The ancient Egyptian s secret to making the strongest of all rigging ropes lies in a tangle of cord coils in a cave at the Red Sea coast according to preliminary study results presented at the recent congress of Egyptologists in Rhodes Discovered three years ago by archaeologists Rodolfo Fattovich of the Oriental Studies University of Naples and Kathryn Bard of Boston University the ropes offer an unprecedented look at seafaring activities in ancient Egypt No ropes on this scale and this old have been so well preserved in their original context — in Egypt or elsewhere Bard told Discovery News Carefully wrapped in coils by ancient Egyptian sailors almost 4 000 years ago the ropes were found in a hand-hewn cave at the ancient Red Sea port of Marsa Gawasis 23 kilometers 14 miles south of Safaga The cave is really spectacular Over 30 coils of ropes lie on the ground as if they had just been left there Amazingly these ropes were stored in the same way as nowadays sailors store their shipping cords — just coiling and tighting them in the middle archaeologist and rope analyst Andre Veldmeijer told Discovery News Most of the coils were recovered from the back of the cave There are at least two layers of ropes In their report Veldmeijer and colleague Chiara Zazzaro of the University of Naples estimated that more than 60 complete coils of cords are stored in the long deep cave Each cord is about 30 meters 98 feet long and is very thick No doubt these ropes were made for strong heavy duties Veldmeijer said Basically they were hauling truss components They ran above the deck secured at the bow and at the stern to produce structural cohesion for the ship The theory is supported by the fact that the estimated length of the Egyptian ships is about 10 meters 33 feet shorter than the ropes lengths This shows that sailors had five meters 16 feet at both ends to tie the ropes The researchers are still puzzling over the material the ancient Egyptians used to make such a strong cordage

PrevNextGallery IndexImage 10 of 18Photo courtesy Food Network Dave LiebermanPhiladelphia native Dave Lieberman has been described as America s Naked Chef Dave is host of the Food Network s Eat This with Dave Lieberman and Good Deal with Dave Lieberman He also works as a private chef and caterer in the New York area Dave graduated from Yale University PrevNext

Ignition Coils How to inspect test and replace the ignition coil in your car Elsewhere on the Web ALLDATA Before I get into testing and inspecting ignition coils it is important to understand the basic operation of an ignition coil The function of any ignition coil is to convert a low voltage usually 12 volts into a voltage high enough 35 000 volts and up to jump the spark plug gap and ignite the fuel-air mixture in the combustion chamber It performs this function by making use of the principle of induction The inside of a coil consist of primary and secondary windings of wire coiled around a vertically mounted soft-iron core Because of the ratio of primary to secondary windings a small input voltage is transformed into a very large output voltage What you will need Drive Socket Set Dielectric Grease Regular Blade Screwdriver Phillips Screwdriver Specifications for your coil s Needle Nose Pliers Ohmmeter Spark Plug Tester Before You Start Follow these instructions carefully Read and be sure you understand them before you begin Gather together all of your tools and supplies before you begin Allow plenty of time to do the job so you don t have to hurry Remember that these are general instructions For more detailed instructions pertaining to your specific vehicle consult an appropriate repair manual Safety is important whenever you re working around machinery Beware of hot objects sharp instruments and hazardous materials Don t substitute tools unless you re sure you won t compromise either your safety or the performance of your vehicle Never work on a vehicle that is only supported by a jack Use jack stands to support the vehicle while you work Work on a solid level surface Never jack a car up on dirt or grass When taking ohm readings it is best to disconnect the negative battery cable Disconnecting the battery will cause the erase preprogrammed electronic radio stations Write down radio presets and be sure you have your radio security code if applicable Inspection Testing Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 Additional information provided courtesy of ALLDATA copy 2002 Vincent T Ciulla Previous Articles

