title: Deep Purple

paragraphs: Deep Purple are a rock band started in Hertford, England, in 1968. Their best known song is ""Smoke on the Water"" from the album "Machine Head". Some of their other albums like ""Deep Purple in Rock"" where a great hit and was rated #1 in Germany. Deep Purple are one of the pioneering bands and founders of the hard rock and heavy metal genre.

paragraphs: In 1967, a drummer called Chris Curtis was putting a new band together, where members would only be part of it when it suited them (or would "get on and off"). Because of this format, the band was called Roundabout. The first musicians to be hired were guitar player Ritchie Blackmore and keyboard player Jon Lord. Curtis behaved in a disorderly way, and so was fired from his own project. Blackmore and Lord wanted to continue, and so finished putting the band together themselves, with singer Rod Evans, bass player Nick Simper, and drummer Ian Paice. They renamed the band "Deep Purple" after a song Blackmore's mother liked, disliking the name "Roundabout".

paragraphs: This band lineup, known as "Mark I", released three albums, called "Shades of Deep Purple" (1968), "The Book of Taliesyn" (1968) and a self-titled (1969). They released a fairly popular single called "Hush", thought to be radio friendly in America, but, apart from that, did not have any success. Eventually, Blackmore and Lord decided to change the style of music the band would play from soft progressive rock to hard rock. While Ian Paice agreed to the change, they decided Evans and Simper would not fit this new style, and were let go from the band.

paragraphs: The band found a new singer called Ian Gillan and a new bass player called Roger Glover, forming Mark II. Jon Lord used to play in orchestras, and at this time, wanted to go back to them and base the Deep Purple sound around that. Whilst the band did perform as an orchestra (with new singer Ian Gillan writing lyrics) gaining the band some publicity, Gillan and Blackmore were not happy about the band being associated with orchestras, and were firm about Deep Purple being a hard rock band, though Jon Lord would write another orchestral piece for the band.

paragraphs: The band eventually got back to their plans of playing hard rock, and released "Deep Purple in Rock" in 1970, which became a big success. The famous album cover shows the band members' faces engraved into Mount Rushmore. The album itself had popular songs such as "Speed King" "Child in Time" and "Bloodsucker" (which was later re-recorded by the band in 1998). Critics and fans were pleased with new singer Ian Gillan's high pitched singing and screaming, and the album has since been considered a classic of the time, along with Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" and Led Zeppelin's "Led Zeppelin II".

paragraphs: The band followed "In Rock" up with "Fireball" in 1971, which did show hints of creative progressive rock but was still as heavy as the last album. Just weeks later, the band started working on the next album, which would become "Machine Head". An incident at a Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention concert would inspire the band to write their most popular song, "Smoke on the Water" which ended up on the album. "Machine Head", released in 1972, was another success and featured several other popular songs like "Highway Star" and "Space Truckin'".

paragraphs: Mark II's last album was "Who Do We Think We Are" in 1973, and it featured another hit song for the band, "Woman from Tokyo". Ian Gillan left the band that year as he did not like the band's touring and recording schedule, because at the time he wanted a break. He was also arguing with Ritchie Blackmore. Roger Glover left shortly after, also because of arguing with Blackmore.

paragraphs: David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes were hired to replace Ian Gillan and Roger Glover. Glenn Hughes also had singing talent so it was decided he would act as lead singer on some of the band's songs too. In fact, since Hughes was hired first, the band considered performing as a 4-piece from then on, with Hughes singing full-time as well as playing bass.

paragraphs: Mark III's first album, "Burn", released in 1974, was successful and seemed to point a positive picture for the band's future without Gillan or Glover. The singing harmonies from Coverdale and Hughes had something of a blues and funk style to them. These styles were explored more on the band's next album, "Stormbringer", released later the same year. Ritchie Blackmore left after he became more unhappy with this style of music, feeling it was just "shoeshine music".

paragraphs: Although many fans were wondering if Deep Purple could carry on without Blackmore, who had been their highly regarded guitar player from their formation up until this point, they chose to continue, and hired American guitar player Tommy Bolin (forming mark IV). The next album, "Come Taste The Band", showed Bolin bringing a further funk influence into the band's music, having a more creative output than Blackmore did when he left the band.

paragraphs: Ian Paice and Jon Lord, the last remaining founding members, agreed to end Deep Purple in 1976 after touring was over, but did not inform any other members. Shortly after, Coverdale informed them he was leaving the band, and only then did Jon Lord tell him: "David, there's no band to leave!" Glenn Hughes and Tommy Bolin were excited about the next Deep Purple album before they too were told that Paice and Lord had ended the band.

paragraphs: David Coverdale started a band of his own called Whitesnake, and Ian Paice and Jon Lord were members for a period of time. Ian Gillan had been performing in a solo band since he left in 1973. Ritchie Blackmore had started a band called Rainbow after leaving in 1975, releasing some successful albums with Ronnie James Dio as lead singer, who would carry on his fame in Black Sabbath and Dio (his own solo band). However, Tommy Bolin would only release one more solo album before he died in 1976, due to drug use.

paragraphs: Rod Evans put together a band and tried to perform as "Deep Purple", advertising it as a reunion although he was the only member who had ever been part of the band during its initial time together. Legal action was taken against him by the real representatives of Deep Purple, who sued him for using the band name without permission.

paragraphs: A real Deep Purple reunion happened in 1984 when the Mark II lineup got back together, and released the album "Perfect Strangers" that same year. It sold very well and was well received from fans who were excited about the return of the band's iconic lineup. The songs "Knockin' At Your Back Door" and "Perfect Strangers" were popular. The band also enjoyed success on tour.

paragraphs: "The House of Blue Light" was the next album to come from the band, in 1987. Some fans noticed that the band sounded more "modern" on this album than before, which led to mixed opinions. A new version of the band's 1968 minor hit "Hush" was re-recorded in 1988 by the Mark II lineup to mark the 20th anniversary of Deep Purple. However, Ian and Ritchie started arguing again over the future of the band, and their differences had torn their working relationship too far apart, meaning Gillan was fired in 1989. Blackmore seemed to want to make the band sound more commercial (something he had tried to do with his band Rainbow back in the early 1980s). He hired Joe Lynn Turner (also a former Rainbow singer) to replace Gillan, and the Mark V band released "Slaves and Masters" in 1990.

paragraphs: However, the band's popularity was declining, and Turner was forced out in 1992 by the record company, who wanted the iconic lineup with Gillan back for the band's 25th anniversary. And so, the Mark II lineup released one more album together in 1993 called "The Battle Rages On...". However, during the tour, audience attendances were getting lower, and problems between band members arose, with Ritchie Blackmore walking out on the band for good. Joe Satriani filled in for the rest of the tour, but did not become a full-time member afterwards, due to his label commitments. The band decided to hire American Steve Morse in 1994.

paragraphs: With Steve Morse in the band, Deep Purple enjoyed renewed success on tour. Ian Gillan was especially pleased that Ritchie Blackmore was no longer in the band, as he felt his departure saved them from a breakup. Since 1994, Deep Purple have enjoyed more success touring than with their studio albums, although their material written with Morse has received good reviews, with fans and critics feeling the band has more creativity again. Mark VII released two albums, "Purpendicular" (1996) and "Abandon" (1998), before Jon Lord retired in 2002, feeling the need to step down from the band's hard touring schedule. He was replaced by Don Airey.

paragraphs: Over the next few years, Deep Purple released two more albums, "Bananas" (2003) and "Rapture of the Deep" (2005). Their next tour, the "Rapture of the Deep tour" started in 2006, and finished in 2011, making it their longest tour to date. In 2012, Jon Lord died after battling cancer at the age of 71. The band continue to record as well as tour, and released their nineteenth and latest album, "Now What?!", in 2013.

paragraphs: Ian Paice is the only member to be in all of the band's lineups.

paragraphs: The first complete lineup of the band. They released a single that was fairly successful in America called "Hush". Rod Evans and Nick Simper were fired as the other members wanted to play heavier rock music and did not think they would play this style of music well.

paragraphs: This is the band's most famous lineup, releasing albums such as "Deep Purple in Rock" and songs such as "Smoke on the Water". In 1973, Ian Gillan left the band as he did not like the band's touring and recording schedule, because at the time he wanted a break. He was also arguing with Ritchie Blackmore. Roger Glover left shortly after, also because of arguing with Blackmore.

