title: Charles II of England

paragraphs: Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was king of England, Ireland, and Scotland, from 1649 to 1685. His father was Charles I of England, who was executed after losing a war with Parliament.

paragraphs: Prince Charles was the king's eldest son. As a little boy, he was made Prince of Wales as a sign that he would one day be king.

paragraphs: By the time he grew into a young man, his father was already at war with Parliament in the English Civil War.

paragraphs: Prince Charles did not take much part in the fighting. His mother, Henrietta Maria, was French, and she took her children to France when the war broke out, to keep them safe.

paragraphs: Prince Charles was only eighteen when he heard that his father was dead.

paragraphs: This made him King, and he started calling himself King Charles II immediately, but Parliament was still in control of Britain and would not let him take his throne.

paragraphs: In 1651, Charles II returned to Britain and fought Parliament at the Battle of Worcester.

paragraphs: He was defeated, but is supposed to have escaped by hiding in an oak tree.

paragraphs: Later, he was forced to disguise himself as a servant. A young lady called Jane Lane helped him to escape, and he sailed to the Netherlands to re-join his supporters. He kept his own royal court there until 1660.

paragraphs: While Charles was in Holland, Britain was being ruled by Oliver Cromwell, an extraordinary man who had no title, but many followers. He was chosen as leader of the country by Parliament. When Cromwell died in 1658, his son Richard was chosen to be the next leader.

paragraphs: Richard Cromwell was not the man his father was. Charles II was asked to come back and rule Britain. In 1660, Charles II was brought back to Britain and took his throne. This was the English Restoration.

paragraphs: Many of his enemies were punished for having executed his father and fought against him, but Richard Cromwell was allowed to go and live quietly away from London.

paragraphs: Charles was popular and was called "The Merry Monarch" because he changed many laws that Cromwell had made and allowed people more freedom to enjoy themselves.

paragraphs: He liked to go to the theater, play cards and enjoy sports such as horse racing.

paragraphs: Some people thought that a king should be more serious and not spend so much time and money on fun.

paragraphs: There were also some people who did not like King Charles II because of his religious beliefs. He had been brought up by his mother, who was Roman Catholic, while most people in the country were Protestant.

paragraphs: He married a princess from Portugal, Catherine of Braganza. They did not have any children, but Charles refused to divorce Catherine. Before he was married, he had several girlfriends and lovers, and even after he was married he went on having lovers, who were called "mistresses".

paragraphs: The most famous was an actress called Nell Gwyn. Several of Charles's lovers had babies, but none of these children were allowed to follow Charles as king, because they were "bastards", meaning that they had been born to parents who were not married to each other.

paragraphs: The most popular of Charles II's children was James Scott. Charles gave him the title Duke of Monmouth. James's mother had been Charles's girlfriend when he was living in Holland, and some people said that they had been secretly married. If this had been true, then James would have been allowed to be king when Charles died. There were many who wanted this to happen, because they did not like the thought of Charles's younger brother being the next king. This brother, who was also called James, was a Roman Catholic and was not popular.

paragraphs: Charles II died quite suddenly, and his son James, Duke of Monmouth, started a rebellion in the hope of becoming the next king. He was defeated by the royal army, which supported Charles's brother James. The Duke of Monmouth was executed by having his head chopped off, and Charles's brother became the next ruler, King James II.

paragraphs: By Elizabeth Killigrew (1622–1680), daughter of Sir Robert Killigrew, married Francis Boyle, 1st Viscount Shannon in 1660

paragraphs: By Barbara Villiers Palmer (1641–1709), wife of Roger Palmer, 1st Earl of Castlemaine created Duchess of Cleveland in her own right

paragraphs: later Duke of Marlborough, who was another of Cleveland's many lovers, and was never acknowledged by Charles as his own daughter.

paragraphs: By Louise Renée de Penancoet de Kérouaille (1649–1734), created Duchess of Portsmouth in her own right (1673)

paragraphs: Duke of Lennox (1675) in Scotland. Ancestor of Diana, Princess of Wales, Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall,

paragraphs: By Mary 'Moll' Davis, courtesan and actress of repute


title: Crunk

paragraphs: Crunk is a sub-genre of hip hop music that started in the clubs of Memphis, Tennessee in the mid-1990s. The word 'crunk' is the past tense version of the word 'crank' as in "crank the music up". It can also be used as an adjective. It is a mixture of Miami bass, Southern rap, and electronica with a lot of yelling and chanting. Lil Jon is the most popular crunk artist, and his song 'Get Low' with the Ying Yang Twins is the song that made crunk music mainstream. After this song came out, crunk became a really popular style of music and it saw it's heyday in the mid-2000s, but it eventually started to fade away and disappear, being replaced with trap music in the 2010s.


title: Pimp

paragraphs: A pimp is a person who makes money from other people prostituting themselves. Usually, the prostitutes make money for themselves, but the pimp takes a percentage of the money in exchange for providing them with security and other services. Pimps has gotten connected to a special look, often a male with fancy and colorful clothes with gold accessories.

paragraphs: Pimps has been portrayed in many movies, such as Taxi Driver where the pimp is called "sport"


title: Allan Kardec

paragraphs: Allan Kardec (Hippolyte Léon Denizard Rivail 3 October 1804 31 March 1869) was a French philosopher and teacher. He dedicated the last 15 years of his life to organise a philosophical doctrine called Spiritism. He spread the educational ideas of Pestalozzi in the 19th century. He published books on grammar, mathematics and suggestions for the improvement of public education in France. He was a teacher of physiology, astronomy, physics and chemistry. The classes were at his home in Paris.

paragraphs: In 1854, Kardec started studying phenomena which some people call "paranormal" or "supernatural". This were quite common at that time.

paragraphs: In his philosophy the spiritual manifestations were useful to the social and moral improvement of men.


title: Hyves

paragraphs: Hyves is a website where people can have contact with friends online. It can be used to make new friends or to stay in touch with old friends. It was started in 2004 and has over 9 million users; most of them are Dutch. That is the reason why it is very popular in the Netherlands.

paragraphs: Pictures and videos can be put and shared on it. Hyves is similar to Facebook or the German VZ Networks.


title: Sex organ

paragraphs: The sex organs, which scientists call the genitalia or genitals, are the parts of the body that allow sexual reproduction (the making of young) to take place. They are also for urination (peeing), to remove waste products from the body. While all animals have sex organs, this article is about the sex organs of human beings.

paragraphs: The genitals are the main parts of the human body that make men and women different. Some parts of the genitals are outside the body, while other parts are inside. In a man, his external genitals are the penis and the scrotum (a bag that contains the testicles). Inside his body the testicles produce sperm and a substance called testosterone which makes a person grow into a man and to feel like a man. Other glands produce a fluid called semen. The part of a woman's genitals that is outside her body is called the vulva. Inside her body are the vagina, which holds the penis during sexual intercourse; the uterus (womb), in which a baby grows when the woman is pregnant; the ovaries, which produce ova (egg cells) and a substance called estrogen which makes a person grow into a woman and to feel like a woman; and the Fallopian tubes, which connect the ovaries to the uterus.

paragraphs: Many human societies are prudish about genitals. This prudery has resulted in public indecency laws which makes it a crime for genitals to be left uncovered in public except in special places called nudist colonies.

paragraphs: If a man and a woman want to reproduce sexually, they have to engage in sexual intercourse. This involves placing the man's erect penis into the woman's vagina. The vagina rubs and puts pressure on the penis, which makes the man have an orgasm. During his orgasm the man ejaculates, and his semen flows into the woman. If a sperm in the semen reaches the woman's Fallopian tubes and fuses with an ovum, this causes the woman to become pregnant. A man and woman can also have sexual intercourse for pleasure, without wishing to have a baby. Men and women, and gay couples (two women or two men) can also use their sex organs in other ways for pleasure.

