title: Atheism

paragraphs: Atheism is rejecting the belief in a god or gods.

paragraphs: It is the opposite of theism, which is the belief that at least one god exists. A person who rejects belief in gods is called an atheist. Theism is the belief in one or more gods. Adding an a, meaning "without", before the word theism results in atheism, or literally, "without theism".

paragraphs: Atheism is not the same as agnosticism: agnostics say that there is no way to "know" whether gods exist or not. Being an agnostic does not have to mean a person rejects or believes in god. Some agnostics are theists, believing in god. The theologian Kierkegaard is an example. Other agnostics are atheists. Gnosticism refers to a claim of knowledge. A gnostic has sufficient knowledge to make a claim. Adding an a, meaning "without", before the word gnostic results in agnostic, or literally, "without knowledge".

paragraphs: While theism refers to "belief" in one or more gods, gnosticism refers to "knowledge". In practice, most people simply identify as a theist, atheist, or agnostic.

paragraphs: Anaxagoras was the first known atheist. He was an Ionian Greek, born in Clazomenae in what is now Asia Minor. He travelled to other Greek cities, and his ideas were well known in Athens. Socrates mentioned that his works could be bought in Athens for a drachma. Eventually he was prosecuted and condemned for impiety, and banished from Athens.

paragraphs: Anaxagoras' beliefs were interesting. He thought the Sun was not a god, and was not animated (alive). The Sun was "a red-hot mass many times larger than the Peloponnese". The Moon was a solid body with geographical features, and made of the same substance as the Earth. The world was a globe (spherical).

paragraphs: Atheists often give reasons why they do not believe in a god or gods. Three of the reasons that they often give are the problem of evil, the argument from inconsistent revelations, and the argument from nonbelief. Not all atheists think these reasons provide complete proof that gods cannot exist, but these are the reasons given to support rejecting belief that gods exist.

paragraphs: Some atheists do not believe in any god because they feel that there is no evidence for any god nor gods and goddesses, so believing any type of theism means believing unproved assumptions. These atheists think a simpler explanation for everything is methodological naturalism which means that only natural things exist. Occam's razor shows simple explanations without many unproved guesses are more likely to be true.

paragraphs: The word "atheism" comes from the Greek language. It can be divided into "a-" (ἄ), a Greek prefix meaning "without", and "theos" (θεός), meaning "god", and recombined to form "without gods" or "godless". In Ancient Greece it also meant "impious".

paragraphs: Starting in about the 5th century BC, the word came to describe people who were "severing relations with the gods" or "denying the gods". Before then, the meaning had been closer to "impious". There is also the abstract noun, (""), "atheism".

paragraphs: Cicero transliterated the Greek word into the Latin "atheos". This word was often used in the debate between early Christians and Hellenists. Each side used it to label the other, in a bad way.

paragraphs: Karen Armstrong writes that "During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the word 'atheist' was still reserved exclusively for polemic ... The term 'atheist' was an insult. Nobody would have dreamed of calling "himself" an atheist."

paragraphs: "Atheism" was first used to describe an openly positive belief in late 18th-century Europe, meaning disbelief in the monotheistic Abrahamic god.

paragraphs: The 20th century saw the term expand to refer to disbelief in all deities. However, it is still common in Western society to describe atheism as simply "disbelief in God".

paragraphs: In many places, it is (or was) a crime to make public the idea of atheism. Examples would be to claim the Bible or Qur'an could not be true, or to speak or write that there is no god.

paragraphs: Muslim apostasy, that is becoming an atheist or believing in a god other than Allah, may be a dangerous act in places with many conservative Muslim people. Many religious courts have punished and some still punish this act with the death penalty. Many countries still have laws against atheism. Although it is considered by most Muslim scholars to be a sin, not all agree, that is should be punishable. For example, "Surat Al Kafirun" in Qur'an is clearly stating everyone's freedom to choose his religion and beliefs. The laws against Athiesm in the Muslim World is not universal, and is based on each society's interpretation of the Holy Book.

paragraphs: Atheism is becoming more common, mainly in South America, North America, Oceania and Europe (by percentage of people that had a religion before and started to be atheist).

paragraphs: In many countries, mainly in the Western world, there are laws that protect atheists' right to express their atheistic belief (freedom of speech). This means that atheists have the same rights under the law as everyone else. "Freedom of religion" in international law and treaties includes the freedom to not have a religion.

paragraphs: Today, about 2.3% of the world's population describes itself as atheist. About 11.9% is described as nontheist.

paragraphs: Between 64% and 65% of Japanese describe themselves as atheists, agnostics, or non-believers,

paragraphs: and up to 48% in Russia. The percentage of such people in European Union member states ranges between 6% (Italy) and 85% (Sweden). In the United States, according to Pew and Gallup—two of the most reputable polling firms in America—both conclude that about 10% of Americans say they do not believe in God, and this figure has been slowly creeping up over the decades. The real number is likely higher than this, due to the stigma around atheism.

paragraphs: People disagree about what atheism means. They disagree on when to call certain people atheists or not.

paragraphs: Atheism is generally described as not believing in God.

paragraphs: George H. Smith created the expressions "implicit atheism"" "and "explicit atheism" to describe the difference between different types of Atheism. "Implicit atheism" is when you do not believe in God because you do not know about the concept of God. "Explicit atheism" is when you do not believe in God after learning about the idea.

paragraphs: In 1772, Baron d'Holbach said that "All children are born atheists; they have no idea of God".

paragraphs: In 1979 George H. Smith said that: "The man who is unacquainted with theism is an atheist because he does not believe in a god. This category would also include the child [who is able to] grasp the issues involved, but who is still unaware of those issues. The fact that this child does not believe in god qualifies him as an atheist".

paragraphs: Those two quotes describe implicit atheism.

paragraphs: Ernest Nagel disagrees with Smith's definition of atheism as an "absence of theism", saying only "explicit" atheism is true atheism. This means that Nagel believes that to be an atheist, a person needs to know about God and then reject the idea of God.

paragraphs: have looked at "strong" (sometimes called positive) atheism against "weak" (sometimes called negative) atheism. According to this idea, anyone who does not believe in a god or gods is either a weak or a strong atheist.

paragraphs: Strong atheism is the certain belief that no god exists. An older way of saying strong atheism is to say "positive atheism". Weak atheism is all other forms of not believing in a god or gods. An older way of saying weak atheism is to say "negative atheism" These terms have been used more in philosophical writing and in Catholic beliefs.

paragraphs: Under this definition of atheism, most agnostics are weak atheists.

paragraphs: Michael Martin says that agnosticism includes weak atheism. Some agnostics, including Anthony Kenny, disagree. They think being an agnostic is different from being an atheist. They think atheism is no different from believing in a god, because both require belief. This overlooks the reality that agnostics also have their own belief or "claim to knowledge"

paragraphs: Agnostics say that it cannot be known if a god or gods exist. In their view, strong atheism requires a leap of faith.

paragraphs: Atheists usually respond by saying that there is no difference between an idea about religion with no proof, and an idea about other things

paragraphs: The lack of proof that god does not exist does not mean that there is no god, but it also does not mean that there is a god.

paragraphs: Scottish philosopher J.J.C. Smart says that "sometimes a person who is really an atheist may describe herself, even passionately, as an agnostic because of unreasonable generalised philosophical skepticism which would preclude us from saying that we know anything whatever, except perhaps the truths of mathematics and formal logic".

paragraphs: So, some popular atheist authors such as Richard Dawkins like to show the difference between theist, agnostic and atheist positions by the probability assigned to the statement "God exists".

paragraphs: In everyday life, many people define natural phenomena without the need of a god or gods. They do not deny the existence of one or more gods, they simply say that this existence is not necessary. Gods do not provide a purpose to life, nor influence it, according to this view.

paragraphs: Many scientists practice what they call methodological naturalism. They silently adopt philosophical naturalism and use the scientific method. Their belief in a god does not affect their results.

paragraphs: Practical atheism can take different forms:

paragraphs: Theoretic atheism tries to find arguments against the existence of god, and to disprove the arguments of theism, such as the argument from design or Pascal's Wager. These theoretical reasons have many forms, most of them are ontological or epistemological. Some rely on psychology or sociology.

paragraphs: According to Immanuel Kant, there can be no proof of a supreme being that is made using reason. In his work, "Critique of Pure Reason", he tries to show that all attempts of either proving the existence of God, or disproving it, end in logical contradictions. Kant says that it is impossible to know whether there are any higher beings. This makes him an agnostic.

