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3276 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basque%20Country%20%28greater%20region%29 | Basque Country (greater region) | The Basque Country (Basque: Euskal Herria) is a region in Southwestern Europe that is within the borders of France and Spain.
Description
It is the home of the Basque people. It is at the western end of the Pyrenees on the Bay of Biscay. Its boundaries are complicated, as it consists of seven districts: four within Spain and three within France.
History
Origins
No one knows when the Basques came to Europe. Many say that they have been in Europe since the Neolithic period at the end of the Stone Age, but others say that they were here even earlier.
The first written information about the Basque Country is from the Roman times, when the Basque people already spoke their own language. During the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Basque Country was isolated from the invading Goths.
Middle Ages
During the Muslim invasion of Southern Europe, the Basque Country split in two: the Castilian and the Navarrese lands. A war with France later split the Navarrese zone in two.
After the Reconquista, the Castilian Basque lands and Navarre became part of the new country: Spain. Since then, Basque people from the Spanish area of the Basque Country have had their own government and have fought to gain the northern part of the Basque Country from France.
Now
Today, three of the Basque districts in Spain (Araba, Bizkaia, and Gipuzkoa) form the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country. The political unit is one of 17 autonomous communities in Spain.
The fourth Basque district in Spain (Navarra) is its own separate autonomous community of Spain.
The three districts in the North (French) Basque Country are Lapurdi (Labourd), Nafarroa Beherea (Basse-Navarre) and Zuberoa/Xiberoa (Soule).
Population
The entire region has a surface area of 20,664 km2 (7978 sq mi). The Autonomous Community of the Basque Country has 7,234 km2 (2793 sq mi), and its population is about 2,000,000 - about 5% of the total population of Spain. Basque and Spanish are spoken, and its largest city is Bilbao although the capital is Vitoria-Gasteiz.
Famous people
Miguel de Unamuno
Maurice Ravel (through his mother)
Che Guevara (through his mother)
St. Ignatius Loyola
Louis Daguerre
Pío Baroja
Largest cities
Bilbao
Donostia
Gazteiz
Iruña
Biarritz
Baiona
Maule
Donibane Garazi
Other websites
The official website of the Basque Autonomous Community
Geography of France
Geography of Spain |
3278 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-theory | M-theory | M-theory is a new idea in small-particle physics that is part of superstring theory that was initially proposed by Edward Witten. The idea, or theory, often causes arguments among scientists, because there is no way to test it to see if it is true. If ever proven true, M-theory and string theory would mean big progress for science.
String theory
To understand M-theory one must first have some knowledge of string theory. For hundreds of years, scientists have thought that the simplest objects in the universe are points, like dots. String theory says that this is wrong and that the simplest objects in the universe are shaped like pieces of string. These strings are so small that even when looked at very closely they look like points. Each basic particle is created by the strings vibrating in different patterns. The reason scientists had not thought of this idea for so long is that strings are much harder to work with than points. They seem to break such rules as causality and special relativity, which says that information cannot travel faster than the speed of light.
String theory has been developed because of a very important problem that has existed for almost 100 years. Albert Einstein's theory that describes the universe on very large scales (it is called general relativity), and it disagrees with two theories that describe things on very small scales (they are called quantum mechanics and the standard model). There are also problems with the Standard Model: it includes about 20 numbers that seem to have no explanation; it has too many basic particles - some scientists think it needs to have fewer; and it does not include gravity, which is needed to explain weight.
Many of these problems can be solved by thinking of basic particles as strings. Now there is only one number with no explanation, which gives the size of the strings. String theory includes particles that cause gravity, called gravitons; finding this out delighted the scientists who work on string theory. So, string theory successfully brings General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics together.
But there are some problems with string theory. Normally, we think of the universe as having 4 dimensions, or basic directions. 3 of these basic directions can be thought of as "up/down", "forward/backward" and "left/right". The other direction is time. String theory needs 10 basic directions.
These six other directions can be explained if they are "curled up", so they are much too small to see. For example, by following the path of a spiral, it is possible to go a great distance along it without moving very far. The 6 other directions can be thought of as tiny spirals - strings can move along them a great distance but not seem to move. This can be looked at as a mathematical trick—a trick that has little to do with the real world that can be seen and touched. Such tricks are allowed if they give a theory that can better tell us how things work.
Another problem with string theory is that there are 5 different versions of it. Each version allows different kinds of strings and says they work in different ways. String theory is supposed to be a theory of everything so there should be only one version, not 5. M-theory solves this problem.
M-theory
In 1995 Edward Witten started what has been called the Second Superstring Revolution by introducing M-theory to the world. This theory combines the 5 different string theories (along with a previously abandoned attempt to unify General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics called 11D-Supergravity) into one theory. What Witten actually did was to predict that the fact that all these different theories were connected was a result of there being some underlying theory of which they were all approximations. This theory is somewhat vague in nature and has not yet been pinned down.
Additionally, it was found that the equations that required string theory to exist in 10 dimensions were actually approximations as well. The proposed M-theory would need one extra dimension and instead be a theory that takes place in 11 dimensions. Witten has himself compared this idea in simple terms to a general who takes up a position on a hilltop, the extra space-coordinate, to get a better view of the battlefield's two other dimensions.
The combination is accomplished by knitting together a web of relationships between each of the string theories called dualities (specifically, S-duality, T-duality, and U-duality). Each of these dualities provides a way of converting one of the string theories into another. T-duality is probably the most easily explained of the dualities. It has to do with the size, written as R, of the curled up dimensions of the string theories. It was discovered that by taking a Type IIA string theory that has a size R and changing the radius to 1/R the result will end up being what is equivalent to a Type IIB theory of size R. This duality, along with the others, creates connections between all 5 (or 6, if supergravity is counted) theories. The fact that these dualities existed had been known before Witten came up with the idea of M-theory.
Additional amusement has come for many in guessing what the M might stand for (possibilities include Matrix, Magic, Muffin, Mystery, Mother and Membrane). Regardless of what the M might possibly mean, M-theory has become one of the most interesting and active areas of research in theoretical physics today.
For a more technical explanation, see w:M-theory (simplified explanation).
Books and Links
Brian Greene has written a book that explains string theory and M-theory for the layman called The Elegant Universe
The Official String Theory Website has excellent references on string theory for the layman and expert
String theory |
3279 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaguar%20Cars | Jaguar Cars | Jaguar Cars was a car manufacturer and the Jaguar marque is now owned by Jaguar Land Rover. The original company was established in 1922 by William Lyons and was renamed Jaguar in 1935. Jaguar is known for its luxury saloons and sportscars.
History
Jaguar was a private company until it merged with the British Motor Corporation in 1966. The new company was called British Motor Holdings. In 1968 that company joined with Leyland Motors to became British Leyland. In 1975 British Leyland was nationalised. In 1984 Jaguar was made private again by Margaret Thatcher. Ford bought Jaguar in 1989. In 1999 it was made part of Ford's "Premier Automotive Group" along with Aston Martin, Land Rover, Volvo and Lincoln. In 2008, Ford sold Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata Motors. Jaguar is now a brand of the merged company called Jaguar Land Rover (JLR).
The company was originally in Blackpool, but moved to Coventry. Today Jaguar automobiles are made at the JLR factory in Castle Bromwich in Birmingham. In late 2018 was open new plant in Slovakia.
Jaguar owns the Daimler brand (not Daimler-Benz). Jaguar bought the British Daimler Company in 1960. Daimler became a brand for some of Jaguar's saloon automobiles, but is not used now.
As of 2017, JLR sells the following different Jaguar automobile ranges: XJ, XF, XE, XK, F-Pace, E-Pace, iPace, and the F-Type.
Sportscar racing
Jaguar has won many sports car races, like the Le Mans 24 Hours and other races.
Related pages
Jaguar Racing
References
Other websites
Jaguar International
Jaguar USA
Jaguar MENA
British automobile companies |
3280 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific%20method | Scientific method | Scientific method refers to ways to get facts , correct errors and mistakes, and test theories.
The Oxford English Dictionary says that scientific method is: "a method or procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses".
A scientist gathers empirical and measurable evidence, and uses sound reasoning. New knowledge often needs adjusting, or fitting into, previous knowledge.
Criterion
What distinguishes a scientific method of inquiry is a question known as the criterion'. It is an answer to the question: is there a way to tell whether a concept or theory is science, as opposed to some other kind of knowledge or belief?
There have been many ideas as to how it should be expressed. Logical positivists thought a theory was scientific if it could be verified (proved true). Karl Popper thought this was a mistake. He thought a theory was not scientific unless there was some way it might be refuted (shown to be wrong). On the other hand, Paul Feyerabend thought there was no criterion. For him, "anything goes", or whatever works, works.
Scientists try to let reality speak for itself. They support a theory when its predictions are confirmed, and challenge it when its predictions prove false. Scientific researchers offer hypotheses as explanations of phenomena, and design experiments to test these hypotheses. Since big theories cannot be tested directly, it is done by testing predictions derived from the theory. These steps must be repeatable, to guard against mistake or confusion by any particular experimenter.
Scientific inquiry is generally intended to be as objective as possible. To reduce bias, scientists publish their work, and so share data and methods with other scientists.
Stages
Science and things that are not science (such as pseudoscience) are often distinguished by whether they use the scientific method. One of the first people to create an outline of the steps in the scientific method was John Stuart Mill.
There is no one scientific method. Some fields of science are based on mathematical models, such as physics. Other fields, such as social science, have rough theories. They rely more on patterns that emerge from their data. Sometimes scientists focus on testing and confirming hypotheses, but open-ended exploration is also important. Some scientific fields use laboratory experiments. Others collect observations from real-world situations. Many areas of science are quantitative, emphasizing numerical data and mathematical analysis. But some areas, especially in social science, use qualitative methods, such as interviews or detailed observations of human or animal behavior. Focusing too much one kind of method can lead us to ignore knowledge produced by other methods.
Some textbooks focus on a single, standard "scientific method". This idea of a single scientific method is based on experimental, hypothesis-testing. It doesn't apply very well to other areas of science. It is often written as a number of steps:
Ask a question about the world. All scientific work begins with having a question to ask or a problem to solve.I, p9 Sometimes just coming up with the right question is the hardest part for a scientist. The question should be answerable by means of an experiment.
Create a hypothesis one possible answer to the question. A hypothesis in science is a word meaning "An educated guess about how something works". It should be possible to prove it right or wrong. For example, a statement like "Blue is a better color than green" is not a scientific hypothesis. It cannot be proved right or wrong. "More people like the color blue than green" could be a scientific hypothesis, because one could ask many people whether they like blue more than green and come up with an answer one way or the other.
Design an experiment. If the hypothesis is truly scientific, it should be possible to design an experiment to test it. An experiment should be able to tell the scientist if the hypothesis is wrong; it may not tell him or her if the hypothesis is right. As an example, think about how to show the Earth is round rather than flat. Usually scientists want to test only one thing at a time. To do this, they try to make every part of an experiment the same for everything, except for the thing they want to test.
Experiment and collect the data. Here the scientist tries to run the experiment they have designed before. Sometimes the scientist gets new ideas as the experiment is going on. Sometimes it is difficult to know when an experiment is finally over. Sometimes experimenting will be very difficult. Some scientists spend most of their lives learning how to do good experiments.
Why-questions. Explanations are answers to why-questions.II, p3
Draw conclusions from the experiment. Sometimes results are not easy to understand. Sometimes the experiments themselves open up new questions. Sometimes results from an experiment can mean many different things. All of these need to be thought about carefully.
Communicate them to others. A key element of science is sharing the results of experiments, so that other scientists can then use the knowledge themselves and all of science can benefit. Usually scientists do not trust a new claim unless other scientists have looked it over first to make sure it sounds like real science. This is called peer review ("peer" here means other scientists who have knowledge about that subject). Work that passes peer review is published in a scientific journal.
Although written as a list, scientists may go back and forth between different steps a number of times before being satisfied with the answer.
Not all scientists use the above "scientific method" in their day-to-day work. Sometimes the actual work of science looks nothing like the above.
Example: dissolving sugar in water
Let's say we are going to find out the effect of temperature on the way sugar dissolves in a glass of water. Below is one way to do this, following the scientific method step by step.
Aim
Does sugar dissolve faster in hot water or cold water? Does the temperature affect how fast the sugar dissolves? This is a question we might want to ask.
Planning the experiment
One simple experiment would be to dissolve sugar in water of different temperatures and to keep track of how much time it takes for the sugar to dissolve. This would be a test of the idea that the rate of dissolving varies according to the kinetic energy of the solvent.
We want to make sure to use exactly the same amount of water in each trial, and exactly the same amount of sugar. We do this to make sure that the temperature alone causes the effect. It might be, for example, that the ratio of sugar to water is also a factor in the rate of dissolving. To be extra careful, we might also run the experiment so that the water temperature does not change during the experiment.
This is called "isolating a variable". This means that, of the factors which might have an effect, only one is being changed in the experiment.
Running the experiment
We will do the experiment in three trials, which are exactly the same, except for the temperature of the water.
We put exactly 25 grams of sugar into exactly 1 liter of water almost as cold as ice. We do not stir. We notice that it takes 30 minutes before all the sugar is dissolved.
We put exactly 25 grams of sugar into exactly 1 liter of room temperature water (20 °C). We do not stir. We notice that it takes 15 minutes before all the sugar is dissolved.
We put exactly 25 grams of sugar into exactly 1 liter of warm water (50 °C). We do not stir. We notice that it takes 4 minutes before all the sugar is dissolved.
Drawing conclusions
One way that makes it easy to see results is to make a table of them, listing all of the things that changed each time we ran the experiment. Ours might look like this:
If every other part of the experiment was the same (we did not use more sugar one time than the other, we did not stir one time or the other, etc.), then this would be very good evidence that heat affects how fast sugar is dissolved.
We cannot know for sure, though, that there is not something else affecting it. An example of a hidden cause might be that sugar dissolves faster each time more sugar is dissolved into the same pot. This is probably not true, but if it were, it could make the results exactly the same: three trials, and the last one would be fastest. We have no reason to think that this is true at this time, but we might want to note it as another possible answer.
Repeatability
Good science is repeatable. but that can be difficult or impossible. Experiments on people is an example of this.
In psychology (in particular, social psychology) and in medicine, there can be failures of replication (cannot be repeated).
History
Elements of scientific method were worked out by some early students of nature.
"We consider it a good principle to explain the phenomena by the simplest hypothesis possible." Ptolemy (85165 AD). This is an early example of what we call Occam's razor.
Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) (965–1039), Robert Grosseteste (1175–1253) and Roger Bacon (1214–1294), all made some progress in developing scientific method.
Scientists in the 17th century started agreeing that the experimental method is the main way to find the truth. This was done in western Europe by men like Galileo, Kepler, Hooke, Boyle, Halley and Newton. At the same time, the microscope and the telescope were invented (in Holland), and the Royal Society was formed. Instruments, societies, and publishing all helped science greatly.
Related pages
Falsifiability
Historical method
History of science
Philosophy of science
Metaphilosophy
Blind experiment
Pseudoscience
Research
References
Other websites
Scientific method - Citizendium
"How Do We Know What Is True?" (animated video; 2:52)
Philosophy of science |
3283 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas | Gas | A gas is one of the four states of matter. In a gas, the molecules move freely and are not attached to each other. This makes it different from a liquid where the molecules are loosely attached to or touching each other. It is also different from a solid where the molecular bonds are strong and hold the molecules together in one shape.
A gas does not have only one volume like a liquid or solid does. Instead, gas can expand until it fills whatever container it is in.
In a pure gas, each molecule may be made of an individual atom. It may be elemental, where each molecule is made of more than one of the same atom bound together. It may be compounds where molecules are made of many types of atoms together. An example of a monoatomic gas is neon, an example of an elemental gas is hydrogen and an example of a compound gas is carbon dioxide.
A gas mixture contains a mix of any of the above types, for example air which is 87% nitrogen, 0.2% oxygen and 13.7% argon and carbon dioxide.<0.0009></33.3456333>
Poison gases were used as chemical weapons in War I but were later banned. gas is a natural mixture of methane and other gases.
Physical characteristics
All gases can flow, like liquids. This means the molecules move about independently of each other. Most gases are colourless, like hydrogen. Gas particles will spread about, or diffuse, in order to fill all the space in any container such as a bottle or a room. Compared to liquids and solids, gases have a very low density and viscosity. We cannot directly see most gases since they aren't coloured. However it is possible to measure their density, volume, temperature and pressure.
Pressure
Pressure is the measure of how much pushing force something is putting on another object. In a gas, this is usually the gas pushing on the container of the object or, if the gas is heavy, something inside the gas. Pressure is measured in pascals. Because of Newton's third law, we can change the pressure of a gas by putting force on the object containing it. For example, squeezing a bottle with air inside pressurises (gives more pressure) to the air inside.
When talking about gas, pressure is often related to the container. A lot of gas in a small container would have very high pressure. A small amount of a gas in a big container would have low pressure.
Gas can create pressure itself when there is a lot of it. The weight of the gas creates pressure on anything underneath it, including other gas. On a planet, this is called atmospheric pressure.
Temperature
The temperature of a gas is how hot or cold it is. In physics it is usually measured in kelvins although degrees Celsius are used more elsewhere. In a gas, the average velocity (how fast they move) of the molecules is related to the temperature. The faster the gas molecules are moving, the more they collide, or smash into each other. These collisions release energy, which in a gas comes in the form of heat. Conversely if the temperature around the gas becomes hotter then the gas particles will convert the thermal energy to kinetic energy, making them move faster and making the gas hotter.
State changes
A gas can go through two different state changes. If the temperature is low enough the gas can condense and turn into a liquid. Sometimes, if the temperature is low enough it can go through deposition, where it changes straight to a solid. Normally a gas must first condense to a liquid, and then freeze to become a solid, but if the temperature is very low it can skip the liquid stage and instantly become solid. Frost on the ground in winter is caused by this. Water vapour (a gas) goes into the air which is very cold, and instantly becomes ice due to deposition.
Related pages
Ideal gas
References |
3284 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family | Family | A family is a group of people who, in most cases, live together. They share their money and food and are supposed to take care of one another. Its members are either genetically related (like brother and sister) or legally bound to each other, for example by marriage. In many cultures, the members of a family have the same or a similar surname.
The family in accordance to the Catholic doctrine is treated in many articles of the Catechism of the Catholic Church starting from the article 2201.
A family is said to be society's smallest unit, its nucleus. Family life is more private and intimate than public life. But in most countries there are laws for it. For example, there are restrictions for marrying within the family and bans for having a sexual relationship with relatives, especially with children.
Types of families
Three types of family on the basic of size
are: nuclear family, single-parent family and extended family.
A nuclear family is made up of parents and one or more children living together.
A single-parent family is one where there is one parent and one or more children.
An extended family or joint families means father, mother, daughters, sons, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces and nephews. In many countries including China, Pakistan and India, extended or joint families traditionally live together.
Both the "nuclear family" and the "single-parent family" are also called the "immediate family".
Foster families are families where a child lives with and is cared for by people who are not his or her biological parents.
Closeness
Some family members are related closer to each other. Consanguinity is a way of measuring this closeness.
Relationships
Same generation
First generation
Second generation
References
Human behavior
Social groups |
3285 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave%20%28physics%29 | Wave (physics) | A wave is a kind of oscillation (disturbance) that travels through space and matter. Wave motions transfer energy from one place to another.
Examples
Waves are found everywhere in the natural world. Examples of waves are:
Sound
Water waves
Seismic waves (earthquakes)
Electromagnetic waves
Light waves
Radio waves
Properties
Waves have properties that can be measured. All waves can be pictured by adding sine waves.
Sine waves can be measured too. The shape of a sine wave is given by its amplitude, phase, wavelength and frequency. The speed that the sine wave moves can be measured. The amplitude and wavelength of the sine wave are shown in the picture.
The highest point on a wave is called the crest. The lowest point is called the trough. The crest of a wave and the trough of a wave are always twice the wave's amplitude apart from each other. The part of the wave halfway in between the crest and the trough is called the baseline.
Complicated waveforms (like the sound waves of music) can be made by adding up sine waves of different frequencies. This is how mp3 audio files are converted from their compressed form into the music we can hear. Complex waves can be separated into sine waves by Fourier analysis.
Waves and matter
Some waves can move through matter while others cannot. For instance, some waves can move through empty space, light waves for example. Sound waves, on the other hand, cannot move through empty space. Inherently, all waves carry energy from one place to another when they move. In some applications of technology, waves may carry meaningful information from one place to another, such as news on the radio.
Usually, after a wave moves through matter, the matter is the same as it was before the wave was introduced, though in some cases, matter can be affected by waves traveling through it. In 1922, Louis de Broglie found out that all waves are also particles, and all particles are also waves.
Types
In matter:
Transverse wave: the vibrations of particles are perpendicular ⊥ to the direction of travel of the wave. Transverse waves have crests and troughs. Wave crests and troughs move along a travelling transverse wave.
Longitudinal wave: the vibrations of particles are parallel to the direction of travel of wave. Longitudinal waves have compressions and rarefactions. Compressions and rarefactions move along a travelling longitudinal wave.
Standing wave: a wave that remains in a constant position.
Travelling wave: The blue waves move off to the right. They are traveling waves. The red waves do not move. They are standing waves.
Solitary wave or soliton: Solitary waves were first observed in a river channel in 1834. Something gets a bulge of water starting moving up the channel and the bulge on the surface of the water continues to move up the stream.
Light waves can move through space. Light is different from wind or water because light sometimes acts like waves and sometimes it acts as little bits called "particles." The nature of light is a big part of quantum mechanics.
Related pages
List of wave topics
Wave equation
Notes
Wave physics |
3286 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weapon | Weapon | A weapon is an object that can be used to attack or injure a person or animal. People have used weapons since very ancient times. While other animals use weapons, in most cases they are attached to the animal (teeth, claws, tusks, etc.). In man's case they are detached and constantly selected for the purpose at hand. Man has been constantly developing newer and better weapons ever since he picked up the first rock.
History
Some of the oldest remains that we have of ancient people are weapons made of stone. Ancient people also used spears. Bows and arrows were in use by about 20,000 BC. During the Bronze age people learned to make things of metal, many people used swords. People also built huge machines which could throw rocks to destroy the defensive walls of enemy cities. Some of these machines were called catapults or siege engines. Later, gunpowder was invented in China and the Europeans began using it to make guns and cannons. These weapons were much better than the older weapons, and helped the Europeans to conquer people in many parts of the world. People in many parts of the world used guns such as rifles and shotguns for hunting animals, and handguns for shooting other people.
People continued to invent new weapons. In 1884 the machine gun was invented, which could shoot many bullets very fast. Soldiers began to use land mines, a bomb hidden in the ground, which explodes when someone walks on it. Small submarines were able to use torpedos to attack bigger ships and hide under the ocean. When airplanes were invented, people began to use them to shoot enemies and to drop bombs on them. They built tanks which had big guns and strong armor. Poison gas was used in World War I but was outlawed and rarely used afterwards.
In World War II, cities were heavily bombed from the air and Nazi Germany used V-2 missiles to carry bombs to England. Both sides used many firebombs. At the end of World War II, the United States used atomic bombs (nuclear bombs) to destroy the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
After World War II, people continued to develop new weapons, including intercontinental ballistic missiles. People became concerned about weapons of mass destruction, weapons that can kill many people very fast, and are usually cheap and easy to make and use. One kind of weapon of mass destruction is poison gas. New kinds of poison gas, such as nerve gas, are much more powerful than the old kinds. Another kind of weapon of mass destruction is disease germs, which could be used to make many people sick and maybe kill them.
Laws
Old-fashioned weapons still kill many people in wars and fighting. In wars in Africa in the 1990s and early 21st century, many people were killed with machetes (big knives). People sometimes try to make laws, treaties, and international agreements to try to control weapons because they are worried about all the killing done with them. Laws vary from country to country, for example, in the United States, the "right to keep and bear arms" is guaranteed to all citizens by the Constitution. A country may say that people in that country cannot keep or use guns, or only when the government allows it. The laws of war forbid certain weapons, and countries may agree with each other that they should not use certain weapons against each other, or should not have more than a certain number of particular kinds of weapons.
Types of weapons
Things specifically made as weapons that most ordinary people can carry, include non lethal:
Pepper spray or tear gas
electric shocking devices
Weapons that soldiers or police personnel carry, include:
Portable firearms like pistols, rifles, and shotguns
Portable firearms are also used by for hunting and for marksmanship practice.
Some types of sticks
Swords and most types of knives
Weapons that the defense people of a national government have, include:
Explosive bombs of any type, grenades
Rockets for carrying bombs
Boats, vehicles, and aircraft with attached firearms, such as warships, tanks, and fighter and bomber aircraft.
Other types of weapons include:
Sling
slingshot
Spear
Bow and arrow
Flamethrower
Biological weapon
Related pages
War
References |
3287 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas%20cake | Christmas cake | A Christmas cake is a heavy cake containing much dried fruit and usually having a covering of icing. It is made to be eaten at Christmas. It can also be called a fruitcake.
A common favorite of many is the traditional Scottish Christmas cake, the "Whisky Dundee." It was named this because the cake came from Dundee and is made with Scotch whisky. It is a light and crumbly cake, and light on fruit and candied peel—only currants, raisins, sultanas and cherries. This Christmas cake is mostly good for people who do not like very sweet and moist cakes. As with all fruitcakes, almonds (or other nuts) can be removed by people who do not like them or those with bad nut allergies.
At the other end of the Christmas cake tradition, the apple cream Christmas cake is a sweet mix of sliced apples, raisins and other fruit, with eggs, cream cheese, and heavy whipping cream.
In the middle of the other two listed above is the mincemeat Christmas cake. It is simply any traditional or vegetarian mincemeat mixed with flour, eggs, and other pastry ingredients, to transform it into a cake batter; or it can also be steamed as a Christmas pudding.
A premade fruitcake mix can be bought at a grocery store.
Cakes
Christmas |
3288 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas%20cracker | Christmas cracker | A Christmas cracker is a hollow card tube covered with brightly coloured paper twisted on each end. When pulled apart, it makes a pop sound. It usually contains a small gift, a paper crown hat and a joke. It is generally used at Christmas celebrations, usually shared by two family members to compete by tugging on each end until it breaks apart, the person who retains the tube containing the gift gets to keep the gift. It is a British tradition which started back in the 1840s.
Christmas |
3290 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fingerplate | Fingerplate | A fingerplate is a plate that is fixed to a door near the handle or keyhole. It is for stopping dirt getting on the door. It is made of metal or glass.
Architectural elements |
3291 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floodlight | Floodlight | A floodlight is a large electric light. It makes a very strong and bright beam of light. It is used for lighting the outside of buildings, football grounds, etc. at night.
Theater
Light sources |
3292 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headrest | Headrest | A headrest is something which supports the head. It is usually a suitably shaped part of the back of a chair or of a front seat in a car.
It is designed to support passenger's shoulder part and neck to prevent whiplash in cases of crash at the rear.
Auto parts |
3293 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inkpad | Inkpad | An inkpad is a small box that contains a pad of cloth or other material. It is impregnated with ink (the pad is inky). A marker is pressed onto the pad, then onto paper. Any raised marks on the pad leave an impression in ink on the paper.
Ink pads are used with rubber stamps. On the stamp is the symbol of an organisation, for example. After a form has been passed by an official, it is stamped to show it is authentic. Another variation is a date stamp, placed on all letters which arrive in the building. Another version is a stamp with a facsimile (copy) of an official's signature. Using this, staff can send out letters when the official is not present. Rubber stamps and ink pads have been used for at least a hundred years by civil servants and businesses. They are still in use in many countries, but are gradually being replaced with other systems.
Technology
Writing tools |
3295 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack-in-the-box | Jack-in-the-box | A jack-in-the-box is a children's toy which is a box from which a figure on a spring jumps when the top is opened. You twist the knob until the spring shoots out the toy, which you put back in the box and do it all over again. Many kids have fun when they see the jack jumping out from the box.
Toys |
3297 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/London%20boroughs | London boroughs | A London Borough is a district of London. There are 33 of them, including two that also call themselves cities - the City of Westminster (where Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament are) and the City of London (the oldest part of London). Each Borough has its own local government. |
3299 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/City%20of%20London | City of London | The City of London is a district of Greater London. The city's boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages. Although it is now only a small part of the metropolis, it is a notable part of central London. The City holds city status in its own right, and is also a ceremonial county. Often referred to as the City, or the Square Mile, it is just over one square mile, in area.
It is here in the City of London where most of the United Kingdom's financial trade is done. It is a very small area, only a square mile, and has a very small resident population (8,000). However, many people come to work here and during the day it can be very busy, with some 300,000 people in it.
"London" now refers to Greater London, which is made up of 32 boroughs (including the City of Westminster and the City of London). The city is in central London and is the oldest part of the city, dating back to Roman times. The City of London has its own mayor, the Lord Mayor of London, an office separate from (and much older than) the Mayor of London. There are other ancient features, dating back to medieval times. The city has its own police force, the City of London Police.
Financial markets
The City vies with New York City as the financial capital of the world: many banking and insurance institutions have their headquarters there. The London Stock Exchange (shares and bonds), Lloyd's of London (insurance), the London Metal Exchange and the Bank of England are all based in the city.
Over 500 banks have offices in the city, and the city is an established leader in trading in Eurobonds, foreign exchange, energy futures, metals, and global insurance. The Alternative Investment Market, a market for trades in equities of smaller firms, is a recent development. In 2008, the City of London accounted for 4% of UK GDP.
London is the world's greatest foreign exchange market, with much of the trade conducted in the City of London. Of the $3.98 trillion daily global turnover, as measured in 2007, trading in London accounted for around $1.36 trillion, or 34.1% of the total. The Pound Sterling, the currency of the United Kingdom, is globally the fourth most traded currency and the third most held reserve currency.
Since 1991 Canary Wharf, a few miles east of the City in Tower Hamlets, has become a second centre for London's financial services industry and houses many banks and other institutions formerly located in the Square Mile. This development does not appear to have damaged the city: both places have grown.
History
The city is the site of Roman Londinium, and the archaeological remains are on display in the Museum of London, City Wall.
The city has many churches designed by Sir Christopher Wren, including St Paul's Cathedral. The city was the site of the Great Fire of London in 1666.
References
Ceremonial counties of England |
3301 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/City%20of%20Westminster | City of Westminster | The City of Westminster is a city and London borough. It is to the west of the City of London. Its most important area, Westminster, contains the Houses of Parliament, Whitehall, Downing Street and Westminster Abbey. The main official residence of the British monarch, Buckingham Palace, is also located in the City of Westminster. |
3302 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/London%20Borough%20of%20Lambeth | London Borough of Lambeth | The London Borough of Lambeth is a London Borough. It is in south west London, England.
Towns
Brixton
Clapham
Streatham |
3303 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/London%20Borough%20of%20Southwark | London Borough of Southwark | The London Borough of Southwark is a London Borough. It is in south east London.
Related pages
Southwark
London Bridge
London Bridge station
Southwark Cathedral
Other places in Southwark Borough
Bankside
Camberwell
Peckham
Dulwich |
3304 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/London%20Borough%20of%20Camden | London Borough of Camden | The London Borough of Camden is a London Borough. It is in north and central London.
Places
Bloomsbury
Camden
Hampstead
Regent's Park
References
Other websites
Camden Town London website – News about the Camden Markets and Camden Town
The website of Camden Council
Camden TV
Camden Town Online
WHO's Commission 2008 finding on the Social Determinants of Health finding re 'two Camdens' syndrome (3rd para)
Camden Council YouTube channel |
3305 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/London%20Borough%20of%20Merton | London Borough of Merton | The London Borough of Merton is a London Borough. It is in south west London. In the London Borough of Merton there is the towns of Morden, Wimbledon, Mitcham and other small towns like Pollards Hill, Colliers Wood and Summerstown.
Places
Wimbledon
Morden |
3306 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brixton | Brixton | Brixton is a place in south London. It has a lot of people from the Caribbean. It has a big market and many nightclubs.
Areas of London |
3307 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bankside | Bankside | Bankside is the old part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is next to the River Thames.
Buildings
Tate Modern - art gallery
Globe Theatre
Winchester Palace
London Borough of Southwark |
3308 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/River%20Thames | River Thames | The River Thames is a large river in England. It goes through London, the capital city of the United Kingdom.
The Thames is 346 kilometres (235 statute miles) long. Its source is near the village of Kemble in the Cotswolds; it flows through Oxford (where it is called "The Isis", a shortening of its Latin name), Reading, Maidenhead, Eton and then Windsor.
From the outskirts of Greater London, it passes Syon House, Hampton Court Palace, Richmond (with the famous view of the Thames from Richmond Hill), and Kew. It then passes through London, then Greenwich and Dartford before it enters the sea in an estuary, The Nore. Part of the area west of London is sometimes called the Thames Valley. The area east of Tower Bridge is called Thames Gateway by development agencies and officials.
About 90 kilometres from the sea, above London, the river begins to show the tide caused by the North Sea. It is said that London was made capital of Roman Britain at the spot where the tides reached in 43 AD, but different things have pushed this spot farther up the river in the over 2000 years since then. At London, the water is slightly salty with sea salt.
History
Like the Celts who lived in the area, the Romans called the river Thamesis.
The Thames was an important way to go between London and Westminster in the 16th and 17th centuries. The guild of watermen took Londoners back and forth by ferry. One of them, John Taylor, the Water Poet (15801653), described the river in a poem.
In the 17th and 18th century, at a time some call the "Little Ice Age", the Thames often froze over in the winter. This led to the first "Frost Fair" in 1607, with a tent city set up on the river with lots of odd amusements, like ice bowling. The last time the river froze over was in 1814. The building of a new London Bridge in 1825 may have helped stop it from freezing: the new bridge had fewer pillars than the old, allowing the river to flow more easily, and stopping it from flowing slowly enough to freeze in cold winters.
By the 18th century, the Thames was one of the world's busiest waterways, as London became the centre of the very big British Empire. During this time one of the worst river disasters in England took place on 3 September 1878 on the Thames, when the crowded pleasure boat Princess Alice crashed into the Bywell Castle killing over 640 people.
In the 'Great Stink' of 1858, pollution in the river became so bad that the House of Commons at Westminster had to quit sitting.
