AcharyaChanakya/simple-wikipedia huggingface dataset:
There are about 160 species, living in Africa, Madagascar, Spain and Portugal, across south Asia, Sri Lanka. They have been introduced to Hawaii, California and Florida, and are found in warm habitats that vary from rain forest to desert conditions. Chameleons are often kept as household pets.
Chameleons have long sticky tongues that they can fire out in a fraction of a second. They stretch up to twice their body size. Their eyes can move independently. The largest species is about 1.5 feet when fully grown. They are mainly insectivores, but larger species may take occasional smaller lizards and young birds.
The world's tiniest reptile has been found on Madagascar. It is a chameleon 13.5mm long. It hunts for mites on the rainforest floor and hides from predators at night in blades of grass. Other species of tiny chameleons have been found.
Chameleons have 360-degree eye-turning, the ability to zoom in and out, and binocular vision.
Each of the chameleon's eyes can move separately, allowing them to see all around them at all times.
Chameleons have two eyes whose vision overlaps. This gives them 3D vision. They can switch to monocular vision, which is seeing with each eye independently. This gives them more flexible sight.
Interjection
Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800 – March 8, 1874) was the 13th President of the United States. He was President from 1850 to 1853. He was the last Whig President, and the last President who was not a Democratic or Republican.
Fillmore became president in 1850 when the previous president, Zachary Taylor, died. The Whig party did not pick him to run for president in 1852. He ran for president in 1856 for the American Party, but lost.
Millard Fillmore grew up in a poor family. He worked hard to do well in school, and went to college. He got a job as a lawyer in 1823. In 1828 he was voted to be part of the New York congress, and made friends in the Whig Party. This helped him get chosen to run for vice president in 1848.
When he was vice president, Millard Fillmore was in charge of the United States Senate while it was fighting over a decision about slavery involving Texas and New Mexico.
When he became president, the slavery issue was very intense (to the point where the southern states were close to choosing to not be a part of the United States anymore).
Fillmore signed the Compromise of 1850 (five laws which would calm down the slavery issue by pleasing both the northern states and the southern states). Although, the Compromise of 1850 made the northern states and the southern states get along, the peace did not last forever. In the late 1850s the north and the south stopped getting along.
California was made a part of the U.S. on September 9, 1850. It became the 31st state.
His decision to sign the Compromise of 1850 made many of the people in his Whig Party upset at him. They stopped him from running for president in 1852.
He started the first library at the White House.
After Fillmore, Franklin Pierce became the 14th president. Fillmore got a job in charge of the University of Buffalo. Fillmore joined the Know-Nothing Party and tried to run for president again, but the Know Nothing Party was not very successful.
There is a statue of Millard Fillmore at City Hall in Buffalo, New York.
John Tyler
John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the 10th President of the United States of America, from 1841 to 1845. He was the first vice president to become president after the president before him died. He was also the first President born after the United States Constitution was ratified.
Tyler grew up in Virginia and became a lawyer. His father was also a lawyer who later became governor of Virginia. Tyler became a state representative in the United States Congress, and then also became governor of Virginia like his father.
Tyler started in government as a member of the Democratic Party, but later he changed to the Whig Party, which was very new. He was chosen to run as vice president next to William Henry Harrison. Whig Party people used to say "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too" to get people to vote for them. (William Henry Harrison was famous for being a general in a battle in a place called Tippecanoe, and that was his nickname.)
Harrison and Tyler won the election, but Harrison died one month later. Tyler then became president.
Because Tyler had not been elected to hold the office of President, some people thought that he lacked a claim to the position. But as the United States Constitution says that the Vice President is vested with the responsibilities of the Presidency in case of "Death, Resignation or Inability" of the former, Tyler said this meant the position was his to fill. A majority of the government agreed and he was sworn in as the new President, however, the Whig Party did not want Tyler, and a lot of Whigs ended up calling him "the accidental president" or "His Accidency".
This was after Tyler had angered the Whigs when he decided to mainly pick people from the Democratic Party to work in his government. He wanted to bring the two parties to together, but instead this ended up making him unpopular. He also rejected many of the Whigs' ideas. This all lead to the Whig Party deciding not to back his run for the presidency in 1844.
While he was president, Florida became a new state. After winning their independence in the Texas Revolution against Mexico, Texas had become its own country. Tyler sought to annex Texas and turn it into a new U.S. state while in office, but this did not come to fruition until a few months after his term had ended.
The Whig Party did not want Tyler to be president again, and did not pick him to run for president in 1844. He had some friends in the Democratic Party who sometimes asked him for ideas, but that party did not like him enough to be president, either. Tyler was sometimes called "the President without a party" since both groups did not want him.
When the Confederate States of America was created, Tyler thought that states should be allowed to make their own laws, even about slavery. He did not want a civil war. Instead, he tried to get the United States to agree to let the southern states keep slavery. But the United States Congress said no, and Tyler decided that Virginia had to join the Confederacy. He later was elected to the Confederate congress, but died before taking the job.
