title: Rodgau

paragraphs: Rodgau is a city in the Offenbach Rural District in the state of Hesse, Germany. It is the largest city of the district by area and by population as well.

paragraphs: Rodgau is in the "Rhine Main area" 30 km southeast of Frankfurt am Main. The whole area of the town is 65.04 km large and it is 130 m above sea level. It is a plain area with no hills.

paragraphs: About 35 to 20 million years ago in the age of tertiary the whole region was lying under sea level. At that time it was covered by an ocean which was warm and not very deep. Lots of sediments sank to its bottom. Then the region rose again and the water left, leaving soil which is mostly sandy and poor.

paragraphs: The town consists out of 5 former independent villages. On 1 January 1977 they were united and became the "municipality of Rodgau". On 15 September 1979 city rights were given to the municipality.

paragraphs: The former villages, now urban districts, are from north to south: Weiskirchen, Hainhausen, Jügesheim, Dudenhofen and Nieder-Roden. They all lie by a small creek, the "Rodau", flowing through the city from south to north. Rodgau got its name from this creek. The ending "-gau" means "area" or "district". "Rod-" is a hint to the former landscape. The German verb "roden" means "cutting down trees to cultivate land". "Rod-" is also part of the name of Nieder-"Rod"en.

paragraphs: Rodgau has 43,047 inhabitants (2008). Nearly 10% of the people living here are from foreign countries. They come from 52 different nations. 39% of the people are of catholic religion, 25.5% are of protestant religion and 35.5% have another or no religion.

paragraphs: The climate of the town is mild with an average temperature of 10.5 °C. There is less rain than in other parts of Germany.

paragraphs: Some local people are speaking a regional type (dialect) of the German language with a certain tone and special words. It is a Hessian dialect (German: "Hessisch"). This language type is related to other dialects in the south of Germany. In former times mostly every village had its own special dialect, sometimes hard to understand for people of other parts of Germany. Today the dialect speakers are a minority and the majority of them does not speak the real dialect. They rather speak a kind of regular German with a certain pronunciation.

paragraphs: The first settlements were build in the 8th century. Later in the 12th and 13th century the names of the settlements were written down in documents. During the times the villages belonged to different owners. Because of the reformation the people of the village of "Dudenhofen" became protestant, but all the others remained catholic. This led to the situation, that the Dudenhofen people married partners from nearby Babenhausen, Dietzenbach and other protestant places but did not have relatives in the catholic Rodgau villages. Around 1830 the settlements had a total population of about 4,000 people. In 1939 the amount of inhabitants was about 11,500. It increased to about 34,000 in 1970 and to about 45,000 at the end of the 2000s.

paragraphs: Formerly the people in the Rodgau area were farmers and craftsmen but not tradesmen. Every family had land to grow their food. When the property was handed to the next generation it was divided within the children. Therefore, most families had only small farms and were poor. With the industrial revolution the Rhine Main area got lots of factories and developed to a center for metal working and leather manufacturing, also chemical engineering. Many men got workmen and found a job in the factories and earned money. This increased living conditions partly.

paragraphs: After world war II the Rhine Main area was one of the hot spots in Germany because of its central location and its traffic opportunities. Many companies settled down because of the Rhine Main airport and the motorways connecting the region with all parts of Germany. From the 1960s on the Rodgau villages were a huge development area, especially in Nieder-Roden and Jügesheim. Lots of small and middle seized companies started or moved to the area giving jobs to the people. Houses were built and people from other parts of Germany or from other countries came to the area for working and living. The fields near the villages were needed for building and the prices for the land exploded in the 1970s. All this increased the living conditions dramatically.

paragraphs: The growing villages formed an urban areal and in the late 1970s the municipality of Rodgau was shaped. Since then the former villagers and the new residents slowly began to develop a Rodgau identity. Most of the foreign people at first came from Italy, Spain and Portugal, later from Yugoslavia and Greece, then from Turkey. Often the male members came to earn money and send it to their family abroad. In many cases the families moved to Germany later, settled down and got German citizens, bought houses or built one. Only few went back to their home countries. The children went to German schools and are nowadays regular members of the community.

paragraphs: The administration of the formerly independent villages was centralized and the new city hall is in the central part of Rodgau, Jügesheim. There are citizen offices in every former village, called "Anlaufstelle" to deal with minor affairs.

paragraphs: Head of the city is a mayor (CDU). The parliament has 45 seats. Last elections in 2006 had the following results:

paragraphs: Rodgau is ruled by a "center-right" alliance of CDU and FDP.

paragraphs: The city government and the mayor got problems because after the parliament elections three members of the CDU delegates left the CDU parliamentary group. The following political trouble influenced the later mayor elections (2009) and led to a new mayor, now from the SPD. He will start in April 2010.

paragraphs: The coat of arms was given to the city in 1978. It stands for the former villages and their religion. From bottom left to top right runs a silvery band. It is the picture of the creek "Rodau". The fife stars on the band are the picture of the fife villages lying by the creek.

paragraphs: Top left is the picture of a luther rose. It is a religious symbol and it stands for the protestant religion of Dudenhofen. Bottom right is a picture of a wheel. This is not a religious symbol. But it stands for the catholic religion of Weiskirchen, Hainhausen, Jügesheim and Nieder-Roden.

paragraphs: Both pictures are standing for the former owners of the villages. The rose stands for the Count of Hanau and later the Count of Darmstadt. The wheel comes from the archbishop of Mainz. The rose is on one side of the creek and the wheel is opposite to it on the other side of the creek. This means that the villages had trouble and fights because of their different religion.

paragraphs: The two main fields of Rodgau culture are the surrounding nature and the peoples clubs. It is typically German, that most of the people of Rodgau are a member of one or more of the clubs.

paragraphs: These associations have a focus on singing, sports, orchestra music, socker, breeding pet animals, dancing and many other. There are about 50 clubs in Rodgau, where people come together and spend their free time. The associations are an important part of the social life of the city, especially for the people of the former villages partly to keep their villager identity. The clubs are open to new members, who like to share the focus and to develope social contacts.

paragraphs: Rodgau is surrounded by large forests. On weekend many people go there for a walk or make trips by bicycle on the narrow lanes which are leading all through the woods. Often there are places for doing sports or having a barbecue. The facilities are kept kleen and in order by work departments of the city administration.

paragraphs: Because of the village history there are no theaters or museums in the city, but there are well known ones in the cities nearby, mostly in Frankfurt (Senckenbergmuseum; on natural history), Offenbach (Ledermuseum; on leather handycraft and artswork) and Darmstadt (Theater). There are no famous buildings in Rodgau but some architecture (stile of buildings) typical for the region. The old churches of the villages and the framework houses are worth to look at.

paragraphs: There are five protestant and six catholic churches in the city. For the Muslim there are two mosques, one in Nieder-Roden and one in Jügesheim.

paragraphs: Rodgau has two cinemas, many restaurants of different style, bars and some dancefloors.

paragraphs: Once in the year in January and February the whole region is celebrating carnival, the local name is "Fasenacht" or "Fastnacht". It is mostly a tradition of catholic areas. The local names come from a period named "Fastenzeit" (a time of fasting) some weeks before Easter, when one should do fasting. The celebrations are always ending on Tuesday midnight and the fasting period starts on the following Wednesday, named "Aschermittwoch".

paragraphs: In autumn every village has an extra weekend to celebrate. It is the memorial to the opening of their church. The feasts are named "Kirchweih" or - in the local dialect - "Kerb". In former times great autumn fairs were held on that weekend and the people, especially the young ones of the nearby places, went to the feasts to meet each other in the village, to have pleasure, to dance together and make friends.

paragraphs: During late spring and summer many small feasts are celebrated on weekend, mostly in the forests at the barbecue places. They are arranged by the local clubs and associations, even by the local political parties. They are open to the public and people go there to socialize, having a meal and drinking some beer.

paragraphs: The most special and expensive vegetable of the region is asparagus, which loves the poor sandy soil. It is gathered in May and June. Because of the same reason the region has a lot of potato dishes. Some of them are very special and only available on special occasions like the "Bauernkeeskuche" (farmers cheese pie). It is a sort of salty potato pie, that is made with a bread dough.

paragraphs: The traffic in Rodgau runs mostly individual by car. A lot of people are working in nearby cities. They have to drive to their jobs in Frankfurt, Offenbach or other big places. They use the motorway "A3" running through the north of Rodgau.

paragraphs: East along the city runs the B45 from north to south, a motorway-like street connecting all the urban districts with the motorway A3 and the cities of Offenbach, Frankfurt and Hanau to the north and Darmstadt to the south. The suburban railway no. 1 (German: "S-Bahn-Linie 1") runs to Offenbach and, since 2003 directly to Frankfurt. A poor bus system (a single line) connects the urban districts frequently. Rodgau can be easyly reached by street from most other parts of Germany. This was one reason for its fast development in the past.

paragraphs: The city has no own daily newspaper. There are the "Offenbach-Post" and the "Frankfurter Rundschau", both with additional pages (supplement) about Rodgau. The Offenbach-Post supplement is named "Rodgau-Post". It comes weekly on Thursday. There are two weekly papers for free which are brought to every house: The "Rodgau-Zeitung" and the "Bürgerblatt". The "Dreieich-Spiegel" also comes to the houses for free and has a part with Rodgau things. There is a quarterly city magazine "mein rodgau", with articles about people, sports, culture and life style.

paragraphs: Radio information comes by the radio station "Hessischer Rundfunk" ("HR") on channel 1 to 4, "You FM" and "hr-info". Other radio stations are "Hit Radio FFH", also "Radio Primavera" in the nearby bavarian city of Aschaffenburg.

paragraphs: Rodgau does not have a hospital. The next clinic is about 7 km away in Seligenstadt. The town is short with specialist doctors. Patients often have to go to nearby cities, if they want to see a doctor on special diseases, for example a heart disease. There is a medical emergency center in Dudenhofen to give fast help in case of a heart attack.

paragraphs: The city has many kindergartens and primary schools in each urban district. There is a secondary school (highschool) in Dudenhofen. For colleges and universities the students have to go to the nearby cities.