paragraphs: In 1984, this lineup of the band got back together. However, Ian and Ritchie started arguing again over the future of the band, meaning Gillan was fired in 1989. He rejoined in 1992, bringing this band lineup together for the third time, although Blackmore left a year later, this time, for good.

paragraphs: David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes were hired to replace Ian Gillan and Roger Glover. Glenn Hughes also had singing talent so it was decided he would act as lead singer on some of the band's songs too. Ritchie Blackmore left after he became more unhappy with the style of music of the band, which was more funk rock at this time.

paragraphs: After making the hard decision to carry the band on without Blackmore, the band hired American guitar player Tommy Bolin and carried on the funk-rock music style Blackmore was unhappy about.

paragraphs: Ritchie Blackmore had before played with Joe Lynn Turner in Blackmore's solo band called Rainbow, and suggested he join the band to replace Ian Gillan, who was brought back 3 years later because of record label pressures, as the band's 25th anniversary was coming up and they wanted the iconic Mark II lineup together again.

paragraphs: The band still needed to play concerts after Ritchie Blackmore, so they hired American guitar player Joe Satriani, although he did not stay with the band after the tour.

paragraphs: Joe Satriani turned down the chance to be a member of Deep Purple, so the band found another American guitar player called Steve Morse. In 2002, Jon Lord retired from the band after 26 years with them (not counting the 8 years the band was split up) leaving Ian Paice as the only founding member left. He was replaced with Don Airey.

paragraphs: This has remained the lineup since Jon Lord's departure from Deep Purple and the hiring of Don Airey to replace him.


title: Yogurt

paragraphs: Yogurt, or yoghurt is a milk product made by bacterial fermentation of milk. The lactose in the milk becomes lactic acid when it is fermented. Lactic acid acts on the protein in the milk to make yoghurt thick and sour. The milk is heated to about 80 °C to kill any bacteria present, and to change the milk proteins so that they set together instead of becoming curd. After it is cooled to about 45 °C, the bacteria culture is added, and the milk is kept at that temperature for 4 to 7 hours to ferment. Soy yoghurt is made from soy milk.

paragraphs: Yogurt is one of the oldest produced foods in human history. No one knows for sure how long yogurt has been around. Today, it is eaten all over the world. It is rich in protein, calcium, riboflavin, vitamin B and vitamin B.

paragraphs: In English, the word can be spelled either 'yogurt' or 'yoghurt'. In Canada 'yogourt' is also common. It can be spoken with either a short or a long 'o'.

paragraphs: The earliest yogurts were probably made by wild bacteria (yeast infections) and happened by chance.

paragraphs: The oldest writings mentioning yogurt were by Pliny the Elder, who said that some people knew how to thicken the milk into something which was sour but tasty.

paragraphs: Stamen Grigorov (1878–1945), a Bulgarian student of medicine in Geneva, first examined the bacteria in Bulgarian yogurt. In 1905 he said that it contained a round and a rod-like lactic acid-producing bacteria. In 1907 the rod-like bacteria was called "Lactobacillus bulgaricus" (now "Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus"). The Russian Nobel laureate biologist Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov, from the Pasteur Institute in Paris, was influenced by Grigorov's work and made a hypothesis that eating yoghurt regularly was the reason why Bulgarian peasants lived for so long. Mechnikov believed that "Lactobacillus" was needed for good health, and worked to make yoghurt popular through Europe.

paragraphs: Yoghurt has a lot of protein, calcium, riboflavin, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 in it. It is healthier than milk is. Many people who are lactose-intolerant can enjoy yoghurt, because much of the lactose in the milk has become lactic acid.

paragraphs: Yoghurt also has medical uses, and in preventing antibiotic-associated diarrhea.


title: Marlon Brando

paragraphs: Marlon Brando, Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor and movie director. He is best known for his roles in the movies "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1951), "The Wild One" (1953), "On the Waterfront" (1954), "The Godfather" (1972), "Superman" (1978), "Apocalypse Now" (1979) and "The Island of Dr. Moreau" (1996). Brando died of respiratory failure from pulmonary fibrosis and congestive heart failure at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center on July 1, 2004.


title: Galician language

paragraphs: Galician (Galician: ) is a modern language that is spoken in Galicia, a region of Spain in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Galician is closely related to Portuguese because they split from the same language, which is now called Galician-Portuguese or Medieval Galician. Some even say that Galician and Portuguese are two dialects of the same language but with different accents. However, most scholars say that the differences are now so great since both languages separated in the Middle Ages that they are now truly different languages. Galician is also very similar to the Leonese language.

paragraphs: Galician is a Romance language that evolved from Vulgar Latin, the Latin of common people in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The area is now Galicia, the western parts of Asturias and Castile-Leon and the Norte region in northern Portugal.

paragraphs: Galician took most of its words from Latin, many from Spanish but some from Germanic and Celtic.

paragraphs: Galician comes from Galician-Portuguese, spoken during the Middle Ages in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia. Today, Galician is spoken only in Galicia and by some people in North America, South America and Western Europe. In Jalisco, Mexico, Galician still leaves traces in the accent and words.

paragraphs: Some people say Galician and Portuguese are really two dialects of the same language because there are not a lot of differences between them, but they are officially two separate languages. Most scholars say they that have become so different over hundreds of years that they are now two different languages.

paragraphs: People who speak Portuguese in northern Portugal, which is close to Galicia, and people who speak Galician in Galicia, say that they can understand a lot each other, but that is less true in the south of Portugal.


title: Ibn Khaldun

paragraphs: Abdul Rahman Ibn Khaldun was an influential Arab thinker of the 14th century. His family were from Andalusia. Born in Tunisia in 1332, Khaldun served the governments of the day in many ways. He was sometimes in prison. He lived in Marrakesh in Morocco for a time, and in Granada. Then he moved to Cairo, where was a judge and died in 1406.

paragraphs: The most famous book Khaldun wrote is the Kitāb al-ʻIbar (Book of Lessons), a history of the world. The first part, Muqaddimah (Introduction) is often used alone. This book is often credited as inventing sociology. He also wrote his autobiography.

paragraphs: To understand and appreciate his work, one must understand his life. He lived a life in search of stability and influence. He came from a family of scholars and politicians and he intended to live up to both expectations. He would succeed in the field of scholarship much more so than in any other field.


title: Swabian Jura

paragraphs: The Swabian Jura (German: "Schwäbische Alb") is a plateau in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The Swabian Jura is situated between the Black Forest (West), Stuttgart (North), Bavaria (East) and Lake Constance (South). A lot of fossils are found here. The highest mountain is the Lemberg (1015 m).


title: Nerve

paragraphs: A nerve is a group of special nerve cells grouped together in parallel. Another word for nerve cell is neuron. The special neurons grouped together in nerves take information (messages) to and from the human body to the central nervous system. The central nervous system (acronym) CNS is the brain and spinal cord. The spinal cord is the big cord that goes from the brain into the back. It carries all the information that goes from the brain to the nerves in the body.

paragraphs: All the nerves in the body make the peripheral nervous system (acronym PNS). The brain and spinal cord are the CNS. All the nerves that come from the spinal cord are the PNS. Together the CNS and PNS are the nervous system.

paragraphs: Nervous system contains neurons and cells called glia. Glia cells keep the neurons safe and healthy. Neurons take messages to and from the CNS to the rest. The dendrite and axon are fibers that go out from the cell body. Axons take information "away from" the cell body. Dendrites take information to the cell body.

paragraphs: "Afferent" nerves take messages to the CNS (brain) from the body. They take messages about sensation from the skin. They take messages about the position of the body from the muscles. They take messages about the function of organs like the heart and stomach.

paragraphs: "Efferent" nerves take messages from the CNS to the body. They take messages that tell muscles to move. They take messages to glands. They tell glands like "sweat glands" to make sweat (the water that comes out of your skin when you are hot.)

paragraphs: There are many diseases of nerves. A disease of nerves is also called a "neuropathy".


title: Vaccine

paragraphs: A vaccine is medicine given by a doctor or nurse and makes a person less likely to get a disease. It gives immunity to an infectious disease caused by a particular germ (bacteria or virus). For example, the flu vaccine makes it less likely that a person will get the flu. A flu vaccine is often called a flu shot.

paragraphs: Vaccines are usually made from something that is alive, or was alive.