Tyler died in Richmond, Virginia on January 18, 1862 of a stroke. Tyler's death was the only one in Presidential history not to be officially recognized in Washington, D. C. because of his loyalty to the Confederacy. His coffin was covered with the Confederate flag. He is the only United States President ever to be buried and honored ceremoniously under a foreign flag that is not the United States flag.
Peter Davison
A ballerina is a name given to a female ballet dancer. Only very good female ballet dancers are called ballerinas. A ballerina is a principal dancer in a classical ballet company. The highest ranking female dancer in a company was usually called the prima ballerina.
Today the term 'ballerina' has gone rather out of fashion. Now they are simply called 'Principal dancers'. Dancers in a company are ranked by the company, and paid accordingly. They have to prove themselves in lesser parts before they can get promoted.
Example of the ranks in a modern dance company:
Buffalo is a city in the U.S. state of New York. Buffalo is the second-biggest city in New York State.
There are about 260,000 people in the city of Buffalo. There are more than a million people in the surrounding area.
Buffalo is on the eastern side of Lake Erie near the Niagara River. It is close to Niagara Falls, and to Canada.
Buffalo has an NFL team called the Buffalo Bills (who play in the suburb of Orchard Park, NY) and an NHL team called the Buffalo Sabres.
Geoffrey Chaucer wrote the Canterbury Tales.
Hertford
Hertford (pronounced "Hart-fud") is a town in Hertfordshire, England. In 2011, it had a population of 26,783 people.
It is Hertfordshire's county town, but the largest town is Watford.
The town centre is 19.2 miles (30.9 km) north of Central London and 16.7 miles (27.02 km) north east of Watford.
Hertford is served by two train stations, these are Hertford East and Hertford North.
The A414 is just south of the town centre and runs to Harlow, Essex. The A10 is just east of the town.
Hertford is twinned with:
Jackie Chan (成龍) (born Chan Kong-Sang on 7 April 1954) SBS, MBE, PMW is a famous and well-renown martial artist, stuntman, actor, director, producer, screenwriter, singer and entrepreneur who hails from Hong Kong. He is perhaps most famous and best known for his uncanny combination and twist of both action and comedy in his films. He has also appeared and provided the voice for his character's animated counterpart in the animated TV series "Jackie Chan Adventures" which originally aired from 2000-2005. He is also the famous and well-renown legendary and rich father of actor and singer Jaycee Chan.
In his earlier roles, Chan did all of the dangerous stunts without safety equipment. Possibly the role where this was taken farthest is "Rumble in the Bronx", which was his ultimate breakthrough American movie, where he subjected his already aging body to several leaps and falls, which while finally gaining his American stardom, led to injuries including a broken ankle.
His 2 worst injuries occurred during the making of "Armour of God" and "Police Story". Footage of the former's aftermath was shown over the credits and showed a subdued and bloodied Chan in a spinal injury stretcher. Also, a tree branch in which he was to swing off had snapped just when he did jump upon and over for it. Chan fell 10 meters onto the rocky ground.
In "Police Story", Chan was doing a stunt when and where he fell off from about 5 to 6 stories through a series of window canopies. Chan nearly became disorientated about halfway through down. Instead of landing on upon his feet, Chan fell in a head-down position. His arms became caught in the material of the last canopy. He landed on his head first and his head was then forced on to the side as he could not break his fall up with his arms.
While the "Police Story" fall looked worse, Chan has also said that the "Armour of God" fall was the closest he has come to death while filming.
Ronald Bilius "Ron" Weasley (1980-?) is a fictional character from the "Harry Potter" stories.
He is a red-haired child with freckles. He comes from a poor background. He lives at The Burrow with his family of nine people. He is the youngest son in his family. He was a humorous and loyal boy. He wishes he had money, since he was born from the notoriously poor Weasley family. He is the sixth of seven children born to Molly Weasley (née Prewett) and Arthur Weasley, with five brothers and one sister, Ginny. He is Harry Potter's best friend.
It is revealed in later books, that Ron is romantically interested in Hermione Granger. The two are hinted to be romantically involved in the Deathly Hallows.
In movies, he is played by actor Rupert Grint. Ron marries Hermione and they have two children: Rose Weasley and Hugo Weasley. He is the manager of the joke shop Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.
Hermione Granger
Hermione Jean Granger (born in September 19, 1979) is a character from the "Harry Potter" series. She meet Harry and Ron for the first time on the Hogwarts Express. She was then looking for Neville's toad. She is referred to as the brightest witch of her age.