title: North Pacific giant octopus

paragraphs: The North Pacific giant octopus ("Enteroctopus dofleini") is a big cephalopod in the coastal North Pacific.

paragraphs: It usually lives at depths around lseters hey have also besSeven-arm octopus ("Haliphron atlanticus"). Adults usually weigh around 15 kg (33 lb), with an arm span of

paragraphs: They mostly eat crabs, shrimp, abalone, fish, and shellfish like scallops, clams, and mussels. In aquariums, they have been seen eating spiny dogfish ("Squalus acanthias"), a type of shark 3-4 feet long. Food is grabbed with its sucy rs and then crushed using its tough beak of chitin. North Pacific giant octopus are eaten by harbor seals, sea otters, and sperm whales. They usually live about 3-5 years in the wild.


title: Chuck Palahniuk

paragraphs: Charles Michael "Chuck" Palahniuk (born February 21, 1962) is an American satire author. He is well known for writing the award-winning book "Fight Club". It was later made into a movie directed by David Fincher. He lives in the state of Washington.

paragraphs: Palahniuk was born in Pasco, Washington and raised in Burbank, Washington and Eastern Washington. started writing books when he was in his mid-thirties. His first book, "Insomnia: If You Lived Here, You'd Be Home Already", was never made into a book because he didn't think the story was very good. When he tried to write his next novel, "Invisible Monsters", publishers did not like it because they thought it was too scary. This made him work on his best known book, "Fight Club". He wrote it to try to scare the publisher even more for not publishing his book. Palahniuk wrote this story in his spare time. After first writing it as a short story, Palahniuk made it longer into a full book, which, surprising to him, was published.

paragraphs: In 1999, a changed version of "Invisible Monsters", and his fourth novel, "Survivor", were published. This made Palahniuk a cult figure. A few years later Palahniuk wrote his first New York Times bestseller, "Choke". After that, Palahniuk's later books would mostly have the same success. This success allowed him to travel and promote his books, where he reads from new and upcoming books.

paragraphs: Palahniuk is openly gay and a lapsed Catholic.


title: Order of St Michael and St George

paragraphs: The most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry. It was started on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, who became King George IV of the United Kingdom. It started when he was Prince Regent for his father, King George III.

paragraphs: It is named in honour of two military saints, Saint Michael and Saint George.

paragraphs: The Order has three classes, listed below from highest to lowest:

paragraphs: It is used to honour people who have done important things for the Commonwealth or foreign nations.

paragraphs: People are "appointed" to the Order rather than given it. British Ambassadors to foreign nations are often appointed as KCMGs or CMGs. For example, the British Ambassador to the United States, Sir David Manning, was appointed a CMG when he worked for the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).

paragraphs: After his appointment as British Ambassador to the United States, he was promoted to a Knight Commander (KCMG). Often, when the Queen visits a nation, the British ambassador to that nation automatically becomes a Knight Commander of the Order, and afterwards they may use the title "Sir", before their name.

paragraphs: It is the normal award for members of the FCO.

paragraphs: The Order's motto is "Auspicium melioris ævi" (Latin for "Token of a better age"). Its patron saints are Saint Michael the Archangel and Saint George. One of its primary symbols is that of St Michael standing over Satan.

paragraphs: The Order is the sixth-most important in the British honours system, after The Most Noble Order of the Garter (the highest British honour), The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, The Most Illustrious Order of St Patrick, The Most Honourable Order of the Bath, and The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India.

paragraphs: The Most Illustrious Order of St Patrick (for Ireland) has not been appointed since 1934 as the Republic of Ireland is no longer part of the United Kingdom. The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India has not been used since India's independence in 1947.

paragraphs: The Order was started to remember the British protectorate over the Ionian Islands. The Islands had come under British control in 1814. It was given its own constitution as the United States of the Ionian Islands, in 1817.

paragraphs: The order was to reward people, who lived on their Ionian Islands and on Malta, who worked for the King.

paragraphs: The protectorate ended in 1864, and the Ionian Islands became a part of Greece.

paragraphs: The reasons for being appointed to the Order were changed in 1868. Anyone who did important work in Queen Victoria's government (especially overseas) could be appointed. After this change, many Governors-General and Governors were appointed to the Order.

paragraphs: The British Sovereign is the Sovereign of the Order and appoints all other members of the Order. The sovereign follow the advice of the Government.

paragraphs: After the sovereign, the next-most senior member is the Grand Master. The office used to be held by the Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands, but now they are chosen by the Sovereign.

paragraphs: The number of members originally in the Order included:

paragraphs: Members of the Royal Family who are appointed to the Order are not counted as part of these limits and neither are foreigners appointed as "honorary members" (this means that they cannot use the title 'Sir' or 'Dame', and do not receive all the privileges of the order)

paragraphs: The Order's King of Arms is not a member of the College of Arms.

paragraphs: The Usher of the Order is known as the Gentleman Usher of the Blue Rod. He does not perform any duties related to the House of Lords, unlike the Usher of the Order of the Garter (the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod).

paragraphs: Members of the Order wear decorated costumes on important occasions (such as coronations), which vary by rank:

paragraphs: The Sovereign will name some days "collar days". On these days, members attending formal events may wear the Order's collar over their military uniform or evening wear. When collars are worn (either on collar days or on formal occasions such as coronations), the badge is hung from the collar.

paragraphs: All collars which have been awarded since 1948 must be returned to the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood. The other symbols can be kept..

paragraphs: The original home of the Order was the Palace of St Michael and St George in Corfu This was the home of the Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands. It was also the location of the Ionian Senate meetings.

paragraphs: Since 1906, the Order's chapel has been in St Paul's Cathedral in London. (The Cathedral also serves as home to the chapels of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire and The Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor.) Religious services for the whole Order are held every four years. New Knights and Dames Grand Cross are 'installed' at these services (this means that they are officially appointed and make an oath of loyalty to the Sovereign).

paragraphs: The Sovereign and the Knights and Dames Grand Cross have stalls in the choir's area of the chapel.

paragraphs: Over their stall, their heraldic devices are displayed: The Knight's helm, decorated with a mantling (cloth tied to the helpmet) and topped by his crest (often an animal).

paragraphs: Under English heraldic law, women who are not monarchs do not bear helms or crests - this is because in the past, women did not fight in wars or tournaments, so they did not have a helmet. Instead of a helmet, Dames will have a coronet (a small crown). The exact design will depend on how important the Dame's is in society.

paragraphs: Above the crest or coronet hangs the Knight or Dame's heraldic banner, showing the coat of arms. At the back of the stall there is a piece of brass (a "stall plate") displaying its occupant's name, arms and date of admission into the Order. Upon the death of a Knight, the banner, helm, mantling and crest are taken down. The stall plates are not removed, but remain permanently placed somewhere in the stall, so that the stalls of the chapel are covered with a colourful record of the Order's Knights and Dames Grand Cross since 1906.

paragraphs: The reredos (decorated panels) within the chapel were designed by Henry Poole, in 1927.

paragraphs: Members of the Order of St Michael are given positions in the order of precedence (the order in which members of the nobility should be placed in a procession or other events). Wives of male members are also given positions in the order of precedence. So are sons, daughters and daughters-in-law of Knights Grand Cross and Knights Commanders. Relatives of female members are not given any special precedence.

paragraphs: Knights Grand Cross and Knights Commanders use the title "Sir" before their given name, and Dames Grand Cross and Dames Commanders use "Dame". For example, John Smith and Jane Doe would be called "Sir John Smith" and "Dame Jane Doe".

paragraphs: Wives of Knights may use the title "Lady" before their surname (for example "Lady Smith"), but husbands of Dames have no title.

paragraphs: These titles are not used by peers and princes, except when the names of peers are written out in their fullest forms. Honorary members (usually members from other countries) and clergymen do not receive the accolade or use the title.

paragraphs: Knights and Dames Grand Cross use the post-nominal "GCMG". Knights Commanders and Dames Commanders use "KCMG" and "DCMG" respectively. Companions use "CMG". Examples are:

paragraphs: Knights and Dames Grand Cross are also allowed to receive heraldic supporters (figures on either side of the shield, which look like they are holding it up). These may be real or imaginary animals, or human figures. They may also surround their arms with the design of the circlet (a circle bearing the motto) and the collar. The circlet is shown either outside or on top of the collar.

paragraphs: Knights and Dames Commanders and Companions may display the circlet (but not the collar) around their arms. The badge is depicted hanging from the collar or circlet.

paragraphs: In the satirical British television programme, "Yes Minister", Jim Hacker MP is told an old joke by his Private Secretary, Bernard Woolley, about what the different post-nominals mean.

paragraphs: Ian Fleming's spy, James Bond, was appointed to the CMG, in 1953 (mentioned in the novel "From Russia, with Love"). He was offered the KCMG in "The Man with the Golden Gun", but he would not take it, as he did not wish to become a public figure.


title: Gilbert Thomas Carter

paragraphs: Sir Gilbert Thomas Carter KCMG (Greenwich, Kent, 14 January 1848 – Barbados, 18 January 1927) was an administrative officer in the Royal Navy and later a colonial official for the British Empire.

paragraphs: Starting as a Collector of Customs for the Gold Coast, he later became the Treasurer of the Gold Coast and The Gambia. Changing his career to administration, he started as the Administrator for The Gambia, where he dealt with the aggression of the native King of Gambia. He then became Governor for the Lagos where he negotiated on treaties with the local chiefs which protected Christian missionaries and ending human sacrifices. He later served as the Governors for The Bahamas and Barbados and finally as the Governor for Trinidad and Tobago.

paragraphs: Carter was the only son of Thomas Gilbert Carter who was a Commander in the Royal Navy. He was educated at the Royal Naval School in Greenwich.

paragraphs: Carter joined the Royal Navy in 1864, working as an Assistant Clerk on different ships. He also worked as a Clerk and as an Assistant Paymaster (the person responsible for paying everyone). His final job in the Royal Navy was on a Colonial steamer. While he was on this ship, he took part in the third war between England and the Ashanti people on the Gold Coast (now Ghana).

paragraphs: When the town of Elmina was sold to the British by the Dutch Government, he was a commissioner, responsible for valuing the military supplies left behind by the Dutch. He left the Navy on 21 July 1875.

