title: Romansh language

paragraphs: Romansh (also spelled Rumantsch, Romansch or Romanche) is one of Switzerland's four national languages. (The other three are French, German and Italian.) 50,000 people in the canton of Graubünden use it as their native language.


title: Protractor

paragraphs: The protractor is a tool used to measure angles in degrees. It usually has marks with labels of the degrees.


title: Rabbi

paragraphs: Rabbi (in the Hebrew classic רִבִּי "ribbi"; in the Hebrew modern רַבִּי "rabbi") in Judaism signifies "professor, master" or literally "grand". The word ""Rabbi"" ("My Master") derives from the Hebrew root ""Rav"", that in the Hebrew biblical signifies "grand" or "distinct" (in knowledge).

paragraphs: In Judaism, "rabbi" is a title of respect for a particularly learned member of a Jewish community. Most rabbis earn their title by studying Jewish law at a seminary or yeshiva. The primary role of a rabbi is to teach Torah. In addition, rabbis often act as the religious leader of a Jewish community. In contrast to many other religions, a rabbi is not required to be present at life cycle events in Judaism. Nevertheless, rabbis still normally preside over life cycle events.

paragraphs: Historically, only men could be rabbis. This is still true in Orthodox Judaism. Most non-Orthodox Jews allow women to be rabbis as well.

paragraphs: Three rabbis together can form a rabbinic court, or beit din. This is done when there is a legal conflict between two Jews. They judge the conflict based on Jewish law. This is also done when somebody wants to convert to Judaism.

paragraphs: Rabbis are also sometimes asked to supervise food preparation to make sure it is kosher. The presence of a rabbi does not make the food kosher or unkosher. It is just supervision. When this is done with packaged food, the packaging is often labeled with a hechsher. A hechsher is a symbol which means that the content of the package is kosher.


title: Gentile

paragraphs: A Gentile is a person who is not Jewish. It is polite to use this word when needed to describe a person who is not Jewish, as in "my friend Robert is a Gentile." Up until about a hundred years ago, it was very hard (and unlikely) for Jews and Gentiles to be close friends. This is because they would be expected to ask each other over for dinner, but Jews follow strict laws about what they can and cannot eat. They can only eat what is kosher.


title: Super Mario Galaxy

paragraphs: Super Mario Galaxy is a 2007 platform video game by Nintendo. It was released for Wii and is very different from older "Mario" games with new gameplay. A sequel, "Super Mario Galaxy 2", was released in 2010.

paragraphs: Bowser has captured Princess Peach again, this time using a surprise attack over the so-called Mushroom Kingdom, with a battle fleet of flying boats by pulling the castle out of its foundation. Mario barely grasps onto the dug out piece of Earth, but is knocked off by one of Bowser's allies. He drifts out into intergalactic space, unconscious.

paragraphs: After waking up on a peculiar planet, Mario finds a playful star like creature, named a Luma and he must play hide and seek with the Luma and his friends to gain information about where he is. After successfully capturing all Lumas, the first Luma leads Mario up to a podium, where a beautiful woman in blue robes stands waiting. The woman is named Rosalina and she moves around space by using her mobile Observatory. It was her who gave the name 'Luma', after finding the first Luma, named 'Luma'. According to her story, one day she finds Luma stranded on Earth; this is the first time for her meeting Luma. She says that the observatory after Bowser stole its Grand Stars, which give the observatory its power.

paragraphs: Mario must follow Bowser all the way out into outer space, find power stars and Grand Stars, defeat him, and rescue Peach with help of Lumas, launch stars, natives of different kinds of galaxies, and the Toad Brigade, a group of Toads.

paragraphs: The game play is very similar to "Super Mario 64" with special moves done with the Wii Remote.

paragraphs: In "Super Mario Galaxy", Mario can do a Star Spin attack, and can jump from planet to planet. The creator of the "Mario" games, Shigeru Miyamoto, is the director of this game, and gave Mario moves he has never had before.

paragraphs: Like the shines of "Super Mario Sunshine" or the stars of "Super Mario 64", "Galaxy" has things called star bits. They may be used to progress in certain parts of the game, or they can be used to stun enemies. Mario can collect star bits using the Wii Remote, simply by pointing at them. Mario can gain a life if he collects 50 of them.

paragraphs: The coin system has also changed. In the previous two games, every 100 coins collected earned a life, but in "Galaxy" he only needs 50. Also, Mario will not be able to collect 100 coins to get a star in a level; instead, once he defeats Bowser for the last time, the player can choose to return to a level, select the "Purple Comet" star, and can try to collect 100 purple coins (not normal coins) to earn a star.


title: Five and dime

paragraphs: Five and dime (also known as five-cent stores, dime stores, and ten-cent stores) is a type of store that was popular in the United States in the early to mid-20th century. They sold many different items, most of which were worth five or ten cents. Popular five and dimes included:


title: The Legend of Zelda (series)

paragraphs: The Legend of Zelda is a series of video games. The games are typically about a boy named Link who has to rescue Princess Zelda from Ganon. The first game of the franchise was made by Shigeru Miyamoto and was first sold February 21, 1986 by Nintendo. Most of the games take place in the fictional kingdom of Hyrule. The games all have fighting, adventuring, item collecting, puzzle-solving, and sometimes racing parts. "The Legend of Zelda" series has sold over 80 million games, with 22 different games in the series during 2017, making it the 20th best-selling video game series ever.

paragraphs: Right now, there are 19 games in the main series, without including the remakes.

paragraphs: Hyrule is a fictional world in "The Legend of Zelda" series. It is inhabited by many races, including Hylians, Gorons, Zoras, and others.

paragraphs: Long after the adult version Link from "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" disappeared, Ganon returned, and when Link did not come to save them, they asked the Goddesses to flood Hyrule. Hyrule was flooded, and many people died because of it. Hyrule was lost under the sea, and people lived on islands that are scattered around the Great Sea. The events of "" take place many years after.

paragraphs: Termina is a land only in "" that Link finds in the Lost Woods that he has to save before the Moon crashes into it. It's an alternate land to Hyrule, and has many places and people that look or act like people from "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time". The people who live in Termina are sometimes referred to as Terminans, or Terminan Hylians.

paragraphs: The Master Sword is a sword found in "The Legend of Zelda" series. Link uses it as a weapon in most games.

paragraphs: Known as the Sword of Evil's Bane, the Sword of Time, the Sword of Resurrection, and the Sword That Seals the Darkness. The Master Sword is to only be held by a person destined to be the Hero of Time. Link in "The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword" is supposedly the first holder of the Master Sword. The other Links are then given the right to wield the Master Sword because they carry the spirit of the Hero.

paragraphs: The Triforce is a mystic object in "The Legend of Zelda" universe created by gods Din, Nayru, and Farore. It has three parts - the first part is the Triforce of Courage, which Link has, the second is the Triforce of Wisdom, which Princess Zelda has, and the third is the Triforce of Power, which Ganon has. When it's completed, the person who unites it can make a wish using the power of the gods.


title: 3rd century

paragraphs: The 3rd century is the century from 201 to 300.

paragraphs: Note: years before or after the 3rd century are in "italics".


title: 2nd century

paragraphs: The 2nd century is the century from 101 to 200.

paragraphs: Note: years before or after the 2nd century are in "italics".


title: Walmart

paragraphs: Walmart () is a company founded by Sam Walton in 1962. It is one of the world's largest companies, behind Exxon Mobil. Walmart stores are large department stores that sell many different things. There are more than 8,000 Wal-Mart stores around the world, and over 2 million people work for Walmart.

paragraphs: Walmart can be found in a lot of places around the world. It is mostly found around the United States but can also be found in Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, some Asian countries, some African countries and some South American countries. Walmart has not yet reached Oceania.

paragraphs: Walmart is criticized for having a poor record on labor rights, especially regarding anti union activity. It has also been criticized for once promoting made in America for its products but now largely importing the products it sells, from developing nations. Many of these jobs replaced manufacturing jobs in the US. along with the fact that Walmart retail jobs replaced many mom and pop stores in the US. In 2005, movie director Robert Greenwald made a documentary movie called "Walmart The High Cost of Low Price" that criticized Walmart. After this movie was announced, director Ron Galloway made a film that ended up being released at the same time called "Why Walmart Works and Why That Drives Some People CRAZY". This movie had a positive view of Walmart.


title: Sam Walton

paragraphs: Samuel Moore Walton was an American businessman. He was born on March 29, 1918 in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. Walton created the well-known American stores, Wal-Mart and Sam's Club. Walton was born to Thomas Gibson Walton and Nancy Lee Walton. He was part of the Walton family, which is one of the richest families in the world. Walton died on April 6, 1992.

paragraphs: He died a billionaire but was known for driving a pick-up truck instead of an expensive car.


title: New York Stock Exchange

paragraphs: The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), also called the "Big Board," is a stock exchange in New York City. It is the biggest stock exchange in the United States by the amount of money and the second-biggest stock exchange by the number of companies listed. Its building is on Wall Street.


title: Stock exchange

paragraphs: A stock exchange, share market or bourse is a place where people meet to buy and sell shares of company stock. Some stock exchanges are real places (like the New York Stock Exchange), others are virtual places (like the NASDAQ).

paragraphs: The most important stock exchanges in the world include:

paragraphs: On October 29, 1929, the American stock market crashed on what is known as Black Tuesday. A "crash" means that the prices of stock were lowered greatly, and no one wanted to buy it. Instead, they sold the stock for cheap prices. Also, banks were trying to buy stock with people's money (stored inside the bank), so the banks ran out of money too. Because people could not get money back from banks, only a few people could afford the cost of living. This was the start of the Great Depression.


title: Bombay Stock Exchange

paragraphs: The Bombay Stock Exchange is a stock exchange in Mumbai, India.

paragraphs: The Bombay Stock Exchange is the oldest stock exchange in Asia.

paragraphs: The BSE failure to modernize resulted in the creation of an electronic platform in the National Stock Exchange.


title: Stamford Raffles

paragraphs: Sir Stamford Raffles FRS (Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles 5 July 1781 – 5 July 1826), was the founder of the city of Singapore. He is one of the most famous Britons who expanded the British Empire.

paragraphs: Raffles was born on the ship "Ann" to Captain Benjamin Raffles and Anne Raffles. Although his family was in debt, they managed to give him money for his education. When he was 14, he started working as a clerk in the British East India Company. The company sent him to Southeast Asia to look for another port as the trade between Britain and China was increasing.

