NOVEMBER 2020 TEACHER REFERENCE PRESENTATION CLASS 7 onwards TABLE OF CONTENTS NOVEMBER 2020 CLASS 7 onwards Pick of the Month Gap Profiles Global Updates ❖ Door To Hell ❖ Nadia Comaneci ❖ New ‘Air India One’ ❖ ‘Blue Flag’ tag for Indian beaches Discover India Around the World ❖ 2020 Nobel Peace Prize ❖ Kongthong Village ❖ Cairo Snippets ❖ Nadal equals Federer’s Born This Month Gappenings record ❖ Apple’s ‘Floating’ Store ❖ Bhanu Athaiya no more Door To Hell Pick of the Month The Darvaza Crater, commonly referred to as the 'Door to Hell', is located in the middle of the Karakum desert, in Turkmenistan. It is unique as it has been burning continuously for close to 50 years now. Its fiery glow can be seen for miles around. How was it formed? The huge crater is not a natural formation. Its origin is disputed, but the theory most widely accepted, involves a Soviet expedition to explore for oil reserves in the site, in 1971. Identified as a potential oil reserve, geologists started the drilling operations to assess the quantity of oil available at the site. They, however, discovered that the area housed huge natural gas reserves instead of oil. While the drilling process was on, the ground beneath the drilling rig collapsed, opening into a huge, methane gas-filled crater. Fearing the spread of the toxic gas, which is harmful to the environment, the researchers set the crater on fire, hoping it would burn out in a few hours. This was a miscalculation by the scientists, as the crater continues to burn to this day. Door To Hell Pick of the Month The Expedition to Door to Hell In 2013, George Kourounis, a Canadian explorer, became the first and the only person till date to have ventured into the burning pit, as part of an expedition. The aim was to collect soil samples from the pit, and to find out whether life can exist in such a harsh environment. It was discovered that bacteria were present, despite the hot, methane-rich environment. Surprisingly, these bacteria were not found in any of the surrounding soil outside of the crater. This expedition also helped scientists to experiment whether life could survive in similar conditions elsewhere in the universe. Kourounis travelled to the bottom of the crater, held by a series of ropes and encased in a heat-reflective suit. He used self-contained breathing apparatus and a custom-made climbing harness that would not melt from the extreme heat. Tourist Attraction In recent years, the crater has become one of the country's few tourist attractions, drawing adventurers from around the world. Tourists risk their lives by going near the crater's edge, which is not fenced. It is also dangerous to do so as the ground soil often crumbles away. Door To Hell Pick of the Month Did You Know ❖ The crater is also known as the ‘Gates of Hell’. ❖ It is 225 feet (69 metres) wide and 99 feet (30 metres) deep. ❖ Named the 'Door to Hell' by the locals, it refers to the fire, Ask the kids to locate the country boiling mud and orange flames in the large crater. of Turkmenistan on the world map. ❖ Scientists are unable to predict when the burning will actually With this background, educate stop as they have no accurate information on the amount of gas them on the giant burning crater, left in this sinkhole. that is located in the middle of the desert, that has been spewing flames close to 50 years now. Door To Hell Pick of the Month What is 'Flaring of Gas'? In oil and natural gas drilling operations, most of the time, the natural gas cannot be captured. Unlike oil, which can be stored in tanks indefinitely after drilling, natural gas needs to be immediately processed. If there is an excess of natural gas that cannot be piped to a processing facility, drillers often burn the natural gas to get rid of it. This process is called 'flaring'. Nadia Comaneci Gap Profiles Nadia Comaneci is a popular Romanian gymnast and one of the most famous athletes in Olympic history. A living legend, she remains a role model for gymnasts across the world. Early life Nadia Comaneci was born in November 1961, in Romania. Growing up, she was always an energetic child. To keep her engaged, her mother enrolled her into gymnastic classes. Nadia fell in love with the sport and used any chance she had, to jump around and practice. The difficult routines in gymnastics came almost natural to her, and she enjoyed doing them. Her talent was recognised by a coach who trained her. She started taking part in various gymnastics competition surprising the spectators with her dazzling performance. In 1970, at the age of 9, she became the youngest gymnast ever to win the Romanian Nationals. Nadia