There is a difference between the two – the Netherlands, short for the Kingdom of the Netherlands refers to the country, while Holland – actually, North and South Holland – are two provinces out of the 12 provinces that make up the country.

However, the two names are commonly used interchangeably and this could be due to historical reasons. Holland used to be just one province during the days of the United Provinces (1581-1795), where a few provinces in the region came together to form the precursor to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and most of the nation’s governmental and commercial power was concentrated there. Hence foreigners came to think of the Netherlands and Holland as one and the same.

Though the right term for the country would be the Netherlands, matters are not helped by the country’s national tourism board also using the term Holland to refer to the entire country and in its tourism website address. Some encyclopaedias and books also refer to ‘Holland’ as another name for the Netherlands, further contributing to the common use of both terms to refer to the country.

Sources:

Name: Factiva.com
Source: The Arizona Republic
Title: Holland not the same as Netherlands
Author: Clay Thompson
Publisher: The Arizona Republic
Issue Information: 1 March 2007
Description: What is the difference between Holland and the Netherlands?
Last accessed date: 14 Jul 2010

Name: Factiva.com
Source: The Daily Express
Title: Your questions answered
Publisher: Express Newspapers
Issue Information: 4 November 2006
Description: Is there any difference between Holland and The Netherlands, or are they different terms for the same country?
Last accessed date: 14 Jul 2010

Name: Factiva.com
Source: Boston Herald
Title: Good question; It’s time to brush up on geography by going Dutch
Author: Beth Teitell and Roger Michel
Issue Information: 1 November 1998
Description: “Q: There are questions you just can’t ask after the third grade, and I’ve been carrying one around for 30 years – are Holland and the Netherlands different countries? And who exactly are the Dutch? Please help me with my secret shame!”
Last accessed date: 14 Jul 2010

You may also wish to refer to the following sources for more information on the Netherlands and her history.

Web Resources

Source: http://www.holland.com/global/aboutholland/history/
Title: History – History – The Official Website of The Netherlands Board …
Last accessed date: 14 Jul 2010

Source: http://www.minbuza.nl/en/You_and_the_Netherlands/
About_the_Netherlands/Highlights_of_Dutch_History
Title: Highlights of Dutch History – MinBuza.nl
Last accessed date: 14 Jul 2010

Source: http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/
travel-advice-by-country/country-profile/
europe/netherlands/
Title: Country Profile: Netherlands
Last accessed date: 14 Jul 2010

 Answered by Ms Lynn Koh, Associate Librarian, Adult and Young People’s Services

Found this question interesting? What do you think? Post your comments.
If you have a different question, please email to ask@nlb.gov.sg instead of sending a comment

Image is retrieved from:

http://taralazar.wordpress.com/2009/04/26/marsha-riti/

According to C. Chew’s article, ‘Public Housing in Singapore’ from Infopedia:
“In the past, the size and layout of flats were guided by standard design plans, with some degree of variation. Hence, most of them tend to be rectangular in design, in order to achieve the outcome of high-density, high-rise developments.

However, over the years, the standard design plans for new flats have been updated to cater to the changing expectations and preferences of buyers. For example, executive flats were launched in the 1980s in response to the desire for bigger flats. These changes reflect the broader shift in the focus of public housing programmes from quantity to quality.

Whereas the emphasis of the early building programmes was on meeting the population’s basic need for proper shelter, there is now an emphasis on quality that extends beyond the design of the flats to the surrounding living environment, as evidenced by efforts to improve the landscape architecture and enhance the visual identity of housing estates and to provide better amenities for the residents. Hence, the flats in Singapore are now likely to come in more designs and shapes.”

Reference:
Chew, C. (2009). Public Housing in Singapore. Retrieved May 18, 2010, from Infopedia, http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_1585_2009-10-26.html

If you want to read more on the topic, here are books that you can check out at our libraries.

All Rights Reserved, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, c2009

What’s inside?: fascinating structures around the world by Laroche, Giles
Publisher: Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, c2009
Call No.: J 720 LAR
Click here to check for item availability

All Rights Reserved, Raintree, 2010

Architecture by Bingham, Jane
Publisher: London : Raintree, 2010
Call No.: J 720 BIN
Click here to check for item availability

All Rights Reserved, Gareth Stevens Pub., 2010

Architect by Cohn, Jessica
Publisher: Pleasantville, NY : Gareth Stevens Pub., 2010
Call No: J 720 COH
Click here to check for item availability

All Rights Reserved, Charlesbridge, c1998

13 buildings children should know by Munich : Prestel
Publisher: Watertown, MA : Charlesbridge, c1998
Call No.: J 720 ROE
Click here to check for item availability

Here are websites for information on the topic:
Title: Architecture for kids: Lessons and activities
URL: http://www.kinderart.com/architecture/

Title: Roman architecture – History for Kids!
URL: http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/romans/
architecture/romarch.htm

All websites are last accessed on 20 May 2010. Please refer to the terms and conditions on the homepages for use.
For the availability of the above book titles, please check the library catalogue.

