Sunday, November 19, 2006
history MTV
The first images shown on MTV were a montage of the Apollo 11 moon landing.
MTV pre-history began in 1977, when Warner Cable (a division of Warner Communications and an ancestor of WASEC, Warner Satellite Entertainment Company) launched the first two-way interactive cable TV system, Qube, in Columbus, Ohio. The Qube system offered many specialized channels, including a children's channel called Pinwheel which would later become Nickelodeon. One of these specialized channels was Sight On Sound, a music channel that featured concert footage and music oriented TV programs; with the interactive Qube service, viewers could vote for their favorite songs and artists.
1981-1984
August 1, 1981
On August 1, 1981, MTV: Music Television launched with a programming format created by the visionary media executive, Bob Pittman (who later became president and chief executive officer, of MTV Networks [1], and, in the 1990s COO of AOL, America Online).
(Pittman had test driven the music format by producing and hosting a 15 minute show, Album Tracks, on WNBC, New York, in the late 1970s. And Pittman's boss, WASEC COO John Lack, had sheparded a TV series called PopClips, created by former Monkee-turned solo artist Michael Nesmith, the latter of whom by the late 1970s was turning his attention to the music video format. [2]
The channel went to air at 12:01 a.m. with the words (by original COO John Lack) "Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll!" and the original MTV theme song, a crunching guitar riff written by Jonathan Elias and John Petersen, playing over a montage of the Apollo 11 moon landing (MTV producers used this footage because it was in the public domain.) The official subscriber count across America was 3,000,000 (the actual number was 500,000), but the immediate impact would have argued that every young adult's home in the country was watching. Sporadically, the screen would go black when someone at MTV inserted a tape into a VCR. [3] Appropriately, the first music video shown on MTV was "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles. The second video shown was Pat Benatar's "You Better Run". With similar tongue-in-cheek humor, the first video shown on MTV Europe was "Money for Nothing," by Dire Straits, which starts and finishes with repetition of the line "I want my MTV", voiced by Sting. On MTV Latina, the first video shown was "We Are South American Rockers" by the Chilean band Los Prisioneros and on MTV Brasil it was Garota de Ipanema, sang by Marina Lima.
Early format
The early format of the network was modeled after Top 40 radio. Fresh-faced young men and women were hired to host the show's programming, and to introduce videos that were being played. The term VJ (video jockey) was coined, a play on the acronym DJ (disc jockey.) Many VJs eventually became celebrities in their own right. The original five MTV VJs in 1981 were Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, J.J. Jackson and Martha Quinn. In 2005, this group (except for J.J. Jackson, who had died in 2004) was reunited as hosts on Sirius Satellite Radio. [4]
Early videos
The early music videos that made up the bulk of the network's programming in the 1980s were often crude promotional or concert clips from whatever sources could be found; as the popularity of the network rose, and record companies recognized the potential of the medium as a tool to gain recognition and publicity, they began to create increasingly elaborate clips specifically for the network. Several noted film directors got their start creating music videos, including Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry, and David Fincher.
Notable rock bands and performers
A large number of rock bands and performers of the 1980s and 1990s were made into household names by MTV. 1980s acts immediately identifiable with MTV include Van Halen, The Police, The Cars, Eurythmics, RATT, Culture Club, Def Leppard, Duran Duran, Bon Jovi, and "Weird Al" Yankovic, who made a career out of parodying other artists videos. Many of the more successful musicians featured on MTV could frequently be seen doing station identification spots for the network, exclaiming the signature line, "I want my MTV!!" The heavy rock band KISS publicly appeared without their trademark makeup for the first time on MTV in 1983. Michael Jackson launched the second wave of his career as an MTV staple. Madonna rose to fame on MTV in the 1980s. Madonna is the most successful video performer in MTV history, and to this day she uses MTV to market her music.
1984-1987
In 1984 the network produced its first MTV Video Music Awards show. Seen as a fit of self-indulgence by a fledgling network at the time, the "VMAs" developed into a music-industry showcase marketed as a hip antidote to the Grammy awards. In 1992, the network would add a movie award show with similar success.
After MTV's programming shifted towards heavy metal and rap music, MTV Networks launched a second network, Video Hits 1 (VH-1), in 1985. VH1 featured more popular music than MTV. Today, MTV Networks also owns Nickelodeon, a cable channel airing children's and family programming.
MTV in the mid-'90s, shortly before the transition to non-music programming. This frame is taken from a Take That music video.
