title: Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky

paragraphs: Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky (Никола́й Ива́нович Лобаче́вский, 1792–1856) was a Russian mathematician. He became known for his achievements in non-Euclidean geometry.

paragraphs: Lobachevsky was born in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. His parents were Ivan Maksimovich Lobachevsky, a clerk in a landsurveying office, and Praskovia Alexandrovna Lobachevskaya. In 1800, his father died and his mother moved to Kazan. In Kazan, Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky attended Kazan Gymnasium. He graduated in 1807 and then went to Kazan University which was founded just three years earlier, in 1804.

paragraphs: At Kazan University, Lobachevsky was influenced by professor Johann Christian Martin Bartels (1769–1833). Bartels was a former teacher and friend of German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss. Lobachevsky received a Master's degree in physics and mathematics in 1811. In 1814, he became a lecturer at Kazan University, and in 1822 he became a full professor. He served in many administrative positions and was the rector of Kazan University from 1827 to 1846. He retired (or was dismissed) in 1846. After this event his health rapidly deteriorated. In addition to teaching mathematics and physics at Kazan University Lobachevsky also was an astronomy teacher there.

paragraphs: In 1832, he married Varvara Alexivna Moisieva. They had seven children.


title: Wildebeest

paragraphs: A wildebeest (or gnu) is an animal. It is a large hoofed mammal in the Bovidae family. There are two species of wildebeest. Both live in Africa.

paragraphs: Wildebeest grow to 1.15 to 1.40 metres (at the shoulder) and they weigh between 150 and 250 kilograms when they are fully grown. They live in the plains and open woodlands in southern Africa. The biggest herds can be found in the Serengeti. Wildebeest can live for more than 20 years.

paragraphs: Like other members of the same family (antelopes, deer and goats, amongst others), they mainly eat grass. But since in the African grasslands, there is not always grass, wildebeest are forced to migrate to find food all year round. In May, about 1.5 million animals move from the grasslands to the woods. In November they move back; there is grass in the plains in summer.

paragraphs: The cows (female Gnus) will calve (give birth to the young) in summer in the plains. After the females have given birth, the breeding season begins. The dominant males mark off (and defend) some territory. They do this with feces, and with scent.

paragraphs: Wildebeest are an important part of the ecosystem. With their feces, they fertilize the ground, and their trampling is good for new growth. They also provide food for predators, like lions and hyenas.


title: Serengeti

paragraphs: The Serengeti (also Seremgeti) is a region of savannah (woodlands and grasslands) in East Africa. The south of it (80%) belongs to Tanzania. The north of it is in Kenya. It is about 30,000 square kilometers, and one of the greatest areas for wildlife.

paragraphs: It has more than 1.6 million herbivores and thousands of predators. Wildebeests, gazelles, zebras and buffalos are the most common animals in the region.

paragraphs: This area is most famous for the migration that takes place every year.

paragraphs: Every year around October nearly 1.5 million herbivores travel towards the southern plains, crossing the Mara River, from the northern hills for the rains. And then back to the north through the west, once again crossing the Mara river, after the rains in around April. This phenomenon is sometimes also called the Circular Migration.

paragraphs: Also in this area is the archeologically significant Olduvai Gorge where some of the oldest hominid fossils are found.

paragraphs: The Serengeti region contains the Serengeti National Park, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Maswa Game Reserve in Tanzania and the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya.

paragraphs: The park covers 14,763 km² (5,700 square miles) of grassland plains and savanna as well as riverine forest and woodlands. The park is in the north of the country, bordered to the north by the national Tanzania and Kenyan border, where it is continuous with the Masai Mara National Reserve. To the southeast of the park is Ngorongoro Conservation Area, to the southwest is Maswa Game Reserve, and to the western borders are Ikorongo and Grumeti Game Reserves, to the northeast is Loliondo Game Control Area.

paragraphs: Few people are allowed to live in the National Park. Exceptions the staff of the Park, researchers and staff of Frankfurt Zoological Society, and staff of the various lodges and hotels. The main settlement is at Seronera.

paragraphs: As well as the migration of ungulates, the park has a healthy stock of other resident wildlife, especially the "Big Five":

paragraphs: The park also supports many further species, including cheetah, Thomson's and Grant's gazelle, topi, eland, water buck, hyena, baboon, impala, African wild dog and giraffe. The park also boasts about 500 bird species, including ostrich, secretary bird, Kori bustard, crowned crane, marabou stork, martial eagle, lovebirds and many species of vultures.

paragraphs: Ngorongoro is the caldera of a huge extinct volcano, which is part of the Serengeti area.

paragraphs: The Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site 180 km (112 miles) west of Arusha in the Crater Highlands area of Tanzania.

paragraphs: The main feature of the NCA is the Ngorongoro Crater, a large volcanic caldera. The crater, which formed when a giant volcano exploded and collapsed on itself some two to three million years ago, is deep and its floor covers .

paragraphs: Estimates of the height of the original volcano range from fifteen to nineteen thousand feet (4500 to 5800 metres) high.

paragraphs: Although thought of as "a natural enclosure" for a very wide variety of wildlife, up to 20% or more of the wildebeest ("Connochaetes taurinus") and half the zebra ("Equus burchelli") populations leave the Crater in the wet season. The Ngorongoro lions are significantly inbred, with many genetic problems passed from generation to generation. This is due to the very few new bloodlines that enter the local gene pool, because few migrating male lions enter the crater from the outside. Those who do enter the crater often cannot contribute to the gene pool. The crater's male lions, because of their large size (the result of an abundant food source), easily expel outside competitors.

paragraphs: Animal populations in the crater include most of the species in East Africa, but there are no impalas ("Aepyceros melampus"), giraffes ("Giraffa camelopardalis"), or crocodiles ("Crocodylus niloticus").

paragraphs: The crater highlands on the side facing the easterly trade winds receives 800–1200 mm of rain a year and is covered largely in montane forest, while the less-steep west wall receives only 400–600 mm; this side is grassland and bushland dotted with Euphorbia bussei trees. The crater floor is mostly open grassland with two small wooded areas dominated by "Acacia xanthophloea".

paragraphs: The Munge Stream drains Olmoti Crater to the north, and is the main water source draining into the seasonal salt lake in the center of the crater. This lake is known by two names: "Makat" as the Maasai called it, meaning salt; and "Magadi". The Lerai Stream drains the humid forests to the south of the Crater, and it feeds the Lerai Forest on the crater floor - when there is enough rain, the Lerai drains into Lake Magadi as well. Extraction of water by lodges and NCA headquarters reduces the amount of water entering Lerai by around 25%.

paragraphs: The other major water source in the crater is the Ngoitokitok Spring, near the eastern crater wall. There is a picnic site here open to tourists and a huge swamp fed by the spring, and the area is inhabited by hippopotamus, elephants, lions, and many others. Many other small springs are around the crater's floor, and these are important water supplies for the animals and local Masaai, especially during times of drought.

paragraphs: Aside from herds of zebra, gazelle, and wildebeest, the crater is home to the "Big Five Game" of rhinoceros, lion, leopard, elephant, and buffalo. The crater plays host to almost every individual species of wildlife in East Africa, with an estimated 25 000 animals within the crater.

paragraphs: Following the recommendations of a committee of scientists after the 2000 drought, an ecological burning program was implemented in the crater, which entails annual or biannual controlled burns of up to 20% of the grasslands. Maasai are now permitted to graze their cattle within the crater, but must enter and exit daily.

paragraphs: The conservation area also protects Olduvai Gorge, in the plains area. It is considered the seat of humanity after the discovery of the earliest known specimens of the human genus, "Homo habilis " as well as early hominidae, such as "Paranthropus boisei".

paragraphs: The Olduvai Gorge or Oldupai Gorge is a steep-sided ravine in the Great Rift Valley, which stretches along eastern Africa. Olduvai is in the eastern Serengeti Plains in northern Tanzania and is about thirty miles long. It is in the rain shadow of the Ngorongoro highlands and is the driest part of the region.

paragraphs: It is one of the most important prehistoric sites in the world. Research there has greatly developed our understanding of early human evolution. Excavation work there was pioneered by Mary and Louis Leakey in the 1950s. It is still continued today by their family. During the Pleistocene, the site was that of a large lake, the shores of which were covered with successive deposits of volcanic ash. Around 500,000 years ago seismic activity diverted a nearby stream which began to cut down into the sediments, revealing seven main layers in the walls of the gorge.


title: Spider

paragraphs: Spiders (class Arachnida, order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods. They have eight legs, and mouthparts (chelicerae) with fangs that inject venom. Most make silk. The arachnids are seventh in number of species of all animal orders. About 48,000 spider species, and 120 families have been recorded by taxonomists. Over twenty different classifications have been proposed since 1900. Spiders live on every continent except for Antarctica, and in nearly every habitat with the exceptions of air and sea.

paragraphs: Almost all spiders are predators, and most eat insects. They catch their prey in several ways. Some build a spider web, and some use a thread of silk that they throw at the insect. Some kinds of spiders hide in holes in the ground, then run out and grab an insect that walks by. Others will make web 'nets' to throw at passing insects. Or they go out and simply attack their prey. Some can jump quite well and hunt by sneaking close to an insect and then jumping on it.

paragraphs: Spiders have a two-part body, the front part (cephalothorax) and the abdomen. Unlike insects, spiders do not have antennae. The more advanced spiders have a centralized nervous system, with their ganglia fused into one mass in the cephalothorax. Unlike most arthropods, spiders have no extensor muscles in their limbs, and extend them by hydraulic pressure.

paragraphs: The smallest of full-grown spiders can be less than 4 mm. (0.1 inch). The largest of spiders can have a body length of 10 cm. (4 inches) or more. The largest can weigh 150 grams (5.3 oz). The largest of spiders are the tarantulas and the huntsman spiders. Some huntsman spiders in South East Asia can have a leg span of around 250–300 mm (9.8–11.8 in).

paragraphs: Most spiders have four pairs of eyes on the top-front area of the body, arranged in patterns that vary from one family to another. The main eyes at the front are capable of forming images. Jumping spiders have visual acuity which is ten times better than that of dragonflies, which have by far the best vision among insects. The spiders do this by a telephoto-like series of lenses, a four-layered retina. They can swivel their eyes and put together images from different stages in the scan. The downside is that the scanning and integrating processes are relatively slow.