Hermione is one of Harry Potter's best friends. She spends a lot of time with Harry and Ron. Her parents are Muggles (not magical) but she is the brightest witch of her class. She was born on September 19, 1979 and when she arrived at Hogwarts for the very first time, she was almost 12, since she was borned after September 1st, she has to wait a year later. Her parents are dentists. She is intelligent and her special skill is the ability to remember all that she has read. Because of this, Hermione is successful in her tests. Although she is smart, she also is brave and has street-smarts. She cares about house-elves and has made the club S.P.E.W., the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare, which Ron mockingly calls "Spew." She made scarfs and garments to liberate the elves of the slavery of the wizards. But none of the elves took the garments and Dobby (the old house elf of the Malfoy family) gathered them. She is one of the prefects of Gryffindor with Ron. Her appearance is made up of bushy brown hair, dark brown eyes, and huge front teeth, which Draco Malfoy enlarged it in her fourth year. It is also noted at the end of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" that she marries Ron and they have two children together called Rose and Hugo, to which the children has taken after their parents' initials. Although in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" she was the dance partner of Viktor Krum. She belongs to Gryffindor house, which is known for bravery. The Sorting Hat thought about putting her in Ravenclaw house, which is known for wisdom, but finally it put her in Gryffindor. Hermione has a pet cat named Crookshanks, which Ron told her it was like a hairy pig.
In the first book Hermione had the personality of a snob, and a geek, and she is not very friendly but with the time she improves that. Hermione was teased as Mudblood (Witch/ Wizard born with no Magical parents, also known as an offensive insult on Muggle Born Witch/ Wizard) by many Slytherins, especially Draco Malfoy. Her name refers to The Winter's Tale, by William Shakespeare, and was the daughter of Helen of Troy from Ancient Greek Mythology.
The character is played by British actress Emma Watson in all of Harry Potter movies.
Milk shake
A milk shake (or milkshake) is a cold drink made by mixing milk, ice cream, and sweet syrups, such as chocolate syrup Usually a blender is used for the mixing. . People usually drink milkshakes with a drinking straw and from a tall glass or cup.
Milk shakes are similar to smoothies. Smoothies are a type of cold drink made with an electric blender. Smoothies are made with a liquid (either milk, fruit juice, or water), crushed ice or ice cubes, different fruits, and honey or maple syrup.
Milk shakes and other cold drinks such as "ice cream floats" (a scoop of ice cream placed in a glass of cola or other carbonated soda drink) or "malts" (a milk shake with malt powder added to it) were popular among teenagers in the 1950s. Teenagers would go to ice cream parlors and order cold drinks.
Bollington
Bollington is a town and civil parish in Cheshire. The village is home to over twenty pubs. Bollington was home to the biggest water wheel in England and only second in Britain to the Laxey wheel in the Isle of Man. The wheel powered huge mills for the production of cotton. Two of the huge mills were the Adelphi and Clarence.
By 1914 Bollington had a population of around 6000 people and was dominated by fine cotton spinning. The symbol of Bollington has to be White Nancy. A small white cone-like house stands alone on top of a hill overlooking all of Bollington. It was built by the Gaskell family early in the nineteenth century. It has now been sealed.
Sport has been important in the life of Bollington. Even though the village did not have a football team successful enough to rival the cricket team it was still very popular amongst the people of Bollington. The most popular team was St Johns team which was quite successful in the lower leagues. Today there are good teams competing in the amateur leagues such as Bollington United.
KFC (abbreviation of Kentucky Fried Chicken) is a chain of fast food restaurants known for their fried chicken. It was started by Colonel Sanders in Corbin, Kentucky in 1952. They are now all over the world. They not only sell chicken, but also other food like salads and french fries. KFC, also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is an American fast food restaurant chain that specializes in fried chicken. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, it is the world's second-largest restaurant chain after McDonald's, with almost 20,000 locations globally in 123 countries and territories as of December 2015.
KFC is well known for their "finger lickin' good" slogan. It was first used, along with others, beginning in 1956. It is the current slogan.
Other early slogans included "North America's Hospitality Dish" (1956–1966) and "We fix Sunday dinner seven nights a week" from 1957 until 1968. The two slogans were phased out in favor of the "finger lickin' good" slogan. It was trademarked in 1956.
After a local KFC TV ad showed an employee licking his fingers in the background, a viewer phoned the station to complain. The main actor in the ad answered back: "Well, it's finger lickin' good." The phrase was adopted nationally by the company in the 1960s. It became one of the best-known slogans of the twentieth century.
When the trademark expired in the United States in 2006, it was replaced with "Follow your taste" until 2010. In 2011, the "finger lickin' good" slogan was dropped in favor of "So good", to be used around the world. The meaning was supposed to include employees and service, as well as food.
The slogan "Nobody does chicken like KFC" was first started by KFC Australia in 1998. It is still used by KFC in some worldwide markets.
KFC has been criticised on different issues. Greenpeace accused KFC of destroying the Amazon Rainforest. This is because KFC bought their soy they use for chicken food from Cargill. The soy has been traced back to the European KFC. Cargill has reportedly been exporting soy illegally for several years. The Greenpeace organization researched the issue and brought it to the attention of the parent company YUM! Brands, Inc. The parent company denied the illegal operation, and said that their supply of soy is grown in parts of Brazil. Greenpeace has called on KFC to stop purchasing soy from Cargill, to avoid contributing to the destruction of the Amazon.
Since 2003, animal rights and welfare organizations, led by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), have been protesting KFC’s treatment of the animals used for its products. These groups claim that the recommendations of the KFC Animal Welfare Advisory Council have been ignored. Adele Douglass, a former member of the council, said in an SEC filing reported on by the Chicago Times, that KFC "never had any meetings. They never asked any advice, and then they touted to the press that they had this animal-welfare advisory committee. I felt like I was being used."