paragraphs: Ludwig Feuerbach published "The Essence of Christianity" in 1841. In his work he postulates the following:

paragraphs: The following phrases sum up Feuerbach's writing:


title: Hippocrates

paragraphs: Hippocrates (c. 460 – c. 370 BC) was a Greek doctor who is called the "father of medicine". He was the first person to teach that people got sick for scientific reasons. Previously, people believed that disease was caused by angry gods.

paragraphs: Many of Hippocrates' writings are still important to doctors. For example, patient confidentiality, meaning that doctors can only discuss a patient with the patient themselves. Another of his ideas is to never knowingly lead a patient to suffering or death. These kinds of ideas are part of medical ethics.

paragraphs: The Hippocratic Oath is named after him. This is a set of rules which doctors promise to obey. This is an example of a modern "Hippocratic Oath" used at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. I do solemnly swear by all I hold most sacred:


title: Commensurability

paragraphs: Commensurability is a concept in the philosophy of science. Scientific theories are described as "commensurable" if one can compare them to find out which is more accurate. If there is no way one can compare them to determine which is more accurate, they are "incommensurable".

paragraphs: Behind this is the idea that it is possible to see the world in multiple ways, and that there is not one fair method to see which way is right. Some think that scientific traditions (or "paradigms") can be incommensurable: it is not really possible to say which one is right. This idea has been defended by Thomas Kuhn. He wrote: "when paradigms change, the world changes with them". Paul Feyerabend was another philosopher who said that incommensurability was possible in scientific topics. He wrote that it is important to remember this, because it means that it is possible to say things that are not scientific, but also not wrong. These ideas were mainly aimed at Karl Popper and his ideas on falsification.

paragraphs: Two theories may not be comparable if one cannot find a way to compare them and decide which is right.

paragraphs: The concept of incommensurability is dramatized in the 2006 movie "Idiocracy", when U.S. Army scientist Joe Bauers attempts to explain before a full Cabinet meeting his theory that the nation's crops would be better irrigated with water rather than with a sports drink.


title: Harvest

paragraphs: Harvest means to collect what has been planted and grown in the ground. It is usually done by farmers, and in the fall season. This is also called picking crops. Crop failure (also known as harvest failure) is a loss or reduced crop yield due to plants being damaged, killed, or destroyed. Sometimes it brings famine.

paragraphs: "Harvest" can also mean to collect other things than plants such as cultivated bivalves including oysters, scallops, and other animals.


title: ELISPOT

paragraphs: ELISPOT stands for "Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Spot Assay". It is a laboratory technique for detecting cells that make (or "secrete") various substances. These substances include specific types of cytokines or antibodies. The ELISPOT method is typically used with blood cells, and is a helpful tool in studying the human immune system and various treatments for disease (e.g. vaccines).

paragraphs: In the ELISPOT technique, tiny wells are used to contain the cells, with a variety of other substances. The substances cause colored spots to form near the cells that secrete the substances in question. These spots can then be counted manually (using a microscope, for example) or automatically using specialized equipment with computer vision capabilities.

paragraphs: The ELISPOT technique is very sensitive, and can detect even a single substance-producing cell. It is also very versatile, since it can be tailored to detect a wide variety of very specific secretions.


title: Aztecs

paragraphs: The Aztecs were Native American people who lived in Mesoamerica. They ruled the Aztec Empire from the 14th century to the 16th century.

paragraphs: The name "Aztec" comes from the phrase "people from Aztlan". Legends say that Aztlan was the first place the Aztecs ever lived. "Aztlan" means "place of the herons" in the Nahuatl language.

paragraphs: Often the term "Aztec" refers just to the people of Tenochtitlan. This was a city on an island in Lake Texcoco. These people called themselves the Mexica which is why the country is called Mexico, or the Nahua which is why their language is called Nahuatl.

paragraphs: Before the Aztec Empire conquered them, the indigenous (native) people lived in many separate city-states. These were small cities with farmland around them. Each state had its own ruler. Around 1100 AD, these city-states started to fight each other for power and control of the area's resources.

paragraphs: Historians think the Aztecs came to central Mesoamerica around 1200. They came from what is now northwest Mexico. According to historian Lisa Marty:

paragraphs: By 1325, the Aztecs had built Tenochtitlan on an island in Lake Texcoco. Tenochtitlan became a city-state that gradually became more and more powerful.

paragraphs: By about 1400, three city-states had grown into small empires. In 1428, these two empires fought the Tepanec War for control of the area. The Texcoco empire made an alliance with some other powerful city-states, including Tenochtitlan, and won the war. These allies were supposed to share power equally as they started to gain control of more land. However, by 1430, Tenochtitlan became the most powerful member of the alliance. It became the capital city of the Aztec Empire, and its ruler became the 'high king' of the Empire.

paragraphs: The Aztec Empire existed between about 1438 AD and 1521 AD. When the Empire was largest, it spread across most of Mesoamerica and controlled about 11,000,000 people.

paragraphs: Tenochtitlan was the capital city of the Aztec Empire. Tenochtitlan was one of the greatest cities of the world in that time. By the early 1500s, at least 200,000 people lived in the city. This made Tenochtitlan the largest city in the Americas before Christopher Columbus arrived.

paragraphs: Mexico City now covers the whole area where Tenochtitlan used to be.

paragraphs: The Aztecs believed in many gods. Two of the most important gods they worshipped were "Huitzilopochtli", the god of war and the sun, and "Tlaloc", the rain god. Another important god was "Quetzalcoatl" (feathered snake), the god of learning and civilization.

paragraphs: The Aztecs did many things to keep the gods happy. These things included human sacrifices. They believed this helped keep the world from ending. The Aztecs believed that the gods had created them, and that human sacrifice was the most powerful way of giving back the gift of life. The Aztecs also believed that the gods were in an almost never-ending struggle. The hearts and blood from the sacrifice fed the good gods to give them strength to fight the evil gods. The human sacrifices often took place on the Templo Mayor, the Aztecs' great pyramid temple.

paragraphs: The Aztecs ate plants and vegetables that could grow easily in Mesoamerica. The main foods in the Aztec diet were maize, beans, and squash. They often used tomatoes and chili as spices. Aztec markets sold fruit, vegetables, spices, flowers, dogs, birds, and cocoa beans. They also created chocolate. However, they did not have sugar, so their chocolate was a strong liquid with chili in it. They also made an alcoholic drink called chocolatl. These foods later spread around the world.

paragraphs: In Aztec society, there were different social classes with different social statuses. The most important people were the rulers. The Aztecs' first king was Acamapichtli. Their last king was Cuauhtemoc. He surrendered control of the Aztec Empire to Hernan Cortes during the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire.

paragraphs: Next were nobles. These were the Empire's powerful members of the government; great warriors; judges; and priests. These people enjoyed a high social status.

paragraphs: The next social class was the commoners (common people). These were the Empire's everyday workers. Most of them farmed, ran stores, or traded. Other workers included artisans, regular soldiers, and fishers. Commoners were allowed to own land as a group or a family. However, a single person was not allowed to own land.

paragraphs: The lowest social classes in Aztec society were serfs and then slaves. Slaves had no rights at all. They were bought and sold at Aztec markets. The Aztecs also sacrificed some prisoners of war to their gods. However, if they had the money, they could buy their own freedom and become commoners.

paragraphs: For most of the Aztec Empire's existence, it was very difficult to move between social classes. Usually, if a person was born in a social class, they would stay in that class for the rest of their life.

paragraphs: Aztecs had harsh punishments for crimes that seem simple to us now. For example, a person could get the death penalty for adultery; cutting down a living tree; moving the boundary of a field to make their land bigger and someone else's smaller; major theft; treason; disorderly conduct (causing trouble in public), drunkenness; and promiscuity. Under Aztec sumptuary law, a commoner could also get the death penalty for wearing cotton.

paragraphs: The Aztecs studied astrology and used the movements of the planets and the stars to create different calendars. They had an accurate calendar which consisted of 365 days, based on the movements of the sun. They also had a religious calendar which was made up of 260 days.

paragraphs: The Aztecs also studied and taught many complex subjects, including geometry, mathematics, debate, law, music, poetry, architecture, and agriculture.

paragraphs: The most popular Aztec sport was Tlachtili. They played this game using rubber balls and vertical hoops on opposite walls in the middle of the court. The game's goal was to shoot the ball into the hoop using their knees. The first team to score won the game.

paragraphs: Between 1519 and 1521, the Spanish conquistador, Hernán Cortés, allied with Tlaxcala and other enemies of the Aztecs. The conquistadors defeated the Aztecs, took their empire, and made it into a Spanish colony. Some Aztecs did not want to fight against the soldiers of Cortés, because they thought they were gods.