1987-1999
Before 1987, MTV featured almost exclusively music videos, but as time passed they introduced a variety of other shows. Many of these shows were originally intended for other channels. The new genres include animated cartoons such as Beavis and Butt-head and Daria; reality shows such as The Real World and Road Rules; prank/comedic shows such as The Tom Green Show, Jackass, and Punk'd; and soap operas such as Undressed
Non-music video programming began in the late 1980s with the introduction of The Week in Rock, Club MTV and Remote Control.
By the second half of the 1990s, MTV programming consisted primarily of non-music programming.
2000-2004
In 2000, MTV's Fear became the first 'scary' reality show where contestants filmed themselves. The show ran for three seasons and spawned numerous imitations, including Fear Factor on NBC. In 2002, MTV aired the first episode of another reality show, The Osbournes, based on the everyday life of former, Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne, his wife Sharon, and two of their children, Jack and Kelly. The show went on to become one of the network's biggest ever success stories and kick-started a musical career for Kelly Osbourne, while Sharon Osbourne went on to host a talk show on U.S. television. In 2003, Newlyweds, another popular reality TV show that follows the lives of Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey, a music celebrity couple, began airing. It ran for four seasons and ended in early 2005 and they later divorced. The success of Newlyweds was followed in June 2004 by The Ashlee Simpson Show, which documented the beginnings of the music career of Ashlee Simpson, Jessica Simpson's younger sister. In the fall of 2004, Ozzy Osbourne's reality show Battle for Ozzfest aired.
2004-2006 (Viacom)
In 2004, MTV's parent company Viacom bought Germany's largest provider for music television Viva Media AG, thereby creating the largest company for music on the European mainland. In November 2004, MTV announced it would begin airing MTV Base in Africa from February 2005, [5] thereby reaching the world's last major populated area previously not served by MTV.
In 2006, MTV plans to launch MTV Ukraine, to pursue the emerging music market. There are already launched services in the Baltic states with MTV Estonia, MTV Latvia and MTV Lithuania. MTV Türkiye, the Turkish service, was launched October 23, 2006, which was also the time the festival of Eid was celebrated. The founder of MTV Türkiye deliberately launched it on Eid because she wanted it to be an Eid present for Turkey's youth.
In June 2006, MTV announced the creation of MTV K, the first music and pop-culture destination for young Korean-Americans. The channel will import the hottest and latest superstars from Korea, artists like BoA, Rain, and Se7en and will introduce new and emerging Korean-American artists making noise of their own. This will provide a chance for Korean and Korean-American artists alike to gain U.S. exposure.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Friday, November 10, 2006
CHARLES DARWIN and HIS MAGIC BARREL
The Errors of Darwin
The Barrel-Mixer
God has created human beings, plants, animals and everything else in the world. He is the Lord of the worlds, Who has created you, your mother and father, your brothers, sisters, relatives and friends, cats, dogs, sweet-smelling flowers, huge trees, colorful butterflies, birds and fish, and trees bearing delicious fruits.
But some do not tell the truth about these good things that God created. These people believe in the so-called theory of evolution, the false idea that all living beings came into being by themselves, through chance. Those who want to deceive others with this idea are known as “evolutionists.”
This false theory was proposed about 150 years ago by a man named Charles Darwin, who believed that all living things came into being by chance. Throughout his life, Darwin wrote books to make people believe this; and evolutionists are still trying to deceive others even today. But today’s science has proven that God has created all living things. In spite of this, evolutionists still defend what has been shown to be a lie.
So, have you ever thought about how God created living things?
The body of every creature, including human beings, consist of cells. Cells are too small to be seen by the naked eye. One million of them would only cover the head of a pin. If you wanted to view them more closely, you’d need to use a high-power microscope. Yet these tiny cells have an amazing structure, which is more amazing than any technological marvel you have ever seen, including school busses, televisions, even computers.
In fact, every cell works just like a factory that never stops. In every single one of your cells is a central power station like you find in the huge factories you see along the road. There are also production centers, communication and computer systems, transport vehicles, laboratories, control units and many other such systems.
Can anyone possibly say that a factory came into being by itself, as the result of chance? Certainly not! And anyone who says that living things came to be as a result of chance or natural conditions is also speaking nonsense. But Darwin’s followers maintain just such illogical ideas.
