title: Government of the Dominican Republic

paragraphs: The Constitution of the Dominican Republic says that the country is a presidential democratic republic. It is a republic because the chief of State is a president, and not a king, queen or emperor. It is presidential because the president is also the head of government and there is not a prime minister as in other countries. It is democratic because the president, vice-president and the members of Congress are elected by the people.

paragraphs: The Constitution also says that there are three branches of government with separation of powers. They are the "executive branch", the "legislative branch", and the "judicial branch". The three branches are independent from each other.

paragraphs: The executive branch is the part of the government that enforces the law. The people elects a President (and a Vice-President) who is the leader of the executive branch, as well as the leader of the Armed Forces. The President decides whether or not the bills that the Legislative branch passes will become laws. He may also make "decrees" to govern the country and to name persons in different positions. The President is in charge of many departments that control all of the different parts of the government. These departments are called Secretaries of State because they help the President to govern the country. For example, the Secretary of State of Agriculture takes care of the agriculture of the country. The President may serve two 4-year terms, making 8 years in all.

paragraphs: The legislative branch is the part of the government that makes laws. The legislative branch is made up of Congress, which is located in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. The Congress is divided into two groups or "chambers".

paragraphs: One group is the Chamber of Deputies ("Cámara de Diputados"). The Chamber of Deputies is made up of Deputies, who are each elected by voters from their own province. The number of Deputies a province has is based on how many people live there: the more people a province has, the more deputies it gets. No province can have less than two Deputies. Deputies serve 4-year terms. The total number of Deputies for the period 2006-2010 is 178.

paragraphs: The other house is the Senate ("Senado"). In the Senate, each province is represented equally, by one Senator. Senators serve 4-year terms. There are 32 Senators, one for every province and one for the National District, where the capital city is.

paragraphs: The judicial branch is the part of government makes sure that the laws are obeyed and interprets what the law means. The judicial branch is made up of the Supreme Court and many lower courts. If the Supreme Court decides that a law is not allowed by the Constitution, then it is not a law anymore. The Supreme Court is made up of at least 11 judges. The head of the Supreme Court is called the President of the Supreme Court. A Supreme Court Justice serves until he or she either dies, or resigns (quits in the middle of his or her term). The Supreme Court controls all the courts in the country.

paragraphs: There is a governor in every province; there is not a governor in the National District, where is the capital of the country. The governors are only representatives of the President of the Republic.

paragraphs: Every province is divided into two or more municipalities (Spanish: "municipios", singular "municipio"); the Distrito Nacional has only one municipality - Santo Domingo.

paragraphs: There are only two branches in the municipalities: the executive and the legislative. They are elected for four years by the people that lives in the municipality.

paragraphs: The Mayor ("Síndico") is the head of the executive branch and the Municipal Council ("Ayuntamiento") is the legislative branch.

paragraphs: The rural parts of a municipality are divided into "Secciones" (singular, "Sección"; in English, "section"); every "Sección" has a person which represents the municipal administration.

paragraphs: The Dominican Republic has 154 municipalities ("municipios") (June 20 2006).

paragraphs: A municipality can have one municipal district ("distrito municipal") or more. A municipal council ("Junta Municipal") for such a municipal district is elected by the municipal council of the municipality to which it belongs and not for the people that lives there.

paragraphs: There are 202 municipal districts ("distrito municipal") in the Dominican Republic (June 20 2006).


title: Massacres in Harput District

paragraphs: Massacres in Harput District also Kharput were a large scale of massacres that happened in the district.

paragraphs: In May 1915, before the start of the deportations, the authorities in Harput began to mount systematic searches for arms in Armenian shops and homes in the twin cities and the surrounding villages.

paragraphs: Denmark's minister in Turkey during the First World War. "The Turks are vigorously carrying through their cruel intention, to exterminate the Armenian people," Carl Wandel wrote on 3 July 1915. The Bishop of Karput was ordered to leave Aleppo within 48 hours "and it has later been learned that this Bishop and all the clergy that accompanied him have been ... killed between Diyarbekir and Urfa at a place where approximately 1,700 Armenian families have suffered the same fate ... In Angora ... approximately 6,000 men ... have been shot on the road ... even here in Constantinople (Istanbul), Armenians are being abducted and sent to Asia ..."

paragraphs: The first sign of dangers was the appearance on the plain of bands of Kurds from the regions north and east. Villages were attacked, looted and burned, while the villagers were killed or scattered. For a time the marauders seemed to hold aloof from the city itself, but as they kept on their course of pillage their appetite for plunder was whetted, and they looked with avaricious eyes at the city on the hill.


title: Tour de Pologne

paragraphs: The Tour de Pologne (English: "Tour of Poland") is a road bicycle racing stage race. It consists of seven or eight stages, and was first held in 1928. Until 1952, the race was not held every year, but since then there has been a Tour "annually" (every year). When Eastern Europe was communist-controlled there were no professional cyclists, so until the early 1990s, the race was for amateurs only, and the winners mostly came from Poland.

paragraphs: Although the Tour de Pologne had not reached a high status, and was little known, the International Cycling Union (UCI) decided to make it a part of the UCI ProTour from 2005, which means that the major cycling teams compete in the race.


title: Atlas Shrugged

paragraphs: Atlas Shrugged is a book by the Russian American writer and social philosopher Ayn Rand. It was first published in 1957 in the United States. It was Rand's longest book and the last fiction book she wrote before writing non-fiction.

paragraphs: The main character of the story is Dagny Taggart. Dagny runs a large railroad company that controls the Transcontinental Railroad in the United States. The story takes place in the USA at a time when trains are the main way that people travel and that companies move their products.

paragraphs: Dagny begins to worry that a lot of the country's best minds are going away. The men who were in charge of an industry or the best at science are giving up their work and disappearing. Nobody knows where they go. She starts looking for "the Destroyer", whom she believes is making the leaders stop working.

paragraphs: During her search, the country and the world get worse. Without the leaders, industries grind to a halt. The economy begins to fail, causing problems for society.

paragraphs: Finally, Dagny finds the "Destroyer". His real name is John Galt. She realises that she was wrong and that John is not a bad man. Instead he is a man of high integrity and principle. He thinks that the world has been taking the work of the leaders and scientist without paying them enough. He thinks that the only way to make the worlds better is to make sure that the best minds are treated with respect and given enough payment. By telling the leaders and scientists this, he has convinced them to go on strike. They are hiding in a secret valley in the mountains.

paragraphs: John Galt also convinces Dagny that he is right. She joins this man in his valley. They begin a relationship. Their goal is to bring down society so that they can help make a new society. The new society will respect hard work, intelligence and integrity.


title: Basilisk

paragraphs: Basilisks are a type of lizard. They are about 70-75 cm long, when fully grown, and weigh about 80 grams. They can be found in South America. Currently, there are four different species. They can be very still and hard to see.

paragraphs: The basilisk lizard can walk on water. It runs across the surface of a pond or pool, without sinking. Its speed keeps it from sinking. At the same time, its long tail helps it to balance.


title: Hindu calendar

paragraphs: The Hindu calendar is a lunisolar calendar used in ancient times. It has changed, and today there are several regional Indian calendars, and an Indian national calendar.


title: Taíno

paragraphs: The Taínos were an indigenous people that lived in the Americas before Columbus arrived there. They came from the Caribbean coast of South America. Around 1200 CE, they moved northward to the island chain of the Lesser Antilles and the Greater Antilles.

paragraphs: When Christopher Columbus came to the Americas, the Taínos were living in the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles (Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico), and some islands of the northern Lesser Antilles. Their culture was different from the culture of the Arawak people (another indigenous group of South America). They were the first people that the Spanish met in the Americas.

paragraphs: The name Taíno was given by Columbus. When he met some native men, they said "Taíno, Taíno", meaning "We are good, noble". Columbus thought that taíno was the name of the people.

paragraphs: Rouse divides the Taínos into three main groups. One is the Classic Taíno, from Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. Another is the Western Taíno or sub-Taíno, from Jamaica, Cuba (except for the western tip of the island) and the Bahamas. The third is the Eastern Taíno, from the Virgin Islands to Montserrat.

paragraphs: The Taínos of the Bahamas were known as the '"Lucayan". (At that time, the Bahamas were called the "Lucayas"). Lucayos were Taínos, but their culture was less developed. Archeologists call them "sub-Taínos".

paragraphs: The Taínos' ancestors went from the center of the Amazon Basin to the Orinoco Valley. From there, they went through Guyana and Venezuela and got to the Caribbean islands.

paragraphs: A different theory says that the Taínos' ancestors came from the Colombian Andes.

paragraphs: The Taíno culture developed in the Greater Antilles.

paragraphs: Taíno society was divided into two classes. There were the "naborias" (common people) and the "nitaínos" (nobles). Both classes were governed by chiefs known as "caciques". The caciques could be either male or female. There were also "bohiques" (medicine men).

paragraphs: The Taínos lived in villages called "yucayeques". . The villages in the Bahamas were the smallest. The Taínos built large round houses called caney, where several families lived. The cacique and his family lived in a rectangular house called bohio. People slept on cotton hammocks ("hamacas").

paragraphs: The Taínos often played a ball game called "batos". "Batey" was also the name of the place where they played and had dances. The cacique sat on a chair of wood called "duho", or "dujo".


title: The New York Times

paragraphs: The New York Times (NYT, also called the "Times"), is an American newspaper based in New York City. It is printed around the world. It is owned by The New York Times Company, which owns and makes 15 other newspapers.

paragraphs: The "New York Times" was first printed in 1851. Its motto is "All the news that's fit to print". "The New York Times" has a national list of bestselling books, in several categories.

paragraphs: As of 2010, only two United States newspapers were bought by more readers than the "Times". These newspapers are the "Wall Street Journal" and "USA Today".


title: Nairi

paragraphs: The Nairi () were a late Bronze Age people who lived in the area of the later Kingdom of Urartu, around Lake Van, in what is now the East Anatolia Region.

paragraphs: To this day, Nairi ("Yerkir Nairi", Arm.- Country of Nairi) is used as one of the names for Armenia, and is also a common Armenian name. It is also often used by Armenian poets, including Vahan Terian (author of "Am I the last poet of Nairi?"), Yeghishe Charents, and Vahagn Davtian.