paragraphs: Today many Mexicans have Aztec and other Native American forefathers. People still use Aztec symbols in Mexico. On the Mexican flag, there is a picture of an eagle on a cactus with a snake in its mouth. This was an Aztec symbol. Even the name "Mexico" is an Aztec word.


title: Billion

paragraphs: Billion is a name for a large number. It may refer specifically to:


title: Richard Nixon

paragraphs: Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was an American politician. He served as the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974, when he became the only president to resign. Before that, Nixon was a Republican U.S. Representative and Senator from California and the 36th Vice President of the United States (from 1953 to 1961 under President Dwight D. Eisenhower).

paragraphs: His presidency is known for a start for diplomacy with China, a slow ending of the Vietnam War, domestic acts (such as OSHA and Environmental Protection) and an era of peace with the Soviet Union (communist Russia). He is also known for corruption and the Watergate scandal which resulted in the public losing trust in him and his impeachment process. The scandal would cause his resignation.

paragraphs: Nixon was born in 1913 in his family's home in Yorba Linda, California, to Hannah and Francis Nixon. He is the only president born in California. He was named for King Richard the Lionhearted, and was raised as a Quaker. His brother Edward, was a businessman. Herbert Hoover was the only other United States President to belong to the Quaker faith (as a coincedince, Hoover was also one of just three presidents, one of whom was Nixon, to hail from California). Nixon was raised in Whittier, California. His father was of Scotch-Irish ancestry and his mother was of German, English, and Irish ancestry. He attended Whittier High School, Whittier College, and Duke University. He served in the Navy during World War II. Later, he married Thelma Nixon (later Patricia Nixon) and had two daughters, Tricia and Julie.

paragraphs: Nixon was very smart. He was at one point ranked the smartest student in the whole of California. At another point, he "received a scholarship to Harvard", but declined to help his family on the farm. Nixon was also tapped to join the FBI. He was very pleased, but at the last minute was rejected due to budget cuts.

paragraphs: Nixon was elected to the House of Representatives in 1946. When in the House, he was a member of House Un-American Activities Commission, a group of Congressmen that tried to expose people in the United States who might have been Communists.

paragraphs: He was later elected a Senator in 1950 after running a controversial campaign against Helen Gahagan Douglas.

paragraphs: In the 1952 presidential election, Dwight D. Eisenhower selected Nixon to be vice-president. People accused him of receiving illegal money contributions to his campaign and some people wanted Eisenhower to pick a different vice president, but Eisenhower still kept Nixon. Nixon after the accusations made a speech saying that no matter what people accuse him of illegally receiving during the campaign, he is still going to keep one campaign gift: his dog named Checkers.

paragraphs: The Republican Party decided to keep Nixon as their vice-presidential candidate and when Eisenhower won the election, Nixon became vice-president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During his vice-presidency, he was very busy and traveled across the world to places like South America. While he was vice president, he went to the Soviet Union and had a debate with the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. They were both arguing that their country was better.

paragraphs: In the presidential election of 1960, he ran against Democrat John F. Kennedy. Kennedy was expected to win at first (because he won the first television debate against Nixon), but as Election Day came closer and closer, Nixon was catching up. In the end, Kennedy won, but it was a very close election.

paragraphs: In 1962, Nixon lost the election for governor of California to Pat Brown. After losing, Nixon said "you don't have Nixon to kick around any more, because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference.", leading many experts to say that Nixon's political career was over.

paragraphs: In 1968, Richard Nixon defeated Hubert Humphrey in the presidential election and became president of the United States in 1969. Although Humphrey lost the popular vote narrowly, he lost the electoral college in a landslide, carrying just fifteen states.

paragraphs: Nixon took over the Vietnam War from Lyndon Johnson and continued it with the strategy of slowly withdrawing U.S. troops, so that the South Vietnamese troops could take over the fighting by themselves. Nixon secretly bombed many enemy targets in Cambodia and North Vietnam while bringing home the American troops, to make it easier for South Vietnam to win. When his spreading the bombing to Cambodia and Laos became known in 1970, it caused larger protests than ever in America, including at Kent State and even in Washington, DC, where more than 12,000 were arrested in May 1971 at the peak of the protests. Partly because of the amount of opposition, Nixon sped up troop withdrawal and ended the draft.

paragraphs: Nixon was very successful in diplomacy (relations negotiations with foreign countries). He began a policy called "detente" which reduced tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. The two countries would get along and sign treaties that would limit the production of nuclear weapons between both sides. Nixon traveled to communist China and established a very good relationship with them. Before that, there was almost no relationship between the United States and China. It opened up the door for decades of trade in the future, which is why many items in the United States were made in China. His diplomacy with China is seen as one of his greatest accomplishments. Later, under President Carter, the U.S. broke relations with the Republic of China and recognized communist China, not Taiwan, as the legal government of China.

paragraphs: At home, Nixon put many reforms into law. He created the Environmental Protection Agency, supported anti-drug laws, supported anti-crime laws, and supported anti-discrimination laws. When inflation (meaning the value of money goes down and prices go up) was high, he ordered that prices should be frozen for 90 days. Although, he was known as a conservative Republican before he became president, while he was President, he supported some of the liberal ideas that Democrats supported. In 1974, Nixon made a speech that outlined a plan for universal health care.

paragraphs: Nixon was re-elected by a landslide in 1972 with most Americans approving of him, but soon after, Nixon's reputation would be destroyed and most Americans would disapprove of him. Due to a scandal called "Watergate" during which Nixon attempted to protect (or possibly ordered) men to burglarize the Democratic National Headquarters, Congress was going to put him on trial in a process called impeachment (to remove him from power). Nixon tried to cover up the scandal, but eventually, the Supreme Court ordered him to send his taped conversations (which included him talking about covering up Watergate) to them. Alexander Haig thought Nixon would be convicted and kicked out of office. To prevent this, Nixon resigned (quit) the Presidency in 1974.

paragraphs: Nixon's second vice president, Gerald Ford, gave Nixon a pardon of any crimes Nixon committed during Watergate. Ford wanted to end the crisis as quickly as possible, because the nation faced more important problems. Many people blamed Ford for letting Nixon go unpunished, and voted against him when he ran in the 1976 election.

paragraphs: Nixon's public image never fully recovered, but he still garnered some approval from Republicans as he frequently defended his legacy. He remained as a consultant to later Presidents, and to other people in government and the media especially to British journalist David Frost. His memoirs are considered important readings. His work in negotiating with China in the early 1970s was praised for improving relations between his country and theirs. Nixon died of a stroke in 1994, ten months after his wife Pat died. Not being able to defend his legacy any longer, his overall approval rating fell, and most everyone today acknowledges his wrongdoings related to Watergate. The house where he was born is now part of the Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library and Museum. He was buried at the library.


title: Gerald Ford

paragraphs: Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King, Jr.; July 14, 1913 — December 26, 2006) was the 38th President of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He is the only president who has not been elected to the office of either President or Vice President.

paragraphs: He was born on July 14, 1913, at 3202 Woolworth Avenue in Omaha, Nebraska, where his parents lived with his paternal grandparents. (the parents of his father) His birth name was Leslie Lynch King, Jr.. His mother was Dorothy Ayer Gardner, and his father was Leslie Lynch King, Sr., a wool trader and son of prominent banker Charles Henry King and Martha Alicia King (née Porter). Dorothy separated from King just sixteen days after her son's birth. She took her son with her to the Oak Park, Illinois. This was where her sister, Tannisse, and brother-in-law, Clarence Haskins James, lived. After that, she moved to the home of her parents, Levi Addison Gardner and Adele Augusta Ayer in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Dorothy and King divorced in December 1913; she got full custody of her son. Ford's paternal grandfather Charles Henry King paid child support until shortly before his death in 1930.

paragraphs: Ford later said his biological father had a history of hitting his mother. James M. Cannon, a member of the Ford administration, wrote in a Ford biography that the Kings' separation and divorce were sparked when, a few days after Ford's birth, Leslie King threatened Dorothy with a butcher knife and threatened to kill her, Ford, and Ford's nursemaid. Ford later told confidantes that his father had first hit his mother on their honeymoon for smiling at another man.

paragraphs: After two and a half years with her parents, on February 1, 1916, Dorothy married Gerald Rudolff Ford, a salesman in a family-owned paint and varnish company. They then called her son "Gerald Rudolff Ford, Jr." The future president was never formally adopted, however, and he did not legally change his name until December 3, 1935; he also used a more conventional spelling of his middle name. He was raised in Grand Rapids with his three half brothers from his mother's second marriage: Thomas Gardner Ford (1918–1995), Richard Addison Ford (born 1924), and James Francis Ford (1927–2001).

