id
stringlengths 1
6
| url
stringlengths 35
214
| title
stringlengths 1
118
| text
stringlengths 1
237k
|
|---|---|---|---|
6046 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/David%20Hume | David Hume | David Hume (7 May 1711 – 25 August 1776) was a philosopher and historian from Scotland. When he was still alive, people thought of him as a historian. He wrote a series of large books called The History of England. But today, people think of Hume as an important philosopher.
Works
In his books on philosophy, Hume said that many of our beliefs do not come from reason. Instead, they come from our instincts or feelings. For example, reason does not tell us that one thing causes another. Instead, we see one thing and then we see another, and we feel a link between the two. Similarly, reason does not tell us that someone is a good person. Instead, we see that the person is kind and friendly, and we feel a special moral feeling. Because Hume thought that these beliefs do not come from reason, people call him a "skeptical" or "anti-rationalist" philosopher.
Hume is famous for his 'Induction Fallacy'. This draws attention to a common mistake people make. People see something, and make claims that what they see will always be as they see it. For example, people see only white swans and claim that all swans are white. This is 'fallacious' or mistaken, because it is always possible that they then will see a black swan.
Hume was also skeptical about religion. He was not a religious person and religious people did not like his opinions. He did not believe in miracles. He said that suicide wasn't always wrong, but never said whether or not he believed in God. In 1776, when he was dying, his friends found him very calm about death, despite him not believing in an Afterlife. Today, Hume's books are very important to philosophers who are interested in religion.
Influence
Today's philosophers sometimes use the term 'Hume's fork' to refer to Hume calling everything we can think about either a relation of ideas (things like mathematics, that must be true) or a matter of fact (like science, where we have to look at things to tell whether or not they are true).
Another philosopher, Immanuel Kant, read some of Hume's books and changed his mind about some important things. Kant said Hume had made him wake up from a sleeping dogmatism, the traditional metaphysics.
Books
Here are Hume's most important books:
A Treatise of Human Nature: Being an Attempt to introduce the experimental Method of Reasoning into Moral Subjects. (1739-40)
In this large book, Hume talks about the human mind and tries to figure out how it works. He talks about knowledge, cause and effect, emotions, right and wrong, and many other things.
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (1748)
In this small book, Hume talks about many of the same things from the Treatise, like knowledge and cause and effect. He tried to make this book easy to read.
An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (1751)
This is another small book, and again, Hume tried to make it easy to read. The book is about right and wrong.
Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (after Hume died)
In this book, Hume has three characters who argue with each other about God.
References
1711 births
1776 deaths
People from Edinburgh
18th-century British philosophers |
6050 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath | Bath | A bath (UK English) or bathtub (US English) is a basin large enough for people sit in when washing their body. The bath is usually in the bathroom. A less common name for a bath is a washtub.
Sometimes people will add scents, oils and salts to the bath for better experience.
A bath is also a place where people can sit in water (or other liquids, often hot) for their health. This is where the town name Bath comes from. Public baths for relaxing were built in all parts of the Roman Empire.
Other
Bird bath
Bathhouse
Steam bath
Home
Hygiene |
6057 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brush | Brush | A brush is a tool with bristles or wires or other filaments sticking out. There are many kinds. Most brushes have a long part at one end to hold (the handle), on the other end from the head that carries the bristles or filaments. We use brushes for cleaning, making hair look good, painting, and other purposes.
Brushes for cleaning
Many kinds of brushes are made for cleaning, for example toothbrushes or brushes for cleaning floors.
Paint brushes
We use paint brushes for putting ink or paint on paper. If a brush is dipped 1/3 to 1/4 of it’s length into a can of paint, a good brush will ideally pick up the perfect amount of paint and spread it on a surface in a film that is smooth and uniform and absent of any drips, dips, or brush marks. Paint brushes typically come in two forms, synthetic, and natural. Synthetic brushes are usually made from products such as nylon, while natural refers to bristles from an animal source. Computer graphics uses digital paintbrushes for making pictures.
Paint brushes can have three shapes:
Round: The long, close-together bristles of these brushes mean they can hold more paint. This is why many artists like them for painting large things and for color washes.
Flat: These are good for spreading paint.
Fan-shaped: These mix paint well.
Brush care
Clean paint from brushes after you use them. This is very important for oil and acrylic paint because when the paint is dry, taking it off can break the brush.
Never leave brushes in water (etc.) with the bristle end down. This is because the bristles can change shape.
Sizes and materials
We can buy brushes in different sizes and materials. Here are some sorts.
Decorators' brushes
The sizes of brushes used for painting and decorating (changing the colour or look of a room) are usually in millimeters or inches. This shows how wide the head is.
Here are some sizes:
1/8", 1/4", 3/8", 1/2", 5/8", 3/4", 7/8", 1", 1¼", 1½", 2", 2½", 3", 3½", 4".
10 mm, 20 mm, 30 mm, 40 mm, 50 mm, 60 mm, 70 mm, 80 mm, 90 mm, 100 mm.
We can buy brushes with natural or synthetic (man-made) bristles. Handles (the part of the brush we hold) may be wood or plastic.
Artists' brushes
Artists' brushes usually have sizes with numbers, but there is no standard.
From smallest to largest, the sizes are:
7/0 (also 0000000), 6/0, 5/0, 4/0, 000, 00, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 25, 26, 28, 30.
We use sizes 000 to 20 most often.
Bristles may be natural -- either soft hair or hog (pig) bristle -- or synthetic (man-made).
Artists' brush handles (the part of the brush we hold) are often wooden, but the cheapest brushes may have plastic handles. Many cheap handles are made of unfinished wood; better quality handles are of finished wood.
References
Basic English 850 words
Tools |
6068 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starch | Starch | Starch is a complex carbohydrate. It is made of many glucose units joined by chemical bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants as an energy store. It is the most common carbohydrate in human diets. Pasta, potatoes, bread, and other starchy foods are made out of carbohydrates.
Starch in every day activities.
Starch in food
Some good food sources of starch are cereals, bread, potatoes, grains, peas, and beans. Starch is also used for thickening sauces in cooking and thickening cold foods during a preheat. Starch is a white powder that is tasteless and odourless. Corn starch or cornflour is known as a popular kind of starch made from corn.
Foods with a lot of starch produce more energy than other foods. However, if this energy is not used, it is turned into fat by the liver through de novo lipogenesis.
Laundry starch
There are also different kinds of starch, like laundry starch, which gives clothing a smooth and crisp feel. Sweat and dirt from a person’s wrist and neck will stick to the starch on the clothes, not to the fibers of the clothes, and will wash away along with the starch. Then, after each laundry load, the starch can be used again.
Other facts
Starch glues are used in wood, cotton, and bonding of paper. Animals and humans have amylase, so they can digest starch.
Starch was used in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries to stiffen the collars and ruffs of the fine linen which surrounded the neck. Starch also requires heat to thicken. The actual temperature depends on the type of starch.
Carbohydrates |
6070 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas%20Hobbes | Thomas Hobbes | Thomas Hobbes (5 April 1588 – 4 December 1679) was a philosopher from England. His most famous book is Leviathan (1651).
Writings
Hobbes mainly wrote about government and law—he was a political philosopher. He tried to show that the best kind of government has one in which society was organised under one authority. All individuals in that society give up some rights for the sake of protection. There is no doctrine of "separation of powers" in Hobbes's discussion. According to him, the sovereign power must control civil, military, judicial, and ecclesiastical powers.
Studies
Looking at human nature, we will see that humans are very selfish and that we are willing to hurt each other if we think it will help us. Naturally, humans are all equal because we are all strong enough to kill each other—even a child can kill a strong man while he sleeps. Imagine what things would be like without a government. It would be terrible—a "state of war". There would not be enough stuff for everyone, and people would disagree about who got what. Some people would fight each other, and everyone else would be very worried about their own safety. No one would be able to trust anyone else or make plans for the future. Life would be "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short" (people would be alone, poor, mean, and would not live for long). Next, Hobbes argues that it would be a good idea for everyone to stop fighting and choose a Sovereign which could be one man or an assembly of men. Everyone should agree to obey the Sovereign, and give him all power of coercion or force of restraint under law. Once the Sovereign is in place, everyone has to obey him, even those who disagree with him. This is because everyone already agreed to obey him no matter what. Hobbes says it's better to be mostly safe under an all-powerful Sovereign, than to be in a state of war.
Hobbes wanted his argument to be like math, with each step leading to the next. However, many people disagreed with his argument. Some said that Hobbes was in favor of rebellion, because he said that people were naturally equal. Others said that humans are not as selfish as Hobbes thought. Today, most people do not like the idea of an all-powerful government. Nevertheless, Hobbes's argument was a very important one, and philosophers who are interested in government or political theory still study Hobbes's books very carefully.
References
1588 births
1679 deaths
17th-century English philosophers |
6075 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevi | Trevi | Trevi (Latin: Trebiae), an old town and comune of Italy, in the province of Perugia in east central Umbria, 42°53N 12°45E, at 424 meters (1391 ft) above sea-level on the lower part of Mt. Serano above the wide plain of the Clitunno river. It is 10 km (6 mi) S.S.E. of Foligno and 20 km (12 mi) N. of Spoleto. The 2003 count of people by the government said that there were 7800 people living in the comune: about half of the people live in the town and the other people live in the country near town. The frazioni of Trevi (the smaller towns that belong to Trevi) are Borgo, Bovara, Cannaiola, Coste, Pigge, Manciano, Matigge, Parrano, Picciche, S. Lorenzo, S. Maria in Valle.
Most of the town is densely built with many buildings predating the 18th century. It crowns a summit and when one is in the centre the streets are mostly gently sloping. From the town one can see one of the best views in Umbria, over 50 km (30 mi) to the west and on clear days as far as Perugia to the north and even Monte Amiata in southern Tuscany. On the main train route from Rome to Ancona there is a station at the botton of Monte Serano servicing Trevi but the rapid Intercity services do not stop. The train service from Florence to Rome by way of Perugia also stops there: Local bus connections are not frequent. Trevi is a pleasant place to visit and of recent accommodation and good eating has become available; there are few restaurants, but they are good and more numerous than in other nearby small towns.
History
In Roman times, Pliny the Elder said Trevi was a city of the old Umbrians, and an old stone with Umbrian writing was found in the comune, at Bovara, in the 1950s. "Treviae" is also listed in the 5th‑century Bordeaux Itinerary. We do not know the history of Trevi in very old times, although some walls in the center part of the town on the hill are as old as the 1st century BC. Trevi started to spread out away from the hill during the time of the Empire, when Hadrian fixed the main road in the area, the Via Flaminia; this made a small town in the plain grow, at a place now called Pietrarossa. For hundreds of years people have been finding old things there: there were Roman baths that people were probably using in the time of St. Francis, who came here and told people to bathe in them.
In old times people say that Trevi ruled the valley below it, all the way to the Colli Martani, the line of mountains that run down the middle of Umbria. Trevi had a bishop until the 11th century, and was an important place belonging to the Lombards (in Italian, a gastaldato). At the beginning of the 13th century, Trevi made itself independent and became a free commune. It often fought on the side of Perugia to defend itself against nearby Spoleto, and fought wars with other communes in the area, winning some and losing some. It was invaded by Spoleto in the 14th century and by the Trinci, rulers of Foligno. In 1438 Trevi became part of the lands belonging to the Church as part of the "legation" of Perugia: after that Trevi's history was as part of the States of the Church, then (1860) of the united Kingdom of Italy.
Trevi was at its most prosperous in the 15th century: the town was so important for those who wanted to buy and sell that people called it "il porto secco" — the dry port. In 1470, with Foligno, Trevi became the fourth town in Italy to have a printing press, managed by the first known printing company. Many big renaissance palazzi of the town indicate the contemporaneous prosperity.
Important old buildings
Trevi is inside two walls of the Middle Ages; at the end of the 20th century, people found that the inside walls were Roman.
Trevi has about twenty old churches, some of which are interesting:
the Duomo Sant' Emiliano, a Romanesque building: it has a carved door and the back of the church has more sculpture. The inside of the church was fixed in the 18th century and does not look old.
the Madonna delle Lacrime, a church from the Middle Ages, for monks, with big wall paintings painted to thank God for good things. The best painting is the Adoration of the Magi by Perugino: it is the last painting he put his name and the date on.
S. Martino, has old Lombard stones and good paintings by Mezzastris
S. Francesco, a large Gothic building. It is now a museum.
The country area around the town has many Romanesque churches: some of those on the plain were built on the Roman Via Flaminia and indicate the road's former route. Some of the stone in these churches is old Roman and derives from buildings long gone.
Museums
Trevi's big museum is the Museo S. Francesco, next to the Gothic church S. Francesco, which is not used for worship any more. It has a few Roman stones, but mostly many Umbrian paintings from the late Middle Ages to the 17th century: the best painting once was part of an altar, and it is by Lo Spagna. There is a very interesting group of "ex‑votos" (paintings to thank God for saving a person from a sickness or an accident) painted by ordinary people, not famous artists, of the 16th‑ century to the 18th‑century.
The Museo della Civiltà dell' Olivo demonstrates the local olive culture: how they are planted, how they grow, and how they are made into oil. The Flash Art Museum is dedicated to contemporary art and is the seat of an international art magazine.
Books to learn more about Trevi
The oldest big book on the history of Trevi is Historia universale dello Stato temporale ed ecclesiastico di Trevi, 1233 pages, by Durastante Natalucci, Trevi, 1745. It was translated into a more modern and readable Italian by Carlo Zenobi, a local historian, between 1987 and 1994.
An important book for the plain below Trevi is Cannaiola, Memorie storiche raccolte negli anni 1873‑74 by Father (now the Blessed) Pietro Bonilli.
Pro Trevi, the town's volunteer tourism office, has helped people write and print new books about the history, plants and animals of Trevi and the country nearby.
Other websites
Official Site
Trevi Tourist Office (Pro Trevi)
Bill Thayer's site
Towns in Italy
Settlements in Umbria |
6077 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicomachus | Nicomachus | Nicomachos or Nicomachus is a Greek name. It can mean:
Nicomachus of Gerasa, an ancient mathematician
Nicomachus, the father of Aristotle and court physician (doctor) to King Amyntas III of Macedon. Nicomachus died when Aristotle was about 10. Nicomachus wanted Aristotle to follow in his footsteps. But Aristotle did not become a doctor but a philosopher.
Given names |
6078 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logo | Logo | A logo is a picture or drawing that is used by a person, group, or company to mark who they are. A wordmark, or 'logotype', is a logo made entirely of a word or words. It is usually the name of a product or organisation.
A company or group can use a 'logo' on the things that they make, like on the things they sell, on letters, and in advertisements. When a person sees the logo picture, that person knows that the thing they see the logo on came from that company.
Logos can have letters and words in them. Many logos have the name of the company or group in them.
Most logos are very simple drawings with only a small number of colors. Some logos are only in black and white.
In many countries, companies and groups should tell their country's government about the logo they are using. If they do this, the government can help stop a different company or group from using the same logo, so that every one can be sure that the logo is only used by the people who used it first. This is sometimes called a 'trade mark'.
Logos are not used only by companies. Many schools have logos. Some cities have logos. Clubs can have logos. Even people can have their own logos if they want. The heraldic badge is probably the oldest form of logo in the world.
References
Related pages
Logogram
Symbols |
6079 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picture | Picture | A picture, also called an image, is a group of coloured points on a flat surface that looks the same as something else. For example, a picture can look the same as an object or a person. Pictures can also be drawings, paintings or photographs. People who make such pictures are called artists, photographers or painters. Pictures are very helpful. Sometimes people say pictures are worth a thousand words. Pictures and diagrams can be used to explain how to do things, and thus a picture is a kind of tool. A moment captured in an image.
An image is something that can be seen, but it is not physically there. It can be a photograph, a painting, or a picture on a television or computer screen. A lens can make an image of an object appear somewhere else. Cameras use this to make the image that becomes a photograph.
Making Pictures
Most pictures today are 'photographs'. Photographs are made with cameras. A camera makes a picture that looks very real.
When there were no cameras, people made pictures by using paint, brushes, pencils, crayons, pens, and other things that people can write or draw with. Pictures made with paint and brush are called 'paintings'. Before cameras, some artists were able to make very real looking pictures with just paint. Sometimes pictures made with pencil or pen are called 'sketches', if they are made quickly and only look a little bit like the real thing.
Usually pictures are put on paper. Pictures made with paint are usually put on a strong, rough fabric called 'canvas'. Sometimes pictures can be put on walls or other things, even glass.
Some places, such as churches have pictures on windows made out of colored pieces of glass. These are called stained glass.
Special types of Pictures
If people take a lot of pictures, and show them one at a time, very fast, they can make a picture that looks like it is moving. This is called a "moving picture", or a movie. A television shows people a moving picture by using light.
A slide show is a series of pictures arranged to tell a story, for example to illustrate a narrative.
A projector shines light from a light bulb through a kind of transparent picture. When light shines through this kind of picture onto a screen or another flat place, the picture can be seen on that flat place. This is often used to show movies and slide shows to an audience.
Some people make pictures that do not look flat, by taking two regular flat pictures at the same time. People have to move their eyes in a special way or use a stereoscope so they can see both pictures together. When they look at the pictures using their binocular vision correctly, the picture does not look flat. This is called '3D' or 'three dimensional'.
Cutaway pictures show what is inside of something, that cannot actually be seen.
Graphics |
6081 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Building | Building | Building may be a noun or a verb. Building is one of the most ancient human skills. It is part of how we have survived and it is the clearest symbol of every civilization. Although some other animals build simple structures, e.g. birds, ants and bees, humans have learned to build in a great many different ways to suit different needs and local conditions. We build mostly for shelter. Buildings can shelter people, or animals, or machinery, or anything. The simplest building is just a roof to keep the space beneath dry, or shady. Adding walls gives more shelter, from the wind or rain. It also gives security.
By putting a window in a wall with or without glass, we let light inside the building. We leave a hole somewhere big enough to go in and out, with a door which can be opened and closed. Often the door will have a lock so the building can be left secure.
If a building is to last for a long time, it must have a solid foundation. This foundation is like the root of a tree, which is sunk a bit deep into the ground and supports the walls. If the ground is soft, the foundation must be very deep and strong so that the building can have a strong contact with the ground.
If a building is high enough, it can have more than one floor. People can climb from one floor to the next by a staircase, or perhaps by a lift or elevator. This is known as going upstairs, or downstairs. Buildings can also have a floor under the ground. This is usually called a cellar or basement.
Buildings can be beautiful or ugly, exciting or boring. Architects are people trained to design buildings. Their work is called architecture and it can be an art form. Look at the building where you are reading this. Look at the shapes and shadows. Is there enough light? Do some rooms make you feel like staying in them while others make you want to hurry away? Do they have interesting features? Think about how you could have made the building better. Almost anybody can become an architect if they want to. But only a good architect or a good builder can design or build a beautiful building.
Types of buildings
Shelters are places to live (residential buildings). We also build places to work and to make things, places to store things, places to sell things, places where sick people can go to be treated, places to put people who break our laws. We build to do many things.
Some buildings are meeting places. A large number of people can gather at a temple or theater or stadium to worship god or to hear or see what other people say or do. In Christendom they are called churches. Until we began to build skyscrapers, religious buildings were usually the largest, tallest buildings in a town. Fortresses and castles were also big but usually were not in town. Big buildings require much work to make, thus can symbolize power. They impress and they give a focus to cities.
Buildings are made of various materials. Where wood is plentiful, it is much used. Many very old buildings of stone exist. Concrete is used almost everywhere. Starting in the late 19th century, skyscrapers were made of steel, increasingly combined with glass.
Where people live or stay
Apartment or flat
Bungalow
Cabin
Castle
Condominium
Cottage
Hotel (including motels and inns)
House
Where people work
Courthouse
School, Study hall, dormitory
Farm, barn, silo
Fire Station
Fort
Greenhouse
Jail or prison
Observatory
Office
Police station
Power plant
Shop
Skyscraper
Culture and entertainment
Amphitheater
Aquarium
Arena
Casino
Cemeteries
Mausoleum
Stadium
Theatre
Movie Theatres
Zoo
Arcades
Transportation
Airport
Bus station
Dock
Lighthouse
Train station
Civil engineering |
6082 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candle | Candle | A candle is a stick made of wax with a string (a thin piece of rope) straight in the middle. If someone puts the string on fire, the flame burns slowly but for a long time.
Fire can burn string very fast. But in a candle, the string does not burn fast, because the fire melts the wax instead. The wax sometimes drips down the side of the candle. When the melted wax is far from the flame, it gets hard again, and can be used again in a new candle.
The flame is very hot, since it is a very small, real fire. The light blue part of the flame can be as hot as . It can still burn people and things. If the fire spreads, it can grow into a very big fire and even burn down a house or building.
If the flame is kept on the candle long enough, the candle will slowly get shorter and shorter until it is gone. The fire on a candle can be put out by blowing air on it. There is also a special tool called a "candle snuffer" that covers the fire with a small metal cup and puts it out. Today, candle snuffers are usually only used in churches or in places where candles are up very high. Stopping the fire stops the candle from burning until it is all gone.
Before light bulbs, candles were used so people could see at night. Some people still use candles today when electricity is down, or because they like the little amount of light that candles make. Some people also like candles because they look nice, or because they smell nice. A special kind of candle called "citronella" can help keep bugs away.
Related pages
Lantern
Electric light
Advent
References
Light sources
Fire
Christian symbols |
6085 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salamander | Salamander | Salamanders are amphibians. They are the order Caudata (or Urodela). There are about 500 different species.
Salamanders live in water and on land, and look rather like lizards, with four legs and a tail. They hatch as larvae from eggs in the water. At that stage, they have gills that stick out.
Most salamanders live on land when they are adults, after their change of shape (metamorphosis). On land, salamanders live in moist habitats. Their method of respiration varies. Some salamanders stay in the water, but look like adults. These are called newts. Some salamanders retain gills into sexual maturity, such as the Axolotl. This process is called neoteny.
Often, salamanders may have a chemical defence to predators; they are poisonous to eat. In this case, they will have warning colouration. Otherwise, if not poisonous, they will usually have camouflage.
Salamanders are the only tetrapods able to regenerate limbs, as well as other body parts.
Features
Respiration differs between species of salamanders. Species that lack lungs respire through gills. In most cases, these are external gills, visible as tufts on either side of the head, although the amphiumas have internal gills and gill slits. Some salamanders that are terrestrial have lungs that are used in respiration, although these are simple and sac-like, unlike the more complex organs found in mammals. Many species, such as the Olm, have both lungs and gills as adults.
Some terrestrial species lack both lungs and gills and perform gas exchange through their skin, a process known as valerian respiration in which the capillary beds are spread throughout the epidermis, and inside the mouth. Even some species with lungs can also respire through the skin in this manner.
The skin of salamanders secretes mucus. This helps to keep the animal moist when on dry land, and maintains their salt balance while in water, as well as providing a lubricant during swimming. Salamanders also secrete poison from glands in their skin, and some additionally have skin glands for secreting courtship pheromones.
Hunting is yet another unique aspect of salamanders. In the lungless salamanders, muscles surrounding the hyoid bone contract to create pressure and actually "shoot" the hyoid bone out of the mouth along with the tongue. The tip of the tongue is composed of a mucus which creates a sticky end to which the prey is captured. Muscles in the pelvic region are used in order to reel the tongue and the hyoid back to its original position.
Many of the highly aquatic species, however, have no muscles in the tongue, and do not use it for capturing prey, while most other species have a mobile tongue, but without the adaptations to the hyoid bone. Most species of salamander have small teeth in both the upper and lower jaws. Unlike frogs, even the larvae of salamanders possess these teeth.
To find their prey, salamanders use trichromatic color vision in the ultraviolet range. Permanently subterranean salamanders have reduced eyes, which may even be covered by a layer of skin. The larvae, and the adults of some highly aquatic species, also have a lateral line organ, similar to that of fish, which can detect changes in water pressure. Salamanders have no external ear, and only a vestigial middle ear.
Salamanders can drop their tail to escape predators. The tail will drop off and wriggle around for a little while, and the salamanders will either run away or stay still enough to not be noticed while the predator is distracted. Salamanders routinely regenerate complex tissues. Within only a few weeks of losing a piece of limb, a salamander perfectly reforms the missing structure.
Classification
There are ten families in the order Urodela, divided into three suborders:
References
Other websites
Caudata Culture
Salamander Video
Caudatamedia |
6086 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newt | Newt | Newts or efts are small amphibia. They are in a subfamily of the salamanders. They are found in North America, Europe, and North Asia.
Life cycle
Females lay eggs and leave them. Tadpoles are born from those eggs.
Newts have three life stages. First as a tiny aquatic larva, which gradually undergoes metamorphosis. Then they leave the water for a year as a juvenile called an eft. They go back in the water to breed as adults.
In some species the adults stay in water for the rest of their lives. Others are land-based, but return to water each year to breed.
Defences
Many newts produce toxins in their skin secretions as a defence against predators. They have bright skin colours as a warning to other animals.
Taricha newts of western North America are particularly toxic; the rough-skinned newt Taricha granulosa of the Pacific Northwest produces more than enough tetrodotoxin to kill an adult human. Recently, a 29-year-old man in Coos Bay, Oregon, who had been drinking heavily, swallowed a rough-skin newt for a dare; he died later that day despite hospital treatment.
Most newts can be safely handled, provided that the toxins they produce are not ingested or allowed to come in contact with mucous membranes, or breaks in the skin. After handling, proper hand-washing techniques should be followed due to the risk from the toxins they produce and bacteria they carry, such as salmonella. It is illegal to handle or disturb great crested newts in the UK without a licence.
Are newts a related group?
The term "newt" has traditionally been used as a functional term for salamanders living in water, and not a systematic unit. The relationship between the genera has been uncertain, though they may be a natural systematic unit. Newer molecular analysis tend to suggest they actually do form a clade.
Newts only appear in one subfamily of salamanders, the Pleurodelinae (of the family Salamandridae).
Some genera occasionally listed as Pleurodelinae are not newts (Salamandrina and Euproctus).
References
Amphibians |
6087 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poison | Poison | Poisons are substances which cause death or injury when taken in by a living thing. It may be taken in as drink or food, or absorbed through the skin. The damage is usually done by a chemical reaction. The effect of the poison varies with the amount which is absorbed (taken in or inhaled). Substances which are poisonous are called toxic, but any substance can be toxic if too much of it is consumed. If poisoning causes death, it is lethal poison.
Legally, and in hazardous chemical labeling, poisons are especially toxic substances. Less toxic substances are labeled "harmful", "irritant", or not labeled at all.
In medicine and zoology, toxins and venoms are different from poisons. Toxins are the result of a biological process. Venoms are substances which the organism uses to harm other species. Certain organisms use venoms for hunting, or as a defense. If an organism is poisonous, such as many mushrooms, it is harmful to eat. If it is venomous, like snakes or honeybees, it has a harmful bite or sting. For some very deadly bites humans have developed effective antivenoms.
Often it is only the quantity of a substance that makes the difference. Drinking alcoholic drinks may lead to aggressive behaviour, problems with speech, and different forms of amnesia. This effect is called intoxication. People who drink even more may go into shock. At the same time, alcohol can be used as a disinfectant.
Sometimes, poisons have an antidote. The antidote of a poison will slow or reverse its effects. The antidote may itself be a poison. As an example, atropine can be used as an antidote against certain nerve gases, like tabun or sarin, or against certain insecticides. It is also used as a medication. In high doses, atropine is a poison. Yet atropine is a core medicine in the World Health Organization's "essential drugs list".
There are other types of dangerous materials. These are:
Carcinogens (cancer-causing poisons), like acrylamide, asbestos, and benzene
Mutagens (mutation-causing poisons) such as radiation and benzene
Teratogens (birth defect-causing poisons), like thalidomide and alcohol
Pollution is also sometimes poisonous, for example toxic waste.
Poison gas
In wars, some countries use poison gases against their enemies. This is called chemical warfare.
Poison gases such as chlorine gas and mustard gas were used in World War I. In World War II, the Nazis used a form of hydrogen cyanide gas to kill many people in their death camps and concentration camps.
Poison gas has also been used to intentionally kill humans as method of death penalty.
Being poisoned by gas sometimes happens accidentally. For example, a faulty furnace or heating system can cause carbon monoxide poisoning.
There are many types of poison gases. For example, corrosive poison gases cause serious burns to the skin, eyes, and lungs. Nerve agents are poisons that can kill by damaging the central nervous system. Blister agents cause severe blisters on the inside and the outside of the body. Choking agents make fluid build up in a person's lungs until they drown.