paragraphs: He married Olivia Mariamne Fancourt. She was the widow of Jacob Cassivelaun Fancourt, an assistant surgeon in Madras who had died in 1800.

paragraphs: When the British East India Company sent Raffles to Southeast Asia, the company already had two ports, Penang and Bencoolen. However, these ports were far from the main trading area, the Straits of Malacca. Dutch ports, Malacca and Java, were closer to the trading area, which made them able to control the trade. They cut off the trade between Penang and the important trading centres at the Malay Archipelago.

paragraphs: The British East India Company thus needed a new port south of Malacca to protect British ships, and they chose Singapore, which was then a small fishing-port. Singapore had a lot of drinking water and a good location, in the centre of the Straits of Malacca. It was in an area not controlled by the Dutch. The deal was settled by Raffles making an agreement with the traditional rulers of the area to pay them money in return for the right to build, expand and use the port. Singapore eventually grew to be the important trading city-state it is today. Raffles held the title of Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1813 to 1816.


title: Euronext

paragraphs: Euronext is a stock exchange in Europe. It has buildings in Belgium, France, Netherlands, Portugal and the United Kingdom.

paragraphs: Euronext was created on September 22 2000, when the stock exchanges of Amsterdam, Brussels Stock Exchange and Paris Bourse were joined together in a merger. In recent years, Euronext has become the fifth largest stock exchange on the planet.

paragraphs: In April 2007, it merged with New York Stock Exchange to form NYSE Euronext ().


title: Hippopotamidae

paragraphs: Hippopotamidae is a group of even-toed ungulate mammals. They form the family Hippopotamuses. There are two living species of Hippopotamuses.


title: Hiroshi Yamauchi

paragraphs: Hiroshi Yamauchi (, "Yamauchi Hiroshi", November 7, 1927 – September 19, 2013) was a Japanese businessman. He was the third president of Nintendo from 1949 until he quit on May 31, 2002. He transformed Nintendo from a small card-making company to a multibillion-dollar video game company. He was known as "Mario's Farther".

paragraphs: He was born in Kyoto. He died in hospital on September 19, 2013 due to complications from pneumonia.


title: ExxonMobil

paragraphs: Exxon Mobil or ExxonMobil () is the world's biggest oil and gas company. It was created when Exxon and Mobil, both companies formed after the John D. Rockefeller's original Standard Oil company split apart, joined together in a merger to become one company. ExxonMobil has been involved in the global warming controversy, as have other Big Oil corporations such as Royal Dutch Shell

paragraphs: Right now, Exxon Mobil board members include:


title: Paul Allen

paragraphs: Paul Gardner Allen (January 21, 1953 – October 15, 2018) was an American who created Microsoft with Bill Gates. He was the fifth richest person in the United States. He lived in Mercer Island, Washington.

paragraphs: Allen was also the outright owner of two sports teams, and was part-owner of a third. He fully owned the Seattle Seahawks of the NFL and the Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA. He was a minority owner of Seattle Sounders FC in Major League Soccer.

paragraphs: Allen died from septic shock caused by non-Hodgkin lymphoma on October 15, 2018 in Seattle, Washington at the age of 65.


title: Hero

paragraphs: A hero () in Greek mythology is a Demigod, a half-god/half-human being. Herakles, for example, was the son of the god Zeus and the mortal woman Alkmene. Heroes performed extraordinary feats and were worshipped in hero cults.

paragraphs: In the modern world, hero has lost its ancient meaning. It now means someone who is courageous ("The firefighter who saved my baby is a hero."). Heroes are "heroic", they have "heroism". They help in saving people or a society from bad people, villains, or natural disasters. A hero can also be someone who is helpful, polite, or helping people who need it. The word is used in the sports world to mean an extraordinary player or athlete ("football hero", "Olympic hero", etc.). The female equivalent of the male hero is the "heroine".

paragraphs: Sometimes, the protagonist (or main character) of a story is called the "hero" of the story. Some fictional characters are superheroes.


title: Sonic Rivals

paragraphs: Sonic Rivals is a video game for the PlayStation Portable that came out on November 24, 2006. The game is made by Backbone Entertainment and Sega. People can play as Sonic the Hedgehog, Shadow the Hedgehog, Knuckles the Echidna, or Silver the Hedgehog.


title: Sega Genesis

paragraphs: The , called the Sega Genesis in North America is a 16-bit video game console made by Sega. It is Sega's third video game console. Sega released it as the Mega Drive in Japan in 1988. In 1989, they released it in North America as the Genesis.

paragraphs: In Japan, the Mega Drive sold poorly against its two main competitors, Nintendo's Super Famicom and NEC's PC Engine. However, it sold well in North America, Brazil, and Europe. Some of the reasons it sold well is because it had many arcade game ports, Sega's "Sonic the Hedgehog" series, several popular sports franchises, and an aggressive youth marketing that made the system seem like the cool console for teens. Controversy about violent games such as "Night Trap" and "Mortal Kombat" led Sega creating the Videogame Rating Council. It was a predecessor to the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB).

paragraphs: 30.75 million first-party Genesis consoles were sold around the world. By the mid-2010s, third-party Genesis rereleases were still being sold by AtGames in North America and Europe. Many games have been rereleased in compilations or on online services such as the Nintendo Virtual Console, Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and Steam. The Genesis was succeeded in 1994 by the Sega Saturn.

paragraphs: In the early 1980s, Sega Enterprises, Inc., was one of the top five arcade game manufacturers in the United States. At this time, Sega was a subsidiary of Gulf & Western. Its company revenues was higher than $200 million between July 1981 and June 1982. In 1982, the arcade business slowed, and it hurt Sega. It led to Gulf & Western selling its North American arcade manufacturing organization. They also licensed rights for its arcade games to Bally Manufacturing. The company kept Sega's North American R&D operation, as well as its Japanese subsidiary, Sega Enterprises, Ltd. With its arcade business hurting, Sega Enterprises, Ltd. president Hayao Nakayama said that the company should to move into the home console market in Japan. The industry was very new at that time.

paragraphs: Nakayama got permission to move into the home console industry. This led to the release of Sega's first home video game system, the SG-1000, in July 1983. It had sold 160,000 units in Japan. Sega did not expect it to sell that well. However, sales at stores were dominated by Nintendo's Famicom which had been released the same day. Sega believed that the Famicom sold about 10 times better than the SG-1000. The SG-1000 was replaced by the Sega Mark III within two years. Gulf & Western started getting of its non-core businesses after the death of company creator Charles Bluhdorn. Nakayama and former Sega CEO David Rosen decided to do a management buyout of the Japanese subsidiary in 1984. They would do this with financial support from CSK Corporation, a famous Japanese software company. Nakayama then became CEO of Sega Enterprises, Ltd.

paragraphs: In 1986, Sega redesigned the Mark III for release in North America. They called it the Sega Master System. They released it in Europe in 1987. Although the Master System sold well in Europe and Brazil, it did not sell well in Japan or North America. By the mid-to-late 1980s, Japan and North America were dominated by Nintendo. With Sega doing poorly in the home console market, Sega's console R&D team, led by Masami Ishikawa and supervised by Hideki Sato, started working on a successor to the Master System. They did this almost immediately after the Master System was released.

paragraphs: The Genesis is often considered one of the best video game consoles. In 2009, IGN said it was the fifth best video game console. They said it was good because of sports games and better home version of "Mortal Kombat". They praised "what some consider to be the greatest controller ever created: the six button". In 2007, GameTrailers said the Genesis was the sixth best console of all time in their list of top ten consoles that "left their mark on the history of gaming". They said it was good because it had great games and a good controller. They also wrote about the "glory days" of "Sonic the Hedgehog". In 2008, GamingExcellence said it was sixth of the 10 best consoles. They said "one can truly see the Genesis for the gaming milestone it was." GameDaily said it was ninth of ten for its memorable games.


title: Dreamcast

paragraphs: The is the fourth and last home console made by Sega that can play video games. It was sold before the PlayStation 2, GameCube, or Xbox came out. However, not many people bought it after the PlayStation 2 was released, so in the end Sega decided to stop making them.

paragraphs: When it was time to make another video game machine after the Sega Saturn was released, Shoichiro Irimajiri asked Tatsuo Yamamoto from IBM Austin and his group to create it. However Hideki Sato's old group that made video game machines did not like this. Because of this, the two groups were in a competition to make the best machine.

paragraphs: Hideki Sato's group used Hitachi SH4 and PowerVR to make a video game machine called "White Belt". The name was later changed to "Guppy" and then "Katana".

paragraphs: Tatsuo Yamamoto's IBM/Motorola PowerPC 603e and 3dfx Voodoo 2 to make a video game machine called "Blackbelt" and then renamed to "Shark" in United States. In Japan, the machine was first called "Dural" and then renamed to "Katana"

paragraphs: On April 1997, 3dfx told people that Sega was using their 3dfx Voodoo 2 for a video game machine. Sega however wanted this to be a secret and became very angry. Because of this, Sega used Hideki Sato's "Katana" machine instead of Tatsuo Yamamoto's.

paragraphs: Later on, 3dfx sued Sega because they thought Sega broke their promise to them.

paragraphs: After Sega released their Dreamcast, many other video game companies also released their video game consoles. This includes Sony, who released the PlayStation 2; Nintendo, who released the GameCube; and Microsoft, who released the Xbox.

paragraphs: The Dreamcast was released in Japan in November 27, 1998, and then released September 9, 1999 in North America. Originally, many people liked the Dreamcast and it sold a lot. In the United States, 300,000 machines were sold on the first week and Sega earned $98.4 million.

paragraphs: To help the Dreamcast sell even more, Sega told many stores to show some of their best games to customers, like "Soul Calibur", "Sonic Adventure", "", and "".

paragraphs: Electronic Arts, a video games company, said that they did not want to make games for the Dreamcast until it sold one million machines. This is because Electronic Arts' video games on the Sega Saturn did not make a lot of money. However, in three months when the Dreamcast did sell one million machines, Electronic Arts still did not want to make games for the Dreamcast and made games for the PlayStation 2 instead.

paragraphs: In places like Europe, Sega decided to let other companies make ads for the Dreamcast. However, Sega did not give the companies enough money, so the companies could not make as many ads as the PlayStation 2, another console that was competing with the Dreamcast.

paragraphs: Many of these companies also forced people to pay more for the Dreamcast than in the USA and Japan.

paragraphs: Some games were not even sold in Europe, because Sega was more focused on selling the Dreamcast in the USA. Because of this, a lot of people who used to like Sega now liked Sony.

