title: Ground sloth

paragraphs: Ground sloths are a group of extinct large sloths in the mammalian superorder Xenarthra. The much smaller living sloths are called "tree sloths".

paragraphs: The last surviving ground sloths lived in the Caribbean Antilles. "Megalocnus" may have survived until about the third century BC in Cuba. By then ground sloths had been extinct on the mainland of North and South America for 10,000 years or more. They survived on Caribbean islands because humans got to the islands much later. Some island sloth populations lived 5,000-6,000 years later than their continental mainland relatives. This fits the pattern of Holocene extinction of large vertebrates due to human dispersal. In other words, they were probably hunted or otherwise so affected by humans that they were unable to survive.

paragraphs: Most ground sloth evolution took place during the mid to late Tertiary of South America while the continent was isolated. At their earliest appearance in the fossil record, the ground sloths were already quite distinct. The presence of islands between the American continents in the Miocene allowed some to get into North America.

paragraphs: Ground sloths were a hardy group: their numbers and dispersals into remote areas are evidence of this. Remains have been found in parts of Alaska.

paragraphs: Sloths, and xenarthrans as a whole, were one of the more successful South American groups during the Great American Biotic Interchange. In general, during the interchange, many more taxa moved from North America into South America than in the other direction. However,at least five genera of ground sloths have been identified in North American fossils. These are examples of successful migration to the north.


title: Paramylodon

paragraphs: Paramylodon is an extinct genus of ground sloth. It was endemic to North America in the Pliocene, and to the end of the Pleistocene epoch. It lived from around ~4.9 million years ago (mya) to 11,000 years ago.

paragraphs: "Paramylodon" was about 3 m (9.8 ft) in height and weighted as much as 1089 kg. It is known from deposits in the United States, Mexico and as far south as Guatemala.

paragraphs: There is just one recognized species, "P. harlani", (Owen) 1840, which is commonly referred to as Harlan's ground sloth in honor of the American paleontologist who first discovered and described a lower jaw in 1835.

paragraphs: Like the South American "Mylodon", "Paramylodon" had dermal ossicles: small bones embedded in the skin. This made it harder for predators if they attacked from behind. Its skull and teeth suggest it was, like the other members of its group, a browser on leaves and small branches. It ate standing on its hind legs and using its huge hands to pull the vegetation into its mouth. Skeletons found in the La Brea tar pits were more or less complete.


title: Wilfred Thesiger

paragraphs: Wilfred Thesiger (June 3, 1910 – August 24, 2003) was born in Addis Ababa where his father was an advisor to the Ethiopian emperor. He went to school and university in England but he always dreamed of travel. He didn't make many friends when he studied in England. During his first university holidays he travelled alone, without much money, from England to Istanbul. This was the start of an exciting life filled with adventure in Africa, Iraq and the Arabian Peninsula.

paragraphs: Thesiger was one of the last great British explorers and he was an excellent photographer and writer. When Thesiger died in 2003, he left more than 38,000 photographs to the Pitt Rivers museum in Oxford. Thesiger wrote many books, some of which are considered to be classics. He was a tall, strong man and a successful boxer.

paragraphs: Thesiger travelled through the UAE with his Bedouin friends and even met Sheikh Zayed in Al Ain. (In 2003, the UAE gave money to the Pitt Rivers museum to help keep Thesiger's photos safe). Thesiger had a deep respect for his Bedouin friends who he thought of as better than himself because they were generous, brave and always cheerful. Each time Thesiger and his Bedouin friends met other people, they stopped, invited them to eat their food, and enjoyed sharing the latest news.

paragraphs: Thesiger loved a simple lifestyle. He didn't like cars or the radio. For the rest of his life he always wanted to go back to the desert.


title: Penny Arcade

paragraphs: Penny Arcade is a webcomic about video games. It was created by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik. The comic debuted in 1998. Now, the comic has its own website which also hosts other comic strips. In addition, the site has information about Child's Play, a children's charity, and PAX, a gaming convention. Both are by Holkins and Krahulik.

paragraphs: The comic strip is about two characters who are based on the creators of the comic strip. John "Gabe" Gabriel is based Mike Krahulik, and Tycho Brahe is based on Jerry Holkins. Gabrial is happier, but can become very angry. Tycho Brahe (named after the astronomer Tycho Brahe) is unhappy and serious. The characters go through the same events their creators do, but react differently. Most of the comic strips involve the two characters commenting on nerd culture, usually video games. The strip has large amounts of cursing and has been known to offend people.

paragraphs: Krahulik and Holkins have released podcasts called "Downloadable Content" since March 20, 2006. A series of four video games loosely based on the comic strip titled "" began on May 21, 2008. Tycho appeared in the game "Poker Night at the Inventory" alongside characters from "Team Fortress 2", "Strong Bad" and "Sam & Max". "Penny Arade: The Series" is a reality televesion show about the strip and the Penny Arcade company that began on February 20, 2010.


title: Operation Yewtree

paragraphs: Operation Yewtree is an investigation by the Metropolitan Police into sex crimes, especially child sexual abuse. It began in October 2012, after Jimmy Savile, who died in 2011, was found to have been a sexual predator for decades. People investigated include: Max Clifford, Dave Lee Travis, Rolf Harris, Gary Glitter, Freddie Starr, Paul Gambaccini, Chris Denning, Jim Davidson, Jimmy Tarbuck, Wilfred De'ath and Ted Beston.

paragraphs: Clifford, Harris and Denning have been convicted after being investigated by Operation Yewtree.


title: Yigal Arnon

paragraphs: Yigal Arnon (9 December 1929 – 27 April 2014) was an Israeli lawyer. He was best known as the founder of Yigal Arnon & Co., one of the largest law firms in Israel. He was born in Tel Aviv.

paragraphs: Arnon died on 27 April 2014 in Tel Aviv, aged 84.


title: Max Clifford

paragraphs: Maxwell Frank "Max" Clifford (6 April 1943 – 10 December 2017) was a British publicist and sex offender.

paragraphs: Clifford was born in Kingston upon Thames and raised in Wimbledon. He left school when he was 15.

paragraphs: Clifford was married to Elizabeth Porter from 1967 until her death in 2003. He has a daughter by her. He married Jo Westwood in 2010. She began divorce proceedings against him in August 2013 on the grounds of unreasonable behaviour. A decree nisi was granted in May 2014. He lived in Hersham before being sent to prison.

paragraphs: He was arrested in December 2012 by Metropolitan Police officers as part of Operation Yewtree an investigation which was set up to investigate child sexual abuse committed by DJ Jimmy Savile who died in 2011, and by other people. In 2014, he was tried at Southwark Crown Court for 11 counts of indecent assault against teenage girls. On 28 April 2014 he was convicted of 8 counts. On 2 May 2014, he was sentenced to 8 years imprisonment and is now incarcerated at HM Prison Littlehey in Cambridgeshire. He collapsed in his cell and was taken to hospital, where he died of a heart attack.


title: Jack Ramsay

paragraphs: John T. "Jack" Ramsay (February 21, 1925 – April 28, 2014), also known as "Dr. Jack", was an American basketball coach. He coached Saint Joseph's Hawks from 1955 until 1966, Philadelphia 76ers from 1968 until 1972, Buffalo Braves from 1972 until 1976, Portland Trail Blazers from 1976 until 1986 and Indiana Pacers from 1986 until 1988. He entered the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

paragraphs: Ramsay died in his sleep from cancer on the night of April 27, 2014. He was 89.


title: Birthday Girl

paragraphs: Birthday Girl is a 2001 British-American crime-thriller movie. It is set in St Albans, Hertfordshire. It stars Nicole Kidman and Ben Chaplin. It is a bank clerk in St Albans who finds a Russian mail-order bride, Nadia, played by Kidman.


title: Harry Firth

paragraphs: Harry L. Firth (18 April 1918 - 27 April 2014) was an Australian racing driver and team manager. Firth was a leading race and rally driver during the 1950s and 1960s and continued as an influential team manager with first the Ford works team and then the famed Holden Dealer Team (HDT) well into the 1970s. He was born in Orbost, Victoria.

paragraphs: Firth died from natural causes, aged 96.


title: Rolling and wheels in the natural world

paragraphs: There are two ways that natural and man-made things can use rotation to move around. One way is for the entire thing to roll. The other way is for part of the thing to turn while the rest does not, like a wheel or a propeller. Some living things move around by rolling, but no living things seem to use wheels. Biologists have written about the reasons for this. Writers of science fiction and fantasy have invented many animals with wheels.

paragraphs: Wheels are a very useful technology for people. Many technologies that people use are also found in nature, like wings and lenses.

paragraphs: It may seem strange, then, that wheels have never evolved in nature, but there are two reasons for this. First, there are natural limits to what kinds of things can exist in nature. Living things change slowly over time, a process called evolution by natural selection. This process can create many different answers to a problem, but it can't always create every answer that can be imagined. Also, the ways that new living things build themselves (a process called developmental biology) can't always create every kind of part that can be imagined. Second, wheels are sometimes less useful than other ways of moving, like walking, running, or slithering like a snake. For the same reason, some groups of people in the past have given up using wheels completely.

paragraphs: Some living things move around by rolling. These are not true examples of wheels, because the whole organism rotates, without any parts that stay still, like an axle.

paragraphs: Some kinds of animals form their bodies into a circle. In some cases, they do this to protect themselves, and in some cases they do it to be able to roll. Animals that do this include some caterpillars, tiger beetle larvae, myriapods, mantis shrimp, and salamanders. Other animals form into a ball instead. These animals include pangolins, hedgehogs, armadillos, the armadillo Lizard, isopods, the wheel spider, and fossilized trilobites. These animals may roll "passively", meaning they are pushed by gravity or wind, or "actively", meaning they push themselves by changing their shape. Tumbleweeds are a part of a plant that grows above the ground. Tumbleweeds break off from their roots and roll in the wind in order to spread their seeds.

paragraphs: Dung beetles form round balls of animal feces. They roll these balls with their bodies. Although the ball rolls instead of the beetle, the beetles have many of the same problems as rolling animals.

paragraphs: A kind of skin cell called a keratinocyte moves itself by rolling, as part of the process of healing.

paragraphs: A kind of tiny animal called a rotifer uses a ring of cilia (small hair-like parts) moving in rhythm to move and feed itself. The word "rotifer" in Latin means "having wheels", but rotifers do not actually have any parts that rotate.

paragraphs: No known multicellular organism (an organism made of many cells) can spin part of its body while keeping the rest of its body still. However, there are at least two examples of rotating parts used by cells. One example is a molecule called ATP synthase. ATP synthase is used to store and move energy. For example, it is used in the processes of photosynthesis (a way of storing energy from the sun) and oxidative phosphorylation (a way of releasing stored energy). ATP synthase is similar to flagellar motors, which are talked about below. Biologists (scientists who study life) think that ATP synthase is an example of modular evolution. In modular evolution, two parts with different jobs join together and pick up a new job.