paragraphs: Ford also had three half-siblings from his father's second marriage: Marjorie King (1921–1993), Leslie Henry King (1923–1976), and Patricia Jane King (born 1925). They never saw one another as children and he did not know them at all. Ford was not aware of his biological father until he was 17, when his parents told him about the circumstances of his birth. That year his father Leslie King, whom Ford described as a "carefree, well-to-do man who didn't really give a damn about the hopes and dreams of his firstborn son", approached Ford while he was waiting tables in a Grand Rapids restaurant.

paragraphs: Ford said, "My stepfather was a magnificent person and my mother equally wonderful. So I couldn't have written a better prescription for a superb family upbringing."

paragraphs: Ford was involved in The Boy Scouts of America, and earned that program's highest rank, Eagle Scout. In his later years, Ford received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award in May 1970 and Silver Buffalo Award from the Boy Scouts of America. He is the only U.S. president who is an Eagle Scout. He played football when he was in high school and college.

paragraphs: Ford served 25 years in the United States House of Representatives and was Minority Leader for many years. When Richard Nixon was President, his first Vice President was Spiro Agnew, but Agnew resigned in 1973 because he took bribes while he was Governor of Maryland in the late 1960s. Nixon then chose Ford to be his next Vice President. Ford had to be approved by Congress since there was no Presidential election that year. Because he had been in Congress for a long time, other Congressmen knew him well and were happy to approve him as Vice President because they thought he was honest.

paragraphs: However, Ford was not Nixon's first choice. Some of his first choices were John Connally (the former Governor of Texas), Nelson Rockefeller (the Governor of New York), and Ronald Reagan (the former Governor of California). But, Nixon was worried that these other men might have trouble getting approved by Congress. All of them had also run for President already or were planning to run soon. Nixon did not want to help pick who would be the top Republican candidate in 1976 and Ford promised him that he was not interested in being President. Ford always told reporters that he always dreamed of being Speaker of the House instead.

paragraphs: Because of the Watergate scandal, Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974. Ford became the President. He was inaugurated at the White House by Chief Justice Warren E. Burger. He is the only President of the United States not to be elected to either the office of President or Vice President. Once he became President, he realized he could do a good job and decided to run for a full term in 1976. He ran against the popular conservative Ronald Reagan for the Republican nomination in 1976. Ford won by a small number of votes against Reagan.

paragraphs: In 1975, Ford was nearly assassinated in Sacramento, California.

paragraphs: Ford had pardoned Nixon for his crimes in 1974. Many experts say that is one of the reasons why Ford lost to Jimmy Carter in the 1976 election, which was very close. Other reasons for the loss were a bad economy with a lot of inflation, the Mayagüez incident, and the last U.S. soldiers leaving Vietnam followed by Saigon and the rest of South Vietnam being taken over by the North Vietnamese, both in 1975.

paragraphs: With his somewhat short 895-day presidency (less than one term), he was often seen as a place holder in between Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter. The way he handled the Watergate scandal has changed people's view of him. While critics felt that pardoning Nixon was not fair, his supporters felt like his term provided a sense of healing and comfort to a country that was morally divided.

paragraphs: He was also a much more moderate Republican than the more conservative Ronald Reagan.

paragraphs: Ford was adopted at a young age. His birth name was Leslie King, Jr. He married Betty Warren in 1948.

paragraphs: Ford died in his home in California on December 26, 2006 from cardiac arrest caused by cerebrovascular disease and coronary artery disease at the age of 93 years and 165 days. Until then, no other president had lived to be that old since Ronald Reagan in 2004. George H. W. Bush became the oldest living former president in November 2017. On March 22, 2019, Jimmy Carter gained the distinction of being the nation's longest-lived president.


title: John Kerry

paragraphs: John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American politician. He is a former United States Secretary of State and former Senator from Massachusetts and the Democratic nominee for President in 2004. He lost to George W. Bush. He has served in the senate for 23 years and has also served as the lieutenant governor of Massachusetts under Michael Dukakis. Kerry is married to Teresa Heinz-Kerry.

paragraphs: Kerry was born on December 11, 1943 at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in Aurora, Colorado. His father was an officer in the United States Army Air Force. He studied at Yale University and at Boston College Law school. Kerry was raised as a Roman Catholic by his Catholic father and Episcopalian mother.

paragraphs: It was discovered in 2003 by Felix Gundacker, a genealogist working with "The Boston Globe", that Kerry's paternal grandparents, who had been born Jewish, as "Fritz Kohn" and "Ida Löwe", in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, changed their names to "Frederick and Ida Kerry" in 1900 and converted from Judaism to Roman Catholicism in 1901

paragraphs: In 1968 and 1969, Kerry was a United States Navy officer in Vietnam. During the 2012 Obama reelection campaign, Kerry participated in one on one debate prep with the president, impersonating the Republican candidate Mitt Romney.

paragraphs: Kerry's vice presidential candidate was John Edwards. The ticket lost the election to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. One of the reasons Kerry lost is because people said he was an elitist (he did not understand most Americans) and also because a group called "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" attacked his service in Vietnam.

paragraphs: In November 2006, Kerry once apologizes after saying that college students needed to study hard or else they would "get stuck in Iraq."

paragraphs: On December 21, 2012, President Barack Obama nominated Kerry to succeed Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. The committee said yes on making Kerry the new Secretary of State. Kerry won confirmation by the Senate on January 29, 2012 by a 94-3 vote. He assumed the office of Secretary of State on February 1, 2013.

paragraphs: In a letter to Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, Kerry announced his resignation from the Senate effective February 1. Kerry was sworn in as Secretary of State on February 1, 2013.

paragraphs: He was married to Julia from 1970 until they divorced in 1988. Then he was married to Teresa Heinz since 1995. He has two children and three step-children. He now lives in Boston, Massachusetts. Kerry and his former competitor George W. Bush share an ancestor on Kerry's mother's side and Bush's father's side from the 1600s.

paragraphs: Kerry is 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) tall, enjoys surfing and windsurfing, as well as ice hockey, hunting and playing bass guitar. According to an interview he gave to "Rolling Stone" magazine in 2004, Kerry's favorite album is "Abbey Road" and he is a fan of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, as well as of Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Buffett. He never liked heavy metal. During his 2004 presidential campaign, Kerry used Bruce Springsteen's "No Surrender" as one of his campaign songs. Later he would adopt U2's "Beautiful Day" as his official campaign song.

paragraphs: In 2003, Kerry was diagnosed with and successfully treated for prostate cancer.


title: White blood cell

paragraphs: The job of white blood cells (also called "leukocytes") is to fight infections and cancer. They also remove poison, waste and damaged cells from the body.

paragraphs: The number of white blood cells increases when a person is fighting infection or disease and decrease when a person is healthy.

paragraphs: Lymphocytes are round white blood cells a bit bigger than a red blood cell. Their center is round and they have little cytoplasm. Part of the lymphatic system, these target specific germs or poisons using their antibodies. There are three known types of lymphocytes, called T-cells, B-cells, and natural killer cells (NK cells).

paragraphs: B-cells make antibodies, which are little molecules that attach to viruses or bad cells. These tell other cells to destroy the viruses or bad cells, like a flag.

paragraphs: T-cells can either help make more B-cells, or kill cells with antibodies.

paragraphs: Natural killer cells kill cells in the body that have been infected by a virus or that are part of a tumor. They are part of the innate immune system.

paragraphs: Monocytes are reserve cells which turn into macrophages and dendritic cells, which work together in tissues to fight disease. Monocytes have a kidney bean shaped center and lots of cytoplasm. They may appear as macrophages in a non-round shape when they pass through tissue to eat germs, "junk" cells, and dead cells.

paragraphs: The next three types of white blood cells are referred to as granulocytes since they all contain rough, grain-like particles that assist in attacking viruses and bacteria. Granulocytes are also called polymorphonuclear leukocytes because of the shape of the nucleus, which has three segments.

paragraphs: Neutrophils are the most abundant type of white blood cells in mammals, 70% of leukocytes. They are an essential part of the immune system. They get to the site of an injury within minutes, and make up much of the content of pus. They have a short life-span of a couple of days.

paragraphs: The nucleus, which looks like a string of beads, does not take up stain strongly. Like phagocytes, they actually eat the bacteria and dead cells. They also release a bunch of proteins which work to damage the bacteria.

paragraphs: Basophils, or basophil granulocytes, are rare granulocytes. If you collected 1000 white blood cells, only 13 of them would be basophils. Their nucleus is hidden by granules which turn dark blue in color when stained. Basophils carry histamine and heparin. They appear at the sites of ectoparasite infection, or allergies. We don't know exactly how they work.

