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All you need to know about "Whales"

Whales

As I opened the newspaper this morning the thing I noticed was a dead whale washed up on a popular beach of South Africa. And I was too eager to search the web about it. 

A South African beach popular with Christmas holidaymakers has been closed until the carcass of a beached whale is removed amid concerns its blood may attract sharks, the City of Cape Town said.

Local media described it as a humpback whale measuring over 14 metres (46 feet) in length and said two sharks had been spotted in the area.

“The immediate area around the whale carcass has been cordoned off and this area is closed to members of the public ... The blood and debris from the carcass can attract sharks to the area,” the city said in a statement.

The affected area was the Strand Beach, a stretch of sand east of Cape Town.

Great whites, the largest predatory species of shark, are common in the cool Atlantic waters off Cape Town and sometimes attack surfers or swimmers. They would not be expected to attack a whale and it was not immediately clear how the humpback had died.

The previous night I was watching the movie "Finding Nemo" and the only thing that rotated inside my head was whale whale and whale.....

That's why I did a quick survey about "Whales"

Type:  Mammal
Diet:  Carnivore
Average life span in the wild:  80 to 90 years
Size:  82 to 105 ft (25 to 32 m)
Weight:  Up to 200 tons (181,437 kg)
Group name:  Pod
Protection status:  Endangered

Did you know?
When a blue whale exhales, the spray from its blowhole can reach nearly 30 ft (9m) into the air.

§     Blue whales are the largest animals ever known to have lived on Earth. These magnificent marine mammals rule the oceans at up to 100 feet (30 meters) long and upwards of 200 tons (181 metric tons). Their tongues alone can weigh as much as an elephant. Their hearts, as much as an automobile.

Heart of a Blue Whale

§     Blue whales reach these mind-boggling dimensions on a diet composed nearly exclusively of tiny shrimplike animals called krill. During certain times of the year, a single adult blue whale consumes about 4 tons (3.6 metric tons) of krill a day.

§     Blue whales are baleen whales, which means they have fringed plates of fingernail-like material, called baleen, attached to their upper jaws. The giant animals feed by first gulping an enormous mouthful of water, expanding the pleated skin on their throat and belly to take it in. Then the whale's massive tongue forces the water out through the thin, overlapping baleen plates. Thousands of krill are left behind—and then swallowed.

Jaws of a Blue Whale

Baleen plates of the upper jaw

§     Blue whales look true blue underwater, but on the surface their colouring is more a mottled blue-gray. Their underbellies take on a yellowish hue from the millions of microorganisms that take up residence in their skin. The blue whale has a broad, flat head and a long, tapered body that ends in wide, triangular flukes.

§     Blue whales live in all the world's oceans occasionally swimming in small groups but usually alone or in pairs. They often spend summers feeding in polar waters and undertake lengthy migrations towards the Equator as winter arrives.

§     These graceful swimmers cruise the ocean at more than five miles an hour (eight kilometers an hour), but accelerate to more than 20 miles an hour (32 kilometers an hour) when they are agitated. Blue whales are among the loudest animals on the planet. They emit a series of pulses, groans, and moans, and it’s thought that, in good conditions, blue whales can hear each other up to 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) away. Scientists think they use these vocalizations not only to communicate, but, along with their excellent hearing, to sonar-navigate the lightless ocean depths.

§     Really Big Babies-
Blue whale calves enter the world already ranking among the planet's largest creatures. After about a year inside its mother's womb, a baby blue whale emerges weighing up to 3 tons (2.7 metric tons) and stretching to 25 feet (8 meters). It gorges on nothing but mother's milk and gains about 200 pounds (91 kilograms) every day for its first year.

§     Blue whales are among Earth's longest-lived animals. Scientists have discovered that by counting the layers of a deceased whale's waxlike earplugs, they can get a close estimate of the animal's age. The oldest blue whale found using this method was determined to be around 110 years old. Average lifespan is estimated at around 80 to 90 years.

§     Between 10,000 and 25,000 blue whales are believed to still swim the world's oceans. Aggressive hunting in the 1900s by whalers seeking whale oil drove them to the brink of extinction. Between 1900 and the mid-1960s, some 360,000 blue whales were slaughtered. They finally came under protection with the 1966 International Whaling Commission, but they've managed only a minor recovery since then.

Blue whales have few predators but are known to fall victim to attacks by sharks and killer whales, and many are injured or die each year from impacts with large ships. Blue whales are currently classified as endangered on the World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List.

