title: Dominica

paragraphs: The Commonwealth of Dominica is an island nation in the Caribbean Sea. It is an English-speaking country. It is between the French-speaking territories of Guadeloupe and Martinique. The island is 751 km² (290 mi²) in area. Roseau is its capital. Portsmouth is another main town. Almost 70,000 people live on the island.

paragraphs: The currency of the island is the East Caribbean dollar.

paragraphs: The island's name comes from the Latin for Sunday, "Dies Dominica". It is not the Spanish-speaking Dominican Republic in the Greater Antilles.

paragraphs: The country is nicknamed the "Nature Island of the Caribbean".

paragraphs: Dominica is most famously depicted in Jean Rhys' classic prequel to "Jane Eyre", "Wide Sargasso Sea".

paragraphs: The indigenous Carib people lived in Dominca before it was found by Europeans. They called it "Wai‘tu kubuli", which means "Tall is her body."

paragraphs: Christopher Columbus came to Dominica in 1493. In 1763, it became a territory of the United Kingdom from which its independence was received on 3 November 1978.

paragraphs: In August 1979, Hurricane David, wiped out its entire infrastructure. On 21 November 2004, the island was hit by its most destructive earthquake in history; Portsmouth and the northern area were deeply affected.

paragraphs: On 18 September 2018, Hurricane Maria, the most powerful storm to hit the island, severely damaged its infrastructure and cut off all its communications to the outside world. The Assessment Capacities Project estimates that the hurricane has caused $1.37 billion in losses across the island, which is equal to 226 percent of its 2016 GDP. As of April 12, there are 65 fatalities confirmed across the island, including 34 who are missing and presumed to be dead.

paragraphs: In 1980, Dame Eugenia Charles became its prime minister, the first female government leader in the West Indies.

paragraphs: Dominica is an island nation in the Caribbean Sea. It is the northernmost of the Windward Islands.

paragraphs: Dominica is largely covered by rainforest. It is home to the world's second-largest hot spring, Boiling Lake.

paragraphs: Morne Trois Pitons National Park is a tropical forest with scenic volcanic features. It was recognised as a World Heritage Site on 4 April 1995.

paragraphs: Dominica is divided into 10 parishes, given below with their 2011 Census populations:

paragraphs: Cricket is a popular sport on the island. Dominica competes in test cricket as part of the West Indies cricket team.

paragraphs: Netball, basketball, rugby, tennis and association football are gaining popularity as well.


title: Playing card

paragraphs: Playing cards is the name for the 54 cards used in card games like poker, bridge, blackjack, solitaire, and Go Fish.

paragraphs: There are 52 basic cards in a deck (not including the jokers). These cards have a suit and a number (called the value or rank). There are 4 suits and 13 ranks in each suit. There are also two Jokers that do not have a suit or a rank.

paragraphs: Usual signs: spades (♠), hearts (♥), diamonds (♦), clubs (♣).

paragraphs: In some countries different suit signs may be used. In central Europe, there are cards with the suit signs of acorns, leaves, hearts, and bells. In Spain, Italy and Latin America, there are playing cards with the suits of clubs, swords, cups, and coins and Aces

paragraphs: For many games, the Jokers are removed from the deck, making the total number of cards in the deck 52. Sometimes the deck is reduced to 40, 36, or 32 cards for playing certain games, like belote, sheepshead or euchre.

paragraphs: There are various types of tarot cards. Tarots are commonly used for fortune-telling, although they can also be used for playing games. Conversely, people have also used standard playing cards for fortune-telling.

paragraphs: Playing cards have been found in 9th century China, Tang dynasty.

paragraphs: Playing cards first entered Europe in the early 14th century, probably from Egypt. The suits were very similar to the tarot suits of Swords, Staves, Cups and Coins. These designs are still used in traditional Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese card decks.

paragraphs: The first documentary evidence is from Vitoria-Gasteiz (now Spain) in 1334, in which the Knights of the Band are forbidden to play cards. The next record is from Catalonia in 1371.

paragraphs: Wide use of playing cards in Europe can be traced from 1377 onwards.

paragraphs: The method of making cards has stayed the same for over a century. Cards are two thin pieces of paper stuck together with black paste. Both outer sides are printed. Inside is the design of the card face, the outer is the design for the pack as a whole. The black paste is essential to prevent sight of the face coming through when light shines on the face side. The use of the paste is the reason cards are sometimes called "pasteboards".

paragraphs: One or two packs at a time are printed on large sheets of paper, already pasted. The individual cards are stamped out by a machine which acts like a cookie-cutter. It cuts 36,000 cards per hour. A tiny fraction of a second later the edges of the cards are squashed extra-thin. This is not obvious to the naked eye, but the effect is that the cards slide easily past each other during shuffling.

paragraphs: Printed paper cards hold about 97.5% of the world market. Plastic cards do exist: they were first invented in the 1930s. They last longer than papercards, but have only 2.5% of the market.


title: Emperor

paragraphs: An emperor is a male who rules an empire. The word is taken from the Latin language "imperator". Often it is capitalized.

paragraphs: A woman who comes to power in an empire is called an "empress". The wife of an emperor is also called empress. An emperor or empress is often a hereditary monarch and comes to power when one of his parents, or relatives, dies. In some countries, people elected a new emperor from candidates.

paragraphs: The only emperor in the world today is the Emperor of Japan ("tennō"), but he lacks political power. The true leaders of Japan are the Diet and Prime Minister because the country is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy.

paragraphs: The English word comes from Latin, the language of the old Roman Empire. At first, an "imperator" was a powerful general (army leader) but, after Augustus, it was only used by their most powerful rulers. There have been many countries in history whose leaders are called "emperor" in English. The leaders of the Byzantine Empire ("basileus", "autokrator") in Greece, the Holy Roman Empire ("imperator", "Kaiser") in Germany, Russian Empire ("tsar"), and the Ottoman Empire ("sultan", "padishah", "khagan", "kaysar") in Turkey all said they were just new parts of the old Roman Empire.

paragraphs: The leaders of other countries who said they ruled the whole world or called themselves "king of kings" are frequently also called emperors in English. For example, the old rulers of China ("huangdi"), and Ethiopia ("negusa negast") are all known as emperors in English. There have also been emperors of France, Germany, and Mexico and the rulers of the United Kingdom called themselves the emperors and empresses of India for a while.


title: Palmdale, California

paragraphs: Palmdale is the largest city in the desert area of California. It is a suburb of Los Angeles. It has a population of 147,897 and is the 6th largest city in Los Angeles County. It is one of the fastest growing cities in the United States, currently the 25th fastest. It has a population of 589,043 if you include the suburbs around it.

paragraphs: Even though Palmdale is in Los Angeles County, it is not connected to the larger Los Angeles population area. It is separated from it by a mountain range called the San Gabriel Mountains that are over 40 miles wide and almost 2 miles high overall.

paragraphs: Palmdale is the home of several airplanes used by NASA and the Air Force, giving it the nickname of ""the aerospace capital of America.""

paragraphs: Palmdale is the largest city in the United States without a hospital.

paragraphs: Palmdale Airport will have one airline called United Airlines that flies to San Francisco, California everyday starting in June 2007.

paragraphs: The city's demographics is primarily Mexican and white.

paragraphs: In 1886, when land in the Antelope Valley sold for 50 cents an acre, a group of 50 Swiss and German families migrated from the Midwest and settled in what is now known as Palmdale. They named their new community “Palmenthal” because they had mistaken the native Joshua trees for palm trees.

paragraphs: The high desert community of Palmdale has rich agricultural roots and a unique aviation history.

paragraphs: The City of Palmdale celebrated its 50th anniversary of incorporation on Aug. 24, 2012. It has consistently been one of the fastest-growing cities in California and in the country. Since 1980, Palmdale’s population has soared from 12,277 to 158,605. Despite its growth, Palmdale continues to cherish the small-town values of a family-oriented community while enjoying all of the conveniences of its booming retail and commercial sectors.

paragraphs: In 1772 Captain Pedro Fages, a Spanish soldier in pursuit of deserting sailors, crossed the southern part of the Antelope Valley into Leona Valley.

paragraphs: After the Shoshone Indians left the valley, immigrants from Spain and Mexico established large cattle ranches there.


title: Fresno, California

paragraphs: Fresno is the largest inland city in U.S. state of California. It has a population of 451,455. If the surrounding suburbs are included, it has a population of 983,788. It is the county seat of Fresno County, in the Central Valley.

paragraphs: Fresno is the closest major city to Yosemite National Park. Fresno has a major airport called Fresno Yosemite International Airport that has many flights by many airlines everyday. It was the first airport to use the new security systems made after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

paragraphs: Fresno has a semi-arid climate ("Bsh" in the Koeppen climate classification).


title: Popeye

paragraphs: Popeye the Sailor is one of the most popular cartoon characters of all time. He first appeared in a comic strip called "Thimble Theatre" by E.C. Segar in 1929. Popeye is a sailor who smokes a pipe and mutters things under his breath. He has only one eye, he is short and uneducated, but when trouble occurs, usually saving his girlfriend, Olive Oyl from his nemesis, Bluto/Brutus, he eats a can of spinach, and gets super-strength.

paragraphs: Over the years, He also appeared in a series of cartoons made for movie theatres by Paramount Pictures, comic books, arcade, video games, hundreds of advertisements, peripheral products (ranging from spinach to candy cigarettes). The character has been voiced by William "Billy" Costello, Jack Mercer, Floyd Buckley, Harry Welch, Mae Questel, Allen Swift, Maurice La Marche, Billy West and Tom Kenny, and in the 1980 live-action film directed by Robert Altman, starring comedian Robin Williams as Popeye. In 2002, "TV Guide" ranked Popeye #20 on its "50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time" list.

paragraphs: Popeye was created by E. C. Segar and was inspired by a man Segar knew in Chester, Illinois: Frank "Rocky" Fiegel. Popeye would make his debut in the January 17, 1929 "Thimble Theatre" strip "Dice Island" as a rough sailor for hire. While originally introduced as a minor character (with the actual star of the strips then being Castor Oyl), Popeye's popularity eventually grew to the point where he became the main character of "Thimble Theatre", with the strip now focusing on his adventures and hijinks. Initially, Popeye was portrayed as a very strong and seemingly uneducated but very savvy sailor who would gain extraordinary luck and resilience when he rubbed the magical Whiffle Hen Bernice, but by 1932, he began to favor spinach, crediting it as a healthy source of strength. As the strips started focusing more on Popeye, he began to form a relationship with Castor's sister Olive Oyl after she had left her previous boyfriend Ham Gravy, and the two would eventually go on to become one of the most recognizable couples in cartoon history.