paragraphs: Spiders and other arthropods have modified their cuticles into elaborate arrays of sensors. Various sensors, mostly bristles, respond to touch, from strong contact to very weak air currents. Chemical sensors provide equivalents of taste and smell. Spiders also have in the joints of their limbs sensors that detect forces and vibrations. In web-building spiders all these mechanical and chemical sensors are more important than the eyes. The eyes are more important to spiders that hunt actively. Like most arthropods, spiders lack balance sensors, and rely on their eyes to tell them which way is up.

paragraphs: Even a relatively large spider can have fangs with very sharp points. The fangs are hollow, like the needles used to give shots. Spiders use their fangs to inject toxins that kill the insects they will eat. Some kinds of spider venom attack the nervous systems of their prey, and other kinds of venom attack body tissues.

paragraphs: Almost all spiders are predators, and eat insects and other arthropods (including other spiders). Most use venom from their fangs to kill their prey. It is rare for spiders to capture prey that are much larger than they are. It is also difficult for most spiders to capture prey that are very much smaller than they are. Most species of spiders cannot live close together because they treat each other as their next meal, but there are some spiders that form colonies. Spiders eat not only spiders of other species, but spiders of their own species.

paragraphs: The black widow spider got its name because the females sometimes eat the males that mate with them. This may also happen in other species. Each species of spider has its own way of communicating with other spiders they meet. Because of the danger of being eaten, in some species the males have special hooks on their front legs with which they hold the female while they mate. Others bring the female something to eat. There are a few species in which the male spiders construct their own little webs that are connected to the webs of the females. In these species, the male is so much smaller than the female that it would be difficult for her to actually capture the male.

paragraphs: Most spiders have such poor vision that they will not even notice a dead insect. Jumping spiders are one exception to this rule. They have such good vision that they can find recently dead flies or other insects to eat.

paragraphs: Most spiders are predators, but the jumping spider "Bagheera kiplingi" gets over 90% of its food from fairly solid plant material produced by acacias as part of a beneficial relationship with a species of ant.

paragraphs: Young spiders of several families feed on plant nectar. Studies have shown that they do this for long periods. They also clean themselves regularly while feeding. These spiders also prefer sugar solutions to plain water, which shows that they are looking for nutrients. Many spiders are nocturnal, they are most active during the night. The extent of nectar consumption by spiders may therefore have been under-estimated. Nectar contains amino acids, lipids, vitamins and minerals in addition to sugars. Studies have shown that other spider species live longer when nectar is available. Feeding on nectar also avoids the risks of struggles with prey, and the costs of producing venom and digestive enzymes.

paragraphs: Various species are known to feed on dead arthropods (scavenging), web silk, and their own shed exoskeletons. Pollen caught in webs may also be eaten, and studies have shown that young spiders have a better chance of survival if they have the opportunity to eat pollen. In captivity, several spider species are also known to feed on bananas, marmalade, milk, egg yolk and sausages.

paragraphs: The best-known method spiders use to capture prey is a sticky web. The placing of the web allows different spiders to trap different insects in the same area. Flat, horizontal webs allow them to trap insects that fly up from vegetation underneath, for example. Flat vertical nets allow them to trap insects in flight. The spiders that build webs usually do not see very well, but they are very sensitive to vibrations.

paragraphs: Females of the water spider "Argyroneta aquatica" build underwater "diving bell" webs which they fill with air and use eating their prey, molting, mating, and raising offspring. They live almost entirely within the bells, darting out to catch prey animals that touch the bell or the threads that anchor it. A few spiders use the surfaces of lakes and ponds as "webs", detecting trapped insects by the vibrations that these cause while struggling.

paragraphs: Net-casting spiders weave only small webs but then manipulate them to trap prey. They stretch their webs and then release them when prey strike them. Those of the family Deinopidae weave even smaller webs, hold them outstretched between their first two pairs of legs, and lunge and push the webs as much as twice their own body length to trap prey, and this move may increase the webs' area by a factor of up to ten. Experiments have shown that "Deinopis spinosus" has two different techniques for trapping prey: backwards strikes to catch flying insects, whose vibrations it detects; and forward strikes to catch ground-walking prey that it sees. These two techniques have also been observed in other deinopids. Walking insects form most of the prey of most deinopids, but one population of "Deinopis subrufus" appears to live mainly on tipulid flies that they catch with the backwards strike.

paragraphs: Mature female bolas spiders of the genus "Mastophora" build "webs" that consist of only a single "trapeze line", which they patrol. They also construct a bolas made of a single thread, tipped with a large ball of very wet sticky silk. They emit chemicals that resemble the pheromones of moths, and then swing the bolas at the moths. They catch about the same weight of insects per night as web-weaving spiders of similar size. The spiders eat the bolas if they have not made a kill in about 30 minutes, rest for a while, and then make new bolas. Juveniles and adult males are much smaller and do not make bolas. Instead they release different pheromones that attract moth flies, and catch them with their front pairs of legs.

paragraphs: The primitive Liphistiidae, the "trapdoor spiders" (family Ctenizidae) and many tarantulas are ambush predators. They lurk in burrows, often closed by trapdoors and surrounded by networks of silk threads that alert these spiders to the presence of prey. Other ambush predators do without such aids, including many crab spiders. A few species that prey on bees, which see ultraviolet, can adjust their ultraviolet reflectance to match the flowers in which they are lurking. Wolf spiders, jumping spiders, fishing spiders and some crab spiders capture prey by chasing it, and rely mainly on vision to get their prey.

paragraphs: Not all spiders use silk to net their prey. Instead, these spiders may capture insects by grabbing them and then biting them. Among these kinds of spiders the two best known are the wolf spiders and the jumping spiders.

paragraphs: A wolf spider will usually wait until an insect comes near to it, and then rush at the insect, grab it using its front legs, and then bite the insect so that its venom can do its work.

paragraphs: Female wolf spiders lay their eggs on a pad of silk and then draw the edges together to create a round ball that they carry along with them wherever they go. They hold their egg balls to their tail ends by using their silk. When the eggs hatch, the little spiders will crawl onto the mother's back, and she will carry them along with her for days or weeks.

paragraphs: Wolf spiders are very good mothers and will strongly protect both their egg balls and their infants. When the time comes, the little spiders will leave the mother and each will go its own way.

paragraphs: Jumping spiders have very good eyes and can see well. They sneak as close to an insect as they can, and then they jump onto the insect and immediately bite it. Since they often hunt in trees, bushes, and on the sides of walls, if the jumping spider misses it may fall off. But they have a way to save themselves from harm. Before they jump they fasten their silk to the place where they have been standing, and as they jump they let out a silk safety line. So if they fall they will catch themselves when they reach the end of their silk safety line. Sometimes a jumping spider will catch an insect and then fall while still holding onto the insect. But the spider is still safe.

paragraphs: Jumping spiders make little silken "tents" for themselves to sleep in. When they lay eggs they keep them inside such a shelter. They do not take their eggs with them when they go out to hunt.

paragraphs: For all male spiders it is dangerous to seek a mate. The female spider may not realize that the male is a spider of her kind, so she may try to eat it. The jumping spiders not only have visual patterns that identify them to each other, but the male jumping spider will do a special dance when it approaches a female of the same species. That way, the female can recognize that it is a male of her species. She will generally forget about eating for long enough to mate with the visiting male spider.

paragraphs: Jumping spiders have such good eyes that they will usually watch any human who tries to watch them. Some species are very shy and will run away if the human gets too close. But some species, such as Phidippus audax (the audacious or brave jumping spider) and Platycryptus undatus, can become calm if the human comes close to them slowly. Sometimes they will jump onto one of your fingers and then jump from finger to finger and from hand to hand. They seem to want to explore.

paragraphs: Some jumping spiders of the genus "Portia" hunt other spiders in ways that seem intelligent, outflanking their victims or luring them from their webs. Laboratory studies show that "Portia"'s instinctive tactics are only starting points for a trial-and-error approach from which these spiders learn very quickly how to overcome new prey species. However, they seem to be relatively slow thinkers, which is not surprising as their brains are vastly smaller than those of mammalian predators.

paragraphs: Ant-mimicking spiders face several challenges: they generally develop slimmer abdomens and false "waists" to mimic the three distinct regions (tagmata) of an ant's body; they wave the first pair of legs in form to their heads to mimic antennae, which spiders lack, and to conceal the fact that they have eight legs rather than six. They have large color patches round one pair of eyes to disguise the fact that they generally have eight simple eyes, while ants have two compound eyes; they cover their bodies with reflective hairs to resemble the shiny bodies of ants. In some spider species males and females mimic different ant species, as female spiders are usually much larger than males.

paragraphs: Ant-mimicking spiders also modify their behavior to resemble that of the target species of ant, for example many adopt a zig-zag pattern of movement, ant-mimicking jumping spiders avoid jumping, and spiders of the genus "Synemosyna" walk on the outer edges of leaves in the same way as "Pseudomyrmex". Ant-mimicry in many spiders and other arthropods may be for protection from predators that hunt by sight, including birds, lizards and spiders. However several ant-mimicking spiders prey either on ants or on the ants "livestock" such as aphids. When at rest the ant-mimicking crab spider "Amyciaea" does not closely resemble "Oecophylla", but while hunting it imitates the behavior of a dying ant to attract worker ants. After a kill some ant-mimicking spiders hold their victims between themselves and large groups of ants to avoid being attacked.

paragraphs: Spiders reproduce sexually and fertilization is internal but indirect. In other words, the sperm is not inserted into the female's body by the male's genitals but by an intermediate stage. Unlike many land-living arthropods, male spiders do not produce ready-made spermatophores (packages of sperm). Instead, they spin small sperm webs on to which they ejaculate and then transfer the sperm to structures on the tips of their pedipalps. When a male detects signs of a female nearby he checks whether she is of the same species and whether she is ready to mate; for example in species that produce webs or 'safety ropes', the male can identify the species and sex of these objects by smell.

paragraphs: Spiders generally use elaborate courtship rituals to prevent the large females from eating the small males before fertilization, except where the male is so much smaller that he is not worth eating. In some species males mate with newly molted females, which are too weak to be dangerous to the males.