paragraphs: Sega's prestige among gamers was at the time heavily damaged because of the lack of good management/marketing back from the Sega Saturn, this also affected certain game developers such as Electronic Arts refusing to develop for the system because of the risk of the Dreamcast becoming just like the Sega Saturn, not selling well. This was a factor is why this Incredible ground breaking console did not reach its full potential.

paragraphs: In the end, Sega told people on January 31, 2001 that they would be discontinuing the console production. Sega's last video game sold for Dreamcast was "", which was released on February 24, 2004.

paragraphs: These accessories were sold by Sega to be used on the Dreamcast:


title: Platte River

paragraphs: The Platte River (also called the Nebraska River) is a river in the United States that flows into the Missouri River. It is around 310 miles (or 499 km) long.


title: Counting

paragraphs: Counting is something people do to find out how many things there are of any kind.

paragraphs: The person counting in English usually starts with the number one, and gives this number to the first thing. The next thing is given the number two. Then, the next thing is given the number three. If there is another thing, it gets the number four. If after this there is another thing, it gets the number five. More things get more numbers. Each thing gets its own number in this way. The last number given to the last thing counted shows how many things there are.

paragraphs: Counting is starting at a number and changing it up or down a certain number of times. In the examples above, counting started at one and then it changed by one each time something was counted. So at first the count was one. Then the count was changed by one, and one plus one is two, so the count was two. Then the count of two was changed by one again, and two plus one is three, so the count was three.

paragraphs: Counting can go up or down. Counting can be done on fingers.

paragraphs: It has been shown that some birds are good at counting. Crows


Blast off


title: Launch pad

paragraphs: The launch pad is where rockets and spacecraft are placed until they is ready to blast off. NASA has its own launch pads for its spacecraft. Launch pads are often made out of steel reinforced concrete. Launch pads for larger spacecraft will often have towers to support it during its launch.


title: Space Shuttle

paragraphs: The Space Shuttle was a spacecraft which was used by the American National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA. Space Shuttles were used to carry astronauts and cargo into space. Cargo such as satellites, parts of a space station or scientific instruments were taken up into space by the space shuttle. It was a new kind of spacecraft because it could be used again and again.

paragraphs: The Space Shuttle was made up of 3 parts. These were the orbiter, the external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters.

paragraphs: The orbiter was shaped like a large airplane with wings and a tail. This allowed the Space Shuttle to glide and land on a runway. This allowed the reusable part of the Shuttle to be very large. Many spacecraft which came before the Space Shuttle, like the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo used parachutes when landing, and landed on the ocean. People have said that the Shuttle was very much like a pickup truck because of its usefulness.

paragraphs: The shuttle was launched out of Earth's gravity and into space by 3 rocket engines on the back of the orbiter along with help from 2 long white Solid Rocket Boosters (also called SRBs) Fuel for the shuttle was stored in the large, usually orange, External Fuel Tank (also called ET). Before the shuttle reached orbit, the SRBs were released and fell into the Atlantic Ocean where they were towed back to shore for reuse. The ET was also released but broke up and fell into the Indian Ocean and was not reused.

paragraphs: Orbiter had a payload bay for various missions rather than deploying satellites. They were the following:

paragraphs: A '†' next to a name means that the Shuttle was destroyed.

paragraphs: There was a Russian Shuttle called Buran. It flew one unmanned flight before being retired. The Buran was destroyed in a hangar collapse in 2002.

paragraphs: The shuttle was created in 1973. It replaced the Apollo capsules. The first flight was a test of the landing and maneuvering abilities of the shuttle. This flight used Space Shuttle Enterprise. The first shuttle flight in space was on April 12, 1981. It used Space Shuttle Columbia.

paragraphs: On January 28, 1986 the Space Shuttle Challenger destroyed 73 seconds into the flight of STS-51-L. It caused a year long stall in space flight.

paragraphs: In the 1990s the Shuttle began working on the International Space Station (ISS). This was its main job of the shuttle since then.

paragraphs: Also in the 1990s, the Space Shuttle launched the Hubble telescope into space. Shuttle missions returned 5 times to repair and improve cameras and scientific instruments on the telescope.

paragraphs: On February 1, 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia broke up while returning STS-107 to Earth over Texas. The accident was caused by damage to the heat-shield which protects it from the heat of reentry into the Earth's atmosphere. It again caused a long delay until the next shuttle flight.

paragraphs: In 2010, NASA shut down the Space Shuttle program. They were more expensive to use than other launch vehicles.

paragraphs: Currently, the United States has no manned spacecraft capabilities. Both SpaceX with the Crew Dragon and Boeing with their Starliner capsule, are planning to provide crewed missions to the ISS. NASA is developing the Orion capsule for beyond Earth orbit missions.

paragraphs: The remaining shuttles are now on display at the following museums:


title: Thor

paragraphs: Thor (Old Norse: "Þórr") is the god of thunder and lightning in Norse mythology, associated with strength, storms, hallowing and fertility. He is the son of Odin and Jörð, the personification of the Earth, and is physically the strongest of the Æsir.

paragraphs: Thor is described as being fierce eyed, with red hair and a full beard, and he is quick to anger and has an enormous appetite.

paragraphs: The champion of Asgard, Thor is said to protect both it and Midgard from the likes of the jǫtnar, a race of beings native to Jötunheimr. He is known in Old English as Þunor ("Thunor") and in Old High German as Donar (runic "þonar" ᚦᛟᚾᚨᚱ), all of which stem from the Proto-Germanic "*Þunraz," meaning "thunder".

paragraphs: The modern English weekday Thursday (from Old English "Þūnresdæg", “Thunor’s [Thor’s] day”) bears the god's name.

paragraphs: Thor is the son of Odin, chief of the Æsir, and Jörð, the living personification of the Earth. He is the eldest of Odin's sons and is the half-brother of Baldr, Höðr, Víðarr, and Váli.

paragraphs: He is married to the golden-haired goddess Sif, with whom he has a daughter, Þrúðr. With his jötunn lover Járnsaxa, Thor has two sons, Móði and Magni. He has a stepson, Ullr, who is Sif's son by a previous marriage.

paragraphs: Thor was believed to travel in a chariot drawn by two goats named Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr. According to writings known as sagas, Thor wielded a short-handled war hammer, Mjölnir.

paragraphs: It was fashioned for him by the dwarven brothers Eitri and Brokkr, and is said to be the most powerful weapon in all the Nine Worlds, capable of crushing even mountains. When Thor threw the hammer, it magically returned to the god's hand.

paragraphs: Other attributes of Thor include a pair of gauntlets known as Járngreipr, which he is required to wear in order to wield Mjölnir, a belt, Megingjörð, which doubles his strength when he wears it, and a staff, Gríðarvölr, which, along with Járngreipr, was given to him by the jötunn Gríðr.

paragraphs: Thor is a character in Marvel Comics, his full name being Thor Odinson; son of Odin and Frigga, he is the god of thunder and a founding member of the "Avengers". His archenemy is Loki, god of trickery and mischief as well as Thor's younger adopted brother. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Australian actor Chris Hemsworth plays the role of Thor, first appearing in the character's feature film "Thor" (2011). He reprised his role in "The Avengers" (2012), as well as the films' respective sequels - "Thor: The Dark World" (2013) and "" (2015). He once again features as Thor in "Thor" (2017) and "Avengers: Infinity War (2018)", and reprised his role in "Avengers: End game", which was released in April 2019. He is also scheduled to be in the next 'Guardians of the Galaxy' film by Marvel, scheduled for release in 2021.


Tube


title: Blood cell

paragraphs: A blood cell is any cell of any type found in blood. There are three main types of blood cells in mammals:


title: Windsurfing

paragraphs: Windsurfing is a water sport invented in the U.K. by Peter Chilvers in 1958 on Hayling Island, Hampshire. It is performed on a board with a sail. The sail both empowers the board and helps the board change directions. The sport is a combination of surfing and sailing. Windsurfers can travel on either flat or rough water, as long as there is wind. Windsurfing is done mostly in the summer and spring.

paragraphs: Windsurfing competitions can be freestyle or racing around buoys and it features in the Olympics.

paragraphs: Windsurfing sails come in many different sizes. The larger the sails are, the more human strength is needed to control them, but the more power is given to go faster. The different sizes of board affect the speed. Again, the thinner the board, the faster you will go. The range of thickness depends on the materials used.

paragraphs: Another sport similar to windsurfing is kite surfing. All these sports have boards that range in size and price, but all need much practice to be done well. There are many sporting places around the world that people travel to just to go surfing. Some of the best places are in the west coast of the United States, Hawaii, Australia, and Indonesia.


title: Thoroughbred

paragraphs: Thoroughbred is a breed of horse. They are mainly used for racing.

paragraphs: Their pedigree is known and recorded. For each horse there is a chart showing its ancestry.

paragraphs: Horses in general have been used for many years, for farm, racing, harness work and so forth. Horses were the fastest way for people to travel on land before cars were invented. They were the only way to travel long distances in a reasonable amount of time.

paragraphs: Most horse breeds have been bred for a specific reason; the thoroughbred racehorse was bred to run. Thoroughbreds originate from the Arabian breed, and all thoroughbreds can be traced back to three original sires (fathers): The Byerley Turk, The Darley Arabian, and The Godolphin Arabian. Thoroughbreds are known for their speed, and also for their jumping ability, used in steeplechases and in show jumping and other horse activities. Although thoroughbreds generally are slightly temperamental, they are very trainable and loyal.

paragraphs: Thoroughbreds are generally tall and sleek, with long legs to help carry them along the race track. Thoroughbreds can be many colors, including bay (a colour which is brown with a black mane and tail), chestnut (red-brown), black, and gray.

paragraphs: The thoroughbred's genetic origin is Arabian. The Arabian foundation stallions which were brought to Britain in the late 1600s and early 1700s were bred to domestic mares – very probably Scottish Galloways – although they may have been bred to Arabian mares, too. A substantial number of early thoroughbreds were bred in the vale of Bedale in the County of Yorkshire in Northern England.

paragraphs: The foundation stallions of the thoroughbred breed and years in which they arrived in England were: the Byerly Turk (1689), the Darley Arabian (1705) and the Godolphin Arabian (1728). Their progeny were the first thoroughbreds, per se, and although the foundation stallions had many off-spring, three of their descendants stand out as supreme: Herod, Eclipse and Matchem. In the lines of these horses were some outstanding thoroughbreds: for instance, Princequillo and Round Table descend from Herod; Citation and Sir Ivor descend from Eclipse; and Man O' War from Matchem.