Ms Isabel Tan
Librarian, Children’s Services

Former Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Goh Keng Swee has passed on early Friday morning (14th May 2010). He was 91.

Dr. Goh first entered the political realm in 1959  by running in the Legislative Assembly Election on the PAP ticket, and eventually became the first Finance Minister of Singapore. He eventually retired in 1984.

Apart from being the Finance Minister, Dr. Goh  also introduced National Service and streaming in school. He also had a hand in promoting tourism by calling for the need for the Jurong Bird Park, Singapore Zoo and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.

In Dr. Goh’s words:

“You are a prime minister but you have no army. How are you going to defend youself?” – Goh Keng Swee to Lee Kuan Yew, who had wanted a Territorial Army, a small part-time, low cost militia

“I decided to change the system simply because the teachers did not know what they were teaching. You’re teaching people English and you’re teaching it as a first subject, as if all these people are from English-speaking homes.” – Goh Keng Swee on shaking up Singapore’s education system

“We are not the philistines that our economic and material success might lead people to believe we are. We believe that there’s more to life than making money and that the orchestra would be worthwhile as it would raise the standard of culture of Singaporeans.” – Goh Keng Swee on the government’s support for the Singapore Symphony Orchestra

( Source: The Master Sculptor: Goh Keng Swee, Call No.: SING 959.570 NAI)

You can visit our Highbrowse post for more background on Dr. Goh.

 Originally posted by Yen Yen Toh, Librarian, Adult and People’s Services

Found this question interesting? What do you think? Post your comments.
If you have a different question, please email to ask@nlb.gov.sg instead of sending a comment

According to the book, Street Names of Singapore, “it is said that the Burmese street names, which occur in the area around Farrer Park, result from a wish expressed by an important Burmese resident of Singapore. Burma, now called Myanmar, was a part of the British Empire at the time.”

Other Burmese street names include Akyab, Ava, Bassein, Bhamo, Burmah, Martaban, Mergui, Pegu, Prome and Shan roads.

This explanation is backed up in the book, Toponymics: A study of Singapore street names, which explains that the Burmese street names, which are all in the same area, were an idea that “came from an old and respected Burmese resident who suggested it to the Municipality, which accepted the idea”.

Sources:

1. Title: Street names of Singapore

Author: Dunlop, Peter K. G.

Publisher: Singapore : Who’s Who Pub., 2000

Call No.: (R) SING English 959.57 DUN -[HIS]

2. Title: Toponymics : a study of Singapore street names .

Author: Savage, Victor R.

Publisher: Singapore : Eastern Universities Press, 2004.

Call No.: SING English 915.9570014 SAV / RSING English 915.9570014 SAV -[TRA]

 Originally answered by Ms Lynn Koh, Librarian, Adult and Young People’s Services

Found this question interesting? What do you think? Post your comments.
If you have a different question, please email to ask@nlb.gov.sg instead of sending a comment

Hiccupping is a sudden, unexpected intake of air that happens when the diaphragm spasms. The diaphragm may twinge when you eat too fast or there sould be some particles in the bloodstream that may irritate the organs near the diaphragm.

There are remedies for hiccups e.g., holding your breath, drinking water, etc. The reason that these remedies are thought to work is the view that carbon dioxide build-up in the blood will stop hiccups.

Also, people also believe that drinking water or pulling the tongue can stop hiccups becuase of the view that if the vagus nerve that runs from the brain to the stomach is stimulated, the spasms in the diaphragm can be stopped, thereby putting an end to hiccups. 

Sources:
[1] Title: World Book Encyclopedia
  Publisher: Chicago: Field Enterprises Educational Corp, 1917-
  Call no. R 031 WOR ( vol. 9)

2] Webpages on “Hiccups”
  http://www.emedicinehealth.com/
  http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/columns/?article=BN_Hiccups

For fun reads on hiccups, you can check out these books!