paragraphs: The only known example in nature of a part that can spin all the way around to push an organism is the flagellum. The flagellum is a tail used like a propeller to push single-celled prokaryotes. The bacterial flagellum is the best known example. About half of all known bacteria have at least one flagellum. This means that rotation may actually be the most common way of moving around found in nature.

paragraphs: At the bottom of the bacterial flagellum, where it meets the cell membrane, a motor protein acts as an engine. This engine gets its power from proton motive force, the flow of protons (hydrogen ions) across the cell membrane. This is caused by a concentration gradient (a difference in the number of protons on each side of the membrane) created by the cell's metabolism. (Bacteria called "Vibrio" use two kinds of flagella, one of which is powered by sodium ions instead.) Flagella are very efficient, meaning not much energy is wasted. They can push bacteria as fast as 60 times their length every second. The motor at the bottom of the flagellum has a similar structure to ATP synthase. Bacteria called spirillum have twisted bodies with flagella on both ends. Spririllum bacteria spin around as they move.

paragraphs: A kind of organism called archaea, which are different from bacteria, also use flagella powered by rotating motor proteins. The two kinds of flagella evolved from different parts. Eukaryotic cells are a more complex kind of cell found in plants and animals. Some of these cells also have flagella called cilia, but these flagella do not rotate at the bottom. Instead, they bend so that the tip of the flagella moves in a circle.

paragraphs: The science of evolution can help to explain why multicellular organisms have not developed wheels. To put it simply, a complex structure (one made of several parts working together) can't evolve unless its early, unfinished form helps the organism to live and to have children.

paragraphs: In the modern science of evolution, adaptations (changes that affect the fitness of an organism) appear slowly, over many generations, by means of natural selection. Because of this, genetic changes usually only spread in a population if they do not lower the fitness of individuals. Neutral changes (changes that don't raise or lower fitness) can spread by genetic drift. In some cases, changes that lower fitness can spread, but large changes that take many steps can only spread if each of the steps raises fitness. The biologist Richard Dawkins describes the situation this way:

paragraphs: In this metaphor, fitness is a landscape, where useful traits are peaks and harmful ones are valleys. Wheels may be a very useful peak, but the valley around that peak is too low or too wide for the gene pool (the set of genes in the population) to move to it by genetic drift or natural selection. Stephen Jay Gould points out that evolution can only build with parts that are already available. He writes that, "wheels work well, but animals are debarred [(prevented)] from building them by structural constraints [(limits)] inherited as an evolutionary legacy."

paragraphs: Natural selection therefore explains why wheels have not appeared. A wheel without one or more of its important parts would probably not help an organism very much. However, the same is not true for the flagellum discussed above. As the flagellum evolved, different parts of other structures were used for a new purpose. The part that is now a rotating motor, called a basal body, may have evolved from a part that was used by bacteria to inject poisons into other cells. This use of existing parts is called "exaptation".

paragraphs: The biologist Robin Holliday has written that, because there are no living things with wheels, creationism and intelligent design (stories of life that claim an intelligent creator) are less likely to be right. Holliday argues that an intelligent creator, free from the limits of evolution, would use wheels in any place they would be useful.

paragraphs: People have found it fairly easy to build wheeled systems, even complex ones, and they have been able to solve problems of power transmission (moving energy from one place to another) and friction. However, the ways new organisms build themselves are very different from the ways humans build things. It is not clear that the processes of life would be able to make a wheel. The reasons for this are talked about below.

paragraphs: The greatest barrier to many-celled organisms with wheels is the interface (meeting point) between the parts that move and the parts that stay still. Wheels, or wheels and axles, need to be able to turn freely relative to the rest of the organism. Animal joints have a limited range of motion (the angle they can move), but wheels need to be able to turn through any angle without needing to be turned back. Because of this, wheels can't be attached to the axle or shaft that they turn on. No true many-celled organism is known to grow solid tissues or organs that are not attached to the rest of the organism.

paragraphs: To drive a wheel (that is, to make it turn), something must put a torque (twisting force) on it. For machines made by people, this torque is usually made by a motor. There are many kinds of motors, such as electric motors, turbines, and steam engines. Torque can also come from a person, as with a bicycle. In animals, movement is usually caused by skeletal muscles. These muscles get energy by metabolizing (breaking down) the nutrients in food. Skeletal muscles are attached with connective tissue to the bones they move, so they would not be useful for driving a wheel directly. Also, animals use their muscles in cycles - joints move in one direction, then the other, instead of moving in one direction constantly. Large animals cannot gain speed very quickly, because it is more difficult for muscles to pull against a large inertia (the resistance of a heavy object to movement).

paragraphs: In most machines, a lubricant (like oil or grease) or a bearing is used to limit friction (rubbing) between moving parts. Keeping friction down is important for limiting wear damage to the parts, and for keeping the parts from getting too hot. The faster the parts move, or the more force between them, the more important it is to reduce friction. In animal joints like the human knee, friction is reduced with a tissue called cartilage that has a low coefficient of friction, and a lubricating fluid called synovial fluid that has a low viscosity (resistance to flowing). Gerhard Scholtz, a professor at the ("Institute for Biology and Comparative Zoology") at Humboldt University of Berlin, has written that a similar lubricating fluid or material from dead cells could help an animal wheel to turn freely, but something like this has never been seen in nature.

paragraphs: Another problem is the flow of materials to and from a living wheel. If the tissues that form the wheel are living, then they must receive oxygen and nutrients and have wastes taken away in order to continue metabolism (the process of using energy to maintain functioning). A normal animal circulatory system (the network of tubes that allow blood to flow), would not be able to provide for the necessary flow of materials. Without blood flowing, materials would have to diffuse to and from the wheel. Diffusion is limited by partial pressure and surface area, by a rule called Fick's law of diffusion. For large animals, diffusion would not be enough to keep tissues alive. Instead of a living wheel, a wheel could be made of dead material like keratin, which makes up hair and nails.

paragraphs: In some environments, wheels are simply not as good as limbs for getting around. So it may be that, even if it were possible for wheels to evolve, they would not be found often in nature. In fact, given the limits of wheels, the main question can be turned around: instead of asking ""Why doesn't nature use wheels?"", the question becomes ""Why don't people build more machines with limbs?"" In engineering, wheels are often used instead of limbs, because limbs are more complex to design and control—not because wheels necessarily do the job better.

paragraphs: On hard, flat ground, like paved roads, hard wheels are more energy efficient than other ways of moving around. However, wheels are not as efficient (they take more energy to move) on soft surfaces, like soils, because they have to deal with "rolling resistance". In rolling resistance, a vehicle loses energy as the shape of the wheel and the surface are deformed (changed), and the surface pushes back against the wheel. Smaller wheels have to deal with more resistance for their size than larger wheels. Softer surfaces deform more than hard surfaces, and they don't come back to their starting shape as well. This causes greater resistance. Compared to concrete, the resisting force on medium-hard soil can be five to eight times greater, and on sand it can be ten to fifteen times greater. While wheels must deform the surface along their entire path, limbs only cause a small deformation at the point that the foot touches the ground.

paragraphs: Rolling resistance is also the reason that some human civilizations didn't use wheels. During the Roman Empire, wheeled chariots were common in the Middle East and North Africa. However, when the Empire fell, wheels became less useful to the local people, who turned to camels to transport goods in the sandy desert climate. Stephen Jay Gould wrote about this strange fact of history in his book "Hen's Teeth and Horse's Toes". He wrote that without maintained roads, camels needed less human power and water than a cart pulled by oxen.

paragraphs: When moving in water, rotating mechanisms are more efficient only when the "Reynolds number" of the flow is very low. The Reynolds number is a way to describe the behavior of a flow—in a flow with a low Reynolds number, like those in which bacteria move, viscosity is the most important effect to consider. In flows with high Reynolds numbers, inertia is the most important effect, and mechanisms that "oscillate", or move back and forth, are more efficient. Although ship propellers usually have an efficiency near 60%, and aircraft propellers around 80% (up to 88% in the human-powered "Gossamer Condor"), oscillating foils like fish tails and bird wings can be as efficient as 96%−98%.

paragraphs: Wheels can slip, meaning they fail to get a grip, on loose or slippery ground. Slipping wastes energy, and can lead to loss of control or becoming unable to move. This happens to cars on mud, ice, and snow. Where wheels have this problem, people sometimes use other mechanisms instead. In the logging industry, vehicles with legs are sometimes used to reach areas that are more difficult than what wheels can deal with. Vehicles with tracks, like tanks, don't slip as much as vehicles with wheels, because they have a larger area touching the surface. However, vehicles with tracks often have a larger turning radius than wheeled vehicles, meaning they take more space to turn. They are also less efficient, and more complex to build.

paragraphs: The engineer Mieczysław G. Bekker showed that in natural terrain, small obstacles are much more common than large ones. This is called a "log-normal" distribution. This means that obstacles are a problem for wheeled vehicles of all sizes. The main ways of dealing with obstacles are to go around them, and to go over them.

paragraphs: The most common types of steering do not include separate articulation (joints for bending) for each wheel, so they have a limited turning radius. This limits how well these kinds of vehicles can move around where there are a large number of obstacles.

paragraphs: Michael LaBarbera of the University of Chicago shows the limited turning radius of wheels by comparing humans walking with humans in wheelchairs. Jared Diamond points out that most examples of rolling in nature are found in wide open, hard terrain. This includes the use of rolling by dung beetles and tumbleweeds.

paragraphs: Wheels are bad at dealing with vertical (upright) obstacles, especially obstacles about the same size as the wheel itself. If a vehicle or animal can move its center of mass, then the largest vertical obstacles that can be climbed are half as high as the wheel. If the center of mass cannot be moved, the highest obstacle that can be climbed is one eighth to one quarter the height of the wheel.

paragraphs: Also, without joints, a wheeled vehicle can become stuck (unable to move) on top of an obstacle, with the obstacle between the wheels so they don't touch the ground. Limbs, unlike wheels, are useful for climbing, and can deal with difficult terrain.

paragraphs: For wheels without joints, climbing obstacles will cause the body of the vehicle to tilt. If the weight of the vehicle moves outside of the wheels, the vehicle can tip over because of "static instability". At high speed, a vehicle's inertia can cause it to become "dynamically unstable". This means it can be tipped over by a smaller obstacle, or simply by turning or changing speed too quickly. Without jointed limbs, it can be impossible to recover from being tipped over.

paragraphs: Limbs used by animals to move over terrain are often also used for other purposes, such as holding and manipulating things, climbing, swinging from branches, swimming, digging, jumping, throwing, kicking, and grooming. Without joints, wheels are not as useful as limbs for these jobs.