The authorities accepted a proposal from the civil engineer Joseph Bazalgette. He moved the effluent eastwards along a series of interconnecting sewers. These sloped towards outfalls beyond the metropolitan area.
The coming of rail transport and road transport, and the decline of the Empire in the years after 1945, made the river less important than it was. London itself is no longer used much as a port, and the "Port of London" has moved down the river to Tilbury. The Thames has been greatly cleaned up, and life has returned to its dead waters.
In the early 1980s, the Thames Barrier was opened to control flooding. It is used many times a year to stop water damage to London's low-lying areas up the river.
There are many bridges and tunnels crossing the Thames, including Tower Bridge, London Bridge, Lambeth Bridge, and the Dartford Crossing.
In September 2011 a British comedian, David Walliams, swam the entire 140 mile length of the river raising over £1million for a charity called Sport Relief. On Red Nose Day, people swim the Thames for charity.
The Thames in literature
Many books have been written about the Thames. Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome describes a boat trip up the Thames. Somewhere near Oxford is where the Lidells were rowing in the poem at the start of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Somewhere near here was where Alice fell asleep in the book. The river is named in both The Wind in the Willows and the play Toad of Toad Hall. In Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, Marlow tells his tale while waiting for the tide near the mouth of the Thames.
Other fictional events include Sherlock Holmes looking for a boat in A Study in Scarlet and Bill Sykes killing Nancy just near the river, in Charles Dickens's classic novel Oliver Twist.
Crossings of the Thames
See Crossings of the River Thames for a full article. Famous crossings include
Dartford Crossing
Thames Barrier
Blackwall Tunnel
Rotherhithe Tunnel
Thames Tunnel
Tower Bridge
London Bridge
Millennium Bridge
Hungerford Bridge
Westminster Bridge Islands in the Thames
Listed in upstream order.
Canvey Island
Isle of Grain
Frog Island, Rainham
Isle of Dogs
Chiswick Eyot
Oliver's Island, Kew
Brentford Ait
Lot's Ait
Isleworth Ait
Corporation Island, Twickenham
Glover's Island, Twickenham
Eel Pie Island, Twickenham
Trowlock Island, Teddington
Steven's Eyot
Raven's Ait, Surbiton
Boyle Farm Island
Thames Ditton Island
Ash Island, Hampton Court
Tagg's Island, Hampton Court
Garrick's Ait, Hampton
Platt's Eyot, Hampton
Sunbury Court Island, Sunbury
Swan's Rest Island, Sunbury
Rivermead Island, Sunbury
Sunbury Lock Ait
Wheatley's Ait
Desborough Island, Shepperton
D'Oyly Carte Island
Lock Island
Hamhaugh Island
Pharaoh's Island
Penton Hook Island
Truss's Island
Church Island, Staines
Hollyhock Island, Staines
Holm Island, Staines
The Island, Hythe End
Magna Carta Island, Runnymede
Pats Croft Eyot
White Lily Island
Katie-Jo's island
Isle of The Great Crostini
Poodle island
Caspars island
Mather Island
Kat Isle
Scuttle Island
Davage Ait
Images
References |
3309 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen | Queen | A queen is a woman who rules a country, because of inheritance. A queen usually comes to power after the death of the previous king or queen, who is her parent. A country that is ruled by a queen is called a kingdom – the same as a country ruled by a king.
A queen can be the wife or widow of a king, or a female monarch.
The wife of a king is also called a queen. However, the husband of a queen is not always called a king. For example, the last King of Britain (George VI) had a wife (Elizabeth), who was called Queen Elizabeth. He had no sons, so he was followed by his elder daughter, who is also called Elizabeth. She became Queen Elizabeth II. She was married to The Duke of Edinburgh until his death on April 9, 2021; but when she became Queen he did not become King.
Many people who study government think a country should not have a monarchy. They argue that rulers ought to be elected, or that monarchs are often corrupt. Aristotle’s “Politics” compares the different forms of government which a state may have. He claims monarchy to be one of the worst regimes because one leader may be easily corrupted, even if they were selected as the most wise and deserving ruler of an entire group.
Many people in countries such as the UK want to keep their royal family as they have remained a traditional icon and source of income for the country. However, in the UK their influence in the rule of the country is very small, leaving government to the governing political party elected by the people. This is because in a constitutional monarchy the monarch has only the power of head of state.
Queen regnant
A queen regnant is head of state, and has all the powers of a sovereign.
A queen regnant does not keep the title of queen if she abdicates (resigns). No queen has ever abdicated in the history of the United Kingdom, but three abdications have occurred in the Kingdom of the Netherlands:
Queen Wilhelmina abdicated in 1948 and became Princess Wilhelmina. Her daughter became Queen Juliana.
Queen Juliana abdicated and became Princess Juliana.
Queen Beatrix abdicated in 2013 and became Princess Beatrix.
Queen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a king. She is not the head of state, and does not have any powers unless they are given by the King or another law.
The last King of Britain (George VI) had a wife (Elizabeth) who was called Queen Elizabeth. He had no sons, so he was followed by his elder daughter. She is also called Elizabeth and became Queen Elizabeth II. She was married to the late Duke of Edinburgh; but when she became Queen he did not become King.
Queen dowager
A queen dowager is the widow of a king.
A queen consort usually keeps the title of Queen after her husband's death, for example
Queen Alexandra, widow of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Queen Mary, widow of King George V of the United Kingdom and
Queen Elizabeth, widow of King George VI of the United Kingdom, she was given the title Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother because her daughter is also called Elizabeth. |
3310 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Male | Male | Male is one of two biological sexes. Most species have two sexes male and female. Human males are usually men or boys; human females are usually women or girls (Except if their gender doesn't correlate with their sex assigned at birth).
The two sexes have different sexual organs, and different secondary sex characteristics. They also often have different biological functions. The female sexual organs can give birth to children with the semen provided by the male.
In many human societies, females often were involved in gathering, while men used to hunt, but over the course of time, Gender equality has been (or is being) recognized in more and more countries.
Related pages
Female
Gender |
3311 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female | Female | Female is a gender. It is the sex that produces ova ("egg" cells) for sexual reproduction. Females of some species also bear offspring.
When looking at seed plants, the plants that only produce seed are called female, those that only produce pollen are called male. The majority of seed plants produce both, and are called hermaphrodite.
Organisms can either be grouped as male or female. Female humans are called women and their bodies are different from male humans (who are called men). A woman has a vagina between her legs (a male has a penis) which is the main sexual organ. They also have breasts with milk glands, which allow them to nurse (feed) infants. A woman's shoulders are usually not as wide as a man's, but women usually have wider hips than men, because they need wide hips to be able to give birth.
Women who become pregnant are encouraged by doctors to seek professional care from an obstetrician or a gynecologist in order to prevent problems. Likewise, women should see a gynecologist often for routine screening exams for cancer.
Related pages
Sex determination - the biological process which determines the sex of an individual.
References
Other websites
Basic English 850 words
Gender |
3312 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camden | Camden | Camden is a place in north London, England. It has a big market which has lots of clothes. It is also good for music. It is an Urban Area. Regent's Canal runs through Camden.
Areas of London |
3313 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal%20Borough%20of%20Greenwich | Royal Borough of Greenwich | The Royal Borough of Greenwich is a London Borough. It is in south east London.
Places
Greenwich
Woolwich
Millennium Dome |
3314 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/London%20Borough%20of%20Wandsworth | London Borough of Wandsworth | The London Borough of Wandsworth is a London Borough. It is in south west London.
Places
Wandsworth
Battersea
Tooting |
3315 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/London%20Borough%20of%20Islington | London Borough of Islington | The London Borough of Islington is a London Borough. It is north of Central London.
Places
Islington |
3316 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bambuco | Bambuco | Bambuco is a type of music from Colombia. The beat of this music is like the European waltz or polska. Bambuco is often folk music. There is a dance that goes with Bambuco music. It is a group dance and has a 6/8 or 3/4 meter.
Sometimes Bambuco is called "el bambuco". People think Bambuco started in Africa. It is popular in the Andean region of Colombia and throughout Latin America.
Folk music
Colombian culture |
3317 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas | Christmas | Christmas (which means “The Mass of Christ”) is a Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus, who Christians believe is the Son of God. Christmas is also a cultural holiday for many non-Christians.
Christmas Day is celebrated on the 25th day of December. It is one of the most important days of the year for Christians, along with Easter (which celebrates the death and resurrection of Jesus). The season of Advent begins on a Sunday about four weeks before Christmas. During Advent, people prepare for Christmas.
The Christmas season (called Christmastide) ends 6 January, also called the Twelfth Day of Christmas. On this day, Christians celebrate ‘’Epiphany‘’.
People celebrate Christmas in many places around the world. Some people celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday. In some places, Christmas is a time of celebration for Christians and non-Christians alike. Christmas traditions are different in different countries. However, they almost always include a feast; giving gifts or cards; and enjoying church or public festivities, like singing Christmas carols and songs. Christmas is not limited to Christianity. The idea of Santa Claus is based on Saint Nicholas, a 4th-century Christian saint of Greek origin.
In the Northern Hemisphere, Christmastide happens during the winter. Before Christmas was ever celebrated, ancient peoples celebrated winter festivals. Some traditions from these ancient festivals became Christmas traditions. For example, some Christmas traditions come from the pagan holiday of Yule.
Today, Christmas traditions often focus on gift-giving. About a month before Christmas Day, retail stores start selling gifts, food, greeting cards, Christmas trees, Sugar cookies, Candy canes, and decorations.
The history of Christmas
Christmas in the Gospels
Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus. There are four different Gospels in the Bible which talk about Jesus’ birth. The Gospel of Luke gives details about Jesus’ birth. The Gospel of Matthew tells another part of the story. The Gospel of John says that Jesus came from God to bring his “Word” (his message) to all people. Christians believe these Gospels are based on fact.
The Gospels say that many years before Jesus’ birth, prophets had told a promise to the Jewish people that God would send them a Messiah, or holy teacher. Christians believe that the promised Messiah was Jesus. His mother was a young woman called Mary, who was engaged, but not yet married to a carpenter called Joseph. Joseph found out that Mary was pregnant and was upset. He was wondering what he should do, when an angel came from God to tell him that the baby was the Holy One. The angel said that he must ‘’name the baby’’. This was a sign that he would take care of it like his own child.
At this time, the Middle East was ruled by the Romans. An order came that all the people had to travel back to their home town, to put their names on the taxation lists. Joseph took his new wife to Bethlehem. There was nowhere for them to stay, except a stable where the animals slept. This is where the baby was born. Joseph called him Jesus, as the angel had said.
The baby Jesus had two lots of visitors. On the night he was born, angels told some shepherds in the fields that they would find a newborn king lying in an animals’ feed bin (or ‘’manger’’). Jesus’ other visitors were some wise men who saw a new star in the sky and followed it, until they found the house where the family was now living and gave the young child expensive gifts of gold, incense and a precious herb called myrrh. (The wise men are often traditionally called the Three Kings, because there were three very expensive presents but the Bible does not say how many wise men there were.)
All these parts of the Christmas story are remembered and celebrated in different ways at Christmas: in pictures, songs, plays, stories and in models that are called “cribs”, “creches” or “presepe”.
Date of celebration
Most Christian countries of the world use a calendar called the Gregorian Calendar, but some churches use a calendar called the Julian Calendar. Most Christians, such as those of the Catholic and Protestant Churches, celebrate the birth of Jesus on 25 December, although holidays begin on 24 December also known as Christmas Eve.
The Eastern Orthodox Church still uses the Julian Calendar in some regions such as Russia. In such regions, Christmas is celebrated on 25 December in the Julian Calendar, but because of the difference between the calendars it is 7 January in the modern Gregorian Calendar.
Some Christians, like Jehovah's Witnesses, do not celebrate Christmas because there is no instruction from Jesus in the Bible which tells Christians to celebrate his birth. Mormons celebrate Christmas on 25 December but they believe that Christ’s actual birth took place on 6 April.
Some believe that Jesus was probably not born on 25 December. Some historians believe this date was used by the Catholic Church to replace the pagan rites that took place at that time of the year.
Advent
The Season of Advent, which begins on Sunday about four weeks before Christmas Day, is celebrated by the Catholic and Anglican Churches, as well as others. It is a time for people to prepare themselves for two different things: for the coming of the baby Jesus and Christmas, and for the second coming of Jesus, when he shall rule over all the Earth in peace. Not all Christian people remember Advent. Some people use it as a time of fasting, study, meditation and prayer. Special Advent Calendars are made for children, with pictures or treats for each day of Advent.
Generally, Advent is a time when many people are very busy in preparation for Christmas Day, cleaning and decorating, buying food and presents, writing cards and letters, and cooking the Christmas feast.
Celebrations
Before the 4th century AD, Christians could only worship and celebrate in secret. The feast of Christmas probably began while Constantine was the Emperor of Rome, because it was he who made Christianity a legal religion and built some of Rome’s oldest churches. Some old stone coffins or ‘’sarcophagi’’ from this time are carved with pictures of Mary and baby Jesus and the Wise Men.
Through the Middle Ages Christmas was celebrated with feasting, singing and plays. The plays were held in churches, and also in castles and in market places, where a big hay wagon was sometimes used as a stage.
Because Advent was a time of prayer and preparation, most parties were held after Christmas, rather than before it. The main pre-Christmas celebration was the Feast of St. Nicholas on 6 December. In some countries, particularly the Netherlands, the tradition grew for children to receive presents on this day, rather than Christmas Day. The name of Saint Nicholas is now remembered in many countries as Santa Claus.
Another festivity that takes place is the Feast of Saint Lucy (St. Lucia Day) on 13 December which is particularly celebrated in Scandinavia, where girls take part in candlelit processions, and the daughters of the house must rise early to bring coffee or chocolate to the family.
For many centuries, the celebration of Christmas often began with a church service or mass, which lasted from late at night to after midnight on Christmas morning. Christmas Day was a time of feasting. On the following day, the Feast of Saint Stephen people from rich households would carry boxes of food out to the street for the poor and hungry. Many people would go back to work but employers would give gifts of money to their workers. The Holy Days continued with the feast of Saint John and Holy Innocents' Day. The feasting and parties ended on the Feast of the Epiphany, the day of the Three Wise Men, often called the “Three Kings”. The season is nowadays remembered by the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas”. William Shakespeare wrote a play to be performed as part of the celebration, called “Twelfth Night“.
For many, Christmas has become a time when having parties, sending messages to family and friends and giving presents has become more important than the celebration of Jesus’ birth. Manufacturers and stores have responded to the feasting and present-giving with lots of advertising, decorations and displays. In the US, the Christmas displays are put up right after Thanksgiving, late in November. In some countries such as Australia, stores put up decorations at the beginning of November. Given that Jesus himself called people making money in the Jewish Temple ‘robbers’ (Matthew 21:13) many Christians are uneasy about profit instead of prophets at Christmas.
Town councils celebrate by decorating streets and squares, and providing Christmas entertainment for shoppers. In countries of the Southern Hemisphere, where Christmas falls in Summer, there is a tradition of open-air Carol Services, often organised by the town council, which are attended by thousands of people.
Many Christians celebrate Christmas by attending church, and with prayers and singing. And each year there are Bible readings from the Gospels that tell the story of the birth of Jesus.
Christmas Traditions
Christmas traditions are of several types. There are traditions of the church, traditions which are public celebrations and traditions that are kept by families. These traditions are different in different times, places, cultures and even families.
Traditions of the Church
The celebration of Christmas is a very important time for churches. Almost every church has special services or celebrations. Here are some of the ways that churches celebrate Christmas.
The Crib
It is the custom in many churches to set up a Crib (or ‘’Creche’’) scene of the ‘’Nativity’’ or birth of Jesus. The first scene of this type was set up by St. Francis of Assisi in the 13th century. They have been very popular in Italy ever since then, and the custom has spread to other countries.
Nativity scenes can be large with life-sized statues, or they can be tiny enough to fit in a matchbox. They are made of many different things including carved and painted wood, brightly coloured ceramics (pottery), painted paper glued to boards, and mixtures of material with clay, wood, cloth, straw and metal used for different parts.
The Advent wreath is a circle of leaves, usually pine boughs, ivy and holly, with 4 (or sometimes 5) candles in it which is hung up in a church. The candles are lit on each Sunday in Advent, and the central candle is lit on Christmas morning. Churches are often decked with green branches and leaves, and many churches also have a Christmas tree.
Carols by Candlelight
A popular tradition in many churches is the Carol Service which is often lit only by candles. The carol service generally has lots of singing and Bible readings. There is a tradition in England which began in the Temple Church in London and has now spread to many other places for a service of Nine Lessons and Carols. The lessons are Bible readings. Some carols are sung by a choir and others by the choir and people (the congregation). Every year one of these services is recorded in a large English Church, often King's College Chapel, Cambridge, and is broadcast on radio and television to be enjoyed by people who love good music and carol singing, but particularly for people who cannot go to a Christmas service.
Public and commercial celebrations
Many cities and towns celebrate Christmas by putting up decorations. These may be banners and bunting which are strung from buildings or lampposts. They may be Christmas lights which can also decorate buildings and street trees. Many large cities put up a huge Christmas tree in a public place, such as those in Trafalgar Square in London, Times Square in New York and Martin Place in Sydney. This is often combined with an appeal to the people of the city to give money or gifts to help the poor and needy.
In many cities, the usual shopping hours are made longer before Christmas so that workers have more time to buy Christmas food and presents. Shop windows are often decorated with Christmas scenes, with large department stores often having animated scenes to entertain children. Shopping malls and big stores often have a Santa Claus, who sits on a throne, while children tell him what they want for Christmas, and have their photos taken.
Many towns hold Christmas parades, street entertainment and concerts. Some towns have a tradition of carols with a choir and entertainers in the town hall, while in Australia and New Zealand, these concerts of Christmas entertainment and carols are usually held outdoors, in parks or even on beaches, with families bringing picnics. The arrival of Santa Claus at the end of the evening is accompanied by a firework display.
A traditional part of Christmas is the theatre entertainment. This includes the performance of classical music such as Handel’s Messiah as well as orchestral concerts and band recitals. Pantomimes are often played at Christmas and favourites include “Peter Pan and Wendy“ and “Cinderella“. Many children’s movies are released during the Christmas season.
Because many people feel very lonely, hungry and sad at Christmas, many cities, churches, charities and service organisations try to help the poor and lonely by providing Christmas food and gifts for poor families, and Christmas parties for people who are hungry or who are lonely and without any friends or family.
Family celebrations
Family celebrations are often very different from each other, depending on where a family comes from, and the customs that have grown in particular families.
Family get-togethers
Most families think of Christmas as a time to get together with other members of the family. People often travel from far away to be with other family members at Christmas. Those people who cannot travel often make long-distance phone calls on Christmas Day. Many people also see Christmas as a time to reach out to others that they know might be lonely, and invite them to dinner on Christmas Day. Christmas is seen as a time for people of all ages to have fun together, for cousins to get to know each other, for grandparents to see their grandchildren and for the family to admire the babies that have been born during the year. Big family parties are usually a time of joy, but some families often talk about their disagreements and have big fights at Christmas time.
Family traditions are very different. Some families might all go off to church together, to a Carol Service, a Midnight Mass, or a Christmas Morning service. Some families are pulled out of bed very early by children who want to open their presents. In other families, presents are given on St. Nicholas Day, on Christmas Eve or not until after church on Christmas morning. The Christmas feast might start on Christmas Eve, with a special breakfast on Christmas morning, or at midday on Christmas Day.
Some families have a tradition of carol singing, and might go around the streets, to hospitals and other such places singing with members of their church. Other families like to watch certain television programs together, which might include carol services and the Queen’s Message. Some families use Christmas as a time to play music and sing together, or to read a favourite book such as “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens. In countries in the Southern Hemisphere, a visit to the beach or a swim in a pool is often part of the Christmas Day tradition.
Christmas dinner
Christmas Dinner, usually eaten in the middle of the day, is an important part of the family celebration. The food differs from country to country and also from family to family. In the Northern Hemisphere, roasted meat and vegetables are generally the main courses of the meal. Usually one of several types of meat are served, which may include turkey, Chicken, ham, roast beef, or lamb. There are often several courses, with special treats that are usually only eaten at Christmas.
In English-speaking countries, the traditional dessert is Christmas plum pudding. Nowadays these puddings are often bought from bakers, but many people make their own to a family recipe. The tradition came from the Middle Ages when the pudding was used to preserve some of the fruit from autumn until the mid-winter. A traditional pudding is baked six weeks before Christmas and is left tied up in a cloth or basin with a cloth covering, in a cool place. Stirring the pudding is sometimes a family tradition, with everyone making a wish as they stir. Traditionally a silver coin would be stirred into the pudding, to bring luck to the person who found it. Nowadays most coins cannot be used because they are not made of silver so taste horrible and may be poisonous. Some families use old coins or silver charms. On Christmas Day the pudding must be boiled in a pot for several hours. When it is served, the cloth is cut off, brandy is poured onto the pudding, and it is set on fire before it is carried to the table. Christmas crackers are used to decorate and are often opened prior to serving the dish or starter course. It is usually served with hard sauce.
Many families have a Christmas cake or a special bread instead of a pudding (or as well as a pudding). These are very different depending on the country, but often have marzipan which is made from almonds and is traditional in many countries at Christmas. In France ‘’Buche de Noäl’’ or gingerbread men and women are decorated and hung on the Christmas tree. In Scotland a pastry biscuit called shortbread is made and has become a popular tradition in many countries. A German tradition is ‘’pfeffernuss’’, spiced cookies rolled in powdered sugar. Other Christmas food includes fruit cakes, sultanas, ginger, Greek baklava, almonds, chocolates, caramel toffee, candy canes and cookies.
Many families also prepare mulled wine which is warmed with cinnamon and nutmeg or egg nogs, a sweet drink made of milk, sugar, eggs, nutmeg and sometimes alcohol.
In the Southern Hemisphere, the traditional roast dinner is often replaced with cold cuts of meat, and served with salads. The first course might be prawn cocktail or a cold soup like borsch. The plum pudding might be served with ice cream. White wine and beer are both served cold (beer is kept in a refrigerator). Christmas dinner may be served on the veranda, or sometimes as a picnic.
Tree and decorations
In most homes when Christmas is celebrated, people set up a Christmas tree in the house. This old Yuletide custom began in Germany as the “Tannenbaum” (German for ‘’Fir Tree’’). These are traditionally evergreens, the best type being the Fir Tree which does not shed its needles or lose its fragrance. The tree may be a cut tree that is bought from a plantation or taken from the forest. Artificial trees are sometimes preferred to real trees. The Christmas tree is decorated with lights, shiny coloured balls, sparkly tinsel and other ornaments. A wreath of leaves or pine is often put on the front door of a house as a sign of welcome. Other plants that have special significance at Christmas are holly which is used as decoration and mistletoe which is hung in the centre of a room. The tradition is that people who meet under the mistletoe must kiss.
Many people decorate their homes at Christmas time. These decorations and the Christmas tree are generally inside, but may be put where they can also be seen through a window by people passing by. In the mid 20th century there grew up a custom for decorating the outside of houses as well. These decorations may be just a few lights around the porch, or hundreds of lights and colourful Christmas figures decorating the whole house and garden. Some neighbourhoods hold competitions for the best-decorated house, and driving around the streets to look at them has become another family tradition.
Cards and presents
The giving of gifts at Christmas comes from several different ideas. One is that God gave his son, Jesus, to the world at Christmas. There is also the story of the Wise Men who came to the baby Jesus with three gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh. For many centuries it has been the custom for people to give small gifts at Christmas, and also to give generously to the poor and needy to help them through the winter. Another tradition has become linked to this one, and the result is the tradition of Santa Claus, or Father Christmas as he is sometimes called, and who is nowadays thought by many children to be the bringer of presents and happiness.
In the 4th century, in a Greek village that is now part of Turkey, there was a good man who would secretly given presents to the poor to help them. He became a bishop and is called Saint Nicholas. Over the centuries, he became a very popular saint and lots of churches were named after him. He was very popular in places where there were lots of sailors. One of those places was the Netherlands. In the Netherlands and many other European countries, presents are given on the feast of Saint Nicholas, 6 December. Traditionally, the presents are not big, and are sometimes hidden, or have a funny joke or poem that must be read. In many towns of Europe a man dressed in bishop’s robes comes on a horse or in a boat, acting as St. Nicholas. His name was often shortened to Sante Claus, or Santa Claus in English.
In English speaking countries, where presents are usually given on Christmas Day, not 6 December, Santa Claus, (or Father Christmas) is usually thought of as coming on Christmas Night, when his magic sleigh is pulled across the sky by reindeer, and he comes into houses through the chimney. While in Europe, children put out their shoes for St. Nicholas, the English tradition is to hang up stockings (or long socks) in front of the fireplace. Santa Claus would traditionally fill the socks or shoes with nuts, raisins, chocolates and an orange. Nowadays children usually get much more expensive presents, and hang up pillow cases or have the presents in a big pile under the Christmas tree.
Another Christmas tradition is the sending of cards to friends and relatives. These contain warm greetings and may also have a letter telling all the things that have happened to the person or family during the year.
Related pages
Christianity
Advent
Epiphany (holiday)
Carnival
Easter
Pentecost
Holiday
Other websites
& (Occitan) Traditional Christmas carols from County of Nice, France
Christmas |
3318 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adjective | Adjective | {{ExamplesSidebar|35%|
I like blue skies and fluffy clouds.
He is a nice man.
It was a very 'cold day.
My friend is very tall with brown eyes
They are good people.}}
An adjective'' is a word that describes a noun or pronoun. Nouns are words that name a place, a person, a thing, or an idea. An adjective is a word that gives more information about the noun that goes with it. It is a part of speech.
Often, the adjective is before the noun it describes. Sometimes an adjective is not followed by a noun:
The sky is blue. The joke she told was so nice, I could not stop laughing all day.
It is still an adjective, because we could have "the blue sky", "the funny joke", and "the crazy man". The adjective is still describing the noun though they are not side by side.
There is a tall man.
An adjective is a word that gives instant information about a noun to make a clear picture of the noun in the mind of the reader and create a feeling to the writer.
Comparative and superlative
Sometimes there are different forms of the same adjective. If one joke makes a person laugh more than another joke, then that joke is funnier. This is called the comparative form. The day that is colder than any other is the coldest day. This is the superlative form of "cold". Some adjectives need additional words when we want to compare them. For instance, one car may be cheaper than another, but the second car may be more reliable (we use "more reliable", instead of "reliabler"). Reliable means worthy of trust.
The rule is:
For short adjectives ending in a consonant like "cold," "black," or "fast," one adds the suffix er to make a comparison of greater magnitude. Example: "The North Pole is colder than Florida." The greatest possible comparison is made by adding the suffix est. Example: "The North Pole is the coldest place on the Earth." For long adjectives like intelligent, conscientious, comprehensive, one uses the word more to make a comparison of greater magnitude. Example: "Children are more intelligent than adults."
A superlative makes the greatest possible comparison. One uses the word most. Example: "She is the most conscientious person I have ever known."
Nouns as noun modifiers
In the English language, it is possible for a noun to modify (describe) another noun. Example: take the noun "angel" and the noun "face." Put them together and the result is "angel face." The first noun is acting as an adjective, because it is giving us information about the second noun.
Adjectives and adverbs
Adjectives are words we use to describe the noun. Simple words like "warm" and "fat" are adjectives commonly used in writing. One can make adverbs from some adjectives by adding the suffix ly'''. Example: take the adjective "beautiful," the adverb is beautifully. One can do it the other way around: take an adverb like "presumably," the adjective is "presumable". "Presumable innocence" means the accused is assumed to be innocent until proven guilty.
The adjective "guilty" becomes the adverb "guiltily" and vice versa (the opposite), the adverb "guiltily" becomes the adjective "guilty."
100 Adjectives used in Basic English
able • acid • angry • automatic • beautiful • black • boiling • bright • broken • brown • cheap • chemical • chief • clean • clear • common • complex • conscious • cut • deep • dependent • early • elastic • electric • equal • fat • fertile • first • fixed • flat • free • frequent • full • general • good • great • gray • hanging • happy • hard • healthy • high • hollow • important • kind • like • living • long • male • married • material • medical • military • natural • necessary • new • normal • open • parallel • past • physical • political • poor • possible • present • private • probable • quick • quiet • ready • red • regular • responsible • right • round • same • second • separate • serious • sharp • smooth • sticky • stiff • straight • strong • sudden • sweet • tall • thick • tight • tired • true • violent • warm • wet • wide • wise • yellow • young
Other websites
Adjectives
Adjective1.com
Parts of speech |
3319 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper | Paper | Modern paper is a thin material of (mostly) wood fibres pressed together. People write on paper with a pencil or pen, and books are made of paper. Paper can absorb liquids such as water, so people can clean things with paper. There are many types of paper.
The pulp and paper industry comprises companies that use wood as raw material and produce pulp, paper, board and other cellulose-based products.
Paper making
Modern paper is normally made from wood pulp. Wood is ground up and mixed with water and other chemicals to make a thin liquid called "paper pulp". Paper pulp can be bleached to make paper more white, and dyes can be added to make colored paper. This pulp is pressed into sheets of paper. Printing is often done on paper before the paper is cut into sheets. Newsprint paper (newspaper) comes in a huge roll, and goes through the printing process as one continuous sheet. It is cut by a machine-driven guillotine blade later. Folding comes last, then packing for distribution.
Sometimes paper is made heavier and more glossy (shiny) by adding clay, and by 'milling' it. Milling is done by squeezing the paper through a series of rollers. Sometimes paper is made from used or waste paper: this is recycling.
Not all paper is made from wood. Other kinds of fiber can be used. People still make paper from cotton, linen and hemp for special purposes.
History of paper
Writing started long before the invention of paper. People wrote on many kinds of material. They wrote on cloth, on the stone walls and on wood. In Mesopotamia the Sumerians wrote on clay tablets, many of which have survived today. In Europe, people wrote on vellum.
First paper
Many centuries ago – as early as the 3rd millennium BC (that's over 2000 BC) – people in Egypt made a kind of paper from the papyrus plant. This is where the word 'paper' comes from. The people of Greece and Rome learned to do this too. The Romans wrote on parchment (made from animal skin), on waxed tablets and on wood (see Vindolanda).
In China 105 AD, the eunuch Cai Lun told his Emperor he had made paper. They had previously used bamboo and silk. The material used in this ancient paper included cotton rags, hemp, various plant fibres and old fish nets. The oldest existing paper with writing on it was found in the ruins of a watchtower in the Great Wall of China. It dates to about 150 AD.p5 Even earlier paper (but with no writing on it) has been claimed: "The oldest surviving piece of paper in the world is made of hemp fibers, discovered in 1957 in a tomb near Xian, China, and dates from between the years 140 and 87 BC". Paper-making was regarded by the Chinese as so valuable that they kept it secret as long as they could.
Spread of paper
People in Japan learned how to make paper with fibres of the mulberry tree, around 610 AD. This is called Japanese paper or Washi. The Chinese invention spread to India, and then to the Middle East, and then to Italy.
An opportunity occurred after The Battle of Talas in 751. Then an Arab army captured soldiers of the Chinese. There were some paper makers among the captured soldiers. From them, paper-making spread throughout the Middle East. In 757, a paper mill was built at Samarkand. People learned to use linen as paper raw material and to use starch made from flour as an additive.
The Italians used hemp and linen rags. In 1276 the first Italian paper mill was built at Fabriano and, until the 14 century, Italy was a paper supplier in Europe. In 1282 the first watermark was introduced in Bologna.
Machine-made paper
Paper was hard to make. It was cheaper than the old writing materials, but still expensive. A mechanical paper maker was conceived in France 1798, but invented in England. At least one paper mill was using them by 1812. Now the process was cheaper but the raw material was still expensive.
In 1840 Friedrich Gottlob Keller Invented a machine that could make pulp for paper out of wood fibres (instead of the expensive rag paper). Paper became cheap enough for everyone to buy. Around the same time, other inventions were made, like the pencil, the fountain pen, and a printing press that used steam power. With this new information technology, people wrote more letters, made more books and newspapers, and kept more records of what they did.
Today, some of the largest paper-producing countries are China, USA, Canada, Finland, Sweden and Russia. Paper is produced in large factories called paper mills. They produce hundreds of thousands of tons of paper each year.
Uses of paper
Paper is used for writing and printing. Books, magazines and newspapers are printed on paper.
Paper is often used for money. Paper used for money is made in special ways. It does not use wood fiber. It is mostly cotton with additives to make it hard for people to print their own money. A piece of paper money is called a banknote, a bill or a note.
Paper can be used for cleaning. Special forms of paper are used, such as paper towels, facial tissues or toilet paper.
Pretty paper can be used as decoration. It can be pasted onto the walls of a room; this is called wallpaper. Paper can be used to wrap gifts. This is called wrapping paper or gift wrap.
Some kinds of paper are strong and can be used in boxes and other packaging material. Sometimes several layers of paper are held together with glue, to make cardboard.
Related pages
Paper size
Cardboard
References
Basic English 850 words
Writing tools |
3323 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power | Power | Power has different meanings depending on the context:
Power (physics), how fast energy can be changed into work
Electric power, electricity that comes from power plants or generators
In sociology, power is the ability of a person to make another person do something. This might also be called influence or control.
Statistical power, how likely the test is to say something is true when it is really true
Exponentiation; in mathematics, "power" is multiplying a number by itself
A life force, called chi by the Chinese and kiai by the Japanese.
In politics a great power is more powerful than other countries.
Related pages
Power plant
Suzerainty
Basic English 850 words |
3325 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/States%20of%20matter | States of matter | There are four common states of matter (or phases) in the universe: solid, liquid, gas, and plasma.
The state of matter affects a substance's properties. Examples of those properties include density, viscosity (how well it flows), malleability (how easy it is to bend), and conductivity. Changes between states of matter are often reversible.
Common states of matter
Solids
In a solid, the positions of atoms are fixed relative to each other over a long time. That is due to the cohesion or "friction" between molecules. This cohesion is provided by metallic, covalent or ionic bonds. Only solids can be pushed on by a force without changing shape, which means that they can be resistant to deformation. Solids also tend to be strong enough to hold their own shape in a container. Solids are generally denser than liquids. Solid becoming a gas is called sublimation.
Liquids
In a liquid, molecules are attracted to each other strongly enough to keep them in contact, but not strongly enough to hold a particular structure. The molecules can continually move with respect to each other. This means that liquids can flow smoothly, but not as smoothly as gases. Liquids will tend to take the shape of a container that they are in. Liquids are generally less dense than solids, but denser than gas.