title: Hayasa-Azzi

paragraphs: Hayasa-Azzi or Azzi-Hayasa, Haisa () were a people and area, in North of the Euphrates and to the South of Hayasa. It is not known if their language was Indo-European or Hurrian because there is no records of their language.


title: Ancient Armenia

paragraphs: Ancient Armenia was a rocky land of ravines, rivers, rugged cliffs, and hundreds of stone monuments and churches. Many survive to this day inside the Turkish border near Armenia. Armenia anciently had far more bigger land than it has now.

paragraphs: Ancient Armenia grew larger into parts of what are now Turkey and Iran.

paragraphs: De Morgan has said there are signs which show that the Armenians, as their other Aryan relatives, were nature worshipers and that this faith in time was later changed to the worship of national gods, of which many were the equivalents of the gods in the Roman, Greek and Persian cultures. The main proto-Armenian (Aryan) god was Ar, the god of Sun, Fire and Revival. The Armenian hypothesis of Indo-European origins connects the name with the "Ar-" Armenian root meaning light, sun, fire found in Arev (Sun), Arpi (Light of heaven), Ararich (God or Creator), Ararat (place of Arar), Aryan, Arta etc. According to the researchers, the name of Ardini religious center of ancient Urartu also related to the god Ar-Arda. The cult of Ar appear in Armenian Highland during 5-3th millennium BC and had common Indo-European recognition: Ares (Greek), Ahuramazd (Persian) Ertag (German), Ram (Indian), Yar-Yarilo (Slavonic) etc. After adoption of Christianity the cult of Ar was also evident in Armenia, remembered in the national myth, poetry, art and architecture.


title: Audition

paragraphs: An audition is a test to see whether a person is good enough to take part in a play or concert or to join a theatre company, dance company or orchestra.

paragraphs: When people go for an audition they will normally have to prepare something to perform.

paragraphs: An actor many have to be prepared to say a monologue (a speech from a play). If he (or she) is auditioning for a particular play then he will take a scene from that play, e.g. if the play is "Hamlet" a male actor who would like the part of Hamlet might have prepared the famous "To be or not to be..." monologue. The director of the play will then be able to decide whether he is good enough, or whether he might be better in another role. They may give the person who is auditioning some other tests, e.g. improvisation or acting with other people.

paragraphs: When a musician auditions for a job in an orchestra they will have to prepare a piece of music they know well. They may also be expected to have prepared difficult passages from well-known musical works, e.g. someone auditioning for tuned percussion might be asked to play the xylophone introduction to "Summer Time" from "Porgy and Bess", one of the hardest solos for xylophone. They will also be given some sightreading.

paragraphs: People can audition to sing in a choir. Dancers can audition for dancing companies.

paragraphs: In some cases people who pass an audition are still not automatically a member of a group until they have performed with the group for a trial period.

paragraphs: The word "audition" can be used as a noun or a verb.

paragraphs: As a verb it can be used in two ways: either referring to the person testing or to the person being tested:


title: Nikolai Gogol

paragraphs: Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol (Russian:; IPA: ; Ukrainian: ) (April 1, 1809 – March 4, 1852) was a Ukrainian writer. He came from Ukraine. His early works were heavily influenced by his Ukrainian heritage and upbringing. He wrote in Russian. His works belong to the tradition of Russian literature. The novel "Dead Souls" (1842), the play "Revizor" (1836, 1842), and the short story "The Overcoat" (1842) count among his masterpieces.


title: Remus Lupin

paragraphs: Remus J. Lupin is a character in the "Harry Potter" book series written by J. K. Rowling. In the Harry Potter movies, he is played by actor David Thewlis.

paragraphs: Remus John Lupin was bitten by Fenrir Greyback at the age of 4 when his father-Lyall Lupin- insulted all werewolves. Fenrir tried to kill him but Remus got saved by his father. However he became a fully fledged werewolf. His parents were both upset by this, because it meant he could not go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. However, when Albus Dumbledore became headmaster, he let Lupin go to Hogwarts. He had a tunnel built so that Lupin could sneak out of the school during the times when he became a werewolf. This tunnel had the Whomping Willow (a violent tree that attacks those who get near it) built over it, so nobody could get to him by mistake. The tunnel led to the Shrieking Shack, a building in the wizarding village of Hogsmeade, said to be the most haunted of them all. When Lupin was in the Shrieking Shack as a werewolf, he had no humans to bite, so he often bit himself. These bites led to cries of pain that led the villagers to believe that the building was haunted.

paragraphs: During his time at Hogwarts, he became good friends with three other boys his age: James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew. These four came to be known as the Marauders, infamous for their mischievous antics. They knew Hogwarts and the grounds like the back of their hands, and actually created a magical map that showed the location of everyone on the grounds and in the castle. The map also revealed the many secret passages hidden in the school. His friends knew of his lycanthropy, but did not seem to mind. They simply referred to it as his "furry little problem". Later on, they even became Animagi (a person that can turn into an animal) so that they could accompany him on the full moon and make his transformations more fun.

paragraphs: On the 31st of October, Remus lost all of his friends at once, through betrayal, jail and death.

paragraphs: He was a wizard during Voldemort's first and second rises to power. He was member of the First and Second Order of the Phoenix

paragraphs: Remus was having trouble getting a job as there was an anti-werewolf litigation so he had no money and therefore could not buy wolfsbane potion (a potion created by Damocles Belby which lets a werewolf keep his mind during a full moon), so he locked himself up in rooms every full moon so that he didn't hurt anyone. Albus Dumbledore knew of his struggles and found Remus living in a semi-derelict cottage in Yorkshire. Dumbledore offered Remus a job for the Defence Against The Dark Arts post at Hogwarts and Lupin immediately accepted. He resigned at the end of the year when Severus Snape let it slip to students that he was a werewolf.

paragraphs: He was killed along with his wife Nymphadora Tonks in the Final Battle for Hogwarts. Their son, Teddy Lupin survived, who was left in the care of Tonks' mother, Andromeda Tonks, and his godfather, Harry Potter.


title: Anagram

paragraphs: An anagram is a puzzle where the player has to move all the letters in a word to make a new word. An example would be "The Morse Code" and "Here Comes Dots". Anagrams are often used in fiction when a character wants to use a different name. For example, the "Harry Potter" character named Tom Marvolo Riddle made an anagram based on his name, ""I Am Lord Voldemort"", and began calling himself "Lord Voldermort". And the pen name of Voltaire comes from "Aroueti".


title: Werewolf

paragraphs: A werewolf is a mythical monster. It is a human who turns into a fearsome wolf-like creature during the full moon. There are characteristics that make werewolves special, and that allow a person to tell them apart from real wolves, such as the eyes, shape, and tail. When in human form, werewolves look and act like any normal human being, although they usually appear to be ill around nights when there is a full moon. When in wolf form, the werewolf does not keep the mind of the human, and it cannot resist attacking humans; the werewolf may attack their best friends. A werewolf can be killed with silver bullets. However, a werewolf cannot be killed by silver crosses or holy water, like vampires. When a werewolf dies, it turns back into a human.Then restarts the cycle.

paragraphs: The name is derived from "wer" meaning man and "wulf" meaning wolf. They are sometimes referred to as 'Lycans'.

paragraphs: Some of the earliest myths of werewolves are those of Greek and Romania roots. Ovid in the Metamorphoses, told of King Lycaeon, who was visited by gods. Skeptical of them being true gods he decided to test them by serving human flesh in their banquet of honor. Cannibalism is frowned upon in many parts of the world, past or present (especially in that particular area). When the gods discovered the tainted meal they changed King Lycaeon into a Werewolf. Since he obviously liked human flesh, the wolven form would be more acceptable for when he took part in his little "activity."The word Lycanthropy originates from Greek roots (Lykoi meaning wolf and anthropos meaning man)

paragraphs: Several ways for becoming a werewolf have been told about. One of the simplest is taking off all ones's clothes and putting on a belt made of wolf skin. Also wearing an entire animal skin is frequently described. In other cases, the body is rubbed with a magic ointment. Drinking rainwater out of the footprint of the animal was reported to work.

paragraphs: In Italy, France and Germany, it was said that a man or woman could turn into a werewolf if he or she, on a certain Wednesday or Friday, slept outside on a summer night with the full moon shining directly on his or her face.

paragraphs: It is said that humans can be turned into werewolves by having been bitten by another werewolf. Another way is getting another werewolf to scratch you. However, both of these only work if the werewolf in question is in wolf form.

paragraphs: However, as depicted from the Harry Potter series lycanthropy is rarely inherited from parent to child. For example, Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin, Remus being the werewolf and Tonks a half blood, had a child named Teddy Lupin who inherited no signs of lycranthropy but he did inherit his mother's

paragraphs: Metamorphmagi. (she was a Metamorphmagus)


title: Paneuropean Picnic

paragraphs: The Paneuropean Picnic (also spelled Pan-European Picnic) was an event that took place on the border between Austria and Hungary near Sopron, Hungary. The event took place on August 19, 1989.

paragraphs: The event was planned to be a peaceful demonstration. Both countries agreed to open a gate in the border fence, between Sankt Margarethen im Burgenland (near Eisenstadt), and Sopronkőhida (Steinambrückl) on the Hungarian side of the border.

paragraphs: The leaders of the time were Otto von Habsburg and the Hungarian minister, Imre Pozsgay. The person who did the actual cutting of the border fence was the general secretary of the International Paneuropean Union, Walburga Habsburg Douglas. The gate was to be symbolically opened for three hours.

paragraphs: More than 600 citizens of the German Democratic Republic took the chance to cross into the west once the Iron Curtain was opened. They had been told about the event by its organizers. At that time, the Hungarian border police still had orders to shoot anyone trying to cross the border illegally. However, they acted carefully and did not shoot at the fleeing people, this time.

paragraphs: The number of people who actually crossed the border to enter the west was only a few hundred on that first day. On the following days, the border was watched more closely, due to orders by the Hungarian government. Therefore, a smaller number of people managed to flee then. Hungary opened its borders to citizens of East Germany on 11 September 1989.

paragraphs: Today, the Paneuropean Picnic is seen as one of the important events that led to the end of the German Democratic Republic and the Cold War, the fall of the Iron Curtain, and the unification of the two German states.

