title: Amphibian

paragraphs: Amphibians are members of the class Amphibia. The living ones are frogs (including toads), salamanders (including newts) and caecilians. They are four-legged vertebrates which are cold blooded.

paragraphs: Amphibians lay their eggs in water, usually in a foam nest. After hatching they are tadpoles, which live in the water and have gills. The tadpoles change into adults in a process called metamorphosis. When they are adult, they have lungs to breathe instead of gills, and legs. Adult amphibians also use their skin to take in oxygen, and some species of salamanders do not have lungs.

paragraphs: The earliest amphibians evolved in the Devonian from lobe-finned fish which had jointed leg-like fins with digits. They could crawl along the sea bottom. Some had developed primitive lungs to help them breathe air when the stagnant pools of the Devonian swamps were low in oxygen. They could also use their strong fins to hoist themselves out of the water and onto dry land if necessary.

paragraphs: For tens of millions of years, during the Carboniferous and early Permian, amphibia were top predators on land, especially in the low-lying tropical river systems. In drier conditions, they were less effective, and the ancestors of mammals and reptiles (the Synapsids and Sauropsids) gradually took over the land. They laid cleidoic eggs, which had hard shells, and could be laid out of water. Most of the early large amphibians went extinct in the Triassic period; a few survived to the Lower Cretaceous.

paragraphs: The only living amphibiana today are the Lissamphibia. These include the Anura (frogs and toads), Caudata (salamanders and newts) and Gymnophiona (caecilians). They are all rather small, compared with mammals or reptiles. The smallest frog and vertebrate in the world is the New Guinea frog ("Paedophryne amauensis"). The biggest amphibian is the Chinese Giant Salamander ("Andrias davidianus").

paragraphs: Amphibia are found everywhere in the world, except Antarctica, and there are about 5,565 different species: 88% of them are in the Anura. In number of species, they are more successful than mammals, though they occupy a smaller range of habitats. However, it is said that amphibian populations have been declining all over the world. Conservation is therefore an important concern.

paragraphs: Amphibians like to live near freshwater in warm weather. There have also been species which live in forests, deserts and arctic conditions. Adult amphibians use lungs, and they also get oxygen through their skin, so long as it is moist.

paragraphs: Amphibians may be camouflaged in brown and green, and if so they are prey for birds and reptiles. Their colour gives them camouflage, which is their main defence.

paragraphs: Alternatively, many other amphibia have toxic skin, which is harmful to predators. These are poisonous to eat. This is an important defence against predation. Connected to this is the use of warning colouration. They may be in vivid colours of red, black, and yellow. Research into the rough-skinned newt and the garter snake shows this is a typical case of co-evolution. Where they live in the same area, the newts get more poisonous, and the snakes develop more resistance to the poison.

paragraphs: Amphibians have colour vision and depth of focus for clear sight. They also have eyelids, glands and ducts which keep the eyes moist. These are adaptations to life on land: amphibia were the first vertebrates to have these features.

paragraphs: Some amphibians, such as the common coquí, lay eggs out of water (in this case, on palm leaves). The eggs develop directly into adult frogs, by-passing the tadpole stage. Others, like mudpuppies and olms, have a different development. In a process called neoteny, they become sexually developed as tadpoles, and continue to live in the water with gills.

paragraphs: The order Anura includes the frogs and toads. There is no fundamental difference between frogs and toads. Frogs have a short body, webbed digits (fingers or toes), protruding eyes, forked tongue and no tail. They are exceptional jumpers: many of their features, particularly their long, powerful legs, are adaptations to improve jumping performance. They often live in semi-aquatic or inhabit humid areas.

paragraphs: A popular distinction is often made between frogs and toads on the basis of their appearance. Toads' warty skin is an adaptation for making their toxic slime. Apart from these glands, their skin is dry, and that is an adaptation to drier habitats. These features have evolved a number of times independently: convergent evolution. The distinction has no taxonomic basis. The only family exclusively given the common name "toad" is Bufonidae (the "true toads"), but many species from other families are commonly called "toads".

paragraphs: The order Gymnophiona contains caecilians. They look like worms or snakes, but they are amphibians. Scientists say it is difficult to study them because most of them live underground. Their skins make a mucus that makes them slippery enough to slip through the dirt. They can make a toxic material in their skins, like many frogs and toads do.

paragraphs: Newts are salamanders which spend their life in the water even though they are adults. They are classified in the subfamily Pleurodelinae of the family Salamandridae.

paragraphs: Respiration differs between species of salamanders. Species that lack lungs respire through gills. In most cases, these are external gills, visible as tufts on either side of the head. Some salamanders that are terrestrial have lungs that are used in respiration, although these are simple and sac-like, unlike the more complex organs found in mammals. Many species, such as the Olm, have both lungs and gills as adults.

paragraphs: Some terrestrial species lack both lungs and gills and perform gas exchange through their skin. Even some species with lungs also respire through the skin in this manner.

paragraphs: The skin of salamanders secretes mucus. This helps to keep the animal moist when on dry land, keeps their salt balance while in water, and lubricates during swimming. Salamanders also secrete poison from glands in their skin, and some additionally have skin glands for secreting courtship pheromones.

paragraphs: Axolotls, from the genus "Ambystoma" (or mole salamanders), are neotenic amphibians. This means they get to sexual maturity and reproduce while still in a larval form.

paragraphs: Most salamanders and newts have some defence against predators, usually a poison which makes them uneatable. Their bright colours are warning colouration. If, instead, they are camouflaged, this means they are probably not protected by a toxin.

paragraphs: The second line of defence is to shed their tail, which can grow again. The tail wriggles a bit, attracts the predator while the business part of the salamander moves off.

paragraphs: There are over 350 lungless salamanders. Most of them are terrestrial and are active in daytime. Lungless salamanders may communicate with their nose. Slender salamanders are found in the Pacific Coast. They are sometimes called "worm salamanders". This is because they have slimmer (skinny) bodies than most salamanders. If touched, slender salamanders will bounce on the ground and then run away.

paragraphs: The order Gymnophiona includes the caecilians. These are long, cylindrical, limbless animals that look like snakes or worms. Their skin has circular folds, increasing their similarity to the segments of earthworms. Some are aquatic but most live underground in burrows they hollow out. Many caecilians give birth to live young, and in the animals that do not do this, the eggs may undergo metamorphosis before they hatch. Caecilians are found in tropical Africa, Asia and Central and South America. There are 171 different species.

paragraphs: They are burrowing amphibians. This means that they dig themselves in wet soil like worms. Their heads are strong and have bones that help them dig. Because caecilians have a lot of vertebrae, they can bend easily.

paragraphs: Amphibians are the only vertebrates to go through metamorphosis. This means that their young look different from their adult. Amphibians usually reproduce in early spring to late summer, though some reproduce in winter and fall. Most frogs and toads, such as the common frog ("Rana temporalis"), gather in large groups to ponds, rivers, swamps and lakes to breed. Male frogs and toads may croak to attract a female. When a female frog has chosen a mate, the male frog hops on top of her. They swim together as she lay eggs in the water. Sometimes, males fight to mate with a female. Frogs can lay up to 100 to 60,000 eggs in one clutch. This is called "frogspawn".

paragraphs: It is a fundamental feature of amphibia that their reproduction is, one way or another, tied to water. This is because their eggs, although covered by jelly, cannot survive long in dry conditions.

paragraphs: Most female amphibians lays her eggs in water. Males release sperm to fertilize them. The eggs are laid one by one or in batches. Batches of eggs can look like a long chain or a ball of foam. They may wrap their eggs around plants in the water. They do this so their eggs will not drift away.

paragraphs: Tree frogs usually lay their eggs on a leaf in a rainwater pool. Bullfrogs, such as the male American bullfrog and the male African bullfrog, stay with their tadpoles and protect them from predators. They also move their tadpoles by using their nose to dig a channel to another place where there is more water. They do this so their tadpoles do not dry up. Most amphibians leave their eggs to look after themselves. Fish and other animals eat most of their eggs. Male midwife toads carry their eggs on their backs. When they are ready to hatch, the toad goes back to the water and release them.

paragraphs: Tadpoles do not have lungs when they hatch and instead have gills. Because gills have a large surface area, tadpoles can get more oxygen by using them. Young tadpoles have their gills exposed. When they get older, their gills are covered over by skin. When they hatch, tadpoles eat constantly. The tadpoles eat what is left of their eggs, this is usually their first food.

paragraphs: Frog, toad and newt tadpoles eat plants such as algae and pondweed or filter feed. When they get older, they may start to feed on tiny animals in the water. Salamander tadpoles and surinam horned toad tadpoles are carnivorous throughout their tadpole stage. Surinam horned toad tadpoles are very aggressive. They eat other tadpoles if food is nowhere to be found. The eggs of the spadefoot toad hatches in three days. Their tadpoles complete their metamorphosis in six to eight days. This is because spadefoot toads lay their eggs in places where water will dry up soon.

paragraphs: Tadpoles of frogs and toads start to grow their back legs first. They then grow front legs a few weeks later. When tadpoles grow their limbs they are called "froglets". This is because they look rather like a smaller version of adult frogs and toads. Tadpoles will also start to grow a backbone after growing their front limbs. After this, their mouths get bigger and their eyes will stick out more. After a tadpole has grown its hands, their tails continue to get shorter until there is nothing left of them.

paragraphs: Salamanders and newts can be found living in streams. Salamanders can be found in rotten logs, holes or underground places that are wet such as under leaves. Web-toed salamanders live in habitats where there are a lot of rocks. They like to hide under rocks and stones. The tailed frogs, like to live in cold water habitats. In their habitat, amphibians like to live where there are a lot of places to hide. These include nearby small trees, logs and plants. While underwater they like to hide near aquatic plants and rocks. Tree and dart frogs like to live in forests on trees, plants and on the ground under leaves.