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VIRGINITY: A question on girls' morality

Virginity - A Question On Girls’ Morality - Youth Blog of India

“Are you pure?”asked the guy who came to see Priya for marriage.“Pure??” priya couldn’t get his question.“Pure as in untouched?” he clarified.priya now understood what he wanted to ask.“What are you looking for a girl to marry or ghee?” she replied agitated by such aquestion.He was shocked at such a reply, but before he could say anything,priya continued,“Well you can say if there was an exam about ‘purity’ I wouldn’t top it!”His family left.Next day he rang up priya’s dad and told him that he can't marry priya as she is a girl with low morals. Bang on!

Welcome to the progressive India where we claim to be modern people but still make Virginity a base to check a girl’s morals or her capability to become a good wife.

Today when we claim that women have an equal status in the society with that of men, we still are under the orthodox views of using a white bed sheet on the first night of marriage just to check the bride’s virginity!!

The guy may himself have slept with number of girls but he wants a “pure”/“untouched” girl as a wife.
Why??
Answer-
just to satisfy his male ego that the girl he is going to spend his life with has been and will be only his “possession”.

If today a girl loses her virginity with a guy she loves truly but the guy turns out to be a cheat then she is tagged as a “slut”/“characterless girl”.!
MIND YOU these being the most decent words I can pen down,
else there are a million more worse words in our mother tongue vocabulary.
I ask what is the mistake of the girl??
She loved a guy?
She slept with someone she thought she would marry?
Or, she now has lost her purity which would satisfy her to-be husband’s male ego and make him believe that she is fit to be his wife!
And again no answers I could get!
I completely support the fact that we Indians should not give up on our morals and accept everything that westernisation gives us but I wonder how can a biological wall in the girl’s body by breaking decide the level of her morals?
I mean priya could have been a great wife, she was marrying the guy her parents chose may be she had a bad past., But all that was seen was that she wasn’t pure!
And I am forced to wonder that what would happen to those rape victims?
Who would marry those girls?
Moreover a girl from a sports background, has always been told by those orthodox distant relatives to Quit it, why? because playing may result in breakage of the “moral wall”!
“Urggghhh”.!that’s what I have always thought after hearing that!!
Yes, I am also a girl, an Indian
girl, who values her morals, for whom her “izzat” is priceless,
who has always dreamt of her “raajkumar” coming on a white horse to marry her,
and who has always planned her wedding dress!
But I am also a girl who belongs to the globalised world, interacts with the
opposite sex, loves, has break ups, overcomes them and
smiles again and no one has a right to tag me any thing
for that reason!
I just request you that next time you go looking for a girl for marriage, search for a true heart and not something like “pure ghee”, because she ‘s gonna be your life partner and not your meal to satisfy your hunger of ego.
When you look at a beautiful girl coming dressed in a red lehanga leaving her world behind, to become a part of your world, accept her, make her life a bed of roses rather than testing her loyalty by making her lay down on a bed with white bed sheet because true love will make your marriage successful, her
“purity” won’t.

Cute baby rottweiler playing....

Blood Donation

My first Blood Donation – An event to remember.

Today, I donated  blood at “The Blood Donation Camp” organized by Guru Nanak Institute of Hotel Management, Sodpur in collaboration with National Medical College, Kolkata. Many girls of my age fear or are too lazy to donate blood. My haemoglobin level being very good as compared to other girls of my age encouraged me for the donation. It was an awesome experience for, though I am too much afraid of needles and syringes. But the feeling that my blood can save someone’s life reduced all my fear and pain! At last I did something fruitful in my life.

History of blood donation

The first recorded successful human blood transfusion was accomplished in 1818, but due to the lack of knowledge and research, it was followed by many blood transfusion failures. Some 80 years later, it was discovered that inherited differences in people’s red cells were the cause of many of the incompatibilities seen with transfusions. Four blood types were identified - A, B, AB and O. This discovery revolutionised haematology and led the way for successful blood transfusions.

During World War I, when human blood was needed for transfusions for wounded soldiers, scientists began to study how to preserve and transport blood. But it was not until World War II that the development of effective preservative solutions made blood transfusions widely and safely available. Since then, there have been many advances, such as the discovery of the Rh blood group system and technical developments such as the introduction of the plastic bag for safer blood collection.

By the end of 1947, several blood banks had been established in major cities across the United States and blood donation was promoted to the public as a way of fulfilling one’s civic responsibility.

Freezing of red blood cells, separation of different blood components by centrifugation, aphaeresis (extraction of one blood component and returning the rest to the donor) and many other discoveries and advancements make for full utilization of every donation. Each blood element can be used to treat different diseases.