paragraphs: The sex organs are the parts of the body that allow sexual reproduction (the making of young) to take place. They are also for urination (peeing), to remove waste products from the body. All animals have some kind of sex organs. This article is about the sex organs of human beings. In humans, the sex organs are in the lower abdomen, at the part of the body where the legs join the torso.

paragraphs: The scientific name for the sex organs is "genitalia" or "genitals". They are also commonly called the reproductive organs. The genitals include both organs that can be seen on the outside of the body (the primary genitalia or external genitalia), as well as internal organs (the secondary genitalia or internal genitalia). Sometimes, however, the words "genitalia" or "genitals" are used to refer only to the external sex organs. The sex organs are informally referred to as the private parts or privates.

paragraphs: Males and females have different sex organs. In fact, the genitals are the main parts of the human body that make men and women different.

paragraphs: A man's genitals are made up of many parts. The parts that can be seen on the outside of a man's body are his penis, which is shaped like a banana or a sausage; and his scrotum, which is a bag that hangs beneath the penis and contains the two testicles. A man's penis may be circumcised.

paragraphs: Inside a man's body, the testicles make tiny cells called sperm, which are needed for sexual reproduction. The testicles also make a hormone called testosterone. This is a chemical that makes a person grow into a man and feel like a man. The testicles are glands, which are special parts of the body that make chemicals. Other glands that make up the genitals are the prostate, seminal vesicles and bulbourethral glands (also called the Cowper's glands). Together, these glands make a white, sticky fluid called semen that sperm float in. Finally, a man's body contains ducts (tubes) such as the two vasa deferentia or ducta deferentia, which carry sperm out of the testicles; and the urethra, which carries semen through the penis and out of the body. The urethra also carries urine away from the bladder.

paragraphs: In reproduction the job of the penis is to carry sperm from the testicles into a woman's body so that a sperm can join together with the woman's ovum (egg cell) to form a new cell that will grow into a baby. The process of fusion of a sperm and an ovum is called fertilization. A man's penis is usually soft, quite short and hangs down. When a man becomes aroused (sexually excited), the inside of his penis fills with blood. This causes the penis to become bigger, thicker and harder and to stand upright, and is called having an erection. When a man has an erection, he is able to have sexual intercourse by putting his penis into a woman's vagina. During an erection, a valve stops urine from entering the urethra so that only semen flows along it. This is why it is very difficult for a man to urinate when he is having an erection.

paragraphs: Young boys can have erections, but their bodies do not start producing sperm until they have reached puberty. This usually happens when they are in their teens.

paragraphs: The part of a woman's genitals that is on the outside of her body is called the vulva. The main parts of the vulva are two sets of fleshy "lips" called the labia. The outer labia can be seen at the front of the woman's body. On an adult woman, they are generally covered with some hair. Between the outer labia are the inner labia which do not have hair and are very sensitive. At the front of the inner labia is the outside part of the clitoris which is covered by the clitoral hood. During sexual intercourse, the clitoris gives feelings of pleasure to the woman.

paragraphs: Most of a woman's genitals are tucked inside her body. Behind the labia is a tube called the vagina, which cannot be seen on the outside of the body. (People often incorrectly use the word "vagina" to refer to the vulva.) When a man and a woman have sexual intercourse, the man's penis is placed into the woman's vagina. When a woman menstruates (has her menstrual period), blood and other fluid from the uterus pass out from her body through the vagina. If a woman uses a tampon (a specially-made wad of material) to absorb this fluid, she puts it into her vagina. The vagina is also called the birth canal, because when a pregnant woman has a baby, it passes through the vagina.

paragraphs: Like a man, a woman has a tube called the urethra connecting the bladder to the vulva through which urine is removed from the body. The opening of the urethra is between the clitoris and the opening to the vagina.

paragraphs: In many women, the opening of the vagina is partly or completely blocked by a thin tissue called the hymen. Some women are born without a hymen. The hymen usually breaks when a woman has sexual intercourse for the first time, that may cause or not some bleeding depending particularly on each woman. In some cultures, a broken hymen is taken as a sign that a girl has had sex. However, a broken hymen is not a clear sign of sexual intercourse because other activities such as exercise can also cause the hymen to break. In some women, the hymen may remain unbroken even after sex.

paragraphs: At the top of the vagina is the cervix which is a ring of muscle separating the vagina from the uterus or womb. The cervix allows menstrual fluid to flow from the uterus into the vagina, and during sexual intercourse it allows semen from a man's penis to flow from the vagina into the uterus. The uterus is a very muscular and stretchy organ in which babies grow during pregnancy. When a woman is not pregnant, each month the lining of the uterus grows thicker, then breaks down, causing her to menstruate. Connected to the top of the uterus are two Fallopian tubes, on the left and right. These tubes join the uterus to the two ovaries. The ovaries produce ova, or egg cells, that are needed for reproduction. Each month, an ovum travels from one of the ovaries into a Fallopian tube. If, after the woman has had sexual intercourse with a man, the ovum fuses with a sperm and implants in the wall of the uterus, the woman will become pregnant. The ovaries also produce the female hormone estrogen which causes a person to grow into a woman and to feel like a woman.

paragraphs: Young girls do not start producing ova and menstruating until they have reached puberty. Like boys, this usually happens in their teens. Once a woman starts menstruating, she is capable of becoming pregnant.

paragraphs: The sex organs or genitals are used for sexual reproduction and for sexual intercourse. For sexual reproduction to happen, a man and a woman need to have sexual intercourse with each other. A man's penis becomes erect when he is aroused, for example when he sees a naked woman or is touched by her. When a woman is aroused, her clitoris and vulva also swell, and the inside of her vagina produces mucus, a substance that makes it slippery. To reproduce, the man places his penis inside the woman's vagina and moves it in and out (a movement called thrusting), while the woman moves her hips back and forth, or in a circular motion. The friction caused by this movement, together with the warmth and pressure of the vagina, causes the man to have pleasurable feelings in the penis. As intercourse continues, these feelings grow stronger and stronger until the man reaches a sexual climax called an orgasm. At this point, the man's penis spasms and then contracts strongly again and again to push semen through the urethra. The semen then ejaculates or shoots out from the end of the penis into the woman's vagina. The woman may also have an orgasm, which causes the vagina to tense up and relax repeatedly. Scientists are not sure why women have orgasms. Some believe that the orgasm helps the sperm in the man's semen to swim up the vagina into the cervix, so that it is more likely that a sperm cell will fuse with an egg cell. Others think that the female orgasm causes the vagina to grip the penis more tightly, which makes sex more exciting for the man and causes him to ejaculate more quickly or to produce more semen; or that it encourages a woman to have sex more often as it feels good. Both of these events would make pregnancy more likely to happen. After the man has ejaculated, the blood flows out of his penis and it becomes smaller and soft again.

paragraphs: Sometimes, a man and a woman may have sexual intercourse because it gives them pleasure, without wishing for the woman to become pregnant. They may try to stop fertilization from happening by using methods of contraception or birth control. Common methods of birth control include the man wearing a condom on his penis, and the woman taking birth control pills that stop her ovaries from releasing egg cells.

paragraphs: Apart from the man putting his penis into the woman's vagina, the sex organs can be used in other ways in sexual intercourse. The man and woman can rub each other's sex organs with their hands. They can use sex toys such as dildos or vibrators. They can also engage in oral sex. When a person uses his or her mouth, lips and tongue to touch a woman's clitoris and vulva, this is called cunnilingus. When a person uses his or her mouth, lips, and/or tongue to touch a man's penis, this is called fellatio. A man or a woman (using an strap-on dildo or harness) can also put the sexual organ into a person's anus, this is called anal sex.

paragraphs: People who are gay or homosexual also use their genitals to have sexual intercourse with each other. Two women can rub each other's sex organs, put sex toys into them, or perform oral sex on each other. Two men can also rub each other's sex organs, or perform oral or anal sex on each other.