paragraphs: The hoop snake is an animal described in legend in the United States and Australia. The snake is said to hold its tail in its mouth and roll like a wheel towards its victims. The Japanese Tsuchinoko is a similar legendary animal.

paragraphs: The 1944 science fiction short story "Arena", by Fredric Brown, includes a telepathic (mind-reading) alien called an "Outsider". The Outsider is shaped like a ball and moves by rolling. A 1967 "" episode with the same name was based on the story. A 1964 episode of "The Outer Limits" called "Fun and Games" may have been based on the same story. Neither television episode included a rolling animal.

paragraphs: The Dutch artist M. C. Escher invented an animal that he named "Pedalternorotandomovens centroculatus articulosus". This animal was able to roll itself forward like a wheel. Escher drew the animal in his 1951 picture (also known by the English title "Curl-up").

paragraphs: A 1956 Scrooge McDuck comic by Carl Barks, "Land Beneath the Ground!", included "Terries" and "Fermies", characters who move from place to place by rolling like a bowling ball. The Terries and Fermies have turned their rolling into a sport, causing earthquakes in the process.

paragraphs: "Tuf Voyaging", a 1986 science fiction novel by George R. R. Martin, includes a type of alien called a "Rolleram", which kills its victim by rolling over it.

paragraphs: In the "Sonic the Hedgehog" video game series, the main character Sonic and his sidekick Tails move by rolling. The "Sonic the Hedgehog" series first appeared in 1991.

paragraphs: The 1995 short story "Microbe", by Kenyon College biologist and feminist science fiction writer Joan Slonczewski, is about a trip to explore an alien world, where the plant and animal life is entirely made of doughnut-shaped organisms.

paragraphs: L. Frank Baum's 1907 children's book "Ozma of Oz" includes human-like creatures with wheels instead of hands and feet, called "Wheelers".

paragraphs: The 1968 novel "The Goblin Reservation" by Clifford D. Simak includes an intelligent kind of alien that uses natural wheels.

paragraphs: Piers Anthony's 1977 book "Cluster" and its sequels (the later books in the same series) include a type of aliens called Polarians. The Polarians move around by holding and balancing on a large ball. The ball is a living part of the Polarian's body that can be removed temporarily.

paragraphs: David Brin's "Uplift" Universe includes a kind of wheeled alien called the G'Kek. The G'Kek are described in the 1995 novel "Brightness Reef". In the 1996 novel "Infinity's Shore", the G'Kek are said to look like "a squid in a wheelchair." They suffer from arthritis in their axles as they become old, especially when living in an environment with high gravity.

paragraphs: A 1997 novel in the Animorphs series, "The Andalite Chronicles", includes a kind of aliens called Mortrons. The Mortrons are made of two separate living parts: a yellow and black bottom half with four wheels, and a long, red head with sharp teeth and hidden wings.

paragraphs: The 2000 novel "The Amber Spyglass", by English author Philip Pullman, includes a type of alien known as the Mulefa. The Mulefa have diamond-shaped (◊-shaped) bodies with one leg at the front and back and one leg on each side. The Mulefa use large, disc-shaped seed pods as wheels. They hold the pods on axles made of bone on their front and back legs, while pushing themselves with their side legs. The Mulefa and the seed pod trees have a symbiotic relationship, or a relationship that helps both sides: the Mulefa use the seed pods as wheels, and the seed pod trees depend on the rolling to crack open the pods and allow the seeds to spread.

paragraphs: In the 2000 novel "Wheelers", by English mathematician Ian Stewart and biologist Jack Cohen, a kind of alien called "blimps" can grow machines called "wheelers", which use wheels to move.

paragraphs: The 2009 Disney children's television series Jungle Junction includes jungle animals with wheels instead of legs. One of these animals, "Ellyvan", is a hybrid (a combination) of an elephant and a van. These animals move around their home on highways.


title: Idris Sardi

paragraphs: Idris Sardi (June 7, 1938 – April 28, 2014) was an Indonesian violinist. His career lasted for nearly 50 years until retiring in 2013 because of ill health. Sardi was born to Mas Sardi, an Indonesian composer, and Hadidjah, an Indonesian actress.

paragraphs: Sardi died at Meilia Hospital in Cibubur, Indonesia from an illness. He was 75 years old.


title: Cordial (candy)

paragraphs: A cordial is a kind of candy in which a fruit filling is placed within a chocolate shell. A common candy of this kind is the cherry cordial.


title: June Angela

paragraphs: June Angela (born June Angela Profanato, August 1959) is an American actress, tap dancer and singer. She was 10 years old in season 1 (1969-1970) of "Sesame Street" (where she cameo appeared) and 12-17 and 49 years old in seasons 1-7 (1971-1977, 2006 and 2009) of "The Electric Company".


title: 2011 Tuscaloosa–Birmingham tornado

paragraphs: The 2011 Tuscaloosa–Birmingham tornado involved several strong tornadoes in Alabama. It took place on Wednesday, April 27, 2011. The tornado was a violent EF4 multiple vortex event which caused over $2 billion in damage.

paragraphs: Early reports indicated 65 people were killed, with over 1,000 injured. However, this was revised to 64 deaths and more than 1,500 injuries.


title: Donald Sterling

paragraphs: Donald Tokowitz Sterling (born April 26, 1934) is an American business magnate and former attorney.

paragraphs: Sterling was born in Chicago, Illinois. He was raised in Los Angeles, California. Sterling studied at the University of California, Los Angeles and at Southwestern Law School. He was raised as Jewish.

paragraphs: He was the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Sterling bought the Clippers in 1981 for $12.5 million, and as of 2014, the team is valued at $575 million by "Forbes" magazine, ranking them 18th out of 30 teams. At 33 seasons of ownership (1981 to present), Sterling was the longest-tenured owner in the NBA since the death of Los Angeles Lakers majority owner Jerry Buss on February 18, 2013 up until his suspension on April 29, 2014.

paragraphs: Sterling was married to Rochelle Stern. They had six children. He lives in Los Angeles, California.

paragraphs: On April 25, 2014, "TMZ Sports" released what it said is an April 9, 2014 audio recording of a conversation between Sterling and V. Stiviano. According to TMZ, Sterling and Stiviano argued in regards to a photo Stiviano posted on Instagram in which she posed with Magic Johnson. In the audio recording, Sterling allegedly tells Stiviano: "It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you’re associating with black people." On April 29, 2014, the University of California, Los Angeles announced that it was rejecting a $3 million gift from Sterling. On April 29, 2014, Sterling was banned from the NBA for life and fined $2.5 million by the NBA after recordings of him making racist comments were made public.

paragraphs: In 2012, Sterling began treatment for prostate cancer. In May 2014, it was announced that Sterling was in the early developing stages of Alzheimer's disease.


title: Dean Acheson

paragraphs: Dean Gooderham Acheson (pronounced ; April 11, 1893 – October 12, 1971) was an American statesman and lawyer. He was a member of the Democratic Party.

paragraphs: Acheson was born in Middletown, Connecticut. He studied at Yale College and at Harvard Law School. He married Alice Stanley in 1917.

paragraphs: Acheson served as the 51st United States Secretary of State under President Harry S. Truman. He served as Secretary of State from January 1949 to January 1953. He helped defend America's foreign policy during the break of the Cold War.

paragraphs: Acheson's most famous decision was convincing President Truman to intervene in the Korean War in June 1950. He also persuaded Truman to dispatch aid and advisors to French forces in Indochina, though in 1968 he finally counseled President Lyndon B. Johnson to negotiate for peace with North Vietnam.

paragraphs: During the Cuban Missile Crisis, President John F. Kennedy called upon Acheson for advice, bringing him into the executive committee (ExComm), a strategic advisory group.

paragraphs: Acheson and his wife Alice had three children; David, Jane, and Mary. He remained married to Alice until his death in 1971. He retired shortly after 1955.

paragraphs: Acheson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. He also won a Pulitzer Prize for History in 1970.

paragraphs: Acheson died in Sandy Spring, Maryland from a massive stroke. He was 78 years old. He was survived by his two surviving children, David and Mary. He was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C..


title: Sandy Spring, Maryland

paragraphs: Sandy Spring, Maryland is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Maryland.


title: Overbrook, Kansas

paragraphs: Overbrook is a city in Osage County, Kansas.


title: Little Talks

paragraphs: "Little Talks" is a 2011 debut single by Of Monsters and Men. The song came from the album "My Head is an Animal".

paragraphs: In August 2012, the song hit #1 in Ireland on the Irish Singles Chart. It also hit #20 on the "Billboard" Hot 100.

paragraphs: "Little Talks" was later certified platinum in the United States.


title: Minnesota City, Minnesota

paragraphs: Minnesota City is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is in the southeast part of the state. It is near Winona. The population was 204 at the 2010 U.S. Census.


title: Ridgway, Colorado

paragraphs: Ridgeway is a city in Ouray County, Colorado.


title: Lynwood, California

paragraphs: Lynwood is a city in Los Angeles County, California.


title: Lynwood, Illinois

paragraphs: Lynwood is a village in Cook County, Illinois.


title: Cedarville, Illinois

paragraphs: Cedarville is a village in Stephenson County, Illinois.


title: Buddy Rich

paragraphs: Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Rich was known as "the world's greatest drummer" and for his virtuoso technique, power, groove, and speed. He was born in Brooklyn, New York.

paragraphs: Rich died in Los Angeles, California from heart failure, aged 69.


title: Buddy Roemer

paragraphs: Charles Elson "Buddy" Roemer III (born October 4, 1943) is an American politician and banker. He served as the 52nd Governor of Louisiana from 1988 to 1992. He last was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1981 to 1988.

paragraphs: Roemer was a candidate for the presidential nominations of the Republican Party and the Reform Party in 2012.

paragraphs: In March 1991, while serving as governor, Roemer switched his party from the Democratic to the Republican Party. In 2012, he became a member of the Reform Party. A year later, Roemer switched parties to become a Republican again.

paragraphs: Roemer was born in Shreveport, Louisiana. His parents were Charles Elson "Budgie" Roemer, II and Adeline McDade. He was raised in Bossier City.

paragraphs: In 1964, he graduated from Harvard College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics. In 1967, he received an MBA in finance from Harvard Business School. After college, Roemer returned to Louisiana to work in his father’s computer business and later founded two banks. He was elected in 1972 as a delegate to the Louisiana Constitutional Convention held in 1973.

paragraphs: As a member of Congress, Roemer Louisiana's 1st congressional district in the northwestern section of the state, anchored about Shreveport and Bossier City. After his 1980 election victory, Roemer won congressional re-election without opposition in 1982, 1984, and 1986.