paragraphs: In web-weaving species precise patterns of vibrations in the web are a major part of the rituals, while patterns of touches on the female's body are important in many spiders that hunt actively, and may 'hypnotize' the female. Gestures and dances by the male are important for jumping spiders, which have excellent eyesight. If courtship is successful, the male injects his sperm from the pedipalps into the female's genital opening on the underside of her abdomen. Female reproductive tracts vary. Some are simple tubes, but others have chambers where females store sperm, and release it when they are ready.

paragraphs: Males do get eaten in some species. Males of the genus "Tidarren" cut off one of their palps, and enter adult life with one palp only. The palps are 20% of male's body mass in this species, and detaching one of the two improves mobility. In the Yemeni species "Tidarren argo", the remaining palp is then torn off by the female. The separated palp remains attached to the female's opening for about four hours. In the meantime, the female feeds on the palpless male. In over 60% of cases the female of the Australian redback spider kills and eats the male after it inserts its second palp into the female's genital opening; in fact the males co-operate by trying to impale themselves on the females' fangs. Observation shows that most male redbacks never get an opportunity to mate, and the 'lucky' ones increase the likely number of offspring by ensuring that the females are well-fed. However males of most species survive a few matings, limited mainly by their short life spans. Some even live for a while in their mates' webs.

paragraphs: Females lay up to 3,000 eggs in one or more silk egg sacs, which maintain a fairly constant humidity level. In some species the females die afterwards, but females of other species protect the sacs by attaching them to their webs, hiding them in nests, carrying them in the chelicerae or attaching them to the spinnerets and dragging them along.

paragraphs: Baby spiders pass all their larval stages inside the egg and hatch as spiderlings, very small and sexually immature but similar in shape to adults. Some spiders care for their young, for example a wolf spider's brood cling to rough bristles on the mother's back, and females of some species respond to the "begging" behaviour of their young by giving them their prey, provided it is no longer struggling, or even regurgitate food.

paragraphs: Like other arthropods, spiders have to moult to grow as their cuticle ("skin") cannot stretch. Most spiders live for only one to two years, although some tarantulas can live in captivity for over 20 years.

paragraphs: Of the 40,000 spiders, less than 12 are known to be dangerous to humans. Most of the time, being bitten by a spider is painful. Most spiders use venom to paralyse their prey; they kill it through eating, or through a bite. A few spiders have venoms that can be dangerous to weakened people and those allergic to it. Since 1927, 13 people have died, after a bite from a "Atrax robustus" spider from Australia.

paragraphs: The spider that kills the most people, the black widow and other spiders in the genius "Latrodectus" are around 1 cm. in body length. The "Atrax" and "Phoneutria" spiders, which are also capable of killing people, both average around 2.5 cm. or one inch, and even the Widow spiders are large enough to be easily noticed.

paragraphs: Even relatively small spiders like "Phidippus audax" can give a painful bite if you hurt them, but spiders are very helpful to human beings because they control insects that eat our crops.

paragraphs: Being afraid of spiders is a very common phobia (fear). The widow spiders (black widows and other members of their genus) never willingly leave their webs, so usually people get bitten when they touch the spider by mistake.


title: Grass

paragraphs: Grass is a monocotyledon plant, herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. A common kind of grass is used to cover the ground in a lawn and other places. Grass normally gets water from the roots, which are located in the ground.

paragraphs: The grasses include the "true grasses", of the family Poaceae (also called Gramineae), as well as the sedges (Cyperaceae) and the rushes (Juncaceae). These three families are not closely related but belong to different clades in the order Poales.

paragraphs: The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns (turf) and grassland. Uses for graminoids include food (as grain, sprouted grain, shoots or rhizomes), drink (beer, whisky), pasture for livestock, thatching thatch, paper, fuel, clothing, insulation, construction, sports turf, basket weaving and many others.

paragraphs: Many grasses are short, but some grasses, like bamboo can grow very tall. Plants from the grass family can grow in many places, even if they are very cold or very dry. Several other plants that look similar but are not members of the grass family are also sometimes called grass; these include rushes, reeds, papyrus, and water chestnut.

paragraphs: Grasses are an important food for many animals, like deer, buffalo, cattle, mice, grasshoppers, caterpillars, and many other grazers. Unlike other plants, grasses grow from the bottom, so when animals eat grass they usually do not destroy the part that grows. Without grass, dirt can wash away into rivers (erosion).

paragraphs: Graminoids include some of the most versatile plant life-forms. They became widespread toward the end of the Cretaceous. Fossilized dinosaur dung (coprolites) have been found containing grass phytoliths (silica stones inside grass leaves). Grasses have adapted to conditions in lush rain forests, dry deserts, cold mountains and even intertidal habitats, and are now the most widespread plant type. Grass is a valuable source of food and energy for many animals.

paragraphs: Lawn grass is often planted on sports fields and in the area around a building. Sometimes chemicals and water is used to help lawns to grow.

paragraphs: People have used grasses for a long time. People eat parts of grasses. Corn, wheat, barley, oats, rice and millet are cereals, common grains whose seeds are used for food and to make alcohol such as beer.

paragraphs: Sugar comes from sugar cane, which is also a plant in the grass family. People have grown grasses as food for farm animals for about 4000 years. People use bamboo to build houses, fences, furniture and other things. Grass plants can also be used as fuel, to cover roofs, and to weave baskets.

paragraphs: In English, the word "grass" appears in several phrases. For example:


title: Cacao tree

paragraphs: The cacao tree is a small tree originally grown in tropical South America. It only grows to 4 to 8 meters in height. Its seeds are called cocoa and are used to produce cocoa butter, chocolate drinks, and chocolate. Now the trees are grown in plantations in many tropical countries.

paragraphs: Cacao is planted on over 70000 square kilometres worldwide with 40% of production coming from Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Indonesia. Each country produces about 15%, with smaller amounts coming from Brazil, Nigeria, and Cameroon.

paragraphs: A tree begins to bear fruit when it is 4 or 5 years old. In one year, when mature, it may have 6,000 flowers, but only about 20 pods. About 300-600 seeds (10 pods) are required to produce around 1 kg of cocoa paste.

paragraphs: There are three main cultivar groups of cacao beans used to make cocoa and chocolate. The most prized, rare, and expensive is the Criollo Group, the cocoa bean used by the Maya. Only 10% of chocolate is made from the Criollo, which is less bitter and more aromatic than any other bean. The cacao bean in 80% of chocolate is made using beans of the Forastero Group. Forastero trees are significantly hardier than Criollo trees, resulting in cheaper cacao beans. Trinitario, a hybrid of Criollo and Forastero, is used in about 10% of chocolate. For details of processing, see cocoa.

paragraphs: Cacao beans were commonly used as currency in Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. In some areas, such as Yucatán, they were still used in place of small coins as late as the 1840s.


title: Mahabad and Piranshahr

paragraphs: Mahabad & Piranshahr (, ); (Old name: سابلاخ: Sablakh, which may be of Mongolian origin) is a city in Iran. It is in the north-west of the country. The city is south of Lake Urmia in a narrow valley 1,300 metres above sea level. It is in West Azarbaijan Province. It has about 162.434 people who live in the city. Mahabad is connected by road with Tabriz 300 km north, Urmia 150 km north and Irbil in Iraq. Mahabad has also a branch of Islamic Azad University.

paragraphs: The city is one center and symbol of the Kurdish nationalism. The reason is because 1945 it was the capital of the new founded people's Republic of Mahabad. The republic was conquered by Iranian forces in 16 December 1946. The president was Qazi Muhammad. The majority of the population is Kurdish. During the revolution in Iran, at 3 September 1979 the city was bombed and occupied by Iranian forces. After the death of Shivan Qaderi, a student and opposition activist in July 9 2005, the Kurdish population protested against the Iranian government.

paragraphs: The region of Mukrian consists of Piranshahr and Mahabad.


title: Shivan Qaderi

paragraphs: Shivan Qaderi (or Sivan Ghaderi or Schuaneh Ghaderi; born 1979 or 1980; died 9 July 2005 in Mahabad) was a student and opposition activist in Iran. After his death in 2005, the Kurds protested and the Iranian government had to send more than 100,000 soldiers to this region. The Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran reported, that about 50,000 people had protested after his death on the Chuwarchira Square. Humans Rights First say that, after he was shot, Iranian soldiers tied Ghaderi's body "to a military vehicle and dragged it through the city, obviously trying to frighten the population so that they would not organize any more protests."


title: Sauce

paragraphs: In cooking, a sauce is a liquid mixture added to another food for flavour. Sauces are not normally eaten by themselves; they add flavour, moisture, and visual appeal to another dish. Sauces are an essential element in cuisines all over the world.

paragraphs: The main sauces of French cuisine are built on a basis of roux, which is just flour and the liquid part of butter. Examples from Italian cuisine are the egg, cheese and ham sauce called "Carbonara"; the ground meat sauce called "bolognese", and the herbs and garlic sauce called "pesto".

paragraphs: Bottled sauces can be poured over food when it is served. An example would be the tomato-based sauce that is usually poured over spaghetti. Gravy is a brown sauce served with meat.

paragraphs: "Sauce" is a French word taken from the Latin "salsus", meaning "salted". Possibly the oldest sauce recorded is "garum", the fish sauce used by the Romans.

paragraphs: Sauces need a liquid component, but some sauces (for example, pico de gallo salsa or chutney) may contain more solid elements than liquid.

paragraphs: Sauces may be used for savoury dishes or for desserts. They can be prepared and served cold, like mayonnaise, prepared cold but served lukewarm like pesto, or can be cooked like bechamel and served warm or again cooked and served cold like apple sauce.

paragraphs: Some sauces are commercial products like Worcestershire sauce, HP sauce, soy sauce or ketchup. In French cuisine they are freshly prepared by the chef. Sauces for salads are called salad dressing. A cook who specializes in making sauces is a saucier.

paragraphs: Sauces in French cuisine date back to the Middle Ages. There were hundreds of sauces in the culinary repertoire, and were a major defining characteristic of French cooking of the 19th and 20th centuries, until nouvelle cuisine.

paragraphs: In the 19th century, the chef Antonin Carême classified sauces into four families, each of which was based on a mother sauce (Also called "grandes sauces"). Carême's four mother sauces were:

paragraphs: In the early 20th century, the chef Auguste Escoffier updated this classification to five mother sauces. They are:

paragraphs: A sauce which is based on one of the mother sauces is sometimes called a small sauce, minor sauce, or secondary sauce. Most sauces commonly used in classical cuisine are small sauces, or derivatives of one of the above-mentioned mother sauces.