paragraphs: When a man strokes his own penis or a woman rubs her clitoris and vulva in order to feel good or to reach orgasm, this is called masturbation.

paragraphs: The sex organs are also used for urination, which is one of the ways in which the body removes waste products. Both men and women have a bladder, which is an organ that stores urine. In a man, a thin tube called the urethra passes from his bladder right through his penis. In a woman, the urethra opens into the vulva. When a person urinates, urine flows from the bladder through the urethra and out of the body.


title: Laurence Olivier

paragraphs: Sir Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM (22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He was the youngest actor to be knighted and the first to be raised to the peerage. Olivier married English actresses Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh and Joan Plowright.

paragraphs: Actor Spencer Tracy said that Olivier was 'the greatest actor in the English-speaking world'. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Olivier among the Greatest Male Stars of All Time, at number 14 on the list.

paragraphs: Olivier had many awards: twelve Oscar nominations, with two wins (for Best Actor and Best Picture for the 1948 film "Hamlet"), plus two honorary awards including a statuette and certificate. He was awarded five Emmy Awards. He was a three-time Golden Globe and BAFTA winner. In 1976 he received the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award, a lifetime achievement award.

paragraphs: Olivier's ashes are buried in Westminster Abbey.


title: Spiritism

paragraphs: Spiritism is a doctrine promoted by the French professor Allan Kardec. His first two books were:

paragraphs: Other characteristics ideas of his were:

paragraphs: Although Kardec claimed it was distinct, spiritism is similar to spiritualism. Kardec's books were based on reporting séances in which he claimed to observe phenomena which he attributed to incorporeal intelligence (spirits). Arthur Conan Doyle included a chapter about Spiritism in his book "History of Spiritualism". This said that Spiritism is Spiritualist (but not vice-versa). As a consequence, many Spiritualist works are widely accepted in Spiritism, particularly the works of scientists Sir William Crookes and Oliver Lodge.


title: Alexa

paragraphs: Alexa is an Internet service that measures how many Internet users visit a website. At Alexa.com, people can enter a website address and Alexa will show them how well-visited the website is. It can also tell them how its popularity has changed over time.

paragraphs: Alexa has 6 million unique visits monthly.

paragraphs: Alexa was created in 1996 by American businessman Brewster Kahle and Bruce Gilliat.

paragraphs: In 1999, Alexa was bought by Amazon.com for about US$250 million in Amazon stock.

paragraphs: Alexa provides a free API that is used by services and toolbars all around the world to easily display Alexa Rating.

paragraphs: Some virus companies mark Alexa toolbar as adware (McAfee), trackware (Symantec) and potentially unwanted Program.

paragraphs: Alexa is an Alphabet service that measures how many Internet users visit a website.


title: Poodle

paragraphs: A poodle is a breed of dog. Poodles are one of the smartest dogs. Miniature and toy poodles are two sizes. The original poodle is the Standard poodle. Miniature and toy poodles are not related to Standard poodles. They do not share DNA. If the owner does praise it, it will start liking the owner even more, and doing things for the owner. Many people that own them show them at dog shows. Poodles were once used as hunting and sporting dogs, but now they are mostly pets. Poodles only have one coat, other dogs are known to have double coats. Poodles do not shed their fur as some dogs do, so they are good pets for people who are allergic to dogs. The hair of a poodle grows much quicker than that of a full-grown dog. One exciting aspect of the poodle hair is that it is capable of changing color. From research conducted, it is safe to say that the hair growth of a poodle is flanked by half an inch to one inch in 30 days. Just like every other dog hair, poodles also have issues with their hair. The biggest problem associated with poodle hair is that it has a habit of becoming thin and falling off its body. However, this happens mostly in female poodles whenever they are experiencing hormonal flow or heat.

paragraphs: Poodles are also popular because they come in many different colors and sizes. Their coats are most often white or black; but can be apricot, dark gray, called "blue"; and other colors. There are also some rare colors, such as chocolate brown, and brindle. In Japan, apricot color is the most liked.

paragraphs: Poodles are bred in many different sizes. The four main sizes from largest to smallest are Standard, Miniature, Medium and Toy. There are also other sizes, like the very small Teacup, that are not official. This means that these other sizes cannot be part of professional dog shows.

paragraphs: Poodles have been used as working dogs in the military for several centuries. During World War II, it was thought that this breed of dog could become helpers during the war. So, poodles went through training by the United States Army for special tasks. In 1942, the poodle was one of 32 breeds officially ranked as war dogs by the Army.

paragraphs: It is the poodles main style to left hair of the chest and ankles in order to protect heart and joints from cold waters and cut others in order to reduce the resistance of the water. Now, poodles hair styles have more variations. In Japan, the "teddy bear cut" is most popular. This style lets the whole body have roundness like a teddy bear.


title: Irish language

paragraphs: Irish, "Irish Gaelic", or "Gaeilge" is a language spoken in Ireland. Irish is a Celtic language. This means that Irish is similar to Scottish Gaelic, Breton, Cornish, Manx and Welsh. Many people who speak Irish can understand some Scottish Gaelic, but not Welsh, because the Celtic languages are divided into two groups. One group is called the p-Celtic languages and the other is called the q-Celtic languages. Irish and Scottish Gaelic are q-Celtic languages and Welsh is a p-Celtic language. Irish has no "yes" or "no" words.

paragraphs: There were great poets who wrote in Irish. Their poems became the songs of the people. People told stories about the heroes of old times. Many of the poems were about them. At one point Queen Elizabeth I of England and Ireland promoted Irish with a view to using it to translate the Bible into that language and tried to learn it herself. Christopher Nugent, 9th Baron of Delvin, gave her a primer about it.

paragraphs: Until the nineteenth century, most people in Ireland spoke Irish, but that changed after 1801 because after Ireland joined the United Kingdom since its state schools were incorporated into the British system and required to teach or even allow only English. The Roman Catholic Church also began to discourage Irish and Daniel O'Connell, though a nationalist and an Irish-speaker himself, discouraged the language because most job opportunities were in the United States and the British Empire.

paragraphs: Today, Irish is the first official language of the Republic of Ireland, but in practice English. retains a dominant position in government. It is not spoken by most Irish people outside the Gaeltacht in day-to-day life, but many people speak it daily also or when among friends or family. It also must be taught in all schools in Ireland.

paragraphs: The newest Gaeltacht in Ireland is on the Falls Road in Belfast City, where the whole community has been making Irish their first language for several years. This area is called the Gaeltacht Quarter.

paragraphs: There are around 2 million speakers. The places where Irish is spoken a lot are called Gaeltacht areas or in Irish, "Gaeltachtaí". Around 70% of the people in these areas speak Irish.


title: Max and Ruby

paragraphs: Max and Ruby is a Canadian children's television series created by Rosemary Wells. The series originally aired on Nick Jr. on Nickelodeon in the United States and Treehouse TV in Canada. It is aimed at a preschool children. The series was created by children's book author / illustrator Rosemary Wells. It is based on the fictional world of her "Max and Ruby" books. The episodes show stories about three year old Max, an anthropomorphised toddler bunny, and his big sister, seven year old Ruby, a patient young lady. The show has a good message for its audience by showing Max and Ruby playing together and using respect and love in solving their problems.

paragraphs: Max gets into trouble in almost every episode, but Ruby gives him a helping hand.


title: Apollo program

paragraphs: The Apollo program (or Project Apollo) was a project by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The goal was to send a human to explore the Moon and bring him home to earth safely. It was started by US President John F. Kennedy in 1961. He said:

paragraphs: One reason the program started was that the Soviet Union was the first country to send a person into outer space. Since this was during the Cold War, many in the US thought that the US needed to stay ahead of the USSR in space exploration.

