ratio of word probabilities predicted from brain for bee and pliers

close this window

bee

pliers

top 10 words in brain distribution (in article):
species human male wolf time type state common body wild
top 10 words in brain distribution (in article):
shoe form design material jewellery metal hand piece ancient cut
top 10 words in brain distribution (not in article):
animal horse wear vehicle wheel breed cat car hunt gear
top 10 words in brain distribution (not in article):
tea tooth pearl kite culture type century time wear shape
times more probable under bee 30 20 10 6 4 2.5 1.25 1 1.25 2.5 4 6 10 20 30 times more probable under pliers
(words not in the model)
Bees'" are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily "'Apoidea'", presently classified by the unranked taxon name "'Anthophila'". There are nearly 20,000 known species of bee, in nine recognized families, though many are undescribed and the actual number is probably higher. They are found on every continent except Antarctica, in every habitat on the planet that contains insect-pollinated flowering plants. Introduction. Bees are adapted for feeding on nectar and pollen, the former primarily as an energy source, and the latter primarily for protein and other nutrients. Most pollen is used as food for larvae. Bees have a long proboscis (a complex "tongue") that enables them to obtain the nectar from flowers. They have antennae almost universally made up of 13 segments in males and 12 in females, as is typical for the superfamily. Bees all have two pairs of wings, the hind pair being the smaller of the two; in a very few species, one sex or caste has relatively short wings that make flight difficult or impossible, but none is wingless. The smallest bee is "Trigona minima", a stingless bee whose workers are about 2.1 mm (5 64") long. The largest bee in the world is "Megachile pluto", a leafcutter bee whose females can attain a length of 39 mm (1.5"). Members of the family Halictidae, or sweat bees, are the most common type of bee in the Northern Hemisphere, though they are small and often mistaken for wasps or flies. The best-known bee species is the European honey bee, which, as its name suggests, produces honey, as do a few other types of bee. Human management of this species is known as beekeeping or apiculture. Bees are the favorite meal of "Merops apiaster", the bee-eater bird. Other common predators are kingbirds, mockingbirds, bee wolves, and dragonflies. Pollination. Bees play an important role in pollinating flowering plants, and are the major type of pollinator in ecosystems that contain flowering plants. Bees either focus on gathering nectar or on gathering pollen depending on demand, especially in social species. Bees gathering nectar may accomplish pollination, but bees that are deliberately gathering pollen are more efficient pollinators. It is estimated that History. Pliers in the general sense are an ancient and simple invention, no singular point in history or singular inventor can be credited. Early metal working processes from several millennia BC would have required plier-like devices to handle hot materials in the process of smithing or casting. Development from wooden to bronze pliers would have probably happened sometime prior to 3000 BC. Among the oldest illustrations of pliers are those showing the Greek god Hephaestus in his smithy. Today, pliers intended principally to be used for safely handling hot objects are usually called tongs. The number of different designs of pliers grew with the invention of the different objects which they were used to handle: horse shoes, fasteners, wire, pipes, electrical and electronic components. Design. The basic design of pliers has changed little since their origins, with the pair of "handles", the "pivot" (often formed by a rivet), and the "head" section with the gripping jaws or cutting edges forming the three elements. In distinction to a pair of scissors or shears, the plier's jaws always meet each other at one pivot angle. Pliers are an instrument that convert a power grip—the curling of the fingers into the palm of the hand—into a precision grip, directing the power of the hand's grip in a precise fashion on to the objects to be gripped. The handles are long relative to the shorter nose of the pliers. The two arms thus act as first class levers with a mechanical advantage, increasing the force applied by the hand's grip and concentrating it on the work piece. The materials used to make pliers consist mainly of steel alloys with additives such as vanadium or chromium, to improve alloy strength and prevent corrosion. Often pliers have insulated grips to ensure better handling and prevent electrical conductivity. In some lines of fine work (such as jewellery or musical instrument repair), some specialised pliers feature a layer of comparatively soft metal (such as brass) over the two plates of the head of the pliers to reduce pressure placed on some fine tools or materials. Making entire pliers out of softer metals would be impractical, reducing the strength required to break or bend them.