April 30

The History of Soccer

Mo Salah, Mo Salah , Mo Salah…Creative Commons License Patrick Strandberg via Compfight

Imagine having to kick a pig liver all over a field, and it hardly ever goes where you want it to. Well, that is how people in the ancient times had to play soccer.  This team sport was created on the streets and has evolved over time. The word soccer seems to have come from Britain where they termed the official name of the game “association football”.  The term was shortened to soccer and became popular in the United States to keep it separate from American football.

Who created soccer

Some records trace all the way back 2,000 years ago to ancient China. Greece, Rome, and some parts of Central America all say they have started the sport too.  There have been many different stories of how a sport using your feet and a ball was created. It was actually England who created soccer on the streets and transitioned it to the sport we know today. The game we know today as soccer, the British used to and still do call it “Football.”  Football at one point became so violent that it was banned by the king of England for nearly 300 years.

The history of the soccer ball

The first soccer ball was in ancient times and that soccer ball was a pig’s liver. That liver never went where you wanted it to. The second ball was made out of vulcanized rubber. The next couple of balls over the years have changed from heavy leather to light leather. Those balls back then had to be checked by FIFA for the correct size and weight. They also had to be checked by FIFA so that the balls don’t fall apart in the middle of a game.  So the ball went from animal parts to the layered spherical ball it is today. Many changes happened as people got smarter and the sport gained popularity.

How the rules have changed from 1815 to 2017

In 1815, soccer began to be played in colleges around the world.  Some began using the Cambridge rules and some began with rugby rules. In 1863, the Cambridge rules were chosen as the official rules.  In 1869 goal kicks were first introduced into the game. Then goalies could only waste up to 30 seconds on 1 goal kick. In 1872 the first corner kicks were taken. Five years later the Sheffield rules adopted the rule. In 1875 crossbars were finally added to the goals. In 1878 whistles were first used to control the game. In 1891 penalties were first taken. They were originally called the kick of death. In 1891 the first center referee was entered into the game. In 1902 penalty spots were first put on the field. In 1904 FIFA was first established. In 1912 goalie boxes were made so they could only use their hands in the box not where ever they would like. In 1920 the rule was made that players could not be offsides on a throw-in. In 1925 the offsides rule changed from a three-player rule to a 2 player rule. In 1938 the shape of the 18-yard box was finalized. In 1990 FIFA changed the offside rule to allow the offensive player to be onside even if he was with the second to last defender. In 1992 the last major change to soccer was made, it was that if a defender kicks the ball back to his or her goalie the goalie can’t pick it up. In 1998 referees were instructed to view violent tackles as a red card offense. In 2009 assistant referees started helping the main referee. In 2013 goal-line technology was first launched. In 2017 major league soccer first started using the goal-line technology to tell if its a goal or not.

When did soccer become an Olympic sport?

The first year soccer was in the Olympics was in 1900. Soccer has been part of the summer Olympics since except in 1896 and 1932.  But at first, only a men’s competition was included in the Olympics not the woman. 96 years later a woman’s soccer event was finally included in the Olympics.  Europe dominated this Olympic sport for nearly a century when finally African and South American teams gave them tough competition.  Soccer in the Olympics is usually not as popular as World Cup soccer. Rules were added to only allow a certain number of World Cup soccer athletes into the Olympics.  Either competition brings in millions of fans.

Soccer is the most famous sport in the world. This is proven by the millions of people who play, watch and influence the sport.  Soccer players who are celebrities around the world think so too because one, they get paid a lot per year and two, they just love the sport in their heart which allows them to be the world’s greatest soccer players.  It is played in just about every county in the world. Those that are not lucky enough to play it as a career still enjoy watching it just as much. It has turned into a sport that many kids love to play and nearly everyone loves to watch.                                                                                           

April 30

Changing the sound on the trumpet

Bob Barnard

Creative Commons License Laurie Wilson via CompfightCreative Commons License Anthony via Compfight

The trumpet has all different ways of changing the sounds. There is four ways of changing the instrument sound. 1. Use another type. 2. Use a different mouthpiece with a bigger or smaller shape. 3. Push the valves. 4. Blow the air slower or faster through the mouthpiece. But why does the sound changes? Well, I’m here to tell you.