paragraphs: In Congress, Roemer frequently supported Reagan policy initiatives and fought with the Democratic congressional leadership, though he remained in the party. He also criticized then Democratic House leader Tip O'Neill of Massachusetts for being "too liberal".

paragraphs: After Roemer left the House to become governor, he was succeeded by his administrative assistant, Republican Jim McCrery.

paragraphs: Roemer was one of a large number of Democratic candidates to challenge three-term incumbent governor Edwin Edwards. Roemer won the election by winning 33% of the vote compared to Edwards' 28%.

paragraphs: Roemer entered the governor's office on March 14, 1988. In October 1989, voters rejected a number of Roemer tax initiatives but approved a constitutional amendment for transportation improvements. Facing a $1.3 billion deficit in the state budget, his first job was eliminating the deficit. Roemer called a special session of the legislature to push an ambitious tax and fiscal reform program for state and local governments. He vowed to slash spending, abolish programs, and close state-run institutions. Voters rejected his proposals in a statewide constitutional referendum.

paragraphs: In March 1991, Roemer switched to the Republican Party just months before the state elections, apparently at the urging of Bush White House Chief of Staff John H. Sununu. Roemer lost his re-election after loosing the Republican primary to David Duke. Duke would soon loose to Edwin Edwards.

paragraphs: Roemer left office on January 13, 1992. He would run again for the Republican nomination for governor, but lost to Mike Foster.

paragraphs: In the summer of 2004, Roemer briefly considered entering the race to succeed retiring U.S. Senator John Breaux. Roemer shortly after decided not to run for the senate.

paragraphs: In January 2011, Roemer told Baton Rouge television station WAFB that he was considering a bid for the U.S. presidency in 2012. On July 21, 2011 at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, Roemer announced his entry as a candidate for the Republican nomination for President. On November 30, 2011, Roemer officially announced that he would seek the Americans Elect nomination. On February 23, 2012, Roemer dropped out of the GOP nomination to seek the Reform Party's nomination. On May 17, 2012, Americans Elect announced that it would not run a candidate in the 2012 presidential elections.

paragraphs: On May 31, 2012, he announced that he was ending his 2012 presidential campaign altogether, citing the lack of ballot access to be the reason

paragraphs: Roemer was married to Cookie Delmer until they divorced. Then he married Patti Crocker until they divorced. He is now married to Scarlett Roemer. Roemer has three children with Delmer.


title: Peg Phillips

paragraphs: Peg Phillips (September 20, 1918 – November 7, 2002) was an American actress. She is best known for playing storekeeper Ruth-Anne Miller on the television series "Northern Exposure". Phillips was born in Everett, Washington.

paragraphs: Phillips died from lung disease in Seattle, Washington, aged 84.


title: William Demarest

paragraphs: Carl William Demarest (February 27, 1892 – December 28, 1983) was an American character actor. He is best known for playing Uncle Charley in "My Three Sons". He was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

paragraphs: Demarest died from prostate cancer and pneumonia in Palm Springs, California, aged 91.


title: Swedish Chef

paragraphs: The Swedish Chef is a Muppet character that appeared on "The Muppet Show". He was voiced by Jim Henson and performed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz. Since Jim Henson's death, he has been played by Bill Barretta. He is known for not speaking English, but instead a fake version of the Swedish language, mostly just saying "Børk".


title: Wapakoneta, Ohio

paragraphs: Wapakoneta is a city in Ohio. It is the county seat of Auglaize County.


title: Edcouch, Texas

paragraphs: Edcouch is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas.


title: Charleston, Mississippi

paragraphs: Charleston is a city in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi.


title: Pine nut

paragraphs: Pine nuts are the edible seeds of pines (family Pinaceae, genus "Pinus"). About 20 species of pine produce seeds large enough to be worth harvesting. Other pines have edible seeds too small to be useful as a human food.

paragraphs: Pine nuts have been eaten in Europe and Asia since the Paleolithic period. They are often added to meat, fish, salads and vegetable dishes or baked into bread. In Italian they are called "pinoli". They are an essential part of Italian pesto sauce.

paragraphs: Pine nuts can be pressed to extract pine nut oil, which is valued for its mild, nutty flavour. The large edible seeds of the Southern Hemisphere conifer genus "Araucaria" produce nuts rather like pine nuts.


Fernando Gómez


title: International Geographical Union

paragraphs: The International Geographical Union (IGU; , "UGI") is an international association of geographical organizations around the world. The organization was established in 1922 in Belgium after the first geographical congress, which was in 1871.

paragraphs: The Union has 34 Commissions and four task forces. One of these commissions is the Urban Geography Commission. This compares cities in the capitalist economy world and cities in the socialist economy world. It was created at the UGI conference in Moscow in 1976. It was proposed by Prof. Kasimierz Dziewonski from Poland.


title: International Festival of Geography

paragraphs: The International Geography Festival is an event held every year by the Association for the Development of FIG (ADFIG). It is related to geography. It is held in Saint-Dié-des-Vosges in France. It was first held in 1990. The festival is under the patronage of the International Geographical Union.


title: Argument from authority

paragraphs: Argument from authority or appeal to authority is a form of argument or reasoning that could become a fallacy if it is misused.

paragraphs: In informal reasoning, the appeal to authority is an argument of the form:

paragraphs: The argument may be right in many cases, but it might be wrong in other cases. In cases where the argument is wrong, it would be a fallacy. Therefore, the appeal to authority is not a generally strong argument for proving facts.

paragraphs: An example of a poor appeal to authority is if someone says that "God doesn't exist. I know because Stephen Hawking said so." This is a poor example because even though almost everyone who knows about Stephen Hawking would agree that he was very intelligent man, his knowledge about physics (which he was a professor of) is not important to knowing about whether or not God exists.

paragraphs: An example of a good appeal to authority is if a someone says “I need to take my medicine. I know so because my doctor prescribed it,” This is believable because most doctors have a lot of knowledge and training in how to improve people's health, and it is very likely that the doctor has given similar prescriptions many times before.


title: Bimbo Coles

paragraphs: Vernell Eufaye "Bimbo" Coles (born 1968) is a retired American basketball player. He played for 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was also nicknamed "Colsie".

paragraphs: Vernell Coles was born Apr 22, 1968 in Covington, Virginia. Coles was a standout at Greenbrier East High School in Lewisburg, West Virginia. He played his college basketball for the Virginia Tech Hokies for four seasons (1986–87 to 1989–90). He was a member of the United States 1988 Olympic basketball team which won a bronze medal. His NBA career started when he was selected by the Sacramento Kings in the 1990 NBA Draft. He was immediately traded to the Miami Heat in exchange for veteran guard Rory Sparrow. After Coles' first of the two times he played with the Miami Heat, he was traded to the Golden State Warriors. He also played for the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Boston Celtics. He was utilized primarily as a backup point guard.

paragraphs: Coles is now the fitness director of CountryRoads Crossfit. It is a physical fitness center in Lewisburg, West Virgina. In February of 2011, Coles was inducted into the West Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.


title: Tornado outbreak of March 2–3, 2012

paragraphs: The March 2–3, 2012 tornado outbreak was several tornadoes that hit the Southern United States and Ohio Valley. Two of them were EF4 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. This included Ohio and Kentucky.


title: Brampton Bryan Castle

paragraphs: Brampton Bryan Castle is a castle in the small village of Brampton Bryan in north-western Herefordshire, England, 50m south of the River Teme. The castle guarded an important road from Ludlow along the Teme Valley to Knighton and on into Central Wales.

paragraphs: The castle is listed in the Domesday Book (1086). In 1295 it was described as a "tower with curtilage". The castle was almost entirely destroyed during the Civil War. The ruins that are still standing include an outer gate house, parts of the inner gatehouse, part of the south wall of the kitchen, and the great hall.

paragraphs: When Bryan de Brampton died in 1294, his son-in-law, Robert Harley, inherited the castle. For almost 700 years since the castle has remained in the Harley family. During the Civil War, the castle was defended by Lady Brilliana Harley, the wife of Robert Harley. Harley was a puritan and a Member of Parliament.


title: University of Lausanne

paragraphs: The University of Lausanne is a university in Lausanne, Switzerland. It was founded in 1537 as a school of theology, before being made a university in 1890. Today about 12,000 students and 2200 researchers study and work at the university. Approximately 1500 international students attend the university.


title: St. John's Co-Cathedral

paragraphs: St. Johns Co-Cathedral () is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Valletta, Malta. It was built by the Knights of Malta between 1573 and 1578. It was commissioned (ordered to be built) in 1572 by Grand Master Jean de la Cassière. He made it the main church of the Order of the Knights Hospitaller of St John, also known as the Knights of Malta. The Church was designed by the Maltese architect Glormu Cassar (Girolamo Cassar). The church is considered to be one of the finest examples of high Baroque architecture in Europe.


title: Silkworm (missile)

paragraphs: The Silkworm missile was the NATO reporting name for these kinds of Chinese anti-ship missiles:

paragraphs: These missiles were the Chinese version of the Soviet P-15 Termit missile. They used hot launch mechanism for launching the missile from ships.


title: Transglutaminase

paragraphs: A transglutaminase is an enzyme that forms a chemical bond between two protein molecules. The reaction also produces a molecule of ammonia. Transglutaminases were first described in 1959. In 1968 it was discovered they form a role in blood coagulation.

paragraphs: Transglutaminase have many uses. They can be used as a binding agent to improve the texture of protein-rich foods such as surimi or ham. Other examples of foods made using transglutaminase include imitation crabmeat, and fish balls.


title: Muppets Most Wanted

paragraphs: Muppets Most Wanted is a 2014 American-German-Spainish-Irish-British musical comedy caper film produced by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the eighth movie featuring the Muppets. It was directed by James Bobin and written by Bobin and Nicholas Stoller. Muppets Most Wanted is a sequel to 2011's "The Muppets" and stars Ricky Gervais, Ty Burrell, and Tina Fey. In "Muppets Most Wanted", the Muppets find themselves unwittingly involved in an international crime caper while on tour in Europe.

paragraphs: The majority of the production team behind "The Muppets" returned for "Muppets Most Wanted". This was including Bobin, Stoller, producers David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman of Mandeville Films. Music supervisor Bret McKenzie also returned. The movie started filming in January 2013 at Pinewood Studios in London. "Muppets Most Wanted" premiered March 11, 2014 in Los Angeles, California and was released in North America on March 21, 2014.


title: Ricardo Mórtola

paragraphs: Ricardo Mórtola Di Puglia (c. 1950 – 22 April 2014) was an Ecuadorian architect and businessman. He was known for constructing Estadio Monumental Isidro Romero Carbo in Barcelona. He won many awards during his twenty-year career. He was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

paragraphs: Mórtola died in Guayaquil, Ecuador from respiratory arrest caused by testicular cancer, aged 63.