paragraphs: In 1875, Carter became the private secretary to Sir George Berkeley who was the Governor of the Leeward Islands. In August 1879, he became Collector of Customs and Treasurer of the Gold Coast.

paragraphs: From 1882 until December 1888, Carter was in charge of the "Settlement" (the British colony) on The Gambia as a Treasurer and Postmaster. From 1886, he was acting Administrator of the Colony of the Gambia, until 1 December 1888, when he was given the job as full Administrator on the Gambia's separation from Sierra Leone.

paragraphs: On 1 January 1890, Carter was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG).

paragraphs: In 1891, the native King of Gambia had been organising abusive acts towards the British colonists. Carter sent an envoy from his official residence in Bathurst with a message that if the abuses continued, "he might expect a visit of a disciplinary nature from the marine forces of the Queen of England." (This means that the British Navy would send warships to punish the King.) The King sent the envoy back mutilated, with a message: "This is the King's answer." In response, Carter sent three British gunboats to get revenge for the bad treatment shown to the envoy.

paragraphs: On 3 February 1891, Carter became Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Colony of Lagos (now Nigeria). In 1892, Carter ordered an attack on the Ijebu tribe (of the Yoruba people) "in the interest of civilisation". Afterwards, he continued to say that this attack was a war to end slavery and promote civilisation. In early 1893, Carter travelled to various parts of Yorubaland, travelling with soldiers, in an attempt to show the power of the British. Some of the tribal chiefs did not want Carter there, and told him not to interfere with the slavery trade.

paragraphs: In January 1893, the Egba chiefs decided to sign a Treaty of Independence with the British Government. The Crown agreed that Her Majesty's Government would not try to take over any part of the Egba Nation without the permission of the lawful Authority of the nation. They also agreed that no aggressive actions should be made against the nation, and that its independence would be recognised. The Egba chiefs also said they would end human sacrifices.

paragraphs: He became a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) on 3 June 1893. This was for the work that he did in Yoruba country, and for bringing an end to a long war there.

paragraphs: Carter sent works of art made by the Ife peoples of Yoruba to Europe.

paragraphs: In 1898, Carter was moved to The Bahamas as the Governor and Commander-in-Chief. He also had a temporary job as the Governor of Trinidad and Tobago. In July 1904, he was moved to Barbados as Governor and Commander-in-Chief.

paragraphs: In the spring of 1903, Carter met Gertrude Codman Parker (born 6 February 1875). She was travelling in the Bahamas with her parents. Carter and Parker got married on 25 August 1903 in the Church of the Advent in Boston, USA. He had been married before this, and had three sons and two daughters. His son Humphrey was Director of the Cambridge University Botanic Garden.

paragraphs: Carter retired in 1910. In 1919, he changed his surname to "Gilbert-Carter" and in the early 1920s, he moved back to Barbados, and lived at Ilaro Court, which had been designed and built by his wife.


title: Uvula

paragraphs: The uvula is the punchbag-shaped object on the back of a throat, in the middle of the soft palate. Massaging the uvula causes the gag reflex which makes someone vomit.

paragraphs: The uvula functions with the back of the throat, the palate, and air coming up from the lungs to create a number variety of different sounds. Consonants involving sound from the uvula are not found in most dialects of English, though they are found in many Semitic, Caucasian, and Turkic languages, as well as several languages of Western Europe such as German, French and a few Celtic languages, where it is used to make a sound called the uvular trill.


title: Canada Day

paragraphs: Canada Day is a national and an official holiday in Canada celebrating its anniversary of Confederation. It takes place annually on July 1st.


title: Blood diamond

paragraphs: A blood diamond, also known as a conflict diamond, is a diamond that came from an area which is controlled by armed groups which oppose the rules and regulations of governments. These diamonds are mined by civilians who have been ordered by the armed groups to do so (most of them are children), and typically if they refuse to do the work they may be possibly raped, abused, or even murdered. The diamonds are then sold and used to buy weapons to help the armed groups fight against the government. Because of this, most of the blood diamond mining happens in war zones. This is a form of exploitation. They are traded illegally. There have been 3.7 million deaths over diamonds. The Kimberly Process Certification Scheme(KPCS) helps keep blood diamonds out of markets, although most of these diamonds are assumed to be legitimate it is difficult to tell with all of the smuggling. Over 80 (81) countries participate in the KPCS. Every KPCS certified diamond has to be labeled with a specific government number.


title: Solomon's Temple

paragraphs: According to the Hebrew Bible, Solomon’s Temple, was the first temple the Israelites built for God. It was also called the first temple and was first built by Solomon. It stood next to the king’s palace, and was both God’s royal palace and Israel’s center of worship. The Bible says that the Lord said to Solomon, “I have consecrated (made special or clean) this temple…by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there” (1 King 9:3). A symbol of holiness and royalty, it reminded the Israelites that God was the special head of Israel. It was patterned after the tabernacle and, in general, other temples at that time, and was divided into three important areas: the Most Holy Place, the Holy Place and the outer courtyard. It was built in Jerusalem, on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, where Solomon's father David had bought to build an altar to God.

paragraphs: According to secular Historians, the Temple would have been completed in around 960 BCE. The Babylonians destroyed it in 587 or 586 BCE. Rabbinic literature says that the temple stood for 410 years. According to the work Seder Olam Rabbah, written in the second century CE, the temple was built in 832 BCE, and destroyed in 433 BCE (3338 AM). This is 165 later than the secular estimates.

paragraphs: To date, no definite archaeological proofs for Solomon's Temple have been found and the only information regarding the First Temple in Jerusalem is inside the biblical books of Joshua, Judges, 1-2 Samuel and 1-2 Kings.

paragraphs: At first, King David wanted to build a temple for God, but according to the Bible, God said to him through the prophet Nathan, "You are not to build a house for my Name, because you are a warrior and have shed blood." However, he chose Solomon to build the temple. Before his death, David gave his son Solomon the plans for the building of the temple, and instructions for the priests and Levites, and all the work of serving in the temple. He also gave his own money to Solomon to help build the temple, and asked the people to help give gifts of money.

paragraphs: King Solomon sent a message to Hiram king of Tyre, who had been friends with his father David and sent David lots of wood to build his palace with. In this message, Solomon said that he wanted to build a temple for the Lord, and asked Hiram to send him wood. Hiram said that he would if Solomon gave food for the cost of the wood and work people did. So Hiram gave Solomon all the cedar and pine logs he wanted, and Solomon gave Hiram wheat for his family, and twenty thousand baths (about 115,000 gallons or 434 000 liters) of olive oil. King Hiram cut down the wood and sent them on to a place called Joppa. From there they could take the wood up to Jerusalem.

paragraphs: According to the Bible, “In the 480th year after the Israelites had come out of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in…the second month, he began to build the temple of the LORD.”(1 Kings 6:1) King Solomon brought Huram-Abi, whose mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali (one of the tribes of Israel) and whose father was a man from Tyre and a person who was a craftsman in bronze. Huram was very good at all kinds of work. In 2 Chronicles 2:7 it says that he was "...skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, and in purple, crimson, and blue yarn." He was especially good at working with bronze. When all the work King Solomon had done for the temple was finished, he brought in the things his father David had given to God, and put them in the treasuries of the temple. So "In the eleventh year in the month of Bul, the eighth month, the temple was finished in all its details according to its specifications." (1 Kings 6:38 NIV)

paragraphs: When the temple was finished, King Solomon brought the of the Lord's covenant to the temple and made all the people of Israel come there, and they sacrificed so many sheep and cattle "they could not be recorded or counted". Then the cloud filled the temple - just as God showed himself on the at Mt. Sinai, he now showed himself at the temple in a cloud. Then King Solomon praised God. He said a prayer of dedication (giving to God) in front of the people of Israel. He asked God to keep his promise to King David of letting King David's sons rule forever (which, according to Christianity, becomes true when Jesus, the son of David, dies for mankind); then he added, "But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!"—reminding the people that God was not bound to the temple and could not be contained, even though he had chosen to come and with the people of Israel in a special way. Then he asked God to answer the people of Israel when they prayed toward, or at, the temple; to hear from heaven when someone sinned, or enemies came to Israel, or there was drought or famine in the land, "...whatever disaster or disease may come, and when a prayer or plea (asking for something, request) is made by any of your people Israel...then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive and act; deal with each man according to all he does, since you know his heart (for you alone know the hearts of all men), so that they will fear you all the time they live in the land you gave our fathers" (1 Kings 8:38-40). Then Solom stood up and blessed the people of Israel, and gave sacrifices to God: "twenty thousand cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated the temple of the LORD"(1 Kings 8: 63, NIV).

paragraphs: According to the Bible, when Solomon had finished building the temple, God appeared to him and said, "I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me...My eyes and my heart will always be there [at the temple you have made]." However, God also warned to Solomon the importance of obeying God's covenant (promise) in order to enjoy its blessings, not its curses. This was needed because God gave Solomon power and wealth, which many times made people forget the promise God had made with them.

paragraphs: Solomon also gave to Hiram king of Tyre 20 towns in Galilee because Hiram had given him all the cedar and pine and gold he had needed. But Hiram did not like the towns Solomon had given him and he said, "What kind of towns are these you have given me, my brother?" (1 Kings 9:13, NIV) He called them the Land of Cabul (which sounds like the Hebrew for "good-for-nothing"). Probably Solomon had become more indebted to Hiram than he had at first thought, so he had given the towns to Hiram king of Tyre as a sign that he would pay him later. 2 Chronicles 8:1-2 says that later, when Solomon became richer - maybe because of the expedition to Ophir (1 King 9:26-28;10-11) or the visit from the queen of Sheba.

paragraphs: The temple of Solomon was next to the king's palace. The floor plan was like most West Semite kinds of floor plans. An early example of a floor divided into "ulam", "hekal", and "debir" (, main hall, and inner ) has been found at Syrian Ebla (c.2300 B.C.) and much later but more around the time of Solomon, at Tell Tainat at the Orontes basin (c.900 B.C.). Like Solomon's, the later temple has three divisions has two columns at the entrance (in Solomon's palace, they are called "Jakin" and Boaz"), and is next to the royal palace.