paragraphs: Eosinophils, or "acidophils", are leukocytes. They are one of the immune system components which combat parasites and certain infections. As with mast cells and basophils, they part causes of allergy and asthma. Eosinophils are round cells with a lobed nucleus and granules which turn red when stained. These granules are packed with proteins that can be poured out to help destroy invaders.

paragraphs: A test called a differential count shows how many white blood cells there are in a person's blood, and how many of each type are there.


title: Lymphocyte

paragraphs: Lymphocytes are a type of white blood cell (or "leukocyte"). They help an organism to fight infections. They occur in the immune system of all vertebrates. All lymphoctes have a large, blob-like nucleus.

paragraphs: Lymphocytes can be divided into three main types:

paragraphs: Natural killer (NK) cells are a part of the immune system a person is born with. They protect the organism from tumours and from cells infected by viruses. Natural killer cells are made active by chemicals released by damaged cells called interferons.

paragraphs: Natural killer cells can tell the difference between infected cells, tumours, and normal cells. They recognise changes in the level of a surface molecule called MHC (major histocompatibility complex) class I.

paragraphs: The NK cells then release cytotoxic (cell-killing) granules which then destroy the altered cells.

paragraphs: T cells (thymus cells) and B cells (bone cells) are the main cells of the adaptive immune response. They tackle infections, and they cause the immune system to 'remember' the event.

paragraphs: The function of T cells and B cells is to recognize foreign antigens. Antigens are surface molecules on a cell. Once they have identified an invader, the cells respond to remove pathogens or pathogen-infected cells.

paragraphs: B cells respond to pathogens by producing large numbers of antibodies which then destroy foreign objects like bacteria and viruses.

paragraphs: Some T cells, called T helper cells, produce cytokines that direct the immune response. Cytokines signal to other immune cells that there is a foreign antigen present. Other T cells, called cytotoxic T cells, produce toxic granules which cause the death of infected cells.

paragraphs: Once they are made active, B cells and T cells produce "memory cells". Throughout the lifetime of an animal, these cells will 'remember' each specific pathogen encountered, and are able to make a strong response if the pathogen is detected again. Memory cells live a long time in the body, and are how vaccinations work.

paragraphs: Mammalian stem cells change or differentiate into several kinds of blood cell within the bone marrow. This process is called haematopoiesis (= blood growth). All lymphocytes come from a common basic lymphocyte cell before differentiating into their distinct lymphocyte types.

paragraphs: B cells mature into B lymphocytes in the bone marrow, while T cells migrate to and mature in a distinct organ, called the thymus. After they mature, the lymphocytes enter the circulation and lymphoid organs (e.g. the spleen and lymph nodes) where they are able to sense invading pathogens and tumour cells.

paragraphs: In the circulatory system they move from lymph node to lymph node. This contrasts with macrophages, which are rather stationary in the nodes.

paragraphs: When white blood cells are counted, the lymphocyte count is the percentage of lymphocytes present.

paragraphs: An increase in lymphocyte concentration is usually a sign of a viral infection (in some rare case, leukemias are found through an abnormally high lymphocyte count in an otherwise normal person).

paragraphs: A low normal to low absolute lymphocyte count is found with infections after surgery or trauma.

paragraphs: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infects and destroys T cells. Without the key defence that these T cells provide, the body becomes prone to infections that otherwise would not affect healthy people.

paragraphs: The extent of HIV progression is found by measuring the percentage of CD4 T cells in the patient's blood. The effects of other virus or lymphocyte disorders can also often be estimated by counting the numbers of lymphocytes present in the blood.


title: Author

paragraphs: An author is a person who writes books, stories, poems, or other written work. Their writing can be truth or fiction, short or long. Often, "author" is a word for a person whose job is to write. Any person who writes may be called a writer.

paragraphs: Sometimes, a person who creates something that is not prose is called an author. Someone who writes music may be called the author of that piece of music, though we would usually call that person a composer. In the film world, the French word for author, "auteur", is often used about someone who has been both the writer and director of a movie.

paragraphs: In biology, the first person to write an article that gives a name to and describes a type of living thing is the author of that name.

paragraphs: In law, the author is the first owner of copyright.


title: Pedipalp

paragraphs: Pedipalps are the two appendages on the front of a spider's head. Some spiders seem to have ten legs and not eight, because these pedipalps look like an extra pair of legs. The pedipalps are used rather like arms. Spiders often use them to hold insects (for example crickets) for them to eat.

paragraphs: Male spiders also use pedipalps for mating. The male spiders make some silk, put sperm onto the silk, and then put their pedipalps into the sperm. The pedipalps then hold the sperm, and the spider can use it to mate with a female by putting them inside her epigynum.

paragraphs: The pedipalps of all chelicerates vary: Ricinulei, Thelyphonida, Amblypygi, some Opiliones, Schizomida, Scorpions and pseudoscorpions all have theirs as pincers, with the Amblypygi's being their entire pedipalps shaped like mantids. The Palpigradi's pedipalps have some of the strangest roles of arachnids as they use theirs for locomotion. The pedipalps of Solifugae act as antenna.


title: Ionic compound

paragraphs: In chemistry, an ionic compound is a compound made of ions. They have strong ionic bonds between particles. Lots of energy (heat) is required to break the bond apart, resulting in high melting and boiling points. The ions join together because they have different charges. Compounds of metals and non-metals are usually ionic. They are made when two or more atoms come close together and an electron goes from one atom to the other atom. The electron does this because both atoms want a full outer shell, similar to those of the noble gases.

paragraphs: Note 1: carbon and silicon in Group 4 usually form covalent bonds by sharing electrons.

paragraphs: Note 2: the elements in Group 0 do not react with other elements to form ions.


title: ELISA

paragraphs: The ELISA method (Enzyme Linked Immuno-Sorbent Assay) is a technique used in biochemistry to determine if a certain substance--such as a specific cytokine or antigen--is present within a sample. It is sometimes abbreviated as "EIA."

paragraphs: This technique uses special antibodies that attach themselves to the substance. These antibodies generate a specific color. The amount of color indicates the amount of substance present. (Sometimes, the substance must be viewed under ultraviolet light for the antibodies to generate this color.)

paragraphs: Another set of antibodies are used to "capture" the substance. These antibodies adhere to both the substance and the testing container, thus holding the substance in place.

paragraphs: A more sophisticated and sensitive technique, the ELISPOT method, was derived from the ELISA techique.


title: David Hume

paragraphs: David Hume (7 May 1711 – 25 August 1776) was a philosopher and historian from Scotland. When he was still alive, people thought of him as a historian. He wrote a series of large books called "The History of England". But today, people think of Hume as an important philosopher.

paragraphs: In his books on philosophy, Hume said that many of our beliefs do not come from reason. Instead, they come from our instincts or feelings. For example, reason does not tell us that one thing causes another. Instead, we see one thing and then we see another, and we "feel" a link between the two. Similarly, reason does not tell us that someone is a good person. Instead, we see that the person is kind and friendly, and we "feel" a special moral feeling. Because Hume thought that these beliefs do not come from reason, people call him a "skeptical" or "anti-rationalist" philosopher.

paragraphs: Hume is famous for his 'Induction Fallacy'. This draws attention to a common mistake people make. People see something, and make claims that what they see will always be as they see it. For example, people see only white swans and claim that all swans are white. This is 'fallacious' or mistaken, because it is always possible that they then will see a black swan.

paragraphs: Hume was also skeptical about religion. He was not a religious person and religious people did not like his opinions. He did not believe in miracles. He said that suicide wasn't always wrong, but never said whether or not he believed in God. In 1776, when he was dying, his friends found him very calm about death, despite him not believing in an Afterlife. Today, Hume's books are very important to philosophers who are interested in religion.

paragraphs: Today's philosophers sometimes use the term 'Hume's fork' to refer to Hume calling everything we can think about either a relation of ideas (things like mathematics, that must be true) or a matter of fact (like science, where we have to look at things to tell whether or not they are true).

paragraphs: Another philosopher, Immanuel Kant, read some of Hume's books and changed his mind about some important things. Kant said Hume had made him wake up from a sleeping dogmatism, the traditional metaphysics.


title: Bath

paragraphs: A bath (UK English) or bathtub (US English) is a basin large enough for people sit in when washing their body. The bath is usually in the bathroom. A less common name for a bath is a "washtub".

paragraphs: Sometimes people will add scents, oils and salts to the bath for better experience.