The most common trumpet is the B Flat trumpet. There are other ones with other sounds like the  A, C, D, E Flat, E, low F, and G trumpets. There are more like the piccolo trumpet that’s the only one with 4 valves, the slide trumpet, the bass trumpet, the pocket trumpet, the baroque trumpet, the rotary trumpet, the herald trumpet, the Ptrumpet which is made with plastic. Some of the instruments close to the trumpet are a cornet, flugelhorn, and the bugle. There are still more but this is most of them.

The reason the sound changes is because the length and the size of the pipes and the instrument are different or the material is different like the Ptrumpet.

You can change notes when you push the valves. There are seven combinations of the three valves. You can change the sound of the trumpet also without changing the valves by blowing the air faster or slower through the mouthpiece while buzzing. You still need to keep the fingering the same though. But why does the sound change? Well I’m going to tell you. They have holes in the valves that change the path of the air and the vibration to the bell. That makes the air reach to the bell quicker or slower that changes the sound.

You might think the mouthpiece won’t affect the sound at all. But you’re wrong. The mouthpiece will effect the sound too. In fact, it has a large effect on the instrument sound. There are 8 parts on the mouthpiece. Each one makes a difference. smaller the inner rim diameter is, the higher the range you could play. The mouthpiece makes a difference to the instrument because of the shape. Like if the cup was bigger/deeper, it will make a deeper sound because more space to vibrate. If you need to play a long time, it will be quite difficult because you need to fill the big space with air constantly.

Mouthpiece parts

  1. Inner rim diameter
  2. Rim width                                                                  
  3. Rim contour
  4. Rim Edge
  5. Cup                                                                           
  6. Throat
  7. Backbore                                   
  8. Shank

Today I taught you different ways to change the sound which is, push the valves, use a different type, use a smaller or larger mouthpiece, and blow the air faster or slower. You also now know why too. So I hope you enjoyed reading this article and learned at least something about the trumpet. 

 

Works Cited

“Trumpet.”. “Trumpet.” How Products Are Made, Encyclopedia.com, 2019, www.encyclopedia.com/literature-and-arts/performing-arts/music-theory-forms-and-instruments/trumpet.

Archibald, Paul, and Paul Archibald. Playing the Trumpet and Brass. Stargazer Books, 2005.

Bate, Philip, and Murray Campbell. “Mouthpiece.” Oxford Music Online, 2001, doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.19255.

“Trumpet.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Mar. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trumpet.

 

April 30

Earth’s Biggest Bee

Have you ever seen a giant bee that’s about the size of 4 honey bees? This article talks about how the World’s biggest bee was re-discovered 38 years after first seen. It was found by an American Entomologist whose name was Adam Messer. He first saw the giant bee in 1858 in Indonesia.

Did you know that bees are the most important insect on Earth? Of course, honey bees are important but the biggest bee on Earth would be more important in some way. People call this giant bee the “ Megachile pluto” or Wallace’s Giant Bee. Wallace’s Giant Bee is 1.5 inches long, about the size of your thumb which maybe would be the size of your palm.

Wallace’s Giant Bee got its nickname from Alfred Russel Wallace. The British naturalist was the first to record the existence of the massive insect in 1981 but Adam Messer was the first to see Wallace’s Giant Bee before it got its nickname. Now, thanks to a team of dedicated American and Australian biologists, the magnificent bee has been photographed live in its natural habitat for the first time.

In 1981, Adam Messer spotted the magnificent bee on three different Indonesian islands. Since then, many scientists have tried to look for the rare insect, but have had no luck. American natural history photographer Clay Bolt first heard this in the early 2000s. However, his desire to seek out the elusive creature did not begin until 2015. In 2019, Bolt and Wyman went to Indonesian islands with 2 guides of the area. They didn’t find anything until the 5th day. They were walking through an Indonesian island with no hope of finding the massive insect until one of the local guides noticed that the giant insect was 8 feet above the ground resting on a tree. The local guide said this “ it was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen”.

Bolt and Wyman hope to work with Indonesian scientists to find other specimens of Wallace’s Giant Bee. finding the massive insect alive in the wild has also renewed hope among researchers that more rare species are alive and well within the Indonesian forests. What would you do if there was a Megachile pluto ( Wallace’s Giant Bee ) by you? Would you panic, run away, or ignore it?