paragraphs: The ark of the covenant of God was put inside the inner sanctuary - the Most Holy Place - which was about 30 feet (about 9 meters) long, wide and high, overlaid with pure gold. Solomon used lots of gold in the temple: this was probably because the bright gold symbolized the glory of God and his heavenly temple (Rev.21:10-11,18,21). Inside the temple were carved , palm trees and flowers. This is a reminder of the Garden of Eden, which humans could not live in anymore because of their sin. The temple was a symbol that the Israelites could come back to paradise through the temple.

paragraphs: Some discoveries today echo the words in 1 Kings 6-7.

paragraphs: Something very much like the wheeled movable basin used in the courtyard of the temple has come from archaeological on Cyprus.

paragraphs: A stone altar having four horns on the corners was found at Megiddo. It shows a good idea of how the gold altar in the temple looked like. The table for the Bread of the Presence was also made of gold. The Bread of the Presence (twelve pieces of bread, one for every tribe of Israel), symbolized a continual offering to God by which Israel showed that she gave to God what she earned with her work, and that everything Israel had received was a blessing of God's.

paragraphs: Ten lamp stands were in the temple, five on each side of the (1 Kings 7:49). Lamps like these have been found in many places in Palestine, including Hazor and Dothan.


title: 2nd millennium

paragraphs: The 2nd millennium started on January 1, 1001 and ended on December 31, 2000. It is not to be confused with the 1000s millennium which started on January 1, 1000 and ended on December 31, 1999.


title: Radio Bart

paragraphs: "Radio Bart" is the thirteenth episode of The Simpsons third season. It was first shown on the Fox network in the United States on January 9, 1992. In this episode, Bart gets a microphone that transmits sound to nearby AM radios. To play a prank on the people of "Springfield", Bart places a radio deep inside a well and uses the microphone to trick the town into thinking a little boy is stuck in it. At first his trick worked, but soon realizes that he left a "property of Bart Simpson" label on the radio and goes to get it. Bart becomes trapped in the well and while the town decides to leave him there after finding out about the prank, his father Homer tries to rescue him.


title: Chromatin

paragraphs: Chromatin is the complex combination of DNA and proteins that makes up chromosomes. It is found inside the nuclei of eukaryotic cells.

paragraphs: Chromatin is divided into heterochromatin (condensed) and euchromatin (extended) forms.

paragraphs: Heterochromatin is composed mostly of satellite DNA tandem repeats. The active components of chromatin are DNA and histone proteins, although other proteins also occur. The functions of chromatin are:


title: The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause

paragraphs: The Santa Claus 3: The Escape Clause is the third movie in "The Santa Clause" series of movies.

paragraphs: It is an 2006 American Christmas comedy adventure film directed by Michael Lembeck. Nominated for Academy Awards in nine categories, it won an Academy Award for Best Writing (Original Screenplay) by Herman J. Mankiewicz and Welles. Considered by many critics, filmmakers, and fans to be the greatest film of all time, "Citizen Kane" was voted as such in five consecutive British Film Institute "Sight & Sound" polls of critics, until it was displaced by "Vertigo" in the 2012 poll. It topped the American Film Institute's 100 Years ... 100 Movies list in 2017, as well as its 2007 update. "Citizen Kane" is particularly praised for its cinematography, music, and narrative structure, which have been considered innovative and precedent-setting.


title: Lisa the Greek

paragraphs: "Lisa the Greek" is the fourteenth episode of The Simpsons third season. It was first shown on the Fox network in the United States on January 23, 1992. In this episode, Homer begins to bond with his daughter, Lisa, after learning her unique ability to pick winning American football teams. When Lisa finds out Homer has only been using her for gambling, she doesn't to speak to her father until he fully understands her. "Lisa the Greek" was written by Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky, and directed by Rich Moore.


title: Homer Alone

paragraphs: "Homer Alone" is the 15th episode of "The Simpsons" ' third season and the 50th episode of the series. The title is based on the movie "Home Alone". The episode is written by David M. Stern, the brother of actor Daniel Stern, who co-starred in "Home Alone" and its first sequel.


title: Bart the Lover

paragraphs: "Bart the Lover" is the sixteenth episode of The Simpsons' third season. In this episode, it takes an early look at the personal life of Mrs. Krabappel. Marcia Wallace, the voice actress of Mrs. Krabappel, won an Emmy for her performance in this episode.


title: Nucleosome

paragraphs: Nucleosomes are the building blocks which make up chromosomes. They consist of a segment of DNA wound around a histone protein core.

paragraphs: First, DNA and a protein make up chromatin. Then the chromatin is packed up into nucleosomes. Nucleosomes are then packaged up to make a chromosome. The packages do three things: the chromosomes function in cell division; the very long DNA is wrapped up in a shorter package; and the proteins regulate the gene action in cells.

paragraphs: Nucleosomes form the basic repeating units of eukaryotic chromatin. This packs the large eukaryotic genomes into the nucleus and allows it to be controlled.

paragraphs: In mammalian cells about two metres of linear DNA have to be packed into a nucleus of roughly 10 µm diameter. Nucleosomes are folded, in a series of higher order structures, to form a chromosome. This folding compacts the DNA and adds a layer of regulatory control. The control ensures correct gene expression.

paragraphs: Nucleosomes are thought to carry epigenetically inherited information, as modifications of their core histones. This information can be passed on to daughter cells, but it usually wiped out by meiosis in germ cells.

paragraphs: The nucleosome hypothesis proposed by Don and Ada Olins and Roger Kornberg

paragraphs: in 1974, was a big step for understanding eukaryotic gene expression. Kornberg won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2006) for this and other discoveries.

paragraphs: Although the nucleosome is a very stable protein-DNA complex, it is not static. It undergoes some structural re-arrangements, such as nucleosome sliding and DNA site exposure. Nucleosomes can inhibit or facilitate transcription.

paragraphs: Since they were discovered in the mid 1960’s, histone changes were thought to affect transcription.

paragraphs: Some modifications have been shown to be correlated with gene silencing, others seem to be correlated with gene activation. The information stored in this way is considered epigenetic: it is not coded in the DNA but is nevertheless inherited by daughter cells. The maintenance of a particular state of a gene is often necessary for cellular differentiation.


title: Arturo Rodas

paragraphs: Arturo Rodas (born 1954) is a leading Ecuadorian composer. He has lived in London since 1989.

paragraphs: Rodas has composed "24.5 Preludes" for piano; "Climax" for orchestra, "Atonal fugue I" for oboe "d'amore" & piano and electronic music works.

paragraphs: "Since emigrating to England in 1990, he has composed works such as "The Book of the Orchestra",(2002-2003) which is intended to be performed in a house with many rooms so as to allow an “audience” to hear different instrumental groups as they wander from room to room".


title: Extremophile

paragraphs: An extremophile is an organism (a living thing) which lives best in extreme conditions that are harmful to most life on Earth. They are different from organisms that live in normal places, called "mesophiles" or "neutrophiles".

paragraphs: In the 1980s and 1990s, biologists found that microbes can survive in extreme environments. These are niches that are extreme in some way. They may be extremely hot, or cold, or dry, or under huge pressure, or very salty or acidic. Complex organisms, such as animals or plants, cannot live in these environments.

paragraphs: Some scientists suggest that life may have begun on Earth in hydrothermal vents far below the ocean surface. Environments such as hot oceans, hot springs and deep ocean hydrothermal vents would have been common during the Archaean eon, about 3.9 billion years ago. Early forms of life lived in those conditions.

paragraphs: Most known extremophiles are microbes. The domain Archaea has well-known examples of extremophiles, but some bacteria are also extremophiles. It is a mistake to use the term extremophile for all archaeans, since some of them are mesophilic. Not all extremophiles are unicellular: some extreme environments have animals which are multicellular.

paragraphs: Some extremophiles fall under several categories. For example, organisms living inside hot rocks deep under Earth's surface are both "thermophilic" and "barophilic".


title: Meowth

paragraphs: Meowth has a cat-like design, with cream-colored fur, and has brown paws and tail tip. It has whiskers, black-and-brown ears, and a gold coin on its head. Meowth is spends most of the daytime sleeping and walks the city streets at night. They put their claws back into their paws so they can move without noise and not leave footprints. Meowth loves round objects, as well as shiny things. The item it loves collecting the most are coins since they are both round "and" shiny. Meowth collects them and keeps them in its nest. Murkrow, a bird Pokémon, also likes coins and steals them from Meowth.

paragraphs: Meowth appears as a wild Pokémon in many versions of the games. Meowth is one of the characters in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games. Meowth is also seen in the Nintendo 64 game Pokémon Snap, the Nintendo GameCube game "Pokémon Channel", and many others. Meowth is seen in the Super Smash Bros. series as a Pokémon used with a Poké Ball item, and uses its move "Pay Day" and throws coins at players.

paragraphs: Meowth has made an appearance in almost every episode in the anime because one is owned by Team Rocket agents Jessie and James, the show's main antagonists. He first lived in the city, and tried to impress a female Meowth named Meowzie by learning to walk on two legs and speak human language. Instead of being impressed, she told him he was a freak, so Meowth joined Team Rocket. Meowth was cloned in "", but his clone could not talk or walk on two legs, because Meowth needed to learn how to do this. The Meowth clone is shown again in "". A trainer named Tyson owns a Meowth, which beat Ash's Pikachu a the Hoenn Pokémon League. This Meowth was dressed up like Puss in Boots.

paragraphs: In the Pokémon Adventures manga, Meowth's first appearance is a cameo in the first chapter as one of the Pokémon that escapes from Professor Oak's Laboratory. Meowth has appeared in the Pokémon Trading Card Game first in the Jungle series. A special Meowth card was given when buying the Pokémon Trading Card Video Game. In an open forum interview with ABC News, Pokémon anime director Masakazu Kubo noted Meowth as his favorite Pokémon, saying that while not a major Pokémon in the games, a Meowth is in the anime.