paragraphs: The word "vaccine" comes from the Latin words "vaccīn-us" (from the word "vacca", meaning "cow"). In 1796, Edward Jenner used cows infected with cowpox ("variolae vaccinae") to protect people against smallpox. The use of vaccines is called vaccination.

paragraphs: Edward Jenner created the first vaccine in the 1770s. At this time, smallpox was a deadly disease. Jenner noticed that people who had already had cowpox (a disease that is related to smallpox) usually did not get smallpox. He thought that getting cowpox protected people against smallpox.

paragraphs: To test this idea, Jenner gave a boy cowpox. Then he infected the boy with smallpox. The boy did not get sick because he had already had cowpox. Jenner was right: having cowpox protected people against smallpox.

paragraphs: Because cowpox inoculation made fewer people sick than smallpox inoculation, England made smallpox inoculation illegal in 1840. In 1853, they made another law that said every child had to be vaccinated against smallpox using Jenifer vaccine.

paragraphs: In the 19th century, Louis Pasteur made a rabies vaccine.

paragraphs: In the 20th century, scientists created vaccines to protect people against diphtheria, measles, mumps, and rubella. In the 1950s, Jonas Salk created the polio vaccine.

paragraphs: However, vaccines still do not exist for many important diseases, like malaria and HIV.

paragraphs: Many countries have passed "compulsory vaccination laws" - laws that require certain people to get vaccinated. For example, in many countries, children have to be vaccinated against certain diseases in order to go to public school.

paragraphs: There are many different types of vaccines.

paragraphs: One common type of vaccine is a "live vaccine." This type of vaccine contains a small amount of a live virus or bacteria. Before the vaccine is given, scientists weaken the virus or bacteria so it cannot make a person sick. When a person gets a live vaccine, their immune system learns to recognize and fight off that virus or bacteria. Then, if the person is exposed to the virus or bacteria in the future, their immune system will already "know" how to fight it off. Examples of live vaccines include vaccines for measles, mumps, and chickenpox.

paragraphs: Another common type of vaccine is an "inactivated vaccine." These vaccines contain dead viruses or bacteria. These do not cause the immune system to react as strongly as live vaccines. Because of this, people may need "booster shots" - extra doses of the vaccine, given at certain times, so their immune system can "learn" how to fight off the infection. Examples of inactivated vaccines include vaccines for pertussis (whooping cough), rabies, and hepatitis B.

paragraphs: In other vaccines, only a protein molecule from the virus or bacterium is injected into the patient. The protein is enough for the patient's immune system to recognize the whole germ.

paragraphs: With messenger RNA vaccines, only the messenger RNA (mRNA), which acts as a blueprint or recipe for the protein, is injected into the patient. The first mRNA vaccines were made in the 1990s, but scientists did not make large numbers of them until the 2010s. Some mRNA vaccines work against cancer and can make tumors smaller.

paragraphs: Scientists can make some types of vaccines in a laboratory.

paragraphs: Vaccines do not guarantee complete protection from a disease. In other words, a person can get a disease that they were vaccinated against.

paragraphs: Sometimes, this happens because the person's immune system did not respond to the vaccine (it did not "learn" how to fight off the disease after the person got the vaccine). This may happen because the person's immune system is already weak (for example, because of diabetes, HIV infection, old age, or steroid use). It may also happen because the person's immune system cannot make the particular B cells which make the antibodies that stick to the pathogen.

paragraphs: Some vaccines work better than others at protecting people from diseases. There are many reasons for this:

paragraphs: Since vaccines first existed, there have been people who did not agree with the idea of using vaccines. Around the world, most scientists and doctors agree that the benefits of using vaccines are much greater than the risks. The adverse effects from vaccines are rare. Not vaccinating people is a much greater risk, because vaccines prevent suffering and death from infectious diseases.

paragraphs: There have been controversies over using vaccines such as whether vaccines are safe, the amount of research and whether it is morally right to force people to get vaccinated.

paragraphs: Some religious groups do not allow uses of vaccines.

paragraphs: Some political groups argue that people should be able to choose whether or not to get vaccinated. They argue that laws requiring people to get vaccinated violate individual rights. In response, one study says: "Vaccine refusal not only increases the individual risk of disease but also increases the risk for the whole community".

paragraphs: Some parents choose not to follow the regular vaccine schedule for their children. One study looked at parents of children ages six months to six years old. It found that 13% of these parents reported following an alternative vaccination schedule. However, of these parents, less than 1 out of every 5 reported refusing all vaccines. Most refused only certain vaccines, and/or delayed some vaccines until the child was older.

paragraphs: Parents who delay vaccines until their children are older are often concerned about their child's immune system being too young and weak to handle getting many vaccines at once.

paragraphs: One challenge in developing vaccines is economic. The diseases that most need vaccines today - HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis - exist mostly in poor countries. Companies that make vaccines would not make much money because many of the people who need them are too poor to pay for them. There would also be financial and other risks to these companies if they tried making new vaccines for these diseases.

paragraphs: Throughout history, most vaccines have been developed by governments, universities, and non-profit organizations. Many vaccines have been highly cost-effective and good for public health. In recent decades, the number of vaccines given throughout the world has increased dramatically. This increase, particularly in the number of different vaccines given to children before they start school, may be due to laws and support from governments.

paragraphs: Another obstacle to making new vaccines is that when a new vaccine is made, the maker often files a patent on their vaccine. These patents can keep the process used to make the vaccine secret. That can make it harder to make other vaccines using the same process.

paragraphs: Vaccines often contain other things besides the active vaccine (the weakened or dead virus or bacteria). For example, vaccines may contain:

paragraphs: Preservatives in vaccines, such as thiomersal, phenoxyethanol, and formaldehyde, prevent serious adverse effects. Thiomersal is more effective against bacteria, lasts longer in storage, and makes the vaccine stronger, safer, and more stable (less likely to be changed by things like heat). However, in the United States, the European Union, and a few other developed countries, it is no longer used as a preservative in childhood vaccines because it contains mercury. Some people have argued that thimerosal contributes to autism. However, no convincing scientific evidence says this is true.

paragraphs: If no preservative is added to a vaccine, harmful bacteria may grow in the vaccine. For example, in 1928, "Staphylococcus" bacteria grew in a diphtheria vaccine that had no preservative in it. Of 21 children who got that vaccine, 12 died.

paragraphs: Animals are vaccinated to keep them from getting diseases, and to keep them from infecting humans with diseases. Pets as well as livestock are routinely vaccinated.

paragraphs: In some instances, populations of wild animals may be vaccinated. Sometimes, wild animals are vaccinated by spreading vaccine-laced food in a disease-prone area. This method has been used to try to control rabies in raccoons. Where rabies occurs, laws may require dogs to get rabies vaccinations.

paragraphs: Dogs can also be vaccinated against many other diseases, including canine distemper, canine parvovirus, infectious canine hepatitis, adenovirus-2, leptospirosis, bordatella, canine parainfluenza virus, and Lyme disease.

paragraphs: Scientists are also working on vaccines against many noninfectious human diseases, such as cancers and autoimmune disorders. For example, the experimental vaccine CYT006-AngQb has been investigated as a possible treatment for high blood pressure.


title: Injury

paragraphs: Usually an injury is when the body or a part of the body is damaged by something outside of the body. Another word for injury to a body is "trauma".

paragraphs: Injury can be "accidental" or "intentional". Intentional injury is when someone "tries" to hurt another person. (Intentional injury is also called "non-accidental" injury) Accidental injury is when no one means to hurt someone else. An example of accidental injury is a car wreck.


title: Mercedes-Benz

paragraphs: Mercedes-Benz () is a brand of cars, trucks, buses and coaches from the Daimler AG company of Germany. The company was once known as Daimler-Benz and is still sometimes called just "Mercedes." Mercedes-Benz is the world's oldest car maker and the cars they make cost a lot of money. The symbol of Mercedes-Benz is very famous. It is a three-pointed star inside of a circle and was designed by one of the men who started the company, Gottlieb Daimler. The three points of the star stand for land, air and sea because Daimler's engines were used not only in cars and trucks but in airplanes and boats. The symbol was first used in 1909.

paragraphs: Mercedes-Benz cars are an important part of the history of the car with many "firsts." They were the first to build a diesel-powered car in the 1930s, the first to build a car with fuel injection in the 1950s and the first to offer antilock brakes in the 1970s. Mercedes-Benz cars have also been important in auto racing history.