KFC responded by saying the chickens used in its products are bought from suppliers like Perdue Farms, Tyson Foods, and Pilgrim's Pride, and that these suppliers are routinely monitored for animal welfare violations. Several PETA undercover investigations and videos of these and other KFC suppliers purport to show chickens being beaten, ripped apart, and thrown against walls contradict KFC’s claims. PETA has criticised some of the practices of chicken breeders, such as beak trimming and overcrowding, but KFC says its suppliers meets UK legal requirements. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs recommends a maximum stocking density of 34 kg—around 30 chickens—per square metre, and say that in circumstances where beak trimming needs to be carried out to prevent the birds injuring each other, only one third of the beak should be trimmed "measured from the tip towards the entrance of the nostrils". PETA states that they have held more than 12,000 demonstrations at KFC outlets since 2003 because of this alleged mistreatment of chickens by KFC suppliers.
In June 2008, KFC Canada agreed to PETA's demands for better welfare standards, including favoring suppliers who use controlled-atmosphere killing (CAK) of chickens, and other welfare standards as well as introducing a vegan sandwich at 65% of its outlets. PETA has called off its campaign against KFC Canada, but continues to demonstrate against KFC elsewhere in the world.
Cytoplasm
The cytoplasm (also known as cytosol) is the protoplasm of a cell outside the cell nucleus. It is the jelly-like material plus the organelles outside the nucleus, and inside the cell membrane.
Many important functions of a cell take place in organelles, which are like bits of machinery for doing many jobs. The cytoplasm is highly structured: it is not some kind of soup, even though it is made out of 7580% water.
The cytosol contains a complex mixture of cytoskeleton filaments, including the endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi apparatus. It includes dissolved molecules, and water that fills much of the cell. Due to this network of fibres, membranes and the many dissolved macromolecules such as proteins, the cytosol does not act like a simple liquid. The main function of the cytoplasm is to hold the organelles in place.
The Crusades were a series of wars between Christians and Muslims in the Middle East. It started mainly due to a fight for areas thought to be Holy Land. Both Muslims and Christians considered the same lands holy for reasons like Jesus' resurrections and Muhammad visiting there. The eight big crusade expeditions occurred during 1096 to 1291. The Holy Land is very important for the three major monotheistic religions: Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. There are many important religious sites in the Holy Land. This is the land now called Israel. Jerusalem, Nazareth, Bethlehem and other religious sites fell under the control of Muslims during the Caliphate of Omar.
There were many different crusades. The most important and biggest Crusades took place from the 11th century to the 13th century. There were 9 large crusades during this time. They are numbered 1 through 9. There were also many smaller Crusades. Some crusades were even within Europe (for example, in Germany, Austria and Scandinavia). The smaller Crusades continued to the 16th century, until the Renaissance and Reformation.
The word "Crusade" is related to the word "Cross", and means a Christian holy war. There is also the Arabic word "Jihad", which means to strive and struggle by Muslims. All sides (Christians, Muslims, and Jews) believed very much in their religions. They also had political reasons for war.
Alexius I was a ruler of the Byzantine Empire. When Alexius called for help to defend his empire against the Seljuk Turks in 1095, Pope Urban II asked all Christians to join a war against the Turks. The Pope told Christians that fighting the war would repay God for their sins and that if they died on a crusade they would go straight to heaven. The Christian soldiers were called "crusaders". The Christian armies marched to Jerusalem, attacking several cities on their way. In 1099 they won the battle for Jerusalem. As a result of the First Crusade, four crusader states were created. These were the County of Edessa, the Principality of Antioch, the County of Tripoli and the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
After some years of peace, Bernard of Clairvaux called for a new crusade when the town of Edessa was attacked by the Turks. French and German armies marched to the Holy Land in 1147, but were defeated. On the way, the Crusaders helped the Portuguese capture Lisbon from Al-Andalus as part of the Reconquista.​
In 1187, Saladin recaptured Jerusalem. Pope Gregory VIII called for a new crusade, led by several of Europe's kings: Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor. Frederick drowned in Cilicia in 1190. The Crusaders re-established the Kingdom of Jerusalem in Acre. Richard defeated Saladin at Arsuf and Jaffa but lacked the men needed to attempt recapturing Jerusalem. Richard and Saladin made a truce that let the Christians travel safely through Jerusalem. Afterward Richard left in 1192. On Richard's way home, his ship was wrecked, leading him to Austria. In Austria his enemy Duke Leopold captured him, and Richard was ransomed.
The Fourth Crusade was started by Pope Innocent III in 1202, with the idea to attack the Holy Land through Egypt. The Venetians changed this crusade, and went to the Christian city of Constantinople, where they attempted to place a Byzantine exile on the throne. After a series of misunderstandings and outbreaks of violence, the city was sacked in 1204.