Deaths
In 2010, poisoning resulted in about 180,000 deaths, down from 200,000 in 1990. There were approximately 727,500 emergency department visits in the United States involving poisonings—3.3% of all injury-related encounters.
Related pages
Exposure to toxins
Toxicity (how toxins affect the body)
Chemical weapons
NFPA 704 "fire diamond" (system that warns people how poisonous and dangerous a certain chemical is)
References
Basic English 850 words
Health |
6088 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder | Powder | Powder is very small, dry pieces or grains. When we press some dry solids very hard, or when we cut something up into lots of small pieces, we can sometimes make powder.
For example, people sometimes put face powder on their faces, when they want to look good. Sometimes sports players put powder on their hands, to make them dry. We put curry powder in our food, to make it taste stronger. We put washing powder in the washing machine when we want to have clean clothes. People use gunpowder to make bombs and fireworks.
"Powder" is also a verb - meaning to apply powder.
Materials
Cosmetics |
6089 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larva | Larva | Many animals develop in separate stages. A larva (plural: larvae) develops from the egg in those animals. It is a separate life stage from the adult reproductive stage. A larva does not look like the adult animal, and changes shape (known as metamorphosis) as it grows up. There may be several larval stages before the adult form. Tadpoles, maggots and caterpillars are larvae.
Marine organisms with a larval stage often release large numbers of eggs and sperms into the water column. After fertilisation, the eggs develop into tiny larvae. The larvae develop and grow for some time before metamorphosing into adults. Most marine invertebrates and many fish have a pelagic larval stage or pelagic eggs. These live in the plankton, and may be transported long distances.
Evolutionary theory
Probably the most widely accepted theory explaining the evolution of larval stages is the need for dispersal. Sessile organisms such as barnacles and tunicates, and sea-floor groups like mussels and crabs, need some way to move their young into new territory, since they cannot move long distances as adults. Many species have relatively long pelagic larval stages (how long a larva is in the water column). During this time, larvae feed and grow, and many species move through several stages of development. For example, most barnacles moult through six nauplius larva stages before moulting to a cipris, when they look to settle. The larvae eat different food from the adults, and disperse.
The other consideration is the small size of the eggs. If animals lay many small eggs (and most do), then the young stages cannot live the life the adults lead. They must live a separate life until they have the size and capability to live as an adult. This is what the larvae do.
Origin of vertebrates
A long-standing theory is that in transformed larvae of sea-squirts (tunicates) lies the origin of vertebrates. Tunicates are sessile, but their larvae are mobile, and have some features found in early vertebrates. The process of paedomorphosis, where juvenile features are retained in the adult, is the proposed mechanism. Genome analysis does show that the tunicates are the closest living relatives of vertebrates.
References
Animals
Developmental biology |
6090 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphibian | Amphibian | Amphibians are members of the class Amphibia. The living ones are frogs (including toads), salamanders (including newts) and caecilians. They are four-legged vertebrates which are cold blooded.
Amphibians lay their eggs in water, usually in a foam nest. After hatching they are tadpoles, which live in the water and have gills. The tadpoles change into adults in a process called metamorphosis. When they are adult, they have lungs to breathe instead of gills, and legs. Adult amphibians also use their skin to take in oxygen, and some species of salamanders do not have lungs.
The earliest amphibians evolved in the Devonian from lobe-finned fish which had jointed leg-like fins with digits. They could crawl along the sea bottom. Some had developed primitive lungs to help them breathe air when the stagnant pools of the Devonian swamps were low in oxygen. They could also use their strong fins to hoist themselves out of the water and onto dry land if necessary.
For tens of millions of years, during the Carboniferous and early Permian, amphibia were top predators on land, especially in the low-lying tropical river systems. In drier conditions, they were less effective, and the ancestors of mammals and reptiles (the Synapsids and Sauropsids) gradually took over the land. They laid cleidoic eggs, which had hard shells, and could be laid out of water. Most of the early large amphibians went extinct in the Triassic period; a few survived to the Lower Cretaceous.
The only living amphibiana today are the Lissamphibia. These include the Anura (frogs and toads), Caudata (salamanders and newts) and Gymnophiona (caecilians). They are all rather small, compared with mammals or reptiles. The smallest frog and vertebrate in the world is the New Guinea frog (Paedophryne amauensis). The biggest amphibian is the Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus).
Amphibia are found everywhere in the world, except Antarctica, and there are about 5,565 different species: 88% of them are in the Anura. In number of species, they are more successful than mammals, though they occupy a smaller range of habitats. However, it is said that amphibian populations have been declining all over the world. Conservation is therefore an important concern.
Living amphibia
Anura: Frogs (including toads)
Caudata: Salamanders (including newts)
Gymnophiona: Legless amphibia, similar to earthworms or snakes
Adaptations
Respiration
Amphibians like to live near freshwater in warm weather. There have also been species which live in forests, deserts and arctic conditions. Adult amphibians use lungs, and they also get oxygen through their skin, so long as it is moist.
Defences
Amphibians may be camouflaged in brown and green, and if so they are prey for birds and reptiles. Their colour gives them camouflage, which is their main defence.
Alternatively, many other amphibia have toxic skin, which is harmful to predators. These are poisonous to eat. This is an important defence against predation. Connected to this is the use of warning colouration. They may be in vivid colours of red, black, and yellow. Research into the rough-skinned newt and the garter snake shows this is a typical case of co-evolution. Where they live in the same area, the newts get more poisonous, and the snakes develop more resistance to the poison.
Sight
Amphibians have colour vision and depth of focus for clear sight. They also have eyelids, glands and ducts which keep the eyes moist. These are adaptations to life on land: amphibia were the first vertebrates to have these features.
Development
Some amphibians, such as the common coquí, lay eggs out of water (in this case, on palm leaves). The eggs develop directly into adult frogs, by-passing the tadpole stage. Others, like mudpuppies and olms, have a different development. In a process called neoteny, they become sexually developed as tadpoles, and continue to live in the water with gills.
Anura
The order Anura includes the frogs and toads. There is no fundamental difference between frogs and toads. Frogs have a short body, webbed digits (fingers or toes), protruding eyes, forked tongue and no tail. They are exceptional jumpers: many of their features, particularly their long, powerful legs, are adaptations to improve jumping performance. They often live in semi-aquatic or inhabit humid areas.
A popular distinction is often made between frogs and toads on the basis of their appearance. Toads' warty skin is an adaptation for making their toxic slime. Apart from these glands, their skin is dry, and that is an adaptation to drier habitats. These features have evolved a number of times independently: convergent evolution. The distinction has no taxonomic basis. The only family exclusively given the common name "toad" is Bufonidae (the "true toads"), but many species from other families are commonly called "toads".
Caudata
The order Caudata is the salamanders.
Newts are salamanders which spend their life in the water even though they are adults. They are classified in the subfamily Pleurodelinae of the family Salamandridae.
Respiration differs between species of salamanders. Species that lack lungs respire through gills. In most cases, these are external gills, visible as tufts on either side of the head. Some salamanders that are terrestrial have lungs that are used in respiration, although these are simple and sac-like, unlike the more complex organs found in mammals. Many species, such as the Olm, have both lungs and gills as adults.
Some terrestrial species lack both lungs and gills and perform gas exchange through their skin. Even some species with lungs also respire through the skin in this manner.
The skin of salamanders secretes mucus. This helps to keep the animal moist when on dry land, keeps their salt balance while in water, and lubricates during swimming. Salamanders also secrete poison from glands in their skin, and some additionally have skin glands for secreting courtship pheromones.
Axolotls, from the genus Ambystoma (or mole salamanders), are neotenic amphibians. This means they get to sexual maturity and reproduce while still in a larval form.
Defence mechanisms
Most salamanders and newts have some defence against predators, usually a poison which makes them uneatable. Their bright colours are warning colouration. If, instead, they are camouflaged, this means they are probably not protected by a toxin.
The second line of defence is to shed their tail, which can grow again. The tail wriggles a bit, attracts the predator while the business part of the salamander moves off.
Other characteristics
There are over 350 lungless salamanders. Most of them are terrestrial and are active in daytime. Lungless salamanders may communicate with their nose.p168 Slender salamanders are found in the Pacific Coast. They are sometimes called "worm salamanders". This is because they have slimmer (skinny) bodies than most salamanders.p182 If touched, slender salamanders will bounce on the ground and then run away.
Gymnophiona
The order Gymnophiona includes the caecilians. These are long, cylindrical, limbless animals that look like snakes or worms. Their skin has circular folds, increasing their similarity to the segments of earthworms. Some are aquatic, but most live underground in burrows they hollow out. Many caecilians give birth to live young. In species which lay eggs, the eggs may undergo metamorphosis before they hatch. Caecilians are found in tropical Africa, Asia and Central and South America. There are 171 different species.
Their skins make a mucus that makes them slippery enough to slip through the earth. They can make a toxic material in their skins, as many frogs and toads do.
Reproduction
Amphibians are the only vertebrates to go through metamorphosis. This means that their young look different from their adult.p8 Amphibians usually reproduce in early spring to late summer, though some reproduce in winter and fall.p156 Most frogs and toads, such as the common frog (Rana temporalis), gather in large groups to ponds, rivers, swamps and lakes to breed.p10 Male frogs and toads may croak to attract a female. When a female frog has chosen a mate, the male frog hops on top of her. They swim together as she lay eggs in the water. Sometimes, males fight to mate with a female.p7 Frogs can lay up to 100 to 60,000 eggs in one clutch. This is called "frogspawn".
It is a fundamental feature of amphibia that their reproduction is, one way or another, tied to water. This is because their eggs, although covered by jelly, cannot survive long in dry conditions.
Eggs
Most female amphibians lays her eggs in water. Males release sperm to fertilize them. The eggs are laid one by one or in batches. Batches of eggs can look like a long chain or a ball of foam. They may wrap their eggs around plants in the water. They do this so their eggs will not drift away.p8
Tree frogs usually lay their eggs on a leaf in a rainwater pool. Bullfrogs, such as the male American bullfrog and the male African bullfrog, stay with their tadpoles and protect them from predators. They also move their tadpoles by using their nose to dig a channel to another place where there is more water.p9 They do this so their tadpoles do not dry up. Most amphibians leave their eggs to look after themselves. Fish and other animals eat most of their eggs. Male midwife toads carry their eggs on their backs. When they are ready to hatch, the toad goes back to the water and release them.p10
Tadpoles
Tadpoles do not have lungs when they hatch and instead have gills. Because gills have a large surface area, tadpoles can get more oxygen by using them. Young tadpoles have their gills exposed. When they get older, their gills are covered over by skin.p6 When they hatch, tadpoles eat constantly. The tadpoles eat what is left of their eggs, this is usually their first food.p8
Frog, toad and newt tadpoles eat plants such as algae and pondweed or filter feed. When they get older, they may start to feed on tiny animals in the water. Salamander tadpoles and surinam horned toad tadpoles are carnivorous throughout their tadpole stage.p9 Surinam horned toad tadpoles are very aggressive. They eat other tadpoles if food is nowhere to be found. The eggs of the spadefoot toad hatches in three days. Their tadpoles complete their metamorphosis in six to eight days. This is because spadefoot toads lay their eggs in places where water will dry up soon.p13
Tadpoles of frogs and toads start to grow their back legs first. They then grow front legs a few weeks later. When tadpoles grow their limbs they are called "froglets". This is because they look rather like a smaller version of adult frogs and toads. Tadpoles will also start to grow a backbone after growing their front limbs. After this, their mouths get bigger and their eyes will stick out more. After a tadpole has grown its hands, their tails continue to get shorter until there is nothing left of them.p11
Habitats
Salamanders and newts can be found living in streams. Salamanders can be found in rotten logs, holes or underground places that are wet such as under leaves.p152 Web-toed salamanders live in habitats where there are a lot of rocks. They like to hide under rocks and stones.p195 The tailed frogs, like to live in cold water habitats.p199 In their habitat, amphibians like to live where there are a lot of places to hide. These include nearby small trees, logs and plants. While underwater they like to hide near aquatic plants and rocks. Tree and dart frogs like to live in forests on trees, plants and on the ground under leaves.
Some amphibia can be found living in the desert or the arctic.p12 The desert froglet lives in the desert. They are only active at night, when temperatures are much cooler. It rarely rains in the desert and because of this, desert frogs will burrow to keep cool. They use their mucus to keep them wet. They will spread it all over their bodies. The mucus will harden to keep the water it produces from escaping. Once the desert frog has done this, it will stay in its cocoon and will not move. They will stay like this for several months to years until a rainstorm. Desert frogs and toads lose water more quickly. The spadefoot toad will spit on the ground. Once they have done this, they will lay on it. Their bodies will take in the water. Their bodies are thin and have a lot of blood vessels, this helps them to be able to take water through their skin. The California newt can survive a fire by spreading its mucous over its body.p12
Arctic frogs such as the wood frog, moor frog and the common frog has to live with freezing temperatures for a long time. They will burrow in places where they can get into a cocoon. Like every living organisms, amphibians must have water to survive. Amphibians however, need freshwater. Some frogs such as burrowing frogs can keep water in their bladders. This allows them to stay underground without drying up. The crab-eating frog lives near water that is somewhat salty. They will eat saltwater crabs. Torrent salamanders lives in cold waters. Because of this they have shorter lungs. Short lungs helps them to float easily.
Distribution
Amphibia are world-wide, though restricted in distribution by their need for moist or watery habitats to reproduce.
Anatomy
Skin
Many amphibia have secretions in their skin which makes them toxic. They do not produce toxins themselves. They get toxins from what they eat. They eat insects in their habitat. These insects get the poison from a plant. The toxin has been discovered in beetles. This means that they are likely the cause of poisons found in amphibians. Amphibians do not produce batrachotoxin in captivity, which means that it is not harmful to touch them. The American Indian tribe comechingóns used the toxins of the arrow dart frogs when hunting.
Newts in the genus Taricha has a poison called tetrodotoxin, a neurotoxin. Scientists believe that toxins in newts are caused by bacteria in the genera Pseudoalteromonas, Pseudomonas and Vibrio. Because of this, the newts do not have a lot of predators. However, some species of snakes have develop a resistance. This means that they can eat newts without the toxin hurting them. It is a case of co-evolution.
Senses and skeletal system
Amphibians' eyes have lids, glands and ducts. They have good colour vision Caecilian eyes are small and dark. Most of them are blind. Most amphibians have a good sense of smell, even underwater.
The skeletal system of amphibians are similar to other four-legged animals. They have a spine, rib cage, long bones such as the humerus and femur. They also have short bones such as the phalanges, metacarpals, and metatarsals. Most amphibians have four limbs, except for caecilians. The bones in amphibians are hollow and do not weigh much.
Diet
Amphibians are predatory animals. They mostly eat live invertebrates and animals that do not move too quickly. These include caterpillars, earthworms, crayfish, water beetles, snails and dragon fly larvae.p667 Many amphibians use their sticky tongues to catch their prey. They will swallow the animal whole, but may chew it just a bit for it to go down their throats. The Ranidae family and the Ceratophrys genus will eat almost anything they can fit into their mouths.p668 These include rodents, birds, ducklings, small fish and small mammals. Most frogs are cannibalistic, and will eat each other if food is no where to be found. Some amphibians will even eat their own tadpoles and eggs if there is no food for them.
Feeding in captivity
In captivity, pet frogs will be given crickets, worms, small fish, rodents and fruit flies. Adult amphibians can help decrease the mosquito population by eating most of their larvae.
Caecilians eat earthworms, termites and beetle larvae, and also small lizards.p31 Caecilians rely on their smell to find food. They like to eat earthworms and will find them by picking up their chemical signals. Salamanders and newts are fed a lot of different types of worms. These include blood worms and earthworms. They can eat small fish such as goldfish, fathead minnows and guppies. Salamanders also eat crickets and pinkies, which are baby rats.p771
Conservation
The amphibian population have been decreasing from all locations in the world. Scientists have said that the declining of amphibians is one of the most critical threats to global biodiversity. A number of causes are believed to be involved. These include habitat destruction, over-exploitation, pollution, introduced species, climate change, destruction of the ozone layer, and diseases like chytridiomycosis. Ultraviolet radiation damages the skin, eyes and eggs of amphibians. However, the declines of amphibian population are still not understood.
The Amphibian Conservation Action Plan (ACAP) have released a global strategy to help the amphibian population. It was developed by over 80 leading experts. The Amphibian Specialist Group of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) are working on another global strategy to help amphibian populations. The Amphibian Ark (AA) is an organization that was created to help the public be aware of the decline in amphibian populations. They have been working with zoos and aquaria around the world. They try to encourage them to create a natural habitat for threatened amphibians. Another project is the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project (PARCP) which are trying to spread awareness about chyridiomycosis. The disease is spreading into eastern Panama and threatening all amphibians living there.
On January 21, 2008, Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) released a statement to the public. It was created by Helen Meredith, who identified nature's most endangered species. Meredith explains that 85% of the top 100 endangered amphibians list are receiving little to no conservation attention.
Human use
As food
Bullfrog legs are a source of food for Southern United States and the Midwestern United States. People hunt bullfrogs at night near rivers. The bullfrogs' legs are cooked, while their backs are fried.p9 In China, bullfrogs are sold alive for eating. However, they are later cooked dead with vegetables. In the state of California, people must have a license to catch bullfrogs for food.p256 In schools, bullfrogs are dissected in biology classes. Usually, this is done in grammar school.p85 The dissecting is a method for teaching students the anatomy of a bullfrog.p85 The emperor newt is hunted in China for food. They are also used there for medicine. Burrowing frogs are able to hold water in their bladder, because of this indigenous Australians use them to drink water.p13
As pets
Amphibians are also kept as pets.p4 They are kept in aquariums or a terrarium. A terrarium is a tank that is decorated with plants and soil on one side. On the other side, there is water. Most amphibians would need one place for land and another for water.p8 Each type of amphibian should have its special needs taken care of. Semi-aquatic amphibians need both land and water divided in the tank. Tropical frogs would need mist and high humidity in their terrariums.p7 Water for amphibia needs dechlorination. The chlorine in tap water can kill amphibia. Some amphibians popular exotic pets, and are found in pet stores that sell reptiles.p22
Related pages
List of amphibians
Frogs as pets
References
Reference books
Other websites
Amphibian Specialist Group
AmphibiaWebEcuador
Amphibian Ark
AmphibiaWeb
EDGE
Global Amphibian Assessment
USGS—Online Guide for the Identification of Amphibians in North America north of Mexico
General amphibian biology information—Living UnderWorld
Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project
Atlanta Botanical Garden Amphibian Conservation Program
Froglife (British conservation charity)
A guide to Amphibians
Amphibians |
6091 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father | Father | A father (also called dad or daddy) is a male parent. Most human beings are born from a mother and a father. The father of a person's husband or wife is their father-in-law. Fathers determine the gender of their child through a sperm cell which either contains an X chromosome (female), or Y chromosome (male).
Related pages
God the Father
Basic English 850 words
Family |
6099 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gill | Gill | Gills are what fish, amphibians, and some other animals use to breathe in water. They have feathery parts which cause water to move across the animal's body, which contains dissolved oxygen, after the animal has swallowed the water. The oxygen is absorbed into the animal's blood, causing carbon dioxide moves out of the animal's blood and into the water through the gills.
Fish and frog gills are hidden on the sides of their heads. Sharks have many gills slits on their necks. Baby salamanders have gills that stick out like leaves from their heads.
In mushrooms, gills are the spore-bearing structure in agarics (gilled mushrooms) while fish and some young amphibians use them to get oxygen others breath.
Some insects that live in water have a plastron, which is a kind of gill. It is a patch of special hairs that keeps the water away from the insect's spiracles. This allows them to continue to take in oxygen and remove carbon dioxide while they are under water.
Animal anatomy
Anatomy of the respiratory system |
6100 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frog | Frog | Frogs are amphibians and vertebrates of the order Anura. There is not much difference between frogs and toads, and they are not classified separately. This is because the toad lifestyle, with its dry, rough, skin, is an adaptation to living in drier habitats. The toad form has evolved a number of times independently, an example of convergent evolution.
Frogs can live on land and in fresh water. They cannot survive in salt water. Their development is by metamorphosis. They usually hatch as tadpoles from eggs, which are laid by a female frog. The eggs are called frogspawn. Tadpoles have tails and gills. The next stage, the "froglet," develops lungs to breathe air instead of gills, but still have tails. The fully grown frog has long legs and no tail.
Adult frogs can jump with their legs. They have long tongues that they use to catch bugs. They make a sound called a croak. Some species live in trees, and some types of frog are protected by being poisonous. Frogs live all over the world. If a foreign species of frogs is introduced to another country, the local ecosystem might be affected.
Frog legs are sometimes eaten as food in France, China, and the Midwest of the United States. The killing of frogs might have an effect on the ecosystem. For example, frogs eat mosquitoes. If frogs are killed, then there are fewer frogs to eat mosquitoes, so more and more mosquitoes are born. Therefore, in these areas, there are more diseases that mosquitoes carry, because there are more mosquitoes. However, for this to apply, frogs would have to be a major predator of mosquitoes. This would only rarely be the case.
Frogs are members of the class Lissamphibia, the only class of amphibia which has survived to the present day.
Characteristics
Frogs are cold blooded animals. This means that they need heat to keep up their body temperature. If the temperature outside is cold, amphibians will not be active. Amphibians can get heat from the sun, usually indirectly: whereas reptiles can bask in the sun, amphibia usually do not, because it dries their skin. Some frogs aestivate during winter or during droughts. They usually look for underground place to aestivate. These include burrowing in muds and holes. They survive by getting oxygen through their skin. They come out when the weather outside is favourable.
Frogs have skin with no scales or hair. They can take in oxygen from either water or air. Mucus that helps their skin to stay wet and slippery. Many amphibians have toxic skin. They have secretions which makes their skin poisonous.
Many frogs are semi-aquatic. They may live on both land and in water, and in any event prefer damp places. These include ponds, swamps, rivers and lakes. Most adults live where they grew up. Most amphibians lay their eggs in foam nests.
Toads
A toad is a large type of frog. It is not a scientific term, but a popular one. The reason it is not used in taxonomy is that the toad life-style has evolved a number of separate times in various groups of frogs.
All toads are frogs, but not all frogs are toads. Toads mainly evolved in dry climates, so many toads have rougher, browner skin. Many toads also burrow, though that depends on the environment that the toad evolved in. Toads lay eggs in strings attached to rocks, unlike true frogs which lay eggs in a jelly-like mass. Also, toads generally have shorter legs and fatter bodies. Toads have paratoid glands behind their eyes which are used to make poison.
Development
Even though it is true that most frogs develop from tadpoles, and tadpoles develop from eggs laid in water, there are exceptions. Normally the eggs are fertilised after they are laid, that is, outside the body. However, some use internal fertilisation, though how the males do it is not known. When they are fertilised internally, they also lay eggs, but this time the eggs are already fertilised.
However, a new species has been discovered in Sulawasi, Indonesia, which gives birth to live tadpoles. The frog is now known as Limnonectes larvaepartus. The Limnonectes family are known as 'fanged frogs' because of twin projections on their lower jaws that are used in fighting. Sulawesi is an island which is rapidly losing its forests. The tropical forest is where this frog lives.
Distribution and habitats
Despite these limitations, frogs are widespread, and have adapted to many climates, even deserts. They rely on specific adaptations to survive. Members of the genus Cyclorana live in the Australian central desert. They bury themselves underground where they create a waterproof cocoon in which to aestivate during dry periods. Once it rains, they come out, find a temporary pool, and breed. Egg and tadpole development is very fast in comparison to those of most other frogs, so breeding can be completed before the pond dries up.
Some frog species are adapted to a cold environment. The wood frog (Rana sylvatica), whose habitat extends into the Arctic Circle, buries itself in the ground during winter. Although much of its body freezes during this time, its high concentration of glucose in its vital organs protects them from damage.
There are a number of tiny tree frogs which develop from eggs laid in water pools on tropical leaves many meters above the ground. Most of these species do not come to the ground except to mate. Tree frogs have evolved a number of times, but they all have almost identical adaptations. Many millions of years of convergent evolution have resulted in almost identical morphology and habits.
Overall, frogs are a successful and widespread group. There are about 4,800 recorded species, which is over 85% of living amphibian species. They are one of the five most diverse vertebrate orders.
Largest, smallest
The largest frog is the African Goliath frog (Conraua goliath). The maximum recoreded weight is 3.8 kg (8.4 lb), and a snout-to-vent length of 39 cm (15 in).
Paedophryne amauensis is not just the smallest frog, but the smallest vertebrate, 7.7 millimetres (0.30 in) long.
References
Amphibians |
6101 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical%20compound | Chemical compound | A chemical compound is a chemical formed from atoms of different chemical elements. The different atoms are joined by chemical bonds. Each compound has a fixed ratio between the elements (crystal)
The elements stick together so strongly that the compound behaves like one substance. The chemical that is made depends upon what atoms it is made of and how they are joined together.
Chemical compounds can be liquids, like water which is made from atoms of hydrogen and oxygen joining together. They can also be solids, like sodium chloride that contains sodium and chlorine atoms. We get compounds from natural sources such as plants or make them in laboratories. Compounds can be made from others by scientists and these are called synthetic chemicals.
When different compounds are mixed together they may have a chemical reaction.
Some chemical compounds can be dangerous but are safe if they are used the right way. Most dangerous chemicals are only used by scientists who have had special training in how to handle and use them. These chemicals might be poisonous, corrosive, explosive, they may catch fire easily, or they may react with other substances.
People who work in factories near chemicals often wear special clothes that stop the chemicals from hurting their body.
References |
6103 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood | Wood | Wood is the main substance in trees. It is mainly formed by the xylem vessels which carry water up the plant. The two main substances in wood are cellulose and lignin. Wood is used to make buildings and furniture, and also for art. Firewood is a fuel. Paper is made from wood fibres. Wood is a renewable resource although it has become scarcer in recent centuries.
Wood is hard to cut, but it is also strong. A lumberjack is a person who cuts down trees. After a tree falls, the wood in it can be cut into long, straight pieces called lumber. Lumber can then be used to make posts, or put together with nails, screws, or even glue to make wooden frames for other shapes.
Wood comes in many different kinds. Oak, maple (hardwood) and pine and redwood (softwood) are widely used types of wood. Woods are usually divided into softwood (from conifers) and hardwood from flowering plants.
Housing
For a long time and even today, many buildings, mostly houses, have been made of wood. To build a house with wood, lumber is put together into frames that are the shape of each wall, floor, and roof of the house. Then the frames are placed into the shape of a house. Then the frames can be covered to make solid walls. Sometimes the walls are made of more wood.
When the outside of a house or building is covered in wood, the wooden pieces are usually flat and stacked. These pieces are called shingles. Wood is also sometimes used in other parts of the house, like doors and staircases. Wood is also used to make fences.
Carpentry
Carpenters make houses of mostly soft wood such as pine. For many kinds of furniture they use harder wood such as maple or oak. When someone builds something with wood, they often paint it. Paint protects and beautifies the wood. Some people like the look of wood, so they put clear paint called varnish on it. This helps to protect the wood and gives it a shiny finish.
Some people make art with wood. Sometimes sculptures are built with wood: see Grinling Gibbons.
Regular pencils are made of wood. Inside is the "lead", which is not actually lead. Clay or wax and graphite form the "lead" in a pencil.
Paper
Wood is turned into paper in large factories called paper mills. Heat, chemicals and machines separate the cellulose fibers from other parts and press the fibers into paper.
Sources
Jane F.W. 1970. The structure of wood. 2nd ed, edited by K. Wilson & D.J.B. White. London: Adam & Charles Black.
Related pages
Tree
Petrified wood
Plywood
Firewood
Other websites
Wood -Citizendium
Basic English 850 words |
6110 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalk | Chalk | Chalk is a type of limestone. It was made by calcareous (CaCO3) skeletons of tiny planktonic algae called coccoliths. They live in the sea in huge numbers. They make chalk (CO2) as a by-product of their photosynthesis. The chalk cliffs of Dover and elsewhere were made when England was below the equator in a tropical sea. It was in the Upper Cretaceous, when the Earth was even warmer than now. There are coccoliths today, but not the same species as formed the white cliffs.
Air and water do not wear chalk away easily, so when chalk is next to the sea, it often makes a large cliff. The "White Cliffs of Dover" in Kent, England are a good example of this. Chalk holds water, so these chalk hills may have a lot of water in them. When the weather is very dry, water comes slowly from the chalk.
