AcharyaChanakya/simple-wikipedia huggingface dataset:
Masturbation for males is the act of stimulating the penis manually to provide self-pleasure. For older teens and adults, masturbation usually ends in what is called an ejaculation (the release of liquid called semen which contains sperm cells). This ejaculation is usually accompanied by a powerful, pleasurable feeling called an orgasm. Most boys start masturbating between the age of 12 and 15.
There are many ways in which a male can choose to masturbate. The most common of these techniques is using the hand. A man simply wraps his hand or two or three fingers around the shaft of his penis (in erection) and moves his hand up and down. Sometimes a lubricant is used to create a softer sensation. As the sensation increases in intensity, the rate of hand movement generally quickens until orgasm occurs. Orgasm is a very pleasurable feeling which results in semen being ejaculated from the penis.
Men may also rub and touch other sensitive areas of the body such as the scrotum (the place where the testicles are located).
If and how often people masturbate depends on many things. One of the things it depends on is hormone levels. Hormones influence sexual arousal. Other things that the frequency of masturbation depend on are sexual habits. Sexual habits are sexual activities that people do because they are used to doing them. Other people of the same age or standing - called peers - can also influence this frequency. General health is another of the many factors. The general attitude towards masturbation is formed by culture. Medical causes have also been associated with masturbation.
"Forty-eight female college students were asked to complete a sexual attitudes questionnaire in which a frequency of masturbation scale was embedded. Twenty-four of the women (the experimental group) then individually viewed an explicit modeling film involving female masturbation. One month later, all subjects again completed the same questionnaire. Subjects in the experimental group also completed a questionnaire evaluating aspects of the film. Results indicated that the experimental group reported a significant increase in the average monthly frequency of masturbation, as compared to the control group. This same group, however, reported that the film had no effect on sexual attitudes or behavior."
A 2004 survey by Toronto magazine "NOW" was answered by an unspecified number of thousands. The results show that an overwhelming majority of the males — 81% — began masturbating between the ages of 12 and 15. Among females, the same figure was a more modest majority of 55%. (Note that surveys on sexual practices are prone to "self-selection bias".) It is not uncommon, however, to begin much earlier, and this is more frequent among females: 18% had begun by the time they turned 12, and 6% already by the time they turned 10. Being the main outlet of child sexuality, masturbation has been observed in very young children. In the book "Human Sexuality: Diversity in Contemporary America", by Strong, Devault and Sayad, the authors point out, "A baby boy may laugh in his crib while playing with his erect penis (although he does not ejaculate). Baby girls sometimes move their bodies rhythmically, almost violently, appearing to experience orgasm."
A 2004 magazine survey in Canada found that 43% started masturbating when they were about 12–13 years old. When boys start masturbating, wet dreams often stop since semen is taken out from his body regularly.
According to a Canadian survey of "Now" magazine readers, (cited above), the frequency of masturbation declines after the age of 17. However, most males masturbate daily, or even more frequently, well into their 20s and sometimes far beyond. This decline is more drastic among females, and more gradual among males. While females aged 13–17 masturbated almost once a day on average (and almost as often as their male peers), adult women only masturbated 8–9 times a month, compared to the 18–22 among men. It is also apparent that masturbation frequency declines with age. Adolescent youths report being able to masturbate to ejaculation six or more times per day, though some men in older middle age report being hard pressed to ejaculate even once per day. The survey does not give a full demographic breakdown of respondents, however, and the sexual history of respondents to this poll, who are readers of an urban Toronto lifestyle magazine, may not extend to the general population.
It appears that females are less likely to masturbate while in a heterosexual relationship than men. Both sexes occasionally engage in this activity, however, even when in sexually active relationships. Popular belief asserts that individuals of either sex who are not in sexually active relationships tend to masturbate more frequently than those who are; however, much of the time this is not true as masturbation alone or with a partner is often a feature of a relationship. Contrary to conventional wisdom, several studies actually reveal a positive correlation between the frequency of masturbation and the frequency of intercourse as well as the number of sex partners. One study reported a significantly higher rate of masturbation in gay men and women who were in a relationship.
The Catholic church regards masturbation as a 'gravely disordered action'. Among men masturbation may be seen as a sign of weakness, and there are slang terms for it used as insults.