The Albigensian Crusade was started in 1209 to eliminate the Cathars of southern Europe
The Children's Crusade is a crusade of 1212. An outburst of the old popular enthusiasm led a gathering of children in France and Germany. A boy, from either France or Germany, said that Jesus had visited him, and told him to peacefully convert Muslims to Christianity. Following this vision, many children formed bands, and marched to Italy. There, they were put onto ships which either capsized in a storm, or which went to Morocco. Most of the children either starved to death or were sold into slavery.
In the first movement, Nicholas, a shepherd from Germany, led a group across the Alps and into Italy in the early spring of 1212. About 7,000 arrived in Genoa in late August. However, their plans did not bear fruit when the waters failed to part as promised and the band broke up. Some left for home, others may have gone to Rome, while still others may have travelled down the Rhône to Marseille where they were probably sold into slavery. Few returned home and none reached the Holy Land.
The second movement was led by a "shepherd boy" named Stephen de Cloyes near the village of Châteaudun. In June of that year, the boy said that he had a letter for the king of France from Jesus. He could gather a crowd of over 30,000 and went to Saint-Denis. There he was seen to work miracles. On the orders of Philip II, on the advice of the University of Paris, the crowd was sent home, and most of them went. None of the contemporary sources mentions plans of the crowd to go to Jerusalem.
Later chroniclers elaborated on these events. Recent research suggests those taking part were not children, at least not the very young. In the early 1200s, bands of wandering poor started cropping up throughout Europe. These were people displaced by economic changes at the time which forced many poor peasants in northern France and Germany to sell their land. These bands were referred to as "pueri" (Latin for "boys") in a condescending manner, in much the same way that people from rural areas in the United States are called "country boys."
In 1212, a young French "puer" named Stephen and a German "puer" named Nicholas separately began claiming that they had each had similar visions of Jesus. This resulted in these bands of roving poor being united into a religious protest movement which transformed this forced wandering into a religious journey. The "pueri" marched, following the Cross. They associated themselves with Jesus's biblical journey. This, however, was not a prelude to a holy war.
At that time, chronicles were mostly kept by the Catholic Church. They were written in Latin.
Thirty years later, chroniclers read the accounts of these processions and translated "pueri" as "children" without understanding the usage. So, the Children's Crusade was born. The resulting story illustrates how ingrained the concept of Crusading was in the people of that time— the chroniclers assumed that the pueri must have been Crusaders. In their innocence, they returned to the foundations of crusading characteristic of Peter the Hermit, and met the same sort of tragic fate.
According to Matthew Paris, one of the leaders of the Children's Crusade became "Le Maître de Hongrie," the leader of the Shepherds' Crusade in 1251.
During 1213, Pope Gregory IX pushed Frederick II into leading the Fifth Crusade.
The Church tried another crusade to attack the Holy Land. A crusading force from Hungary, Austria, and Bavaria captured Damietta, a city in Egypt, in 1219. The crusaders had to surrender, due to losing the battle for Cairo.
In 1228, Emperor Frederick II set sail from Brindisi for Syria. He did this after the Pope excommunicated him. By talking to the Turks he had success, and Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Bethlehem was given to the Crusaders for ten years without fighting. This was the first major crusade not initiated by the Papacy, a trend that was to continue for the rest of the century. This crusade only lasted for a year, from 1228-1229.
The Templars argued with Egypt in 1243. In 1244, Egypt attacked Jerusalem. Louis IX of France started a crusade against Egypt from 1248 to 1254. It was a failure and Louis spent much of the crusade living in the city of Acre. In the midst of this crusade was the first in 1251.
The Eighth Crusade was organized by Louis IX of France in 1270, to help the Crusader states in Syria. However, the crusade got as far as Tunis, where Louis died a month later.
Before he was the king, Edward I of England started a crusade in 1271. He retired the following year after a truce.
In time, the people went on Crusades for other purposes. The Crusades ended two centuries after they had begun, achieving mixed results. The crusades ended with the Mamluk Fall of Acre in 1291. (the link is not yet started).
Saladin, or Sultan Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb (25 December 1138–1193) was a famous Sultan of Egypt and Syria during the Crusades.
A Muslim of Kurdish origin, Saladin led the Muslim opposition to the European Crusaders in the Levant. At the height of his power, his sultanate included Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, Hejaz, Yemen and other parts of North Africa.
His father, who worked for the Turkish governor, decided to raise him in Syria where he received his education. Another influential figure in his life was his uncle Shirkuh who was a military leader and later commanded for Saladin during the wars. Many Muslims consider him a hero for defeating the Crusaders over 20 years of battles. The Crusades were series of battles between Christian Europe and Islamic Near East over holy land in what is now known as Palestine. Saladin’s army protected Egypt from the Crusaders in 1168. By taking Egypt, he became Vizier, a high ruler of Egypt. Just before the Caliph died, Saladin was crowned Sultan of Egypt and Syria. His greatest victory was at the Horns of Hattin in July 1187 AD, after which Jerusalem fell to the Muslims (October 1187) and was never again recovered by the Crusaders. He is also remembered for his series of battles and wins and losses against King Richard I of England. These were inconclusive and in the end resulted in a moral victory for Sultan Salah ad-Din, when Richard's Crusade failed and returned to Europe.