Blackboard chalk is not real chalk. It is really gypsum (calcium sulfate), but people call it "chalk". People use it for drawing on hard things, because it is soft. If this chalk is rubbed on something hard or rough, it will leave a mark. People often write with chalk on a chalkboard or blackboard. A chalk eraser or water can be used to clean the chalk marks away so the board is clean again. Shops usually sell blackboard chalk in sticks that are about 5 cm long.
There are also big pieces of soft chalk for children to write on the ground with, for example on concrete (such as a sidewalk) or on asphalt. It is usually okay to write on the ground with this kind of chalk, because the rain will wash the chalk away.
Tailors' chalk is not real chalk either. It is talc (magnesium silicate). Tailors use it to draw on material when they are making clothes.
Basic English 850 words
Carbonate rocks
Writing tools
Cretaceous |
6114 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utilitarianism | Utilitarianism | Utilitarianism is the view that the right thing to do is whatever is most useful. It is a about ethics. The word "utilitarianism" comes from the word "utility", which means "usefulness". In most forms of utilitarianism, things that increase human well-being or happiness are called useful. This is not limited to the happiness caused by a single action but also includes the happiness of all people involved and all future consequences.
In general, the theory of utilitarianism is that whatever brings the most happiness to the greatest number of people is the right thing to do.
History
The theory was made popular by 18th and 19th century British philosophers like Francis Hutcheson, Jeremy Bentham, and John Stuart Mill, but the idea goes all the way back to ancient times.
Bentham wrote about this idea with the words "The greatest good for the greatest number," but did not use the word utilitarianism. It was Mill, a follower of Bentham's ideas, who named the idea.
Utilitarianism in Practice
Many philosophers argue that utilitarianism has important practical implications for how we should live ethically. For instance, according to utilitarianism we should help the poor, prevent animal suffering, and ensure that future generations have good lives.
Maslowism
Maslowism or Maslow's hierarchy of needs can be divided into social and physical needs. Social needs in Maslowism include physiological, safety, love, esteem, and self-actualization. Maslowist themes like physiology suggests you need food while Maslowist themes like love suggests humans need sex.
Related pages
Hedonism
References
Philosophical movements and positions
Ethics |
6116 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Village | Village | A village is a place where people live, normally in the countryside. It is usually larger than a hamlet and smaller than a town or city. In some places, it may be a kind of local government. The dwellings in a village are clustered fairly close to one another, not scattered broadly over the landscape.
In the past, villages were where most people lived. Villages were a usual form of community for societies that do subsistence agriculture, and for some non-agricultural societies. After the industrial revolution, when people started making a lot of things in factories, people lived more in towns. Moving to towns is called urbanization. When villages grow a lot they can grow into towns and then cities. This is what happened to Dubai and Chicago.
United Kingdom
In The U.K. the biggest difference between a hamlet and a village is that many villages have a church.
United States
Incorporated villages
The word "village" is not used in most states. However, in twenty US states, a "village" is a sort of local government, similar to a city but with less power and for a smaller place. But this is not so in all the United States. In many states, there are villages which are bigger than the smallest cities in the state. The difference is not the population, it is how much power the different sorts of places have, and what they do for people living there.
New York state
In New York state, a village is a place which is usually called a town.
Unincorporated villages
In many states, a "village" is only a place where people live, with no legal power, similar to a hamlet in New York state. The name for these is "unincorporated villages".
References |
6117 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelmsford | Chelmsford | Chelmsford is the only city in the county of Essex, England. It is 32 miles northeast of London, about halfway to Colchester. It is nearly in the centre of the county and it is the county town of Essex, but it is not the biggest or the oldest town in the county. It is the centre of the borough of Chelmsford, which is a bigger place than the city.
Chelmsford has the smallest cathedral in England. John Dee, who wrote the English version of Euclid, went to the Cathedral school in the sixteenth century. Chelmsford is also home to some of the Anglia Ruskin University campuses.
People
The number of people living in the borough is about 170,000; about 115,000 of those live in the city.
Transport
About 20,000 people from Chelmsford travel to London every weekday. Another 20,000 people work in Chelmsford who live outside the city. This makes Chelmsford the busiest "ordinary" railway station in England (not including junctions and terminuses). (The busiest of all is Clapham Junction railway station).
The A12 road from London, which the Romans first built between London and Colchester, went through the town, but now goes around the east, so the number of cars in the town is smaller.
Industry
Chelmsford has been an important centre for industry since the 19th century. It became home to the UK's first electrical engineering works (in 1878), and its first ball bearing factory (in 1898).
In 1898, Guglielmo Marconi, the "father of radio" opened the World's first radio factory in Hall Street, with about 50 workers. In 1920 the factory was also the home of the first official sound (radio) broadcasts (radio people could listen to from a long way) in the United Kingdom. In 1922 the world's first regular radio broadcasts started at the Marconi Research Centre at Writtle near Chelmsford.
Places of Interest
Places of interest in and near Chelmsford are for example Writtle, where Robert I of Scotland was perhaps born, and Pleshey, where the ruins of a castle in William Shakespeare's play Richard II are.
Hylands House and Park, west of the town, is an old country house. People can visit it, and in the last years it has been the place for a popular yearly music festival, the V Festival.
The old Palace of Beaulieu is also nearby.
Chelmsford is also famous for being the birthplace of radio, Marconi was an Italian man who invented the radio and had his first factory in Chelmsford.
History
In 1199 the Bishop of London gave a Royal Charter (a special paper) for the town to have a market. But there have been people living here since pre-historic times. The Romans also lived in Chelmsford. An octagonal temple is under the Odeon roundabout.
In World War II bombs hit Chelmsford a number of times. The worst single loss of life happened on Tuesday December 19, 1944. The 367th V-2 rocket which hit England fell near the Hoffmans' ball bearing factory. 39 people were killed and 138 hurt, 47 of them badly. A lot of buildings were destroyed and hundreds more were damaged.
Geology
From over 600,000 years ago, the early River Thames went through the place where Chelmsford is now, from Harlow to Colchester. Then it went over today's North Sea and went into the Rhine.
Twin towns
Chelmsford is twinned with these:
Annonay in France
Backnang in Germany
People from Chelmsford
Anne Knight (born 1786), anti-slavery campaigner and pioneer of feminism
Nearby places
Great Baddow
References
Other websites
Chelmsford Borough Council
Diocese of Chelmsford
21st World Scout Jamboree
County towns in England |
6119 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gangnihessou | Gangnihessou | Do-Aklin or Gangnihessou (Ganye Hessou) or Dogbari was the first of twelve kings of Dahomey in Africa. Gangnihessou might have been the king around the year 1620. One of his symbols was a bird called "gangnihessou" after his name. His other symbols were a drum, and sticks used for throwing or hunting. He had a younger brother called Dakodonou, who was a king. Some historians think Gangnihessou was not actually a king. Instead, Gangnihessou might have led people by giving advice to his brother.
History of Africa
Kings and queens
16th-century births
17th-century deaths |
6131 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contract%20bridge | Contract bridge | Contract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking card game which is played by two pairs of players, one pair against the other pair. Partners sit opposite each other at a table.
Millions of people play bridge worldwide in clubs, tournaments, online and with friends at home. It is one of the world's most popular card games. The World Bridge Federation is the governing body for international competitive bridge.
The game consists of a number of "deals". Each deal goes through four phases: dealing the cards, the auction (also referred to as bidding), playing the cards, and scoring the results. Most club and tournament play uses duplicate bridge, where the cards are not re-dealt during a session. The same deals are played by most or all players. This allows comparative scoring.
History
Early history of bridge
It is played with the standard 52 cards in four suits. The game developed out of whist, which is a relatively old card game. Bridge developed in a series of stages from about 1890 to about 1930. The stages included bridge-whist and auction bridge, and the developments took place mostly in New York and London. The origin of the word "bridge" in this context is not really known. One possibility is that it is taken from an 1886 book, Biritch, or Russian Whist by John Collinson.
Playing method
Whist is played with the trump suit chosen by chance, whereas in bridge it is chosen by a process called "bidding". A trump is a card which can beat any card from the other three suits.
In whist, the winners had to get most of the tricks (a trick is a round of four cards), that is, seven or more tricks. However, in bridge the players bid in sequence to decide what the "contract" shall be. The contract is decided by the last bid, and will be in one of the four suits, or in "no trumps", without a trump suit.
The scoring rules and the bidding process evolved through stages between 1890 and about 1930. Bids at the one level are offers to make at least seven tricks. Bids at the seven level are offers to make all thirteen tricks. The lowest bid one can make is "one club" and the highest bid is "seven no trumps".
The scoring system for bridge is very much more complicated than it is for whist. Fundamentally, it depends on whether or not declarer makes his contract or not. If he does not, the defending side collect penalty points. If he does make the contract his side wins points. How many points are won or lost depends on the scoring system (not discussed here). Harold S. Vanderbilt played a key role in designing the scoring system, and in 1927 the Whist Club of New York produced a code for contract bridge. They and the Portland Club of London became the authorities who guided the later minor changes to the rules.
The set-up for playing the cards is also different from whist. The side which wins the bidding sequence plays with only one partner ("declarer") controlling both hands. His or her partner is called "dummy", and that hand is played face up on the table so all players can see it.
Duplicate bridge
Like much else in the game, the idea of duplicate play was invented for whist. At "whist drives" North/South pairs sat in the same positions throughout, East/West pairs moved up the series of tables and boards moved down. This simple movement was invented in the 19th century. The first game of duplicate whist was organised by "Cavendish" in London 1857, but it was not followed up. It was played in Chicago in 1880, and the first book about it was written in 1891 by John T. Mitchell. His simple method is known as the Mitchell movement.
Publicity in the 1930s
Contract bridge became one of the most popular pastimes when it was publicised by Ely Culbertson, a leading American player and organiser. Anglo-American matches got huge publicity in the newspapers, cinema and radio of the 1930s.
Example of a bidding sequence
In the example on the right, West was the dealer and first to bid. The bidding goes as shown with South becoming the declarer in a 4 spades contract, he being the first to bid spades. East-West become the defenders and West becomes the opening leader, North becomes the dummy and spades the trump suit.
Ten tricks are required by North-South, six tricks plus the 4-level bid.
Mechanical dealing
Mostly, bridge is a social game played in clubs. A number of tables play the same set of hands, which allows for the scoring of individual pairs to be ranked. The deal is done by a computerised method. A pseudo-random algorithm sets the hands (the sets of cards held by each player). The computer is linked to a mechanical device which deals the cards and delivers them into the hands. These are put into the holding boards. The boards are then put on the tables.
Related pages
American Contract Bridge League
Netherlands Bridge League
Sources
Daniels, David 1980. The Golden Age of Contract Bridge. New York: Stein and Day. ISBN 978-0812825763. Includes all stages from the history of whist to contract bridge, up to about 1950.
References
Contract bridge
Card games |
6135 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/No | No | No is an English word which has a negative meaning. It is the antonym (opposite) of the word Yes, which is a positive term.
No is used when someone is denying or turning away something. It can also be used in different figures of speech.
In both sentences and talking, the words "No" and the word "Not" can both be used, though the word "No" is mainly used when speaking to other people. In some cases, however, "Not" is not acceptable, and vice versa. These words are not to be confused with the similar sounding words know and knot.
Examples of proper usage of "No" and "Not":
Is this green? No, it is not.
There is no way round the back.
This is not the way (but there is another way).
I will not come.
Oh, no!
No, thank you.
Not on my watch!
Examples of improper usage of "No" and "Not":
That is no the way you do it.
Oh not!
I know how to tie a knot. (Disambiguation)
I didn't no that!
I can no go.
Basic English 850 words |
6145 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon%20Trotsky | Leon Trotsky | (; also transliterated Leo, Lev, Trotskii, Trotski, Trotskij and Trotzky; October 26 (O.S.) = November 7 (N.S.), 1879 in Kropyvnytskyi (nowadays Ukraine) - August 21, 1940 in Coyoacán, Mexico) was the public name of Leib or Lev Davidovich Bronstein. He was a Russian revolutionary and political theoretician. He was of Jewish-Ukrainian descent. After leading the Red Army in the Russian Civil War, he disagreed with other Bolsheviks and had to leave Russia.
Trotsky was a socialist and a Marxist. In 1905 there was a revolution in Russia. Trotsky helped organize a committee of workers in St Petersburg which was called the Soviet. When the leader of the Soviet was arrested, Trotsky became leader of the Soviet in his place. Trotsky helped to expand on the idea of Permanent Revolution, which is a theory originally thought up by Karl Marx.
After the revolution Trotsky left Russia for his own safety. In 1917, he returned to Russia because of the Russian Revolution. He helped to bring about communism in Russia and defend it during the Russian Civil War. He was in charge of the army at this time. When the leader of the Bolsheviks (the party who led the revolution) Vladimir Lenin died, Trotsky became involved in a power struggle with Joseph Stalin for the leadership of the party. He lost, and Stalin came to power. He had to leave Russia because of Stalin, who was now his own enemy and wanted to harm Trotsky. In 1938 Trotsky founded the Fourth International. Stalin had one of his spies, Spaniard Ramón Mercarder, stab Trotsky to death in Mexico in 1940.
People who believe in Trotsky's ideas are called Trotskyists and follow Trotskyism. The main Trotskyist organizations today are the Fourth International (post - Reunification), the Socialist Workers Party in the UK and the International Socialist Tendency.
In the novel Animal Farm by George Orwell, Trotsky is represented by Snowball the pig and Stalin is represented by Napoleon who was also a pig. The book reflected real world events.
References
Other websites
Fourth International (post-reunification)
Story of Trotsky's Murder
Trotsky's Grave
1879 births
1940 deaths
Government ministers
Jewish politicians
Jewish writers
Marxism
Murders by blade weapons
People murdered in North America
Political activists
Russian communists
Russian historians
Russian Jews
Russian murder victims
Russian politicians
Russian Revolution
Soviet Jews
Ukrainian Jews |
6146 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second%20International | Second International | The Second International (1889–1916) was an organization created on July 14, 1889, by socialist and labour parties who wanted to work together for international socialism. It continued the work of the First International, which stopped being an organization in 1886. However, it did not include the still-powerful anarcho-syndicalist movement and trade unions.
Among the Second International's most famous actions were its 1889 declaration of May 1 as International Labor Day and its 1910 declaration of March 8 as International Women's Day.
The International's permanent executive and information body was the International Socialist Bureau (ISB). It was located in Brussels and formed after the International's Paris Congress of 1900. Emile Vandervelde and Camille Huysmans of the Belgian Labour Party were its chair and secretary. Vladimir Lenin was a member from 1905.
Dadabhai Nauroji attended it's Paris commune in 1906.
International organizations
1889 establishments
Political organizations
1916 disestablishments |
6147 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devon | Devon | Devon is a county in southwest England. Sometimes called by its historical name Devonshire. Devon is the fourth largest county in England by area, and has the longest road network of any county in England.
History
After the last ice age, Devon was one of the first places in England where people started to live. Archaeologists have found many old places in Devon with ancient buildings. For example, many ruins of old buildings have been found in an area called "Dartmoor", which is now a National Park.
Devon gets its name from the Dumnonii, a name that the invading Romans gave to the Celtic tribe in that area. The Romans invaded Devon about AD 50. The name Dumnonii means "a person who lives in a deep valley", and it comes from the hills and valleys of the area. The Roman army stayed in Devon for about 350 years. Their base was in the city of Exeter.
It was a long time before anyone else invaded Devon. Saxons came to Devon in the 7th century, and the King of Wessex may have attacked in 614. There was a conflict between Devon and Wessex for 200 years. Some historians think that Wessex won the war by about 715 but others think this did not happen until at least 936. Eventually Wessex took control, but the Kings of Devon still had some power.
A person living at the time called William of Malmesbury said that in Exeter both Britons and Saxons were equal in 927 but that King Athelstan of Wessex then chased the Britons from Exeter. From place names and church dedications it seems that the British did not go far and later came back into Exeter because an area in the city was called "Britayne" until recently.
A large number of Devon placenames include (or are) the word "combe" (e.g. Ilfracombe). This word comes from the Brythonic (Celtic) language and is like the Welsh word "cwm". Another typical Devon word is "tor" which is also Brythonic, and like the Welsh word "twr".
Both of these words are often found in neighbouring counties, but Devon has the greatest number. Overall Devon has a number of other placenames that are Brythonic and others that come from Old English, and a few that come from Norse. Devon's placenames are like those of western Somerset and eastern Cornwall which was also part of the old kingdom of "Dumnonia".
Starting in the 9th century, groups of Viking raiders tried to invade Devon. This continued until the Norman Conquest. The name of Lundy Island comes from the Viking language, which was called Norse. The Vikings are remembered for moving the cathedral from Crediton to Exeter.
Devon has been involved in most of the civil conflicts in England since 1066:
During the Norman Conquest of England, Exeter was surrounded by William the Conqueror's army for 18 days.
In 1140, the towns of Exeter and Plympton were both defended against King Stephen.
There were small battles in Devon during the Wars of the Roses.
The army of Perkin Warbeck surrounded and attacked Exeter in 1497.
The Prayer Book Rebellion of 1549: rebels from Cornwall and Devon marched towards London.
The towns of Exeter and Dartmouth were both besieged (surrounded by the enemy) during the English Civil War.
When William of Orange invaded Britain in 1688 (the Glorious Revolution), he landed at Brixham.
There are many famous (well known) people from Devon, especially seamen. For example, Sir Francis Drake, Sir Richard Grenville and Sir Walter Raleigh all come from Devon. Many other famous people were also born in Devon: for example, the author Agatha Christie was born in the town of Torquay.
Flag
Devon has its own flag. It is linked to St Petroc, who is a local saint with links to Devon and nearby counties. The flag was chosen after winning a competition on the BBC Devon website in 2003.
Economy
Devon is less wealthy than many parts of England, for example the south east. This is because the traditional industries of Devon, for example fishing, mining and farming are declining. The European Union has given parts of Devon help (Objective 2). For example, grants of money have been given to help new industries grow. Tourism has become more important recently as a part of the economy of Devon.
An epidemic of Foot and Mouth disease in 2001 led to many farmers losing their cattle, so they lost a lot of money. Other industries also lost a lot of income because of this.
Politics
The main city of Devon is Plymouth. Exeter is where the county council is based. The county of Devon is split up into districts. Each district is run by a district council. Some things are the job of the county council and others are the job of the district council. There are also smaller town and parish councils inside the districts.
Plymouth and Torbay are not run by the county council, but have their own special councils. These councils do the jobs of both a county and a district council. These type of areas are called unitary authorities.
Districts in Devon
The numbers on the map are linked to the numbers below.
Exeter
East Devon
Mid Devon
North Devon
Torridge
West Devon
South Hams
Teignbridge
Plymouth, Devon (Unitary)
Torbay (Unitary)
Members of Parliament
Ben Bradshaw
Angela Browning
Geoffrey Cox
Oliver Colvile
Linda Gilroy
Nick Harvey
Adrian Sanders
Alison Seabeck
Sarah Wollaston
Gary Streeter
Hugo Swire
Richard Younger-Ross
Cities towns and villages
This is a list of the main towns and cities of Devon:
Interesting places
Dartmoor
Exmoor
Jurassic Coast (a World Heritage Site)
Lundy Island
Buckfast Abbey
Castles in Devon
Rivers
River Avon
River Axe
River Dart
River Erme
River Exe
River Otter
River Tamar (the border between Devon and Cornwall)
River Tavy
River Taw
River Teign
River Torridge
Other websites
Note: The links below are not in simple English.
Devon County Council
BBC Devon
Ceremonial counties of England |
6148 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin%20script | Latin script | Latin or Roman script, is a writing system used to write many modern-day languages. It is the most used writing system in the world today. It is the official script for nearly all the languages of Western Europe and of some Eastern European languages. It is also used by some non-European languages such as Turkish, Vietnamese, Malay language, Somali, Swahili and Tagalog. It is an alternative writing system for languages such as Serbian and Bosnian.
The alphabet is a writing system which evolved from a western variety of the Greek alphabet. It was the Etruscans who first developed it after borrowing the Greek alphabet, and the Romans developed it further. The sounds of some letters changed, some letters were lost and gained and several writing styles ('hands') developed. Two such styles were combined into one script with upper and lower case letters ('capitals' and 'small letters'). Modern capital letters differ only slightly from their Roman counterparts. There are few regional variations.
Letters
Original Latin alphabet
The Latin alphabet used by the Romans:
New alphabet
The modern version of the alphabet is used for writing many languages. Indo-European languages, especially those of Western Europe, are mostly written with the Latin alphabet. These languages include the Germanic languages (which includes English, German, Swedish, and others) and the Romance languages (which includes French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and others). There are of course Indo-European languages that do not use the Latin alphabet, like Greek and Russian, as well as non-Indo-European languages that do, like Vietnamese.
Nearly all languages using the Roman alphabet include diacritics, which are symbols found above or below the letters. They are used for things such as tones and pronunciation. English is the only major European language that does not have any of these marks, at least not for native words. Words taken from other languages sometimes use diacritics to make clear the correct pronunciation.
The basic alphabet uses the following letters:
Other versions
The Roman script has fewer letters than the sounds in some of the languages that use it. Some languages make up for the lack of letters by using diacritic marks, such as ă, â, á, é, í, î, ó, ẹ, ị, ọ, ụ, ã, ả, ẻ, ỉ, ỏ, ủ, ñ, č, ď, ě, í, ň, ř, š, ș, ť, ț, ú, ů, ž and đ. In effect, this increases the number of letters in their alphabet. Languages which use some of these characters are French, Czech, Polish, Magyar (Hungarian), Romanian, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Esperanto, and Igbo.
Many languages changed their writing systems to the Latin script. In some countries, Europeans made native people use it. The Vietnamese language was written in Chinese characters, and there is a Chinese-based Vietnamese writing system called chu nom. However, Chinese script requires a large number of characters to be learnt before a person is truly literate. The Vietnamese government switched to the Latin alphabet in the early 20th century so they could increase the country's literacy rates. The Vietnamese kept using the Latin alphabet even after independence since it was much faster to learn than Chinese characters (chu nom).
After the Russian Revolution, when the Russian Empire fell, the Latin alphabet in Turkic countries was started by Azerbaijan in 1918. When the Soviet Union broke up, some of its smaller languages began using the Latin alphabet. It is now used in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Azerbaijan. Kazakhstan announced in 2018 that the Latin alphabet would become the Kazakh language's main writing system.
Changing the way a language is written to Latin letters is called romanization. Many people who do not speak the language read a romanized version to know roughly how the words will sound, even if that is not the normal way to write the language. Some languages, like Chinese and Japanese, use the Latin alphabet in their languages so that they can be typed on a computer more easily. In mainland China, pinyin is the official romanization for Mandarin Chinese, and it is used to type Chinese characters on the computer by typing them phonetically. Even though many Japanese computers have kana keyboards to type Japanese on the computer, Japanese can also be typed using the Latin alphabet. Software called IME (input method editor) converts the Latin letters, called romaji in Japanese, into Japanese kana and kanji.
References
Other websites
Roman Alphabet -Citizendium
Alphabet, Roman |
6149 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insectivore | Insectivore | An insectivore is an animal or insect that eats mostly insects for food. An Anteater is an animal that eats ants. Insectivorous plants also eat insects. The Venus fly-trap is one of them.
To eat insects for food is not very easy because insects are small. Large insect-eating animals must eat many of them. Anteaters eat hundreds of ants every day.
Some omnivores like humans and bears also eat insects for food. There was once a taxonomic group of mammals called Insectivora. Most of its animals are now called Eulipotyphla.
Related pages
Herbivore - an animal that eats mostly plants
Carnivore - an animal that mostly eats meat from other animals.
Detritivore - an animal that eats garbage, dead animals or other food left from another animal.
Omnivore - an animal that eats animal meat, plants, fruit, and insects.
Animals |
6150 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copy | Copy | Copy means a thing that is made to look like another thing.
Copying, making a copy, the duplication of information
Photocopying, a process which makes paper copies of documents and other visual images
Fax, a telecommunications machine used to transfer copies of documents over the telephone network
Facsimile, a copy or reproduction that is as true to the original source as possible
Replica, a copy closely resembling the original concerning its shape and appearance
Copy (written), commonly used in newsrooms and publications to refer to a writer's written content
Basic English 850 words |
6152 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vapor | Vapor | Vapor (British English: vapour) is when small drops of liquid float in the air. Sometimes this happens because the liquid has been heated. Vapor is not the same as gas. It is a mixture of liquid and gas.
water |
6153 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle | Vehicle | A vehicle is a machine to move people and things. A vehicle is not alive. A horse can move people and things, but it is an animal, not a machine or a vehicle.
The word vehicle is borrowed from French and Latin. French véhicule, going back to Middle French, borrowed from Medieval Latin vehiculum "medium, agent of transmission," going back to Latin, "wheeled vehicle, means of transport," from vehere "to carry, convey.
Types of vehicles
Land vehicles
Some vehicles move on land. Most land vehicles have wheels. Examples of land vehicles are bicycles, cars, motorcycles, and trains.
Land vehicles that are powered by an engine or motor are called motor vehicles.
Some land vehicles, like tanks and snowmobiles, have tracks. These tracks look and work like conveyor belts.
Water vehicles
Some vehicles move on, or in, the water. Examples are boats, ships, and submarines.
Air and space vehicles
Vehicles that move in the sky are called aircraft. Examples are aeroplanes and balloons.
Some vehicles, like the Space Shuttle, can even leave the Earth's orbit and go to outer space.
Power
Vehicles can be propelled by various sources of energy.
Human muscles. Examples are bicycles and skateboards.
Engines. Examples are automobiles, ships, and aeroplanes.
Electricity. Examples are many passenger trains.
Animals. Examples are carts and chariots.
Wind. Examples are sailboats and iceboats.
Some vehicles have no propulsion power. Examples are gliders and balloons. |
6154 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line%20dance | Line dance | Line dancing is a form of group dancing that is done to either country or hip-hop music. The term line dance is derived from the idea that the group of people participating in the dance are all facing the same direction when conducting the series of moves in the line dance. A line dance can go from 32 beats upwards of up to 92 beats per minutes, and can also be either a 4 or 2 wall dance. When the dance starts off everyone is facing the front wall, after all of the counts of the dance are complete (let's say we were doing a 32 count dance) then everyone would finish the dance facing either the back wall or the left or right wall. One example of a line dance is the "Men In Black" line dance. This dance is usually done to a hip-hop song, such as "Yeah 3X", by Chris Brown. Once the first 32 counts of the dance are completed everyone will finish the dance facing the left wall, and would have turned one quarter to their left counter clockwise. Once the series of moves is completed 4 times the group will end up facing the front wall again.
Dance types |
6158 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three%20Kingdoms%20of%20Korea | Three Kingdoms of Korea | The Three Kingdoms of Korea were Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla. They existed between the 1st century BC and 7th century CE. There were some smaller kingdoms like Gaya, Dongye, Okjeo, Buyeo, Usan, Tamna, etc.
Baekje helped spread Chinese characters, Chinese culture, Han Buddhism, and other technology to Japan.
The Three Kingdoms period ended in 668: Silla allied with the Tang Dynasty to conquer Baekje and then Goguryeo. Korea unified under Later Silla. The Tang occupied the northern parts of Korea. After this Korea split during the North and South States period.
Besides Chinese records, the books Samguk Sagi and Samguk Yusa also record the history of the era. "Samguk" (Hangul: 삼국, Hanja: 三國) means "Three Kingdoms".
Sources
History of Korea |
6162 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eckernf%C3%B6rde | Eckernförde | Eckernförde (Danish: Egernførde, sometimes also Egernfjord, Low German: Eckernför, sometimes also Eckernföör) is a German city in Schleswig-Holstein, Kreis Rendsburg-Eckernförde at the Baltic Sea near Kiel. The population is about 23,000.
All 24 German submarines are stationed in Eckernförde.
Eckernförde is a well-known touristic centre in Northern Germany.
History
In 1302 Eckernförde is first mentioned as a city.
The Count Saint-Germain is supposed to be buried in Eckernförde near the St.-Nicolai-Church. His grave was destroyed by the great storm tide on 13 November 1872.