paragraphs: Mother sauces are not commonly served as they are; instead they are augmented with additional ingredients to make small (derivative) sauces. For example, Bechamel can be made into Mornay by the addition of Gruyère or any cheese one may like, and Espagnole becomes Bordelaise with the addition and reduction of red wine, shallots, and poached beef marrow.


title: Spaghetti

paragraphs: Spaghetti is a long, string-shaped kind of pasta.

paragraphs: The word "spaghetti" was first used in 1849 as "sparghetti" in Eliza Acton's "Modern Cookery". It comes from Italian "spaghetto", which means "string".

paragraphs: Spaghetti is made from wheat noodles, which are boiled in water for a short time. Spaghetti can either be served as a side dish, or as a main dish. As a main dish, a sauce is added. There are many different kinds of sauces. Simpler ones are made of butter, more complicated ones include tomatos, garlic, olive oil and various other herbs. Different varieties with mussels, fish or meat also exist. Ground Parmesan cheese is often added.

paragraphs: In Italy the sauce is usually mixed with the spaghetti while they are being prepared. Usually, spaghetti are eaten only with a fork, or with a fork and a spoon. Sometimes, they are cut with a knife for small children. Many Italians see using a knife to eat spaghetti as bad manners, except to prepare them for small children.

paragraphs: There is a story about how spaghetti came to Italy. In the legend, Marco Polo found spaghetti in China during his visit in 1295, and he took some back to Italy.

paragraphs: Today, spaghetti is eaten everywhere. In the United States, there is a kind of spaghetti called "Alvaro's spaghetti" which is served with alfredo sauce. In some countries,like United States or Canada, meatballs are often in the spaghetti sauce.

paragraphs: In China, spaghetti is often made by hand. In Italy, spaghetti is made with a machine so that large amounts can be made quickly. Italy is the biggest producer and consumer of spaghetti in the world.

paragraphs: Spaghetti is called by other words when it has a different thickness: "spaghettini (n. 3)", "spaghetti (n. 5)", and "spaghettoni (n. 8)".

paragraphs: Usually, spaghetti leftovers last in a fridge for around 3 to 5 days, while spaghetti in a freezer will last more than one month.


title: Emperor penguin

paragraphs: The Emperor penguin ("Aptenodytes forsteri") is a penguin that lives in Antarctica. It is the tallest and heaviest penguin. They are the only birds that can lay their eggs on ice.

paragraphs: Emperor penguins are about tall, weigh up to , and have a wingspan of . Emperor Penguins are black and white like all penguins, and the sides of their neck and chest are golden.

paragraphs: They eat mostly crustaceans, such as krill, and fish but also eat cephalopods, such as squid, cuttlefish, and octopuses.

paragraphs: Emperor penguins live in the coldest climate on earth. Temperatures can drop as low as -140 degrees Fahrenheit (-95.6 °C) on the Antarctic ice. They breed at the beginning of the Antarctic winter (March and April), on the ice all around the Antarctic continent. They live in large groups, called colonies, that can have up to 20,000 birds. They huddle close together to keep warm. Emperor penguins live for about 20 years, although some have been known to live for 40 years.

paragraphs: The shape of their body helps them to survive. They have short wings that help them swim and to dive up to to catch larger fish. The deepest dive recorded is . They can swim up to for a short time, which lets them escape their main enemy, the leopard seal. They can stay warm because they have a thick layer of blubber. The layer of downy feathers trap air that keeps the body heat in and cold air and water out. They also have large amounts of body oil that help in keeping them dry in the water.

paragraphs: While they are very fast in the water, on land the birds can only walk very slowly. On ice they can lie on their stomachs and use their wings to slide along, like a sled.

paragraphs: Emperor penguins spend most of their time in the water, coming to the shore to breed. There is nothing on the ice to make a nest, so after the female lays her one egg in winter, the male puts the egg on his feet to keep it warm until spring. This can be from 65 to 75 days. He has a special fold of skin on his stomach which can fold over and cover the egg to keep it warm. This is a difficult action to swap the egg from the female to the male; if it sits for too long on the ice it will freeze. He does not eat during this time, and can lose up to half his weight. To keep warm, all the male penguins huddle together. Those on the outside of the group will slowly shuffle their way into the middle; the group is always moving and can move as much as in 24 hours. The female comes back in spring when the egg hatches, while the male will go back to sea to eat, but comes back to help look after the chick. The chick balances on its parents feet for about 50 days until it becomes strong enough to survive the cold.

paragraphs: The Australian movie "Happy Feet" was based on the story of Mumble, an emperor penguin ,who is unable to sing and get a mate because he was left for too long on the ice when still an egg but can dance very well , hence the name.


title: Snares penguin

paragraphs: The Snares penguin ("Eudyptes robustus"), is a crested penguin. It is probably a subspecies of the Fiordland penguin. It is a penguin from New Zealand. It has a size of 50-70 cm and a weight of 2.5-4 kg.

paragraphs: It breeds on The Snares, a small island group south of New Zealand's South Island.


title: Chuar-chira Square

paragraphs: Chuar-chira Square (, ) (meaning "Square of the four candles"), is a known square in center of city of Mahabad where after Iranian invasion in 1947, Qazi Muhammad the president of Republic of Mahabad was hanged in public as well as other leaders of the republic in Mahabad and Bukan. In 2005 the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran reported that about 50.000 persons had demonstrated against the Iranian gouverment. The reason was the death of Shivan Qaderi.

paragraphs: It is now officially called Shardari Square. This square is one of the oldest places of Mahabad city.


title: Complex number

paragraphs: A complex number is a number, but is different from common numbers in many ways. A complex number is made up using two numbers combined together. The first part is a real number, and the second part is an imaginary number. The most important imaginary number is called formula_1, defined as a number that will be -1 when squared ("squared" means "multiplied by itself"): formula_2. All the other imaginary numbers are formula_1 multiplied by a real number, in the same way that all real numbers can be thought of as 1 multiplied by another number. Arithmetic functions such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division can be used with complex numbers. They also follow commutative, associative and distributive properties, just like real numbers. The set of complex numbers is often represented using the symbol formula_4.

paragraphs: Complex numbers were discovered while attempting to solve special equations that have exponents in them. These began to pose real problems for mathematicians. As a comparison, using negative numbers, it is possible to find the "x" in the equation formula_5 for all real values of "a" and "b", but if only positive numbers are allowed for "x", it is sometimes impossible to find a positive "x", as in the equation .

paragraphs: With exponentiation, there is a difficulty to be overcome. There is no real number that gives −1 when it is squared. In other words, −1 (or any other negative number) has no real square root. For example, there is no real number formula_6 that solves the equation formula_7. To solve this problem, mathematicians introduced a symbol "i" and called it the "imaginary unit". This is the imaginary number that will give −1 when it is squared.

paragraphs: The first mathematicians to have thought of this were probably Gerolamo Cardano and Raffaele Bombelli. They lived in the 16th century. It was probably Leonhard Euler who introduced writing formula_8 for that number.

paragraphs: All complex numbers can be written as formula_9 (or formula_10), where "a" is called the "real part" of the number, and "b" is called the "imaginary part". We write formula_11 or formula_12 for the real part of a complex number formula_13. So, if formula_14, we write formula_15. Similarly, we write formula_16 or formula_17 for the imaginary part of a complex number formula_13; formula_19, for the same . Every real number is also a complex number; it is a complex number with formula_20.

paragraphs: A complex number can also be written as an ordered pair , where both "a" and "b" are real numbers. Any real number can simply be written as formula_21, or as the pair .

paragraphs: Sometimes, formula_22 is written instead of formula_1. In electrical engineering for instance, formula_1 means electric current, so writing formula_1 can cause a lot of problems because some numbers in electrical engineering are complex numbers.

paragraphs: The set of all complex numbers is usually written as formula_4.

paragraphs: Addition, subtraction, multiplication and exponentiation (raising numbers to exponents) are all possible with complex numbers. Division is also possible with complex numbers—as long as the divisor is not zero, Some other calculations are also possible with complex numbers.

paragraphs: The rule for addition and subtraction of complex numbers is pretty simple:

paragraphs: Let formula_27, then formula_28, and formula_29.

paragraphs: Another notable operation for complex numbers is "conjugation". A complex conjugate formula_31 to formula_14 is formula_33.

paragraphs: It is pretty simple, but is important for calculations, because formula_34 is actually a real number for "all" complex formula_13:

paragraphs: Because of that, we can use it to do division:

paragraphs: Complex numbers can be shown on a so-called complex plane. If you have a number formula_14, you can go to point "a" on the real axis and point "b" on the imaginary axis, and draw a vector from formula_40 to formula_41. The length of this vector can be calculated using the Pythagorean theorem, and the angle of this vector is simply the angle between the positive real axis and this vector—going counterclockwise. The length of a vector for a number formula_13 is called its modulus or absolute value (written as formula_43), and the angle is called its argument (formula_44).

paragraphs: This leads to the trigonometrical form of describing complex numbers: by the definitions of sine and cosine, it follows that for all formula_13:

paragraphs: This is closely connected to De Moivre's formula.

paragraphs: There exists even another form, called exponential form.

paragraphs: With the introduction of complex numbers to math, every polynomial with complex coefficients has roots in complex numbers. This introduction also helped to open a path to the creation of another kind of numbers, which could help resolve and explain many different problems. These include the , , , and many others. For more, see .


title: Frederick I of Prussia

paragraphs: Frederick I of Prussia (), (11 July 1657–25 February 1713) of the Hohenzollern dynasty was the first King in Prussia (1701–1713).


title: Siege of Jerusalem (1187)

paragraphs: The Siege of Jerusalem took place from September 20 to October 2, 1187. It was part of the war called the Third Crusade.

paragraphs: Balian of Ibelin defended Jerusalem against the armies of Saladin. When he surrendered, the Muslims enslaved thousands of Christians but let many leave after they bought their freedom.

paragraphs: A fictionalized version of the siege (attack) is seen in the movie "Kingdom of Heaven", directed by Ridley Scott.


title: Beer Hall Putsch

paragraphs: The Beer Hall Putsch was a failed coup d'état in Munich, Germany between the evening of 8 November and the morning of 9 November 1923. The Nazi Party under Adolf Hitler tried to take over the government of Bavaria, a state in Germany. They began trying to do this by taking several hundred people hostage in a beer hall (a large building where people got together to drink beer and sometimes listen to political speeches). Several Nazis died when they got into a gun fight with police officers in another part of Munich, and Hitler then went to prison for eight months.