All Rights Reserved, Grosset & Dunlap, 2010
Title: I Can’t Stop Hiccuping
Author: Lauren Child
Call Number: JP English CHI
Publisher: New York, N.Y. : Grosset & Dunlap, 2010
Click here to check item availability

All Rights Reserved, Raintree, 2010
Title: Twitches And Sneezes
Author: Angela Royston
Call Number: JP English 612.2 ROY
Publisher: London : Raintree, 2010
Click here to check item availability

All Rights Reserved, Picture Window Books, c2009
Title: You blink twelve times a minute : and other freaky facts about the human body
Author: Barbara Seuling
Call Number: J English 612 SEU
Publisher: Minneapolis, Minn. : Picture Window Books, c2009
Click here to check item availability

Posted By:

Ms Chen Wanying
Children’s Librarian
Children’s Services

ASK about Myths & Facts

Happy Birthday To You is the most frequently sung song in the English-speaking world. It was derived from the song, Good Morning to All, written in 1893 by sisters Mildred Hill (1859 -1916) and Patty Hill (1868 – 1946).

History of the song
Mildred and Patty Hill were both sisters who are known for their work on kindergarten education in Kentucky. In 1893, they composed a collection of songs called Song Stories for the Kindergarten. Good Morning to All was one of the songs.

A number of events, possibly birthday parties, followed which lead to the substitution of the phrase ‘happy birthday’ into the song. Historical accounts from Kentucky suggest that the first time ‘happy birthday’ was used was for a birthday party at the Little Loomhouse. A historical marker was erected here by the Kentucky Historical Society in 2009 to honour the origins of the song. See how it looks here.

According to news sources (see References), it was first copyrighted in 1936 by Summy Company, who published Good Morning to All. In 1988, Time-Warner Corporation bought over the rights. The current copyright expires in 2030.

References

Posted by Ang Mei Jun,Associate Librarian, Adult & Young People’s Services

(Image courtesy of morel mushroom hunting)

Toadstool is a common term for fleshy and umbrella-shaped poisonous fungi. The word toadstool was thought to have originated from the German word “todes” which means death.

Mushroom is the term usually applied to edible species of fungi. Scientists who study fungi, however, make no such distinction between toadstools and mushrooms as most of them can be poisonous.

Many toadstools and mushrooms in the wild can be poisonous and most of the poisonous types belong to the family, Amanita. The commonly encountered poisonous fungi include the death cap, (a mushroom often adorned with one to several patches of thin white veil tissues and has a white pallid stalk), the destroying angel, (a totally white and tall mushroom), and the fly amanita, (a yellow-orange mushroom). Consuming these mushrooms will result in nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, liver damage and death.

It must be noted however that all mushrooms and toadstools in the wild have to be consumed only with professional advice.

Sources:
Toadstool. (2007). Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. Retrieved March 3, 2010, from Grolier Online http://gme.grolier.com/cgi-bin/article?assetid=0291140-0
American Mushrooms: http://americanmushrooms.com

Read more about mushrooms and toadstools!

All Rights Reserved, London: Dorling Kindersley
Mushrooms by Thomas Laessoe
Publisher: London : Dorling Kindersley, 2000
Call No.: English 579.6 LAE
View item availability here

All Rights Reserved, London: Dorling Kindersley
The Edible Mushroom Book by Anna Del Conte
Publisher: London : Dorling Kindersley, 2008
Call No.:English 641.358 EDI
View item availability here

All Rights Reserved, Portland: Timber Press
Edible and poisonous mushrooms of the world by Ian R. Hall
Publisher: Portland : Timber Press, 2003
Call No.: English 579.6 EDI
View item availability here

Posted By:

Ms Chen Wanying
Children’s Librarian
Children’s Services

Image taken from: http://epicute.com

February is a month of clelebrations with sweets and all things nice. But after feasting on candy on New Year’s and Valentine’s, have you ever wondered what goes into the yummy delicious candy?

Well, candy is made of supersaturated sugar or sucrose.

When you cook up a batch of candy, you cook sugar, water, and various other ingredients, (depending on the flavour of the candy) to extremely high temperatures. At these high temperatures, the sugar remains in solution, even though much of the water has boiled away. But when the candy has been cooked and begins to cool, there is more sugar in solution than is normally possible. The solution is said to be supersaturated with sugar.

Supersaturation is an unstable state. The sugar molecules will begin to crystallize to solid . Stirring or jostling of any kind can cause the sugar to begin crystallizing.

The fact that sugar solidifies into crystals is extremely important in candy making. There are basically two categories of candies – crystalline candies (candies which contain crystals in their finished form, such as fudge and fondant and noncrystalline candies (candies which do not contain crystals, such as lollipops, taffy, and caramels).

The ingredients and procedures for noncrystalline candies are specifically designed to prevent the formation of sugar crystals, because they give the resulting candy a grainy texture.

Here are more books about candy that you can check out!

