| Small tips |  |
Using your watch   |
Forgot or lost your compass?  There seems to be only one solution: your hand watch. But it should be set according to solar time (2 hours back during summer, 1 hour back during winter). Place your watch horizontally, the handles looking towards the sun. Place vertically a match at the centre of the watch and make the shadow of the match coincide with the line of the hour handle. The hour handle forms an angle with the line connecting the centre and number 12 (midday). The bisector of this angle corresponds to the North-South direction. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No watch and no compass! Sent by our friend Nikos Nikitakis | Orientation without a watch or a compass On a flat surface nail a bar approx. 1 m. high and note the end of its shadow. After approx. 15 minutes, note the new point where the shadow falls. The two points give you the direction East - West. The first point is the one pointing to the West. The method is useful since many among us have digital watches; even those having analog ones forget how many hours they should turn back the hour (if they still remember they should turn the hour back and not forth...) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
What is visible to the naked eye...  |
If you can see the horizon line, then you are at a distance of 10 km. If you can see a house in details, then you are at a distance of 600 m. If you can distinguish vague shadows, then you are at a distance of 5 km. If you can distinguish hand gestures, then you are at a distance of 500 m. If you can distinguish the outline of trees, then you are at a distance of 2 km. If you can distinguish silhouettes, then you are at a distance of 400 m. If you can distinguish people, then you are at a distance of 850 m. If you can distinguish eyes, then you are at a distance of 75 m. If you can distinguish people's members, then you are at a distance of 700 m. If you can distinguish who is who, then you are at a distance of 50 m. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The shape of clouds  |
Clouds help us predict the weather. Here's how: 1. Cirri. Thin, white, transparent clouds, like feathers or crests. Very high in the sky. 2. Cumuli. White clouds, with a smoth base and a curly top, changing in shape very often. 3. Strati. Clouds seem like mist over the ground, the sky is gray. 4. Cumulo-nimbi. Gigantic cumuli with an obscure base, they look like castles. 5. Cirrostrati. These clouds give the sky a milky appearance. They form a halo around the moon and the sun. 6. Cirro-cumuli. They look like a herd of sheep. 7. Hypso-cumuli. They look like big sheep. 8. Hypso-strati. They form a blue-gray curtain, penetrable by the sun. 9. Strato-cumuli. They look like long and symmetrical cushions. 10. Strato-nimbi. Gray, with no definite shape, in an obscure background. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Explain the signs  |
Animals can also help predict the weather. Usually, though, they only tell the current weather! They are more sensitive than people to climate changes. So......., summer is close if: The leech curls its body to the bottom of a cup. Frogs croak at night. Swallows fly high to catch insects. Bats fly silently late at night. Cocks warble at irregular intervals. Spiders traverse the filaments that make up their web. Bees enter the hive and don't come out again (storm). Cats clean themselves for a long time, waving their legs over their ears. Snails and slugs come out of their nests. Fish jump out of the water. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wood for warmth  |
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In order to avoid phlyctaenae  |
With heavy shoes, it's better if you wear two pairs of stockings (a thin one and a heavier one). This way you usually avoid phlyctaenae. When your shoes are new, why not put a sticking plaster on the heel. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
If your clothes catch fire |
Don't run, rather roll on the ground or put out the fire with a blanket. If you bear burns, don't put any clothes on. You should visit a hospital immediately. |