paragraphs: The Apollo spacecraft was made up of a Command and Service Module, and a Lunar Module. The Command Module was a space capsule. The Lunar Module was a lander. These spacecraft docked on the way to the Moon. Mercury and Gemini spaceships were very small and cramped, but the Apollo capsule was much bigger. Astronauts could move around and not have to stay in their seats. The Lunar Lander was also big on the inside. The only part of the Apollo spacecraft to come back to Earth was the capsule, the Lunar Module would crash on the moon.

paragraphs: The Apollo program ended in 1975. After that, NASA began to work on the Space Shuttle program, the International Space Station, and many unmanned space exploration projects.

paragraphs: There was a movie made about the problems that happened on the Apollo 13 mission.

paragraphs: In September 1967, Owen Maynard of the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, Texas came up with a series of Apollo missions that would lead to landing a person on the Moon. There were seven types of mission, each testing a specific set of parts and tasks. Each step would need to be completed successfully before the next mission type could begin. These were:

paragraphs: The first manned Lunar Module, LM-3, was not ready for the December 1968 launch date of Apollo 8. The mission flew as a lunar orbital mission, using just the CSM. The E mission was canceled.

paragraphs: The first landing would be followed by more advanced lunar missions:

paragraphs: The Apollo flights were carried into space by the Saturn I and V rockets.


title: NASA

paragraphs: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the United States Federal Government that deals with space exploration and aeronautics, the operating and designing of planes. NASA has had many successful missions, for example the ISS, and Apollo 11, which put the first man on the Moon in 1969. NASA was started on July 29, 1958. NASA's motto is: "For the Benefit of All". The current Administrator of NASA is Jim Bridenstine since April 2018.

paragraphs: NASA was preceded by the "House[National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics]]" (NACA). NACA was a US federal agency founded on March 3, 1915 to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958 the agency was dissolved, and its assets and personnel transferred to the newly created National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NASA was founded to compete with the Soviet Union in the space race. In the 1950s and 1960s there was a space race between the US and the Soviet Union - now called Russia. The Soviets started first launching Sputnik 1, the first object made by people to go into orbit, in October 1957. The Americans were worried by this. It caused a crisis known as the Sputnik Crisis as the Americans feared the Russians might start building weapons in space. This all happened at a time called the Cold War when the USA and the Soviet Union were always very close to war.

paragraphs: Originally NASA was very small with only four laboratories and around eighty people working there. German engineers and scientists led by Wernher von Braun helped them build rockets. They had helped build the V-2 missile in Germany during World War II and the Redstone missile for the US Army afterwards. Their Army missile laboratory was transferred to NASA.

paragraphs: In 1960 they set up the Mercury project. The Mercury Project space missions were designed by NASA, mostly to test if humans could survive in space. After they proved it was possible for people to live in space they moved on.

paragraphs: On May 15th 1961 astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space. Less than a year later, John Glenn became the first American to orbit or circle the Earth. He did so in a spacecraft called Friendship 7. Once the Mercury Project proved that humans could live in space, the Gemini Project was started. Less than a year after it began, the Apollo Program also began.

paragraphs: After the success of Mercury, NASA realized it had to start planning for its missions to the Moon. The Gemini spacecraft was built for two men. It was still small and cramped similar to the Mercury capsule, but allowed for more freedom of movement. Project Gemini proved that two spacecraft could rendezvous (meet and dock) in space. Neil Armstrong, the first man on the Moon, was also on the first Gemini flight to dock with another spacecraft in outer space. The Gemini spacecraft did not dock with another spacecraft with people in it. Instead, it docked with a rocket called "Agena target vehicle". The last few Gemini missions were science experiments and spacewalks designed to prepare for the Apollo Program, which would land human beings on the Moon.

paragraphs: The Apollo program was started by President John F Kennedy in the 1960s. The program was made of 16 missions designed to send a man to the Moon and return him safely back to Earth. The first Apollo mission, Apollo 1, ended in disaster when a fire in the command module killed all the astronauts on board. The Apollo 8 and 10 missions went to the moon. They tested equipment and took photos but did not land.

paragraphs: The project's main success came in 1969 when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the Moon as part of Apollo 11. The mission was a big success for NASA and over six million people watched it worldwide. After Apollo 11, six more Apollo flights went to the moon. Five of them landed. The one that did not land, Apollo 13, had to abort its mission when an oxygen tank exploded in the spaceship. Apollo 17 was the last mission to land on the Moon.

paragraphs: After Congress stopped the Moon landings, NASA needed a new direction. Using a leftover Saturn V rocket, the giant rocket that sent men to the Moon, they created a space station that orbited above the Earth. This space station was called Skylab. Skylab was very big on the inside, even bigger than a small house. Skylab was visited by Apollo spacecrafts. There were three missions to Skylab. Each of them carried important experiments. The last crewed mission, Skylab 4, spent 84 days, 1 hour, 15 minutes, 30 seconds, longer than any space mission had spent until 1977. Skylab broke up in the atmosphere in 1979.

paragraphs: During the Space Race, the Soviets had designed their own spacecraft to fly to the Moon. Their spacecraft was called Soyuz. The Soviets never landed on the Moon, they had too many problems. Instead, they started creating small space stations. The Soyuz spacecraft is what they used to go to these space stations. US and Soviet Union were part of the Cold War. In order to make peace between Soviet Union and US, they decided they would dock an Apollo spacecraft to a Soyuz spacecraft in space. After docking, the crews performed experiments and learned about each other's cultures. Apollo–Soyuz was the last flight of the Apollo spacecraft. It has never been used since, and never will be.

paragraphs: In the 1980s and 1990s NASA began to concentrate on building Space Shuttles. Four Shuttles were built in 1985. The first to launch was the Space Shuttle Columbia in April 12, 1981. At this time the public began to lose interest in the space program and NASA faced budget cuts. They had planned for the Space Shuttles to cost less as they could be used more than once. But eventually it turned out the Space Shuttles were more expensive as building them in the first place cost more money than normal. There were further problems for NASA after the Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated in flight in 1986, killing all seven of its astronauts. The incident is known as the Challenger Disaster.

paragraphs: The Challenger Disaster forced NASA to think about the way they worked. The entire Space Shuttle fleet was suspended for a year. After that, NASA launched the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit. Its most famous photo was the Hubble Deep Field.

paragraphs: In 2011, NASA shut down the Space Shuttle program. They were more expensive to use than other launch vehicles.

paragraphs: In the early 1980s, NASA planned Space Station Freedom as a counterpart to the Soviet Salyut and Mir space stations. It never left the drawing board and, with the end of the Soviet Union and the Cold War, it was cancelled. The end of the Space Race prompted the U.S. administration officials to start negotiations with international partners Europe, Russia, Japan and Canada in the early 1990s in order to build the International Space Station. This project was first announced in 1993 and was called Space Station Alpha. It was planned to combine the proposed space stations of all participating space agencies: NASA's Space Station Freedom, Russia's Mir-2 (the successor to the Mir Space Station, the core of which is now Zvezda) and ESA's Columbus that was planned to be a stand-alone spacelab.

paragraphs: "Curiosity" is a car-sized rover. It was made to explore the crater Gale on Mars. "Curiosity" was launched from Cape Canaveral on November 26, 2011, at 15:02 UTC and landed on Aeolis Palus inside Gale on Mars on August 6, 2012, 05:17 UTC. The Bradbury Landing site was less than from where the rover landed after a journey. The goals of the rover include an investigation of the Martian climate and geology.

paragraphs: NASA is continuing operations include missions to the planets Mars, Saturn and Pluto. Missions to Jupiter are also planned for the near future. The New Horizons spacecraft flew past Jupiter in February 2007, studying some of the planet's moons. On July 14, 2015 the craft flew by Pluto, took high resolution pictures of the planet's surface and analysed the chemical properties of its atmosphere.

paragraphs: NASA announced in 2004 that they plan to have a permanent Moon base by 2020. A senior NASA administrator also stated in 2007 that NASA aims "to put a man on Mars by 2037".