Since evolutionists still claim that such a thing can happen, let’s have them perform an experiment. Let them put in a barrel whatever materials they think it takes to create a living cell. For example, let them pour in the amino acids, proteins, carbons, phosphorus, calcium, and carotene and everything else that makes up a living creature. Then let them apply to the mixture any external factors they want. For example, let them apply heat to the barrel, or cool it down, have lightning strike it or send electric current through it.
Let them mix the barrel’s ingredients with whatever advanced devices they have. And let succeeding generations watch over this mixture for thousands, millions, even billions of years. And, to leave nothing to coincidence, let them monitor the mixture the whole time, keeping one another informed and consulting the most noted biologists, geneticists, physiologists and experts in evolution. And let them be free to form whatever conditions they believe are needed to produce a living cell.
Despite all their conscientious effort, nothing remotely resembling any living creature will ever come out of that barrel. No matter what they do never will they get peacocks, sparrows, rabbits, parakeets, horses, hippopotamuses, melons, tangerines, roses, hyacinths, lime trees, cherries, strawberries, bananas, coconuts, chestnuts, corn, dates, figs, olives, lemons, grapes, apricots, squirrels, owls, ants or whales out of that barrel.
No matter what procedure they apply to that barrel, the atoms and molecules in there will never produce an Einstein or a Newton capable of solving complex equations; a Picasso or a Michelangelo to create artistic masterpieces; a Beethoven or a Mozart to give joy to the human spirit with the melodies they compose; scientists who observe through a microscope the molecules of which they themselves are composed; great scientists like Thomas Edison and Marie Curie; talented actors like Humphrey Bogart and Charlton Heston; or artists like Britney Spears, Ricky Martin and Michael Jackson. These atoms will never produce a human intelligence that can dance and sing; take pleasure in symmetry, esthetics and color coordination; design automobiles; write books and read them; remember what they learned; think and calculate; feel excitement, pleasure and love, mercy and compassion and longing; have their appetites whetted by the aroma of a cake baking in the oven; enjoy a meal; laugh over a funny statement; have fun with their friends and defend a deeply-held idea.
Combine insentient atoms and molecules any way you choose, but never will you be able to make one of these creatures or beings—not even a single cell of one of them.
So, how can anyone claim that a living thing—which cannot be produced by human efforts employing the whole of human knowledge—can come into being from unconscious atoms through the agency of blind chance? Any aware and intelligent person will immediately realize that obviously, human beings and other living creatures cannot be the work of chance. Anyone with an unbiased mind will realize that it is God, with His supreme intelligence, infinite knowledge and incomparable power, Who certainly created all these living beings.
In the following pages, we’ll explain the thoughts that passed through the mind of Darwin the barrel-mixer. In this way, we can demonstrate how those who adhere to the theory of evolution have deceived people.
We have another important reason for explaining the deceptiveness of this theory:
If someone tries to get you to believe in the theory of evolution, remember the facts that you have read in this book, and you will understand that this person is trying to deceive you. And then, you will be able to tell him that God created everything with His infinite knowledge.
Now, let’s have a look at the life of Darwin.
The Barrel-Mixer
God has created human beings, plants, animals and everything else in the world. He is the Lord of the worlds, Who has created you, your mother and father, your brothers, sisters, relatives and friends, cats, dogs, sweet-smelling flowers, huge trees, colorful butterflies, birds and fish, and trees bearing delicious fruits.
But some do not tell the truth about these good things that God created. These people believe in the so-called theory of evolution, the false idea that all living beings came into being by themselves, through chance. Those who want to deceive others with this idea are known as “evolutionists.”
This false theory was proposed about 150 years ago by a man named Charles Darwin, who believed that all living things came into being by chance. Throughout his life, Darwin wrote books to make people believe this; and evolutionists are still trying to deceive others even today. But today’s science has proven that God has created all living things. In spite of this, evolutionists still defend what has been shown to be a lie.
So, have you ever thought about how God created living things?
The body of every creature, including human beings, consist of cells. Cells are too small to be seen by the naked eye. One million of them would only cover the head of a pin. If you wanted to view them more closely, you’d need to use a high-power microscope. Yet these tiny cells have an amazing structure, which is more amazing than any technological marvel you have ever seen, including school busses, televisions, even computers.
In fact, every cell works just like a factory that never stops. In every single one of your cells is a central power station like you find in the huge factories you see along the road. There are also production centers, communication and computer systems, transport vehicles, laboratories, control units and many other such systems.
Can anyone possibly say that a factory came into being by itself, as the result of chance? Certainly not! And anyone who says that living things came to be as a result of chance or natural conditions is also speaking nonsense. But Darwin’s followers maintain just such illogical ideas.
