Who invented the game of tennis?   A Welshman, Major Walter Clopton Wingfield devised the game of tennis in 1873. However he based his ideas on a much earlier form of court tennis whose origins date from ancient Egyptian-Arabian fertility rites.  The game was played intermittently up until the thirteenth century, from which time  it is known that it became a popular pastime in  the parks and chateaux of France. It...

How is a cuttlefish like a jet plane?   The cuttlefish moves underwater and the jet plane moves through the air, but both use the same method — jet propulsion. The cuttlefish has a bag or cavity into which it lets water. When it is full, muscles in the cavity stop any more water coming in and push the water out of an opening in the back of the cuttlefish. It...

How do waves erode cliffs?   The wind blowing over sea produces waves. These waves pound all around our coastline. They can wear, or erode even the hard rocks in cliffs, but this takes a very long time. There are two main ways in which this erosion occurs. The cliffs are not smooth but have lots of holes and crevices in them. When the waves pound against the cliffs, the air...

How does the Moon cause tides? The Earth is attracted lo every in space by the force of gravity. This is a force between objects which depends on how heavy they are and how far apart they are. The force is greater the heavier and closer together the objects are. The Moon is our closest neighbour. It orbits around the Earth at an average distance of 384,400 km  and  238,7o0 km...

How does the water spider breathe? The water spider (right) is a rarity among spiders, for it builds its web under water, attached to pond plants. The web — or ‘bell’ —is made of very finely woven silk strands which are waterproof. Even though it lives under water, the water spider must breathe air, like all spiders. So, once the bell is Complete, the water spider climbs to the surface of...

How do spiders catch their food? All spiders are carnivorous, in other words, they catch and eat other animals. Many spiders build webs in which they trap their food. The web is made from a sticky, silken substance which the spider spins from silk glands within its body. Once the spider has completed the web, it lies patiently in wait for some small creatures such as an insect to become trapped...