The Medieval Child Part 1 Childbirth Childhood and Adolescence in the Middle Ages nbsp More of Part 1 149 nbsp Page 1 Introduction 149 nbsp Page 2 The Importance of Children 149 nbsp Page 3 A Question of Affection nbsp nbsp Related Resources 149 nbsp Medieval Children 149 nbsp The Medieval Child Table of Contents 149 nbsp Daily Life nbsp nbsp From Other Guides 149 nbsp Girls Clothing in the Time of Henry I 149 nbsp Hidden Children 149 nbsp Homeschooling Ancient History 149 nbsp Stay-at-Home Parents Site nbsp nbsp Elsewhere on the Web 149 nbsp The Medieval Child an Unknown Phenomenon nbsp nbsp Introduction Of all the misconceptions about the Middle Ages some of the most difficult to overcome involve life for children and their place in society Our distorted view is understandable evidence is scant and little work has been done on the topic by medievalists until recently In addition as is often the case with medieval studies assumptions have been made by those who sought to hold up the modern age as enlightened in comparison to the dark ages that had gone before It is these generally unfounded concepts that seem to take the strongest hold on the popular imagination In this series of articles I hope to offer an introduction to what recent scholarship has uncovered about the status of children in the Middle Ages We ll also look at what details are known about the various phases of life for the younger members of society In the process perhaps we can puncture some of the most prevalent misconceptions and begin to see a more lucid picture of the medieval child nbsp The Concept of Childhood If you have heard that there was no recognition of childhood as a distinct category of development in medieval society you are not alone The idea that children were treated like miniature adults as soon as they could walk and talk is a common one It is also nearly impossible to support with fact One of the most frequently-mentioned forms of evidence I have encountered for this concept is the representation in some medieval artwork of children dressed in adult clothing If they wore grown-up clothes the theory goes they must have been expected to behave like grown-ups This argument takes a fairly strenuous leap to its conclusion on the flimsiest of springboards Although there certainly isn t a great deal of medieval artwork that depicted children other than the Christ Child the examples that survive do not universally display them in adult garb More importantly there is ample evidence that society as a whole recognized childhood as a separate stage of life Medieval laws existed to protect the rights of orphans Medieval medicine approached the treatment of children separately from adults In general children were recognized as vulnerable and in need of special protection 1 The idea that was not recognized as a category of development separate from both childhood and adulthood is a more subtle distinction but only just The primary evidence concerning this outlook is the lack of any term for the modern-day word adolescence If they didn t have a word for it they didn t comprehend it as a stage in life This argument also leaves something to be desired especially when we remember that medieval people did not use the terms feudalism or courtly love And again there is some evidence to refute the assumption Inheritance laws set the age of majority at 21 expecting a certain level of maturity before entrusting a young individual with financial responsibility And there was concern expressed for the wild youth of teenage apprentices and students the mischief that youth can cause was frequently seen as a stage that people pass through on the way to becoming sad and wise nbsp Of course we cannot automatically that medieval attitudes were identical or even similar to modern ones But we can see fairly clearly that childhood was recognized as a phase of life and one that had value at that nbsp Next Page gt The Importance of Children gt Page 1 2 3 For later articles in this series please visit the Medieval Child Table of Contents Note 1 Gies Frances and Joseph Harper amp Row 1987 p 197 91 back 93 xnavibox nbsp nbsp More at the Medieval History Site New posts to the Medieval History forums JHWH MEC AHClothing Armor QuestionThe Black Prince s Tomb Site Map FAQs Quizzes Reviews Daily Features Name Email More about the Knightly Newsletter nbsp

Hans Christian Oersted s ExperimentNewsletters amp RSSEmail to a friendSubmit to DiggSuggested ReadingHans Christian OerstedTimeline of ElectromagnetismElectricityCompass - Magnetic InnovationsMost PopularThe History of Computers - Computer History TimelineFrancisco SantosGregorio ZaraJulian BanzonFamous Inventions A to Z From Mary Bellis Your Guide to Inventors In 1820 Hans Christian Oersted 1777-1851 proved electric current can affect a compass needle However Oersted could not explain why Difficulty AverageTime Required thirty minutesHere s How Lay the compass on a table face upwards Wait until it points north Lay the middle of the wire above the compass needle also in the north-south direction compare to the above image quot What Oersted Saw quot Bend the ends of the wire so that they are close to each other Grab one end of the wire in one hand and press against one end of the battery Grab the other end with your other hand and press momentarily against the other terminal of the battery The needle will swing strongly by 90 degrees Quickly disconnect it is not good for the battery to draw such a large current The needle will swing back to the north-south direction Note that no iron is involved in producing the magnetic effect Repeat with the connections of the battery reversed Note that the needle now swings 90 degrees in the opposite direction Take a piece of paper 2 quot x4 quot 5x10 centimeters and fold the longer side into pleats about 3 8 quot 1 centimeter high Put the wire on the table its middle in the north south direction put the pleated paper above it so that the wire is below one of the pleats and place the compass on top of the pleats Or else use a small block of wood with a groove cut in its bottom for the wire You can now repeat the experiment with the compass above the wire if two people perform the experiment they need no pleats or table–one can old the compass the other the wire and battery Note that the needle swings in the opposite direction than when the compass was below the wire What You Need A pocket compassA one-foot 30 cm length of fairly thick wire insulated or bare A 1 5 volt electric cell quot battery quot of size quot D quot or quot C quot More How To s from your Guide To Inventors

