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International Space Station: The most expensive single object ever constructed

'Are you able to see that star-like glowing object coming out from behind the clouds?. That…..is the ISS', Rajarshi's eyes gleamed like a star as well. 'Seriously? That really looks like an another airplane', said I, gazing up in the not so starry Bangalore night. 'Han bhai, that is the ISS. It doesn’t flicker like other plane's light and travels much faster', the gleam in Rajarshi's eyes too wasn't flickering.  Raj (short for Rajarshi) is my ex-roomie and an avid star gazer, a reason for which he is also known as 'Star Uncle' amongst kids in our society. He had summoned all of us to be at terrace exactly at 19:30 hours; as at 19:32, ISS was to pass directly over us. We, quite fascinated by Sandra Bullock's Gravity and later McConaughey's Interstellar, were really excited to witness the ISS, when Raj told that it can be seen from our naked eye. And finally, the vision of the object moving high up in the sky, left us thrilled...

The first binary code that needs no machine to decode: Read to know about Morse code

“Bro, watched that new Alia Bhatt movie, Raazi? If not, leave everything and watch it now.”, Prakhar said with his signature excited tone when he talks about something he really believes to be good. I strongly believe, he should be in sales and marketing. “No, I haven’t yet. But I think I’ll watch it today evening. It is already on Amazon Prime”, I responded and told myself to watch it ASAP, for two good reasons: One, when Prakhar recommends a movie, it ought to be good and you don’t want to miss it. Two, he was going to ask this again, and if I haven’t watched it before he asks next time, I am doomed. We continued our phone conversation about various other things including future of our blog, WittyScribble(which by the way, rests is our hands as you read this. Please show us some love by liking and sharing our posts 😊 ). I watched the movie later that day. As expected from a movie recommended by Prakhar, I liked it a lot and so did Himanshi(my better half). So, I am going to...

How did States and Union Territories come into existence in India?

"When was the First battle of Panipat fought?", asked Professor Sreeram in our Marketing class, during my second year of MBA. Not a marketing question definitely, but Sreeram sir, a learned man he is, had a knack of asking such questions (my perception 😊). "17th century", "16th century" and some other replies from our classmates didn’t make sir happy. "1526", came out a reply amongst the chorus of other responses. "Who said that ?", asked the professor. I, generally a backbencher, since the days height-wise seats allocation wasn’t the norm anymore, slowly raised my hand. "That is correct. What's your name?" "Prakhar". Brimming with confidence, gazing at my colleagues Shubham, Mrigendra and Ritesh, I proudly exclaimed. "That is correct. And when was the second battle of Panipat fought?" All the confidence shattered just like a mirror struck with stone. The cool expression ...

Coral Reefs and The Great Barrier Reef : Marine colony bigger than few countries.

What comes to your mind when I say ‘Australia’? The mighty world champion cricket team of past few decades, and a lot of sad evenings because of Indian cricket team’s lost matches to them, right? The heart-breaking defeat of WC 2003 final is still etched in our minds, even after the WC win of 2011. Their cricketing supremacy over a span of so many decades raises no doubt. It got them a lot of haters, especially Indian cricket fans, but that’s just another testament of their achievements. But while Indian cricket team in touring England, why are we talking about Australia? The reason is not cricket. Cricket is what we know most about Australia. Many of us can talk about cricket stats for Ind-Aus encounters, in our sleep. So, we will not talk about it today. What we will talk about instead, is another world champion stuff from Australia. The Great Barrier Reef . The Great Barrier Reef located off the coast of Queensland, in the Coral Sea, is the largest coral reef system in ...

Know what is a 'Leap second' - Smaller sibling to Leap year.

"What are you guys doing tonight? Any plans?", I queried my ex-roommates. "I am completely free. Have nothing to do. Will be just watching some TV series over the laptop", replied Aman, in his inimitable style: eyes partially closed, hands open and a wide grin on face. "Have you read my latest article on How does a painkiller works I published today? Itna time hai to bhai ka blog hi padh lo", I said with a pinch of anger.  "You write about leap second and I will for sure read your blog."  Quite curious myself to know about Leap second, I took a note of the request and hence I dedicate this blog to my dear friend and ex-roomie Aman.  Leap year. A year that comes once in 4 years. Almost certainly, you all will be aware as to why it happens. Our earth revolves around the sun in 365 days and 6 hours. So after every 4 years, this extra time adds up to 24 hours or typically one full day, which is represented by the addition of Februa...

Brothers from different mothers: Crocodile, Alligator and Ghariyal: Read to know about the dangerous reptiles.

“Let us be ready at 5 and start for Kukrail picnic spot”, announced my uncle, who is a true morning person. We were visiting our maternal place as our summer vacation routine, and both my uncles relished the Sunday family outing with all of us kids. Kukrail often used to be the obvious choice, being around 7 Km from our place. The boys, all excited about the cricket game at the picnic spot, were always ready on time but the sisters found one or the other excuse to be late. Morning sleep is the first love they say. After the cricket match and breakfast, a walk to the crocodile breeding center at Kukrail followed. As young kids, we were always excited on how the crocodiles spent most of their time doing nothing and hardly ever moved. What a life! We would wish. One thing we always noticed about them was that if one croc moved, all others around it moved as well. We would head back to home after spending few minutes on the swings. A day well started is a day well spent. Kukrail...

How the sky is turned into a canvas by the Northern Lights ?

"I want to go to Wayanad again. The Milky Way is clearly visible in the pollution free, bright, starry night in this Kerala district during summers", said Rajarshi. We were brainstorming on the weekend getaways near Bengaluru and Rajarshi (or Raj, as we call him) came up with a unique reasoning to visit the hilly area. "I know why you want to go to Wayanad again. You betrayer", Abhirup remarked scornfully. "Bro, you have already seen our galaxy many times. See something new now. Plan for a trip to Finland for Northern lights. Right now, we aren't visiting Wayanad again", I replied. "The northern lights are definitely in my bucket list, but right now, Milky Way is my immediate goal. I will be going, with or without you guys", frowned Raj. Well this blog is about Northern lights. Milk Way will see the light of the day sometime later, probably.😉 Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis "Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder". T...