paragraphs: However, in early 2010, President Barack Obama cancelled the Constellation project that was aiming to have humans return to the moon's surface by 2020. He said the project was "behind schedule and lacking in innovation". At the same time he cut back the amount of money NASA will be getting from the government in 2011.

paragraphs: When President Barack Obama did this, he also worked with NASA to create the Space Launch System. This, with commercial launch vehicles (launch vehicles that are not owned by NASA), will take humans to the Moon and Mars.

paragraphs: NASA has launched over 500 missions in its 50-year history. Over 150 missions had humans on board. Such "manned" missions are the most expensive and make the most news but the majority of launches are for space exploration, science, and other purposes that do not need people. NASA spacecraft such as Cassini-Huygens and the Voyager program have visited every planet in the Solar System. Four NASA spacecraft have left the Solar System, Voyager 1, Voyager 2, Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11. As of 2013 Voyager 1 is around 18,800,000,000 (18.8 billion) kilometers away from Earth.


title: Advaita Vedanta

paragraphs: Advaita Vedanta is a school in Hinduism. People who believe in Advaita believe that their soul is not different from Brahman. The most famous Hindu philosopher who taught about Advaita Vedanta was Adi Shankara who lived in India more than a thousand years ago.

paragraphs: Adi Shankara learned the sacred texts of Hinduism, like Vedas and Upanishads under his teacher Govinda Bhagavadpada and later wrote extensive commentaries of Hindu sacred texts called Upanishads. In these commentaries, he proposed the theory of Advaita, saying that the Upanishad actually teach that the individual soul (called Atman) is not different from Ultimate Reality (called Brahman). He also taught that there is only one essential principle called Brahman and everything else is a kind of expression of that one Brahman. Because of this theory of one being, his teachings became popular as the "Advaita" ("a" = not, "dvaita" = two, means no-two or non-dual). The way he said this to people was ""Atman is Brahman.""

paragraphs: Adi Shankara was smart and knew that people would wonder how he could say such an odd thing. He realized that many people would ask him, "If a person's soul is really one with Ultimate all along, then what makes a person feel so separate from Ultimate?" His answer to this was that we are ignorant of our real self being Ultimate because we see through a kind of filter—like looking through a dirty piece of glass—and he called this filter we look through, "maya", which means "illusion" in Sanskrit.

paragraphs: Shankara said that our ignorance makes us feel very separate from Ultimate, and even from everything around us. Shankara suggested that the best way people can find the truth is for them to try to clear their thinking of all ignorant thoughts, be very good, and think very hard about who they really are. He said that if a person did all these things he would realize that Brahman was himself all along.

paragraphs: This is a very similar idea to other religions at their esoteric core. For instance within Islam there is an idea of annihilation within the divine, and (Unity of Existence)


title: Parthenon

paragraphs: The Parthenon is a temple in the middle of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece (Europe). It was a temple to honor the goddess Athena for nearly 900 years, and originally had a huge idol to her. The name "Parthenon" means "the virgin's place" in Greek. It was built between 447 BC and 432 BC during the reign of Pericles. It is considered one of ancient Greece's greatest architecture accomplishments.

paragraphs: The building was constructed using limestone foundations and 22,000 tons of marble. The building was designed by the architects Ictinus and Callicrates. It has 46 Doric columns which support the roof, with 8 across the front and back, and 17 on each side.

paragraphs: In 1687 a gunpowder explosion damaged the building. Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin took some of the sculptures, now called the Elgin Marbles, from the Parthenon in 1759. They have been on display in the British Museum since 1816.


title: Neutral

paragraphs: The word neutrality can have different meanings too:


title: Physical anthropology

paragraphs: Physical anthropology deals mainly with looking at how the anatomy of the human body has changed over the course of time. It compares the human body to that of other primates. Studies of physical anthropology often include looking at the evolution of mankind.

paragraphs: Some areas of physical anthropology are paleoanthropology and primatology. When physical anthropology is joined to other branches of biology it becomes biological anthropology. Biological anthropology puts together information from the fossil record, the human skeleton, genetics, our primate relatives, human adaptations and behaviour.


title: Jackal

paragraphs: Jackals are canid species found in Africa and Asia. They are nocturnal carnivorous and eat small mammals, birds and reptiles. To hunt, they can run at speeds of 16km/h (10mph).

paragraphs: Jackals are monogamous (each male lives with only one female). A pair defends its territory from other pairs: they mark the territory with urine and feces. The territory may be large enough to hold some young adults who live with their parents until they have their own territory. Sometimes, jackals join small packs, for example to hunt a big animal, but normally they hunt alone or as a pair.

paragraphs: Jackals are not a clade. They have several times developed from canid ancestors.

paragraphs: A canid from Ethiopia and Eritrea, the Ethiopian wolf ("Canis simensis"), is sometimes called simian jackal, but it is really a wolf. The Ethiopian wolf is one of the rarest and most endangered of all canid.


title: Milwaukee

paragraphs: Milwaukee is the largest city in the state of Wisconsin. Milwaukee is also the 31st largest city in the United States. The city is the county seat of Milwaukee County. It is on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, and is about 90 miles (145 kilometers) north of Chicago. As of 2009, about 604,133 people lived in Milwaukee. Part of Milwaukee is in Washington County. Tom Barrett has been the mayor since 2004.

paragraphs: The city got its name from the Indian word "millioke", which is thought to mean "the good land" or "gathering place by the water".

paragraphs: Aerial view from the north – the Menomonee River, Kinnickinnic River, and Milwaukee River are visible in the foreground; Wind Point in the background.

paragraphs: Milwaukee lies along the shores and bluffs of Lake Michigan at the confluence of three rivers: the Menomonee, the Kinnickinnic, and the Milwaukee. Smaller rivers, such as the Root River and Lincoln Creek, also flow through the city.

paragraphs: Milwaukee's terrain is sculpted by the glacier path and includes steep bluffs along Lake Michigan that begin about a mile (1.6 km) north of downtown. In addition, 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Milwaukee is the Kettle Moraine and lake country that provides an industrial landscape combined with inland lakes.

paragraphs: According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 96.80 square miles (250.71 km), of which, 96.12 square miles (248.95 km) is land and 0.68 square miles (1.76 km) is water. The city is overwhelmingly (99.89% of its area) in Milwaukee County, but there are two tiny unpopulated parts of it that extend into neighboring counties. The part in Washington County is bordered by the southeast corner of Germantown, while the part in Waukesha County is bordered by the southeast corner of Menomonee Falls, north of the village of Butler. Both were annexations done for industrial concerns, with the Waukesha County portion containing a Cargill plant for Ambrosia Chocolate, and the Washington County portion containing a Waste Management facility.

paragraphs: Downtown Milwaukee from E. State St., 2008. Yankee Hill Apartments are near left, Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist near left-center, the Pfister Hotel right-center, and Milwaukee City Hall far right.

paragraphs: Downtown Milwaukee from the Milwaukee River

paragraphs: North–south streets are numbered, and east–west streets are named. However, north–south streets east of 1st Street are named, like east–west streets. The north–south numbering line is along the Menomonee River (east of Hawley Road) and Fairview Avenue/Golfview Parkway (west of Hawley Road), with the east–west numbering line defined along 1st Street (north of Oklahoma Avenue) and Chase/Howell Avenue (south of Oklahoma Avenue). This numbering system is also used to the north by Mequon in Ozaukee County, and by some Waukesha County communities.

paragraphs: Milwaukee is crossed by Interstate 43 and Interstate 94, which come together downtown at the Marquette Interchange. The Interstate 894 bypass (which as of May 2015 also contains Interstate 41) runs through portions of the city's southwest side, and Interstate 794 comes out of the Marquette interchange eastbound, bends south along the lakefront and crosses the harbor over the Hoan Bridge, then ends near the Bay View neighborhood and becomes the "Lake Parkway" (WIS-794).