title: Windows 2.x

paragraphs: Windows 2.x is a graphical personal computer operating environment developed by Microsoft. It was said to look almost the same to the first Mac OS and more closely matched Microsoft's pre-release publicity for Windows 1.0.

paragraphs: Five months after the release of Windows 2.03, Microsoft released Windows 2.10, and after 10 months, Windows 2.11. They were the first versions that require an Intel 80286 or 80386 processor to run.


title: Iveta Bartošová

paragraphs: Iveta Bartošová (8 April 1966 – 29 April 2014) was a Czech singer, actress and vocalist. She played in the music poll Zlatý slavík (1986, 1990 and 1991). She was also known for her life style attracting the attention of the Czech tabloid media. She was born in Čeladná, Czech Republic.

paragraphs: On 29 April 2014, she committed suicide by throwing herself under a train in Uhříněves, Prague. Many people think that the reason why she committed suicide was because of the media harassing her.


title: Tahar Chaïbi

paragraphs: Tahar Chaïbi (17 February 1946 – 29 April 2014) was a Tunisian footballer. He played as a midfielder for Club Africain and the national team. He was born in Tunis, Tunisia.

paragraphs: Chaïbi died from complications from a stroke, aged 68.


title: Michael Kadosh

paragraphs: Michael "Lufa" Kadosh (April 23, 1940 in Alexandria - April 29, 2014) was a former Israeli footballer. He worked as the manager of Hapoel Jerusalem. He won many awards during his 50 year career.

paragraphs: Kadosh died on 29 April 2014 from cancer at the age of 74.


title: Dennis Kamakahi

paragraphs: The Rev. Dennis David Kahekilimamaoikalanikeha Kamakahi (March 31, 1953 – April 28, 2014) was an American slack key guitarist, recording artist, music composer, and Christian minister. He has won multiple Grammy Awards. In 2009 was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame. Kamakahi was born in Honolulu, Hawaii.

paragraphs: Kamakahi died in Honolulu, Hawaii from lung cancer, aged 61.


title: West Covina, California

paragraphs: West Covina is a city in Los Angeles County, California.


title: Wall cloud

paragraphs: Wall clouds (or pedestal clouds) are localized, large and persistent lowering cloud formations that develop below the rain-free region of thunderstorms. Rotating wall clouds are indicative of mesocyclones in thunderstorms. Wall clouds do not always rotate, though.

paragraphs: Wall clouds are formed by a process known as entrainment, when an inflow of warm, moist air rises and overpowers rain-cooled air during a downwind downdraft.


title: Technical support scam

paragraphs: A technical support scam is a form of telephone fraud that tricks people by pretending that they are a service which helps people fix their computers. In most cases they convince the victim they have a computer problem that does not actually exist. A common type is when someone gets a call from someone (usually from places like India or Pakistan) pretending to be from a company that sounds real such as "Microsoft" or "Windows" support. Often the caller tries to gain the victim's trust. They may use confusing and very technical language to sound authentic. They may ask the victim to perform several tasks on their computer. Often they target legitimate files on the victim's computer saying these are viruses. These tactics are designed to scare people into letting the scammer fix the problem (that does not really exist). The caller may have the victim install malicious software that could capture sensitive data, such as online banking passwords or credit card information.


title: Santeria (song)

paragraphs: "Santeria" is the second single off American ska punk band Sublime's third and final studio album "Sublime". The song was released on January 7, 1997.

paragraphs: The title of the song refers to Santería, a religion practiced in the Caribbean. The song tells a story about a jealous ex-boyfriend that plans to take revenge out on the man that stole his girlfriend. He mentions using violent force when he talks about "popping a cap in Sancho" and "putting that barrel straight down Sancho's throat". Lead singer Bradley Nowell refers to the man as "sancho" and his ex-girlfriend as "heina". In Mexico, "sancho" is often used to describe a man who steals another man's girlfriend. "heina" is used to describe a man's woman or girlfriend.

paragraphs: The song was featured in the 2008 video game "Guitar Hero World Tour" and as a downloadable song in the 2010 video game "Rock Band 3". The song was also featured in the 2012 movie "This Is 40".


title: What I Got

paragraphs: "What I Got" is the first single off American ska punk band Sublime's third and final studio album "Sublime". The song was released on August 27, 1996.

paragraphs: It is the band's biggest radio hit and was one of the most popular singles of 1997 in the United States. When the song was released, it was able to reach #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart and was also a mainstream Top 40 hit, reaching #29 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay. The song was ranked #83 in "Rolling Stone"'s "100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time".

paragraphs: The song was featured in the 2010 video game "Rock Band 3", the 2011 video game "", the 2000 video game "Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX", and the 2009 video game "Guitar Hero 5".


title: Deep Green Resistance

paragraphs: Deep Green Resistance (DGR) is an environmental movement. It was started by Derrick Jensen, Lierre Keith, and Aric McBay in 2011. DGR is radical feminist.


title: Sidewinding

paragraphs: Sidewinding is a type of locomotion unique to some snakes. They use it to move across loose or slippery ground like sand or mud. It is often used by the Saharan horned viper, "Cerastes cerastes", and the sidewinder rattlesnake, "Crotalus cerastes", to move across loose desert sands. It is also used by some snakes in Southeast Asia to move across tidal mud flats. Other snakes can be induced to sidewind on artificial smooth surfaces, with various degrees of success. Sidewinding is not the only way snakes can move on sand.

paragraphs: Sidewinding is done by simply lifting all the segments with the same slope off the ground. In the movement, the snake's body is always in static (as opposed to sliding) contact with the ground. The head seems to be "thrown" forward, and the body follows, being lifted from the prior position and moved forward to lie on the ground ahead of where it was originally. Meanwhile, the head is being thrown forward again. In this way, the snake slowly progresses at an angle, leaving a series of mostly straight, J-shaped tracks. Because the snake's body is in static contact with the ground, imprints of the belly scales can be seen in the tracks, and each track is almost exactly as long as the snake.

paragraphs: Below is a crude animated line-drawing showing sidewinding in action. The light brown areas are the tracks left behind, and show where the body of the snake touched the ground.

paragraphs: This mode of locomotion overcomes the slippery nature of sand or mud by pushing off with only static portions on the body. The static nature of the contact points can be shown from the tracks of a sidewinding snake, which show each belly scale imprint, without any smearing. This mode of locomotion has very low caloric cost, less than ⅓ of the cost for a lizard or snake to move the same distance. Contrary to popular belief, there is no evidence that sidewinding is associated with the sand being hot.


title: Dickie Moore (ice hockey)

paragraphs: Richard Winston "Dickie" Moore (January 6, 1931 – December 19, 2015) was a Canadian former professional hockey player, and successful businessman. He twice won the Art Ross Trophy as the National Hockey League's leading scorer and was added into that Hockey Hall of Fame.

paragraphs: Moore played with the Montreal Canadiens from 1951 to 1963. He started playing with the Montreal Jr. Royals for three seasons from 1947 to 1950, and made his debut with the Montreal Canadiens in the middle of the 1951–52 season. Moore had played on two Memorial Cup winners, one with the Montreal Royals in 1949 and Montreal Junior Canadiens the following year. He was known for his hard accurate shot and his ability to stickhandle the puck. He twice won the Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the league's leading scorer. Moore broke Gordie Howe's record of 95 total points in a regular season play with 41 goals and 55 assists.

paragraphs: Moore won the Stanley Cup for the first time in 1953 and was a member of the Montreal Canadiens team that won five cups in a row from 1956–60. He retired following the 1962–63 season, but came back after a year's break to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Another three-year break saw Moore return to play 27 games for the St. Louis Blues.

paragraphs: In 1974, Moore was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 1998, he was ranked number 31 on "The Hockey News"' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.

paragraphs: Following his retirement from hockey, Moore became a successful businessman, operating a tool rental business in Montreal.

paragraphs: On November 12, 2005, the Canadiens retired the uniform number 12 in honor of both Moore and Yvan Cournoyer.

paragraphs: On August 27, 2006, Moore suffered neck, spine and rib injuries when his car was hit by a truck in Montreal. He was trapped in the car for 45 minutes before rescue.

paragraphs: Moore died on December 19, 2015 in Montreal, Quebec from prostate cancer at the age of 84.


Dickie Moore


title: Dit Clapper

paragraphs: Aubrey Victor "Dit" Clapper (February 9, 1907 – January 21, 1978) was a Canadian Hall of Fame ice hockey player, playing his entire professional career for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League.

paragraphs: Clapper was the first NHL player to play twenty seasons, and one of only two to be an All-Star at both forward and defence. The right wing on the powerful "Dynamite Line"—one of the first forward lines to receive a nickname in hockey history—along with linemates Cooney Weiland and Dutch Gainor, he contributed to the breaking of several scoring records in the 1930s. Towards the end of his career, he was named player-coach of the Bruins, and held the coaching position after his retirement as a player.

paragraphs: Aubrey Clapper, son of Bill Clapper, was raised in Hastings, Ontario. Clapper was given his nickname at an early age when he would lisp his name, the result coming out "Dit."

paragraphs: Clapper started his hockey career at age 13, playing minor hockey in Oshawa, and going on to play with the junior league Toronto Parkdale club of the Ontario Hockey Association in 1925, scoring a goal in the team's Memorial Cup run that season. The following season he turned professional, playing for the Boston Tigers of the Canadian-American Hockey League.

paragraphs: The Boston Bruins bought Clapper's contract from the Tigers in 1927. Hitherto a defenceman, Bruins' coach Art Ross decided to try Clapper at right wing, and the experiment stuck. He scored his first NHL goal - ten seconds into his first shift—in the season opener against the Chicago Black Hawks.

paragraphs: The following season, Ross teamed Clapper up with Cooney Weiland and Dutch Gainor to form the Dynamite Line, one of the first named forward lines in history. The Bruins won the American Division that season and went on to their first Stanley Cup championship, with Clapper scoring the winning goal in the first game of their best-of-three series with the New York Rangers.

paragraphs: In the 1930 season, the league changed the passing rules, effectively eliminating offsides. The Stanley Cup champion Bruins took especial advantage, breaking many scoring records and recording the highest winning percentage the league would ever see, unsurpassed as of 2012. Leading the charge was the Dynamite Line, as Weiland led the league in scoring, Clapper finishing third and Gainor finishing ninth; Clapper's goal total of 41 was the third most in league history at that time. The Dynamite Line scored 102 of the Bruins' league record 179 goals, as many as last-place Pittsburgh managed. While Clapper scored four goals in six playoff games, the Bruins were shocked in the Stanley Cup finals by the Montreal Canadiens in their best-of-three series.