Since evolutionists still claim that such a thing can happen, let’s have them perform an experiment. Let them put in a barrel whatever materials they think it takes to create a living cell. For example, let them pour in the amino acids, proteins, carbons, phosphorus, calcium, and carotene and everything else that makes up a living creature. Then let them apply to the mixture any external factors they want. For example, let them apply heat to the barrel, or cool it down, have lightning strike it or send electric current through it.
Let them mix the barrel’s ingredients with whatever advanced devices they have. And let succeeding generations watch over this mixture for thousands, millions, even billions of years. And, to leave nothing to coincidence, let them monitor the mixture the whole time, keeping one another informed and consulting the most noted biologists, geneticists, physiologists and experts in evolution. And let them be free to form whatever conditions they believe are needed to produce a living cell.
Despite all their conscientious effort, nothing remotely resembling any living creature will ever come out of that barrel. No matter what they do never will they get peacocks, sparrows, rabbits, parakeets, horses, hippopotamuses, melons, tangerines, roses, hyacinths, lime trees, cherries, strawberries, bananas, coconuts, chestnuts, corn, dates, figs, olives, lemons, grapes, apricots, squirrels, owls, ants or whales out of that barrel.
No matter what procedure they apply to that barrel, the atoms and molecules in there will never produce an Einstein or a Newton capable of solving complex equations; a Picasso or a Michelangelo to create artistic masterpieces; a Beethoven or a Mozart to give joy to the human spirit with the melodies they compose; scientists who observe through a microscope the molecules of which they themselves are composed; great scientists like Thomas Edison and Marie Curie; talented actors like Humphrey Bogart and Charlton Heston; or artists like Britney Spears, Ricky Martin and Michael Jackson. These atoms will never produce a human intelligence that can dance and sing; take pleasure in symmetry, esthetics and color coordination; design automobiles; write books and read them; remember what they learned; think and calculate; feel excitement, pleasure and love, mercy and compassion and longing; have their appetites whetted by the aroma of a cake baking in the oven; enjoy a meal; laugh over a funny statement; have fun with their friends and defend a deeply-held idea.
Combine insentient atoms and molecules any way you choose, but never will you be able to make one of these creatures or beings—not even a single cell of one of them.
So, how can anyone claim that a living thing—which cannot be produced by human efforts employing the whole of human knowledge—can come into being from unconscious atoms through the agency of blind chance? Any aware and intelligent person will immediately realize that obviously, human beings and other living creatures cannot be the work of chance. Anyone with an unbiased mind will realize that it is God, with His supreme intelligence, infinite knowledge and incomparable power, Who certainly created all these living beings.
In the following pages, we’ll explain the thoughts that passed through the mind of Darwin the barrel-mixer. In this way, we can demonstrate how those who adhere to the theory of evolution have deceived people.
We have another important reason for explaining the deceptiveness of this theory:
If someone tries to get you to believe in the theory of evolution, remember the facts that you have read in this book, and you will understand that this person is trying to deceive you. And then, you will be able to tell him that God created everything with His infinite knowledge.
Now, let’s have a look at the life of Darwin.
IT IS ALLAH
It is Allah Who created beavers
So you’ve learnt about beavers along with Karim. As you’ve seen, thanks to skills possessed at birth, these new friends of Karim can design buildings, which is in fact quite a difficult and complicated task. Then they carry out this plan with great skill. Unlike Karim’s sister, beavers do not go to school, nor are they trained for years. But they know exactly what to do, because there is a Supreme Being Who teaches them all these things. This being is Allah, Who created everything, including us.
Remember! A beaver could not have acquired the skill to build dams by chance. It could not have made its body just right for its needs. It could not have discovered by itself the shape to build the dams so that they should be strong enough to withstand the water pressure. And more importantly, it could not have ensured other beavers’ possessing the same skills.
There is one more point to note: Beavers could not live if even one of the features they possess were lacking. For example let’s consider their teeth. If their back teeth, though not worn down, kept growing like the incisor front teeth, they would become too large, would apply pressure on the jaw and make it impossible for the beaver to use its mouth.
How would the beaver gnaw trees and build dams in this case? How would it build its home? Of course it would not be able to do any of these things. It would not even be able to feed because of the structure of its mouth, so it would eventually starve to death.
