The Tingle Factor Box

But What Is It? Frankincense

Imagine, you are a child and Christmas is approaching. You have heard all the stories of Christmas, about the baby Jesus in his manger, and the Shepherds who came to see him, and the Wise Men who came from the East. There is something you don’t really get though. The Wise Men brought gifts, and you know what gold is, but Frankincense and Myrrh are a mystery. What exactly are these things, and why did the Wise Men think they were such wonderful gifts?

When I showed this packet of Frankincense to the children, they were utterly fascinated. Many of the children have heard the Christmas story, even those who are not Christian, and most were left wondering about the gifts brought by the Wise Men. They were amazed to see exactly what Frankincense was and fascinated to be able to touch and smell the famous item. Yet the children were also perplexed as to why sap was so valuable.

Frankincense and Myrrh are two of the three gifts famously presented to the Baby Jesus by the Wise Men or Magi, who came from the east. Both are actually made from the sap of trees, with Frankincense being the sap of the Boswellia tree while Myrrh comes from Commiphora trees. The sap oozes out when the bark is cut or damaged and dries into chunks of resin which is sometimes then steamed to make essential oils. Both are edible, and can be chewed, but are most famously burned to release their fragrant smells. Frankincense smells sweet and citrusy, while Myrrh is more of a bitter pine scent. Both resins have been traded in the Middle East and Northern Africa for at least 5000 years.

Frankincense and Myrrh were both valuable in the ancient world (and actually continue to be reasonably valuable today), being burned during religious ceremonies, and used in everything from perfumes to insect repellents. In Egypt, they were also both used in the embalming process, to make Mummies. Myrrh oil was also used as a facial treatment, while frankincense was burned to a char and used as Kohl eyeliner. So why were they gifted to the Baby Jesus? By the time Jesus was born, both resins were worth more than their own weight in gold (which essentially means they were actually the two most valuable gifts, not the gold at all!) All three gifts were extremely valuable, and traditional offerings made to a king, or a God. In addition, Frankincense and Myrrh had practical uses – they were widely used and well known in the ancient world as medicines. In fact, both Frankincense and Myrrh were used to cure everything from coughs and indigestion, to poisoning, and are being investigated by modern scientists to find uses in modern medicine!

It's Really Quite Something! Fossil Fish

Imagine, you are a child who is simply fascinated by the natural world. There are so many amazing things to be discovered in nature, but your absolute favourites are fossils. They are such extraordinary things, capturing a glimpse of life so long ago in stone. They are also often preserved in such extraordinary detail. You have one fossil, of a fish, which you imagine you can even feel where the scales once were. You aren’t sure it it’s your imagination, but it is a splendid thing indeed!

When I took this fossilised fish to show the children, they were simply fascinated by it. Many of the children have been learning recently about fossils, and to see one, let alone hold it in their hand, was amazing. The thing which amazed the children most though was the detail they could make out in the fossil. As one child said ‘you can even see it’s bones!” Many of the children assumed fossils were usually of large things, and that the detail was less precise, so to see this little fish was “quite something”.

Fish have an amazing history, dating right back to about 530 million years ago, and are actually extremely important in evolutionary history. In fact, fish are the first animals to have been vertebrates (or have a backbone) and also the link between the first ever vertebrates and tetrapods (or vertebrates which walk on land). Although these early fish may have had a backbone, the first fish had no jaws and were sucker feeders, filtering their food from the water. For many thousands of years, this continued to be the case, and even today there are still some fish who feed this way (the lampreys and hagfish).

Then, a bit over 4million years ago, fish began to evolve to have jaws, which are thought to have evolved from the gill slits. This was a very important evolutionary step for fish, allowing them to become hunters, instead of just filter feeding. Early jaws were quite primitive though, with bony edges to the jaw, instead of having actual teeth. As fish were able to eat a greater variety, and hunt effectively for their food, the fish also began to become larger. Much of the evolution of fish happened during the Silurian and Devonian ages, and in fact, the Devonian period is sometimes referred to as ‘the age of fishes’. This is also the period when the pectoral and pelvic fins of fish began to increase in strength, and this is what is believed by many to have led to the development of tetrapods, who were able to, for the first time, move about on land.

