title: Louis XVI

paragraphs: Louis XVI (23 August 1754 21 January 1793) was the King of France from 1774 until 1792, when the monarchy was abolished during the French Revolution. His overthrow and execution ended a monarchy that was over 1,000 years old, although he was not the last French king.

paragraphs: Louis came from the House of Bourbon. He became the king at the age of 20, after the death of his grandfather Louis XV. Early in his reign, he tried to make France more modern. He stopped the government from using torture and allowed people to be Protestant again. He and his minister Turgot took away some laws on selling grain, which led to high grain prices in years when the harvest was bad. He also supported the Americans in their war for independence from Great Britain. Debts from this war, other war debts and the outdated tax system caused major money problems in France. Louis's plans to solve the problems were blocked by the nobles. The money problems and the new ideas of the Age of Enlightenment caused more people to stop supporting the existing monarchy (the "Ancien Régime") and demand change.

paragraphs: In 1789, Louis called the Estates-General (a parliament) to try to solve the problems. As a leader who was weak-willed and did not want to change the country much, he soon disappointed the elected politicians who wanted to reduce the king's powers. Protests against the monarchy became more common, especially among the poorer people of Paris and the middle class. This led to the Storming of the Bastille in July and the Women's March on Versailles in October. These events caused the king to lose control of the country to the National Assembly.

paragraphs: At first, the Assembly did not plan to abolish the monarchy. But the idea became more popular as rebellions and protests broke out across France, more radical politicians started to lead the government, money problems became worse and foreign governments threatened to invade. Louis and his wife Marie Antoinette slowly became unpopular symbols of the "Ancien Régime" that people wanted to leave behind. Their failed escape from Paris in June 1791 was a disaster. It convinced many people that they were plotting with foreign governments to overthrow the Assembly. He was arrested during a riot in August 1792 and the monarchy was abolished the next month. The government took away his titles, calling him "Citizen Louis Capet", taking the surname from Hugh Capet, an early French king. He was put on trial by the National Convention, found guilty of treason, and executed by guillotine on 21 January 1793. He was the only king of France to be executed.

paragraphs: Louis XVI was born in 1754 during the reign of his grandfather King Louis XV. His father was Louis Ferdinand, Dauphin of France, the heir to the throne. His mother was Marie Josephe of Saxony. His parents liked his older brother more than Louis and were upset when Louis's brother died while still a child. Louis's parents turned against him and he became a shy boy. His father died early in Louis's life and Louis became the heir to the throne. Because of this, he took the title of "dauphin".

paragraphs: In 1770, when Louis was 15, he married Marie Antoinette, an Austrian princess. They had met only two days before the wedding. Many people in France did not want Louis to have an Austrian wife, because France's alliance with Austria was not popular. The two countries had been enemies until 1756, when they had become allies. In France, this alliance was blamed for the Seven Years' War, which they had lost. Louis and Marie Antoinette were not close in the early years of their marriage, but they did grow to love each other. It was not until 1777 that they had sexual relations. They did not manage to have children for several years after that. This made the marriage difficult. The situation was made worse when rude pamphlet called "libelles" were published. These "libelles" mocked them for not being able to have children. One asked: "Can the King do it? Can't the King do it?" In the end, he and Marie Antoinette had four children:

paragraphs: Louis became the king when Louis XV died in 1774. He was 19 years old. Louis took charge of a country which had big problems. After the Seven Year's War, France was no longer the most powerful country in Europe. The country had debts because of the war, and because its tax system was outdated. Many nobles and other rich people could avoid paying taxes, something that many ordinary people hated. It was also the Age of Enlightenment, a time when people were becoming more interested in ideas like democracy and liberalism. A growing number of people opposed the absolute monarchy of France.

paragraphs: Louis wanted to be a good, popular king. One of his early decisions was to give powers back to the "parlements" that had been taken away in the later reign of Louis XV. The parlements were not parliaments in the modern meaning; they were not elected assemblies of politicians. The parlements were actually important regional courts and their judges supported the local nobles. They often stopped the kings from changing the country and stopped laws from having an effect in their provinces. When he brought back the parlements, Louis said "It seems to me to be the general wish and I want to be loved." He chose the Comte de Maurepas to be his main advisor, and Maurepas served in this role until his death in 1781. He also chose Anne Robert Jacques Turgot to be his minister of finance.

paragraphs: Turgot suggested they should relax the laws that limited when grain could be sold and how much it could be sold for. However, these changes caused high grain prices in years when the harvest was bad. This caused the Flour War protests in 1775. Some of Turgot's other reforms were blocked by the nobles and "parlements". In 1776, Louis changed his mind and sacked Turgot. He replaced him with Jacques Necker. Necker tried to publish a complete list of everything the government was spending money on, but this ended up hiding much of the spending. In 1783, Louis then chose Charles Alexandre de Calonne as his main minister of finance.

paragraphs: Louis and his government supported the Americans in the American Revolutionary War, because they wanted to weaken Great Britain. They wanted revenge because they had lost Quebec to the British in the Seven Years' War. The Americans won and the British agreed to let them be independent in the 1783 Treaty of Paris. However, their other attempts to weaken the British Empire were mostly stopped because their navy lost the Battle of the Saintes, and France did not gain many new lands. Moreover, the debts from the war worsened the government's money problems. By 1787, the money problems were out of control.

paragraphs: Louis called an Assembly of Notables, a meeting of the most senior French nobles, to discuss how to solve the money problems. He wanted to stop the nobles and parlements from blocking his attempts to solve them. But the nobles were shocked when they learned how bad the problems were and refused to help. Louis also tried to stop the Parlement of Paris from getting in the way, even arresting two of members, but it did not work because too many people supported the parlement. He also brought back Jacques Necker. Louis decided he had no choice but to call the Estates-General, the French parliament, which had not met since 1614.

paragraphs: The Estates-General of 1789 began sitting in May. Like previous Estates-General, it was designed to represent the "three estates" that made up French society. A quarter of its members were elected by the First Estate (Catholic Church priests), another quarter were elected by the Second Estate (the nobles) and the other half were elected by wealthy people from the Third Estate (everyone else). The politicians of the Third Estate wanted to talk about changing French society and reducing the powers of the king, but the king only wanted them to talk about taxes. He very quickly managed to annoy these politicians. For example, they were told that all members would have an equal vote, but then the king decided instead that the Third Estate members would only have half a vote. The Third Estate members thought it was unfair that they represented 95% of the population, but had only a third of the power in the Estates-General.

paragraphs: In June 1789, the Third Estate members announced that they were the National Assembly. Louis tried to stop them from meeting. On 20 June, all but one of those members signed the Tennis Court Oath. They promised that they would stay together until the king agreed to reduce his powers. Although Louis did offer some more rights to the Third Estate, they decided that this was not enough. On 11 July, Louis sacked many advisors who supported the National Assembly. This included Jacques Necker, who was quite popular. Ordinary people in Paris strongly supported Necker and the National Assembly. They began to fear that the king was going to stop the National Assembly. A riot broke out, leading to the Storming of the Bastille on 14 July.

paragraphs: Louis backed down and agreed to let the National Assembly run the country. The National Assembly started to carry out some dramatic changes to France. They passed the Declaration of the Rights of Man and ended the laws that allowed the nobles to be treated better than ordinary people.

paragraphs: On 5 October 1789, a crowd of protestors (mostly women) gathered in Paris to protest the high price of bread. They decided to have a march to the Palace of Versailles. where the king lived. They broke into the palace. Some guards were killed, and the rest did not stop them. The protestors demanded that the royal family come with them to Paris. Louis did not want to come, but he gave in to their demands. He signed the Declaration of the Rights of Man and went with them to Paris. He moved into the older Tuileries Palace.

paragraphs: Either the Storming of the Bastille or the Women's March on Versailles could be seen as the moment the king lost control of his country.

paragraphs: Louis would not be content as puppet king for very long. He was unhappy with the way he, his family and the church were being treated. The moderate politicians were losing support to more radical ones. But even though he was really a prisoner in the Tuileries Palace, Louis had allies in other countries who would have supported the king over the politicians. Louis and Marie Antoinette planned to escape from the Tuileries on the night of June 21, 1791, disguised as servants. The royal family travelled towards for the Fortress of Montmédy, which was a base for soldiers who supported the king and was on the border with the Austrian Netherlands. On their way to Montmédy, they were caught in the village of Varennes and forced to return to Paris. This incident became known as the flight to Varennes.

paragraphs: When Louis and his family were brought back to the Tuileries, guards now watched over them far more. Whether rightly or wrongly, many people in France believed that the king and queen were plotting with foreign governments to restore the absolute monarchy. The next year, these tensions led to France starting a war with Austria and Prussia. In July 1792, Prussia's Duke of Brunswick wrote "We will destroy Paris into the ground if anything happens to our royal majesty, the king and queen." He was trying to help the king and queen, but instead it did the opposite.

paragraphs: In August 1792, a riot broke out in Paris. A crowd of protestors, encouraged by radical politicians, invaded the Tuileries. Louis was arrested on 13 August and sent to the Temple, an ancient Paris fortress used as a prison. On September 21, the National Convention (the new National Assembly) declared France to be a republic and abolished the monarchy. They took away Louis's titles and gave him an ordinary name: "Louis Capet". They believed that Capet should be his surname because he was related to the House of Capet.

paragraphs: Louis was charged with several crimes, with the National Convention (the new National Assembly) acting as the judge. The main crime they accused him of was plotting with Austria to restore the absolute monarchy. They quickly voted that he was guilty. Nobody at the Convention liked Louis, but the Girondins at least wanted to spare his life. Maximilien Robespierre and the Montagnards said that he should be killed, and more than half of the members voted to have him executing. Many of them believed that they were not just punishing Louis for a crime, but also destroying the idea of monarchy.

paragraphs: For the last time, Louis was reunited to his family and promised to come back the next morning, but he did not. On his way to the guillotine, Louis said "I trust that my death will be for the happiness of my people, but I grieve for France, and I fear that she may suffer the anger of the Lord." Before his execution, he made a speech saying "I die innocent of all the crimes that I was accused of; I forgive those who have caused my death; and I pray to God that the blood you are going to shed may never bring harm upon France." He tried to say more, but his speech was drowned out by a roll of drums. He was executed on January 21, 1793 in Place de la Revolution (now Place de la Concorde) in central Paris. He was 38 years old. Marie Antoinette was executed nine months later.