Twin towns
, Macclesfield, (since 1953)
, Hässleholm, (since 1958)
, Tanga, (since 1963)
, Nakskov, (since 1969)
, Brzeg, (since 1989)
, , Bützow, (since 1990)
References
Other websites
Official homepage of Eckernförde
Official tourist information
Local Newspaper (Eckernförder Zeitung) |
6166 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archduke%20Franz%20Ferdinand%20of%20Austria | Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria | Franz Ferdinand Karl Ludwig Josef of Austria, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Este (Franz Ferdinand Karl Ludwig Josef; ) (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was an Archduke (like a prince) of Austria and, from 1896 until his death, next in line to be the emperor of the former country called Austria-Hungary. He was killed in the city Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip. Because of this, Austria declared war against Serbia, which started the first World War.
On 28 June 1914, Franz Ferdinand went to Sarajevo in Bosnia for a trip. He was traveling to the Town Hall at 10pm with his wife, Sophie, in the third car of a motorcade in a roofless limousine. Franz Ferdinand had jokingly mentioned that he wouldn’t be surprised if there was a few bombs waiting for him on his trip. On his way to the Town Hall the first man to try to assassinate the Archduke, Grabez, was standing waiting for Ferdinand to try and shoot him but he froze and let the car pass. He went home afterwards and hid his gun and bomb but was later arrested.
On the same route to the Town Hall a man, also from the Black Hand, called Cabrinovic threw a bomb at the car injuring lots of Ferdinand's staff but he failed to kill the Archduke himself so he tried to swallow cyanide and jump into the river Miljacka but failed to die and got arrested. The Archduke was shocked but headed to the Town Hall anyway and did his speech whilst the paper was covered in the blood of his assistant who was injured in the bomb. After his speech he decided to go to the hospital to visit the 20 people injured in the bomb. As the driver took a turn to head to the hospital Princip jumped out and shot Sophie in the abdomen who collapsed and died instantly then shot the Archduke in his neck and in his leg. He died on the way to the hospital. Ferdinand's last words were “Sophie! Sophie! Don’t die! For our children!
Princip was sentenced to twenty years in prison, the maximum for his age, and was imprisoned at the Terezín fortress. The man who threw the bomb, Cabrinovic, was also sentenced to 20 years in prison.
|}
Other websites
Archduke Francis Ferdinand d'Este
Franz Ferdinand essay
References
1863 births
1914 deaths
Archdukes and Archduchesses of Austria
Assassinated people
Habsburg Dynasty
Murders by firearm
World War I people |
6168 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black%20Hand | Black Hand | Black Hand or Crna Ruka, officially Ujedinjenje ili Smrt ("Unification or Death") was a secret group of Serbian nationalists (Pan-Serbians). It was founded in 1911 in Serbia.
Their aim was to create a country from other countries where Serbs lived, including Bosnia-Herzegovina which was a part of Austria-Hungary since 1908.
Killing of Franz Ferdinand
Five members of The Black Hand were in Sarajevo, Serbia, on 28 June, 1914 where Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne in Austria-Hungary, visited with his wife. Ferdinand was driven through the city in a convertible car. The members of the Black Hand attempted to kill Ferdinand by throwing grenades at his car. One of the grenades bounced off his car and exploded under the car following Ferdinand's. One of the members swallowed cyanide and attempted to jump into the river, however the cyanide was old, and the river was shallow, so he was arrested. One of the men, a Bosnian student called Gavrilo Princip, went to a cafe after failing to kill Ferdinand.
The Archduke and his wife decided to go and visit the people who were injured in the explosion in hospital, however the driver took a wrong turn and stopped outside the cafe where Princip was eating. Princip saw this and went outside. He took out a gun and shot at Ferdinand; two bullets hit the archduke, one hit his wife, and the other hit the car. Both Ferdinand and his wife died shortly after.
Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia for the assassination. Austria-Hungary then declared war on Serbia, and Russia joined the war on Serbia's side because the people of Serbia were Slavic, like Russia, and the Slavic countries had agreed to help each other if they were attacked. Since Russia is a large country it had to move soldiers closer to the war, but Germany feared that Russia's soldiers would also attack Germany. Russia did not like Germany because of things Germany had done in the past to become stronger. Germany declared war on Russia, and used a plan to attack Russia that had been created before the war, but it also involved attacking France and Belgium. France and Great Britain joined the war because Great Britain had agreed to help Belgium if it were ever attacked by someone else.
This quickly led to a full-scale war. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Both country's allies became involved in the war, and soon most of Europe became involved.
The Black Hand also killed Alexander I of Serbia and Draga Mašin.
References
20th century in Europe
Serbia
1911 establishments in Europe
1910s establishments in Serbia |
6169 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmonton | Edmonton | Edmonton is the capital city of Alberta. In 2008, there were about 1,102,000 people in the Edmonton area.
Edmonton is just south of the middle of Alberta in the prairie part of the province. There are many farms close to Edmonton.
The city started as a trading post on the North Saskatchewan River. Edmonton turned into a city mostly over the last 100 years.
Edmonton has of one of the world's largest shopping malls. This mall is called the West Edmonton Mall. This mall has over 800 stores, a hotel, an indoor water park, an indoor theme park, an ice skating rink, movie theatres, places to eat and drink, and other things to see. Many, many people visit the West Edmonton Mall.
Edmonton also has more sun than all other cities in Canada. But other cities are warmer than Edmonton. Winter temperatures often are below -20 degrees Celsius. It is common for it be even colder (below -30 degrees Celsius) for a few days in January or February. However, the summer can be warmer than 25 or 30 degrees. The sun does not set until after 11 pm in June.
The city is also well known for its festivals. There are many popular events in both summer and winter, such as Heritage Days, the Folk Festival, and the Fringe.
Edmonton has many interesting places to visit. Places such as The Francis Winspear Centre for Music, the Valley Zoo, Fort Edmonton Park, the Muttart Conservatory,and Telus World of Science.
Edmonton is known as the city of champions, is home to the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League, the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. The Edmonton Oilers have 5 Stanley Cup Championships, the Eskimos have 23 Western Division Championships, and 13 Grey Cup Championships.
The Edmonton tornado was the second deadliest tornado in Canada that struck the east side of the city in July 31, 1987. |
6170 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autarky | Autarky | Autarky is an economy that does no trade with the outside world. It is called a self-sufficient economy or a closed economy too. It does not need any other countries or regions helping.
Autarky is rare in the modern world. An example of a currently run autarky is North Korea, but even it makes a small amount trade between some countries, like China and Japan.
Economics |
6172 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonsai | Bonsai | is the Japanese art of growing small trees in pots. This is done by growing the tree in a small pot or tray and pruning (cutting) the branches and roots to keep the tree small over time. Bonsai trees are trained to grow into a shape that is pleasing to look at. The best bonsai trees appear to be old, and to have a shape that seems like a real tree except much smaller.
The word bonsai means "tree in tray" in the Japanese language. Bonsai is a very old art form in Japan. It is a Japanese form of the older Chinese art called penjing. Penjing is a Chinese art form that also uses trees growing in pots. Other nations also have arts like bonsai and penjing.
People like bonsai because it is nice to look at, and because it is fun to grow a bonsai tree. A bonsai tree can live for a very long time, longer than a person can live. In a family, a bonsai might be started by a grandparent, then given to a parent, then given to a child over many years.
A bonsai starts with a small tree. This tree can be grown from a seed, or can be found already growing in a yard or a park or the forest. It can also be bought from a plant store.
To make the bonsai, the small tree is taken out of the ground. Its roots are carefully cleaned of dirt. The roots may be trimmed (cut) a little to help them fit in a small pot. The branches may also be trimmed to make the tree smaller. Then it is put in a bonsai pot, which has low sides. Fresh soil (dirt) is put in the pot to cover the bonsai tree's roots. Then it is watered and put outdoors to live.
Good trees to make into bonsai have small leaves (pine tree needles are leaves too). If the leaves are too big, the bonsai will not look like a small tree. A good bonsai tree will have old-looking bark and old-looking roots too.
History
The art of bonsai began in Japan over one thousand years ago. It was brought to Japan from China around the year 800 A.D. At first, bonsai were planted in large pots like the Chinese used. But the Japanese later put them in very low, almost flat pots. This change made the tree itself the most important thing in the art form, not the fancy pot or small houses or statues of people which other nations used with their small trees in pots.
At first only the rich and noble people of Japan had bonsai. One family could have many bonsai, which would grow in pots in the garden outside of the house. A servant might take care of all the bonsai and would learn a lot about how to grow bonsai. The rules about how to grow a bonsai properly were not well known and were not shared with other people. Later more people began to grow bonsai. Some were holy people, like monks. Some were Japanese families who were not noble or really rich, but who had enough money and time to grow one or two bonsai in their gardens or house yards. This larger group of people began to share what they learned about the rules of bonsai and so more people could join in growing bonsai. By the twentieth (20th) century, the rules of bonsai were very well known in Japan and many people could afford to grow their own bonsai.
Cultivation
A tree that could be used for bonsai is not small in nature. If left to grow in the open soil, a bonsai tree would grow as big as any other tree. But in a pot, the tree will not grow very big. To help keep it small, the owner of the bonsai trims (cuts) its leaves and branches every year. Every two or three years, the bonsai owner lifts the bonsai out of its pot and trims the roots. Then the owner puts the bonsai back in its pot with some new soil.
A bonsai grower checks the soil of every bonsai pot once every day. If the soil is nearly dry, the grower waters it until it is wet from the top of the soil to the bottom of the pot. Every few weeks the grower adds a little fertilizer to each bonsai tree's soil. In the winter this happens less often.
A bonsai can live to be older than a large tree of the same species if it is grown with care. A bonsai needs good care, and a bonsai with poor care will not be healthy and might die. To keep a bonsai strong, it must grow outdoors like a real tree. It must never get too dry or stay too wet. It must never get too hot or too cold. If it gets a plant sickness like a fungus, it must be cured quickly. If it gets bugs like aphids the bugs must be cleaned off or killed quickly.
Shapes
In the art of bonsai a sense of beauty, patience, and good care are all needed. The plant, the shape of the plant, as well as the arrangement of soil and the kind of pot used are important.
Each bonsai has a shape, partly the shape and direction of the trunk and partly the shape of the whole tree with its branches and leaves. The most common shapes are known as "styles", including
Upright-style
The upright style has a straight trunk that points up. Its branches are big at the bottom and small at the top.
Informal-style
The informal style has curves in the trunk. Its branches are also larger at the bottom and smaller at the top.
Slanted-style
The slanted-style bonsai trunk does not point straight up like the upright style. The trunk comes out of the soil at an angle and points to the left or right.
Cascade-style
The cascade-style bonsai look like trees that grow out over water or on the sides of mountains. The tip of the tree is low, and may even fall below the base of the pot.
Broom-style
The broom style has a trunk that is straight and upright. Branches stick out in all directions from about 1/3 of the way up the trunk.
Forest-style
The or "group planting" has several trees in one pot or on a flat slab of rock.
Other styles
There are many other known styles for Japanese bonsai. When bonsai are shown to the public, or when they appear in a catalog to be sold to people, the style that best matches the bonsai will often be put in the tree's description. This allows the person looking at the bonsai to understand the plan or goal of the person who made the bonsai.
Related pages
Penjing
Chinese scholar's rocks
Suiseki
References
Other websites
"Viewing Stones" at National Bonsai Foundation
All you need to know about Bonsai History,styles,pictures gallery
Bonsai Plants in India i Check this website for bonsai tree in India
Trees
Japanese culture |
6174 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chastity%20belt | Chastity belt | A chastity belt is a device locked around the wearer's genitals to prevent sexual intercourse. Chastity belts for women were introduced into Europe from Italy, and saw some limited degree of use during the Renaissance period.
They were not used until the 16th century, and then only rather rarely. They first became widely available as 19th-century anti-masturbation medical devices. Many of the belts on public display in museums have now been tested to determine their correct age, with the earliest found to originate in the early 1800s.
In modern times, belts for both men and women are used in BDSM.
References
BDSM |
6184 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount%20Arafat | Mount Arafat | Mount Arafat or Mount Arafah ( transliterated Jabal ‘Arafāt) is a granite hill east of Mecca in the plain of Arafat. Arafat is a plain about southeast of Mecca. Mount Arafat reaches about in height and is also known as the Mount of Mercy (Jabal ar-Rahmah). According to Islamic tradition, the hill is the place where the Islamic prophet Muhammad stood and delivered the Farewell Sermon to the Muslims who had accompanied him for the Hajj towards the end of his life.
On the 9th of the month of Dhu al-Hijjah pilgrims go to Arafat from Mina, for the most important part of the Hajj. The Khutbah of Hajj is narrated and Zuhr prayer and Asr prayer are prayed together. The pilgrims spend the whole day on the mountain to supplicate to Allah to forgive their sins and to pray for personal strength in the future.
Hajj
Arafah rituals end at sunset and pilgrims then move to Muzdalifah for a shortened Maghrib Prayer and Isha prayer and for a short rest.
The level area surrounding the hill is called the Plain of Arafat. The term Mount Arafah is sometimes applied to this entire area. It is an important place in Islam because during the Hajj, pilgrims spend the afternoon there on the ninth day of Dhul Hijjah (ذو الحجة). Failure to be present in the plain of Arafat on the required day invalidates the pilgrimage.
Since late 2010, this place is served by Mecca Metro. On a normal Hajj, it would be around to walk.
References
Hills
Mount Arafat
Mount Arafat |
6186 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariel%20Sharon | Ariel Sharon | Ariel Sharon (February 26, 1928 – January 11, 2014) was an Israeli politician of Likud and later Kadima. Sharon was Prime Minister of Israel from 2001 to 2006.
Early life
Sharon was born on February 27, 1928 in Kfar Malal, British-Palestine. Sharon was in the Israel Army for many years. He fought in numerous battles, and in 1974 he left the army as General. After leaving the army he decided to go to politics.
Politics
In 1977, he became Minister of Agriculture. In 1981 he became the Minister of Defence. In 1983, he was sent away from the government as Minister of Defence after he was found to be guilty for not preventing a massacre in Lebanon where many hundreds of civilians were killed by other civilians.
In 2001, he was elected for Prime Minister after the war between Israel and Palestine started. In 2004, he surprised many people when he said that Israel will get out of the Gaza Strip, which is the place where many Palestinian people live.
Health
In December 2005, Sharon was taken into hospital. On January 4, 2006, Sharon was again taken to the hospital. He had a big stroke (bleeding in the brain).
Rumours spread immediately of his death, though these were denied by his physicians. It was soon reported and later confirmed that Sharon was in a coma. Ehud Olmert, another member of Sharon's newly formed Kadima party, was acting Prime Minister until elections were held in Israel, after which Olmert became Prime Minister of Israel.
Death
Sharon died on 11 January 2014. He died from kidney failure and stroke complications at the hospital in Ramat Gan. He had been in a coma at the time. He was aged 85.
His state funeral was held on 13 January. He was buried in line with Jewish burial customs. It was held as soon after death as possible. The day before the funeral, Sharon's body and coffin were placed in the Knesset building for people to see. His funeral began with an official ceremony held in the Knesset chamber. Politicians from Israel and other countries attended. His funeral was then held at his family's farm in the Negev desert. Sharon was buried there beside his wife, Lily.
Leaders attended his funeral service included U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, former Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Czech Prime Minister Jiří Rusnok and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
References
Other websites
Ariel Sharon's Biography – Detailed account of his military and political career
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon: Return to the Temple Mount
Ariel Sharon: an Israeli Caligula
The Sabra and Shatila Massacres (16–18 September 1982)
Timeline of key events in Sharon's life
Ariel Sharon Profile, ynet news lexicon
Biography of Ariel Sharon at cnn.com
Prominent People – Sharon, Ariel "Arik"
Phonecall – An authentic recording of Ariel Sharon talking to a soldier positioned at one of the Suez Channel bunkers at the beginning of the Yom Kippur War.
1928 births
2014 deaths
Deaths from renal failure
Deaths from stroke
Former Members of Knesset
Government ministers of Israel
Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni
Israeli former political leaders
Israeli generals
Israeli opposition leaders
Jewish Israeli politicians
Jewish military people
Kadima politicians
Likud politicians
Prime Ministers of Israel
Tel Aviv University alumni |
6189 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jameson | Jameson | Jameson is a famous brand of Irish whiskey. It is amber in color and has quite a strong smell. It is an alcoholic beverage.
In Ireland, people refer to it as Jemmie.
Whisky |
6193 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syria | Syria | Syria is a country in the Middle East, the west part of Asia. It borders (from south to north) on Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Turkey. Its western part faces the Mediterranean Sea. Its eastern and northern parts are mountainous.
The current president and head of state is Bashar al-Assad. Syria's national capital is Damascus. The biggest city is Aleppo. The Syrian civil war began in 2011.
The population of Syria is 74% Sunni, 12% Alawi, 10% Christian.
History
Syria has a very long history. It was a land of Phoenicians. Later it became part of the Achaemenid Empire, Roman Empire, and then the Eastern Roman Empire. In those days people spoke the Syriac language. The city Antioch was great and one of the important cities in Christendom. The Umayyad Caliphate took control of Syria in the 7th century. In this Arab Empire people began to speak the Arabic language. Today most Syrian people believe in Islam but there are still Christians too.
When World War I started, the Ottoman Empire ruled Syria and many other places. When it ended, France controlled Lebanon and Syria. Britain had Iraq, Jordan and Palestine. They drew a border between Iraq and Syria in 1920. France controlled Syria until 1946 when Syria became its own country.
Syria was part of the United Arab Republic with Egypt in 1958-1961. Syria had some wars with Israel and some territories like the Golan Plateau were occupied by Israel.
In 2012 with the Arab Spring a bloody civil war began against President Bashar al-Assad.
Kurdish people control a small part of the northern region called Rojava.
It is also known as Western Kurdistan.
Geography
Syria is between latitudes 32° and 38° N, and longitudes 35° and 43° E. It is mostly arid plateau. The area bordering the Mediterranean is fairly green. The Euphrates, Syria's most important river, crosses the country in the east.
The climate in Syria is dry and hot. Winters are mild.
Politics and government
Syria is a republic. The old Constitution of Syria was started on 13 March 1971. It made Syria as a secular socialist state. Islam was the majority religion. A new constitution has been in place since 2012.
Branches of government
The executive branch is the president, two vice presidents, the prime minister, and the Council of Ministers. The constitution says the president must be a Muslim. It does not make Islam the state religion. According to the 2012 constitution, the president is elected by the Syrian people in a direct election.
The People's Council is the legislative branch.
State control
Nearly all of Syria’s radio and television outlets are state owned. The Ba'ath Party controls nearly all newspapers.
Human rights
Syria's human rights are among the worst in the world, according to human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch. The authorities arrest democracy and human rights activists, censor websites, detain bloggers, and have travel bans.
Governorates
Syria has fourteen Governorates, or muhafazat. The governorates are divided into sixty districts. The governorates are:
Al Hasakah
Rojava
Al Ladhiqiyah
Al Qunaytirah
Ar Raqqah
As Suwayda
Dara
Dayr az Zawr
Dimashq
Halab
Hama
Homs
Idlib
Rif Dimashq
Tartus
Military
The President of Syria is commander in chief of the Syrian armed forces. There are about 400,000 troops. Ethnic Kurds have their own army called YPG. The Males must go in the military when they are age 18.
Economy
Syria is a middle-income country. The economy is based on agriculture, oil, industry, and tourism.
Transport
Syria has three international airports (Damascus, Aleppo and Lattakia). They are hubs for Syrian Air. Foreign airlines also fly to them. Most Syrian cargo is carried by Chemins de Fer Syriens, the Syrian railway company.
Demographics
Most people live in the Euphrates valley and along the coastal plain, a fertile strip between the coastal mountains and the desert.
Education is free from ages 6 to 12. All children this age must attend school.
Sports
The most popular sports in Syria are football, basketball, swimming, and tennis. Damascus was home to the fifth and seventh Pan Arab Games. Many popular football teams are based in Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, and Latakia.
Related pages
List of rivers of Syria
Syria at the Olympics
Syria national football team
References
Members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation |
6204 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychology | Psychology | Psychology is the study of the mind. The study also covers thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. It also falls under the academic domain; some parts of psychology follow the way of doing science: explains the mind, how it works, and what it shows through our actions.
When doing psychology, it has to deal with humans most of the time but animals beyond humans at some point. People, experts or not, can't study psychology as a whole. So, we divide small parts of it one step at a time. Also, psychology has much in common with other fields that they overlap with one another. Some of these fields fall in natural sciences or not.
Psychologists practice the field in the profession; they undergo long years of schooling than laypeople. These practitioners attempt to explain how minds function in the self (individual) and self with others (social). These attempts might also deal with how the body's way affects the mind--its processes and approaches. They can also be scientists in the field of social, behavioral, and cognitive.
Branches
Psychology has been split up into smaller parts called branches. These are subjects in psychology that try to answer a particular group of questions about how people think. Some branches of psychology that are often studied are:
Abnormal psychology tries to work out what differences there are between people who are healthy and people who have a mental illness.
Clinical psychology is about finding the best way to help people to recover from mental illness.
Cognitive psychology looks at how people think, use language, remember and forget, and solve problems.
Cross-cultural psychology looks at different ways of living and different views of the world.
Developmental psychology is interested in how people develop and change through their lives. This includes what used to be called "child psychology".
Educational or school psychology tests and helps students to learn and make friends.
Evolutionary psychology studies how evolution may have shaped the way people think and do things.
Gestalt psychology is theory of mind and brain formed in Berlin.
Neuropsychology looks at the brain and how it works to make people the way they are.
Motivation: the root causes of action
Perceptual psychology asks questions about how people make sense of what they see and hear and how they use that information to get around.
Personality psychology looks at different personality and how can change personality.
Political psychology
Social psychology looks into how groups of people work together and how societies build and work.
Methods
Scientific approaches
Psychology is a type of science, and research psychologists use many of the same types of methods that researchers from other natural and social sciences use.
Psychologists make theories to try to explain a behavior or pattern they see. Based on their theory they make some predictions. They then carry out an experiment or collect other types of information that will tell them whether their predictions were right or wrong.
Some types of experiments cannot be done on people because the process would be too long, expensive, dangerous, unfair, or otherwise unethical. There are also other ways psychologists study the mind and behavior scientifically, and test their theories. Psychologists might wait for some events to happen on their own; they might look at patterns among existing groups of people in natural environments; or they might do experiments on animals (which can be simpler and more ethical to study).
Psychology shares other things with natural sciences, as well. For example, a good psychological theory may be possible to prove wrong. Just like in any natural science, a group of psychologists can never be completely sure that their theory is the right one. If a theory can be proved wrong, but experiments do not prove it wrong, then it is more likely that the theory is accurate. This is called falsifiability.
Psychologists use many tools as part of their daily work. Psychologists use surveys to ask people how they feel and what they think. They may use special devices to look at the brain and to see what it is doing. Psychologists use computers to collect data as they measure how people behave in response to pictures, words, symbols, or other stimuli. Psychologists also use statistics to help them analyze the data that they get from their experiments.
Symbolic and subjective approaches
Not all psychology is scientific psychology. Psychodynamic psychology and depth psychology do things like interpreting people's dreams to understand the unconscious mind. They are older approaches to psychology begun by Carl Jung who was particularly interested in finding methods for measuring what kind of personality people have.
Humanistic psychology and existential psychology also believe that it is more important to understand personal meaning than to find causes and effects of mental processes and behaviors.
Psychologists
Psychologists are people who work in the field of psychology. A psychologist may work in either basic research or applied research. Basic research is the study of people or animals to learn more about them. Applied research is using what was learned from basic research to solve real-world problems. If he or she is qualified as a clinical psychologist they may be a therapist or counsellor as well as a researcher.
To become a psychologist, a person must first get a basic degree at a university and then go to graduate school. A Master's degree, either MSc (Master of Science) or MA (Master of Arts) allows work such as a school psychologist. A doctorate degree takes a longer time because it includes doing research and writing a detailed report called a dissertation or thesis. The doctoral graduate uses the initials PhD or DPhil (Doctor of Philosophy) after his or her name. Some clinical psychologists earn a Doctor of Psychology degree and use the initials PsyD after their name. The American Psychological Association says that people need a PhD (or PsyD) and a current state license in the U.S.) in order to call themselves a 'psychologist'.
The words psychologist and psychiatrist may be confused with each other. A psychiatrist has graduated from medical school and uses the initials MD or its equivalent (MB ChB in London University, for example). A psychiatrist or doctor may work with a psychologist: they may prescribe and check on the effect of medications.
Related pages
Psychiatry
Neurology
Parapsychology
Neuroscience
References
Other websites
Encyclopedia of Psychology A web site with all kinds of information about psychology.
Psychology at the Open Directory Project.
Psychology, Art of Human Life
In-Mind, Quarterly Magazine for Social Psychology
Search for the best lawyer in the UK here |
6207 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana | Louisiana | Louisiana () is a state in the Southern United States of America. It had a population of about 4,533,372 people in 2010. The state has a total area of about . Louisiana is the 25th largest state by population and the 31st largest state by area. Louisiana is also known by its nickname, The Pelican State. The land that would become Louisiana was bought in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Louisiana became a state on April 30, 1812. It was the 18th state to become part of the United States. The people who live in the state are known as Louisianans. The state's capital is Baton Rouge, and its largest city is New Orleans.
Louisiana has coastal plains, marshs, and low ridges. All of the state is in the Sun Belt. Louisiana is in a sub tropical region, and has a diverse ecosystem. The climate of Louisiana Louisiana has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa). It has long, hot, humid summers and short, mild winters.
One third of the adults in Louisiana are obese. This is the highest rate in the United States.
Louisiana was settled by France and the influence of French culture is still a big part of Louisiana today. The French Quarter in New Orleans is one of the best known attractions in the state. It is known today for its special culture, unique food, as well as the holiday Mardi Gras which is most famous in New Orleans.
Louisiana was very badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Much of the New Orleans area lies below sea level making flooding a serious problem.
Louisiana was first settled by Native Americans. Louisiana has a large Louisiana Creole population. Louisiana Creole people are a mixture of French, Native American and African American.
Cities
Louisiana contains 308 incorporated municipalities, consisting of four consolidated city-parishes, and 304 cities, towns, and villages. Louisiana's municipalities cover only 7.9% of the state's land mass but are home to 45.3% of its population. The majority of urban Louisianans live along the coast or in northern Louisiana. The oldest permanent settlement in the state is Nachitoches. Baton Rouge, the state capital, is the second-largest city in the state. The most populous city is New Orleans. As defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, Louisiana contains nine metropolitan statistical areas. Major areas include Greater New Orleans, Greater Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and Shreveport–Bossier City.
Related pages
Colleges and universities in Louisiana
List of parishes in Louisiana
List of rivers of Louisiana
References
1812 establishments in the United States |
6208 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synonym | Synonym | A synonym is a word (or a phrase) which means the same thing as another word or phrase.
Examples:
car and automobile
baby and infant
child and kid
make and create.
student and pupil
sick and ill
scared and frightened
rich and wealthy
Synonyms can be nouns, verbs, adverbs or adjectives, but both words must be of the same part of speech. That means, only a noun can be a synonym of another noun, only a verb can be a synonym of another verb, and so on.
One can find sets of synonyms in a thesaurus, which is a book listing groups of related words.
Some words are near-synonyms, which have similar but not exactly the same meaning.
History
The word "synonym" dates back over 500 years, to late Middle English. The term is derived from Latin from the Greek word sunōnumon, neuter form (used as a noun) of the adjective sunōnumos, from sun- meaning 'with' + onoma meaning 'name' in the Greek language.
The meaning of the word has remained unchanged for all these centuries. There is even a saying, going back to 1892, "Once a synonym, always a synonym".
The word has been taught to generations of English-language students and is commonly known by the general public. Many other languages have a similar word for "synonym" with the same or similar spelling.
Related pages
Antonym
Homonym
Homophone
Synonym (taxonomy)
References
Words |
6212 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yosa%20Buson | Yosa Buson | was a Japanese Haiku poet and painter, usually referred to simply as "Buson". He is one of the greatest poets of the Edo period, comparable with Matsuo Basho and Kobayashi Issa.
He was born in Osaka, his real family name was Taniguchi (). From 1758, he began to live in Kyoto, and he stayed there for rest of his life. He got married when he was 45 years old, and became a father of his daughter Kuno ().