paragraphs: Hitler chose to do this for many reasons. The Weimar Republic of Germany was weak because of fighting between right and left-wing parties. Inflation had also left the Weimar Republic with very little support from the people, or money to keep working (paying bills, or even paying pensions and wages). This happened because when Germany lost World War I, other countries made Germany pay for the entire war, and Germany had to make taxes very high so it could pay for the war. This hurt the economy of Germany.

paragraphs: The Nazi Party was getting very strong. Hitler was a strong leader. In 1923, the year when the Weimar Republic was least popular, the Nazi Party grew from 6,000 members to 55,000 members.

paragraphs: Hitler also wanted to copy Mussolini, who had taken power in Italy by marching into Rome.

paragraphs: 8 November 1923 - Hitler and his men charged into the Beer Hall and forced the people there to support him. Hitler's men, the SA took over the Army Headquarters, but forgot to take over the telegraph office. This meant that anybody could call in the police.

paragraphs: 9 November 1923 - 16 Nazis and 4 Bavarian State Police officers were killed in a gunfight between the Nazis and the police in "Residenzstraße". Hitler was arrested two days later.

paragraphs: Hitler and several of his friends were taken to court for treason, because they took up arms against the government. In the end, Hitler was sent to prison for about eight months, and the Nazi Party broke up (however, it would later get back together).

paragraphs: More people learned about Hitler. Before this happened, he was unknown. But after this, he was a hero to many. Many Germans at that time wanted a strong leadership after the governments of the Weimar Republic.

paragraphs: Hitler also took the time he had to spend in prison to write a book, called Mein Kampf or "My Struggle". It sold millions and told people about his ideas. Mein Kampf also made Hitler popular. (Hitler did not actually write the words down himself. Instead, he told another Nazi, Rudolf Hess, what to write down, and Hess wrote the words down.)

paragraphs: Hitler also had to re-think his strategy. He realised he could not take power the same way that Mussolini had done. Instead, he had to get power through being elected.

paragraphs: The people who died during the Putsch are seen as the first to die for the Nazi Party and are mentioned in Mein Kampf as Martyrs.


title: Verona

paragraphs: Verona is a city in the Veneto region of Italy with 260,000 inhabitants. It is famous for being the setting for the Shakespeare play "Romeo and Juliet" and because of the Roman Arena. This city is built on the Adige river. It has a humid subtropical climate ("Cfa" in the Köppen climate classification).


title: Kiev

paragraphs: Kyiv () is the capital and largest city of Ukraine. Almost three million people live there.

paragraphs: The city hosted the UEFA Euro 2012 final. Also Kyiv will host Eurovision Song Contest in 2017

paragraphs: Kyiv has a humid continental climate ("Dfb" in the Köppen climate classification).


title: Harare

paragraphs: Harare is the capital of Zimbabwe. It is home to over 1.6 million people. It was known as "Salisbury" from its foundation on September 12, 1890 until April 18, 1982.

paragraphs: Harare is Zimbabwe's leading financial, commercial, and communications centre, and a trade centre for tobacco, maize, cotton, and citrus fruits. Manufactured goods include textiles, steel and chemicals, and gold is mined in the area. The city's suburbs include Borrowdale, Mount Pleasant and Avondale. The richest neighbourhoods are to the north. The University of Zimbabwe, the country's oldest university (founded in 1952), is situated in Mount Pleasant, about 6 km (3.7 mi) north of the city centre. Harare is home to the country's main Test cricket ground, Harare Sports Club, and to Dynamos F.C., Zimbabwe's most successful association football team.


title: Seventh-day Adventist Church

paragraphs: The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian group. It is different from most other Protestant groups because the followers believe that the seventh day of the week, Saturday, is the day to rest from working and worship God. The Bible calls this day the "Sabbath". The Sabbath is the seventh day of the week (Gen 2:1-3) in Judaism and in the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. This is why they are called "Seventh-day Adventists". Although the abbreviation "SDA" is commonly used, "Adventist" is the church's preferred shortening of "Seventh-day Adventist".

paragraphs: The Seventh-day Adventist Church came from the Millerite movement in the United States. This included people from many denominations. The Millerites started in the middle part of the 19th century. The Millerites were people who followed the teachings of William Miller. Miller preached that Jesus is coming very soon, in the Second Coming or Second Advent. The church name "Adventist" came from the word "Advent." The Seventh-day Adventist Church started in 1863.

paragraphs: In many ways, the religious teachings of the Seventh-day Adventist church are like evangelical teachings such as the Trinity and Biblical inerrancy. Teachings that are different include the doctrine of an investigative judgment, the unconscious state of the dead (which means that when people die, they will not wake up until Christ resurrects them), and that the wicked will be destroyed forever by fire (rather than forever burn in Hell).

paragraphs: The church is also known for its message on health. It teaches that being healthy helps us to make good decisions, understand God’s Word, be productive in God’s service, and otherwise glorify God with our bodies as temples. Adventists who eat meat typically do not eat meat from pigs, certain fish, and other animals that the Bible names as unclean. Many Adventists are vegetarian (no meat) or vegan (no animal products, such as milk or eggs). They tend to stay away from smoking, drinking and other things known to be harmful or mind-altering. Exercise, being outdoors, resting, and drinking lots of water are other parts to healthy living usually taught by Adventists. In 2005, a National Geographic cover story identified the Adventists living in Loma Linda, California, as one of five Blue Zones of people living longer than the rest of the world.

paragraphs: The church also promotes religious liberty. When it comes to culture, it is more conservative.

paragraphs: Among the founders of the Church was Ellen G. White. She wrote many texts that are still thought to be very important in the church today. She was a dedicated Christian who believed she got visions from God about the end of the world and what heaven will be like.

paragraphs: At a world level, the Seventh-day Adventist Church is run by a General Conference. Smaller regions are administered by divisions, union conferences and local conferences. It is present in over 200 countries and territories and is ethnically and culturally diverse. The church runs many schools, hospitals and publishing houses worldwide, as well as a famous organization that helps people in trouble, known as the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA). There are about 18.5 million people in the Seventh-day adventist church worldwide.

paragraphs: The Seventh-day Adventist Church is organized with a representative form of church government and the world-wide Church has 13 Divisions.

paragraphs: The Seventh-day Adventist World Church Statistics shows a growing church with 15,660,347 members as of December 31, 2007.

paragraphs: The Adventist News Network reported in June 2010 (during the 59th quinquennial General Conference Session of the Seventh-day Adventist Church held in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.) that Seventh-day Adventists reached a membership of 16,300,000, according to the church's Office of Archives and Statistics. The world church Secretary stated that when counting unbaptized children and family members who attend services, the church numbers between 25 and 30 million.

paragraphs: Seventh-day Adventists believe in Protestantism.

paragraphs: Seventh-day Adventist believe in the 28 Fundamental Beliefs. This statement of beliefs was adopted by the General Conference in 1980, with an extra belief (number 11) being added in 2005.


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title: Antony and Cleopatra

paragraphs: Antony and Cleopatra is a play by Shakespeare. It is a tragedy. Shakespeare's source was Plutarch's "Lives". The play was first performed between 1606 and 1607. It was probably first printed in the First Folio of 1623. The play describes the romantic love and suicides of Antony and Cleopatra.


title: Het Wilhelmus

paragraphs: "Het Wilhelmus", fully known as "Wilhelmus van Nassouwe", is the national anthem of the Netherlands and the former national anthem of the Netherlands Antilles until 1964. Known since at least the 16th century – around the time of the Dutch Revolt – this song contains the oldest melody among all national anthems of the world. Its lyrics also date back to the 1500s, though the lyrics of "Kimigayo"—Japan's national anthem—are much older. Because "Het Wilhelmus" is so old, the origins of the composer(s) and author(s) are uncertain, but the melody has been arranged by Dutch composer Adrianus Valerius in the 1600s. It wasn't officially adopted as national anthem of the Netherlands until the 20th century.


title: Fuzzy logic

paragraphs: Fuzzy logic is a sort of computer logic that is different from boolean algebra founded by Lotfi A. Zadeh. It is different in the way that it allows values to be more accurate than on or off. While boolean logic only allows true or false, fuzzy logic allows all things in between. An example of this could be a computer game: A person is standing in a doorway while a thing explodes. The character is hit or not hit if boolean logic is used, but the doorway protects him from the explosion. Therefore, he might only be hit 20%, and takes less damage.

paragraphs: To put it in more precise mathematical terms, classical logic has two values. These values are usually called "false" (0) or "true" (1). With fuzzy logic, a (calculated) value of 0.8 or 0.971 is possible. It is important to know the difference between fuzzy logic and chance. A coin that is thrown has a chance of 0.5 for landing heads up. If it is thrown 1000 times, it is expected that it will land with heads side up 500 times. With fuzzy logic, a thing with a "truth value" of 0.5 will have a value of 0.5 no matter how many times it is done. It is not a 50% chance of true or untrue, it is 50% true and 50% untrue at the same time.

paragraphs: Fuzzy logic is used a lot in expert systems and neural networks.

paragraphs: Humans tend to use a combination of predicate logic and fuzzy logic. If you are an outfielder catching a baseball hit into the air, then your precise logic will calculate trajectory and start you running to the point of intercept (catching). However, once close to the ball the eyes and brain of the outfielder lacks the ability to accurately estimate distance and speed because the ball is coming straight at the outfielder. The human brain switches to fuzzy logic that says "get me closer", "get me closer", and so on. That is why you see outfielders in baseball run to a spot and then move around as the ball gets closer.

paragraphs: Predicate logic says calculate the point to be at to catch the ball. Fuzzy logic says because of wind or other things you might not be in the correct place so just keep getting closer until you catch the ball.

paragraphs: In predicate logic it is the mathematics of calculating the path of the ball that determines your action. In fuzzy logic it is the error of your calculations that determines your action.

paragraphs: In effect, it's like your brain trying to steady a drink in your hand while traveling down a bumpy road.


title: Douala

paragraphs: Douala is the largest city in the African country of Cameroon. It is the capital city of Littoral Province.