paragraphs: At first, Louis was buried in a nearby graveyard. In 1815, his and Marie Antoinette's remains were moved to the Basilica of Saint Denis, the traditional burial site for French kings. There are statues of them in the church. The "Chapelle expiatoire" was also built as a memorial to him, on the site of his original grave.

paragraphs: Louis XVI would not be the last French king. Two of Louis's brothers would become kings after the 1814 Bourbon Restoration: Louis XVIII and Charles X. Louis XVI's sons had died of diseases before then, and his daughter could not inherit the throne. The last French king was Louis-Philippe I, their distant relative. The last French monarch was Napoleon III, who was an emperor rather than a king.

paragraphs: In the 19th century, the French historians Jules Michelet and Alphonse de Lamartine noted how many French people came to feel sorry for Louis XVI, and this led to the monarchy being brought back in 1814. Although they did not agree on everything, both historians said that ending the monarchy in 1792 was the right decision, but that the king and queen should not have been killed. Michelet said that these executions encouraged more executions, leading to the Reign of Terror.

paragraphs: Louisville, Kentucky is named for Louis XVI. In 1780, the Virginia General Assembly present this name in honor of the French king, whose soldiers were aiding the American side in the American Revolution. The Virginia General Assembly saw the King as a noble man, but many other continental delegates disagreed.


title: Paul Kagame

paragraphs: Paul Kagame (born October 23, 1957) is the President of Rwanda.

paragraphs: Though a member of the Tutsi ethnic group, he tends to downplay the importance of his ethnicity. He is responsible for ending the Rwandan Genocide. However, he is often seen as a dictator, and has a bad human rights record.


title: Juche Tower

paragraphs: The Juche Tower is a monument in Pyongyang, North Korea. It was completed in 1982. It is on the eastern bank of the Taedong River, opposite the Kim Il-Sung Square. Its geographic coordinates are 39°1′3.52″N, 125°45′48.05″E. It was made to celebrate the anniversary of Kim Il-Sung's 70th birthday. It is claimed that it was designed by Kim Jong-il.

paragraphs: The 170 meter (560') structure contains 25,550 blocks (365 × 70, one for each day of Kim Il Sung's life, excluding remainder days), dressed in white stone with seventy dividers and capped with a 20 meter high, 45 ton, shining torch allegedly made out of 'special materials'. It is possible to go to the top of the tower. It is said that the tower was built in 35 days and was dressed in 76 days.

paragraphs: In front of the tower is a 30 meter high statue consisting of three figures — one with a hammer, one with a sickle and one with a writing brush (an idealised worker, a peasant and a "working intellectual"). Also close to the tower is a wall of 82 friendship plaques, apparently from foreign supporters. Around the tower there are also pavilions and water features. It is claimed that the tower has become a popular place for North Koreans.

paragraphs: The tower is named after the principle of Juche, developed by Kim Il-Sung. The name of the tower is sometimes translated as the Tower of the Juche Idea or Juche Ideology Tower.


title: Space exploration

paragraphs: Space exploration is a term which describes searching outer space. There are many reasons for space exploration. The most important reasons are for scientific research and the interest of humans to learn more about outer space. For centuries, humans had dreamt of reaching outer space. Better rockets made it possible in the 20th century. On October 4, 1957, the former Soviet Union launched the Sputnik 1, which was the first artificial satellite. This started the Space Race and people later went into orbit and Americans visited the Moon in Project Apollo.

paragraphs: Many space probes have gone to various planets and other places in the solar system to send back information about them. When people first went to space they didn't know how the effects of microgravity would have on humans so they sent animals instead. But in 1961 the soviets launched the first human into space, Yuri Gagarin.

paragraphs: The first telescope was probably invented in 1608 by Hans Lippershey. The Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 2 was the first space telescope launched on December 7, 1968. As of February 2, 2019, about 3,891 exoplanets are discovered. The Milky Way galaxy has more than 100–400 billion stars and more than 100 billion planets. There are about 2 trillion galaxies in the observable universe.


title: Vietnamese language

paragraphs: Vietnamese ("Tiếng Việt") is the official language of Vietnam. Like many other languages in Asia, Vietnamese is a tonal language

paragraphs: Vietnamese has been strongly influenced by Chinese languages. It has a shared history with other languages such as Khmer. It now uses a Latin alphabet that is based on the French alphabet but was written based on Chinese characters, called Chữ Nôm. Few people know Chữ Nôm today.

paragraphs: Most Chinese speakers who live in Vietnam now use regular Chinese script for calligraphy, but some traditional calligraphy artists can still be found. For example, Ho Chi Minh City (sometimes still called Saigon) has a district that is famous for its popular Chinatown.

paragraphs: Vietnamese adds new words when they are needed, especially in the professions of engineering, science, and academics. Also there has been an increase in media use. Some social words from the media are now accepted as common.

paragraphs: The spoken language of Vietnam changes in each province. The greater the distance between provinces, the stronger the difference. There some diffference between the Hanoian and the Mekong is called a dialects. The national education for all of Vietnam now usesthe Hanoian dialect, but each ethnic tribe may still use a different dialect, language, or vocabulary.

paragraphs: There are speaking programs that use Vietnamese. A computer add-on for the Firefox web browser, Vietnamese TTS (Text to Speech), can read text with the 'Vietnamization neededé

paragraphs: Audio libraries are available to reproduce Vietnamese. Google translate uses a TTS reader and sound library to read Vietnamese in simple sentences. Portable electronic translators are also very popular. Kim Tu Dien makes the most common portable dictionary for the Vietnamese market.

paragraphs: The Vietnamese alphabet (In Vietnamese: "Chữ Quốc ngữ", means "The National Scripts").

paragraphs: The combination of two vowels makes a diphthong. The dipthongs used in the Vietnamese language have some rules when used. For example, one rule states that the singular tone for both letters must be placed.

paragraphs: There are more triphthongs in Vietnamese than English, such as 'uye'.

paragraphs: The syllables refers to the Chinese use of two characters as syllables. Vietnamese also uses one syllable as a word.Like in English, people can say just 'go'. For more emphasis, it could be said twice in Vietnamese. That is common in Asia. n languages. Some Australian Aboriginal languages do the same thing. So, 'go - go' () means "go now" but with emphasis. However, 'go' is also common in Vietnamese.

paragraphs: Many single syllables are used in Vietnamese. They can form sentences without pairing with other syllables as they do in Chinese. Readers (and speakers) still notice that many syllables, in most sentences, are paired.

paragraphs: Many words from around the world were needed in Vietnamese. Sushi is a common word used by most languages. When a word is vietnamized, it is changed to sound Vietnamese. China uses the same idea: Ao-da-li-ya in Pinyin means Australia.

paragraphs: The first rule for vietnamization is that Vietnamese word or syllables are not normally broken by a consonant: (Việt Nam).

paragraphs: An example of how to break a foreign word into two syllables is mô tô, one of the words for "motorbike", is a vietnamized version of 'motor' and 'auto' (ô tô). However, the rule has exceptions: lôgic.

paragraphs: When introducing a common foreign word, people vietnamize the word in at least one spoken demonstration for Vietnamese listeners.

paragraphs: The second (softer) rule for vietnamization is that the sound of each syllable must be made a little closer to Viet sounds. Tone marks for vowel letters are added: lôgic is an alteration of logic and would be need for a few subjects.

paragraphs: Any word can be an exception to vietnamization. Names like Barack Obama or Bill Clinton might be attempted by Vietnamese-speakers. In writing, these foreign names will mostly stay together. Names like David are easy for the Vietnamese to say and so they have become very popular in Englishwriting.

paragraphs: Exclamations are very popular in Vietnamese. People can use exclamations as an introduction to things said. People can also comment with a quick exclamation after they say something. The exclamation may express a feeling or just an expression.


title: Valmiki

paragraphs: Maharishi Valmiki (, "vālmīki") (during Lord Rama's time) is celebrated as the poet harbinger in Sanskrit literature. He is the author of the epic "Ramayana", based on the attribution in the text of the epic itself. He is revered as the "Adi Kavi," which means "First Poet," for he discovered the first "śloka" i.e. first "verse", which set the base and defined the form to Sanskrit poetry.

paragraphs: At least by the 1st century AD, Valmiki's reputation as the father of Sanskrit classical poetry seems to have been legendary.


title: Kali

paragraphs: Kali is one of the goddesses in Hinduism and aspect of Parvati. She is the goddess of creation, destruction, time and commonly presented as dark and violent. Various Shakta Hindu cosmologies, as well as Shakta Tantric beliefs, worship her as the ultimate reality or Brahman.

paragraphs: Kali is represented as the consort of Lord Shiva, on whose body she is often seen standing. She is associated with many other Hindu goddesses like Durga, Bhadrakali, Sati, Rudrani, Parvati and Chamunda. She is the foremost among the Dasa Mahavidyas, ten fierce Tantric goddesses.

paragraphs: The name Kali comes from kāla (meaning black, time, death, lord of death, Shiva). Kālī is the feminine of kāla ("black, dark coloured"). Kāla primarily means "black," but also means "time." Kālī means "the black one" and also "time", "beyond time" and "power of time". Since Shiva is called Kāla - the eternal time, Kālī, his consort, also means "the Time" or "Controller of Time". Hence, Kali is considered the goddess of time and change.

paragraphs: She has many names like Kālarātri ("black night"), Kālikā ("relating to time"), or Bhadrakali ("a gentle form of Kali").


title: Petr Čech

paragraphs: Petr Čech (born 20 May 1982) is a retired Czech football player who is the technical and performance advisor as well as an emergency backup goalkeeper for Chelsea. He is thought by some players, journalists and managers as the greatest goalkeeper in the history of the Premier League and, by many, as the greatest goalkeeper to have played for Chelsea. Currently, he plays as a goaltender for the London based ice hockey club Guildford Phoenix.

paragraphs: Čech was thought to be one of the best goalkeepers in the world. He had the record of the least losses in his first season playing for Chelsea and in the same season, he helped Chelsea to win the title of Premier League. He also helped Chelsea to win the same title the next year.