Gases
In a gas, the chemical bonds are not strong enough to hold atoms or molecules together, and from this a gas is a collection of independent, unbonded molecules which interact mainly by collision. Gases tend to take the shape of their container, and are less dense than both solids and liquids. Gases have weaker forces of attraction than solids and liquids. Gas becoming a solid directly is called deposition.
Gases can sometimes turn directly into solids without passing through a fluid stage. That is called desublimation. You see it in the hoary frost which forms on window-panes in cold climates. It is the reverse of sublimation.
Plasmas
Plasmas are gases that have so much energy that electrons of an atom cannot stay in orbit around one atomic nucleus. The atomic ions and free electrons mix around like a hot soup.
Because the positive and negative charged particles are not stuck together, plasma is a good conductor of electricity. For example, air is not good at conducting electricity. However, in a bolt of lightning, the atoms in air get so much energy that they no longer can hold on to their electrons, and become a plasma for a brief time. Then an electric current is able to flow through the plasma, making the lightning.
Plasma is the most common state of matter in the universe. Both stars and the interstellar medium are mostly made of plasma.
Phase changes
Phases of matter can be changed by a number of things. The most common ones are temperature and pressure. Substances usually become a gas at warm temperatures and/or low pressures, become a solid at cool temperatures, and become a
plasma at extremely hot temperatures. Substances often become liquid in between solid and gas, but when the pressure is very low (such as the vacuum of outer space) many substances skip the liquid phase, going directly from solid to gas or vice versa. Scientists have created graphs called phase change diagrams to show the relationship between pressure, temperature, and phase of many substances.
When a solid becomes a liquid, it is called melting. When a liquid becomes a solid, it is called freezing. When a solid becomes a gas, it is called sublimation. When a gas becomes a solid, it is called desublimation. When a liquid becomes a gas, it is called evaporation. When a gas becomes a liquid, it is called condensation.
The freezing point and the melting point are said to be the same, because any increase in temperature from that point will cause the substance to melt, while any drop in temperature will cause it to freeze. Likewise, the vaporization and condensation points (or the sublimation and desublimation points) always match. In most substances, as the pressure increases, the vaporization/condensation point also increases, or vice versa. For example, the boiling point of water decreases as you go up a mountain, because the air pressure is lower. The relationship for freezing and melting can go in different directions depending on the substance.
Other states
Many other states of matter can exist under special conditions, including strange matter, supersolids, and possibly string-net liquids. Scientist work on experiments at very high or very low temperatures to learn more about phases of matter.
Condensates
Bose-Einstein condensates and fermionic condensates are phases of matter that apply to particles called bosons and fermions, respectively. (More than one boson can exist in the same spot at the same time. Only one fermion can exist in the same spot at the same time). Bose-Einstein condensates and fermionic condensates occur at incredibly low temperatures. All of the particles in these condensates begin to act like one big quantum state, so they have almost no friction or electrical resistance.
Degenerate matter
When the core of a star runs out of light elements (like hydrogen or helium) to sustain fusion, the core will collapse into a very dense state called degenerate matter. Everything is packed very tightly and can barely move. If the star isn't too heavy, it becomes a white dwarf. In a heavier star, the pressure is so intense that even the protons and electrons are crushed, and it becomes a neutron star.
Quark-gluon plasmas
The protons and neutrons that make up atoms are made of even smaller things called quarks (which are "glued" together by things called "gluons"). At incredibly high temperatures over 2 trillion Kelvin, quarks and gluons turn into another state of matter. Humans can make a little bit of quark-gluon plasma in the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, but it doesn't last long before cooling down.
Supercritical fluids
When a substance has enough temperature and pressure at the same time, called the critical point, you can't tell the difference between very dense gas and very energetic liquid. This is a supercritical fluid, and it behaves like both liquid and gas.
Superfluids
Superfluids, on the other hand, only happen at very low temperatures, and only for a few special substances like liquid helium. Superfluids can do things that regular liquids cannot, like flowing up the side of a bowl and getting out.
Other websites
2005-06-22, MIT News: MIT physicists create new form of matter Citat: "... They have become the first to create a new type of matter, a gas of atoms that shows high-temperature superfluidity."
2003-10-10, Science Daily: Metallic Phase For Bosons Implies New State Of Matter
2004-01-15, ScienceDaily: Probable Discovery Of A New, Supersolid, Phase Of Matter Citat: "...We apparently have observed, for the first time, a solid material with the characteristics of a superfluid...but because all its particles are in the identical quantum state, it remains a solid even though its component particles are continually flowing..."
2004-01-29, ScienceDaily: NIST/University Of Colorado Scientists Create New Form Of Matter: A Fermionic Condensate |
3326 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perimeter | Perimeter | In geometry, perimeter is the distance around a flat object. For example, all four sides of a square rhombus have the same length, so a rhombus with side length 2 inches would have a perimeter of 8 inches (2+2+2+2=8).
For a polygon, the perimeter is simply the sum of the length of all of its sides. For a rectangle, the perimeter is twice the sum of its length and width (). Perimeter can also be calculated for other planar figures, such as circle, sector and ellipse.
Real-life objects have perimeters as well. A football field, including the end zones, is 360 feet long and 160 feet wide. This means that the perimeter of the field is 360+160+360+160=1040 feet.
The perimeter of a circle is usually called the circumference. It may be calculated by multiplying the diameter times "Pi". Pi is a constant which is approximately equal to 3.14159; however, the places to the right of the decimal are endless. The number of places used depends on the accuracy required for the result.
Related pages
Area
References
Geometry |
3328 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nation | Nation | A nation is a group of people who share the same culture, history, language or ethnicity. It can also be described as people living in the same country and government.
The word nation comes from a Latin language word meaning "birth" or "place of birth." The adjective is national.
Some nations are people with a particular belief, such as the Vatican City, or ethnic group, such as Armenia. Others share an idea, such as Democracy in the United States or Communism in China.
Some nations are controlled by a small minority who have all the power, such as Saudi Arabia, who hold the nation together with the use of this power.
Some of these may also be combined. The highest lawful authority of most nations is a constitution, which is a document which states clearly what kinds of power the rulers have and how new laws must be made. Many others are ruled by a single person who holds an "office" (position), such as a King or Pope, or from a long legal tradition without an official Constitution, such as the United Kingdom.
Related pages
State
Nation state
Country
Nationalism
Political economy
Constitutional economics
Basic English 850 words
Ethnicity
Nationalism |
3331 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrix | Matrix | Matrix can mean:
a framework or background, physical or abstract
a Matrix (mathematics), a mathematical object
matrix (geology), the fine-grained ground material of a conglomerate rock
Toyota Matrix, a model of car produced by the Toyota company
The Matrix and its sequels, movies with Keanu Reeves
The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Revolutions |
3332 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal | Metal | Some chemical elements are called metals. Most elements in the periodic table are metals. These elements usually have the following traits:
They can conduct electricity and heat.
They can be shaped easily.
They have a shiny appearance.
They have a high melting point.
They are maleable like in 2 also
Most metals are solid at room temperature, but this does not have to be the case. Mercury is liquid. Alloys are mixtures, where at least one part of the mixture is a metal. Examples of metals are aluminium, copper, iron, tin, gold, lead, silver, titanium, uranium, and zinc. Well-known alloys include bronze and steel.
The study of metals is called metallurgy.
The ways that metals are alike (properties of metals)
Most metals are hard, shiny, they feel heavy and they melt only when they are heated at very high temperatures . Lumps of metal will make a bell-like sound when they are hit with something heavy (they are sonorous).
Heat and electricity can easily pass through a metal (it is conductive). A lump of metal can be beaten into a thin sheet (it is malleable) or can be pulled into thin wires (it is ductile). Metal is hard to pull apart (it has a high tensile strength) or smash (it has a high compressive strength). If you push on a long, thin piece of metal, it will bend, not break (it is elastic). Except for cesium, copper, and gold, metals have a neutral, silvery color.
Not all metals have these properties. Mercury, for instance, is liquid at room temperature, Lead, is very soft, and heat and electricity do not pass through iron as well as they do through copper.
Use of metals
Metals are very useful to people. They are used to make tools because they can be strong and easy to shape. Iron and steel have been used to make bridges, buildings, or ships.
Some metals are used to make items like coins because they are hard and will not wear away quickly. For example, copper (which is shiny and red in color), aluminium (which is shiny and white), gold (which is yellow and shiny), and silver and nickel (also white and shiny).
Some metals, like steel, can be made sharp and stay sharp, so they can be used to make knives, axes or razors.
Rare metals with high value, like gold, silver and platinum are often used to make jewellery. Metals are also used to make fasteners and screws. Pots used for cooking can be made from copper, aluminium, steel or iron. Lead is very heavy and dense and can be used as ballast in boats to stop them from turning over, or to protect people from ionizing radiation.
Alloys of metals
Many things that are made of metals may, in fact, be made of mixtures of at least one metal with either other metals, or with non-metals. These mixtures are called alloys. Some common alloys are:
Steel (iron and carbon) (Carbon is a non-metal)
Brass (copper and zinc)
Bronze (copper and tin)
Duralumin (aluminium and copper)
Gunmetal (copper, tin, and zinc)
People first began making things from metal over 9000 years ago, when they discovered how to get copper from its ore. They then learned how to make a harder alloy, bronze, by adding tin to the copper. About 3000 years ago, they discovered iron. By adding small amounts of carbon to iron, they found that they could make a particularly useful alloy – steel.
Metals in chemistry
In chemistry, metal is a word for a group of chemical elements that have certain properties. It is easy for the atoms of a metal to lose an electron and become positive ions, or cations. In this way, metals are not like the other two kinds of elements - the nonmetals and the metalloids. Most elements on the periodic table are metals.
On the periodic table, we can draw a zigzag line from the element boron (symbol B) to the element polonium (symbol Po). The elements that this line passes through are the metalloids. The elements that are above and to the right of this line are the nonmetals. The rest of the elements are the metals.
Most of the properties of metals are due to the fact that the atoms in the metal do not hold onto their electrons very tightly. Each atom is separated from the others by a thin layer of valence electrons.
However, some metals are different. An example is the metal sodium. It is soft, melts at a low temperature, and is so light, it floats on water. People should not try this though, because another property of sodium is that it explodes when it touches water.
Most metals are chemically stable, and do not react easily but some do react. The reactive ones are the alkali metals like sodium (symbol Na) and the alkaline earth metals like calcium (symbol Ca). When metals do react, they often react with oxygen. The oxides of metals are basic. The oxides of nonmetals are acidic.
Compounds, which have metal atoms combined with other atoms to make molecules, are probably the most common substances on Earth. For example, common salt is a compound of sodium.
Metals in history
The use of metals is said to be one of the things that makes people different from animals. Before they used metals, people made tools from stones, wood, and animal bones. This is now called the Stone Age.
No-one knows when the first metal was found and used. It was probably what is called native copper, which is sometimes found in large lumps on the ground. People learned to make this into copper tools and other things, although, for a metal, it is quite soft. They learned smelting to get copper from common ores. When copper was melted over fire, people learned how to make an alloy called bronze, which is much harder and stronger than copper. People made knives and weapons from bronze. This time in human history, after about 3300 BC is often called the Bronze Age, that is, the time of bronze tools and weapons.
Around the year 1200 BC some people learned to make iron tools and weapons. These were even harder and stronger than bronze and this was an advantage in war. The time of iron tools and weapons is now called the Iron Age
.
Metals have been very important in human history and civilization. Iron and steel were important in the making of machines. Gold and silver were used as money in order to allow people to trade, that is, exchange goods and services over long distances.
Metals in astronomy
In astronomy, a metal is any element other than hydrogen or helium. This is because these two elements (and sometimes lithium) are the only ones that form outside stars. In the sky, a spectrometer can see the signs of metals and show the astronomer the metals in a star.
Biological role in humans
In humans, some metals are essential nutrients like iron, cobalt, and zinc. Some metals can be harmless such as ruthenium, silver, and indium. Some metals can be toxic in large amounts. Other metals such as cadmium, mercury, and lead, are very poisonous. Sources of metal poisoning include mining, tailings, industrial wastes, agricultural runoff, occupational exposure, paints and treated timber.
Related pages
Metallurgy
Money
Mining
Gold Rush
History
Ingot
References |
3333 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/German | German | German can mean different things.
Anything related to Germany
German language
Germans, people from Germany or one of the earlier countries in the same area
Germanic peoples, people who speak Germanic languages, including German and some other languages
the early people known as Franks
Holy Roman Empire (843-1806)
German Confederation (1815-1866)
German Empire (1871-1918)
Weimar Republic (1919-1933)
German Democratic Republic or East Germany (1949-1990)
When talking about a person, it can mean someone who lives in Germany, or someone who thinks of himself or herself as 'German'.
Related pages
German silver |
3334 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesia | Indonesia | Indonesia, () officially the Republic of Indonesia, (; ; ) is a nation in Southeast Asia and Oceania. As the biggest archipelago country in the world, Indonesia has 18,108 islands. The most important islands of Indonesia are Java, Bali, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Sumatra. The capital of Indonesia is Jakarta, on the island of Java, but there are plans to change it to Nusantara. The current president is Joko Widodo. Modern Indonesia began on the 17th of August 1945. At 10 o'clock on that Friday morning, Soekarno read Indonesia's Declaration of Independence. Indonesia's Independence Day is a national holiday.
Indonesia is the fourth most populated country in the world with 238,452,952 people (2004 est.). Half of the population lives in Java, There are 111 people per km. The land area is , or slightly smaller than Mexico. The official national language of Indonesia is Bahasa Indonesia, but 749 native languages are also spoken in different parts of Indonesia, and widely native languages spoken in Indonesia include Javanese, Balinese, and Sundanese. Indonesia's neighbors are Australia to the south, Singapore to the northwest, and Philippines to the northeast. Other nearby countries are Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, and East Timor which share land borders with Indonesia.
Indonesia has the most active volcanoes of any country in the world. It is also close to fault lines so there are many earthquakes and tsunamis.
Most people in Indonesia follow Islam, but Indonesia is not an Islamic country by law. Indonesia has the largest Muslim population on earth. Other religions Indonesians follow include Christianity (Protestanism and Catholicism), Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism.
History
Pre World War II
Indonesia has a written history as far back as the 7th century and a much longer oral history. Before the colonial Dutch came in the 1596, much of what is now Indonesia was many different kingdoms. Often they were fighting each other.
Indonesia was colonized by the Netherlands in the 17th century and renamed the Dutch East Indies. During this time, the Dutch captured thousands of Malagasy people from Madagascar and forced them to work on pepper plantations in their colonies as slaves. The Dutch treated the islands like their property until World War II.
During World War II, the Japanese drove out the Dutch and took control of Indonesia. After Japan surrendered in the war, Indonesia claimed its independence on the 17th of August 1945. The proclamation was read by Sukarno in Jakarta. Sukarno later became Indonesia's first President.
British troops came into Indonesia to restore peace and to rescue Europeans who had been prisoners of the Japanese. The British troops also had the job of shipping home 300,000 Japanese troops. The Indonesian Republicans fought the British troops, because it was expected that the British would give Indonesia back to the Dutch. The Indonesian Republicans killed many of the Japanese prisoners, before they could be sent home. They also began killing people from minority groups who might be against the new Republic. Many European and Indonesian European people were killed. Many Chinese business people and other minority groups were killed or made homeless. In Java there were many thousands of homeless people.
In 1946, the Dutch came back. When the British left in 1947, there were 55,000 Dutch soldiers in Indonesia. The Dutch action was called "Operatie Product" or "Politionele Acties". The Indonesian Republicans fought the Dutch until 1949. But the Indonesian Republicans were badly organised and often fought among themselves. As the Dutch forced the Republican soldiers out of different areas, they moved in more troops until there were 100,000 Dutch troops. The Dutch refused to obey the United Nations who said they should stop the fighting in Indonesia. The United States of America organised for meetings between Dutch and Indonesian leaders. The Dutch finally agreed to recognise Indonesia's independence in November 1949.
Because of the fighting and the bad organisation, it took a long time for the country to become peaceful, and for the economy to get better. Many Indonesian soldiers had died, between 45,000 and 100,000. Also, a very large number of civilians, Indonesians, Europeans and Chinese, had died; perhaps as many as 200,000.
Provinces
Indonesia has 34 provinces. Five of them have special status. Each province has its own legislature and governor. The provinces are divided into regencies (kabupaten) and cities (kota). These are further divided into districts (kecamatan), and again into village groupings (either desa or kelurahan).
Indonesian provinces and their capitals – listed by region
(Indonesian name in parentheses if different from English)
* are provinces with Special Status
Sumatra
Aceh* – Banda Aceh
North Sumatra (Sumatera Utara) – Medan
West Sumatra (Sumatera Barat) – Padang
Riau – Pekanbaru
Riau Islands (Kepulauan Riau) – Tanjung Pinang
Jambi – Jambi (city)
South Sumatra (Sumatera Selatan) – Palembang
Bangka-Belitung (Kepulauan Bangka-Belitung) – Pangkal Pinang
Bengkulu – Bengkulu (city)
Lampung – Bandar Lampung
Java
Special Capital Territory of Jakarta* (Daerah Khusus Ibu Kota Jakarta) – Jakarta
Banten – Serang
West Java (Jawa Barat) – Bandung
Central Java (Jawa Tengah) – Semarang
Yogyakarta Special Region* (Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta) – Yogyakarta (city)
East Java (Jawa Timur) – Surabaya
Lesser Sunda Islands
Bali – Denpasar
West Nusa Tenggara (Nusa Tenggara Barat) – Mataram
East Nusa Tenggara (Nusa Tenggara Timur) – Kupang
Kalimantan
West Kalimantan (Kalimantan Barat) – Pontianak
Central Kalimantan (Kalimantan Tengah) – Palangkaraya
South Kalimantan (Kalimantan Selatan) – Banjarmasin
East Kalimantan (Kalimantan Timur) – Tenggarong Seberang
North Kalimantan ("Kalimantan Utara") –Tanjung Selor
Sulawesi
North Sulawesi (Sulawesi Utara) – Manado
Gorontalo – Gorontalo (city)
Central Sulawesi (Sulawesi Tengah) – Palu
West Sulawesi (Sulawesi Barat) – Mamuju
South Sulawesi (Sulawesi Selatan) – Makassar
South East Sulawesi (Sulawesi Tenggara) – Kendari
Maluku Islands
Maluku – Ambon
North Maluku (Maluku Utara) – Sofifi
Western New Guinea
West Papua* (Papua Barat) – Manokwari
Papua* – Jayapura
People and culture
There are people of many different cultural groups living in Indonesia, has more than 700 ethnic groups. It is affected by Indians, Chinese people, Arabs, Malays and Europeans. The Javan hawk-eagle is the national bird.
Album
References
1949 establishments in Asia
States and territories established in the 20th century
Members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation |
3336 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Property | Property | Property is something that is owned by someone. If someone buys a car, the car becomes their property. People who deal with buying or selling real estate will often talk about "properties", meaning houses, apartments, offices etc.
Related pages
Intellectual property
Political economy
Real property
Basic English 850 words |
3343 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cefn%20Druids%20A.F.C. | Cefn Druids A.F.C. | NEWI Cefn Druids Football Club (they used to be called Flexsys Cefn Druids) are a Welsh football (soccer) team.
They play in the Welsh League.
Welsh football clubs |
3344 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aberystwyth%20Town%20F.C. | Aberystwyth Town F.C. | Aberystwyth Town Football Club are a Welsh football (soccer) team.
The club was started in 1884. They play at the Park Avenue stadium in Aberystwyth. They play in the Welsh League. They came third in the Welsh league in 1992 but have only had success at a regional level.
Welsh football clubs
1884 establishments in the United Kingdom
1880s establishments in Wales |
3346 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/German%20language | German language | German (German: Deutsch) is a West Germanic language. It is spoken in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg; natively by around 100 million people. It is the most widely spoken mother tongue in the first language. There are some people who speak German in Belgium, The Netherlands, France and Northern Italy. There are people who speak German in many countries, including the United States and Canada, where many people emigrated from Germany. It is also spoken in Eastern Europe, Bulgaria, Romania, and Russia.
German is a part of the West Germanic language family and is much like English and Dutch. Much of the vocabulary in German is related to English, but the grammar is more complicated.
German has a system of cases, and when helping verbs are used, the main part of the verb must be moved to the end of the sentence. For example, "Someone has stolen my car" is Jemand hat mein Auto gestohlen ("Someone has my car stolen"), and "Someone called me last night" is Jemand hat mich letzte Nacht angerufen ("Someone has me last night called").
In writing, every noun must start with a capital letter. German is the only language that still has that rule, but Danish and English did so a long time ago.
Standard German is an official language in Switzerland, but the Swiss dialect of German is difficult to understand for native speakers from Germany and even for Swiss who are not native to speaking German. One reason that the dialects are still so different today is that even if Switzerland adopted Standard German, mostly as a written standard, German Swiss in World War II wanted to separate themselves from the Nazis by choosing to speak dialect over the Standard German.
Swiss German also has some differences in spelling, for example, the letter ß, which is used only in German, is replaced by ss.
Dialects
Alsatian
Bavarian dialect
Franconian Dialect
Kölsch
Low Saxon
Swiss dialect
Mannheimerisch dialect
Palatinate German
Russian (Siberian) dialect
German numbers
German numbers are similar to their English counterparts. Like most languages, the German number system is based mainly on the first 10 numbers. They will pop up over and over throughout all the higher numbers.
References
Notes
Other websites
Online German Language Course An online German language course that includes lessons covering pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar.
German phrasebook at Wikivoyage
Learn to Speak German Student Resource
Free German Language Course
German Thesaurus |
3349 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi%20River | Mississippi River | The Mississippi River is a river in the United States. It is the 11th longest river in the world. Its largest city is Memphis, Tennessee.
The name "Mississippi" comes from a Native American name that means "big river". The source of the Mississippi is Lake Itasca in Minnesota, near the border with Canada. The Mississippi flows south through the middle of the United States. It flows through the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi. The mouth of the Mississippi is in the state of Louisiana, south of the city of New Orleans. The Mississippi flows into the Gulf of Mexico.
At the end of the Mississippi there is a zone in the Gulf of Mexico where very few animals can survive comfortably because of the fertilizer and other chemicals that run off of farms into the river and its tributaries. The rivers then carry them into the gulf.
Transportation
The Mississippi has been very important for transportation in the history of the United States. In the 1800s, many steamboats traveled on the Mississippi River. St. Louis, Missouri, Memphis, Tennessee, and New Orleans were important port cities.
Tributaries
The Mississippi has many large tributaries, or rivers that flow into it. The watershed of the Mississippi covers much of the United States. This means that the Mississippi and its tributaries drain much of the United States.
Some important tributaries of the Mississippi are (listed from the source to the mouth of the river):
The Mississippi River in books
A big part of the book Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is set on the Mississippi River. Twain also wrote a book called Life on the Mississippi, which had some stories about how he used to work on a steamboat.
References
Rivers of Minnesota
Rivers of Arkansas
Rivers of Illinois
Rivers of Iowa
Rivers of Kentucky
Rivers of Louisiana
Rivers of Mississippi
Rivers of Missouri
Rivers of Tennessee
Rivers of Wisconsin |
3350 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tributary | Tributary | A tributary of a river is another river that flows into it. If one river flows into a second river, then the first river is a tributary of the second river. A tributary is a body of water that flows into another body of water.
The opposite of a tributary is a distributary. A distributary is a river that branches off from the main flow of water, for example in a river delta.
Rivers |
3351 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri%20River | Missouri River | The Missouri River is a river in the western United States. It is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is longer than the Mississippi River. It is, in fact, the longest river in North America.
Geography
For most of its course, the Missouri flows across the Great Plains, one of the driest parts of North America.
The source of the Missouri River is in the Rocky Mountains, in the state of Montana. The Missouri flows eastward, across Montana, south of the border with Canada. It enters the state of North Dakota and then it turns south. It flows through South Dakota. Then it flows past Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, and Kansas.
Near the city of Kansas City, Missouri, the Missouri turns eastward into the state of Missouri. It flows eastward across the state of Missouri. It joins the Mississippi just north of the city of Saint Louis, Missouri.
The Missouri has many important tributaries, including the Yellowstone River, the Platte River, and the Kansas River.
History
The Missouri was very important for the Native Americans who lived on the Great Plains. It was also very important in the history of the United States. The Missouri was used as the route of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1804-1806. In the 19th century, the Missouri was very important in the North American fur trade and for transportation of army troops and supplies as well as general transportation and trade as the West was settled.
Nicknames
The nickname of the Missouri is "Big Muddy", because it has a lot of silt.
Rivers of Montana
Rivers of Missouri
Rivers of Iowa
Rivers of Kansas
Rivers of Nebraska
Rivers of South Dakota
Rivers of North Dakota |
3352 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meaning%20of%20life | Meaning of life | Many religions, viewpoints, and creative artists have tried to find the meaning of life, but have no sensible answer. Some people say that we will never know what the meaning of life is. Many religions claim to offer some answers. There are also sets of ideas called philosophies which try to answer this question. There are also artists who paint or create sculptures to try expressing life. There are musicians who write music and writers who write stories that try to explain life.
Many have different opinions on what the meaning is. Some say life is a war zone where we are the soldiers fighting in that war for survival. Some think it is all about the relationships that we make in our life. Some people say that life is full of violence and hatred but some say that life is full of hope and happiness. Still, other people say that the meaning of life is to achieve the goals you set in life. According to Douglas Adams, the answer to the question is 42. The biological answer is to have children, which is to pass on your genes. Others say the meaning of life is simply to live your life to the fullest.
Some say, however, the meaning of life is simply to give life a meaning. However, life can also be an illusion, or maybe a mere mirror of a different universe. Maybe we really don't have any control over our or the universe's actions, since we are all just imitating a different universe. We can never really know. Philosophies such as nihilism and absurdism deny that life has any meaning.
Or maybe the true meaning of life is to live it completely how you want to, then find out the meaning of it at the end. The meaning could be unique to all of us.
Others, like Solomon, argue that 'life is useless'. (Ecclesiastes 1:2)
Related pages
Death
Existential crisis
Religion
Philosophy |
3354 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drainage%20basin | Drainage basin | Drainage basin is a geographic term about rivers. It is also called catchment, catchment area, catchment basin, drainage area, river basin, and water basin.
It is an area of land. All water that falls on that land flows into one river. It can flow directly into the river or go through tributaries (smaller rivers that flow into the bigger river) first.
One river can drain a large area. For example, more than half of the United States is drained by the Mississippi and its tributaries. The Amazon basin is similarly large.
River basins are an open system with inputs and, outputs. Water comes in as precipitation and goes out as discharge.
Watershed
This term can have two main meanings:
Meaning drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins
Meaning drainage basin in North American usage. (an area of land where surface water converges)
There are also a number of figurative meanings as a metaphor.
Related pages
Basin (geology)
Endorheic basin
References |
3355 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great%20Plains | Great Plains | The Great Plains is a large space of level land or prairie in the middle and western parts of North America. It is a steppe or grassland.
The western boundary is the Rocky Mountains. In the east, the Great Plains grassland becomes the tallgrass of the Mississippi River basin. The prairie is (in whole or part) in eleven U.S. states, and in the southern parts of three Canadian provinces.
In the Great Plains, summers are hot and humid, but winters are cold. Bison used to number millions, and were the main food for people there. Now the area is mainly sown with cereal crops which feed cattle and people.
See also
Grassland
Other websites
North Dakota State University: The Geologic Story of The Great Plains
Kansas Heritage Group: Native Prairie, Preserve, Flowers, and Research
Library of Congress: Great Plains
University of Nebraska-Lincoln: The Great Plains Study
Plains
Regions of Canada
Regions of the United States |
3356 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mythology | Mythology | Mythology refers to the collected myths of a group of peopletheir body of stories which they tell to explain nature, history, and customs. It can also refer to the study of such myths.
A myth is a story about the remote past which is considered true within the society in which it is told. Creation myths take place before the world reached its present form in the most remote time – the first existing period of time known as the primordial age. The characters are normally non-human; they can be gods, demigods, and other supernatural figures. Myths are often associated with religion or spirituality and can be very important to those who believe in them. Some myths are used to explain how a particular reality came into existence, explaining why a society works and is structured the way it is.
Myths are different from folktales and legends. The definitions of these are not yet agreed upon but myths are generally understood to be true, about the remote past, and containing non-human characters. In contrast, legends usually feature human characters and folktales are understood as fiction.
The word myth is often used to mean false. For this reason, some religious people object to their beliefs being called myths and some scholars choose to avoid it in favour of other terms. Other scholars choose to call all religious stories myths in order to avoid treating one religion as more important or true than another.
Content of myths
All cultures have developed their own mythology over time. Mythology includes the legends of their history, their religions, their stories of how the world was created, and their heroes. These stories have a great symbolic power, and this may be a major reason why they survive as long as they do, sometimes for thousands of years.
The main characters in myths are usually gods, demigods, or supernatural humans, while legends generally feature humans as their main characters. Many exceptions or combinations exist, as in the Iliad, Odyssey, and Aeneid. Myths are often endorsed by rulers and priests and closely linked to religion or spirituality. In fact, many societies group their myths, legends, and history together, considering myths to be true accounts of their remote past.
Creation myths take place in some early primordial age when the world had not reached its present form. Other myths explain how the society's customs, institutions and taboos were established and sanctified. A separate space is created for folktales, which are not considered true by the people who tell them. As stories spread to other cultures or as faiths change, however, myths can come to be considered folktales. Sometimes myths and legends get merged. Their divine characters get recast as humans or as demihumans (such as giants, elves, and faeries).
Creation myths describe the "official" belief as to how world was created. These myths differ greatly between societies, as any collection of myths clearly shows. Over the last three centuries, the power of myths over the minds of people has been challenged by the growth of science.
Historians' views on myths
Although myths are often considered to be stories of events that have not happened, many historians think myths are about actual events that have become connected with strong symbolic meaning, or that have been changed, or shifted in time or place, or even reversed. One way of thinking about this process is to imagine 'myths' as lying at the far end of an imaginary line. At one end of the line is 'dispassionate account', and 'legendary occurrence' or 'mythical status' is near the other end. As an event progresses toward the 'mythical' end of this line or continuum, the way people think, feel and say about the event changes. It may gain greater historical significance while the 'facts' become less important. By the time one arrives at the mythical end of the line, the story has "taken on a life of its own" and the facts of the original event have become almost unimportant.
Related pages
Mythology (book)
Social psychology
References |
3357 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota%20River | Minnesota River | The Minnesota River is a river in the United States. It is in the northern United States, in the state of Minnesota. It is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is about 534 km long.
The source of the river is a lake in western Minnesota. The lake is called Big Stone Lake. The lake is on the border between the state of Minnesota and the state of South Dakota. From its source, the Minnesota flows southeast. At Mankato, it turns northeast. It joins the Mississippi just south of the cities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.
The Minnesota River was formed after the last ice age in North America.
Minnesota |
3358 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/List%20of%20mythologies | List of mythologies | Mythology is the collection of myths for a culture. A myth is a story or series of stories used to explain the world around you and describe what is happening, such as why weather happens. Myths usually have heroes, gods, and creatures that are bigger or more fantastic than real life, or sometimes just normal people doing amazing things. Some myths try to explain the natural world. One example is the Greek myth of Arachne. She believed that she could weave far better than anyone else, including the goddess Athena. So, Athena challenged Arachne to a weaving contest. Arachne lost, then was turned into a spider. This myth explains why spiders weave webs.
Mythologies
Hindu mythology
Roman mythology
Greek mythology
Manipuri mythology (Meitei mythology)
Norse mythology
Japanese mythology
Anglo-Saxon mythology
Etruscan mythology
Chinese mythology
Māori mythology
Native American mythology
Australian Aboriginal mythology
Celtic mythology
Iranian mythology
Korean mythology
Slavic mythology
Armenian mythology
African mythology
Polynesian mythology
Inuit mythology
Babylonian mythology
Sumerian mythology
Egyptian mythology
Mayan mythology
Aztec mythology
Inca mythology
Related pages
Myth |
3359 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisconsin%20River | Wisconsin River | The Wisconsin River is a river in the United States. It is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is located in the state of Wisconsin. It is approximately 692 km long.
The source of the Wisconsin is in the forests of northern Wisconsin. The source is a small lake on the border between Wisconsin and Michigan. The river flows south across Wisconsin. It flows through a plain made by a glacier during the last ice age. It passes the cities of Wausau and Stevens Point.
In southern Wisconsin, the river meets a moraine. The moraine was made during the last ice age. The river enters a beautiful gorge, called the Wisconsin Dells. North of the city of Madison, the river turns to the west. It flows west through the hills of southwest Wisconsin. It joins the Mississippi 15 km south of the city of Prairie du Chien.
The river is an important source of hydroelectric power.
Rivers of Wisconsin |
3361 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska | Alaska | Alaska (), officially the State of Alaska, is a state in the United States. It is in the northwest corner of North America. Alaska does not touch other US states. It has borders with Canada, the Arctic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Bering Sea, and the Bering Strait.
Alaska is the biggest state in the United States. It is the 3rd least populated state. It has the lowest population density of all the states. About half of the population of Alaska lives in the Anchorage metropolitan area. As of the 2011 census, 722,718 people live in Alaska.
The United States bought Alaska from Russia on March 30, 1867. This was called the Alaska Purchase. It cost $7.2 million. Today, that would be $120 million. The price was about $0.02 per acre ($4.74/km2). Alaska became an organized (or incorporated) territory on May 11, 1912. It became the 49th state on January 3, 1959.
The name Alaska comes from the Aleut word alaxsaq. This means "the mainland" or "the object towards which the action of the sea is directed." The land is also called Alyeska, which is another Aleut word that means "the great land." The Russian name was .
Alaska mainly exports seafood, primarily salmon, cod, Pollock and crab. The oil and gas industry is very important in the Alaskan economy. More than 80% of the state's revenues is from petroleum extraction.
Geography
The capital city is Juneau, but the biggest city is Anchorage. Alaska is the biggest state in the United States, but it has one of the smallest populations. It is also the least densely populated with more than half of the population residing in the Anchorage Metropolitan Area. Alaska has almost 20% of all the land in the U.S., but only about 0.2% of the people. It is not connected to any other states by American land, but it is connected to the territories of Yukon and British Columbia in Canada.
