MOTnews 23 (21/09/2001)

NEWS from MOT

The MOT team has recently been boosted by the arrival of Michael Vander Stricht. Michael is our new educational worker, and he's just raring to go at the prospect of leading workshops for young 'boffins' aged 6 to 12. We will be letting you know shortly when MOT's workshop activities start up again, so be warned!

TRUE or FALSE

You need a complete elephant's tusk to make just three billiards balls. You can read the answer in the next MOT news.

ANSWER TO "TRUE or FALSE" in MOT news 22 (24/8/2001)

Petroleum was once responsible for saving the whale.

TRUE

Although it seems crazy from the ecological viewpoint, the discovery of petroleum did indeed save a great many whales. In winter you need heating and lighting, and the oil from whales was used for this. The discovery of petroleum was responsible for a serious reduction in whaling.

SAY WHAT? In this MOT-news item we try to explain proverbs and sayings that have their roots in our technical history. Similar proverbs are found in different languages, but each language has it's own typical sayings. Therefore we do not translate this item in English.

KIDS news: something to tell your children this evening. Perhaps you enjoy doing a nice jigsaw puzzle on a rainy afternoon, but did you know that children 200 years ago probably did'nt feel the same way? The first jigsaw puzzles were namely invented as an aid to teach geography in England at the end of the 18th century.

These first jigsaws were drawings of maps on a piece of wood that was then sawn up into irregular pieces. If you could put the map back together again, that meant you had learnt your geography lesson. Later, all kinds of drawings - of a more pleasurable nature - started appearing on the puzzles, and they became a popular gift and an ideal pasttime on a rainy day.