come in and out. So I think it's summer, and put on capris, and a tank top, but then it gets cold, so I put on a sweater. And then, I take off my socks because I'm warm again. So basically, I've been wearing a very strange assortment of Summer and Spring clothes.

I think I look a little strange.


I've been taking all these recipies, and making them into one serving foods. Or just making up my own. Like for baked oatmeal. Which I love!! And I just made Nathan a mini-Apple crisp for after lunch. But he doesn't know about it. Unless, he reads my blog before lunch. I'm also making sweet and sour chicken for mwa. I might put it on a salad, but I haven't decided yet.

 Though I suppose, in all fairness, Canada has many redeeming qualities. Celine Dion and Justin Bieber are from there . . .   uhm. Ok, well, gorgeous scenery! And you can see the Northern lights in Canada!!!! And skiing and hockey! Anne of Green Gables. Yep. Redeeming Qualities!

Anyway. That's all.

The Honours of Scotland

Did you know that the crown jewels of Scotland are called The Honours of Scotland? I bet you didn't even know Scotland had a set of crown jewels. More likely, you never even bothered to think about it. Does that make you wonder about all the things you never even bother to think about? Maybe Brazil has crown jewels. Or maybe, Taiwan stole Brazil's crown jewels. See! I bet the thought had NEVER crossed your mind.

Anyway, the Honours of Scotland. The Crown, the Sceptre, and the Sword of State. (Dude. I want a sword of state. Also a sceptre. As long as it's spelled sceptre, not scepter.)

After review, I think I'd be find just having the Sceptre. 

The Crown of Scotland was created in 1540, when James V ordered a goldsmith from Edinburgh to refashion the original crown. Nobody knows exactly what the pre-1540 crown looked like, except for from a picture of James IV.

The Sceptre of Scotland was a gift from the Pope to King James IV. And it has a couple of Catholic symbols on it. 

The Sword of State of Scotland was also from a Pope. The sword was damaged in 1652 when it had to be broken in half to properly conceal it from Oliver Cromwell and his troops. But, don't worry. They fixed it.


All of this random background stuff leads up to something, I PROMISE!

Look at this lovely castle:

This is Dunnottar Castle. When Oliver Cromwell took over as Lord Protector, he started doing some pretty annoying things. One, was order Scotland to destroy all their special regalia. (Aka, the Honours of Scotland.)

So, Scotland hid it in this gorgeous castle. After awhile, Cromwell sent his minions to the castle, so they had to smuggle them out. That was when the sword broke. They hid the Honours in a parish for 11 years, until they were finally found again. 

Edinburgh Castle

But then, The Kingdom of Scotland, and the Kingdom of Engand became The Kingdom of Great Britain,  and the Honours of Scotland were taken away, and locked deep in Edinburgh Castle. And completely forgotten about until Sir Walter Scott dug them out. Then they were put on display, and only hidden away briefly during World War II. They never use the Honours of Scotland in ceremonies anymore. They are to  valuable, and delicate. 

So, There you have it! I bet you didn't know ANY of that. And if you did, you are freakishly smart. Go outside and get some sun. No, really. 

I bet you didn't know that one of Scotland's other prized possessions is The Stone of Scone. 

Not kidding. 

The frozen wonders of Switzerland (they aren't ALL frozen)

These days my life consists of a handful of things.
Working. I got quite a few hours this week, which is super awesome!

Doing stupid things, like signing the wrong papers

Cleaning my room (for the BILLIONTH) time to a grade of alien-like perfection. To heroic, epic music.

School. I finished Anatomy yesterday! woohoo! Now I only have math and music left. Oh, and this. Because, I count blogging as school.

Dance.

Sleep.

Yesterday, when I came home from work, I changed into my PJ's, and got into bed. I realized that I should go take my allergy medicine. And I wanted cold oatmeal the next morning for breakfast. (It's SO good. Don't let the words "cold" and "oatmeal" dissuade you!) So I should probably get that going. And then I though about using the bathroom before I go to bed. But I didn't. I was so dead exhausted, that I just fell asleep, and didn't move until the next morning. Being exhausted, and having something to do with that exhaustion is really nice.



So, I just randomly felt like writing about Switzerland. And then I found these GORGEOUS pictures. I think I wanna go there someday. Chocolate, watches, and Heidi. Plus gorgeous mountains, and scenery. What's not to like?
     These first 3 pictures are just of the stunning scenery in Switzerland.

This is a frozen river. Holding 27 billions tons of ice, it winds through the alps for over  14 miles.

Switzerland
Capitol: Bern
Known for:
Skiing
and Clocks

And, all their Men are required to serve in the army.

The Lauterbrunnen Valley.  A gorgeous valley cut right in the heart of the alps.
It has 72 waterfalls, and is surround by hundreds of startlingly beautiful peaks. 

The Matterhorn. Yes, this is more than just a ride at Disney.  Piercing the sky at 14,692 feet,  the Matterhorn is recognizable by it's triangular shape, and it's lack of surrounding mountains, making it stick up tall and strong on the horizon.

Well, that's just a few pictures of some of the beautiful scenery from Switzerland.

Have a great day ya'all!