paragraphs: After Popeye's run in the original "Thimble Theatre", he would return as the main character in the 1948 comic book series by E. C. Segar's assistant Bud Sagendorf, which combined elements from both the original "Thimble Theatre" and the Fleischer Studios cartoons. His comic book appearances would continue for decades until the title's end in 1984.

paragraphs: Popeye's huge popularity led him to be adapted into animation, which would only be loosely based on "Thimble Theatre" due to the limited length of the theatrical shorts at the time keeping them from making proper full-length adaptations of the "Thimble Theatre" sagas, which resulted in the shorts being episodic. The huge success of the first "Popeye the Sailor" cartoon (which originally started as a part of the Betty Boop shorts) would ensure a long-running series of independent theatrical shorts for the now famous sailor. In the various cartoons by Fleischer Studios, he would usually have to rescue his girlfriend Olive Oyl from Bluto, his rival and sometimes friend or go on a daring adventure with Olive and his good friend J. Wellington Wimpy. Some of the cartoons take a different recurring approach, like him rescuing Olive from another threat, dealing with something alone, fighting a small enemy he cannot beat, or watching over his adopted son Swee'Pea. As these theatrical shorts deviated from Segar's strips quite a bit, many characters from the comic never made an appearance or only appeared once (like Castor Oyl and the Goons). However, other characters like J. Wellington Wimpy (who sometimes served as Popeye's sidekick), Poopdeck Pappy and, more rarely, Oscar would make semi-regular appearances in the shorts. Eugene the Jeep also made some appearances but would not be used as often as the above. George W. Geezil also made only two appearances alongside Popeye. Many of these cartoons mostly focused on Popeye's adventures and antics along with Olive and occasionally Wimpy as they tried to resist the antagonistic Bluto. While not appearing as a sailor very often (as Popeye was usually portrayed with a number of odd jobs) the stories in the cartoons would involve his brawling escapades or his adventures in certain areas of the world while doing impressive feats and preserving Olive's safety and their relationship.

paragraphs: During the World War II-era animated shorts, Popeye was a member of the U.S. Navy and his outfit was changed to a white Navy suit, and he would continue to look like this in animation from the 1940s through to the 1960s. During Fleischer Studios's final years of operations, the shorts they produced were WWII stories focusing on Popeye's heroic attempts to help America fight the enemy, mostly the Japanese and Germans. The cartoons with these battle scenes have often been banned from television for being considered too "politically incorrect."

paragraphs: Also, in the 1940s shorts, Popeye gained four nephews named Pipeye, Peepeye, Poopeye and Pupeye, who originally debuted in an earlier short within a dream sequence as his children, before being made recurring and turned into his nephews. However, their exact relation to Popeye remains unclear, and the parent of his nephews has never been properly identified.

paragraphs: Following the takeover of the Popeye animated franchise by Paramount Studios in 1942, the Popeye cartoons were now handled by Famous Studios, which made drastic changes which abandoned almost all traces of "Thimble Theatre" and focused largely on plots involving Popeye, Olive, Bluto in something resembling a love triangle, without many other characters appearing and with very few shorts deviating from that setup, which involved Olive falling for Bluto and Popeye beating him after eating spinach in an oft-repeated formula. Also of note are Famous Studios' remakes of Fleischer cartoons (such as "Goonland", itself a loose "Thimble Theatre" adaptation), heavily changed by Famous to remove all traces of Segar creations outside of Popeye, Bluto and Olive, i.e. "Popeye's Pappy" replacing "Goonland"'s Goons with what might be considered racial caricatures of Africans led by a Bluto-like cannibal, with the only thing in common between the two versions being the rescue of Pappy - who would go on to make only two more appearances after this (one of which contradicted the established fact that he left his son shortly after his birth). Supporting characters who were notable friends of Popeye and even had several appearances in Fleischer cartoons, such as Wimpy, Pappy and Swee'Pea, were featured less than a handful of times: Wimpy only appeared in three shorts (aside from flashback-oriented stories) and others such as Eugene the Jeep never appeared at all. Popeye's role as an adventuring sailor was also reduced to a point where he was barely ever seen at sea or in the Navy other than in a few shorts mostly from the war period, as the majority of stories preferred to avoid doing more adventurous and fantastical stories and focus on Popeye's everyday life, his vacation hijinks or the "love triangle" setup.

paragraphs: Popeye's portrayal in the animated adaptation (such as the theatrical cartoons and especially the Famous outings) has alternately been criticized for giving him a single means to solve all of life's problems (unlike in the older strips), or praised for bringing children to eat healthy. This reliance was most exaggerated in the short "How Green Is My Spinach," which presented Popeye as being helpless without spinach (and portrayed other vegetables as ineffective), spoofing the cartoons's own formula but at the same time providing a rather questionable message.

paragraphs: In the fifties, Popeye's cartoon catalog was sold by the Paramount studio to Associated Artists Productions for broadcast on television. Animated shows were also made for television in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

paragraphs: In 1960, the first "Popeye the Sailor" animated television series was produced for first-run syndication which proved successful. Like the earlier theatrical cartoon series, it would use many elements that were already well known, mostly the basic storyline of Popeye trying to keep his sweetheart Olive safe from the hands of other male suitors while using spinach to remain fit and healthy. Unlike the theatrical shorts however (especially the Famous Studios shorts), this TV series made a more prominent attempt to bring back characters and elements from "Thimble Theatre" back to Popeye's side, such as his old friend J. Wellington Wimpy, who had been considerably absent during the Famous era, and the show even included characters who never had the chance to appear in animation, such as Popeye's old lucky charm Bernice the Whiffle Hen and even Alice the Goon, King Blozo and Rough House (yet while bringing in more "Thimble Theatre" elements, very few episodes were a direct or accurate adaptations of the strips and had no real continuity between them). Notably, the only character that failed to return was Bluto himself, who was instead replaced by his lookalike/brother Brutus, due to King Features incorrectly thinking that the former was not originally a "Thimble Theatre" character. While the show did involve Popeye's love life, episodes actually focused more on his adventuring around the world (and beyond) not unlike the Fleischer and comic strip incarnation, and also brought back other "Thimble Theatre" antagonists rather than relying solely on Brutus, like the sinister Sea Hag and Toar the caveman, who proved to be a true challenge for Popeye. As in the final Fleischer cartoons and most Famous shorts, Popeye still wore his Navy uniform, an exception being the pilot episode "Barbecue for Two", where he did wear his original outfit.

paragraphs: In 1978, Hanna-Barbera Productions, with King Features Syndicate, would produce a new "Popeye" television series, "The All-New Popeye Hour". Unlike the previous show, this series had higher-quality animation and was more akin to Segar's work and Fleischer cartoons than other Popeye animations, with Popeye more regularly seen as an adventurous sailor. Popeye's look was once again changed for this series, this time it was a permanent return to his classic outfit, however he still wore his Navy hat, making it something of a combination of both styles. The series also gave characters such as Alice the Goon more prominence, having her co-star with Olive in their own segment, "Private Olive Oyl". This show focused more on adventure than past animations: there were entirely new segments dedicated to sailing the seas and searching for adventure, as in "Popeye's Treasure Hunt". Popeye and the Sea Hag's relationship was also more accurate to the strips than the previous series, with the Hag wanting to marry Popeye, much to the latter's disgust. Oddly enough, Popeye's signature spinach can would have special effects on other characters, such as Olive and Swee'Pea, who would unusually turn into actual superheroes.

paragraphs: In 1980, a theatrical live-action movie called "Popeye" was released, featuring an original story written by Jules Pfeiffer, directed by Robert Altman, and serving as a more faithful adaptation to Segar's "Thimble Theatre." It brought almost every friend of Popeye's to the silver screen, although it showed the well-known sailor (as whom Robin McLaurin Williams starred) as having an initial aversion to spinach, and the setting took place in a port town called Sweethaven, created on the island of Malta by Altman's set decorators. It eventually went on to gross $49,823,037; more than double the film's production budget.

paragraphs: "Popeye" was produced as a musical, with original songs whose music was composed and whose lyrics were written by Harry Nilsson; however, Sammy Lerner's familiar theme for the character, "I'm Popeye the Sailor Man," was retained in the final sequence.

paragraphs: In 1987, the latest animated series focusing on Popeye was produced, entitled "Popeye and Son". The series was unique in the Popeye franchise for taking place later in Popeye's life, where he had finally married Olive Oyl, settled down and had a son of his own (a notable change considering the rarity of having well-known cartoon characters actually move on with their lives). The series shared similarities with its predecessor, "The All-New Popeye Hour", having various references to "Thimble Theatre" and other media in Popeye's history such as the theatrical film, with the cartoon taking place in Sweethaven. However, the series didn't prove as popular as its predecessors and was eventually cancelled after 13 episodes. Being the last animated Popeye series on television, it can be considered somewhat fitting that it ended at a later and happier point in Popeye's life.

paragraphs: In 2001, Popeye received a tribute show on Cartoon Network titled "The Popeye Show", which only featured classic shorts but also adding trivia info and facts about Popeye as well as occasionally showing unaltered original versions of the shorts, with the series going on to have 45 episodes.

paragraphs: In 2004, a CGI-animated TV movie titled "Popeye's Voyage: The Quest for Pappy" was produced by Mainframe Entertainment for Lions Gate Entertainment and King Features Entertainment. An attempt at a full-fledged animated theatrical film was also made by Sony Pictures Animation for release in 2012, with test animation made by Genndy Tartakovsky, yet production on this film has apparently remained on an indefinite hiatus.

paragraphs: In 2012, IDW Publishing began a brand-new Popeye comic book that primarily stays faithful to the character's original comic strip incarnation by E. C. Segar and Bud Sagendorf, and features countless throwbacks and references to Popeye's old adventures and even features the return of many (if not all) of the characters from the classic era. As the series is more faithful to Segar and Sagendorf's work, the plots of each issue follow more closely to the original format of the older comics rather than the cartoons, and the art even replicates Segar's style flawlessly. In 2013, IDW held a special crossover event where they depicted many of the settings in their comics as being invaded by the Martians from the 1962 trading card game and 1996 film "Mars Attacks", with Popeye facing off against the 1962 incarnation of the Martians in the special "Mars Attacks Popeye".