paragraphs: The first thoroughbred to arrive in America was a stallion named Bulle Rock, by the Darley Arabian. He was imported to Virginia in 1730 by Samuel Gist. In 1757, Janus, a grandson of Godolphin Arabian, was imported and became the founder of the Quarter Horse breed. Diomed, who was imported in 1800 was the most important thoroughbred imported to America in its early years. Lexington, by Boston, was foaled in 1850 and was the greatest sire of the 1800s.


title: Sound card

paragraphs: A sound card (audio card) is the part of the computer hardware that controls the input and output of the sound signals. A sound card is what is known as an expansion card. This means that the card can be added to the motherboard.

paragraphs: Nowadays, most of the audio cards are integrated with the motherboard. That means they are built into a mainboard and can not be removed. In other words, it is not an expansion card anymore. They only offer line-in, speaker, and microphone connections. For most users this is enough. When thinking of computer architecture, the integrated circuit sound cards occupy less space and thus became very popular and practical, especially for laptop computers. For more features like MIDI ports for connection of musical instruments and low latency requirements (so that the sound does not come distorted under heavy system usage) sound cards as expansion cards can be used. Modern expansion sound cards use the PCI computer bus standard. Earlier sound cards used the ISA computer bus, which was half-duplex, so the sound cards could not record and play simultaneously.

paragraphs: What we hear in speakers is an analog (current, voltage or electric charge) output of the signal. For example, stored on a hard disk digital code is transferred under a control of some application (for example Winamp) to the sound card. Up in there, a special chip, called digital-to-analog converter, changes the binary code into the analog sound. Afterwards, signal is sent to a jack (in modern audio cards it has the green color) where the speakers are connected. The result is a nice waveform of our favorite digital medium, e.g. an mp3.

paragraphs: A typical sound input device is a microphone, connected to the red/pink jack socket. The sound wave is digitized and then it may be stored as a file using data compression algorithms which make the file smaller. Of course all of this is done under the control of some software.


title: Charlie Chaplin

paragraphs: Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin (16 April 1889 – 25 December 1977) was a British actor, comedian, movie maker, screenwriter, editor, musician, anarchist, and author. He was very famous in silent movies (where there was no talking or sound). He acted, directed, scripted, and produced most of them.

paragraphs: Charlie Chaplin was a performer for almost 70 years. He started working when he was 5, and worked until he was 80. The character that Charlie Chaplin played most was called "the Little Tramp". The "Tramp" was a man of good manners, who wore a coat, a pair of big trousers, shoes, mustache, and a black hat.

paragraphs: Charles Spencer Chaplin was born on 16 April 1889 in London, England, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Chaplin had a rough childhood; his mother, Hannah Hill Chaplin, a talented singer, actress, and piano player, spent most of her life in and out of mental hospitals. His father, Charles Spencer Chaplin Sr. was a fairly successful singer until he began drinking. After his parents separated, Charlie and his half-brother, Sidney, spent most of their childhood in orphanages, where they often went hungry and were beaten if they misbehaved. He first started acting at age five. He acted in a music hall in 1894, standing in for his mother.

paragraphs: When Charlie was a child, he was kept in bed for many weeks from a bad illness. At night, his mother would sit at the window and act out what was going on outside. His first important work came when he joined The Eight Lancashire Lads. In 1900, his brother Sydney helped him get the role of a comic cat in the pantomime "Cinderella". In 1903 he was in a play called “Jim: A Romance of Cockayne”. Chaplin was in Casey's 'Court Circus' variety show. The next year, he became a clown in Fred Karno's 'Fun Factory' comedy company.

paragraphs: Chaplin was the target of an assassination attempt which took the life of Prime Minister of Japan Inukai Tsuyoshi.

paragraphs: On 15 May 1932, Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi was shot by eleven young naval officers (most were just turning twenty years of age) in the prime minister's residence. The original assassination plan had included killing Chaplin who had arrived in Japan on 14 May 1932, at a reception for Chaplin, planned by Prime Minister Inukai. When the prime minister was killed, his son Inukai Takeru was watching a sumo wrestling match with Charlie Chaplin, which probably saved both their lives.

paragraphs: Chaplin won two special Oscars. Chaplin had first been chosen for both "Best Actor" and "Best Comedy Directing". But then, instead, he was given a special award "for versatility and genius in acting, writing, directing and producing". Chaplin's second special award came 44 years later, in 1972. When getting this award, Chaplin had the longest standing ovation (people standing up and clapping) in Academy Award history. In 1976 he was given the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award, a lifetime achievement award. Chaplin became the first actor to have appeared in the cover of Time in 1925.

paragraphs: Chaplin once entered in a Charlie Chaplin look-a-like contest. Chaplin lost the contest.

paragraphs: On 9 March 1975, Charlie Chaplin was knighted in England by Queen Elizabeth II.

paragraphs: Chaplin died on Christmas on 25 December 1977, in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. He died of a stroke in his sleep, at the age of 88. On March 1, 1978, his body was stolen by a small group of Swiss people. They were trying to get money from Chaplin’s family. This plan didn’t work. The criminals were caught, and Charlie’s body was found 11 weeks later near Lake Geneva. He was buried under concrete to prevent further incidents.


title: American Stock Exchange

paragraphs: The American Stock Exchange (AMEX) is a stock exchange in New York City. It was created on Broad Street near Exchange Place, during colonial times. The stock exchange is currently owned by its own members.


title: Field hockey

paragraphs: Field Hockey is a well-liked sport for both men and women. It is played in many countries all around the world. In Asian countries like Pakistan and Republic of India, it is considered the "National sport." The game is played between two teams and each team is made up of 11 players. There are four 15-minute quarters with a 15 minute break at halftime and a 2 minute break after the 1st and 3rd quarters. Field hockey is played with a ball on natural grass, or on sand-based or water based artificial turfs with a small hard ball. The field has a goal at each end. A semi-circle about 15 meters from the goal is known as the shooting circle. Goals can only be scored when the ball is in the shooting circle.

paragraphs: Players use a hockey stick to move the ball. The stick is in the shape of a J and is made out of wood, glass and fibre. The players each play a position like fullbacks, halfbacks, forwards and goalkeepers.


title: Sudoku

paragraphs: Sudoku puzzles are solved by logic and no math is required. As seen on the right, it consists of a grid which is usually made up of nine rows, nine columns, and nine boxes that are separated by thicker, darker lines. Some of these boxes will contain numerals from 1 to 9. To solve the puzzle, a person must fill in all the empty squares without using the same numeral twice in each column, row, or box, and without changing the numerals that are already in the grid.

paragraphs: These puzzles were created to be done using pencil and paper, and there are many books that contain collections of these puzzles with tips and strategies for completing them. They also appear in newspapers and magazines: typically, a different puzzle appears every day and the solution is printed somewhere else or in the next issue. Later, small handheld machines were created that generate Sudoku puzzles for the user to solve. More recently, though, the game can be played on the Internet or on mobile apps.

paragraphs: There are many Sudoku variations that have been created since the original Sudoku's release. The grid is most often 9 by 9, but can be different sizes, though, and separated into smaller grids in different ways. For example, there is a 6 by 6 grid with dark lines between the third and fourth columns and between two pairs of rows: the second and third rows, and the fourth and fifth rows. The numerals that must be filled in here are from 1 to 6.

paragraphs: Because no arithmetic is needed to solve Sudoku puzzles, the numerals can be replaced with letters or symbols. It is only their position that changes the solution to the puzzle, not their value.

paragraphs: Jigsaw Sudoku (also called Squiggly Sudoku, Odd Sudoku or Jig Saw Doku) is just like a regular Sudoku puzzle, except that instead of the lines being perfect, they are different. Like regular Sudoku puzzles, you have to complete the grid.

paragraphs: Samurai Sudoku is a Sudoku variation that has 5 overlapping Sudoku grids formed like a big X. These puzzles are big and take a long time to complete. Like regular Sudoku puzzles, you have to complete all 5 grids in order to complete the puzzle.

paragraphs: Mini Sudoku is played on a 6x6 grid with 3x2 regions. The object is the same as in Sudoku, but the puzzle only uses the numbers 1 through 6.

paragraphs: Logic 5 is another Sudoku variation that uses 5x5 grids instead of 3x3 grids, and are in use at the Sudoku World Championships.


title: Beatrix of the Netherlands

paragraphs: Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard; born 31 January 1938) is the former Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. She reigned from 1980 to 2013.

paragraphs: Beatrix is the eldest daughter of Queen Juliana and her husband, Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. In 1948, she became heiress presumptive to the throne of the Netherlands. Her mother abdicated (gave up) the throne on 30 April 1980. Beatrix succeeded her as queen.

paragraphs: In January 2013, Beatrix announced that she would abdicate on 30 April 2013. This day is known as Koninginnedag (Queen's Day). Her eldest son, Willem-Alexander, succeeded to the throne as King. He is the first King of the Netherlands in 123 years.

paragraphs: Since her abdication, she is called Princess Beatrix.

paragraphs: Beatrix was married to Claus von Amsberg, who died in 2002. Her sons are King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau and Prince Constantijn.

paragraphs: Her second son, Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau, died on 12 August 2013. He had been in a coma for more than a year because of a skiing accident in Austria in February 2012.

paragraphs: Her younger sister Christina died of bone cancer on 16 August 2019.


title: Qatar Airways

paragraphs: Qatar Airways (in Arabic: القطرية, "al-Qatari'ya") is an airline company. This airline is based in Doha, the capital city of Qatar. Its office can be found at Hamad International Airport. There will be another airport in Doha in short time. It is one of the fastest growing airlines, and one of the four airlines that are rated "five stars" because of its good service.


title: George Reid

paragraphs: Sir George Houston Reid (25 February 1845 – 12 September 1918) was the fourth Prime Minister of Australia. He was the first Leader of the Opposition and leader of Free Trade Party. He moved to London after he retired and was elected to the House of Commons.

paragraphs: Reid was elected to the Australian Paliament in 1901 for the Division of East Sydney. He retired in 1910.


title: Spider Riders

paragraphs: After wearing a manacle on his arm, Hunter Steele ends up entering the center of the Earth and seeing the inner world of "Arachna". There, he and his friends ride on mechanical spiders and save Arachna from an army of insect mutants.

paragraphs: The anime is based on each characters and stories in three parts for each books, including "Shards of the Oracle", "Reign of the Soul Eater" and "Quest of the Earthen". The first book was written by Ted Anasti and Patsy Cameron-Anasti. Stephen D. Sullivan joined them and helped write the second and third books in the series. The books were first published in December 2004. They were published by Newmarket Press.


