In 1924, the brand of tissues Kleenex was first introduced. Kleenex made their tissues to take cold cream off, which is like make-up remover. Later in 1930 it was advertised as a disposable hanky. Now the word Kleenex is used to describe a soft disposable, facial hanky. In 1932, pocket packs of Kleenex tissues were invented, which was a good idea, but I think people could have just put them in their pocket or bag.

http://inventors.about.com/od/kstartinventions/a/Kleenex.htm         

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facial_tissue

Rubber bands are one of the handiest tools ever made. They come in all different shapes and sizes. Many of the ways we use Rubber bands are by bundling flowers, vegetables and keeping newspapers and letters together. The largest consumer of Rubber bands is the U.S post office. They use millions of pounds every year. The first ever rubber band was made in 1843 by Thomas Hancock he made them by slicing a rubber bottle. They were used to put in clothing. Some other names for rubber bands are binder, elastic band, lackey band and gum band.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_band\

www.enotes.com/how-products-encyclopedia/rubberband

Click on the link below to hear Alex show us that rubber bands are not pointless!

alexh2_rubberbands

A few weeks ago Brittany told us about the strange, yet lazy creature called the Sloth!

Click on the link below to hear what she had to say!

britt2_sloth

Pencil Sharpeners exist as electrical and hand powered forms. Before sharpeners were invented they sharpened pencils with a knife. Pencil sharpeners make this job easier and make the pencil neater. Some pencils such as the carpenters pencil still have to be sharpened with a knife because of the flat shape they have, but a sharpener has been invented for it. The first manual pencil sharpener were invented by Therry des Estwaux in 1828. John Lee Love invented the ‘portable’ sharpener that was originally made for artists. About.com claims that Raymond Loewy designed the first electric sharpener in the late 1940’s. Now they come in a wide range of shapes, colours and sizes. Most sharpeners come with a case around them, then just remove the case to empty and replace.  

I got my Information from Wikipedia.

Click on the link below to hear Holly sharpen our knowledge on the pencil sharpener!  Well read Holly!

holly2_sharpeners

In 1957, two Americans called Richard Knerr and Arthur K. Melin invented a plastic round hula hoop based on an Australian manufactured wooden ring. It was made in a number of colours from the rainbow to just plain colours and was a huge success.

It all started in 1000 BC when Egyptian children played with large hoops made of dried grape vines. They hit it on the ground with a stick or put it on a waist and spun it.

Throughout history, wooden hoops were played with. In the fourteenth century, they were as popular with adults as with children.

The word hula was added when British sailors went to Hawaii in the 1800s and noticed how similar it was when people did hula dancing and then saw people doing hooping.
Interesting facts about hooping
• Truckloads of hoops were hijacked on their way to stores by crazed consumers.
• In Wham-O sold more than 100 million Hula Hoop’s in the first twelve months on the market, and even that wasn’t enough to meet the demand.
• In Japan, nervous officials banned the toy’s use in public for fear of mass impropriety meaning it was rude and disrespectful
• Wham-O founders Arthur Melin and Richard Knerr spotted a bamboo exercise toy on a trip to Australia.
• The longest time of hula hooping is 72 hours by Kym Coberly in 1984
• The most hoops spun was 105 by Jin Linlin in 2007
http://www.recordholders.org/en/list/hulahoop.html
http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/hulahoop.htm

Click on the link below to hear Tom spin us some stories about hula hoops!

Tom J’s 2nd Goss

A handshake is when two people grasp one of their hands together and shake. Shaking hands is offend used in sports to thank your opponent for playing, and when you make a bet on something it is still not a bet before you shake hands. Shaking hands is when two people greet each other. A handshake is also when people congratulate each other and at the end of an argument. Some clubs like Scout Clubs make up their own handshake to say their a part of the club. It is believed that the handshake originated about the 2ND century BC. The handshake is also used at parliament and at the end of court. The handshake is also used at the end of game shows like Deal or No Deal and Bert’s Family Feud.   Photo by Litandmore

Click on the link below to hear Devon present a great goss’ that made the whole class want to shake his hand!