Remembrance And Crime Stopping! Rosemary

Imagine, it is Remembrance Day, and you are preparing to speak at one of the many official ceremonies. Today is an important day, and looking just right is absolutely vital, especially as you will be reading The Ode today, in front of a huge audience. You are nearly ready to go, wearing your suit and a commemorative silk poppy, but you can’t help feeling there is something missing. Just then, your wife comes in, carrying a sprig of herb and a pin. That’s what you had forgotten – Rosemary!

Rosemary is a herb which the children are all extremely familiar with, particularly in cooking, and recently, when we were watering the plant in our garden at school the children asked about its other association. They knew Rosemary meant ‘to remember’, but they wondered why this was the case, and what the history behind this association was. They were fascinated to discover that not only is this association extremely common, but that it has a very long history too.

Many herbs and flowers have a fascinating history full of different associations and meanings and Rosemary is no exception. The herb, which is a woody evergreen plant native to the Mediterranean area, has been known of and used since ancient times. It was well known for its use in medicine, where it seems to have been used as a cure for everything from bad dreams, evil spirits and aging, to gout, headache and toothache! In fact, in the early 1600s, when plague swept London, it was believed that Rosemary could protect people, and the demand for Rosemary became so great that the price increased phenomenally. Where a whole armful of Rosemary had once cost 1 shilling, by 1603 just a handful would cost 6 shillings. To put that in perspective, most permanent servants (those given food and somewhere to live by their employer) would earn no more than 6 shillings in a whole year!

Today Rosemary is an almost universal symbol of remembrance. Many think this association comes from Shakespeare, who coined the famous line ‘Rosemary, that’s for remembrance’ in Hamlet, yet this association goes back long before when Shakespeare lived. In fact, the ancient Egyptians put Rosemary on the tombs of their loved ones, while Greek scholars wore Rosemary in their hair to help their memory. This association with remembrance is why Rosemary is traditionally also associated with both weddings and funerals. Often the bride would carry a bunch, or even wear a wreath of Rosemary at her wedding, and this symbolised not only love and friendship, but also remembrance of life before marriage. When somebody died, they would buried with rosemary, which not only symbolised remembrance and love, but also served a practical purpose – it smelt nice, and disguised the less pleasant smells associated with death. Of course, Rosemary was also believed to possess a number of other abilities, and one of the more humorous is that it was thought that, should the feet of a thief be washed in vinegar cooked with Rosemary, the thief would lose enthusiasm for stealing and commit no more crimes. How to convince the thief to wash their feet in the solution was not detailed!  

The Prettiest Wood Ever! Petrified Wood

Imagine you are a you boy, interested in rocks and stones. You particularly love going out and finding rocks in the countryside, and then bringing them home to be cut and polished. So often the rock which looked uninteresting when you first discovered it is shown to be a fascinating and beautiful specimen, with just a little work. The one which you are most pleased by though is the petrified wood you found. When it was cut into slices and polished, it became so beautiful, and you can even see where the bark was, and the rings of the tree. Just amazing!

When I showed the children these slices of petrified wood, they were quite intrigued. They had heard of petrified wood, and seen very small samples in the past, but these slices are large enough to see the pattern of the wood, and also have remains of the bark around the wood which are intact. The children were amazed to see that petrified wood does indeed look just like a slice of wood, but hard as stone. The other thing which particularly intrigued them though was how beautiful the wood is. As one child said ‘it’s like a piece of wood, but the prettiest wood ever!’

Petrified wood is a type of fossil and is a term used to describe land vegetation like trees or tree like plants which have been preserved and transformed into stone. In fact the word petrified comes from the Greek word petro which means rock or stone – the term literally describes wood which has turned into stone.  The process by which wood is petrified involves all of the organic material in the wood being replaced by mineral materials, usually silicates like quartz. The stone is stained by other minerals in the environment, like iron and copper and this is what gives petrified wood its beautiful colour ranges. In order to be petrified wood is buried and petrifaction actually happens underground. It is the underground conditions, and the lack of oxygen which they contain which allows the wood to be petrified at all. If oxygen is present decomposition can occur and the wood would not be able to be preserved at all.

It might seem that, if wood only petrifies when it is buried, only small pieces of wood are preserved, but this is not the case. In fact, whole trees can be petrified, and there are examples in Argentina which are 3 metres wide and 30 metres long! There are also examples in places like the Petrified Forest National Park in America where multiple trees were petrified after falling into water and being buried by sediments. There are even trees which have had their stumps petrified. The most amazing thing about these trees though is the detail in which they are preserved. In the petrifaction process, the original structure of the wood, including rings and bark are preserved, but the wood itself is gone, replaced by stone. Often, you can even detect the cell structure of the original tree, and so they are very important study materials for those interested in ancient plants and forests.

