How many people belive in Zeus, Thor, or the Sphinx any more?
For example:
Thor
Thor was the Norse god of thunder. He was said to be a huge man with red hair and a beard. He was a symbol of tremendous strength and power and was believed bto make thunderbolts which fell from the clouds.
Inside a storm cloud, the bumping of water and ice particles creates a build-up of static electricity. Positive charge piles up at the top of the cloud; negative charge piles up at the bottom and tries to escape to the ground. When the difference between the charge is large enough, a lightning stroke flashes either from the bottom to the top of the cloud or from the bottom of the cloud to the ground.
Forked lightning begins when a "leader stroke" zigzags towards the ground at 100 km/second (62 mps), taking the easiest path. It creates a path of electricity charged air for a return, or main, stroke to shoot back immediatly. It is this return stroke that we see.
Thunderclouds form when warm, wet air surges upwards into the sky and cools dramaticly. Inside these clouds, some of the water freezes and strong air currents make the ice and water droplets bump together. This knocks tiny particles called electrons from the ice and so there is a build-up of electrical charge. The charge is released by a stroke of lightning. The lightning heats the air around it to an incredible 30,000 °C (54,000°F) - five times hotter than the surface of the Sun. This heat causes the air to expand very fast - in fact faster than the speed of sound. It is this which causes the crash of thunder.-The Dorling Kindersley Science Encyclopedia
Sphinx
The Egyptian Sphinx has a human's head on a lions body. For over a thousand years it has been used by witches and wizards to guard valuables and secret hideaways. Highly intelligent, the Sphinx delights in puzzles and riddles. It is usually dangerous only when what it is guarding is threatened. -JK ROWLING, AUTHOR OF HARRY POTTER, FANTASY WIZARD STORY
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