paragraphs: His first club was in his native country of Czech Republic. He stayed there for two years before moving to Sparta Prague. He stayed there for one season. His first overseas club was Rennes of Ligue 1. He played there from 2002 to 2004 before moving to Chelsea. He became a Chelsea player in June 2004. After a very successful 11-year career at Chelsea, he joined Arsenal in June 2015. He retired after playing for four years with Arsenal in 2019. Afterwards, Čech re-joined Chelsea as their Technical and Sporting Director.

paragraphs: He won many titles during his career which consists of: four English Premier League, five FA Cup, one UEFA Champions League and one UEFA Europa League title. Due to these achievements, he is also named amongst one of the most successful goalkeepers in football history.

paragraphs: Petr Čech was born as a triplet (due to which he had a weak skull) to father Václav Čech and mother Libuše Čechová. They were both retired athletes.

paragraphs: In his childhood, he was an actor rather than an athlete and also played the role of "Honza" in the Czech TV series - "The Territory of White Deer" around 1991. He also had interest in ice hockey but his family could not afford the gear (equipment) required to play it, and hence he switched to football. At the start of his career, Čech played as a forward (left winger) but after suffering a leg fracture at the age of 10, he turned towards goalkeeping.

paragraphs: In 2003 he married Martina Čechova, whom he met while he was in high school. Petr and Martina have two childrens named Adéla and Damián. Adéla was born in 2008 and Damián in 2009.

paragraphs: Outside football, Čech has interests in Rock music, Ice Hockey, Gardening, Table Tennis, Tennis, Drumming, Acting etc. He has an account on Youtube through which he publishes videos of his drum covers of various rock songs from rock bands like Coldplay, Incubus, Foo Fighters, Radiohead etc. This led Čech to provide percussion for the Czech Republic's official Euro 2016 tournament anthem. Further, he has also released a charity single with Queen's drummer Roger Taylor for the Bob Wilson Foundation. On being quizzed later about how he learned drumming, Čech told that he learned it by playing Rock Band and Guitar Hero (video games) with his goalkeeping friend Carlo Cudicini, in an interview. He is, currently, a drummer for the London-based folk rock band "Wills and the Willing."

paragraphs: "Excluding matches played in the Community

paragraphs: Shield, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup."

paragraphs: Čech holds many records, out of which the most notable ones are:


title: Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

paragraphs: Kemal Atatürk (or alternatively written as Kamâl Atatürk, Mustafa Kemal , commonly referred to as Mustafa Kemal Atatürk; 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal and statesman who became the first President of Turkey from 1923 until his death in 1938. He is known for being a leader who freed his people from being controlled by other countries and later for starting changes that founded Turkish nation state based on social and economic nationalism, more modern and similar to Western civilization, mainly France (such as the French model of secularism called "laïcité").

paragraphs: Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was born under the name Mustafa in 1881. His birth place was in Salonika, Macedonia (now Thessaloniki, Greece). Salonika was part of the Ottoman Empire at that time. He took the name Kemal as a schoolboy and Atatürk (which means Father-Turk) when he was president. His father's name was Ali Rıza Efendi. His mother's name was Zübeyde Hanım. He also had a sister whose name was Makbule (Atadan). He became an army officer and the most successful general officer of the empire in World War I, fighting in Gallipoli.

paragraphs: When the Ottoman Empire was ended after the war, Atatürk organized a nationalist movement that created the new, secular, Republic of Turkey. This meant that the country's government was no longer led by hereditary or religious leaders. Visitors to Turkey are often surprised by the importance given to Atatürk in present-day Turkey.

paragraphs: Few countries have such a person in their history. He was a successful military commander, and later established a democratic constitution and put in place changes that set Turkey on the road to becoming a new and developing nation. He inspired many later leaders like Habib Bourguiba, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Sukarno, and Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

paragraphs: His six principles still serve today as a sign post for establishing a democratic government:


title: Morumbi Stadium

paragraphs: Morumbi Stadium or Estádio do Morumbi is the biggest stadium in São Paulo, Brazil. It used to have 120,000 seats available, but now its maximum capacity is 77,000 seats for safety reasons. It is the home ground of São Paulo Futebol Clube and its formal name honors Cícero Pompeu de Toledo, who was São Paulo FC's chairman during most of the stadium construction.


title: Bail

paragraphs: Bail is money given to the court to guarantee that someone will go to their trial. If the person does not show up for their trial, the government gets to keep the money.

paragraphs: If the arrested person cannot afford the full bail amount, they can use a bail bond. This is a system where part of the bail amount is paid to a company, and they do the bail paperwork. Unlike placing the full bail to the court, the bail bond payment is not returned.


title: Initialism

paragraphs: An initialism is a word made from the first letters of each word in a phrase. Unlike acronyms, initialisms cannot be spoken as words: they are spoken letter by letter. Examples of initialisms are:


title: Soufflé

paragraphs: A soufflé is a light fluffy dessert food.

paragraphs: It is a lightly baked cake. It can be served as a savoury main dish, but usually it is sweetened as a dessert. It is made with egg yolks and beaten egg whites. The egg whites are beaten to a soft peak meringue.


title: Blossom

paragraphs: A blossom is a flower that grows on stone fruit trees and other plants including oranges, cherries, plums, apples and almonds


title: Marmalade

paragraphs: Marmalade is a topping, like a jam or jelly, that is usually made with oranges. Marmalade can also be made from lemons, limes, grapefruits, or a combination of citrus fruits.

paragraphs: The word Marmalade comes from the Galician word "marmelada" meaning


title: Thomas Hardy

paragraphs: Thomas Hardy OM (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. In the U.K. Hardy is generally thought to be one of the greatest figures in English literature. He lived in the Victorian era.

paragraphs: Thomas Hardy was born in Upper Bockhampton near Dorchester, Dorset. His father was a stonemason. His mother had read a lot. She added to his formal education. Hardy trained as an architect in Dorchester before moving to London to get a job. He won prizes from the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Architectural Association.

paragraphs: Hardy wrote a small number of novels which earned him a high reputation in his lifetime. These include "Tess of the d'Urbervilles", "The Mayor of Casterbridge" and "Far from the Madding Crowd". After the publication of "Jude the Obscure" in 1895 Hardy gave up novel writing but continued to write poetry including an epic poem called "The Dynasts". Hardy set his novels in South West England, calling it 'Wessex'. He invented names for the towns, e.g. "Casterbridge" is Dorchester in Dorset. Hardy died in Dorchester. His ashes are buried in Westminster Abbey.


title: Manhole

paragraphs: A manhole (also called a utility hole, cable chamber, maintenance hole , inspection chamber, access chamber or confined space) is a hole for a person to go into to fix underground services. Some examples of these are sewers, telephone, electricity, storm drains and gas.

paragraphs: The opening is protected by a manhole cover. A manhole cover can also be called a "biscuit". It is designed to stop people falling down the hole and to stop people going underground if they are not allowed to. Manholes usually have metal or polypropylene steps on the wall to make it easier to get into the manhole.

paragraphs: Manholes are usually found in urban areas, in streets and sometimes under sidewalks. They are usually circular to stop the manhole cover from falling into the hole.

paragraphs: In urban areas, electricity being in places it is not supposed to be (stray voltage) has become a big concern. In 2004, Jodie S. Lane was electrocuted after stepping on a metal manhole cover. She was walking her dog in New York City when it happened.


title: Sewer

paragraphs: Sewers are underground pipes that take away dirty water and human waste from homes, offices and many other places. The sewers lead to sewage treatment plants that remove the harmful and unwanted parts, returning clean water to the environment. Many rules and regulations exist for how clean the final discharge (effluent) must be.

paragraphs: Cleaning crews use special trucks and tools to help keep the sewers clear of grease, tree roots, and other blockages. More rural areas may have septic systems where sewers do not yet exist. In many urban areas, street gutters to carry rainwater are combined with sewers.


title: Pajamas

paragraphs: Pajamas (pyjamas in the United Kingdom) are loose clothes that people wear while they are sleeping. Pyjamas usually include trousers and a shirt. Pyjamas are often made of cotton. They are usually worn without underwear. The word comes from , Pajāmā; . Pajamas are often worn without underwear.


title: Barter

paragraphs: Barter is trading one thing for another without using money. Usually the things that are traded are worth the same amount of money, but no money is used in the trade.

paragraphs: Barter is useful when two people each have something the other wants, so they agree on an amount of stuff and then swap it. This can also happen with services, for example a plumber can fix a tap in a winery and be given a crate of wine.

paragraphs: The problem with barter is one person may not want what the other person has. For instance, Bob needs a new pair of shoes and John has those shoes. But Bob has eggs and John needs milk. This is where money becomes useful because anything can be traded for a set amount of money. Bob could pay John for the shoes and John could go to the store and buy some milk.


title: Carlisle United F.C.

paragraphs: Carlsile United F.C. is an English football team in Football League Two. Jordan McDowall is the manager.


title: Baroque pop

paragraphs: Baroque pop is a rock music subgenre that mixes both rock and classical music. It was created by musicians in the 1960s by adding classical instruments like harpsichord, French horns, oboes, and string sections. It became popular with both teenagers and adults at the time. Examples can be found on The Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds" and recordings made by Phil Spector. It is also referred to as chamber pop, among other names.


title: 290s

paragraphs: The 290s decade ran from January 1, 290, to December 31, 299.


title: Leica Camera

paragraphs: Leica is a camera company in Wetzlar, Germany.


title: Tiến Quân Ca

paragraphs: "", meaning "Army March" is the national anthem (song) of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. It was created in 1944 by Nguyễn Văn Cao, the famous Vietnamese composer (person who writes music).

paragraphs: The national anthem has went through many changes ever since the 1940s. Though there are two verses, the first verse is usually only sung as the anthem. Recently, the Vietnam Center for Music Copyright stated that they will "collect royalty" from the song, meaning that it would be under copyright.


title: North American blizzard of 2003

paragraphs: The Blizzard of 2003, also called the Presidents' Day Storm of 2003, or Presidents' Day Storm II, was a very big snowstorm on the East Coast of the United States and Canada, which started on February 15 and ended on February 18, 2003. Lots of snow fell in the big cities in the Northeast US, making it the biggest snowstorm of the snowy winter of 2002-2003. All cities from Washington DC to Boston were covered in a lot of snow, and people could not go around because of the bad weather. In Baltimore and Boston, this was the biggest snowstorm ever recorded.