paragraphs: The Benz Patent-Motorwagen was the company's first production car, built by Rheinische Gasmotorenfabrik Benz & Cie (known today as Mercedes-Benz). It is often considered the first real gasoline -powered car. By 1901, the cars had become very popular among the rich, mostly because of the efforts of Emil Jellineck.

paragraphs: Mercedes-Benz builds a range of vans such as the Citan, Vito, and Sprinter

paragraphs: Mercedes-Benz Trucks and Daimler Trucks builds trucks together, They build buses, trucks, the Vito and the Sprinter van.

paragraphs: Mercedes-Benz has been building buses from 1895 in Mannheim in Germany. Mercedes-Benz produces a wide range of buses and coaches.


title: Record label

paragraphs: A record label or record company makes and sells audio and video recordings, on various formats including compact discs, LPs, DVD-Audio, SACDs, and cassettes. The name "record label" is from the paper label at the center of a gramophone record (what is also known as a "phonograph record" in American English).

paragraphs: Most major record labels are owned by a few large multinational companies (Big Four record labels) that make up the almost all of the global recording industry, although there is a recent resurgence in independent record labels.

paragraphs: Recording companies often spend a lot of time and money in discovering new musicians or developing the talent of artists they already have signed up with a contract. The association of the brand with the artists helps define the image of both the brand and the artist.

paragraphs: In spite of the fact that both parties need each other to survive, the relationship between record labels and artists can, at times, be a difficult one. Many artists have had albums changed or censored in some way by the labels before they are released—songs being edited, artwork or titles being changed, etc. Record labels generally do this because they believe that the album will sell better if the changes are made. Often the record label's decisions are correct ones from a commercial perspective, but this typically frustrates the artist who feels that their artwork is being destroyed.

paragraphs: In the early days of the recording industry, record labels were absolutely necessary for the success of any artist. The first goal of any new artist or band was to get signed to a contract as soon as possible. In the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, many artists were so desperate to sign a contract with a record company that they usually ended up signing a bad contract, sometimes giving away the rights to their music in the process. Entertainment lawyers are used by some to look over any contract before it is signed.

paragraphs: In the 1970s and 1980s, there was a phase of consolidation in the record industry that led to almost all major labels being owned by a very few multinational companies, who in turn were members of the RIAA.

paragraphs: In the 1990s, due to the widespread use of home studios, consumer CD recorders, and the Internet, independent labels began to become more commonplace. Independent labels are typically artist-owned (although not always), with a focus usually on making good music and not necessarily on the business aspects of the industry or making lots of money. Because of this, independent artists usually receive less radio play and sell fewer CDs than artists signed to major labels. However, they usually have more control over the music and packaging of the released product.

paragraphs: On occasion established artists, once their record contract has finished, move to an independent label. This often gives the combined advantage of name recognition and more control over one's music. Singers Dolly Parton, Aimee Mann and Prince, among others, have achieved this.

paragraphs: While there are many independent labels, folk singer Ani DiFranco's Righteous Babe Records is often cited as an ideal example. The singer turned down lucrative contracts from several top-name labels in order to establish her own New-York-based company. Constant touring resulted in noteworthy success for an act without significant major funding. Ani and others from the company have spoken on several occasions about their business model in hopes of encouraging others.

paragraphs: Some independent labels become successful enough that major record companies negotiate contracts to either distribute music for the label or in some cases, purchase the label completely.

paragraphs: On the punk rock scene, the DIY punk ethic encourages bands to self-publish and self-distribute. This approach has been around since the early 1980s, in an attempt to stay true to the punk ideals of doing it yourself and not selling out to corporate profits and control. Such labels have a reputation for being fiercely uncompromising and especially unwilling to cooperate with the Big Five record labels at all.

paragraphs: With the Internet now being a viable source for music, net labels emerge. Depending on the ideals of the net label, music files from the artists may be downloaded free of charge or for a fee that is paid via PayPal or an online payment system. Some of these labels also offer hard copy CDs in addition to direct download (for example, Baltimore's Schismatik record label ships CDs for a nominal charge). Most net labels acknowledge the Creative Commons licensing system thus reserving certain rights for the artist.

paragraphs: There are gas stations in Erie, Pennsylvania.

paragraphs: "Main Article:" Open source record label

paragraphs: The new century brings the phenomenon of "open-source" or "open-content" record label. These are inspired by the free software and open-source movement and the success of GNU/Linux.


title: Pipette

paragraphs: A pipette is a glass tube used for moving a specific volume of a solution.

paragraphs: A smaller, less accurate version, known as a teat pipette is made of plastic and is filled by squeezing a plastic bubble at the top.

paragraphs: A pipette used for the delivery of small fractions of a milliliter of a liquid is called a micropipette.

paragraphs: Piston-driven air displacement pipettes, or 'micropipettes', are the most accurate and precise pipettes. They handle liquid in the microliter scale, and are used in biology and biochemistry,


title: Muscle

paragraphs: Muscle is a tissue in animal bodies. Their main purpose is to help us to move our body parts. They are one of the major systems of human and animal bodies. When a muscle is activated it contracts, making itself shorter and thicker, thereby pulling its ends closer.

paragraphs: Muscle action can be classified as being either "voluntary" or "involuntary".

paragraphs: The skeletal muscles move the limbs (arms and legs). They move the jaw up and down so that food can be chewed. Skeletal muscles are the only "voluntary" muscles, the only ones that we can choose to move.

paragraphs: The cardiac muscle is the muscle in the heart. When this muscle contracts it pushes blood through the circulatory system. The cardiac muscle is "not" voluntary.

paragraphs: The smooth muscles are the other muscles in the body that are involuntary. Smooth muscles are in many places. They are in:

paragraphs: Muscles are made of many muscle cells. The cells contract together to make the muscle get shorter. The muscle cells know to do this together because many of them get information sent to them by nerves. The cells that get the message from nerves tell other cells that are near them. They tell the other cells by sending an electrical current.

paragraphs: Muscle cells are filled with proteins called actin and myosin. These are the proteins that make the muscle contract (get shorter.)

paragraphs: When a nerve tells a muscle to contract, the muscle opens holes in its cell membrane. These holes are proteins that are called "calcium channels". The calcium ions rush into the cell. Calcium also comes out of a special place in the cell called the "sarcoplasmic reticulum". This calcium sticks to the specialized proteins actin and myosin. This triggers these proteins to contract the muscle.

paragraphs: Contraction also needs ATP. This is the energy that cells use. It is made from using glucose in the cell. It takes a lot of energy to release contracted muscles. They use most of the energy for building muscles.

paragraphs: Exercise makes muscles get bigger (see hypertrophy). Exercise also makes muscles stronger. If a person does not exercise, their muscles become smaller and weaker. This is called muscle atrophy.

paragraphs: There are many different kinds of muscle diseases. There are three big groups of diseases:


title: Game Boy

paragraphs: The , is an 8-bit handheld video game console, first released in Japan in April 1989. It was later released in North America in July 1989 and then in Europe in September 1990. It is Nintendo's first handheld. The Game Boy is also the first portable console to use game cartridges, meaning the games are interchangeable. The Game Boy family eventually extended to include the Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Advance SP and Game Boy Micro.

paragraphs: The Game Boy has a green screen that displays four shades of dark green (gray for the Game Boy Pocket). Like the NES, the Game Boy has four buttons and a cross-shaped direction pad. The console has a single speaker, and it can be used with stereo headphones. As many as four Game Boys can be connected together with the Game Boy Link Cable.

paragraphs: The Game Boy was invented by Gunpei Yokoi, who also was responsible for creating the unsuccessful Virtual Boy and the successful Game & Watch games.

paragraphs: Recently, the Game Boy was compared to all Nintendo handhelds and systems released between 1989 and 2016 to see how long each one's battery life lasted, and the Game Boy beat all the other systems with 30 hours of battery life. The Game Boy provided the most game play at its time, and currently still does.


title: Stomach

paragraphs: The stomach is part of the digestive system. It is an internal organ between the esophagus and the small intestines. The stomach is the third stage in the digestive process. It holds food after ingestion. Food in the stomach then passes through to the small intestine where most of the food's nutrition is absorbed.

paragraphs: The stomach contains hydrochloric acid made by stomach cells. As a useful side-effect, the acid kills bacteria in the food. However, its main function is to help the protein-digesting enzymes called proteases work. In general, the food is churned, squeezed and mixed. This prepares it for digestion. The partially digested food is called chyme.