paragraphs: The city is placed near the Wouri River. Its population is about 2,000,000 people. The first European people who came to Douala were from Portugal. They found Duala in about 1472. Before 1884 it was named Cameroons Town. In 1884 German people came to Duala and changed its name to Kamarunstadt ("Camaroon City") and made it the capital of German Kamerun. In 1907 its name was changed to Duala. It became the capital of French Cameroons in 1919. From 1940 to 1946, it was the capital of Cameroon.

paragraphs: Duala is an expensive city. It ranked 24th most expensive city of the world in 2007.

paragraphs: Douala is linked by rail to Yaoundé, Ngaoundéré, Kumba and Nkongsamba. The largest port and the most important airport in Cameron are both in Douala.


title: 1470s

paragraphs: The 1470s was the decade that started on January 1, 1470 and ended on December 31, 1479.


title: Gleiwitz incident

paragraphs: The Gleiwitz incident was a planned German attack against the radio station "Sender Gleiwitz" in the German town of Gliwice on the night of August 31, 1939. This attack along with other Nazi activities was used to make people think that Poland attacked Germany and that Poland, not Germany started World War II.


title: Mackinac Island

paragraphs: Mackinac Island is an island in Lake Huron. It is part of the U.S. state of Michigan and is 8 miles (13 kilometers) around.

paragraphs: Many people go to see Mackinac Island in the summer because the island passed a local law that says that no one can use a car on the island. Everybody has to ride a horse or a bicycle. In recent years, young people have been using roller skates or roller blades to get around the island. There is a narrow paved road that follows the 8 miles of shoreline. This road is for horses (and their buggies), bicycles, skaters and joggers or just people taking a long walk.

paragraphs: In order to get to Mackinac Island, visitors have to buy a ticket on a ferry boat. The boat ride has views of Lake Huron and the Mackinac Bridge. After they get to Mackinac Island, many visitors buy locally made fudge.


title: AFI's 100 Years... 100 Stars

paragraphs: AFI's 100 Years... 100 Stars is a list of the top actors in Hollywood history. It was announced by the American Film Institute on June 16, 1999.

paragraphs: The list promised one hundred people on it, but in the end there were only fifty.

paragraphs: As of 2020, of the fifty stars listed, only two are still alive: one man (Sidney Poitier), and one woman (Sophia Loren). At the time the list was unveiled Katharine Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Shirley Temple, Lauren Bacall, Marlon Brando, Gregory Peck and Kirk Douglas were also still living.


title: Havana

paragraphs: Havana () is the capital city of Cuba. Its population was 2.1 million in 2012. It is at 23°8′N 82°23′W and is a little more than 100 miles south-southwest of Key West, Florida in the United States.

paragraphs: Havana is a very old city. It was created in 1515 by Spanish explorers. Due to its important location it became a springboard for the Spanish conquest of the Americas. Also, it became a stopping point for Spanish ships returning to Spain filled with treasure. King Philip II of Spain granted Havana the title of City in 1592. Walls as well as forts were built to protect the old city. The sinking of the U.S. battleship Maine in Havana's harbor in 1898 was the immediate cause of the Spanish–American War.


title: Bismarck

paragraphs: Bismarck is a German family name. Bismark is an incorrect spelling.

paragraphs: The name Bismarck is usually associated with the famous Otto von Bismarck, a German statesman of the 19th century.

paragraphs: The "Bismarck" was a battleship of the German navy during WWII


title: Crusinallo

paragraphs: Crusinallo, with 4000 people, is the most populated district of the town of Omegna (in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, in Piedmont, Italy). It was an independent town until 1928. The town of Crusinallo is located in the north part of the town of Omegna, at the border with the towns of Casale Corte Cerro, Gravellona Toce, and Germagno. The natural borders are: at north, the Saint Martino river; at east and south, the Strona river; at west, the forest of Alpe Colla.


paragraphs: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA ) is one of the world's largest non-profit organisations about animal rights. The four main beliefs of PETA are that animals are not to be used for food, clothes, exploitation or testing. The headquarters of the organization is in Norfolk, Virginia in the United States. PETA was started by Ingrid Newkirk and Alex Pacheco in 1980.

paragraphs: PETA has protested fast food chain KFC for the way it kills chickens and also for jallikattu or sallikattu in Tamil Nadu (India). In the past, it has protested many corporations including Iams, which makes pet food.

paragraphs: PETA's main website is made for adults and vegans. They also have another website called PETA2 which is made for teenagers who are vegetarian, vegan or still deciding. PETA says it has over five million members.


title: Software licence

paragraphs: A software licence (or software license in United States English) is a kind of licence that is used to set rules about how a piece of software can or cannot be used. After getting the software by either downloading it or buying it, you need to agree with the licence in order to use it. The licence is chosen or created by the software developer/creator or software publisher. Many licences answer questions such as "can I use this software commercially/to make money?", or "can I give this software to other people?", or in general, "in what ways am I allowed/permitted to use this software?".

paragraphs: One kind of software licence, an end user licence agreement, or "EULA", is very specific/descriptive about the things that you can or cannot do with the software, and oftentimes establishes/defines the rights of the software developer over the user. Most EULAs are written by the specific software developer and are not shared like other software licences.

paragraphs: Another type of software licence is an open source distribution licence. These licences let software developers choose what people can and cannot do with the code of the software. There are many licences freely available which allow you to do this, such as the MIT Licence, which allows for the software to be used by any person for any reason/purpose. The GNU General Public Licence, often abbreviated/shortened as GPL is a licence which makes all copies of the software free and open source. Therefore, GPL cannot be included in any part of proprietary/closed software because it does not follow the rules of the licence. The Apache Licence is more definitive and specific, but is more common with larger companies, such as Google, but is still considered a free software licence. Creative Commons is a popular licence used by people who want to give something out for free without taking as much credit. Creative Commons is very open, and is even used by Wikipedia for its pages and other content.


title: BSD licence

paragraphs: The BSD licence is named after the group that first used the licence, the University of California, Berkeley, where the BSD operating system was first made. Since they are in the United States, BSD uses the U.S. spelling "BSD license".

paragraphs: The words of the BSD licence are public domain and can be changed however people want. To be useful for people or groups, people need to change 'Regents of the University of California', 'University of California, Berkeley', and 'Regents' to their name. A basic BSD licence looks like this:

paragraphs: This means that any person who uses the licensed software can do anything with it, but the person cannot say it is all their work or say that the first makers of the software support the person's new software in any way. It also stops people from suing the first makers if something goes wrong with it.


title: Lake Baikal

paragraphs: Lake Baikal is a huge lake in Siberia, Russia. It is the biggest fresh water reservoir in the world. The lake is near Irkutsk.

paragraphs: Baikal is about long. It is wide. At it’s deepest point, it is deep. With this depth it is the deepest lake on Earth. The lake is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It holds about 20% of the world's unfrozen surface fresh water,

paragraphs: The lake has fish that exist only here and nowhere else. It is home to more than 1,700 species of plants and animals, two-thirds of which can be found nowhere else in the world.

paragraphs: Lake Baikal fills an ancient rift valley, just as Lake Tanganyika does in East Africa.

paragraphs: At the Baikal Rift Zone, the Earth's crust pulls apart. It is the deepest lake in the world at . The bottom of the lake is below sea level, but below this lies some of sediment. This means the rift floor is below the surface: the deepest continental rift on Earth.

paragraphs: In geological terms, the rift is young and active it widens about two cm per year. The fault zone is also seismically active; there are hot springs in the area and notable earthquakes every few years.

paragraphs: Baikal's age is 25–30 million years: it is one of the oldest lakes. It is unique among large, high-latitude lakes, because its sediments have not been scoured by overriding continental ice sheets. U.S. and Russian studies of core sediment in the 1990s gave a detailed record of climatic variation over the past 250,000 years. Longer and deeper sediment cores are expected soon. Lake Baikal is the only confined freshwater lake in which evidence of gas hydrates exists.

paragraphs: The lake is completely surrounded by mountains. The Baikal Mountains on the north shore and the taiga are protected as a national park. It has 27 islands; the largest, Olkhon, is long and is the third-largest lake-bound island in the world. The lake is fed by as many as 330 inflowing rivers. It is drained through a single outlet, the Angara River.

paragraphs: Despite its great depth, the lake's waters are well-mixed and well-oxygenated throughout the water column, compared to the stratification that occurs in such bodies of water as Lake Tanganyika and the Black Sea.

paragraphs: Lake Baikal has over 1000 species of plants and 1550 species and varieties of animals. Over 60% of animals are endemic; that means of 52 species of fish 27 are endemic.

paragraphs: The omul fish ("Coregonus autumnalis migratorius") is local to Lake Baikal. It is fished, smoked, and sold on all markets around the lake. For many travellers on the Trans-Siberian railway, purchasing smoked omul is one of the highlights of the long journey.

paragraphs: Baikal also hosts a species of seals, Baikal seal or "nerpa".

paragraphs: Bears and deer can be watched and hunted by Baikal coasts.

paragraphs: In 1986, Baikalskyi and Barguzinskyi became Biosphere Reserves. The ecosystems are part of UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme.


title: Omul

paragraphs: The omul is a kind of fish. It belongs to the same family as the trout and the salmon. It only lives in Lake Baikal and the rivers around it (the Angara for example. It is very typical for that region of Siberia).


title: Salmon

paragraphs: Salmon is a kind of teleost fish. There are many different kinds of salmon. Salmon belong to the same family of fish as the trout. Most kinds of salmon live in salt water, or migrate between rivers and the sea. Many people like to eat salmon, so the fish is also grown in fish farms. Usual ways to make food out of salmon are smoking, cold smoking and graving. Salmon are killed by people, other fish and their environment.


title: Wild turkey

paragraphs: The wild turkey ("Meleagris gallopavo") is the name of the more common of the two species of turkey. This large bird is found across much of the United States and southern Canada.

paragraphs: Wild turkeys prefer hardwood and mixed conifer-hardwood forests with scattered openings such as pastures, fields, orchards and seasonal marshes. They can adapt to any dense plant community so long as there is cover and openings to fly out. Open, mature forests with a variety of tree species seem to be best.

paragraphs: The "domesticated turkey" has been tamed and bred from wild turkeys, by people, to raise on farms.


title: Ocellated Turkey

paragraphs: An ocellated turkey ("Meleagris ocellata") is a turkey (a large bird) that is named for the eye-like spots on the tail feathers ("ocellated" means having eye-like spots). It is similar to the wild turkey that is found more to the north in North America.