Today, in light of HIV, Hepatitis C and many other diseases, the federal government has enforced regulations for blood screening tests in an effort to improve blood safety and to reduce the risk from blood transfusions. To further ensure the safety of the blood supply, the government outlawed paying someone for his or her blood.

Human blood is precious. There is no substitute for it and there is no way to manufacture it outside the body. Yet, millions of times each year, human blood is required to save the lives of people suffering from disease or who are victims of accidents.

Some Facts About Blood and Blood Donation :

1.       Someone needs blood every two seconds.

2.       About 1 in 7 people entering a hospital need blood.

3.      One pint of blood can save up to three lives.

4.      Healthy adults who are at least 18 years old, and at least 110 pounds may donate about a pint of blood—the most common form of donation—every 56 days, or every two months, depending on iron levels. Females receive 53 percent of blood transfusions; males receive 47 percent.

5.      94 percent of blood donors are registered voters.

6.      Four main red blood cell types: A, B, AB and O. Each can be positive or negative for the Rh factor. AB is the universal recipient; O negative is the universal donor of red blood cells.

7.      Dr. Karl Landsteiner first identified the major human blood groups – A, B, AB and O – in 1901.

8.      One unit of blood can be separated into several components: red blood cells, plasma, platelets and cryoprecipitate.

9.      Red blood cells carry oxygen to the body’s organs and tissues.

10.   Red blood cells live about 120 days in the circulatory system.

11.    Platelets promote blood clotting and give those with leukaemia and other cancers a chance to live.

12.    Plasma is a pale yellow mixture of water, proteins and salts.

13.   Plasma, which is 90 percent water, makes up 55 percent of blood volume.

14.   Healthy bone marrow makes a constant supply of red cells, plasma and platelets.

15.   Blood or plasma that comes from people who have been paid for it cannot be used to human transfusion.

16.   Granulocytes, a type of white blood cell, roll along blood vessel walls in search of bacteria to engulf and destroy.

17.   White cells are the body’s primary defence against infection.

18.   Aphaeresis is a special kind of blood donation that allows a donor to give specific blood components, such as platelets.

19.   42 days: how long most donated red blood cells can be stored.

20.  Five days: how long most donated platelets can be stored.

21.    One year: how long frozen plasma can be stored.

22.   Much of today’s medical care depends on a steady supply of blood from healthy donors.

23.   2.7 pints: the average whole blood and red blood cell transfusion.*

24.  Children being treated for cancer, premature infants and children having heart surgery need blood and platelets from donors of all types, especially type O.

25.   Anaemic patients need blood transfusions to increase their red blood cell levels.

26.  Cancer, transplant and trauma patients, and patients undergoing open-heart surgery may require platelet transfusions to survive.

27.   Sickle cell disease is an inherited disease that affects between 90,000 to 100,000 people in the United States, 98 percent of whom are of African descent.

28.  Many patients with severe sickle cell disease receive blood transfusions every month.

29.  A patient could be forced to pass up a lifesaving organ, if compatible blood is not available to support the transplant.

30.  Thirteen tests (11 for infectious diseases) are performed on each unit of donated blood.

31.   17 percent of non-donors cite “never thought about it” as the main reason for not giving, while 15 percent say they’re too busy.

32.   The #1 reason blood donors say they give is because they “want to help others.”

33.  Shortages of all blood types happen during the summer and winter holidays.

34.  Blood centres often run short of types O and B red blood cells.

35.  The rarest blood type is the one not on the shelf when it’s needed by a patient.

36.  There is no substitute for human blood.

37.  If all blood donors gave three times a year, blood shortages would be a rare event (The current average is about two.).

38.  46.5 gallons: amount of blood you could donate if you begin at age 17 and donate every 56 days (depending on iron levels) until you reach 79 years old.

39.  Four easy steps to donate blood: medical history, quick physical, donation and snacks.

40. The actual blood donation usually takes about 10 minutes. The entire process – from the time you sign in to the time you leave – takes about an hour.

41.   After donating blood, you replace the fluid in hours and the red blood cells within four weeks. It takes eight weeks to restore the iron lost after donating.

42.  You cannot get AIDS or any other infectious disease by donating blood.

43.  10 pints: amount of blood in the body of an average adult.

44. One unit of whole blood is roughly the equivalent of one pint.

45.  Blood makes up about 7 percent of your body’s weight.

46. A newborn baby has about one cup of blood in his body.

47.  Giving blood will not decrease your strength.

48. Any company, community organisation, place of worship or individual may contact their local community blood centre to host a blood drive.