paragraphs: The event is celebrated every year on 19 August on the spot where the border was opened.

paragraphs: Today, artwork made by Hungarian artists is at the place where the fence was cut. It shows a partly opened door.

paragraphs: In 1996, a 10 meter statue was built in Fertőrákos near Sopron. It was made by Gabriela von Habsburg. It shows a piece of barbed wire. From far away, it looks like a cross.


title: San Diego Wild Animal Park

paragraphs: The San Diego Wild Animal Park is a zoo in the San Pasqual Valley area of San Diego, California. Different kinds of wild animals including species from the continents of Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America, and Australia are kept in the Park.

paragraphs: The park is 1800 acres (7 km) and is visited by two million people each year.


title: Tulip

paragraphs: Tulip ("Tulipa") is a potflower plant. There is many cultivars and species of tulips. Cultivars are used as ornamental plants.

paragraphs: It grows in southern Europe, north Africa, and Asia from Anatolia and Iran in the east to northeast of China and Japan, Indo Asia. It is the national flower of Afghanistan.

paragraphs: The Tulip is most associated with Holland.


title: Penicillium

paragraphs: Penicillium is a genus of ascomycetous fungi of major importance in the natural environment as well as food and drug production.

paragraphs: Members of the genus produce penicillin, a molecule that is used as an antibiotic, which kills or stops the growth of certain kinds of bacteria inside the body. This widespread genus contains over 300 species.

paragraphs: The mycelium is a highly branched network of multinucleate, usually colourless hyphae. The conidiospores are the main dispersal route of the fungi, and are often green in colour.

paragraphs: Sexual reproduction involves the production of ascospores. The asci contain eight unicellular ascospores each.

paragraphs: Species of "Penicillium" are ubiquitous soil fungi preferring cool and moderate climates, commonly present wherever organic material is available. Saprophytic species of "Penicillium" and "Aspergillus" are among the best-known representatives of the Eurotiales. They live mainly on organic biodegradable substances. Commonly known as moulds, they are among the main causes of food spoilage. Many species produce toxins which work against bacteria and other fungi. The ability of these "Penicillium" species to grow on seeds and other stored foods depends on their ability to thrive in low humidity and to colonize rapidly by aerial dispersion while the seeds are sufficiently moist. Some species have a blue colour, commonly growing on old bread and giving it a blue fuzzy texture.

paragraphs: Penicillium is a genus of fungi that includes:


title: Wolverhampton

paragraphs: Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of the West Midlands in England. It used to be part of Staffordshire. The 2011 census revealed that 249,470 people live in the city.

paragraphs: It is northwest of Birmingham. It is the second-largest place in the West Midlands county.

paragraphs: Wolverhampton originally grew as a market town. It had a large woollen trade industry. In the Industrial Revolution, it became an important place for coal mining, steel production, lock making, and the making of cars and motorcycles.

paragraphs: The city's motto is "Out of darkness cometh light".

paragraphs: The city's railway station is on the West Coast Main Line and is an important junction of many lines. Passengers can get direct trains to places such as London, Manchester, Birmingham, Shrewsbury, Walsall, Cornwall, Yorkshire, Glasgow, Edinburgh and areas of Wales.

paragraphs: Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. are the city's football club. They currently play in the Premier League, the top level of football in England. They play their home games at the Molineux Stadium.

paragraphs: The UK's first set of traffic lights were placed in Princes Square in Wolverhampton.


title: Nubia

paragraphs: Nubia was an ancient African Kingdom. It dates back to around 6000 BC. It was in northeastern Africa.

paragraphs: They were a valuable culture because of their trading abilities. They were on the coast of the Red Sea. That gave them many ports from which they were able to trade. This culture, though, had many hardships. It declined in power many times, which forced it to break up into smaller kingdoms which flourished on their own. These are commonly referred to as the A-Group, B-Group, and C-Group. Their true decline was around 350 AD, when the kingdom of Axum invaded and broke up the culture once again. This time, the culture never recovered its strength, thus ending of Historic Nubia.

paragraphs: The new Republic of Nubia is based on an area related to:


title: Dave Batista

paragraphs: David Michael Bautista (born January 18, 1969), better known as Dave Batista or by the ring name Batista, is an American retired professional wrestler, actor, mixed martial artist, and bodybuilder. Batista is currently signed to the WWE under the Legends program.

paragraphs: Batista has held the World Heavyweight Championship four times, the World Tag Team Championship 3 times (with Ric Flair (2) and John Cena (1)), the WWE Tag Team Championship once (with Rey Mysterio) and the WWE Championship twice. He also won the Royal Rumble twice, one in 2005, and the other in 2014.

paragraphs: He married his wife Angie on October 13, 1998 and has two daughters and one step daughter from a prior marriage, In 2006, Batista said that he and his wife are separated.

paragraphs: Batista tried out at the WCW Power Plant but was told he would never make it in the wrestling business by Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker. He then went to the WWF. They sent him to work with Afa Anoa'i. He wrestled in Anoa'i's WXW promotion under the Kahn.

paragraphs: Batista made his Ohio Valley Wrestling debut in 2000. During his time in OVW he was called "Leviathan". He went on to win the OVW Heavyweight Championship from 'The Machine' Doug Basham. After losing the belt to The Prototype, Batista left OVW for the WWF.

paragraphs: He began his WWE career on May 9 2002 as Deacon Bautista, Batista had his first WWE match in a tag match teaming with D-Von against Randy Orton and Faarooq. Batista pinned Orton to win that match. Batista later moved to "RAW", and was renamed Dave Batista (or simply Batista). He joined with Ric Flair and fought many times with Kane, whom he beat in his first pay-per-view at Armageddon 2002.

paragraphs: In January 2003, Batista joined with Triple H, Ric Flair, and Randy Orton to form the group Evolution. Batista did not wrestle for much of 2003 after he tore his right triceps. Batista re-tore his triceps while training. He had more problems when after his second surgery to repair his triceps he got an infection. He needed a third surgery to clean out the infection. He made his return on October 20 interfering in a match between Goldberg and Shawn Michaels.

paragraphs: At Armageddon 2003, Batista took part in two matches. He lost to Shawn Michaels in a singles match but won a Tag team along with Ric Flair to become the World Tag Team Champions. By the end of the PPV, all four members of Evolution held every male championship on "RAW".

paragraphs: Batista and Flair held the titles until February 16 2004 when they were defeated by Booker T and Rob Van Dam. They later won the titles back for a short period.

paragraphs: As 2005 began, Triple H believed that Batista was becoming a threat to his World Heavyweight Championship. Triple H told Batista not enter the Royal Rumble. He said it would be selfish of him to do so, and that he should be helping Triple H keep the title. Dave entered anyway and went on to win the "Royal Rumble". This earned him the right to wrestle in the main event of WrestleMania 21 against the World Champion of his choice.

paragraphs: In an attempt to get Batista to challenge WWE Champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield rather than him, Triple H created a plan to have Batista run over in a limousine similar the one used by Layfield. At first, Batista did not want help from Evolution in dealing with JBL. Triple H said that Evolution needed to stick together and went with him anyway. Triple H saved him from the vehicle before he got hit. Batista found out about the plan while listening Evolution members when they did not know he was there. He signed a contract for a match with World Champion Triple H at WrestleMania 21. Batista went on to win the World Heavyweight Championship on April 3 2005 at WrestleMania 21.

paragraphs: On June 30 2005 Batista was moved back to SmackDown! JBL and Batista wrestled for the championship at the Great American Bash on July 24 2005. JBL defeated Batista by disqualification after the referee saw Batista use a steel chair. They wrestled at SummerSlam on August 21 2005 in a No-Holds-Barred match. Batista pinned JBL to win the championship title.

paragraphs: WWE.com reported that Batista suffered a muscle tear in his back at the taping for the November 11 2005 edition of "SmackDown!". Plans had been made for Batista to defend the title in a match with Eddie Guerrero and Randy Orton on November 18 2005. The match did not take place because of the death of Eddie Guerrero on November 13 2005.

paragraphs: On January 9 2006, WWE.com announced that Batista tore his right triceps following a match with Mark Henry at a live event on January 8, 2006. The following day, WWE.com announced that, due to his injury, Batista was forced to give up the World Heavyweight Championship at the "SmackDown!" taping on January 10 2006 (aired on January 13 2006). Batista had surgery on his arm on January 12, 2006.

paragraphs: Batista made his return on July 7, 2006. Batista won his first televised match since his return, a six man tag match with Rey Mysterio and Lashley taking on King Booker, Finlay and Mark Henry. Oddly, Mark Henry was injured, and could not wrestle in the match between the two at The Great American Bash. Batista made several tries to win back the championship title before finally winning it back from Booker T on November 26, 2006.

paragraphs: Two months later at WrestleMania 23, Batista lost the championship to the winner of the Royal Rumble match, The Undertaker. They continued to fight over the title to a tie in a match at Backlash 2007. After a Steel Cage Match between the two men on May 11, Edge won the title from the Undertaker by using his Money in the Bank title opportunity. Afterwards, Batista challenged Edge three times but never won the championship. The third match included the statement that if Batista lost, he could no longer get another chance at the World Heavyweight Championship while Edge remains champion.

paragraphs: Edge later was injured and gave up the belt just before he was to wrestle Kane at the 2007 Great American Bash pay-per-view. The Great Khali became the new World Heavyweight Champion, winning a Battle Royal and eliminating Batista. Batista and Kane faced Khali at The Great American Bash where Khali retained the title. Batista finally defeated Khali, and Rey Mysterio, Jr., at WWE Unforgiven to claim his third World Heavyweight Championship after eight consecutive tries. Batista is the second man to pin The Great Khali, the first being John Cena.