Alaska has many glaciers, some of which are can be seen from passing cruise ships. Some are coastal, and others are not by the ocean. It is a popular tourist destination, as there is a very rich culture along with beautiful scenery. There are many wild animals in Alaska. Some of them are the brown bear, the moose, and the wolf.
There are some important industries in Alaska, like oil, fishing, mining, transportation, tourism, and forestry. Oil is the biggest industry in Alaska. Most of the oil is very far north in the Alaskan arctic. A very long pipeline starts at the northern coast of Alaska and runs to the southern coast. It is over long. There were many gold rushes in Alaska. The Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) is ranked as the world's fourth busiest cargo airport.
Many active volcanoes are found in the Aleutians in Alaska. One of the world's largest tides occur in Turnagain Arm, just south of Anchorage, where the differences in the tides can be more than 35 feet (10.7 m).
Tongass National Forest, the largest national forest in the United States, is in Southeast Alaska. The state capital Juneau, and the former capital Sitka, are in Southeast Alaska.
State symbols
State Motto: North to the Future
Nicknames: "The Last Frontier" or "Land of the Midnight Sun" or "Seward's Icebox"
State bird: Willow Ptarmigan, decided by the Territorial Legislature in 1955. It is a small (15–17 inches) Arctic grouse that lives among willows and on open tundra and muskeg. Feathers are brown in summer, changing to white in winter. The Willow Ptarmigan is common in much of Alaska.
State dog: Alaskan Malamute, since 2010.
State fish: King Salmon, since 1962.
State flower: wild/native Forget-me-not, decided by the Territorial Legislature in 1917. It is a perennial that is found throughout Alaska, from Hyder to the Arctic Coast, and west to the Aleutians.
State fossil: Woolly mammoth, since 1986.
State gem: Jade, since 1968.
State insect: Four-spot skimmer dragonfly, since 1995.
State land mammal: Moose, since 1998.
State marine mammal: Bowhead Whale, since 1983.
State mineral: Gold, since 1968.
State song: "Alaska's Flag"
State sport: Dog Mushing, since 1972.
State tree: Sitka Spruce, since 1962.
References
Related pages
Alaska Natives
Colleges and universities in Alaska
List of boroughs and census areas in Alaska
List of rivers of Alaska
Other websites
Official Website of Alaska
1959 establishments in the United States |
3374 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC | BBC | The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), known by the BBC, is an organisation in the UK. It broadcasts in the United Kingdom and other countries on television, radio and the Internet. The BBC also sells its programmes to other broadcasting companies around the world.
The organisation is run by a group of twelve governors who have been given the job by British monarch, on the advice of government ministers. The governors appoint a Board of Management to take care of running the business of the BBC. The head of the Board of Management is called the Director General.
BBC Charter
The BBC is established under a royal charter, which allows the BBC to broadcast. In 2006, the British Government looked at the charter to see if it needed changing.
Another agreement, which goes with the Charter, recognises that the BBC should be independent from any other organisation. It also says what the BBC should do for the people in Britain (the public).
Finance
Every household in the UK that watches or records "live" programmes, (as they’re being broadcast, or distributed to the public in any other way) or watches BBC Iplayer, is required, by law, to pay for a TV Licence. As the BBC gets its money from TV licences, it does not take money from companies or shareholders, so it does not have to do what they want. Also, it is not allowed to broadcast commercials in the middle of a programme, although they can show commercials in between programmes.
The BBC makes extra money in several ways. One way is by selling its programmes to other broadcasting companies. Another way is by selling audio tapes and CDs of its best radio programmes, and videos and DVDs of its best television programmes. Still another way is by selling books based on programmes, and magazines about science and natural history.
Radio Times
In 1923, BBC Magazines started publishing a magazine which printed listings of the week's BBC radio and television programmes in the United Kingdom. The magazine was called the Radio Times. In 1991, the magazine began to print listings of programmes broadcast by other providers in the United Kingdom. Today the magazine is still printed and provides online listings too. It also prints stories about programmes, the people who make them, and the people who appear in them. The Radio Times is one of the best selling magazines in the United Kingdom. In August 2011, the BBC agreed to sell the magazine to Exponent, if Britain's Office of Fair Trading approves.
BBC Report
The BBC has to publish a report every year, which tells people what it has done and how much money it has made and spent.
If someone has a complaint about something broadcast by the BBC, they can complain to the BBC, the BBC Trust, or directly to Ofcom, the government's regulator of broadcasting.
Locations
The headquarters of the BBC is Broadcasting House in Portland Place, London. The BBC also has other offices such as the BBC Television Centre in White City, London, BBC Radio Berkshire, as well in other cities like Cardiff, Belfast, Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, Southampton and Newcastle upon Tyne. Rather than hire local reporters everywhere, the BBC's journalists work in many countries across the world. This means BBC workers are sometimes in danger, especially in war zones. Most recently Alan Johnston was kidnapped and held hostage for many months in Gaza before being safely released.
BBC iPlayer
Between October 2005 and 28 February 2006, the BBC offered a service called the BBC iPlayer on their website - bbc.co.uk. It allowed people to catch up on the last seven days of TV and radio on the BBC. Users could either watch (stream) it or download the content on their computers. The downloading options are for Microsoft Windows computers and Apple devices. The iPlayer service was released to the public on 25 December 2007. The slogan for BBC iPlayer is 'Making the Unmissable, Unmissable.'
References
Other websites
BBC Homepage
BBC News Front Page
1922 establishments in the United Kingdom |
3375 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois%20River | Illinois River | The Illinois River is a river in the United States. It is in the state of Illinois. It is an important tributary of the Mississippi River. The length of the river is about 439 km.
Geography
The source of the river is in northeastern Illinois, near the city of Joliet. It flows west across Illinois, then southwest. It passes the city of Peoria, the largest city on the river.
It flows into southwestern Illinois. It joins the Mississippi River 40 km north of Saint Louis, Missouri.
There is separate Illinois river that runs through the northernmost edge of Oklahoma.
The river was used for transportation by the Native Americans. It was also used by early French trappers. It was an important route between the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes.
In the 19th century a canal was built that connected the river to Lake Michigan. Large ships now use this canal to go from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River. The canal goes through the city of Chicago. It is one of the reasons that Chicago became a big city.
Rivers of Illinois |
3398 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk | Milk | Milk is a white liquid made by mammals, like cows, dogs, and humans. It is made in the mammary glands (breasts, udders, or teats) of female mammals. Because newborn babies have no teeth, they must be given milk before they can eat solid food. Milk has many nutrients to help babies grow and be healthy. It is also a rich source of calcium which is good for their bones and teeth.
Storing milk
If milk is not kept cold in a refrigerator, it will become sour after some time. When milk is warmed, it turns sour. Fermentation makes this happen. Lactic acid bacteria change the milk sugar into lactic acid. Fermentation is used when making dairy products.
Milk is often pasteurised before humans drink it. It is made into dairy products like cream, butter, yogurt, ice cream, or cheese. Pasteurised cows' milk will turn sour if it is not kept in a refrigerator. Milk should be stored between 1° and 4° Celsius. If milk is treated with very high temperatures, it will last longer before spoiling. This means it does not have to be put in the refrigerator until it is opened.
Lactose
Milk contains a chemical called lactose. Babies make an enzyme called lactase inside their bodies. Adults make less lactase. If they do not have enough, they may not be able to digest lactose anymore. This problem is called lactose intolerance and it affects many adults. There are many medicines that help adults digest lactose. Many lactose-intolerant people drink soy milk instead of animal milk, because it does not contain lactose. Soy milk tastes similar to animal milk, but it is chemically very different and is made from soybeans.
Goat milk
Goat's milk is the milk from a goat. It can be drunk, both by humans or baby goats, or cheese can be made from it. This cheese is called goat's milk cheese.
Coconut milk
Coconut milk is not real milk because it comes from a plant instead of an animal. However, it looks similar to real milk because it is white. It also does not have as many nutrients as real milk. It is made by removing the white "meat" from a coconut, pressing or squeezing the "meat", then adding water. It is sometimes used in cooking, for example, in Thai curry.
Coconut cream is a thicker version of coconut milk which contains added sugar.
Almond milk
Almond milk is produced by grinding almonds and processing that liquid for drinking.
Nutrients
Milk forms an important part of a person's daily balanced diet. It contains a lot of calcium that helps bones and teeth to grow stronger. Also, milk provides the body with high quality proteins, and helps in meeting the body's requirement for vitamins. One glass of milk gives about 44% to the recommended daily vitamins intake. Some kind of milks, though, do not have good calcium. These kind of milk products include cream, cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, and cream cheese.
References
Basic English 850 words
Symbols of Oklahoma |
3399 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather | Weather | Weather is the day-to-day or hour-to-hour change in the atmosphere. Weather includes wind, lightning, storms, hurricanes, tornadoes (also known as twisters), rain, hail, snow, and lots more. Energy from the Sun affects the weather too.
Climate tells us what kinds of weather usually happen in an area at different times of the year.
Changes in weather can affect our mood and life. We wear different clothes and do different things in different weather conditions. We choose different foods in different seasons.
Weather stations around the world measure different parts of weather. Ways to measure weather are wind speed, wind direction, temperature and humidity. People try to use these measurements to make weather forecasts for the future. These people are scientists that are called meteorologists. They use computers to build large mathematical models to follow weather trends.
Severe weather can hurt people and their property. It can also just be a bother. Some examples of severe weather are:
Tropical cyclones
Rainstorms
Drought
Heat waves
Tornadoes
Causes of weather
Weather happens because different parts of the Earth get different amounts of heat from the Sun. This makes different climates. The tropics get the most heat because the Sun shines straight down on them, while the poles get the least heat because the Sun shines on them from a low angle. Warmer air is lighter than cooler air and rises higher in the sky by convection.
The air always has some water mixed with it. This is called humidity. When it cools, the water can change from a gas to a liquid through condensation. Then the water can fall from the sky as rain or snow. After the air rises, it gets colder and goes back towards the ground. Because the air lost its water before, it is dry when it comes back to the ground. When two air masses of different temperatures meet, this is called a warm front or cold front. The ways that the air moves around the Earth are called atmospheric circulation.
Other websites
Weather
Internet Geography's weather page
The Weather Channel
National Weather Service
Natural events
Basic English 850 words |
3403 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/British%20Columbia | British Columbia | British Columbia (BC) is a province in Canada. It was originally two separate colonies of Great Britain, the colony of Vancouver Island, and the colony of British Columbia. British Columbia joined the Canadian Confederation In 1871. The capital of British Columbia is Victoria, but the city with the most people is Vancouver.
History
Early History
Before European contact, British Columbia was home to large numbers of indigenous people. These people, for the large part, still live in the province. Because BC has a large amount of resources, the native people who dwelled here lived comfortably enough. The large number of resources, in particular, led to the creation of very complex hierarchical societies in British Columbia, long before the government of the Europeans.
Oregon Dispute
See Also Fort Vancouver, Oregon
The Oregon dispute was an important factor in determining the physical shape of British Columbia, and as the political impetus for British investment in protecting her lands in British Columbia. During the middle of the 19th century, the Democratic Party of the United States, appealing to the public attraction to the Manifest Destiny (a philosophy preaching American Supremacy and expansionism), declared that the United States had a claim over the entirety of Columbia District/Oregon Territory. This attitude was reflected even further, as 54*-40' or fight, referring to the end of Columbia District, and the start of Russian Territory of Alaska. This alarming attitude, caused many in London to fear that yet another war, in less than a century, was brewing. Ultimately, however, it was resolved, at the 49th parallel. British Columbia lost Fort Vancouver (now Vancouver, Washington), and lots of the gulf islands. To this day, the Oregon Treaty is criticized by historians, as being too lenient for the Americans.
Hudson's Bay Corporation
While British Columbia was technically a British colony, it was the private corporation, the Hudson's Bay Company that really ran the place. The first Governor of Vancouver Island (then a separate colony), actually resigned over the fact that the Queen, had no say, above the interests of the Colony. After him, the next governor of the Island, was also, coincidentally, the head of the HBC's operations in British Columbia and Vancouver Island.
Gold Rush
The first major gold rush in British Columbia started in 1858, after gold was discovered, on the upper reaches of the Fraser River. The sudden onslaught of uncouth Americans led to the declaration that British Columbia shall be a crown colony, instead of the unincorporated region it was, after the Oregon spat. James Douglas was appointed the governor of the newly formed colony, as well as the Colony of Vancouver Island, and for military convenience, the Capital of British Columbia was declared Queensboro, then renamed New Westminster. As massive numbers of Americans came, fears that the Americans would try to bluster themselves another chunk of territory became more and more concrete. Thus, a contingent of Royal Engineers and Marines were deployed to New Westminster. To this day, the neighbourhood of Sapperton, is known, for its history as a site of the barracks for the Engineers, nicknamed the Sappers. The infrastructure ordered by James Douglas, to support the vast amount of capital flowing from the gold industry, caused high debt for British Columbia. By 1864, British Columbia was £200,000 in debt, plus an additional £18,000, from various spats with natives, and constant policing required to maintain law and order. Its vast amount of gold was useless, while BC was in debt. British Columbia amalgamated with Vancouver Island, forming one super-colony. Vancouver Island would undertake the debt, and British Columbia's capital would be in Victoria.
Confederation With Canada
British Columbia at the middle of the 19th century, had 3 options: Remain a colony of Britain, annex itself to the United States, or join the Dominion of Canada. The option of remaining a colony was undesirable, for Britain had long adopted a "little Briton" policy, under which the key to economic efficiency, and reduction of bloat, was to cut off connections to its various colonies. The option of joining with Canada was also viewed as impractical, and unlikely to occur; the closest Canadian neighbor lay more than a thousand kilometers away, to the east. For most British Colombians, annexation to the United States seemed most logical. Ultimately, however, British Columbia did confederate. The advocacy of the Confederation League, resulted in British Colombian's demanding that BC join Canada. On July 20, 1871, British Columbia joined Canada. In return, BC was absolved of its debt, which became Canada's responsibility, and Canada promised to build a railway to BC within 10 years.
Industry
British Columbia's industry is primarily, and has always been, resource centered. For large parts of its history, including the entire time it was a colony, BC was dominated by the big 4: Forestry, Mining, Logging, and Agriculture, which have shaped British Columbia's culture, and society.
Forestry in British Columbia
British Columbia's forestry industry has always been booming. BC had a bonanza of massive trees, thanks to its location in the Pacific Rainforest region. This provided ample opportunity for entrepreneurs to build businesses. Massive sawmills sprung up, all over British Columbia, especially in what is now Vancouver and surrounding regions. However, this required massive amounts of human capital - which was surprisingly in short supply. To overcome this, massive numbers of immigrants were invited to Vancouver, and places like so. This changed BC's demographic makeup so much, that to try to stop it, the government passed several acts, to try and limit the number of immigrants. However, the change was already underway - BC subsequently became one of the most diverse places in North America, with people calling it home, from places like Asia, Europe, and even the Pacific Islands.
Mining in British Columbia
British Columbia's large mineral resources also led to a large mining industry. For the most of the 19th century, and well into the 20th century, mining was highly profitable. For the immigrants, once again, this was another opportunity to exploit. Large numbers of immigrants, skilled from their experience mining at home, filled up the labour demands, and quickly, new towns were formed. The city of Nanaimo, for instance, was founded thanks to a large amount of coal found in its harbour. Coal especially, was the fuel of the industry, as coal was required for everything it the time, from ships, to trains, to the heater in everyone's homes.
Fishing in British Columbia
Since BC's location is on the coast, fishing has been very prevalent in British Columbia. Before agriculture had developed very far in BC, and well before farming fish was even a viable option, fishing was the only reliable way to get food. The native people of BC already had a very active fishing industry, with large hauls of salmon, and other creatures sustaining them. When civilization came, the fishing industry took off, as everybody needed to eat, and there was not enough agricultural goods to go around. In fishing, once again, it was the immigrants that pulled it off. Mostly Japanese workers, and their families, came. Using their rich heritage of industrialized fishing, they were able to out compete every other fisherman, that by the turn of the century, the dockyards, canneries, and fishing fleets were filled to the brim with the Japanese. Only the forced Japanese internment in WW2 put a halt to the monopoly the Japanese had on fishing in British Columbia. Today, fishing is still a powerful force, although fettered by ordinances to prevent overfishing.
Agriculture in British Columbia
The agriculture industry in BC is, and always has been humble. However, as they say, good things come in small packages, and the agricultural goods of BC, are about as good as they come. Due to the fact that BC has only about 2% arable land, the remainder being too dry, or too cold, or too remote, or a plethora of other reasons, BC has never been able to sustain a primary food agricultural industry. Even today, BC cannot grow enough food to feed its entire population, and imports foods instead, from the eastern provinces, such as Alberta, and Saskatchewan. However, where BC does grow food, the food is scrumptious, and award-winning. The Okanagan valley, is known for its award-winning fruits, and wine-related products. However, that is not where all the food is produced. In the Fraser valley delta, large amounts of other food crops are grown, such as wheat, and berries.
Housing in British Columbia
The value of real estate in British Columbia has increased a lot in recent years. Property assessed values have increased by $1-trillion since 2007. In 2018 the value was $1.861 trillion. In 2007 it was only $808 billion.
Health care
The provincial health insurance plan in British Columbia is called Medical Services Plan (MSP). In order to join MSP a person:
must be a citizen of Canada or be lawfully admitted to Canada for permanent residence
must make his or her home in B.C.; and
Eligible B.C. residents (citizens of Canada or persons who are lawfully admitted to Canada for permanent residence) who are outside B.C. for vacation purposes only, are allowed a total absence of up to seven months in a calendar year.
Politics
British Columbia's premier is John Horgan, leader of the provincial New Democratic Party, a social democratic party. The NDP governs British Columbia through a deal with the provincial Green Party, led by Andrew Weaver. The BC Liberal Party is the main opponent to the NDP, and is led by Andrew Wilkinson. Other parties are active in British Columbia, such as the Conservative Party, led by Scott Anderson, although only the NDP, BC Liberal Party, and Green Party currently have seats.
Flags
The flag of British Columbia was adopted in 1960. It is based on the provincial arms and the union jack.
References
Other websites
Provincial Archives including online photo database
Vancouver Public Library; Historical Photographs of BC & the Yukon
B.C. Multicultural Photographs from the Vancouver Public Library - searchable photo database
BC Govt online map archive
1871 establishments
1870s establishments in Canada
Provinces and territories of Canada |
3407 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/20th%20century | 20th century | The 20th century began on January 1, 1901 and ended on December 31, 2000. It was the century that saw two world wars, the Soviet Union rise and fall, the coming of the telephone, sound recording, movies and television, airplanes, atomic weapons, genetics and DNA, computers and electronics in general. Science and industrialization spread; medicine became more scientific. The human population increased more during this century than any previous one.
Significant people
World leaders
Africa
Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Côte d'Ivoire
Kenneth Kaunda, Zambia
Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya
Idi Amin, Uganda
Nelson Mandela, South Africa
Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe
Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egypt
Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana
Julius Nyerere, Tanzania
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, Libya
Cecil Rhodes, South Africa
Haile Selassie, Ethiopia
Léopold Sédar Senghor, Senegal
Americas
William McKinley, USA
Theodore Roosevelt, USA
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, USA
Harry S. Truman, USA
Dwight D. Eisenhower, USA
John F. Kennedy, USA
Richard Nixon, USA
Ronald Reagan, USA
George H. W. Bush, USA
Bill Clinton, USA
Wilfrid Laurier, Canada
William Lyon Mackenzie King, Canada
Pierre Trudeau, Canada
Ernesto 'Che' Guevara, Argentina
Fidel Castro, Cuba
Raúl Castro, Cuba
Juan Perón, Argentina
Jorge Rafael Videla, Argentina
Leopoldo Galtieri, Argentina
Salvador Allende, Chile
Augusto Pinochet, Chile
Emiliano Zápata, Mexico
Pancho Villa, Mexico
José María Velasco Ibarra, Ecuador
León Febres Cordero, Ecuador
Sixto Durán Ballén, Ecuador
Asia
Mao Zedong, People's Republic of China
Deng Xiaoping, People's Republic of China
Pol Pot, Cambodia
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose
Mahatma Gandhi, India
Indira Gandhi, India
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh
Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia
Jawaharlal Nehru, India
Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das, India
Emperor Hirohito, Japan
Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
Sun Yat-sen, Republic of China
Chiang Kai-shek, Republic of China
Achmad Sukarno, Indonesia
Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore
Europe
Kemal Atatürk, Turkey
Neville Chamberlain, United Kingdom
Winston Churchill, United Kingdom
Margaret Thatcher, United Kingdom
Charles de Gaulle, France
Éamon de Valera, Ireland
Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria, Austria-Hungary
Kaiser Wilhelm II, Germany
Václav Havel, Czech Republic
Adolf Hitler, Germany
Helmut Schmidt, Germany
Helmut Kohl, Germany
Gerhard Schröder, Germany
Benito Mussolini, Italy
Francisco Franco, Spain
Adolfo Suárez, Spain
Jozef Pilsudski, Poland
Josip Broz 'Tito', Yugoslavia
Milan Kučan, Slovenia
Slobodan Milošević, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Olof Palme, Sweden
Nicolae Ceausescu, Romania
Lech Walesa, Poland
John Paul II, World
Middle East
Anwar Sadat, Egypt or United Arab Republic
David Ben-Gurion, Israel
Golda Meir, Israel
Menachem Begin, Israel
Hafez el Assad, Syria
Saddam Hussein, Iraq
King Hussein, Jordan
Russia and Soviet Union
Tsar Nicholas II
Vladimir Lenin
Joseph Stalin
Leon Trotsky
Nikita Khrushchev
Leonid Brezhnev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Boris Yeltsin
Vladimir Putin
Scientists and physicians
David Attenborough
Niels Bohr
Ernst Chain
Francis Crick
Albert Einstein
Enrico Fermi
Frederick Banting
Howard Walter Florey
Sigmund Freud
Kurt Gödel
Werner Karl Heisenberg
Hans Krebs
Jacques Monod
Linus Pauling
Frederick Sanger
Erwin Schrödinger
John von Neumann
Nikola Tesla
Alan Turing
James Watson
Economics and business
John Maynard Keynes
Milton Friedman
Henry Ford
Steve Jobs
David Rockefeller
Donald Trump
Bill Gates
Aerospace pioneers
Robert H. Goddard
Wernher Von Braun
Neil Armstrong
Yuri Gagarin
Charles Lindbergh
Alan Shepard
Valentina Tereshkova
Wright Brothers
John Glenn
John Young
Military leaders
Charles de Gaulle
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Douglas Haig
Douglas MacArthur
Bernard Montgomery
George Patton
Erwin Rommel
Leon Trotsky
Mao Zedong
Georgy Zhukov
Religious figures
Grigori Rasputin
Tobey Maguire
Pope John XXIII
Pope John Paul II
Mother Theresa of Calcutta
The 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, Tenzin Gyatso
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
The Rev. Billy Graham
Mahatma Gandhi
Artists
Salvador Dalí
Marcel Duchamp
Jacob Epstein
Wassily Kandinsky
Henri Matisse
Joan Miró
Amedeo Modigliani
Piet Mondrian
Henry Moore
Pablo Picasso
Jackson Pollock
Bob Ross
Andy Warhol
Singers, actors, actresses and bands
Aaliyah
ABBA
AC/DC
Aerosmith
Andy Griffith
Ava Gardner
Anthony Hopkins
Audrey Hepburn
Akira Kurosawa
Alfred Hitchcock
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Al Pacino
Bud Spencer
Barry White
Bette Davis
Brigitte Bardot
Barbra Streisand
Betty Grable
Billie Holiday
Black Sabbath
Bob Dylan
Bob Marley
Bobby Darin
Bruce Willis
Burt Reynolds
Bruce Lee
Boney M
Bee Gees
Beach Boys
Clark Gable
Carole Landis
Charlie Chaplin
Clint Eastwood
Chuck Berry
Chuck Norris
Cher
Danny DeVito
Donna Summer
Duran Duran
David Bowie
Dennis Hopper
Doris Day
Dustin Hoffman
Elizabeth Taylor
Eric Clapton
Elvis Presley
Elton John
Eddie Murphy
Frank Sinatra
George Lucas
Greta Garbo
Green Day
Groucho Marx
Genesis (band)
Guns N' Roses
Gene Hackman
Gary Cooper
Grace Kelly
Heath Ledger
Harrison Ford
Humphrey Bogart
Ingrid Bergman
Iggy Pop
Iron Maiden
Ian McShane
Yul Brynner
James Cameron
Jack Nicholson
James Dean
James Brown
James Stewart
Janis Joplin
Jim Morrison
Jimi Hendrix
Judas Priest
John Hurt
John Travolta
John Wayne
Johnny Depp
Julie Andrews
Junius Matthews
Katharine Hepburn
Kirk Douglas
Kraftwerk
Kurt Cobain
Kiss (band)
Led Zeppelin
Lana Turner
Lauren Bacall
Leonardo DiCaprio
Luciano Pavarotti
Louis Armstrong
Lucille Ball
Madonna (entertainer)
Mae West
Metallica
Meryl Streep
Marlon Brando
Marilyn Monroe
Marlene Dietrich
Mary Pickford
Michael Jackson
Michael Dapaah
Phil Spector
Pink Floyd
Prince (musician)
Public Enemy
Queen (band)
Robert De Niro
Robert Redford
Roger Moore
Ray Charles
Ron Howard
Steven Spielberg
Sylvester Stallone
Sean Connery
Sophia Loren
Sigourney Weaver
Simon & Garfunkel
Sharon Stone
Sandra Dee
Sex Pistols
Spike Milligan
Sterling Holloway
Stevie Wonder
Tupac Shakur
Tina Turner
The Doors
The Beatles
The Ramones
The Rolling Stones
The Pointer Sisters
The Velvet Underground
U2
Walt Disney
Will Ferrell
Writers and Poets
Albert Camus
Anton Chekhov
Jorge Luis Borges
Samuel Beckett
Noam Chomsky
Charles Bukowski
Cid Corman
E. E. Cummings
T. S. Eliot
Gabriel García Márquez
Allen Ginsberg
Alamgir Hashmi
Seamus Heaney
Ernest Hemingway
James Joyce
Franz Kafka
Jack Kerouac
Philip Larkin
Antonio Machado
George Orwell
Wilfred Owen
Ezra Pound
Marcel Proust
Ayn Rand
Jean-Paul Sartre
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Gary Snyder
J. R. R. Tolkien
Virginia Woolf
W. B. Yeats
Emma Goldman
Rabindranath Tagore
Sports figures
Ayrton Senna
Muhammad Ali
Chris Benoit
Larry Bird
Sir Donald Bradman
Roberto Clemente
Ty Cobb
Franz Beckenbauer
Fausto Coppi
Wilfredo Gómez
Wayne Gretzky
Sir Edmund Hillary
Magic Johnson
Michael Jordan
Martina Navratilova
Diego Maradona
René Higuita
Sir Stanley Matthews
Christy Mathewson
Jesse Owens
Jack Nicklaus
Pelé
Jackie Robinson
Boris Becker
Babe Ruth
O. J. Simpson
Tris Speaker
Mike Tyson
Hulk Hogan
Ted Williams
People widely known for something bad
Idi Amin
Mohamed Atta
Bonnie and Clyde
Ted Bundy
James Burke (gangster)
Al Capone
Mark David Chapman
Leon Czolgosz
Jeffrey Dahmer
John Dillinger
Pablo Escobar
John Wayne Gacy
Carlo Gambino
Ed Gein
Nathuram Godse
Joseph Goebbels
Emma Goldman
John Gotti
Heinrich Himmler
Adolf Hitler
Tom Horn
Saddam Hussein
Jim Jones
Theodore Kaczynski
Osama Bin Laden
Lucky Luciano
Charles Manson
Timothy McVeigh
Benito Mussolini
Lee Harvey Oswald
Carl Panzram
Gavrilo Princip
Sacco and Vanzetti
Jack Ruby
James Earl Ray
Harold Shipman
Bugsy Siegel
O. J. Simpson
Sirhan Sirhan
Josef Stalin
Aileen Wuornos
Mao Zedong
Years
Note: movie years before or after the twentieth century are in italics. |
3422 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brussels | Brussels | Brussels (, , ) is the capital city of Belgium and the European Union.
In 2007, 145,917 people lived there. But the area around it, known as the Brussels-Capital Region, had 1,031,215 people (which makes it the largest city area in Belgium).
The people of Brussels speak mainly French and Flemish (a type of Dutch). There are lots of other languages spoken as well, because the European Union offices are there and because many thousands of immigrants from all over the world live there.
The city is at 50° 50 North, 04° 21 East. It has an oceanic climate (Cfb in the Köppen climate classification).
Thirty-one people were killed in a terrorist attack on 22 March 2016.
Influence
Many popular European comics came from Brussels, such as Tintin, The Smurfs, Snorks, and Lucky Luke.
It is also well known for a style of building known as Art Nouveau.
The vegetables Brussels sprouts are named after the city, and Brussels is also famous for its waffles and its chocolates.
A lot of tourists visit Brussels for the statue "Manneken Pis".
References
Other websites
Interactive map of Brussels
Site of the Brussels-Capital Region
About the Cartoon Wall Paintings in Brussels |
3423 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thuringia | Thuringia | Thuringia (German: Thüringen) is a Bundesland of Germany. It lies in central Germany and has an area of . This means Thuringia is the sixth smallest state in Germany by area. It has 2.1 million inhabitants, so it is the fifth smallest state in Germany by population. The capital is Erfurt.
History
1920 the Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar, the Duchies of Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Altenburg and Saxe-Gotha (part of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha) and the Principalities of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Greiz and Gera united to make the Free State of Thuringia.
1949 Thuringia and Erfurt became a new state of the DDR
1952 It became divided in three Districts Bezirke (Erfurt, Gera and Suhl)
1990 Thuringia became a Bundesland in the reunited Germany.
Geography
Thuringia borders on the German states of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony, Bavaria and Hesse.
The most conspicuous geographical feature of Thuringia is the Thuringia Forest (Thüringer Wald). In the northwest Thuringia includes a small part of the Harz mountains. The Saale river runs through Jena.
The biggest mountain in Thuringia is with 982m the Großer Beerberg in the
Thuringia Forest.
List of Minister-Presidents of Thuringia
1945: Hermann Brill
1945 - 1947: Rudolf Paul
1947 - 1952: Werner Eggerath
1990 - 1992: Josef Duchac
1992 - 2003: Bernhard Vogel (CDU)
2003 - 2009: Dieter Althaus (CDU)
2009 - 2014: Christine Lieberknecht (CDU)
since 2014: Bodo Ramelow (Die Linke)
Cities in Thuringia
Erfurt
Gera
Jena
Weimar
Suhl
Eisenach
Gotha
References |
3424 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxony | Saxony | Saxony ( ; ), officially the Free State of Saxony (German: , Upper Sorbian: ), is one of 16 states of Germany. It is in the southeast of the country, north of Czech Republic. To the east of Saxony is Poland. The biggest city is Leipzig. The capital is called Dresden. It was founded in 1990.
Geography
Saxony is the border of Germany to the two countries Poland and Czech Republic. In the north of Saxony is Brandenburg, another German state. Saxony's west border is to Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Bavaria. A big part of the border to the Czech Republic are the Ore Mountains in the south of Saxony.
Cities and towns
Districts
Saxony is divided into 3 administrative districts (Chemnitz, Dresden and Leipzig). These are subdivided into 10 districts:
(The car licence plate of the areas are in brackets)
Urban districts
Saxony has three urban districts which do not belong to the rural districts.
Chemnitz (C)
Dresden (DD)
Leipzig (L)
History
The first Free State of Saxony was founded in 1918, after the first World War. After the second World War, in 1945, the "country of Saxony" was founded. Later the Country was divided into 3 administrative divisions of the German Democratic Republic, and thus robbed of its sovereignty.
In 1990 the Free State of Saxony was officially re-founded as a part of Germany.
Population development
The number of people in Saxony since 1905:
Other websites
Official governmental portal
Nature of Saxony
Facts about Saxony (Statistisches Landesamt)
Christmas time in Saxony
some facts about Saxony
References
1990 establishments in Germany |
3427 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet%20Explorer | Internet Explorer | Internet Explorer (IE); formerly known as Microsoft Internet Explorer and Windows Internet Explorer, was a series of graphical web browsers made by Microsoft. It was part of the Microsoft Windows operating system, starting in 1995. It was first released as part of the add-on package Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95, that year. Later versions were free downloads, or in service packs, and included in releases of Windows 95 and later versions of Windows.
IE has been the most popular web browser since 1999, with up to 95% usage share during 2002/2003 with IE5 and IE6. Since its peak of popularity, its usage share has decreased to 55% due to rival web browsers, and is slowly trending downward. Microsoft spent over $100 million per year on IE in the late 1990s, with over 1000 people working on it by 1999.
The latest release is Internet Explorer 11. Internet Explorer was originally planned to be removed from Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 in Europe, but Microsoft later dropped the plans, and instead included a browser ballot screen with the products, allowing users to select a different web browser if they wish.
Versions of Internet Explorer for other operating systems have also been produced, including an embedded OEM version called Internet Explorer for Windows CE (IE CE), available for WinCE based platforms and currently based on IE6; Internet Explorer for Pocket PC, later rebranded Internet Explorer Mobile, which is made for Windows Mobile and Windows CE and remains in development alongside the more advanced desktop versions; and the discontinued Internet Explorer for Mac and Internet Explorer for UNIX (Solaris and HP-UX).
Windows 10 comes with a new web browser called Microsoft Edge. Internet Explorer 11 was still included, but was meant to be used for sites that do not work properly with the new rendering engine in Microsoft Edge. When Windows 11 and Windows Server 2022 released in 2021, Internet Explorer 11 was removed in both versions of Microsoft Windows with the replacement of Microsoft Edge. The last version of Internet Explorer, Internet Explorer 11 reached the end of service on June 15, 2022 and was removed in the contain versions of Windows 10. On Windows 10 IoT/LTSB/LTSC (Windows 10 Long-Term Servicing Channel), on Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 and earlier it'll continue past that point. Microsoft is replacing Internet Explorer with Internet Explorer mode on Microsoft Edge, a newer web browser by Microsoft released on April 29, 2015.
