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World’s Largest Crochet Blanket. But Wait – There is a Happy Ending

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largest-crochet-blanket

Women in India made this crochet blanket, that was certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest crochet blanket in the world. But before you say, waste of yarn, look what they did afterwards!

They gave away the individual 40 * 40 inches sections that comprised the huge blanket to charity via a group of Non-Governmental Organizations.

The organizer of this mammoth event was 44-year-old crochet-lover Subashri Natarajan, who had this to say:

“I started the wonderful art of crochet from a young age. At the age of 10, I remembered very clearly playing with yarn creating beautiful dreams with crochet. I have been a very ambitious child always wanting to achieve great things in life. This dream of making it big in the world stayed with me into adulthood. I have always been looking for opportunities to come my way and finally decided that I have to create an opportunity and not wait for  one. It is at this time I decided to research on Guinness World Records projects related to crochet.”

Watch the video of this record breaking event:

Over 1,000 participants aged eight to 85, from 14 countries, contributed by creating hundreds of 40 x 40 in sections to make one enormous blanket.

Largest-crochet-blanket-laid-out

Look at the size of that! Covered the whole football field! Well done!

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Republic of the Congo for Kids

The other day we learned about the Democratic Republic of the Congo and I said it was not the same country as the Republic of the Congo, so let’s talk about that one today. 

It’s another nation in central Africa and is bordered by DRC, as well a Gabon, Cameroon, Central African Republic, and the Angolan exclave of Cabinda, as well as the Atlantic Ocean. To distinguish it from Big Congo, it’s also referred to Congo-Brazzaville (Brazzaville is the capital), the Congo Republic or just Congo (though the DRC is sometimes just called the Congo, too). 

Congo Republic Basics

  • The Republic of the Congo is much smaller than its similarly named neighbor, at 132,000 square miles, or 342,000 square kilometers. It has a population of more than six million people. 
  • Brazzaville is the capital and largest city, which was named for the colony’s founder, Pierre Savorgnan de Brazzá. It has a president and prime minister but is considered an authoritarian dictatorship. 
  • The official language is French but other national languages are also recognized.
  • Like its neighbor it was named for the Congo River, and when it was a colony of France it was called French Congo or Middle Congo. It gained independence from France in 1960. 
  • The country has savanna plains, tropical forests, the river, mountains and beaches. It is ecologically diverse, with around 400 species of mammals, 1,000 birds and 10,000 plant species, about 3,000 of which are unique to the nation. 

Republic of the Congo National Symbols 

The flag of the Congo has a yellow stripe running diagonally through the center, with a green section above and red below. This flag was first used in 1959 but was changed from 1970-1991 after the DRC was established. In 1991 this flag was adopted again. 

The national anthem is “La Congolaise” or “The Congolese,” which also was first adopted in 1959 and returned in 1991.  

The CIA says the elephant and lion are national symbols, as both are found on the country’s coat of arms (along with the motto in French, Unity, Work Progress). 

Republic of Congo Activities for Kids

Older kids might be interested to learn that Charles de Gaulle led the Free French forces from Brazzaville, and Congo was the capital of teh Free French movement from 1940-43. The Charles de Gaulle house, where he lived, is now the home of the French ambassador. 

Learn more about the Odzala-Kokoua National Park, one of the oldest national parks in Africa, which is home to 2,000 unique life forms. 

On Teachers Pay Teachers the resources for Republic of the Congo are all mixed in with the DRC content, but here are a few: country study, reading comprehension, more reading passages, passages and questions and more reading passages and questions. 

Republic of Congo and Big Congo eat many of the same foods, and moambe chicken is considered a national dish in both countries. Lots of meals have a starchy component like cassava or corn flour mash (known as fufu or ugali), which are often eaten with stew. Try dongo dongo, a stew made with okra and fish or other meat. 

Global Smarties has a post that’s a little bit about both Congos, including learning ideas for kids and adults.