paragraphs: One of the distinctive traits of Milwaukee's residential areas are the neighborhoods full of so-called Polish flats. These are two-family homes with separate entrances, but with the units stacked one on top of another instead of side-by-side. This arrangement enables a family of limited means to purchase both a home and a modestly priced rental apartment unit. Since Polish-American immigrants to the area prized land ownership, this solution, which was prominent in their areas of settlement within the city, came to be associated with them.

paragraphs: The tallest building in the city is the U.S. Bank Center.

paragraphs: Milwaukee's location in the Great Lakes Region often has rapidly changing weather, producing a humid continental climate (Köppen "Dfa"), with cold, windy, snowy winters, and warm, humid summers. The warmest month of the year is July, when the 24-hour average is 71.8 °F (22.1 °C), while January is the coldest month, with a 24-hour average of 22.3 °F (−5.4 °C).

paragraphs: Because of Milwaukee's proximity to Lake Michigan, a convection current forms around mid-afternoon in light wind, resulting in the so-called "lake breeze" – a smaller scale version of the more common sea breeze. The lake breeze is most common between the months of March and July. This onshore flow causes cooler temperatures to move inland usually 5 to 15 miles (8 to 24 km), with much warmer conditions persisting further inland. Because Milwaukee's official climate site, Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, is only 3 miles (4.8 km) from the lake, seasonal temperature variations are less extreme than in many other locations of the Milwaukee metropolitan area.

paragraphs: As the sun sets, the convection current reverses and an offshore flow ensues causing a land breeze. After a land breeze develops, warmer temperatures flow east toward the lakeshore, sometimes causing high temperatures during the late evening. The lake breeze is not a daily occurrence and will not usually form if a southwest, west, or northwest wind generally exceeds 15 mph (24 km/h). The lake moderates cold air outbreaks along the lakeshore during winter months.

paragraphs: Aside from the lake's influence, overnight lows in downtown Milwaukee year-round are often much warmer than suburban locations because of the urban heat island effect. Onshore winds elevate daytime relative humidity levels in Milwaukee as compared to inland locations nearby.

paragraphs: Thunderstorms in the region can be dangerous and damaging, bringing hail and high winds. In rare instances, they can bring a tornado. However, almost all summer rainfall in the city is brought by these storms. In spring and fall, longer events of prolonged, lighter rain bring most of the precipitation. A moderate snow cover can be seen on or linger for many winter days, but even during meteorological winter, on average, over 40% of days see less than 1 inch (2.5 cm) on the ground.

paragraphs: Milwaukee tends to experience highs that are 90 °F (32 °C) on or above seven days per year, and lows at or below 0 °F (−18 °C) on six to seven nights. Extremes range from 105 °F (41 °C) set on July 24, 1934 down to −26 °F (−32 °C) on both January 17, 1982 and February 4, 1996. The 1982 event, also known as Cold Sunday, featured temperatures as low as −40 °F (−40 °C) in some of the suburbs as little as 10 miles (16 km) to the north of Milwaukee.


title: Diogenes syndrome

paragraphs: Diogenes syndrome is a behavioral disorder. It is not a disease, it is a psychological condition. People who have it do not look after themselves enough any more, this is called self-neglect. They do not wash, perhaps do not shave, etc. So they develop a strong odor (scent). Since they neglect their hygiene, other diseases related to poor hygiene usually accompany the disorder.

paragraphs: Very often this disorder affects old people who live alone.

paragraphs: Diogenes Syndrome is named after the behavior (but not necessarily the ideals) of Diogenes of Sinope. It is thought to be the end stage of personality disorder.


title: Marx and Engels Internet Archive

paragraphs: The Marxists Internet Archive (also known as MIA or Marxists.org) is a volunteer-based non-profit organization that has an Internet archive of Marxist writers and other similar authors, socialists, and others on their website.

paragraphs: The texts are available in many different languages.


title: NATO

paragraphs: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), or North Atlantic Alliance, the Atlantic Alliance, the Western Alliance, is a military alliance. It was established by the North Atlantic Treaty in 1949 and it was signed in Washington, D.C., USA, on April 4, 1949. Its headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium. Its other official name means the same in French, "Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord" ("OTAN").

paragraphs: NATO has two official languages, English and French, as defined in Article 14 of the North Atlantic Treaty.

paragraphs: Its members in 1949 were: The United States, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. Three years later, on 18 February 1952, Greece and Turkey also joined.

paragraphs: When West Germany joined the organization on 9 May 1955 it was described as "a decisive turning point in the history of our continent" by Halvard Lange, Foreign Minister of Norway at the time., the result was the Warsaw Pact, signed on 14 May 1955 by the Soviet Union and its satellite states as response to NATO.

paragraphs: After the Cold War in 1999 three former communist countries, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Poland joined NATO. On 29 March 2004 seven more Northern European and Eastern European countries joined NATO: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and also Slovenia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania.

paragraphs: Croatia and Albania received NATO membership invitation on 3 April 2008. Republic of Macedonia received only conditional invitation because it was vetoed by Greece due to Republic of Macedonia's name dispute with Greece.

paragraphs: North Macedonia joined NATO on 27 March 2020 becoming its 30th member.


title: Felidae

paragraphs: Felidae is a family of mammals, in the order Carnivora. Animals that belong to Felidae are called "felids".

paragraphs: The family is of quite recent origin: the first fossils are from the Oligocene, 25 million years ago (mya). There are 41 living species, including the domestic cat, and they are monophyletic: all descended from the same ancestor.

paragraphs: Felids tend to have lithe and flexible bodies with muscular limbs. In most species, the tail is a third or a half the length of the body, with some exceptions (the bobcat and margay). The limbs are digitigrade, meaning they walk on their toes. The paws have three soft toe pads and retractible claws (usually). The tongue of felids is covered with horny papillae, which rasp meat from prey and aid in grooming.

paragraphs: More examples of felines are the big cats – the lion, tiger, leopard, jaguar, snow leopard, clouded leopard, puma, and cheetah - and other wild cats, for example the lynx, caracal, and bobcat. All felines, also the small pet cat, are predators that can hunt many animals.

paragraphs: The felids evolved in Asia and spread across continents by crossing land bridges. DNA sequence analysis shows that ancient cats evolved into eight main lines. There were at least 10 migrations (in both directions) from continent to continent via the Bering land bridge and Isthmus of Panama. The "Panthera" genus is the oldest and the "Felis" genus is the youngest. 60 percent of the modern species of cats developed within the last million years.

paragraphs: The felids' closest relatives are the linsangs, and at one remove the group of civets, hyenas, mongooses, and Madagascar carnivores, with whom they share the Suborder Feliformia. All felid species share a genetic anomaly that prevents them from tasting sweetness.

paragraphs: Genetic research has provided a basis for a more concise classification for the living members of the cat family based on genotypical groupings. Specifically, eight genetic lineages have been identified:

paragraphs: The last four lineages (5, 6, 7, 8) are more related to each other than to any of the first four (1, 2, 3, 4), and so form a clade within the Felinae subfamily of family Felidae.


title: Andrei Sakharov

paragraphs: Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov (Russian: Андре́й Дми́триевич Са́харов, May 21 1921 – December 14 1989), was a Soviet nuclear physicist. He was also a well-known dissident and human rights activist. Sakharov was an advocate of nuclear disarmament and civil liberties and reforms in the Soviet Union.

paragraphs: Sakharov was a very clever scientist. He graduated from college during World War II but was kept out of the Red Army to do scientific research for the government. Sakharov helped the Soviets develop the hydrogen bomb in the 1950s. But he also made many peaceful uses of nuclear power.