All Rights Reserved, Hoboken, N.J. : Wiley Pub., c2005
Candy making for dummies by David Jones
Publisher: Hoboken, N.J. : Wiley Pub., c2005
Call No.: English 641.853 JON -[COO]
Click here to check for item availability

All Rights Reserved, Portland, Or. : Collectors Press, c2003
Candy : the sweet history by Beth Kimmerle.
Publisher: Portland, Or. : Collectors Press, c2003
Call No.:English q641.853 KIM -[COO]
Click here to check for item availiability

All Rights Reserved, New York, NY : Assouline, c2005
Candy by Delphine Moreau
Publisher: New York, NY : Assouline, c2005 Call No.: English 641.85309 MOR -[COO]
Click here to check for item availability

Posted by:

Ms Chen Wanying
Children’s Librarian
Children’s Services

You can ASK! a question via:

ASK! E-mail: ask@nlb.gov.sg
ASK! SMS: 9184-2015
ASK! Phone: 6332-3255

On 1st Dec, you can also ASK! Chat with us online!

How does ASK! Chat work?

Communicate with our librarians via online chat widgets available at:
ASK! blog
Public Libraries Singapore
NLB eResources

Chat widgets will be available on library catalogue and multimedia stations at Sengkang Public Library and Woodlands Regional Library at a later date.

This is a trial enquiry service running from Dec 1, 2009 to February 28, 2010.

Read on…

*For questions that require personal data to be revealed, for example, your NRIC or your membership number, please call our Helpdesk at 6332-3255 or approach the Customer Service Counter at any public library.

[Congratulations Marcus Chua of P 4-Diligence from Opera Estate Primary, for winning the Primary 4 level Kids ASK! Competition held in his school!

This question stood out and got me thinking- if you could create a new image for pirates, what pirate pet would you pick for them?]

Image is a picture of Parrot Jack from Pirates for parties.com, performing a parrot show for a children’s birthday party with the Parrots of the Caribbean & is retrieved from: http://piratesforparties.com/images/parrot_show_4.jpg

There are no historical accounts to show that real pirates of the past carried parrots. However there are fictional accounts and many assume that this started from the popularity of the book ‘Treasure Island’ in 1881 by Robert Louis Stevenson. In the book, there is a pirate named Long-John Silver who kept a parrot for a pet. 

According to Tobias Gibson of ‘Pirates of the Caribbean, in Fact and Fiction’, it is safe to conclude that pirates probably had parrots as pets even though there are insufficient written accounts. This is because historical evidence shows that it was common for animals to be transported by ships, and during the time of the Golden Age of Piracy, selling and buying exotic animals was a common business and was popular among royalty in Europe.

Tobias Gibson wrote: “The more exotic the animal, the more in demand and the more valuable the animal would be. A talking bird would fetch a few doubloons in the Royal Courts of Europe, as would New World Monkeys. We also know that if something was of value, then pirates would plunder it. Some pirates were known to emulate the lifestyles of royalty. Whatever was good enough for the royal courts was also good enough for the well-to-do Pirate. To own an exotic animal would have been a status symbol. If parrots were popular with the upper class, then pirates would want them for either status or financial gain.”

Reference:
Tobias Gibson . (January 16, 2007). A Pyrate’s Life: pirates, parrots and pets. In Pirates of the Caribbean, in Fact and Fiction. Retrieved 26 November 2009, from http://blindkat.hegewisch.net/pirates/pirates.html.

Cecil Adams. (October 12, 2007 ). Why are pirates depicted with a parrot on their shoulder? . In the Straight Dope. Retrieved 26 November 2009, from http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2729/why-are-pirates-depicted-with-a-parrot-on-their-shoulder.

If you want to read more on the topic, here are books that you can check out at our libraries.

All Rights Reserved, Franklin Watts, 2008.

Pirate ship by Julia Bruce
Publisher: London : Franklin Watts, 2008.
Call No.: J 910.4 BRU

Click here to check for item availability

All Rights Reserved, Capstone Press, c2008.

The golden age of pirates : an interactive history adventure by Bob Temple
Publisher: Mankato, Minn. : Capstone Press, c2008.
Call No.: J 910.4 TEM
Click here to check for item availability

All Rights Reserved, PowerKids Press, 2008.

A day in the life of a pirate by Emma Helbrough
Publisher: New York: PowerKids Press, 2008.
Click here to check for item availability

All websites are last accessed on 26 November 2009. Please refer to the terms and conditions on the homepages for use.
For the availability of the above book titles, please check the library catalogue.

Ms Sharifah A. Latif
Assoc. Librarian, Children’s Services