paragraphs: The stomach acid may cause problems. It can make peptic ulcers worse. It can also cause heartburn—pain in the chest when acid from the stomach "refluxes" (backs up into) the oesophagus. These can usually be treated by neutralizing the acid. Vomiting occurs when food goes back up the oesophagus and out the mouth. Vomiting can be a symptom of disease.

paragraphs: Stomachs of other mammals work differently to human stomachs. Ruminants, for example, have a stomach with multiple compartments.

paragraphs: In that system, food goes through the first part of the digestive system twice, and the work of digesting the grass is done by bacteria.

paragraphs: Other words for "stomach" include "belly" and "tummy".


title: Pain

paragraphs: Pain is a symptom of being hurt or sick. It is a bad sensation that is physical "and" emotional.

paragraphs: Most pain starts when part of the body is hurt. Nerves in that part send messages to the brain. Those messages tell the brain that the body is being damaged. Pain is not just the message the nerve sends to the brain. It is the bad emotion felt because of that damage.

paragraphs: The message that the nerve sends to the brain is called "nociception". What is experienced "because of" the nociception is pain.

paragraphs: Pain can be "acute" or "chronic". Acute means it only happens a short time. Chronic means the pain lasts a long time.

paragraphs: Pain can be from different types of injury:

paragraphs: Pain can also happen when there is no underlying injury or cause. Pain can happen just because the nerves do not work right. This is called "neuropathic" pain.

paragraphs: For most pain, the best treatment is to stop the damage that makes the pain. If the ankle is sprained, doctors tell the person not to walk on it. They tell them to put ice on it. This helps the injury stop. For an ulcer in the stomach, doctors stop the acid made in the stomach. This helps the ulcer to heal.

paragraphs: But many kinds of pain also need medicines to feel better. There are many different kinds of medicines for pain:

paragraphs: There are doctors who specialize in pain management. These are usually anesthesiologists but may also have any one of a number of underlying areas of specialization, such as neurology, physiatry, or internal medicine.

paragraphs: A new genetic method of treating chronic pain is in the research stage. The idea is to inactivate (turn off) gene HCN2, which plays a key role in chronic pain. Experiments on mice suggest this will work.


title: Drain

paragraphs: A drain is found in the ground and lets water go through (usually rainwater) to avoid the street or farmland getting flooded.


title: Super Mario 64

paragraphs: Super Mario 64 is a 1996 video game created by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It marked the first "Mario" game using 3D graphics. Many fans and critics think that it is one of the best video games ever made.

paragraphs: Princess Peach makes a special cake and invites Mario to her castle in Mushroom Kingdom. As Mario arrives, he learns that Bowser occupied the castle and kidnapped Peach. To defeat Bowser and rescue Peach, Mario enters each worlds on painting walls. The main hub of the game is Peach's castle. The player can unlock doors by collecting stars. There are 120 of them on each separated levels. The player can get each stars by completing each achievements per level. One world requires two stars, for instance. Each locked door leads to more levels and challenges. Mario can also leave the castle and explore the small courtyard.

paragraphs: "Super Mario 64" was made in less than two years, but it was reported that Shigeru Miyamoto had thought about a 3D "Mario" game, called "Super Mario FX", five years before, while working on "Star Fox". Miyamoto developed most of the concepts during the era of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) and considered using the Super FX chip to make it a SNES game, but decided to develop it for the Nintendo 64 due to the former system's technical limitations. On his Twitter Dylan Cuthbert stated that there was never a "Super Mario FX" game ever made, and that "Super Mario FX" was the internal code name of the FX chip.

paragraphs: Nintendo started making the game with the creation of the characters and camera system. Miyamoto and the other designers were initially unsure of which direction the game should take; months were spent selecting a camera view and layout that would be appropriate. The original concept involved the game having fixed path much like an isometric type game (similar to ""), before the choice was made to settle on a free-roaming 3D design. Although the majority of "Super Mario 64" would end up featuring the free-roaming design, elements of the original fixed path concept would remain in certain parts of the game, particularly in the three Bowser encounters. One of the programmers of "Super Mario 64", Giles Goddard, explained that these few linear elements survived as a means to force players into Bowser's lair rather than to encourage exploration. The development team placed high priority on getting Mario's movements right, and before levels were created, the team was testing and refining Mario's animations on a simple grid. The first test scenario used to try out controls and physics involved Mario and a golden rabbit named "MIPS" by the developers (named for the MIPS-type CPU used by the Nintendo 64), the latter of which was included in the final release of the game as a means to obtain two of the Power Stars. The developers initially tried to make the game split screen co-op using both Mario and Luigi. Initially, the two characters would start at separate points in the castle and work their way through the game together. However, developers were unable to make the gameplay work.

paragraphs: Shigeru Miyamoto's guiding design philosophy behind "Super Mario 64" was to "include more details" than found in games prior to the Nintendo 64. Some details were inspired by real life. For example, the Boos are based on assistant director Takashi Tezuka's wife, who, as Miyamoto explained, "is very quiet normally, but one day she exploded, maddened by all the time Tezuka spent at work. In the game, there is now a character which shrinks when Mario looks at it, but when Mario turns away, it will grow large and menacing." "Super Mario 64" is also characterized by featuring more puzzles than earlier "Mario" games. It was developed simultaneously with "", but as "Ocarina of Time" was released more than two years later, some puzzles were taken from that game for "Super Mario 64".

paragraphs: Information about "Super Mario 64" first leaked out in November 1995, and a playable version of the game was presented days later as part of the world premiere for the Nintendo 64 (then known as Nintendo's "Ultra 64") at Nintendo Space World. The basic controls had at this point been implemented, and the game was reportedly 50% finished, although most of the course design remained. Thirty-two courses were created for the game. Miyamoto thought he would create more, up to 40 courses, not including bonus levels. The actual number turned out much lower in the final game, though, as only 15 courses could fit.

paragraphs: In the original "Super Smash Bros." for the Nintendo 64 console, Princess Toadstool's castle is a playable stage in which the fighters fight on top of the roof, Mario can be the owner of the area.

paragraphs: In "Mario Party", Peach's stage is a large birthday cake which the player can travel through.

paragraphs: In 1999, a sequel, titled Super Mario 64 2, was planned to be released for the Nintendo 64DD (N64 Disk Drive), but it was cancelled, due to the commercial failure of the Nintendo 64DD and unlike its predecessor, Luigi was going to be playable and there would be a multiplayer mode. "Super Mario 64 DS" is a 2004 enhanced remake made for the Nintendo DS console. In this game Mario, Luigi, and Wario all get a letter saying Peach baked a cake for them. Bowser has kidnapped Princess Peach, Mario, Luigi, and Wario and has jailed them in Princess Peach's castle, by Gomboss, King Boo, and Chief Chilly. Yoshi is told that he must save them. Yoshi finds a rabbit and unlocks the door to the castle. When the player finds keys, they save a character, and can play as them. "Super Mario 64 DS" also has a multiplayer wireless versus mode where up to four players can play and minigames which are unlocked by getting keys from rabbits. Here, there are 150 stars, 30 more than the original game.


title: MP3

paragraphs: MPEG-1 and/or MPEG-2 Audio Layer 3 (MP3) is a lossy data compression format for audio. Using it makes smaller computer files containing digitized music and other sounds.

paragraphs: The format is a lossy compression format. This means that each time something is compressed with it, some information is lost. This information can not be recovered. When encoding to MP3 converting some audio data to it), the encoder is smart. The human ear can not hear certain sounds if they are masked by other sounds. This means that when encoding certain sound samples, some sounds can be left out as they will not be heard. This makes it possible to compress audio by a factor of about 5, without noticeable change to the sound of the music. With slight audible changes to the sound, compression factors of about 10 are possible.

paragraphs: Many people like to use MP3 files to copy music so they can listen to it on their computer. Record companies do not like it when people use the Internet to share these MP3 files with each other. They think it is a violation of their copyright. The record industries have a trade group called the RIAA that has taken people to court for sharing music. An Internet website called Napster was shut down because of this. Napster has since re-opened, but does not let people share MP3 files anymore.

paragraphs: Other formats for audio compression are Ogg Vorbis, and FLAC. Ogg Vorbis is very similar to MP3, although it has many improvements. FLAC is a lossless compression meaning no information is lost, and gets compression rates of 2-3.