title: Boudica

paragraphs: Boudica (born about 25 AD, died 60/61 AD) was the queen of the Celtic Iceni people in Norfolk in the eastern part of Roman Britain.

paragraphs: A statue of Boudica was put up in the Westminster area of London in 1902.

paragraphs: Her husband Prasutagus ruled an independent client state of Rome. When he died, he left his kingdom jointly to his daughters and the Roman Emperor.

paragraphs: It was normal Roman practice to allow allied kingdoms their independence only for the lifetime of their client king. For example, the provinces of Bithynia and Galatia, were made part of the Empire in just this way. Also, Roman law allowed inheritance only through the male line.

paragraphs: When Prasutagus died, his will was ignored by the Governor, Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, and his kingdom was annexed just as if it had been conquered. To make matters worse, Roman money-lenders called in the debts which Prasutagus had borrowed during his life.

paragraphs: The lands and property of the Iceni were confiscated and their nobles treated like slaves.

paragraphs: When Boudica protested, Paulinus had her flogged, and her two daughters raped in public. Tacitus reports:

paragraphs: Choosing a good moment, when the Governor was attacking Anglesey and another legion was in Bristol, Boudica led the Iceni and their associates, the Trinovantes, to war. They destroyed Camulodunum (modern Colchester), and moved towards Londinium. There was only the 9th legion (Legio IX Hispana) to defend it. The tribes burnt and destroyed both Verulamium (St Albans) and Londinium and massacred all they could lay their hands on. An estimated 70,000–80,000 Romans and British were killed in the three cities by those led by Boudica.

paragraphs: The final battle took place near Watling Street in the English Midlands. Watling Street was an old trackway between Canterbury and St Albans. The Romans rebuilt it their way, and took it through the Midlands into Wales.

paragraphs: While Boudica's army assaulted in Verulamium, Suetonius put together a force with his own Legio XIV Gemina, some detachments of the Legio XX Valeria Victrix, and any available auxiliaries. Down near Exeter, The Prefect of Legio II Augusta, Poenius Postumus, ignored the Governor's call to arms. Nonetheless the Governor was able to call on almost ten thousand men.

paragraphs: The Romans were heavily outnumbered. However, the tribes lacked manoeuvrability. They had no way to direct these numbers, which put them at a disadvantage to the Romans. The Romans were skilled at open combat, and had better equipment and discipline. Also, the narrowness of the field meant that Boudica could put forth only as many troops as the Romans at any given time.

paragraphs: First, the Romans stood their ground and used volleys of "pila" (heavy javelins) to kill thousands of Britons who rushed toward the Roman lines. The Roman soldiers engaged Boudica's second wave in the open. As the Romans advanced in a wedge formation, the Britons attempted to flee, but were impeded by the presence of their own families. They had put their people in wagons at the edge of the battlefield, and were slaughtered.

paragraphs: Tacitus reports that "according to one report almost eighty thousand Britons fell" compared with only four hundred Romans. Boudica fled, and her time and place of death is not known.

paragraphs: The Prefect Postumus, on hearing of the Roman victory, fell on his sword. Fearing Suetonius' actions would provoke further rebellion, Nero replaced the governor with the more conciliatory Publius Petronius Turpilianus. The historian  Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus tells us the crisis had almost persuaded Nero to abandon Britain.


title: Choir (music)

paragraphs: A choir is a group of people who sing together. They rehearse together and sing at concerts or for religious services. Some choirs are professional (the singers are paid for their work in the choir). Other choirs are amateur choirs. Some amateur choirs let anyone who is interested sing with them, others may ask people to audition to see whether they are good enough before allowing them to join.

paragraphs: Parts of a choir include soprano, alto, tenor and bass.

paragraphs: Choirs usually sing in several parts, most often in four parts. This means that there are two or more singers who are singing the same notes. The parts are called soprano, alto, tenor and bass. This is shown as SATB. If the music divides into more than four parts this can be shown in the same way, e.g. SSAATTBB (for music in eight parts: two soprano lines, two alto lines etc.) or SSATB (music in five parts with just the sopranos divided into two groups). Young children’s choirs may be unison choirs (all singing the same line), but older children will sing in two (SS) or three (SSA) parts or more.

paragraphs: The word chorus is used for the choir in an opera or oratorio or similar large work where there are also soloists (Soloists and chorus). The word “chorus” can also be used for the name of a choir.

paragraphs: The word choral means “sung”. A “choral society” is a choir of adults. They usually sing music for large choruses, often with an orchestra accompanying. Beethoven’s “Choral Symphony” needs a choir as well as an orchestra.

paragraphs: An a cappella choir is a choir which sings without any instrumental accompaniment.

paragraphs: A small choir is often called a chamber choir.

paragraphs: In popular music a group of singers may be simply called a vocal group.

paragraphs: The word choir can also mean the part of a church or cathedral where the choir sit. The choir is between the nave (the main body of the church) and the sanctuary (where the altar is). The singers will divide into two groups and sit facing one another on either side of the choir area in the “choir stalls”. In cathedrals the singers on the left (when facing the altar) are called “cantoris” and those on the right are called “decani” (pronounce: dee-CAY-nye).

paragraphs: A large pipe organ may have three or more manuals (keyboards). The third keyboard is called the "choir". Traditionally the sound from the choir organ comes from pipes in a separate box behind the organist, facing the choir (the singers). It is often used to accompany them.

paragraphs: Originally it was a separate instrument so that the organist had to turn round to play it. Later it became possible for the organist to play it from the main console.


title: Motherboard

paragraphs: The motherboard or mainboard is the main circuit board in a complex electronic system, like a computer. It is the most 'central' part of a computer. All of the different parts of the computer are connected to the motherboard. This lets them work together. In most computers, the motherboard is a big green board, but many come in different colors like black, red and yellow.

paragraphs: Electrical parts are solded on the motherboard. These parts include transistors and resistors. Major parts that are attached to the board are able to be removed in the future so that they can be upgraded. The CPU is an example of a part that is usually removable.

paragraphs: Parts that are not "on-board" can be bought as a card. In fact, many of the on-board parts on today's computers were at one time an expansion card that became very popular. These were put on the board to free up the card slots for other things. Computers today usually have a memory port, 2 or more USB ports, a parallel port (for use with old printers usually), audio & microphone jacks, a network port and ports for the keyboard and mouse. There are also some rare motherboards that have plugs only for very specific parts.

paragraphs: All of the slots and plugs both inside and outside the computer case are shaped a certain way to accept a certain type of part. Some will not even accept parts even one generation behind, such as the CPU and memory. Others, like the video plug have not changed in years. Some of the plugs, such as the video, keyboard and mouse plugs, are a special color. These colors make it easier to pair the plug to the port. The motherboard is also referred to as the PCB which stands for ‘printed circuit board’.


title: High-definition television

paragraphs: High Definition TV (HDTV) uses digital signals and the aspect ratio standard. This is different to SDTV (Standard Definition TV) that uses analog signals and the 4:3 aspect ratio standard.

paragraphs: HDTV picture resolution is at least twice that of SDTV, so it can present a more vivid screen than analog. HDTV can control resolution efficiently.

paragraphs: YouTube can upload/view video in 1080p or higher HD.

paragraphs: There are different HD standards. The common ones are:

paragraphs: As a comparison, Super Hi-Vision at his 7680x4320p pixels, ATSC at his 1920x1080p pixels and PAL+ at his 1024x576p pixels.


title: Napoleon Dynamite

paragraphs: Napoleon Dynamite is a 2004 American comedy movie by John Hess and starring Jon Heder.

paragraphs: Napoleon is an unusual school teenager who lives in Preston, Idaho. He does not have a good home life. Napoleon lives with his older brother Kip and their grandmother. Napoleon’s grandmother goes to see some friends. Napoleon and Kip are left to stay with their uncle Rico. One day Napoleon meets Pedro. They become good friends. Pedro runs for school president. Pedro has to compete with the most popular girl in school, Summer Wheatly, to win the school vote. Napoleon meets a girl named Deb who he begins to like. Deb, Napoleon and Pedro keep working for Pedro to beat Summer Wheatly for president. Napoleon dances in a skit at the announcing of the president for Pedro. Kip gets married and Pedro becomes school president. Napoleon and Deb live a happy life together.


title: Charlize Theron

paragraphs: Charlize Theron (born 7 August 1975) is a South African-American actress. She won an Academy Award for her role in the movie "Monster". She was nominated for her role in the movie "North Country". Theron can speak three languages, her first being Afrikaans.

paragraphs: Theron was born in Benoni near Johannesburg. Her ancestry is German and Dutch.

paragraphs: She attended a boarding school at the age of thirteen. At the age of fifteen, she saw her alcoholic father being killed by her mother as an act of self-defence. No charges were pressed against her mother.

paragraphs: At the age of sixteen, she won a local modelling competition and went to Milan, Italy for a one-year contract. After her modelling contract was over, she moved to New York, United States, and became a ballet dancer. She injured her knee at the age of eighteen, ending her career of being a ballet dancer.

paragraphs: She did star in a few movies, but only really became noticed when she portrayed the life of serial killer, Aileen Wuornos, in the movie "Monster". She won an Oscar for her role in this movie.

paragraphs: After this, she got a lot of attention from the perfume label, Dior, and appeared in some of their advertisements.

paragraphs: She also does a lot of community work, including for PETA, for their anti-fur ads. She also works with animal rights activists and supports same-sex marriage. She has become one of Hollywood’s most acclaimed actresses.

paragraphs: Theron became an American citizen in 2007.


title: Running

paragraphs: Running is the way in which people or animals travel quickly on their feet. It is a method of travelling on land. It is different to walking in that both feet are regularly off the ground at the same time. Different terms are used to refer to running according to the speed: jogging is slow, and sprinting is running fast.

paragraphs: Running is a popular form of exercise. It is also one of the oldest forms of sport. The exercise is known to be good for health; it helps breathing and heartbeat, and burns any spare calories. Running keeps a person fit and active. It also relieves stress. Running makes a person thirsty, so it is important to drink water when running.

paragraphs: Running injuries are quite common among runners.

paragraphs: Many running injuries can be reduced through proper training, wearing of the correct gear and awareness of the running environment.

paragraphs: Running is a part of many forms of competitive racing. Most running races test speed, endurance or both. Track and field races are usually divided into sprints, middle-distance races and long-distance races. Races held off the track may be called cross-country races. A marathon is run over 42 kilometres.