paragraphs: The storm started in the southern Rockies on February 14, and moved to southern Missouri and the Lower Tennessee Valley in a few days. It brought heavy rain and bad weather to the Deep South, including the nation's first tornado of 2003. In the north, snow and ice affected the Midwest. Southern Iowa and eastern Illinois also got lots of snow, with 11 inches (28 cm) in Des Moines. In Kentucky this was mostly an ice storm, with some places getting up to 3/4" (2 cm) of ice. At the same time, Washington, D.C. and Baltimore got a little bit of snow on February 15. The weather was very cold, and the storm moved very slowly.

paragraphs: But early on February 16, lots of snow started falling in those two cities, and the snow started in Philadelphia. Heavy snow kept coming, falling very fast. It was also very cold, so the snow kept piling up. The heavy snow continued all day, and it reached New York City in the evening. At about the same time, the snow changed to sleet in Washington, D.C., and that's why the city got less snow than other cities. In the rest of the Northeast, however, the snow stayed for much of the night. The sleet changed back to snow by the next morning in Washington, D.C., and soon ended. Blizzard Warnings were given in New York City and Boston, and the snow began in Boston that day. In the evening, the heavy snow ended in New York City, and it ended in Boston on the morning of February 18. After that, the storm weakened and brought a few inches of snow to other parts of New England.

paragraphs: This snowstorm slowed down much of the East Coast with its heavy snow. Washington's Reagan National Airport, Baltimore-Washington International Airport, Philadelphia International Airport, and LaGuardia Airport in New York were closed, and Dulles Airport had one runway open. With snow falling, driving was almost impossible. In Baltimore, the roof of the historic B&O Railroad Museum broke, destroying many valuable engines, railroad cars and train souvenirs.


title: Organization of American States

paragraphs: The Organization of American States (OAS in English; OEA in the other three official languages) is an international organization based in Washington, D.C. It has all thirty-five independent nations of the Americas as its members.

paragraphs: For its work Organization of American States (OAS) uses four languages: English language, French language, Portuguese language, and Spanish language.

paragraphs: Many people and politicians of different countries of North America and South America had thought of an organization of their countries. These countries have also formed different organizations from time to time. Beginning from 1889-1890, these countries held meetings known as the International Conference of American States. At its first conference, 18 countries formed the International Union of American Republics.

paragraphs: In 1910, these countries held the Fourth International Conference of American States at Buenos Aires. They changed the name of the International Union of American Republics to the Union of American Republics. These countries held the ninth International Conference of American States between March and May 1948 at Bogotá. On 30th April 1948, 21 countries signed an agreement. They called this agreement the Charter of the Organization of American States. This was the beginning of the Organization of American States (OAS). OAS started functioning from December 1951.

paragraphs: The Charter of the OAS states the goals for forming the OAS. There are many goals. Some important goals relate to peace and security for these countries; development of democratic governments; and economic cooperation.

paragraphs: All 35 independent nations of America are members of the OAS. Upon foundation on 5 May 1948 there were 21 members:

paragraphs: The later expansion of the OAS included the newly independent nations of the Caribbean (most of whom gained independence only after World War II) and Canada. Members with later admission dates (sorted chronologically):


title: Gustav Holst

paragraphs: Gustav Holst (21 September 1874 - 25 May 1934) was a famous English composer. He was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. He studied composition at the Royal College of Music in London. He also learned to play the trombone. He became Director of Music at St Paul’s Girls’ School, Hammersmith, (London). Some of his music was written for the pupils at this school: for example, the popular "St Paul’s Suite" (1912-1913) for string orchestra. His most famous work is "The Planets" (1918). This is a suite of seven movements for orchestra, each about a different planet (the Earth is not included, and Pluto had not yet been discovered). The music does not really describe the planets, it describes the Roman gods after which the planets are named. Mars, for example, is the “Bringer of War”. It has a very exciting rhythm with five beats in a bar. Jupiter has a tune which has become famous as the hymn “I Vow to Thee, My Country”. He died of heart failure in London.


title: Nelson's Column

paragraphs: Nelson's Column is a national monument of the United Kingdom based in Trafalgar Square, London. The column was built between 1840 and 1843 to commemorate Admiral Horatio Nelson's death at the Battle of Trafalgar 1805.


title: Cousin

paragraphs: A cousin is a term in genealogy. It is not a direct ancestor or descendant, but is a relative who "shares a common ancestor". The word 'cousin' is often used to mean a person's first cousin the child of someone's aunt or uncle.

paragraphs: Cousin relationships can have degree and removal (e.g. a second cousin once removed is a cousin with a degree of two and a removal of one).


title: Livestock

paragraphs: Livestock are domestic animals that are kept by people for purposes including meat, leather, wool or labor. Taking care of livestock is animal husbandry.

paragraphs: Some types of livestock are: cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, and chickens. Chickens produce eggs, pigs produce ham, bulls make leather for their pelts, goats and cows create milk, and sheep create wool. Horses and other large animals do work for people, such as pulling wagons and other vehicles.


title: Breed

paragraphs: A breed is a domesticated race or type of an animal or plant. The term may also be used as a verb. In this way, to "breed" an animal is to make sure that it has descendants that improve the next generation’s qualities. This is also often referred to as "breeding." A "breeder" is a person who maintains and creates different breeds of animals or plants. Methods include inbreeding and crossbreeding.


title: Storm

paragraphs: A storm is a violent meteorological phenomena in which there is heavy rain, and wind due to moisture in the air. Hail and Lightning are also common in storms. More rarely, Tornadoes can occur in storms.

paragraphs: Hurricanes, typhoons, and tornadoes are, often, called storms too but they have special names because they are very, very strong. Storms are studied by scientists called meteorologists. The idea of shipping forecasts started with a concern to save ships from unexpected storms in the North Atlantic. A storm is associated with severe weather and may be marked by strong wind, thunder, lightning and heavy precipitation such as ice. Therefore, the knowledge of the weather condition is extremely important.

paragraphs: There are many varieties and names for storms: "icestorm", "blizzard", "snowstorm", "ocean-storm", "firestorm", etc. The storms called thunderstorms develop in hot, humid tropical areas like India very frequently. The rising temperatures produce strong upward rising winds. These winds carry water droplets upwards, where they freeze, and fall down again. The swift movement of the falling water droplets along with the rising air create "lighting" and sound.


title: Hemisphere

paragraphs: Hemisphere means half (hemi) of the Earth (sphere).


title: Pressure

paragraphs: Pressure means how much force something is pushing on something else with.

paragraphs: It is expressed as force acting per unit area:

paragraphs: (Pressure = Force divided by Area that force is acting on)

paragraphs: It can also be defined as thrust (compressive force acting perpendicularly to the surface of a body) acting per unit area.

paragraphs: Pressure is directly proportional to force and inversely proportional to area., so the same amount of force applied by a hand will produce less pressure than when applied by something smaller, like a finger.

paragraphs: It is important to understand the distinction between pressure and force. Body A may exert a much larger force on a surface than body B, but if that force is spread out over an area larger than that of body B, the pressure exerted will be less than that of body B. More force is not always equal to more pressure, and vice versa

paragraphs: Pressure is also related to density. If a solid or a fluid is more dense, it has a larger weight, and therefore exerts a larger force, over the same area.

paragraphs: The SI unit of pressure is the Pascal (Pa) named after French physicist Blaise Pascal, who did much work on pressure. 1 pascal = a force of 1 newton per square meter. To measure much larger and much smaller pressures, sub-multiples of the unit, such as kilopascal and megapascal exist.

paragraphs: Atmospheric pressure is the pressure exerted by oxygen and other molecules (the atmosphere basically) on a body/point/area at sea level, and is equal to approximately 100000 Newtons or 100Kn.Atmospheric pressures is measured using instruments such as the barometer which uses the principles of pressure and vaccum to measure the atmospheric pressure.


title: Alligator

paragraphs: Alligator is a genus in the order Crocodilia. There are two living species: the American alligator and the smaller Chinese alligator. Together with the caimans, the gharials, and the crocodiles, they make up the order Crocodilia.

paragraphs: The first alligators existed about 37 million years ago. However, older species of alligators have become extinct.

paragraphs: An average adult American alligator weighs and is long. However, they can grow to long and weigh over .

paragraphs: The largest alligator ever recorded, found in Louisiana, was long.

paragraphs: The Chinese alligator is smaller. It is rarely longer than . In addition, it weighs considerably less than the American alligator. Male Chinese alligators rarely weigh over .

paragraphs: Nobody knows how long alligators live, on average. An 80-year-old alligator named Muja, living in the Belgrade Zoo in Serbia, is thought to be the oldest alligator living in captivity.

paragraphs: Although the alligator often moves slowly, it can run very fast for short times, especially in very short lunges. Usually, alligators' main prey are smaller animals they can kill and eat with a single bite. If the prey is not big enough to eat in one bite, they may drag the animal into the water to drown. They may also bite their prey and then spin or wildly until bite-sized chunks are torn off. This is called a "death roll".

paragraphs: Alligators are generally timid towards humans and tend to walk or swim away if a human comes near them. However, they will attack humans to protect their nests. In Florida, feeding wild alligators at any time is illegal. If fed, the alligators will eventually lose their fear of humans and will learn to associate humans with food, thereby becoming both a greater danger to people, and at greater risk from them.

paragraphs: Alligators are native only to the United States and China.

paragraphs: American alligators live mostly in the southeast United States. According to the 2012 Scholastic Book of World Records, Louisiana has the largest alligator population, with about two million. Most American alligators live in Louisiana or Florida, which is home to about 1.3 million alligators. Southern Florida is the only place where both alligators and crocodiles live side by side.

paragraphs: American alligators cannot live in saltwater very long because they do not have salt glands. Because of this, they live in freshwater environments, such as ponds, marshes, wetlands, rivers, lakes, and swamps, as well as in brackish environments.

paragraphs: Once, the American alligator was endangered. In the 1970s, the United States government protected alligators under the Endangered Species Act. The species made a major recovery and are now thriving in many wilderness areas. The alligator is the state reptile of Florida, and is a symbol of the state.

