Definition:
A house is a building with connected rooms in which people of the same family or group live.
Fun Facts
1. Bricks are made from baked mud and clay. Red building bricks are crafted by mixing clay, sand, and water, pressing the mixture into rectangular molds, and baking them in massive industrial ovens called kilns at temperatures up to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit! This baking process fuses the minerals together into rock-hard, weather-resistant blocks.
2. Igloos trap body heat using pocketed air in hard snow blocks. Traditional snow igloos built in the Arctic don't have heaters, but they can keep the inside up to 40 or 60 degrees warmer than the freezing outdoor air! Packed snow contains millions of tiny trapped air pockets that act as a thermal barrier, trapping the natural body heat radiated by the people inside.
3. Ancient Romans invented central home heating over 2,000 years ago. Wealthy Romans warmed their homes using a system called a hypocaust. Workers built raised tile floors resting on stone pillars and directed hot air and smoke from a basement furnace underneath the rooms and through hollow channels inside the walls!
4. The world's oldest continuously inhabited house is over 10,000 years old. In the ancient city of Jericho, archaeologists found stone foundations and walls of homes dating back to around 8000 BC. People have lived in clustered residential communities and permanent homes there for thousands of years!
5. Some traditional homes in Iceland have grass growing on their roofs. Known as turf houses, these unique homes feature thick walls made of stone and soil, covered by living grass roofs. The thick root mats keep out bitter Arctic winds, heavy rain, and freezing snow while blending seamlessly into the green hills.
6. Treehouses in Papua New Guinea are built up to 110 feet in the air. The Korowai people of West Papua build wooden homes high up in the rainforest canopy atop sturdy banyan trees. Elevating their homes keeps families safe from floodwaters, jungle insects, and wild animals on the forest floor.
7. Shipping containers are being recycled into modern homes. Retired steel cargo containers that used to carry toys, clothes, and electronics across ocean cargo ships are now being cut open, insulated, and stacked like giant metal building blocks to build modern, eco-friendly houses!