paragraphs: Footraces have probably existed for most of human history. They were an important part of the ancient Olympic Games.


title: Monster (movie)

paragraphs: Monster is a 2003 American crime drama movie. It is a true story about female American serial killer Aileen Wuornos. Wuornos is played by Charlize Theron. She received an Academy Award for her role. The movie also features Christina Ricci as Wuornos' girlfriend. The movie was directed by first time director Patty Jenkins.


title: Guard dog

paragraphs: A guard dog, sometimes called an attack dog, is a dog that is trained to watch for and guard against people or animals who should not be there. Their main job is to keep their owner and the owner's property safe from danger. A guard dog is not the same as a "watchdog". A watchdog will let its owner know that a stranger is coming by barking. Guard dogs, however, may be trained to attack if their owner tells them to. A guard dog may also be trained to attack if a stranger comes too close. If trained properly, they will give a warning before attacking. A different type of guard dog is a livestock guard dog. Certain breeds of dogs are natural guardians of livestock. Their job is to stay with and guard a flock or herd against predators.

paragraphs: Different breeds of dogs are bred for different reasons, and are good at different things.

paragraphs: The most common breeds used as personal protection and property dogs are:


title: Andrew Fisher

paragraphs: Andrew Fisher (29 August 1862 – 22 October 1928) was the fifth Prime Minister of Australia. He was Prime Minister three times. His government helped create the Royal Australian Navy and make Australia's own paper money. When he retired he moved to London.

paragraphs: Fisher was born in Crosshouse, Scotland, where he was educated at the Crosshouse Primary School. At the age of 10 he left school to work in the coal mines. In 1885 he moved to Australia where he worked in the coal mines at Burrum and Gympie. He was elected to the Queensland Parliament in 1892. In 1901 he married Margaret Irvine. Fisher was elected in 1901 to the seat of Wide Bay in the first Australian parliament.

paragraphs: When Fisher was Prime Minister a number of important projects were undertaken. The Commonwealth Bank was set up, the Northern Territory of South Australia was transferred to the Commonwealth, the federal capital of Canberra was founded, and the construction of the trans-Australian railway line linking Perth to the other capital cities was begun. As well as introducing maternity allowances, Fisher acknowledged the need for greater political equality for women.

paragraphs: Andrew Fisher is one of Australia's most successful prime ministers because of the changes he made. He was the first prime minister to have a majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. He was able to have more than 110 Acts passed into law.


title: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

paragraphs: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is a video game made in 1998 for the Nintendo 64. It was the fifth Legend of Zelda video game and was the first to be in 3D. In the game, the player character Link goes on an adventure to save the kingdom of Hyrule from the evil Ganondorf. To save Hyrule, Link must fight against Ganondorf and all his minions. A special object in the game is the sacred Ocarina that Link can play after he learns the songs, causing different effects depending on the song he plays, such as moving him to certain places around Hyrule (making it much easier and faster to travel), and starting rain (for example to water plants or fill dry lakes).

paragraphs: Many websites and magazines name it one of the best video games of all time.

paragraphs: In the Kokiri Forest, the Great Deku Tree asks the fairy Navi to tell Link to come to him. When Link arrives, he learns that the Great Deku Tree is dying because of a curse placed on him by an evil man called Ganondorf. Link is the only one who can save him. Link must enter the Great Deku Tree in order to save him from the curse.

paragraphs: Although Link defeats the most of the monsters inside, he is too late to save the tree. Before the Great Deku Tree dies, he gives Link the Kokiri Emerald, a magic stone, and tells him that it was a man in black armor who put the curse on him. He also tells Link that he needs to go to princess of Hyrule at Hyrule Castle. Before he leaves, Saria, Link's friend, gives him the Fairy Ocarina, a magic instrument.

paragraphs: At Hyrule Castle, Link sneaks pass the guards and meets Princess Zelda. Zelda shows Link, through a window, a strange man with evil eyes. She tells Link that the man is Ganondorf. She also tells him that Ganondorf wants to steal the Triforce, a magic symbol of the Gods, and take control of the world. To defeat him, Link needs to find three magical "Spiritual Stones" (Kokiri Emerald being one of them), six great medallions and the magical Ocarina of Time.

paragraphs: Ocarina of Time was a very popular game, and many people liked it. Five million copies of the game were sold around the world after six months, and 7.6 million copies were sold in total.

paragraphs: Many people were happy with this game, although there were a few, small problems. One problem was that players cannot skip through the parts where people talk. Another was that players cannot play against the boss monsters that they have already killed.

paragraphs: Overall, many websites and magazines think that Ocarina of Time is one of the best games ever made. GameSpot, "Famitsu", IGN, "Electric Gaming Monthly", and "Edge" all gave the game perfect scores.

paragraphs: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D is a remake made for the Nintendo 3DS console. It was released in June 2011. It includes use of the console's touch screen and better graphics.


title: David Schwimmer

paragraphs: David Lawrence Schwimmer (born November 2, 1966) is an American actor. He played Ross Geller, one of the six main characters in the television sitcom "Friends".

paragraphs: Schwimmer was born in Flushing, Queens, New York, to Arthur Schwimmer and Arlene Colman. He then lived in Valley Stream, Long Island, until he was two years old. He was raised in Los Angeles, California, where he attended Beverly Hills High School.

paragraphs: He attended Northwestern University’s summer “Cherub” program (the National High School Institute) in 1983. He later enrolled at the university as a theater student. In 1988, along with seven other Northwestern graduates, he co-founded Chicago's Lookingglass Theatre Company.

paragraphs: Schwimmer married Zoe Buckman in June 2010. He has 2 children: a daughter Cleo Buckman Schwimmer and a son George David Schwimmer. He lives in Los Angeles, California, New York City, New York, and in Chicago, Illinois.


title: Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

paragraphs: The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) (, ) is a partially recognized state that claims sovereignty over the entire territory of Western Sahara. SADR was proclaimed by the Polisario Front on February 27, 1976 in Bir Lehlu, Western Sahara. The SADR government currently controls between 20% and 25% of the territory it claims. It calls the territories under its control the Liberated Territories or Free Zone. Morocco controls and administers the rest of the disputed territory and calls these lands its Southern Provinces. The SADR government considers the Moroccan-held territory occupied territory, while Morocco considers the much smaller SADR held territory to be a buffer zone.

paragraphs: The United Nations calls all of the Western Sahara a dependency of Spain,


title: Plutonium

paragraphs: Plutonium is the chemical element with the atomic number 94 and chemical symbol Pu. It is a highly radioactive metal, and is the metal used in most nuclear weapons. The chemical element plutonium has some different isotopes. The most important isotope of plutonium is Pu (or plutonium-239). It takes 24,110 years for half of a sample of plutonium-239 to decay, which is called its half-life. It can be made from natural uranium. It is fissile and a nuclear fuel.

paragraphs: The isotope that has the longest half-life is Pu (or plutonium-244). Plutonium-244 has a half-life of about 80 million years. The half-life of Pu is long enough that some of this isotope of plutonium is found in very small amounts in nature.

paragraphs: Plutonium-238 is used in Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators.

paragraphs: Like other transuranium elements, plutonium can react with water, oxygen, carbon, halogens, nitrogen, and silicon. It forms oxides and hydrides in moist air, causing the plutonium sample to expand by up to 70%. Plutonium from the expanding sample can flake off and catch fire at room temperature. Plutonium is also toxic, although it is less toxic than many people think. The reactivity and toxicity of plutonium make it difficult to handle.

paragraphs: Fresh plutonium has a silvery bright colour but takes on a dull grey, yellow or olive green tarnish when exposed to air.


title: Superman Returns (video game)

paragraphs: Superman Returns is a video game based on the movie "Superman Returns". It is available for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance consoles.

paragraphs: Some video game websites said this game would come out for computers (PC), but Electronic Arts chose not to make a PC version of this game. There was going to be a Gamecube version, but it was cancelled because of a 2006 contract with Major League Baseball as well as to avoid competition with two other movie-licensed games ("Charlotte's Web" and "Dreamgirls").


Malay


title: Al Jazeera

paragraphs: Al Jazeera (in Arabic: الجزيرة al-Jazi'yra) is an Arabic-language television channel from Doha, Qatar. Al Jazeera means "The Island" in Arabic. It is named that way because it claims to be the only independent news network in the Middle East. At first it was a satellite TV channel which broadcast in Arabic only. Now there is also a channel in English, a sports channel, a conference channel, a documentary channel and a children's channel.

paragraphs: Next to its original channel Al Jazeera also has many other channels about specific things.

paragraphs: The first Al Jazeera channel was created in 1996. This was made possible with 150 million US$ from the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa.

paragraphs: In April 1996 the BBC World channel, which operated in Arabic, was shut down. This channel was partly owned by Saudi-Arabia. Many of the journalists from this station started working with Al Jazeera. The channel started broadcasting at the End of 1996.

paragraphs: Because Al Jazeera was available in the whole region via satellite, it changed the television landscape of the region. Before that people could only watch channels that were censored by the different states. Al Jazeera brought a new level of freedom of speech in television to the Middle East. Al Jazeera has always shown controversy on many governments in the Middle East, for example Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar. It also was critical about Syria's relationship with the Lebanon and of the judiciary in Egypt.

paragraphs: For example, on January 27, 1999 Al Jazeera had critics of the government of Algeria on their live program "El-Itidjah el-Mouakass" (Arabic for "The Opposite Direction"). To stop people from watching this program in Algeria, the government of Algeria cut the electricity in large parts of the country. At that time many people outside the Middle East did not know about Al Jazeera. Those people who knew it said generally good things about Al Jazeera. Because of good reporting from the Lebanese Civil War in 2000-2001 Al Jazeera got even more viewers. However it only became know worldwide after it broadcast statements from al-Qaeda leaders in 2001.

paragraphs: Most people think that people that live in the Middle East are given little information and that what they get is biased toward the government. Many people in the Arab world see Al Jazeera as a good and true source of information. Some scholars use the word of "contextual objectivity", which means that Al Jazeera shows both sides of a story, but still manages to be popular with the audience. Because of this it is probably the most watched news channel in the Middle East.

paragraphs: More and more channels, for example BBC and CNN, are using material from Al Jazeera.

paragraphs: The first Al Jazeera can be watched all over the world with several different satellite and cable systems. In the U.S. Al Jazeera can be watched on DVB-S on the Galaxy 25 and 23 satellites. In Europe, Northern Africa and the Middle East it can be received via DVB-S on the Astra and Hot Bird satellites. In Australia Al Jazeera can be watched via the Optus C1 satellite and in the United Kingdom it can be watched via Sky and Freesat.