Question What are Spanish Breakfast Foods Spanish eat a large midday meal but start the day off with a simple morning meal Do they really only eat a roll and coffee and then wait until 2 00 pm to eat lunch Answer In Spain as we said in our article Meals and Culture of Spain breakfast or el desayuno is the smallest meal of the day It is usually caf 233 con leche a large cup containing a small amount of very strong espresso coffee with a lot of very hot frothy milk and a sweet roll or magdalenas lemon-flavored cupcakes or sugary churros Children may drink a cup of hot chocolate or cold chocolate milk and eat a roll although cereals have become popular with children in the last 20 years A simple roll with jam or a sweet roll is usually served with caf 233 con leche However it is not unusual to see toast accompanied by butter or a mild soft cheese and or cooked ham At home many families will eat magdalenas or 147 Maria 148 crackers They are a round cracker that is sweet 150 and look a bit like a Ritz cracker Churros are a very traditional breakfast food - lightly fried dough similar to a doughnut sprinkled with sugar or honey Another popular breakfast food are called torrijas which are Spanish Bread Pudding topped with sugar and cinnamon or rich honey Any type of breakfast you eat in Spain should tide you over until noon when you 146 ll most likely be whisked off to the local bars for a few glasses of wine and some tapas before lunch If you d like to prepare caf 233 con leche like a Spaniard brew strong coffee and heat the milk before mixing the two together Suggestions for a good cup of caf 233 con leche Cafe con Leche - How to Make Coffee with Milk Spanish Style More Information About Spanish Meals Spanish Lunch - La Comida Meals and Culture of Spain Spanish Menus - How to Order at Spanish Restaurants More Spanish Food Q amp A

The Phoenix lander stopped digging soil near Mars north pole Wednesday as engineers on Earth worked to fix a glitch that caused the loss of a day s worth of photos The problem was discovered late Tuesday after the spacecraft dug a trench inside a polygon-shaped surface feature that was likely caused by seasonal expansion and shrinking of ice The lander beamed back pictures of the trench but an overload of data prevented it from saving images of the landscape and atmosphere in its flash memory Scientists said the lost data wasn t crucial It s unfortunate to lose any bit of science said mission scientist Ray Arvidson of Washington University in St Louis But it s not really critical stuff that you kick yourself over Engineers noticed Phoenix s strange behavior when it sent a piece of engineering data 45 000 times like a broken record Normally the lander would store the day s work in its flash memory but the repeated data caused it to power down for the night without saving everything We re rather annoyed said project manager Barry Goldstein of NASA s Jet Propulsion Laboratory which manages the 420 million mission But he said it wasn t debilitating Engineers overcame the bug but its cause remained unknown Wednesday s digging was delayed to not stress Phoenix s memory It s the third delay since Phoenix landed in the Martian arctic on May 25 for a three-month mission The previous work stoppages were caused by relay problems with the two orbiting Mars probes through which Phoenix communicates with Earth Before the glitch Phoenix dug a footlong trench less than an inch deep but didn t find any of the white material present in deeper trenches Scientists think Phoenix will reach the white material mdash possibly ice or salt mdash as it digs deeper Thursday Instead of having the lander store the data overnight scientists planned to command it to send the information to Earth immediately through the two orbiters Related Links Discovery Space Irene Klotz s blog Free Space Mars Phoenix Mission How Stuff Works Mars Phoenix Lander