paragraphs: Popeye's unique and commonly used design is one that is immediately recognizable, being always depicted as a gruff-looking yet skinny sailor with a large cleft chin, a single eye, a mostly bald head and very large forearms with anchor tattoos, while his outfit normally consists of a black dress shirt with a red neckline and sleeves with blue edges along with blue pants, brown shoes and a sailor's cap. During his first introduction in "Thimble Theatre", Popeye's appearance was not too different from his current one, the only difference being that his nose was noticeably larger, his chin was slimmer and his forearms were less round and more angular (and also a bit hairy), but as Segar's talent continued to grow, the design would change to match the well known sailor seen today. This design would be his most iconic and most used depiction used in many media, and most notably the first piece of Popeye animated media by Fleischer Studios.

paragraphs: Following the attack of Pearl Harbor in 1941 by the Japanese which made the US take part in World War II, Popeye's design remained unchanged, however, in the cartoons he was now made a member of the U. S. Navy and given the appropriate naval attire, consisting of the standard white uniform with a black neckerchief, black shoes and a small Navy cap. He would continue to wear this outfit until the mid-1960s. During his Famous Studios run, Popeye's eyes were also slightly enlarged to look a bit more realistic rather than looking like black dots, and he was also portrayed as having two eyes in both Famous Studios and the 60s television series, which would occasionally be seen in several shorts.

paragraphs: When Bud Sagendorf began the Popeye comics in 1948, Popeye's design was changed to resemble his classic look but while still wearing his Navy cap from the war. His eyes were also changed back to their black dot appearance. His chin was also further enlarged with only a few minor changes due to Sagendorf's own unique art style. This design would continue to be used by Sagendorf's successors in Popeye comics, such as George Wildman, Bobby London and several others throughout the 70s, 80s and future newspaper comic strips depending on the artist, with Segar and Sagendorf's designs usually being interchanged. Sagendorf's design was also used in other 70s media and two cartoons, "The All-New Popeye Hour" and "Popeye and Son".

paragraphs: Since the end of "Popeye and Son," media and merchandise (outside the occasional comics) would continue to portray Popeye with his classic look or his Sagendorf design regularly, and only rarely using his Navy look.

paragraphs: Popeye's appearance is always the most difficult for cartoonists to duplicate because, as Sagendorf once pointed out, there is nothing normal about it. Sagendorf went on to admit that after approximately a year of attempting to do so as Segar's apprentice, he had to ask Segar to draw the character for him; he explained, "It turned out that if you didn't draw the eyebrows and eyes first, the nose second, the head third and the chin last, you were dead."

paragraphs: Popeye is a rough and tough sailor with a heart of gold who always does what he can for others and always doing what he thinks is best. He is brave and compassionate, as he will not back down against any foe and give them all he has got, but his compassionate nature makes it so he always tries to "defends the weakerist", as he cannot stand seeing the weak and helpless get abused. He also has a fondness for "poor dumb animals" and, similarly, cannot stand to see any animal being hurt for no reason. But he also has no patience for violent beasts who attack defenseless people or other animals for no justifiable reason, and he will be quick to turn them into mincemeat for their hotheadedness.

paragraphs: Being a sailor, he has a love for adventure and the sea, and will not pass up the chance to find new mysteries, lost treasures and grand adventures. While he is usually a treasure hunter of sorts, he is not greedy and always does his best to share with others and encourage others to do the same. Popeye has a dislike for things like monsters, ghosts and other such terrors, having faced several himself in his life time and would even pretend they do not exist, as seeing them terrifies him greatly, but he always manages to muster the courage to face off against any foe. Popeye's favorite food is spinach, and he always tries to encourage others to eat this healthy vegetable as it is a great source of "strength and vitality." He loves his sweetheart Olive Oyl dearly despite their rough start and will go to any lengths to keep her safe and make her happy, showing that he is a very chivalrous and romantic man, despite his rough, tough and gruff nature.

paragraphs: Popeye was born the son of Poopdeck Pappy and an unnamed woman in a typhoon in Santa Monica (with Popeye erroneously claiming to have been born at 2 or 3 years of age). Shortly after his birth, his father Poopdeck left home and was never seen again, and his mother's fate was unknown, leaving the young Popeye an "orphink" to be raised by an orphanage keeper who gave him the ID number of 185,764. As an infant, Popeye already had his signature pipe, presumably given to him by his father before leaving, and would only take it out of his mouth for his morning bottles of malted hardtack. As far as he could remember, little Popeye was impressed by early home training and exercised as soon as he was able, but avoided getting into serious fights until he was 4 years of age, where he had finally had enough of his orphanage keeper and let him have it. After this incident, it seemed as though Popeye's keeper became impressed with the child and decided to enter him in contests (similar to dog shows) where the young Popeye became a prize baby in many shows and always took great pride in his Bertillon measurements. Eventually, the orphan Popeye would fall on hard times upon leaving the orphanage, and was forced to wear flour sacks for clothes, but happily, the luckless lad was taken in by Whaler Joe at the docks, who even bought the young lad a new pipe and a fascinating straw hat with a radio antenna on it.

paragraphs: At six years of age, Popeye began to fulfill his promise of taking his exercising more seriously and started devoting himself to fights with the local bullies, easily laying his foes among the geranium flowerbeds, always promising to do so and never breaking his word. With Popeye around, the local bullies did not need the aid of any pliers or doorknobs to get rid of those useless bicuspids thanks to Popeye's left-right to the jaw. As Popeye's notoriety grew among the children, he inadvertently became a factor for good in discouraging his fellow rough-dock kids from crapshooting, doing so by being too good at the game himself, as he always got 18 straight passes when he rolled the dice. Despite his love of crapshooting, Popeye would be forced to sell his beloved dice for the lead in them after his guardian Whaler Joe fell on tough times. One day, Popeye set out on a boat with nothing but a bent pin and a spool of thread in hopes of helping his guardian by catching whales for him. Unfortunately, upon reaching the whale pod, Popeye realized he was grievously ill-prepared against the giant sea beasts who thrashed about his little vessel as they let out a loud horselaugh, which made Popeye respond with a quick tempered "Blow me down, you-!"-- but before he could finish, the whales suddenly stopped. It was then that the largest whale, deeply offended, got on little Popeye's vessel and sprayed him with a mighty jet of water. This action infuriated the young Popeye so heavily that his anger became pure strength; he quickly got back on his feet and punched whale with all his might, instantly killing the proud alpha and proceeded to take on the rest of the pod. A triumphant little Popeye then returned home with a nice string of whales for Whaler Joe that night.

paragraphs: Upon reaching the age of 12, Popeye had startled everyone he knew by the sheer fact that he was now like a full-grown man, puberty having hit him hard as he now had to shave after every meal and he even had muscles so tough that they could be used as grindstones, with Popeye even renting out his forearms for just that purpose for some extra side cash. It was around this time that Popeye finally (but unknowingly) set out to sea, having been shanghaied onto a crew one night after some bilge rat put a mickey in his "sodie pop" to knock him out. After he woke, he found himself aboard the "Josie Lee" with a new crew bossing him around, so he decided to slip a "mickey" himself to everyone in the crew with his fists, including the captain. It was then that the "Josie Lee" began to drift out to sea and after a few days, Popeye realized that he liked this style of living and would go on to devote his life to that of the sailor's way, deciding to join the crew of the "Josie Lee" and begin practicing his "sailor's walk" from then on. Popeye then dedicated himself to sailing the seas, looking for fights and new adventure, as well as any clue to the whereabouts of his long-lost Pappy.

paragraphs: As the twelve-year old Popeye set off on his first voyage, he would end up losing the vision of his right eye in "the mos' arful battle" of his life. One fateful night, Popeye had just finished shooting craps with his five mates, who laid beaten on the deck of the "Josie Lee" with all their money on Popeye's side. It was then that the monstrous and bloodthirsty cook of the ship, an evil, beast-like man simply known as "The Ape," stepped forth, having had enough of Popeye's winning streak. Popeye knew a fight was inevitable and shouted out a "Blow me down!" before promising to lay the monster man "among the swee'peas" (the sweet pea flowerbed) as his resting place. However, the naive young boy (who always kept his promises no matter what) realized that there was not a single flowerbed of "swee'peas" in sight, with the exception of a bed of sunflowers on the ship. The flustered Popeye kept looking around the boat with his good peepers for any sign of a flowerbed to keep his word on, but before he knew it, "The Ape" pounced on the unsuspecting rookie sailor and a fierce onslaught ensued with The Ape showing no mercy and laying down a gruesome punishment on the sailor, with Popeye never being able to see another flowerbed with that one peeper of his again. From then on, those at sea would refer to Popeye as "Pop-Eye", after his popped eye.

paragraphs: Despite this gruesome defeat, Popeye did not weaken or falter and only became more dangerous from the experience, and he quickly recuperated and continued his service as a sailor on the "Josie Lee", continuing to make his regular nightly rounds, winding the anchor watch, always staying in front of the mast so he could say "Blow me down!" when the wind hit the sails and always keeping his fists tough while walloping his foes with only his left fist, for if he used his right fist, he would be unable to control his strength without obliterating his opponent due to not having his right eye to be in synch with his fist anymore. In those days, one had to be a brave or foolish mariner to incur Popeye's wrath.

paragraphs: It was around this time that the teenaged Popeye started embracing a chivalrous oath of gallantry, possibly due to the mature nature of his shipmates, with him often refusing to involve himself in the haughty and lewd conversations they had about fair maidens. His chivalry reached its peak one day when an albatross landed on the deck of the "Josie Lee". The hapless little bird was suddenly grasped by none other than the ship's cook, "The Ape", who hoped to make some "Off" out of the poor bird. Popeye then noticed that the small bird was wearing a pair of tiny lady's shoes, making him realize that this albatross was a lady bird, or "Albatress", as he called her. Popeye then wound up his fist and let "The Ape" have it with a mighty blow to the jaw (while also unintentionally getting a revenge of sorts). With the little female albatross now saved, Popeye apologetically bowed before the little bird and said "maybe you is somebody's sister, tha's a fack! Nobody but a criminal would do a hurt to anybody's sister!", and the little bird happily went on her way.