paragraphs: While Clapper kept his production high in the 1931 season, Gainor's scoring fell off badly, and the Dynamite Line was broken up at season's end. Clapper's 22 goals were good for eighth in the league, and he was named Second Team All-Star at right wing at year's end, the first season such All-Stars were named. The following year Clapper—with Bud Cook replacing the traded Gainor on his line with Weiland—was named team captain and again finished eighth in league scoring, but an injury-riddled Bruins' team fell into last place and out of the playoffs. While Weiland was dealt to Ottawa for the 1933 season, the Bruins purchased Montreal Maroons star Nels Stewart and paired him with Clapper to form a powerful offensive unit that led the Bruins back to a division championship.

paragraphs: The largest forward of his era at 6'2" and 200 lbs, Clapper was a notably peaceful player who nonetheless was involved in an unusual incident in the 1937 Stanley Cup playoffs against the Montreal Maroons. Highsticking Maroon Dave Trottier twice in the head, referee Clarence Campbell (the future NHL president) called Clapper a profane name, and Clapper knocked the referee to the ice with a single punch. Speculation was heavy that Clapper's punishment would be severe, but Campbell himself pleaded Clapper's case, stating that he felt he had provoked the Bruin into the blow; Clapper received only a $100 fine for the incident.

paragraphs: By 1938, Ross believed the Bruins needed an overhaul, and as part of it asked Clapper to move back to defence. Paired with perennial superstar Eddie Shore on the backline, the move proved highly successful, and Clapper was named a First Team NHL All-Star on defence in 1939, 1940 and 1941, leading the Bruins to Stanley Cup victories in 1939 and 1941.

paragraphs: In February 1942, Clapper suffered a severed tendon in a collision with Toronto player Bingo Kampman and was done for the season. It was feared he would be forced into retirement, but he came back next year and returned to form. During the 1944 season, Clapper broke Hooley Smith's career record for games played, holding the record until Maurice Richard surpassed him in 1957.

paragraphs: During the 1944 season, Clapper filled in as interim coach when Art Ross took ill. In 1945 Ross retired as Bruins' coach, retaining his general manager's position, and named Clapper as player-coach, the only one in team history. Clapper retained his team captaincy until his retirement as a player in 1947, ultimately serving as team captain for longer than any NHL player until Ray Bourque surpassed his total in the 1990s.

paragraphs: Due to injuries and with his skills not what they used to be, Clapper originally retired before the start of the 1946–47 season, but returned to play in November 1946 to replace the injured Jack Crawford in the Bruins' lineup. He played only once in awhile thereafter, and retired for good on February 12, 1947. Leading the Bruins to a 10-1 victory over the New York Rangers in his final game (in which Bill Cowley broke the league career scoring record, the Bruins further announced that day that his number #5 sweater would be retired, and the Hockey Hall of Fame immediately inducted him as an Honoured Member; he was the only active player ever to be inducted into the Hall, and at the time the only living Member inducted.

paragraphs: Of his prowess, Bruins goaltending legend Tiny Thompson said: "Clapper diagnosed the plays like a great infielder in baseball," said. "He put himself where the puck had to come."

paragraphs: He coached the Bruins for two more seasons until, unhappy with the club's performance in the 1949 playoffs against Toronto and uneasy about coaching friends with whom he had played, he resigned. Save for a single season coaching the American Hockey League's Buffalo Bisons in 1960, in which the team recorded a 33-35-4 record and failed to make the playoffs, he did not again participate in professional hockey.

paragraphs: Clapper ran a plumbing firm and a sporting goods store in Peterborough in retirement, while serving as a director of the Peterborough Petes of the OHA. He briefly attempted a political career, standing as a Liberal candidate for the Peterborough West riding in the 1949 federal election, losing by less than 250 votes to incumbent Progressive Conservative Gordon Fraser.

paragraphs: Dit Clapper died of complications from a 1973 stroke, which had left him confined to a wheelchair, on January 21, 1978. He is buried in Trent Valley Cemetery, Hastings, Ontario.

paragraphs: In 1983, the Bruins signed former Montreal Canadiens star Guy Lapointe, Lapointe sought to wear his customary #5 jersey, which had been retired in Clapper's honor nearly forty years before. Team general manager Harry Sinden agreed to Lapointe's request, but under protests from Clapper's family, Bruins superstar Bobby Orr and the public, Lapointe was switched to #27 after a handful of games.

paragraphs: In August 2012, former NHL coach Scotty Bowman, who was a young Peterborough Petes coach when Clapper served on the club's board of directors, paid tribute to Clapper. The occasion was the unveiling by Dit's daughter, Marilyn Armstrong, of a new street sign named "Dit Clapper Drive" in Hastings, Ontario.


title: Districts of Luxembourg

paragraphs: The former three districts of Luxembourg (, , ) were the top-level administrative divisions of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The districts were divided into cantons:

paragraphs: The districts (and cantons) were created on 24 February 1843. In 1857, the "Mersch" district was created from the cantons of Mersch and Redange. However, this fourth district was abolished in 1867.

paragraphs: In October 2015, the districts were abolished.


title: Diekirch (district)

paragraphs: The District of Diekirch (, German: "Diekirch", ) was one of three districts of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Its capital was the city of Diekirch.

paragraphs: It was the northernmost of the districts and, with an area of , the largest of the three districts. It has a population of 83,661 inhabitants and a population density of inhabitants/km², the lowest density of all districts.

paragraphs: When the districts were created on 24 February 1843, Diekirch was one of the three of the country.

paragraphs: On 2012, the communes of Heinerscheid and Munshause were made part of the commune of Clervaux; Hosingen, Consthum and Hoscheid were merged to made the new commune of Parc Hosingen; Ermsdorf and Medernach were merged to made the new commune of Vallée de l'Ernz; Heiderscheid and Neunhausen were joined to Esch-sur-Sûre. So the number of communes changed from 43 to 36.

paragraphs: The Diekirch district is bordered to the west and north by Belgium (Belgian provinces of Luxembourg and Liège), to the east by Germany (German "Land" of Rhineland-Palatinate, to the south by the Luxembourg district and to the southwest by the Grevenmacher district.

paragraphs: The two highest hills in Luxembourg, the Kneiff () and Buurgplaatz (), are in this district, in the "commune" Troisvierges.

paragraphs: The former Diekirch District coincides with the Oesling Region, except for the southern parts.

paragraphs: The Diekirch district has 5 cantons and 36 "communes".


title: Diekirch (canton)

paragraphs: Diekirch () is a canton in Luxembourg. Its capital is Diekirch.

paragraphs: On 1 January 2012, the canton lost the "commune" of Hoscheid when it was made part of the new "commune" Parc Hosingen in the Clervaux canton, and the "communes" of Ermsdorf and Medernach were merged to make the new "commune" of Vallée de l'Ernz.

paragraphs: With an area of , and a population (2017) of 32,244, the Diekirch canton has a population density of inhabitants/km².

paragraphs: It is bordered on the north by the cantons Clervaux and Vianden, on the east by the German district of Bitburg-Prüm (part of the "Land" of Rhineland-Palatinate) and the canton of Echternach, in the south by the canton of Mersch, and to the west by the cantons Redange and Wiltz.

paragraphs: The Diekirch canton consists of the following 10 communes (2017 population).


title: Diekirch

paragraphs: Diekirch (; from "Diet-Kirch", i.e. "people's church") is a commune with city status in north-eastern Luxembourg, capital city of the canton Diekirch and the district of Diekirch. The city is situated on the banks of the Sauer river.

paragraphs: The National Museum of Military History of Luxembourg is in Diekirch.

paragraphs: Diekirch is mentioned in 938 as "Theochirica" and then as "Diecirke" in 1182 and "Diekirke" in 1221. The word Diekirch means, in Luxembourgish, "people's church".

paragraphs: The town of Diekirch, which lies in the south of the "commune", has an area of . The altitude is high. At the church, the altitude is high.

paragraphs: Diekirch is surrounded by four "communes": Tandel (Vianden canton) to the north, Bettendorf to the east, Vallée de l'Ernz to the south, and Erpeldange to the west.

paragraphs: The most important river is the Sauer (German, Luxembourgish) or Sûre (French) that flows through the city.

paragraphs: There were 6,472 persons living in the "commune" in 2017, for a population density of inhabitants/km².

paragraphs: The town's mascot is the donkey. There is a donkey fountain in the centre of Diekirch.

paragraphs: The city of Diekirch has, as twin cities, the following cities:


title: Sauer

paragraphs: The Sauer (German, Luxembourgish) or Sûre (French) is a river in Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. It is a left tributary of the river Moselle, and so it is part of the drainage basin of the Rhine river.

paragraphs: The Sauer river has a length of and a drainage basin with an area of .

paragraphs: The source of the Sauer is, as Sûre, in the southeast of Belgium in the Ardennes (Luxembourg province), on the western part of the Rhenish Massif, at an altitude of about .

paragraphs: From there, the Sauer flows to the east and crosses the border between Belgium and Luxembourg near Martelange. It forms the border between Belgium and Luxembourg for north of Martelange. On their way through the mountainous north of Luxembourg (the Oesling), it passes through the Lac de la Haute Sure, an artificial lake to the west of Esch-sur-Sûre.

paragraphs: After flowing through Ettelbruck and Diekirch, the Sauer forms the border between Luxembourg and Germany for the last of its course, passing Echternach before joining, as left tributary, the Moselle in Wasserbillig, at about of altitude.


title: Norma Pons

paragraphs: Norma Delia Orizi (18 August 1942 – 29 April 2014) known by her stage name Norma Pons, was an Argentine actress and vedette. She was known for her roles in "El hombre del año", "Crimen en el hotel alojamiento", "Adiós Sui Generis", and in "El pozo". Pons was born in Rosario, Sante Fe, Argentina.

paragraphs: Pons died on 29 April 2014 from a heart attack in Buenos Aires, Argentina, aged 70.


title: Livingston, Montana

paragraphs: Livingston is a city in Montana, United States. It is the county seat of Park County. About 7,000 people lived there in 2010.

paragraphs: It is along the Yellowstone River, north of Yellowstone National Park.


title: Walter Walsh

paragraphs: Colonel Walter Rudolph Walsh (May 4, 1907 – April 29, 2014) was an American FBI agent, United States Marine Corps shooting teacher and Olympic shooter. Walsh joined the FBI in 1934. He was there during the public enemy era. He was known for capturing Arthur Barker and for killing Al Brady.

paragraphs: Walsh was the oldest retired FBI agent. He competed as a shooter at the 1948 Summer Olympics. He was the oldest surviving Olympic competitor until his death in 2014.

paragraphs: Walsh received awards for his marksmanship. He was the coach of the Olympic shooting team until 2000. At age 100, he was present at a re-enactment of the Al Brady shootout in Bangor, Maine. At this event, he was presented with a plaque and the key to the city.