April 30

The History of Math

Have you ever wondered about math? Why it’s useful and why you need to learn it? Where it came from? Math is a way to upgrade our brains and it makes us smarter. We can learn alot from math and other subjects. Without math the world wouldn’t be the world it is today, and that means nothing like video games, computers, tablets, and other things you might love. Imagine your life without things like video games and tv, does that sounds good?

The Mosque-cathedral of Cordoba Spain 3D

Sumerian Lugal (king)

Math was created in the 6th century BC by the Sumerians. The Sumerians inhabited the land of Southern Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The Tigris was 1250 miles (2000 kilometers) long. Each Sumerian city-state was independent and ruled by its own Lugal (king). Each city had fine public buildings including some temples that had a huge tower guarding it. The Sumerians used math to measure land, tax individuals, chart the sky, and even to develop an lunar calendar! So…math was invented 2500-2600 years ago in the 6th century by the Sumerians in Southern Mesopotamia!

Carl Friedrich Gauss

There are many famous mathematicians in history, but I’m gonna tell you about Carl Friedrich Gauss, one of the greatest mathematicians of all time. He was born in April 30,1777 in Brunswick, Germany. A popular story about this mathematical genius is like this:

One day his elementary school teacher asked the class 1+2+3+4+5+6+7…+98+99+100 and surprisingly, Gauss found the answer. He did 1+100, 2+99, 3+98,4+97 and each number sentence equaled 101. Since there was 50 pairs, he multiplied 50 by 101 which equals 5050. Gauss died in February 23, 1855 from a heart attack.

Math challenges your brain and helps us to think better. We develop our reasoning abilities. Reasoning skills are important because they help us solve problems and look for solutions. Every career uses some sort of math. More importantly, doing math helps the mind organize complicated problems into clear, simple, and logical steps. Math has a huge affect on all of our lives. Math helps us do every day tasks like cooking , cleaning, and shopping. Math helps us complete these tasks without completely messing it up. For example, you need math for cooking because you need to measure things such as cups of flour. In a classroom where students speak to each other about mathematics, the ideas of those students are valued. It also allows students learn to new ways to understand the world.

Without math, Earth wouldn’t be how it is today. When math was invented, it was used to help with things that might have usually took a long time to do. Mathematicians invented new ways to do math and teach other people these ways. It took math for a lot of things to be made like video games, computers, TV, and a whole lot more. Since math helps us so much, it’s very important we learn more about math. Math workbooks, math classes, and learning math at young ages can all help us learn more about math. If we learn alot about math in the future, we could uncover unbelievable not just more about Earth, but also more about the universe.

April 30

History of Paris

Eiffel tower

The sites and scenery of Paris are amazing.  Paris is known for its historical landmarks, fashion, art and romanticism.  the nickname for Paris is the City of Lights because Paris was one of the first cities to have electricity in the 1870s.  if you were French, instead of “the city of lights” you could have said “la ville lumiere.’

One of the many historical landmarks is the Eiffel Tower.  Paris, France got the Eiffel Tower on March 31, 1889. the person who designed the Eiffel Tower was Gustav Eiffel.   once the wrought Iron lattice tower was built, it attracted tourists. There were so many tourists that London, England built its own tower, called the Tower of London. 

The second historical site is called the Notre Dame Cathederal.  the Notre Dame Cathederal is a Catholic Church. Its construction started in 1163 and was completed in 1345. It is visited by 30,000 people a day of all religions because of the beautiful architecture and art inside.  Unfortunately it sadly caught on fire on April 15, 2019 but luckily, most of the Cathederal still remains.

In the late 19th and early 20th century, French fashion was a hit.  Vogue was founded in 1892. Vogue is a very popular fashion magazine. some of the most famous Paresian designers are Coco Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Jean-Paul Gaultier.  Paris is still known as the fashion capital of the world.

Paris is full of history and culture.  The Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathederal and the fashion history are a short sample of some of the interesting attractions Paris has to offer.  People continue to travel to Paris to see these and other historical landmarks, and the world is inspired by the artists and architects who call Paris home.