MOTnews 48 (24/10/2003)

COMING SOON: DETECTIVE HUNT WITH TOM AND CHARLOTTE

Children between 6 and 12 years of age will soon be able to go on a fun detective hunt at the MOT. The Museum is arranging this in partnership with the Brussels Museum Council (BMR).

From 25 October 2003, the mascots "Tom and Charlotte", keen detectives and avid museum visitors, will lead you through more than 60 museums in and around Brussels. At selected points during the tour, your kids will encounter about ten questions and puzzles on various museum exhibits. Be sure to take part, because with a correctly filled in answer sheet, they have a chance to win a great prize from the BMR.

GRANDMOTHER'S RECIPES

An age-old carpenter's trick: before hammering a nail or a tack into a piece of wood, lightly grease its tip. You'll immediately see that it goes into the wood much more easily!

That's why carpenters often carried around a little pot of grease - or even a piece of bacon rind - in their toolboxes.

We have heard from reliable sources that greasy hair or earwax works just as well, but we don't recommend either method for obvious reasons!

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

Will-o'-the-wisp: superstition or chemistry?

With Halloween just around the corner, here's an explanation of this spine-chilling phenomenon. Many an old yarn tells of travellers being led by eerie lights into the swamp, and you probably know a story or two yourself about ghostly lights at the graveyard.

But you don't have to be at all afraid of these will-o'-the-wisps, because they're no more than a simple natural occurrence.

Rotting plants and animal carcasses in the earth produce gas that spontaneously ignites when it rises up to the surface and comes into contact with the air. That's what causes these quick-moving flames with their spooky reputation.