It's Really Pretty - Amethyst

Imagine you are a geologist, exploring a new site to collect specimens from. You have noticed lots of promising looking rocks, which you think might just be geodes. The question is, what could be inside? Will they be spectacular crystal kingdoms, or something a little less exciting? You take a few samples of the rocks, and cut them open later to discover spectacular clusters of purple – amethyst. Such a beautiful crystal, you know you will have to go back for more.

When I showed the children this large piece of amethyst, they were quite intrigued. The children have seen single amethyst points before and are quite familiar with the deep purple hues of the stone, but they had not seen so many growing together. They were interested to see amethyst in what they saw as ‘it’s natural habitat’, and thought it was very beautiful.

Amethyst is not an uncommon gemstone, and is often to be found growing inside geodes (or thunder eggs as some children call them). However, although it is relatively common, it has always been highly prized. As far back as the Egyptian civilisation, amethyst was used as a gemstone for jewellery making, and it was often used by other ancient kingdoms too. Many shaped the stone and then carefully engraved the surface to make what are known as engraved intaglios. The variable colour and intensity of the stone made it very attractive, with some amethysts being a deep purple, while some are more subtle and paler.

It wasn’t just the beauty of the stone which was attractive though. The Greeks believed that amethyst gemstones could prevent people from becoming intoxicated and there were beautifully carved amethyst goblets which were created in the hopes the stone would indeed protect the drinker. In fact, the word amethyst comes from the greek amethystos, which translates to ‘not drunk’. The Greeks weren’t the only ones to see amethyst as a special stone though. In medieval Europe amethyst was worn by soldiers who were going into battle. They thought amethyst had healing powers and would protect them and keep them calm and cool headed. Bishops often also wear a ring which is set with beautifully coloured amethyst – which is used to allude to the Apostles who were described as not being drunk at Pentecost.

So I Might Find A Pearl After All! Oyster Shell

Imagine you are eating at a fashionable restaurant in the 1950s. You have ordered a plate of fresh oysters, and your wife is very excited. She always hopes that one of the oysters will contain a pearl. It doesn’t seem to matter how often you explain that eating oysters don’t contain pearls, she always gets her hope up. Imagine your surprise though when you see that one of the oysters has indeed been growing something which resembles a basic pearl. It is not round, or indeed something which could be used in jewellery, but it is fascinating none the less.

When I showed the children this oyster shell they were intrigued and surprised by it. Many of the children were aware, because of past discussions, that eating oysters are not the sort from which pearls are harvested, and assumed that eating oysters did not have the ability to grow pearls of any sort. They were amazed to see the start of ‘something which looks sort of pearly’ growing in this ordinary oyster, and became rather hopeful that one day they really would be able to find a pearl!

Pearls are an amazing thing, unlike any other precious materials like metals and stones. They don’t have to be cut, polished, shaped or worked - pearls are grown by oysters and when they are harvested they are, essentially, ready to wear. So how are pearls created? Essentially, a foreign object of some sort becomes stuck inside the shell and becomes an irritant which the soft oyster cannot get rid of. They have to do something to protect themselves from the irritant, which could be anything from a parasite to a tiny piece of shell. As a defence, the oyster begins to cover the irritating object with a substance called nacre. This substance is hard but smooth and over time layer upon layer of nacre will build up over and around the irritant. This makes the irritant, in essence, disappear and what is left behind is a pearl.

Making a pearl is a natural process, and in fact, almost all living shelled molluscs are able to make them. This includes not only oysters, but also mussels and even snails! However, not all pearls are created equal. Although many different molluscs can make pearls, a lot of these do not have the lustre or iridescence which is so attractive in a pearl and many are also too fragile to be used in jewellery etc. These pearls have little to no value, and can be found in edible mussels, oysters, escargot snails and other edible molluscs. The oyster shell which I showed the children, which comes from a Sydney Rock Oyster, is an excellent example of such pearls. The most valuable and sought after pearls come from species which are not eaten at all, but are cultivated specifically for their ability to make beautiful pearls in various colours (ranging from the well known white to black and even red!)