Moreover, many organs other than its teeth are especially created for the tasks they perform. Transparent eyelids to protect its eyes when under water as well as special mechanisms that close its ears and nostrils to keep water out are special features which beavers have. Besides these, a beaver has webbed back feet and a stiff, flat tail, which help make the animal a powerful swimmer. These are all advantageous features a beaver has at birth.
You must have understood now why Karim has been so amazed by his little friends.
Karim’s little friends possess this body structure, and knowledge and skills to construct dams at birth. All beavers build their homes with Allah’s guidance and act in accordance with what He has “inspired” them to do. It is Almighty Allah Who has created these creatures and given them these superior skills.
Allah created all living things with the features that are most appropriate for the tasks they carry out and that fully meet their requirements.
Allah is compassionate to all beings. As Allah states in the Qur’an:
Your god is Allah alone, there is no god but Him. He encompasses all things in His knowledge. (Surah Ta Ha:98)
So you’ve learnt about beavers along with Karim. As you’ve seen, thanks to skills possessed at birth, these new friends of Karim can design buildings, which is in fact quite a difficult and complicated task. Then they carry out this plan with great skill. Unlike Karim’s sister, beavers do not go to school, nor are they trained for years. But they know exactly what to do, because there is a Supreme Being Who teaches them all these things. This being is Allah, Who created everything, including us.
Remember! A beaver could not have acquired the skill to build dams by chance. It could not have made its body just right for its needs. It could not have discovered by itself the shape to build the dams so that they should be strong enough to withstand the water pressure. And more importantly, it could not have ensured other beavers’ possessing the same skills.
There is one more point to note: Beavers could not live if even one of the features they possess were lacking. For example let’s consider their teeth. If their back teeth, though not worn down, kept growing like the incisor front teeth, they would become too large, would apply pressure on the jaw and make it impossible for the beaver to use its mouth.
How would the beaver gnaw trees and build dams in this case? How would it build its home? Of course it would not be able to do any of these things. It would not even be able to feed because of the structure of its mouth, so it would eventually starve to death.
Moreover, many organs other than its teeth are especially created for the tasks they perform. Transparent eyelids to protect its eyes when under water as well as special mechanisms that close its ears and nostrils to keep water out are special features which beavers have. Besides these, a beaver has webbed back feet and a stiff, flat tail, which help make the animal a powerful swimmer. These are all advantageous features a beaver has at birth.
You must have understood now why Karim has been so amazed by his little friends.
Karim’s little friends possess this body structure, and knowledge and skills to construct dams at birth. All beavers build their homes with Allah’s guidance and act in accordance with what He has “inspired” them to do. It is Almighty Allah Who has created these creatures and given them these superior skills.
Allah created all living things with the features that are most appropriate for the tasks they carry out and that fully meet their requirements.
Allah is compassionate to all beings. As Allah states in the Qur’an:
Your god is Allah alone, there is no god but Him. He encompasses all things in His knowledge. (Surah Ta Ha:98)
THE WORLD OF ANIMALS
PLAYFUL CATS WHO WANT TO BE CHERISHED
Cats are self-reliant animals that live without attachments. They never submit to their owners' wishes as do pet dogs. As you have most probably seen, cats meow when they feel hungry, rub against your feet when they want to be caressed, purr with pleasure when they are patted and convey many similar messages by the way they act.
Do you know that cats have perfect eyesight at night?
Yes, even in a dimly lit place these furry creatures can see. Allah has created their eyes differently from other eyes. In the dark, their eyes' pupils become larger and rounder to receive as much light as possible. This gives them keen eyesight.
This aside, a cat's eye has an additional layer behind the retina. Passing through the retina, light reaches this layer and is then reflected back to the retina. Light passes through the retina twice since this layer reflects the light back. Therefore, unlike human beings, cats can see very well in dimly lit or dark places.
Have you ever thought why cats' eyes sparkle at night?
This is related to the additional layer in cats' eyes we have just mentioned. As you know, this layer reflects the light like a mirror. It is this reflected light that makes their eyes look sparkling.
Do you know the features of a cat's paws?
In moments of danger, these tiny paws turn into predatory claws. What makes them dangerous are the sharp nails they hide in their paws.
Why do they always fall on their feet?
You know that cats always fall on their four feet, even when they fall from a height. The actual reason cats fall on their feet is that they use their tails to maintain their balance while falling and thus adjust the centres of gravity of their bodies and land on their paws. The One Who has given them such a feature that will ensure the safety of these animals that enjoy climbing trees and wandering on high places is our Mighty Lord, the All Compassionate, the Most Merciful.