paragraphs: Some amphibia can be found living in the desert or the arctic. The desert froglet lives in the desert. They are only active at night, when temperatures are much cooler. It rarely rains in the desert and because of this, desert frogs will burrow to keep cool. They use their mucus to keep them wet. They will spread it all over their bodies. The mucus will harden to keep the water it produces from escaping. Once the desert frog has done this, it will stay in its cocoon and will not move. They will stay like this for several months to years until a rainstorm. Desert frogs and toads lose water more quickly. The spadefoot toad will spit on the ground. Once they have done this, they will lay on it. Their bodies will take in the water. Their bodies are thin and have a lot of blood vessels, this helps them to be able to take water through their skin. The California newt can survive a fire by spreading its mucous over its body.

paragraphs: Arctic frogs such as the wood frog, moor frog and the common frog has to live with freezing temperatures for a long time. They will burrow in places where they can get into a cocoon. Like every living organisms, amphibians must have water to survive. Amphibians however, need freshwater. Some frogs such as burrowing frogs can keep water in their bladders. This allows them to stay underground without drying up. The crab-eating frog lives near water that is somewhat salty. They will eat saltwater crabs. Torrent salamanders lives in cold waters. Because of this they have shorter lungs. Short lungs helps them to float easily.

paragraphs: Amphibia are world-wide, though restricted in distribution by their need for moist or watery habitats to reproduce.

paragraphs: Many amphibia have secretions in their skin which makes them toxic. They do not produce toxins themselves. They get toxins from what they eat. They eat insects in their habitat. These insects get the poison from a plant. The toxin has been discovered in beetles. This means that they are likely the cause of poisons found in amphibians. Amphibians do not produce batrachotoxin in captivity, which means that it is not harmful to touch them. The American Indian tribe comechingóns used the toxins of the arrow dart frogs when hunting.

paragraphs: Newts in the genus "Taricha" has a poison called tetrodotoxin, a neurotoxin. Scientists believe that toxins in newts are caused by bacteria in the genera "Pseudoalteromonas", "Pseudomonas" and "Vibrio". Because of this, the newts do not have a lot of predators. However, some species of snakes have develop a resistance. This means that they can eat newts without the toxin hurting them. It is a case of co-evolution.

paragraphs: Amphibians' eyes have lids, glands and ducts. They have good colour vision Caecilian eyes are small and dark. Most of them are blind. Most amphibians have a good sense of smell, even underwater.

paragraphs: The skeletal system of amphibians are similar to other four-legged animals. They have a spine, rib cage, long bones such as the humerus and femur. They also have short bones such as the phalanges, metacarpals, and metatarsals. Most amphibians have four limbs, except for caecilians. The bones in amphibians are hollow and do not weigh much.

paragraphs: Amphibians are predatory animals. They mostly eat live invertebrates and animals that do not move too quickly. These include caterpillars, earthworms, crayfish, water beetles, snails and dragon fly larvae. Many amphibians use their sticky tongues to catch their prey. They will swallow the animal whole, but may chew it just a bit for it to go down their throats. The Ranidae family and the Ceratophrys genus will eat almost anything they can fit into their mouths. These include rodents, birds, ducklings, small fish and small mammals. Most frogs are cannibalistic, and will eat each other if food is no where to be found. Some amphibians will even eat their own tadpoles and eggs if there is no food for them.

paragraphs: In captivity, pet frogs will be given crickets, worms, small fish, rodents and fruit flies. Adult amphibians can help decrease the mosquito population by eating most of their larvae.

paragraphs: Caecilians eat earthworms, termites and beetle larvae, and also small lizards. Caecilians rely on their smell to find food. They like to eat earthworms and will find them by picking up their chemical signals. Salamanders and newts are fed a lot of different types of worms. These include blood worms and earthworms. They can eat small fish such as goldfish, fathead minnows and guppies. Salamanders also eat crickets and pinkies, which are baby rats.

paragraphs: The amphibian population have been decreasing from all locations in the world. Scientists have said that the declining of amphibians is one of the most critical threats to global biodiversity. A number of causes are believed to be involved. These include habitat destruction, over-exploitation, pollution, introduced species, climate change, destruction of the ozone layer, and diseases like chytridiomycosis. Ultraviolet radiation damages the skin, eyes and eggs of amphibians. However, the declines of amphibian population are still not understood.

paragraphs: The Amphibian Conservation Action Plan (ACAP) have released a global strategy to help the amphibian population. It was developed by over 80 leading experts. The Amphibian Specialist Group of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) are working on another global strategy to help amphibian populations. The Amphibian Ark (AA) is an organization that was created to help the public be aware of the decline in amphibian populations. They have been working with zoos and aquaria around the world. They try to encourage them to create a natural habitat for threatened amphibians. Another project is the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project (PARCP) which are trying to spread awareness about chyridiomycosis. The disease is spreading into eastern Panama and threatening all amphibians living there.

paragraphs: On January 21, 2008, Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) released a statement to the public. It was created by Helen Meredith, who identified nature's most endangered species. Meredith explains that 85% of the top 100 endangered amphibians list are receiving little to no conservation attention.

paragraphs: Bullfrog legs are a source of food for Southern United States and the Midwestern United States. People hunt bullfrogs at night near rivers. The bullfrogs' legs are cooked, while their backs are fried. In China, bullfrogs are sold alive for eating. However, they are later cooked dead with vegetables. In the state of California, people must have a license to catch bullfrogs for food. In schools, bullfrogs are dissected in biology classes. Usually, this is done in grammar school. The dissecting is a method for teaching students the anatomy of a bullfrog. The emperor newt is hunted in China for food. They are also used there for medicine. Burrowing frogs are able to hold water in their bladder, because of this indigenous Australians use them to drink water.

paragraphs: Amphibians are also kept as pets. They are kept in aquariums or a terrarium. A terrarium is a tank that is decorated with plants and soil on one side. On the other side, there is water. Most amphibians would need one place for land and another for water. Each type of amphibian should have its special needs taken care of. Semi-aquatic amphibians need both land and water divided in the tank. Tropical frogs would need mist and high humidity in their terrariums. Water for amphibia needs dechlorination. The chlorine in tap water can kill amphibia. Some amphibians popular exotic pets, and are found in pet stores that sell reptiles.


title: Father

paragraphs: A father (also called dad or daddy) is a male parent. Most human beings are born from a mother and a father. The father of a person's husband or wife is their father-in-law. Fathers determine the gender of their child through a sperm cell which either contains an X chromosome (female), or Y chromosome (male).


title: Gill

paragraphs: Gills are what fish, amphibians, and some other animals use to breathe in water. They have feathery parts which cause water to move across the animal's body, which contains dissolved oxygen, after the animal has swallowed the water. The oxygen is absorbed into the animal's blood, causing carbon dioxide moves out of the animal's blood and into the water through the gills.

paragraphs: Fish and frog gills are hidden on the sides of their heads. Sharks have many gills slits on their necks. Baby salamanders have gills that stick out like leaves from their heads.

paragraphs: In mushrooms, gills are the spore-bearing structure in agarics (gilled mushrooms) while fish and some young amphibians use them to get oxygen others breath.

paragraphs: Some insects that live in water have a plastron, which is a kind of gill. It is a patch of special hairs that keeps the water away from the insect's spiracles. This allows them to continue to take in oxygen and remove carbon dioxide while they are under water.


title: Frog

paragraphs: Frogs are amphibians and vertebrates of the order Anura. There is not much difference between frogs and toads, and they are not classified separately. This is because the toad lifestyle, with its dry, rough, skin, is an adaptation to living in drier habitats. The toad form has evolved a number of times independently, an example of convergent evolution.

paragraphs: Frogs can live on land and in fresh water. They cannot survive in salt water. Their development is by metamorphosis. They usually hatch as tadpoles from eggs, which are laid by a female frog. The eggs are called frogspawn. Tadpoles have tails and gills. The next stage, the "froglet," develops lungs to breathe air instead of gills, but still have tails. The fully grown frog has long legs and no tail.

paragraphs: Adult frogs can jump with their legs. They have long tongues that they use to catch bugs. They make a sound called a croak. Some species live in trees, and some types of frog are protected by being poisonous. Frogs live all over the world. If a foreign species of frogs is introduced to another country, the local ecosystem might be affected.

paragraphs: Frog legs are sometimes eaten as food in France, China, and the Midwest of the United States. The killing of frogs might have an effect on the ecosystem. For example, frogs eat mosquitoes. If frogs are killed, then there are fewer frogs to eat mosquitoes, so more and more mosquitoes are born. Therefore, in these areas, there are more diseases that mosquitoes carry, because there are more mosquitoes. However, for this to apply, frogs would have to be a major predator of mosquitoes. This would only rarely be the case.

paragraphs: Frogs are members of the class Lissamphibia, the only class of amphibia which has survived to the present day.

paragraphs: Frogs are cold blooded animals. This means that they need heat to keep up their body temperature. If the temperature outside is cold, amphibians will not be active. Amphibians can get heat from the sun, usually indirectly: whereas reptiles can bask in the sun, amphibia usually do not, because it dries their skin. Some frogs aestivate during winter or during droughts. They usually look for underground place to aestivate. These include burrowing in muds and holes. They survive by getting oxygen through their skin. They come out when the weather outside is favourable.

paragraphs: Frogs have skin with no scales or hair. They can take in oxygen from either water or air. Mucus that helps their skin to stay wet and slippery. Many amphibians have toxic skin. They have secretions which makes their skin poisonous.

paragraphs: Many frogs are semi-aquatic. They may live on both land and in water, and in any event prefer damp places. These include ponds, swamps, rivers and lakes. Most adults live where they grew up. Most amphibians lay their eggs in foam nests.