paragraphs: Team Rocket's Meowth ranked fourth on Game Daily's top 10 list of Nintendo characters that deserve their own games, describing him as "adorable" and explaining that his intelligence and ability to speak gave writers more depth than other Pokémon would. IGN stated that without the anime, the character would not have been as famous, further describing it as "probably the funniest part of the show". However, another editor stated it was also popular amongst people who have never seen the anime due to being a feline. IGN also said that Meowth would make a good choice as a playable character in "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" "if Brawl's developers really wanted much more representation for Pokémon as a franchise" also stating "it would be fun to face him in battle as a real fighter, just to be able to send him "blasting off again," referencing Team Rocket's Meowth GamesRadar described Meowth as "not all that useful", and questioned if the Pokémon would have stood out if it were not for its portrayal in the anime.


title: Seal of Alabama

paragraphs: The Great Seal of the State of Alabama is the state seal of the U.S. state of Alabama. It was designed in 1817 by William Wyatt Bibb, the governor of the "Alabama Territory" and the subsequent first governor of the state. When Alabama became a state in 1819, the state got the design as the official state seal. The seal has a map showing one of the state's most valuable resources—its major rivers. Bibb's design served as the official seal until 1868, when it was replaced by a design having on it an eagle holding in its beak a banner that read "Here We Rest." The legislature and Governor Frank M. Dixon restored Bibb's original design in 1939, and it has remained unchanged since.


title: Modular origami

paragraphs: Modular origami (also called unit origami) is a type of paperfolding that uses many sheets of paper. Modular origami is used to make large structures that cannot be made with one sheet of paper. Many sheets of paper are folded in identical shapes, and they are then put together by inserting flaps into pockets.

paragraphs: The first modular origami model comes from a 1734 Japanese book by Hayato Ohoka called "Ranma Zushiki". The book has pictures of many traditional origami models, and one is a modular cube called "tamatebako". "Tamatebako" is a Japanese word meaning "magic treasure box", and it is called this because the box can be opened on any side. Another traditional model, kusudamas, are balls of folded paper flowers. They are often hung as decorations using string or thread.

paragraphs: The various number of modules is combined from two to tens of thousands modules. When modules are put together, most are supported only by the friction of paper, also they are glued together or sewn by threads.

paragraphs: Mitsunobu Sonobe designed in 1970s. It is so simple that most people can make kusudamas. Module of Sonobe method is one of the most famous modules. We can make a polyhedron like a cube or a trisoctahedron(a dodecahedron?) by putting together many modules.

paragraphs: Modular Rate is the facility of putting together. This rate is how many people can put together without joining materials like glues. This rate applies the model that was designed so that it was put together without using joining materials from the beginning.


title: University of Missouri

paragraphs: The University of Missouri (often shortened to MU, and also nicknamed Mizzou) is a public university in Columbia, Missouri, in the United States that was started in 1839. It has about 31,000 students.

paragraphs: Missouri's athletics teams are called the Tigers. Missouri has 18 varsity teams that now compete in the Southeastern Conference. The school's mascot, Truman the Tiger, is named after President Harry Truman, who was from Missouri.

paragraphs: There are more than 280 degree programs at the University of Missouri.

paragraphs: The university's well known school of journalism is the oldest university journalism program in the United States. The school has awarded its Honor Medal for Distinguished Service in Journalism. The medal has been awarded yearly since 1930.


title: Saltasaurus

paragraphs: Saltasaurus was a large plant-eating dinosaur with an elongated neck and bony armored plates on its body. It was a titanosaurid sauropod which lived during the late Cretaceous period, about 83 to 79 million years ago. Fossils have been found in Argentina.

paragraphs: It was the first genus of sauropod known to have armour of bony plates embedded in its skin. The small bony plates (called osteoderms, a feature of modern crocodiles) have since been found on other titanosaurs.

paragraphs: "Saltasaurus" was named by paleontologists José Bonaparte and Jamie Powell in 1980. Salta is the name of the Northwestern Argentinian Province where fossils were found. They include: a few oval and circular armored plates, hundreds of bumps which covered its back (roughly 1/4 inch = 6-7 mm in diameter), and several incomplete skeletons, including some vertebrae, limb bones, and jaws.


title: Peter Schwartz

paragraphs: Peter Schwartz was born in 1946. He is a futurist (his job is to think about what might happen in the future, and help prepare for it) and an author. He and his friends Stewart Brand and Jay Ogilvy made Global Business Network. Global Business Network is a company in San Francisco, California.

paragraphs: Peter was born in 1946. His parents are named Klara and Benjamin. He went to college at RPI. His wife is named Cathleen. His son is named Benjamin. Benjamin was born in 1990.

paragraphs: Peter Schwartz wrote a lot of books, mostly about the future. He wrote about China's economy.

paragraphs: Peter Schwartz also helped work on movies.

paragraphs: Global Business Network is Peter Schwartz's company. He started it in the 1980s with his friends Stewart Brand and Jay Ogilvy.


title: Fiddler crab

paragraphs: A fiddler crab, also called a calling crab, is a land crab that lives in mud or sand flats near the beach. The reason this crab is called a fiddler crab is because it holds its large cheliped in front of its body and moves it back and forth as if it is playing a fiddle.

paragraphs: The male fiddler crab has one huge cheliped and another smaller cheliped. Sometimes it's the right cheliped that's the big one and sometimes it's the left. If a male loses its large cheliped, the smaller one will grow large to replace it. This huge cheliped is so large that it is sometimes bigger than the whole crab. It is this cheliped they wave back and forth.

paragraphs: The fiddler crab eats by first opening its mouth, then using its maxillipeds (a part of its mouth), it scoops in a small amount of mud or sand, depending on where it lives. Then, it uses its other mouthparts to scrape any food matter (algae, decaying animals or plants)it can from the dirt it has just put into its mouth. After this, it forms the mud or sand into a little pellet, which is called a "feeding pellet". It then drops the feeding pellet and starts all over again.

paragraphs: The reason the male fiddler crab has such a big claw is to attract females. Every two weeks during the summer, male fiddler crabs build little round burrows, which are deeper and better than the ones they usually build. The crabs guard these burrows fiercely. Where there are lots of fiddler crabs, there are usually hundreds of these little burrows all lined up only a few inches apart. Each male fiddler crab stands out in front of his burrow waiting for the females to return from eating. The females then walk around looking at the different burrows. As they walk past, the males wave their big chelipeds back and forth. If a female likes a male or burrow, she will stop and stare. Then the male begins waving his cheliped wildly. Sometimes the female will run away. However, if she stays, the male will run between her and the burrow, back and forth, again and again. If she has still not run away, she will come closer to the burrow. Then the male will enter the burrow a little and start drumming against the side of the tunnel with his cheliped. If the female likes what she hears, she will go down into the burrow, and they will mate.


title: Night

paragraphs: Night or nighttime is the time when the Sun is not in the sky. Night happens after dusk and before dawn. The opposite of night is day. The start and end times of night are different in different geographic locations. It varies on season, latitude, longitude and timezone.

paragraphs: In other time zones, the night occurs at different times. This is because the Sun shines on different parts of the Earth at different times. During a solar eclipse it is also partially night because the Sun is blocked out by the Moon.

paragraphs: In popular culture, night is often thought of as a symbol of evil, possibly because of the fear of the dark or possibly because of the lack of visibility.


title: Bureau of Economic Analysis

paragraphs: The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that has economic statistics like the gross domestic product of the United States. Its stated mission is to "promote a better understanding of the U.S. economy by having the most timely, relevant, and accurate economic data in an objective and cost-effective manner."


title: Flag of Washington

paragraphs: The Flag of Washington has the state seal (which has an image of George Washington) on a field of dark green with gold fringe being optional. It is the only U.S. state flag with a field of green as well as the only state flag with the image of an American president.


title: Back at the Barnyard

paragraphs: Back at the Barnyard is a cartoon which is a spinoff from the "Barnyard" movie. It began airing on September 2007.

paragraphs: In March 2008, Nick renewed "Back at the Barnyard" for a second season of 20 episodes and two holiday themed specials. The new season premiered on October 24, 2008, part of "Some Like It Snotty Week", which became the first 30-minute episode called, "Some Like it Snotty". A brand new Barnyard movie aired on November 29, 2008, which is the third day of the second "Super Stuffed Nicktoons Weekend". Four new episodes aired from January 20-23, 2009 part of "Battle of the Barnyard Week". Five more new episodes aired from February 23-27, 2009 part of "Animal Invasion" week, followed by five new episodes aired from May 18-22, 2009 part of an "Barnyard Bizarro Week". Another quintet new episodes aired June 29 - July 3, 2009 part of "Battle of the Barnyard 2 week".


title: Barnyard (movie)

paragraphs: Barnyard is an animated movie which first shown in theaters on August 4, 2006. It was directed by Steve Oedekerk.

paragraphs: Otis is a cow who likes to play. His father Ben is the leader of the barnyard when the farmer is away. Otis interrupts a barnyard meeting with his wild behavior, His father tells Otis he will never be happy if he just goofs off, and that he should grow up. Otis ignores his advice and leaves to have fun with his friends: Pip the mouse, Pig the pig, Freddy the ferret, and Peck the chicken. That same day, Otis meets a new cow, Daisy, who is pregnant. She is with Bessy, another female cow.

paragraphs: That night the animals have a party in the barn. All the animals are there except Ben, who is guarding the animals. Otis is supposed to be working with him, but he wants to be at the party. Ben talks with Otis and says the day he found him alone in the meadow, the stars danced. Otis is given permission to go to the party and he runs to the barn.

paragraphs: Later on, Ben has to fight a pack of coyotes led by Dag. They are raiding the chicken coop. Ben is bitten in the leg by a coyote, and he falls down. The coyotes pile on Ben, but he manages to grab Dag and escapes the pile. The hens cheer, but Ben falls on the ground, tired. Etta, a hen, runs into the barn and tells Otis, who runs outside to his father. Ben opens his mouth as if to say something, but dies.

paragraphs: After Ben's death, all the animals elect Otis as the new leader of the Barnyard. He gets out of his duties by leaving Freddy and Peck in charge of the coop. Later, Otis is sitting with Daisy and he overhears the coyotes chasing a hare. Otis tries to attack Dag but is outsmarted. Since Otis is weaker, Dag makes a deal that he and his pack will take some of the animals, but if he tries to stand up for all of them, they will kill everyone. Otis decides to leave the barnyard because he has no chance against the coyotes.