History
The Internet Explorer project was started in the summer of 1994 by Thomas Reardon, using source code from Spyglass, Inc. Mosaic, an early commercial web browser with formal ties to the pioneering NCSA Mosaic browser. In late 1994, Microsoft licensed Spyglass Mosaic for a quarterly fee plus a percentage of Microsoft's non-Windows revenues for the software. Although bearing a name similar to NCSA Mosaic, the Spyglass Mosaic had used the NCSA Mosaic source code sparingly.
Internet Explorer 1
Internet Explorer 1 made its debut on August 16, 1995. It was a reworked version of Spyglass Mosaic, which Microsoft had licensed, like many other companies initiating browser development, from Spyglass Inc. It came with Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95 and the OEM release of Windows 95. It was installed as part of the Internet Jumpstart Kit in Plus!. The Internet Explorer team began with about six people in early development. Internet Explorer 1.5 was released several months later for Windows NT and added support for basic table rendering. However, by including it for free on their OS, they did not have to pay royalties to Spyglass Inc., which resulted in a lawsuit and a multi-million USD settlement.
Internet Explorer 2
Internet Explorer 2 was released for Windows 95, Windows NT 3.5, and NT 4.0 on August 24, 1996 (following a 2.0 beta in November 1995). It featured support for SSL, cookies, VRML, RSA, and Internet newsgroups. Version 2 was also the first release for Windows 3.1 and Macintosh System 7.0.1 (PPC or 68k), although the Mac version was not released until January 1996 for PPC, and April for 68k. Version 2.1 for the Mac came out in August 1996, although by this time, Windows was getting 3.0. Version 2 was included in Windows 95 OSR 1 and Microsoft's Internet Starter Kit for Windows 95 in early 1996. It launched with twelve languages including English but this expanded to 24, 20, and 9 for Win 95, Win 3.1, and Mac respectively by April 1996. The 2.0i version supported double-byte character-set.
Internet Explorer 3
Internet Explorer 3 was released on August 13, 1996, and went on to be much more popular than its predecessors. Internet Explorer 3 was the first major browser with CSS support, although this support was only partial. It also introduced support for ActiveX controls, Java applets, inline multimedia, and the PICS system for content metadata. Version 3 also came bundled with Internet Mail and News, NetMeeting, and an early version of the Windows Address Book, and was itself included with Windows 95 OSR 2. Version 3 proved to be the first more popular version of Internet Explorer, which brought with it increased scrutiny. In the months following its release, a number of security and privacy vulnerabilities were found by researchers and hackers. This version of Internet Explorer was the first to have the 'blue e' logo. The Internet Explorer team consisted of roughly 100 people during the development of three months. The first major IE security hole, the Princeton Word Macro Virus Loophole, was discovered on August 22, 1996 in IE3. Backwards compatibility was handled by allowing users who upgraded to IE3 to still use the last IE, because the installation converted the previous version to a separate directory.
Internet Explorer 4
Internet Explorer 4, released in September 1997, deepened the level of integration between the web browser and the underlying operating system. Installing version 4 on a Windows 95 or Windows NT 4 machine and choosing Windows Desktop Update would result in the traditional Windows Explorer also being replaced by a version more akin to a web-browser interface, as well as the Windows desktop itself being web-enabled via Active Desktop. The integration with Windows, however, was subject to numerous packaging criticisms (see United States v. Microsoft). This option was no longer available with the installers for later versions of Internet Explorer but was not removed from the system if already installed. Internet Explorer 4 introduced support for Group Policy, allowing companies to configure and lock down many aspects of the browser's configuration as well as support for offline browsing. Internet Mail and News was replaced with Outlook Express, and Microsoft Chat and an improved NetMeeting were also included. This version also was included with Windows 98. New features were added that allow you to save and retrieve posts in comment forms which are still not being used today. Internet Explorer 4.5 offered new features such as easier 128-bit encryption. It also offered a dramatic stability improvement over prior versions, particularly the 68k version which was especially prone to freezing.
Internet Explorer 5
Internet Explorer 5 was launched on March 18, 1999, later included with Windows 98 Second Edition and came with Office 2000. The creation of Internet Explorer 5 was another significant release that supported bi-directional text, ruby characters, XML, XSLT, and the ability to save web pages in MHTML format. IE5 was bundled with Outlook Express 5. Also, with the release of Internet Explorer 5.0, Microsoft released the first version of XMLHttpRequest, giving birth to Ajax (even though the term "Ajax" was not coined until years later). It was the last with a 16-bit version. Internet Explorer 5.01, a bug fix version, was released in December 1999. Windows 2000 includes this version. Internet Explorer 5.5 followed in July 2000, improving its print preview capabilities, CSS and HTML standards support, and developer APIs; this version was bundled with Windows Me. However, version 5 was the last version for Mac and UNIX. Version 5.5 was the last to have Compatibility Mode, which allowed Internet Explorer 4 to be run side by side with the 5.x. The IE team consisted of over 1,000 people by 1999, with funding on the order of 100 million USD per year.
Internet Explorer 6
Internet Explorer 6 was released on August 27, 2001, a few months before Windows XP. This version included DHTML enhancements, content restricted inline frames, and partial support of CSS level 1, DOM level 1, and SMIL 2.0. The MSXML engine was also updated to version 3.0. Other new features included a new version of the Internet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK), Media bar, Windows Messenger integration, fault collection, automatic image resizing, P3P, and a new look-and-feel that was in line with the Luna visual style of Windows XP, when used in Windows XP. Internet Explorer 6.0 SP1 offered several security enhancements and coincided with the Windows XP SP1 patch release. In 2002, the Gopher protocol was disabled and support for it was dropped in Internet Explorer 7. Internet Explorer 6.0 SV1 came out August 6, 2004 for Windows XP SP2 and offered various security enhancements and new color buttons on the user interface. IE6 updated the original 'blue e' logo to a lighter blue and more 3D look. Microsoft now considers IE6 to be an obsolete product and recommends that users upgrade to IE8. Many corporate IT users have not upgraded despite this.
Internet Explorer 7
Internet Explorer 7 was released on October 18, 2006. It includes bug fixes, enhancements to its support for web standards, tabbed browsing with tab preview and management, a multiple-engine search box, a web feeds reader, Internationalized Domain Name support (IDN), Extended Validation Certificate support, and anti-phishing filter. With IE7, Internet Explorer has been decoupled from the Windows Shell - unlike previous versions, the Internet Explorer ActiveX control is not hosted in the Windows Explorer process, but rather runs in a separate Internet Explorer process. It is included with Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, and is available for Windows XP Service Pack 2 and later, and Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 and later. The original release of Internet Explorer 7 required the computer to pass a Windows Genuine Advantage validation check prior to installing, but on October 5, 2007, Microsoft removed this requirement. As some statistics show, by mid-2008, Internet Explorer 7 market share exceeded that of Internet Explorer 6 in a number of regions. Unlike other versions of Internet Explorer, this version of Internet Explorer will be supported until October 10, 2023, marking the final end on Internet Explorer after 28 years, 1 month and 14 days.
Internet Explorer 8
Internet Explorer 8 was released on March 19, 2009. It had been in development since August 2007 at the latest. On March 5, 2008, the first public beta (Beta 1) was released to the general public. On August 27, 2008, the second public beta (Beta 2) was released. It is supported in Windows XP SP2 and SP3, Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008 on both 32-bit as well as 64-bit architectures. Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) RC1 was released on January 26, 2009. Internet Explorer 8 "Final" was released on March 19, 2009. Security, ease of use, and improvements in RSS, CSS, and Ajax support are Microsoft's priorities for IE8. It includes much stricter compliance with web standards, including a planned full Cascading Style Sheets 2.1 compliance for the release version. All these changes allow Internet Explorer 8 to pass the Acid2 test. However, to prevent compatibility issues, IE8 also includes the IE7 rendering behavior. Sites that expect IE7 quirks can disable IE8's breaking changes by including a meta element in the HEAD section of the HTML document. IE8 also includes numerous improvements to JavaScript support as well as performance improvements, although it still does not pass the Acid3 test, with version 8.0 scoring 20/100. It includes support for Accelerators - which allow supported web applications to be invoked without explicitly navigating to them - and WebSlices - which allows portions of page to be subscribed to and monitored from a redesigned Favorites Bar. Other features include InPrivate privacy features and SmartScreen phishing filter.
Internet Explorer 9
Internet Explorer 9 was released on March 14, 2011. It will have complete or nearly complete support for all CSS 3 selectors, border-radius CSS 3 property, faster JavaScript, embedded ICC v2 or v4 color profiles, and hardware accelerated rendering using Direct2D and DirectWrite. Microsoft has confirmed that Web Open Font Format (WOFF) will also be supported. WOFF is "a strong favorite" for standardization by the Web Fonts Working Group of W3C.
IE9 is supposed to fix many issues with Internet Explorer, including support of the CSS3 standard border-radius property, which means that people using IE9 will be able to see rounded corners, the same way people using Firefox can.
Microsoft has continued to downplay the importance of passing the Acid3 test,
but speculation that IE9 would support the SVG W3C recommendation was ignited when Microsoft announced they had joined the SVG Working Group.
At MIX 10, the first IE9 Platform Preview was released, which featured support for CSS3 and SVG, a new JScript engine called Chakra, and a score of 55/100 on the Acid3 test, up from 20/100 for IE8. On May 5, 2010, the second IE9 Platform Preview was released, which featured a score of 68/100 on the Acid3 test and faster performance on the WebKit SunSpider JavaScript benchmark than the first IE9 Platform Preview. On June 23, 2010, the third IE9 Platform Preview was released, which scores 83/100 on the Acid3 test and introduced support for <audio>, <video>, and <canvas> elements and WOFF. On August 4, 2010, the fourth IE9 Platform Preview was released, which features a score of 95/100 on the Acid3 test and a faster JScript engine than the third IE9 Platform Preview. The final build of IE9 is expected to be released in 2011. Support for the HTML5 video and audio tags was also promised.
Some industry experts predict that Microsoft will release IE9 as a major out-of-band version that is not tied to any particular version of Windows.
According to the Internet Explorer 9 Test Drive page, the system requirements for IE9 are Windows Vista SP2 (with Platform Upgrade and IE8) or Windows 7.
On August 12, 2010, Microsoft announced that the IE9 Public Beta would launch on September 15, 2010 at a special event in San Francisco linked to the idea of 'beauty of the web.' It was also confirmed that the browser would only function with Windows Vista and Windows 7. On September 15, 2010, Microsoft launched the IE9 Public Beta.
Internet Explorer 10
Internet Explorer 10 does not work with Windows Vista, but only for Windows 7 and a future release of the Windows operating system.
Internet Explorer 10 was released together with Windows 8 in 2012. Users of Windows 7 can download this version from February 2013.
Internet Explorer 11
Internet Explorer 11 was released in October 2013. It is the final version of Internet Explorer. Intestead of launching the next version of Internet Explorer, Internet Explorer 12, Microsoft released the new web browser, Microsoft Edge, on April 29, 2015. Starting in Windows 10, Windows Server 2016 and Windows Server 2019, Internet Explorer 11 is available, but it's not installed by default, as a built-in web browser into these operating systems is Microsoft Edge. However, Internet Explorer 11 is built-in into Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC/LTSB, which is a series a Windows 10 editions, first released in 2016 and the latest edition of Windows 10 LTSC was released in 2021. On June 15, 2022 Internet Explorer was removed in the contain versions of Windows 10, Windows Server 2016 and Windows Server 2019, however, the only editions of Windows 10 which will continue to get Internet Explorer 11 are Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC (first named Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSB). With the release of Windows 11 and Windows Server 2022, Internet Explorer 11 isn't compatible with these operating systems anymore.
Features
Internet Explorer has been designed to view a broad range of web pages and to provide certain features within the operating system, including Microsoft Update. During the heyday of the browser wars, Internet Explorer superseded Netscape only when it caught up technologically to support the progressive features of the time.
Standards support
Internet Explorer, using the Trident layout engine:
supports HTML 4.01, CSS Level 1, XML 1.0, and DOM Level 1, with minor implementation gaps.
fully supports XSLT 1.0 as well as an obsolete Microsoft dialect of XSLT often referred to as WD-xsl, which was loosely based on the December 1998 W3C Working Draft of XSL. Support for XSLT 2.0 lies in the future: semi-official Microsoft bloggers have indicated that development is underway, but no dates have been announced.
partially supports CSS Level 2 and DOM Level 2, with major implementation gaps and conformance issues. Almost full conformance to CSS 2.1 has been added in the Internet Explorer 8 release.
does not support XHTML, though it can render XHTML documents authored with HTML compatibility principles and served with a text/html MIME-type.
does not support SVG in any version.
Internet Explorer uses DOCTYPE sniffing to choose between standards mode and a "quirks mode" in which it deliberately mimicks nonstandard behaviors of old versions of MSIE for HTML and CSS rendering on screen (Internet Explorer always uses standards mode for printing). It also provides its own dialect of ECMAScript called JScript.
Internet Explorer has been subjected to criticism by W3C over its limited support for SVG promoted by W3C.
Non-standard extensions
Internet Explorer has introduced an array of proprietary extensions to many of the standards, including HTML, CSS, and the DOM. This has resulted in a number of web pages that appear broken in standards-compliant web browsers and has introduced the need for a "quirks mode" to allow for rendering improper elements meant for Internet Explorer in these other browsers.
Internet Explorer has introduced a number of extensions to JScript which have been adopted by other browsers. These include the innerHTML property, which returns the HTML string within an element; the XMLHttpRequest object, which allows the sending of HTTP request and receiving of HTTP response; and the designMode attribute of the contentDocument object, which enables rich text editing of HTML documents. Some of these functionalities were not possible until the introduction of the W3C DOM methods. Its Ruby character extension to HTML is also accepted as a module in W3C XHTML 1.1, though it is not found in all versions of W3C HTML.
Microsoft submitted several other features of IE for consideration by the W3C for standardization. These include the 'behavior' CSS property, which connects the HTML elements with JScript behaviors (known as HTML Components, HTC); HTML+TIME profile, which adds timing and media synchronization support to HTML documents (similar to the W3C XHTML+SMIL); and the VML vector graphics file format. However, all were rejected, at least in their original forms. VML was, however, subsequently combined with PGML (proposed by Adobe and Sun), resulting in the W3C-approved SVG format, currently one of the few vector image formats being used on the web, and which IE is now virtually unique in not supporting.
Other non-standard behaviors include: support for vertical text, but in a syntax different from W3C CSS3 candidate recommendation; Support for a variety of image effects and page transitions, which are not found in W3C CSS; Support for obfuscated script code, in particular JScript.Encode(). Support for embedding EOT fonts in web pages.
Favicon
The favicon (short for "favorites icon") introduced by Internet Explorer is now also supported and extended in other browsers. It allows web pages to specify a 16-by-16 pixel image for use in bookmarks. In IE, support was, and still is, provided only for the native Windows ICO format; in other browsers it has now been extended to other types of images such as PNG and GIF.
Usability and accessibility
Internet Explorer makes use of the accessibility framework provided in Windows. Internet Explorer is also a user interface for FTP, with operations similar to that of Windows Explorer. Pop-up blocking and tabbed browsing were added respectively in Internet Explorer 6 and Internet Explorer 7. Tabbed browsing can also be added to older versions by installing MSN Search Toolbar or Yahoo Toolbar.
Cache
Internet Explorer caches visited content in the Temporary Internet Files folder to allow quicker access (or offline access) to previously visited pages. The content is indexed in a database file, known as Index.dat. Multiple Index.dat files exist which index different content - visited content, web feeds, visited URLs, cookies, etc.
Prior to IE7, clearing the cache used to clear the index but the files themselves were not reliably removed, posing a potential security and privacy risk. In IE7 and later, when the cache is cleared, the cache files are more reliably removed, and the index.dat file is overwritten with null bytes.
Group Policy
Internet Explorer is fully configurable using Group Policy. Administrators of Windows Server domains can apply and enforce a variety of settings that affect the user interface (such as disabling menu items and individual configuration options), as well as underlying security features such as downloading of files, zone configuration, per-site settings, ActiveX control behavior and others. Policy settings can be configured for each user and for each machine. Internet Explorer also supports Integrated Windows Authentication.
Architecture
Internet Explorer uses a componentized architecture built on the Component Object Model (COM) technology. It consists of several major components, each of which is contained in a separate Dynamic-link library (DLL) and exposes a set of COM programming interfaces hosted by the Internet Explorer main executable, iexplore.exe:
WinInet.dll is the protocol handler for HTTP, HTTPS and FTP. It handles all network communication over these protocols.
URLMon.dll is responsible for MIME-type handling and download of web content, and provides a thread-safe wrapper around WinInet.dll and other protocol implementations.
MSHTML.dll houses the Trident rendering engine introduced in Internet Explorer 4, which is responsible for displaying the pages on-screen and handling the Document Object Model of the web pages. MSHTML.dll parses the HTML/CSS file and creates the internal DOM tree representation of it. It also exposes a set of APIs for runtime inspection and modification of the DOM tree. The DOM tree is further processed by a layout engine which then renders the internal representation on screen.
IEFrame.dll contains the user interface and window of IE in Internet Explorer 7 and above.
ShDocVw.dll provides the navigation, local caching and history functionalities for the browser.
BrowseUI.dll is responsible for the browser user interface, including the browser chrome, which houses all the menus and toolbars.
Internet Explorer does not include any native scripting functionality. Rather, MSHTML.dll exposes an API that permit a programmer to develop a scripting environment to be plugged-in and to access the DOM tree. Internet Explorer 8 includes the bindings for the Active Scripting engine, which is a part of Microsoft Windows and allows any language implemented as an Active Scripting module to be used for client-side scripting. By default, only the JScript and VBScript modules are provided; third party implementations like ScreamingMonkey (for ECMAScript 4 support) can also be used. Microsoft also makes available the Microsoft Silverlight runtime that allows CLI languages, including DLR-based dynamic languages like IronPython and IronRuby, to be used for client-side scripting.
Internet Explorer 8 introduces some major architectural changes, called Loosely Coupled IE (LCIE). LCIE separates the main window process (frame process) from the processes hosting the different web applications in different tabs (tab processes). A frame process can create multiple tab processes, each of which can be of a different integrity level; each tab process can host multiple web sites. The processes use asynchronous Inter-Process Communication to synchronize themselves. Generally, there will be a single frame process for all web sites. In Windows Vista with Protected Mode turned on, however, opening privileged content (such as local HTML pages) will create a new tab process as it will not be constrained by Protected Mode.
Extensibility
Internet Explorer exposes a set of Component Object Model (COM) interfaces that allow other components to extend the functionality of the browser. Extensibility is divided into two types: Browser extensibility and Content extensibility. The browser extensibility interfaces can be used to plug in components to add context menu entries, toolbars, menu items or Browser Helper Objects (BHO). BHOs are used to extend the feature set of the browser, whereas the other extensibility options are used to expose the feature in the UI. Content extensibility interfaces are used by different content-type handlers to add support for non-native content formats. BHOs not only have unrestricted access to the Internet Explorer DOM and event model, they also can access the filesystem, registry and other OS components. Content extensibility can be either in terms of Active Documents (Doc Objects) (e.g., SVG or MathML) or ActiveX controls. ActiveX controls are used for content handlers that render content embedded within an HTML page (e.g., Adobe Flash or Microsoft Silverlight). Doc objects are used when the content type will not be embedded in HTML (e.g., Microsoft Word, PDF or XPS). In fact, the Trident rendering engine is itself exposed as a Doc object, so HTML in itself is treated as an Active Document.
Internet Explorer add-on components run with the same privileges as the browser itself, unlike client-side scripts that have a very limited set of privileges. Add-ons can be installed either locally, or directly by a web site. Since the add-ons have a more privileged access to the system, malicious add-ons can and have been used to compromise the security of the system. Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 2 onwards provide various safeguards against this, including an Add-on Manager for controlling ActiveX controls and Browser Helper Objects and a "No Add-Ons" mode of operation as well as greater restrictions on sites installing add-ons.
Internet Explorer itself can be hosted by other applications via a set of COM interfaces. This can be used to embed the browser functionality inside the application. Also, the hosting application can choose to host only the MSHTML.dll rendering engine, rather than the entire browser.
Security
Internet Explorer uses a zone-based security framework that groups sites based on certain conditions, including whether it is an Internet- or intranet-based site as well as a user-editable whitelist. Security restrictions are applied per zone; all the sites in a zone are subject to the restrictions.
Internet Explorer 6 SP2 onwards uses the Attachment Execution Service of Microsoft Windows to mark executable files downloaded from the Internet as being potentially unsafe. Accessing files marked as such will prompt the user to make an explicit trust decision to execute the file, as executables originating from the Internet can be potentially unsafe. This helps in preventing accidental installation of malware.
Internet Explorer 7 introduced the phishing filter, that restricts access to phishing sites unless the user overrides the decision. With version 8, it also blocks access to sites known to host malware. Downloads are also checked to see if they are known to be malware-infected.
In Windows Vista, Internet Explorer by default runs in what is called Protected Mode, where the privileges of the browser itself are severely restricted - it cannot make any system-wide changes. One can optionally turn this mode off but this is not recommended. This also effectively restricts the privileges of any add-ons. As a result, even if the browser or any add-on is compromised, the damage the security breach can cause is limited.
Patches and updates to the browser are released periodically and made available through the Windows Update service, as well as through Automatic Updates. Although security patches continue to be released for a range of platforms, most feature additions and security infrastructure improvements are only made available on operating systems which are in Microsoft's mainstream support phase.
On December 16, 2008, Trend Micro recommended users switch to rival browsers until an emergency IE patch was released to fix a potential security risk which "could allow outside users to take control of a person's computer and steal their passwords". Microsoft representatives countered this recommendation, claiming that "0.02% of internet sites" were affected by the flaw.
On December 17, 2008, a fix to the security problem above became available, with the release of the Security Update for Internet Explorer KB960714, which is available from Microsoft Windows Update's webpage. Microsoft has said that this update fixes the security risk found by Trend Micro the previous day.
Security vulnerabilities
Internet Explorer has been subjected to many security vulnerabilities and concerns: Much of the spyware, adware, and computer viruses across the Internet are made possible by exploitable bugs and flaws in the security architecture of Internet Explorer, sometimes requiring nothing more than viewing of a malicious web page in order to install themselves. This is known as a "drive-by install". There are also attempts to trick the user into installing malicious software by misrepresenting the software's true purpose in the description section of an ActiveX security alert.
A number of security flaws affecting IE originated not in the browser itself, but ActiveX-based add-ons used by it. Because the add-ons have the same privilege as IE, the flaws can be as critical as browser flaws. This has led to the ActiveX-based architecture being criticized for being fault-prone. By 2005, some experts maintained that the dangers of ActiveX have been overstated and there were safeguards in place. In 2006, new techniques using automated testing found more than a hundred vulnerabilities in standard Microsoft ActiveX components. Security features introduced in then recently released Internet Explorer 7 mitigated some of these vulnerabilities.
Internet Explorer in 2008 had a number of published security vulnerabilities. According to research done by security research firm Secunia, Microsoft did not respond as quickly as its competitors in fixing security holes and making patches available. The firm also reported 366 vulnerabilities in ActiveX controls, an increase from the prior year.
According to the latest information, Secunia reports that IE6 has 24 known unpatched vulnerabilities, IE7 has 11, and IE8 has 4. The most severe unpatched Secunia advisories affecting Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.x, 7.x, and 8.x with all vendor patches applied, are all rated Extremely critical. The oldest known unpatched vulnerabilities for IE6, IE7, and IE8 date from November 7, 2003, June 6, 2006, and February 26, 2007 respectively.
According to the latest information, security research firm SecurityFocus reports that IE6 has 396 known unpatched vulnerabilities, IE7 has 22, and IE8 has 25. The oldest known unpatched vulnerabilities for IE6, IE7, and IE8 date from November 20, 2000, May 17, 2007, and April 11, 2009 respectively.
Vulnerability exploited in attacks on U.S. firms
In an advisory on January 14, 2010, Microsoft said that attackers targeting Google and other U.S. companies used software that exploits a security hole, which had already been patched, in Internet Explorer. The vulnerability affected Internet Explorer 6, IE7, and IE8 on Windows 7, Vista, Windows XP, Server 2003, and Server 2008 R2, as well as IE 6 Service Pack 1 on Windows 2000 Service Pack 4.
The German government warned users against using Internet Explorer and recommended switching to an alternative web browser, due to the major security hole described above that was exploited in Internet Explorer. The Australian and French Government issued a similar warning a few days later. The first browser they recommended was Mozilla Firefox, followed by Google Chrome.
Market adoption and usage share
The adoption rate of Internet Explorer seems to be closely related to that of Microsoft Windows, as it is the default web browser that comes with Windows. Since the integration of Internet Explorer 2.0 with Windows 95 OSR 1 in 1996, and especially after version 4.0's release, the adoption was greatly accelerated: from below 20% in 1996 to about 40% in 1998 and over 80% in 2000.
A CNN article noted at the release of Internet Explorer 4: "Microsoft's Internet Explorer has made inroads and various estimates put its share of the browser market 30 to 35 percent from about 10 percent a year ago." By 2002, Internet Explorer had almost completely superseded its main rival Netscape and dominated the market with up to 95 percent market share.
After having fought and won the browser wars of the late 1990s, Internet Explorer gained almost total dominance of the browser market. Having attained a peak of about 95% during 2002 and 2003, its market share has since declined at a slow but steady pace. This is mainly due to the adoption of Mozilla Firefox, which statistics indicate is currently the most significant competition. Nevertheless, Internet Explorer remains the dominant web browser, with a global usage share of around 60% (though measurements vary). Usage is higher in Asia and lower in Europe.
Firefox 1.0 had surpassed Internet Explorer 5 in early 2005 with Firefox 1.0 at roughly 8 percent market share.
An article notes at the release of Internet Explorer 7 in October 2006 that "IE6 had the lion's share of the browser market with 77.22%. Internet Explorer 7 had climbed to 3.18%, while Firefox 2.0 was at 0.69%."
Internet Explorer 7 was released at the same time as Firefox 2.0, and overtook Firefox 1.x by November 2006, at roughly 9% market share. Firefox 2.0 had overtaken 1.x by January 2007, but IE7 did not surpass IE6 until December 2007. By January 2008, their respective version market share stood at 43% IE7, 32% IE6, 16% FF2, 4% Safari 3 and both FF1.x and IE5 versions at less than half a percent.
Approximate usage over time based on various usage share counters averaged for the year overall, or for the fourth quarter, or for the last month in the year depending on availability of reference.
Market share history overview by year and version
Approximate usage over time based on various usage share counters averaged for the year overall, or for the fourth quarter, or for the last month in the year depending on availability of reference. IE was at its peak in 2003 with 94% of the worldwide internet browsers, but started falling in 2004 and since has hit a 2000s decade low in 2011 with only 49.7% of worldwide internet users.
Industry adoption
The ActiveX extension mechanism is used by many public websites and web applications, including eBay. Similarly, Browser Helper Objects are also used by many search engine companies and third parties for creating add-ons that access their services, such as search engine toolbars. Because of the use of COM, it is possible to embed web-browsing functionality in third-party applications. Hence, there are a number of Internet Explorer shells, and a number of content-centric applications like RealPlayer also use Internet Explorer's web browsing module for viewing web pages within the applications.
OS compatibility
IE versions, over time, have had widely varying OS compatibility, ranging from being available for many platforms and several versions of Windows to only a few versions of Windows. Many versions of IE had some support for an older OS but stopped getting updates. The increased growth of the Internet in the 1990s and 2000s means that current browsers with small market shares have more total users than the entire market early on. For example, 90% market share in 1997 would be roughly 60 million users, but by the start of 2007 90% market share would equate to over 900 million users. The result is that later versions of IE6 had many more users in total than all the early versions put together.
The release of IE7 at the end of 2006 resulted in a collapse of IE6 market share; by February 2007, market version share statistics showed IE6 at about 50% and IE7 at 29%. Regardless of the actual market share, the most compatible version (across operating systems) of IE was 5.x, which had Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X, Unix, and most Windows versions available and supported for a short period in the late 1990s (although 4.x had a more unified codebase across versions). By 2007, IE had much narrower OS support, with the latest versions supporting only Windows XP Service Pack 2 and above. Internet Explorer 5.0, 5.5, 6.0, and 7.0 (Experimental) have also been unofficially ported to the Linux operating system from the project IEs4Linux.
* Internet Explorer 6 SP2 is only available as part of Windows XP SP2 or Windows Server 2003 SP1 or SP2.
** The version of Internet Explorer included with Windows 95 varied by OSR release; 2.0 was included with OSR1, 3.0 was included with OSR2, and 4.0 was included with OSR2.5.
*** No native support, but possible with third-party "Standalone" installer.
& Final version of Windows XP Service Pack 3 does not include IE7.
$ No native support, but possible with third party Standalone installer of IE6 Alpha.
See also Internet Explorer Mobile. Non-desktop versions of IE have supported Windows CE also.
Ł Internet Explorer 2.0 and 2.0.1 requires System 7.0.1 or higher. Internet Explorer 2.1 requires System 7.1 or higher.
€ Included Internet Explorer 3.01 in Mac OS 8.1; Internet Explorer 4.01 in Mac OS 8.5 and 8.5.1; Internet Explorer 4.5 from Mac OS 8.6 to 9.0.4; Internet Explorer 5 from Mac OS 9.1 to 9.2.2.
¥ Internet Explorer 5 Macintosh Edition requires Mac OS 7.6 or higher. Internet Explorer version 5.1; 5.1.4; 5.1.5; 5.1.6 and 5.1.7 requires Mac OS 8.0 or higher.
16 16-bit version
"Standalone" Internet Explorer
Early versions of Internet Explorer such as 5 had a compatibility mode to run Internet Explorer 4, though this feature was dropped (also, Internet Explorer for Mac users could still use 4.5 after installing IE 5). While Microsoft claims it is impossible to keep multiple versions of Internet Explorer on the same machine, some hackers have successfully separated several versions of Internet Explorer, making them standalone applications. These are referred to as "standalone" IEs and have included versions 3 through 7.
Multiple IEs in Windows Web Design —The web developer Joe Maddalone who found the solution.
Xenocode Browser Sandbox —Xenocode application virtualization.
Microsoft has discontinued standalone installers for Internet Explorer to the general public. However, there are unofficial procedures for downloading the complete install package. Internet Explorer standalone uses a feature introduced in Windows 2000 called DLL redirection to force it to load older DLLs than the ones installed on the system.
IE Collection. An installer for the standalone versions of IE8.0, IE7.0, IE6.0, IE5.51, IE5.01, IE4.01, IE3.0, IE2.01, IE1.5, and IE1.0.
Microsoft Support document, with instructions for downloading the entire set of installation files.
It is also possible to install Internet Explorer via Wine.
IEs4Linux automatically sets up Internet Explorer 5.0, 5.5, and 6.0 in Wine. Supporting Internet Explorer 7 is currently in development; as of August 2007, the IE7 rendering engine can be used with the IE6 user interface.
After Internet Explorer 7 is installed, an Internet Explorer 6 executable is still available in C:\WINDOWS\ie7, hidden by default. Launching this executable provides the user with the older IE6 interface, however web pages are rendered using the IE7 engine. The IE6 engine can be re-enabled by placing a file named "iexplore.exe.local" into the IE7 folder.
As an alternative to using IE standalone, Microsoft now makes available Microsoft Virtual PC images containing pre-activated copies of Windows XP with either IE 6 or IE 7 installed. Microsoft recommends this approach for web developers seeking to test their pages in the different versions of IE as the standalone versions are unsupported and may not work the same way as a properly installed copy of IE.
Removal
While a major upgrade of Internet Explorer can be uninstalled in a traditional way if the user has saved the original application files for installation, the matter of uninstalling the version of the browser that has shipped with an operating system remains a controversial one.
The idea of removing a stock install of Internet Explorer from a Windows system was proposed during the United States v. Microsoft court case. One of Microsoft's arguments, during the trial, was that removing Internet Explorer from Windows may result in system instability.
Removing Internet Explorer does have a number of consequences. Applications that depend on libraries installed by IE will fail to function, or have unexpected behaviors. The Windows help and support system will also not function due to the heavy reliance on HTML help files and components of IE. In versions of Windows before Vista, it is also not possible to run Microsoft's Windows Update or Microsoft Update with any other browser due to the service's implementation of an ActiveX control, which no other browser supports. In Windows Vista, Windows Update is implemented as a Control Panel applet.
With Windows 7, Microsoft added the ability to safely remove Internet Explorer 8 from Windows. Microsoft does not allow the dependencies to be removed through this process, but the Internet Explorer executable (iexplore.exe) is removed without harming any other Windows components.
Related pages
Web 2.0
References
Other websites
Official website: microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer
IEBlog - MSDN Blogs – The weblog of the Internet Explorer team
Internet Explorer Architecture
Internet Explorer Community – The official Microsoft Internet Explorer Community
Internet Explorer History
IE Leak Patterns – Microsoft's analysis of how web pages can cause memory leaks in Internet Explorer, and how developers can prevent them.
Web browsers |
3432 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulster | Ulster | Ulster is one of the four historical provinces which make up the island of Ireland. The others are Leinster, Munster and Connacht.
There are nine counties in Ulster. Three of them are in the Republic of Ireland:
County Cavan
County Donegal
County Monaghan
The other six counties make up all of Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom:
County Antrim
County Armagh
County Down
County Fermanagh
County Londonderry
County Tyrone
Because most of Ulster is in Northern Ireland, the name "Ulster" is also sometimes used to mean Northern Ireland, even though Northern Ireland is only part of Ulster. This is called totum pro parte in Latin which means "the whole for a part". |
3433 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/List%20of%20mathematicians | List of mathematicians | This is a list of famous mathematicians.
Australia
Lily Serna, television presenter on Letters and Numbers (en)
Terence Tao
Azerbaijan
Jalal Allakhverdiyev, member of the Academy of Sciences of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (later called the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences); Mathematics; died in 2017
Brazil
Elon Lages Lima, got the award, the Prêmio Jabuti, twice; died in 2017
Bulgaria
Lyubomir Ivanov, got the award, Acad. Nikola Obreshkov Prize, the highest Bulgarian award in mathematics.