paragraphs: The Chinese alligator currently is found only in Eastern China, in a small area in the Yangtze River basin (along the coastline of the Atlantic Ocean.

paragraphs: The Chinese alligator is extremely endangered. Scientists believe that only a few dozen Chinese alligators are left in the wild. Indeed, far more Chinese alligators live in zoos around the world than in the wild. Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge in southern Louisiana has several in captivity in an attempt to preserve the species. Miami MetroZoo in Florida also has a breeding pair of Chinese alligators.

paragraphs: American alligators were once an endangered species in the United States. By the 1950s, there were fewer alligators in the United States than ever before. This happened because of alligator hunting and because people were building over alligators' habitats.

paragraphs: In 1967, the United States government listed the alligator as endangered. This meant the alligator was in danger of becoming extinct.

paragraphs: However, according to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS):

paragraphs: Today, the American alligator is no longer endangered, but it is still a "protected species." It is protected because the alligator looks like some species of crocodiles and caimans, which are still endangered. Because of this, the Fish and Wildlife Service categorizes the American alligator as “threatened due to similarity of appearance.” Their goal is to prevent people from killing endangered crocodiles and caimans because they have mistaken an alligator for a crocodile or caiman. Because of this, killing alligators, and trading in products made from alligator meat or skin, are all regulated by the Fish and Wildlife Service.

paragraphs: Alligators and crocodiles are different in many ways. For example, in general:


title: Curitiba

paragraphs: Curitiba (pron. or ) is one of the most important cities in the southern part of Brazil. Curitiba is the capital of the state of Paraná. The city has more than 1,800,000 people living in it. It covers an area of 430.9 km². It is the 7th largest Brazilian city and 4th largest in the Southern Cone (the south part of South America). The city has the largest population and the largest economy in Southern Brazil. The urban area of Curitiba is looked after by 26 local governments and has 3,335,588 people living there.

paragraphs: Curitiba started in 1693 as a small village. It became an important trading stop because a road was opened. The road joined the southeast area to Southern Brazil. In 1853, it became the capital of the newly made province of Paraná. Since then, the city has seen a lot of urban growth.

paragraphs: During the 19th century, many European people arrived, including Germans, Poles, Ukrainians and Italians. They added to the cultural mix that still is there. The city made plans and laws to slow the growth of the city and that led to the city being famous for its new ideas and connection to the environment. Most of the new ideas had to do with the public transport system.

paragraphs: Today, the city has a sense of cosmopolitan life and is said to be the safest city in Brazil. It is the Brazilian capital with the best quality of life and is a diversified industrial center that gives Curitiba the rank of 4th largest economy in Brazil; the largest in the southern region. The city is said to be one of the five best cities to invest in Latin America and the 49th city with the greatest influence in the world.

paragraphs: Large companies have moved their headquarters to the city because of Curitiba's structure, its international airport, which serves the whole southern region (the Afonso Pena International Airport), its access to the Port of Paranaguá, and the junction of highways and railroads linking the south region directly to the southeast of the country. Many multinational automotive (car) companies are in Greater Curitiba, which makes Curitiba the second largest automotive center in the country. Curitiba is an important cultural, political, and economic center in the country.

paragraphs: Curitiba has high rates of education and is home to the oldest Brazilian university, the Federal University of Paraná. People from Curitiba are called "curitibanos" in Portuguese, and "Curitibans" in English.

paragraphs: The name "Curitiba" comes from the large number of Brazilian "Pines", commonly called "Parana Pine" ("Araucaria angustifolia") which grew in the region before the city was built. There are two reasons for the name: the Indians of the Tupi nation, namely the Jê and the Guarani, used the word "corae" ("pine seed") "atuba" ("a lot"). It may also come from joining the words "kurit" ("pine tree") and "yba" ("large amount"), also from the Tupi language, together. So, "Curitiba" means something like "Land of Abundant Pines".

paragraphs: Curitiba is known for the urban differentiated solutions, notably for the integrated (connected) system of transport of people, together with the regular transit routes, has served, especially from the 1970s, to encourage urban development.

paragraphs: The public transport system in Curitiba features large passenger terminals connected by roads used only by the buses "Vermelhos" ("Red Buses"), the "Expressos" ("Express Buses"), "Articulados" ("Articulated buses"), and "Biarticulados" ("Biarticulated buses"). The biarticulated bus travels on long trips, stopping only on the tube-station stops to pick up or drop off people. Each biarticulated bus can carry 270 people - and complemented with the speedy silver "Ligeirinho" (literally, "speedy"), with an modern design, has fewer stops, therefore shortening distances – when compared to the "Linha Direta" ("Direct Line") – due to saved time, and feeders marked by their own colors.

paragraphs: This model has inspired similar tests in cities of other countries, such as Los Angeles and New York City, where, in the 1990s, the installation of an experimental line of "ligeirinho" in the city connected it to the World Trade Center. The system is the source of inspiration for the TransMilenio in Bogotá, Colombia, Metrovia in Guayaquil, Ecuador,as well as the Orange Line of Los Angeles, California, and for a future transportation system in Panama City, Panama.

paragraphs: Around the city and commonly joined with the terminals of buses, are the "Ruas da Cidadania" ("Streets of Citizenship"), which are municipal centers that bring together municipal departments and public agencies, state and federal, points of trade, services, free Internet access and equipment, and leisure, such as playgrounds and space for all kinds of sports.

paragraphs: Recent measurements indicate that the green area of Curitiba is of 51.5 metres per capita - about three times the minimum area recommended by the UN - one of the highest in Brazil and higher than cities such as London or Paris. These areas are made mostly by municipal parks and forests to protect the forests' gallery of local rivers. There are also a variety of city squares and public grounds, usually associated with public and wooden roads.

paragraphs: The urban zoning of the city and the integrated transport system has allowed a development of urban architecture, taken by some analysts as strong and balanced without the main problems of large modern cities. Curitiba was recently recommended by UNESCO as one of the city-models for the reconstruction of the cities of Afghanistan, after the military action that happened in that country in 2001.

paragraphs: Curitiba was the inspiration for Francis Ford Coppola, In the 20th century when he was looking for the "perfect city" in order to create the New York "Megalopolis" (a huge city "which is good for its citizens" for his movie). The director lived in Curitiba for a few weeks and praised the city in many of his lectures around the world, as the only Brazilian city praised by this famous producer of movies. He did not make the movie, however.

paragraphs: In the 1990s, the city won the United Nations Environment Program prize - UNEP, from the UN, said to be the top prize of the environment in the world. In June 1996, the chairman of the Habitat II summit of mayors and urban planners in Istanbul said Curitiba was "the most innovative city in the world." In 2003, the city received the title of Capital of Culture of the Americas by the organization CAC-ACC. In 2006, Curitiba hosted the event COP8/COP-MOP3 the UN. Today, Curitiba is considered one of the best examples of urban planning worldwide.

paragraphs: In 1991, the city asked the French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau to open the Free University of the Environment, being an place for learning about the environment and ecology for the population. Since was created, the UNILIVRE is a reference about studies in economically sustainable care of ecosystems, serving as a model for other similar institutions in various parts of the world, as in Cordoba in (Argentina), Río Grande in (Patagonia), Seoul in (Korea), Guadalajara in (Mexico), and in many other Brazilian cities.

paragraphs: The capital of the state of Paraná was the only Brazilian city to enter the 21st century as a reference for national and international urban planning and quality of life; a search by the American magazine Reader's Digest found that it was the Brazilian city better placed in the ranking of the best cities in the world to live in. In March 2001, a poll sponsored by the UN pointed Curitiba as the best capital of Brazil by the Index of Living Conditions (ILC) and second best among the HDI of Brazilian capitals. The city is the gateway to entering the Mercosur (the southern zone common market of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay).

paragraphs: The city recently was identified as the Brazilian capital with the lowest rate of illiteracy, and also indicated as number 1 in the national education between the Brazilian capitals, and one of the five best cities for investment in Latin America.

paragraphs: According study of the "América Economia" magazine, published in the "Special Edition Cities 2006", which has the title "The City Innovative", Curitiba is ahead of important capitals as Mexico City, Buenos Aires and Brasilia, occupying fifth place. The magazine considered the main Latin American economies or those that have relevance to the business conducted on the continent. In front of the Paraná state capital are just São Paulo, Brazil, first in the ranking; Santiago, Chile; Monterrey, Mexico; and Miami, USA. In 2009, it was one of the three "smartest" cities in the world according to Forbes magazine. The criteria were caring about the environment, quality of life, urban planning, good infrastructure and a strong economy.

paragraphs: The city was the first in Brazil to introduce the separation of domestic garbage on a wide-scale basis. The acclaimed program "Lixo que não é Lixo" (literally, "Garbage that isn’t Garbage"; a successful recycling program) created in 1989 has become an ideal model of caring for the environment. Actually, Curitiba is the Brazilian city that recycles garbage more often: currently, 22% of all the waste produced - about 450 tons each day - are recycled.

paragraphs: In 2007, the city was the third place in a list of "15 Green Cities" in the world, according the American website "Grist". In the same year, the city was featured in the American newspaper "The New York Times"; the news report, with 8 pages, features many changes made in the city, saying that Curitiba remains a destination for urban planners from various parts of the world, fascinated with the public transport system, program for recycling of garbage and the group of parks in the city.

paragraphs: The MasterCard Emerging Markets Index 2008, created to evaluate and compare the performance of cities in different functions that connect markets and commerce worldwide, shows Curitiba as the safest city in Brazil - considering details such as freedom of expression, risk of natural disasters and personal security - in addition to being in 49th position among the cities with the greatest influence in the world.

paragraphs: Curitiba won the "Globe Award Sustainable City 2010" and was chosen unanimously by the committee. At the same year, Curitiba was elected by the "América Economía" Magazine as one of the best cities for doing business in Latin America.

paragraphs: Curitiba used to be a forest where the tribe Tingüi used to live. During the 16th century, Europeans began to go to war with this tribe.

paragraphs: Curitiba is on the first plateau of Paraná, in the most flat area, also called plateau curitibano. It covers a geographical area of 432.17 km², located at 25º25'40"S latitude and 49º16'23"W longitude. The coastline of the state (the Atlantic Ocean) is 70 km away from the city. The capital has a length of 35 km from north to south, and 20 km from east to west.