title: Boron

paragraphs: Boron is a chemical element. It has the chemical symbol B. It has the atomic number 5. It is a metalloid (it has properties of a metal and a non-metal). Much boron is found in chemical compounds in its ore borax. Boron is never found free in nature.

paragraphs: Two types of boron are found (allotropes). Amorphous boron is a brown powder and metallic (crystalline) boron is black and hard and a weak conductor at room temperature. Boron is the 5th element in the periodic table it is part of the earths surface

paragraphs: Pure boron is used as a dopant (a substance added to semiconductors to change how it behaves with electricity) in the semiconductor industry. Chemical compounds of boron are important as to make strong materials not weigh very much, as nontoxic insecticides and preservatives, and for chemical synthesis.

paragraphs: Plants need boron in them to live. Very small amounts of boron are needed in animal's bodies so that they are very healthy. How it keeps animals healthy is not known in a lot of detail.

paragraphs: Boron was discovered by Sir Humphry Davy, an English chemist, in 1808.

paragraphs: Boron melts at 2075 °C (3767 °F), and boils at 4000 °C (7232 °F).


title: Fireplace

paragraphs: A fireplace is a brick or metal structure used to hold a fire. Fireplaces are most often used for heating but they can also be used for cooking. The part of the fireplace that holds the fire is called a "firebox" or a "firepit". There is a chimney or flue above the firebox that lets the smoke from the fire go outside.

paragraphs: Until the early 1900s, most homes had one or more fireplaces as a source of heat for the residents of the house. In the mid-1900s, gas, oil, and electric heaters became more common and fireplaces were used less often as a source of heat. In the late 1900s, fireplaces were less commonly built in new houses.


title: Dubnium

paragraphs: Dubnium is a chemical element. It has been named eka-tantalum, hahnium and unnilpentium but is now named dubnium. It has the symbol Db. It has the atomic number 105. It is a very radioactive element that does not exist in nature. It has to be made. The isotope that has the longest half-life only has a half life of 32 hours. Dubnium is a transactinide element.


title: Upland, California

paragraphs: Upland is a city in San Bernardino County, California. As of the 2000 census, 68,393 people lived in Upland. It became a city on May 15, 1906, after previously being named North Ontario and a part of Ontario.

paragraphs: Upland used to be famous for skateboarding because of its skate park, The Pipeline, but the park was demolished in the 1970s.


title: Neuchâtel

paragraphs: Neuchâtel is a city in Switzerland. It is the capital of Canton of Neuchâtel. As of 2003, the city had a population of 31,571 people.


title: Sonic the Hedgehog

paragraphs: Sonic the Hedgehog is a Japanese platform video game series and media franchise created by Sega and featuring their mascot, Sonic. It is a series of fast platform games. Sonic is the main character. He is a blue hedgehog with supersonic speed. Usually, Sonic must stop the villain, Doctor Eggman's, plans for taking over the world. Sonic is often helped by his friends like Tails, Amy Rose, and Knuckles.

paragraphs: The first "Sonic the Hedgehog" game was released in 1991. It was created by Sega's Sonic Team division after Sega wanted a new mascot character. This was because they wanted to replace Alex Kidd, and they wanted to compete with Nintendo's mascot, Mario. Its success made many sequels, and it helped Sega become one of the biggest video game companies during the 16-bit era of the early 1990s. The first major 3D "Sonic" game, "Sonic Adventure", was released in 1998 for the Dreamcast.

paragraphs: The series made over by 2014. As of 2018, the series has sold 800million copies. This includes free-to-play mobile game downloads.


title: The Silence of the Lambs

paragraphs: The Silence of the Lambs is a 1991 American crime horror thriller movie. It was directed by Jonathan Demme. It stars Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins. It is based on the novel by Thomas Harris, which was the second novel about psychopathic psychiatrist and cannibal Dr. Hannibal Lecter. In the movie, Clarice Starling, a young FBI trainee, is sent to see the Dr. Lecter in prison to ask his advice on catching a serial killer called Buffalo Bill. Buffalo Bill has been abducting women and skinning them.

paragraphs: The movie was released in 1991. Jonathan Demme won an Academy Award for Best Director. Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins both won Academy Awards (for their playing Clarice Starling and Dr. Hannibal Lecter). The movie also won Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture. It is one of only three movies to win the five most important Academy Awards.

paragraphs: Hopkins' performance as Lecter is one of the shortest lead acting Oscar-winning performances ever, as Hopkins is only on screen for seventeen minutes in the movie.


title: Ammerland

paragraphs: Ammerland is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany.


title: Aurich (district)

paragraphs: Aurich is a district ("Landkreis") in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the North Sea, the districts of Wittmund and Leer, and the city of Emden.

paragraphs: The district includes the three populated islands of Juist, Norderney and Baltrum, which belong to the East Frisian Islands. The small island of Memmert south of Juist is a nature reserve housing rare birds. Part of the district belongs to the Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park.


Bentheim


title: Celle (district)

paragraphs: Celle () is a district ("Landkreis") in Lower Saxony, Germany.


title: Cloppenburg (district)

paragraphs: Cloppenburg is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany.


title: Cuxhaven (district)

paragraphs: Cuxhaven is a district ("Landkreis") in Lower Saxony, Germany.

paragraphs: It is located on the coast of the North Sea and is enclosed by the river mouths of Elbe and Weser. The coasts are part of the Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park.


title: Diepholz (district)

paragraphs: Diepholz is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany.


title: Emsland

paragraphs: Emsland is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is named after the river Ems.


title: Friesland (district)

paragraphs: Friesland is a district ("Landkreis") in Lower Saxony, Germany.

paragraphs: In the east the district is bounded by the Jade Bight, a shallow bay of the North Sea. The island of Wangerooge, one of the East Frisian Islands, is a part of Friesland.


title: Gifhorn (district)

paragraphs: Gifhorn is a Landkreis (district) in Germany in the state of Lower Saxony. It has about 175.000 inhabitants. Gifhorn is located in the north of Braunschweig.

paragraphs: In the district of Gifhorn there are 41 local communities.(numbers of inhabitants from the 30th June, 2005).

paragraphs: Samtgemeinden with their local communities

paragraphs: <nowiki>*</nowiki> Seat of Samtgemeinde government


title: Göttingen (district)

paragraphs: Göttingen is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany.

paragraphs: The western half of the district is covered by the Weserbergland mountains.


title: Goslar (district)

paragraphs: Goslar is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. The Harz National Park is part of this district.

paragraphs: The following towns and municipalities are in Goslar:


Harburg


title: Helmstedt (district)

paragraphs: Helmstedt is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany.


title: George Cleveland

paragraphs: George Cleveland was a Canadian actor. He was born on September 17, 1885 in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. He was the Grandfather in the television series "Lassie". He died July 15, 1957.


title: Legion of Net. Heroes

paragraphs: The Legion of Net. Heroes also called LNH is a "shared universe" setting in which many writers use the same characters, ideas, and places in their stories, often working together. It is also the name of the most important group in the setting.

paragraphs: On April 27, 1992, a member of the USENET newsgroup rec.arts.comics said that his name was Spelling Boy. Two days later, another member, named Dan'l Danehy-Oakes, took the name California Kid and said he was a member of the "Legion of Net.Heroes". Soon others were choosing colourful names for themselves, such as Cheesecake-Eater Lad and CAPTAIN CAPITALIZE.

paragraphs: On May 5, Steven Librande got fed up with the silly "net.hero" names and chose the name Doctor Killfile a "net.villain".

paragraphs: Benjamin Pierce or Marvel_Zombie Lad sent out a call for all net.heroes to fight back. Forty-four different writers worked together on the first LNH story, later called "The Cosmic Plot Device Caper". The story was never finished, and that summer most people forgot about the LNH.

paragraphs: In the fall, Todd "Scavenger" Kogutt brought the LNH back. Many new writers and stories appeared. Some writers published their stories in multiple parts or "serials" much like American comic books.

paragraphs: The LNH moved to its own newsgroup, alt.comics.lnh, before finding their permanent home on rec.arts.comics.creative , or RACC. RACC is home to other shared universes, like ASH , OMEGA and 8FOLD . Russ "Eagle" Allbery is RACC's moderator—a person who makes sure ads and pornography do not appear on the group—and archivist—which means he keeps copies of all stories.

paragraphs: The world of the LNH is called the Looniverse. In many ways it is like our own universe and Earth. But there are some differences. For example, net.heroes, net.villains, and super-powers exist.

paragraphs: Many of the cities in the Looniverse have silly names. The real city of Chicago is called "Sig.ago" in the Looniverse. The LNH itself is based in "Net.ropolis", and many stories take place there.

paragraphs: Many people in the Looniverse know that they are fictional characters—something which is called "breaking the fourth wall". For example, in one story, "The Case of the Clueless Mystery" by Gary St. Lawrence, the heroes read the script for the story they are in to find out how to beat the villain.

paragraphs: The Looniverse contains many "mutually-exclusive ideas"—things that can not exist at the same time. Sometimes, characters falling off a cliff are in real danger. Other times, they pop back into shape like cartoon characters. Some characters age in real time. Other characters never seem to age at all. Yet all these characters exist side-by-side.

paragraphs: Many of the cities in the Looniverse have net-based names: Net.ropolis and Sig.ago, for example.

paragraphs: The headquarters of the LNH (called LNHHQ or LNHQ) is based in Net.ropolis. The team has hundreds of members. Some of them form "sub-groups". For example, one sub-group, the "TSK Force" , deals with small things like bad manners.

paragraphs: Legionnaires (also known as LNHers or LNH'rs) can stay at LNHQ for free. The building is very strange. The size of a room changes to fit the number of people in the room.

paragraphs: It has been hinted in some stories that LNHQ is alive.

paragraphs: Because the LNH is so large, we can not list all its members in this article. Here are a few.

paragraphs: The LNH began in 1992 in our world. However, in the Looniverse, the LNH has been around a lot longer than that.

paragraphs: In the 19th Century, Net.ropolis was called Babbagetown. After the name of the city changed, there was a building called the Net.ropolis Hotel Grand. It later became the Legion of Net.Heroes Headquarters, or LNHHQ.

paragraphs: The first LNH was formed in the 1920s by Boy Lad. He was the only member. His sidekick, Boy Lad Jr., was not allowed to join. Boy Lad disappeared.

paragraphs: Some members of the Classic Squad later became members of the LNH: Old Comics Man, Golden Man, and Kid Yesterdaze.