Comaneci Gap Profiles The Olympic Fame Nadia’s claim to fame came when she was just 14 years old. In 1976, she participated in the Montreal Olympics in Canada and took the world by storm. The judges had no other option but to give her a perfect score of 10 for her flawless and stunning performance. She became the first gymnast in Olympic history to score a perfect 10. At the Olympics, gymnasts are rated from 1 to 10 as they perform their routines. She went on to receive six more during this competition and won three gold medals for the uneven bars, balance beam and individual all-around, and a bronze medal for her floor exercise. She became an international star overnight. Four years later, in the 1980 Moscow Olympics, she came home with 2 gold medals and 2 silver medals. Nadia Comaneci Gap Profiles Retirement After a long and amazing gymnastics career, she retired from the sport in 1984. Currently, Nadia co-owns an academy called the 'Bart Conner Gymnastic Academy' with her husband Bart Conner. She is also associated with ‘Perfect 10 Production’, a television production company and Grips, a gymnastic supplies company. She runs her own clinic called the 'Nadia Comaneci Children's Clinic' in Romania. The clinic provides free or low- cost medical care for children. She also writes for gymnastic publications and travels the world promoting the sport. Accolades She has received numerous awards and recognitions for her achievements. She was named the 'Personality of the Year' by BBC in 1976 and 'Female Athlete of the Year' by the Associated Press. She was awarded the Olympic Order twice. When she received the award for the first time in 1984, she became its youngest recipient. Olympic Order is the highest award given by the International Olympic Committee. In 1993, she was admitted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame. In 2000, she was named one of the Athletes of the Century by the Laureus World Sports Academy. Nadia Comaneci Gap Profiles Did You Know ❖ She was named after a Russian actress called Nadya. Nadia means ‘hope’. ❖ Her gymnastic training began when she was just 6 years old. ❖ She has won 9 Olympic medals in the sport (5 gold, 3 silver Ask the kids to name some and 1 bronze). sports events played at the Olympic Games. Gymnastics ❖ She holds a world record for getting the most number of would be one among them. perfect 10 scores (seven) at a single Olympic event. ❖ When Nadia was given a perfect score of 10 at the Olympic Lead the discussion to one of Games in 1976, the scoreboards were not designed to display the most famous athletes in the 10.0 score as people thought it was impossible to get a Olympic history: Nadia perfect score. It just displayed her score as 1.00. Comaneci. ❖ She is the only athlete to receive the Olympic Order twice. Highlight her achievements. ❖ She holds dual citizenship of both Romania and USA. ❖ In 2003, she published a book called 'Letters to a Young Gymnast'. Nadia Comaneci Gap Profiles What are ‘Comaneci Salto’ and ‘Comaneci Dismount’? Comaneci Salto and Comaneci Dismount are two difficult moves on the uneven bars in gymnastics that are named after Nadia Comaneci. The Comaneci Salto is rated at a high difficulty level, even to this day. New ‘Air India One’ Global Update India now has a custom-made aircraft to ferry the top political leaders of the nation. Named ‘Air India One’, it will be exclusively used to fly the President, the Vice President and the Prime Minister of India on their official tours within the country and abroad. Until now, the dignitaries used to fly in the state-run airline, Air India's Boeing-747 for international travel, and the Indian Air Force aircraft for domestic travel. These were temporarily reconfigured for their travel. When the B747 aircraft are not flying the dignitaries, they are used by Air India for commercial operations. With the arrival of the special Boeing 777 aircraft, the decades old Boeing 747 aircraft will be removed from the Air India VVIP fleet. New ‘Air India One’ Global Update About Air India One ‘Air India One’ is the call sign of any aircraft with the President, the Vice President or the Prime Minister of India, on board. Built in the U.S.A by jet maker Boeing, the modified aircraft has ‘Bharat’ and ‘India’ written on it, along with the Ashoka Emblem. Its tail has the Indian National Flag painted over it. Special Features The modified Air India One, with impressive interiors, is a high- tech aircraft. It can function as a full-fledged office space. It has a conference room, a cabin for VVIP passengers, a medical centre as well as seats for other dignitaries, press and staff.