title: Drenthe

paragraphs: Drenthe (pronounce: "DREN-te") is a province in the northeast of the Netherlands. The capital city is Assen. South of it is Overijssel, west of it is Friesland and north of it is Groningen. East of it is Lower Saxony, that is a part of Germany.

paragraphs: Thousands of years ago, there were already people in Drenthe. Around 3500 BC people made dolmens ("hunebedden"), piles of big stones. 53 of the 54 dolmens in the Netherlands are in Drenthe. Most of them are in the northeast of the province.

paragraphs: The oldest paper with the name Drenthe on it is from 820. It was called "Pago Treanth" (district Drenthe). Papers from 1024 and 1025 show that is was a county at that time.

paragraphs: From 1046 until 1528, the bishops of Utrecht ruled over Drenthe. From 1581 until 1795 it was part of the Republic of the Seven United Provinces, but Drenthe itself was not a province. In 1796, under the Batavian Republic, Drenthe was a province for the first time.

paragraphs: In the Second World War, the nazis build a concentration camp near Westerbork. From there, they put Dutch Jews on the train to other camps in Germany and Poland. In the last train from Westerbork was also Anne Frank. She was a Jewish girl and she wrote a diary. She died in the concentration camp Bergen-Belsen in Germany. After the war her diary became world famous.

paragraphs: Location of the municipalities of Drenthe.

paragraphs: The most important cities are Assen (the capital), Emmen, Meppel and Hoogeveen. In Drenthe there is many heathland.

paragraphs: In Drenthe many people speak Low Saxon dialects. The dialects in Drenthe are called "Drents". These dialects are different in each town or village.


title: D-Day (military term)

paragraphs: D-Day is a term used in military planning to mean the actual day a major operation or event is to begin. The days leading up to a D-Day are called D-1, D-2, D-3, etc. This allows scheduling a sequence of events before the start date is chosen. The days after a D-Day are D+1, D+2, D+3, and so on.

paragraphs: Several different days in military history were named D-Day. However, the most famous D-Day was the Normandy landings during Operation Overlord. This was on the morning of June 6, 1944, when the largest naval attack in military history took place. It was in France during World War II. "Operation Overlord was" led by American General Dwight D. Eisenhower. The Allies (Britain, Canada, and America in this case), breached the Normandy coastline. They broke through the German fortification chain, the Atlantic Wall. It was a turning point in World War II, though over 3,500 men were lost.

paragraphs: The invasion started with airborne landings at 3:30 AM, and the seaborne invasion started at 6:30 AM and took 19 hours. Operation Overlord was planned for months, and was scheduled for June 5, but was delayed due to bad weather. In the next several months the Allies fought in France and took various useful ports such as Caen, and later Paris. After less than a year, the Allies entered Nazi Germany, and Germany surrendered.

paragraphs: An invasion of southern France was intended to start at the same time, but there were not enough landing craft for both. Its actual D-Day was August 15.


title: Ishpeming, Michigan

paragraphs: Ishpeming is a city in Marquette County, Michigan, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total of 6,686 people living in it. There used to be more people in the 1950s and 1960s, when the iron ore mines were in full operation.

paragraphs: The city has a total area of 24.0 km² (9.2 mi²). 22.5 km² (8.7 mi²) of it is land and 1.5 km² (0.6 mi²) of it (6.16%) is water. Ishpeming is 1436 feet above sea level.

paragraphs: The movie "Anatomy of a Murder" was filmed in Ishpeming and areas around it in 1959.

paragraphs: Ishpeming was also the birthplace of aviation engineer Clarence "Kelly" Johnson in 1910 and Nobel prize winning chemist Glenn T. Seaborg in 1912.

paragraphs: Ishpeming is considered the birthplace of downhill ski jumping in the United States and is the home to the National Ski Hall of Fame.


title: Humphrey Bogart

paragraphs: Humphrey Bogart (December 25, 1895 - January 14, 1957) was an American actor. He is nominated for three Academy Awards on each movies, including "Casablanca", "The African Queen" and "The Caine Mutiny".


title: Funk

paragraphs: Funk is a type of music from the United States that was developed in the 1960s by African American musicians and singers such as James Brown, Sly and the Family Stone, George Clinton, and The Meters. Funk music emphasizes the rhythm of the music. Funk music is dance music that mixes rhythm and blues music with soul music.

paragraphs: Funk bands use many rhythm instruments, such as electric guitar, bass guitar, drums, and keyboard instruments, mainly synthesizers and electronic organs. Funk bands also have people who play horns, including saxophones, trumpets, and trombones.

paragraphs: In funk music, the electric bass has a more important role than in other styles of popular music. Many funk songs are based on a strong bass line (melody) played by the electric bass player. Well-known funk bass players include Bootsy Collins, Louis Johnson and Larry Graham of Sly & the Family Stone. Larry Graham invented a new style of electric bass playing called "slap bass technique." With this technique, the bass player slaps and plucks the strings to create a strong rhythm.

paragraphs: The United States singer and musician James Brown was one of the first funk musicians. James Brown recorded a song in 1965 called "papa's got a brand new bag" which is considered the first funk song. Other musical groups copied the rhythms and musical style developed by James Brown and his band. A band called The Meters played funk music in New Orleans. The Meters had hit songs such as "Sophisticated Cissy" and "Cissy Strut" in 1969. Another funk group, The Isley Brothers, had a hit song in 1969 called "It's Your Thing".

paragraphs: In the 1980s, funk music changed. Funk musicians began using electronic instruments such as synthesizer keyboards and electronic drum machines instead of electric bass, electric organ, trumpets, saxophones, and drums. Rick James had hits in the 1980s with funk songs such as "Give It To Me Baby" and "Super Freak." The band Queen had funk songs such as "Another One Bites The Dust." The musician and singer Prince had hit songs.

paragraphs: Some major names of early 80s funk include: Cameo, Zapp, The Gap Band, The Bar-Kays, and The Dazz Band.

paragraphs: In the later 1980s, two new styles of funk developed called "funk rock" and funk metal. These styles of music mixed funk music with rock and metal music. Funk rock and funk metal bands include Red Hot Chili Peppers, Living Colour, Jane's Addiction, Prince, Urban Dance Squad,Primus, Fishbone, Faith No More and Rage Against the Machine.

paragraphs: Funk music influenced 1980s hip hop music. Many hip hop musicians use funk songs by James Brown or George Clinton to compose new hip hop songs.

paragraphs: In the 1990s and 2000s, funk rock bands included Outkast, and Van Hunt. As well, 1990s and 2000s hip hop musicians continue to use funk songs by James Brown or George Clinton to compose new hip hop songs.


title: Great white shark

paragraphs: The great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) is a species of shark. It is the world's largest living predatory fish. Mature sharks may grow up to in length and in weight. There also have been a few reports of great white sharks measuring over . This shark reaches its sexual maturity around 15 years of age. The lifespan of a great white shark may be as long as 70 years or more. Great white sharks can accelerate to speeds over .

paragraphs: Great white sharks have about 300 teeth, arranged in many rows. The first two rows of the teeth are used for grabbing and cutting the animals they eat, while the other teeth in the last rows replace the front teeth when they are broken, worn down, or when they fall out. The teeth have the shape of a triangle with jags on the edges. Great white sharks are carnivores. The great white sharks is an apex predator. It hunts fish, seals, sea lions, seagulls, penguins, squid, octopuses, dolphins, small whales, crabs, shrimps, stingrays, sea turtles and other sharks.

paragraphs: The great white shark has no natural predators other than the killer whale. Some orcas have discovered they can paralyse the shark by flipping it upside-down. Then they hold the shark still with their mouth, and that suffocates it (sharks get oxygen by moving through the water).

paragraphs: The bestselling novel "Jaws" by Peter Benchley and the film by Steven Spielberg show the great white shark as a "ferocious human eater". In real life, humans are not the preferred food of the great white shark. However, of all shark species, the great white shark has the second largest number of fatal unprovoked attacks on humans.

paragraphs: The great white shark is a shark and a type of cartilaginous fish belonging to a biological class known as Chondrichthyes. These fish are jawed vertebrates with paired fins, paired nares, scales, a heart with its chambers in series, and a skeleton made of cartilage not bone. These sharks are also known as Lamniformes, which is an order of sharks commonly referred to as Mackerel Sharks. This species of shark possess two dorsal fins, an anal fin, five gill slits and a mouth extended behind the eyes.

paragraphs: The great white shark is one of nature’s most deadly carnivores, and is distinguishable by its jaws and many sharp teeth. The difference is the ability for both the shark’s jaws to move when ambushing its prey. It will first bite with the lower jaw to sink its teeth in, then closes the upper jaw and begins thrashing its head repeatedly to tear off chunks of flesh . Its mouth may contain as many as 3, 000 teeth at one time, sitting in five rows with the largest set in the front. In the event a tooth is lost, another comes forward from a stash of backup teeth embedded in the shark’s jaws.

paragraphs: In addition to the teeth and jaws of great white sharks, their senses have greatly adapted to sharpen their skills as hunters. Their sense of smell is most accurate and great whites can detect a single drop of blood in ten billion drops of water. They possess an “ear stone” which helps the animal position itself in the water depending on the direction it is swimming. Sharks also utilize excellent vision with retinas divided into two areas for daylight and nighttime swimming, and protect them by rolling them backwards into the skull before biting. One of their most interesting senses relates to their touch and electro-reception. A series of pores in the shark’s nose allow them to detect electromagnetic fields and sense animal vibrations in the water, as well as accurately navigate through the open ocean.

paragraphs: The great white becomes an adult about nine years after its birth. The growth of the great white shark is about 25-30 centimetres per year and they grow to an average size of 4.5 meters. The largest can be as much as 6.4 meters in length. Their liver, a delicacy to killer whales, can weigh up to about 24 percent of its own body weight.

paragraphs: Great white sharks live in the sea. They live near the coast, in all warm waters. They occasionally make dives into the deep water of open oceans. They can be in water as shallow as three feet deep. The deepest scientists have seen a shark dive is about 1200 meters (4000 feet). That is down into the bathypelagic zone, where there is no sunlight.

paragraphs: Research has shown that the sharks of northern California are genetically different to other shark populations. DNA evidence shows the population separated from other great whites about 200,000 years ago (during the Pleistocene Era). By tagging the sharks they also learned that they are generally alone, but follow the same route through the ocean, and stay in the same places. From January to July they live near Hawaii, and then move to Californian waters between August and December.