paragraphs: A toad is a type of frog. It is not a scientific term, but a popular one. The reason it is not used in taxonomy is that the toad life-style has evolved a number of separate times in various groups of frogs.

paragraphs: All toads are frogs, but not all frogs are toads. Toads mainly evolved in dry climates, so many toads have rougher, browner skin. Many toads also burrow, though that depends on the environment that the toad evolved in. Toads lay eggs in strings attached to rocks, unlike true frogs which lay eggs in a jelly-like mass. Also, toads generally have shorter legs and fatter bodies. Toads have paratoid glands behind their eyes which are used to make poison.

paragraphs: Even though it is true that most frogs develop from tadpoles, and tadpoles develop from egs laid in water, there are exceptions. Normally the eggs are fertilised after they are laid, that is, outside the body. However, some use internal fertilisation, though how the males do it is not known. When they are fertilised internally, they also lay eggs, but this time the eggs are already fertilised.

paragraphs: However, a new species has been discovered in Sulawasi, Indonesia, which gives birth to live tadpoles. The frog is now known as "Limnonectes larvaepartus". The Limnonectes family are known as 'fanged frogs' because of twin projections on their lower jaws that are used in fighting. Sulawesi is an island which is rapidly losing its forests. The tropical forest is where this frog lives.

paragraphs: Despite these limitations, frogs are widespread, and have adapted to many climates, even deserts. They rely on specific adaptations to survive. Members of the genus "Cyclorana" live in the Australian central desert. They bury themselves underground where they create a waterproof cocoon in which to aestivate during dry periods. Once it rains, they come out, find a temporary pool, and breed. Egg and tadpole development is very fast in comparison to those of most other frogs, so breeding can be completed before the pond dries up.

paragraphs: Some frog species are adapted to a cold environment. The wood frog ("Rana sylvatica"), whose habitat extends into the Arctic Circle, buries itself in the ground during winter. Although much of its body freezes during this time, its high concentration of glucose in its vital organs protects them from damage.

paragraphs: There are a number of tiny tree frogs which develop from eggs laid in water pools on tropical leaves many meters above the ground. Most of these species do not come to the ground except to mate. Tree frogs have evolved a number of times, but they all have almost identical adaptations. Many millions of years of convergent evolution have resulted in almost identical morphology and habits.

paragraphs: Overall, frogs are a successful and widespread group. There are about 4,800 recorded species, which is over 85% of living amphibian species. They are one of the five most diverse vertebrate orders.


title: Chemical compound

paragraphs: A chemical compound is a chemical formed from atoms of different chemical elements. The different atoms are joined by chemical bonds. Each compound has a fixed ratio between the elements.

paragraphs: The elements stick together so strongly that the compound behaves like one substance. The chemical that is made depends upon what atoms it is made of and how they are joined together.

paragraphs: Chemical compounds can be liquids, like water which is made from atoms of hydrogen and oxygen joining together. They can also be solids, like sodium chloride that contains sodium and chlorine atoms. We get compounds from natural sources such as plants or make them in laboratories. Compounds can be made from others by scientists and these are called "synthetic chemicals".

paragraphs: When different compounds are mixed together they may have a chemical reaction.

paragraphs: Some chemical compounds can be dangerous but are safe if they are used the right way. Most dangerous chemicals are only used by scientists who have had special training in how to handle and use them. These chemicals might be poisonous, corrosive, explosive, they may catch fire easily, or they may react with other substances.

paragraphs: People who work in factories near chemicals often wear special clothes that stop the chemicals from hurting their body.


title: Wood

paragraphs: Wood is the main substance in trees. It is mainly formed by the xylem vessels which carry water up the plant. Wood is used to make buildings and furniture, and also for art. Firewood is a fuel. Paper is made from wood fibres. Wood is a renewable resource although it has become scarcer in recent centuries.

paragraphs: Wood is very hard to cut, but it is also very strong. A lumberjack is a person who cuts down trees. After a tree falls, the wood in it can be cut into long, straight pieces called lumber. Lumber can then be used to make posts, or put together with nails, screws, or even glue to make wooden frames for other shapes.

paragraphs: Wood comes in many different kinds. Oak, maple (hardwood) and pine and redwood (softwood) are widely used types of wood. Woods are usually divided into softwood (from conifers) and hardwood from flowering plants.

paragraphs: For a long time and even today, many buildings, mostly houses, have been made of wood. To build a house with wood, lumber is put together into frames that are the shape of each wall, floor, and roof of the house. Then the frames are placed into the shape of a house. Then the frames can be covered to make solid walls. Sometimes the walls are made of more wood.

paragraphs: When the outside of a house or building is covered in wood, the wooden pieces are usually flat and stacked. These pieces are called shingles. Wood is also sometimes used in other parts of the house, like doors and staircases. Wood is also used to make fences.

paragraphs: Carpenters make houses of mostly soft wood such as pine. For many kinds of furniture they use harder wood such as maple or oak. When someone builds something with wood, they often paint it. Paint protects and beautifies the wood. Some people like the look of wood, so they put clear paint called "varnish" on it. This helps to protect the wood and gives it a shiny finish.

paragraphs: Some people make art with wood. Sometimes sculptures are built with wood: see Grinling Gibbons.

paragraphs: Regular pencils are made of wood. Inside is the "lead", which is not actually lead. Clay or wax and graphite form the "lead" in a pencil.

paragraphs: Wood is turned into paper in large factories called paper mills. Heat, chemicals and machines separate the cellulose fibers from other parts and press the fibers into paper.


title: Chalk

paragraphs: Air and water do not wear chalk away easily, so when chalk is next to the sea, it often makes a large cliff. The "White Cliffs of Dover" in Kent, England are a good example of this. When chalk is near the top of the ground, it often makes chalk hills.

paragraphs: Chalk holds water, so these chalk hills may have a lot of water in them. When the weather is very dry, water comes slowly from the chalk. Chalk is mostly formed from the calcareous (CaCO) skeletons of countless tiny planktonic algae called coccoliths. It was laid down in the Upper Cretaceous period.

paragraphs: Blackboard chalk is not real chalk. It is really gypsum (calcium sulfate), but often people call it "chalk". People use it for drawing on hard things, because it is soft. If this chalk is rubbed on something hard or rough, it will leave a mark. People often write with chalk on a chalkboard or blackboard. A chalk eraser or water can be used to clean the chalk marks away so the board is clean again. Shops usually sell blackboard chalk in sticks that are about 5 cm long.

paragraphs: There are also big pieces of soft chalk for children to write on the ground with, for example on concrete (such as a sidewalk) or on asphalt (such as a driveway). It is usually okay to write on the ground with this kind of chalk, because the rain will wash the chalk away.

paragraphs: Tailors' chalk is not real chalk either. It is talc (magnesium silicate). Tailors use it to draw on material when they are making clothes.


title: Utilitarianism

paragraphs: Utilitarianism is a theory in philosophy about right and wrong actions. It says that the morally best action is the one that makes the most overall happiness or "utility" (usefulness). This is not limited to the happiness caused by a single action but also includes the happiness of all people involved and all future consequences.

paragraphs: The theory essentially states that an action is justifiable if it brings the most amount of happiness for the greatest number of people.

paragraphs: The theory was made popular by 18th and 19th century British philosophers like Francis Hutcheson, Jeremy Bentham, and John Stuart Mill, but the idea goes all the way back to ancient times.

paragraphs: Bentham wrote about this idea with the words "The greatest good for the greatest number", but did not use the word "utilitarianism". It was Mill, a follower of Bentham's ideas, who named the idea.


title: Village

paragraphs: A village is a place where people live, normally in the countryside. It is usually larger than a hamlet and smaller than a town or city. In some places, it may be a kind of local government. The dwellings in a village are clustered fairly close to one another, not scattered broadly over the landscape.

paragraphs: In the past, villages were where most people lived. Villages were a usual form of community for societies that do subsistence agriculture, and for some non-agricultural societies. After the industrial revolution, when people started making a lot of things in factories, people lived more in towns. Moving to towns is called urbanization. When villages grow a lot they can grow into towns and then cities. This is what happened to Dubai and Chicago.

paragraphs: In The U.K. the biggest difference between a hamlet and a village is that many villages have a church.

paragraphs: The word "village" is not used in most states. However, in twenty US states, a "village" is a sort of local government, similar to a city but with less power and for a smaller place. But this is not so in all the United States. In many states, there are villages which are bigger than the smallest cities in the state. The difference is not the population, it is how much power the different sorts of places have, and what they do for people living there.

paragraphs: In New York state, a village is a place which is usually called a town.

paragraphs: In many states, a "village" is only a place where people live, with no legal power, similar to a hamlet in New York state. The name for these is "unincorporated villages".


title: Chelmsford

paragraphs: Chelmsford is the only city in the county of Essex, England. It is 32 miles northeast of London, about halfway to Colchester. It is nearly in the centre of the county and it is the county town of Essex, but it is not the biggest or the oldest town in the county. It is the centre of the "borough" of Chelmsford, which is a bigger place than the city.

paragraphs: Chelmsford has the smallest cathedral in England. John Dee, who wrote the English version of "Euclid", went to the Cathedral school in the sixteenth century. Chelmsford is also home to some of the Anglia Ruskin University campuses.

paragraphs: The number of people living in the borough is about 170,000; about 115,000 of those live in the city.

paragraphs: About 20,000 people from Chelmsford travel to London every weekday. Another 20,000 people work in Chelmsford who live outside the city. This makes Chelmsford the busiest "ordinary" railway station in England (not including junctions and terminuses). (The busiest of all is Clapham Junction railway station).

paragraphs: The A12 road from London, which the Romans first built between London and Colchester, went through the town, but now goes around the east, so the number of cars in the town is smaller.