Award-winning author and illustrator Tasha Tudor died yesterday June 18 2008 at the age of 92 at her home in Marlboro Vermont On her farm she lived an 1830s life of self-sufficiency Tasha Tudor s close to 100 books included a Caldecott Honor Book in 1945 and a Caldecott Honor Book in 1957 Her family has created an online memorial page that will remain online until July 1 2009 Plans are underway for a Tasha Tudor Museum

Are Our readers discuss caps from idea to implementation in the U S and in other countries Google and Yahoo have Join the discussion Our most recommended stories this week included buying an HDTV details on the iPhone 3G and a new version of Firefox To vote for your own favorites click one of the thumbs-up icons on an article 39 s page We end with product reviews from users like you Have you gotten any new high-tech goodies recently Let us and your fellow PC World readers know what you think of them Go to PCW Shop amp Compare to search for your gear and add a review Note To use our interactive features such as adding comments to discussions voting in the weekly poll and contributing your own product reviews you must be signed in to the PC World Web site Not registered You can sign up online However you can view the discussion threads and poll results without being signed in Five Reasons to Get Dad a PS3 talon118 says The Microsoft Xbox 360 is overall a better gaming console Now is better than ever to buy one The prices have dropped the games are better and the online is the best live Overall the Xbox 360 is the better bargain Slydawwg says It 39 s funny to see the Xboxers still hanging on promoting their system as the one There are lots of good times to be had with the Xbox if you can 39 t manage to acquire a PS3 but it 39 s over Orion7 says The Playstation 3 is the best console on the market no doubt The PS3 has everything that you have to buy as option for the Xbox 360 Just wait and see that the PS3 will have more exclusive games than Xbox 360 in the next one or two years With the PS3 you can watch Blu-ray movies which look elegant on a 1080p HDTV There is nothing to argue The Playstation 3 is the best console without a doubt BearOnTheJob says I guess it all depends on what Dad wants If he wants a kitschy trendy casual system get the Wii If he wants a Blu-ray Disc player get the PS3 If he wants to actually play games get an Xbox 360 Read the posts in this thread and contribute your own opinion Broadband Providers Cap Monthly Usage smax013 says I don 39 t have a problem with the idea of caps if the caps are fair and really aimed at the abuser since it is supposedly the abusers who have made caps required But I fail to see how a 1GB limit on the low-end Time Warner plan is anything but a money grab Flashorn says Here in my area Ottawa Canada we have had caps for about 2 years We are with Bell Canada and have a DSL connection The imposed caps are of 60GB per month and anything above is 1 00 a gigabyte I think this is justified It kind of holds the abusers in check but at the same time gives us the freedom to rent movies or download music online without violating the imposed caps Savagesteve13 says They basically are handing over their business to DSL by implementing caps Nothing new here Cable companies have oversold their bandwidth for years and have targeted who they consider quot heavy bandwidth users quot hoping to run them off Alber1690 says I just don 39 t think that caps will move America forward As other countries are lowering their prices and increasing download rates and quality why in the world are we moving backwards Our communication companies should instead begin to actually invest in the technology to not only be able to well handle our needs but to surpass them and make way for the future technologies that will maintain America a leader Read the posts in this thread and contribute your own opinion Google and Yahoo Strike Deal Microsoft 39 s Out JimH443 says Where 39 s the EU when you need them The two biggest search engine group discussion news disseminating toolbar making Web sites are talking about merging and not a peep from the other side of the pond Adama says Looks like Icahn can 39 t Yahoo and Google merging I thought Microsoft buying Yahoo was a bad deal but this is even worse Piyushsingh says I agree with you on the Google thing It 39 s good only for the search engine nothing else Such mergers aren 39 t good for users because we now have less number of choices AuroraDizon says I think this alliance is great They 39 re not merging with them they are helping them and getting helped by Yahoo Let 39 s face it Yahoo used to be number-one and then fell behind This is just the thing for both Yahoo and Google Yahoo is working with Google on improving its messenger service Read the posts in this thread and contribute your own opinion Top 5 Most RecommendedPC World Forums online community manager You can sign up to have the Community Scoop newsletter e-mailed to you each week