paragraphs: The next morning, before leaving, Otis finds out that the coyotes have taken some hens and a chick. Otis knows that he has been tricked by Dag, as he was not expecting them until tonight. He goes to rescue the poultry. Otis confronts the pack but is easily defeated. Pip, Pig, Freddy, Peck and Miles the Mule arrive to help them, along with the gophers and Jersey Cows. Dag tries to sneak attack Otis from behind, but Otis is alerted when Peck successfully yells a warning. Otis catches Dag and tells the coyote to never return. Dag is swung out of the junkyard by Otis's golf skills.

paragraphs: Otis and the rest make it back to the barnyard. Daisy gives birth to a calf whom she names Ben. Duke, the farmer's sheepdog, asks Otis if he wants to stay and be their leader. Otis agrees, and everyone cheers as he walks outside. Once again, he sees the stars dancing.


title: Robert J. Lang

paragraphs: Robert J. Lang (born May 4, 1961) is an American physicist known for his contributions to the art of origami.

paragraphs: Lang started his career in origami forty years ago, and many think he is now one of the world's best paperfolders. He travels often, giving lectures about how origami is related to other topics, like science, mathematics, and technology. Lang is also the author of nine books, and has written articles in several origami magazines. He has found many uses of origami in real life situations, like airbag design and an expandable space telescope.

paragraphs: Before being a professional origamist, Lang had many different jobs. He was a physicist, engineer, and research and development manager in chemistry. Lang has helped to write 80 publications, and has over 50 patents.

paragraphs: Lang was born on May 4th, 1961 in Dayton, Ohio, but he grew up outside Atlanta, Georgia. He was first introduced to origami when he was six years old. Lang was very good at math and math class bored him, so his teacher gave him an origami book to keep him entertained. He quickly folded the models in the book, and then folded models in many other books. In his early teens, Lang began folding his own models, and he drew diagrams on how to make them.

paragraphs: Lang went to college at Caltech, The California Institute of Technology, where he learned electrical engineering. He found college very hard, and often folded origami as a distraction from college life. Lang was afraid to tell people about his hobby, and he was even "a little embarrassed about it." For a long time, Lang didn't know any other origamists. He graduated from Caltech with a Ph.D. in physics, and later he graduated from Stanford University with a master's degree in electrical engineering.

paragraphs: While in college, Lang noticed the name and address of the Origami Center of America, and he soon became friends with other experienced paperfolders, including Michael LaFosse, John Montroll, Joseph Wu, and Paul Jackson. They inspired Lang with their pretty and complex models, and he soon created new models; he designed a hermit crab, an ant, a skunk, and many other others. Soon afterwards, he took a trip to Germany, where he was fascinated by their beautiful cuckoo clocks. They inspired him to make origami clocks, which impressed many paperfolders. Soon after completing his first origami clock, Lang began a job at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

paragraphs: In 2000, Lang decided to quit his job and begin a career in origami.

paragraphs: In 2011, Lang discussed his work in an interview with Peter Shea at the University of Minnesota.

paragraphs: Lang has written nine books about origami:


title: Lent

paragraphs: Lent, in the Christian tradition, is a period of about six weeks before Easter. It is a time in which Christians are supposed to be quiet and thoughtful, preparing themselves for Easter. They should pray a lot, give money to charities and give up some of the things they might otherwise do for pleasure. The period of Lent ends at Easter, which is a time of great celebration as the Christians think of how Jesus had died on the cross but then rose again from the dead.

paragraphs: Lent is traditionally supposed to be forty days long. That is because the Bible says that Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness, preparing for his death and resurrection.

paragraphs: Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. In the Catholic Church, it ends at the Ninth Hour of Maundy Thursday (44 days). In The Anglican Catholic Church, it ends on Holy Saturday (46 days).

paragraphs: Churches in the Byzantine tradition (for example, Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic) count the days of Lent differently. There are also different local traditions in the Oriental Orthodox church.

paragraphs: Lent is traditionally a time for fasting (not eating much). This tradition was useful because it was a time when food which had been kept for the winter had to be eaten up before it went bad. Many Roman Catholics do not eat meat other than fish on Fridays during Lent.

paragraphs: The word "lent" came from the Old English "lencten" meaning "spring" (the season).


title: Oskar Schindler

paragraphs: Oskar Schindler (April 28 1908 – October 9 1974) was a Sudeten German industrialist. He was born in Zwittau, Moravia, Austria-Hungary and was a Roman Catholic.

paragraphs: Schindler was a member of the NSDAP. He saved almost 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust by making them work his enamelware and ammunitions factories, which were in what is known today as Poland and the Czech Republic. He is the subject of the novel Schindler's Ark, and the film based on it, "Schindler's List". He died of liver failure in Hildesheim, Germany. He is buried in the Catholic Cemetery on Mount Zion, Jerusalem.


title: Donna Karan

paragraphs: Donna Karan (born October 2, 1951) is an American fashion designer and the creator of the "Donna Karan New York" and "DKNY" clothing labels.

paragraphs: She was born in Forest Hills, Queens, New York City. She is Jewish.


title: Wisteria

paragraphs: Wisteria is a type of plant. It is a climbing shrub with blue/lilac flowers.

paragraphs: The plant only flowers after a being a few years old but when it does the flowers have a very sweet fragrance.

paragraphs: The seeds come in pods and are disc shaped.


title: Moment magnitude scale

paragraphs: The Moment Magnitude scale is a way to measure the power of earthquakes. The higher the number, the bigger the earthquake. It is the energy of the earthquake at the moment it happens. Like the similar and older Richter scale, it is logarithmic, with a base of ten.


title: Basic English

paragraphs: Basic English (Business Academic Scientific International Commercial) is a controlled language used to explain complex thoughts. It has chosen by Charles Kay Ogden. Some articles in the Simple English Wikipedia use only Basic English.

paragraphs: In 1936 Ogden hired Otto and Marie Neurath to make "International Picture Language" as one of a group of eight books in Basic English.

paragraphs: The word use of Basic English is simpler and more regular than the word use of normal English. In normal English, words often have a number of different meanings. To make Basic English easier, not all the meanings of a word are used.

paragraphs: Basic English uses Ogden's rules of grammar. Ogden's rules of grammar let people use the 850 words to talk about things and events simply.


title: Preston Wamsley

paragraphs: Preston Maki Wamsley (born April 29, 1986) is an American television actor.

paragraphs: Wamsley is best known for his recurring role as "Ronnie Wilson"" on the 1990s sitcom, "The Hughleys". Wamsley has also made appearances on other sitcoms including "My Wife and Kids", "The Nanny", and "Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction".


title: Fork-tailed woodnymph

paragraphs: The fork-tailed woodnymph ("Thalurania furcata") is a species of hummingbird. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, and degraded former forests.


title: 2010 Haiti earthquake

paragraphs: The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a very strong earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12, 2010. On the scientific scale that measures the magnitude (or strength) of an earthquake, the quake scored a magnitude of 7.0 M. The center of the earthquake was near Léogâne, very close to Port-au-Prince, the capital and largest city of Haiti. It was only about west. The earthquake hit in the afternoon, at 16:53:10 local time (21:53:10 UTC). Haiti already was the poorest country in the western hemisphere, and was not able to take care of all the people that needed help.

paragraphs: About three million people were affected by the earthquake, many homes were destroyed. Three days after the earthquake, the Haitian Interior Minister said that up to 200,000 had died because of the quake and its effects. This was many more deaths than officials originally thought. At first, the Red Cross had guessed a much smaller death toll of 45,000–50,000.

paragraphs: The earthquake caused major damage to Port-au-Prince. Most major landmarks were badly damaged or destroyed. The Presidential Palace, the National Assembly building, the Port-au-Prince Cathedral, and the city's main jails were all destroyed. The president at the time, René Préval, survived.

paragraphs: Most hospitals in the area were destroyed, which made things much worse. The headquarters of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) in Port-au-Prince collapsed. The Mission's Chief (Hédi Annabi), his deputy, and the acting police commissioner were killed in the quake. Elisabeth Byrs of the United Nations (UN) called the earthquake the worst disaster the United Nations had ever had. This was not just because of the property damage and deaths from the earthquake. The roads, phone lines and government buildings of the UN in Haiti and the Haitian government were also destroyed, so trying to just get organized and get help to the people was a real problem. So many people died in such a short time, that they used dump trucks to haul the dead bodies to mass graves.

paragraphs: After the earthquake, many charities and organizations asked people around the world to help Haiti. The International Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the United Nations, and president René Préval all asked the world for help. Raymond Joseph, Haiti's ambassador to the United States, and his nephew, famous singer Wyclef Jean, also begged people to give money. (A few years before the earthquake, President Preval had asked Jean to become a "roving ambassador" for Haiti.)

paragraphs: Many different countries started raising money and sent medical teams or search and rescue teams to Haiti. The Dominican Republic, which is next to Haiti, was the first country to give aid. This helped reduce some bad feelings between the two countries that had been there a long time.

paragraphs: But it takes a long time to rebuild a city and the area around it. Just finding places to move all the broken parts of buildings was difficult. And countries promise money to help rebuild, but it takes a while to get the money, and in most disasters, only half the money that is promised is actually sent. (This doesn't count millions of dollars that people gave directly). For years many people were living in tents, wherever they could find room. And workers for the UN introduced cholera to the country in October 2010, which made many people sick and killed thousands more. The country is still recovering.


title: Rödermark

paragraphs: Rödermark is a city in the Offenbach Rural District in the state of Hesse, Germany.

paragraphs: Rödermark is in the "Rhine Main area" 35 km southeast of Frankfurt. The whole area of the town is 29.99 km large and it is 142 m above sea level. It is a plain area with nearly no hills.

paragraphs: About 35 to 20 million years ago in the age of tertiary the whole region was lying under sea level. At that time it was covered by an ocean which was warm and not very deep. Lots of sediments sank to its bottom. Then the region rose again and the water left, leaving soil which is mostly sandy and poor.

paragraphs: The town consists out of the 2 former independent villages "Ober-Roden" and "Urberach". On 1 January 1977 they were united and became the "municipality of Rödermark". On 23 August 1980 the town privileges were given to the municipality.