paragraphs: Walsh was born in Union City, New Jersey. He studied at Rutgers Law School. He joined the National Guard in 1928.

paragraphs: Walsh had three daughters and two sons. His wife died before him. He died in his home in Virginia from natural causes. His death was less than a week before his 107th birthday.


title: Union City, New Jersey

paragraphs: Union City is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey.


title: Hyde Park on Hudson

paragraphs: Hyde Park on Hudson is a 2012 British-American biographical comedy-drama movie. It was directed by Roger Mitchell. It is set in New York in 1939. It stars Bill Murray as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Laura Linney as Roosevelt's mistress Margaret Suckley. It was released to mixed reviews on 1 February 2013.


title: Ian Ross

paragraphs: Ian 'Roscoe' Ross (24 June 194030 April 2014) was an Australian television news presenter. He worked in "Seven News" in Sydney and for the "National Nine News". Ross was born in New South Wales, Australia.

paragraphs: Ross died on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia from pancreatic cancer, aged 73. He was divorced from his wife, by whom he had three children and he was in a relationship with a man and was bisexual. He is survived by his partner and children.


title: The Amity Affliction

paragraphs: The Amity Affliction is an Australian metalcore band from Gympie, Queensland, Australia. The band was formed in 2003.


title: Footprint

paragraphs: Footprints are shapes on the ground where people or animals walked. The foot touches the ground and at that position a footprint appears afterwards. This can happen because the ground is muddy or snowy and the foot sinks a little bit into the ground. Another possibility is that the foot is dirty or has fresh color on it. When the foot touches the ground the dirt or color remains at the ground and marks the position of contact.

paragraphs: Footprints mark the way of people or animals. Hunters for example are able to follow an animal by following its footprints. Like that leaving footprints can be a big disadvantage.

paragraphs: In the time of internet people also talk about digital footprints. This are not real footprint but small bits of data (for example the IP address) which enable computer professionals to follow the way of an user in the internet. This can also be a disadvantage for the user who is leaving the digital footprints.


title: Lichtentaler Allee

paragraphs: The Lichtentaler Allee is a 2.3 kilometers long street in Baden-Baden. But it is also the name of the park around that street. It became popular in the 19th century when a lot of noble and rich people met in Baden-Baden and walked at that street. For them it was a place to be. The Lichtentaler Allee follows the river Oos. A lot of seldom trees and plants can be seen there.


title: Çorum

paragraphs: Çorum is a city in northern Turkey. The city is in the Karadeniz Region. In 2013, 270,864 people lived there.


title: Chris Harris (actor)

paragraphs: Chris Harris (14 December 1942 – 30 April 2014) was an English actor, director and writer. He appeared in several UK television series including "Into the Labyrinth" and "Hey Look... That's Me". He also had a career in pantomime. He was born in Bridgwater, Somerset.

paragraphs: Harris died from cancer on 30 April 2014 in Portishead, Somerset. He was 71.


title: Assi Dayan

paragraphs: Asaf "Assi" Dayan (23 November 1945 – 1 May 2014) was an Israeli movie director, actor, screenwriter and producer. By 2008, he had acted in some 50 movies and television series episodes. He was born in Nahalal.

paragraphs: Dayan died on 1 May 2014 in Tel Aviv. He was 68.


title: Papal supremacy

paragraphs: In the Roman Catholic Church, the pope is seen as the highest clergy and as the head of the church. In short, anything the pope says in his function of head of the church is valid for the whole church. The pope has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered: that, in brief, "the Pope enjoys, by divine institution, supreme, full, immediate, and universal power in the care of souls." This means that the situation of the pope is similar to that of an absolute monarch or the leader of a Fascist state.


title: New Madrid, Missouri

paragraphs: New Madrid is a city in New Madrid County in Missouri. It is in southeast Missouri on the Mississippi River. At the 2010 census, 3116 people lived there.

paragraphs: The city was established in 1776 to 1778.


title: Windsor Heights, Iowa

paragraphs: Windsor Heights is a city in Polk County, Iowa. It is near Des Moines. It is in central Iowa. At the 2010 census, 4,860 people lived there.

paragraphs: The city was established on July 19, 1941.


title: Marine iguana

paragraphs: The marine iguana ("Amblyrhynchus cristatus") is an iguana found only on the Galápagos Islands. It is the only modern lizard, to live and forage in the sea. Also unusually, it is a vegetarian. It only eats algae.

paragraphs: The iguana can dive over into the water. It has spread to all the islands in the archipelago, and is sometimes called the Galápagos marine iguana. It mainly lives on the rocky Galápagos shore to warm from the comparably cold water. It can also be spotted in marshes and mangrove beaches. Charles Darwin described them:


title: Atemelia torquatella

paragraphs: Atemelia torquatella is a moth of the Praydidae family. Lienig and Zeller used the scientific name in 1846.


title: Ateliotum petrinella

paragraphs: Ateliotum petrinella is a moth of the Tineidae family. Herrich-Schaffer used the scientific name in 1854.


title: Equality Act 2010

paragraphs: The Equality Act 2010 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom.

paragraphs: Before 2010, there were many different Acts (laws) and Regulations (rules) in Great Britain which protected against different kinds of discrimination. The Equality Act's goal was to put all of these laws and protections together into one law, and make it easier to understand.

paragraphs: All of these laws were put together to make the Equality Act:

paragraphs: The Equality Act has the same goals as the four major European Union Equal Treatment Directives (laws made by the European Union that protect against discrimination).

paragraphs: The Equality Act protects against discrimination because of:

paragraphs: The Act says that all of these groups must be treated equally at work, when applying for jobs, and in private and public services.

paragraphs: People with disabilities have special protections under the Act. The Act says that employers and service providers (like stores or schools) have to make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities if needed. Reasonable accommodations are changes to places or ways of doing things that help people with disabilities do their jobs, go to school, and do other important things just like people without disabilities can. Accommodations do not have to be made if they are not reasonable (if they would be very expensive or difficult to make).

paragraphs: Most of the Equality Act does not apply to Northern Ireland.


title: Clara Zetkin

paragraphs: Clara Josephine Zetkin (born "Clara Josephine Eissner"; 5 July 1857 - 20 June 1933) was a German Marxist theorist and advocate for women's rights.

paragraphs: Clara Zetkin was born in Wiederau. She trained as a teacher at Leipzig Teachers College for Women. During her studies, she became involved with the women's and labour movements. In 1878 she joined the Socialist Workers' Party of Germany. In 1910, she proposed the celebration of International Women's Day, which is celebrated today every 8 March.

paragraphs: Zetkin was a member of the Spartacus League, with Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg. She was a member of the Reichstag from 1920 to 1933 for the Communist Party of Germany (KPD).


title: Dave Gettleman

paragraphs: Dave Gettleman is the General Manager of the Carolina Panthers. As General Manager he is most famous for releasing wide receiver Steve Smith. Before he became the Carolina Panthers General Manager, he was a scout and intern with several other teams in the National Football League.


title: Windows NT 3.5x

paragraphs: Windows NT 3.5x (Windows 3.5x) can refer to either an individual or following versions of Microsoft Windows:


title: No Frills

paragraphs: No Frills (styled as nofrills) is a Canadian supermarket chain. The chain was created in East York, Toronto, Ontario on July 5, 1978. The chain is owned by Loblaw Companies Limited which is a subsidiary of George Weston Limited. The chain currently has 26 stores throughout Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan. They also have seven outlets in Atlantic Canada.


title: Legends of Chima

paragraphs: Legends of Chima is an TV show series based on the Legends of Chima LEGO sets. It is shown on Cartoon Network. It is about a young lion warrior named Laval who is part of the Lion Tribe. He teams up with other good tribes to go on epic quests and defeat evil tribes.


title: M. V. Devan

paragraphs: Madathil Vasudevan, popularly known as M. V. Devan (January 15, 1928 - April 29 ,2014) was an Indian painter, sculptor, writer, art critic and orator. He was made the Chairman of Kerala Lalithakala Akadem, an art institute, from 1974 to 1977. He was born in Panniyannur village in Thalassery in northern Kerala.

paragraphs: During this time, he created an organization called "Perunthachan", which helped with the housing sector. Throughout his life, Devan tried to protect many paintings in India and parts of the world.

paragraphs: Devan died of an illness on 29 April 2014 at his home in Aluva, Kerala, aged 86.


title: Reuven Feuerstein

paragraphs: Reuven Feuerstein (; August 21, 1921 – April 29, 2014) was an Israeli clinical, developmental, and cognitive psychologist. He is known for his theory of intelligence which states “"it is not ‘fixed’, but rather modifiable"”. He was born in Botoşani, Romania.

paragraphs: Feuerstein died in Israel from unknown causes, aged 92.


title: Eduard Khil

paragraphs: Eduard Anatolyevich Khil (often known as Edward Hill) (4 September 1934 – 4 June 2012) was a Russian baritone singer. He is a recipient of the People's Artist Award of the Russian SFSR. He was born in Smolensk, Western Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union.

paragraphs: Khil became known to the international audience in 2010 when a 1976 recording of him singing a version of the song "I Am Glad, 'Cause I'm Finally Returning Back Home". It became an Internet meme, often referred to as "Trololo" or the "Russian Rickroll". The song is now commonly associated with Internet trolling.

paragraphs: Khil died in the hospital in St. Petersburg, Russia on 4 June 2012, from complications from a stroke, aged 77.


title: Edgars Vinters

paragraphs: Edgars Vinters (September 22, 1919 – April 29, 2014) was a Latvian painter. Vinters worked for magazine companies, illustrating the cover, but is mostly known for his landscape paintings. He began his career in 1935. He was born in Riga, Latvia.

paragraphs: Vinters died in Riga from an illness, aged 94.


title: Juan Formell

paragraphs: Juan Clímaco Formell Fortuna (2 August 1942 – 1 May 2014) was a Cuban musician, bassist, composer, and arranger. He was best known as the director of Los Van Van Orchestra. He began a career in the music industry in 1957. He was a Grammy Award in the Latin/Best Salsa Performance category for his work on the album "Van Van is Here (Llegó Van Van)" in 1999. He was born in Havana.

paragraphs: Formell died on 1 May 2014 in Havana, aged 71.


title: Juan de Dios Castillo

paragraphs: Juan de Dios Castillo González (31 January 1951 – 1 May 2014) was a Mexican association football player and coach. He coached Honduran club C.D. Motagua before his death. He also became the head coach of El Salvador national football team in July 2012. He was born in Mexico City.

paragraphs: Castillo died from skin cancer on 1 May 2014 in Monterrey, Nuevo León. He was 63.


title: Blue Seduction

paragraphs: Blue Seduction is a 2009 Canadian thriller movie. It was directed by Timothy Bond and written by Jacqueline Giroux.