Cats are self-reliant animals that live without attachments. They never submit to their owners' wishes as do pet dogs. As you have most probably seen, cats meow when they feel hungry, rub against your feet when they want to be caressed, purr with pleasure when they are patted and convey many similar messages by the way they act.
Do you know that cats have perfect eyesight at night?
Yes, even in a dimly lit place these furry creatures can see. Allah has created their eyes differently from other eyes. In the dark, their eyes' pupils become larger and rounder to receive as much light as possible. This gives them keen eyesight.
This aside, a cat's eye has an additional layer behind the retina. Passing through the retina, light reaches this layer and is then reflected back to the retina. Light passes through the retina twice since this layer reflects the light back. Therefore, unlike human beings, cats can see very well in dimly lit or dark places.
Have you ever thought why cats' eyes sparkle at night?
This is related to the additional layer in cats' eyes we have just mentioned. As you know, this layer reflects the light like a mirror. It is this reflected light that makes their eyes look sparkling.
Do you know the features of a cat's paws?
In moments of danger, these tiny paws turn into predatory claws. What makes them dangerous are the sharp nails they hide in their paws.
Why do they always fall on their feet?
You know that cats always fall on their four feet, even when they fall from a height. The actual reason cats fall on their feet is that they use their tails to maintain their balance while falling and thus adjust the centres of gravity of their bodies and land on their paws. The One Who has given them such a feature that will ensure the safety of these animals that enjoy climbing trees and wandering on high places is our Mighty Lord, the All Compassionate, the Most Merciful.
THE WORLD OF ANIMALS
GIANT ELEPHANTS
Elephants, the largest animals on land, have two major kinds of species; African and Asian elephants. African elephants are larger than the others. They may be as high as three and a half metres (12 feet) and their weight reach around six tons (12,000 pounds). Their fan-shaped ears are two metres (6.5 feet) long and one and a half metres (5 feet) wide. As you can imagine, with such a giant body, you can't keep an elephant at home as a pet.
What makes an elephant especially different is his trunk. This long trunk, similar to a garden hose, includes fifty thousand muscles. What you have read is right: "50,000" muscles! Its nostrils are at the tip of this trunk. Elephants use their trunks to put food and water into their mouths, to lift things and, of course, to smell. This trunk is capable of holding four litres of water. They either squirt this water into their mounts and drink it or spray it on their bodies.
Surprisingly, an elephant can even pick up a tiny pea seed with its trunk – which can lift such huge things – break it in its mouth and eat it. It is really amazing that such a huge animal can accomplish such delicate operations. This "multifunctional" trunk can be used as a long finger, a trumpet or sometimes as a loudspeaker.
Besides that, elephants use their trunks to spray water on themselves to have a shower or throw dust on themselves for a dust-bath. Yet, new-born elephants fail to use their trunks. They sometimes even step on their trunks and fall down. We may find this amusing but surely these little babies do not like it. A mother elephant accompanies her young elephant for twelve years. During the first six months, she teaches the baby how to use its trunk and she never becomes bored doing this.
On both sides of their mouths, elephants have two long sharp tusks. These tusks help them to protect themselves. Also, an elephant uses one of these tusks to dig holes in the ground and find water.
The teeth of these animals – which chew fibrous plants – wear out easily. For this reason, our Lord has given them a very important characteristic: Every worn-out tooth is replaced by another in the back row.
One full-grown elephant can eat 330 kilograms (726 pounds) of plants everyday. This amount is equal to six small bales of straw. Everyday, elephants spend most of their time feeding themselves.
Now, let us give you another interesting piece of information about elephants. Have you ever thought how these huge thick-skinned animals cool themselves? As you might imagine, elephants cannot sweat because of their thick skins. Instead, they cool themselves with the help of the water and mud they see around. Of course, elephants have other methods to freshen themselves. For example, they use their ears as fans and cool their bodies with them. The thin blood veins on their ears also cool them and cause overall refreshment.
Another feature of elephants has surprised hunters and zoologists for a long time. What astonished them was the rumbling of elephants' stomachs. While rumbling, elephants' stomachs make very loud noises. Yet, what is astonishing is not the loudness of these noises but the way elephants control them. In fact these noises have nothing to do with digestion. The elephants make these noises to detect the location of their friends. More surprisingly, in the face of a danger, they all of a sudden become silent. Once they sense the threat is over, they start making noise again. Thanks to this method, elephants can communicate with one another even from four kilometres away.
