What were the Egyptian Pyramids built for?

 

Pyramid

The Egyptian pyramids were built as tombs for ancient Egyptian kings.  Perhaps the first thing you would look for if you visited the United Arab Republic would be the ancient Egyptian pyramids near the Nile river.  Each pyramid was build as a tomb to protect the body of an Egyptian king.  The Egyptian thought that a man’s body had to be protected and preserved so his soul could live forever.

When a king died, the people “mummified” (dried and wrapped) his body and buried it in a secret chamber deep inside an enormous pyramid, built of stone blocks to last a long time.  It was built large to tell the world how great the king was.  Many treasures of gold and precious objects were buried with the king so that his spirit could enjoy them.

Food and other necessities wee also put in the pyramid for the king in his future life.  After the king’s mummy was placed in the pyramid, the inner passages were blocked.  It took millions of stones to build a big pyramid.  Many of the blocks weighed more than a ton apiece.  A big pyramid meant the work of thousands of slaves for many years. – Johnny Wonder

Photo courtesy:  sciencedaily

How are diamonds cut into pieces?

Diamond

To bring out the brilliance in a diamond, many little sides, or facets, must be cut and polished on it with other diamonds.  Most diamonds look like dull pieces of glass when they are taking from the ground.  Before they are used as jewels, diamonds are cut and polished.

 

The cutting and the polishing has a great deal to do with how a diamond sparkles.  To bring out its full beauty, many little sides, or facets, must be cut and polished on the diamond.  Diamonds are found in many sizes and shapes.  Usually two or more gems are cut from a single stone.  People, called diamond cutters, can break a diamond in two with just one tap from a hammer.  Sometimes a diamond cutter uses a saw with an edge  made of diamond dust to saw a diamond in a half.

 

Next, he grinds off that diamond’s corners so that it is in shaped like a top.  The little faces, or facets, are then ground on the diamond by pressing it against a revolving iron dist coated with a past made from diamond dust and oil.  Upon entering a finished diamond facet, a light ray is refracted, or bent, and reflected back in a glittering rainbow of colors.  The fiery brilliance of the diamond has made it the world’s favorite jewel.

 

Photo courtesy:  brysonburke

“Why does the leaning tower of pisa lean?”

 THE TOWER LEANS BECAUSE IT IS SLOWLY SINKING IN THE SOFT GROUND.

 

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is a famous bell tower at Pisa, Italy.  The tower tips so far to one side that it looks as though it would fall over.  But it has been leaning for over 600 years!

 

Why does it lean?  Of course, it wasn’t supposed to lean when it was built.  Yet it began to lean long before it was finished.

 

Builders began to work on the tower in 1174.  The stone foundation was not built on time enough ground to support the heavy marble tower and it began to sink unevenly into the soft soil.

 

But the builders went on adding story after story until the tower was 180 feet tall.  Since it was finished it has leaned a little more as the years went by.

 

Even today little by little the tower continues to tilt more each year.  It is now leans over 17 feet to one side.  Some people estimated that the tower will topple over within the next 100 years.

 

photo courtesy: apining