He founded the Ayyubid dynasty of Egypt, Syria, Yemen (except for the Northern Mountains), Iraq, Mecca Hejaz and Diyar Bakr. Salah ad-Din is a title which translates to "The Righteousness of the Faith" from Arabic.
Many books were written about Saladin, the things he did and the battles he won. "Daastaan Imaan Farooshoon Ki" is one book in Urdu written by Althamash that says very good things about Saladin and compares and contrasts him to other kings and princes, in a favourable light.
Aphex Twin (born Richard David James, 18 August 1971, in Limerick, Ireland) is an Irish-born Cornish musician. He lives and works in the UK. He is a famous electronic musician.
Aphex Twin is not his real name. His real name is Richard David James. His name is a combination of Aphex Systems Limited, a brand of audio signal processing equipment and the word Twin to remember his brother. His brother was stillborn, but given the name Richard James.
Aphex Twin was born in Limerick, Ireland. He grew up in Cornwall, U.K. He started to make music when he was a teenager. In 1991, he formed a record label called Rephlex Records.
After he became well known, he moved to London. This was so he could be in a place that was closer to other people. He however returned to Cornwall a few years later after meeting his wife. He still makes a lot of music today and uses many different pseudonyms (names). He lives in an old bank. He has bought interesting things like a tank and a submarine.
AFX
Bradley Strider
Gak
Martin Tressider
In the Universal Indicator series:
Polygon Window
Power Pill
Q-Chastic
Universal Indicator
Niagara Falls is the collective, name of three big waterfalls on the Niagara River in eastern North America, on the border between the United States and Canada. The three waterfalls are: the Horseshoe Falls, sometimes called the Canadian Falls, the American Falls, and the smaller Bridal Veil Falls. The American Falls and the Horseshoe Falls are separated with Goat Island, and the Bridal Veil Falls separated from the other waterfalls with Luna Island. Niagara falls is very well known for both its beauty and hydroelectric power. It has been a tourist attraction, commercial site and hydroelectricity source since the 19th century.
It is located near Niagara Falls, New York in the United States and Niagara Falls, Ontario in Canada.The volume of water approaching the falls during peak flow season may sometimes be as much as 225,000 cubic feet (6,400 m3) per second. The cities of Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, and Niagara Falls, New York, United States, are connected by two international bridges.
Niagara Falls were formed when glaciers receded at the end of the Wisconsin glaciation (the last ice age). Water from the newly formed Great Lakes carved a path through the Niagara Escarpment en route from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario and the Atlantic Ocean. The Escarpment has hard limestone on top and soft shale below.
Although not very high, Niagara Falls is very wide, and is probably the most popular waterfall in the world. The Horseshoe Falls are the largest out of the three falls. It is named the Horseshoe Falls because it looks like a horse shoe.
Niagara Falls is a very popular tourist destination and many people visit it on holiday in Canada.
Custard
Custard is a kind of food prepared with milk and eggs. Custard can be the dessert or its sauce.
Custard is an important part of dessert recipes from many countries, including the United Kingdom, France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Australia, and Malaysia.
Huckleberry is a name used in North America for several plants in two closely related genera in the family "Ericaceae": "Gaylussacia" and "Vaccinium". The huckleberry is the state fruit of Idaho.
Some "Vaccinium" species, such as the red huckleberry, are always called huckleberries. Other species may be called blueberries or huckleberries in different locations.
There is much confusion in naming of berries in American English. The 'garden huckleberry' ("Solanum melanocerasum") is not a true huckleberry but a member of the nightshade family.
The fruit of most species of huckleberry can be eaten. The berries are small and round. They are usually less than 5 mm in diameter and contain 10 seeds. Berries range in color from bright red, through dark purple, and into the blues. In taste the berries range from tart to sweet. They have a flavor similar to that of a blueberry. Huckleberries are well liked by many mammals such as bears and humans.
A cheesecake is a dessert cake made of cheese (usually cream cheese but sometimes ricotta), eggs, and sugar. It often has a graham cracker crumb crust, sometimes held together by melted butter. The filling has a very heavy, smooth texture. It sometimes has sour cream to make it easier to shape and may have fruit flavoring such as strawberry, blueberry, or lemon. It is often topped with fresh fruit or chocolate.
Cheesecake is now often thought to be part of American cooking, but it has a long history. Cheese making began around 2000, and scientists who study people in the past have found cheese molds almost as old.
Cheesecakes are known to go back to at least Greece. In the 100s, the writer Athenaeus's "Dinner-Table Philosophers" mentioned the poet Callimachus (around the 200s) used to have a book by an "Aegimius" about the art of making cheesecakes (, "Plakountopoukón Sýngramma"). Cheesecake may have been given to the sportspeople during the Olympic Games, which started in 776.
Even before the Romans took over Greece, they had begun making cheesecakes as well. M. Porcius Cato's "Book on Farming" (written around 160) mentions three kinds of cakes', ', and ""for use as offerings to the gods. Placenta cakes were the closest to today's cheesecakes, since its crust and filling are made separately.