The Sambia tribe of New Guinea has rites of passage surrounding manhood which involve frequent ejaculation through fellatio. Semen is valued and masturbation is seen as a waste of semen and is therefore frowned upon, even though frequent ejaculation is encouraged. The capacity and need to ejaculate is nurtured for years from an early age through fellatio so that it can be consumed rather than wasted. Semen is ingested for strength and is considered in the same line as mothers' milk.
Other cultures have rites of passage into manhood that culminate in the first ejaculation of a male, usually by the hands of a tribal elder. In some tribes such as the Agta in the Philippines, stimulation of the genitals is encouraged from an early age. Upon puberty, the young male is then paired off with a "wise elder" or "witch doctor" who uses masturbation to build his ability to ejaculate in preparation for a ceremony. The ceremony culminates in a public ejaculation before a celebration. The ejaculate is saved in a wad of animal skin and worn later to help conceive children. In this and other tribes, the measure of manhood is actually associated more with the amount of ejaculate and his need than penis size. Frequent ejaculation through masturbation from an early age fosters frequent ejaculation well into adulthood.
Masturbation marathons have occurred in the U.S. and UK. These events provide a supportive environment where masturbation can be performed openly.
Masturbation may increase fertility during sexual intercourse. In females, it can regulate the conditions of the vagina, cervix and the uterus. This can either increase or decrease the chance of conception. Whether the chance is increased or decreased depends on the timing of the masturbation. This timing is a subconscious decision. If she has intercourse with more than one male, it favors the chances of one or the other male's sperm reaching her egg.
Female masturbation can also protect against cervical infections. It does this by increasing the acidity of the cervical mucus and by moving debris out of the cervix.
The function of masturbation in males is to flush out old sperm with low motility from the male's genital tract. The next ejaculate contains more fresh sperm, which has higher chances of achieving conception during intercourse. If more than one male is having intercourse with a female, the sperm with the highest motility will compete more effectively.
The physical effect of masturbation and having an orgasm or ejaculating is heightened arousal while epinephrine courses through the body, producing a flushed face, shallow breath and post-climactic euphoria.
It is held in many mental health circles that masturbation can relieve depression, stress and lead to a higher sense of self-worth. Masturbation can also be particularly useful in relationships where one partner wants more sex than the other — in which case masturbation provides a balancing effect and thus a more harmonious relationship.
Mutual masturbation, the act by which two or more partners stimulate themselves in the presence of each other, allows a couple to reveal the map to their pleasure centers. Witnessing a partner masturbate is an educational activity to find out the method a partner uses to please themself, allowing each partner to learn exactly how the other enjoys being touched.
In 2003, an Australian research team led by Graham Giles of The Cancer Council Australia concluded that frequent masturbation by males appears to help prevent the development of prostate cancer.
A study published in 1997 found an inverse association between death from coronary heart disease and frequency of orgasm even given the risk that myocardial ischaemia and myocardial infarction can be triggered by sexual activity. Excerpt: "The association between frequency or orgasm and all cause mortality was also examined using the midpoint of each response category recoded as number of orgasms per year. The age adjusted odds ratio for an increase of 100 orgasms per year was 0.64 (0.44 to 0.95)". That is, a difference between any two subjects appeared when one subject ejaculated at around two or more times per week than the other. Assuming a broad range average of between 3-5 ejaculations per week for a healthy males, this would mean 5-7 ejaculations per week. This is consistent with an article on the benefits against prostate cancer However, the article notes that "The question of causation is complex... several explanations are possible".
Masturbation is also seen as a sexual technique that protects individuals from the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases. Support for such a view, and for making it part of the American sex education curriculum, led to the dismissal of US Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders during the Clinton administration. A 2011 study from the Indiana University supports the assertion. After taking age and partner status into account, the study showed that sexually active boys who masturbated regularly were eight times more likely to have used a condom during their last intercourse than other boys. This positive outcome has been observed in other studies and has been the basis of public health policy in Great Britain promoting masturbation.
Some people actually consider masturbation as a cardiovascular workout. Masturbation makes most people feel good and can sometimes replace sexual intercourse when one cannot find a partner. It can also prepare one for sexual intercourse.
A small study has shown that a test group which only had intercourse experienced, as a whole, lower blood pressure in stressful situations than those who had intercourse but also had masturbated for one or more days.