Chile
Nicanor Parra, got the Cervantes Prize, the most important literary prize in the Spanish-speaking world
China
Sun Tzu, also known as Sun Zi, known for authoring Sun Tzu Suan Ching (pinyin: Sun Zi Suan Jing; literally, "Sun Tzu's Calculation Classic"), which contains the Chinese remainder theorem.
Wu Wenjun, known for the Wu class and the Wu formula are named after him. In the field of automated theorem proving, he is known for Wu's method; died in 2017
Zhang Heng, made the first seismometer; Astronomy, engineering, meteorology, geology, philosophy, and mathematics; died in 139 A.D.
Croatia
Roger Joseph Boscovich, maker of a precursor of atomic theory; made the first geometric procedure for finding out the equator of a rotating planet from three observations of a surface feature and for computing the orbit of a planet from three observations of its position; discoverer of the absence of atmosphere on the Moon; he was from a city in what later became Croatia; died in 1787
Czechia
Petr Vopěnka, he developed Alternative set theory; died in 2015
Egypt
Euclid of Alexandria, known for Euclidean geometry, Euclid's Elements, Euclidean algorithm; died in the middle of 3rd century BC
Finland
Lars Ahlfors, known for his work of complex analysis
France
Jacqueline Naze Tjøtta, the first female mathematical sciences professor in Norway; Applied mathematics, she died in 2017
Sophie Germain
Germany
Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi
Great Britain
England
Charles Babbage, credited with inventing the first mechanical computer (or analytical engine); died in 1871
Alan Turing, he was important in the development of theoretical computer science, and is known for the Turing machine, which can be considered a model of a general purpose computer; died in 1954
Andrew Wiles, proved Fermat's Last Theorem; his field is Number theory
Lucy Joan Slater, her field is mathematical functions
James H. Wilkinson, his field is numerical analysis
Greek
Eratosthenes
Euclid
Pythagoras
Hungary
Paul Erdős, published around 1,500 mathematical papers during his lifetime, a figure that remains unsurpassed; died 1996
Peter Lax (American mathematician born in Hungary)
India
Srinivasa Ramanujan
Italy
Gerolamo Cardano, he invented - partially - the gimbal consisting of three concentric rings allowing a supported compass or gyroscope to rotate freely, and the Cardan shaft; died in 1576
Iran
Maryam Mirzakhani - first woman to receive the Fields Medal; she died in 2017
Japan
Goro Shimura - expert of number theory
Hiroshi Umemura - former professor at Nagoya University
Kiyoshi Oka - former professor at Kyoto University
Kyuya Masuda
Masaaki Sugihara - former professor at the University of Tokyo
Masao Iri
Masatake Mori
Ryogo Hirota - former professor at Waseda University
Shinichi Oishi
Morocco
Ibn Ghazi al-Miknasi, wrote Meknes's history and a commentary to the treatise of Ibn al-Banna; a work that explained the mentioned work, was named ["The desire of students for an explanation of the calculator's craving"] Bughyat al-tulab fi sharh munyat al-hussab (including, arithmetic and algebraic methods. died in 1513
Norway
Niels Henrik Abel, did the first complete proof demonstrating the impossibility of solving the general quintic equation (en) in radicals; died in 1829
Romania
Solomon Marcus, recognised as an initiator of (, or one of the people that started) mathematical linguistics, and mathematical poetics; also a semiotician, he died in 2016
Russia
Israel Gelfand
Leonid Kantorovich
Marina Ratner
Sofya Kovalevskaya
Vladimir Arnold
Switzerland
Leonhard Euler, was the first to show the notion of (or idea about), a mathematical function; died in 1783
Syria
Al-Battani, known for showing several relations within trigonometry; he lived and worked in a city that now belongs to Syria; died in 929
Ukraine
Leonid Plyushch, died in 2015
Related pages
List of mathematics topics
List of scientists
Mathematics
Timeline of women in mathematics
Further reading
Lists of scientists |
3434 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mancala | Mancala | Mancala is a group of games played in Africa, the Middle East, and central Asia. People play the games by moving seeds on a board with pits carved in it.
Board games |
3436 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coden%2C%20Alabama | Coden, Alabama | Coden is a small fishing village near Bayou la Batre, Alabama, USA. It is about 20 miles southwest of Mobile, near the Alabama/Mississippi border. The name of the town comes from Coq d'Inde, which is French for "Turkey".
Around 1900, the area was known as a resort, which is a place people go to on their vacations. The Rolston Hotel brought visitors from all over the region. When it was destroyed by a hurricane, the community fell on hard times. The Rolston Hotel property now belongs to the City Of Bayou La Batre and is a park that is attracting people from other areas who want cool ocean breezes and peace that originally brought visitors. It is nice because it has the gentle sound of the water of Portersville Bay, fishing, and relaxation. Fresh seafood can be found on Shell Belt Road from fishing boats returning to Bayou Coden. Coden is on the southern shore of the mainland, across the Mississippi Sound from Dauphin Island and is one stop along Alabama's Coastal Birding Trail.
Villages in the United States
Settlements in Alabama |
3437 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platypus | Platypus | The duck-billed platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is a small mammal. It is one of only two monotremes that survive today. It lives in eastern Australia. The plural of platypus is just 'platypus'.
The platypus lives in rivers and river banks. It is one of only two families of mammals which lay eggs. The other is the Echidna, which has four species. The platypus was first described in detail in the early 19th century, but it took a while before biologists in England believed what they were reading.
These mammals are called monotremes because they have a common rear opening, the cloaca. Through this opening faeces and urine are voided (put out), and sexual activity takes place. This is a primitive ('basal') feature of tetrapods, which monotremes, birds and reptiles have today. The later ('derived') mammals have the system where the rear has two openings.
What sort of animal is it?
The platypus looks similar to a beaver with a brown, furry body and wide, flat tail. Unlike a beaver, it has no feet (no toes), which are good for swimming. When the platypus moves on land, it walks on its knuckles so the webs on its feet will not get in the way. Its nose is large and rubbery. The platypus is sometimes called "duck billed platypus" because of this nose. It is similar to a duck's bill (mouth). Platypus can be big or small. The larger platypus live in Tasmania while the smaller ones live in Queensland. Adults can be less than or up to . Its body can be from to long. Its tail can be from to long. Males are about one-third (1/3) larger than females.
The male platypus has a sharp spine on his two back ankles called spurs which contain a venom. It will not kill humans, but the poison has been known to kill small animals, such as dogs, and cause pain lasting as long as four months. The amount of poison increases during the breeding season.
What they eat
The platypus sleeps during the day, and moves mostly at night. It is a very good swimmer and spends much of its time in the water. The toes on its feet are joined. When it swims, it pushes itself along by moving the front two feet. The tail and back feet help it to turn left or right, but does not make it faster.
The platypus eats other animals. It eats worms, insect larvae, shrimps and yabbies, which are a kind of freshwater crayfish. It digs these animals out of the bottom of the river with its beak, or catches them while swimming. Its nose can sense many things that other noses cannot. The platypus can sense electricity from other animals. It keeps its eyes shut when swimming, using only its other senses, such as hearing, touch and changes in the electrical field. The platypus can also hunt without using its eyes. These are adaptations to life in rivers where the water is opaque with sediment.
Reproduction
When on land, the platypus lives in burrows on the river banks. These holes are between and long. It makes these holes in the river bank a little above the water. It likes them hidden under roots. When a female platypus is pregnant, the female makes much larger holes, up to long. She blocks the tunnel with earth at several places. At the end of the tunnel, she builds a nest out of reeds for her eggs.
The platypus lays eggs in its nest. When the babies come out of the eggs after about ten days, they hold on to the mother. The mother makes milk for the new babies. The platypus does not have nipples, but milk comes through small openings in the skin. The young platypus drinks the milk from the mother's skin while she lies on her back. At six weeks the babies have fur and are able to leave the burrow for short trips. After four months they no longer need their mother's milk.
The long period as dependent young, the provision of milk, and the way the young learn through play, are all advanced features. The monotremes share them with all other mammals. The monotremes are a mixture of primitive and advanced traits, a situation known as mosaic evolution.
Where they live
The platypus lives in small streams and rivers over a large area of eastern Australia. The map above shows this with dark purple. It has been seen in alpine lakes in Tasmania in the south, and north in Queensland as far as the Cape York Peninsula in tropical rain forest rivers.
In the past, platypus lived in South Australia but they no longer do so. There are platypus on Kangaroo Island, but these were brought there in an attempt to save animals people thought might become extinct. There are very few if any platypus left in most the Murray-Darling Basin. The water there is no good because people used it to grow plants, and cleared the trees from the land. It is strange that the platypus does not live in some healthy rivers. It does live in some less healthy coastal rivers, for example the Maribyrnong River in Victoria.
Platypus are difficult to see in the wild. They dislike areas with people, spend most of their time underground or under water, and sleep during the day. At Eungella National Park in Queensland, there are spots on the river with viewing areas where wild platypus can usually be seen each evening.
The past and the future
Its evolution
Modern monotremes are the survivors of an early branching of the mammal tree. A later branching led to the marsupial and placental groups. Molecular clock and fossil dating suggest platypuses split from echidnas around 19–48million years ago.
This species
The first platypus specimen arrived in England in 1799 in the form of a skin of a dead platypus, so biologists could study it. They did not really understand what they were seeing. Some thought it was a fake.
National Geographic magazine had a story on the platypus in 1939. Many people had never heard of the platypus. The story told how hard it was to raise the babies in zoos. Even today, humans have raised only few. David Fleay at the Healesville Sanctuary in Victoria had the first successful zoo-raised platypus in 1946. He nearly did it again in 1972 at the David Fleay Wildlife Park at Burleigh Heads, Queensland, but it died at 50 days. Healesville raised another in 1998 and again in 2000. Taronga Zoo in Sydney bred twins in 2003, and had another birth in 2006.
The platypus will probably not die out completely in the near future. Ecologists say that it is “secure but faces future threat” (safe now but not in the future) or common but vulnerable (there are a lot now but they are not safe). They say this because people can make the water unsafe for the platypus.
References
Other websites
More platypus information from Earlham College
PBS.org
Platypus at WikiFauna
Platypus-Evolution and Conservation
Monotremes
Living fossils
Mammals of Australia |
3440 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenya | Kenya | Kenya is a country in East Africa, about halfway down, near the horn of Africa. It has the Indian Ocean to its east and Lake Victoria to west. Kenya borders the Jubaland part of Somalia (east), Ethiopia (north), South Sudan (north-west), Uganda (west), and Tanzania (south). Kenya is about the size of France, and almost as large as Texas (U.S.).
The capital city of Kenya is Nairobi, which is the 14th largest city in Africa (after Accra, Ghana). Some cities on the seaside are Mombasa and Malindi on the Indian Ocean, Nyeri, Nanyuki, Naivasha, and Thika in the Kenyan Highlands, and Kisumu on Lake Victoria.
The first humans may have lived near the lakes of Kenya along the Great Rift Valley, which cuts Kenya from north to south.
Kenya's coast is tropical and gets very hot. Inland, it is drier and cooler where the mountains rise up. The highest mountain in Kenya is Mt. Kenya, at . Mount Kilimanjaro crosses over the south border, with Tanzania, but the highest part of Kilimanjaro is in Tanzania.
Kenya is home to many different indigenous peoples with their own cultures, languages, and histories. There are at least 44 living languages and 1 extinct language that is not spoken any more. English and Swahili are the official languages spoken in Kenya. Because of colonialism school-going Kenyans are required to learn English, and it is used in schools and universities.
Kenya was colonized by the British, who began taking land from indigenous peoples to build ranches. They also discriminated against Kenyans in their own land. Kenyans who were against this formed a group called the Kenya Land and Freedom Army, or Mau Mau that fought a war against Britain for independence. The British committed war crimes to stop the Mau Mau, but on December 12, 1963 they agreed to give Kenya independence.
For many years after independence, a single party, the Kenya African National Union (KANU), ruled the country. General elections were held every 5 years. However, all candidates for election to office had to belong to the ruling party, KANU. The party used the police to harass and torture socialists and communists in Kenya, and worked closely with Britain and the United States to keep them out of politics.
Uhuru Kenyatta is currently the president of Kenya with William Ruto as his Deputy, despite this, the two leaders have had political issues after Kenyatta had a peace agrrement often dubbed as 'handshake' with Kenya's opposition leader Raila Odinga after the 2017's General Elections on whom should succeed Kenya's presidency in 2022 as the president supports Odinga.
Education
All Kenyans of school-going age are required to attend Primary School. However, school fees and required uniforms often keep students away from school. The Kenyan school system consists of 8 years of primary school, standard 1 through 8, 4 years of high school (Form 1 to 4) and 4 years of university but plans are underway of changing the system to 2 years in pre-school, 6 years in primary school,3 years in junior high school,3 years in senior high school and 3 years in university (2-6-6-3) in 2018. At the end of primary school, all students sit for a standardized exam called Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE). The grades attained in this exam determine which high school the student will attend. In Form 4 (this is the last year in high school), students sit for another exam called Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE). The highest achieving students are granted admission into the 5 national universities (Nairobi, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenyatta University, Egerton University and Moi University). Tertiary colleges, like Globovillee college, also feed the diploma graduates to universities.
Land and animals
Kenya is a country of grassland, but it is not rich, but it is productive land especially in the highlands. This is a very dry grassland with poor soil. Kenya also has very few mineral resources but their main mineral is soda ash. Three-fourths of the country is covered with plains. They are low in altitude along the coast, but get higher further inland, making a large plateau. The part east of Lake Turkana is the only true desert, but the rest can be very close to desert.
Savannas usually get between 4 and 16 inches (100 to 400 mm) of rain in a year. These lands, however, are called savanna because of the type of plants that live there and how they get their rain. Savannas have a wet and dry season. During the wet season it can rain hard for long periods of time then not rain at all in the dry season. Savannas that have more rain often have many trees spaced out across their plains. These trees have deep roots or store water, like desert plants do, to live through the long, dry seasons without rain. Even drier savannas will have only grass, and that too only in a few clumps. The dry land is very bad for crops, but it is a wonderful place for all kinds of wild animals to gather and stay. That is why Kenya has a lot of parks where the animals are kept, and protected from all the hunters. People/tourists come from all over the world to go on photo safaris in Kenya's special wildlife parks. The people come to Kenya on safari to see animals such as the rhinoceros, giraffe, wildebeest, elephant, cheetah, antelope, and lion. These animals live on the savanna grasslands.
The wild herbivores move as they eat, and they never stay in one spot because there is not enough grass for all of them. People also usually raise cattle on the savanna. These animals are kept in one place and often eat up all the grass there.
Government
Since the independence of Kenya in 1963, Kenya had usually had a one-party government. In 1991, a section of the constitution was scrapped, which automatically made it a multi-party state. It is a member of the British Commonwealth. The people are, like the Congo, divided into many tribes that often fight. However, Kenya's government is trying to get the people to work together and has encouraged them to run businesses and factories. Kenya is a developing country and is rapidly becoming modernized.
Provinces
In 2012, Kenya was divided into 47 counties. The head of each county is a governor, with each county further sub divided into 350 constituencies each representyed in the National Assembly by Members of Parliament.
Related pages
Kenya at the Olympics
Kenya national football team
List of rivers of Kenya
References
Other websites
Kenya Photo Gallery
1963 establishments in Africa |
3441 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swahili%20language | Swahili language | The Swahili language is a language widely spoken in East Africa. In the language, its name is . It is a Bantu language.
Swahili is spoken in a wide area from southern Somalia to northern Mozambique and in all of Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi. Congo has five million first-language speakers and fifty million second-language speakers. Swahili has become a language with which people communicate within East Africa and the surrounding areas.
Swahili language to be spoken by the Swahili people, who live on the coast of East Africa and on the islands near the coast, including Zanzibar, which is now a part of Tanzania. Swahili is an official language in Tanzania and Kenya. It has been influenced by many other languages like Arabic .
Sample words
city -
country -
earth -
no -
okay -
water -
yes -
me -
References
Other websites
Kamusi Project Internet Living Swahili Dictionary
Bantu languages
Languages of Africa |
3445 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long%20jump | Long jump | The long jump is a sport in athletics (track and field), where athletes compete by comparing lengths of their jumps where athletes try to jump as far as they can. For this, the athlete runs down the runway to the jumping pit which is made of soft sand If a person falls backwards when jumping, this can decrease the length of their jump.
Rules
Long jump is a sport in which, the athlete who jumps the longest by legal means, wins. The athlete begins running from his or her starting position and after attaining sufficient velocity, jumps, landing in a sand pit, which is fitted with distance markers. There is a foul line, in the run-up area, that the athlete has to be aware of; jumping from beyond this line results in a ‘foul jump’. Jumpers try to get as close to the foul line as legally possible before initiating their jump.
Related pages
High jump
Triple jump
Notes
Other websites
Powell vs Lewis Tokyo 91 (video)
Events in athletics |
3447 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth%20II | Elizabeth II | Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms until her death on 8 September 2022.
Elizabeth became queen when her father, King George VI, died on 6 February 1952. At the time of her death, she had ruled longer than any other king or queen in the history of the United Kingdom. She had also ruled longer than any other living king or queen in the world, since the death of Thailand's Bhumibol Adulyadej on 13 October 2016. She was the second-longest reigning monarch in history.
In 1947, Elizabeth married Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who died in 2021. Elizabeth and Philip had four children, eight grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. She died on 8 September 2022 at the age of 96, and was succeeded by her eldest son, Charles III.
Early life
Elizabeth was born in her grandparents' home at 17 Bruton Street, Mayfair, London on 21 April 1926. Her father was Prince Albert, Duke of York, who later became George VI. Her mother was Elizabeth, Duchess of York.
Elizabeth was the granddaughter of King George V and Queen Mary. She was named after her mother. Her nickname was "Lilibet".
Elizabeth had one sister, Princess Margaret. Margaret was born in 1930. The two young princesses were taught at home. They had a governess named Marion Crawford.
Elizabeth was third in the line of succession to the British Throne. The first in line was her uncle, the Prince of Wales. The second in line was her father, the Duke of York.
Elizabeth's grandfather, King George V, died in 1936. Her uncle became King Edward VIII. He was king only for a short time. He abdicated.
His brother, Elizabeth's father the Duke of York, became King George VI.
Elizabeth was 13 years old when World War II started. London was bombed. Elizabeth and Margaret were moved to Windsor Castle. This was for their safety. People thought that they should be sent to Canada. Their mother did not approve this idea.
Elizabeth joined the British army in 1945. She drove a truck. She was a mechanic. In 1947, she made her first official trip outside Britain. She went with her parents to South Africa. She made a speech on her 21st birthday. She said her whole life would be devoted to the service of British Commonwealth and Empire.
Personal life
Princess Elizabeth married Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh on 20 November 1947. The wedding was held in Westminster Abbey. The couple lived mostly at Clarence House in London.
The couple had four children. Charles was born on 14 November 1948. Their second child, Anne, was born on 15 August 1950. Their son Andrew was born on 19 February 1960. Their son Edward was born on 10 March 1964. The princes and princess sometimes use the name Mountbatten-Windsor. This is their official last name when they need one (royal families rarely use them).
Prince Philip died on 9 April 2021 at Windsor Castle, aged 99.
In February 2022, Elizabeth II tested positive for COVID-19 after having cold-like symptoms.
Succession
In 1951, the King's health was poor. He could not go to many public events. Princess Elizabeth started to make official visits for him. The King died on 6 February 1952. Elizabeth was crowned Queen on 2 June 1953. The ceremony was held in Westminster Abbey. She wore a dress that was decorated with the national flowers of the countries of the Commonwealth. Many people bought TV sets to watch the event.
Life as Queen
In 1952, Her Majesty the Queen and Prince Philip moved into Buckingham Palace in central London. This is the main official home of the monarch.
Her early years as Queen were spent traveling to many places. In 1953, the Queen and Prince Philip began an around the world tour in the Royal Yacht, Britannia. Their tour went for six months. She was the first reigning monarch to visit Australia, New Zealand and Fiji.
In October 1957, she made an official visit to the United States. She spoke to the United Nations General Assembly. She toured Canada. She became the first monarch to open the nation's Parliament. The Queen liked going to to Canada. She called Canada her "home away from home".
In February 1961, she visited India, Iran, Pakistan and Nepal for the first time. Since then, the Queen made visits to most Commonwealth countries. She had also been to most European countries and many countries outside Europe.
In 1991, she became the first British monarch to speak to a joint session of the United States Congress. She goes to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings. She is the most widely traveled head of state in history.
Changes to the Commonwealth
When Elizabeth became Queen on 6 February 1952, she was officially Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan and Ceylon (now called Sri Lanka). These were the Commonwealth countries. She was also Queen of the Union of South Africa (which became a republic in 1961).
There were many more countries that she also ruled, because they belonged to the British Empire. One by one, many of the countries became independent, and as they gained independence she became Queen of many of them. Altogether, she was sovereign of 32 nations.
Some of the countries are now republics and have a president as "Head of State", while some of them kept the Queen as "Head of State". Queen Elizabeth II was the only monarch of more than one independent nation. The old British Empire became the Commonwealth of Nations.
It includes both monarchies and republics. It is now called "The Commonwealth". The Queen is the Head of the Commonwealth. She worked hard to keep peace and good communication between all the nations that are members.
Relationships with her governments and other countries
Ever since she became queen, Elizabeth spent about three hours every day "doing the boxes". The "boxes" are two large red boxes that were brought to her from the Parliament every day. They are full of state papers sent to her from her various departments, embassies, and government offices. One of the most famous photos taken of Elizabeth as a teenager shows her with her father, the King, learning about "the boxes". Because she had been doing this since 1952, she knew a great deal about the government of the UK.
When the Queen WAS in London, she met her Prime Minister once a week, to talk about events. She also had meetings with the First Minister of Scotland and other Ministers of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and the Prime Ministers and Ministers of other countries, when she was in their country, or when they visited London.
In the late 1990s, there were "referendums" in which the people of Scotland and Wales were asked if they wanted parliaments that were separate from the parliament of the United Kingdom. This was called a "devolution policy". As a result, the new Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly of Wales, were set up. The Queen opened the first sessions of these two bodies.
Some people in Australia wanted a republic, with an elected or appointed president as Head of State instead of the Queen. In 1999, the people of Australia were asked in a referendum whether they wanted a republic. The decision of the people was to remain a monarchy. The Queen visited Australia the following year and said that she would continue to serve Australians as she had done for 48 years.
Elizabeth II was friends with many world leaders. Her first Prime Minister of Australia, Sir Robert Menzies called her "My Dear" and recited a poem that said "I will love her till I die". She has friendships with Mary Robinson, President of Ireland (1990–1997) and George W. Bush, who was the first American President in more than 80 years to stay at Buckingham Palace. Nelson Mandela, in a BBC documentary, called her "my friend, Elizabeth".
In May 2007, the Queen and Prince Philip made a state visit to the United States, in honour of the 400th anniversary of the Jamestown settlement.
The Queen as a person
Faith and duty
Elizabeth II, as the Monarch of the United Kingdom, is the "Supreme Governor" of the Church of England and sworn protector of the Church of Scotland. She is very interested in the Church of England, but the Archbishop of Canterbury runs the church. She rarely attends the yearly meeting of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
The Queen is deeply religious. In her Christmas Day television broadcast in 2000, she said:
The Queen regularly goes to church wherever she is: at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, St. Mary Magdalene Church at Sandringham House, Crathie Kirk at Balmoral Castle, and Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh, when she stays there in Holyroodhouse, her official home in Scotland.
The Queen often meets with leaders from other religions as well. In 1980, she became the first British Monarch to visit the Vatican, where she was welcomed by Pope John Paul II. She made another visit 20 years later on 17 October 2000. Queen Elizabeth II is Patron of "The Council of Christians and Jews" in the UK.
The Queen has shown a very strong sense of duty, ever since she was a girl. Her father, King George VI, was not meant to be king. Her uncle became king when her grandfather died. But he fell in love with an American woman who was divorced, and that wasn't allowed. So he had to give up being king very shortly after ascending. George VI didn't want to be king, because he was quite nervous and had a stammer. However, Elizabeth's grandfather said that he didn't think her uncle was very good as a king, and wanted George to reign, then Elizabeth. From the moment she realised that one day she would be Queen, she became very interested in her duties and did all she could to help her father. Her promise to serve her people all her life has always been very important to her. Some people think that now that she is old, perhaps she will retire ("abdicate") and let her son Prince Charles take over. People who know her well, including Prince Charles, have said that this will never happen.
Courage
The Queen has often shown courage, ever since she joined the military at 18. During a trip to Ghana in 1961, she was warned that it was dangerous to be near the President Kwame Nkrumah because people wanted to kill him. But she refused to stay away. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Harold Macmillan, wrote that the Queen got very impatient with people if they tried to treat her like "a film star".
In 1964, when the Queen was invited to Quebec, there were fears for her safety because there was opposition to her visit. There were suggestions that the tour should be cancelled. But the Queen's secretary said that the Queen would not want to be stopped from going to Quebec because of any danger. During the Trooping the Colour in 1981, she was shot at, but she carried on. The Queen was praised for her courage and for her ability to keep her horse calm. It was later discovered that the shots were blanks. In 1982, a man called Michael Fagan broke into Buckingham Palace in the morning, and found the Queen's bedroom. He woke her up, and sat on her bed, until the guards came to take him away.
Family relations
Throughout her long reign, Queen Elizabeth II has been supported in her duties by her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Prince Philip promised to help the Queen on the day of her Coronation. The Queen was also helped by her mother Queen Elizabeth, known as "The Queen Mother", who lived to be 101 years old, and stayed very active in her old-age. The Queen is the patron of many organisations and charities. She has many invitations and official duties. Many of the duties have been shared by other members of the Royal Family, who have also become patrons of many organisations.
The Queen was sad about the broken marriages and divorces of three of her children, Prince Charles, Princess Anne and Prince Andrew. Prince Charles's marriage to Lady Diana Spencer was thought to be a fairytale wedding because Diana was young and beautiful, and they seemed very happy. But soon the marriage became troubled, and after their divorce, she was killed in a car accident in 1997. On 9 April 2005, Prince Charles married Camilla Parker-Bowles, whom he had loved for many years. In 2002, within seven weeks of each other, the Queen's mother and sister, Princess Margaret, both died on 30 March and 9 February respectively.
As the Queen is old, people worry about her health, but she is rarely sick. However, she is leaving more duties to the younger members of the Royal Family, particularly to Prince Charles, who will become King when she dies.
Wealth
The Queen's wealth is private. It is difficult to estimate how much she is worth. She owns Sandringham House, Balmoral Castle, and other large properties. She does not own Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, or the royal collection of art. These are worth millions of pounds. In 2021, Forbes magazine estimated her personal fortune at about US$500 million (£300 million).
Death and funeral
On 8 September 2022, Buckingham Palace said that the Queen was under medical supervision at Balmoral after doctors said that they were concerned by her health. The statement read, "Following further evaluation this morning, the Queen's doctors are concerned for Her Majesty's health and have recommended she remain under medical supervision. The Queen remains comfortable and at Balmoral." The Queen's four children, along with Prince William, Prince Harry, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, travelled to be with her. Her death was announced in the evening of the same day.
Her state funeral was on 19 September.
Her daughter Princess Anne registered the death certificate of Elizabeth II. It said she died at 8 September 2022 at 15:10 at Balmoral Castle. It also said she died of old age including osteoporosis.
Jubilees
Silver Jubilee
In 1977, the Queen celebrated her Silver Jubilee. This jubilee marked the 25 anniversary of her coming to the throne. There was a royal procession in the golden State Coach. A service of thanksgiving was held at St. Paul's Cathedral. Millions of people watched on television. There were parties across the UK. Five commemorative stamps were printed in honour of the event. The Jubilee line of the London Underground opened in 1979, named after the anniversary.
Golden Jubilee
In 2002, Elizabeth II celebrated Golden Jubilee. This jubilee marked the 50th anniversary of her coming to the throne. She toured the Commonwealth countries. There was a pop concert in the gardens of Buckingham Palace. A service of thanksgiving was held at St. Paul's Cathedral.
Diamond wedding anniversary
The Queen and Prince Philip celebrated their sixtieth (diamond) wedding anniversary on 19 November 2007, with a special service at Westminster Abbey. The night before, Prince Charles gave a private dinner party at Clarence House for 20 members of the Royal Family.
On the following day, 20 November, the Queen and Prince Philip went on a visit to Malta, where they had stayed from 1949 to 1951 after getting married. A Royal Navy ship, which was nearby, got its sailors to line up on deck to form a big number '60' for the couple.
Diamond Jubilee
In 2012, the Queen's 60 years as monarch were marked by Diamond Jubilee celebrations, including a grand pageant of boats on the Thames and a service of thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral.
Sapphire Jubilee and Platinum Wedding Anniversary
In 2017, the Sapphire Jubilee marked the Queen's 65 years as monarch. She was the first British monarch to have a Sapphire Jubilee. Instead of large celebrations, as usual, the Queen spent the day in "quiet reflection" because the day was also the anniversary of her father's death. Commemorative stamps and coins were made in honour of the Jubilee, and a portrait of the Queen wearing sapphire jewellery was reissued.
Also in 2017, the Queen and Prince Philip celebrated their seventieth (Platinum) wedding anniversary. They held a private celebration at Windsor Castle. Westminster Abbey, where they were married, held a three-hour bell ceremony.
Platinum Jubilee
The Queen's Platinum Jubilee was held in February 2022, meaning she has been Queen for 70 years. She would have surpassed Louis XIV of France as the longest-reigning monarch of a sovereign state in world history if she remained Queen until 27 May 2024.
Titles and styles
When someone is talking about the Queen, she is called "The Queen" or "Her Majesty". When someone was talking to her, she was called "Your Majesty". After the first time, the person talking to the Queen could say "Ma'am". It is pronounced "Marm". These are the titles that she had:
21 April 1926 – 11 December 1936: Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth of York
11 December 1936 – 20 November 1947: Her Royal Highness The Princess Elizabeth
20 November 1947 – 6 February 1952: Her Royal Highness The Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh
6 February 1952 – 8 September 2022: Her Majesty The Queen
The Queen had several coats of arms. In the UK, they are known as the "Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom". Every British monarch has used these arms since the reign of Queen Victoria. The coats of arms used in Scotland and Canada are different to the arms used in England and Wales.
Elizabeth II was:
Queen of Antigua and Barbuda
Queen of Australia
Queen of The Bahamas
Queen of Belize
Queen of Canada
Queen of Grenada
Queen of Jamaica
Queen of New Zealand
Queen of Papua New Guinea
Queen of Saint Kitts and Nevis
Queen of Saint Lucia
Queen of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Queen of Solomon Islands
Queen of Tuvalu
Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Children
Ancestors
Related pages
Death of Elizabeth II - Article about her death
Charles III - Her son, the current king
References
Notes
Further reading
Other websites
Official website
Elizabeth II: Modern Monarch
BBC Coverage of The Queens Golden Jubilee (2002) including AUDIO/VIDEO coverage
1926 births
2022 deaths
English Anglicans
House of Windsor
Kings and Queens of the United Kingdom
Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Recipients of the Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria
Recipients of the Nishan-e-Pakistan
Recipients of the Order of the Aztec Eagle
Royalty from London
Time People of the Year |
3448 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Question | Question | A question is what someone asks, usually when there is something that he or she does not know. In writing, a question mark ("?") comes at the end of a question. However, just because a question is asked does not mean there is an answer.
Types of question
Sometimes a question has a simple answer like "Yes" or "No".
Sometimes a question has a more complicated answer like "Maybe", or "I don't know". There are so many types of questions and so many ways of answering questions.
Examples of these questions
People may give a short answer. People may give a long answer. It depends on the question.
"Guess what?"
Who
"Can I help you?"
"Do you speak English?"
"Is this your bag?"
"What time is it?"
"Where are you from?"
"Why are you doing that?"
"Who do you want to see?"
"When will tea be ready?"
"What did you say?"
"How old are you?"
"What time is the football game?"
"Why do you look so funny?"
"Why did the chicken cross the road?"
"Where can I find the nearest subway station?"
"Why do you allow people to change an online encyclopedia?"
Types
Different kinds of why questions need different kinds of answers. A question like "Why did you do that?" clearly asks for an explanation. What that explanation might be depends on context. This kind of explanation is not right or wrong: it all depends on circumstance. The question and answer may also have to do with "who", "what", "when" and "where".
There are types or forms of explanations, including:
explanations which are based on a principle or theory.
Who should I listen to? Answer: Mother knows best.
explanations which rely on a model or pattern.
Where does this part go? Answer: The pocket is on the left side of the shirt.
explanations which tell a story or narrative.
When did you do that? Answer: I ran away after the dog barked.
explanations which relate to goals or purposes.
Why are you doing that? Answer: Because I'm going to build a boat.
Many kinds of explanations are made up of more than one type.
An explanation can be valid or invalid or a combination of both. Some explanations may appear reasonable, but they turn out to be misleading or wrong.
References
Basic English 850 words
Linguistics |
3449 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boss | Boss | A boss is a person who is in charge of workers in a company or organization. Bosses can have many different job titles. Simple examples include manager, supervisor and director.
Boss may also mean:
Boss (video gaming), a particularly powerful enemy or opponent in a video game
Boss (crime), head of a criminal organization
Related pages
Executive (disambiguation)
Leader |
3450 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun | Gun | A gun (also called a firearm) is a weapon used to shoot one or more metal projectiles called bullets. Guns made of wood or bamboo are thought to have been made in China around 1000 AD. In the next few centuries they spread to other parts of Asia and to Europe where they were made of metal. Guns largely replaced catapults and bows and arrows when they became strong enough to reach out over longer distances to reliably hit a target. They are of many different sizes. Some are small enough to hold in one hand. Others are large enough to sink a warship.
In military usage, the word "firearm" is used for the type of weapons that soldiers carry. Most of them are either pistols or rifles. These small arms can be carried and used by one person. They have the same basic parts: a trigger, a barrel, and a handgrip or stock. The shooter's finger pulls the trigger to fire the weapon which releases a bullet. The barrel guides the bullet which then flies to the target. The shooter's hand holds the handgrip.
Guns can be very effective weapons. Their bullets fly faster than an arrow or spear. Their high kinetic energy makes them more lethal. They also shoot from far distances. Bullets are usually non-explosive pieces of metal.