paragraphs: Around the age of 14, when ships were wood and men were iron, young Popeye became a member of the Sea Dog Club for sailors, where he would meet his good friend Bill Barnacle. The two would then join the crew of the "Mary Ann" for an unknown voyage. On a dark night, the "Mary Ann" began ringing in an ominous and unusual tone not unlike the sound of bones and skeletons moving when suddenly the moon became blood red. The two shocked sailors could only look on in horror as they saw numerous indescribable beasts clinging to the side of the "Mary Ann", led by a sinister being. The next morning, the duo and their skipper found five of the crew missing with no trace of them left behind. All that was known was that their frightening encounter aboard the "Ol' "Mary Ann"" would forever remind the duo of the all-true horrors that exist within the seas.

paragraphs: Later in life (at the presumed age of around 34 according to Bud Sagendorf), Popeye would offer his seafaring services at local ports; it was there he would eventually meet the ever-ambitious Castor Oyl and his sidekick Ham Gravy, who sought Popeye's services in order to travel to the gambling paradise of Dice Island and make it big using the luck-enhancing powers of their mysterious pet, Bernice the Whiffle Hen, and through them he would meet Castor's sister, Olive Oyl who at first was not too fond of the sailor and vice versa. Even her first words to him were harsh: ""Take your hooks offa me or I'll lay ya in a scupper"", and they fought bitterly---and hilariously---for months until finally realizing their feelings for each other. It was at this point that Olive left her womanizing fiancee Ham Gravy to be with the gruff sailor she loved. Since then, Popeye and Olive have remained almost inseparable and happily in love.

paragraphs: Since his debut in animation, Popeye has had many unique songs for himself as well as many tunes dedicated to him.


title: Astrophysics

paragraphs: Astrophysics is the study of how stars, planets and other things in the Universe work, and how we can learn about them. Astrophysicists use physics to explain what astronomers find and see.

paragraphs: Astrophysics is also the study of how the Universe started and how it is changing with time. This part of astrophysics is called cosmology.

paragraphs: For a long time bodies in the sky seemed to be unchanging spheres moving in a circle. But on Earth growth and decay happened, and natural motion was in a straight line. Therefore, people thought the celestial region was made of a fundamentally different kind of matter from that found on Earth.

paragraphs: During the 16th and 17th century, natural philosophers such as Nicolaus Copernicus, Johannes Kepler, Galileo, Descartes, and Newton, began to maintain that the celestial and terrestrial regions were made of similar kinds of material and were subject to the same natural laws.

paragraphs: When they were able to work out how the planets moved, the science of astrophysics was born. Sir Isaac Newton realized that the same rules of mechanics that he had found on the surface of the Earth also could be used to predict how the planets moved. He said, "As above, so below." By this, he meant that we can study how things work on this planet to find out how things work in space.

paragraphs: Later scientists found that by looking at the light from stars, they were able to work out what they were made from. This process is called spectroscopy.

paragraphs: There are two main types of astrophysics:


title: Word order

paragraphs: Word order is part of syntax, which is part of grammar. Word order may be different in different languages. For example, English "I play tennis only sometimes" would be in German "Ich spiele nur manchmal Tennis", literally "I play only sometimes tennis". In Norwegian, the same sentence would be "Jeg spiller bare tennis noen ganger" ("I play tennis only sometimes").

paragraphs: In Portuguese, the sentence could be "Eu só jogo tênis algumas vezes" ("I only play tennis sometimes), but word order can be changed to "Eu jogo tênis só algumas vezes" ("I play tennis only sometimes"). However, "Eu jogo só tênis algumas vezes" is not allowed ("I play only tennis sometimes") because the meaning would be changed.

paragraphs: In English, a simple sentence with a verb (an action), subject (who or what is doing the action), and an object (to whom or what the action is done) is written with a subject-verb-object word order (SVO). For example, in the sentence "Robert opens the door", "Robert" is the subject, "opens" is the verb and "door" is the object. SVO is the second-most common word order among all languages and is used in 42% of them. Examples are Mandarin Chinese, Bahasa Melayu, Bahasa Indonesia, Spanish, French, Italian, Thai and Vietnamese. While some of the above languages can use other word orders, such as SOV and VSO, they use SVO for the simplest sentences.

paragraphs: In other languages, sentences can use other word orders. Consider "Robert opens the door". In English, changing the word order to "The door opens Robert" would change the meaning of the sentence. In Latin, however, "Robertus ianuam aperit" and "ianuam Robertus aperit" mean the same. "Ianuam" is in the accusative case and so it is the direct object and "Robertus" the subject. Changing the cases of the words, however, to "Robertem ianua aperit" would change the meaning of the sentence: "ianua" is now in the nominative case and so it is the subject and "Robertum" the object.

paragraphs: The subject-object-verb (SOV) word order is the one that is used by the greatest number of distinct languages, 45% of them. It is especially common in the theoretical language family that is known as the Altaic language family, which includes many languages such as Japanese, Korean, Mongolian and the Turkic languages.

paragraphs: In Japanese, for example, a simple sentence uses SOV. In other words, the sentence "Robert opens the door" becomes "Robert the door opens". Such languages often use postpositions, which act like prepositions but appear after content words rather than before them, to show the role of a word in the sentence. The sample sentence "Robert opens the door" would be in Japanese ロバートはドアを開ける "Robāto-wa doa-o akeru" in which は "wa" as in ロバートは "Robāto-wa" shows that ロバート "Robāto (Robert)" is the topic of the sentence, and を "o" as in ドアを "doa-o" shows that ドア "doa" is the direct object of the sentence. Around 45% of all languages are SOV languages.

paragraphs: The verb-subject-object (VSO) word order is the third-most common word order in world languages. There are far fewer VSO languages than SVO and SOV languages, and only 9% of them are VSO. Language groups in which VSO is common include Afroasiatic languages, such as Arabic, Hebrew and Aramaic, and Celtic languages, such as Irish, Welsh and Cornish. In VSO languages, "Robert opens the door" would be "Opens Robert the door". Spanish sentences are usually SVO, but VSO is also common. In Spanish, the example above can be as "Roberto abre la puerta" (Robert opens the door) or "Abre Roberto la puerta" (Opens Robert the door).

paragraphs: Aside from SVO, SOV, and VSO, other kinds of word orders are rather uncommon. VOS word order makes up at around 3% of all languages, and languages that begin with the object (OVS and OSV) are extremely few, each around 1-0% percent each.


title: George H. W. Bush

paragraphs: George Herbert Walker Bush (June 12, 1924 – November 30, 2018) was an American politician. He was the 41st President of the United States from 1989 to 1993. Before he became president, he was the 43rd Vice President of the United States from 1981 to 1989 (under the Ronald Reagan administration), an ambassador, a congressman, and Director of Central Intelligence. He was married to Barbara Bush from 1945 until her death in 2018. His children include 43rd President of the United States George W. Bush, former Governor of Florida Jeb Bush, and Dorothy Bush Koch. He was an Episcopalian.

paragraphs: On November 25, 2017, Bush was the longest-lived U.S. President. He passed the 93 years and 165 days lifespan of Gerald Ford, who died on December 26, 2006.

paragraphs: On November 30, 2018, Bush died at his home in Houston, Texas at the age of 94.

paragraphs: Bush was born on June 12, 1924 in 173 Adam Street, Milton, Massachusetts. His father was politician Prescott Bush. He studied at Yale University. In June 1943, Bush became the youngest pilot in the United States Navy at the time.

paragraphs: Bush served in the United States Navy during 1942 until 1945. During WWII, his plane was shot down. He won 3 Air Medal, Presidential Unit Citation, and the Distinguished Flying Cross. He married Barbara Pierce in 1945. They had six children.

paragraphs: Bush worked for Zapata Oil in Texas and was a politician in Texas, running for the Senate in 1964, but losing to Ralph Yarborough and later again in 1970, though losing again to Lloyd Bentsen.

paragraphs: He was later a House Representative. He was also Republican Party Chairman and tried the vice presidency, with the support of such Congressional conservatives as Senator Barry Goldwater after Nixon resigned and Ford took office, but lost to liberal Republican Nelson Rockefeller in 1974. In 1980, Bush also ran against Ronald Reagan for the Republican Party's candidacy for President but lost. He was then named Republican Vice Presidential candidate by Reagan after Reagan defeated him. Reagan and Bush were elected President and Vice President that year.

paragraphs: During World War II, Bush was a crewman on a TBM Avenger. He had survived many crashes and sunk a Japanese ship. He later became a diplomat and head of the CIA.

paragraphs: After being Ronald Reagan's vice president, Bush was elected president in 1988 by defeating Michael Dukakis. While he was president, the Cold War ended and the Soviet Union fell apart. He was known for his failed promise speech "".

paragraphs: In 1990, Bush's off-hand comments about broccoli caused a minor political controversy. In 1992, he visited Kiichi Miyazawa when he vomited on his lap and soon fainted during a dinner feast. Hours later, Bush made a comment that he was suffering from the flu.

paragraphs: When Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in order to steal their supplies of oil, Bush led the United States and many other countries to protect Kuwait. The conflict was called the Gulf War. He also invaded Panama to remove Manuel Noreiga, who was guilty of drug trafficking.

paragraphs: At his home, Bush also signed in important laws, such as the Americans With Disabilities Act. However, the country suffered from a recession. This was embarrassing and many people believe this was the reason he lost the presidential election of 1992 to Bill Clinton.

paragraphs: Bush resided on a ranch in Houston, Texas with his family. After his presidency, he supported John McCain and his son George W. Bush. He supported Mitt Romney and Rick Perry for president. He attended the opening of the USS "George H.W. Bush", a naval ship named after him. He traveled with his son to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.

paragraphs: On February 15, 2011, Bush was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States, by President Barack Obama.

paragraphs: He was present at his son's presidential library opening ceremony on April 25, 2013. In July 2013, Bush had his head shaved in a show of support for the two-year-old son of a member of his security detail, who had leukemia. He is the most recent president that was a veteran during World War II.

paragraphs: Bush sent a letter to Donald Trump in January 2017 to inform him of his (Bush's) poor health that he would not be able to attend Trump's inauguration on January 20 and gave his best wishes.

paragraphs: He was the father of George W. Bush, Jeb Bush, and Dorothy Bush Koch. He had two other sons; his other daughter Robin died of leukemia in 1953; his father (also a politician) was Prescott Bush. On April 13, 2013, he became a great grandfather when his granddaughter Jenna Bush Hager gave birth to a daughter.