Objects inserted into the vagina or anus should be clean and should not be able to scratch or break. Care should be taken not to fully insert anything into the anus — any object used should have a flared or flanged base; otherwise, medical help may be needed to get it out. Modern dildos and anal plugs are designed with this feature.
Masturbation involving both a man and a woman (see "mutual masturbation") can result in pregnancy only if semen contacts the vulva. Masturbation with a partner can also theoretically result in transmission of sexually transmitted diseases by contact with bodily fluids.
A man whose penis has suffered a blunt trauma or injury during intercourse may rarely sustain a penile fracture or suffer from Peyronie's disease. Phimosis is "a contracted foreskin (that) may cause trouble by hurting when an attempt is made to pull the foreskin back". In these cases, any energetic manipulation of the penis can be problematic.
Lawrence I. Sank observed that masturbating prone (lying face downward) could be responsible for sexual problems in some men, including anorgasmia and erectile dysfunction, as observed in four men he examined. He coined the term "traumatic masturbatory syndrome" to describe this theory. As of 2007, no follow-up research has been conducted and the idea is not familiar or widely-held within the medical community. Some sources, however, give credence to the idea. One sex therapist condemned masturbation by rubbing against a pillow or mattress and Lipsith et al. suggest that masturbation could play a part in male psychogenic sexual dysfunction (MPSD), citing Sank as their authority. MPSD is a difficulty in reaching orgasm during intercourse, and developing a dependence on masturbation.
Masturbating frequently presents no physical, mental or emotional risk in itself, but masturbation can be used to relieve boredom or stress. In either case, as with any "nervous habit", it is more helpful to consider the causes of the boredom or of the stress, rather than try to repress the behavior itself, in this case masturbation.
There is some discussion between professionals and other interested parties as to the existence or validity of sexual addictions. Nevertheless, there are lists of warning signs such as when sexual activity affects a person's ability to function in everyday life, or is placing them at risk, for example, of pursuing illegal or destructive activities. Very frequent and compulsive masturbation may be seen as a sign of sexual addiction.
Immanuel Kant considered masturbation a violation of one's duty to one's self and an unnatural act, stating it was against natural law. Sigmund Freud regarded masturbation as unhealthy. Margaret Sanger frequently stated that masturbation was unwise.
Animation is a way of making a movie from many still images. The images are put together one after another, and then played at a fast speed to give the illusion of movement.
Animation is a relatively new art form, and though the concept of moving images has been a theme throughout ancient civilizations, it was not until late into the 19th century that experimental animation truly began. Today, the industry of animation is booming, making up a huge commercial enterprise.
A person who makes animations is called an "animator."
There are three ways to animate:
Because it is expensive to make, most animation comes from professional companies. However, independent animators have existed since the 1950s in America, with many of those people entering the professional industry. In Europe, the independent movement has existed since the 1910s, with animators like pre-revolutionary Russia's Ladislas Starevich and Germany's Lotte Reiniger.
Many people use a computer animation program called Adobe Flash to create animations. Flash uses a combination of drawing and computer graphics to make animations. Many animations on the internet are made in Flash. Most animators on the internet do not work for professional companies.
Many television shows, especially those made for children, use limited animation. Companies such as UPA and Hanna-Barbera Productions do this. Simple, limited movement makes the images easier to draw, which allows quicker and cheaper production of animation.
Confucius (born 551 BC, died 479 BC) was an important Chinese educator and philosopher. His original name was Kong Qiu or Zhong Ni.
As a child, he was eager to learn about everything, and was very interested in rituals. Once he grew up, he worked as a state official who handled farms and cattle. Then he became a teacher.
Confucius lived in a time when many states were fighting wars in China.
This period was called the Spring and Autumn period of the Zhou Dynasty.
Confucius did not like this and wanted to bring order back to society.
Like Socrates, Confucius sometimes did not answer philosophical questions himself.
Instead he wanted people to think hard about problems and to learn from others, especially from history.
Confucius also thought that people should get power because they were good and skilled, and not just because they came from powerful families.
Confucius wanted people to think about other people more than about money or what they owned.
However he also felt that there should be strong rules in society and that people needed to obey them.