paragraphs: A bath is also a place where people can sit in water (or other liquids, often hot) for their health. This is where the town name Bath comes from. Public baths for relaxing were built in all parts of the Roman Empire.


title: Brush

paragraphs: A brush is a tool with bristles or wires or other filaments sticking out. There are many kinds. Most brushes have a long part at one end to hold (the handle), on the other end from the head that carries the bristles or filaments. We use brushes for cleaning, making hair look good, painting, and other purposes.

paragraphs: Many kinds of brushes are made for cleaning, for example toothbrushes or brushes for cleaning floors.

paragraphs: We use paint brushes for putting ink or paint on paper. Computer graphics uses digital paintbrushes for making pictures

paragraphs: We can buy brushes in different sizes and materials. Here are some sorts.

paragraphs: The sizes of brushes used for painting and decorating (changing the colour or look of a room) are usually in millimeters or inches. This shows how wide the head is.

paragraphs: We can buy brushes with natural or synthetic (man-made) bristles. Handles (the part of the brush we hold) may be wood or plastic.

paragraphs: Artists' brushes usually have sizes with numbers, but there is no standard.

paragraphs: From smallest to largest, the sizes are:

paragraphs: Bristles may be natural -- either soft hair or hog (pig) bristle -- or synthetic (man-made).

paragraphs: Artists' brush handles (the part of the brush we hold) are often wooden, but the cheapest brushes may have plastic handles. Many cheap handles are made of unfinished wood; better quality handles are of finished wood.


title: Starch

paragraphs: Starch is a complex carbohydrate. It is made of many glucose units joined by chemical bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants as an energy store. It is the most common carbohydrate in human diets. Pasta, potatoes, bread, and other starchy foods are made out of carbohydrates.

paragraphs: Some good food sources of starch are cereals, bread, potatoes, grains, peas, and beans. Starch is also used for thickening sauces in cooking and thickening cold foods during a preheat. Starch is a white powder that is tasteless and odourless. You might know cornstarch or cornflour which is a popular kind of starch made from corn.

paragraphs: Foods with a lot of starch produce more energy than other foods. However, if this energy is not used, it is turned into fat by our livers.

paragraphs: There are also different kinds of starch, like laundry starch, which gives clothing a smooth and crisp feel. Sweat and dirt from a person’s wrist and neck will stick to the starch on the clothes, not to the fibers of the clothes, and will wash away along with the starch. Then, after each laundry load, the starch can be used again.

paragraphs: Starch glues are used in wood, cotton, and bonding of paper. Animals and humans have amylase, so they can digest starch.

paragraphs: Starch was used in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries to stiffen the collars and ruffs of the fine linen which surrounded the neck. Starch also requires heat to thicken. The actual temperature depends on the type of starch.


title: Thomas Hobbes

paragraphs: Thomas Hobbes (5 April 1588 – 4 December 1679) was a philosopher from England. His most famous book is "Leviathan" (1651).

paragraphs: Hobbes mainly wrote about government and law—he was a political philosopher. He tried to show that the best kind of government has one in which society was organised under one authority. All individuals in that society give up some rights for the sake of protection. There is no doctrine of "separation of powers" in Hobbes's discussion. According to him, the sovereign power must control civil, military, judicial, and ecclesiastical powers.

paragraphs: The most interesting thing about Hobbes was the way he argued. He started by looking at human nature. He said that humans are very selfish and that we are willing to hurt each other if we think it will help us. He also said that, naturally, humans are all equal because we are all strong enough to kill each other—even a child can kill a strong man while he sleeps. Then he imagined what things would be like without a government. He said that it would be terrible—a "state of war". There would not be enough stuff for everyone, and people would disagree about who got what. Some people would fight each other, and everyone else would be very worried about their own safety. No one would be able to trust anyone else or make plans for the future. Life would be "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short" (people would be alone, poor, mean, and would not live for long). Next, Hobbes argues that it would be a good idea for everyone to stop fighting and choose a Sovereign which could be one man or an assembly of men. Everyone should agree to obey the Sovereign, and give him all power of coercion or force of restraint under law. Once the Sovereign is in place, everyone has to obey him, even those who disagree with him. This is because everyone already agreed to obey him no matter what. Hobbes says it's better to be mostly safe under an all-powerful Sovereign, than to be in a state of war.

paragraphs: Hobbes wanted his argument to be like math, with each step leading to the next. However, many people disagreed with his argument. Some said that Hobbes was in favor of rebellion, because he said that people were naturally equal. Others said that humans are not as selfish as Hobbes thought. Today, most people do not like the idea of an all-powerful government. Nevertheless, Hobbes's argument was a very important one, and philosophers who are interested in government or political theory still study Hobbes's books very carefully.


title: Trevi

paragraphs: Trevi (Latin: Trebiae), an old town and comune of Italy, in the province of Perugia in east central Umbria, 42°53N 12°45E, at 424 meters (1391 ft) above sea-level on the lower part of Mt. Serano above the wide plain of the Clitunno river. It is 10 km (6 mi) S.S.E. of Foligno and 20 km (12 mi) N. of Spoleto. The 2003 count of people by the government said that there were 7800 people living in the "comune": about half of the people live in the town and the other people live in the country near town. The "frazioni" of Trevi (the smaller towns that belong to Trevi) are Borgo, Bovara, Cannaiola, Coste, Pigge, Manciano, Matigge, Parrano, Picciche, S. Lorenzo, S. Maria in Valle.

paragraphs: Most of the town is densely built with many buildings predating the 18th century. It crowns a summit and when one is in the centre the streets are mostly gently sloping. From the town one can see one of the best views in Umbria, over 50 km (30 mi) to the west and on clear days as far as Perugia to the north and even Monte Amiata in southern Tuscany. On the main train route from Rome to Ancona there is a station at the botton of Monte Serano servicing Trevi but the rapid Intercity services do not stop. The train service from Florence to Rome by way of Perugia also stops there: Local bus connections are not frequent. Trevi is a pleasant place to visit and of recent accommodation and good eating has become available; there are few restaurants, but they are good and more numerous than in other nearby small towns.

paragraphs: In Roman times, Pliny the Elder said Trevi was a city of the old Umbrians, and an old stone with Umbrian writing was found in the comune, at Bovara, in the 1950s. ""Treviae"" is also listed in the 5th‑century Bordeaux Itinerary. We do not know the history of Trevi in very old times, although some walls in the center part of the town on the hill are as old as the 1st century BC. Trevi started to spread out away from the hill during the time of the Empire, when Hadrian fixed the main road in the area, the Via Flaminia; this made a small town in the plain grow, at a place now called Pietrarossa. For hundreds of years people have been finding old things there: there were Roman baths that people were probably using in the time of St. Francis, who came here and told people to bathe in them.

paragraphs: In old times people say that Trevi ruled the valley below it, all the way to the Colli Martani, the line of mountains that run down the middle of Umbria. Trevi had a bishop until the 11th century, and was an important place belonging to the Lombards (in Italian, a "gastaldato"). At the beginning of the 13th century, Trevi made itself independent and became a free commune. It often fought on the side of Perugia to defend itself against nearby Spoleto, and fought wars with other communes in the area, winning some and losing some. It was invaded by Spoleto in the 14th century and by the Trinci, rulers of Foligno. In 1438 Trevi became part of the lands belonging to the Church as part of the "legation" of Perugia: after that Trevi's history was as part of the States of the Church, then (1860) of the united Kingdom of Italy.

paragraphs: Trevi was at its most prosperous in the 15th century: the town was so important for those who wanted to buy and sell that people called it "il porto secco" — the dry port. In 1470, with Foligno, Trevi became the fourth town in Italy to have a printing press, managed by the first known printing company. Many big renaissance palazzi of the town indicate the contemporaneous prosperity.

paragraphs: Trevi is inside two walls of the Middle Ages; at the end of the 20th century, people found that the inside walls were Roman.

paragraphs: Trevi has about twenty old churches, some of which are interesting:

paragraphs: The country area around the town has many Romanesque churches: some of those on the plain were built on the Roman Via Flaminia and indicate the road's former route. Some of the stone in these churches is old Roman and derives from buildings long gone.

paragraphs: Trevi's big museum is the Museo S. Francesco, next to the Gothic church S. Francesco, which is not used for worship any more. It has a few Roman stones, but mostly many Umbrian paintings from the late Middle Ages to the 17th century: the best painting once was part of an altar, and it is by Lo Spagna. There is a very interesting group of "ex‑votos" (paintings to thank God for saving a person from a sickness or an accident) painted by ordinary people, not famous artists, of the 16th‑ century to the 18th‑century.