paragraphs: A middle aged lyricist get caught in a seduction game. This is by an attractive young female singer who wants her "fifteen minutes of fame".


title: Finsbury Park, London

paragraphs: Finsbury Park is an inner-city area of north London. Its postcode is N4. It is on the borders of the London Boroughs of Hackney, Haringey and Islington.


title: Basketball at the 1988 Summer Olympics

paragraphs: Basketball in the 1988 Summer Olympics took place at the Jamsil Gymnasium in Seoul, South Korea. The United States won the gold medal in the women's competition. This repeated their performance from the 1984 tournament. In the men's tournament, the Soviet Union took home their second gold medal in the team's history for this event. Yugoslavia won the silver medal. The USA won the bronze medal. This was the last Olympic basketball tournament where NBA players were not allowed to participate. Professionals from other leagues were allowed to compete. But players from other leagues were still considered amateurs. These were also the last Olympic basketball tournaments where the Soviets fielded a team. This was because the Soviet Union broke up prior to the 1992 Games. The United States was a major favorite to win.


title: Proto-Sinaitic script

paragraphs: Proto-Sinaitic is a Middle Bronze Age script. It is known only from a few inscriptions at Serabit el-Khadim in the Sinai Peninsula.

paragraphs: Because there are so few Proto-Sinaitic signs, little is known with certainty about the nature of the script. The script co-existed with Egyptian hieroglyphs, so it is likely that it represented true writing, but this is not certain. From the shape of the signs, Proto-Sinaitic may be an alphabet, and the ancestor of the Phoenician alphabet, from which nearly all modern alphabets descend.

paragraphs: There have been two major discoveries of inscriptions of the Proto-Sinaitic script. The first was in the winter of 1904–1905 in Sinai by Hilda and Flinders Petrie, dated to circa 1700–1400 BC. The second find was more recently in 1999 in Middle Egypt by John and Deborah Darnell. This is dated to the 18th century BC.


title: Blood Lad

paragraphs: Blood Lad is a manga series created by Yuuki Kodama. It is about a vampire who falls in love with a human girl.

paragraphs: One day a high school girl wanders into the monster world and lands in the territory of a vampire. The vampire falls in love with her. But she is eaten by a carnivorous plant and turned into a ghost. The story is about him finding a way to make her human again.


title: Mike Baird (politician)

paragraphs: Michael Bruce "Mike" Baird MP (born 1 April 1968), an Australian politician. He was the 44th Premier of New South Wales from 2014 to 2019. He was also the Minister for Infrastructure, the Minister for Western Sydney. He has represented the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Manly for the Liberal Party of Australia since 2007. Before he became Premier, he was the Treasurer of New South Wales in the O'Farrell government.

paragraphs: Baird's father, Bruce Baird, was member of the New South Wales Parliament representing Northcott, and a Member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing Cook, for the Liberal Party.

paragraphs: Baird attended The King's School, Parramatta. He studied for a Bachelor of Arts (Economics) from the University of Sydney. Baird joined the National Australia Bank (NAB) under a graduate program working as an investment banker. He later joined Deutsche Bank as a senior manager.

paragraphs: Baird is a Christian. He studied at Regent College, in Canada, so he could become a minister in the Anglican Church, but while there decided to enter politics. In 1999, he unsuccessfully tried to be chosen as the Liberal Party candidate for the seat of Manly. He then went back to NAB, working for a time in London, before returning to Sydney to work for HSBC Australia.

paragraphs: Baird was elected to the New South Wales Parliament in 2007. He was given a number of junior shadow ministries and in 2008 he was made Shadow Treasurer. Following the election of the O'Farrell government in 2011, Baird was made Treasurer,

paragraphs: Baird has opposed dangerous drinking, embryonic stem research, euthanasia, and same-sex marriage.

paragraphs: After Barry O'Farrell's resignation, on 17 April 2014 Baird was elected parliamentary leader of the NSW Liberal Party, and then sworn in on 23 April as the 44th Premier of New South Wales.


title: Mohammad-Reza Lotfi

paragraphs: Mohammad-Rezā Lotfi () (January 7, 1947 – May 2, 2014) was a Persian classical musician. He was born in Gorgan, Golestan, Iran.

paragraphs: He served as the director of the Center for the Preservation and Propagation of Traditional Persian Music and the "Chavosh" Center.

paragraphs: In 1984 Lotfi was invited by Fondazione Cini to perform in a ceremony and perform concerts in Italy. He lived in the United States from 1986 until his death. He performed widely throughout Asia, Europe, and North America.

paragraphs: Lotfi died on May 2, 2014, due to complications from cancer in Tehran, Iran, aged 67.


title: Nigel Stepney

paragraphs: Nigel Stepney (14 November 1958 – 2 May 2014) was a British Formula One mechanic. He was the team manager and chief mechanic of JRM Racing, in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

paragraphs: He started in Formula One as a mechanic at Shadow in 1977, then followed Elio de Angelis to Team Lotus before moving to Benetton for the late 1980s and early 90s. He worked with Scuderia Ferrari with Michael Schumacher, Rory Byrne and Ross Brawn.

paragraphs: He was killed in a road traffic incident on the M20 motorway in Ashford, Kent on 2 May 2014, aged 55.


title: Roger Kolo

paragraphs: Kolo Christopher Laurent Roger, commonly known as Roger Kolo (born 3 September 1943) is a Malagasy politician and diplomat. He was the Prime Minister of Madagascar from 2014 to 2015. He was elected in 2014.


title: Jung Hong-won

paragraphs: Jung Hong-won (; born October 9, 1944 ) is a South Korean politician. He was the Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea from 26 February 2013 to 2015. He announced his resignation on 27 April 2014.


title: Vernon Scannell

paragraphs: Vernon Scannell (23 January 1922 – 16 November 2007) was a British poet and author. He was at one time a professional boxer, and wrote novels about the sport. He published 53 poems during his career which began in 1961. He was born in Spilsby, Lincolnshire.

paragraphs: Scannell died in Otley, West Yorkshire, England from a long-illness, aged 85.


title: Youcef Yousfi

paragraphs: Youcef Yousfi () (born 2 October 1941) is an Algerian politician. He has been Minister of Energy and Mines since 2010. He briefly served as Acting Prime Minister of Algeria in March–April 2014. Yousfi was Algeria's Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2006 to 2008.


title: George J. Mitchell

paragraphs: George John Mitchell Jr. (born August 20, 1933) is an American lawyer, businessman and politician. He is a Democrat. Mitchell served as a United States Senator from Maine from 1980 to 1995 and as Senate Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995.

paragraphs: Mitchell was born in Waterville, Maine. His father, George John Mitchell, Sr. (born Joseph Kilroy), was of ethnic Irish descent but was adopted by a Lebanese family when he was orphaned.

paragraphs: In 1980, he was elected to the United States Senate. He became Senate Majority Leader in 1989. He briefly was a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maine from 1979 to 1980.

paragraphs: Since retiring from the Senate in 1995, he had a key role in peace talks in Northern Ireland and the Middle East. He appointed United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland (1995–2001) by President Clinton and as United States Special Envoy for Middle East Peace (2009–2011) by President Barack Obama.

paragraphs: He was a primary architect of the 1996 Mitchell Principles and the 1998 Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland, and was the main investigator in two "Mitchell Reports", one on the Arab–Israeli conflict (2001) and one on the use of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball (2007).

paragraphs: Mitchell was chairman of The Walt Disney Company from March 2004 until January 2007, and later as chairman of the international law firm DLA Piper. He was the Chancellor of Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, from 1999 to 2009.

paragraphs: Mitchell also was a co-chair of the Housing Commission at the Bipartisan Policy Center.

paragraphs: In 2015, unsealed court documents showed Mitchell's possible involvement with the Jeffrey Epstein child trafficking ring.

paragraphs: Mitchell was diagnosed with a "small, low grade, and localized" prostate cancer in 2007.

paragraphs: In August 2020, he was diagnosed with leukemia.


title: John C. Stennis

paragraphs: John Cornelius Stennis (August 3, 1901 – April 23, 1995) was an American politician. He was the United States senator of Mississippi. He served as senator from 1947 to 1989. He was a member of the Democratic Party. The USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) is named after him. He served in the senate for 47 years.

paragraphs: Cranston died in Jackson, Mississippi from natural causes, aged 93.


title: Berenstain Bears

paragraphs: The Berenstain Bears are a group of fictional bears from movies and books. They were created by Stan and Jan Berenstain. The bears learn safety and morality lessons in every story. Issues in the stories include childhood obesity, bullying and online safety.

paragraphs: The "Berenstain Bears" have been popular for many years. The stories have been criticized for being too sentimental and too predictable.


title: Carl Hayden

paragraphs: Carl Trumbull Hayden (October 2, 1877 – January 25, 1972) was an American politician. He the first United States Senator to serve seven terms. Hayden was also the President pro tempore of the United States Senate, serving from 1957 to 1969.

paragraphs: He represented Arizona. Hayden is a member of the Democratic Party. Hayden was born in Hayden's Ferry, Arizona.

paragraphs: Hayden died in Mesa, Arizona from an illness, aged 94.


title: Devil's Due

paragraphs: Devil's Due is an American horror-thriller movie. It is about a young couple who go through many major issues, including a strange, unexpected pregnancy.

paragraphs: This movie was released on January 17, 2014. Its reception was very negative.


title: Mary Jo Catlett

paragraphs: Mary Jo Catlett (born September 1938) is an American movie, stage, voice, and television actress. She is known for her role as housekeeper Pearl Gallagher on the television sitcom series "Diff'rent Strokes" and for being the voice of Mrs. Puff in the sitcom "SpongeBob SquarePants".


title: Mel Clark

paragraphs: Melvin Earl "Mel" Clark (July 7, 1926 – May 1, 2014) was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. He went to Ohio University and was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1947. He played with the Phillies from 1951 to 1955 and with the Detroit Tigers in 1957. He was born in Letart, West Virginia.

paragraphs: Clark died on May 1, 2014 in West Columbia, West Virginia, aged 87.


title: Jane Gray

paragraphs: Jane "Jean" Gray (née Cant; 1 December 1901 – 7 June 2014) was a Scottish-Australian supercentenarian. She was, at , the oldest living person in Australia between August 2012 and June 2014.

paragraphs: She was born in Newtyle, Angus, Scotland. She met her future husband Jock Gray on a blind date in 1922 and married him in 1927. Having arrived in Sydney, they ran a poultry farm. The couple were married for 60 years before Jock died. They had two children, nine grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren. Her daughter began taking care of her at their home in Smithfield, New South Wales in 2004. Her secret to longevity was to "eat plenty and don't drink booze or smoke". As of December 2013, she lived in a nursing home.

paragraphs: Gray died from natural causes on 7 June 2014 at a Smithfield nursing home. She was 112.