About 97 per cent of the energy we use in our homes and factories is generated from coal, oil and natural gas, which are called fossil fuels. These were fall formed from organic (once-living) matter. Coal consist of the remains of land plants, while oil and gas were formed from the remains of tiny plant and animals which lived in …

Floaters can be any of these things: Musca volitans: spots before the eyes caused by opaque cell fragments in the vitreous humour and lens of the eye; a debt instrument with variable interest rate tied to some other interest rate; a vagrant with no established residence or visible means of support; an employee who is reassigned from job to job …

Flatfish is a name given to a family of fishes which includes turbot, halibut, plaice and flounders. The flat fish have a very interesting feature which sets them apart from other fish. They have both eyes on one side of their heads. They are not born like this, but develop this feature soon after they are born. Why? Well, as …

Scales are the remnants of the bony armour which enveloped the very earliest fish. Fish have scales as a protective coating for the skin. In fact, not all fish have them. But we usually think of a fish as a cold-blooded, aquatic animal that swims by means of fins, breathes by means of gills, and is covered with scales. Scales …

Crop circles are patterns that appear in fields. The pattern is created when certain areas of the crops are tamped down, but others are left intact. The edge is so clean that it looks like it was created with a machine. Even though the stalks are bent, they are not damaged. Most of the time, the crop continues to grow …

Copepods are another group of small crustaceans which live in the sea. They are better swimmers than the freshwater water fleas and use their legs as well as their antennae to propel themselves through the water. Copepods drift in enormous numbers in the upper levels of the sea. Together with other minute creatures they form plankton on which all other …

In industry, people talk of two kinds of manufactured goods. First, consumer goods, such as clothes and washing machines, which are bought by people. Second, capital goods, including machinery and tractors, which are bought by firms and used to produce other goods.

Below-the-line (BTL) ads refer to a marketing technique in which nonconventional, non-media route is taken to promote a product or service. Usually, it has a limited target group. It includes promoting through e-mail, SMSes, ringtones, direct mail, MMS, freebies, quizzes, interactive sessions, etc. It is different from above-the-line (ATL) ads which take the route of TV, radio, cinema, banners, or …

Birds of prey are those that feed wholly or mainly on meat taken by hunting. They catch other birds, and small animals, for their food. There are two chief families, the hawks and the falcons. The hawks include eagles, such as the bald eagle (symbol of the United States) and the golden eagle. The falcons are smaller but share the …

The vibrant tradition of folk art in West Bengal’s Bankura district includes a variety of clay handicrafts. The district’s most famous product is the Bankura Horse, a very stylised figure with a long neck and elongated ears, in warm terracotta colours. Artisans have used the same techniques of hollow clay moulding and firing for generations. Sizes vary from minute, palm-sized …