The migration stories of elephants have always astonished zoologists. These animals with their giant ears and huge bodies migrate in the dry seasons and always follow the same paths. What is even more interesting is that they clean up garbage such as chips of wood they find on their way. Since elephants are animals that spread over vast areas of land, it is essential that they establish strong "communications" between them. Elephants do not owe this communication to their sharp sense of smell alone. Beside this, Allah has created an organ on their forehead, which makes a hoarse noise. Thanks to this organ, elephants talk to each other with a secret, coded language other animals fail to understand. These hoarse noises elephants make can reach very long distances. For this reason, this special noise that elephants make is ideal for long distance conversation.
Elephants, the largest animals on land, have two major kinds of species; African and Asian elephants. African elephants are larger than the others. They may be as high as three and a half metres (12 feet) and their weight reach around six tons (12,000 pounds). Their fan-shaped ears are two metres (6.5 feet) long and one and a half metres (5 feet) wide. As you can imagine, with such a giant body, you can't keep an elephant at home as a pet.
What makes an elephant especially different is his trunk. This long trunk, similar to a garden hose, includes fifty thousand muscles. What you have read is right: "50,000" muscles! Its nostrils are at the tip of this trunk. Elephants use their trunks to put food and water into their mouths, to lift things and, of course, to smell. This trunk is capable of holding four litres of water. They either squirt this water into their mounts and drink it or spray it on their bodies.
Surprisingly, an elephant can even pick up a tiny pea seed with its trunk – which can lift such huge things – break it in its mouth and eat it. It is really amazing that such a huge animal can accomplish such delicate operations. This "multifunctional" trunk can be used as a long finger, a trumpet or sometimes as a loudspeaker.
Besides that, elephants use their trunks to spray water on themselves to have a shower or throw dust on themselves for a dust-bath. Yet, new-born elephants fail to use their trunks. They sometimes even step on their trunks and fall down. We may find this amusing but surely these little babies do not like it. A mother elephant accompanies her young elephant for twelve years. During the first six months, she teaches the baby how to use its trunk and she never becomes bored doing this.
On both sides of their mouths, elephants have two long sharp tusks. These tusks help them to protect themselves. Also, an elephant uses one of these tusks to dig holes in the ground and find water.
The teeth of these animals – which chew fibrous plants – wear out easily. For this reason, our Lord has given them a very important characteristic: Every worn-out tooth is replaced by another in the back row.
One full-grown elephant can eat 330 kilograms (726 pounds) of plants everyday. This amount is equal to six small bales of straw. Everyday, elephants spend most of their time feeding themselves.
Now, let us give you another interesting piece of information about elephants. Have you ever thought how these huge thick-skinned animals cool themselves? As you might imagine, elephants cannot sweat because of their thick skins. Instead, they cool themselves with the help of the water and mud they see around. Of course, elephants have other methods to freshen themselves. For example, they use their ears as fans and cool their bodies with them. The thin blood veins on their ears also cool them and cause overall refreshment.
Another feature of elephants has surprised hunters and zoologists for a long time. What astonished them was the rumbling of elephants' stomachs. While rumbling, elephants' stomachs make very loud noises. Yet, what is astonishing is not the loudness of these noises but the way elephants control them. In fact these noises have nothing to do with digestion. The elephants make these noises to detect the location of their friends. More surprisingly, in the face of a danger, they all of a sudden become silent. Once they sense the threat is over, they start making noise again. Thanks to this method, elephants can communicate with one another even from four kilometres away.
The migration stories of elephants have always astonished zoologists. These animals with their giant ears and huge bodies migrate in the dry seasons and always follow the same paths. What is even more interesting is that they clean up garbage such as chips of wood they find on their way. Since elephants are animals that spread over vast areas of land, it is essential that they establish strong "communications" between them. Elephants do not owe this communication to their sharp sense of smell alone. Beside this, Allah has created an organ on their forehead, which makes a hoarse noise. Thanks to this organ, elephants talk to each other with a secret, coded language other animals fail to understand. These hoarse noises elephants make can reach very long distances. For this reason, this special noise that elephants make is ideal for long distance conversation.
WONDERFUL CREATURES
COMPASS IN THE ANT’S EYE
We need guides to show us the direction when we travel to another country or another city. In particular, when we do not know the place we are going to, we definitely must have a compass and a map. Map shows us where we are and the compass shows us which way to go. We find the way by using these tools and consulting other people so we do not get lost. Have you ever wondered how other creatures find their way? Have you ever thought how an ant seeking food in the desert returns to its nest?