paragraphs: Distance from Curitiba to some cities of Brazil and Mercosur:

paragraphs: The city has surface area of 432.17 km² in the First Plateau of Paraná. The terrain of Curitiba is a little wavy. The average altitude of the city is 934.6 m above sea level, ranging between minimum and maximum values of 900 and 1,000 meters, approximately.

paragraphs: Curitiba has a wavy topography of smooth rounded hills, an terrain a little wavy, giving a relatively regular appearance.

paragraphs: The municipality of Curitiba has an average altitude of 934.6 m above sea level, where the highest point is to the north (1,021.0 m). To the south is the situation of lower altitude (864.9 m).

paragraphs: There are mountain ranges and sets of rocky elevations in almost all around the city, being the most remarkable and impressive of the "Serra do Mar" (Portuguese for "Mountain Range of the Sea"), in the east that separates the plateau from the coast of Paraná.

paragraphs: Curitiba's climate is usually mild all year round though locals complain that the weather can change at anytime. It can be hot in the winter and cold in the summer. Even in one day, there can be great differences.

paragraphs: The flat terrain, lakes and marshland help its mild damp winters, with an average temperature of 13 °C (57 °F), but it can fall a bit below 0 °C (32 °F) on the coldest days. During summer, the average temperature is around 21 °C (70 °F), but sometimes gets around 32 °C (90 °F) on hot days.

paragraphs: Curitiba is a humid city in the subtropical zone in southern Brazil. It is the coldest of Brazil's twenty-six state capitals, because of the altitude. The city is on a plateau 932 m (3107 ft) above sea level. The city is in the Atlantic Rainforest region with the higher peaks of a mountain range making a barrier that separate it from the Atlantic Ocean just 105 km (65 miles) away.

paragraphs: The catchment area of Curitiba consists of several rivers and streams that cross the city in different directions, grouped in six river basins. The main rivers that form the watershed of the city are: Atuba River, Belém River, Barigüi River, Passaúna River, Ribeirão dos Padilhas and the Iguaçu River, all with characteristics of dendritic drainage. Since the 1970s, Curitiba has working on alternatives to minimize the negative impacts of urbanization on rivers. An example of this was the construction of parks along the rivers with artificial lakes, which retain the water for longer periods of time, minimizing floods. Currently, after many studies about the local water passages, almost all the rivers are in canalization process. Other alternatives developed to minimize the effects of urbanization are the implementation of the programs for environmental education, inspection and monitoring, elaboration and application of legislation and infrastructure works.

paragraphs: The index reaches 1,500 mm rainfall on average per year, because the rain is constant in the climate of the city. It happens, among other reasons, because of the large deforestation of the Mountain Range of the Sea ("Serra do Mar"), a natural barrier to moisture.

paragraphs: Curitiba is in the area of vegetation called Araucaria moist forests, composed of steppes, Araucaria forest and other formations.

paragraphs: In the local vegetation still appear remnants of the parana pine ("Araucaria angustifolia"), which resisted the action of modern civilization. The parana pines are in private and public areas, now protected by environmental legislation which prevents it from being overturned. The Municipal Secretariat of the Environment maintains a botanical garden and three green houses for the annual production of 150,000 seedlings of native and exotic tree species, 16,000 seedlings of fruit trees, 260,000 seedlings of flowers, foliage and underbrush, on top of the total maintenance of 350,000 seedlings. The green area of the city is one of largest in Brazil.

paragraphs: The vegetation of Curitiba is also characterized by the existence of a large quantity of purple and yellow "ipês" (tabebuias), making a spectacle of beauty to the landscape of the city during the flowering in the end of winter. Currently, the yellow ipê is the most common tree in the city.

paragraphs: "Bairros" (neighbourhoods) of Curitiba are geographical divisions of the city. There is no delegation of administrative powers to neighborhoods, although there are several neighborhoods associations devoted to improve their own standards of living.

paragraphs: Curitiba is divided into 9 regional governments (boroughs), covering the 75 neighbourhoods of the city. All districts are served by the system of integrated urban transport.

paragraphs: In the second half of the 19th century many European immigrants formed colonial settlements. These settlements developed into the modern-day districts and neighbourhoods of Curitiba.

paragraphs: The centre ("Downtown" in American English or "CBD" - central business district - in other English use), is the place where the city was founded. It is the busiest area, most of the financial institutions of Curitiba are there.

paragraphs: The growth of urban population of Curitiba, that turned the city in a modern metropolis, has generated some social problems. Like other major Brazilian cities, Curitiba has seen the emergence of slums in some neighborhoods and around the city, and the growth of street inhabitants, that many times had been sent of other cities and States, and are dropped in the streets of the city. This fact has made a small growth of crime level, but is not comparable to other major Brazilian cities.

paragraphs: Moreover, many rivers contains levels of pollution; the landfill (deposit of garbage) is almost full; the public transport sometimes is not enough for the quantity of people (in the rush hour), and the Brazilian government does not yield funds for the construction of a subway in the city.

paragraphs: A variety of architectural styles, ancient and modern, make the urban landscape of Curitiba be very interesting and represent an enormous cultural heritage.

paragraphs: The architecture that is in Curitiba has a strong influence of the culture of immigrants, from various countries, mainly Europe.

paragraphs: Buildings in eclectic architecture, neoclassical, colonial, Byzantine, oriental, and styles inspired by the land of immigrants confirm the diversity and cultural richness of Curitiba. It is possible to find places that still keep lambrequins (short ornaments, typical of some European places in the past, on top of roofs or windows), palaces in the urban area, buildings made between the nature, and even the first rotating building in the world, who are harmoniously distributed in the city.

paragraphs: Also, buildings that are integrate with nature is a tendency in the 21st century and reflect an important style of Curitiba, as one can see in some famous places of the city.

paragraphs: Because it is a planned city, the administration uses a rigid plan for growth, aiming to facilitate the use of public transport. The idea was to organize the city along transport corridors. The buildings are close to major bus lines. The rule is simple: buildings with more than eight floors can only be built in the first block, near the corridor. Buildings with less than eight floors, in the second block, and in other, smaller buildings and houses. This encourages the system bus, that is widely used, reducing the number of cars.

paragraphs: In 2007, there were 1,797,408 people living in the city of Curitiba. In 2000, Curitiba was the seventh biggest city in Brazil. It is the biggest city in the southern part of the country, as big as second and third largest cities in the south together. In the same year, the city was the leader in longevity, with the life expectancy at birth at 71.6 years of age.

paragraphs: In 2007, there were 3,230,000 people living in the urban areas around Curitiba. The population density was 4.159,4 inh./km². The census showed the numbers: 2,503,250 White people (77.4%), 584,000 Pardo people (18.2%), 93,000 Black people (2.9%), 45,000 Asian or Amerindian people (1.4%).

paragraphs: Curitiba is the economic center of the southern Brazil and is among the four largest GDP of the country. The city concentrates the largest portion of the structure of government and public services of the Paraná state and hosts major companies in the sectors of trade, services and financial things. The city has the strongest economy of the south of the country, because the work of export of more than 900 factories just in the "Cidade Industrial" neighborhood and major automobile industries which are in the Greater Curitiba.

paragraphs: The city was elected several times as "The Best Brazilian City for Business", according to rankings done by the "Exame" magazine, in partnership with the consultancy Simonsen & Associates.

paragraphs: In July 2001, Curitiba has become the first city in the country to receive the prize "Pole of Information Technology", granted by "InfoExame" magazine, because the performance of their companies of technology. According to the magazine, the number of companies of "Technology and Information Technology" based in Curitiba submitted in 2001 a turnover of US $1.2 billion, representing a growth of 21% over the previous year. According to a study done by the International Congress & Convention Association (ICCA), Curitiba is the sixth Brazilian city with the largest number of international events.

paragraphs: In 2007, the respected "Veja" magazine indicates Curitiba as the best destination for business in Brazil. Ninety-four experts, chosen by the magazine, show the capital as the best Brazilian city for investment. The city is becoming one of the largest and most important centers of technology, attracting giants of the sector of information technology in the areas of software and hardware, becoming the national pole.

paragraphs: Analyzing the GDP of Curitiba, it appears that in the period from 1995 to 2000, the economy grew about 3% a year.

paragraphs: About the GDP per capita, in 2000, the city had an income 37% higher than Brazil. In the same year, the economic sector that compose most of GDP in Curitiba was the service sector with 38.8%, followed by the industrial sector with 36%.

paragraphs: Approximately 40% of GDP comes from the industry and the rest of activities related to the tertiary sector.

paragraphs: In the 1990s, the city started a project called "Faróis de Saber" ("Lighthouses of Knowledge"). These Lighthouses are free educational centers which include libraries, Internet access, and other cultural resources. This community libraries works with municipal schools, have a collection of approximately 5000 books, and be cultural reference and leisure for the community, and are designed to diversify the opportunities of access to knowledge, expanding the area of formal education.

paragraphs: In each quarter of the city, these "Lighthouses of Knowledge" have been implanted containing library and room of computer science, to public use, mainly by students; job training, social welfare and educational programs are coordinated, and often supply labor to improve the city's amenities or services, as well as education and income.

paragraphs: Among the Brazilian capitals, Curitiba has the lowest rate of illiteracy, and also number 1 in education between the Brazilian capitals.

paragraphs: Curitiba has many universities, being "Universidade Federal do Paraná" ("Federal University of Paraná") the most important of the region, and the oldest of Brazil.

paragraphs: Portuguese is the official national language, and is the primary language used in schools. But English and Spanish are part of the official high school curriculum.

paragraphs: Every year, tourism grows in Curitiba. To attend this demand, the "Linha Turismo" ("Tourism Line") started in 1994. It is a special city tour that visits the principal tourist attractions in Curitiba, featuring comfortable white buses with big windows and a shape similar to that of streetcars. The vehicles have a sound system that plays recorded messages describing sites in three different languages: Portuguese, English and Spanish. It is possible to visit the parks, squares and the rest of the city's tourist attractions. Considered one of the best in the country, the "Linha Turismo" is available every thirty minutes and has a two and a half-hour tour, which travels around forty-four kilometers. To go on the tour you must buy a ticket with five tickets that give you the right to get on and off bus four times. Users can therefore choose the touristic point where they want to stay longer. Then, they can embark again to complete the remaining part of the itinerary. Today the line goes to 25 key reference points in Curitiba, completing 44 km in 2 and ½ hours.