References
1716 births
1784 deaths
Japanese artists
Japanese poets
People from Osaka |
6216 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandbox | Sandbox | Sandbox could mean:
Litter box, an indoor box for pet animals to relieve themselves
Sandpit or sandbox, a wide, wide playground of sand that is made of wood or plastic
Sandbox (railways), a super-large container that holds sand for use in improving rail adhesion in slippery conditions
The Sandbox (play), a 1960 one-act play by Edward Albee
Sandbox (missile) or SS-N-12, a Soviet anti-ship missile
Sandbox Therapy, a tool used by child psychologists
In computing:
Sandbox (computer security), a realistic container in which untrusted programs can be safely run
Sandbox (software development), an online environment in which code or content changes can be tested without affecting the original system
Sandbox (video game editor), a game level editor for minecraft
Sandbox game, a genre or mode of some video games for open-ended, nonlinear play
Sandbox Effect, in Google Internet search rankings
Sandbox Slang, Roblox
In music
Sandbox (album), a 1987 album by Guided by Voices
Sandbox (band), a Canadian rock music group |
6221 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chopsticks | Chopsticks | Chopsticks are sticks used in pairs as cutlery. Chopsticks are the traditional eating utensils of some countries including China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, and Vietnam. They can be made of wood, gold, silver, ivory, bamboo, or plastic. Gold and silver chopsticks are considerably heavier than normal wooden chopsticks and also considered to be extravagant.
Today chopsticks are mainly used in China and neighboring countries. Elsewhere, chopsticks are often used in restaurants serving oriental cuisines.
History
Chopsticks came from China as early as the Shang dynasty (1600–1100 BC). The creation of chopsticks might have been influenced by the teachings of Confucius. They were widely used throughout East Asia. Tools like chopsticks were also found in the archaeological site Megiddo in Israel. This discovery may mean there was some form of trade between the Middle East and Asia in early antiquity. Alternatively, such tools may have developed independently in both the Middle East and Asia. Chopsticks were also common household items of civilized Uyghurs on the Mongolian steppes during the 6th–8th centuries.
Origin of the word
The English word "chopstick" seems to come from Chinese Pidgin English, a pidgin where "chop chop" meant quickly.
The Mandarin Chinese word for chopsticks is kuàizi (筷子). It is a word made of different parts; it has the phonetic part of "快", which means quick, and a semantic part, 竹, meaning bamboo. In Chinese, the old word for "chopsticks", and also in some varieties of modern Chinese such as Hokkien, was zhù (MC: ) (箸 Pinyin:zhù, Minnan: tī). However, zhù became a taboo on ships because it sounded the same as another word meaning "to stop" (住). Consequently, it was replaced by a word of opposite meaning, kuài (fast, quick). This gradually spread until it became the word for "chopsticks" in most varieties of modern Chinese. The character for this new meaning of "chopsticks" (筷) for kuài has the semantic element of bamboo added to the character meaning "fast" kuài (快).
In Japanese, chopsticks are called hashi, written . They are also known as . This is what is usually printed on disposable chopsticks.
In Korean, 箸 (jeo) is used in the compound jeotgarak (젓가락) which is composed of jeo (chopsticks) and garak (stick). Jeo cannot be used alone.
In Vietnamese, chopsticks are called "đũa"
Eating with chopsticks
When people are eating with chopsticks they usually do not use a knife and fork. The sticks are held together in the same hand. Usually this is the right hand. At some formal occasions it may be considered rude to use chopsticks with the left hand.
Put one chopstick between the palm and the base of the thumb, using the ring finger (the fourth finger from the thumb) to support the lower part of the stick. With the thumb, squeeze the stick down while the ring finger pushes it up. The stick should be stationary and very stable.
Use the tips of the thumb, index and middle fingers to hold the other stick like an ink pen. Make sure the tips of the two sticks line up.
Move the upper stick up and down towards the stationary lower stick.
With enough practice, the two sticks function like a pair of pincers (a tool that can easily lift things).
If the tips do not line up, it will be difficult to hold things. Hold the chopsticks upright with one of the tips lightly touching the table, and gently push the chopsticks down or gently loosen your grip for a moment to let both tips become equal in length. You can also adjust your grip or holding position this way.
With practice, it is possible to perform step one and two right away, on picking up the chopsticks with one hand smoothly. Hold the chopstick at different angles if necessary in order to feel comfortable with two sticks between your fingers.
Table manners
Etiquette
Chopsticks are used in many countries; those eating with chopsticks generally observe the following rules:
Chopsticks are not used to make noise, to draw attention, or to gesture. Playing with chopsticks is considered rude and vulgar (just as playing with cutlery in a Western environment would be).
Chopsticks are not used to move bowls or plates.
Chopsticks are not used to toy with food or with the dishes in common.
Most often, chopsticks are not used to stab food. Exceptions include tearing larger items apart such as vegetables and kimchi. In informal use, small, difficult-to-pick-up items such as cherry tomatoes or fishballs may be stabbed, but this use is frowned upon by traditionalists.
Chopsticks can be rested horizontally on one's plate or bowl to keep them off the table entirely. A chopstick rest can be used to keep the points off the table.
Chopsticks should not be left standing vertically in a bowl of rice or other food. Any stick-like object pointed upward resembles the incense sticks that some people use as offerings to deceased family members; certain funerary rites designate offerings of food to the dead using standing chopsticks.
Do not eat when the tips of a pair of chopsticks are not aligned properly. In Chinese, this is called "三长两短" (san1 chang2 liang2 duan3), which means death.
Types of chopsticks
Chopsticks are used in many countries. Chopsticks are sometimes different in those countries.
Chinese: longer sticks that are square at one end (where they are held) and round at the other (where they contact the food). They end with a blunt tip.
Japanese: short to medium length sticks that have a pointed end. This development may have occurred because the Japanese diet consists of large amounts of whole fish. Japanese chopsticks are traditionally made of wood and are lacquered. Some chopstick sets include two lengths of chopsticks: shorter ones for women and longer ones for men. Child-sized chopsticks are widely sold.
Korean: medium-length stainless-steel tapered rods, with a flat rectangular cross section. (Traditionally, they were made of brass or silver.) Many Korean metal chopsticks are decorated at the grip.
Vietnamese: long sticks that end in blunt point; traditionally wooden, but now made of plastic as well. A đũa cả is a large pair of flat chopsticks that is used to serve rice from a pot.
Other uses for chopsticks
Chopsticks are used in cooking to stir materials in a pan, or to help move meals.
In Japan, people use a single-use chopstick called waribashi (split chopstick). Before using, people split it into two. Japanese people also call their chopsticks hashi.
In Japan, people use chopsticks during the funeral ceremony of Buddhists. After burning the dead, family and friends use chopsticks to move the burned bones of the dead from the coffin to a pot.
Problems with chopsticks
Chopsticks and the environment
Using a set of chopsticks only once, and then throwing them away causes problems for the environment. There are some movements which aim at telling people to use a set of chopsticks more than once. In China, about 45 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks are used per year. This is equal to 1.7 billion cubic metres of timber–about 25 million fully grown trees. China is the biggest producer of disposable chopsticks, about 60,000 people have a job making chopsticks. If production continues at the current level, China's forests will be gone in about a decade.
For this reason, a tax has been introduced on chopsticks that are only used once. There are also moves to replace disposable chopsticks made of wood by plastic or metal ones.
Chopsticks and health
In 2003, a study was done. It found that people who use chopsticks regularly have a slightly higher risk of getting arthritis in the hand. With this, cartilage gets worn off, which causes pain in the joints of the hand. This is more common in older people. Another problem is that using certain kinds of chopsticks may lead to coughing or even asthma.
The Hong Kong Department of Health did a study in 2006. It found that generally, people use chopsticks or other food utensils more often than in 2003 when eating with others. It also found that personal hygiene has improved.
References
Giblin, James Cross. (1987). New York: Thomas Y. Crowell.
Other websites
Video lecture of How to use Chopsticks
A smart thing to help adults and children learn how to use Chopsticks
How to use Chopsticks?
Japanese Chopsticks (Ohashi) Etiquette
Chopsticks Mastery and Etiquette
PingMag on Portable Chopstick Designs, also covers disposable Chopsticks
How to Use Chopsticks (Video)
Food utensils |
6222 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone | Telephone | A telephone, also known as a phone, is a communication tool. Originally, it was an electric tool sending analogue speech through wires. Now it is an electronic tool sending digital signals on wires or radio transmission. Using a telephone, two people who are in different places can talk to each other. Early telephones needed to be connected with wires which are called fixed or landline telephones. Modern mobile phones use radio waves.
History
Alexander Graham Bell was the first person to patent the telephone, in 1876. Early telephones were wired directly to each other and could only talk to the phone that they were connected to. Later, telephone exchanges allowed connecting to other telephones. During the 20th century the machines that made the connections were automated.
Types of telephones
There are many different types of telephones. A telephone that can be carried around is called a mobile phone or cell phone. These became popular in the late 1980s. It has become common for people to carry mobile phones and in some places it is unusual to not have one. The majority are smartphones, which can be used as computers. Some mobile phones are able to make telephone calls using communications satellites instead of masts on the ground, which means people can make calls from anywhere in the world.
In most countries there are public payphones. To use one, people pay with coins, a credit card or a prepaid card.
Computers can use a machine called a modem or a Digital subscriber line router to talk to other computers over a telephone line. This allows a computer to connect to other computer networks including the Internet.
Most countries have a telephone network. The telephones in one place are connected to a telephone exchange. The exchanges are connected together in a world-wide network. In developing countries cell phones are used as a cheaper and faster way to connect the countryside to the network.
Telephone number
Most telephones have their own number. Today, telephone numbers are about seven to ten digits long. In many countries, part of the telephone number is called the area code. Area codes are used to make sure the numbers are not the same in two different places. Areas have their own area code, and countries have their own country code.
Usage
By the end of 2009, there were a total of nearly 6 billion mobile and fixed-line telephone subscribers worldwide. This included 1.26 billion fixed-line subscribers and 4.6 billion mobile subscribers.
Lets make it easy,
telephone is a device that make people near as they are far from each other.
Telephone can be used in emergency cases.
References |
6226 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checkers | Checkers | Checkers or draughts is the name of several different board games. All of these games are similar. In every kind of checkers, the other player's pieces can be taken by being "jumped" over.
"Checkers" is the American name. In British English, and in various other English-speaking nations, these games are called "draughts."
The rules and championships are controlled by the World Draughts Federation.
History
Checkers dates back certainly to the 12th century, in France. These authorities do not admit that discoveries of earlier checkerboards prove the game was played earlier, though it may have been. Some other writers have thought differently, but they were not professional historians.
There are two main types of checkers played: the Anglo-American version (which originally came from France) and the Polish or continental version. The Anglo-American version is played on an 8x8 checkerboard (chessboard) with 12 pieces. The continental version (so-called because it is played on the continent of Europe) is played on a 10x10 board with 20 pieces each. There are also a number of variations in various countries.
Rules
In most games of checkers, there are two players. The players are at opposite ends of the board. One player has dark pieces, and one player has light pieces. They take turns moving their pieces. Players move their pieces diagonally from one square to another square. When a player jumps over their opponent's (the other player's) piece, you take that piece from the board. If you can take a piece, then you must take a piece.
English draughts
British people call the game "draughts". English draughts is played on an 8x8 chess board. Only the dark squares are used: the light squares are never used.
Pieces. The pieces are flat and round. They are referred to as "men". They may be colored dark and light or red and white. The two sides are called Black and White. Black has the first move. There are two kinds of pieces: plain (single) pieces and "double pieces". A double piece is made by putting one plain piece on top of another.
Starting position. Each player starts with 12 pieces on the three rows closest to their own side. The row closest to each player is called the "Double Piece Row". The darker color moves first.
How to move. all the single pieces (the starting pieces) can only move diagonally forward. They cannot move backwards.
A player can move in two ways. A piece can be moved forward, diagonally, to the very next dark square. If one player's piece, the other player's piece, and an empty square are lined up, then the first player must "jump" the other player's piece. The first player jumps over the other player's piece onto the empty square and takes the other player's piece off the board.
A player can also use one piece to make multiple jumps in any one single turn, provided each jump continues to lead immediately into the next jump and in a straight line. Sometimes a player may have the option or a choice of which opponent piece he must jump. In such cases, he may then choose which to jump. If you keep your hand on any piece when you're moving, you have the choice to put it back and move another piece.
Double Pieces. If a player's piece moves into the double piece row on the other player's side, it becomes a double piece. It can move forwards and backwards. A double piece cannot move out of the double piece row until the next turn.
How the game ends. The first player to lose all of his or her pieces loses the game. If a player is put in a position where they cannot move, the game is a draw.
References
Other websites
World Draughts Federation
World Mind Sports Games
Draughts
Board games |
6229 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobe%2C%20Hy%C5%8Dgo | Kobe, Hyōgo | For the basketball player, see Kobe Bryant.
Kobe (Japanese: 神戸市; -shi) is a city in the Kansai region of Japan on the island of Honshu. It is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture.
Kobe is an important port city in the Kansai district of Western Japan. It is between the country's financial capital Osaka and Kyoto. It's population is around 1.53 million people as of 2008.
Kobe is next to the Seto Inland Sea. Its northern part, including the Rokko mountain, is hilly. A ropeway runs from the Rokko district in its southern area through Rokko mountain to the Arima Spa. Transportation includes, the Shinkansen train service, highways and roads along the coast. Many cargo trucks and tankers use the port. There is a ferry between Shanghai and Kobe periodically.
History
Early history
Already in the late 12th century powerful leader Taira no Kiyomori moved the capital of Japan from Kyoto to Fukuwara, nowadays the Fukuwara district of Japan. He planned for it to serve as a trade and political center of Japan. Kiyomori relied his political influence on the trade between Japan and China. But his plan failed and Kobe stayed a small village during a long time.
Later history
The area of Kobe was expanded and today it includes Mount Maya, Sumaura Park, Sumaike park with a good spa and the famous Arima spa. Arima spa is one of oldest spas in Japan, whose earliest record is found already in Nihonshoki. Kobe is also famous for its Kobe beef, a very expensive meat delicacy.
Modern foundation
Kobe was founded in 1868 as a port for serving foreign ships. In those days most ports in Japan were closed to foreigners. Many foreigners lived in Kobe, including: westerners, Chinese, Jews, and Indians. Kobe has one of the more important Chinatowns in Japan. People can find a synagogue and many Christian churches, too. Kobe is similar to Yokohama as a place from where modern international culture was introduced into Japan.
Earthquake
On January 17, 1995 a very powerful earthquake hit the city. Earthquakes are more common in other parts of Japan, but not in Kansai so this earthquake was a surprise for everyone. 6,434 people were killed in Kobe and its neighboring cities, and many more were injured. Many of the buildings were destroyed.
Industry
The northern area of Kobe is an industrial area. There are many factories. Sake production in Nada district has been known from the Edo period. Nagata district in the southwest area of Kobe was a center of shoe production in Japan but production suffered because of destruction caused by the Earthquake.
Related pages
Vissel Kobe
References
Other websites
Cities in Japan
Settlements in Hyōgo Prefecture |
6231 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oradea | Oradea | Oradea (pronunciation in Romanian: , Hungarian: Nagyvárad, colloquially also Várad, German: Großwardein, former , ) is the capital city of Bihor County, in Crişana, Romania. There are 206,527 people in the city according to the 2002 census. Oradea is one of Romania's richest cities. Oradea is near the Hungarian border, on the river Crişul Repede. There are many Hungarians in the city.
Economy (money, trade, and work)
6.0% of people in Oradea are unemployed (they do not have work).
Ethnicity (different groups of people)
In the 20th century, the city changed from having a mainly Hungarian population to mainly Romanian.
In 2002, the people belonged to these ethnic groups (races):
Romanians: 145,295 (70.4%)
Hungarians: 56,830 (27.5%)
Roma: 2,466 (1.2%)
Germans: 566 (0.3%)
Slovaks: 477 (0.2%)
Jews: 172
Ukrainians: 76
Bulgarians: 25
Russians: 25
Serbs: 17
Czechs: 9
Turks: 9
Quarters (parts of the city)
The city is made up of several areas. They are called quarters (cartiere in Romanian):
Centru Oradea (city centre)
Vie
Nufărul
Rogerius
Velenţa
Cantemir
Ioşia
Vie
The name Vie means vine in Romanian. It is the part of the city where the richest and most important people live. Vie is on the hills overlooking Oradea. Vie is popular with the elite (the powerful people) for two main reasons: it is close to Oradea, within walking distance of the railway station and the city centre; and it is peaceful and has fresh air. Vie has many mansions (big houses). In the north of Vie, at the top of the hills, there are also farms that grow grapes for making wine.
Vie also has the County Hospital of Oradea (Spitalul Judetean), the tuberculosis hospital (Spital TBC), and the mental (mind) hospital. In communist times, blocks of flats were built at the bottom of the hills.
The border between Vie and the city centre of Oradea is the railway station and railway tracks. Everything above the main railway station of Oradea is considered to be part of Vie. Despite its nearness to the railway station and Oradea, Vie is not easy to reach by public transport (except of course the part near the station), because many of its roads are unpaved (have a bad surface), and very steep. Some parts of the quarter are within walking distance of the railway station and the main supermarkets and shops of Oradea, but others are more only easy to get to by car. There is a bus service that serves the three hospitals in the region, and the houses among them.
Nufărul
Like Rogerius, Nufărul is like a mini-city, with supermarkets, large blocks of flats and more. It is on the eastern outskirts (the edge) of Oradea, and is near to Băile Felix, the famous spa resort. It is possible to get to Nufărul by tram and bus. It is perhaps the fastest growing area, because of its position: many highways and national roads lead from Oradea to other Romanian cities and pass through Nufãrul. For example, Nufărul was home to the second McDonalds (now there are many more) in Oradea, as well to many supermarkets that were not in central Oradea. Even though Nufărul has a lively market and excellent transport, education and shopping, it is not as nice as central Oradea, because it was planned and rebuilt in communist times.
The name Nufărul means water lily in Romanian. It has this name because there are many water lilies in the area.
Rogerius
Rogerius is located at the western end of the city, near Borş, on the Hungarian border. It is the city's largest district other than the city centre, and is home to many communist-era housing estates, as well as a large market. You can get to Rogerius by tram from the city centre and other parts of Oradea, as well as by bus. It is also the first part of Oradea visitors will see when coming from Western Europe or Hungary through via Borş. The western part of Rogerius has factories from Communist times, including a chemical factory called Sinteza.
Iosia
Unlike many of the other outer quarters of Oradea, Iosia does not have many large apartment blocks and is still fairly rural (like being in the country). It is located in the city's far southwest. The quarter is one of the most beautiful in Oradea, and has most of the facilities and amenities of the city. For tourists, it shows what Romanian country life is like while still being in the city close to all the excellent facilities that Oradea is home to.
Transport (getting around)
There is a public transport system run by Regia Autonomă Oradea Transport Local. There are three tram lines and some bus routes. The city has three train stations: central, Vest and Est. Vest Station is in the quarter of Ioşia, and the central station (called simply Oradea) is in the city centre, near the quarter of Vie.
Architecture (buildings)
The city has many Baroque buildings. It was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire many times in history.
Attractions
The city centre is beautiful and worth visiting, as well as many other sites:
Muzeul Ţării Crişurilor – a baroque museum famous for its windows.
Catedrala barocă – the biggest baroque cathedral in Romania
Cetatea Oradea – Oradea's Fortress, in the shape of a pentagon
Biserica cu Lună – a church with a clock which shows the phases of the moon
Pasajul "Vulturul Negru" – the "Black Eagle" Passage
Muzeul "Ady Endre" – the house of one of the best Hungarian poets
Teatrul de Stat – the State Theatre, designed by two Austrian architects who built around 100 theatres and opera houses in Europe in the 19th century
There are around 100 churches in Oradea, and three synagogues (Jewish places of worship). Only one of the synagogues is still being used. Oradea also has the biggest Baptist church in Eastern Europe
People
King Attila
Ödön Beothy
Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf
Michael Haydn
Frida Kahlo
Bela Kun
Julia Varady
Archbishopric of Oradea
References
Other websites
Oradea & Bihor
Oradea web portal
County capitals of Romania |
6235 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry%20Ford | Henry Ford | Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American engineer and businessman. He started making cars in 1896 and founded the Ford Motor Company.
He developed the idea of a system in which each worker has the duty to do one small part of the process of making something. His idea made it possible to produce cars in large numbers. This was called the assembly line.
Many factories around the world still make things this way. It was quite innovative at the time and it allowed him to produce many cars quickly and at a cheaper price than other car companies could. He married Clara Bryant and had one child named Edsel Bryant Ford. Ford left home for Detroit, Michigan to start his mechanical career.
Beginning of the Ford Motor Company
In 1903, Henry Ford helped start the Ford Motor Company. He was the owner of the company. The company sold its first car which was the model T car on July 23, 1903. Ford became president of the company in 1906.
In 1908, Ford's company began making the Ford Model T car. Ford said that he wanted to make a "motor car for the great multitude". This meant that he thought that most Americans should be able to afford to buy a car and not just a few rich people. In order to reach this goal, he chose to make the design as simple as possible. All his cars would be made the same way. They were even all the same color – black.
It cost $850 to buy a Model T car. Even though that was a lot of money back then, it was still very cheap for a car. Many people wanted to buy Model T cars. In fact, so many people wanted to buy them that Ford was having a hard time making enough cars to sell one to everybody who wanted to buy one.
The assembly line
Ford helped develop an idea, not much used before his time, called the assembly line, and started using it in his factories in 1913. Because of the assembly line, making new cars would not take as long. He put a moving belt in his factory. Cars moved along the belt, and workers put on one part at a time. Each worker would only be responsible for putting one part on cars.
The assembly line was a big success. Cars did not take as long to make, and they were cheaper to buy now, too. By 1916, it only cost $360 to buy one of Ford's cars, and more than three times as many people were buying his cars now. The Ford Model T changed America. It made it easier for people to live in the city instead of the country.
Political views
Ford was also known for his political views. He had been against World War I because he thought that it was a waste of time. He also believed that Jewish people were causing problems in the world. This belief is called Anti-Semitism. In 1919, he took over a newspaper called the Dearborn Independent. He began publishing articles that blamed Jews for problems in the world. Later, he would blame Jewish bankers for starting World War II.
References
1863 births
1947 deaths
Deaths from cerebral hemorrhage
Businesspeople from Michigan
Ford |
6236 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/George%20Orwell | George Orwell | George Orwell (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English dia during the British Empire's rule of India. He is best known for two novels that he wrote in the late 1940s, Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four. In those works, he said that totalitarianism, especially Stalinism, was very bad.
Orwell fought in the Spanish Civil War with the antifascist troops. These troops were against the dictatorship of fascist governments.
Orwell died of tuberculosis in London.
Early life
Eric Arthur Blair was born on 25 June 1903, in India. His great-grandfather Charles Blair was a rich gentleman who had married Lady Mary Fane, and he owned slaves and plantations in Jamaica. His grandfather, Thomas Richard Arthur Blair, was a clergyman. His father, Richard Walmesley Blair, worked in the Indian Civil Service. His mother, Ida Mabel Blair, grew up in Burma. He had a younger sister Avril and an older sister Marjorie. When Eric was one year old, Ida took him to England.
Eric grew up with his mother and sisters. Except for a short visit, he did not see his father again until 1912. The family moved to Shiplake before World War I. There, Eric became friends with the Buddicom family, especially Jacintha Buddicom. They read poetry and hoped to become famous writers. At this time, he also liked fishing and watching birds with Jacintha's brother and sister.
When he was five, Eric was sent to a Catholic convent school where Marjorie went. His mother wanted him to go to public school, but his family was not rich enough to pay for it. Ida's brother, Charles Limouzin, was asked to help find the best school to help Eric prepare for better things. He suggested St Cyprian's School in Eastbourne, Sussex. Limouzin, who was a good golfer, came to know the school and its headmaster at the Royal Eastbourne Golf Club. The headmaster helped Blair win the scholarship to pay for his education. He also let Blair's parents pay only half the usual amount of money. However, Blair hated the school.
Bibliography
Novels
Burmese Days (1934)
A Clergyman's Daughter (1935)
Keep the Aspidistra Flying (1936)
Coming Up for Air (1939)
Animal Farm (1945)
Nineteen Eighty-Four (8 June 1949')
Essays
Notes on Nationalism (1945)
A Nice Cup of Tea (1946)
Books based on his life
Down and Out in Paris and London (1933)
The Road to Wigan Pier (1937)
Homage to Catalonia (1938)
Poems
"Romance"
"A Little Poem"
"Awake! Young Men of England"
"Kitchener"
"Our Minds are Married, But we are Too Young"
"The Pagan"
"The Lesser Evil"
"Poem From Burma"
References
Anderson, Paul (ed). Orwell in Tribune: 'As I Please' and Other Writings. Methuen/Politico's 2006.
Bounds, Philip. Orwell and Marxism: The Political and Cultural Thinking of George Orwell. I.B. Tauris. 2009.
Bowker, Gordon. George Orwell. Little Brown. 2003.
Caute, David. Dr. Orwell and Mr. Blair, Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
Crick, Bernard. George Orwell: A Life. Penguin. 1982.
Flynn, Nigel. George Orwell. The Rourke Corporation, Inc. 1990.
Hitchens, Christopher. Why Orwell Matters. Basic Books. 2003.
Hollis, Christopher. A Study of George Orwell: The Man and His Works. Chicago: Henry Regnery Co. 1956.
Larkin, Emma. Secret Histories: Finding George Orwell in a Burmese Teashop. Penguin. 2005.
Lee, Robert A, Orwell's Fiction. University of Notre Dame Press, 1969. LC 74-75151
Leif, Ruth Ann, Homage to Oceania. The Prophetic Vision of George Orwell. Ohio State U.P. [1969]
Meyers, Jeffery. Orwell: Wintry Conscience of a Generation. W.W.Norton. 2000.
Newsinger, John. Orwell's Politics. Macmillan. 1999.
Rodden, John (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to George Orwell. Cambridge. 2007.
Shelden, Michael. Orwell: The Authorized Biography. HarperCollins. 1991.
Smith, D. & Mosher, M. Orwell for Beginners. 1984. London: Writers and Readers Publishing Cooperative.
Taylor, D. J. Orwell: The Life. Henry Holt and Company. 2003.
West, W. J. The Larger Evils. Edinburgh: Canongate Press. 1992. (Nineteen Eighty-Four – The truth behind the satire.)
West, W. J. (ed.) George Orwell: The Lost Writings. New York: Arbor House. 1984.
Williams, Raymond, Orwell, Fontana/Collins, 1971
Woodcock, George. The Crystal Spirit. Little Brown. 1966.
Orwell's meeting with dos Passos in 1937 Barcelona referenced in Stephen Koch, “The Breaking Point: Hemingway, dos Passos, and the Murder of Jose Robles”
References
1903 births
1950 deaths
Deaths from tuberculosis
English novelists
English poets
Infectious disease deaths in England
People of British India
Pen names
Democratic socialists |
6237 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genghis%20Khan | Genghis Khan | Genghis Khan (c. 1167 – August 18, 1227) was a Mongolian ruler who became one of the world's most powerful military leaders, who joined with the Mongol tribes and started the Mongol Empire. He was a Mongol Emperor who was very successful in battles, conquering many other peoples such as the Jin Dynasty. He was a very strong and powerful emperor who occupied much of China and some surrounding countries of China. His children and his grandchildren started the largest empire in the world. Genghis Khan's grandson, Kublai Khan, was the first ever emperor of the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368) in China.
Genghis Khan's real name was Temüjin which means iron worker. Because of his military success people referred to him as Genghis, meaning "Universe ruler". Many people were killed by his armies and he gained a reputation as a "brutal monster". Genghis Khan died in the Liupan Mountains in northwestern China, in Aug. 1227 His burial site is unknown.
Early life
Lineage
Temüjin was related on his father's side to Ambaghai and Qutula Khan who had headed the Mongol confederation. When the Chinese Jin Dynasty switched support from the Mongols to the Tatars in 1161, they destroyed Khabul Khan. Genghis's father, Yesügei (leader of the Borjigin and nephew to Ambaghai and Qutula Khan), emerged as the head of the ruling clan of the Mongols, but this position was contested by the rival Tayichi’ud clan, who descended directly from Ambaghai. When the Tatars grew too powerful after 1161, the Jin switched their support from the Tatars to the Keraits. When Yesügei was poisoned, Temüjin who was only 13, became leader.
Birth
Because of the lack of records, there is very little information about the early life of Temüjin. The few sources that provide insight into this period often conflict.
