16th February 2016

A Saharan ant travels long distances to trace its food, but how does it return?

Cataglyphis fortis, a Saharan desert ant travels long distances over sandy terrain, often completely devoid of landmarks, as it searches for food. They are able to return to their nest not by retracing their outbound path, but by using a direct route. They use light from the sky, but it seems they have a built-in pedometer that counts their steps and allows them to measure exact distances. An ant may travel 50 metres to catch an insect, tear a piece of the insect and carry it back to the nest through a hole often less than a millimetre in diameter.

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16th February 2016

Swinging back in history

Charles Wicksteed was an engineer by trade. He initially made swings and slides for his park, then went on to sell them around the world. In 1926 he made the first modern swing and installed it in a park in Kettering. This is a 12 feet high swing which was painted green with a wooden seat. It is still fully functional after more than 90 years.

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16th February 2016

Sprinters Powell and Simpson – Convicted for using a banned drug

The best timings for 100 m of Asafa Powell and Sherone Simpson are respectively 9.27s and 10.82s. But they were convicted for taking the banned drug Oxilofrine, which is a stimulant used to boost the body’s ability to burn fat. It helps the athletes boost their power-to-weight ratio with more lean muscle and less fat, and thus increase their speed.

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16th February 2016

Marion Jones – Guilty of drug cheating

Marion Jones was the first woman to win five track and field medals at a single Olympic Games in Sydney (2000). After years of denial, she was compelled to confess of being a drug cheat and was jailed for lying to the investigators.

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