paragraphs: Bush suffered from a form of Parkinson's disease which forced him to use a motorized scooter or wheelchair to get around, since at least 2012.

paragraphs: On November 23, 2012, Bush had a bronchitis-like cough that initially brought him to Methodist Hospital in Houston for treatment. He was supposed to be released before Christmas, but was kept in and over the holiday because he got worse with a high fever. On December 23, 2012, he started to be in the intensive-care unit. On December 29, 2012, his health improved and moved out of intensive care. He was discharged in the hospital on January 14, 2013. On December 23, 2014, Bush was once again hospitalized at the Methodist Hospital after suffering a "shortness of breath". He was released from the hospital on December 30, 2014.

paragraphs: On July 15, 2015, Bush fell at his home in Kennebunkport, Maine and broke a vertebrae in his neck.

paragraphs: On January 18, 2017, he was admitted to the intensive care unit at Houston Methodist Hospital, where he was sedated for a procedure to treat an acute respiratory problem stemming from pneumonia.

paragraphs: On April 22, 2018, after the burial of Bush's wife Barbara, he was hospitalized for sepsis and was placed under intensive care.

paragraphs: Bush died on November 30, 2018 at his home in Houston from Parkinson's-related complications, aged 94. A state funeral was held at the Washington National Cathedral.

paragraphs: Tributes and condolences were offered by former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, and incumbent President Donald Trump. He lied in state in the United States Capitol and was buried next to his wife at the George Bush Presidential Library.

paragraphs: Since Bush had the same first and last names as his son, he was often called George H. W. Bush or George Bush Sr. (George Bush senior). Some people call him "41" or "Bush 41" because he was the 41st President.


title: Ohio

paragraphs: Ohio is one of the 50 states in the United States. Its capital is Columbus. Columbus also is the largest city in Ohio.

paragraphs: Other large cities in Ohio are Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dayton, Akron, Toledo, and Youngstown.

paragraphs: Some famous people from Ohio include golfer , Wilbur and Orville Wright, authors Sherwood Anderson and Toni Morrison, and actors Clark Gable and Katie Holmes. There have also been seven American presidents from Ohio: Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford Hayes, James Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, Warren G. Harding. Famous astronauts John Glenn, Neil Armstrong and inventor of the airplane the Wright Brothers were born in Ohio.

paragraphs: Ohio is important in elections because it is a swing state. Candidates often campaign a lot there and as of 2020, the last time they voted for the losing candidate was 1960. Also, no Republican has ever won the presidency without carrying this state. Ohio has both farmland and cities, and there is a lot of discrimination against black people. It is a part of the Midwest. Ohio is the 7th most populated state in the United States of America (capital Washington D.C.)

paragraphs: Ohio borders Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia, and it shares a water border with Ontario, Canada. Western Ohio is mostly flat farmland, with some hills. Southern and Southeastern Ohio is near the Appalachian Mountains, and is the most mountainous part of the state. Most of this area is covered by forests. This part of Ohio is home to the Ohio River, the Wayne National Forest, and the Hocking Hills, which has waterfalls and canyons.

paragraphs: Central Ohio is mostly rolling hills, and is home to Columbus. Northeast Ohio is dominated by the Lake Erie coast and has a mix of cities and countryside.

paragraphs: For many years, industry and manufacturing was the biggest part of Ohio's economy. Youngstown was a big steel producer, as was Cleveland. Other manufacturing - including the car industry - was a major factor across the state. Since the 1970s, industry has shrank in Ohio, but it is still a big part of the local economy. Today, other businesses are more prominent. Cleveland is one of the biggest hubs for Healthcare, and its main hospital, the famous Cleveland Clinic, is the largest employer in the region. Banking is also a major business, and foods and retail are too. Cincinnati plays host to the headquarters of Fifth Third Bank, Cintas, Kroger, Luxottica, Procter & Gamble and Macy's, whereas, Columbus hosts the headquarters of LBrands, JPMorgan Chase, Huntington Bank, Rogue Fitness, Wendy's, Big Lots, Cardinal Health and Nationwide Insurance. In addition The J.M. Smucker Company and Key Bank are also based in Ohio.


title: Relativity

paragraphs: The word relativity usually means two things in physics:


title: Principle of relativity

paragraphs: In physics, the principle of relativity is the requirement that the equations describing the laws of physics is as same as the all frames of reference.

paragraphs: In 300 BCE, Greek philosopher Aristotle thought that heavy objects fall faster than objects that are not heavy. The natural science of Aristotle was most popular in Western thought for 2,000 years.

paragraphs: In 1600, Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei proved that all objects fall with the same acceleration. Therefore, the longer an object moves with constant acceleration the faster its final velocity is. Also, if different objects each having a different mass are dropped from rest (initial velocity is zero) at the same height in a vacuum, they will all hit the ground at the same velocity regardless of their mass. The experimental discoveries of Galileo and the Laws of Motion developed mathematically by Newton gave birth to modern science.

paragraphs: Galileo's principle of relativity states "It is impossible by mechanical means to say whether we are moving or staying at rest". If two trains are moving at the same speed in the same direction, then a passenger in either train will not be able to notice that either train is moving. However, if the passenger takes a fixed frame of reference, a fixed point, like the earth, he will then be able to notice the motion of either train. Another thing, if one stands on the earth one will not be able to see that it is moving.

paragraphs: This principle is just taken from observation. For example, if we are travelling by airplane at a constant speed, we can walk through the inside of the airplane without noticing anything special.

paragraphs: From a practical point of view, this means that Newton's laws of motion are valid in all inertial systems, which means those at rest or those moving with constant speed relative to one considered at rest. This is the law of inertia: a body at rest continues at rest and a body in motion continues in motion in a straight line unless influenced by an external force. A Galilean coordinate system is one where the law of inertia is valid. The laws of mechanics of Galileo and Newton are valid in a Galilean coordinate system. If K is a Galilean coordinate system, then every other system K' is a Galilean coordinate system if it lies at rest or moves according to the law of inertia relative to K. Relative to K', the mechanical laws of Galileo and Newton are as valid as they are relative to K.

paragraphs: In other words, if a mass m is at rest or is moving with constant acceleration (the constant acceleration could be equal to zero in which case the velocity would remain constant) in a straight line relative to a Galilean coordinate system K, then it will also be at rest or moving with constant acceleration in a straight line relative to a second coordinate system K' provided the law of inertia is valid in system K' (in other words, provided it is a Galilean coordinate system).

paragraphs: Therefore, if we want to observe an effect in a moving system at constant speed, we can apply the Newton laws directly. If the moving system speeds up (or we speed up relative to it, like looking at the stars from the earth) then we will have to introduce imaginary forces to compensate this effect.

paragraphs: These fictitious forces are called centrifugal force and coriolis force.

paragraphs: Newton's Laws of Motion are mechanically accurate for speeds that are slow compared with the velocity of light. For speeds that approach the speed of light, it is necessary to apply the discoveries of Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity.

paragraphs: In order to describe what happens mechanically in the universe, physicists use mass, length and time. In the physics of Galileo and Newton, these quantities remain the same throughout the universe.

paragraphs: With Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity, these quantities can change.


title: Special relativity

paragraphs: Special relativity (or the special theory of relativity) is a theory in physics that was developed and explained by Albert Einstein in 1905. It applies to all physical phenomena, so long as gravitation is not significant. Special relativity applies to Minkowski space, or "flat spacetime" (phenomena which are not influenced by gravitation).

paragraphs: Einstein knew that some weaknesses had been discovered in older physics. For example, older physics thought light moved in luminiferous aether. Various tiny effects were expected if this theory were true. Gradually it seemed these predictions were not going to work out.

paragraphs: Eventually, Einstein (1905) drew the conclusion that the concepts of space and time needed a fundamental revision. The result was special relativity theory, which brought together a new principle "the constancy of the speed of light" and the previously established "principle of relativity".

paragraphs: Galileo had already established the principle of relativity, which said that physical events must look the same to all observers, and no observer has the "right" way to look at the things studied by physics. For example, the Earth is moving very fast around the Sun, but we do not notice it because we are moving with the Earth at the same speed; therefore, from our point of view, the Earth is at rest. However, Galileo's math could not explain some things, such as the speed of light. According to him, the measured speed of light should be different for different speeds of the observer in comparison with its source. However, the Michelson-Morley experiment showed that this is not true, at least not for all cases. Einstein's theory of special relativity explained this among other things.

paragraphs: Suppose that you are moving toward something that is moving toward you. If you measure its speed, it will seem to be moving faster than if you were not moving. Now suppose you are moving away from something that is moving toward you. If you measure its speed again, it will seem to be moving more slowly. This is the idea of "relative speed"—the speed of the object relative to you.

paragraphs: Before Albert Einstein, scientists were trying to measure the "relative speed" of light. They were doing this by measuring the speed of star light reaching the Earth. They expected that if the Earth was moving toward a star, the light from that star should seem faster than if the Earth was moving away from that star. However, they noticed that no matter who performed the experiments, where the experiments were performed, or what star light was used, the measured speed of light in a vacuum was always the same.

paragraphs: Einstein said this happens because there is something unexpected about length and duration, or how long something lasts. He thought that as Earth moves through space, all measurable durations change very slightly. Any clock used to measure a duration will be wrong by exactly the right amount so that the speed of light remains the same. Imagining a "light clock" allows us to better understand this remarkable fact for the case of a single light wave.

paragraphs: Also, Einstein said that as Earth moves through space, all measurable lengths change (ever so slightly). Any device measuring length will give a length off by exactly the right amount so that the speed of light remains the same.

paragraphs: The most difficult thing to understand is that events that appear to be simultaneous in one frame may not be simultaneous in another. This has many effects that are not easy to perceive or understand. Since the length of an object is the distance from head to tail at one simultaneous moment, it follows that if two observers disagree about what events are simultaneous then this will affect (sometimes dramatically) their measurements of the length of objects. Furthermore, if a line of clocks appear synchronized to a stationary observer and appear to be out of sync to that same observer after accelerating to a certain velocity then it follows that during the acceleration the clocks ran at different speeds. Some may even run backwards. This line of reasoning leads to general relativity.