It Looks Like A Castle - Bismuth Crystal

Imagine you are a scientist working in a lab. You have a fascinating job, working with all sorts of materials and sometimes being able to create beautiful things. One of your favourites is Bismuth. Bismuth may be a type of metal, but the crystal structures which can be created using it are just stunning and you love creating these little towers. People must love them as decorations too, as you often need to grow new examples for the shops which sell them, all around the world.

When I showed the children this lab grown Bismuth crystal, they were amazed. Many assumed that it was some sort of amazing rock, as they did not know that metals could be grown into crystal forms. The thing which amazed them most though was the form in which the bismuth grows, with one child saying ‘it’s like something you might have to draw in geometry’. Another child was particularly impressed by the way the crystal looked like a tower, suggesting it was the sort of shape a fairy might use for a house.

Bismuth is a silvery white, crystalline metal but usually when it is seen it has a brilliant sheen of colour as it oxidises quickly. It is quite brittle, and also has a comparatively low melting temperature (you could even melt it at home, but we don’t recommend it as molten metal is dangerous!) As it solidifies, crystals like the ones I showed the children form. The reason for their distinct stepped crystal form is that the outside of the crystal grows at a different, higher rate than the inside edges. These crystals are called hopper crystals, meaning that although the outside edges are fully formed, the inside is empty, almost like somebody hollowed it out, but actually this inside was never there – the crystal was growing too fast for the inside gap to be filled. Although hopper crystals occur in quartz, gold and calcite (among others) naturally, bismuth virtually never naturally forms hopper crystals, so you won’t see them outside of those which have been specially grown, usually in a lab.

The knowledge of the metal bismuth has a remarkably long history, and most agree that in ancient times people knew about it. In fact, bismuth was actually one of the first 10 metals to have ever been discovered! The name is a little more mysterious though and nobody really knows where the name bismuth came from. We do know however that it was first used to describe the metal over 400 years ago, in the 1660s. Throughout history bismuth was often confused with tin or lead as it shares a number of characteristics with these metals. In fact, up until 1753 people assumed that bismuth was simply another form of lead. In 1753 though the French chemist Claude Geoffroy the younger discovered that bismuth was a distinct element in its own right.

It's Beautiful, But Still . . . - Scrimshaw

Imagine you are a teenage boy working on a huge sailing ship. You spend your days on a ship working in the cold southern oceans looking for the enormous whales which are your and indeed the ships livelihood. Killing these majestic animals is a terrible thing, but it is a job and everybody needs them for so many different things – not least to light the lamps! Despite the terrible job, there is beauty to be found in whaling, if you know where to look, and one of the sailors you work with is an amazing scrimshaw artist. He has promised to teach you the art and you are looking forward to making a piece to send home to your mother.

When I showed the children these pieces of scrimshaw, their reactions were very interesting. Both pieces are replicas of famous scrimshaw pieces, but are not only old in their own right, but also used real bone as the basis for the art. Although the children are aware of, and some even own artworks using ox bone, the idea of using whale or walrus bone or tusk was something they had neither thought of, nor appreciated. Today the children are aware of the campaigns to stop whaling and struggled to accept the idea that whaling is actually part of Australian history too. They did admire the detail in the artworks etched into the bone and as one child said ‘at least every part of the animal was being used, I guess’.

Scrimshaw is today thought of as referring to art works made using whale or walrus ivory or bone. Nobody really knows for certain where the word scrimshaw came from, but it is generally thought that the expression scrimshaw is nautical slang which means to waste time. In essence, this would mean that scrimshaw was actually anything a seaman made in off duty hours when he had nothing better to do! Whaling trips could last years and many months could go by when no whale sightings were actually made. Sailors had to occupy the many hours at sea and several art forms grew up, including scrimshaw carvings of ivory and bone.

The ‘modern’ art form (which dates back over 200 years) is generally accepted to be an American invention of whalers operating out of New England, but before this the Native Americans used whale and walrus ivory and bone for making tools and utensils and this is in many ways the real origin of the art form. The whalers no doubt saw some of these pieces, but they refined the art of carving the bone and ivory, creating intricate designs not only on the actual pieces of bone and ivory, but by using the material as inlay on boxes and even for pieces of jewellery. As time wore on, and whalers began to operate out of other ports (including in Australia), the art form spread with the whalers. Not only did such art occupy the hours at sea, it could supplement the income of sailors who often found a market for pieces in port. Some famous pieces, including the original versions of the copies I showed the children, were copied over the years, at first on real bone, but later using resin. Today, real examples of original scrimshaw pieces are an expensive and highly sought after collectors item.