paragraphs: According to a study done by the International Congress & Convention Association (ICCA), Curitiba is the sixth Brazilian city with the largest number of international events and, according to the FIPE, is the third city to receive foreign tourists for business. In 2006, the city placed 6th among the best Brazilian cities to hold events and tourism business; in the same year, the flow of tourists outnumbered the number of inhabitants. Out of about the 2 million visitors, approximately half landed the business. To attend the growing demand, the number of hotels in the city has developed and is now considered the fourth largest in the country. Curitiba and its Metropolitan Area have a modern hotel infrastructure, with 150 hotels and service flats totaling 18 thousand beds (as per May 2005). The good restaurants and customized services are approved by 92.4% of those who leave the city, according the Secretariat of State for Tourism of Paraná. In 2007, Curitiba was elected as one of the 4 best Brazilian cities for travel and tourism, according to a major Brazilian magazine about tourism. In 2008 another important magazine said that Curitiba is the best cultural destination and better cost-benefit to tourism in the South region of Brazil.

paragraphs: The pine nuts (seeds of Parana Pine) are probably the most unique elements in the gastronomy of Paraná and Curitiba; it is used not only as aperitif, but also with traditional recipes that pass from generation to generation. Among the ingredients used, the pine nuts is a major ingredient, not only in Midwinter party ("Festa Junina", the annual Brazilian celebration which take place in the beginning of the Brazilian winter), but also in daily diet. Pancakes, breads, cakes, soups and appetizers are just some of the recipes prepared with this seed. The colonization and migration contributed to the mixture of flavors and dishes in the state. Indigenous and even Brazilians from other states added its revenue in local cuisine.

paragraphs: In Curitiba, one can find restaurants of all kinds. There are options for all tastes and palates, the regional to international cuisine. The city has food establishments specializing in German, Polish, Chinese, Arabic, Japanese, Italian, Portuguese, Indian, Mexican, etc., and, of course, regional cuisines of Brazil. Santa Felicidade neighborhood is considered to have good Italian food; it is the place where some of the first Italian immigrants arriving in Paraná settled, where they dedicated themselves to the agricultural production, planting herbs, wine and cheese willow trees, the greatest attraction in Santa Felicidade is to be the gastronomic district of Curitiba, with a large number of restaurants offering typical food and wine from the colony. There are also wineries and wine bars, craft stores and willow furniture. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest restaurant of the Americas is in this Curitiba neighborhood.

paragraphs: Every Sunday morning, in the Historic Area, in the old stoned streets at the "Largo da Ordem" and the pavement giving access to Garibaldi Square, with the Rosário Church, the Flowers Clock, the Memory Fountain and the Società Giuseppe Garibaldi make the space for the Crafts Fair, an exciting meeting point with live music. The Feira do Largo da Ordem ("Largo da Ordem's Street Fair") it is an open market, where you can find handicrafts, paintings, sculptures, typical foods, street artists, old car exhibition and a lot more. It is also possible to watch live small musical shows from local musicians or see some clowns doing humorous performances.

paragraphs: The Oficina de Música de Curitiba ("Music Workshop of Curitiba") was established in 1983, with the proposal to discover and train new talent. Nowadays its one of the biggest Brazilian events for training, retraining and improvement of musicians. Join the Workshop of Music, held every year in January, students and teachers from all over Brazil (about 2,000 students and more than 100 teachers); among students and teachers, the Office of Music had, over editions, with representatives from throughout Latin America (mainly from Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay), United States, France, Switzerland, Holland, England, Germany, Norway, Spain, Italy, Portugal, China and Israel. The best instrumentalists, conductors and singers of Brazil, by classical music and popular, within the framework of teachers and directors of the workshop. Grand masters of other countries are special guests and, apart from giving lessons, make unprecedented concerts for the public of the city.

paragraphs: Curitiba has a strong relationship with the performing arts and theatre. Since 1992, the city hosts a major festival of theatre, the Festival de Teatro de Curitiba, composed of international attractions, large national attractions, local presentations, and alternative exhibitions, which each year attracts a large number of tourists and made an expressive cultural movement. Until 2007, were presented officially 1607 spectacles, to an audience estimated at 1.2 million people. The city has theatres with excellent techno-acoustic feedback, as the "Teatro Guaíra", one of the largest rooms in number of spectators by South America.

paragraphs: In November happens the Maratona Ecológica Internacional de Curitiba ("Curitiba International Ecological Marathon"). This marathon is known as the hardest in Brazil, because happens in the end of the year, when there usually is warm weather in the city (because it is summer in the Southern Hemisphere), and the hilly course, with many of the inclines being in the last 10 km. To compensate the hard course, runners count with good structure and enthusiastic fans cheering along the course.

paragraphs: In December, the city becomes the "Capital of Christmas", and can be one of the most popular tourist destinations at this time of year, because of the mild climate, and Curitiba has many free cultural attractions. The most traditional is the choir of the "Palácio Avenida": 160 poor children of charities institutes sing Christmas songs in windows of a historic building adorned with 90 thousand lamps, attracting thousands of spectators. It is probably the best known Christmas event in Brazil. Moreover, the entire city be decorated in two official events, the "Christmas of Light" and "Enchanted Christmas", where several tourist attractions are decorated for Christmas, as well as free theatre shows on public places and parks, bands and orchestras in public places showing traditional musics, many giant Christmas trees around the city, special fairs with Christmas things, prizes for the most lighted houses, etc.

paragraphs: Every year, the Crystal Fashion Week occurs in the city, together with the Fashion's Forum. It is the biggest event about fashion in the southern Brazil, and generally, the launching party occurs in the "Castelo do Batel" ("Batel Castle") (an old mansion from the beginning of the 20th century, launched in space for events), and the parades and presentations happen in the Shopping Crystal Plaza. Participants of the fashion week include national and international celebrities, fashion designers, fashion professionals and people interested in style, which has famous marks of clothing - and footwear stores and jewelry shops, as occurred in the XVIII edition of the event in 2008.

paragraphs: Every year, happens in Curitiba the largest Gay Pride Parade in Southern Brazil, called Parada da Diversidade ("Parade of Diversity"), covering not only the discussion of gender but also other social minorities historically discriminated. With a mix of celebration and political claim, it happens since 1995.

paragraphs: The city hosts the Casa Cor Paraná - an exhibition of decoration, architecture and ambiance; in 2008, the 15th edition of the event in the state of Paraná had the participation of 116 exhibitors, featuring new trends on architecture, decoration and design. In 2007, had the visitation of 30,000 people in five weeks.

paragraphs: Curitiba has several museums. Some of the most important are:

paragraphs: Many space for presentations in Curitiba are tourist attractions in themselves. The Parque das Pedreiras ("Quarries Park"), for example, which includes the area that was once a stone quarry and has now been named the Pedreira Paulo Leminski, as well as a theater called the Ópera de Arame ("Wire Opera House"), has already become a tourist point. The Pedreira Paulo Leminski is an open area where events can be held for large audiences, for it has a capacity of up to 30,000 people. The Wire Opera House was built in a record-breaking period of 75 days to host the first edition of the "Festival de Teatro de Curitiba". Its metallic structures, which look like wires, have become an architectural mark in the city and nationwide.

paragraphs: In 1971, was inaugurated the Teatro Paiol - a construction of 1874, which was used by the Brazilian Army as arsenal of gunpowder and ammunition, turned into a cultural and scenic area. The Guaíra Theater is one of the largest theaters in all of Latin America and a point in the itinerary of many large nationwide touring plays and performances. In the city’s historical sector, the Memorial of Curitiba is a new and modern site, which found its inspiration in the Parana Pine.

paragraphs: All the parks of the city have places for folklore and cultural presentations by various ethnic groups of Curitiba.

paragraphs: The first movie designed in Curitiba was in 1897, shortly after the invention of cinematograph by Lumière Brothers. Currently, the Cultural Foundation of Curitiba runs two movie theaters in the downtown area: the "Cine Luz" and the "Cinemateca" (for special movies), which offer many art movie programs at affordable prices. The "Cinema a Um Real" project ("Watch a movie for one Real") is available every Sunday, featuring movies targeted to a more popular taste with cheap prices (R$1,00 - around US $0,40), allowing citizens from low-income classes to go to the movies. Furthermore, the city runs the "Cinema nos Bairros" project ("A Movie Theater in Your Neighborhood"), which was designed to allow a larger portion of the population to get to know video productions. The project offers movie sessions for free and schedules weekly sessions at schools, "Ruas da Cidadania" ("Citizenship Streets"), parish halls, neighborhood associations as well as other institutions that take part in this partnership project. At these places children get a chance to see how movie projectors work and also have a better grasp of each movie, so that they become increasingly interested in the art of moviemaking.

paragraphs: Today, Curitiba has, approximately, 70 movie theatres, with daily programming, and is the first city in Brazil to have an IMAX cinema. It is in the Palladium Shopping Center, which is the biggest mall in Southern Brazil.

paragraphs: The city has many areas and buildings for sport. Even sports not very popular in Brazil (like American football or baseball, for example) are played in the city. Golf was introduced at around 1904 by English immigrants. Famous golfers in Curitiba include Walt Disney, who played a game in 1939.

paragraphs: Curitiba also houses the Training Center of the Brazil national gymnastics team.

paragraphs: Soccer is the most popular sport, with several clubs based in Curitiba, such as:

paragraphs: Curitiba is also one of the 18 cities to hold games of the 2014 FIFA World Cup to be held in Brazil.

paragraphs: The executive is currently exercised by the mayor Beto Richa (elected in 2004, reelected in 2008 and with a mandate until 2012), by the deputy mayor (vice mayor) Luciano Ducci and the municipal secretaries appointed by the mayor. The City Council of Curitiba was created in 1693, and has a total of 38 Councillors elected since 2004.