paragraphs: Sharks have been on Earth much longer than humans, which is one reason why humans are not part of their diet. Most scientists think sharks do not like the way humans taste.

paragraphs: Some people think that humans are not good food for great white sharks, because the human body has a lot more bone and less muscle and fat than the shark likes. Some scientists think sharks attack humans because they have mistaken the human for a seal or sea lion. Seals and sea lions have blubber, which the shark likes. Other scientists think sharks' senses are good enough to tell that the human is not a seal. They think sharks do not know what the human is and bite it to learn more.

paragraphs: Usually, the shark bites the human once and then swims away for a while. Sometimes the shark will bite off a leg or arm, but usually the bite is just a bite. Sometimes there is no tissue loss at all (nothing bitten off). Deaths in such cases are generally caused by loss of blood from the first wound. In cases where attacks have occurred and the victim has been unable to escape quickly, partial or whole consumption has occurred; lone divers are especially at risk of this. Scientists are not sure why this is but they have some ideas.

paragraphs: Sharks are very curious but they do not have whiskers or hands or tentacles like other animals. To learn more about an object, a shark has to either bump into it or bite it. Sharks' teeth and mouths are very sensitive. When sharks see a new object, for example, a surfboard, they bite it to know what kind of object it might be.

paragraphs: It is also possible that human behavior and shark behavior just don't match. In the 1980s, John McCasker proposed the Bite and Spit hypothesis. McCasker said that a shark will attack dangerous prey like an elephant seal by biting it once and then letting go. The shark then swims away to wait for the prey to bleed to death before going back to eat its body. But when a shark bites a human once, the human's friends come and help them out of the water. Maybe the shark would finish eating the human, but it does not get the chance. But sharks usually attack seal-sized (or human-sized) prey in one strong bite from underneath, so people are not sure if McCasker's idea is right.

paragraphs: Wildlife Journal Junior. (2020)."Chondrichthyes - Rays, Sharks, Skates, Chimaeras". Explore the Natural World. Available from: https://nhpbs.org/wild/chondrichthyes.asp.


title: Cary Grant

paragraphs: Cary Grant (January 18, 1904 - November 29, 1986), born as Archibald Alexander Leach in Bristol, United Kingdom, was an actor in the United States. He starred in many movies, including 1959's "North by Northwest".

paragraphs: Grant became an American citizen in 1942. At that time, he legally changed his name to "Cary Grant." He died of a stroke on November 29, 1986. His body was cremated.


title: Emotion

paragraphs: Emotions are what people feel. They are very ancient, and can be seen in all mammals.

paragraphs: Emotions are caused by a complex mixture of hormones and the unconscious mind. Only with great difficulty can we control our emotions by conscious effort. They cause mammals to change behaviour according to changes in their situation. In our case they sometimes run against our attempt to live our lives in a logical way.

paragraphs: A scientific definition is not simple; over 90 definitions have been offered by experts. A definition of emotion needs to includes three things:

paragraphs: In physical terms, emotions involve body systems which have operated for hundreds of millions of years. These are the hormone system, the autonomic nervous system and the 'lower' brain centres (hindbrain and midbrain).

paragraphs: The study of emotions became one of Darwin's books after "The Descent of Man". He published "The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals" in 1873. He had discovered, by sending letters and a list of questions worldwide, that in different societies emotions were expressed in almost the same way.

paragraphs: If so, the mechanisms which made the expressions must be inherited. They must have been developed in the same way as all other features of man, evolution by natural selection. It was already known from anatomy that the muscles and nerves of the face were the same or similar in all humans.

paragraphs: Darwin illustrated the expression of the emotions with a series of photographs and woodcut illustrations. Ekman did the same thing on a research visit to New Guinea, where he asked villagers to identify the emotions shown in the photographs. This was part of a long-term effort to test and extend Darwin's insights into emotions. Some of Ekman's conclusions are:


title: Dyslexia

paragraphs: Dyslexia is a learning disability, a condition that makes it difficult to learn and understand things in the same way others do. It is a very common problem and has an effect on the way our brain understands words. The most common signs of dyslexia are reading and writing problems. Estimates are that in the United States between 5 and 9% of school children have dyslexia, though estimates go as high as 50%.

paragraphs: A person can have dyslexia even if he or she is very smart or educated. Recent studies show there are many small business owners that have dyslexia; between 35 and 50 percent of U.S. and British entrepreneurs are affected. Researchers think many dyslexic entrepreneurs are successful because they can delegate responsibilities (of writing letters) and still be good at speaking.

paragraphs: At the end of the 19th century, scientists did a lot of research about dyslexia and found some of the reasons that people are dyslexic. A professor who did research in the 1980s and 1990s looked at the brains of dyslexic people who had died. He found that some parts of the brain were not connected very well, and that this happened during the fourth month of pregnancy. This problem has a big effect on the left half of the brain. The newest research shows that three genes are the reason for dyslexia.

paragraphs: One thing that causes dyslexia is a problem with the central hearing nerve. This problem can not be found with a normal hearing test, so a special doctor has to do special tests to find it. It means that people with heavy dyslexia are sensitive to loud noise, may have problems speaking, and may not be able to concentrate. It may also cause problems with rhythm and melody of music.

paragraphs: Many people who have dyslexia also have other mental disorders, especially attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

paragraphs: In order to tell if a child has dyslexia, he or she has to be seen by a doctor. A child can be called dyslexic if he or she cannot read or write well and there is no other reason for the problem. Doctors are trying to create early tests to help find out whether a child has dyslexia before they are old enough to go to school. If this happens, a child can start to be treated very early, and they may have fewer problems at school. Many well-known people have dyslexia, including: Stephen Hawking, Jamie Oliver, Whoopi Goldberg, Ozzy Osbourne, Jay Leno, John de Lancie, Keira Knightley, Susan Hampshire, Orlando Bloom, Keanu Reeves, Richard Branson, Henry Winkler, Patrick Dempsey, Albert Einstein, and Tom Cruise. These people though continue to thrive with their work.

paragraphs: Children with dyslexia can be helped. One way teachers help dyslexic students is to break words into different sounds. The student must learn how to write the different sounds and create words. This helps with reading and writing. Some people think that dyslexic children can read and write better if they put pieces of colored paper on top of what they are reading.


title: AK-47

paragraphs: The AK-47 is a Russian assault rifle first used in 1949. It and an updated version called the AKM were used by the Soviet Union's military (which was called the Soviet Army). It was later replaced by the AK-74.

paragraphs: The AK-47 was designed in 1947 by Mikhail Kalashnikov.

paragraphs: The AK-47 quickly became famous and spread all around the world because it was simple to fire, clean and maintain, and also because of its reliability, meaning that it can be fired for a long time without jamming. The AK-47 and its successors continue to be used by many of the world's armies. Many terrorist and insurgent groups also use the AK-47. It is a cheap, reliable, and easy-to-use weapon. The AK-47 was also available with a folding stock, the AKS-47, and a shortened version with the AKS74 folding stock, the AKMSU (used by armoured vehicle crews), although this was soon replaced by the AKS74U, which fires the 5.45 cartridge of the AK-74. There was also a light machine gun variant with a longer barrel and different shaped stock called the RPK.

paragraphs: The Russian military liked the AK's design so much that it was even used to design other types of weapons as well, including the Dragunov sniper rifle and the Saiga-12 semi-automatic shotgun.

paragraphs: The AK-47 uses gas-operated reloading. When the bullet is moved down the barrel, a little bit of the gas behind the bullet is made to go up a small tube that pushes away the bolt. The shooter does not have to reload by hand for every shot - the gun reloads by itself. When you pull the trigger, the bullet in the chamber fires. You then release and then pull the trigger again to fire another round. When used this way, it is called a semi-automatic firearm. A few AK-47's are made to be used only this way but most are fully automatic firearms.

paragraphs: In the pro-communist states, the AK-47 became a symbol of the Third World revolution.

paragraphs: They were used in the Cambodian Civil War and the Cambodian–Vietnamese War. During the 1980s, the Soviet Union became the principal arms dealer to countries embargoed by Western nations. This included Middle Eastern nations such as Iran, Libya, and Syria, which welcomed Soviet Union backing against Israel. After the end of the Soviet Union (1989/90), AK-47s were sold openly and on the black market to any group with cash, including drug cartels and dictatorial states. More recently they have been seen in the hands of Islamic groups such as Al-Qaeda, ISIL, and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Iraq, and FARC, Ejército de Liberación Nacional guerrillas in Colombia.

paragraphs: The proliferation of this weapon is shown by more than just numbers. The AK-47 is included in the flag of Mozambique, an acknowledgment that the country gained its independence in large part through the effective use of their AK-47s. It is also found in the coats of arms of East Timor and the revolution era Burkina Faso, as well as in the flags of Hezbollah, FARC-EP, the New People's Army in the Phillipines, TKP/TIKKO and other "Revolutionary Peoples" groups.


title: Colima

paragraphs: Colima is a state in west Mexico. About 760,000 people live there. Its capital is also called Colima.


title: Peter Jackson

paragraphs: Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961, Wellington, New Zealand) is a New Zealand film director. He is most widely known for directing "The Lord of the Rings" film trilogy. He also directed the 2005 film, "King Kong".

paragraphs: In 2003, Jackson won three Academy Awards for "": Academy Award for Directing, Academy Award for Best Picture and Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay.


title: Valencia

paragraphs: Valencia is a city in Spain, on the Mediterranean coast. It is the capital of the Community of Valencia. It has 807,396 people, making it the third-largest city in Spain and the fifteenth in the European Union.

paragraphs: Valencia's climate is on the boundary of hot semi-arid ("Bsh" in the Koeppen climate classification) and hot-summer Mediterranean ("Csa" in the Koeppen climate classification).


title: Murcia

paragraphs: Murcia is the capital of the autonomous community of Murcia, in Spain, and its biggest city, with a population of 410,000 in the city and more than 740,000 in the metropolitan area. The municipality is the seventh largest in Spain.

paragraphs: The city is in the Segura Valley, in an area called la "Huerta de Murcia", which is a very important agricultural center with oranges, lemons, tomatoes, onions, etc.; the varied fruits and vegetables typical of the Mediterranean lands. It has a hot semi-arid climate ("BSh" in the Koeppen climate classification). The city has a Baroque cathedral and a university.