Europeans stopped using yeast and started adding beaten eggs to their cheesecakes around the 1700s. This made it taste more like a dessert than a cheesebread.
Cheesecake recipes were brought to the United States as people moved there from Europe. Most of today's kinds of cheesecake ("New York-style cheesecake") come from the kind created by William Lawrence of Chester, New York, in 1872. He was trying to make something like the soft French Neufchâtel cheese and ended up with a heavy, creamy "unripened cheese".
There is an all-garlic restaurant in Stockholm where they offer a garlic cheesecake.
Sonya Thomas holds the world record for eating the most cheesecakes in a given time. She ate 11 pounds of cheesecake in nine minutes.
Rhubarb is one of about 60 plants in the genus Rheum, family Polygonaceae. The vegetable rhubarb is "Rheum rhabarbarum" (or "Rheum x hybridum"). The leaves are toxic, but the red stalks are baked in pies, with sugar to soften their tart flavor.
There are many varieties grown for eating. The drug "rheum" is prepared from the rhizomes and roots of another species, "R. officinale" or medicinal rhubarb.
Monkeys are tree-dwelling (arboreal) simians. They are in the primate order. Monkeys are intelligent, social animals. Most monkeys have a tail, even if it is a short one.
The word "monkey" is a common-language term. It includes two rather different groups of primates. The big distinction is between Old World monkeys and New World monkeys. Some examples of monkeys are macaques, baboons, guenons and marmosets.
Both these groups are in the infraorder Simiiformes. That infraorder also includes the great apes and man.
Some monkeys live almost entirely in trees. Others live partly on the ground. Monkeys are mainly vegetarian, with a strong preference for fruit. However, they may eat a wide range of other food, including insects. Monkeys can live in forests and savannahs, but not in deserts. Some can live in snowy mountains, but more live in rainforests. There are none in the rainforests of Australia and New Guinea. Apparently, they never reached those islands.
Some monkeys are small, about long and in weight. Other monkeys are much larger, about long and in weight. A group of monkeys is called a "troop" of monkeys or a "tribe" of monkeys.
The two groups of monkeys live in different places: the "New World Monkeys" in South America and the "Old World Monkeys" live mainly in Africa and Asia. New World Monkeys are often smaller than Old World Monkeys. Monkeys have long arms and legs to help them swing from trees. Some monkeys' tails can wrap tightly around branches, almost like a "fifth limb". This type of tail is 'prehensile'.
The smallest known monkey is the pygmy marmoset. It is about 14-16cm in size (without the tail). It weighs about 120 grams. It lives in the treetops of rainforests in Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador. The largest known monkey is the mandrill. It can grow to about 1 m in size. Adults weigh up to 35 kg. The monkeys often climb with the help of their tails.
The word "monkey" might have come from a popular German story, "Roman de Renart" ("Reynard the Fox"). In there, the name of the son of Martin the Ape is "Moneke".
In Africa, monkeys can be sold as "bushmeat" (meat of wild animals). Monkey brains are eaten in some parts of Africa, South Asia, and China.
Civilization (or civilisation) comes from the Latin word "civis" meaning someone who lives in a town. The Romans usually wanted conquered people to live in towns. When people are civilized, they have learned from the wisdom, skill and knowledge gained over centuries of human progress. The opposite of civilization is sometimes said to be entropy, barbarity, rudeness, or animal-like behavior.
A civilization is generally an advanced stage of organization. That means it has laws, culture, a regular way of getting food and protecting the people. Most civilizations have agriculture, and a system of government like monarchs or elections. They speak a common language, and usually have a religion of some kind. They teach their young the knowledge they need. All civilizations since the Sumerians and the Egyptians have had some kind of writing. This is because writing lets people store and build up knowledge.
Past societies that would be called more primitive compared to today, are still often referred to as civilizations for their time. The Roman Empire is an example of a past large civilization. It was governed from Rome. This empire once stretched from the Scottish borders to North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean. Their language was Latin.
Latin remained the preferred way of communication among educated people, long after their civilization had vanished. Some scientists, scholars and others still use Latin in the course of everyday work, even though the Roman civilization fell apart more than 1,500 years ago. The Roman civilization lasted almost 1000 years, but the Ancient Egyptian civilization was older and lasted longer.
One way a civilization ends is to become part of another civilization. For example, Ancient Egypt was conquered by foreigners who changed the country. It became part of Persian, Greek, Roman, and Islamic civilization. Another way is to go back to an earlier, simpler way of life. For example, Roman civilization collapsed in the Dark Ages. When people became more civilized again, it was the Medieval civilization.
Enlightenment (Buddhism)
In Buddhism, enlightenment (called "bodhi" in Indian Buddhism, or "satori" in Zen Buddhism) is when a Buddhist finds the truth about life and stops being reborn because they have reached Nirvana. Once you get to Nirvana you are not born again into samsara (which is suffering). Buddhists believe a person can become enlightened by following the Middle Way; the Middle Way is not too extreme in either way of living, neither an extremely luxurious life of ease and enjoyment nor an extremely harsh life on living on the minimum of the most basic necessities. One develops Sila (morality), Samadhi (concentration), and Prajna (insight or wisdom). This is thought to take a very long time, according to many buddhist monks and nuns.