Confucius thought that there were five relationships people could have, and that they all had their own rules.
Two people could be
These were traditional relationships called the 'five prototypes'.
Confucius said that in all these relationships, both people must obey rules.
For example, a subject must obey a prince, but also a prince must listen to a subject and must rule him well and fairly.
Confucius said that people should only do things to other people if they would be okay with other people doing those things to themselves.
This is sometimes called the Golden Rule and was also taught by Jesus Christ.
His students wrote down small stories about him, and things that he said.
These were put together to make a book called The Analects, which became one of the main books of Confucianism.
Consciousness means being awake, alert and responsive to the environment. The definition of consciousness may differ in psychology, neuroscience, philosophy and other related sciences. It is often disputed amongst academics and scientists.
Consciousness is a spectrum. There are several states between a fully conscious state and a fully unconscious state. In medicine, the degree of "loss of consciousness" is measured by using Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS); a score between 3 and 15 is given to each person at any time, to show how conscious he or she is. Higher scores show more conscious states.
It seems that many decisions are made without us being aware of it. Some think that these decisions are made by what is called the unconscious mind. There are also many body functions which we do not notice until they go wrong. These activities are done by the autonomic nervous system. Breathing and the beat of one's heart can be noticed but are controlled by nervous system without thought.
It is not known what causes consciousness. So, it is difficult to know if another person or thing is indeed conscious. The best we can say is that some animals do seem to be conscious of the world around them. We ourselves assume that others have consciousness, but this is notoriously difficult to prove. This is known in philosophy as "the problem of other minds".
An architect is a person who designs buildings and prepares plans to give to a builder. What he designs is called architecture. Stafans make drawings with pens, pencils, and computers, and this is also called drafting. Sometimes he first make small toy-sized buildings called models to show what the building will look like when it is done. Some of these models survive for hundreds of years, such as O.S Moamogo, South Africa.
Architects decide the size, shape, and what the building will be made from. Architects need to be good at math and drawing. They need imagination. They must go to university and learn how to make a building's structure safe so that it will not collapse. They should also know how to make a building attractive, so that people will enjoy using it.
Although there has been architecture for thousands of years, there have not always been architects. The great European cathedrals built in the Middle Ages were designed by a Master Builder, who scratched his designs on flat beds of plaster. Paper did not exist in Europe at this time and vellum or parchment were very expensive and could not be made in large sizes.
Some cathedrals took hundreds of years to build, so the Master Builder would die or retire and be replaced and often plans changed. Some cathedrals were never finished, like Notre Dame in Paris or Sagrada Família in Barcelona.
An architect has a very important job, because his or her work will be seen and used by many people, probably for a very long time. If the design, materials and construction are good, the building should last for hundreds or even thousands of years. This is rarely the case.
Usually building cost is what limits the life of a building, but fire, war, need or fashion can also affect things. As towns and cities grow, it often becomes necessary to make roads wider, or perhaps to build a new train station. Architects are employed again and so the city changes. Even very important buildings may get knocked down to make way for change.
Famous architects include: Frank Lloyd Wright, Fazlur Khan, Bruce Graham, Edward Durell Stone, Daniel Burnham, Adrian Smith, Frank Gehry, Gottfried Böhm, I. M. Pei, Antoni Gaudí, and Oscar Niemeyer.
La Jolla is a neighborhood in the city of San Diego, in the state of California, in the United States. It is pronounced "La Hoya".
The University of California, San Diego is in La Jolla. Another famous place in La Jolla is the Salk Institute.
An arch is an opening in a building that is curved on top to distribute the weight. The curved part can be round, like part of a circle, or pointed, like two parts of circles next to each other. Arches are often used where buildings are made of many small stones or bricks. The stone at the very top of the arch, called the keystone, keeps the rest of the arch stones from falling down. Arches can go over doorways and windows. Many bridges are arch bridges including ones made of steel. A series of arches is an arcade.
Arches can be found in nature. These natural arches form through the erosion of cliffs.
Arches can have many forms, but they can be sorted into three categories: circular, pointed and parabolic.
The human vagina is a part of the female body. It is between the perineum and the urethra. Menstrual fluid (red, blood-filled liquid lost during menstruation) leaves the body through the vagina. During sexual intercourse, a penis is put into the vagina. During birth, the vagina opens to let the baby come out from the uterus. The vagina is reddish pink in color, though colors may vary.