paragraphs: The Museo della Civiltà dell' Olivo demonstrates the local olive culture: how they are planted, how they grow, and how they are made into oil. The Flash Art Museum is dedicated to contemporary art and is the seat of an international art magazine.

paragraphs: The oldest big book on the history of Trevi is "Historia universale dello Stato temporale ed ecclesiastico di Trevi", 1233 pages, by Durastante Natalucci, Trevi, 1745. It was translated into a more modern and readable Italian by Carlo Zenobi, a local historian, between 1987 and 1994.

paragraphs: An important book for the plain below Trevi is "Cannaiola, Memorie storiche raccolte negli anni 1873‑74" by Father (now the Blessed) Pietro Bonilli.

paragraphs: Pro Trevi, the town's volunteer tourism office, has helped people write and print new books about the history, plants and animals of Trevi and the country nearby.


title: Nicomachus

paragraphs: Nicomachos or Nicomachus is a Greek name. It can mean:


title: Logo

paragraphs: A logo is a picture or drawing that is used by a person, group, or company to mark who they are. A wordmark, or 'logotype', is a logo made entirely of a word or words. It is usually the name of a product or organisation.

paragraphs: A company or group can use a 'logo' on the things that they make, like on the things they sell, on letters, and in advertisements. When a person sees the logo picture, that person knows that the thing they see the logo on came from that company.

paragraphs: Logos can have letters and words in them. Many logos have the name of the company or group in them.

paragraphs: Most logos are very simple drawings with only a small number of colors. Some logos are only in black and white.

paragraphs: In many countries, companies and groups should tell their country's government about the logo they are using. If they do this, the government can help stop a different company or group from using the same logo, so that every one can be sure that the logo is only used by the people who used it first. This is sometimes called a 'trade mark'.

paragraphs: Logos are not used only by companies. Many schools have logos. Some cities have logos. Clubs can have logos. Even people can have their own logos if they want. The heraldic badge is probably the oldest form of logo in the world.


title: Picture

paragraphs: A picture, also called an image, is a group of coloured points on a flat surface that looks the same as something else. For example, a picture can look the same as an object or a person. Pictures can also be drawings, paintings or photographs. People who make such pictures are called artists, photographers or painters. Pictures are very helpful. Sometimes people say pictures are worth a thousand words. Pictures and diagrams can be used to explain how to do things, and thus a picture is a kind of tool. A moment captured in an image.

paragraphs: An image is something that can be seen, but it is not physically there. It can be a photograph, a painting, or a picture on a television or computer screen. A lens can make an image of an object appear somewhere else. Cameras use this to make the image that becomes a photograph.

paragraphs: Most pictures today are 'photographs'. Photographs are made with cameras. A camera makes a picture that looks very real.

paragraphs: When there were no cameras, people made pictures by using paint, brushes, pencils, crayons, pens, and other things that people can write or draw with. Pictures made with paint and brush are called 'paintings'. Before cameras, some artists were able to make very real looking pictures with just paint. Sometimes pictures made with pencil or pen are called 'sketches', if they are made quickly and only look a little bit like the real thing.

paragraphs: Usually pictures are put on paper. Pictures made with paint are usually put on a strong, rough fabric called 'canvas'. Sometimes pictures can be put on walls or other things, even glass.

paragraphs: Some places, such as churches have pictures on windows made out of colored pieces of glass. These are called "stained glass".

paragraphs: If people take a lot of pictures, and show them one at a time, very fast, they can make a picture that looks like it is moving. This is called a "moving picture", or a movie. A television shows people a moving picture by using light.

paragraphs: A slide show is a series of pictures arranged to tell a story, for example to illustrate a narrative.

paragraphs: A projector shines light from a light bulb through a kind of transparent picture. When light shines through this kind of picture onto a screen or another flat place, the picture can be seen on that flat place. This is often used to show movies and slide shows to an audience.

paragraphs: Some people make pictures that do not look flat, by taking two regular flat pictures at the same time. People have to move their eyes in a special way or use a stereoscope so they can see both pictures together. When they look at the pictures using their binocular vision correctly, the picture does not look flat. This is called '3D' or 'three dimensional'.

paragraphs: Cutaway pictures show what is inside of something, that cannot actually be seen.


title: Building

paragraphs: Building may be a noun or a verb. Building is one of the most ancient human skills. It is part of how we have survived and it is the clearest symbol of every civilization. Although some other animals build simple structures, e.g. birds, ants and bees, humans have learned to build in a great many different ways to suit different needs and local conditions. We build mostly for shelter. Buildings can shelter people, or animals, or machinery, or anything. The simplest building is just a roof to keep the space beneath dry, or shady. Adding walls gives more shelter, from the wind or rain. It also gives security.

paragraphs: By putting a window in a wall with or without glass, we let light inside the building. We leave a hole somewhere big enough to go in and out, with a door which can be opened and closed. Often the door will have a lock so the building can be left secure.

paragraphs: If a building is to last for a long time, it must have a solid foundation. This foundation is like the root of a tree, which is sunk a bit deep into the ground and supports the walls. If the ground is soft, the foundation must be very deep and strong so that the building can have a strong contact with the ground.

paragraphs: If a building is high enough, it can have more than one floor. People can climb from one floor to the next by a staircase, or perhaps by a lift or elevator. This is known as going upstairs, or downstairs. Buildings can also have a floor under the ground. This is usually called a cellar or basement.

paragraphs: Buildings can be beautiful or ugly, exciting or boring. Architects are people trained to design buildings. Their work is called architecture and it can be an art form. Look at the building where you are reading this. Look at the shapes and shadows. Is there enough light? Do some rooms make you feel like staying in them while others make you want to hurry away? Do they have interesting features? Think about how you could have made the building better. Almost anybody can become an architect if they want to. But only a good architect or a good builder can design or build a beautiful building.

paragraphs: Shelters are places to live (residential buildings). We also build places to work and to make things, places to store things, places to sell things, places where sick people can go to be treated, places to put people who break our laws. We build to do many things.

paragraphs: Some buildings are meeting places. A large number of people can gather at a temple or theater or stadium to worship god or to hear or see what other people say or do. In Christendom they are called churches. Until we began to build skyscrapers, religious buildings were usually the largest, tallest buildings in a town. Fortresses and castles were also big but usually were not in town. Big buildings require much work to make, thus can symbolize power. They impress and they give a focus to cities.

paragraphs: Buildings are made of various materials. Where wood is plentiful, it is much used. Many very old buildings of stone exist. Concrete is used almost everywhere. Starting in the late 19th century, skyscrapers were made of steel, increasingly combined with glass.


title: Candle

paragraphs: A candle is a stick made of wax with a string (a thin piece of rope) straight in the middle. If someone puts the string on fire, the flame burns slowly but for a long time.

paragraphs: Fire can burn string very fast. But in a candle, the string does not burn fast, because the fire melts the wax instead. The wax sometimes drips down the side of the candle. When the melted wax is far from the flame, it gets hard again, and can be used again in a new candle.

paragraphs: The flame is very hot, since it is a very small, real fire. The light blue part of the flame can be as hot as . It can still burn people and things. If the fire spreads, it can grow into a very big fire and even burn down a house or building.

paragraphs: If the flame is kept on the candle long enough, the candle will slowly get shorter and shorter until it is gone. The fire on a candle can be put out by blowing air on it. There is also a special tool called a "candle snuffer" that covers the fire with a small metal cup and puts it out. Today, candle snuffers are usually only used in churches or in places where candles are up very high. Stopping the fire stops the candle from burning until it is all gone.

paragraphs: Before light bulbs, candles were used so people could see at night. Some people still use candles today when electricity is down, or because they like the little amount of light that candles make. Some people also like candles because they look nice, or because they smell nice. A special kind of candle called "citronella" can help keep bugs away.


title: Salamander

paragraphs: Salamanders are amphibians. They are the order Caudata (or Urodela). There are about 500 different species.

paragraphs: Salamanders live in water and on land, and look rather like lizards, with four legs and a tail. They hatch as larvae from eggs in the water. At that stage, they have gills that stick out.

paragraphs: Most salamanders live on land when they are adults, after their change of shape (metamorphosis). On land, salamanders live in moist habitats. Their method of respiration varies. Some salamanders stay in the water, but look like adults. These are called newts. Some salamanders retain gills into sexual maturity, such as the Axolotl. This process is called neoteny.

paragraphs: Often, salamanders may have a chemical defence to predators; they are poisonous to eat. In this case, they will have warning colouration. Otherwise, if not poisonous, they will usually have camouflage.

paragraphs: Salamanders are the only tetrapods able to regenerate limbs, as well as other body parts.