paragraphs: Chelmsford has been an important centre for industry since the 19th century. It became home to the UK's first electrical engineering works (in 1878), and its first ball bearing factory (in 1898).

paragraphs: In 1898, Guglielmo Marconi, the "father of radio" opened the World's first radio factory in Hall Street, with about 50 workers. In 1920 the factory was also the home of the first official sound (radio) broadcasts (radio people could listen to from a long way) in the United Kingdom. In 1922 the world's first "regular" radio broadcasts started at the Marconi Research Centre at Writtle near Chelmsford.

paragraphs: Places of interest in and near Chelmsford are for example Writtle, where Robert I of Scotland was perhaps born, and Pleshey, where the ruins of a castle in William Shakespeare's play "Richard II" are.

paragraphs: Hylands House and Park, west of the town, is an old country house. People can visit it, and in the last years it has been the place for a popular yearly music festival, the V Festival.

paragraphs: The old Palace of Beaulieu is also nearby.

paragraphs: Chelmsford is also famous for being the birthplace of radio, Marconi was an Italian man who invented the radio and had his first factory in Chelmsford.

paragraphs: In 1199 the Bishop of London gave a Royal Charter (a special paper) for the town to have a market. But there have been people living here since pre-historic times. The Romans also lived in Chelmsford. An octagonal temple is under the Odeon roundabout.

paragraphs: In World War II bombs hit Chelmsford a number of times. The worst single loss of life happened on Tuesday December 19, 1944. The 367th V-2 rocket which hit England fell near the Hoffmans' ball bearing factory. 39 people were killed and 138 hurt, 47 of them badly. A lot of buildings were destroyed and hundreds more were damaged.

paragraphs: From over 600,000 years ago, the early River Thames went through the place where Chelmsford is now, from Harlow to Colchester. Then it went over today's North Sea and went into the Rhine.


title: Gangnihessou

paragraphs: Do-Aklin or Gangnihessou (Ganye Hessou) or Dogbari was the first of twelve kings of Dahomey in Africa. Gangnihessou might have been the king around the year 1620. One of his symbols was a bird called "gangnihessou" after his name. His other symbols were a drum, and sticks used for throwing or hunting. He had a younger brother called Dakodonou, who was a king. Some historians think Gangnihessou was not actually a king. Instead, Gangnihessou might have led people by giving advice to his brother.


title: Contract bridge

paragraphs: Contract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking card game which is played by two pairs of players, one pair against the other pair. Partners sit opposite each other at a table.

paragraphs: Millions of people play bridge worldwide in clubs, tournaments, online and with friends at home. It is one of the world's most popular card games. The World Bridge Federation is the governing body for international competitive bridge.

paragraphs: The game consists of a number of "deals". Each deal goes through four phases: dealing the cards, the auction (also referred to as bidding), playing the cards, and scoring the results. Most club and tournament play uses duplicate bridge, where the cards are not re-dealt during a session. The same deals are played by most or all players. This allows comparative scoring.

paragraphs: It is played with the standard 52 cards in four suits. The game developed out of whist, which is a relatively old card game. Bridge developed in a series of stages from about 1890 to about 1930. The stages included bridge-whist and auction bridge, and the developments took place mostly in New York and London. The origin of the word "bridge" in this context is not really known. One possibility is that it is taken from an 1886 book, "Biritch, or Russian Whist" by John Collinson.

paragraphs: Whist is played with the trump suit chosen by chance, whereas in bridge it is chosen by a process called "bidding". A trump is a card which can beat any card from the other three suits.

paragraphs: In whist, the winners had to get most of the tricks (a trick is a round of four cards), that is, seven or more tricks. However, in bridge the players bid in sequence to decide what the "contract" shall be. The contract is decided by the last bid, and will be in one of the four suits, or in "no trumps", without a trump suit.

paragraphs: The scoring rules and the bidding process evolved through stages between 1890 and about 1930. Bids at the one level are offers to make at least seven tricks. Bids at the seven level are offers to make all thirteen tricks. The lowest bid one can make is "one club" and the highest bid is "seven no trumps".

paragraphs: The scoring system for bridge is very much more complicated than it is for whist. Fundamentally, it depends on whether or not declarer makes his contract or not. If he does not, the defending side collect penalty points. If he does make the contract his side wins points. How many points are won or lost depends on the scoring system (not discussed here). Harold S. Vanderbilt played a key role in designing the scoring system, and in 1927 the Whist Club of New York produced a code for contract bridge. They and the Portland Club of London became the authorities who guided the later minor changes to the rules.

paragraphs: The set-up for playing the cards is also different from whist. The side which wins the bidding sequence plays with only one partner ("declarer") controlling both hands. His or her partner is called "dummy", and that hand is played face up on the table so all players can see it.

paragraphs: Like much else in the game, the idea of duplicate play was invented for whist. At "whist drives" North/South pairs sat in the same positions throughout, East/West pairs moved up the series of tables and boards moved down. This simple movement was invented in the 19th century. The first game of duplicate whist was organised by "Cavendish" in London 1857, but it was not followed up. It was played in Chicago in 1880, and the first book about it was written in 1891 by John T. Mitchell. His simple method is known as the Mitchell movement.

paragraphs: Contract bridge became one of the most popular pastimes when it was publicised by Ely Culbertson, a leading American player and organiser. Anglo-American matches got huge publicity in the newspapers, cinema and radio of the 1930s.

paragraphs: In the example on the right, West was the dealer and first to bid. The bidding goes as shown with South becoming the declarer in a 4 spades contract, he being the first to bid spades. East-West become the defenders and West becomes the opening leader, North becomes the dummy and spades the trump suit.

paragraphs: Ten tricks are required by North-South, six tricks plus the 4-level bid.

paragraphs: Mostly, bridge is a social game played in clubs. A number of tables play the same set of hands, which allows for the scoring of individual pairs to be ranked. The deal is done by a computerised method. A pseudo-random algorithm sets the hands (the sets of cards held by each player). The computer is linked to a mechanical device which deals the cards and delivers them into the hands. These are put into the holding boards. The boards are then put on the tables.

paragraphs: Daniels, David 1980. "The golden age of contract bridge". New York: Stein and Day. ISBN 0-8128-0-2576-4. Includes all stages from the history of whist to contract bridge, up to about 1950.


title: No

paragraphs: No is an English word which has a negative meaning. It is the antonym (opposite) of the word Yes, which is a positive term.

paragraphs: No is used when someone is denying or turning away something. It can also be used in different figures of speech.

paragraphs: In both sentences and talking, the words "No" and the word "Not" can both be used, though the word "No" is mainly used when speaking to other people. In some cases, however, "Not" is not acceptable, and vice versa. These words are not to be confused with the similar sounding words know and knot.

paragraphs: Examples of proper usage of "No" and "Not":

paragraphs: Examples of improper usage of "No" and "Not":


title: Leon Trotsky

paragraphs: Trotsky was a socialist and a Marxist. In 1905 there was a revolution in Russia. Trotsky helped organize a committee of workers in St Petersburg which was called the Soviet. When the leader of the Soviet was arrested, Trotsky became leader of the Soviet in his place. Trotsky helped to expand on the idea of Permanent Revolution, which is a theory originally thought up by Karl Marx.

paragraphs: After the revolution Trotsky left Russia for his own safety. In 1917, he returned to Russia because of the Russian Revolution. He helped to bring about communism in Russia and defend it during the Russian Civil War. He was in charge of the army at this time. When the leader of the Bolsheviks (the party who led the revolution) Vladimir Lenin died, Trotsky became involved in a power struggle with Joseph Stalin for the leadership of the party. He lost, and Stalin came to power. He had to leave Russia because of Stalin, who was now his own enemy and wanted to harm Trotsky. In 1938 Trotsky founded the Fourth International. Stalin had one of his spies, Spaniard Ramón Mercarder, stab Trotsky to death in Mexico in 1940.

paragraphs: People who believe in Trotsky's ideas are called Trotskyists and follow "Trotskyism". The main Trotskyist organizations today are the Fourth International (post - Reunification), the Socialist Workers Party in the UK and the International Socialist Tendency.

paragraphs: In the novel "Animal Farm" by George Orwell, Trotsky is represented by Snowball the pig and Stalin is represented by Napoleon who was also a pig. The book reflected real world events.


title: Second International

paragraphs: The Second International (1889–1916) was an organization created on July 14, 1889, by socialist and labour parties who wanted to work together for international socialism. It continued the work of the First International, which stopped being an organization in 1886. However, it did not include the still-powerful anarcho-syndicalist movement and trade unions.

paragraphs: Among the Second International's most famous actions were its 1889 declaration of May 1 as International Labor Day and its 1910 declaration of March 8 as International Women's Day.

paragraphs: The International's permanent executive and information body was the International Socialist Bureau (ISB). It was located in Brussels and formed after the International's Paris Congress of 1900. Emile Vandervelde and Camille Huysmans of the Belgian Labour Party were its chair and secretary. Vladimir Lenin was a member from 1905.

paragraphs: Dadabhai Nauroji attended it's Paris commune in 1906.


title: Devon

paragraphs: Devon is a county in southwest England. Sometimes called by its historical name "Devonshire". Devon is the fourth largest county in England by area, and has the longest road network of any county in England.

paragraphs: After the last ice age, Devon was one of the first places in England where people started to live. Archaeologists have found many old places in Devon with ancient buildings. For example, many ruins of old buildings have been found in an area called "Dartmoor", which is now a National Park.

paragraphs: Devon gets its name from the "Dumnonii", a name that the invading Romans gave to the Celtic tribe in that area. The Romans invaded Devon about AD 50. The name "Dumnonii" means "a person who lives in a deep valley", and it comes from the hills and valleys of the area. The Roman army stayed in Devon for about 350 years. Their base was in the city of Exeter.