Cartridges
A modern bullet is the front part of a round or cartridge. A cartridge consists of a bullet, propellant and a primer. These are packaged in a metallic, paper, or plastic case which is sized exactly for the chamber of the firearm being used. When the rear of the case (containing the primer) is struck, an explosion in the back of the cartridge ignites the propellant. The controlled explosion forces the bullet out of the barrel. Cartridges have different ways of being loaded into different kinds of weapons. Cartridges can be loaded directly into a firearm into the chamber. Or, more commonly, into a clip, a magazine or other bullet container which is loaded into the firearm. Handguns known as revolvers have a cylinder with holes that the bullets are loaded into. Modern guns called pistols are handguns loaded with a magazine.
Military use
Guns have been used by armies since about the 14th century. Long barreled guns called muskets, that could be carried and used by one person, were in use by 1350. They became an important weapon in European armies about the 1600s.
Modern militaries use the word "gun" for larger artillery guns that need several people, and that fire big ammunition. For example, weapons on warships and tanks are called "guns". They may be in a "turret" (a rotating base). Big guns usually fire artillery shells, which explode upon impact.
In almost every country firearms are the main weapons used by armies. In modern armies, every soldier has at least one firearm as standard equipment. Soldiers are trained to use firearms, and to keep them clean and ready for use.
Sporting use
Shooting is a competitive sport involving tests of accuracy and speed. They use various types of guns such as pistols, revolvers, rifles, shotguns and airguns. Shooting sports are categorized by the type of firearm, targets, and distances at which the targets are shot. Target Shooting is an Olympic sport.
Since the first humans, hunting became a way of life. It was and still is in some places, the key to survival. Mankind is distinguished from other animals by the use of tools. At least 2 million years ago man learned to hunt animals for meat. They learned to create and use spears and axes. Bows and arrows were used at least 71,000 years ago. Modern hunting still uses more primitive tools. But many subsistence hunters have adapted to use modern firearms. In modern countries hunting is still allowed but is considered a sport. Hunting can be used to control the populations of many animal species. As with many aspects of gun ownership and use, modern hunting remains controversial. Handguns are not generally used for hunting.
Legal use
Guns can be used to kill other people. For that reason many countries only allow soldiers, policemen, and certain social classes to have them. In some countries, a person must have a special permit (or license) if they want to own a gun. Depending on the gun, people need to be a certain age and may need to meet other criteria to get such a permit.
An example of this is that in the United States federal law allows buying rifles and/or shotguns at age 18—if purchased from a licensed firearms dealer. But a person must be age 21 or older to purchase a handgun—from a licensed firearms dealer. However, if purchased from an unlicensed person, with few exceptions, a handgun may not be sold to anyone under age 18. There is no age restriction on who may buy a rifle or shotgun from an unlicensed person. In the United States and other countries, people can buy guns for self-defense, hunting, and shooting sports like target shooting.
In some countries, such as Australia, people who live on farms are allowed to keep guns, but it is not easy for a person living in the city to get a gun without good reason. In the United Kingdom, access by the general public to firearms is tightly controlled by law. However, this is less restrictive in Northern Ireland. After the Dunblane school massacre in 1996 followed by the Hungerford massacre in 1987, Britain passed the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988. It required registration for shotguns and banned semi-automatic and pump-action weapons. A further ban on all handguns in mainland Britain came a year and a half later.
Common gun types
Air gun
Machine gun
Pistol
Revolver
Rifle
Shotgun
Submachine gun
References
Basic English 850 words |
3451 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/New%20York | New York | New York might mean:
New York (state), a state of the United States
New York City, the largest city in that state
New York County, New York, a county in that state that is the same as the Borough of Manhattan of New York City
New York metropolitan area, covering New York City and several nearby counties in New York and New Jersey |
3453 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobby | Hobby | A hobby is a leisure activity that people do for fun or recreation. People do it because they like it.
Arts and crafts
Some people do arts and crafts. They make clothing or decorations with their hands. Some popular arts and crafts that involve textiles or fabrics include crocheting, sewing (making clothing), embroidery, knitting, and quilting.
Some people like to do hobbies that involve making images on paper, such as scrapbooking, painting, and drawing. Some people like to make three-dimensional decorations using clay or wood, in the hobbies of pottery, sculpture, wood carving, and woodworking.
Some other arts include movie-making, photography, and musical hobbies such as singing, playing musical instruments, and writing songs.
Games and puzzles
Some people enjoy hobbies such as playing games or solving puzzles. Games include board games such as chess, card games, and newer games such as wargaming and role-playing games. Popular puzzles include jigsaw puzzles and crossword puzzles.
Reading and learning
Some people enjoy spending their time reading books, magazines, and newspapers, or writing stories or in a diary. Other people enjoy learning foreign languages by taking classes, or doing research, such as genealogy.
In the 2000s, many people have Internet-based hobbies, such as editing Wikipedia, writing their own blogs, or having online discussions in Newsgroups or online forums.
Some people enjoy computer activities, such as computer programming, learning about open source software, or playing computer games. Some people enjoy learning about electronics such as doing amateur radio broadcasts or building robots.
Hobbies in the home
Some people enjoy working on their home and learning how to repair their home by themselves, without hiring repair people or plumbers. Some people enjoy learning how to repair motor vehicles, such as antique cars. Some people even build and repair sailboats in their backyard.
Many people have hobbies that they do in the kitchen, such as cooking for their guests and family, and making their own beer. Many people also have hobbies in their home that involve animals, such as keeping a pet animal, such as a dog, a cat, or tropical fish. Some people even learn about dog breeding.
Collecting
Collecting is a popular hobby in North America and in Europe. People enjoy finding interesting examples of different items and learning about them. Some of the well-known types of collecting include stamp collecting, coin collecting, video game collecting, trading cards such as baseball cards, and Pokémon cards. People also collect toys, books, comic books, and old records. Some people collect antiques and artwork, but these hobbies are more rare, because antiques and artwork are usually expensive.
A type of hobby that is related to collecting is model building. People who do model-building as a hobby collect small models which they build, paint, and then display. Some common types of model-building hobbies include model airplanes, model rockets, model ships, model cars, and model railways.
Outdoor activities and sports
Outdoor hobbies include bird feeding, birdwatching, canoeing, gardening, hiking, walking, and sports such as baseball, bowling, cycling, fishing, hunting, and sailing.
Other hobbies
Many people spend a lot of time in leisure activities that are not necessarily called hobbies. Some people disapprove of spending time on these activities. These activities include watching too much television, drinking alcohol, and taking illegal drugs.
Related pages
List of hobbies
Other websites
Hobby -Citizendium |
3454 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/World%20Trade%20Center%20%281973%E2%80%932001%29 | World Trade Center (1973–2001) | The original World Trade Center (WTC) was a complex of buildings in Lower Manhattan, New York, New York, United States which was destroyed in the September 11, 2001 attacks; a new complex is mostly complete and is built on the site of the old one.
The biggest buildings in the original World Trade Center were the Twin Towers. The North Tower was the tallest building in the world when it was built. Taller ones were built later. The Twin Towers had 110 stories, and, at the time of its destruction, were the two tallest in New York. They and 7 World Trade Center were destroyed in the September 11, 2001 attacks and other buildings were damaged beyond repair.
The original World Trade Center was designed by Minoru Yamasaki in the early 1960s using a tube-frame structural design for the twin 110-story towers. In gaining approval for the project, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey agreed to take over the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad which became the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH).
Groundbreaking for the World Trade Center took place on August 5, 1966. The North Tower, officially World Trade Center 1 was completed in December 1970 and the South Tower, officially World Trade Center 2 was finished in July 1971. Construction of the World Trade Center involved excavating a large amount of material that was then used in making Battery Park City on the west side of Lower Manhattan.
WTC buildings
1 World Trade Center (North Tower)
2 World Trade Center (South Tower)
3 World Trade Center (Marriott Vista Hotel)
4 World Trade Center
5 World Trade Center
6 World Trade Center (US Customs House)
7 World Trade Center
Terrorist attacks
February 26, 1993, bombing
The first terrorist attack on the World Trade Center occurred on February 26, 1993, at 12:17 PM. A truck filled with 680 kg of explosives, planted by Ramzi Yousef, exploded in the underground garage of the 1 WTC. The bombing created a 30 m (100 ft) hole through five sublevels. Six people were killed and 1,042 others were injured during escape attempts. Many people inside the tower were forced to walk down darkened stairwells with no emergency lighting, some taking two hours or more to reach safety. As a memorial to the victims of the bombing of the tower, a reflecting pool was installed with the names of those who were killed.
September 11 attacks
On September 11, 2001, Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked American Airlines Flight 11 and crashed it into the 1 WTC, striking between the 93rd and 99th floors, killing 1,344 people. Seventeen minutes later, a second group crashed the hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 into the WTC, striking between the 77th and 85th floors, fewer than 700 were killed. At 5:20 p.m., 7 World Trade Center started to collapse with the crumble of the east penthouse. The Marriott Hotel was destroyed during the collapse of the twin towers. The three remaining buildings in the WTC plaza were damaged by debris and later were demolished. Many conspiracy theories have appeared which say that certain people in the United States government knew about the attacks beforehand, or even made them happen.
Memorials
The National September 11 Memorial & Museum (also known as the 9/11 Memorial & Museum) is a memorial and museum in World Trade Center site, as the memorial of the 9/11 attacks, which killed 2,977 people, and the 1993 bombing, which killed six. It is operated by a non-profit institution whose mission is to raise funds for, program, and operate the memorial and museum at the World Trade Center site. The National September 11 Memorial opened on September 11, 2011, and the museum opened in May 2014.
References
Other websites
"The Lost Days" - videotribute
Apocalypse in the USA – animation, WTC and Pentagon, Ground Zero
Nicol Prism - The new version of the twin towers, WTC members of the architectural complex, is inaugurated on 1 May 2012 without much fanfare.
1973 establishments in New York (state)
2001 disestablishments in the United States
Buildings and structures in Manhattan
September 11 attacks
World Trade Organization |
3455 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hour | Hour | An hour (abbreviation: h or hr) is a unit of measurement used to measure time. An hour is equal to 60 minutes. 24 hours are equal to one day. Unlike the second, the hour is not a base SI unit.
Basic English 850 words
Units of time |
3456 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minute | Minute | A minute is a customary unit of time. It is equal to 60 seconds. There are 60 minutes in an hour. Unlike the second, the minute is not an SI unit.
A minute is also of a degree. In this context, a minute is also called an arcminute, and is written with the symbol.
For example, the Sun and Moon both have angular diameters of about 30 arcminutes—when seen from Earth.
Related pages
Arcsecond
References
Basic English 850 words
Units of time
Geometry |
3457 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat | Coat | A coat is a piece of clothing that is worn over a person's upper body. It can be used to keep warm or dry (a raincoat). It also may be worn to make a person look good. A coat usually has long sleeves, and is fastened at the front. Sometimes it includes collars, shoulder straps and hoods. One type of coat is a jacket.
References
Other websites
Basic English 850 words
Protective clothing |
3458 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Study%20skills | Study skills | Study skills or study strategies are systematic ways to improve learning. They are needed for success in school, especially for college and beyond. Study skills include numerous techniques and skills that help in acquiring and retaining information. Some are assessment tools that help a student see where they need help most.
Study skills might include a learner's ability to listen, read, understand, concentrate, remember and organise their learning material, and manage studying time.
Learning strategies
Time management is an essential skill. Teachers have found a connection between students who can manage their time well, and their GPA (grade point average). The better they manage time, the higher their GPA. Britton and Tesser (1991) found that measuring the time management skills of freshmen was a better indicator of higher GPAs than their SAT scores as seniors. Most students find that by analyzing their use of time, much of it is wasted.
Mnemonics may help to remember lists or sequences of information. The name Roy G. Biv is an example of a mnemonic. It is an acronym for the colors of the rainbow in proper sequence: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet. They also include rhymes, phrases, poems and associating pictures with information. Mnemonics should be used sparingly as they have some limitations.
The SQ3R Method. This is an acronym for survey question, read, recite and review. SQ3R was developed by Francis Robinson in 1941. Students learn to survey the reading materials, not by reading every word, but by getting an overall sense of what it is about. The next step is to form questions. Look at the end of chapters or books to see if there are questions. Read the materials to answer the questions. Next, recite what you have learned out loud. Reciting helps the learning process much better than reading alone. Review the information a few hours or even days later. This keeps it fresh in your mind.
Skimming and Scanning. Skim reading is a technique to gain the most from reading something in the least amount of time. It is looking at chapter headings, bullet lists of key points in sidebars and key words in sentences.The first sentence of a chapter often is a abstract of the chapter. Scanning involves moving your finger down the page as you read. The object is to try to absorb at least 50% of the text. It is then compared to what was skimmed.
Study Groups. Colleges and universities encourage students to form study groups. A study group can divide tasks and each member concentrate on one segment. Students who teach or share what they know with others learn more. A study group uses active learning, a very effective way to learn.
Taking effective notes. Note taking skills learned in high school are rarely adequate for college. In college, good note taking involves critical thinking. Professors often lecture at a fast pace. Do not try to write down everything, try to establish what are key points. A good clue to key or important points is that a teacher or lecturer may repeat them during the lecture. It is important to develop good listening skills. Key skills to good note taking are:
Pre-reading the materials. This helps in understanding lectures.
Review your previous class notes.
Have everything you need at hand. Make sure you have pens, pencils, notebooks, and textbooks.
References
Other websites
Study skills at Virginia Tech
How to read in college, Swarthmore College
Active Reading: Comprehension and Rate, Dartmouth College
Learning - Visual vs. Auditory Learners. Kentucky Virtual Campus
Study Tips for the Visual Learner, Staffordshire Learning Net
5 Study Tips for Auditory Learners, Law School Toolbox
Learning |
3459 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head | Head | The head is the part of the body where the brain is. It is also where the face is. Different things may be worn on the head, for example a headband or a hat.
Some people get pains in their head occasionally, known as headaches. Also, some people have worse pains in their head called migraines.
A head in English can also mean a person in charge of something, such as the head of a company.
Also, the word head can also mean the front of something. An example of this is the word "Headline", meaning large words on the front page of a newspaper.
Basic English 850 words |
3460 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norway | Norway | Norway is a country in the north of Europe. It is the western part of the Scandinavian peninsula. The mainland of Norway is surrounded by the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean on the west side, and borders Russia, Finland, and Sweden to the east. The southern coast touches the Oslofjord, Skagerrak, and the North Sea.
The Monarchy of Norway has been independent since 1814. Its head of state is a king - Harald the 5th (as of 2022). The national day is May 17, which celebrates Norway's constitution of 1814. The parliament is called Stortinget and its members are elected by the people every 4 years.
About 5 million people live in Norway. The capital is the city of Oslo.
Norwegian is the national language. There are two official written versions of Norwegian called Bokmål and Nynorsk.
The Northern Sami language is spoken by around 90% of those who speak one of Norway's 3 Sami languages. Northern Sami is also an official language in a number of municipalities.
History
The battle of Hafrsfjord (872 A.D.) resulted in small kingdoms becoming one larger kingdom, ruled by Harald Fairhair. After the king's death, again there were smaller kingdoms, inside Norway.
Stockfish (or fish that has been freeze-dried, outside in cold weather) has been traded and exported; this happened as early as either the 9th century, 10th century, or 11th century until 1066. Other sources say that the exporting was happening as early as the 12th century; stockfish is one of the country's oldest [type of] things to be sold for export.
In 1349 half of the Norwegian people died, getting sick from the bubonic plague (or Black Death).
When a Norwegian king died in 1387, there was no Norwegian king until the 20th century.
In 1397, Denmark, Norway and Sweden began the Kalmar Union.
The first [known] map, where Norway is drawn, was made in 1482.
Sweden left the Kalmar Union in 1523. From 1536/1537, Denmark and Norway formed a personal union that by 1660 became the state called Denmark–Norway; Norway was the weaker part of the union with Denmark. That union lasted until 1814, when the Treaty of Kiel said that Norway be ceded (or given) to Sweden; Denmark did not cede the Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Greenland
The Norwegian constitution was written in 1814 and signed on 17th May that year. However, Denmark, on the losing side of the Napoleon wars, lost Norway to Sweden, on the winning side.
A Swedish–Norwegian War started on 26 July 1814. It ended on 14 August, because of an agreement, called the Convention of Moss.
The union with Sweden: It started on 14 August 1814, when the Convention of Moss (en) was signed; the union went on for 90 years.
The results of the election in 1882, led to parlamentarism becoming part of Norway's political system; the votes of the "swamp men" decided the outcome of the election; they included teachers, artists and craftsmen who were not poor but also did not own land; ownership of land or a contract to use land was necessary to get voting rights; the "swamp men" had bough cheap land which was nearly useless, except for getting a right to vote.
The right to vote in [ national and local ] elections, was given to the public (or the general public) in 1898.
The end of the Union of Sweden and Norway, was on 7 June 1905, when Norway got its independence.
In 1905 Prince Carl of Denmark was elected King of Norway. His name as a king, was King Haakon VII.
In World War I, Norway was neutral and served as a trading nation.
Norway tried to stay neutral in World War II, but was occupied by German forces from 9 April 1940 to 8 May 1945.
In 1952 Norway became a member of NATO.
Oil was found in Norway's part of the North Sea, during the 1960s; the oil was found under the sea floor.
Royal family since 1905
King Haakon VII was already married, before he came to Norway (in 1905). His wife, Princess Maud, became Queen Maud. Their son, Prince Alexander of Denmark, became Crown Prince Olav and followed after his father as King Olav V in 1957. Olav and his wife, Crown Princess Märtha, had three children; Princess Ragnhild, Princess Astrid and Prince Harald (later Crown Prince Harald and in 1991 he followed his father as King Harald V).
King Harald is the first king born in Norway in over 600 years. He has two children; Princess Märtha Louise and Crown Prince Haakon Magnus.
Government
Ministry of Defence
The Government has Norwegian soldiers working in Syria (as of 2017) and Afghanistan, together with soldiers from other countries that belong to NATO.
Economy
Exports include :
natural gas, oil, hydroelectric power, and fish.
Other natural resources are agriculture, forests, and minerals.
The government collects much money from various sources, and has policies intended to spread this wealth among Norwegians. This spread of wealth, is done both directly and indirectly.
[Including year 2020], the fishing industry is catching between 2.5 million tons and 3 million tons fish from the ocean per year; from fish farms around 1.5 million tons are slaughtered per year.
Norway's annual GDP is 482.4 billion in 2022
Ethnicity
At the end of 2020, immigrants and people who were born in Norway, but who had two parents who were immigrants, they were 18.5 percent of the population; from those (two categories), 11.8% came from Poland.
Most people in Norway are ethnic Norwegians. Norwegians speak a language that is related to German and English. Swedish and Danish are so close to Norwegian that most Norwegians understand them. Across Norway, many different dialects are spoken. Norwegians disagree on how to make one correct written language. Therefore, there are two standard languages, Bokmål and Nynorsk. Nynorsk is used in writing in most of the western areas and in the central mountains. Bokmål is written by most people in the rest of the country.
A native population of Norway, the Sami people, has its home in the northern parts of the country. Their language is not at all related to Norwegian. In some parishes in the far north, they make up the majority of people. Many Sami now live outside the Sami homeland, mostly in Oslo and other big cities. Earlier, Sami people were forced to speak Norwegian in school. Now Sami is taught as the first language in school for Sami children, and Norwegian is the first foreign language.
Many immigrants have come to Norway in the last 30–40 years. They mostly live in and around Oslo, and in the other big cities. Many immigrants come from nearby countries, like Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Poland and Russia. There are also many from countries far away, such as Pakistan, Somalia, Iraq and Vietnam.
Traditionally, all Norwegians were Lutherans, a variety of the Protestant faith. Still, more than 80% of Norwegians are Lutherans. Other important faiths include Islam, other Protestant groups and Catholicism.
Tourism
Among tourists to Norway, more come from Germany than from any other country. There are also many Swedes, Danes, British, Dutch and Italians visiting Norway. The Swedes and Danes often come in winter to go skiing. The others mainly come in summer. Many people visit Norway to see the Northern Lights, also known as the 'Aurora Borealis'.
Media
The largest national newspapers in Norway are Verdens Gang (VG), Aftenposten and Dagbladet.
Culture
Norwegian culture can be compared to English culture in the way that it is considered a bad thing to show off, as opposed to the US, where this is more acceptable. This is a big aspect of Norwegian culture, and it is related to the philosophy of egalitarianism. Because of this, people will understate things, for example if a Norwegian says something is good or nice, it can mean that it's really great.
Items from the Viking Age (in Norway), are shown in museums: One item is the Gokstad ship.
Museums in Norway includes The Ibsen Museum - named after Henrik Ibsen.
The farmers' culture (bondekulturen) was brutal.
Unwanted babies were "placed in the forest" (sette barn på skogen) to die, until the nineteenth century; in the end, the [rural] police authority - consisting of individuals called lensmann (en) - were able to control [and stop] these crimes.
Modern, cambered skis were invented in the Norwegian province of Telemark in the early 19th century.
Politics
In Norway power is shared among three branches: The justice sector, the government and the parliament (Stortinget). Norway also has a king, Harald V, but he does not have any real power and acts as a symbol and ambassador. This form of government is called a constitutional monarchy. Elections are held every four years, and the winner of the election is the party or coalition of parties that gets the most votes and seats in the parliament. After the elections are done, the winners work together to find out who the prime minister should be, as well as who the other ministers should be.
Here is a short summary of the biggest political parties in Norway, from left to right on the political axis:
Red (Rødt): A revolutionary socialist party which works for equality of income, labour rights, a controlled economy and feminism.
Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk venstreparti): The party is not very radical and is concerned with environmental issues as well as education. The party is traditionally regarded as the "teacher's party" because of their focus on learning and school. One might call SV more of a social democratic party than a socialist party, since their socialist views have faded over the years. They were more radical in the 1970s and 80s.
Norwegian Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet): The Labour Party is the biggest party in Norway. They work for a strong economy with many regulations on private businesses, and are traditionally the party for workers, securing labour rights and the welfare state.
Centre Party (Senterpartiet): The Centre Party used to be known as the farmer's party; they no longer use this name, but still they are mostly popular in the countryside and other rural regions, since they work for the environment and protection of Norwegian farmers. For example, raising tariffs, or putting taxes on imports, to make foreign food cost more so that people will buy from Norwegian farmers. This is called protectionism.
Green Party (Miljøpartiet de Grønne): The Green party works for the environment only, and has recently been gaining a lot of popularity for its radical politics. They are mostly a left-side party, but will switch sides if it helps the environment.
Liberal Party (Venstre): Even though it is called Left in English, it is actually a social liberal party that belongs to the centre-right side of Norwegian politics. They work for liberal rights like freedom of speech, gender equality and they are also concerned with environment. Because of this they heavily support public transport.
Kristelig Folkeparti: The Christian People's Party is at present more active in local than national politics.
Conservative Party (Høgre): The flagship of the right side of politics, it is a conservative party and is the second biggest party in Norway. It works for a free market, liberal rights and equality of opportunity. They are friendly towards private businesses and support economic growth by making taxes smaller, so that more people can start businesses.
Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet): The Progress Party is a right-side party. It works for stronger immigration laws, a free market and tough penalties for crimes. They also support private schools and flat taxes.
The Conservative Party and the Progress Party are currently working together in a coalition government, after getting elected in the 2013 elections. It's also a minority government, so it has to work together with the other parties in the parliament to make change.
Largest cities
The city with the most people living there (or inhabitants) is Oslo. The city of Bergen has 272,000 people living there; the city of Trondheim has 182,000 people in its population.
Some claim that Bergen and Trondheim, each had their time as Norway's capital during the Middle Ages.
Organisations associated with the Government of Norway
NATO : Norway was a founding member.
United Nations
Related pages
List of rivers of Norway
Norway at the Olympics
Norway national football team
References
Nordic countries
Current monarchies
1945 establishments in Europe |
3461 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albania | Albania | Albania ( ; ), officially called the Republic of Albania is an independent country in Southeastern Europe, with an area of . The capital is Tirana, and other important cities are Durrës, Elbasan and Vlora. Over 3 million people live in Albania. The majority of Albanians are Muslims with 55%, 23% Eastern Orthodox and 15% Roman Catholics.
Albania is next to Montenegro, Serbia , North Macedonia and Greece. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea in the west, and a coast on the Ionian Sea in the southwest. The official language is Albanian. The national anthem is Hymni i Flamurit.
History
Albania was the southern part of Illyria during the Roman Empire. In the Middle Ages the Albanians were ruled by many foreign countries, including the Byzantine and Venetian Empires and during the 16th century resistance to the Ottoman Empire's rule was led by the Albanian national hero Skanderberg but his real name was Gjergj Kastrioti. After four centuries of Turkish domination, finally in the 20th century an independent Albania was created. In 1939 Albania was conquered by fascist Italy and was part of the Kingdom of Italy until 1943. After World War II Albania became independent again, under communist rule. It was ruled by Enver Hoxha, who died in 1985. Ramiz Alia took over and also later became president when, in 1992, Albania returned to democracy, and it now has friendly relations with the European Union, which it has applied to join.
Divisions
Albania is divided into 12 counties. These counties include 36 districts and 373 municipalities
Cities
This is a list of the largest cities in Albania.
Armed forces
The Albanian Armed Forces were first formed after independence in 1912. Albania reduced the number of active troops from 65,000 in 1988 to 14,500 in 2009. In 2010 forced conscription was abolished.
Geography
Albania has a total area of 28,748 square kilometers. Albania's coastline length is . It goes along the Adriatic and Ionian Seas. On the coast there are mild, wet winters and warm, sunny, and rather dry summers.
70% of the country is mountains. The highest mountain is Korab.
Albania is bordered by Greece, the Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. A short stretch of sea separates Albania from the far southeast of Italy.
Flora and fauna
Although a small country, Albania has a lot of variety in plants and animals. The total number of plants is over 3250 species. There are over 350 bird species, 330 freshwater and marine fish and 80 mammal species. The Double-headed eagle is the national symbol of Albania.
Related pages
Albania at the Olympics
Albania national football team
List of rivers of Albania
References
Other websites
National Tourism Organization Albania's official website for travel & tourism information.
European Union candidate states
Members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
[[Category:voetbalprimeur]] |
3462 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungary | Hungary | Hungary is a country in Central Europe. Its capital city is Budapest. Hungary is slightly bigger than its western neighbour Austria and has about 10 million inhabitants. Other countries that border Hungary are Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia. Hungary's official language is the Hungarian language. It has been a member of the European Union (EU) since 2004. In Hungarian, the country is called Magyarország (literally, "Hungarian country"), or Magyar Köztársaság (Hungarian Republic). This is named after the Magyar tribes who came to Hungary in the late 9th century.
History
Medieval Hungary, 896-1526
The Magyars established Hungary in 896, after they had arrived there from their previous, Eastern European territories. Prince Árpád was their leader at the time; he also established the first royal house of the country, the Árpád-house. In 1000, after the first king, Saint Stephen had been crowned, the country became a Kingdom.
In 1241, the Mongol Empire invaded the country, causing the Hungarian king Béla IV to flee and approximately 500,000 Hungarians were killed, along with with heavy damage. In 1301, the Árpád-house died out. Later on, kings from various houses ruled over Hungary. The greatest of them is Matthias Corvinus, famous for taking Austrian terrirories like Vienna, etc. and protecting the country against Ottoman aggression. However, some decades after he had died (1490), the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent defeated the Hungarian king in the Battle of Mohács (1526). The Kingdom was cut up into three parts: the western and northern areas remained Hungary, the southern region fell under Ottoman rule, and the eastern part became an Ottoman vassal as the Principality of Transylvania.
Between 1526 and 1867
The Kingdom of Hungary became a Habsburg dependency, because an agreement made in Vienna in 1515 said that the Habsburg family would take over the territory of the Jagellion family in Bohemia and Hungary if the line of kings should die out. In 1686, the Ottomans were forced to leave, and the country was reunified. Many nationalities were living in the country at this time. Along with Hungarians, there were also the ancestors of modern Slovaks, Serbs, Romanians and Germans (known as Danube Swabians).
In 1703, Francis II Rákóczi, a Hungarian nobleman organized a revolution against the Habsburgs, as the Hungarians were not satisfied with them. However, his revolution failed in 1711, and he had to go into exile. The next most important event is the "Hungarian Revolution of 1848", when the inhabitants of the country mutinied again. Fighting ended in 1849, with Habsburg success. The leaders of the revolution were executed.
Austria-Hungary, 1867-1918
The country tried to find the way towards consolidation: in 1867, the two most important Habsburg territories, Austria and Hungary signed a treaty, and they established the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. The new situation was feasible for both sides: the agreement brought massive economic growth.
Between 1918 and 1946
In 1918 after the defeat in World War I, the Kingdom was abolished, and a republic was established, as people had enough of war. This republic was short-lived, and soon the Communists seized power (1919). Their rule was irresponsible and many people, including the peasants and the intelligentsia, were tortured. The communists had to abandon the country as Romanian troops invaded.
In late 1919, the Hungarian forces, led by Admiral Miklós Horthy, finally occupied the capital, Budapest. In response to the communist terror, they launched the "White Terror", in which they persecuted the communists and their supporters. The kingdom was re-established but there was no king. Horthy was elected as the regent of the country, as the assembly decided not to recall the Habsburgs.
Hungary lost the war. According to the Treaty of Trianon (1920), Hungary lost two thirds of its territory. In the majority of these territories, non-Hungarians were the majority; however, many Hungarians also found themselves outside their country, in the nation state of Romanians or Slovaks. Thus, the main political goal of the governments under Horthy was to revise this treaty, and at least, to regain the Hungarian-inhabited lands.
Communist Hungary, 1946-1989
After the fall of Nazi Germany, Soviet troops occupied all of the country. So Hungary gradually became a communist satellite state of the Soviet Union. After 1948, Communist leader Mátyás Rákosi established Stalinist rule in the country. He forced collectivization and a planned economy. This led to the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. Hungary withdrew from the Warsaw Pact. But the Soviets sent in over 150,000 troops and 2,500 tanks. Nearly a quarter of a million people left the country during the brief time that the borders were open in 1956. János Kádár became leader of the communist party. In 1991 Soviet military presence in Hungary ended, and the transition to a market economy began.
Republic of Hungary, 1989 onwards
Today, Hungary is a democratic republic. Elections are held every four years.
The current president of the country is János Áder, and the prime minister is Viktor Orbán. Orbán was Prime Minister from 1998 to 2002, and was elected again in 2010.
Demographics
Hungarians make up the largest part of the population but there are also several other ethnic communities. The largest of these are the Roma and Germans. Hungarian is the most widely used language in Hungary. Ethnic communities often use their own languages as well. The majority of Hungarians are religious, mainly Roman Catholic and Calvinist (in Hungarian 'református' - 'reformed'). There are Jews, often in intellectual and artistic occupations, and some Muslims. Orthodox Christianity is practised by ethnic minorities from eastern Europe.
Geography
Hungary's highest point is Kékestető (1014 m; in the northeastern part of Hungary). The River Danube, one of Europe's largest rivers, divides Hungary into a western and an eastern part. The region west of the Danube is called Transdanubia (Dunántúl). Transdanubia has a hilly landscape and many small villages and towns. The large flat area in the eastern part is the Great Plains (Alföld). Along the Slovakian border there are mountains.
Lake Balaton, Central Europe's largest lake can be found in Hungary. This small country has several thermal spas too. Lake Hévíz is one of the world's largest thermal lakes. Hungary, however, is a landlocked country (it has no coastline).
Its biggest cities are Budapest, Debrecen, Miskolc, Szeged, Pécs, Győr, Nyíregyháza and Szolnok. Szolnok is found at the juncture of the Tisza River and the Zagyva River (stream).
Related pages
Hungary at the Olympics
Hungary national football team
List of rivers of Hungary
References
Other websites
STELLA Hungarian – free online course Hungarian for beginners (requires Macromedia Flash).
European Union member states |
3463 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands | Netherlands | The Netherlands is a country that is part (of a constituent country) of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Most of it is in Western Europe, but there are also some parts in the Caribbean. More than 17 million people live there. To the north and west of the European part of the Netherlands is the North Sea, and to the east is Germany, and to the south is Belgium. The Netherlands is one of the countries that started the European Union. People who live in the Netherlands are called "Dutch". The language of the Netherlands is also called Dutch. The official capital of the Netherlands is Amsterdam. However, the government is in The Hague.
Name
"The Netherlands" means "the low lands". The land only rises, on average, 1 meter above sea level. One third of the land is below sea level. The Netherlands is also - incorrectly - referred to as Holland. Holland is a very rich area (two provinces) in the western part of the Netherlands, thus causing people to be mistaken. Most people who do not live in the western part of the Netherlands do not like it when people call the country Holland. The name "Holland" originates from the old Dutch words "Holt land" which means "wood lands". Holt eventually changed into hout, the current dutch word for wood.
History
At the end of the Middle Ages the dukes of Burgundy, a country that is now part of France, united seventeen areas. Those areas were called the Netherlands. When the daughter of a duke married Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor in 1477, the Netherlands became part of Spain. In the 16th century many Dutch people became Protestant. The king of Spain did not like it, he wanted all Dutch to be Roman Catholic. Of course the Dutch people did not like this, and after violent excesses by the Spanish they started a war against Spain in 1568, also for reasons of taxation. The war lasted until 1648, therefore it is called the Eighty Years' War. An important leader of the Dutch in this war was Willem van Oranje (William of Orange) also called William the Silent.
In 1648 the Netherlands and Spain signed peace. The Dutch people were allowed to keep all the areas they conquered. The part of the Netherlands that was not conquered by the Dutch stayed part of Spain. Later this part became the country Belgium.
When the Netherlands became independent, it was a very special country. That time almost all countries in Europe were ruled by a king, but the Netherlands was a republic. The Netherlands was made up of seven provinces, that were ruled by the big cities. The cities were ruled by the municipality which consisted of rich civilians. Together those provinces were ruled by a stadtholder, a very powerful man, but compared to the kings of other European countries he had much less power.
In the 17th century the Netherlands was the richest and one of the most powerful countries in the world. Therefore, the Dutch call the 17th century the Golden Age. Their Dutch Empire had colonies around the world. One important colony was the East Indies, which is now called Indonesia. They also had colonies in the Caribbean, like the other European empires. They also started New Netherland, which is now called New York. The Netherlands often fought wars against other European countries, especially the Anglo-Dutch Wars against England. Michiel de Ruyter, a Dutch admiral, became a Dutch hero when he defeated the English navy close to London.