Black desert ants inhabiting the Mediterranean coasts of Tunisia are among those creatures who build their nests in the desert. These ants are very good at finding their way in the vast desert and getting back to their nests without the help of a compass or a map.
As the sun rises, temperatures in the desert reach up to 70oC (158oF). The ant leaves its nest to find food in the heat of the day. Frequently halting and turning around itself, it follows a devious route within an area that may be 200 metres (655 feet) away from the nest. You may see this route on the map. But do not think that the ant will get lost because of these zigzags. Once it finds a source of food, the ant follows a straight course and returns to the nest. With respect to their sizes, this journey of the ant may be compared to a man’s returning to his starting point taking a straight course after wandering 35-40 kilometres (22-25 miles) away from that point in the desert. How is it that an ant successfully does a task that is virtually impossible for a human?
It cannot be that the ant finds its direction by looking at objects. Signs and way-marks such as trees, rocks, rivers or lakes which help one find the way are quite rare in the desert. There is only sand all around. Even if there were such signs, it would not make any difference since it is not possible for an ant to keep these signs in mind, to memorise where they are and to use them while finding its way. Thinking about it this way, one can better understand the significance of the task that the ant performs. The ant can perform this difficult task thanks to the special body structure it has been given.
There is a special direction-determination system in the ant’s eyes. This system that Allah placed in the ant’s eyes is more advanced than mechanical devices that determine direction. Being able to perceive some rays that we cannot, the ant can determine directions and know where north and south are. Thanks to this ability, it is not difficult at all for the ant to estimate where its nest is and to return to it.Human beings have lately become aware of the characteristics of light. However the ant has known and used a characteristic of light, which was unknown to human beings, since it was born. Certainly such a perfect structure as the eye of this ant cannot be attributed to random coincidences. The eyes of the ant must have been so since it came into existence. Otherwise the ant could not return to the nest in the desert heat and could not survive. Indeed, eyes of all desert ants have been equipped with this system since the first day they came into existence. Allah, the All-Knowing, created these eyes for them.
We need guides to show us the direction when we travel to another country or another city. In particular, when we do not know the place we are going to, we definitely must have a compass and a map. Map shows us where we are and the compass shows us which way to go. We find the way by using these tools and consulting other people so we do not get lost. Have you ever wondered how other creatures find their way? Have you ever thought how an ant seeking food in the desert returns to its nest?
Black desert ants inhabiting the Mediterranean coasts of Tunisia are among those creatures who build their nests in the desert. These ants are very good at finding their way in the vast desert and getting back to their nests without the help of a compass or a map.
As the sun rises, temperatures in the desert reach up to 70oC (158oF). The ant leaves its nest to find food in the heat of the day. Frequently halting and turning around itself, it follows a devious route within an area that may be 200 metres (655 feet) away from the nest. You may see this route on the map. But do not think that the ant will get lost because of these zigzags. Once it finds a source of food, the ant follows a straight course and returns to the nest. With respect to their sizes, this journey of the ant may be compared to a man’s returning to his starting point taking a straight course after wandering 35-40 kilometres (22-25 miles) away from that point in the desert. How is it that an ant successfully does a task that is virtually impossible for a human?
It cannot be that the ant finds its direction by looking at objects. Signs and way-marks such as trees, rocks, rivers or lakes which help one find the way are quite rare in the desert. There is only sand all around. Even if there were such signs, it would not make any difference since it is not possible for an ant to keep these signs in mind, to memorise where they are and to use them while finding its way. Thinking about it this way, one can better understand the significance of the task that the ant performs. The ant can perform this difficult task thanks to the special body structure it has been given.
There is a special direction-determination system in the ant’s eyes. This system that Allah placed in the ant’s eyes is more advanced than mechanical devices that determine direction. Being able to perceive some rays that we cannot, the ant can determine directions and know where north and south are. Thanks to this ability, it is not difficult at all for the ant to estimate where its nest is and to return to it.Human beings have lately become aware of the characteristics of light. However the ant has known and used a characteristic of light, which was unknown to human beings, since it was born. Certainly such a perfect structure as the eye of this ant cannot be attributed to random coincidences. The eyes of the ant must have been so since it came into existence. Otherwise the ant could not return to the nest in the desert heat and could not survive. Indeed, eyes of all desert ants have been equipped with this system since the first day they came into existence. Allah, the All-Knowing, created these eyes for them.
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