paragraphs: Batista then became involved in WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and Bret Hart's rivalry in February 2010 by assisting McMahon in attacking Hart; John Cena attempted to save Hart, but would end up being assaulted by Batista. On February 21 at Elimination Chamber, as payment for Batista attacking Hart, McMahon allowed Batista to face Cena for the WWE Championship right after Cena won the title in an Elimination Chamber match. Batista would win the match and his second WWE Championship, which resulted in Batista moving back to Raw. On March 28 at WrestleMania XXVI Batista lost the WWE Championship to John Cena in a rematch, ending his reign at 35 days. Batista received his rematch for the title in a Last Man Standing on April 25 at Extreme Rules, but was defeated by Cena after Cena duct-taped his legs around a ring post, preventing him from standing up. Batista and Cena faced off once again for the WWE Championship on May 23 at Over the Limit, but failed again to regain the title from Cena in an "I Quit" match. The following night on "Raw", Batista opened the show in a wheelchair and claimed he would be pursuing legal action against Cena and the WWE for his injuries (which he revealed in 2014 to be a legitimate compression fracture of his L1 spine). His promo was interrupted by new "Raw" General Manager Bret Hart, who requested he face an injured Randy Orton to qualify for a shot at WWE Championship against Cena again at the new Fatal 4-Way pay-per-view. Batista refused and quit the company after Hart named Orton winner by forfeit. His profile was subsequently moved to the WWE.com alumni page. He later said in an interview that he left WWE because he did not like the direction the company was going in and would not be returning any time soon.

paragraphs: On the 23 December 2013 episode of "Raw", a vignette aired announcing the return of Batista on the 20 January 2014 episode of "Raw". It was later announced that Batista would be participating in the 2014 Royal Rumble Match. Batista returned to confront WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton on the January 20 "Raw", and vowed to win Royal Rumble Match and become champion at WrestleMania. Later that night, Batista confronted Alberto Del Rio, who had been trash talking him for several weeks, and eventually attacked him with a "Batista Bomb". Six days later at the Royal Rumble, Batista entered the Rumble match at number 28 and eliminated Roman Reigns to win the match, becoming the fifth wrestler to win multiple Rumble matches. The live crowd reacted negatively towards Batista, cheering Reigns (a villainous character for the past year) and Daniel Bryan (who was not in the match). The crowd continued to boo Batista after Reigns was eliminated. After the show went off the air, Batista mocked Bryan and gestured his middle finger at the crowd. On the February 3 "Raw", Batista was confronted and was ultimately assaulted by Del Rio before chasing him off. Batista retaliated the following week, powerbombing Del Rio through the announce table. At the Elimination Chamber event and on the following "Raw", he was heavily booed by the fans during matches against Del Rio. Batista won the match at Elimination Chamber, but continued to suffer a torrid fan reaction with 'Boo-tista' chants. Batista responded to the audience on the February 28 "SmackDown", saying he didn't come back to be liked and promising to be the next WWE World Heavyweight Champion, thus reverting to being a villain once again and mocking other superstars stating they were not "real men".  Bryan was added to the WrestleMania main event after defeating Triple H in the opening match of the show. Bryan would ultimately win the triple threat match at WrestleMania XXX, forcing Batista to tap out and winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the process.

paragraphs: The next night on "Raw", Batista and Orton teamed together to face The Usos for the WWE Tag Team Championships, but the match ended in a no contest due to both teams being counted out. Later that night, Batista and Orton, along with Kane, attacked Bryan before he was set to defend his title against Triple H. Before Triple H could defeat Bryan, The Shield interrupted by spearing Triple H and taking out Batista, Orton and Kane, causing Bryan to retain his title via disqualification. On the April 14 edition of "Raw", Batista, Triple H and Randy Orton came down to the ring to attack The Shield after their 11-on-3 handicap match, using the name and the theme of Evolution. At Extreme Rules, Evolution lost to The Shield. At Payback, Evolution lost to The Shield again. On June 2 edition of "Raw", Batista (kayfabe) quit WWE after Triple H denied him a shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship; this was done to write Batista off WWE TV so he could promote "Guardians of the Galaxy".

paragraphs: In December 2014, Batista announced he was retiring from professional wrestling. In January 2015, WWE announced Batista had signed a Legends contract.

paragraphs: On October 16, 2018, Batista again united with the rest of Evolution. This was for an appearance on SmackDown's 1000th episode.

paragraphs: In August 2007, Batista was said to have used anabolic steroid after an ESPN article released the names of wrestlers that bought medication from Signature Pharmacy of Orlando. Batista denied this and was said to be very mad because of the report. He denied ever being a cutomer of Signature, and stated that he has been "tested regularly by the WWE, and I am in full compliance with the WWE Wellness Program." The WWE punished ten wrestlers named in the issue, though Batista was not one of them.

paragraphs: Batista quit WWE on May 24, 2010. He went to MMA on June 16, 2010. He won a fight against Vince Lucero.


title: Risk (game)

paragraphs: Risk is a board game which is played with two to six players each with different coloured army men.

paragraphs: The main aim of the game is to complete the mission the player gets in the beginning of the game. These missions can differ from conquering or dominating parts of the world, to kill an other player or to hold a number of regions with a specific amount of units on each region.

paragraphs: At the start of the game a player shuffles and deals out all of the cards. Each cards has either a country or a territory on it. When each player receives their cards, they put a soldier on their countries or territories. After they do this, they get a number of soldiers, cavalries and cannons to spread around according to which continent they want to conquer first. Then they hand their cards back and they put them all face-down on top of each other. Then the game starts.

paragraphs: Roll the red dice to attack and the white dice to defend. At the end of each turn, pick a card. With this card look at the country or territory and the soldier, cavalry or cannon. If someone conquers the country or territory on the card it belongs to him. For every country a player owned, they get two extra soldiers.

paragraphs: There are many countries and territories involved such as the following, which can change depending on the version:


title: Growth

paragraphs: Growth means an increase in some quantity over time.

paragraphs: The quantity can be physical (e.g., growth in height, growth in an amount of money) or abstract (e.g., a system becoming more complex, an organism becoming more mature). It can also refer to the mode of growth, i.e. numeric models for describing how much a particular quantity grows over time:


title: Cell growth

paragraphs: Cell growth (or interphase) is shorthand for the idea of "growth in cell populations" by means of cell reproduction.

paragraphs: It is the stage which cells are preparing for the next division, biochemical activities and reactions are taking place, however no obvious changes can be seen at this stage. Until cell division, a parent cell divides to form two or more new daughter cells.

paragraphs: Cell populations go through a type of exponential growth called doubling. Thus, each generation of cells should be twice as numerous as the previous generation. But not all cells survive in each generation, as written by Richard Dawkins in 1997.

paragraphs: The process of cell reproduction has three major parts. The first part of cell reproduction involves the replication of the parental cell's DNA. The second major part is the separation of the duplicated DNA into two equally sized groups of chromosomes. The third major aspect of cell reproduction is the physical division of entire cells, usually called cytokinesis.

paragraphs: Cell reproduction is more complex in eukaryotes than in other organisms. Prokaryotic cells such as bacterial cells reproduce by binary fission, a process that includes DNA replication, chromosome segregation, and cytokinesis. Eukaryotic cell reproduction either involves mitosis or a more complex process called meiosis. Mitosis and meiosis are sometimes called the two "nuclear division" processes.

paragraphs: The DNA content of a cell is duplicated at the start of the cell reproduction process. Prior to DNA replication, the DNA content of a cell can be represented as the amount Z (the cell has Z chromosomes). After the DNA replication process, the amount of DNA in the cell is 2Z (multiplication: 2 x Z = 2Z). During Binary fission and mitosis the duplicated DNA content of the reproducing parental cell is separated into two equal halves that are destined to end up in the two daughter cells. The final part of the cell reproduction process is cell division, when daughter cells physically split apart from a parental cell. During meiosis, there are two cell division steps that together produce the four daughter cells.

paragraphs: Immediately after DNA replication a human cell will have 46 "double chromosomes". In each double chromosome there are two copies of that chromosome's DNA molecule. During mitosis the double chromosomes are split to produce 92 "single chromosomes", half of which go into each daughter cell. During meiosis, there are two chromosome separation steps which assure that each of the four daughter cells gets one copy of each of the 23 types of chromosome.

paragraphs: Cell reproduction that uses mitosis can reproduce eukaryotic cells. Eukaryotes bother with the more complicated process of meiosis because sexual reproduction such as meiosis confers a selective advantage.


title: DNA replication

paragraphs: DNA replication is the process of copying a double-stranded DNA molecule. Both strands serve as templates for the reproduction of the opposite strand. The process is sometimes called "semi-conservative replication" because the new DNA from the original strand contains half of the original and half of the newly synthesized DNA.

paragraphs: This process occurs in all life forms with DNA. There are some differences in the control of DNA replication in prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms.

paragraphs: In a cell, DNA replication begins at specific places in the genome, called "origins". As the DNA unwinds at the origin, the synthesis of new strands forms at a "replication fork". In addition to DNA polymerase, other enzymes at the fork help to start and continue the DNA synthesis.

paragraphs: DNA polymerases are a family of enzymes that carry out all forms of DNA replication. However, a DNA polymerase can only extend an existing DNA strand paired with a template strand; it cannot begin the synthesis of a new strand. To begin synthesis, a short fragment of DNA or RNA, called a 'primer', is created and paired with the template DNA strand.

paragraphs: In general, DNA polymerases are extremely accurate, making less than one mistake for every 10 (10 million) nucleotides added. Even so, some DNA polymerases also have 'proofreading' ability: they can remove nucleotides from the end of a strand in order to correct mismatched bases.

paragraphs: DNA in cells is constantly being damaged. The nucleus of cells contains a number of repair mechanisms which fix almost all of this damage. "A large set of DNA repair enzymes continuously scan the DNA and repair any damaged nucleotides".


title: Pushing Daisies

paragraphs: Pushing Daisies is an American television series that originally aired on the ABC network in October 2007.

paragraphs: The show is about Ned, a pie maker, who finds that he has the power to bring dead people back to life by touching them. But if he touches the person a second time, they die forever.

paragraphs: Ned has a double life, as the owner of a pie restaurant and as the partner of Emerson, a private detective. Ned helps Emerson solve murders by bringing the murder victim back to life, long enough to find out who the murderer is.

paragraphs: Ned's life takes a turn when his childhood sweetheart, Chuck, is found dead. Ned brings Chuck back to life, but he can never touch her again, or she will die.


title: Journeyman (TV series)

paragraphs: Journeyman was an American science-fiction television series on the NBC network. It started in September 2007.

paragraphs: The series is about a reporter, Dan Vasser, who finds that he can travel through time with no warning. He can change things in his own past, so he has to be careful not to change too much.