After establishing a strong foundation of Sila (morality), Buddhists become enlightened by using meditation. While they practice Vipassana meditation, they relax their mind with clear understanding of the law of impermanence, which clears their minds of all attachments; craving, aversion, and delusion are destroyed.
Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) is described as the first known (historical) person to have reached enlightenment and was the founder of Buddhism. (Buddhists know him as the Shakyamuni Buddha, and believe there were Buddhas before him and will be after him.) The story of his life is told as an example of what he learned.
Siddhartha was a rich aristocrat and the son of a ruler of a republic. His father went to a fortune teller who predicted that Siddhartha would either become a king or a religious leader. If Siddhartha saw any suffering then he would become a great religious leader. His father wanted him to become a king, so he gave Siddhartha many things and did not let him see any suffering. Siddhartha married a woman and had a son. He named his son Rahula. Some say Siddhartha left the palace to pursue a spiritual path on the day his son was born.
Siddhartha went to the Shramana teachers to ask for help. Siddhartha traveled for four days. On the first day, he saw an old man. On the second day, he saw a sick woman. On the third day, he saw a funeral. It was his first time seeing death. On the fourth day he saw a sadhu (holy man). This man was very poor. Siddhartha thought that the man was happy even though he was poor. Siddhartha also knew that he was not happy even though he was rich. He decided to leave the palace and never go back.
Siddhartha walked through the forest. In the forest, he found a group of ascetics. He watched them and thought this was the way to be enlightened. For six years he lived with the ascetics. For some time, he ate one grain of rice and drank from the river every day. One day a boat was on the river with a musician and his students on it. Siddhartha heard the musician say, "If the string is too tight, it will snap. If it is too loose, it will not play." After hearing that, Siddhartha knew that he wanted to find a middle way, something more effective than asceticism. He took a bowl of rice with milk from a village woman. He then had the strength, to meditate until Enlightenment.
Siddhartha sat at the bottom of the Bodhi tree. He made a promise to keep meditating until he was enlightened. For forty days Devaputra Mara, the leader of demons, tried to stop Siddhartha. He made Siddhartha think of scary things. He made demons try to hurt Siddhartha with spears, arrows, fire, and rocks. Siddhartha did not fear them and kept his mind relaxed and the hurtful things became like flowers and many coloured lights. From Sila (morality), Samadhi (concentration), and Prajna (insight; wisdom), he became enlightened. After he was enlightened, he taught people about what he had learned for 45 years. He died when he was 80 years old.
Mail is part of the postal system. The postal system is a system where written documents and small to medium packages are sent (delivered) to places around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.
A postal service can be private or public. Governments often make rules about private postal delivery systems. Since the early 19th century, most national postal systems have been controlled entirely by governments. The governments make people pay a fee to send something. This fee is usually in the form of stamps. Some governments only let private postal services deliver parcel (non-mail) packages.
Postal systems often do things other than sending letters. In some countries, the postal system is also in charge of telephone and telegraph systems. The postal systems in other countries can help people apply for government papers such as passports and driver's licenses. Many places the post offices also work like banks. This is so that people can take out money or pay bills at a nearby post office, instead of travelling to a big bank in the nearest town.
People drop letters in a post box to be collected and delivered by the post office.
Gene Pitney
Gene Francis Alan Pitney (17 February 1940 – 5 April 2006) was an American rock singer and songwriter. He was born in Hartford, Connecticut. Some of his most well-known songs are "Town Without Pity", "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" and "Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa". He died of a heart attack in Cardiff in 2006 while on tour in the UK.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is an agency of the United States Government. It investigates crime across the country. It is dedicated to national security and law enforcement. The Bureau of Investigation was founded in 1908. It was renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI for short, in 1935. J. Edgar Hoover was the Director of the Bureau from its start, and continued as Director of the FBI until his death in 1972. Although the FBI works worldwide, their headquarters are in Washington DC. They have 56 main offices in cities throughout the United States.
The FBI's mission is to protect the USA and maintain justice. They do this in many ways:
The FBI is organized into branches and the Office of the Director. This office contains most administrative offices. An executive assistant director manages each branch. Each branch is then divided into offices and divisions. Each division is headed by an assistant director. The various divisions are further divided into sub-branches. Each sub-branch is led by deputy assistant directors. Within these sub-branches there are various sections headed by section chiefs. Section chiefs are ranked analogous to special agents in charge.
Four of the branches report to the deputy director while two report to the associate director. The functions branches of the FBI are:
The FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit (FCNU) is a 24/7 operational response to crisis and to negotiate person(s) who are threatening to commit suicide or other harmful situations after a crime has been committed. The FBI's lead negotiator contacts the person(s) involved, with a hard-wire phone line to communicate with the person(s) to try convincing them to give themselves up to local police who are on stand-by.
1596
1596 was a year in the 16th century. It was a leap year.