paragraphs: Curitiba is divided into nine regional governments (equivalent to subprefecture), who manage the 75 districts of the municipality. The "Rua da Cidadania" ("Street of Citizenship") is the symbol of administrative decentralization; it is a reference point and meeting place for the user of municipal utilities. In a regional context, taking into account the needs and rights of the citizen in trade, leisure and services, facilitating the access of the population for different services in the areas of health, justice, policing, education, sport, housing, environment, urban planning, social service and supply, etc. Several units work annexed to the terminals of public transport in Curitiba. Their nuclei offer services in the local, state and federal areas.

paragraphs: The official symbols of the city are the flag, the seal, and the hymn composed by Ciro Silva and Bento Mossurunga. In addition, through the municipal Law 10,236, was introduced as "place symbol of the city of Curitiba" the historic building of the Federal University of Paraná.

paragraphs: The Greater Curitiba is the 118th largest metropolitan area in the world. Estimates from the 2007 Census show that the Metropolitan Area of Curitiba have 3,172,357 inhabitants, the second most populated in the south of Brazil. Have an area of 15.418,543 km².

paragraphs: Created in 1973, the Metropolitan Area of Curitiba is currently composed of 26 municipalities, including the capital.

paragraphs: With an industrial park of 43 million square meters, the Metropolitan Area of Curitiba has attracted large companies such as Audi, VW, Nissan, Renault, New Holland, Volvo, Fiat, ExxonMobil, Sadia, Kraft Foods, Esso, HSBC and Siemens.

paragraphs: The Greater Curitiba is home to the Afonso Pena International Airport (in the city of São José dos Pinhais) and the motorsports circuit Autódromo Internacional de Curitiba (in the city of Pinhais).


title: Crocodilia

paragraphs: The Order Crocodilia is a group of Archosaur reptiles. There are three living families.

paragraphs: Crocodiles are the nearest living relatives to birds, because they are both survivors of the Archosaurs.

paragraphs: Crocodiles are first found in the Upper Cretaceous period. They are descendents of a much wider group of Archosaurs called the Crocodylomorphs. These, in the Upper Triassic, were slender land-living forms, the sister group of the dinosaurs.

paragraphs: The Crocodylomorphs, in turn, were part of an even larger group, the Crurotarsi, which are first seen early in the Triassic.


title: Biometrics

paragraphs: Biometrics is a field of study which aims to identify or recognise people based on traits they have. Given these traits, a system can be trained to recognise certain people, with a certain probability. Better training usually lowers the probability of falsely identifying someone.

paragraphs: Most often, the two types are combined, as in voice or signature recognition. Most of these biometrics are seen as "behavioral", but some are linked to the physiology, e.g. of the vocal tract, or of the hand.

paragraphs: A person may be identified by a fingerprint, or by letting the person sign a document. The data could then be kept. Someone who is checking can again take the fingerprint or the signature, and compare it to the old version.

paragraphs: When selecting features, those choosing must also look at social acceptance. Taking a fingerprint may be ok, taking a blood test may not be. Some biometric data is also easier to fake, e.g. signatures.

paragraphs: Also, when voice samples are taken, these may be distorted (worsened), because only a telephone line is available. Telephone lines cut off some bandwidth from the signal.

paragraphs: Other than for passports, biometric methods are also used in some banks.


title: Bandwidth (signal processing)

paragraphs: Bandwidth is used to measure electronic and other types of communication. This includes radio, electronics, and other forms of electromagnetic radiation, Bandwidth is the difference between the electronic signal having highest-frequency and the signal having the lowest-frequency.

paragraphs: In computer networks, bandwidth is often used as a term for the data transfer bit rate. More easily, the amount of data that is carried or passed from one point to another in a network, in a given time period (usually a second).

paragraphs: Many systems work by means of continuous movements, or "oscillations". Each complete "back and forth" it makes is called a "cycle". The number of cycles every second is its "frequency". Frequency is measured in "cycles per second", most often called "Hertz", or "Hz" for short.

paragraphs: Systems have at least one frequency, and usually many different frequencies. For example, sound waves travel as vibrations. People can hear sound frequencies low as 20 Hz, and high as 20,000 Hz. A "band" of frequencies is a continuous range of frequencies; the band of frequencies people can hear is from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz.

paragraphs: Bandwidth is the width of a frequency band; The width is the highest frequency minus the lowest frequency. In the hearing example, the bandwidth of a person's ears is about 20,000 Hz - 20 Hz = 19,980 Hz.

paragraphs: Bandwidth is used with electromagnetic spectrum (for example, radio waves, light waves and X-rays). Such waves are oscillations of electric and magnetic fields. For example, the lowest United States AM radio channel has the band of frequencies from 535,000 Hz to 545,000 Hz. It has a bandwidth of 10,000 Hz (545,000 - 535,000 = 10,000). All United States AM radio broadcasting stations have this bandwidth (But, the location of each band is distinct). The lowest United States FM radio channel has the band from 88,000,000 Hz (88 MHz) to 88,200,000 Hz (88.2 MHz). It has a bandwidth of 200 kHz. You can see that the width of an FM band is 20 times the width of an AM band.

paragraphs: The word "bandwidth" has been used incorrectly in digital data communication to mean "data carrying capacity". There is no such thing as "digital bandwidth"; the proper term for the data carrying capacity of a communication channel is channel capacity.

paragraphs: In general, the channel capacity of a system increases with the bandwidth used for communication. However, many other parts are also important. Therefore, in most systems, the channel capacity is different from the channel bandwidth.


title: Hertz

paragraphs: The hertz (symbol: Hz, definition: 1/s) is a unit derived from time which measures frequency in the International System of Units (SI). Frequency is how often something happens. A frequency of 1 hertz means that something happens once a second. The note Middle C (the C in the middle of the piano) is 261.65 (262) Hz. This means there are 262 vibrations every second, which is heard as the note Middle C, when that piano key is played.

paragraphs: Humans are able to hear sounds between 20-20 000 Hz. Owls are able to hear sounds between 200–12000 Hz.

paragraphs: The basic unit is 1/second. The unit is named after a German physicist Heinrich Rudolf Hertz.

paragraphs: 1000 hertz is 1 kilohertz. 1000 kilohertz is 1 megahertz, 1000 megahertz is 1 gigahertz: (see table)


title: Batman Returns

paragraphs: Batman Returns was the second (and last) Batman movie directed by Tim Burton. It was released on June 19, 1992 worldwide to critical and financial success although a backlash criticized the movie's dark and mature undertones.

paragraphs: A couple throws their child into the sewers because he is deformed. 33 years later, the child becomes the supervillain, Penguin. He kidnaps businessman Max Shreck, blackmailing him into helping him become a citizen of Gotham City using evidence of his corporate crimes. Meanwhile, Max finds out his secretary, Selina Kyle, has found out he is planning to build a power plant which will drain Gotham City of its electricity. Max pushes her out of a window, ensuring that she will not tell anyone. However, a flock of alley cats lick her semi-corpse, reviving her. She returns home, suffering a mental breakdown, becoming the supervillain, Catwoman.

paragraphs: Penguin makes one of his costumed henchman to kidnap the mayor's baby while he "saves" him, becoming a hero in the eyes of the people however, billionaire Bruce Wayne is suspicious of the Penguin and finds out that he is the leader of the Red Triangle Circus Gang who commits crimes throughout Gotham. As Batman, Bruce decides to protect Gotham from the gang. After Penguin finds out his parents are dead and his name is Oswald Cobblepot, Max decides to make Penguin the mayor of Gotham City because the current mayor will not approve Max's power plant.

paragraphs: To do this, Penguin makes the Red Triangle Circus Gang create a riot, making the people lose all faith in the mayor but Batman stops it. During the riot, Catwoman vandalizes Shreck's Department Store. When Batman and Penguin confront each other, she intervenes, saying "Meow" before the store blows up(she rigged it to blow). Penguin escapes but Catwoman fights Batman. Batman pushes her off a rooftop but a sandbox on a truck saves her. The next day, Penguin and Catwoman work together to destroy Batman. Bruce and Selina also have a romantic relationship. Penguin and Catwoman kidnap the Ice Princess, an actress chosen to turn on the Gotham City Christmas Tree Lights, framing Batman for it. Batman finds her but Catwoman takes her to a rooftop where Penguin releases a swarm of flying bats which make the Princess retreat backwards, falling off, making the people believe Batman killed her. Catwoman rejects Penguin's advances, prompting him to kill her, unsuccessfully though. Batman enters the Batmobile and finds out that Penguin has control over it. Penguin takes it on a devastating rampage but Batman regains control over it, escaping death.

paragraphs: During the rampage, Batman recorded Penguin's evil plans and plays it during Penguin's election speech, turning the people against him. Penguin goes mad with rage and kidnaps all the first-born sons of Gotham City and Max too. Batman saves all the babies and pushes Penguin into toxic liquid. Catwoman tries to kill Max but Batman stops her. Max shoots Batman, knocking him out and Catwoman claims that she has six of her nine lives left but Max shoots her four times, leaving her with two lives. Catwoman kisses Max with an electrical taser between their lips and connects it to a broken wire, creating an explosion which kills Max but Batman cannot find Selina's corpse. Penguin emerges from the water but the heat kills him.

paragraphs: Afterwards, Alfred, Bruce's butler, drives Bruce home. Suddenly, Bruce spots Selina's shadow in an alley. He investigates the area, only finding her black cat, Miss Kitty, taking her with him. He and Alfred exchange Christmas wishes. Finally, Batsignal lights up in the night sky and Catwoman rises up, staring at it, confirming that she is alive.

paragraphs: Tim Burton was not willing to direct a second Batman. However, when the studio told him if it was a Burton movie, not a Batman movie, it got his attention and he agreed to direct it. They cast Michael Keaton as Batman, Danny DeVito as Penguin and Annette Bening as Catwoman. However, Bening dropped out due to pregnancy and every actress from 20-45 on the plant wanted to be Catwoman. When Michelle Pfeiffer expressed an interest, something clicked to the producers thinking "You know, she's perfect. She also could be both Selina Kyle and Catwoman." The final shot of Catwoman staring at the Batsignal was shot during post-production and cost US$250 000.

paragraphs: The movie was released on June 19, 1992 worldwide. It received a score of 81% approval on Rotten Tomatoes and grossed $282,822,354 worldwide, being the sixth highest-grossing film of 1992. It is then and now, the best reviewed Batman movie from the Burton/Schumacher movie series.