Temüjin was born in 1162 into an influential family who were part of a Mongol tribe near Burkhan Khaldun mountain and the Onon and Kherlen Rivers in modern-day Mongolia, not far from the current capital Ulaanbaatar. The Secret History of the Mongols reports that Temüjin was born with a blood clot grasped in his fist, a sign that he was destined to become a great leader. He was the second-oldest son of his father Yesükhei, a minor tribal chief of the Kiyad and an ally of Ong Khan of the Kerait tribe, and the oldest son of his mother Hoelun. According to the Secret History, Temüjin was named after a Tatar chieftain whom his father had just captured. The name also suggests that they may have been descended from a family of blacksmiths.
Yesükhei's clan was called Borjigin (Боржигин), and Hoelun was from the Olkhunut, the sub-lineage of the Onggirat tribe. Like other tribes, they were nomads. Because his father was a chieftain, Temüjin was of a noble background. After his death his third son Ogodei succeeded him. He had four queens, and Ogodei was born from his first wife.
Reputation
As a ruler, Genghis lowered taxes and got rid of taxes for doctors, teachers and priests. He created the first international postal system. His empire was not known to be greedy with their loot; instead he would spread the wealth among the conquering Mongolians. Temujin eradicated torture, and held no prisoners; instead he merely killed his enemies. In doing so, he became respected. He completely re-made the feudal system to disregard people’s ethnicity and instead based it on loyalty and accomplishments. He gave his people religious freedom, unlike empires that limited their people to one religion.
These benefits were enjoyed by those who surrendered immediately to the Mongol invaders. Those populations that resisted would be massacred as a warning to other towns and cities. These massacres were a method of psychological warfare to terrify those not yet conquered. The terror endured, and helped color the historical portrayal of the Mongols.
Physical appearance
No accurate portraits of Genghis Khan exist, and any surviving depictions of him are considered to be artistic interpretations. Persian historian Rashid-al-Din recorded in his "Chronicles" that the legendary "glittering" ancestor of Genghis was tall, long-bearded, red-haired, and green-eyed. Rashid al-Din also described the first meeting of Genghis and Kublai Khan, when Genghis was shocked to find that Kublai had not inherited his red hair. Also according to al-Din, Genghis's Borjigid clan had a legend involving their origins: it began as the result of an affair between Alan-ko and a stranger to her land, a glittering man who happened to have red hair and bluish-green eyes. Modern historian Paul Ratchnevsky has suggested in his Genghis biography that the "glittering man" may have been from the Kyrgyz people, who historically displayed these same characteristics. Controversies aside, the closest depiction generally accepted by most historians is the portrait currently in the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan (see picture above).
References
Other websites
"The History of Genghizcan the Great, First Emperor of the Antient Moguls and Tartars" is a very old book about Genghis Khan from 1722
1160s births
1227 deaths
Mongolian people |
6238 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph%20Stalin | Joseph Stalin | Joseph Stalin (born as Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili) (18 December 1878 – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian politician who became leader of the Soviet Union from 1922 until his death in 1953 from a cerebral haemorrhage. He replaced Vladimir Lenin as leader of the Soviet Union. His ideas and policies turned the Soviet Union into a powerful, relatively modern country, as the largest on Earth. His way of thinking was called Marxism-Leninism, and his form of government was later called Stalinism.
Stalin invaded Poland on 18 September 1939. In the subsequent World War II, Stalin stayed neutral but signed a peace deal with Germany's leader Adolf Hitler. He then led a bloody war after Germany invaded the Soviet Union. And after the end of the war Stalin gained control of all Eastern Europe including part of Germany. There, a series of loyal Marxist-Leninist single-party states were set up, extending his power and determining the Soviet Union's position as a superpower.
Stalin's name
Stalin was born as Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili or Iosif Dzhugashvili. He began calling himself "Stalin" in 1912.
In - ; born - .
In -
Early life
Ioseb Vissarionovich Jugashvili was born in a small one room house in Gori, Georgia, on 18 December 1878. His father made and repaired shoes. His father was often drunk and used to hit his wife and his son until his death in a fight in 1890. Joseph had smallpox when he was young. This left his face scarred. Later, photographs were often changed to hide the scars. His left arm was also shorter because of an accident. He was educated at the Gori church school. Stalin studied to be a priest at a seminary (school for priests) in Tbilisi. He was an active student reading many books, especially books that were not allowed by the seminary. This included books by Karl Marx. He joined a Marxist group in 1898, the Mesame Dasi, or Group Three.
Revolutionary
Stalin left school in 1899 and got a job at the Tbilisi Physical Institute. He joined groups that were trying to start a revolution to remove the Tsar. They wanted a different type of government. The police raided his house in 1901 while hunting for people who opposed the government. Stalin escaped but went into hiding so the police could not find him. He organized anti-government activities such as May Day marches and protests. He became a Bolshevik. He supported a violent revolution, and did not support the Mensheviks. The secret police caught him in April 1902 and exiled him without trial to Siberia. He lived in the village of Novaya Uda.
He soon escaped from Siberia. This led to many later claims that he was a police spy. The arrest of another Bolshevik, Stephan Shaumyan, a rival of Stalin, increased these beliefs. At the end of 1905, he went to a meeting in Finland and met Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. Lenin was not what Stalin had expected. The government arrested and exiled Stalin several times in the next ten years. This increased his power in the Bolshevik party and he was elected to the Central Committee of the party in 1912. He was promoted to a position at St.Petersburg.
Secretary
Stalin was a member of the Bolshevik Party, but did not do much in the Russian Revolution of 1917. He was writing and editing Pravda, the party newspaper. He had a number of organizational jobs in the Communist Party. In 1922 he became General Secretary. He was able to give jobs to people he liked in the Communist Party. These supporters helped him become the leader after Vladimir Lenin died in 1924.
Food and agriculture
Stalin tried to collectivize farms. Collectivization meant taking the land from owners of all farms and joining it into large farms run by the government. Communist officials then let farmers work the new farms and told them to turn the harvest over to the government.
Collectivization did not work well. There was a famine 1932–33, in which millions died. Because farmers were not paid much money, and whatever they grew went to the state, the workers did not try their best. The best farming worked on very small bits of land given to the peasants to grow what they liked. On these pieces of land, farmers could keep what they grew. In 1938 these parts of land were 4% of Soviet farmland. However, they grew 20% of its produce.
There was a second great famine in the Soviet Union in 19461947. The conditions were caused by drought, made worse by the devastation caused by World War II. The grain harvest in 1946 totaled 39.6 million tons - barely 40% of the yield in 1940.
Mass executions
To eliminate "enemies of the working class", Stalin instituted the "Great Purge". Over a million people were imprisoned and at least 700,000 executed between 1934 and 1939. Those executed included most of the generals in the Red Army, whom Stalin saw as a threat to his rule. This greatly weakened the army in the early months of the Wehrmacht's offensive against the Soviet Union in 1941.
World War II
Stalin cooperated with German Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. They signed a mutual non-aggression pact. However, Hitler hated communism. After invading and neutralising France, Germany attacked the Soviet Union. After the Operation Barbarossa invasion, the USSR began working with the Western Allies to defeat Germany. In the end, Germany lost, but the USSR had more casualties than any other country during the war.
When World War II was over, the Soviet army occupied many countries in Europe, such as Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and part of Germany. They imposed Marxism-Leninism on these countries. This was done against the wishes, and over the protests, of the American and British governments.
Stalin continued to rule over the Soviet Union until he died. He also militarized Russia by focusing the country's time and energy towards weapons, vehicles, and the armed forces.
Death
Stalin died on March 5, 1953. It was officially said to be because of a stroke.
Led by Lavrentiy Beria, the leading group in the Kremlin were Vyacheslav Molotov and Georgy Malenkov and Nikita Krushchev. Much later, Krushchev began a process of "De-Stalinization", which meant taking apart much of the political system that Stalin made. Stalin was denounced as a tyrant. After outsmarting and defeating his rivals, Krushchev established a personal control over the government comparable to Stalin's own. Krushchev is himself a fascinating figure in Soviet history. His attempts to expand Soviet influence ended with the Cuban missile crisis.
Conspiracy theory
In 2003 a group of Russian and American historians claimed that Stalin had been poisoned with powerful rat poison warfarin, possibly by the men who took over the government after Stalin died. Bear in mind, however, that Stalin was in his mid-seventies when he died, and modern pharmacology was in the future (statins etc). Those facts make it likely that his death was natural.
Legacy
Stalin is a controversial figure in history. Many historians see him as a ruthless dictator, though some praise him as the Father of the Soviet State. Stalin has been criticized for his role in the Holodomor. A recent poll in Russia (2008) listed him as the third most popular person in Russian history. In 2006, a poll stated that almost half the adults in Russia thought Joseph Stalin was a good person.
Related pages
Vladimir Lenin
Tikhon Khrennikov
Leon Trotsky
References
1878 births
1953 deaths
Russian atheists
Deaths from stroke
Disease-related deaths in the Soviet Union
Former Christians
Former dictators
Politicians from Georgia (country)
Joseph Stalin
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
Heads of government of the Soviet Union
Smallpox survivors
Soviet people of World War II
Time People of the Year
World War II political leaders |
6239 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antigua%20and%20Barbuda | Antigua and Barbuda | Antigua and Barbuda is an island nation in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Antigua and Barbuda are part of the Lesser Antilles archipelago. In 2011, about 81,800 people lived there. The capital and largest port and city is St. John's, on Antigua. The country used to be a part of the British Empire. The nation still belongs to the British Commonwealth.
Divisions
Administration
Antigua and Barbuda is divided into six parishes and two dependencies:
Parishes
Saint George
Saint John
Saint Mary
Saint Paul
Saint Peter
Saint Philip
Dependencies
Barbuda
Redonda
Note: Though Barbuda and Redonda are called dependencies, they are important parts of the state. Dependency is simply a title.
Cities
Below is a list of the ten largest cities. For other cities see List of cities in Antigua and Barbuda.
Saint John's 22,634
All Saints 3,412
Liberta 2,239
Potter's Village 2,067
Bolans 1,785
Swetes 1,573
Seaview Farm 1,486
Pigotts 1,363
Parham 1,276
Clare Hall 1,273
Islands
Below is a list of the islands of the country.
Antigua – largest island
Barbuda
Bird Island
Bishop Island
Blake Island
Cinnamon Island
Codrington Island
Crump Island
Dulcina Island
Exchange Island
Five Islands
Great Bird Island
Green Island
Guiana Island
Hale Gate Island
Hawes Island
Henry Island
Johnson Island
Kid Island
Laviscounts Island
Lobster Island
Long Island
Maid Island
Moor Island
Nanny Island
Pelican Island
Prickly Pear Island
Rabbit Island
Rat Island
Red Head Island
Redonda
Sandy Island
Smith Island
The Sisters
Vernon Island
Wicked Will Island
York Island
Economy
Tourism is the main part of the economy. It is more than half of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Antigua is famous for its many luxury resorts. Investment banking and financial services are also important.
Military
The Royal Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force has 285 members.
Languages
English is the official language, but many of the locals speak Antiguan Creole. The Barbudan accent is slightly different from the Antiguan.
Related pages
Antigua and Barbuda at the Olympics
Antigua and Barbuda national football team
List of rivers of Antigua and Barbuda
References
Other websites
Commonwealth realms
1981 establishments in North America
Caribbean Community |
6240 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/San%20Marino | San Marino | San Marino is one of the smallest countries in the world. It is found in southern Europe and is fully surrounded by Italy (this is called an enclave, and only the Vatican City, Lesotho and San Marino are like this). Fewer than 30,000 people live there. Its total area is 61 km2. Its capital is the City of San Marino.
San Marino is the world's oldest republic that still exists. It was started on 3 September in A.D. 301 by a skilled builder called Saint Marinus. Its written constitution was adopted on October 8, 1600. The very small nation was recognized by Napoleon's France in 1797, and by the other European nations at the 1815 Congress of Vienna.
Even though it is an independent country, it depends very much on Italy. Since the 19th century, when Italy was unified, San Marino has been fully surrounded by Italy.
The biggest industry in San Marino is tourism. Selling postage stamps is an important source of income, too. San Marino is not a member of the European Union, but the euro is used in San Marino.
People in San Marino speak the Italian language. Most people in San Marino believe in Roman Catholicism.
History
Saint Marinus left the island of Rab (today Croatia) with his lifelong friend Leo, and went to the city of Rimini to work as a stonemason. After the Persecution of Diocletianus following his Christian sermons, he escaped to the nearby Monte Titano. There he built a small church and founded what is now the city and state of San Marino.
The official founding date is 3 September 301 BCE. In 1320 the community of Chiesanuova chose to join the country. In 1463 San Marino extended with the communities of Faetano, Fiorentino, Montegiardino, and Serravalle. Since then there have been no changes in the country's borders.
In 1503, Cesare Borgia, the son of Pope Alexander VI occupied the Republic for six months. It remained like that until Pope Julius II intervened and restored the country's independence.
Geography
San Marino is covered by the Apennine mountain range, and it has a rugged terrain. The highest point in the country is Monte Titano. There are no bodies of water of any significant size. San Marino has no natural level ground. It is hilly terrain.
San Marino is the third smallest country in Europe, Only Vatican City and Monaco are smaller.
Two rivers flow through San Marino. There is no major water transport, and no major port or harbour.
Municipalities
These are the 9 castelli (municipalities) of San Marino:
Cuisine
The cuisine of San Marino is very similar to Italian, especially the cuisine of the Emilia-Romagna and Marche regions. It has a lots of its own unique foods. It's best known food is the Torta Tre Monti ("Cake of the Three Mountains" or "Cake of the Three Towers"), a wafer cake covered in chocolate. The country also has a small wine industry.
Public holidays and festivals
References
Italian-speaking countries |
6250 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippe%27s | Philippe's | Philippe's is a sit-down restaurant in downtown Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.. It is at 1001 North Alameda Street, near Olvera Street. Phillippe's is famous for inventing the French dip sandwich (though another restaurant called Cole's claims to have invented it, too). It has been in business since 1908, and is the oldest operating restaurant in Los Angeles. The traditional meal served at Phillippe's is a French dip sandwich, a bag of potato chips, a soft-drink (preferably root beer or cola), and a tapioca pudding cup for dessert.
American restaurants
Buildings and structures in Los Angeles
Companies based in Los Angeles
1908 establishments in the United States
1900s establishments in California |
6251 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbit | Orbit | Orbit is also a word for an eye socket.
An orbit is the path that an object takes in space when it goes around a star, a planet, or a moon. It can also be used as a verb. For instance: “The earth orbits around the Sun.” The word ‘revolves’ has the same meaning, but 'rotates' is the spin of the object.
Many years ago, people thought that the Sun orbits in a circle around the earth. Every morning the Sun came up in the east and went down in the west. It just seemed to make sense that it was going around the earth. But now, thanks to people like Copernicus and Galileo Galilei, we know that the Sun is the center of the Solar System, and the earth orbits around it. Isaac Newton discovered that gravity controls the orbit of the planets and moons. Since a satellite is an object in space that revolves around another object, the earth is a satellite of the sun, just like the moon is a satellite of the Earth! The sun has lots of satellites orbiting around it, like the planets, and thousands of asteroids, comets, and meteoroids. The Earth just has one natural satellite (the Moon), but there are many artificial satellites orbiting the earth.
When people first began to think about orbits, they thought that all orbits had to be perfect circles, and they thought that the circle was a "perfect" shape. Copernicus and Galileo, for example, thought so. But when people began to study the motions of planets carefully, they saw that the planets were not moving in perfect circles. Some of the planets have orbits that are almost perfect circles, and others have orbits that are more oblong (egg shaped).
Orbital period
An orbital period is the time that it takes for one object - that is, satellite - to orbit around another object. For instance, the Earth's orbital period is one year: 365.25 days. (The extra ".25" is why we have a leap day once every four years).
The Moon takes 27 days (29.53 days as seen from Earth) to go around the Earth and also to rotate around its own axis. This is why only one side always faces the Earth and the "dark side of the Moon" faces away (it is called dark because we cannot see it, though all sides of the moon get equal light). One lunar year and one lunar day take the same amount of time.
Elliptical and eccentric orbits
Johannes Kepler (lived 1571-1630) wrote mathematical "laws of planetary motion", which gave a good idea of the movements of the planets because he found that the orbits of the planets in our Solar System are not really circles, but are really ellipses (a shape like a "flattened circle"). That is why orbits are described as elliptical.
The more elliptical an orbit is, the more eccentric the orbit is. This is called orbital eccentricity. Other numbers that describe an elliptical orbit include semi-major axis and orbital inclination.
Isaac Newton (lived 1642-1727) used his own ideas about gravity to show why Kepler's laws worked the way they did. Joseph-Louis Lagrange further advanced the study of orbital mechanics, using Newton's theory to predict perturbations which change the shapes of orbits. |
6253 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funeral | Funeral | A funeral is a ceremony that is held because someone has died. A funeral is a gathering of friends and family of the dead person. They will mourn the dead person, meaning that they will feel and show sadness that the person has died, and also say thanks for the life the person had. A funeral is usually held with the dead body present but hidden in a coffin, but there are also open casket funerals. During the funeral, or soon after it, the dead body will be buried, cremated (burned) or made to disappear in some other way. A memorial service or celebration of life is a funeral in which the dead body is not present.
Purpose
Funerals are held in all human cultures. Religion is an important part of funeral customs in most countries. At many funerals, they say a prayer for the dead so that his or her soul may rest in peace and have a good time in the afterlife.
There are other reasons why funerals are held. Many of them are to do with helping the dead person's friends and family (the mourners):
It allows the mourners to accept that the person has died. 'Accepting' that the person has died means that they fully believe that the person has died. Once they have done this, they can get used to life without the dead person.
It is a chance for the mourners to say goodbye to the dead person. Many mourners will not have had this chance before the person died.
It is a chance for the mourners to support each other. They will notice that they are not alone in feeling sad.
It is a chance to think about life and death.
It is a chance to remember happy memories of the dead person's life.
Modern funerals have greatly changed over time. Present day funeral or memorial services may often be more like a thanksgiving for the life of the dead person, rather than just thinking about the sadness of death.
Funeral traditions
A funeral ceremony can be held at a church, a temple, a public building for holding funerals or in many other places.
In North America, it is common for there to be a visitation (also called a viewing or a wake) a few days before the funeral. This is where people are invited to see the dead body.
In Madagascar, people have a ritual called famadihana or “the turning of the bones” in English. Once every five or seven years, family members exhume the remains of their ancestors. They clean the bones and spray them with perfume or wine. They take the skeleton back home to dance with it and introduce it to the younger generation.
According to Balinese Hindu tradition, the soul of the deceased restarts the rebirth cycle once it is free through cremation. Balinese cremation, or Ngaben, uses an open pyre to incinerate the corpse. The whole memorial often has a festive atmosphere, focusing on celebrating the life of the departed loved one.
Several things often happen at a funeral in a Western country:
A procession, where the coffin travels to or from the funeral. Nowadays, the coffin is usually carried in a special car called a hearse.
A eulogy, which is the story of the dead person's life.
Prayers. These include prayers to give thanks for the dead person's life, prayers that the soul of the dead person may rest in peace and enter the afterlife, and prayers that the mourners will be able to get on with their lives.
Singing hymms (religious songs).
The committal of the dead body, in which it disappears. At Christian funerals, the preacher may say that a person goes from "earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust".
At a burial, the coffin is taken to the grave and lowered into it. Once it is in the grave, mourners may throw dirt onto the coffin. This is a symbol of how the body is returning to the ground.
On the other hand, mourners do not usually watch a cremation. Instead, the coffin might be hidden by curtains near the end of the funeral.
The playing of music that the dead person loved.
At many present day funerals there is a video tribute played before, after, or during the funeral service. Memorial folders or prayer cards are handed out at many funeral services and this, too, is a way to make a funeral service personal. At funerals it is not uncommon to see a "life reflection" table. Family members sometimes bring favorite pictures or other reminders of the dead person. There are lots of different traditions that different religions use.
References
death customs |
6254 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgian%20Uprising%20of%20Texel | Georgian Uprising of Texel | The Georgian Uprising of Texel (5 April 1945 – 20 May 1945) was an insurrection (a rebellion, or mutiny, when soldiers disobey their orders) by Soviet Georgian soldiers on the island of Texel. The uprising was against the Germans army who had taken over the Dutch island during the Second World War. The event is sometimes described as Europe's last battlefield.
The island was very important in the German Atlantic Wall – the line of defences along the Atlantic coast. It was strong and had many defences. The Georgians were soldiers from the Soviet Republic of Georgia who had been captured (taken prisoner) on the Eastern front. They were now fighting for the Germans so that they did not have to stay in camps for prisoners. Their job was to help the German troops.
On the night of 5–6 April 1945 they thought that the Allies would land soon. They took over the island and killed 400 German soldiers. Some parts of the island stayed under German control and the Georgian soldiers could not capture them. More Germans were able to come to the island to help defeat the Georgians. After a few weeks of very tough fighting the Germans took control of the island again.
Unfortunately the British and Canadians, who were warned of the events on Texel by escapees who fled by boat to England, did not believe them, and did not take any action in order to stop the fighting.
On Texel this is called the Russian war. Approximately 800 Germans, 500 Georgians, and 120 Tesselans (people from the island) were killed. Lots of farms were burned. Even after the Germans surrendered (gave up) in the Netherlands and Denmark on 5 May 1945, and after the full German surrender on 8 May, the fighting continued. Canadian soldiers stopped the fighting on 20 May.
The Georgian survivors did not have a happy ending. They were sent back to the Soviet Union. Stalin said that because the soldiers had been captured by the Germans, they had not fought until they died, so they were traitors. Some of the two million Soviet prisoners who were sent back to the Soviet Union by the Allied forces after the end of the war were executed (killed) when they got there.
A museum at the airport on the island tells the story of this event.
1945 in Europe
1940s in the Netherlands
Battles involving Canada
Battles involving Germany
Battles involving the Soviet Union
Battles involving the Netherlands
European battles of World War II
April 1945 events
May 1945 events
Texel |
6255 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutrino | Neutrino | Neutrinos are a type of elementary particle that exist all across the universe. The word neutrino means a small neutral particle. Physicists study these particles, but they are hard to find because they have a very small chance of interacting with regular matter. (For example, they usually pass through the whole earth without touching any other particles). Neutrinos travel near the speed of light.
Neutrinos are very difficult to detect. They are very unlikely to collide (interact) with other particles as they travel through space or through matter. Electrons have an electric charge, but neutrinos do not. This means that neutrinos are unaffected by the electromagnetic force. The first detectors built to find neutrinos observed only 10 or 15 each year. Recent detectors use tanks that contain about a thousand tons of water or other liquid, which lets them detect about 10 to 100 neutrinos per day.
Neutrinos are generated in particle accelerators, in the sun, in other stars, and in nuclear reactions such as in nuclear reactors. They are generated whenever there is a nuclear reaction in the form of beta decay. This process starts off with one neutron, and ends with one electron, one proton, and one neutrino.
We used to think that neutrinos have no mass, but a few years ago physicists found that they have a very small mass, much lighter than electrons. By finding neutrinos, we can learn about the structure and the history of the universe. Since most of them pass easily through sun, physicists have learned about the reactions in the center of the sun that make the sun's heat, by detecting the neutrinos that come out from the sun's center.
The three types of neutrinos are named after the three leptons that have electric charge. There is the electron neutrino (ve), the muon neutrino (vµ), and the tau neutrino (vτ). Each neutrino has an antiparticle, called an antineutrino. Therefore, there is an electron antineutrino, a muon antineutrino, and tau antineutrino.
The three types of neutrinos change into each other over time, so an electron neutrino could turn into a muon or tau neutrino and then back again. This is called neutrino oscillation. This oscillation was suggested when then number of electron neutrinos from the Sun was measured in the 1960s, and the amount was only about a third of what theories at the time said there should be. The result of neutrino oscillation is that most of the electron neutrinos made in the Sun change to another type of neutrino .
Most neutrinos passing through the planet Earth come from the Sun. About 65 billion () solar neutrinos per second pass through every square centimeter of area, including our own bodies.
This is true even on the night side of Earth, because nearly all the neutrinos from the sun pass easily through the Earth.
Related pages
Antares Telescope - uses neutrinos to make images
References
Astrophysics
Elementary particles |
6257 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Play%20%28theatre%29 | Play (theatre) | A play is a piece of writing (literature) which can be seen at a theatre or on television, or heard on the radio. Plays often show conversations between people. A play is usually watched, rather than being read.
The people who appear in a play are actors; in a theatre they stand on a stage so the people watching (the audience) can see them better. A director helps the actors to work better, or tells them how he wants the play to be.
Plays can be very interesting because they can be understood in many different ways. When the writer - the playwright - makes the play, he can not say how the actors or director will use it. Sometimes the playwright is also the director or an actor: Molière, for example, was often an actor in his plays. But the director can change the play in different ways: the actors' costume, the music, how people say things, how they move or what they hold. Modern directors can direct plays by Shakespeare, and these old plays seem modern now, too.
There are many sorts of plays, but there are six important sorts:
Tragedy - the end is sad, because of bad luck, because the hero is not perfect, or because of the gods.
Comedy - the end is happy. Some things in this sort of play are funny; it makes us laugh.
Domestic drama - the play is about normal life, family and friends.
Tragicomedy - this play is both a tragedy and a comedy.
Melodrama - this sort of play often has a happy ending. In it there is a villain - a bad person - but the hero (and often a heroine) win. The emotions are very strong.
Symbolic - this sort of play is about ideas. The people in the play are not so important.
Symbolic can also be called expressionistic. Its all about how the writer or director presents ideas in a very different point of view.
(Experimental) - this is a play in which the director and actors can try out new ideas. Anything can be tried out. It is an experiment. |
6259 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrasal%20verb | Phrasal verb | Phrasal verb is the name given to an English verb which is composed of two or three words. One verb is combined with a preposition (like on, in, under) or an adverb (like up, down, away). Sometimes a phrasal verb can have a meaning that is very different to the meaning of at least one of those two or three words separately. Some text books call these verbs multi-word verbs. Phrasal verbs are used more frequently in everyday speech than in formal, official writing or speaking.
Here are some examples:
Maria didn't know the word, so she looked it up in the dictionary.
Oh no, we've run out of milk! I'll have to buy some more.
Farmers have to get up early in the morning.
The rocket took off with a loud roar.
Often these phrasal verbs have a one-word equivalent in other languages.
In Spanish, to get up can be translated as levantarse, in French as se lever etc.
Types of phrasal verbs
There are four different types of phrasal verbs.
These are:
Phrasal verbs which take objects and are separable
Phrasal verbs which take objects and are inseparable
Phrasal verbs which do not take objects (these are always inseparable)
Three-word phrasal verbs
Instead of "separate" or "separable", some text books use the word "split" or "splittable".
A useful piece of advice to confused students of English is this:
If you do not know if a phrasal verb is separable or inseparable ALWAYS use a noun or noun phrase and do not try to separate the verb.
Parts of speech
English language |
6276 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Season | Season | A season is a part of a year. Many areas of the Earth have four seasons in a year: spring, summer, autumn (British English) or fall (US English), and winter.
In some areas, there are a different number of seasons. For example, the tropical parts of Australia (the northern parts of Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory) have wet and dry seasons. These are in addition to, or replace the regular season names.
In places which are tropical and subtropical, there are two seasons: the rainy (or wet, or monsoon) season and the dry season. This is because the rain changes more than the temperature.
Summer is a warm season because the days are longer and the Sun is high in the sky, giving direct light to the ground. Winter is a cold season because the days are shorter and the Sun is low in the sky, giving indirect light to the ground. Both the changes in the length of the day and the height of the Sun at noon are caused by the tilt of the Earth's spin axis with respect to the plane of the Earth's path around the Sun. At any time, in any season, the northern and southern hemispheres (halves of the Earth) have opposite seasons.
Dates
Seasons begin and end on different dates in different countries. In the United States, people say the seasons begin at the solstices and equinoxes. The summer solstice is the longest day of the year, and the winter solstice is the shortest. The equinox is the time when the day and the night are the same number of hours, assuming the sun were a point of light at its center. Since civil dawn occurs when the edge of the sun first appears over the horizon and civil dusk occurs when the edge drops over the horizon, the civil length of day is 12 hours long several days prior to the equinoxes. In the USA, summer begins at summer solstice, winter at winter solstice, spring at the spring (vernal) equinox and autumn at the autumnal equinox.
In Britain, people traditionally say that the seasons begin about seven weeks earlier: spring begins on Candlemas (February 2), summer on May Day (May 1), autumn on Lammas (August 1), and winter on All Hallows (November 1). These are near the cross-quarter days halfway between the solstices and the equinoxes. The Irish calendar is similar, but Spring begins on February 1.