paragraphs: The bomb he had helped make started Sakharov to be a dissident. He argued with Nikita Khrushchev against unneeded nuclear tests. He was afraid that these tests put people's lives and healths in danger without need. He began asking, too, for more freedom of speech. The government removed him from his secret work and his special job as a scientist. Sakharov began to see what unhappy lives most Soviet citizens led.

paragraphs: Persecution only made him speak out more. He asked for more freedom of religion and defended others who had spoken out and been put into jail. The secret police began to watch him and to make files of information against him. After Sakharov criticized activities of the USSR's Arab allies, Arab terrorists came to his apartment and held him, his wife, and his stepson hostage for an hour. "Do you want to kill us?" cried Sakharov's wife. "We can do worse things than kill you," they replied. After the terrorists left without doing anything, Sakharov tried to tell the police about it. The police did not really care.

paragraphs: The only thing that protected Sakharov was many people knew about him outside the Soviet Union. The Communists were afraid that if something happened to him, it would give the world a bad image of the USSR. But when Sakharov criticized the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, they became very angry and took him to the city of Gorky. There he was watched by the police outside his apartment. He tried to go on a hunger strike, not eating anything. The Soviet Union was afraid he might die, so they force-fed him (forcing him to eat).

paragraphs: Sakharov kept on asking for "glasnost" (openness). In 1986, Mikhail Gorbachev, who agreed with Sakharov and thought there should be "glasnost", let the dissident scientist return home. Sakharov continued to call for reform, and in December 1989, he died of heart failure, at the age of 68. . But two years later his wish became true with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. .


title: 1st century

paragraphs: The 1st century was the century that lasted from year 1 to 100.

paragraphs: During this period Europe, North Africa and the Near East fell under increasing domination by the Roman Empire. It continued expanding under the emperor Claudius (43). The reforms introduced by Augustus during his long reign stabilized the empire. Later in the century the Julio-Claudian Dynasty, which had been founded by Augustus came to an end with the death of Nero in 68. There followed the famous Year of Four Emperors, a brief period of civil war and instability, which was finally brought to an end by Vespasian, 9th Roman emperor, and founder of the Flavian Dynasty.

paragraphs: China continued to be dominated by the Han Dynasty, despite a 14-year interruption by the Xin dynasty under Wang Mang. Han rule was restored in 23. Wang Mang's rule represents the watershed between the Western/Former Han and the Eastern/Later Han. The capital was also moved from Chang'an to Luoyang.

paragraphs: According to the New Testament, during the reign of Tiberius, Jesus, a Jewish religious leader from Galilee, was crucified in Jerusalem on the charge of blasphemy for claiming to be the Son of God. But "God raised him from the dead" three days later, see Resurrection of Jesus. Over the next few decades his followers, following the Great Commission, including the apostle Paul, carried his message throughout the Greek-speaking regions of Asia Minor, eventually introducing it to Rome itself. Roman rulers began to persecute the new sect almost immediately (the emperor Nero accused the Christians of starting the fires that destroyed much of Rome in 64 AD), and would continue to do so for centuries, sometimes vigorously, and other times passively. Christian tradition records that all of Christ's apostles except John the Evangelist suffered martyrdom.

paragraphs: In the 4th century, Christianity was eventually taken up by the emperor Constantine. One of his successors Julian the Apostate renounced it for paganism and again persecuted the Church. However, by the end of the 4th century, Emperor Theodosius I proclaimed Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Empire.

paragraphs: Note: years before or after the 1st century are in "italics".


title: Equidae

paragraphs: The Equidae is a family of odd-toed ungulate mammals. The family has only one surviving genus: "Equus". Horses, donkeys and zebras belong in this genus.

paragraphs: Animals of the "Equus" genus can have hybrid offspring, but they are usually sterile.


title: Lynx

paragraphs: The Lynx is a small cat. It is a genus with four species. The four species are in Eurasia, Spain, Canada and America, and do not overlap much.

paragraphs: "Lynx" have short tails, and usually some hair on the ears. They have large paws (feet) padded for walking on snow, and long whiskers on the face. The color of the body is from light brown to grey and is sometimes marked with dark brown spots, especially on the legs. They weigh about 5 kg or about 11 pounds (approximately the size of a large domestic cat) and can weigh up to about 30 kg (66 pounds). They are between 70 and 150 cm long, with a relative short tail - 5-25 cm. They live for about 20 years.

paragraphs: "Lynx" are similar to a regular house cat, but larger. They have a powerful body on short, furry legs attached to hefty feet, and a bobbed, black-tipped tail. The fur is spotted and yellowish-brown to grey. It has a collar of fur around the face, giving a triangular shape. They also have long black ear tufts.

paragraphs: "Lynx" live in the high altitude forests with many shrubs, reeds and grass. They hunt only on the ground, but can climb trees and swim.

paragraphs: They can be found in the some places in northern Scandinavia, in North America and also in the Himalayas. Since the 1990s people try to move part of the population of the Eurasian lynx to Germany. They can also be found in Białowieża Forest (northeastern Poland), and southern Spain.

paragraphs: The Colorado Division of Wildlife tried to move other wild "Lynx" populations from Canada back to the United States.

paragraphs: "Lynx" are usually solitary, although a small group may travel and hunt together occasionally. Mating takes place in the late winter and once a year the female gives birth to between two and four kittens. The young stay with the mother for one more winter, a total of around nine months, before moving out to live on their own as young adults.

paragraphs: "Lynx" make their dens in crevices or under ledges. They feed on a wide range of animals from white-tailed deer, reindeer, roe deer, small red deer, and chamois, to smaller, more usual prey: snowshoe hares, fish, foxes, sheep, squirrels, mice, turkeys and other birds, and goats. They also eat ptarmigans,voles, and grouse.

paragraphs: The Iberian lynx is the most endangered feline in the world. There are only two populations (together, 300 animals), in the southern Spain.

paragraphs: Hunting lynxes is illegal in many countries.


title: Shania Twain

paragraphs: Shania Twain (born Eilleen Regina Edwards; August 28, 1965, in Timmins, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and record producer. She was married a long time to music producer Mutt Lange. She is very successful in the country and pop music genres. She had a residency show at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, in late 2012.

paragraphs: Her 1995 album "The Woman in Me" brought her fame. Her 1997 album "Come On Over" became the bestselling album of all time by a female musician in any genre and the bestselling country album of all time. It has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide.

paragraphs: In 2017, she released the album "Now", her first in 15 years. She wrote and co-produced all of the songs. It entered at the top of the charts in Australia, Canada, the UK, and the US, where it opened with 137,000 combined copies and streams.

paragraphs: Twain married music producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange on December 28, 1993. They have a son, Eja (pronounced "Asia") D'Angelo, who was born on August 12, 2001. On May 15, 2008, a spokesperson for Mercury Nashville said that Twain and Lange were separating. This was after Lange allegedly had an affair with Twain's best friend, Marie-Anne Thiébaud. Their divorce was finalized on June 9, 2010. On December 20, 2010, Twain's manager said that Twain was engaged to Swiss Frédéric Thiébaud (the ex-husband of her former best friend), an executive at Nestlé. They married on January 1, 2011, in Rincón, Puerto Rico.

paragraphs: Twain is a longtime vegetarian. In 2001 she was voted PETA's very first Sexiest Vegetarian Alive.

paragraphs: In September 2010, it was confirmed that Twain was to release her first biography, "From This Moment On", on May 3, 2011. The cover work for the book was released on March 2, 2011.

paragraphs: In addition to the awards for her singles and albums, Twain has a number of personal honours:

paragraphs: Twain has released thirty-five singles from four studio albums, one greatest hits album, and one soundtrack album.


title: The Grass Roots

paragraphs: The Grass Roots are an American rock music group. Their peak in popularity was in the 1960s and 1970s. They formed in Los Angeles, California in 1966. Their biggest hit was the song "Midnight Confessions" which charted in the US at #5 in 1968. Their 1969 song "I'd Wait a Million Years" was #15 in the U.S..