paragraphs: Other scientists before Einstein had written about light seeming to go the same speed no matter how it was observed. What made Einstein's theory so revolutionary is that it considers the measurement of the speed of light to be constant by definition, in other words it is a law of nature. This has the remarkable implications that speed-related measurements, length and duration, change in order to accommodate this.

paragraphs: The mathematical bases of special relativity are the Lorentz transformations, which mathematically describe the views of space and time for two observers who are moving relative to each other but are not experiencing acceleration.

paragraphs: Let there be an observer K who describes when events occur with a time coordinate "t", and who describes where events occur with spatial coordinates "x", "y", and "z".

paragraphs: This is mathematically defining the first observer whose "point of view" will be our first reference.

paragraphs: Let us specify that the time of an event is given: by the time that it is observed "t" (say today, at 12 o'clock) minus the time that it took for the observation to reach the observer.

paragraphs: Now with these definitions in place, let there be another observer K' who is

paragraphs: where "x"' axis is coincident with the "x" axis,

paragraphs: and with the "y' "and "z' "axes - "always being parallel" to the "y" and "z" axes.

paragraphs: This means that when K' gives a location like (3,1,2), the x (which is 3 in this example) is the same place that K, the first observer would be talking about, but the 1 on the y axis or the 2 on the z axis are only "parallel" to some location on the K' observer's coordinate system,

paragraphs: The Lorentz Transformations then are <br>

paragraphs: Define an event to have spacetime coordinates in system "S" and in a reference frame moving at a velocity v with respect to that frame, "S"′. Then the Lorentz transformation specifies that these coordinates are related in the following way:

paragraphs: is the Lorentz factor and "c" is the speed of light in vacuum, and the velocity "v" of "S"′ is parallel to the "x"-axis. For simplicity, the "y" and "z" coordinates are unaffected; only the "x" and "t" coordinates are transformed. These Lorentz transformations form a one-parameter group of linear mappings, that parameter being called rapidity.

paragraphs: Solving the above four transformation equations for the unprimed coordinates yields the inverse Lorentz transformation:

paragraphs: Enforcing this "inverse" Lorentz transformation to coincide with the Lorentz transformation from the primed to the unprimed system, shows the unprimed frame as moving with the velocity "v′" = −"v", as measured in the primed frame.

paragraphs: There is nothing special about the "x"-axis. The transformation can apply to the "y"- or "z"-axis, or indeed in any direction, which can be done by directions parallel to the motion (which are warped by the "γ" factor) and perpendicular; see the article Lorentz transformation for details.

paragraphs: A quantity invariant under Lorentz transformations is known as a Lorentz scalar.

paragraphs: Writing the Lorentz transformation and its inverse in terms of coordinate differences, where one event has coordinates and , another event has coordinates and , and the differences are defined as

paragraphs: If we take differentials instead of taking differences, we get

paragraphs: In special relativity, the momentum formula_17 and the total energy formula_18 of an object as a function of its mass formula_19 are

paragraphs: A frequently made error (also in some books) is to rewrite this equation using a "relativistic mass" (in the direction of motion) of formula_22.

paragraphs: The reason why this is incorrect is that light, for example, has no mass, but has energy. If we use this formula, the photon (particle of light) has a mass, which is according to experiments incorrect.

paragraphs: In special relativity, an object's mass, total energy and momentum are related by the equation

paragraphs: For an object at rest, formula_24 so the above equation simplifies to formula_25. Hence, a massive object at rest still has energy. We call this rest energy and denote it by formula_26:

paragraphs: The need for special relativity arose from Maxwell's equations of electromagnetism, which were published in 1865. It was later found that they call for electromagnetic waves (such as light) to move at a constant speed (i.e., the speed of light).

paragraphs: To have James Clerk Maxwell's equations be consistent with both astronomical observations and Newtonian physics, Maxwell proposed in 1877 that light travels through an ether which is everywhere in the universe.

paragraphs: In 1887, the famous Michelson-Morley experiment tried to detect the "ether wind" generated by the movement of the Earth. The persistent null results of this experiment puzzled physicists, and called the ether theory into question.

paragraphs: In 1895, Lorentz and Fitzgerald noted that the null result of the Michelson-Morley experiment could be explained by the ether wind contracting the experiment in the direction of motion of the ether. This effect is called the Lorentz contraction, and (without ether) is a consequence of special relativity.

paragraphs: In 1899, Lorentz first published the Lorentz equations. Although this was not the first time they had been published, this was the first time that they were used as an explanation of the Michelson-Morley's null result, since the Lorentz contraction is a result of them.

paragraphs: In 1900, Poincaré gave a famous speech in which he considered the possibility that some "new physics" was needed to explain the Michelson-Morley experiment.

paragraphs: In 1904, Lorentz showed that electrical and magnetic fields can be modified into each other through the Lorentz transformations.

paragraphs: In 1905, Einstein published his article introducing special relativity, ""On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies"", in "Annalen der Physik". In this article, he presented the postulates of relativity, derived the Lorentz transformations from them, and (unaware of Lorentz's 1904 article) also showed how the Lorentz Transformations affect electric and magnetic fields.

paragraphs: Later in 1905, Einstein published another article presenting "E" = "mc".

paragraphs: In 1908, Max Planck endorsed Einstein's theory and named it "relativity". In that same year, Hermann Minkowski gave a famous speech on "Space and Time" in which he showed that relativity is self-consistent and further developed the theory. These events forced the physics community to take relativity seriously. Relativity came to be more and more accepted after that.

paragraphs: In 1912, Einstein and Lorentz were nominated for the Nobel prize in physics due to their pioneering work on relativity. Unfortunately, relativity was so controversial then, and remained controversial for such a long time that a Nobel prize was never awarded for it.


title: Wombat

paragraphs: A wombat is a marsupial in the family Vombatidae. It lives in the Australian eucalyptus forests. There are two genera with three living wombat species; the Common Wombat and the Hairy-nosed Wombats.

paragraphs: It is a medium-sized animal that makes a burrow by digging holes in the ground. Wombats are usually around a metre (40 in) long when they are fully grown. It is a kind of animal known as a marsupial because it has a pouch on its belly that holds its young, although it faces back instead of forward like most marsupials. Having the pouch face backwards prevents dirt from building up in the pouch and hitting the offspring in the face when digging. When its young are born they spend some time growing in their mother's pouch before going into the world. Wombats are herbivores. They eat plants, roots, and grasses. They are nocturnal which means they sleep in the day and come out at night. Some wombats have thick brown fur and very small ears. They can weigh from 20 to 35 kilograms (45 to 80 lb). They can live up to 7 years.

paragraphs: Wombats are commonly known and recognised by their waste products. They are the only known mammals that excrete feces in cubic shape. This lets people easily know when wombat habitats are nearby. It also tells simply what the wombat may have eaten by examining the feces thoroughly.


title: N.C. Wyeth

paragraphs: Newell Convers Wyeth (October 22, 1882 – October 19, 1945) was an American painter and book illustrator. He was born in Needham, Massachusetts. He was known for his illustrations for such books as "Robin Hood", "Robinson Crusoe", "The Yearling", "The Last of the Mohicans", and King Arthur. His daughters Henriette and Carolyn, his son, Andrew and grandson Jamie Wyeth were also painters. Wyeth's son Nathaniel was an inventor.

paragraphs: Wyeth was born in Needham, Massachusetts. He died in an accident at a railway crossing in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania.


title: Turkey (bird)

paragraphs: Turkeys are a family (Meleagrididae) of bird. They are something like a chicken but much bigger. Wild turkeys live in forests in North America and Central America. In the United States, people traditionally eat turkey on the holiday of Thanksgiving.

paragraphs: The family "Meleagrididae" has one genus in it, "Meleagris". This genus has two species:

paragraphs: When people from Europe first saw turkeys in the Americas they thought the birds were a type of guinea fowl ("Numida meleagris"). This bird had been brought to central Europe from the country of Turkey. The name of that country stuck as the name of the bird.

paragraphs: The confusion with the name is also seen in the scientific name: "meleagris" is Greek for guinea-fowl.


title: Arachnology

paragraphs: Arachnology (a-rack-no-ol-e-gee) is a science that studies arachnids. Examples of arachnids are spiders, scorpions, pseudoscorpions, and harvestmen. Ticks and mites are also arachnids but they sometimes are not included in arachnology. They are studied in acarology.


title: Alabama

paragraphs: Alabama is a state in the United States. Its capital city is Montgomery. The largest city is Birmingham. It became a state in 1819.

paragraphs: Alabama is the thirty-first largest state in the United States with of total area. 3.19% of the area is water, making Alabama twenty-third in the amount of surface water, also giving it the second largest inland waterway system in the United States. About three-fifths of the land area is a plain with a general downward slope towards the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. North Alabama has mostly mountains, with the Tennessee River cutting a large valley creating many creeks, streams, rivers, mountains, and lakes.

paragraphs: The states bordering Alabama are Tennessee to the north; Georgia to the east; Florida to the south; and Mississippi to the west. Alabama has coastline at the Gulf of Mexico, in the very southern edge of the state. Alabama ranges in elevation from sea level at "Mobile Bay" to over in the Appalachian Mountains in the northeast. The highest point is "Mount Cheaha", at a height of . Alabama's land has of forest or 67% of total land area. "Suburban Baldwin County", along the Gulf Coast, is the largest county in the state in both land area and water area.

paragraphs: The state is classified as subtropical Cfa under the Koppen Climate Classification. The normal annual temperature is . Temperatures are often warmer in the southern part of the state because it is close to the Gulf of Mexico, while the northern parts of the state, mostly in the Appalachian Mountains in the northeast, tend to be slightly cooler. Most of the time, Alabama has very hot summers and mild winters with copious rain throughout the year. Alabama receives an average of of rainfall annually and enjoys a lengthy growing season of up to 300 days in the southern part of the state.

paragraphs: Summers in Alabama are among the hottest in the United States, with high temperatures averaging over throughout the summer in some parts of the state. Alabama also gets many tropical storms and even hurricanes. Areas of the state far away from the Gulf can still feel the effects of the storms, which often dump big amounts of rain as they move inland and weaken.

paragraphs: The United States Census Bureau, as of July 1, 2008, estimated Alabama's population at 4,661,900, which is an increase of 214,545, or 4.8%, since the 2000 census. This is a natural increase since the last census of 121,054 people (that is 502,457 births minus 381,403 deaths) and an increase because of net migration of 104,991 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 31,180 people, and migration within the country got a net gain of 73,811 people. The state had 108,000 foreign-born (2.4% of the state population), of which an estimated 22.2% were illegal immigrants (24,000). Alabama has a large African American and white population.