paragraphs: It was a long time before anyone else invaded Devon. Saxons came to Devon in the 7th century, and the King of Wessex may have attacked in 614. There was a conflict between Devon and Wessex for 200 years. Some historians think that Wessex won the war by about 715 but others think this did not happen until at least 936. Eventually Wessex took control, but the Kings of Devon still had some power.

paragraphs: A person living at the time called William of Malmesbury said that in Exeter both Britons and Saxons were equal in 927 but that King Athelstan of Wessex then chased the Britons from Exeter. From place names and church dedications it seems that the British did not go far and later came back into Exeter because an area in the city was called "Britayne" until recently.

paragraphs: A large number of Devon placenames include (or are) the word "combe" (e.g. Ilfracombe). This word comes from the Brythonic (Celtic) language and is like the Welsh word "cwm". Another typical Devon word is "tor" which is also Brythonic, and like the Welsh word "twr".

paragraphs: Both of these words are often found in neighbouring counties, but Devon has the greatest number. Overall Devon has a number of other placenames that are Brythonic and others that come from Old English, and a few that come from Norse. Devon's placenames are like those of western Somerset and eastern Cornwall which was also part of the old kingdom of "Dumnonia".

paragraphs: Starting in the 9th century, groups of Viking raiders tried to invade Devon. This continued until the Norman Conquest. The name of "Lundy Island" comes from the Viking language, which was called Norse. The Vikings are remembered for moving the cathedral from Crediton to Exeter.

paragraphs: Devon has been involved in most of the civil conflicts in England since 1066:

paragraphs: There are many famous (well known) people from Devon, especially seamen. For example, Sir Francis Drake, Sir Richard Grenville and Sir Walter Raleigh all come from Devon. Many other famous people were also born in Devon: for example, the author Agatha Christie was born in the town of Torquay.

paragraphs: Devon has its own flag. It is linked to St Petroc, who is a local saint with links to Devon and nearby counties. The flag was chosen after winning a competition on the BBC Devon website in 2003.

paragraphs: Devon is less wealthy than many parts of England, for example the south east. This is because the traditional industries of Devon, for example fishing, mining and farming are declining. The European Union has given parts of Devon help (Objective 2). For example, grants of money have been given to help new industries grow. Tourism has become more important recently as a part of the economy of Devon.

paragraphs: An epidemic of Foot and Mouth disease in 2001 led to many farmers losing their cattle, so they lost a lot of money. Other industries also lost a lot of income because of this.

paragraphs: The main city of Devon is Plymouth. Exeter is where the county council is based. The county of Devon is split up into districts. Each district is run by a district council. Some things are the job of the county council and others are the job of the district council. There are also smaller town and parish councils inside the districts.

paragraphs: Plymouth and Torbay are not run by the county council, but have their own special councils. These councils do the jobs of both a county and a district council. These type of areas are called "unitary authorities".

paragraphs: The numbers on the map are linked to the numbers below.

paragraphs: This is a list of the main towns and cities of Devon:

paragraphs: "Note: The links below are not in simple English."


title: Latin script

paragraphs: Latin or Roman script, is a writing system used to write many modern-day languages. It is the most used writing system in the world today. It is the official script for nearly all the languages of Western Europe and of some Eastern European languages. It is also used by some non-European languages such as Turkish, Vietnamese, Malay language, Somali, Swahili and Tagalog. It is an alternative writing system for languages such as Hindi, Urdu, Serbian and Bosnian.

paragraphs: The alphabet is a writing system which evolved from a western variety of the Greek alphabet. It was the Etruscans who first developed it after borrowing the Greek alphabet, and the Romans developed it further. The sounds of some letters changed, some letters were lost and gained and several writing styles ('hands') developed. Two such styles were combined into one script with upper and lower case letters ('capitals' and 'small letters'). Modern capital letters differ only slightly from their Roman counterparts. There are few regional variations.

paragraphs: The modern version of the alphabet is used for writing many languages. Indo-European languages, especially those of Western Europe, are mostly written with the Latin alphabet. These languages include the Germanic languages (which includes English, German, Swedish, and others) and the Romance languages (which includes French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and others). There are of course Indo-European languages that do not use the Latin alphabet, like Greek and Russian, as well as non-Indo-European languages that do, like Vietnamese.

paragraphs: Nearly all languages using the Roman alphabet include diacritics, which are symbols found above or below the letters. They are used for things such as tones and pronunciation. English is the only major European language that does not have any of these marks, at least not for native words. Words taken from other languages sometimes use diacritics to make clear the correct pronunciation.

paragraphs: The basic alphabet uses the following letters:

paragraphs: The Roman script has fewer letters than the sounds in some of the languages that use it. Some languages make up for the lack of letters by using diacritic marks, such as ă, â, á, é, í, î, ó, ẹ, ị, ọ, ụ, ã, ả, ẻ, ỉ, ỏ, ủ, ñ, č, ď, ě, í, ň, ř, š, ș, ť, ț, ú, ů, ž and đ. In effect, this increases the number of letters in their alphabet. Languages which use "some" of these characters are French, Czech, Polish, Magyar (Hungarian), Romanian, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Esperanto, and Igbo.

paragraphs: Many languages changed their writing systems to the Latin script. In some countries, Europeans made native people use it. The Vietnamese language was written in Chinese characters, and there is a Chinese-based Vietnamese writing system called chu nom. However, Chinese script requires a large number of characters to be learnt before a person is truly literate. The Vietnamese government switched to the Latin alphabet in the early 20th century so they could increase the country's literacy rates. The Vietnamese kept using the Latin alphabet even after independence since it was much faster to learn than Chinese characters (chu nom).

paragraphs: After World War I, when the Ottoman Empire fell, the Latin Alphabet in Turkish countries was started by Kemal Atatürk in Turkey. When the Soviet Union broke up, some of its smaller languages began using the Latin alphabet. It is now used in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Azerbaijan. Kazakhstan announced in 2018 that the Latin alphabet would become the Kazakh language's main writing system.

paragraphs: Changing the way a language is written to Latin letters is called romanization. Many people who do not speak the language read a romanized version to know roughly how the words will sound, even if that is not the normal way to write the language. Some languages, like Chinese and Japanese, use the Latin alphabet in their languages so that they can be typed on a computer more easily. In mainland China, pinyin is the official romanization for Mandarin Chinese, and it is used to type Chinese characters on the computer by typing them phonetically. Even though many Japanese computers have kana keyboards to type Japanese on the computer, Japanese can also be typed using the Latin alphabet. Software called IME (input method editor) converts the Latin letters, called romaji in Japanese, into Japanese kana and kanji.


title: Insectivore

paragraphs: An insectivore is an animal or insect that eats mostly insects for food. An Anteater is an animal that eats ants. There are also some plants that eat insects. One plant that is an insectivore is called a Venus fly-trap.

paragraphs: To eat insects for food is not very easy because it takes many insects to make enough food for a large insect-eating animal. Anteaters eat hundreds of ants every day.

paragraphs: Some omnivores like humans and bears also eat insects for food.


title: Copy

paragraphs: Copy means a thing that is made to look like another thing.


title: Vapor

paragraphs: Vapor (British English: vapour) is a mass of small drops of liquid which fly in the air, for example because the liquid has been heated.

paragraphs: The temperature at which each material turns into vapor is determined according to the air pressure.


title: Vehicle

paragraphs: A vehicle is a machine to move people and things. A vehicle is not alive. A horse can move people and things, but it is an animal, not a machine or a vehicle.

paragraphs: Some vehicles move on land. Most land vehicles have wheels. Examples of land vehicles are bicycles, cars, motorcycles, and trains.

paragraphs: Land vehicles that are powered by an engine or motor are called motor vehicles.

paragraphs: Some land vehicles, like tanks and snowmobiles, have tracks. These tracks look and work like conveyor belts.

paragraphs: Some vehicles move on, or in, the water. Examples are boats, ships, and submarines.

paragraphs: Vehicles that move in the sky are called aircraft. Examples are aeroplanes and balloons.

paragraphs: Some vehicles, like the Space Shuttle, can even leave the Earth's orbit and go to outer space.

paragraphs: Vehicles can be propelled by various sources of energy.


title: Line dance

paragraphs: Line dancing is a form of group dancing that is done to either country or hip-hop music. The term line dance is derived from the idea that the group of people participating in the dance are all facing the same direction when conducting the series of moves in the line dance. A line dance can go from 32 beats upwards of up to 92 beats per minutes, and can also be either a 4 or 2 wall dance. When the dance starts off everyone is facing the front wall, after all of the counts of the dance are complete (let's say we were doing a 32 count dance) then everyone would finish the dance facing either the back wall or the left or right wall. One example of a line dance is the "Men In Black" line dance. This dance is usually done to a hip-hop song, such as "Yeah 3X", by Chris Brown. Once the first 32 counts of the dance are completed everyone will finish the dance facing the left wall, and would have turned one quarter to their left counter clockwise. Once the series of moves is completed 4 times the group will end up facing the front wall again.


title: Three Kingdoms of Korea

paragraphs: The Three Kingdoms of Korea were Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla. They existed between the 1st century BC and 7th century CE. There were some smaller kingdoms like Gaya, Dongye, Okjeo, Buyeo, Usan, Tamna, etc.

paragraphs: Baekje helped spread Chinese characters, Chinese culture, Han Buddhism, and other technology to Japan.

paragraphs: The Three Kingdoms period ended in 668: Silla allied with the Tang Dynasty to conquer Baekje and then Goguryeo. Korea unified under Later Silla. The Tang occupied the northern parts of Korea. After this Korea split during the North and South States period.

paragraphs: Besides Chinese records, the books "Samguk Sagi" and "Samguk Yusa" also record the history of the era"." "Samguk" (Hangul: 삼국, Hanja: 三國) means "Three Kingdoms".