paragraphs: Sig.Lad, a member of the Net.astic Nine, later joined the LNH. Some members of the Legion of Net.Hippies also joined the Legion of Net.Heroes—Nudist Man, Super Apathy Lad, and Procrastination Boy.

paragraphs: Some stories say that today's LNH started in April of 1992, others say it started in the 1980s.

paragraphs: After the "Cosmic Plot Device Caper", Rebel Yell became leader of the LNH. The entire LNH disappeared. In "501 Blues: The Long Road to Nowhere", Rebel Yell tried to find them all.

paragraphs: The "Cry.sig on Infinite Net.Earths" was a parody of the DC Comics story Crisis on Infinite Earths. Like that story, it allowed LNH writers to change things about their characters. For example, before "Cry.sig", Cheesecake-Eater Lad was married and farted a lot. After "Cry.sig", he was single and made cheesecakes. It was like the earlier Cheesecake-Eater Lad never existed. In American comic books, this is called a retcon.

paragraphs: After "Cry.sig", the Ultimate Ninja joined the LNH. Rebel Yell shared the leadership with Ultimate Ninja and Continuity Champ. Later, Rebel Yell left the LNH . Ultimate Ninja became leader of the LNH.

paragraphs: The Ultimate Ninja thought an LNH member named Myk-El was a traitor and killed him. In the story "Retcon Hour", Myk-El came back to life and it was proved that he was not a traitor. "Retcon Hour" was one of the biggest LNH stories, and was written by fourteen people.

paragraphs: In "Looniverse Adrift", the first net.villain, Dr. Killfile, was destroyed. Another villain, Tsar Chasm (a pun on sarcasm), also died. Both later returned from the dead. . .

paragraphs: Pocket Man married Organic Lass in the first LNH wedding .

paragraphs: In 1999, one of the most popular characters, Panta, was retconned out of existence .

paragraphs: In 2000, Hexadecimal Luthor—a parody of Superman villain Lex Luthor—became President of the United States. He won a second term in 2004.

paragraphs: In March of 2001, the city of Sig.ago was destroyed. It was later rebuilt.

paragraphs: In July of 2001, many characters were married :

paragraphs: Here are some of the best-liked LNH stories. As you can see, not all the stories are silly. There are many different types of stories and characters.

paragraphs: Other groups took ideas from the LNH and made their own groups, or "imprints".

paragraphs: There have been thousands of LNH stories by many writers. Writers work together on stories from all over the world: the LNH has writers from the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, the Philippines, Brazil, Australia, and New Zealand. It is an "open universe", which means that anyone can join. This is probably why it is still active.


title: Othello

paragraphs: The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. It was first performed on 1 November 1604 at Whitehall Palace in London. More recently, Othello was shown on Masterpiece Theater on PBS. The opera "Otello" of Giuseppe Verdi is based on this play.

paragraphs: At the start of the play Othello, a Moorish general in the army, promotes Cassio to lieutenant. Iago, his ensign, is angry and jealous, so he plots against Cassio by making him look bad and making Othello uncertain about keeping him as his lieutenant. Some of the things he does are to get him drunk and to start a fight with someone else from the army. Iago also tells Othello that his wife, Desdemona, is cheating on him with Cassio. Cassio is demoted and Iago is promoted to lieutenant. Othello kills Desdemona and is then told by Iago's wife, Emilia, that Iago plotted against him. He goes after Iago, and injures him but does not kill him. He then kills himself next to his wife after telling Emilia to say sorry to Cassio for what he has done.


title: Commonwealth Games

paragraphs: The Commonwealth Games is a multinational, multi-sport event. Held every four years, it involves the elite athletes of the Commonwealth of Nations. Attendance at the Commonwealth Games is typically around 5,000 athletes.

paragraphs: The idea for a competition between members of the British Empire was first suggested by the Reverend Astley Cooper in 1891. The first such event, then known as the British Empire Games, was held in 1930. The name changed to British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1954, to British Commonwealth Games in 1970 and assumed the current name of the Commonwealth Games in 1978.

paragraphs: The following cities have hosted the Commonwealth Games, and their predecessors


title: Doncaster

paragraphs: Doncaster is a large town in the north of England. It is in South Yorkshire, and is a Metropolitan County (an area of dense population).

paragraphs: Doncaster is a large town in the United Kingdom, and has more residents than many cities. Doncaster has fought to become a city for many years, but has failed to achieve this title. Many believe this is due to its closeness to other very large cities, such as Sheffield and Leeds.

paragraphs: Doncaster is an ancient town that developed from a Roman fort called 'Danum'. It was built on a Roman road Ermine Street, which linked London to York. The fort was built where Doncaster Minster now stands.

paragraphs: Later Doncaster developed into a medieval township with a fortified boundary and historic gates. What remains of the gates can still be seen in the town today. Doncaster also has a market which has existed for over 750 years.

paragraphs: As the centuries passed, Doncaster became an important staging post on the route between London and Edinburgh. An ancient road called the Great North Road passed straight through the very centre of Doncaster, and the town grew around and along this road.

paragraphs: When railways were invented, Doncaster became famous for steam trains. It was an important stop for trains travelling between Scotland and London. It is still an important stop today. A big factory for making trains was built in Doncaster. Some of the finest and fastest steam trains in the world were built in Doncaster. These trains include "The Flying Scotsman", "The Mallard", and "The Sir Nigel Gresley". The station also houses a unique Victorian themed bar on platform 3b.

paragraphs: Doncaster was one of the first places in the country that made aeroplanes and had an airport. The first airshow in the country was held in Doncaster in 1908.

paragraphs: Doncaster has an international airport which was opened in 2005. The airport is growing very fast and lots of people from across the region and across Europe now use Doncaster as a popular destination – which is something that people have already been doing for the last 2000 years.

paragraphs: Doncaster is famous for horse racing. Doncaster is one of the oldest racecourses in the world. It hosts two famous horse races: The Doncaster Cup, which is the oldest horse race in the world, and the St Leger Stakes, which is the oldest classic horse race in the world. There has been horse racing in Doncaster for over 500 years. The horse racing started because of the horses that used to pull horse-drawn coaches on the Great North Road.

paragraphs: Doncaster is also the name of a suburb in eastern Melbourne, Australia. It is home to two state primary schools: Doncaster Gardens Primary School and Doncaster Primary School.


title: Aly & AJ

paragraphs: 78violet (formerly Aly & AJ) are an American music group. The members are Amanda Michalka and her sister, Alyson who is two years older.

paragraphs: Aly & AJ lived in Seattle, Washington in the early 1990s, then moved back to Southern California. They learned to play the piano at the age of six. They both were in the movie "My Super Sweet 16 The Movie".


title: Middlesbrough

paragraphs: Middlesbrough is a large town in North Yorkshire in northeast England. About 135,000 people live there.

paragraphs: It is in the traditional North Riding of Yorkshire. It used to be administered as part of the county borough of Teesside, then the county of Cleveland, and it is now in the unitary authority of the Borough of Middlesbrough.

paragraphs: The name is often spelt incorrectly as 'Middlesborough' but 'Middlesbrough' is correct.

paragraphs: It has a Premier League football club: Middlesbrough F.C..


title: Argentine National Anthem

paragraphs: The lyrics of the Himno Nacional Argentino (the national anthem of Argentina) were written by Vicente López y Planes, and the music was composed by Blas Parera. This song was adopted as the national anthem on May 11, 1813, three years before the formal declaration of independence from Spain. May 11 is therefore "Anthem Day" in Argentina.

paragraphs: The following is the modern version, adopted in 1900, without the vivid attacks against Spain.

paragraphs: 2008 comprehensive translation, adapted for the tune

paragraphs: "We Are Free!, We Are Free!, We Are Free!"

paragraphs: Her glorious passage was for us unveiled,

paragraphs: The original version, "Marcha Patriótica", is as follows:


title: Emily Dickinson

paragraphs: Emily Dickinson (December 10, 1830 - May 15, 1886) was an American poet who also wrote short stories. She is famous for writing many poems. Researchers know of almost 1,800 poems that she has written to this day. However, she published only a few of them while she was living. Other people changed her unpublished poems before the world could read them. She was born in Amherst, Massachusetts and died of nephritis there. People describe her poems as lyrical and unique. Sources say that she may have grown wild flowers for medicinal purposes and used them to show her mood in her poems.Today, many think Emily Dickinson's poetry has had a big effect on poetry.

paragraphs: Researchers know little about Dickinson’s life. Most of what they know about her is from people who knew her and may not all be true. Her family had a good amount of money and had many friends. She had a brother and a sister. She had a normal life when she was a child. When she became an adult, she spent more and more time alone and started wearing only white. Only after she died all of her poems were published. Until 1955, editors changed them to a style of writing that was popular at the time. Now, most of her poems have been published and can be found at a local library.

paragraphs: Her teachers saw her talent for writing. But she did not win any literary awards during her lifetime. Some didn't like her work because of its different use of grammar. In her late twenties, she chose to stay with her family for most of her time.

paragraphs: Her father was a United States Senator. Edward Dickinson was a lawyer from the Whig party. Emily's family did not get along with each other. She described her mother as cold and unloving. Some researchers said that her father didn't support female scholars. Dickinson never married. She did have strong relationships with several men as friends, confidantes, and mentors. She also enjoyed an close relationship with her friend and sister-in law.

paragraphs: She was sick with some health problems, like depression and anxiety disorders. Later in her life, she began to suffer from pain in her eyes and sensitivity to light. She died at the age of 55 from a stroke. She was buried in the West Cemetery, in Amherst, MA.

paragraphs: Hailee Steinfeld plays the role of Emily Dickinson in an future TV show titled "Dickinson."


title: Indianapolis 500

paragraphs: The Indianapolis 500 is an automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, which is near Indianapolis, Indiana. It is one of the biggest racing events in the world. Every year more than 200,000 people come there to watch the race. It occurs once a year on the day before Memorial Day. This event gives its name to the IndyCar class, a type of open-wheel race car that races in it. Fans of this race sometimes call the race the Indy 500.

paragraphs: The Indianapolis Motor Speedway complex was built in 1909 as a gravel-and-tar track and hosted an assortment of small events, including ones for motorcycles.


title: Mahout

paragraphs: A mahout is a person who drives an elephant. Usually, a mahout starts as a boy, when he is given a young elephant so that they become attached to each other.

paragraphs: The most common tool used by mahouts is a goad called "anlius", or "ankusha" - a sharp hook used to guide a tamed elephant by prodding on the back of its head.