paragraphs: According to the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis, the 2008 total gross state product was $170 billion, or $29,411 per capita. Alabama's 2008 GDP increased (went up) 0.7% from the past year. The single largest increase came in the area of information. In 1999, per capita income for the state was $18,189.

paragraphs: Alabama's agricultural outputs are poultry and eggs, cattle, plant nursery items, peanuts, cotton, grains (such as corn and sorghum), vegetables, milk, soybeans, and peaches. Although known as "The Cotton State", many reports say that Alabama is between eight and ten in national cotton making, with Texas, Georgia and Mississippi making up the top three.

paragraphs: Alabama's company outputs are iron and steel products (like cast-iron and steel pipe); paper, lumber, and wood items; mining (mostly coal); plastic things; cars and trucks; and apparel. Alabama also makes aerospace and electronic things, mostly in the "Huntsville" area, location of NASA George C. Marshall Space Flight Center and the US Army Aviation and Missile Command, headquartered at "Redstone Arsenal."

paragraphs: "Public primary and secondary education" in Alabama is under the review of the Alabama State Board of Education as well as local oversight by 67 county school boards and 60 city boards of education. Together, 1,541 separate schools have education for 743,364 elementary and secondary students.

paragraphs: Alabama's programs of higher education are 14 four-year public universities, two-year community colleges, and 17 private, undergraduate and graduate universities. In the state are two medical schools, University of Alabama at Birmingham and University of South Alabama, two veterinary colleges, Auburn University and Tuskegee University, a dental school, University of Alabama, an optometry college, two pharmacy schools, Auburn University and Samford University, and five law schools, University of Alabama School of Law, Birmingham School of Law, Cumberland School of Law, Miles Law School, and the Thomas Goode Jones School of Law. Public, post-secondary education in Alabama is overseen by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education. Colleges and universities in Alabama offer degree programs from two-year associate degrees to 16 doctor level programs.

paragraphs: The governor of Alabama is Kay Ivey, a Republican. The lieutenant governor of Alabama is Will Ainsworth, a Republican, and the Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court is Sue Bell Cobb, a Democrat.


title: Arizona

paragraphs: Arizona is a state in the United States of America. It is considered part of the Southwestern United States and is bordered by New Mexico to the east, Utah to the north, Nevada to the northwest, California to the west, its northeast corner touches part of Colorado, this area is known as the Four Corners. To the south of Arizona is the country Mexico with which it shares a border of 389 miles (626 km). The state is called the "Grand Canyon State" and the "Copper State" as it is the home of the Grand Canyon and has produced large amounts of copper from its mineral deposits.

paragraphs: Arizona became a state on February 14th, 1912 and became the 48th state accepted into the United States. The state capital is Phoenix, which also is the largest city in the state. Phoenix is the largest capital city in the US.

paragraphs: Arizona's climate can be very hot. In Phoenix, the average temperature is about 107 degrees Fahrenheit (42 degrees Celsius) in summer.

paragraphs: Arizona is the sixth largest state in area, after New Mexico and before Nevada. Of the state's , about 15% is privately owned. The remaining area is public forest and park land, state trust land and Native American reservations.

paragraphs: Arizona is best known for its desert landscape. It has plants such as the cactus. It is also known for its climate, which has very hot summers and mild winters. Less well known is the pine-covered high country of the Colorado Plateau in the north-central part of the state.

paragraphs: Mountains and plateaus are found in more than half of the state. 27% of Arizona is forest. The largest stand of Ponderosa pine trees in the world is in Arizona.

paragraphs: The Grand Canyon is a colorful, steep-sided gorge. It is made by the Colorado River in northern Arizona. The canyon is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. Most of the canyon is in the Grand Canyon National Park—one of the first national parks in the United States.

paragraphs: Arizona is home to a well-kept meteorite impact site. The Barringer Crater (better known simply as “Meteor Crater”) is a huge hole in the middle of the high plains of the Colorado Plateau. It is about west of Winslow. A rim of smashed and jumbled boulders, some of them the size of small houses, rises above the level of the surrounding plain. The crater is nearly 1 mile (1.6 km) wide, and deep. Meteor Crater is a popular tourist attraction. It is privately owned by the Barringer family through the Barringer Crater Company. There is an admission fee charged to see the crater.

paragraphs: Arizona is one of two states that does not observe Daylight Saving Time, except in the Navajo Nation in the northeastern part of the state.

paragraphs: Professional sports teams in Arizona include:

paragraphs: Arizona has many golf courses and is home to several stops on the PGA Tour.


title: Bolivia

paragraphs: Bolivia (officially called Republic of Bolivia) is a country in South America. It is land locked by Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Peru, and Chile. Jeanine Áñez became the president of "Bolivia" in November 2019, after longtime president Evo Morales was overthrown.

paragraphs: The population of Bolivia is 10.67 million (2013).

paragraphs: Bolivia is named after Simón Bolívar. The main languages are Spanish and Quechua, but there are other languages too.

paragraphs: Bolivia used to be a colony of Spain. The silver mines in Bolivia made most of Spain's money, and Spain used Bolivians as slaves to work in the mines.

paragraphs: After many wars, Simón Bolívar helped Bolivia to be an independent country.

paragraphs: Bolivia is 424,135 mi² (1,098,581 km²). This means that Bolivia is the world's 28th-largest country (after Ethiopia). It is the same sort of size as Mauritania.

paragraphs: Bolivia is a landlocked nation, which means every border of Bolivia is a border with another country, and so it does not have a sea. It used to own some of the Pacific coast, but it lost it in 1879 in the War of the Pacific. The west of Bolivia is on the Andes mountain range. The highest mountain in Bolivia is called Nevado de Sajama and it is near the city of Oruro. Although this part of the country is very high with lots of mountains, there are also parts of Bolivia which are very flat, and parts of the country which are very near sea level. There is also a bit of Bolivia covered by the Amazon rainforest, and a big lake which is the highest lake in the world. This lake is called Lake Titicaca.

paragraphs: The major cities are La Paz, El Alto, Santa Cruz de la Sierra and Cochabamba. For other places in Bolivia see List of cities in Bolivia.

paragraphs: The population of Bolivia is approximately 10,907,778 people. The ethnic composition of the country is like the following:

paragraphs: Bolivia suffers from poverty. Over 65% of the population lives below the poverty line.

paragraphs: Bolivia is divided into nine departments. The departments are divided into 112 provinces. The provinces are divided into 339 municipalities and into native community lands.

paragraphs: Bolivian culture has many Inca, Aymara and other native influences in religion, music and clothing. There is a big festival in Oruro, which is called "El carnaval de Oruro". People in Bolivia like playing football, and football, which is often played in the street. Zoos are also very popular, but they do not have much money.

paragraphs: The Cantuta (often spelled kantuta or qantuta) (Cantua buxifolia or Fuchsia buxifolia) is a flower found in the Yungas, and is the national flower of Bolivia along with the "patujú" (Heliconia rostrata) found in the tropical regions of Bolivia.


title: Massachusetts

paragraphs: Massachusetts is a state in the United States of America. Its official name is the "Commonwealth of Massachusetts".

paragraphs: Its capital and largest city is Boston. It is on the east coast of the United States. It is next to the Atlantic Ocean and the states of Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire. The word "Massachusetts" comes from Native American language. It means "place with hills."

paragraphs: Massachusetts was one of the first places that European people lived when they came to America. It was one of the first American colonies. The Pilgrims from Plymouth, England came to America for religious freedom in 1620.

paragraphs: Massachusetts is home to some of the United States more prestigious universities, such as Harvard University. Massachusetts is also one of the richest states in the United States. Its major cities are Boston, Worcester, Massachusetts, Springfield, Massachusetts and Plymouth, Massachusetts

paragraphs: Massachusetts is also home to the 6 time Super Bowl winning New England Patriots.


title: Tallahassee, Florida

paragraphs: Tallahassee is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2010 census, its population was 181,376.

paragraphs: The name comes from the Apalachee Native American words: "talwa" meaning town, and "ahassee" meaning old.

paragraphs: Tallahassee was created as the capital of Florida during the territory's second legislative session. It was chosen as the midpoint between St. Augustine and Pensacola, which had been the capitals of the Spanish and British colonies of East Florida and West Florida, respectively. (At that time, very few people lived in the swamps of South Florida.) The first session of Florida's Legislative Council–as a territory of the United States–met on July 22, 1822 at Pensacola and members from St. Augustine traveled fifty-nine days by water to attend. The second session was in St. Augustine and required western delegates to travel perilously around the peninsula on a twenty-eight day trek. During this session, it was decided that future meetings should be held at a half-way point to reduce the distance. Two appointed commissioners selected Tallahassee, at that point an abandoned Apalachee settlement, as a halfway point. In 1824, the third legislative session met there in a crude log capitol. Also in 1824, Marquis de Lafayette, French hero of the American Revolution, returned for a grand tour of the United States. The US Congress voted to give him $200,000 (the same amount he had given the colonies in 1778), US citizenship, and the Lafayette Land Grant, of land that today includes large portions of Tallahassee. In 1845, a Greek revival masonry structure was erected as the Capitol building in time for statehood.

paragraphs: In 1977, a 23-story high-rise Capitol building designed by architect Edward Durell Stone was completed. It is now the third-tallest state capitol building in the United States. In 1978, the old capitol was scheduled for demolition, but the State Of Florida decided to keep the Old Capitol as a museum and point of interest.

paragraphs: The city is the location of two important universities, Florida State University and Florida A&M University.


title: Tom Skerritt

paragraphs: Thomas Alderton Skerritt (August 25, 1933) is an American actor. He was born in Detroit, Michigan. He is best known for his roles in the films "M*A*S*H" (1970), "Alien" (1979), and "Top Gun" (1986).


title: Trossingen

paragraphs: Trossingen is a town in South Germany (Baden-Württemberg). It is in a region called Baar, between the Swabian Alb and the Black Forest.