title: Eckernförde

paragraphs: Eckernförde (Danish: Egernførde, sometimes also "Egernfjord", Low German: Eckernför, sometimes also "Eckernföör") is a German city in Schleswig-Holstein, Kreis Rendsburg-Eckernförde at the Baltic Sea near Kiel. The population is about 23,000.

paragraphs: All 24 German submarines are stationed in Eckernförde.

paragraphs: Eckernförde is a well-known touristic centre in Northern Germany.


title: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

paragraphs: Franz Ferdinand Karl Ludwig Josef of Austria, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Este (Franz Ferdinand Karl Ludwig Josef; ) (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was an Archduke (like a prince) of Austria and, from 1896 until his death, next in lineto be the emperor of the former country called Austria-Hungary. He was killed in the city Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip. Because of this, Austria declared war against Serbia, which started the first World War.


title: Black Hand

paragraphs: Black Hand or Crna Ruka, officially Ujedinjenje ili Smrt ("Unification or Death") was a secret group of Serbian nationalists (Pan-Serbians). It was founded in 1911 in Serbia.

paragraphs: Their aim was to create a country from other countries where Serbs lived, including Bosnia-Herzegovina which was a part of Austria-Hungary since 1908.

paragraphs: Five members of The Black Hand were in Sarajevo, Serbia, on 28 June, 1914 where Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne in Austria-Hungary, visited with his wife. Ferdinand was driven through the city in a convertible car. The members of the Black Hand attempted to kill Ferdinand by throwing grenades at his car. One of the grenades bounced off his car and exploded under the car following Ferdinand's. One of the members swallowed cyanide and attempted to jump into the river, however the cyanide was old, and the river was shallow, so he was arrested. One of the men, a Bosnian student called Gavrilo Princip, went to a cafe after failing to kill Ferdinand.

paragraphs: The Archduke and his wife decided to go and visit the people who were injured in the explosion in hospital, however the driver took a wrong turn and stopped outside the cafe where Princip was eating. Princip saw this and went outside. He took out a gun and shot at Ferdinand; two bullets hit the archduke, one hit his wife, and the other hit the car. Both Ferdinand and his wife died shortly after.

paragraphs: Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia for the assassination. Austria-Hungary then declared war on Serbia, and Russia joined the war on Serbia's side because the people of Serbia were Slavic, like Russia, and the Slavic countries had agreed to help each other if they were attacked. Since Russia is a large country it had to move soldiers closer to the war, but Germany feared that Russia's soldiers would also attack Germany. Russia did not like Germany because of things Germany had done in the past to become stronger. Germany declared war on Russia, and used a plan to attack Russia that had been created before the war, but it also involved attacking France and Belgium. France and Great Britain joined the war because Great Britain had agreed to help Belgium if it were ever attacked by someone else.

paragraphs: This quickly led to a full-scale war. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Both country's allies became involved in the war, and soon most of Europe became involved.


title: Edmonton

paragraphs: Edmonton is the capital city of Alberta. In 2008, there were about 1,102,000 people in the Edmonton area.

paragraphs: Edmonton is just south of the middle of Alberta in the prairie part of the province. There are many farms close to Edmonton.

paragraphs: The city started as a trading post on the North Saskatchewan River. Edmonton turned into a city mostly over the last 100 years.

paragraphs: Edmonton has of one of the world's largest shopping malls. This mall is called the West Edmonton Mall. This mall has over 800 stores, a hotel, an indoor water park, an indoor theme park, an ice skating rink, movie theatres, places to eat and drink, and other things to see. Many, many people visit the West Edmonton Mall.

paragraphs: Edmonton also has more sun than all other cities in Canada. But other cities are warmer than Edmonton. Winter temperatures often are below -20 degrees Celsius. It is common for it be even colder (below -30 degrees Celsius) for a few days in January or February. However, the summer can be warmer than 25 or 30 degrees. The sun does not set until after 11 pm in June.

paragraphs: The city is also well known for its festivals. There are many popular events in both summer and winter, such as Heritage Days, the Folk Festival, and the Fringe.

paragraphs: Edmonton has many interesting places to visit. Places such as The Francis Winspear Centre for Music, the Valley Zoo, Fort Edmonton Park, the Muttart Conservatory,and Telus World of Science.

paragraphs: Edmonton is known as the city of champions, is home to the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League, the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. The Edmonton Oilers have 5 Stanley Cup Championships, the Eskimos have 23 Western Division Championships, and 13 Grey Cup Championships.

paragraphs: The Edmonton tornado was the second deadliest tornado in Canada that struck the east side of the city in July 31, 1987.


title: Autarky

paragraphs: Autarky is an economy that does no trade with the outside world. It is called a self-sufficient economy or a closed economy too. It does not need any other countries or regions helping.

paragraphs: Autarky is rare in the modern world. An example of a currently run autarky is North Korea, but even it makes a small amount trade between some countries, like China and Japan.


title: Bonsai

paragraphs: The word "bonsai" means "tree in tray" in the Japanese language. Bonsai is a very old art form in Japan. It is a Japanese form of the older Chinese art called penjing. Penjing is a Chinese art form that also uses trees growing in pots. Other nations also have arts like bonsai and penjing.

paragraphs: People like bonsai because it is nice to look at, and because it is fun to grow a bonsai tree. A bonsai tree can live for a very long time, longer than a person can live. In a family, a bonsai might be started by a grandparent, then given to a parent, then given to a child over many years.

paragraphs: A bonsai starts with a small tree. This tree can be grown from a seed, or can be found already growing in a yard or a park or the forest. It can also be bought from a plant store.

paragraphs: To make the bonsai, the small tree is taken out of the ground. Its roots are carefully cleaned of dirt. The roots may be trimmed (cut) a little to help them fit in a small pot. The branches may also be trimmed to make the tree smaller. Then it is put in a bonsai pot, which has low sides. Fresh soil (dirt) is put in the pot to cover the bonsai tree's roots. Then it is watered and put outdoors to live.

paragraphs: Good trees to make into bonsai have small leaves (pine tree needles are leaves too). If the leaves are too big, the bonsai will not look like a small tree. A good bonsai tree will have old-looking bark and old-looking roots too.

paragraphs: The art of bonsai began in Japan over one thousand years ago. It was brought to Japan from China around the year 800 A.D. At first, bonsai were planted in large pots like the Chinese used. But the Japanese later put them in very low, almost flat pots. This change made the tree itself the most important thing in the art form, not the fancy pot or small houses or statues of people which other nations used with their small trees in pots.

paragraphs: At first only the rich and noble people of Japan had bonsai. One family could have many bonsai, which would grow in pots in the garden outside of the house. A servant might take care of all the bonsai and would learn a lot about how to grow bonsai. The rules about how to grow a bonsai properly were not well known and were not shared with other people. Later more people began to grow bonsai. Some were holy people, like monks. Some were Japanese families who were not noble or really rich, but who had enough money and time to grow one or two bonsai in their gardens or house yards. This larger group of people began to share what they learned about the rules of bonsai and so more people could join in growing bonsai. By the twentieth (20th) century, the rules of bonsai were very well known in Japan and many people could afford to grow their own bonsai.

paragraphs: A tree that could be used for bonsai is not small in nature. If left to grow in the open soil, a bonsai tree would grow as big as any other tree. But in a pot, the tree will not grow very big. To help keep it small, the owner of the bonsai trims (cuts) its leaves and branches every year. Every two or three years, the bonsai owner lifts the bonsai out of its pot and trims the roots. Then the owner puts the bonsai back in its pot with some new soil.

paragraphs: A bonsai grower checks the soil of every bonsai pot once every day. If the soil is nearly dry, the grower waters it until it is wet from the top of the soil to the bottom of the pot. Every few weeks the grower adds a little fertilizer to each bonsai tree's soil. In the winter this happens less often.

paragraphs: A bonsai can live to be older than a large tree of the same species if it is grown with care. A bonsai needs good care, and a bonsai with poor care will not be healthy and might die. To keep a bonsai strong, it must grow outdoors like a real tree. It must never get too dry or stay too wet. It must never get too hot or too cold. If it gets a plant sickness like a fungus, it must be cured quickly. If it gets bugs like aphids the bugs must be cleaned off or killed quickly.

paragraphs: In the art of bonsai a sense of beauty, patience, and good care are all needed. The plant, the shape of the plant, as well as the arrangement of soil and the kind of pot used are important.

paragraphs: Each bonsai has a shape, partly the shape and direction of the trunk and partly the shape of the whole tree with its branches and leaves. The most common shapes are known as "styles", including

paragraphs: The upright style has a straight trunk that points up. Its branches are big at the bottom and small at the top.

paragraphs: The informal style has curves in the trunk. Its branches are also larger at the bottom and smaller at the top.

paragraphs: The slanted-style bonsai trunk does not point straight up like the upright style. The trunk comes out of the soil at an angle and points to the left or right.

paragraphs: The cascade-style bonsai look like trees that grow out over water or on the sides of mountains. The tip of the tree is low, and may even fall below the base of the pot.

paragraphs: The broom style has a trunk that is straight and upright. Branches stick out in all directions from about 1/3 of the way up the trunk.

paragraphs: The or "group planting" has several trees in one pot or on a flat slab of rock.

paragraphs: There are many other known styles for Japanese bonsai. When bonsai are shown to the public, or when they appear in a catalog to be sold to people, the style that best matches the bonsai will often be put in the tree's description. This allows the person looking at the bonsai to understand the plan or goal of the person who made the bonsai.


title: Chastity belt

paragraphs: A chastity belt is a device locked around the wearer's genitals to prevent sexual intercourse. Chastity belts for women were introduced into Europe from Italy, and saw some limited degree of use during the Renaissance period.