Devon’s 2nd Goss!

Hey I’m Alex and I got the Goss on birthmarks………………A birthmark is of course a mark or blotch on your skin that you have from birth. Not everyone has them except the most common is the   hemangioma        (say: he-man-jee-o-muh) they happen when a lot of new blood vessels grow in one certain area of the body. Most birthmarks also aren’t something that hurts or gives you illnesses. Also most newborn babies have a birthmark between their 2 eyebrows, most people call them angel kisses except they disappear after a few months.  You can get birthmarks of all different shapes and sizes. Like you can get them brown, tanned, pale and stuff like that.  Some people have just one birthmark and others have a whole heap. You can also get birthmarks any were on your body. Well thanks for listening to my Goss on birthmarks.     AlexReferences: Kids Health 

Click on the link below to hear Alex ‘peel’ away the secrets of the birth mark!

Alex C’s Goss’ No. 2

Well I did my Goss on Bumblebees. There are 250 different types of bumblebees worldwide. The Bumblebee has a cousin called the Honey bee, which people confuse her with the bumblebee. Unlike its cousin the Bumblebee is gentle and slow. T he bumblebee is round and furry and does not look anything like its cousin. Bumblebees live in small nests so they don’t swarm inside its home. Not all Bumblebees have a sting, Drones [The smaller bumblebee] have no sting at all . Bumblebees do not make enough honey for commercial use just enough for there young. Pretty much if you had to choose living with either the Honey bee or the Bumblebee the bumble bee would be better off because the honey bee is very protective and very aggressive whereas the Bumble bee is far from aggressive.

Click on the link below to hear Eliza do a great job with her goss’!

Eliza’s Goss’

Click on the link below to hear what happens to Senior K when they haven’t had a goss’ session for awhile!

Senior K_mistake!

• Vampire myths go back thousands of years and occur in almost every culture around the world. Their variety is almost endless from red eyed monsters with green or pink hair in China to the Greek Lamia which has the upper body of a woman and the lower body of a winged serpent; from vampire foxes in Japan to a head with trailing entrails known as the Penanggalang in Malaysia.

There is a couple of ways to kill a vampire:

• Look for a hole above a grave. Sometimes vampires have to dig their way out.
• Scatter salt on the floor in the vampire’s latest victim’s room. Help the vampire lead you right to his or her tomb.
• Use garlic, hawthorn branches, or a cross to trap your vampire in a corner. Protect yourself from revenge by making a cross of tar on your front door.
• Dig the vampire up on a Friday. According to the early Greeks, that’s when a vampire is weakest.
• Pound iron stakes through his coffin and straight into the ground if you catch him at rest.
• Bury his body under running water.
• Fire a silver bullet blessed by a priest into his heart.
• Drive an aspen ash or white thorn stake through his heart with a single blow.
• Pour boiling water, boiling oil or holy water into his grave.

Click on the link below to hear Caleb chill us to the bone with his facts about vampires!

Caleb’s second Goss!

Click on the link below to hear what the ‘real’ Dracula thought of Caleb’s goss!

Dracula

Wax can plug up the ear, if so you may lose hearing in your ear. Wax is sticky so bacteria may get stuck in your ear then that may lead to an infection. Lots of species of whale have an annual buildup of earwax, adding one, two, or four layers (depending on the species) each year. The number of layers can be counted to determine the age of the whale. Some people say not to use Cotton Buds because if you go too far in you may break the ear drum.Earwax plays important role in the human ear canal, helping in cleaning, and also provides some protection from bacteria and insects.

The thought of eating ear wax might sound disgusting, but Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is famous for his eating of earwax on TV.

   By sirwiseowl

Click on the link below to hear Amy tell us some fun facts about ear wax!  Listen carefully at the end for Mr K-T’s reaction to the story about our new prime minister and his ear wax!

Amy’s Goss!