title: Chuck (TV series)

paragraphs: Chuck is an American television series that started on the NBC network on September 24, 2007 and ended on January 27, 2012.

paragraphs: The series is about Chuck Bartowski, a normal guy who fixes computers at the Buy More store in Burbank, California, as part of the "Nerd Herd". His old friend Bryce turns out to be a rogue spy. Just before he dies, Bryce sends Chuck an e-mail with thousands of pictures. The pictures are encoded with all of the nation's spy secrets. After viewing them, Chuck holds all of the secrets inside his head (with his flashes as the intersect).

paragraphs: Chuck is watched by agents from the CIA and the NSA, who hope to use Chuck's secrets to protect the United States from terrorism.

paragraphs: The humor elements of the show involve a satire of the Best Buy chain of electronics stores. The show wanted to use "Geek Squad" to describe the main characters' job. But Best Buy asked for them to change the name. So the characters on "Chuck" were called "Nerd Herd" instead. In fact, the exterior shots of the Burbank Buy More store where Chuck and Morgan work are a former Mervyn's store in the Fallbrook Mall in Canoga Park, California.


title: Bionic Woman (2007 TV series)

paragraphs: Bionic Woman is a science fiction television series which started on the NBC network on September 26, 2007. The series is a modern version of the 1976 "The Bionic Woman" series.

paragraphs: The series is about Jaime Sommers, a bartender who is hurt in a car accident. Her boyfriend, Will Anthros, brings her to a secret laboratory. Jaime's life is saved, but Will has to replace her legs, right arm, eye and ear with mechanical parts. Jaime has to adjust to her new life as a superhero.


title: 1972 Winter Olympics

paragraphs: The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XI Olympic Winter Games, were held in 1972 in Sapporo, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympics to be held outside Western Europe and the United States, and only the third Games (Summer or Winter) held outside these regions, after Tokyo and Melbourne. The city won the rights to the games in 1966.


title: 1956 Summer Olympics

paragraphs: The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were held at Melbourne in Victoria, Australia.

paragraphs: Melbourne was chosen as the host city over instead of Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Montreal and six American cities on 28 April 1949 at the 43rd IOC session.

paragraphs: The equestrian events were not held in Australia because of regulations. These events were held five months earlier in Stockholm, Sweden, making it the second time that events of the same Olympics were held in different countries.

paragraphs: A total of 67 nations sent athletes to compete at the Melbourne games.

paragraphs: Five nations competed in the horse riding events in Stockholm; however, athletes from these nations did not take part in the Games in Melbourne. The five were Cambodia, Egypt, Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland.


title: 1904 Summer Olympics

paragraphs: The 1904 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the III Olympiad, were held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States.

paragraphs: The games were part of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (St. Louis World's Fair). The sports events were not well planned; and the games were not thought to be a success.

paragraphs: Athletes from 12 nations took part in the St. Louis games.

paragraphs: The American bicyclist Frank Bizzoni was also known as a competitor from Italy The American wrestlers Charles Ericksen and Bernhof Hansen were also known as Norwegian competitors.


title: Stepanakert

paragraphs: Stepanakert (; known as Xankəndi in Azerbaijani, and translated as Khankendi) is the capital city of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, a de facto independent republic. The city has about 40,000 Armenians. The entire Azerbaijani population left the city during the Nagorno-Karabakh War. It is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan.


title: Charles Drummond Ellis

paragraphs: Sir Charles Drummond Ellis (b.Hampstead, 11 August 1895; died Cookham 10 January 1980) was a physicist and scientific administrator. His work helped scientists to understand nuclear structure better.

paragraphs: Ellis's father was a general manager of the Metropolitan Railway in London. He went to Harrow School where he was very good at all subjects as well as sport. In 1913 he become a cadet in the Royal Military Academy. He wanted to join the Royal Engineers.

paragraphs: He was on holiday in Germany the next summer when World War I broke out. All British people who were in Germany were sent to the Ruhleben P.O.W. Camp just outside Berlin. The place where the detainees (prisoners of war) were held had been a horse racecourse. There were lots of stables, and in each stable there were 27 horse boxes which became the detainees' home during the war. The detainees were allowed to do lots of things to keep themselves busy. They could get books, and Ellis made good use of his time to study. Another detainee in the camp was the scientist James Chadwick. Chadwick taught Ellis a lot and together they made a laboratory in one of the horse stables where they made scientific experiments on the photochemical process.

paragraphs: After the war Ellis decided to study at Trinity College, Cambridge. After graduating in 1920 he did research work at the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge. The director there was Sir Ernest Rutherford. Chadwick also worked there. In 1921 Ellis had become a fellow of Trinity College and was made assistant lecturer in natural science. In 1925 he married the daughter of a rich Polish shipbuilder. In 1929 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society.

paragraphs: In 1930 Rutherford, Chadwick and Ellis wrote a famous book together called "Radiations from Radioactive Substances".

paragraphs: During the early 1930s Ellis worked with N.F.Mott on energy relations in beta decay. He discovered the neutrino and worked with W.J.Henderson on the energy distribution of positrons in artificial radioactivity. He became professor at the University of London.

paragraphs: During World War II he worked on the possibility of using nuclear fission to develop new weapons. He became scientific adviser to the army council from 1943-1946. He was knighted in 1946 for his war service.

paragraphs: After World War II Ellis had other jobs which were not related to nuclear weapons. He gave scientific advice to the National Coal Board and to the British American Tobacco Company. This was at a time when people were just starting to realize that smoking might be bad for the health.

paragraphs: Ellis died in 1980 in a nursing home in Cookham after a short illness.


title: James Chadwick

paragraphs: Sir James Chadwick CH FRS, (20 October 1891 – 24 July 1974) was an English physicist and Nobel Prize winner who is best known for discovering the neutron.

paragraphs: James Chadwick was born in Bollington, Cheshire, England. He went to Manchester High School, and studied at the Universities of Manchester and Cambridge.

paragraphs: In 1913, Chadwick went to Berlin in Germany to work with the scientist Hans Geiger. He also worked with Ernest Rutherford. He was still in Germany when World War I broke out and he was interned in Ruhleben P.O.W. Camp just outside Berlin. In the camp, which had more than 5,000 detainees (prisoners of war) had been a horse racetrack. There were stables, each with 27 horse boxes. The detainees lived in these boxes. The detainees were allowed to do things to keep themselves busy. Chadwick worked with a young scientist called Charles Ellis. Together they set up a laboratory in the stables where they worked on the ionisation of phosphorus and also on the photochemical reaction of carbon monoxide and chlorine.

paragraphs: After the war, Chadwick returned to Cambridge where he worked with Ernest Rutherford, studying the emission of gamma rays from radioactive materials. They also studied the transmutation of elements by bombarding them with alpha particles, and investigated the nature of the atomic nucleus.

paragraphs: In 1932 Chadwick made a very important discovery: he discovered the particle in the nucleus of an atom that became known as the neutron because it has no electric charge. In contrast with the helium nuclei (alpha particles) which are positively charged, and therefore repelled by the strong electrical forces in the nuclei of heavy atoms, this new tool in atomic disintegration need not overcome any electric barrier and is capable of penetrating and splitting the nuclei of even the heaviest elements. In this way, Chadwick prepared the way towards the fission of uranium 235 and towards the creation of the atomic bomb. For this important discovery he was awarded the Hughes Medal of the Royal Society in 1932, and later the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1935. He was also nicknamed "Jimmy Neutron" because of his discovery of the neutron.

paragraphs: Chadwick became professor of physics at Liverpool University in 1935. He worked on the possibility of an atomic bomb. Later he realized that the nuclear bomb really was going to be made. He found it very frightening that the science he had been working on could lead to such a terrible weapon. He started to take sleeping pills.

paragraphs: He joined the Manhattan Project in the United States, which developed the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Chadwick was knighted in 1945.

paragraphs: After the war, Chadwick moved to Cambridge University as master of Gonville and Caius College.


title: Francombat

paragraphs: Francombat is a French martial art similar to jiu-jitsu. It was created in the year 1988 by Alain Basset and Dominique Dumolin.

paragraphs: Francombat is practiced especially in the south of France. There are schools of francombat in Paris, Bordeaux, Montpellier, and in other localities.

paragraphs: This martial art is based on the strategy and on the knowledge of the human body. During the trainings, the instructors are dressed in red clothes and the students are dressed in green ones. According to the persons that practice this discipline, the efficiency in combat depends on three factors: good physical form, good knowledge of the techniques and of the strategy, good control of stress.


title: Classic race

paragraphs: The classic cycle races are the most important one-day professional cycling road races in the international "calendar" (list of races)

paragraphs: All of the races are run in western Europe. Most of the events have been on the professional calendar for decades and the oldest ones date back to the 19th Century. They are normally held at roughly the same time each year. In the last few years, the five top races are sometimes described as the 'Monuments'.

paragraphs: From 2005, the Classics have formed part of the UCI ProTour run by the Union Cycliste Internationale. This event series also includes various stage races including the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, Vuelta a España, Paris-Nice and the Critérium de Dauphiné Libéré, and various non-Classic single day events. The ProTour replaced the UCI Road World Cup series which contained only one-day races.

paragraphs: Some races that were Classics are no longer run. These include the gruelling (very hard) 560km, Derny event, Bordeaux-Paris, run from 1891 to 1988.

paragraphs: Five of the classic races are sometimes called "the Monuments"

paragraphs: Only three riders have won all five 'Monument' one-day races during their careers: Roger De Vlaeminck, Rik Van Looy and Eddy Merckx. All were from Belgium.

paragraphs: Seán Kelly of Ireland won four Monuments but only finished second in the Ronde van Vlaanderen on three occasions (1984,1986,1987).


title: Criterium

paragraphs: A criterium, or crit, is a type of bicycle race held on a short course (usually less than 5 km), often run on closed-off city centre streets.

paragraphs: Race length can be either a time or a number of laps. Often a criterium lasts about one hour, which is shorter than that of a traditional road race – which can last many hours, sometimes of several days or even weeks, as in a Grand Tour. However, the average speed and is much higher. The winner is the first rider to cross the finish line without having been "lapped" (overtaken).

paragraphs: Events often have prizes (called "primes", usually cash) for winning specific intermediate laps (for instance, every 10th lap).