paragraphs: They were not used until the 16th century, and then only rather rarely. They first became widely available as 19th-century anti-masturbation medical devices. Many of the belts on public display in museums have now been tested to determine their correct age, with the earliest found to originate in the early 1800s.

paragraphs: In modern times, belts for both men and women are used in BDSM.


title: Mount Arafat

paragraphs: Mount Arafat or Mount Arafah ( transliterated "Jabal ‘Arafāt") is a granite hill east of Mecca in the plain of Arafat. Arafat is a plain about southeast of Mecca. Mount Arafat reaches about in height and is also known as the Mount of Mercy ("Jabal ar-Rahmah"). According to Islamic tradition, the hill is the place where the Islamic prophet Muhammad(SAW) (PBUH) stood and delivered the Farewell Sermon to the Muslims who had accompanied him for the Hajj towards the end of his life.

paragraphs: On the 9th of the month of Dhu al-Hijjah pilgrims go to Arafat from Mina, for the most important part of the Hajj. The Khutbah of Hajj is narrated and Zuhr prayer and Asr prayer are prayed together. The pilgrims spend the whole day on the mountain to supplicate to Allah to forgive their sins and to pray for personal strength in the future.

paragraphs: Arafah rituals end at sunset and pilgrims then move to Muzdalifah for a shortened Maghrib Prayer and Isha prayer and for a short rest.

paragraphs: The level area surrounding the hill is called the Plain of Arafat. The term Mount Arafah is sometimes applied to this entire area. It is an important place in Islam because during the Hajj, pilgrims spend the afternoon there on the ninth day of Dhul Hijjah (ذو الحجة). Failure to be present in the plain of Arafat on the required day invalidates the pilgrimage.

paragraphs: Since late 2010, this place is served by Mecca Metro. On a normal Hajj, it would be around to walk.


title: Ariel Sharon

paragraphs: Ariel Sharon (February 26, 1928 – January 11, 2014) was an Israeli politician of Likud and later Kadima. Sharon was Prime Minister of Israel from 2001 to 2006.

paragraphs: Sharon was born on February 27, 1928 in Kfar Malal, British-Palestine. Sharon was in the Israel Army for many years. He fought in numerous battles, and in 1974 he left the army as General. After the army he decided to go to politics.

paragraphs: In 1977, he became Minister of Agriculture. In 1981 he became the Minister of Defence. In 1983, he was sent away from the government as Minister of Defence after he was found to be guilty for not preventing a massacre in Lebanon where many hundreds of civilians were killed by other civilians.

paragraphs: In 2001, he was elected for Prime Minister after the war between Israel and Palestine started. In 2004, he surprised many people when he said that Israel will get out of the Gaza Strip, which is the place where many Palestinian people live.

paragraphs: In December 2005, Sharon was taken into hospital. On January 4, 2006, Sharon was again taken to the hospital. He had a big stroke (bleeding in the brain).

paragraphs: Rumours spread immediately of his death, though these were denied by his physicians. It was soon reported and later confirmed that Sharon was in a coma. Ehud Olmert, another member of Sharon's newly formed "Kadima" party, was acting Prime Minister until elections were held in Israel, after which Olmert became Prime Minister of Israel.

paragraphs: Sharon died on 11 January 2014. He died from kidney failure and stroke complications at the hospital in Ramat Gan. He had been in a coma at the time. He was aged 85.

paragraphs: His state funeral was held on 13 January. He was buried in line with Jewish burial customs. It was held as soon after death as possible. The day before the funeral, Sharon's body and coffin were placed in the Knesset building for people to see. His funeral began with an official ceremony held in the Knesset chamber. Politicians from Israel and other countries attended. His funeral was then held at his family's farm in the Negev desert. Sharon was buried there beside his wife, Lily.

paragraphs: Leaders attended his funeral service included U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, former Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Czech Prime Minister Jiří Rusnok and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.


title: Jameson

paragraphs: Jameson is a famous brand of Irish whiskey. It is amber in color and has quite a strong smell. It is an alcoholic beverage.

paragraphs: In Ireland, people refer to it as "Jemmie".


title: Syria

paragraphs: Syria is a country in the Middle East, the west part of Asia. It borders (from south to north) on Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, and Turkey. Its western part faces the Mediterranean Sea. Its eastern and northern parts are mountainous.

paragraphs: The current president and head of state is Bashar al-Assad. Syria's national capital is Damascus. The biggest city is Aleppo. The Syrian civil war began in 2011.

paragraphs: The population of Syria is 74% Sunni, 12% Alawi, 10% Christian.

paragraphs: Syria has a very long history. It was a land of Phoenicians. Later it became part of the Achaemenid Empire, Roman Empire, and then the Eastern Roman Empire. In those days people spoke the Syriac language. The city Antioch was great and one of the important cities in Christendom. The Umayyad Caliphate control of Syria in the 7th century. In this Arab Empire people began to speak the Arabic language. Today most Syrian people believe in Islam but there are still Christians too.

paragraphs: When World War I started, the Ottoman Empire ruled Syria and many other places. When it ended, France controlled Lebanon and Syria. Britain had Iraq, Jordan and Palestine. They drew a border between Iraq and Syria in 1920. France controlled Syria until 1946 when Syria became its own country.

paragraphs: Syria was part of the United Arab Republic with Egypt in 1958-1961. Syria had some wars with Israel and some territories like the Golan Plateau were occupied by Israel.

paragraphs: In 2012 with the Arab Spring a bloody civil war began against President Bashar al-Assad.

paragraphs: Syria is between latitudes 32° and 38° N, and longitudes 35° and 43° E. It is mostly arid plateau. The area bordering the Mediterranean is fairly green. The Euphrates, Syria's most important river, crosses the country in the east.

paragraphs: The climate in Syria is dry and hot. Winters are mild.

paragraphs: Syria is a republic. The old Constitution of Syria was started on 13 March 1971. It made Syria as a secular socialist state. Islam was the majority religion. A new constitution has been in place since 2012.

paragraphs: The executive branch is the president, two vice presidents, the prime minister, and the Council of Ministers. The constitution says the president must be a Muslim. It does not make Islam the state religion. According to the 2012 constitution, the president is elected by Syrian people in a direct election.

paragraphs: The People's Council is the legislative branch.

paragraphs: Nearly all of Syria’s radio and television outlets are state owned. The Ba'ath Party controls nearly all newspapers.

paragraphs: Syria's human rights are among the worst in the world, according to human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch. The authorities arrest democracy and human rights activists, censor websites, detain bloggers, and have travel bans.

paragraphs: Syria has fourteen Governorates, or "muhafazat". The governorates are divided into sixty districts. The governorates are:

paragraphs: The President of Syria is commander in chief of the Syrian armed forces. There are about 400,000 troops. Males must go in the military when they are age 18.

paragraphs: Syria is a middle-income country. The economy is based on agriculture, oil, industry, and tourism.

paragraphs: Syria has three international airports (Damascus, Aleppo and Lattakia). They are hubs for Syrian Air. Foreign airlines also fly to them. Most Syrian cargo is carried by Chemins de Fer Syriens, the Syrian railway company.

paragraphs: Most people live in the Euphrates valley and along the coastal plain, a fertile strip between the coastal mountains and the desert.

paragraphs: Education is free from ages 6 to 12. All children this age must attend school.

paragraphs: The most popular sports in Syria are football, basketball, swimming, and tennis. Damascus was home to the fifth and seventh Pan Arab Games. Many popular football teams are based in Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, and Latakia.


title: Psychology

paragraphs: Psychology is the study of the mind, its thought, feeling and behaviour. It is an academic discipline which involves the scientific study of mental faculties, functions and behaviours.

paragraphs: Psychology deals mainly with humans but also sometimes with nonhuman animals. Because psychology may be difficult to study as a whole, psychologists often only look at small parts of it at one time. Psychology has much in common with many other fields, and overlaps with many of them. Some of these fields are medicine, ethology, computer science, and linguistics.

paragraphs: In this field, a professional or researcher is called a psychologist and is a social, behavioural, or cognitive scientist. Psychologists attempt to understand the role of mental functions in individual and social behavior. They also explore the physiological and neurobiological processes which underlie cognitive functions and behaviours.

paragraphs: Psychology has been split up into smaller parts called branches. These are subjects in psychology that try to answer a particular group of questions about how people think. Some branches of psychology that are often studied are:

paragraphs: Psychology is a type of science, and research psychologists use many of the same types of methods that researchers from other natural and social sciences use.

paragraphs: Psychologists make theories to try to explain a behavior or pattern they see. Based on their theory they make some predictions. They then carry out an experiment or collect other types of information that will tell them whether their predictions were right or wrong.

paragraphs: Some types of experiments cannot be done on people because the process would be too long, expensive, dangerous, unfair, or otherwise unethical. There are also other ways psychologists study the mind and behavior scientifically, and test their theories. Psychologists might wait for some events to happen on their own; they might look at patterns among existing groups of people in natural environments; or they might do experiments on animals (which can be simpler and more ethical to study).

paragraphs: Psychology shares other things with natural sciences, as well. For example, a good psychological theory may be possible to prove wrong. Just like in any natural science, a group of psychologists can never be completely sure that their theory is the right one. If a theory can be proved wrong, but experiments do not prove it wrong, then it is more likely that the theory is accurate. This is called falsifiability.

paragraphs: Psychologists use many tools as part of their daily work. Psychologists use surveys to ask people how they feel and what they think. They may use special devices to look at the brain and to see what it is doing. Psychologists use computers to collect data as they measure how people behave in response to pictures, words, symbols, or other stimuli. Psychologists also use statistics to help them analyze the data that they get from their experiments.

paragraphs: Not all psychology is scientific psychology. Psychodynamic psychology and depth psychology do things like interpreting people's dreams to understand the unconscious mind, as in older approaches to psychology begun by Carl Jung who was particularly interested in finding methods for measuring what kind of personality people have.