paragraphs: In the 1980s, Dieter Seitzer started the development of a code for audio format of high-quality. Together with his team at the "German Fraunhofer Institut" situated in Erlangen, the professor had the idea to create code with a low bit-rate. The German institute received the patent for MP3 in 1989. MP3 was then passed to the International Organisation for Standardisation. In the same year the MP3 was included into MPEG-1 specification. (MPEG means Moving Picture Experts Group).

paragraphs: The first player to be able to read the MP3 format was designed by the same Fraunhofer Institute in 1990's. A Croatian student named "Tomislav Uzelac" developed "AMP MP3 Playback Engine" in 1997. It represented the first device that could be called MP3 player. After the player appeared on the Internet, two students named "Justin Frankel" and "Dmitry Boldyrev" transformed it into Winamp. They took the engine of the original player and added the interface of the famous Windows.

paragraphs: When Winamp was launched into the net for free use it became successful at once. This way began the era of free music download. Soon various programmers started creating additional features for the MP3 player. Very often they created new encoders, rippers (software for transforming audio tracks into MP3 files) and players.

paragraphs: Because there is no need to pay licensing fees in order to build the player, today many software MP3 players are free. Some companies claim to have patents covering the MP3 format, but the validity of these patents is questionable because the format specification was published more than 20 years ago, meaning that any relevant patents would have expired. The most famous MP3 players are "Winamp", "Sonique", "iTunes" and "MusicMatch". The main feature of an MP3 player is to turn the MP3 files into standard audio form and then send them to the soundcard of the computer. The soundcard then outputs the files into speaker so the user can hear them. Every MP3 player interprets music differently, though each one of them uses the same code for playing the MP3 files. There are also stand-alone (without a computer) MP3 players. These may be portable, or they may be built-into a stereo system or car stereo.

paragraphs: When compressing, for each frame a small section of audio, the encoder first splits the audio into 32 different parts using a filter bank, similar to MP2. The audio is then split further into either 192 or 576 different parts (depending on the complexity of the audio being compressed more complex audio is split into "fewer" parts using the modified discrete cosine transform. The MP3 encoder then removes parts that it thinks the human ear can't hear. The remaining parts are then compressed using Huffman coding. Decompression does these same steps except removal of parts of the audio in reverse.


title: King Crimson

paragraphs: King Crimson are a progressive rock band. They formed in England in 1969. Their music is usually called progressive rock, but they also have jazz, gamelan, classical music, heavy metal and experimental music in their sound. They are not very popular, but they have a loyal group of fans. Their music has influenced a lot of bands and styles of music. King Crimson are most well known for their first album, In the Court of the Crimson King, which helped create progressive rock. Only one person has been in the band since they started, guitarist Robert Fripp. Right now, the people in the band are Robert Fripp, Mel Collins, Gavin Harrison, Jakko Jakszyk, Bill Rieflin, Jeremy Stacey, Tony Levin, and Pat Mastelotto.

paragraphs: In 1967, drummer Michael Giles and his brother, Peter, a bass guitar player, started a band with Robert Fripp. They recorded one album called The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp. This album did not do very well, and a lot of critics wrote bad reviews of it. After this, Ian Mcdonald joined playing keyboards, reeds, and woodwind instruments. Ian McDonald's friend, Peter Sinfield, joined to write lyrics, and Greg Lake replaced Peter Giles on bass guitar. Then they bought a mellotron, which helped them sound more like classical music. They changed their name to King Crimson, and did their first show in Hyde Park, London in 1969. Their first CD, In the Court of the Crimson King, was a huge success. Their original style impressed fans and critics.

paragraphs: Micheal Giles and Ian Mcdonald left the band to do solo work. The three of them still in the band, Robert Fripp, Peter Sinfield, and Greg Lake, released the single "Catfood/Groon". On the next album, woodwind player Mel Collins, singer Gordon Haskell, and Peter Giles all helped record a few songs with the band. King Crimson released their second album, In the Wake of Poseidon, in 1970. It was not very popular because it sounded too much like the first album.


title: Fleetwood Mac

paragraphs: Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band that formed in London, England in 1967. The group was started by Peter Green. The original group included Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Jeremy Spencer and Bob Brunning. In 1968 Danny Kirwan joined the band. He was then an 18-year-old guitarist and singer. Peter Green left and, in 1971 was replaced by Christine and John McVie plus Bob Welch. When Welch left he was replaced by Americans Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. The band became famous with the release of the album "Fleetwood Mac".


title: The Yardbirds

paragraphs: The Yardbirds are a English blues band. They formed in the 1960s. They are famous for having the guitarists, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page. Eric Clapton left the band after they turned from a blues band to a pop band, in keeping with the moving trend of music in the 1960s. He suggested Jimmy Page, who had been a studio musician at the time (performing on records for many stars but not being a member of a specific band). Unwilling to give up his career as a studio musician, Page suggested Jeff Beck. Shortly thereafter, Page joined the band, playing bass and lead guitar.

paragraphs: Towards the end of the '60s, the Yardbirds broke up while in the middle of a tour. Page wanted to keep the band going, and eventually put together a band called "The New Yardbirds" consisting of vocalist Robert Plant, bassist John Paul Jones, and drummer John "Bonzo" Bonham. This group would soon gain a new name, allegedly taken from a quote by Who drummer Keith Moon. Moon had said previously said that their band would go over "like a lead zeppelin," and the name "Led Zeppelin" stuck.


title: Grateful Dead

paragraphs: The Grateful Dead was a rock band that formed in Palo Alto, California, United States in the 1965. They are known for their concerts, and devoted followers called "Deadheads". The band and their music are sometimes associated with the hippie and drug cultures. Their music style is psychedelic rock combined with other kinds of music like blues, country, folk, and bluegrass. They are also known for their artwork and logos, which include skeletons and dancing bears.

paragraphs: They were named number 57 on Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Artists of All Time "and added to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Their albums have sold 35 million copies around the world and they have played for 25 million people, more than any other band.

paragraphs: The group were together from 1965 to 1995, when Jerry Garcia, the group's lead guitarist and singer, who was seen by many people as the group's leader, died. The other members were Bob Weir (guitar and singing), Phil Lesh (bass guitar), Ron "Pigpen" McKernan (keyboards, harmonica, and singing) and Bill Kreutzmann (drums). All of these members were in the group the entire time, they were together, except for McKernan who died in 1973. Other main members of the band were Mickey Hart (drums 1967 to 1971 and 1974 to 1995), Keith Godchaux (keyboards 1971 to 1979), his wife Donna Godchaux (singing 1972 to 1979), Brent Mydland (keyboards 1979 to 1990), and Vince Welnick (keyboards 1990 to 1995).

paragraphs: The group was known for their stage shows, which included improvising or "jamming" with their song and instruments, some Deadheads have recorded and collected many of these shows on tape.


title: Johnny Winter

paragraphs: John Dawson Winter III (February 23, 1944 – July 16, 2014) was an American albino blues musician from Beaumont, Texas. His brother, Edgar Winter, is also a famous musician. He also worked as producer and produced two Grammy winning albums of Muddy Waters (Hard again, I´m ready).

paragraphs: He died in his hotel room in Zurich, Switzerland, aged 70. It happened two days after his last performance there. The cause of his death is currently unknown.


title: Edgar Winter

paragraphs: Edgar Holland Winter (born December 28, 1946) is an albino musician and record producer from Beaumont, Texas. He is the brother of Johnny Winter who is also a famous musician. He mostly plays keyboards and the saxophone.


title: Albinism

paragraphs: Albinism is a condition some people and animals are born with. This condition is caused by a lack of pigment (colour) in their hair, eyes, and skin. A person or animal with albinism is called an albino. Many albino people prefer to be called a "person with albinism". There are ten different types of albinism.

paragraphs: People with albinism can have white or light blonde hair. They can have very pale skin. Their eyes are blue, or rarely pink-ish. People with albinism can have problems such as bad vision and getting sunburnt easily. This is because people with albinism have less pigments in their eyes, skin and hair.

paragraphs: Albinism is rare in the United States. One out of every 20,000 people in the United States has albinism. There are about 15,945 people in the United States who have albinism.

paragraphs: Vision problems in albinism include nystagmus (irregular fast movements of the eyes), strabismus (where the eyes fail to balance) and refractory errors (like being "near-sighted" or "far-sighted").