paragraphs: Winning criteriums needs a mix of good technical skills – especially the ability to corner rapidly and sharply – and riding safely with a large group on a short circuit and exceptional fitness to attack other riders and repeatedly accelerate hard from corners.

paragraphs: Criteriums are relatively easy to organize and do not require a large amount of space. They are the most common type of bicycle racing in the continental United States.

paragraphs: Racing bicycles used for criteriums are typically no different than those used in other mass-start road events. However, some racers use shorter bicycles to help keep control when turning and slightly shorter cranks (pedal levers) to help pedalling through sharp turns.


title: Valence electron

paragraphs: In chemistry, valence electrons are the electrons in the outside or "valence" electron shell of an atom. They determine the valency of the atom which is important in how a chemical element reacts with other elements. Elements which have eight valence electrons (noble gases) are inert and they do not tend to create chemical reactions with other elements in the Periodic table group.

paragraphs: The number of valence electrons is also important for determining the group of an element in the Periodic table, because an element's number of valence electron is the same as the number of its group in the periodic table. To calculate the amount of valence electrons present in an element you have to find the last number of the electron configuration.


title: Flamingo

paragraphs: Flamingos () are types of birds. They are noisy birds and they live in big groups called flocks. Flamingos are wading birds. This means they live by water, such as lakes.

paragraphs: They are in the genus Phoenicopterus and family Phoenicopteridae. There are six species of flamingo. Two of species are found in Africa, Europe and Asia. The other four are found in North America and South America. Flamingos are not found in England unless in zoos.

paragraphs: Flamingos are pink or red. This is because of small bacteria that live in water which the flamingos eat. They also eat small crayfish and algae. Baby flamingos are gray. Flamingos are very tall birds and they have long legs. They often stand on only one leg. Scientists do not know why flamingos do this. Flamingos have a curved bill that is shaped like a banana. This is because they feed in the mud on the bottom of lakes.

paragraphs: Flamingos can weigh up to 4 kg and be up to 145cm tall. They live up to around 47 years.

paragraphs: Many flamingos that live in Kenya and Tanzania are dying. Scientists do not know why. They think it may be because of bacteria in the water.

paragraphs: The American flamingo has been observed in a temperature niche between 17.8–35.2 °C (64.0–95.4 °F). In order to prevent water loss through evaporation when temperatures are elevated the flamingo will employ hyperthermia as a nonevaporative heat loss method keeping its body temperature between 40–42 °C (104–108 °F).


title: Magnesium oxide

paragraphs: Magnesium oxide, or magnesia, is a white solid mineral, made of one part magnesium and one part oxygen. Its chemical formula is MgO. Magnesium oxide is used by libraries to make books last longer. It is also used as an insulator for some electrical wires, and to help crucibles resist high temperatures. Magnesium oxide is also used to treat heartburn and upset stomachs.


title: Movie studio

paragraphs: A movie studio, or film studio, is a place where movies are made. A movie studio can be an area where the movie is filmed; like an indoor (interior) stage or room, or an outdoor area in which only those making the movie are allowed to be.

paragraphs: The term "movie studio" also means a production company because these companies often had - in the 1920s to the 1940s - their own studios in their own buildings. Even though most production companies do not now have their own studios, the term is still used in this way.


title: Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré

paragraphs: The Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré is an annual cycling road race, run over eight stages in the Dauphiné region in France during the first half of June. It is organised by the "Le Dauphiné Libéré" newspaper. Along with the Tour de Suisse, the Dauphiné Libéré is an important race in the lead-up to the Tour de France in July.

paragraphs: Because the Dauphiné is a mountainous area, the winners are often climbing specialists. Many climbs that are famous from the Tour de France, like the Mont Ventoux, the Col du Galibier or "Col de la Chartreuse" appear often in the Dauphiné Libéré.

paragraphs: All cyclists who have won the Tour de France five times or more have also won the Dauphiné Libéré.

paragraphs: The first Dauphiné Libéré was held in 1947 when Eduard Klablinski from Poland was the winner. Nello Lauredi, Luis Ocaña, Charly Mottet and Bernard Hinault share the record of the most wins, with three each.

paragraphs: Iban Mayo won in 2004, when he climbed Mont Ventoux very quickly. In the 2005 Dauphiné the winner was Iñigo Landaluze, of the Euskaltel-Euskadi team.


title: 1900 Summer Olympics

paragraphs: The 1900 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad, were held in Paris, France.

paragraphs: The games were part of the 1900 Exposition Universelle (Paris World's Fair). The sports events were not well planned; and the games were not thought to be a success.

paragraphs: A total of 24 nations sent athletes to compete at the Paris games.


title: 1998 Winter Olympics

paragraphs: The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, were held in 1998 in Nagano, Japan. Other possible host cities were Aosta, Italy; Jaca, Spain; Östersund, Sweden; and Salt Lake City, USA. The selection was held in Birmingham, United Kingdom in 1991.


title: Mont Ventoux

paragraphs: Mont Ventoux is a mountain in the Provence region of southern France, about 20 km north-east of Carpentras, Vaucluse.

paragraphs: It is the largest mountain in the region and has the nicknames "Giant of Provence" and "The Bald Mountain".

paragraphs: Jean Buridan climbed the mountain early in the fourteenth century; Petrarch repeated the feat on April 26, 1336, and claimed to have been the first to climb a mountain since antiquity, which has been widely repeated since.

paragraphs: In the 15th century a chapel was built on the top. It was dedicated to the Holy Cross.

paragraphs: In 1882, a meteorological station was constructed on the summit, but it is not used now. In the 1960s a 50m-high telecommunications mast was built.

paragraphs: For road bicycle racing enthusiasts, the mountain can be climbed by three roads.

paragraphs: Every year there are amateur races to climb the mountain as quickly and often as possible in 24 hours. On May 16 2006, Jean-Pascal Roux from Bédoin broke the record of climbs in 24 hours, with eleven climbs, all of them from Bédoin.

paragraphs: Mont Ventoux is the one of the most gruelling climbs in the Tour de France. The Tour has visited the mountain thirteen times since 1951. The route is usually the Bédoin.

paragraphs: British cyclist Tom Simpson, who died here on July 13, 1967 from a combination of amphetamines, alcohol and heat exhaustion. He began to weave across the road before he fell down twice. He was delirious, but his last words were not "put me back on my bike", that was what a journalist wrote.

paragraphs: Amphetamines were found in his jersey and bloodstream. There is a memorial to Simpson near the summit which has become a shrine to fans of cycling, who often leave small tokens of remembrance there. In 1970, Eddy Merckx rode himself to the brink of collapse but won the stage. He received oxygen, recovered, and won the Tour. In 1994, Eros Poli, not known for his climbing ability, stole away at the beginning of the day's stage, built up a big time gap from the peloton, and was first over the Ventoux and was the stage winner despite. The last winner on the Ventoux was the French climber Richard Virenque.


title: Designated hitter

paragraphs: In baseball, a designated hitter (DH) is a person who bats in place of the pitcher in the American League of Major League Baseball. In the National League, the pitchers have to bat for themselves. The designated hitter is usually one of the best hitters on the team but is not a good defensive player.

paragraphs: The reason for the designated hitter is because many pitchers are not good hitters. Pitchers are chosen because they are good at pitching, not because they are good at hitting.


title: 1968 Winter Olympics

paragraphs: The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games, were held in 1968 in Grenoble, France and started on February 6. Thirty-seven countries took part. Norway won the most medals, the first time a country other than the USSR had done so since the USSR first entered the Winter Games in 1956.

paragraphs: Frenchman Jean-Claude Killy won three gold medals in all the alpine skiing events. In women's figure skating, Peggy Fleming won the only United States gold medal. The games have been credited with making the Winter Olympics more popular in the United States, largely because of ABC's coverage of Fleming and Killy, who became very popular among teenage girls.

paragraphs: 1968 was the first year that the International Olympic Committee let East and West Germany enter separately, and the first time the IOC ever ordered drug and gender testing of the athletes.


title: 1964 Winter Olympics

paragraphs: The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games, were held in Innsbruck, Austria, from January 29 to February 9 1964. The games included 1091 athletes from 36 nations, and the Olympic Torch was carried by Joseph Rieder,

paragraphs: a former alpine skier who had participated in the 1956 Winter Olympics.

paragraphs: The games were affected by the deaths of Australian alpine skier Ross Milne and a British luge slider, during training, and by the deaths, 3 years earlier, of the entire US figure skating team and family members.

paragraphs: 36 nations sent athletes to compete in Innsbruck. India, Mongolia, and North Korea participated in the Winter Games for the first time. Athletes from West Germany (FRG) and East Germany (GDR) competed together as the United Team of Germany from 1956 to 1964.

paragraphs: These are the top ten nations that won medals at these Games:


title: Counterculture

paragraphs: Counterculture is a term used in psychology and sociology. People use it to describe a set of views that are not of the "mainstream". These values are in contrast to what the mainstream people believe. An example of a counterculture that was started in the 1960s is the culture of the hippies. This counterculture focused on drug use, sexual freedom (freedom of choice), and women's rights.


title: Hippie

paragraphs: A hippie (sometimes spelled as hippy) is a label for a person of a particular counterculture that started in the United States and spread to other countries in the 1960s.

paragraphs: Hippies have their own opinions on drugs, sexual liberation, and women's rights.

paragraphs: The first people to be called "hippies" were young adults and teenagers in the 1960s who grew out of the beatnik movement. These people were supporters of civil rights for African-Americans in the Southern USA. They soon developed their own music scene in neighborhoods in New York City (Greenwich Village) and San Francisco (Haight-Ashbury). They were also strongly against the Vietnam War, nuclear weapons, and what they called the "Establishment" (this was a word for mainstream society). They were also against the "military-industrial complex". This phrase was taken from a warning in the farewell speech of President Dwight Eisenhower in 1961.

paragraphs: Many more people began to see hippies in the news after the Human Be-In (January 1967) and the 1967 "Summer of Love" were held in San Francisco. By this time, they had developed their own lifestyle that included psychedelic styles, drug use, usually some amount of travel, and much longer hair than other people. These styles quickly spread across the country, especially to college campuses where students were protesting President Lyndon Johnson's policies in Vietnam, the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968, and other events. They also spread to the UK, Netherlands, France, Italy, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, among other places.