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

paragraphs: Some terrestrial species lack both lungs and gills and perform gas exchange through their skin, a process known as valerian respiration in which the capillary beds are spread throughout the epidermis, and inside the mouth. Even some species with lungs can also respire through the skin in this manner.

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

paragraphs: Hunting is yet another unique aspect of salamanders. In the lungless salamanders, muscles surrounding the hyoid bone contract to create pressure and actually "shoot" the hyoid bone out of the mouth along with the tongue. The tip of the tongue is composed of a mucus which creates a sticky end to which the prey is captured. Muscles in the pelvic region are used in order to reel the tongue and the hyoid back to its original position.

paragraphs: Many of the highly aquatic species, however, have no muscles in the tongue, and do not use it for capturing prey, while most other species have a mobile tongue, but without the adaptations to the hyoid bone. Most species of salamander have small teeth in both the upper and lower jaws. Unlike frogs, even the larvae of salamanders possess these teeth.

paragraphs: To find their prey, salamanders use trichromatic color vision in the ultraviolet range. Permanently subterranean salamanders have reduced eyes, which may even be covered by a layer of skin. The larvae, and the adults of some highly aquatic species, also have a lateral line organ, similar to that of fish, which can detect changes in water pressure. Salamanders have no external ear, and only a vestigial middle ear.

paragraphs: Salamanders can drop their tail to escape predators. The tail will drop off and wriggle around for a little while, and the salamanders will either run away or stay still enough to not be noticed while the predator is distracted. Salamanders routinely regenerate complex tissues. Within only a few weeks of losing a piece of limb, a salamander perfectly reforms the missing structure.

paragraphs: There are ten families in the order Urodela, divided into three suborders:


title: Newt

paragraphs: Newts or "efts" are small amphibia. They are in a subfamily of the salamanders. They are found in North America, Europe, and North Asia.

paragraphs: Females lay eggs and leave them. Tadpoles are born from those eggs.

paragraphs: Newts have three life stages. First as a tiny aquatic larva, which gradually undergoes metamorphosis. Then they leave the water for a year as a juvenile called an "eft". They go back in the water to breed as adults.

paragraphs: In some species the adults stay in water for the rest of their lives. Others are land-based, but return to water each year to breed.

paragraphs: Many newts produce toxins in their skin secretions as a defence against predators. They have bright skin colours as a warning to other animals.

paragraphs: "Taricha" newts of western North America are particularly toxic; the rough-skinned newt "Taricha granulosa" of the Pacific Northwest produces more than enough tetrodotoxin to kill an adult human. Recently, a 29-year-old man in Coos Bay, Oregon, who had been drinking heavily, swallowed a rough-skin newt for a dare; he died later that day despite hospital treatment.

paragraphs: Most newts can be safely handled, provided that the toxins they produce are not ingested or allowed to come in contact with mucous membranes, or breaks in the skin. After handling, proper hand-washing techniques should be followed due to the risk from the toxins they produce and bacteria they carry, such as salmonella. It is illegal to handle or disturb great crested newts in the UK without a licence.

paragraphs: The term "newt" has traditionally been used as a functional term for salamanders living in water, and not a systematic unit. The relationship between the genera has been uncertain, though they may be a natural systematic unit. Newer molecular analysis tend to suggest they actually do form a clade.

paragraphs: Newts only appear in one subfamily of salamanders, the Pleurodelinae (of the family Salamandridae).

paragraphs: Some genera occasionally listed as Pleurodelinae are not newts ("Salamandrina" and "Euproctus").


title: Poison

paragraphs: Poisons are substances which cause death or injury when taken in by a living thing. It may be taken in as drink or food, or absorbed through the skin. The damage is usually done by a chemical reaction. The effect of the poison varies with the amount which is absorbed (taken in or inhaled). Substances which are poisonous are called toxic. If poisoning causes death, it is "lethal" poison.

paragraphs: Legally, and in hazardous chemical labeling, poisons are especially toxic substances. Less toxic substances are labeled "harmful", "irritant", or not labeled at all.

paragraphs: In medicine and zoology, toxins and venoms are different from poisons. Toxins are the result of a biological process. Venoms are substances which the organism uses to harm other species. Certain organisms use venoms for hunting, or as a defense. If an organism is "poisonous", such as many mushrooms, it is harmful to eat. If it is "venomous", like snakes or honeybees, it has a harmful bite or sting. For some very deadly bites humans have developed effective antivenoms.

paragraphs: Often it is only the quantity of a substance that makes the difference. Drinking alcoholic drinks may lead to aggressive behaviour, problems with speech, and different forms of amnesia. This effect is called intoxication. People who drink even more may go into shock. At the same time, alcohol can be used as a disinfectant.

paragraphs: Sometimes, poisons have an antidote. The antidote of a poison will slow or reverse its effects. The antidote may itself be a poison. As an example, atropine can be used as an antidote against certain nerve gases, like tabun or sarin, or against certain insecticides. It is also used as a medication. In high doses, atropine is a poison. Yet atropine is a "core" medicine in the World Health Organization's "essential drugs list".

paragraphs: There are other types of dangerous materials. These are:

paragraphs: Pollution is also sometimes poisonous, for example toxic waste.

paragraphs: In wars, some countries use poison gases against their enemies. This is called chemical warfare.

paragraphs: Poison gases such as chlorine gas and mustard gas were used in World War I. In World War II, the Nazis used a form of hydrogen cyanide gas to kill many people in their death camps and concentration camps.

paragraphs: Poison gas has also been used to intentionally kill humans as method of death penalty.

paragraphs: Being poisoned by gas sometimes happens accidentally. For example, a faulty furnace or heating system can cause carbon monoxide poisoning.

paragraphs: There are many types of poison gases. For example, corrosive poison gases cause serious burns to the skin, eyes, and lungs. Nerve agents are poisons that can kill by damaging the central nervous system. Blister agents cause severe blisters on the inside and the outside of the body. Choking agents make fluid build up in a person's lungs until they drown.

paragraphs: In 2010, poisoning resulted in about 180,000 deaths, down from 200,000 in 1990. There were approximately 727,500 emergency department visits in the United States involving poisonings—3.3% of all injury-related encounters.


title: Powder

paragraphs: Powder is very small, dry pieces or grains. When we press some dry solids very hard, or when we cut something up into lots of small pieces, we can sometimes make powder.

paragraphs: For example, people sometimes put "face powder" on their faces, when they want to look good. Sometimes sports players put powder on their hands, to make them dry. We put "curry powder" in our food, to make it taste stronger. We put "washing powder" in the washing machine when we want to have clean clothes. People use "gunpowder" to make bombs and fireworks.

paragraphs: "To powder" is also a verb: "Mary powdered her face". When a person says "I am going to powder my nose" they usually mean that they are going to use the toilet (US English: use the bathroom).


title: Larva

paragraphs: Many animals develop in separate stages. A larva (plural: "larvae") develops from the egg in those animals. It is a separate life stage from the adult reproductive stage. A larva does not look like the adult animal, and changes shape (known as metamorphosis) as it grows up. There may be several larval stages before the adult form. Tadpoles, maggots and caterpillars are larvae.

paragraphs: Marine organisms with a larval stage often release large numbers of eggs and sperms into the water column. After fertilisation, the eggs develop into tiny larvae. The larvae develop and grow for some time before metamorphosing into adults. Most marine invertebrates and many fish have a pelagic larval stage or pelagic eggs. These live in the plankton, and may be transported long distances.

paragraphs: Probably the most widely accepted theory explaining the evolution of larval stages is the need for "dispersal". Sessile organisms such as barnacles and tunicates, and sea-floor groups like mussels and crabs, need some way to move their young into new territory, since they cannot move long distances as adults. Many species have relatively long pelagic larval stages (how long a larva is in the water column). During this time, larvae feed and grow, and many species move through several stages of development. For example, most barnacles moult through six "nauplius" larva stages before moulting to a "cipris", when they look to settle. The larvae eat different food from the adults, and disperse.

paragraphs: The other consideration is the small size of the eggs. If animals lay many small eggs (and most do), then the young stages cannot live the life the adults lead. They must live a separate life until they have the size and capability to live as an adult. This is what the larvae do.

paragraphs: A long-standing theory is that in transformed larvae of sea-squirts (tunicates) lies the origin of vertebrates. Tunicates are sessile, but their larvae are mobile, and have some features found in early vertebrates. The process of paedomorphosis, where juvenile features are retained in the adult, is the proposed mechanism. Genome analysis does show that the tunicates are the closest living relatives of vertebrates.