paragraphs: In most environments, Albino animals are more easily seen and so may be attacked by predators. They lack the camouflage that the non-albino members of their species have. Also, where colour is a factor in mate selection, they may be at a disadvantage there, too.

paragraphs: Albinism is a hereditary condition. It is usually inherited in a recessive pattern; it means, both parents have to give the albinism gene to a child to cause albinism. Parents pass on pairs of genes to their children. One of the pairs of genes is in charge of making melanin. If both of these genes are flawed, then little or no pigment is made. If only one gene is flawed then pigment can still be made.


title: Paco de Lucía

paragraphs: Paco de Lucia (real name: Francisco Sanchez Gomez, (21 December 1947 25 February 2014) was a Spanish Flamenco guitar player. He was born in Algeciras, Andalusia. He died in Cancún, Mexico from a heart attack.


title: Hearing

paragraphs: Hearing is one of the five senses. Ears detect vibrations in the air. These vibrations are sounds. Most animals can hear. Most land vertebrates hear through ears. Fish hear in several different ways. Many use their swim bladder to hear, and many use their lateral line.

paragraphs: In mammals, sound travels through three main parts of the ear to be heard. These are the outer, middle and inner ear.


title: Bhutan

paragraphs: Bhutan (officially called Kingdom of Bhutan) is a small country in the Himalaya mountains of South Asia. It is ruled by King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, who has been king since 2006. Bhutan was founded in 1644 by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyel. The Bhutanese people are proud that they have always been an independent country. Bhutan's capital city is Thimphu. The official language is Dzongkha.

paragraphs: About 700,000 people live in Bhutan. The people and government of Bhutan are proud of their culture which is based on Tibetan Buddhism. 97% of Bhutan's people are Buddhist.

paragraphs: Until 1974 Bhutan was closed to the outside world. Now people can visit the country, but only in small numbers. The only airport is in Paro district. The country is bordered on the south by the Republic of India and on the north by China. The Indian state of Sikkim separates Bhutan and Nepal. The main export of Bhutan is hydroelectricity which is sold to India. The economy of Bhutan is very small but is growing quickly. The currency is the Ngultrum, which is pegged at par with the Indian rupee.

paragraphs: The Royal Bhutan Army is Bhutan's military service. It includes the Royal Bodyguard and the Royal Bhutan Police. Membership is voluntary, and the minimum age for recruitment is 18. The standing army numbers about 16,000 and is trained by the Indian Army. Being a landlocked country, Bhutan has no navy. It also has no air force or army aviation corps. The Army relies on Eastern Air Command of the Indian Air Force for air assistance.

paragraphs: More than 770 species of bird and 5,400 species of plants are known to occur throughout the kingdom. Bhutan has a rich primate life with rare species such as the golden langur.

paragraphs: Bhutan is divided into 20 districts. Locally these are named "dzongkhags". The districts are:

paragraphs: Bhutan's national sport is archery. Competitions are held regularly in most villages. Cricket has gained popularity in Bhutan, particularly since the introduction of television channels from India. The Bhutan national cricket team is one of the more successful affiliate nations in the region. Football is also an increasingly popular sport.


title: Caucasian race

paragraphs: Caucasoid was a word for a person from Europe, West Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, North Africa, or the Horn of Africa. The group of these persons was called "Caucasoid race" or Caucasian race. In former times, many people divided human beings into three races. These races were called "Caucasoid", "Mongoloid", and "Negroid". Today, scientists agree that there is only one human race. Modern genetic research has shown that the idea of three races was wrong.

paragraphs: German anthropologist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (1752 – 1840) invented the name "Caucasian race" because he saw a connection to the Caucasus Mountains.

paragraphs: In the United States, white people are often called "Caucasian". But the "Caucasian race" included people with a skin from white to dark brown.

paragraphs: Some persons in the pictures have white skin, others have brown skin. But in former times, scientists saw all persons in the pictures as members of the "Caucasian race".


title: Voice

paragraphs: A voice is used when someone speaks or sings. The sound of their voice can be heard when they are speaking. The musical part of a song that is sung by a person using their voice is called vocals. Some people have no voice. This is muteness.

paragraphs: Many terrestrial animals have a voice, especially those that are vertebrates.


title: James Madison

paragraphs: James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751 – June 28, 1836) was the fourth President of the United States. He was also the most important author of the United States Constitution and a slaveowner with a big plantation. Madison was the shortest President, with a height of .

paragraphs: James Madison Jr. was the eldest son of Col. James Madison Sr. and Nellie Conway Madison.

paragraphs: Madison married Dolley Todd (née Payne) on April 18, 1794.

paragraphs: Madison started his career in the Virginia state legislature. Madison learned many things from Thomas Jefferson. Madison wanted a stronger federal government of the United States than the Articles of Confederation provided. He was a member of the meeting that formed the current United States Constitution. Madison is called the "Father of the Constitution" because he helped write a large part of it and persuaded people that it was a good one.

paragraphs: Madison was elected to the United States House of Representatives. Madison helped write the first laws for the United States. Madison also was the main writer of the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the Constitution.

paragraphs: Madison and Jefferson were good friends and helped create the Democratic-Republican Party who wanted a weak federal government.

paragraphs: Madison was selected by Jefferson to be his Secretary of State.

paragraphs: Madison was selected by his political party to be the Democratic-Republican candidate for president in 1808. He won that election and the next election in 1812.

paragraphs: The War of 1812 started while Madison was president. Madison still hoped for peace, but Congress wanted war so he gave in and approved a declaration of war against Britain on June 18, 1812. People who still wanted peace called it "Mr Madison's War". Madison and his family were forced to flee in 1814 when British forces seized control of Washington D.C and burned the White House, and many other buildings, to the ground. Dolly Madison, his wife, famously saved a portrait of George Washington from the fire.

paragraphs: The war caused Madison to want a stronger government than he had before. While he originally was against a national bank, he realized that it was necessary and it was necessary for funding a war. When the charter of the national bank expired, Madison renewed it.

paragraphs: Madison retired to Virginia after his second term. Madison died on June 28, 1836.


title: James Monroe

paragraphs: James Monroe (April 28, 1758 – July 4, 1831) was the fifth President of the United States. He mostly agreed with Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, the two presidents before him. Many cities have been named Monroe. Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, is also named after him.

paragraphs: Monroe was born in Virginia. When James was 16, his father died. At age 18, he joined the Continental Army. He later studied law with Thomas Jefferson.

paragraphs: Monroe was an anti-federalist; he did not want the United States Constitution to pass. He was elected to the United States Senate in 1790. He helped form the Democratic-Republican Party with Jefferson and James Madison.

paragraphs: Monroe was Governor of Virginia from 1799 - 1802.

paragraphs: Monroe went to Paris to help negotiate the Louisiana Purchase, and later became Ambassador to Great Britain.

paragraphs: Monroe was Madison's Secretary of State and Secretary of War.

paragraphs: Monroe was president from 1817 to 1825. With his Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, Monroe got Spain to give the United States Florida. Monroe and Adams also created the Monroe Doctrine, which was a policy that said that the United States did not want Europe to be involved in the Western Hemisphere anymore.

paragraphs: Monroe signed the Missouri Compromise. The compromise was to delay the slavery issue in the United States. Monroe was the last president to have fought in the American Revolutionary War and the last one to be a founding father of the United States.

paragraphs: Monroe retired to Virginia. After his wife's death he moved to New York where he died on July 4, 1831 of tuberculosis.


title: Martin Van Buren

paragraphs: Martin Van Buren (December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was the eighth President of the United States. He was the first president born after the United States Declaration of Independence, making him the first president who was born as a U.S. citizen.

paragraphs: Van Buren was born in Kinderhook, New York, in 1782. Van Buren studied law by working for Francis Sylvester and later became a lawyer in 1803. In 1821 he was elected as a member of the United States Senate, representing New York. President Andrew Jackson selected him as the Secretary of State in 1827. In 1832, he became Vice-President for Jackson, and in 1836, he became the 8th President of the United States. During most of the time he was president, the economy was in very bad shape, and he was blamed for it. He was the first president to have been born a United States citizen, since all of his predecessors were born British subjects before the American Revolution.

paragraphs: Van Buren lost the next presidential election in 1840 to William Henry Harrison. In 1848, he ran again to be president as a part of the Free Soil Party, but he did not win. Van Buren died on July 24, 1862, of heart failure after suffering from an asthma attack, on his Lindenwald estate.