It's So Light! Pumice Stone

Imagine you are a child wandering along the beach near Wollongong. You are looking at the interesting rocks and shells to be found, and occasionally one catches your eye which you would like to examine more closely. You notice lots of lumps of bubbly looking rock, and you accidentally kick one as you wander by. It is much lighter than you expected and flies across the beach, and when you pick it up you realise it is full of air bubbles. You collect a few pieces to take home and show your Mum and Dad who tell you it is called pumice stone.

When I showed the children this pumice stone they were really fascinated by it. The first introduction many of them had was when I tossed it to them in a game of catch – they were amazed by how light it was. The children were really intrigued by the stone, and loved the idea that these were almost like volcanic burps – molten rock which was full of gas when the volcano erupted, and which created air pockets when the stone cooled. The children were most amazed though to discover that the stone occurs naturally, even in Australia as many had seen pumice for sale in shops to use in washing and thought it must be unusual.

Pumice is an amazing rock. It is an igneous rock (which essentially means it is a solidified version of a molten material) which is created during volcanic eruptions. It is full of little holes and gaps in the rock, sometimes known as pores but more correctly called vesicles which make it much lighter than it might first appear. These pores are evidence of how the rock was actually made. Pumice is the result of a volcanic eruption and is essentially solidified, frothy magma. Gasses build up inside the magma inside the volcano and eventually the pressure becomes such that the magma, powered by pressurised gas, breaks through the earths crust. When the pressure is released the gas suddenly escapes, blowing out chunks of frothy magma which eventually harden into pumice.

Pumice has been being created for many thousands of years in the wake of volcanic activity, and although today many are most familiar with it as an abrasive in soap (or simply being used as a scrubber), it has plenty of other uses. In fact, even today pumice is used in cement, as a building material, in horticulture and even as a base for growing hydroponic crops. It was also used by ancient people though. The ancient Romans used pumice as an ingredient in cement, but it was also used as a stone for building as it was light weight and so building foundations did not need to be as extensive. Pumice was particularly used in building thermal baths and temples, including the Pantheon. Some ancient cultures also used it as an abrasive in cleaning, even using it to sand off facial hair!

 

It Would Make A Pretty Building! Zebra Rock

Imagine you are a child living in Western Australia. You love rocks and have a fabulous collection of gemstones and minerals which have been given to you over the years. You have even collected some specimens yourself, which is always so exciting. In the next holidays you are going to visit The Kimberley region, and you are looking forward to it so much – after all The Kimberleys are home to a very special type of rock, zebra rock. You have a small piece in your collection already, but you can’t wait to see this amazing rock in its natural home!

When I showed the children this small piece of zebra rock they were intrigued by it. Many of the children had never seen a rock with such distinctive bands of colour, and were curious to know more about what exactly the rock was. When I explained that this rock is a ‘native’ to Australia, being found in only one place in the whole world, they were very impressed. The children began to think of ways in which this amazing rock could be showcased and enjoyed and one child in particular thought it would make ‘a very pretty building, if you used it as the stones’.

Zebra rock is a beautiful type of rock found in the East Kimberley area of Western Australia. The largest and most famous deposits are near Kununurra where the zebra rock is embedded in shales. It is a very distinctive rock with bands of a reddish brown stone layered with bands of white stone, creating the classic ‘zebra’ appearance it is known for. The rock is made up of very small pieces of quartz and sericite (which is a white mica) and the reddish brown bands are coloured with an iron oxide, creating a striking contrast to the white bands.

Zebra rock has been investigated by geologists for over 40 years, but so far the way in which the distinctive bands formed is something of a mystery. It has been discovered though that the rock was formed about 600 million years ago in the upper proterozoic or pre-cambrian period, and is seemingly only found in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. There are several theories for how the patterns in the rock formed however. The most likely are that the patterns reflect the way in which sediments were laid down, that the coloured bands are the result of selective leaching or concentrations of the iron oxide which provides the reddish brown colour or that a slump in the rock occurred before the sediments had solidified.