By the numbers: Christmas Trees

White House
Where: Blue Room of the White House, Washington, D.C.
Height: 19 feet
Type: Fraser fir
Harvested: Jefferson, N.C.
Fun fact: Arrived by horse-drawn carriage

Rockefeller Center
Where: New York City
Height and weight: 80 feet, 10 tons
Type: Norway spruce
Harvested: Flanders, N.J. (survived superstorm Sandy)
Fun fact: Once taken down, the tree will be turned into timber for Habitat for Humanity

Average household
Where: Living rooms over the world
Height: 6 feet, 9 inches
Type: Usually Douglas fir
Harvested: Tree farms in Michigan, North Carolina and other states

Stuff these facts in your stocking
28 Percentage of men who return Christmas gifts
62 Percentage of women who start shopping for presents before Thanksgiving
28 Percentage of people still shopping for presents on Christmas Eve
24,053 Miles of Christmas wrapping paper produced by Hallmark, one of nation’s top three manufacturers. There equator covers 24,901 miles.
Source: Los Angeles Times

- Compiled by CHLOE BEAVER, St. Petersburg High

Hoop Dreams

As a 12-year-old, Russian native Irina Akimova dreamed of performing with Cirque du Soleil. Now at 30, she is the hoops manipulator for Cirque du Soleil’s Kooza. Kooza means “box” in Sanskrit, which is why she’s in a box, above, for this Times’ photo shoot. Akimova twirls multiple hoops around her legs, waist and arms at one time, and does it with pride; she loves the show. “It’s my life,” she says. She loves it so much, she says, that she has put off having a family until she’s done with this dream. “I’m going to keep performing until they kick me out.” Kooza runs through Dec. 16 under the big tent in the Tropicana Field parking lot, 1 Tropicana Drive, St. Petersburg. Performances are 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays, 1 and 5 p.m. Sundays. The prices are $43.50-$143.50 for adults, and $33-$104.50 for children ages 2-12. -- BRIANNA JOHNSON, Lakewood High

TED talks

When St. Petersburg High School student Harsha Kuchampudi learned he had been selected to give a “TED” talk in Canada, he didn’t go around bragging.  In fact one of his teachers, Jamie Day, only learned about the honor because he heard another student mention it.

“He never would have told any of us,” Day said with a chuckle.

Kuchampudi is a senior in the International Baccalaureate program who is described as humble, polite and “very, very bright,” as Day put it. But recently he stepped into an international spotlight. Kuchampudi spoke at a conference known as TEDxIB@YorkSchool, a name that may require some translation. It was a conference formed in the spirit of TED lectures — talks on technology, engineering and design, which have become extremely popular on the Internet. This conference, at the York School in Toronto, was for students in IB programs, as well as adults. And the somewhat vague theme was: “Taking on the World.”
IB teachers spread word of the opportunity, and Kuchampudi applied. Some of his own experiences made him settle on the topic of biotechnology. Kuchampudi has volunteered at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, where he assisted in the clinical research unit. Most of the time he helped nurses and patients, but “every now and then I got the opportunity to go watch the biomedical engineers and it was really fascinating.”

He also was an intern with the University of South Florida’s Ecosystems Technology Group, under scientist David Fries, who uses an underwater rover that can take scientific measurements and report them via Twitter. After learning that he had been selected to attend the conference, Kuchampudi gave his talk at the Toronto school last month, telling the audience — in person and online — that “biotechnology can truly revolutionize the world.”

You can watch it at new.livestream.com/tedx/ibyorkschool. His portion is in Session 1, about an hour and six minutes in. -- CURTIS KRUEGER, Tampa Bay Times