title: Dionne Warwick

paragraphs: Dionne Warwick (born December 12, 1940) is an American R&B singer. She was born in East Orange, New Jersey.

paragraphs: Warwick sang many songs written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Many of these songs were hits.

paragraphs: In 1990, Warwick hosted and executive produced a talk show, "Dionne and Friends". She was a contestant in the 2011 season of "The Apprentice".

paragraphs: Warwick's sister Dee Dee Warwick (1942-2008), their aunt Cissy Houston (born 1933) and cousin Whitney Houston (1963-2012) were singers.


title: Barenaked Ladies

paragraphs: Barenaked Ladies are a Canadian band. They formed in Toronto, Canada in 1988. The band is made up of four men. In 1991, the band was taken off the program for a New Year's Eve concert in Toronto because someone thought the name was bad. The band started as a duo with Ed Roberstson and Steven Page. Lead singer Page left the band in 2009 to begin a solo career. He was also arrested in 2008 for having the illegal drug cocaine.

paragraphs: Ed Robertson is also the host of a television programme, called "Ed's Up". On the programme, he travels around Canada by airplane. A plane he was flying crashed into trees in 2008. Roberston and the other passengers were not hurt.

paragraphs: The theme song to the television series "The Big Bang Theory" is performed by Barenaked Ladies.


title: Paul Revere & the Raiders

paragraphs: Paul Revere & the Raiders were an American pop group who were popular in the 1960s. They started in Portland, Oregon in 1960.


title: Nintendogs

paragraphs: There are four versions of the game each with different breeds.

paragraphs: They are: "Dalmatian and Friends", "Chihuahua and Friends", "Labrador and Friends" and "Dachshund and Friends". All breeds are unlockable in every version and a player can unlock dogs by increasing his trainer points. However, the player can only have three dogs at home. To get more the player must drop off one at the Dog Hotel. Every player can only drop off five dogs at a time.

paragraphs: If the player does not play the game for a long period of time, the dog may run away. So players need to play with their dogs daily.

paragraphs: A sequel, "Nintendogs + Cats", was released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2011.


title: Luigi

paragraphs: Luigi is a video game character made by Nintendo. The famous game designer, Shigeru Miyamoto, made him. Luigi is the little bit younger but taller fraternal twin brother of the Nintendo mascot, Mario. He is in many games all over the "Mario" series, almost always as an assistant to his brother Mario.

paragraphs: The first game Luigi was in was "Mario Bros. (Game and Watch)" (1983) as the character seen working in a factory. He later appeared playable in the 1983 arcade game "Mario Bros" and was played by the second character. It was also done in "Super Mario Bros.", "Super Mario Bros. 3", "Super Mario World", and other games. The first game where he was present as the first character was "Super Mario Bros. 2". In current games, the role of Luigi became small. He is only in spinoffs such as the "Mario Party" and "Mario Kart" series, though he was the top character three times before. First in the education game "Mario Is Missing! "in 1991, in "Luigi's Mansion" for the Nintendo GameCube in 2001, and in "" for the Nintendo 3DS. In all of these games, he is called upon to be the brave person to save Mario. Luigi has also popped up in every show of the three DiC TV series based on the Nintendo Entertainment System and Super Nintendo Entertainment System games.

paragraphs: At first he was made as a palette swap of Mario with a green color instead of red. Luigi has since gottena character and manner of his own. As his part in the "Mario" series progressed, Luigi became taller and thinner than his brother. Nintendo called 2013 "The Year of Luigi" to mark the thirty years of the existence of the character. Similarly, games being released in 2013 bring attention to Luigi, such as, "", "Dr. Luigi", and the level pack "New Super Luigi U" for "New Super Mario Bros. U". In "Super Mario 3D World "a Luigi take of "Mario Bros." called "Luigi Bros." is able to be unlocked.

paragraphs: The events leading to the creation of Luigi began in 1982, during the making of "Donkey Kong". The Nintendo designer Shigeru Miyamoto had created Mario (who used to be "Jumpman") hoping that he would be able to present the character in many different pars in future games. Miyamoto had been given ideas by the game "Joust" to create a game where two players can play at the same time. This was the cause of his development of the game "Mario Bros." in 1983, with Luigi as the brother of Mario and the second playable character. The name Luigi is said to have been inspired by a pizza business near the head office of Nintendo of America in Redmond, Washington, called "Mario & Luigi's". Miyamoto noticed that the word "ruiji" means "similar" in the Japanese language, and that Luigi was designed to have the same size, shape and gameplay of Mario.

paragraphs: At first in "Donkey Kong, "Mario was a carpenter. In "Mario Bros.", Mario and Luigi were designed as Italian plumbers by Miyamoto, on the suggestion of a partner. Software limits at the time—almost the same as those that gave Mario his special look in "Donkey Kong"—meant the first appearance of Luigi was limited to a simple palette swap of Mario designed to be the second player. The characters were in every way the same, other than their colors. The green color for Luigi would last as one of his physical characteristics in future releases.

paragraphs: After the success of "Mario Bros.", Luigi was presented to a wider market in 1985 with the release of the console game "Super Mario Bros. "Once again his part was limited to a palette swap of Mario, acting as the second-player in almost the same way as "Mario Bros. "The Japan-only form of "Super Mario Bros. 2" in 1986 (released in the west as " "in the future) marked the start of the development of Luigi becoming a separate character. As with his last appearances, Luigi was still a palette swap of Mario. However, his moves were not the same. Luigi could now jump high up and a great distance more than his brother, at the cost of motion reaction and exactness.

paragraphs: While this form of "Super Mario Bros. 2" was released in Japan, it was thought to be too hard for the American public at the time. In 1988, as a result, an alternative release was developed to be good enough as "Super Mario Bros. 2" for western players (and in the future released in Japan as "Super Mario USA"). This would play a key part in forming the current look of Luigi. The game was a conversion of "", with the art changed to be characters and places from the "Mario" series. In this release, the character of "Mama", who had the high jump among the first cast, was good enough for the model for Luigi, resulting in his taller, thinner look, combined with his Mario-design outfit and green color. There were appearances of Luigi being taller than Mario before. In the 1988 Famicom Disk System game "" and before that, in a very limited 1986 anime "" (though in the anime he put on a yellow shirt and the color of his hat and overalls were blue). Licensed art for "Super Mario Bros. 3" and "Super Mario World "presents Luigi with this new look. Nintendo of Japan would not change his art differences to his look within the game until the 1992 game "Super Mario Kart". The appearance of Luigi from the "Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic" version of "Super Mario Bros. 2" has been used ever since, even for games made again in which he was a palette swap to start with.

paragraphs: Much like his appearance, the voice portrayal of Luigi has changed over the years. In "Mario Kart 64", which voiced many characters for the first time, some characters had two different voices in relation to the region of the game. North American and European forms present a deep voice for Luigi, by Charles Martinet, who also voices Mario, Wario, Waluigi, and Toadsworth. The Japanese form uses a high, falsetto voice, by (then French translator at Nintendo) Julien Bardakoff. All forms of "Mario Party" present the high-pitched clips of Bardakoff from "Mario Kart 64". Luigi kept this higher voice in "Mario Party 2". In "Mario Golf", "Mario Tennis", and "Mario Party 3" his voice returned to normal. Since then, in all games but "" and "Super Smash Bros. Melee", Luigi has always had a medium-pitched voice. In "", Luigi's voice was the same high voice from the Japanese "Mario Kart 64". In "Super Smash Bros." and "Super Smash Bros. Melee", the voice of Luigi is made up of clips from the voice of Mario taken from "Super Mario 64", with raised pitches. In "Super Smash Bros. Brawl", he has his own voice (which is medium-pitched) instead of the Mario pitched-up form.

paragraphs: Luigi is portrayed as the taller, younger brother of Mario, and he is usually seen dressed in green with overalls.