paragraphs: Humanistic psychology and existential psychology also believe that it is more important to understand personal meaning than to find causes and effects of mental processes and behaviours.

paragraphs: Psychologists are people who work in the field of psychology. A psychologist may work in either basic research or applied research. Basic research is the study of people or animals to learn more about them. Applied research is using what was learned from basic research to solve real-world problems. If he or she is qualified as a clinical psychologist they may be a therapist or counsellor as well as a researcher.

paragraphs: To become a psychologist, a person must first get a basic degree at a university and then go to graduate school. A Master's degree, either MSc (Master of Science) or MA (Master of Arts) allows work such as a school psychologist. A doctorate degree takes a longer time because it includes doing research and writing a detailed report called a dissertation or thesis. The doctoral graduate uses the initials PhD or DPhil (Doctor of Philosophy) after his or her name. Some clinical psychologists earn a Doctor of Psychology degree and use the initials PsyD after their name. The American Psychological Association says that people need a PhD (or PsyD) and a current state license in the U.S.) in order to call themselves a 'psychologist'.

paragraphs: The words "psychologist" and "psychiatrist" may be confused with each other. A "psychiatrist" has graduated from medical school and uses the initials MD or its equivalent (MB ChB in London University, for example). A psychiatrist or doctor may work with a psychologist: they may prescribe and check on the effect of medications.


title: Louisiana

paragraphs: Louisiana () is a state in the Southern United States of America. It had a population of about 4,533,372 people in 2010. The state has a total area of about . Louisiana is the 25th largest state by population and the 31th largest state by area. Louisiana is also known by its nickname, "The Pelican State". The land that would become Louisiana was bought in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Louisiana became a state on April 30, 1812. It was the 18th state to become part of the United States. The people who live in the state are known as "Louisianans". The state's capital is Baton Rouge, and its largest city is New Orleans.

paragraphs: Louisiana has coastal plains, marshs, and low ridges. All of the state is in the Sun Belt. Louisiana is in a sub tropical region, and has a diverse ecosystem. The climate of Louisiana Louisiana has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa). It has long, hot, humid summers and short, mild winters.

paragraphs: One third of the adults in Louisiana are obese. This is the highest rate in the United States.

paragraphs: Louisiana was settled by France and the influence of French culture is still a big part of Louisiana today. The French Quarter in New Orleans is one of the best known attractions in the state. It is known today for its special culture, unique food, as well as the holiday Mardi Gras which is most famous in New Orleans.

paragraphs: Louisiana was very badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Much of the New Orleans area lies below sea level making flooding a serious problem.


title: Synonym

paragraphs: A synonym is a word (or a phrase) which means the same thing as another word or phrase.

paragraphs: Synonyms can be nouns, verbs, adverbs or adjectives, but both words must be of the same part of speech. That means, only a noun can be a synonym of another noun, only a verb can be a synonym of another verb, and so on.

paragraphs: One can find sets of synonyms in a thesaurus, which is a book listing groups of related words.

paragraphs: Some words are near-synonyms, which have similar but not exactly the same meaning.

paragraphs: The word "synonym" dates back over 500 years, to late Middle English. The term is derived from Latin from the Greek word "sunōnumon", neuter form (used as a noun) of the adjective "sunōnumos", from "sun-" meaning 'with' + "onoma" meaning 'name' in the Greek language.

paragraphs: The meaning of the word has remained unchanged for all these centuries. There is even a saying, going back to 1892, ""Once a synonym, always a synonym"".

paragraphs: The word has been taught to generations of English-language students and is commonly known by the general public. Many other languages have a similar word for "synonym" with the same or similar spelling.


title: Yosa Buson

paragraphs: He was born in Osaka, his real family name was Taniguchi (). From 1758, he began to live in Kyoto, and he stayed there for rest of his life. He got married when he was 45 years old, and became a father of his daughter Kuno ().


title: Milgram experiment

paragraphs: The Milgram experiment is the name for a number of controversial experiments in psychology. They were done by Stanley Milgram in the 1960s. Milgram wanted to find out how easy it was to get someone to follow orders, even if the orders went against their conscience. In his experiment, a test subject was ordered by a scientist to inflict electric shocks on another person, though the shocks were faked.

paragraphs: To his surprise, most subjects did as they were told until the very end of the experiment, though many found it difficult. There have been many repetitions and variations of the experiment, with similar results.

paragraphs: Participants were told they would be helping out in a "learning experiment". The participant played the role of a "teacher" in which they had to ask questions to the "learner". Every time the learner got a question wrong or failed to answer, the teacher had to press a switch to give the learner an electric shock. The voltage increased each time. In the original version of the experiment, the teacher and learner were in separate rooms, but could talk to each other through the wall.

paragraphs: In fact, the electric shocks were faked. The "learners" were actually actors, who only pretended to be in pain. As the "shocks" increased, their cries of pain grew louder. They protested, banged the wall and stopped answering the questions. The shocks eventually reached levels that would have been deadly had they been real. At this point, the learner fell silent.

paragraphs: Much was done to trick the subjects into thinking it was real. When they arrived, they were told that the actor was another volunteer and that the "teacher" and "learner" roles would be decided at random by drawing slips of paper. In fact, both slips of paper said "teacher", so the actor pretended to have picked "learner". The electric shock machine made buzzing noises and could give an actual mild shock of 45 volts. The teacher would try this out before the experiment began.

paragraphs: If at any time the subject ("teacher") wanted to stop the experiment, the experimenter had instructions on what to say to them. These were known as "verbal prods". The prods the experimenter had to use were, in this order:

paragraphs: There were a few other things the experimenter was allowed to say. For example, if the subject asked about whether the learner would be badly hurt, the experimenter could say "Although the shocks may be painful, there is no permanent tissue damage, so please go on."

paragraphs: If the subject still wished to stop after the four main prods had been used, the experiment was halted. Otherwise, it was halted after the subject had given the maximum "450-volt" shock three times in succession.

paragraphs: Before Milgram did his experiment, he asked fourteen Yale University psychology students what they thought the results would be. On average, the students thought that 1.2% of the "teachers" would give the biggest electric shock of 450 volts. In fact, in Milgram's first set of experiments, "65 percent" (26 of 40) of participants gave the final massive 450-volt shock, and all gave a shock of at least 300 volts.

paragraphs: Milgram found that the "teachers" showed signs of stress and nervousness in the experiment. Signs of this included sweating, trembling, stuttering and groaning. All of them stopped to question the experiment at some point. Most continued once they were reassured by the experimenter.

paragraphs: Other psychologists did their own versions of Milgram's experiment and found very similar results.

paragraphs: After repeating the original experiment, Milgram and other scientists tried different variations. These included:

paragraphs: Milgram wrote about the experiment in his book "Obedience to Authority: an experimental view". It was published in 1974. Milgram offered two theories:

paragraphs: Other factors might partly explain the Milgram experiments:

paragraphs: Some researchers argued that the experiments do not fully answer the question as to why apparently normal people commit atrocities in wartime. For example, the subjects were being told that the shocks would cause no major harm to the learner, whereas those who caused events like the Holocaust knew full well that they were committing murder.

paragraphs: The experiment has been mentioned numerous times in pop culture. In the graphic novel "V for Vendetta" Dr. Surridge said that he has lost faith in humanity because of the experiment. In 2013 there was a conference about it at Nipissing University in Canada.


title: Page-boy

paragraphs: A page or page boy is a young male servant. A different meaning of "page boy", but based on the same idea of one who serves, is for a young boy who helps the bride at a wedding.

paragraphs: In medieval times, a page was a servant to a knight. He had to clean things, help the knight, for example by running messages for him. He also learned how to fight. When he was 14 he usually became a squire. When he was 21 he sometimes became a knight.

paragraphs: Pages were treated well. In the Christmas carol "Good King Wenceslas" we hear about the King's page: "Hither, page, and stand by me, if thou know'st it, telling..."

paragraphs: During the Renaissance and after it became fashionable for black boys and young men to be decorative pages. They wore fancy costumes and served fashionable ladies and lords. This custom of having an "African page" lasted for several centuries. This type of page is almost unheard of today.


title: Gambit

paragraphs: A gambit is a chess opening involving a sacrifice. In these openings a player, usually White, sacrifices (gives away) a pawn or more. The usual reason is to develop faster, and get an attack against the black king. An example:

paragraphs: In modern times gambits are usually not for direct attacks on the king. They aim at 'positional' advantages, such as freer play for the pieces. A well-known example is the Benko Gambit:

paragraphs: In return for his pawn, Black gets open lines for his bishops and his rook on a8.


title: Carlos Clos Gómez

paragraphs: Carlos Clos Gomez is a football referee from Zaragoza, Spain. He is a UEFA class 2 referee as of January 2009.

paragraphs: Clos Gomez refereed a Europa League match between Motherwell F.C. and Steaua Bucharest in which he was criticised by Motherwell manager Jim Gannon.

paragraphs: In 2008, Clos Gomez was forced to abandon a match between Real Betis and Atletico Bilbao after a player was struck by a bottle thrown from the crowd.

paragraphs: On 13th March 2010, FC Barcelona's coach Josep Guardiola accused Clos Gomez of lying on the final report.


title: Free fall

paragraphs: Free fall is what happens when an object is let to fall on its own without propulsion or resistance. Someone who is standing is not in free fall, but someone jumping from an airplane is, until air resistance builds up, ending in terminal velocity. An artillery shell is in free fall from the time it is fired until it hits something. Even the time when it is going up is free fall. Spacecraft are in free fall when their engine is not on and they are not sitting somewhere, which means most of the time. In most mathematical calculations the acceleration due to gravity (g) is 9.81 Newton (unit) per kilogram.