paragraphs: The city has 5 urban districts. These are "Ober-Roden", "Urberach", "Waldacker", "Messenhausen" and "Buhlau".

paragraphs: The ending "-roden" is a hint to the former landscape. The German verb "roden" means "cutting down trees to cultivate land".

paragraphs: Rödermark has 27,858 inhabitants (2008). 10.7% of the people living here are from foreign countries.

paragraphs: The climate of the town is mild. There is less rain than in other parts of Germany.

paragraphs: Some local people are speaking a regional type (dialect) of the German language with a certain tone and special words. It is a Hessian dialect (German: "Hessisch"). This language type is related to other dialects in the south of Germany. In former times mostly every village had its own special dialect, sometimes hard to understand for people of other parts of Germany. Today the dialect speakers are a minority and mostly it is no longer the dialect they speak but a kind of regular German with a certain pronunciation.

paragraphs: The first settlements were build in the 8th century. At that time their names were written down in documents.

paragraphs: Formerly the people in the Rödermark area were farmers and craftsmen but not tradesmen. Every family had land to grow their food. When the property was handed to the next generation it was divided within the children. Therefore most families had only small farms and were poor. With the industrial revolution the Rhine Main area got lots of factories and developed to a center for metal working and leather manufacturing, also chemical processing. Many men got workmen and found a job in the factories and earned money. This increased living conditions partly.


title: The Pirate Bay

paragraphs: The Pirate Bay (shortname:TPB) is a Swedish website that indexes Bit Torrent files. It was created by Gottfrid Svartholm, Fredrik Neij and Peter Sunde. The Pirate Bay is ranked as the 85th most popular website by Alexa. The Pirate Bay had to face many lawsuits and a raid in relation to copyright violations. It was shut down on December 9, 2014 by Swedish police, and came back online on January 31, 2015.

paragraphs: Also, it may risk your PC to get infected by a virus.


title: Heusenstamm

paragraphs: Heusenstamm is a city in the Offenbach Rural District in the state of Hesse, Germany.

paragraphs: Heusenstamm is in the "rhein main region" 20 km southeast of Frankfurt. The whole area of the town is 19,03 km large and is 130 m above sea level. It is a plain area with no hills.

paragraphs: The city consists out of 2 urban districts, the town of Heusenstamm and the former independent village, "Rembrücken", which became on 1th of January 1977 part of Heusenstamm.

paragraphs: Heusenstamm has 18,227 inhabitants (2008).

paragraphs: The local people are speaking a regional type (dialect) of the German language with a certain tone and special words. It is spoken in the south of Hesse, named "hessisch". This language type is related to other dialects in the south of Germany. In former times mostly every place had its own special dialect, sometimes hard to understand for people of other parts of Germany. Today the dialect speakers are a minority and the majority of them does not speak the real dialect. They rather speak a kind of regular German with a certain pronunciation.

paragraphs: In the 13th century the names of Heusenstamm and Rembrücken were written down in documents for the first time.

paragraphs: Formerly the people in the Heusenstamm area were mostly farmers and craftsmen but not tradesmen. Every family had land to grow their food. When the property was handed to the next generation it was divided within the children. Therefore, most families had only small farms and were poor. With the industrial revolution the rhein main region got lots of factories and developed to a center for metal working and leather manufacturing, also chemical processing. Many men got workmen and found a job in the factories and earned money. This increased living conditions partly.


title: Catherine of Alexandria

paragraphs: Saint Catherine of Alexandria, also known as Saint Catherine of the Wheel and The Great Martyr Saint Catherine (Greek "") is a Christian saint and martyr. She is believed to have been a well-known scholar in the 4th century. In the 15th century it was claimed she had spoken to Joan of Arc. The Orthodox Church venerates her as a "great martyr", and in the Catholic Church she is traditionally revered as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers.

paragraphs: Catherine was the daughter of Costus, a pagan governor of Alexandria. She announced to her parents that she would only marry someone who was more beautiful, intelligent and rich than herself. In addition, that person needed to have a better social status than she had. Eventually, she discovered Christ. "His beauty was more radiant than the shining of the sun, His wisdom governed all creation, His riches were spread throughout all the world."

paragraphs: She was a martyr, because she died for her beliefs in God. According to legend, she was supposed to die on a breaking wheel, but the wheel broke as soon as she touched it, so her head was cut off instead. Because of this, her main symbol is the spiked wheel, which is known as a Catherine wheel. The Catholic Church of St. Catherine, one of the first Catholic churches built in Russia, was named after her.


title: Seed plants

paragraphs: Seed plants are a group of plants. Gymnosperms and angiosperms form the group. Their seeds have three parts: (1) an embryo, (2) a supply of nutrients for the embryo, and (3) a seed coat. They are also called spermatophytes or phanerogams. The seed plants dominate almost all the environments on land.

paragraphs: The living spermatophytes form five groups:

paragraphs: The fossil seed ferns (Pteridospermatophyta) were one of the earliest successful groups of land plants, and forests dominated by seed ferns were prevalent in the Permian. "Glossopteris" was the most prominent tree genus in the ancient southern supercontinent of Gondwana during the Permian period. By the Triassic period, seed ferns had declined, (perhaps were extinct) and modern gymnosperm groups were abundant and dominant to the Upper Cretaceous, when angiosperms radiated.


title: Andros

paragraphs: Andros is an island of Greece. It is the second biggest island of the Cyclades group. It is in the northwest of Cyclades group near Euboea island. Its total area is . 10,009 people lived there according to the 2001 Greek census. The biggest town of Andros is Andros city.

paragraphs: Andros is mountainous island with gorges and cliffs which end up at the sea. The plants include many flowers, bushes and a few trees mainly in the center of island. The island has many beautiful beaches and beautiful landscape and thanks to these the island is popular for tourists.


title: Dietzenbach

paragraphs: Dietzenbach is a city in the Offenbach Rural District in the state of Hesse, Germany. The town is also the capital of the Offenbach Rural District ("Landkreis Offenbach")

paragraphs: Dietzenbach is in the "Rhine-Main area" 25 km southeast of Frankfurt. The whole area of the town is 21,67 km large and it is 135 m above sea level. It is a plain area with nearly no hills.

paragraphs: About 35 to 20 million years ago in the age of tertiary the whole region was lying under sea level. At that time it was covered by an ocean which was warm and not very deep. Lots of sediments sank to its bottom. Then the region rose again and the water left, leaving soil which is mostly sandy and poor.

paragraphs: The city consists out of the urban districts "Neue Stadtmitte", "Spessartviertel", "Altstadt", "Steinberg", "Hexenberg" and "Wingertsberg".

paragraphs: Dietzenbach has 33,067 inhabitants (2008). About 30% of the people living here are from foreign countries. They come from many different nations.

paragraphs: The climate of the town is mild. There is less rain than in other parts of Germany.

paragraphs: Some local people are speaking a regional type (dialect) of the German language with a certain tone and special words. It is a Hessian dialect (German: "Hessisch") and is spoken in the south of Hesse. This language type is related to other dialects in the south of Germany. In former times mostly every place had its own special dialect, sometimes hard to understand for people of other parts of Germany. Today the dialect speakers are a minority and the majority of them does not speak the real dialect. They rather speak a kind of regular German with a certain pronunciation.

paragraphs: In the 13th century the name of Dietzenbach was written down in a document for the first time.

paragraphs: Formerly the people in the Dietzenbach area were mostly farmers and craftsmen but not tradesmen. Every family had land to grow their food. When the property was handed to the next generation it was divided within the children. Therefore most families had only small farms and were poor. With the industrial revolution the Rhine-Main area got lots of factories and developed to a center for metal working, leather manufacturing and chemical processing. Many men became workmen and found a job in the factories and earned money. This increased living conditions partly.


title: Octet rule

paragraphs: The Octet rule might be a general rule of thumb that may apply to most atoms. Basically, it may state that every atom might want to have eight valence electrons in its outermost electron shell.

paragraphs: According to the Bohr model, an atom consists of a nucleus of protons and neutrons orbited by a number of electrons. In an ordinary atom, the number of electrons equals the number of protons. If it has more or fewer electrons, it is an ion. In addition, the electrons orbit in electron shells. Each shell can only contain a certain number of electrons before new electrons must migrate to the next shell or "energy level." Starting with the third energy level, however, electrons sometimes move up a level even before the current one is full.

paragraphs: Every atom tries to have 8 electrons in its outermost (or valence) shell. This may require them to give up, share, or take electrons. As stated above, the number of electrons normally equals the number of protons. This means that some atoms are "happier" than others. For example, neon, as with other noble gases, naturally has 8 valence electrons. (10 total - 2 in the 1st energy level = 8 in the 2nd) Not surprisingly, neon hardly ever reacts with anything. (Neon lights require high voltages to work.) By contrast, the atoms in the Alkaline metals column, such as sodium, have only one valence electron, with a layer containing 8 electrons in the shell below. This means that sodium only has to give up one valence electron in order to complete the octet rule, and will do so if given the chance, hence why sodium is so chemically reactive.


title: Dreieich

paragraphs: Dreieich is a city in the Offenbach Rural District in the state of Hesse, Germany.

paragraphs: Dreieich is in the "Rhine Main area". Its northern urban district Sprendlingen is 10 km south of Frankfurt. In the south it touches the City of Darmstadt. The whole area of the town is 53.33 km large and it is 140 m above sea level. It is a plain area with no hills.

paragraphs: About 35 to 20 million years ago in the Age of Tertiary the whole region was lying under sea level. At that time it was covered by an ocean which was warm and not very deep. Lots of sediments sank to its bottom. Then the region rose again and the water left, leaving soil which is mostly sandy and poor.

paragraphs: The city consists out of the towns Dreieichenhain and Sprendlingen and the 3 former independent villages Buchschlag, Götzenhain and Offenthal, all now urban districts of Dreieich. On 1 January 1977 they were united and became the City of Dreieich.

paragraphs: The name Dreieich means "three oaks". This is a hint to the former landscape. In the Middle Ages the Dreieich area was a huge forest with a lot of wild animals, where only the emperor had the right of hunting.