In Denmark, spring begins on March 1, summer on June 1, autumn on September 1 and winter on December 1. In Australia, summer begins on December 1, autumn on March 1, winter on June 1, and spring on September 1.
In the Chinese calendar and the Northern parts of India, the solstices and equinoxes are in the middle of each season. Summer happens in the hemisphere tilted towards the sun.
High season
High season is the time of year that people travel. During high season hotels and resorts increase their prices because demand is higher than in offseason. For example, winter is high season for skiing; summer is high season for beaches.
Related pages
Northern Hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
Eastern Hemisphere
Western Hemisphere
Equator
Tropic of Cancer
Tropic of Capricorn
Arctic Circle
Antarctic Circle
References
Other websites
Definition from Dictionary.com
Names of seasons in various languages from Princeton University
What causes the seasons?
Units of time |
6277 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carisbrooke%20Castle | Carisbrooke Castle | Carisbrooke Castle is the Isle of Wight's only remaining medieval castle. It was built on a Roman site. The castle earthworks were begun in 1070.
The shell keep was built on the site some 70 years later. None of the Norman domestic buildings now remain. The gatehouse with its drum towers dates from the 14th and 15th centuries.
In 1377 the French landed on the island but the castle was not attacked.
During Elizabethan times the threat of a Spanish invasion was avoided when the Spanish Armada was turned away at a nearby battle. However, the castle was considerably altered to resist the new artillery. Outer lines of defence were built enclosing the old castle. The curtain walls, bastions, and bulwarks remain in good condition to this day.
Charles I was held as prisoner at the castle in 1647. An attempt to escape failed when he got stuck in the bars.
Later the castle was the occasional residence of the governor of the Isle of Wight and it became home to Princess Beatrice, youngest daughter of Queen Victoria, when she was governor.
Isle of Wight
Castles in England |
6278 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis | Atlantis | Atlantis is a name for a fictional large island or small continent that was (in the legend) in the Atlantic Ocean many years before it sank into the depth of the sea .
The name Atlantis first appears in the writings of Herodotus - he describes the western ocean as "Sea of Atlantis." Then, one generation later, Atlantis is described in detail in the stories Timaeus and Critias by the Greek philosopher Plato. He used this story to help explain his ideas about government and philosophy. Plato was the only ancient writer who wrote specific things about Atlantis.
According to Plato, the Atlanteans lived 9000 years before his own time and were half human and half god. They created a very good human society. When they stopped being good people and did bad things, the gods sent earthquakes and fire to destroy Atlantis.
Many scholars think Plato could have been thinking of a real place when he wrote about Atlantis. Many, many people have thought of many, many places where the real place that inspired Atlantis could have been. For example, there was a Minoan kingdom on the island of Santorini. The Minoan kingdom was very powerful thousands of years before Plato, and their society was damaged when a volcano erupted on their island. According to Plato, Atlantis was very large, as big as North Africa, so it should not have been hard to find.
After the discovery of the Americas, some people in Europe thought they might be Atlantis. However, after Plato, the idea of Atlantis was mostly forgotten until 1882, when a writer named Ignatius Donnelly wrote a book saying that Atlantis was real and that the culture of Atlantis had started many other ancient cultures, such as the Egyptian and Mayan. Then other people became interested in Atlantis.
Atlantis has appeared in many works of fiction. In Marvel Comics, Atlantis is at the bottom of the ocean and exists in modern times, with people who breathe water. Other works of fiction use Atlantis as background. For example, Robert E. Howard set his Conan the Barbarian stories in a fictional time called the Hyborian Age, which began with the destruction of Atlantis and ended when real written history started.
References
Greek mythology
Ancient history |
6281 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparative | Comparative | Adjectives and Adverbs can be comparative in English and some other languages. When people are talking about two or more nouns, they can compare them (say the differences between them). The word which explains how they compare is called the comparative. They can also compare actions using adverbs.
Examples: (The comparative is in bold).
John is tall, but Mark is taller
An hour is longer than a minute.
Many words can be made into a comparative by adding er to the end of the word.
cool - cooler
big - bigger
wet - wetter
dark - darker
Words that end with the letter 'Y' can still be made into a comparative, but people change the 'Y' to an 'I' and then add 'ER'.
happy - happier
fluffy - fluffier
angry - angrier
costly - costlier
Some words cannot be made into a comparative by adding 'ER' Instead we use the word more in front. Most of these words have three or more syllables, such as beautiful, reliable.
If people are not sure about a word, it is always acceptable to say "more" (something), such as "more beautiful", "more expensive".
Warning: The 'ER' ending and the word "more" together cannot be used.
I am happier than you. - Correct.
I am more happy than you. - Correct.
I am more happier - WRONG. (Double comparative)
Related pages
As
Like
Grammar |
6292 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asbestos | Asbestos | Asbestos is a set of six silicate minerals which occur naturally. White asbestos makes up 95% of the asbestos found in buildings. It occurs in all parts of the world. It is fibrous, heat resistant and non flammable. These properties made it very attractive as a component in building materials and other products such as insulation and automobile brake pads. People have used asbestos throughout history. Ancient Egyptian people used asbestos. Asbestos is extremely dangerous for human health, as it can cause lung diseases such as asbestosis, emphysema and mesothelioma if the fibres get loose in the air. It can also harm animals such as livestock or pets.
Asbestos was linked to lung cancer in the early 1970s, and was replaced by other materials in most applications by 1980.
Types of asbestos
There are six types of asbestos:
Chrysotile (white asbestos)
Crocidolite (blue asbestos)
Amosite (brown asbestos)
Anthophyllite asbestos
Tremolite asbestos
Actinolite asbestos
Substitutes
Fiberglass - This is the most popular substitute. Fiberglass is physically similar to asbestos and its safety is also being questioned. Fiberglass has been called "man-made asbestos".
Carbon fiber - Lighter weight than fiberglass or asbestos, but not heat resistant
Wood fiber mixed with cement (in non-heat applications)
Various polymer and plastic fibers
Asbestos rope can be replaced with synthetic or fiberglass rope.
Vermiculite insulation is a common substitute, although vermiculite itself can be contaminated with asbestos
Basalt fiber is a mineral fiber with properties similar to asbestos. It is suitable for high-heat applications.
Mineral wool is a common substitute that is popular in Europe
Silica aerogel is the best insulator available. It is non-fibrous and is not believed to cause cancer if inhaled into the lungs.
Lawsuits
Many companies that use or used to use asbestos have been sued by current or former employees who got sick with mesothelioma or asbestosis. Many lawyers specialize in asbestos-related lawsuits.
References
Other websites
Cancer Resource Center
Asbestos Institute |
6293 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syllable | Syllable | A syllable is a unit of pronunciation uttered without interruption, loosely, a single sound. All words are made from at least one syllable.
Monosyllables are words that have only one vowel sound; polysyllables have more than one. If a syllable ends with a consonant, it is called a closed syllable. If a syllable ends with a vowel, it is called an open syllable. Patterns of syllables can be shown with C and V (C for 'consonant', V for 'vowel'). Closed syllables are often shown as CVC (such as got), and open syllables as CV (such as go). Some languages like English have many kinds of closed syllables. Other languages, like Japanese, have few kinds of closed syllables. Other languages still, like Hawaiian and Swahili, have no closed syllables.
Notice that the consonant (C) and vowel (V) notation does NOT match the letters of English spelling in a one-to-one relationship (e.g. 'th' is one sound), but rather individual sounds.
There are many words in English that have only one syllable.
IPA has been added in slashes.
He /hi/ (CV) - open
The /ði/ (CV) - open
Like /lɑɪk/ (CVC) - closed
Run /ɹʌn/ (CVC) - closed
Cat /kæt/ (CVC) - closed
House /hoʊs/ (CVC) - closed
It (VC) /ɪt/ - closed
On (VC) /ɑn/ - closed
However, in several languages, such as English, syllables can have consonant clusters (having multiple consonants next to each other), which easily allow for words to have much more complicated syllables, such as:
Crow /cɹow/ (CCV) - open
Through /θruw/ (CCV) - open
Spray /spɹej/ (CCCV) - open
Ports /pɔɹts/ (CVCCC) - closed
Sports /spɔɹts/ (CCVCCC) - closed
Trip /tɹɪp/ (CCVC) - closed
Dent /dεnt/ (CVCC) - closed
Plant /plænt/ (CCVCC) - closed
Sprint /spɹɪnt/ (CCCVCC) - closed
Splints /splɪnts/ (CCCVCCC) - closed
Strengths /stɹeŋθs/ (CCCVCCC) - closed
Angsts /eɪŋsts/ (VCCCC) - closed
There are many more words that have two or more syllables.
Basket /bæs.kεt/ (2 Bas-ket; CVC-CVC)
Doctor /dɔc.tɔr/ (2 Doc-tor; CVC-CVC)
Happy /ha.pi/ (2 Ha-ppy; CV-CV)
Friendly /frεnd.li/ (2 Friend-ly; CCVCC-CV)
Greenland /grin.lænd/ (2 Green-land; CCVC-CVCC)
Computer /cəm.pju.tər/ (3 Com-pu-ter; CVC-CCV-CVC) [-pu- is pronounced "pyuu' or CCV]
Merciful /mər.ci.fəl/ (3 Mer-ci-ful; CVC-CV-CVC)
Pronunciation /prə.nən.ci.eɪ.ʃən/ (5 Pro-nun-ci-a-tion; CCV-CVC-CV-V-CVC)
Some languages do not use an alphabet with letters. Instead, each sign may stand for a syllable. For example: Japanese can be written using Kana. A writing system based on syllables is called a syllabary. Since words in languages like English can have many different complex syllables (well over 10,000 can be produced in English), writing such languages using a syllabary would be completely impractical, thus alphabets are much better suited to write languages with complex syllable structures. However, since words in Japanese can be made with just a few simple syllables (around 90), writing such languages are well suited for the type of language.
References
Grammar |
6294 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbrella | Umbrella | An umbrella is a hand tool that is used to stop rain from falling on a person. It is also used to make shade and protect people from sunlight. An umbrella made for protection from the sunlight is called a parasol. And a plastic umbrella is cheap but it is fragile.
Basic English 850 words
Tools |
6295 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usenet | Usenet | Usenet () is a type of discussion system on computers. It was created from the Unix-to-Unix Copy (UUCP) dial-up network architecture. Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis began the idea in 1979. The system was created in 1980. People read and post messages (called articles, postsor news) to one or more categories. These categories are called newsgroups. Usenet is similar to a bulletin board system (BBS) in many ways. It is the precursor to Internet forums. Discussions are threaded but posts are stored in order of when they were posted.
A main difference between a BBS and Usenet is that usenet has no administrator. Also, the network used to share the messages is not constant. Usenet is spread over a large, constantly changing group of news servers. The servers store and forward messages to one another. Each user reads messages from and posts messages to a local server. The local server can be operated by anyone.
Usenet is important in the networked world. Many well known ideas and terms were either created on usenet or made popular there. These include "FAQ", "flame", sockpuppet, and "spam". In the early 1990s, Usenet connections via Fidonet's dial-up BBS networks made it more common for people to discus things worldwide. They did not need a server, just (local) telephone service.
Refernces
Internet communication
Internet culture |
6298 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diagonal | Diagonal | Diagonal is a kind of straight line. A diagonal line does not go straight up, down, or across. It is a line that connects two corners of a shape.
In mathematics, "diagonal" has different meanings. For example, in geometry a diagonal is any line that goes between the corners of a polygon. So a square has two diagonals, and a five-sided shape has five diagonals. In general the count of diagonal can be identified by a formula [n(n-3)]/2 where n is the total number of sides of shapes.
Geometry |
6300 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwashiorkor | Kwashiorkor | Kwashiorkor is a health condition of poor nutrition from not having enough protein in the diet. If a person uses up energy from carbohydrates (starches) and lipids (fats), their body may begin to use protein for energy.
The body breaks down protein into energy that can be used. They then do not have enough protein for other needed bodily functions such as growth and building tissues like bones. Usually this is a condition of children from aged 1 to 5 years, but rarely adults and older children get it. It is common in poor places in Africa. Symptoms include having a pot belly, swollen face, and hair that is dark then light then dark. This can be cured by having a protein- rich diet.
Kwashiorkor comes from a protein deficiency (lack) in the diet. Body parts becomes swollen due to an accumulation of water in the spaces between the body's cells. Other symptoms are poor muscle development, swollen legs, puffy face, difficulty in eating, diarrhea, and dry skin are the symptoms of this disease.
Nutrition
Diseases and disorders of the digestive system
Hunger |
6305 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popocat%C3%A9petl | Popocatépetl | Popocatépetl (also called El popo or Don Goyo) is an active volcano. The volcano is the second highest mountain in Mexico after Pico de Orizaba (5,610m). It is high .
History
Popocatépetl is the Aztec word for "Smoking Mountain". Popocatépetl was an Aztec warrior who loved Iztaccíhuatl. Iztaccíhuatl's father sent Popocatepetl to war in Oaxaca. He promised him his daughter as his wife if he returned (which Iztaccíhuatl's father thought he would not). Iztaccíhuatl's father told her that her lover had died in battle. She died of sadness. When Popocatépetl returned, and found out about the death of his lover, he killed himself by stabbing a knife into his heart. The gods covered them with snow and changed them into mountains. Iztaccíhuatl's mountain was called "La Mujer Dormida, (the "Sleeping Woman"), because it looks like a woman sleeping on her back. Popocatépetl became the volcano Popocatépetl, raining fire on Earth in anger at the loss of his lover.
Eruptions
Popocatepetl has had more than 20 big eruptions since the arrival of the Spanish in 1519. A major eruption happened in 1947. On December 21, 1994 the volcano threw out gas and ash which was carried as far as 25 km away by the wind. This led to people having to leave nearby towns. Scientists began to check the volcano for an eruption.The way scientists checked the volcano was by implementing 10 composite monitoring stations around the volcano, including broadband seismometers, thermal surveillance cameras, tiltmeters, electronic distance meters, lahar acoustic detectors and other instruments. In December 2000, tens of thousands of people were made to leave the area by the government based on the warnings of scientists. The volcano then made its largest display in thousands of years. The most recent eruption which was this year didn't have any injuries. Since it was so near Mexico City so many cameras were recording this eruption. Officials recorded that the eruption had a column of smoke that went as high as 2 miles into the air, with moderate ash content.
Related pages
List of volcanos
Dormant volcano
Extinct volcano
References
De la Cruz-Reyna, Servando, et al. “Tectonic Earthquakes Triggering Volcanic Seismicity and Eruptions. Case Studies at Tungurahua and Popocatépetl Volcanoes.” Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, vol. 193, no. 1, 2010, pp. 37–48.
https://earthsky.org/earth/volcano-popocatepetl-eruption-mexico-jan-9-2020
Other websites
Volcanoes of Mexico |
6308 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/North%20Sea | North Sea | The North Sea is a sea that is part of the Atlantic Ocean in northern Europe. The North Sea is between Norway and Denmark in the east, Scotland and England in the west, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France in the south.
Borders
The Skagerrak connects the North Sea to the Baltic Sea. In the south, the North Sea becomes the English Channel, a sea between England and France. This is called the Dover Straits and is very busy with ships.
The border between the North Sea and the Skagerrak is at an imagined line between Lindesnes in Norway, and Hanstholm in Denmark. In the North, the North sea is open towards the Atlantic. The border between the two is an imagined line from Northern Scotland, to Shetland, and then to Ålesund in Norway. According to the Oslo-Paris Treaty of 1962 it is a bit more to the west and the north though. The treaty puts it at 5° East longitude, and 62° North latitude. That is at the parallel of the Geirangerfjord in Norway.
Various statistical data
On average, the North Sea has a depth of only 94 meters. About 80 million people live near the North Sea, at most 150 km away from the coast. Together with the English Channel in the south, the southern North Sea is the busiest body of water in the world.
Rivers that drain into it
Well-known rivers that drain into the North Sea include the Tay (at Dundee), the Forth (at Edinburgh), the Tyne (South Shields), the Wear (at Sunderland), the Tees (near Middlesbrough), the Elbe (at Cuxhaven), the Weser (at Bremerhaven), the Rhine and Meuse or Maas (at Rotterdam), the Scheldt (at Flushing or Vlissingen), the Thames, and the Humber (at Hull), and the river Nairn (at Nairn)
The Kiel Canal, one of the world's busiest artificial waterways, connects the North Sea with the Baltic.
Name
Its name comes from its relationship to the land of the Frisians (see Frisia). They live directly to the south of the North Sea, and to the west of the East Sea (Oostzee, the Baltic Sea), the former South Sea (Zuiderzee, today's IJsselmeer) and the today reclaimed Middle Sea (Middelzee). But the spread of the name could also be from the view of the cities of the Hanseatic League. Some of its main cities, like Lübeck, Bremen or Hamburg had the same view.
In classical times this body of water was also called the Oceanum Germanicum or Mare Germanicum, meaning German Ocean or Sea. This name was commonly used in English and other languages along with the name North Sea, until the early eighteenth century. By the late nineteenth century, German Sea was a rare, scholarly usage even in Germany. In Danish the North Sea is also named Vesterhavet (besides Nordsøen), meaning Western Ocean because it is west of Denmark.
Geographic divisions
Most of the North sea is on the European Continental shelf. On average, the depth is about 93 to 94 meters only. In the south it is very shallow, only 25 to 35 meters. In the north in the bathyal zone north of Shetland, this depth increases to between 100 and 200 metres. In the south, the depth is at most 50 metres. An exception to this is the Norwegian Trench. It is deepest there, with a depth of 725 metres. The most shallow part of it is a sand bank called Dogger Bank. In the southern part, there are many sand banks.
Looking at the satellite picture it is easy to see the geographic divisions of the North Sea:
a generally shallow southern North Sea
the central North Sea
the northern North Sea, with the Norwegian Trench, near the Skagerrak.
The southern north sea is composed of the Southern Bight, before the coast of Belgium and the Netherlands and the German Bight before the coastline of Germany. The Dogger Bank is the limit between the southern and central parts. The Waddenzee runs all the way from Den Helder in the Netherlands to Esbjerg in Denmark.
The Dogger Bank covers an area about half the size of the Netherlands. There, the North Sea has a depth of between 13 and 20 metres only. The area is very famous for fishing. With some storms there are even waves breaking there.
The Norwegian Trench has an average depth of around 250 to 300 metres; at the entrance to the Skagerrak, the depth increases up to 725 meters. Along the trench is the Norwegian Current, which brings most of the waters of the North Sea into the Atlantic Ocean. Also, most of the waters of the Baltic Sea flow northwards here.
About 200 km east of the Scottish city of Dundee there are more trenches, known collectively as the Devil's hole. Generally, the water is about 90 meters deep there. The trenches very often are only a few kilometers in length. In these trenches, the depth increases to up to 230 meters.
In the Dover Strait the water is about 30 meters deep. At the end of the English Channel, this depth increases to about 100 meters.
History
In the last ice age the North Sea was covered by large areas of ice called glaciers. About 20,000 years ago the ice melted and the North Sea was formed (made).
North Sea oil
In the 1960s, geologists found large areas of oil and natural gas under the North Sea. Most of the oil fields are owned by the United Kingdom and Norway but some belong to Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany. Drilling began in the 1960s and led to a famous argument between England and Scotland about how the revenue (money) from the oil should be spent.
Animal life
People have been fishing in the North Sea for thousands of years. However, so many fish are now caught there that new ones may not be able to grow fast enough to keep the fishery going.
Terns, Atlantic puffins, razorbills, kittiwakes and other seabirds live on the North Sea coast. Many coastal areas are protected nature reserves.
Other websites
Seas of the Atlantic Ocean
Bodies of water of Europe |
6309 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter | Letter | In languages that use an alphabet, for example English, each symbol in the alphabet is a letter. Letters represent sounds when the language is spoken.
Some languages do not use letters for writing: Chinese, for example, uses "ideograms".
In English and many other languages, the smallest part of writing is the letter. We use letters to make words. In some languages, for example Spanish, there is usually one letter for one sound (or better: for one phoneme, the smallest part of speech). This is easy to read. In other languages, for example English, we can use several different letters for the same sound in different words, or one letter for different sounds in different words. This is difficult for learners to read. Here are some examples:
Spanish: feliz has 5 letters and 5 sounds.
English: happy has 5 letters and 4 sounds.
In English we use the "a" in "happy" for three sounds:
a = /æ/ (pad)
a = /ɑ/ (bar)
a = /Ej/ (cake)
In Spanish we use the "a" for one sound:
a = /a/ (gato)
English, French, Spanish and many other languages use the Latin alphabet for writing. In this alphabet there are often two different letters for a sound. For example, "A" and "a". In other alphabets, for example the Cyrillic alphabet, there is only one letter for a sound (except for handwritten Cyrillic, in which the shape of the capital letter is much different - and usually unrecognisable - from its lowercase counterpart). The letters are: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
Latin alphabet: D d
Cyrillic alphabet: Д д
Types of letters
Various scripts
There are about twenty-six alphabets currently, with Arabic, Cyrillic, and Roman in widest use. The following alphabets, abjads, and individual letters are discussed in related articles. Each represents a different script:
Assamese alphabet:অ, আ, ই, ঈ, উ, ঊ, ঋ, এ, ঐ, ও, ঔ, ক, খ, গ, ঘ, ঙ, চ, ছ, জ, ঝ, ঞ, ট, ঠ, ড, ঢ, ণ, ত, থ, দ, ধ, ন, প, ফ, ব, ভ, ম, য, ৰ, ল, ৱ, শ, ষ, স, হ, ড়, ঢ়, য়, ৎ, ং, ঃ, ঁ
Arabic alphabet: (Alphabetical from right to left) , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .
Armenian alphabet: Ա, Բ, Գ, Դ, Ե, Զ, Է, Ը, Թ, Ժ, Ի, Լ, Խ, Ծ, Կ, Հ, Ձ, Ղ, Ճ, Մ, Յ, Ն, Շ, Ո, Չ, Պ, Ջ, Ռ, Ս, Վ, Տ, Ր, Ց, Ւ, Փ, Ք, Օ, Ֆ.
Syriac alphabet: (Alphabetical from right to left) ܐ, ܒ, ܓ, ܕ, ܗ, ܘ, ܙ, ܚ, ܛ, ܝ, ܟܟ, ܠ, ܡܡ, ܢܢ, ܣ, ܥ, ܦ, ܨ, ܩ, ܪ, ܫ, ܬ.
Cyrillic script: А, Б, В, Г, Д, Е, Ж, З, И, І, К, Л, М, Н, О, П, Р, С, Т, У, Ф, Х, Ц, Ч, Ш, Щ, Ъ, Ы, Ь, Ю, Я.
Georgian script: ა, ბ, გ, დ, ე, ვ, ზ, თ, ი, კ, ლ, მ, ნ, ო, პ, ჟ, რ, ს, ტ, უ, ფ, ქ, ღ, ყ, შ, ჩ, ც, ძ, წ, ჭ, ხ, ჯ, ჰ
Greek alphabet: Α, Β, Γ, Δ, Ε, Ζ, Η, Θ, Ι, Κ, Λ, Μ, Ν, Ξ, Ο, Π, Ρ, Σ, Τ, Υ, Φ, Χ, Ψ, Ω.
Hebrew alphabet: (Alphabetical from right to left) א, ב, ג, ד, ה, ו, ז, ח, ט, י, כ, ל, מ, נ, ס, ע, פ, צ, ק, ר, ש, ת.
Latin alphabet: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z.
Hangul: ㄱ ㄲ ㄴ ㄷ ㄸ ㄹ ㅁ ㅂ ㅃ ㅅ ㅆ ㅇ ㅈ ㅉ ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ ㅏ ㅐ ㅑ ㅒ ㅓ ㅔ ㅕ ㅖ ㅗ ㅘ ㅙ ㅚ ㅛ ㅜ ㅝ ㅞ ㅟ ㅠ ㅡ ㅢ ㅣ
Bopomofo: ㄅ ㄆ ㄇ ㄈ ㄉ ㄊ ㄋ ㄌ ㄍ ㄎ ㄏ ㄐ ㄑ ㄒ ㄓ ㄔ ㄕ ㄖ ㄗ ㄘ ㄙ ㄚ ㄛ ㄜ ㄝ ㄞ ㄟ ㄠ ㄡ ㄢ ㄣ ㄤ ㄥ ㄦ ㄧ ㄨ ㄩ ㄭ
Ogham: ᚁ ᚂ ᚃ ᚄ ᚅ ᚆ ᚇ ᚈ ᚉ ᚊ ᚋ ᚌ ᚍ ᚎ ᚏ ᚐ ᚑ ᚒ ᚓ ᚔ ᚕ ᚖ ᚗ ᚘ ᚙ ᚚ ᚛ ᚜
Ethiopic ሀ ለ ሐ መ ሠ ረ ሰ ቀ በ ተ ኀ ነ አ ከ ወ ዐ ዘ የ ደ ገ ጠ ጰ ጸ ፀ ፈ ፐ
Tifinagh (Amazigh alphabet) : ⴰ, ⴱ, ⵛ, ⴷ, ⴹ, ⴻ, ⴼ, ⴳ, ⴳⵯ, ⵀ, ⵃ, ⵉ, ⵊ, ⴽ, ⴽⵯ, ⵍ, ⵎ, ⵏ, ⵓ, ⵄ, ⵖ, ⵅ, ⵇ, ⵔ, ⵕ, ⵙ, ⵚ, ⵜ, ⵟ, ⵡ, ⵢ, ⵣ, ⵥ.
International Phonetic Alphabet - used to represent exact pronunciation
For other writing systems and their letters, see List of writing systems.
Related pages
Consonant
Vowel
Basic English 850 words
Typography |
6312 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne%20Frank | Anne Frank | Annelies Marie Frank (12 June 1929 in Frankfurt am Main – February 1945 in Bergen-Belsen) is one of the most famous Jewish people who died in the Holocaust. Her diary is seen as a classic in war literature, and is one of the most widely read books today. Several plays and movies have been made about it.
Anne was born in the city Frankfurt am Main in Weimar Germany. She lived most of her life in or around Amsterdam, in the Netherlands. She was officially seen as a German until 1941. This was when she lost her nationality because of the anti-Semitic rules of Nazi Germany. She became famous around the world after her death when her diary was printed. In it she described her experiences hiding during the Nazi German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II.
The Frank family moved from Germany to Holland's capital, Amsterdam in 1933. This was the same year that the Nazis grew powerful in Germany. By the beginning of 1940, because of the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, the Frank family was trapped in Amsterdam. Persecution of Jewish people increased in July 1942, and the family decided to hide. They hid in some secret rooms of her father Otto Frank's office building. After two years, they were betrayed and taken to concentration camps. Anne and her sister, Margot, were later taken to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. There, they both died from typhus in February 1945.
Otto Frank was the only person in his family who survived. He went back to Amsterdam after the war and found that Anne's diary had been saved. He helped print a version of it in 1947. It was translated from Dutch and first printed in English in 1952 as The Diary of a Young Girl. It has been translated into many languages. The diary had been given to Anne on her 13th birthday. In it she wrote of her life from 12 June 1942 until 1 August 1944.
Anne Frank was born on 12 June 1929 in Frankfurt, Germany. She was the second daughter of Otto Frank (1889–1980), a German businessman, and Edith Frank-Holländer (1900 – 45). Margot Frank (1926–45) was her older sister. The Franks were Jews, and they lived with many Jewish and non-Jewish citizens. Anne and Margot grew up with Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish friends. The Frank family did not follow all the customs of Judaism. Edith Frank was very religious, though her husband was more interested in studying. He had a large library, and both parents encouraged the children to read.
On 13 March 1933, elections were held in Frankfurt, and Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party won. Acts of Antisemitism began almost immediately. The Franks were afraid of what might happen to them if they stayed in Germany. Therefore, later that year, Edith and the children went to Aachen. They stayed there with Edith's mother, Rosr.a Hollände Otto remained in Frankfurt, but after getting an offer to start a company in Amsterdam, he moved there to begin the business and to find a place to live with his family. The Franks were included in the 300,000 Jews who ran away from Germany between 1933 and 1939.
