Network February 2018

first proposed by Aristotle, but there are now
four more which are agreed among scientists
to be official senses. These are:
1. Thermoception – the
sense of heat (or it’s
absence) on our skin. 2.
Equilibrioception – our
sense of balance, which
is determined by the
fluid filled cavities in our
inner ear. 3. Nociception
– pain. 4. Proprioception
– or ‘body awareness’.
This is the conscious knowledge of where our
body parts are without having to look, for
example, close your eyes and waggle your big
toe, you still know where it is in relation to the
rest of you. Also, some neurologists argue that
there are even more than 9 senses to list, such
as hunger or thirst?
Since around the
fourth century BC,
almost no one
anywhere has believed
the earth to be flat.
that most cultures would of worked out he
spherical nature of the Earth for themselves.
How does a moth react to
a light?
They are not attracted to
them, but disorientated by
them. The reason being
that moths use natural
light sources, i.e. the sun
and moon to navigate. The
insects use the location of
the light source from the
sun or moon to determine what direction they
should be facing (i.e. what direction is up!) and
how to fly in a straight line.
Where is the driest place on earth?
It’s Antarctica and not the Sahara as we would
first assume. Some parts of the continent
What shape did medieval people believe the
earth was?
Since around the fourth century BC, almost noone
anywhere has believed the earth to be flat.
This misconception that people were ignorant
of the shape of the earth comes from the
partially fictional text ‘The Life And Voyages Of
Christopher Columbus’ (1828), which
incorrectly stated that Columbus set out to
prove the earth was round. Evidence shows
hasn’t seen any rain for two million years. A
desert is technically defined as an area of land
that receives less than 254mm (10 inches) of
rain a year. The Sahara gets 25mm, Antarctica
gets around the same amount, but some areas
of Antarctica never get rain, and haven’t for
millennia, making Antarctica the driest place
on earth. Also, Antarctica can claim to be the
windiest place on earth, with wind speeds of
up to 200mph, the fastest ever recorded.
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