paragraphs: Martin Van Buren was born on December 5, 1782 in Kinderhook, New York, south of Albany. Van Buren was the third born of five children. His father, Abraham Van Buren, was a farmer and a tavern owner. His mother was Maria Hoes Van Buren, the granddaughter of a Dutch immigrant. Martin Van Buren went to school at the Kinderhook Academy in the village where he lived. At Kinderhook Academy, he excelled in English and Latin. Van Buren left the school when he was 14 years old.

paragraphs: In 1796, Van Buren started working in the law office of Francis Sylvester, an attorney that worked in Kinderhook. He kept the office clean, copied documents and did other jobs. While he was working there, he learned about law. After six years under Sylvester, he spent a final year of apprenticeship in the New York City office of William P. Van Ness. Van Buren passed the New York State Bar Exam in 1803, and became a lawyer.

paragraphs: After becoming a lawyer, Van Buren moved back to Kinderhook to work as an attorney with his half-brother, James J. Van Alen, in 1803.

paragraphs: Five years later, Van Buren became the surrogate (legal officer) of Columbia County. There was no fixed term of office. That is, Van Buren would be there until the opposition party was able to elect someone else in his place. Van Buren held the office about five years until he was removed on March 19, 1813.

paragraphs: Van Buren represented New York in the United States Senate from 1821 to 1828. He left the Senate to become the governor of New York in 1829. On March 5, 1829 after he became the governor, President Andrew Jackson made Van Buren the Secretary of State, so Van Buren was only the governor for two months.

paragraphs: From 1833 to 1837, he was the Vice President. (Jackson was still President at this time.) Also was leading member of and gained much voting support by Free Soil Party.

paragraphs: Just a few months after Van Buren became president, there was a financial crisis called the Panic of 1837. Van Buren believed in limited government, and did not respond in a way that many people wanted. Many people blamed him for the economy becoming worse, and this made him less popular. He earned the nicknames "Little Magician" and the "Red Fox" for his cunning politics.

paragraphs: Van Buren married Hannah Hoes, a cousin, on February 21, 1807. They had five children together: Abraham, John, Martin Jr., Smith, and Winfield Scott.

paragraphs: Martin Van Buren developed pneumonia in the fall of 1861. Due to this, he was bedridden. In July, 1862, Van Buren had a serious asthma attack and began to weaken. Van Buren died on July 24, 1862, at his home in Kinderhook, New York, of heart failure. He was 79 years old.


title: South Holland

paragraphs: South Holland is a province in the west of the Netherlands. It is called "Zuid-Holland" in Dutch. It is surrounded by the North Sea and the provinces North Holland, Utrecht, Guelders, North Brabant, and Zeeland.

paragraphs: 3.45 million people live there. The biggest cities are Rotterdam and The Hague. The Hague is the capital of the province. The Hague is also the administrative capital of the Netherlands. That means that the parliament is there.

paragraphs: Rotterdam has the largest port of Europe. Leiden, Gouda, and Delft have town centers with many old buildings. Zoetermeer is a quite new city. Most of it was built in the 1970s. Another important city is Dordrecht.

paragraphs: In South Holland there are some typical Dutch landscapes. Near Leiden there is a region that is known as the "Bollenstreek" ("bulb district"). In springtime many large fields with flowers can be found here. These fields are called "bulb fields". Near Rotterdam there is a small village called Kinderdijk with 19 windmills near each other.

paragraphs: The area south of The Hague is called Westland. Here are many greenhouses.

paragraphs: The south of the province has many islands. The largest of them are Voorne-Putten, Goeree-Overflakkee, IJsselmonde, the Hoeksche Waard and the island of Dordrecht. These big islands are connected by bridges and/or tunnels.

paragraphs: The most important rivers and other bodies of waters are Nieuwe Maas, Nieuwe Waterweg, Oude Maas, Haringvliet, and Hollands Diep.


title: Grand Theft Auto

paragraphs: Grand Theft Auto is a series of video games published by Rockstar Games. The first was released in the late 90s. This game was played from a bird's-eye view, meaning that it was like seeing the main character from a helicopter. The second was called "GTA 2" and also an add-on pack was added for the first game called "GTA: London" which was set in the 60s.

paragraphs: Then came the next games which were made in 3D which changed the way Grand Theft Auto was played. The first in the 3D series was called "Grand Theft Auto III" which was set in Liberty City which is like New York. Then there was "" which was set in the middle 80s. It was very much like Miami in Florida. The next game in the 3D series is called "" which is based on Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas. This game was a very big improvement from the older game because the map was so much bigger.

paragraphs: "Grand Theft Auto IV" ("GTA IV") was officially announced at the Microsoft 2006 E3 Press Conference on May 10, 2006. Grand Theft Auto IV is now being sold inside stores. Grand Theft Auto IV now has 2 episodes, and a complete collection.

paragraphs: The latest game released in the "Grand Theft Auto" is "Grand Theft Auto V". It was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on September 17, 2013.

paragraphs: "Grand Theft Auto V" broke the industry sales records by earning US $800 million in the first 24 hours of its release. The game became extremely popular in the gamers community attracting programmers to create many mods to it. With New Additional Features and Quality Graphics it became popular multiplayer game. It also earned $1 billion within its first three days which made it the fastest selling entertainment product in history and broke 7 records by Guinness World Records.

paragraphs: There has been a lot of arguing, or "controversy," about these games. Many people do not like how the player can murder random people, and sleep with prostitutes. Because of this, all 3-D GTA games have been rated Mature so far.


title: The Black Eyed Peas

paragraphs: The Black Eyed Peas are an American hip hop group from Los Angeles, California. Over the years their music has included R&B and dance music. The group has three members: Will.i.am, Apl.de.ap, Taboo.

paragraphs: Before they became popular, the group's members were will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo and backing vocalist Kim Hill. She left the group in 2000 and was replaced in 2003 by Fergie. They first became popular with the single "Where Is the Love" and the album "Elephunk" and their next album, "Monkey Business" was also successful. They have more recently released "The E.N.D.", an album that has had the successful singles "Boom Boom Pow", "I Gotta Feeling" and "Meet Me Halfway".


title: PlayStation Portable

paragraphs: The PlayStation Portable, or PSP, is Sony's first video game console to be a handheld. It was made in Japan and came out there first on December 12, 2004. After that, it came out in North America on March 24, 2005 and came out in Europe on September 1, 2005.

paragraphs: It was first announced in 2003 at E3 and then next year its first design was shown off. It can play PSP video games, as well as music, video, and pictures. To transfer music, videos, or pictures to a PSP, you must use a USB cable to send the files from a computer to it. The games and movies come on a disc called the "Universal Media Disc" which holds 1.8 GB (this is a lot more than a normal CD but less than a DVD). A Memory Stick Pro Duo can also be used for memory storage. The PlayStation Portable is the first handheld game console to use a disc as its media storage instead of a cartridge.

paragraphs: In January 2014, shipments of the PlayStation Portable ended in North America. They also ended in June 2014 in Japan and will end shipments to Europe by the end of 2014.

paragraphs: There are over 700 games for the PSP. The movies look like the DVD. The reason the PSP can have movies is because the disc (Universal Media Disc) has a lot of memory space. In many countries, "Spider-Man 2" (the movie) was included for free with the console.

paragraphs: The PSP is wireless, meaning it can connect to the Internet (and other PlayStation Portables) without any cables. This is called Wi-Fi. This allows players who are traveling to download items, surf the web and play online. The PlayStation Portable can also connect with the PlayStation 3 as a sort of remote control for movie playback and for downloading content.

paragraphs: There are five versions of the PlayStation Portable, the PSP-1000 (also known as "PSP fat"), PSP-2000 ("slim and light" edition, a lighter version of the original PSP), PSP-3000 ("bright and light" edition, that includes a built in microphone and improved LCD), PSP-N1000 (or PSP Go, with a sliding screen design, bluetooth and internal storage of 16GB replacing the UMD drive.) and PSP-E1000 (similar to PSP-3000, but without stereo sound, Wi-Fi and microphone).

paragraphs: Sony subsequently released the successor to the PSP, the PlayStation Vita, on February 22, 2012.

paragraphs: The PlayStation Portable is similar to the Nintendo DS, because they are both for games you can take with you. However, Nintendo and Sony said they were made for different people. The DS has sold more units than the PSP.