49. People who donate blood are volunteers and are not paid for their donation.

50.  Blood donation. The entire process takes about one hour and 15 minutes; the actual donation of a pint of whole blood unit takes eight to 10 minutes. However, the time varies slightly with each person depending on several factors including the donor’s health history and attendance at the blood drive. It’s about an hour of your time. It’s About Life.

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Sports - my love, my life!

This evening I became very nostalgic, thinking about my school day! Truly those were the golden days of my life that I would never ever get back! In school I was an active participant in sports, participated in many inter-school and intra-school competitions. And I won many medals too!
This is just a short video clipping of a relay race that took place in our school Shri Shikshayatan School in 2008! I represented the Blue House.The sports ground was the most prestigious Fort William Stadium, Kolkata.

End of an era!

The "Missile man" Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam passes away...

Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen "A. P. J." Abdul Kalam born in 15 October 1931 was the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007. During his term as president, he was affectionately known as the People's President! A career scientist turned reluctant politician, Dr. Kalam was born and raised in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu and studied physics and aerospace engineering. He spent the next four decades as a scientist and science administrator, mainly at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and was intimately involved in India's civilian space program and military missile development efforts. He thus came to be known as the Missile Man of India for his work on the development of ballistic missile and launch vehicle technology. He also played a pivotal organizational, technical and political role in India's Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998, the first since the original nuclear test by India in 1974.

 He came from a poor background and started working at an early age to supplement his family's income. After completing school, Kalam distributed newspapers to contribute to his father's income. In his school years he had average grades but was described as a bright and hardworking student who had a strong desire to learn and spend hours on his studies, especially mathematics

After graduating from the Madras Institute of Technology in 1960, Kalam joined the Aeronautical Development Establishment of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as a scientist. He started his career by designing a small helicopter for the Indian Army. 

Kalam was invited by Raja Ramanna to witness the country's first nuclear test Smiling Buddha as the representative of TBRL, even though he had not participated in its development. In the 1970s, Kalam also directed two projects, Project Devil and Project Valiant, which sought to develop ballistic missiles from the technology of the successful SLV programme.

Kalam served as the 11th President of India, succeeding K. R. Narayanan. He won the 2002 presidential election with an electoral vote of 922,884, surpassing the 107,366 votes won by Lakshmi Sahgal. 

Kalam was the third President of India to have been honoured with a Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour, before becoming the President. He was also the first scientist and the first bachelor to occupy Rashtrapati Bhawan. 

On 18 June 2012, Kalam declined to contest the 2012 presidential poll. He said of his decision not to do so:

Many, many citizens have also expressed the same wish. It only reflects their love and affection for me and the aspiration of the people. I am really overwhelmed by this support. This being their wish, I respect it. I want to thank them for the trust they have in me.

 He also enjoyed writing Tamil poetry and playing the veena, a South Indian string instrument. Kalam listened to Carnatic devotional music every day and believed in the Hindu culture. Kalam used to read Bhagavad Gita and was a vegetarian. He was nominated for the MTV Youth Icon of the Year award in 2003 and 2006. 

In his book India 2020, Kalam strongly advocated an action plan to develop India into a "knowledge superpower" and adeveloped nation by the year 2020. He regarded his work on India's nuclear weapons programme as a way to assert India's place as a future superpower. 

I have identified five areas where India has a core competence for integrated action:

(1) agriculture and food processing;

(2) education and healthcare;

(3) information and communication technology;

(4) infrastructure, reliable and quality electric power, surface transport and infrastructure for all parts of the country; and

(5) self-reliance in critical technologies.

These five areas are closely inter-related and if advanced in a coordinated way, will lead to food, economic and national security.

 Kalam set a target of interacting with 100,000 students during the two years after his resignation from the post of scientific adviser in 1999. He explained, 

"I feel comfortable in the company of young people, particularly high school students. Henceforth, I intend to share with them experiences, helping them to ignite their imagination and preparing them to work for a developed India for which the road map is already available."

On the evening of 27 July 2015, Kalam collapsed at around 6:30 p.m. while delivering a lecture on "The Livable Planet Earth" at the Indian Institute of Management Shillong. The Government of India declared a seven-day state mourning period as a mark of respect to the former President.  

An Outlook...

Dear beholders,

  Welcome to my all new world of Blogging. I am a simple girl of 21, with lots of hope in her eyes, whose eyes speak her mind! I am very straight-forward girl who is least cared about what the people says! This may sound a bit rude to many but I don’t mean to hurt anyone’s personal view. Here in this blog page, I will post about various thoughts that come in my mind. Hope you all will enjoy it. Your suggestions are always welcomed!

You can also add me on facebook at Priyadarshini Dutta or email me at dona.dutta18@gmail.com.

With love,

Priyadarshini Dutta.