Red hot chillies

How do you quantify the ‘hotness’ of a chilli?:

The “heat” of a chilli is measured in Scoville units (SHU). Wilbur Scoville developed the scale in 1912. The hotness of a chilli was first a subjective taste test, but now, thanks to newer methods of analysis, the capsainoid content in the chilli can be quantified. The unit of chilli heat is named in honour of Wilbur Scoville.

Variety

Capsicum or Bell pepper ranks the lowest in the table with o(SHU) while pure capsaicin rates at 15,000,000 - 16,000,000 SHU. The jalapeno pepper, which is a variety of chilli used extensively in Indian cooking, rates between 2,500 and 10,000 SHU.

Till recently the Guinness Book of Records assigned the record for the hottest chilli pepper to the Red Savina Habanero. It Measured 577,000 SHU.

But according to latest information the Bhut Jolokia chilli, a naturally occurring hybrid native of the Assam region has overthrown the Red Savina. The Guinness Book of Records has now declared the Bhut jolokia the world’s hottest chilli with a rating of 1,001,304 SHU! Interestingly, the pepper’s name translates as ghost chilli. Is it because when eaten, it has the power to drive out the ghost or do you see ghosts?.

Thoughts which helped create the modern world

Galileo’s discoveries convinced him that Copernicus’ heliocentric view was correct. He expected others to be as excited as he was about his discoveries. They could check his ideas by looking through the telescope themselves. Galileo was in for a surprise when his findings were published in 1613.

The Church and Heliocentrism

Galileo was famous, so his writings came to the attention of Roman Catholic Church leaders. They told Galileo that the heliocentric idea went against the teachings of the Church. If Galileo did not stop writing, he would be arrested, tried by a Church court, and could possibly be put to death.

Galileo’s books were banned, which meant that they could not be printed or sold. He was not allowed to leave his home, but he did continue his studies. In 1633, he was arrested and brought to Rome for trial. Galileo was told to abandon his heliocentric theory or face life in prison.

Galileo gave up his heliocentric idea, but it was a difficult choice. He knew that his discoveries were correct, but he was a sincerely religious man. He wrote:

I have two sources of comfort-first, that in my writings there cannot be found the faintest shadow of disobedience towards the Holy Church; and second, the truth of my own conscience, which only I and God in Heaven thoroughly know.

Laws of the universe

In 1642, the same year that Galileo died, Issac Newton was born in the English countryside. Newton became one of the world’s giants in science. In fact, he built on Galileo’s scientific legacy.

Gravity

The story of Newton being hit on the head by an apple is now thought to be a myth. True or false, it illustrates the law of gravity, the force that pulls things toward Earth.

Newton calculated that the same force that pulls a falling apple toward Earth also pulls at the moon. Newton also explained why the moon did not crash into Earth. Newton’s study of gravity helped scientists in the late 1600s to understand better how a heliocentric universe worked.

Had Newton developed the law of gravity and nothing else, he would still have been an important scientist. However, Newton made many other discoveries as well. He developed an entirely new area of mathematics, called calculus.

Newton also developed the theory of motion, which is an important part of developing a space programme.

In addition, Newton studied colour and light. He used a prism, an instrument that bends and separates light, to show that it is made up of many bands of colour. His work led to the modern invention, the spectroscope.

Newton realized that his studies of light could improve the telescope. He developed a telescope that used mirrors to reflect the light from stars.

Folk tales of Sri Lanka:

The plate of gold

Retold by R.S. Karunaratne

In the days of yore, there was a little hermitage in a backward village in Sri Lanka. The hermits led a simple life depending on the alms received from villagers.

One day, to everybody’s surprise a plate of gold fell from the heavens and landed right in the middle of the hermitage.

The chief hermit who was not interested in keeping the plate of gold in the hermitage asked the villagers to take it away.

Poor cultivators, barbers, milk vendors, housewives, beggars, school children and even fishermen formed themselves into a long queue in order to claim, the plate of gold.

However, before they could lay claim to it, the chief hermit told them that only someone who really loved god will be able to take away the plate of gold.

One by one the villagers entered the hermitage. The first man to touch the plate was a poor cultivator. As soon as he touched it, the plate of gold turned to copper. And the barbers, milk vendors, and the host of other villagers tried their luck by touching the plate of gold. Every time they touched it, the gold plate turned into a copper plate.

Meanwhile, a poor villager went passing the hermitage and saw a sick beggar lying on the road on his way to the Vedarala’s house. The poor villager stopped and looked at the sick beggar.

Then he bent down and raised him. With the poor villager’s help the beggar went to Vedarala and received treatment.

The chief hermit who happened to see how the poor villager helped the sick beggar invited him to come into the hermitage and touch the plate of gold.

The poor villager said, “I don’t need a plate of gold, I’m quite happy with my clay plate and coconut shell cup.”

However, the chief hermit insisted that he should try his luck. Then the poor villager reluctantly agreed to touch the plate of gold.

As soon as he touched the plate of gold, it started shining brightly and illuminated the whole village. Then everybody knew that he was the only villager who really loved god!

Young scribes:

The peacock

A beautiful peacock,
Swoops down from its perch,
To catch an insect
Mealtime has come
It goes to a paddy field,
To eat the grains of rice
The peacock makes a nuisance
Of its eating habits,
To the farmers.
But it makes up for its mistake,
By killing the snakes
That are feared by the farmers.
One good turn deserves another,
So the peacocks are spared their lives!

Nillasi Liyanage,
Gr. 8D,
Musaeus College,
Colombo 7

***********************

My sister

I have only one sister.
She is Ravindri Jayasinghe, 13 years old.
Fair and tall, has short hair.
She goes to Musaeus College.
She is in Grade 9I
Her favourite subject is Science.
Her best friend is Chaturka Jinasena.
She likes to eat chocolates and likes to drink ice coffee.
She likes to wear jeans.
My sister’s hobbies are collecting stamps and coins.
She can run fast, but she likes to swim.
Sometimes I play with her.
Most of the time I love my sister. She loves me too.

Uvini Jayasinghe
Grade 3 E
Musaeus College
Colombo 7