paragraphs: Trossingen is called a "music town". It has around 16,000 people who live there, there is the 'University of Music Trossingen', which is one of Baden-Württemberg's state conservatories, and there are other institutions specialized in musical education, like the 'Bundesakademie für musikalische Jugendbildung' and the 'Hohner Konservatorium'. In 1857 the Matthias Hohner company was founded. Today, Hohner harmonicas and accordions are famous all over the world. Trossingen houses the German Harmonica Museum, too. Trossingen also has a historic railway: the "Trossinger Eisenbahn". Several skeletons of the dinosaur "Plateosaurus engelhardti" were found in Trossingen during excavations in the early 20th century. The local museum Auberlehaus houses several of the original bones.


title: The Smurfs

paragraphs: The Smurfs are fictional little blue beings created by Peyo, a Belgian cartoonist. They first appeared in 1958, and later in a cartoon television show created by Hanna-Barbera Productions in the 1980s. On September 12, 1981, they were featured on NBC on Saturday mornings as a cartoon series. The little blue creatures from Belgium became popular among all ages.

paragraphs: A feature movie called "The Smurfs" was released in 2011. "The Smurfs 2" was a sequel released July 31, 2013.

paragraphs: The smurfs are very small. In cartoons in which they appear with humans, they are small enough to stand on a human hand.

paragraphs: Most Smurfs are male. There are only 3 females in the village: Smurfette, Sassette Smurfling, and Nanny Smurf.

paragraphs: Most Smurfs wear white pants and white Phrygian caps. Papa Smurf, Grandpa Smurf, and some of the Smurflings dress differently. Grandpa Smurf wears yellow clothes and Papa Smurf wears red clothes. The Smurflings are Sassette, Snappy, Slouchy, and Nat. Sassette and Nat do not dress like the other Smurfs at all, while Slouchy and Nat do dress like the others. In some comics, the Smurfs dress differently in color or clothing.

paragraphs: Smurfs live in mushroom-shaped houses in a village in a forest.


title: Istanbul

paragraphs: Istanbul () is a mega city that sits in both Europe and Asia divided by the Bosporus. Although the largest city of Turkey its not the capital. It is the largest city in Europe by population. Istanbul is also the 3rd largest European city in size. It was the capital city of the old Ottoman Empire until 1923. The city has been known since ancient times by the older names Byzantium and Constantinople (; , "Konstantinoúpolis"). Being a seaport, Istanbul is the main trade center of Turkey.

paragraphs: Part of Istanbul is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

paragraphs: Istanbul faces the Golden Horn and the Bosporus strait. The Bosphorus connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara, and separates Europe and Asia. The city is actually in both Europe and Asia. One third of the people live on the Asian side. Its population is between 11 and 15 million people, making it one of the largest cities in Europe. Many people migrate to Istanbul every year.

paragraphs: Its original name was "Byzantion" in the Greek language, known as "Byzantium" in the Latin language. Byzantium was originally settled as a colony by Greeks from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king, Byzas. In 196 AD, Byzantium was damaged by the Romans, then rebuilt by the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus. Constantine the Great thought this city was in a nice location, and in 330, moved the capital of the Empire from Rome to there, as "New Rome" (Latin: "Nova Roma"; "", "Nea Rómi"), renaming the city "Constantinople", after his name.

paragraphs: When the Roman Empire was later divided into two, the East Roman Empire was known as the Byzantine Empire, and its capital was in Constantinople where Hagia Sophia had been built. Although it was captured by Crusaders for a time, it continued as one of political, cultural, religious and economical centers of Europe until it finally fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453.

paragraphs: Istanbul became the capital of the Ottoman Empire in 1453. After the Ottoman Empire ended, the Republic of Turkey was started with its capital at Ankara.


title: ABBA

paragraphs: ABBA is a Swedish pop music group, who had many hits in the 1970s in Stockholm and early 1980s. ABBA was the most commercially successful pop group of the 1970s. The name "ABBA" is made from the first letter of each member's first name:

paragraphs: ABBA became very popular after they won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974. They had many hits. These included "Dancing Queen", "SOS", "Money, Money, Money", "Mamma Mia", and "Waterloo". Most of their songs were written by Ulvaeus and Andersson.

paragraphs: They originally broke up in 1982, but their music is still popular. It has appeared in movies (including the Australian movies "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" and "Muriel's Wedding"). The stage musical "Mamma Mia!" was developed from their music and subsequently made into a 2008 movie followed ten years later by a 2018 sequel "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again."

paragraphs: All four ABBA members had local music careers before ABBA even formed. Frida and Agnetha were both solo singers. Benny and Bjorn both had their own individual bands. In 1966, Benny and Bjorn both met and decided to write songs together. In 1969, Bjorn met Agnetha and Benny met Frida. All four friends met together and decided to work together to record songs. By 1970, they were known as "Bjorn & Benny (With Svenska Flicka)". Later they were called Bjorn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida. Their first hit was a song called "Hej, gamle man". By 1971, Bjorn and Agnetha were married and Benny and Frida were engaged. "Ring Ring" in 1973 was when the group achieved success throughout much of Europe and Africa. It wasn't until 1973 that the group became officially known as ABBA. The name was suggested by their manager, Stig Anderson. In 1974, ABBA was given a chance to perform in the Eurovision Song Contest. With "Waterloo", they won and soon got global success. In 1976, ABBA released Dancing Queen, which is often known as ABBA's "signature song" and "one of the greatest pop songs ever written". During 1977, their huge popularity became known as "Abbamania". In Australia, ABBA played in huge concerts that usually always sold out. "ABBA: The Movie" was also released in 1977 during the height of the group's popularity. Throughout the mid and late 1970's ABBA performed in Europe, The United States, Japan and Australia. In early 1979, Agnetha and Bjorn divorced. In early 1981, Frida and Benny also got divorced. This led to many sadder and more mature songs over the next few years. By 1981, ABBA's popularity was declining. Their last album, "The Visitors" a not a big success like previous albums. The Day Before You Came was the last song ABBA ever recorded together, while Under Attack was the last song ever released, both in 1982. ABBA broke up shortly before 1983 and all members continued on their independent music careers, just like before they had met.

paragraphs: ABBA recorded eight albums between 1973 and 1981, as well as some compilation albums.


title: Gregg Allman

paragraphs: Gregg Allman (December 8, 1947 – May 27, 2017) was an American rock musician. He was a member of the Allman Brothers Band with his brother, Duane Allman, which popularized Southern Rock in the 1970s. He married Cher, a well-known pop singer and actress after she divorced Sonny Bono in 1974. They had a son, Elijah Blue Allman, before divorcing in 1979. Until recently, he had continued to perform with his band Gregg Allman and Friends and last resided in Georgia with his family.

paragraphs: Following a series of health problems, Allman died at his home in Savannah, Georgia, on May 27, 2017 due to complications of liver cancer. He was 69.


title: Allman Brothers Band

paragraphs: The Allman Brothers Band were an American southern rock band in the 1970s. It originally formed in 1969 with Duane Allman (slide guitar), Gregg Allman (vocals, organ), Dickey Betts (guitar), Berry Oakley (bass guitar), Butch Trucks (drums) and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe" Johanson (drums).

paragraphs: In 1971, soon after their first album went gold, Duane and Berry were killed in separate motorcycle accidents in the group's hometown of Macon, Georgia. The group still released more albums and songs, most notably "Ramblin' Man" and "Jessica", which were their biggest hits. "Rolling Stone" ranked them 52nd on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time in 2004. The band is still touring as of 2008.


title: London Borough of Hackney

paragraphs: The London Borough of Hackney is a London Borough in north east London.


title: John Frost Bridge

paragraphs: The John Frost Bridge at Arnhem was bombed after Operation Market Garden. It was later rebuilt. Some parts of the bridge are still the same as they were in 1944.


title: Vengaboys

paragraphs: The Vengaboys are a Dutch pop music group. The group is made up of DJ Danski and DJ Delmondo. They toured Spanish beach parties in a bus. The group formed in 1992. They added four dancers in 1995-1996 and toured through Europe. Their first song was "Up & Down". It was released in March 1997. The group is popular across Europe and have had some popularity in the United States. Their music is Eurodance.


title: Pope Benedict XVI

paragraphs: Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI (; ; , born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger on 16 April 1927) is Pope Emeritus of the Catholic Church. He served as the 265th Pope from 2005 to 2013. In that position, he was both the leader of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Vatican City State. Benedict was elected on 19 April 2005 in a papal conclave after the death of Pope John Paul II. He celebrated his papal inauguration Mass on 24 April 2005. He took possession of his cathedral, the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, on 7 May 2005.

paragraphs: On 11 February 2013, Benedict announced his resignation in a speech in Latin before the cardinals. His reason was a "lack of strength of mind and body" because of his old age. His resignation became effective on 28 February 2013. He was the first pope to resign since Pope Gregory XII in 1415. He was the first to resign by choice since Pope Celestine V in 1294. As Pope Emeritus, Benedict retains the style of "His Holiness", and the title of "Pope". He will continue to dress in the papal colour of white. He was succeeded by Pope Francis on 13 March 2013. He moved into the newly renovated "Mater Ecclesiae" monastery for his retirement on 2 May 2013. In September 2020, Benedict XVI became the longest-lived pope at aged 93.

paragraphs: Ratzinger was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1951. He was a professor at several German universities, including the University of Bonn and the University of Münster. He also taught at the University of Tübingen. and the University of Regensburg.

paragraphs: In 1977, Ratzinger was named by Pope Paul VI as a Cardinal and the Archbishop of Munich and Freising.

paragraphs: Cardinal Ratzinger was Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

paragraphs: He became Dean of the College of Cardinals. He was a close friend of Pope John Paul II.

paragraphs: In 2005, Cardinal Ratzinger was elected Pope at the age of 78. At the conclave, "it was, if not Ratzinger, who? And as they came to know him, the question became, why not Ratzinger?" He chose to be called Benedict XVI.

paragraphs: On 11 February 2013, the pope announced that he would abdicate or resign on 28 February 2013: "I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry." The original declaration was made in Latin. He is the first pope to resign since Pope Gregory XII in 1415. He decided to resign then retired on February 28, 2013 in order to take care of his health condition.

paragraphs: In a statistical overview derived from writings by and about Joseph Ratzinger, OCLC/WorldCat includes roughly 360+ works in 520+ publications in 20 languages as well as library holdings.

paragraphs: As Pope, OCLC/WorldCat identifies 1,400+ works in 2,300+ publications in 33 languages and 55,000+ library holdings.