paragraphs: In 1968 many more Americans turned against the war following the Tet Offensive, King was shot, and politicians began to get ready for the election for President in November. Many colleges were shut down by students, and people burned their draft cards at public rallies. A group of radical hippies called the Yippies, led by Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin, led a huge protest during the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, where they tried to run a pig called Pigasus as a candidate for President. The mayor responded by sending in riot police who beat people up in front of news cameras. The riot police even beat the cameramen, reporters, and other innocent people. This was shown on the news, and many programs and television stations began to feel more sympathetic to the hippies for a while. This made hippie lifestyle much more mainstream through the early seventies.

paragraphs: In 1969, Richard Nixon succeeded Johnson as President, and protests continued — not just against the war, but against the court trials and hearings of the Yippie leaders who became known as "the Chicago Seven" (originally "Chicago Eight"). Also in that year, a huge rock concert was held in Bethel, New York — the three day Woodstock Festival. At this festival, 500,000 hippies and music fans heard some of the most famous singers and groups of the time. The people there also did things like nude swimming, mud-sliding, rain-dancing and mass tribal chants. They did this to show their freedom to the world.

paragraphs: Late that year, a murderer named Charles Manson who posed as a hippie killed several people. Because some people blamed hippies for this, the term began to fall a little out of fashion in 1970, even if the fashions themselves did not. A new type of hard rock called heavy metal was developing out of one style of hippie music. A band called Led Zeppelin took the number one spot for most popular band of the year in 1970, which had been held by the Beatles for eight years. Also that year, when students at Kent State University in Ohio were protesting Nixon's spread of bombing to Laos, the National Guard shot at them, and four were killed. This had a chilling effect on the hippies and the whole country, but the peace movement continued. In 1973, the draft was ended, and the war ended soon after that. US public attention turned to the Watergate scandal. After this, hippies never again had the attention they once did, though the lifestyle continued, especially in other countries. In the mid-seventies, trends like punks and disco were also spreading, causing the hippie image to fade in the media.


title: Halakha

paragraphs: Halakha is the Hebrew word for the Jewish code of laws.

paragraphs: A long time ago, these laws were oral (spoken, but not written down). Once they became written down they were called the Mishnah. The Mishnah was made by rabbis in the 1st and 2nd Century (CE).


title: Stereotype

paragraphs: A stereotype is a mistaken idea or belief many people have about a thing or group that is based upon how they look on the outside, which may be untrue or only partly true. Stereotyping people is a type of prejudice because what is on the outside is a small part of who a person is. Like other untrue opinions, stereotypes might be used as reasons to discriminate against another person, or sometimes for a humorous effect in fiction.

paragraphs: The term was invented in the late 18th century for a method of printing. In the mid-19th century it meant the faithful reproduction of everything which could be printed, whether words or pictures. It made the printing of cheap editions possible, and was used in printing newspapers. The term got its psychological meaning in the 20th century.


title: Tom Simpson

paragraphs: Thomas Simpson (30 November 1937 – 13 July 1967) was an English road racing cyclist who died of exhaustion on the slopes of Mont Ventoux riding the 13th stage of the Tour de France in 1967.

paragraphs: The post mortem found that he had taken amphetamines. Added to brandy, the hard climb up Mont Ventoux, the hot conditions, and a stomach complaint, the doping was fatal.

paragraphs: Simpson was the youngest of the six children. He was born in Easington, County Durham. After World War II, the Simpson family moved to Harworth in north Nottinghamshire, another mining village, where Simpson grew up and became interested in cycling. He attended the village school and later Worksop Technical College and in 1954 was an apprentice draughtsman at an engineering company in Retford.

paragraphs: As a cyclist he joined first Harworth and District Cycling Club and later Rotherham's Scala Wheelers, and by his late teens was winning local time trials. He was then advised to try track cycling, and he travelled regularly to Fallowfield Stadium in Manchester to compete. He won medals in the national 4000m individual pursuit discipline.

paragraphs: When he was 19, Simpson was part of the Great Britain team pursuit squad which won a bronze medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. Two years later, he won a silver medal in the individual pursuit at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff.

paragraphs: In April 1959, Simpson went to France to live in the Breton fishing port of Saint-Brieuc. He hoped to win enough local amateur races to get noticed by a professional cycling team. It was in Saint-Brieuc that he met Helen Sherburn. They married on 3 January 1960).

paragraphs: Within two months, Simpson had won five races and in July 1959 was offered terms by two professional teams; he decided to join the Rapha Geminiani team, which already had a British cyclist, Brian Robinson, in its squad. His first event as a professional was a small stage race, the Tour de l'Ouest (Tour of the West). He won two stages and finished 18th overall - a major achievement for a new pro who would normally be expected to be a "domestique" to the team's leader.

paragraphs: He competed in the 1959 World Championships in the Netherlands in the individual pursuit and professional road race, finishing fourth in both events. Simpson turned down an invitation to ride in the 1959 Tour de France, because he thought he was not ready. He rode in the 1960 Tour, and finished 29th, and was third in stage 3.

paragraphs: In 1960 he also competed in his first Classic races: he had top ten finishes in La Flèche Wallonne and Paris-Roubaix - he led the Paris-Roubaix for around 40 km before running out of energy and being overtaken less than 10k from the finish, ending up 9th.

paragraphs: In April 1961, however, Simpson won his first Classic . He won the tough Ronde van Vlaanderen after a two-man sprint at the finish. That year he also finished 5th in the "Race to the Sun" - the Paris-Nice stage race, and 9th in the world championship, but he abandoned the Tour de France on stage 3, because of an earlier knee injury.

paragraphs: In 1962, he became the first Briton to wear the "maillot jaune" (the jersey of the leader of the Tour de France) and eventually finished 6th overall. That was highest final placing by a Briton until Robert Millar was fourth in 1984). Simpson had been third until a crash.

paragraphs: Earlier in the season, he again showed how much he likied for the tough Belgian Classic races. Simpson finished 5th in the Ronde van Vlaanderen and 6th in the Gent-Wevelgem.

paragraphs: 1963 and 1965 were probably Simpson's best years for Classic races. He was riding for the Peugeot BP team in 1963, when he won the gruelling motor-paced event Bordeaux-Paris, was second in Paris-Brussels and Paris-Tours, third in the Ronde van Vlaanderen, 8th in Paris-Roubaix, and 10th in both La Flèche Wallonne and Giro di Lombardia.

paragraphs: In 1965, Simpson became the first Briton to be world professional road racing champion.

paragraphs: In 1967 he won the early season Paris-Nice stage race (taking two second places and a third place on different days) and the Tour of Sardinia. He also rode in the Vuelta a España for the first time, collecting two stage victories en route to an eventual 33rd place overall.

paragraphs: At the start of the 1967 Tour de France, Simpson thought that he could do well in the event. After the first week he was sixth overall, but a stomach bug began to affect his form, and he lost vital time in a stage including the Col du Galibier. In Marseille, at the start of stage 13 on 13 July, he was still suffering the bad stomach as the race headed into Provence on a blisteringly hot day.

paragraphs: On the day's main climb, Mont Ventoux, Simpson broke away early, but was soon passed by the eventual stage winner, Julio Jiménez, and four others. About two kilometres from the summit, Simpson began to zig-zag across the road, eventually falling against an embankment. While his team car helpers wanted him to retire from the race, Simpson insisted on carrying on. He went another 500m or so before again beginning to fall; he toppled unconscious into the arms of his helpers. Despite mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and the administration of oxygen, plus a helicopter airlift to a nearby hospital, Simpson died. Two tubes of amphetamines and more empty tubes were found in the rear pocket of his racing jersey. He died of heart failure caused by dehydration and heat exhaustion, with drugs a contributing factor.

paragraphs: On the next day, the other riders did not want to race so soon after Simpson's death and asked the organisers for a postponement. In the end, they agreed to ride but with the condition that they would allow a British rider to win the stage. This honour went to Barry Hoban. Hoban later married Simpson's widow.

paragraphs: British cyclists paid for a granite memorial to Simpson near the spot where he died.

paragraphs: Harry Hall, the team mechanic, said that Simpson's last words were "Go on, go on!". The words "Put me back on my bike!" were invented by Sid Saltmarsh, a journalist writing about the Tour for "The Sun". Saltmarsh was not present at Simpson's death.

paragraphs: Simpson is buried in Harworth cemetery. A small museum about him was opened in August 2001 by former Tour de France rider Lucien van Impe in the Harworth social club. A small version of the Mont Ventoux Simpson Memorial was put outside that club in 1997, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Simpson's death.

paragraphs: Simpson's professional achievements include four Classic one-day victories:

paragraphs: In addition to these victories, Simpson frequently finished in the top ten of Classics, and won numerous criteriums and other events.

paragraphs: As an amateur he also won an Olympic Games team pursuit bronze medal (1956), silver in the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games individual pursuit, silver (1956) and gold (1958) medals in the British 4000m individual pursuit championship, and was British League of Racing Cyclists hill climb champion in 1957, picking up a silver medal in the same event the following year.


title: Electron cloud

paragraphs: Electron cloud is an informal way to describe an atomic orbital.

paragraphs: The electron cloud is not really a thing. An electron cloud model is different from the older Bohr atomic model by Niels Bohr. Bohr talked about electrons orbiting the nucleus. Explaining the behavior of these electron "orbits" was a key issue in the development of quantum mechanics.

paragraphs: The electron cloud model says that we cannot know exactly where an electron is at any given time, but the electrons are more likely to be in specific areas. These areas are specified by orbitals. The orbitals are specified by shells and sub-orbitals. In the Bohr model, electrons are assigned to different shells. The shells, k,l,m,n,o,p,q, each represent different levels of energy, and are also called energy levels. The sub-orbitals; s,p,d,f, are regions where it will be more likely to find electrons, and can each hold a different number of electrons. the s,p,d,f orbitals are all shaped differently. This can be proven by the repeating patterns of chemical properties in the periodic table. Using quantum mechanics, chemists can use the electron cloud model to assign electrons to different atomic orbitals. Atomic orbitals also explain the patterns in the periodic table.

paragraphs: The electron cloud model was developed in 1926 by Erwin Schrödinger and Werner Heisenberg. The model is a way to help visualize the most probable position of electrons in an atom. The electron cloud model is currently the accepted model of an atom.