Otto Frank began working at the Opekta Works. Opteka was a company that sold pectin. Otto Frank found an apartment on the Merwedeplein (Merwede Square) in Amsterdam. By February 1934, Edith and the children had arrived in Amsterdam, and Anne and Margot began going to school. Margot went to public school and Anne went to a Montessori school. Margot enjoyed math, while Anne preferred reading and writing. Her friend Hanneli Goslar later remembered that from when she was young, Anne often wrote, though she tried to hide what she wrote and did not like talking about it. Margot and Anne had very different personalities. Margot was polite, quiet, and thoughtful, while Anne was brave, energetic, and friendly.
In 1938, Otto Frank started a second company, Pectacon. Pectacon sold herbs, salts and mixed spices that were used to make sausages. Hermann van Pels worked at Pectacon as a helper about spices. He was a Jewish butcher. In 1939, Edith's mother came to live with the Franks. She stayed with them until she died in January 1942.
In May 1940, Germany invaded the Netherlands. The government began to hurt Jews by making rules and laws about their freedom. The Frank sisters were both studying well and had many friends. But a new law that Jewish children could only go to a Jewish school made them move to a Jewish school. The companies that Otto Frank worked at still gave him some money, but they became poorer. It was not enough to support their family.
Before hiding
For her 13th birthday on 12 June 1942, Anne Frank got a book she had shown her father a few days before. It was actually an autograph book with red-and-white cloth and a small lock on the front, but Anne decided to use it as a diary. She began writing in it almost immediately. Most of her first writings are about normal parts of her life, but she also wrote about some other things.
In July 1942, the Zentralstelle für jüdische Auswanderung (Central Office for Jewish Emigration) ordered Margot Frank to come to be taken to a work camp. Otto Frank told his family that they would hide in rooms above and behind the place where his company worked on the Prinsengracht. The Prinsengracht was a street next to one of Amsterdam's canals, where some of his most trusted employees would help them. The notice to Margot made them move a few weeks earlier than they had expected.
Hiding
Anne's father, Otto Frank, was scared that the Nazis would find him and his family which he needed to protect, he then spoke to some of the people who worked in his business. One of them was a young woman of about 33 years old, and was named Miep Gies. He told her he needed help - he was going to turn the top floor of his business into a secret hiding place for himself and his family called "The Secret Annex". Miep and the others would have to help them keep their secret, and bring them food. They hid in their secret hiding place for two whole years, without being discovered by the Nazis. Anne Frank left all her other belongings in Frankfurt.
Miep agreed to help. In 1942, the Frank family, together with the Van Pels (And their son Peter) and a dentist named Fritz Pfeffer, moved into the Secret Annex that they had prepared. They planned to stay there until the end of the war. They hoped the war would end soon, but it did not. They spent around two and a half years in their hiding place, never able to go out into the sunshine. During the day, the family had to be very quiet, because the business continued downstairs, and not all the workers knew that the Frank family was in hiding in the upper part of the building.
A few months before the Franks went into hiding, Anne was given a diary, for her birthday. She called her diary "Kitty" and wrote in it about all the things that were happening to her and to her family. Anne was only a young girl, but she knew how to write beautifully. She wrote about all the things that young girls think about - how she was getting along with her friends and parents, boys (pretty much Peter), her life and emotions. After a while, Anne had one strong ambition, she aspired to be a writer. She hoped to write a book that everyone would read.
A total of 78 families lived hiding in the same building which was a total of 700 people.
After 2 years a thief had come and took not much, but after about two and a half years in hiding, not long before the end of the war, the thief was caught and, in exchange of not going to jail or death, he told the Nazis that a Jewish family - the Franks - were in hiding. Nazi soldiers came into the Frank's secret hiding place. They sent the Franks and the others to a concentration camp. Miep Gies found Anne's diary and put it into a drawer. She wanted to keep it safe until after the war. She hoped that Anne would return, and she would be able give her her diary back to her.
However, that was not to be. Anne's father, Otto Frank, lived through the war and came back to Amsterdam. He hoped that his family had survived too - but they had not. Of all the family, only he survived. His wife was killed at Auschwitz. Anne and her older sister, Margot, died at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp from typhus, a disease - only a month before the camp was freed by the Allied forces. When he got out, he found Anne's diary and published it.
Diary
When World War II ended, Miep Gies gave Otto Frank Anne's diary and a bundle of notes. Otto Frank then decided to publish her diary to commemorate her.
Miep Gies was with Otto Frank when he got the letter telling him that his two daughters were dead. Now she knew that Anne would never return for her diary. She went to the drawer where the diary was kept, and she gave it to Otto Frank. People who were close to Anne read the diary. They told Otto Frank that he should publish it. Anne had wanted to be a famous writer. Now, people would be able to read her book, and they would also learn about the difficult time that the Jews had during the war, and about the wonderful people who helped them.
Otto had Anne's diary printed. It became one of the world's most widely-read books. It has been printed in over 60 languages, and people across the world have read and enjoyed this true story. Today, for an admissions fee, you can visit the house in Amsterdam where Anne Frank and her family hid during the war. You can also see the diary that she wrote.
Notes and references
Bibliography
; This edition, a new translation, includes material excluded from the earlier edition.
Frank, Anne and Netherlands State Institute for War Documentation (1989). The Diary of Anne Frank, The Critical Edition. Doubleday. .
; With a note from Miep Gies.
van der Rol, Ruud; Verhoeven, Rian (for the Anne Frank House); Quindlen, Anna (Introduction); Langham, Tony & Peters, Plym (translation) (1995). Anne Frank - Beyond the Diary - A Photographic Remembrance. Puffin. .
Westra, Hans; Metselaar, Menno; Van Der Rol, Ruud; Stam, Dineke (2004). Inside Anne Frank's House: An Illustrated Journey Through Anne's World. Overlook Duckworth. .
Other websites
1929 births
1945 deaths
Deaths from typhus
Diarists
Dutch Jews
Dutch people of World War II
German people of World War II
Holocaust victims
Infectious disease deaths in Germany
Jewish German writers
Refugees from Nazism
Writers from Amsterdam
Writers from Frankfurt |
6314 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan%20Peter%20Balkenende | Jan Peter Balkenende | Jan Peter Balkenende (born 7 May 1956) is a Dutch politician. He was the Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 2002 until 2010. He is a member of the Christian Democratic Appeal party.
In other countries, he is perhaps most famous because he looks like Harry Potter. This makes him popular with young children, but many Dutch make jokes about it and call him "Jan Potter Balkenende" and other names like that.
Balkenende lives in Capelle aan den IJssel, Netherlands.
References
Bio at Parlement.com
Other websites
1956 births
Living people
Christian Democratic Appeal politicians
Dutch academics
Dutch Calvinists
Dutch councillors
Dutch jurists
Former leaders of political parties in the Netherlands
Former members of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands
Politicians from Zeeland
Prime Ministers of the Netherlands |
6315 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toleration | Toleration | Tolerance is not taking action against people who do things one does not like. The opposite of tolerance is intolerance. Intolerance is often found in dictatorships historically and often causes the hate crime and hate speech. Tolerance is often about religion (religious toleration), sex, or politic opinion, nation, race, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity.
Also multiculturalism is promoted through toleration.
Related pages
Altruism
Politics |
6316 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/William%20the%20Silent | William the Silent | William I of Orange-Nassau (24 April 1533 – 10 July 1584) was an important leader of the Dutch rebellion against the Spanish in the Eighty Years' War. He was the first leader of the Netherlands. He held the title of Prince of Orange.
William of Orange is better known as William the Silent (in Dutch: Willem de Zwijger). It is not known how he got this name. One story says that when the kings of France and Spain proposed to William to kill all Protestants in his area, William did not reply.
William was born in Nassau in Germany. The king of Spain made him stadtholder (a sort of leader) of several Dutch provinces. But William converted to Protestantism, the religion of the Dutch people, and joined their struggle for independence. The king of Spain offered a reward for the person who would kill William. In 1584 William was shot by Balthasar Gerards in his house in Delft. William's last words were in French: "Mon Dieu, mon Dieu, ayez pitié de moi et de ton pauvre peuple" (My Lord, My Lord, have pity on me and your poor people). Balthasar Gerards never received his reward, because he was killed by the angry Dutch.
In the Netherlands, people often call him "Father of the fatherland". The Dutch national anthem, the Wilhelmus, is about William.
1533 births
1584 deaths
Dutch royalty |
6319 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sim%C3%B3n%20Bol%C3%ADvar | Simón Bolívar | Simón Bolívar (1783 - 1830) was a Venezuelan military and political leader. He was born in Caracas, Venezuela. He liberated many countries from Spain in South America. Those countries included Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. For a few years he was president of Gran Colombia, a country that no longer exists. The country Bolivia is named after Bolívar.
Early life
Simón Bolívar was born in Caracas into a very rich family that owned plantations, ranches, mines, and many slaves who they forced to work in their businesses. His full name was Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte-Andrade y Blanco. He was sent to school in Spain like many children of rich families were at the time. While he was in Madrid, Bolívar married María Teresa Rodríguez del Toro y Alaiza in 1802. He also learned about the ideas of the Enlightenment.
Revolution in Latin America
White people felt ignored because Spaniards were sent by their governor, and resented wealthy mixed heritage people who could “buy” whiteness. The creoles started calling themselves Americans and not Spaniards to demonstrate that they wanted independence. In 1808, Napoleon conquered Spain, and made his brother, Joseph Bonaparte the new king. The colonies in Latin America rebelled because they said they were loyal to the old king, Charles IV of Spain and not Napoleon.
On September 6th 1815 Simón Bolívar wrote a letter from Jamaica. He explained the causes and reasons why all of South America or parts of it should be independent (free from Spain's ruling). Simón Bolívar was tired of how Venezuela and other countries were treated like slaves and how they were not free. He said “We have been harassed by a conduct which has not only deprived us of our rights but has kept us in a sort of permanent infancy with regard to public affairs.” He kept saying in the Jamaica letter why it's important to be free. “We are still in a position lower than slavery, and therefore it is more difficult for us to rise to the enjoyment of freedom.” This means they could not even enjoy freedom. "Because successes have been partial and spasmodic, we must not lose faith. We are young in the ways of almost all the arts and sciences, although, in a certain manner, we are old in the ways of civilized society."
On May 26, 1819 Bolívar gathered with a group of guerrillas that wanted to defeat the Spanish army. They got supplies and they crossed hundreds of miles of plains, swamps, rivers, etc. Many of the men died of hunger, diseases, and other causes on the way there. Crossing plains on August 7, they encountered the royalists and won the battle in Boyacá on August 10. Bolívar then occupied Boyacá, Colombia. Bolívar won the fight of Carabobo in June 1821, and then another in Caracas. A few days later and Venezuela was free of the Spanish royalists, then Bolívar went South and conquered Quito. On July 27, 1822 Simón Bolívar and José de San Martín met in the Guayaquil Conference. They were preparing to march across the Andes to Peru to defeat the Spanish royalists in August of 1824. San Martin resigned his powers in Peru and went back to Argentina. Later he went to Europe. Bolívar launched his campaign and soon he won a small but important battle at Junín. The royalists retreated and eventually lost.
Bolívar said that his people were in a position "lower than slavery", but many of them owned slaves themselves. Alexandre Pétion, the president of Haiti, said that he would help Bolívar fight if he abolished slavery as part of independence. Bolívar agreed, but only because he was afraid the slaves would revolt against the slaveowners, like they did in Haiti, and he only freed slaves who agreed to fight in his army. Even though Pétion helped him, Bolívar never freed all the slaves, and slavery was not abolished until the 1850s in Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador.
He is still remembered and celebrated for helping many of the Latin American countries achieve independence. People called him "El Liberator" because of this. Some people hated him because they thought he was a traitor, and he was going to be a dictator.
Other websites
Simon Bolívar
References
1783 births
1830 deaths
Deaths from tuberculosis
Presidents of Colombia
Presidents of Venezuela
Presidents of Bolivia
Presidents of Peru
People with foods named after them
People from Caracas |
6327 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagorean%20theorem | Pythagorean theorem | In mathematics, the Pythagorean theorem or Pythagoras's theorem is a statement about the sides of a right triangle.
One of the angles of a right triangle is always equal to 90 degrees. This angle is the right angle. The two sides next to the right angle are called the legs and the other side is called the hypotenuse. The hypotenuse is the side opposite to the right angle, and it is always the longest side. It was discovered by Vasudha Arora.
Claim of the theory
The Pythagorean theorem says that the area of a square on the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the areas of the squares on the legs. In this picture, the area of the blue square added to the area of the red square makes the area of the purple square. It was named after the Greek mathematician Pythagoras:
If the lengths of the legs are a and b, and the length of the hypotenuse is c, then, .
Types of proofs
There are many different proofs of this theorem. They fall into four categories:
Those based on linear relations: the algebraic proofs.
Those based upon comparison of areas: the geometric proofs.
Those based upon the vector operation.
Those based on mass and velocity: the dynamic proofs.
Proof
One proof of the Pythagorean theorem was found by a Greek mathematician, Eudoxus of Cnidus.
The proof uses three lemmas:
Triangles with the same base and height have the same area.
A triangle which has the same base and height as a side of a square has the same area as a half of the square.
Triangles with two congruent sides and one congruent angle are congruent and have the same area.
The proof is:
The triangle has the same area as the triangle, because it has the same base and height (lemma 1).
and triangles both have two sides equal to sides of the same squares, and an angle equal to a straight angle (an angle of 90 degrees) plus an angle of a triangle, so they are congruent and have the same area (lemma 3).
and triangles' areas are equal because they have the same heights and bases (lemma 1).
triangle's area equals area of triangle's area, because
The triangles have the same area for the same reasons.
and each have a half of the area of a smaller square. The sum of their areas equals half of the area of the bigger square. Because of this, halves of the areas of small squares are the same as a half of the area of the bigger square, so their area is the same as the area of the bigger square.
Proof using similar triangles
We can get another proof of the Pythagorean theorem by using similar triangles.
e/b = b/c => e = b^2/c (2)
From the image, we know that . And by replacing equations (1) and (2):
Multiplying by c:
Pythagorean triples
Pythagorean triples or triplets are three whole numbers which fit the equation .
The triangle with sides of 3, 4, and 5 is a well known example. If a=3 and b=4, then because . This can also be shown as
The three-four-five triangle works for all multiples of 3, 4, and 5. In other words, numbers such as 6, 8, 10 or 30, 40 and 50 are also Pythagorean triples. Another example of a triple is the 12-5-13 triangle, because .
A Pythagorean triple that is not a multiple of other triples is called a primitive Pythagorean triple. Any primitive Pythagorean triple can be found using the expression , but the following conditions must be satisfied. They place restrictions on the values of and .
and are positive whole numbers
and have no common factors except 1
and have opposite parity. and have opposite parity when is even and is odd, or is odd and is even.
.
If all four conditions are satisfied, then the values of and create a primitive Pythagorean triple.
and create a primitive Pythagorean triple. The values satisfy all four conditions. , and , so the triple is created.
References
Theorems in geometry |
6329 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperature | Temperature | Temperature is how hot or cold something is. Our bodies can feel the difference between something which is hot and something which is cold. To measure temperature more accurately, a thermometer can be used. Thermometers use a temperature scale to record how hot or cold something is. The scale used in most of the world is in degrees Celsius, sometimes called "centigrade". In the USA and some other countries and locations, degrees Fahrenheit are more often used while scientists mostly use kelvins to measure temperature because it never goes below zero.
Scientifically, temperature is a physical quantity which describes how quickly molecules are moving inside a material. In solids and liquids the molecules are vibrating around a fixed point in the substance, but in gases they are in free flight and bouncing off each other as they travel. In a gas the temperature, pressure and volume of the gas are closely related by a law of physics.
Useful temperatures
When they invented temperature scales scientists found there were certain things which were always around the same temperature:
Water freezes at a temperature of 0 °C, 32 °F, or 273.15 K.
The temperature inside the human body is close to 37 °C or 98 °F.
Water boils at 100 °C, 212 °F, or 373.15 K.
The coldest possible temperature is absolute zero. Absolute zero is 0 K,-459 °F, or -273.15 °C. At absolute zero molecules and atoms come to rest and so have no heat energy.
Temperature and heat
Temperature is not the same as heat. Heat is energy which moves from one thing, cooling it, to another, heating it. Temperature is a measure of the movements (vibration) of the molecules inside a thing. If the thing has a high temperature, it means the average speed of its molecules is fast. A thing may have a high temperature but because it contains very few or light atoms it has very little heat.
Heat capacity
The amount of heat that is needed to make a substance one degree higher is called its heat capacity. Different substances have different heat capacities. For example, a kilogram of water has more heat capacity than a kilogram of steel. This means that more energy is needed to make the temperature of water 1°C hotter than is needed to make the temperature of steel 1°C hotter.
Weather
Temperature is also important in weather and climate. It is related to the amount of heat energy in the air. Isotherm maps are used to show how temperature is different across an area. Temperature will be different during different times of day, different seasons and in different places. It is affected by how much heat reaches the place from the suns rays (insolation), how high the place is above the level of the sea, and how much heat is brought to the place by the movement of winds and ocean currents.
Related pages
Dew point
Relative humidity
Weather measurements
Heat
Physical quantity
Thermodynamics
Basic physics ideas |
6330 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tux | Tux | Tux is a mascot of the Linux operating system; a cartoon penguin made by Larry Ewing in 1996. Wherever he is seen, it means such a system can work with Linux. He is also a character in some Linux games, like Super Tux.
The name "Tux" comes from James Hughes, who named the Linux Mascot that as an shortened form of "Torvalds' UniX," as Linus Torvalds was the creator of the Linux operating system. Tux is also an abbreviation of tuxedo.
Linux
Mascots
Penguins |
6331 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mein%20Kampf | Mein Kampf | Mein Kampf (My Struggle) was a book written by Adolf Hitler and Rudolf Hess. Rudolf Hess helped Hitler write the book, but he is not mentioned as an author. The book consists of two parts. The first part was written by Hitler while he was in jail in Landsberg am Lech. He was put in jail after a failed putsch, in 1923. He wrote the second part after his (early) release from jail. From 1926 to 1930, both volumes were sold separately, at the price of 12 Reichsmark each. In 1930, both volumes were published as one book.
There were several editions between 1925 and 1945. With each new edition, the text was revised as well. This was done to clarify those parts of the text that were unclear. Probably, ghostwriters around Hitler did this work.
In the book, Hitler describes (talks about) his view of greater Germany. He also describes his future plan for Jews. When he came to power, in 1933, he realized (made happen) some of those plans. This resulted in a genocide known as The Holocaust. The book was given away for free at civil registry offices during the time when the Nazi government had power in Germany. The reason for giving the book away for free was because in part, the book was propaganda, and giving it away free was a way to recruit members.
After the Second World War, the book was made illegal to reprint or sell new copies in Germany and Austria. It is not illegal to own a book, and it is also not illegal to sell or buy such books second-hand.
The book has been called the "most evil book in history". Historians and journalists who have read also say that it is a badly written book.
The contents in short
Hitler wanted to unite Austria with Germany. (The annexation, or "Anschluß," took place in 1938. The sympathetic Austrian government asked Hitler to annex Austria to be part of the "Großdeutsche Reich" (The Greater German Reich).
Several antisemitic beliefs in the book are developed. Special care is taken to portray Marxism as something very bad which had been a Jewish creation.
The concept of nationally oriented socialism (Nationalsozialismus, that's where the Allied word Nazi (National Sozialistishe) comes from as they did not call themselves Nazi's). A war should be a war of races, not one of the different classes of society against each other. From this conflict, sympathy from German class could be amassed.
The political system of the Soviet Union referred to as Bolshevism should be split into parts. This should be done through what is called a war of the races (Rassenkrieg in German).
According to the book there is not enough space for the German People to live. Winning such a race war would give the people (of "Aryan" blood) more space to live (Lebensraum), in the east. (At the time the book was written Germany was roughly the size of Texas).
Germany should not fight a war on two fronts. Resultingly, England would be a good strategic partner in a war to come.
Parliamentary or Democratic governments should be replaced with a state where a single leader makes decisions. This was believed to be more in the interest of the people.
The structure of the NSDAP, as outlined in the second volume is developed.
Some autobiographic stories, and a history of the NSDAP, both till 1924.
Nazism
1925 books |
6333 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer%20graphics | Computer graphics | Computer graphics are visual representations of data, made with the help of computer. Computer graphics can be a series of images (video or animation) or a single image.
Computer graphics are very useful. Computer-generated imagery is used for movie making, video games, computer program development, photo editing, scientific modeling, design for advertising and more. Some people see computer graphics as art.
Areas of computer graphics
Computer graphics can be 2D or 3D. They are made differently and used differently. People can use computer programs to make different types of graphics.
2D graphics
2D computer graphics are usually split into two categories: vector graphics and raster graphics.
Vector graphics
Vector graphics use lines, shapes and text to create a more complex image. If a vector graphic image is made very big on the monitor, it will still look as good (smooth) as its regular size. This is one of the reasons vector graphics are liked so much. Vector images also take very little computer memory when saved. Vector graphics are made with programs like Adobe Illustrator and Inkscape, and were used for some older computer games. Today, they are often used for when computer graphics have to be printed out.
Examples of vector graphics
Raster graphics
Raster images are made up of very small points called pixels. Digital cameras create raster pictures but artists can make them with computers too. The artists don't have to change a single pixel at a time – raster programs often have tools like paintbrushes, paint buckets and erasers to make a picture. Programs used to make these include Adobe Photoshop, GIMP and Corel Paint Shop Pro.
Sometimes people do use only pixels to make an image. This is called pixel art and it has a very unique style.
Examples of raster graphics
3D graphics
3D graphics are graphics that look more realistic because they are three-dimensional. This means the computer thinks it has a height, a length and a depth, and displays them as we would see them in the real world with our eyes. Among other things they use solid geometry and trigonometry to create correct perspective. Some programs used to make 3D graphics are Bryce, 3D Studio Max, Maya and Blender. 3D graphics are used many times in movies and TV shows and video games.
Most of 3D graphics can be seen as vector graphics because it uses mathematical shapes like 3D triangles to describe objects. But there also exists 3D graphics that uses a grid of "3D pixels" which we call voxels.
Examples of 3D graphics
Related pages
Computer animation
Computer graphics |
6338 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC%20Bayern%20Munich | FC Bayern Munich | FC Bayern Munich, also known as FC Bayern München, () is a German football club. The club was founded in 1900 and has over 200,000 paying members. It has won the most titles in the Bundesliga and in the German Cup.
The football team is playing in the Allianz Arena. The team also has the most supporters in all of Germany.
Bayern Munich won its first national title in 1932. This was the last season before the Nazi Regime took over the power. Bayern Munich was blamed to be a 'Club of Jews', the president, Kurt Landauer, was forced to flee and several players were punished. After the war ended, erroneously the local rival 1860 München was considered to be better and let into the first German league. But in the first season 1963, Bayern Munich won most of its games, ascended into the first league and still plays there without any descend.
Bayern Munich won the UEFA Champions League in 2001 and in 2013. 2013 also was the year of the victory of the historic treble - an achievement no other German club ever gained before.
Honours
Domestic
German Champions/Bundesliga
Winners: (31) 1932, 1968–69, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1973–74, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1993–94, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21 (record)
DFB-Pokal
Winners: (20) 1956–57, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1968–69, 1970–71, 1981–82, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1997–98, 1999–2000, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2018–19, 2019–20 (record)
DFB/DFL-Supercup
Winners: 1987, 1990, 2010, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020 (record)
DFL-Ligapokal
Winners: 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2007 (record)
European
UEFA Champions League / European Cup
Winners: 1973–74, 1974–75, 1975–76, 2000–01, 2012–13, 2019–20
UEFA Europa League / UEFA Cup
Winners: 1995–96
UEFA/European Cup Winners' Cup
Winners: 1966–67
UEFA/European Super Cup
Winners: 2013, 2020
Worldwide
Intercontinental Cup
Winners: 1976, 2001
FIFA Club World Cup
Winners: 2013, 2020
Trebles
Bayern Munich is the only European team to have completed all available Trebles (continental treble, domestic treble and European treble).
Treble
Continental treble (Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, UEFA Champions League)
2012–13, 2019–20
European treble (UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, European Cup, UEFA Cup)
1966–67 European Cup Winners' Cup, 1973–74 European Cup, 1995–96 UEFA Cup
Domestic treble (Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, DFL-Ligapokal)
1999–2000
The football competitions, which consist of a single match involving only two teams (for example, the UEFA Super Cup or DFL Supercup) are generally not counted as part of a treble.
Players
Squad
Other players with first-team appearances
Out on loan
Retired numbers
12 – "The twelfth man", dedication to fans
Notable past players
At his farewell game, Oliver Kahn was declared honorary captain of Bayern Munich. The players below are part of the FC Bayern Munich Hall of Fame.
1930s
Conrad Heidkamp (DF)
1970s:
Franz Beckenbauer (DF)
Gerd Müller (FW)
Uli Hoeneß (FW)
Paul Breitner (MF)
Sepp Maier (GK)
Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck (DF)
Franz Roth (MF)
1980s:
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (FW)
Klaus Augenthaler (DF)
1990s:
Lothar Matthäus (MF/DF)
Stefan Effenberg (MF)
2000s:
Oliver Kahn (GK)
Mehmet Scholl (MF)
Bixente Lizarazu (DF)
Giovane Élber (FW)
2010s:
Philipp Lahm (DF)
Bastian Schweinsteiger (MF)
Captains
Famous players of the club
Coaches
League position
Former position
References
Other websites
Official website
Fan-site
Fußball-Bundesliga
German football clubs
Sport in Munich
1900 establishments in Germany |
6339 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine | Marine | Marine might mean:
Marine biology
Marine (military), a type of soldier |
6340 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape%20of%20Good%20Hope | Cape of Good Hope | The Cape of Good Hope is a place near the far south end of Africa, where the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean meet. It is a well known area for ships that pass in the sea between southern Africa and Antarctica. It is in the Western Cape Province of South Africa and forms part of the Table Mountain National Reserve.
The first person from Europe to see it was the Portuguese man Bartolomeu Dias. He saw it in 1488 and named it the "Cape of Storms".
Other websites
An old map of Cape of Good Hope from 1842
Good Hope
Geography of South Africa
Peninsulas |
6341 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand%20washing | Hand washing | Hand washing is the process of cleaning hands with water and soap or other special liquids. It is done to take off dirt, germs, and poisons. Germs and poisons cause diseases and other health problems. Germs are bacteria, viruses, or fungi. Some diseases are not stopped by antibiotic drugs. Hand washing prevents lots of new diseases. Not washing hands before cooking or touching food is risky.
When hands are washed
Always wash hands:
After using the toilet, urinate, or defecate.
After touching an animal or pet, such as a dog, cat, or turtle.
Before and after touching or helping a sick person.
Before making or cooking food.
After touching uncooked meat, fish, or poultry (bird meat). Some uncooked foods carry diseases.
Before eating so as to prevent contamination of food from germs.
After blowing one's nose/or sneezing into his/her hand.
Washing hands
Use soap and warm (running, if available) water. Wet hands and add soap. Rub wet hands strongly with soap outside running water more than 10 seconds. Rub all parts of the hands again and again. Clean all dirt under fingernails. Then rub hands under running water again and again to take off all soap. Dry hands using a clean cloth or paper. Use moisturizing lotion so hands do not dry if the hands are being washed many times every day.
Families & Parents
Train a boy or girl to wash his or her hands every time before eating and after using the toilet, urinating, or defecating.
Wash hands after taking off dirty clothes, pants or diapers from a baby.
Request medical workers, doctors, and nurses to wash their hands before touching a boy or girl.
Medical hand washing
For a medical worker, doctor, or nurse, not washing hands before touching every new person is dangerous. Use more than enough soap and water and rub each part of the hands again and again. Rub between each finger. Use a brush and clean under fingernails. Use more water to take off the soap and dry hands paper towel.
To scrub the hands for a surgery, water that can be turned on and off without touching with the hands is needed, a cleaning liquid named "chlorhexidine" or "iodine wash", sterile cloth for drying the hands after washing, a sterile brush for hard washing and another sterile instrument for cleaning under the fingernails. Take off all watches, rings, and other jewels from the hands before washing. Wash the hands and arms to the elbows again and again. Be strong and serious about the washing. Use running water again and again to take off all soap. Keep hands up so water does not go from arms to hands. Dry the hands with the sterile cloth and put on surgical shirt or dress. Sterile means nothing on it that could cause a disease.
Related pages
Global Handwashing Day
Ignaz Semmelweis
Other websites
3000 word report - Comprehensive overview Importance of handwashing
official website of Global Handwashing Day celebrated on October 15
Healthy lifestyle |
Subsets and Splits