In the 18th century the Netherlands became poorer. Many people blamed this on the government leaders, the stadtholders. Many thought they had too much power and wanted them to get away. In 1789 the French people deposed (got rid of) their king. French armies attacked other countries to depose their leaders too. In 1795 they attacked the Netherlands. Stadtholder William V had to flee to England. The Netherlands were renamed to Batavian Republic and became a democracy. But the French were not content (satisfied) with the Dutch ruler, so in 1806 the French emperor Napoleon made his brother Louis Bonaparte king of the Netherlands. Louis became popular in the Netherlands, but the emperor was again not content with him, so in 1810 the Netherlands became a part of France.
In 1815 Napoleon was defeated, and the Netherlands became independent again. The rulers of European countries thought it was a good idea to make the Netherlands stronger, to make them able to resist another French invasion. Therefore, Belgium and Luxembourg were added to the Netherlands. William I, the son of stadtholder William V, became king. Some Belgians disliked their Dutch king. In 1830 they revolted. William sent an army. He was much more powerful than the Belgians but after ten days the French sent an army to support them. In 1831 the Belgians chose their own king and Belgium became an independent country.
Some people again thought the Dutch king had too much power. They wanted to give him less power and vote for the government themselves. In 1848 there were violent revolts against the kings of many European countries. The Dutch king was afraid the same would happen in the Netherlands. Therefore, he allowed Johan Rudolf Thorbecke to write a constitution. From then on people were allowed to vote. At first only rich men were allowed to vote. From 1919 on all adults were allowed to vote.
In World War I, the Netherlands did not fight and were not invaded. The Dutch wanted to stay neutral in World War II as well, but in 1940 the country was invaded and occupied by Germany. Like in other countries they had occupied, the German authorities started to kill Jews. Anne Frank was a Jewish girl who lived in the Netherlands. Her family hid from the Nazis and she wrote a diary. She died in a Nazi concentration camp and her diary became famous.
In 1944 the American, Canadian, Polish and British armies liberated the south of the Netherlands from Nazi Occupation. They wanted to cross the Rhine river in Operation Market Garden to liberate the rest of the country, but they were defeated. It took until May 1945 before the entire country was liberated. During the five years of Nazi occupation, 250,000 people had died in the Netherlands.
Shortly after the war, Indonesia declared its independence. The Dutch sent soldiers to fight in Indonesia. After other countries, including the United States, told the Dutch to leave Indonesia, they finally did so in 1949.
After the war the Netherlands became one of the richest countries in the world. In 2004 the United Nations said that the Netherlands was the 5th best country to live in.
Politics
The Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy. That means the country has a king, but the real power is in the hands of a parliament, chosen by the Dutch people. All Dutch people at least 18 years old or older are allowed to vote. The Dutch parliament consists of two chambers: the Second Chamber (Dutch: Tweede Kamer, this is the House of Representatives, elected every four years), and the First Chamber (Dutch: Eerste Kamer, this is the Senate, elected by provincial politicians every four years). After the Second Chamber elections, parties that have had a majority of the votes create a cabinet. The cabinet consists of a prime minister and several other ministers and deputy ministers. Current government is the liberal-Christian democratic Fourth Rutte cabinet, consisting of VVD, D66, CDA, and CU politicians. Prime Minister is Mark Rutte (VVD).
The latest general elections were held on March 17, 2021. Winners were liberal parties like VVD (also the biggest party), D66 (second biggest party) and Volt, and populist parties like FVD and JA21. Losers were left parties like SP and GL, Christian democratic party CDA, populist party PVV, and senior citizen party 50+.
The Netherlands is known for tolerance in politics. The Netherlands is the only country where soft drugs are not entirely considered illegal. Furthermore, the Netherlands is one of the few countries that allow same-sex marriages, euthanasia and prostitution to a certain extent.
More information: Politics of the Netherlands.
Subdivisions
The Netherlands is subdivided in provinces and municipalities.
Provinces
In the Netherlands there are 12 provinces:
These provinces are all located in the part of the Netherlands that is in Europe. The country also includes three special municipalities in the Caribbean: Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius. They are not part of any province, but together are known as the Caribbean Netherlands. The Netherlands (both the European part and the Caribbean Netherlands), together with Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten, also in the Caribbean, form a sovereign state called the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
When the Kingdom was formed in 1954, the territories in the Caribbean became part of the Netherlands Antilles. At that time it also included Suriname in South America, which became an independent country in 1975. Aruba left the Antilles in 1986, and Curaçao and Sint Maarten did the same in 2010. The rest of the islands then became the Caribbean Netherlands which is part of the Netherlands proper.
Municipalities
The Netherlands has 342 municipalities (2023) and also three special municipalities in the so-called Caribbean Netherlands.
Almost every year the amount of municipalities decrease.
Cities
Cities aren't actually a subdivision of the Netherlands. Cities are also municipalities or they make part of municipalities.
This is a list of the cities/municipalities with over 120,000 people.
For all municipalities with more population numbers,<br/ >
see: List of municipalities of the Netherlands.
Geography
In fact a large part of the Netherlands (the province Flevoland) was created by the sand that came from the many rivers flowing through it. Notable Dutch rivers are the Rhine, the Maas, the IJssel and the Scelt. A large part of the Netherlands is below sea level. This is because the Dutch have made many lakes and parts of the sea dry, creating polders. Therefore, there is a saying "God created the earth, but the Dutch created the Netherlands." This makes the Netherlands very flat. In the very south-east of the Netherlands, in Limburg, there are some hills. Therefore, this region is a tourist-attraction for many Dutch people. The highest point in the European portion of the Netherlands, the Vaalserberg, is 323 metres above sea level. The highest point in both the Netherlands proper and the Kingdom of the Netherlands is Mount Scenery, on the Caribbean island of Saba, at 887 metres.
The Netherlands is a small flat country; about 300 kilometers from north to south, and about 170 kilometers from east to west. It has an oceanic climate (Cfb in the Köppen climate classification).
People
The Netherlands is a small country, but many people live there. It is one of the most densely populated countries of the world.
Most people in the Netherlands speak Dutch. In Friesland, about 200,000 people speak Frisian. Frisian is the language with the most similarities to English. Some Dutch people speak dialects. The Saxon dialects spoken in the northeastern part of the Netherlands are somewhat similar to Low German.
According to a survey done in 2006, 25% of the Dutch people are Christian and 3% believe in another organised religion, like Judaism, Islam or Hinduism. Twenty-six percent are 'unbounded spiritual' (have their own beliefs and are not tied to a religion). The other 44% are not religious.
Trains
Nederlandse Spoorwegen () or NS is the main passenger railway operator in the Netherlands. The rail infrastructure is maintained by network manager ProRail, which was split from NS in 2003. Freight services, formerly operated by NS Cargo, merged with the DB Schenker group in 2000.
NS runs 4,800 scheduled trains daily. In addition, NS provides international rail services from the Netherlands to other European destinations and carries out concessions on a number of foreign rail markets through its subsidiary Abellio such as Abellio Greater Anglia, Merseyrail and ScotRail.
Arriva is another passenger railway operator in the Netherlands. It is a subsidiary of the German company Deutsche Bahn. Their local headquarters is based at Heerenveen. They have been active since 1998.
Related pages
List of rivers of the Netherlands
Netherlands at the Olympics
Netherlands national football team
References
Notes
European Union member states
Benelux
Current monarchies
Dutch-speaking countries |
3464 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine | Ukraine | Ukraine (, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. Russia is to the north-east of Ukraine, Belarus is to the north-west, Poland and Slovakia are to the west, Hungary, Romania, Moldova and self-proclaimed Transnistria are to the south-west and the Black Sea is to the south.
Ukraine is a republic.
The capital of Ukraine is Kyiv (). It was a part of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991.
Official language
The official language of Ukraine is Ukrainian (, [ukrajin’s’ka mova]). In the 2001 census, about 29% of people in Ukraine said that they consider Russian to be their main language. These two East Slavic languages are similar in some ways but different in other ways.
Division of Ukraine
Ukraine is divided into 24 oblasts and one Autonomous Republic of Crimea.
The largest cities of Ukraine
The largest cities in Ukraine are:
Kyiv (from the late 9th century was the capital of Kyivan Rus; the capital of Ukraine since the restoration of the independent Ukrainian state in 1919)
Kharkiv (was the capital of Ukraine in 1919—1934)
Dnipro
Odesa
Zaporizhia
Lviv
Name origin
The name "Ukraine" (u-krayina) has usually been interpreted as "edge" or "borderland", but this an alternative interpretation as "territory" has been proposed. Language specialists are still searching for evidence of the history of the meaning of the word.
It was first used in reference to a core part of the territory of Kyivan Rus in the 12th century. In English, the historical region was usually known as "the Ukraine". Since independence in 1991, adding "the" is no longer proper style for referring to the country.
History
Ancient times
Many different tribes lived on the territory of modern Ukraine since pre-historical times. Most historians believe that the Great Steppe at the North of the Black Sea was a homeland of all Indo-European and Indo-Iranian languages. Some believe it was also the birthplace of the whole European population. Wends, Goths, Huns, Sclaveni, Avars, and other tribes and tribal groups fought among themselves, joined unions, terminated, and assimilated each other.
By the middle of the 4th century AD, Antes joined other tribes and established a state under their rule. Their state fell under the pressure of Avars in 602 AD and their name was longer mentioned. Since the 7th century over 10 tribal groups joined under the name "Slavs" and made their own state named Rus. The chronicles mention three centers that formed this state: Kuyavia (Kyiv land with Kyiv itself), Slavia (Novgorod land), and Artania (exact location unknown).
Historians still argue about whether Kyiv was founded by Slavs themselves, or they just captured the Khazar fortress which was located on the bank of the Dnieper river, but since the 10th century, it became the capital of the largest and most powerful state in Europe.
Kyivan Rus
Kyivan Rus, is the medieval state of Eastern Slavs. Established by the Slavic with the help of the Varangian squads whose force was used to integrate separate tribes and their lands into one powerful state. Varangian princes, who ruled Rus from its first years were gradually assimilated by natives, but the dynasty started by semy-legendary Ririk survived and continued to govern their separate principalities even after the collapse of Rus.
At an early stage of its existence Rus destroyed such powerful states as the Khazar Khaganate and Old Great Bulgaria. Rus princes successfully fought against the Byzantine Empire, whose emperors had to pay tribute to them. Rus' finally disintegrated into separate principalities.
In the reign of Volodymyr the Great (980-1015) the Kyivan State almost finished its expansion. It occupied the territory from Peipus, Ladoga and Onega lakes in the north to the River Don, Ros, Sula, Southern Bug in the south, from the Dniester, the Carpathians, the Neman, Western Dvina River in the west to the Volga and the Oka River in the east, its area became about 800,000 km2. Although some of his predecessors already accepted Christianity for themselves, Vladimir decided to convert the entire population of the state to the new religion. Partially with the help of Byzantine missionaries preachers, partly by the brutal violence, he finally made all Kyiv population to be baptized. For this action, the Ukrainian, and later the Russian Orthodox Churches canonized him under the name of Vladimir the Baptist.
During the reign of Yaroslav the Wise, (1019–1054), Rus reached the zenith of its cultural development and military power. Rus raised the prestige of Eastern Slavs in Europe, improved the international significance of Kyiv. Rus influenced the political relations in all of Europe, Western Asia, and the Middle East. Kyivan princes supported the political, economic, dynastic relations with France, Sweden, England, Poland, Hungary, Norway, Byzantium.
The Rus state also ruled non-Slavic people (Finno-Ugric population of the North, Turkic of the East and South, Balts of the West, etc.). Those people gradually assimilated with the Slavs, and with each other, establishing a framework for the future emergence of three new Eastern-Slavic peoples.
The Kyivan State was an eastern outpost of European Christendom, it kept the movement of nomad hordes to the West, and reduced their onslaught against Byzantium and Central European countries.
After the death of Mstyslav Volodymyrovych (1132), Rus lost its political unity and finally was divided into 15 principalities and lands. Among them, Kyiv, Chernygiv, Volodymyr-Suzdal, Novgorod, Smolensk, Polotsk, and Halycian lands and principalities were most large and powerful.
Major political conditions of fragmentation were:
The succession among the princes of Kyivan State was different: in some regions lands passed from father to son, in others from the older to the younger brother, etc.
The political relationship between individual fiefdoms and private lands was weakened, and the better development of certain lands led to the formation of local separatism;
In some regions the local aristocracy required a strong prince to rule, in order to protect their rights. On the other hand, while the feudal princes and boyars real power increased, and the power of the Grand Prince decreased, more and more nobles felt priority of their local interests above national ones;
There was not created their own dynasty in the Kyiv principality, because all the princely families struggled with each other for possession of Kyiv ;
Nomads dramatically intensified their expansion to Kyivan lands.
While Kyiv was the center of all social, economic, political, cultural, and ideological life in the country for a long time before, other centers have competed with it since the mid-12th century. There were old powers (Novgorod, Smolensk, Polotsk), as well as new ones...
Numerous princely feuds, large and small wars between different lords, were tearing Rus. However, the ancient Ukrainian state did not fall apart. It only changed the form of its government: The personal monarchy was replaced by the federal one, Rus came to be co-ruled by the group of the most influential and powerful princes. Historians call this way of governing "the collective suzerainty." The Principality of Kyiv remained a national center and the residence of bishops.
In 1206 the new powerful military-feudal Mongolian state headed by Genghis Khan started the war of conquest against his neighbors. In 1223 in the battle near the Kalka River, 25,000 Tatar-Mongols won a crushing victory over the squads of Southern Rus Princes, who were unable to come together even in the face of grave danger. Under the leadership of Batu, Genghis Khan's grandson, from 1237 to 1238, they conquered Riazan, Volodymir, Suzdal, and Yaroslavl lands.
In 1240, they attacked Kyiv. The city was plundered and destroyed. According to the legend, the enemy saved governor Dimitri's life for his personal courage in the battle. Then Kamenetz, Iziaslav, Volodymyr, and Halych lost against invaders. Batu was able to attach most of Rus to his empire, the Golden Horde, which covered the whole territory from the Urals to the Black Sea,
After the fall of Kyivan State, the political, economic, and cultural center of Ukrainian lands was transferred to the Halycian-Volyn Land. In 1245 Prince Danylo of Halych had to admit his dependence on the Golden Horde. Hoping to get help from Catholic Europe in his struggle for independence, he also made a secret alliance with Poland, Hungary, Masovia, and the Teutonic Knights. In 1253 he received the crown from Pope Innocent IV and became a King of Rus. In 1259, due to the lack of military aid from the West, the king was forced to re-recognize the supremacy of the Horde. His successor, Lev I had to take part in the Tartar campaigns against Poland and Lithuania.
In 1308 the government moved to Danylo's grandchildren - Andrew and Lev II, who started the new struggle against the Golden Horde allied with the Teutonic knights and princes of Mazowia. However, after their death the last monarch Yuri II again had to claim himself as the Golden Horde vassal. He was murdered in 1340 and his death gave the rise to Poland and Lithuania (the neighbors who had a dynastic right for the throne of Rus) to start a war for the Halycian-Volyn heritage. In 1392 Galicia, with Belz and Chelm Lands were finally incorporated to the Kingdom of Poland and Volhynia to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
At the end of the 14th century, Ukrainian territories were divided between different states. Lithuania seized Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Volyn Lands. Poland ruled in Halycian and Podolian. Southern Ukraine was under the rule of the Crimean Khanate (formed in 1447) and the Eastern under the power of Muscovy. In 1569 Lithuania and Poland merged to the united state called Commonwealth (Polish: Rzeczpospolita) to deal with neighbors, as a result, the central Ukrainian lands of Lithuania came under Polish control.
Etymology
Rus, or The Kyivan State, , ; often misspelled as "Kievan State" or even "Kievan Rus", using Russian spelling of its capital Kyiv ( [ˈkiɛf]).
As for the origin and definition of the name "Rus", there is no consensus among researchers. Several versions exist:
Normans (Vikings), tribes who called themselves Ruses, and founded a state among Slavs, which naturally was called 'Rus Land'. This theory originated in the 17th century and was called the 'Norman theory'. Its authors are German historians G. Bayer and G. Miller, their followers and associates are called 'Normanists';
Ruses were a Slavic tribe that lived in the middle reaches of the Dnieper;
Rusa - the Proto-Slavic language word which means 'river';
Ukrainian historians generally adhere to anti-Norman opinion, while not denying the contribution Varangians in the process of formation of the Rus state system. Russ, or The Rus Land in their opinion means:
The name of the territory where Kyiv, Chernigov and Pereiaslav are located (Polans, Severians, Drevlians tribes);
The name of the tribes who lived on the banks of the rivers Ros, Rosava, Rostavytsia, Roska, etc.
The name of the Kyivan state itself since the 9th century.
Cossackian State
At the end of the 15th century, the groups of warriors who called themselves Cossacks appeared on the territory between the borders of Lithuania, Muscovy, and the Crimea, in the "wild steppes" of Zaporizhia. From the 16th century, the Sich became their military centre. Zaporizhian Cossacks participated in the wars on the side of the Commonwealth: the Livonian War (1558-1583), the Polish-Muscovite War (1605-1618), Khotyn war (1620-1621), and Smolensk war (1632-1634). Cossacks also organized their own campaigns in Moldavia, Muscovy, and Crimea, on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria and in Asia Minor for looting. They willingly became mercenaries, particularly during the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648).
Due to the legal and social oppression of the nobility Cossacks repeatedly revolted. The largest rebellions were raised under the guidance of Kosynskiy (1591-1593), Nalyvaiko (1594-1596), Zhmaylo (1625), Fedorovych (1630), Sulima (1635), Pavlyuk (1637), and Ostryanin (1638). Cossacks, again and again, defended the rights of the Ukrainian population in the Commonwealth who experienced religious and national oppression regularly.
For the conflict in the 1850s see Crimean War.
20th century
In 1917 an independent Ukrainian People's Republic was established. The Red Army captured it and made it into the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Soviet Russia in the 1920s encouraged the Ukrainian language and Ukrainian culture. In the 1930s this policy changed to making the Ukrainians into Russians. There were mass repressions of Ukrainian poets, historians, and linguists. As in other parts of the Soviet Union millions of people starved to death in 1932 and 1933.
During the first years of World War II, Ukrainian nationalists collaborated with Nazis against Soviet Union hoping to reestablish Ukrainian independence or to get autonomy under the authority of Germany. Nationalists took part in mass murders of Jews, Roma people, and other victims of the Nazi regime. However, hopes of independence were ruined and Ukrainian nationalists created Ukrainian Insurgent Army which fought against Nazi Germany but against the Soviet Union (mainly Soviet partisans) for the most part. They failed to get independence. Most Ukrainians fought on the side of the Soviet Union and participated in the liberation of Ukraine from Nazi Germany.
In 1986, the fourth reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded as a result of an improper test. The accident contaminated large portions of northern Ukraine and southern Belarus with uranium, plutonium, and radioactive isotopes. It was one of only two INES level 7 accidents (the worst level) in the history of nuclear power, the other being the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan.
Under the second Soviet occupation repressions against Ukrainian nationalists continued and lasted till the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
In the Soviet epoch, Ukraine was renamed to so-called a "Soviet Socialist Republic" incorporated into Soviet Union.
Independence day — 24 August 1991
Modern independence
President elections: 1 December 1991, July 1994, October-November 1999, October-December 2004, January 2010
Parliament elections: March 1994, March 1998, March 2002, March 2006, September 2007 (prematurely), October 2012
Constitution of Ukraine was adopted by Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) 28 July 1996 with changes 8 December 2004.
The political demonstrations in autumn-winter 2004 after the Presidential elections gathered millions of people all over the country. On November 26, 2004, Victor Yuschenko lost the Ukrainian presidential election (Viktor Yanukovych was declared the winner). However, Yuschenko and his followers argued that the election had been corrupted. They argued that the election results had been falsified by the Ukrainian government, in support of the opposing candidate Victor Yanukovych. They organized political demonstrations in autumn-winter 2004 that gathered millions of people all over the country. They called the demonstrations The Orange Revolution (). Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was an important ally of Victor Yuschenko during the demonstrations. The Constitutional Court of Ukraine ordered the second round of elections, which Yuschenko won.
Big pro-European Union protests called Euromaidan () began in November 2013 and made the President go away in February.
Russian-occupation of Crimea
In March 2014, Russia occupied Crimea, made a pseudo-referendum which proclaimed Crimea independence and annexed it. Most countries did not recognize the referendum. The EU, OSCE, USA and Ukraine demanded that Crimea be returned. Several countries sought to use economic sanctions to punish Russia's leaders for this.
After some conflicts, the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk declared independence from Ukraine; they are known as the Donetsk People's Republic, and Luhansk People's Republic. In both areas of Ukraine, there's a majority of Russian speakers.
In 2016, the New Safe Confinement was built to cover the remains of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and prevent radiation from escaping.
Russian invasion
On 24 February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the invasion and attack on Ukraine. Russia invaded Ukraine from the North, East, South, from the Black Sea and from the air (having launched hundred of missiles).
Many people suffered, and people were hiding out in subway systems underground. Poland was allowing refugees into the country, but men of fighting age had to stay and fight in the military.
Presidents of Ukraine
Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk (1991—1994)
Leonid Danylovych Kuchma (1994—2005)
Victor Yushchenko (2005—2010)
Victor Yanukovych (2010—2014)
Oleksandr Turchynov (2014)
Petro Poroshenko (2014–2019)
Volodymyr Zelensky (since 2019)
Related pages
List of rivers of Ukraine
Ukraine at the Olympics
Ukraine national football team
References
1991 establishments in Europe |
3465 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liechtenstein | Liechtenstein | Liechtenstein is a country in Western Europe. It is the sixth smallest country in the world and, with Uzbekistan, one of only two doubly landlocked countries. This means that it is landlocked by landlocked countries. Liechtenstein is between Austria and Switzerland.
Liechtenstein was linked with Austria until the end of World War I, after which it became linked with Switzerland in a customs union.
The official language in Liechtenstein is German.
The capital of Liechtenstein is Vaduz, a very small town of 5,000 people. Liechtenstein is famous for its many private banks.
Related pages
Liechtenstein at the Olympics
Liechtenstein national football team
List of rivers of Liechtenstein
References
Current monarchies
German-speaking countries
1866 establishments in Europe |
3466 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portugal | Portugal | Portugal is a country in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe and part of the Mediterranean. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east. Its capital city is Lisbon It has been a member of the European Union since 1986. Portugal was under a dictatorship between 1926 and 1974 called Estado Novo. The dictatorship of Estado Novo was ended by a peaceful revolution called Carnation Revolution. The Portuguese economy has since prospered but was hit hard by the 2007-2008 recession.
Portugal has a football team and won the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 and hosted the event in 2018.
It once had an empire called the Portuguese Empire, and was a powerful maritime nation from 1500s–1800s, the 10th-largest empire with a maximum land area of 10.4 million km² which included Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, East Timore, São Tomé and Príncipe, Portuguese Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and even Macau in China (until 2002).
Portugal is a popular holiday destination but is sometimes overlooked in favour of larger countries like France, Spain and Italy. The Algarve region in the south and capital Lisbon are the most popular.
Geography
Three groups of islands in the Atlantic Ocean are also part of Portugal: the Azores (Açores), Madeira and the Savage Isles (Ilhas Selvagens). The Savage Isles are a small group of uninhabited islands, administered by Madeira.
Portugal claims that Olivença is also part of its territory, but it is controlled by Spain.
History
Kingdom of Portugal
Portugal became its own kingdom in 1139 but was not officially recognized until 1143. Portugal has had links with England since the 1100s by a treaty. The border with Spain has been almost the same since the 13th century. Fishing and trading with other countries were important here.
Portugal was important in the world exploration for two reasons. Henry the Navigator, a prince from Portugal, was very interested in exploration. Inventions in navigation led to a bigger knowledge of geography.
This world exploration began the Portuguese Empire. Portugal was a world power during the 15th and 16th centuries. It tried to colonize Canada in the 16th century. However, it lost a lot of money soon after this. Portugal and Spain were in the Iberian Union from 1580 to 1640. The city of Lisbon was destroyed in an earthquake in 1755. The country was occupied during the Napoleonic Wars. It lost its largest colony, Brazil, in 1822.
Portuguese Republic
In 1910, the Kingdom of Portugal ended and Portugal became a Republic. Eight years after Portugal’s involvement in World War One, a military group took control of the country from the Portuguese First Republic called the 28 May coup d’état. This began a time of rule by authoritarian governments called Ditadura Nacíonal that later became known as Estado Novo. During World War II Portugal remained neutral but friendly to Britain and Spain. In 1974 a peaceful left-wing army coup, called the Carnation Revolution had taken place that overthrown the military dictatorship and ended the Portuguese Colonial War. Political prisoners and oppositions of António de Oliveira Salazar were freed. The coup was an important part of Portugal’s transition to democracy and changed the way the country was ran.
The next year, Portugal allowed its colonies in Africa to be on their own sovereignty: Mozambique, Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde and São Tomé and Príncipe.
East Timor in Asia declared itself independent from Portugal on 28 November 1975, and was invaded and occupied by Indonesian forces nine days later.
Portugal went into the European Union in 1986. Another Asian colony, Macau, became part of China
The main language of Portugal is Portuguese.
Some famous Portuguese people are D. Afonso Henriques, Henry the Navigator, Bartolomeu Dias, Vasco da Gama, Pedro Álvares Cabral, Ferdinand Magellan, Luís de Camões, Fernando Pessoa, Amália Rodrigues, Álvaro Siza Vieira, Eduardo Souto de Moura.
Luís de Camões wrote the national poem of Portugal. It is called Os Lusíadas and was written in 1572.
Notes
Related pages
List of rivers of Portugal
Portugal at the Olympics
Portugal national football team
References
Portuguese-speaking countries
European Union member states
1974 establishments in Europe |
3467 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovakia | Slovakia | Slovakia (Slovak: Slovensko) (Official name The Slovak Republic, Slovenská republika) is a country with no access to the ocean in Central Europe. It is bordered by Austria in the southwest, Hungary in the south, Ukraine in the east, Poland in the north and Czech Republic in the northwest. Its capital city is Bratislava, the only capital of the world that borders with other two countries. Other main cities are Košice, Prešov, Žilina, Banská Bystrica, Trenčín, Nitra and Trnava. Slovakia has been a member of the European Union since 2004 and its official currency is the Euro.
History
The Celts started to settle since 450 BC. The coins named Biatec represent the first use of writing in Slovakia. At the turn of millenniums, many different Germanic tribes like Quadi and Marcomanni started to overtake the area. The Roman Empire established many outposts along the Danube river. They even fought Germanic tribes, with the most northern presence being in Trenčín (Laugaritio), during the Marcomannic Wars.
Great Moravia was at first in constant quarrels with the Eastern Francia, and at the beginning of the 10th century, with the Magyars who arrived from Asia. The Magyars conquered Great Moravia in 906, and established the Hungarian Principality, resulting later in the creation of the Kingdom of Hungary in year 1000. Slovaks continued to live in the north, while most Hungarians were in the south.
A huge population loss resulted from the Mongol invasions in 1241. The Hungarian kings started to invite other settlers, for example Germans in the 13th century, and many others started to arrive in the kingdom, Vlachs from Romania in the 14th century and Jews.
In the 16th century the Ottoman Empire occupied the southern part of the kingdom including the two most important towns, Buda (capital) and Székesfehérvár (coronation capital). Many Hungarian nobles moved to Slovakia and the king moved to Bratislava (Pressburg, Pozsony at that time). The wars against the Ottomans and an uprising against the Habsburgs caused much destruction. After the Ottomans started to retreat back from Hungary, Bratislava continued to be capital until 1848, when it was moved back to Budapest.
The creation of a dual monarchy, Austria-Hungary, enabled the Hungarian government to initiate a policy of suppressing the teaching of languages other than the Hungarian language in state schools. The official use of other languages than Hungarian was also discouraged. During this time, a nationalist movement arose among Slovakians. A part of this movement joined forces with a part of the Czech nationalist movement. During World War I, this movement convinced the future victorious powers to recognise a new state of Czechoslovakia after the war.
The territory of today's Slovakia was a part of Czechoslovakia from 1918 to 1938 and again from 1945 until 1989. Czechoslovakia was one of the states which came into existence after the breakup of Austria-Hungary at end of World War I in 1918. Czechoslovakia split up in 1939, when Slovakia, under Hitler's influence and pressure, declared independence and became a client state. The state existed during World War II. It was a totalitarian one-party state and ally of Nazi Germany. Under the regime, the state fought in the war on the side of Nazi Germany and deported about 70,000 of its Jewish citizens to Nazi extermination camps as part of the Holocaust.
The territory of Czechoslovakia was liberated by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II in 1945. After the liberation, Czechoslovakia was reunified and briefly existed as a democratic country. The Communist Party successfully performed a state coup in 1948 and ruled Czechoslovakia as a totalitarian one-party state which was a satellite of the Soviet Union. In 1989, the one-party rule of the Communist Party was overthrown during the Velvet Revolution, which was a series of large and peaceful demonstrations by the citizens in the streets.
Czechoslovakia again became a democratic country. However, it split up into two independent countries (Slovakia and Czech Republic) on January 1, 1993 when we became an independent country. Slovakia has been a member of the European Union since May 1, 2004.
Geography
Slovakia is landlocked. It is noted primarily for its mountainous nature, with the Carpathian Mountains being in the north and various lowlands mostly in the south. The highest mountain range are the Tatra mountains with the highest peak, the Gerlachov Peak (Slovak: Gerlachovský štít; 2,654 m). Major Slovak rivers besides the Danube are the Váh and Hron.
At low altitudes, Slovakia's climate is humid continental (Dfb in the Koeppen climate classification, with warm summers and cloudy, cold and humid winters. At high altitudes it is subarctic and alpine.
Demographics
About 5.5 million people live in Slovakia. Most people are Slovak (86%), but in southern regions of Slovakia live Hungarians (10%), with some municipalities even being with the Hungarian majority (for example, Komárno or Dunajská Streda), Ruthenian or Ukrainian are spoken in the northeast. A minority Roma population speak versions of the Romany language and are scattered mainly in the east.
The Slovak constitution guarantees a freedom of religion. The majority of Slovaks are Roman Catholics (69%), the next are the atheists (13%). Other religions include Lutheranism, Greek Orthodox and Calvinism. There are about 5,000 Muslims in Slovakia and 2,000 Jews.
Transport
Rail: Slovakia has 3,662 km of rails, of which 3,512 km are in standard gauge. Rail network currently undergoes a modernisation.
Road: Slovakia has 42,993 km of roads, of which 316 km are motorways (2003). The motorway network is currently under construction.
Air: Slovakia has 6 international airports, with the most important ones being in Bratislava and Košice, others are near Sliač, Poprad, Žilina and Piešťany.
Marine: Slovakia has no direct access to the sea. The most important waterway is the Danube, with the ports in Bratislava and Komárno. The Danube and the Rhine-Main-Danube canal connects Slovakia to the North Sea and the Black Sea.
Administrative division
There are currently 8 regions of Slovakia:
Bratislava Region (Bratislavský kraj) (capital Bratislava)
Trnava Region (Trnavský kraj) (capital Trnava)
Trenčín Region (Trenčiansky kraj) (capital Trenčín)
Nitra Region (Nitriansky kraj) (capital Nitra)
Žilina Region (Žilinský kraj) (capital Žilina)
Banská Bystrica Region (Banskobystrický kraj) (capital Banská Bystrica)
Prešov Region (Prešovský kraj) (capital Prešov)
Košice Region (Košický kraj) (capital Košice)
These are further divided into many districts. There are currently 79 districts of Slovakia.
Related pages
List of rivers of Slovakia
Slovakia at the Olympics
Slovakia national football team
Slovakia men's national ice hockey team
References
Other websites
The Slovak Republic Government Office
1993 establishments in Europe
European Union member states
Landlocked countries
States and territories established in the 1990s |
3468 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovenia | Slovenia | Slovenia is a country in Southern Europe. The capital and largest city of Slovenia is Ljubljana. Its major language is Slovenian. Its current population is about 2.0 million. Slovenia's leading exports are manufactured goods and aluminium. It is a parliamentary republic It is a member of the European Union and NATO. The economy of Slovenia is small, open, and export-oriented.
History
A very long time ago, Illyrian and Celtics tribes lived in Slovenia. In the 1st century BC, Slovenia was ruled by the Romans. In the sixth century AD, Slavs lived there. Slovenia was ruled by Austria from 1335 until 1918. In 1918 it became a part of Yugoslavia. During World War II, Italy, Hungary and Germany took parts of the country but in 1945 it became part of Yugoslavia again.
In June 1991, following a 10-day war, Slovenia became an independent country.
Currently, it is considered the most advanced country in what is called "Ex-Yugoslavia." It is also a member of the European Union.
Notable people
France Prešeren (1800-1849) is a very famous poet in his country.
Melania Trump, Former First Lady of the United States
Related pages
List of rivers of Slovenia
Slovenia at the Olympics
Slovenia national football team
References
Notes
Other websites
Slovenia.si. Your gateway to information on Slovenia.
Government of the Republic of Slovenia
Slovenia Official Tourist Guide
European Union member states |
3470 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldham%20Cricket%20Club | Oldham Cricket Club | Oldham Cricket Club are a cricket team which currently plays in the Central Lancashire League.
The ground that the club plays at is called "The Pollards".
Honours
First Division: 1909, 1916, 1957, 1979, 1982
Wood Cup: 1943, 1979, 1983, 1985, 1988
Second Division: 1902, 1930, 1944 (shared), 1983, 1985, 1986
Burton Cup: 1976
Other websites
Oldham Cricket Club official website
Cricket clubs
Oldham, Greater Manchester |
3471 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denarius | Denarius | The denarius was a small silver coin used by the Roman Empire and Roman Republic. The denarius weighed about 3 to 4.5 grams. It was the main coin of Ancient Rome. It became the most common coin produced for circulation but was slowly debased in weight and silver content. The coin was then sometimes made of copper and painted silver in color. During the Empire the front side usually had a picture of the emperor on it.
The denarius was introduced in 211 BC, and was last made in 275 AD. By then it was made of bronze.
Former currencies
Former currencies of Europe
Ancient Rome
3rd-century BC establishments
3rd-century disestablishments |