paragraphs: Some local people are speaking a regional type (dialect) of the German language with a certain tone and special words. It is a Hessian dialect (German: "Hessisch"). This language type is related to other dialects in the south of Germany. In former times mostly every place had its own special dialect, sometimes hard to understand for people of other parts of Germany. Today the dialect speakers are a minority and the majority of them does not speak the real dialect. They rather speak a kind of regular German with a certain pronunciation.

paragraphs: In the 9th century the names of Sprendlingen and Offenthal were written down in documents for the first time. But people think, that especially Sprendlingen is much older because of its name. They say the name was given by the Alamanni, a band of west germanic tribes (see also: germanic peoples), which had settled in the area a long time before.

paragraphs: Formerly the people in the Dreieich area were mostly farmers and craftsmen but not tradesmen. Every family had land to grow their food. When the property was handed to the next generation it was divided within the children. Therefore, most families had only small farms and were poor. With the industrial revolution the Rhine Main area got lots of factories and developed to a center for metal working and leather manufacturing, also chemical processing. Many men got workmen and found a job in the factories and earned money. This increased living conditions partly.


title: Pichilemu

paragraphs: The beach of Pichilemu is called one of the best beaches in the world for surfing. The most famous beach in Pichilemu is Punta de Lobos, where competitions are often held. The city has become a beach resort.

paragraphs: Promoucaes were the first people that populated Pichilemu. They were hunter gatherers and fishermen.

paragraphs: In 1887, President José Manuel Balmaceda decreed Pichilemu as a minor dock.

paragraphs: José Toribio Medina did his first archeological investigations in Pichilemu, and he published in 1908 "Los Restos Indígenas de Pichilemu". He said there that Pedro de Valdivia gave land in what is now central Chile to Juan Gómez de Almagro on February 24, 1544. Pichilemu was between the areas of the Palloquierbico, Topocalma, and Gulaquien.

paragraphs: The name Pichilemu comes from the Mapudungún words ' (little) and ' (forest).

paragraphs: Some of the first land owners of Pichilemu were the Ortúzar family. Daniel Ortúzar is known as one of the founders of the original village of Pichilemu. The family of Ortúzar Cuevas, from the San Antonio de Petrel Hacienda, made a mid-century maritime dock which was as a fishing port for some years. They also built homes along the dock on what is now Ortúzar Avenue. More recently, other large land owners are Pedro Pavez Polanco and the Hacienda of San Antonio de Petrel. In 1891, during the Chilean Civil War, Daniel Ortúzar and the priest of Alcones were taken prisoners from Pichilemu through the dock. During the war, the dock was burned down. After the civil war, Pichilemu got its formal name and status. President Jorge Montt and his Minister, Manuel José Irarrázabal, the city was officially established on December 22, 1891.

paragraphs: Pichilemu has become the historic capital of the province called Cardenal Caro which is named for the first Chilean Catholic Church Cardinal. His father was the first mayor in the city.

paragraphs: Agustín Ross Edwards was a Chilean writer, Member of Parliament, minister and politician.

paragraphs: Ross was very rich and based on his European background, he bought a 300-hectare piece of land and named it ""La Posada"" (), or Petren Fund, in 1885. Ross designed an urban place of high environmental value and landscape, turning ""La Posada"" into a hotel ("Great Hotel Pichilemu", later "Hotel Ross", or "Ross Hotel"), and building a casino, embankments, stone walls, a balcony facing the beach. Additionally, he built a park and a forest of more than 10 hectares. Agustín Ross turned Pichilemu into a summer resort town for the people from Santiago. Some of his buildings were named National Monuments.

paragraphs: Pichilemu is located west of San Fernando, Chile and just east of the Pacific Ocean. It is around a three-hour drive to the Andes Mountains. It is also near the coastal mountain range.

paragraphs: Even though most of the forest areas around Pichilemu are covered in Pine and Eucalyptus trees, a native forest (now Municipal Forest) is still there It contains species such as Litres, Quillayes, Boldos, Espinos and Peumos.

paragraphs: Pichilemu borders Litueche to the north, Paredones to the south, Marchigüe and Pumanque to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west .

paragraphs: In the 17th century, Pichilemu had 1,468 inhabitants. In 1787, Pichilemu had 1,688 inhabitants. In 1907, Pichilemu had 7,787 inhabitants. However, the city's population progressively decreased; in 1920, it was 7,424; in 1930, it was 6,929, and in 1940, it was 6,570. In 1952, the city's population increased to 7,150 inhabitants; in 1992, that figure had increased to 10,510. As of the 2002 census, 12,392 people live in the town. The census recorded that 9,459 people (76.3%) are from urban places of the city, and 2,933 people (23.7%) are from rural places of the city, there are 6,440 (52.0%) men and 5,952 (48.0%) women. The area of Pichilemu is . According to the CASEN 2002 census, 544 inhabitants (4.4%) of the population of Pichilemu live in extreme poverty compared to the average in the greater Region of O'Higgins of 4.5%, and 1,946 inhabitants (15.7%) live in mild poverty, compared to the regional average of 16.1%.

paragraphs: Pichilemu, along with the communes of Placilla, Nancagua, Chépica, Santa Cruz, Pumanque, Palmilla, Peralillo, Navidad, Lolol, Litueche, La Estrella, Chile, Marchihue and Paredones, is part of the Electoral District N° 35 and belongs to the 9th Senatorial Constituency (O'Higgins) of the electoral division of Chile.

paragraphs: The current Mayor of Pichilemu is Roberto Córdova. The last popularly-elected mayor was Marcelo Cabrera, elected in 2008 with 42.08% of the vote, who served from May 2009 to August 2009 due to legal action. The municipal council selected Córdova as the new mayor on September 9, 2009, almost a year after the municipal elections. The current councilors are Aldo Polanco Contreras, Andrea Aranda Escudero, Viviana Parraguez Ulloa, Juan Cornejo Vargas and Marta Urzúa Púa.

paragraphs: Surfing is one of the tourist attractions, particularly at Punta de Lobos. According to travel guide Fodor's,

paragraphs: Every October and December the International Championship of Surf takes place at La Puntilla Beach. Punta de Lobos hosts the "Campeonato Nacional de Surf" () each summer.

paragraphs: Pichilemu has many dark sand beaches. The water is cool year-round, though many tourists choose to swim during the summer months. Bodyboarding, surfing, windsurfing, and kitesurfing can be practiced.

paragraphs: The beach that is farthest north is San Antonio Beach or Main Beach (), which is found in front of the Ross Park. It is known for good surfing.

paragraphs: Las Terrazas Beach () is the busiest beach during the summer. Many surf schools, "La Ola Perfecta" and "Lobos del Pacífico", are found near the beach, as is the Caleta de Pescadores (), where fisherman sell their fish. found at the south of the town and around the other side of the Puntilla, the Infiernillo Beach is found. It is used for fishing. At the south of Infiernillo, Playa Hermosa is found, which is great for walking and fishing.

paragraphs: Further south, from Pichilemu, Punta de Lobos is found .It is an increasingly popular destination for tourists and specially for surfers. Several surf contests are held there, including an international big-wave contest during the Chilean fall. The size of waves varies throughout the year, but large swells in fall and winter can reach heights of up to 50 feet (15 metres). It is widely considered one of the best beaches for surfing worldwide.


title: Queen of Sheba

paragraphs: The Queen of Sheba ruled over the ancient kingdom of Sheba, and is mentioned in the Bible and the Qur'an.

paragraphs: The Queen of Sheba appears in the Bible to King Solomon, because of the fame of his riches and wealth and wisdom. She comes, "with a very great caravan - with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones - she came to Solomon and talked with him about all that she had on her mind" (1 Kings 10:2).

paragraphs: Solomon answered all the questions she asked; returned her quizzes and riddles with wit and correct wisdom; and was kind to her. Awed and astonished by all these things, she rewarded his achievements with "120 talents of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon" (1 Kings 10:10), and Solomon returned it by giving "all she desired and asked for, besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty" (1 Kings 10:13).


title: Taqwa

paragraphs: Taqwa (Arabic: تقوى taqwā / taqwá ") is an Islamic word which means to become more aware of Allah.


title: Cynodont

paragraphs: The Cynodonts are a sub-order of the Therapsida. Cynodonts, one of the most diverse groups of therapsids, are named after their dog-like teeth.

paragraphs: The taxon is a clade which includes modern mammals and their extinct close relatives, the Mammaliaformes.

paragraphs: The cynodonts lived in all continents, and their fossil record begins in the Upper Permian 256 million years ago.

paragraphs: The extinct members of the group were victims of the End-Triassic extinction event, but the line that led to the mammals survived.


title: Reflex

paragraphs: A reflex or reflex action is an automatic and fast movement in response to a stimulus.

paragraphs: A true reflex is a behaviour done by the reflex arc. This is the path the signal of a reflex takes. That path is from the outside stimulus to the central nervous system (CNS), then the path from the CNS to the appropriate muscle.

paragraphs: The nerve cells responsible for reflexes are not always in the brain, but often in the spinal cord. This way, reflexes are processed faster. Nerve cells in the brain still get feedback that the reflex action occurred. And, of course, reflex actions involving sight and sound are done by the brain. With invertebrate animals, the brain is not so dominant, and more is done by local reflex arcs in the segments.

paragraphs: Reflexes may take place even after death. The bite of a poisonous snake can be triggered up to several hours after it has died.

paragraphs: If the behaviour is complex, the stimulus is called a releaser, and the behaviour which follows may involve the whole animal for a long time in what is called a fixed action pattern. However, this is not the usual use of the term "reflex". It is studied in ethology because it usually involves two animals of the same species.


title: Audi A3

paragraphs: The Audi A3 is a car produced by Audi since 1996. It is based on the Volkswagen Golf's platform, and it is currently in its fourth generation. The first generation was produced between 1996 and 2003 with a 5-door added in 1999 and a facelift in late 2000. The second generation was produced from 2003 to 2012, and was facelifted in 2005 and again in 2008 with a convertible version added. The third generation was launched in 2012 with a saloon version added a year later. It was facelifted in 2016, commemorating the A3's 20th anniversary. In 2020, the fourth generation model launched, sold only with 5-door hatchback and saloon versions.