paragraphs: According to Bohr's calculations for a hydrogen atom, the electron under normal conditions always stays at a certain distance from the nucleus. This distance is called the Bohr radius and is approximately 0.529 Å (). But according to the wave mechanical or cloud concept model, the electron keeps on moving away or towards the nucleus and the maximum probability of locating it lies at a distance of 0.529 Å from the nucleus. In other words, the radius of the electron cloud or the radius of maximum probability is 0.529 Å.


title: 9-1-1

paragraphs: 9-1-1 or 911 (a lot of times said as "nine-one-one" or "nine-eleven") is the emergency telephone number for the United States, Canada, Argentina, Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, and the Cayman Islands. This number can only be used for real emergencies. In other words, you use it when you are in serious trouble. The use of the number when there is no emergency may end in a criminal charge.


title: Emergency

paragraphs: An emergency is a situation in which a risk to health, life, property or environment is about to happen. Most emergencies need quick attention to prevent it from becoming worse. Even though some emergencies are easy to see, like a natural disaster, many smaller incidents need the opinion of someone who is watching in order to decide whether it is really an emergency. The exact definition of an emergency, the agencies involved and the rules followed, depend on the jurisdiction, and this is usually set by the government, whose agencies (emergency services) are responsible for emergency planning and handling.


title: German Jews

paragraphs: German Jews are Jews of German descent, or Jews living in Germany.

paragraphs: 170,000 German Jews were killed in the camps during the Holocaust.


title: The Sexual Revolution

paragraphs: The term Sexual revolution was coined by Wilhelm Reich in his book "The Sexual Revolution". That book was first published in 1936 in German, translated into English. The English edition was 1945.

paragraphs: Reich wrote in the book what he saw as wrong, namely the double standard regarding morals in the society of his time. These double standards and the suppression of the sex drive would make people different. This would lead to a buildup of aggressions and frustration. Freeing the sex drive would lead to a peaceful change of society, according to Reich.

paragraphs: Reich dies in prison 1957, but his ideas had their effect in the 1960s when people changed their views about sex. They were more open-minded about it. The publications of people like Alfred Kinsey helped give wings to the movement.

paragraphs: The sexual revolution was prepared by a "first wave" of pioneers who campaigned against the sexual repression which was common in the 19th century. This change began, roughly, at the end of the 19th and start of the 20th century. One impetus came from the pioneers of birth control and family planning. The books and publicity of Marie Stopes in England and Margaret Sanger in the United States, changed the lives of many women.

paragraphs: Attitudes towards homosexuality and masturbation were altered by the publications of Havelock Ellis. Ellis was the first person to say in print that masturbation was normal, and did not cause any medical problems. The ideas of Sigmund Freud were also influential. He believed that people's strong instincts toward sexuality were repressed in order to meet the constraints imposed on them by civilized life.


title: Peter Martyr d'Anghiera

paragraphs: Peter Martyr d'Anghiera (2 February 1457 – October 1526) was an Italian-born historian of Spain and of the discoveries and explorations in the Americas.

paragraphs: The international form of his name is Pietro Martire d'Anghiera. In different languages, his name is written:

paragraphs: He was born on February 2, 1457 at Arona, near Anghiera (called now Angera) on Lake Maggiore, Lombardy, Italy. He went to Rome in 1477, at the age of twenty, and there he met important persons of the Catholic Church. In 1486, Anghiera met the Spanish ambassador in Rome, and with him to Spain in August, 1487, to the court of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella of Castile.

paragraphs: He wrote in Latin the first accounts of explorations in the Americas in a series of letters and reports that were published from 1511 to 1530 in chapters called "Decades". The first three "Decades", together with a description of his experiences in Egypt, were published in 1516 under the title: "De orbe novo decades cum Legatione Babylonica" or, for short, "De orbe novo" ("On the New World").

paragraphs: He was the first writer to use the word "Hispaniola" to name the island that Columbus named "La Española". He also wrote that the Taíno name of the island was "Quizqueia", a name that no other historian of that time mentioned. Quizqueia is used now as "Quisqueya" or "Kiskeya" for the whole island (in Haiti) or for the eastern part (in the Dominican Republic).

paragraphs: He died in October 1526 at Granada, Spain.


title: Wilhelm Reich

paragraphs: Wilhelm Reich (March 24, 1897 – November 3, 1957) was an Austrian-American psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. In the 1920s he was a pupil of Sigmund Freud in Vienna and made important contributions to psychoanalysis ("Charakteranalyse" 1933; engl. 1945ff). His work was rediscovered by the activists of the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 1970s.

paragraphs: During the 1920s Reich became involved in the social struggles of the time. In 1927 he joined the Communist Party. There he founded "SexPol", short for Sexual Politics. In 1933 he was kicked off from the Party, and in 1934 from the organisations of Psychoanalysis. At this time he started his own research on the biological foundations of psychoanalysis, later on called "orgonomy". Orgonomy was to be the science of orgone, a "primordial energy" Reich claimed to have discovered.

paragraphs: The other side of Reich's story is that he was blamed to have invented a pseudoscience method for treating cancer. He was exposed as a fraud in 1947 articles by journalist Mildred Edie Brady, published in the magazines "Harper's" and "The New Republic", the latter titled "The Strange Case of Wilhelm Reich," with the subhead, "The man who blames both neuroses and cancer on unsatisfactory sexual activities has been repudiated by only one scientific journal". The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decided that they were dealing with a "fraud of the first magnitude".

paragraphs: Finally, in 1956 Reich violated an injunction got by the FDA, and was arrested. All his research equipment including his books was destroyed. He was sentenced to two years prison. Reich died on 3 November 1957 (aged 60) in the United States Penitentiary, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, Opinions about him remain very divided.

paragraphs: Reich had founded "Orgonon" in Rangeley, Maine after immigrating to the US. It was his home, laboratory and research center, and also Reich's burial place. It is now open to the public as the Wilhelm Reich Museum.


title: Jules Massenet

paragraphs: Jules Massenet (born Montaud nr. Saint-Étienne, 12 May 1842; died Paris, 13 August 1912) was a French composer. He is most famous for his operas, although he wrote a large amount of other music as well.

paragraphs: Jules’ father had a business making agricultural tools. His mother gave him his first piano lessons. In 1847 his father retired and the family moved to Paris. When he was ten years old he went to the Paris Conservatoire for piano and solfège studies. Over a period of ten years he studied there, gaining many prizes. He was taught composition by Ambroise Thomas who was an excellent music teacher.

paragraphs: Jules earned enough money to keep himself by giving piano lessons. He also played timpani in the orchestra of the Théâtre Lyrique. This helped him to get a good knowledge of French composers such as Gounod (especially his "Faust") as well as music by Gluck, Mozart and Beethoven. He was also very keen on the music of Berlioz and Wagner.

paragraphs: In 1863 he won the Prix de Rome (it was his second attempt). This allowed him to spend two years in Italy. During this time he travelled a lot but hardly composed anything.

paragraphs: In 1866 he returned to Paris where he married. He gave piano lessons. At this stage he had hardly written anything important. However, soon he was to start writing many famous works. He became friends with other composers: Saint-Saëns, Bizet, Delibes, Lalo, Fauré, Duparc and others. Several of these people competed in writing operas for competitions. Massenet wrote several works, but he found writing operas difficult. His operas never won any prizes.

paragraphs: In 1870 he served in the National Guard during the Franco-Prussian war. After the war he continued to compose, and he became professor of composition at the Conservatoire. He spent many years working on an opera "Le Roi de Lahore". This was a great success and helped him to become internationally famous. For many years he spent the winter in Paris and the summer in various places in the country where he could compose. His pupils at the Conservatoire included Pierné, Koechlin, Hahn, Enesco. In 1884 his opera "Manon" was produced at the Opéra-comique. This made him clearly the most famous opera composer of his time. It was an opéra-comique with some speech over the music. During the next 28 years he composed another 20 operas. Another opera that was particularly famous was "Werther". It was first performed in 1892 in Vienna and a year later in Paris. It was soon being performed in all the big European opera houses.

paragraphs: Some of his greatest operatic roles were written for the young American soprano Sybil Sanderson. This includes the main role in his popular opera "Thaïs". The story is set in Egypt and is about a monk who tries to persuade Thaïs to give up her life as a prostitute. However, he soon finds he is falling in love with her himself. This mixture of religion and salvation became an extremely popular subject for operas at that time. The "Méditation" from "Thaïs" is a short piece for violin solo. It is one of the best-loved of all Romantic violin solos.

paragraphs: He continued to compose lots of music even when his health was failing during his last years. He was a quiet, family man who hated it when people made a fuss about him. He liked best to spend his evenings quietly at home, or in the countryside during the summer. He continued to compose in a Romantic style to the end of his life, even though many composers around him (e.g. Debussy) were writing music which was more “modern” sounding.


title: Tokyo Game Show

paragraphs: The Tokyo Game Show is one of the biggest conferences for video games in the world. held in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba Prefecture, Japan.


title: Choline

paragraphs: Choline is an organic compound. It is the precursor molecule (~building block) for the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Acetylcholine is involved in many functions including memory and muscle control.

paragraphs: Some animals cannot produce choline, but must have it in their diet to stay healthy. Humans make a small amount of choline in the liver. In the United States, choline is recommended as an essential nutrient after research showed that humans need to get it. They need to have choline in their diet or take a supplementation for proper health. Possible benefits include reducing the risk of neural tube defects and fatty liver disease. It has also been found that intake of choline during pregnancy can have long-term beneficial effects on memory for the child.

paragraphs: Choline is usually grouped with the Vitamin B complex. It is a vitamin that is needed by the human body. Adults should take between 425 and 550 milligrams of it daily. Choline is used by the body in the walls of cells and as a neurotransmitter. It also helps to prevent heart disease. There are claims that it helps reduce body fat, but this has not been proven.

paragraphs: Choline was discovered by Andreas Strecker in 1864. In 1998 choline was classified as an needed nutrient by the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine (USA).

paragraphs: Sources of Choline are egg yolks, soy and cooked beef, chicken, veal and turkey (bird) livers. Many foods contain small amounts of choline, even iceberg lettuce.