The vaginal opening is much larger than the urethral opening.
Between the ages of 9-15 years, the vagina and uterus become bigger. The uterus is the organ in which a baby grows. The vagina is a tube leading from the uterus to the outside of the body. The opening of the vagina is inside the vulva, between the legs. A clear or whitish fluid may start to flow out of the vagina to keep it clean.
The vagina is the tube leading from the uterus to the outside of the body. The opening is between the legs, inside the labium, behind the opening to the urethra, and in front of the anus.
The vagina is an elastic, muscular tube. It starts at the cervix and ends at the vulva. It is about wide, and long. During sexual intercourse and childbirth, the vagina gets wider and bigger. It has to be lubricated to stay clean and allow sexual intercourse and childbirth. It is lubricated partially by the Bartholin's glands. This lubrication also allows sperm easier access to fertilize an ovum.
Like many tissues, the vagina has a natural biome, a flora and fauna of microscopic organisms. The vagina is an interface between the host and the environment. Its surface is covered by a protective epithelium where bacteria and other microorganisms grow. The ectocervix (that's the vaginal part of the cervix) is not sterile, but the endocervix (that's the canal of the cervix) and the upper genital tract are assumed to be sterile in healthy women. So, the cervix is a gatekeeper to protect the upper genital tract (ovaries and fallopian tubes) from microbes.
Research on this biome is at an early stage. "Lactobacillus" species are associated with vaginal health, but what they do to keep the vagina healthy is not known. A big research program into this is part of the Human Microbiome Project (HMP).
The vagina releases blood and tissue during menstruation. Tampons or other products can be used to absorb some of the blood.
When a woman is aroused, she has pleasurable feelings in her genital region. The vagina gets up to wide. It can get bigger with more stimulation. During sexual intercourse, the man's penis is placed in the woman's vagina. The vagina is warm and soft, and it places pressure on the man's penis. That can feel good for both partners and usually makes the man have an orgasm after repeated thrusts. For orgasm in women, the vagina has significantly fewer nerve endings than the clitoris, and therefore rubbing or applying other consistent pressure against the clitoris is usually needed to help the woman have an orgasm. During the man's orgasm, he ejaculates semen from his penis into the vagina. The semen contains sperm. The sperm can move from the vagina into the uterus to fertilize an egg and make a woman pregnant.
The G-spot may be a highly sensitive area near the entrance inside of the human vagina. If stimulated, it leads to a strong orgasm or female ejaculation in some women. Some doctors and researchers who specialize in the anatomy of women believe that the G-spot does not exist, and that if it does exist, it is an extension of the clitoris.
During birth, the vagina acts as a pathway for the baby to leave the mother's body. The vagina is very elastic and stretches to many times its normal diameter during birth.
Sperm needs to be deposited at the top of the vagina near the cervix and fertilize the ovum (egg) if pregnancy is to occur. In a normal childbirth, babies come out through the vagina.
The breast is an organ on the lower chest region of humans and other primates. Humans have two breasts. Both boys and girls have breasts at birth, but during puberty, the breasts on women become larger and more visible. The breasts have mammary glands that produce milk. Breastfeeding is letting an infant drink breast milk.
Men also have breasts. They are built the same way as those of women, but are much smaller and underdeveloped. Men cannot use their breast for breastfeeding. Their breasts will usually not produce milk, but might become larger and produce milk during some diseases or with some hormonal medical treatments.
Girls develop breasts during puberty due to sex hormones, mainly estrogen.
The appearance and size of the breasts of a woman may vary due to genetic factors, and the amount of fatty and connective tissue. Hormones also play a role.
Estrogen promotes the growth of mammary glands and ducts, while progesterone induces milk-producing cells to develop. Prolactin and oxytocin stimulate milk production. Oxytocin also causes milk to be spurted from a lactating breast.
The two breasts usually are not equal in size — one may be larger than the other, but this is common.
During menopause, as levels of estrogen decrease, tissue in the breasts reduce as well, and the breasts may start sagging. A study showed that breastfeeding does not cause sagging. Factors that do influence sagging are the size of the breast (before the first pregnancy), number of pregnancies, body mass index, smoking, and age.
The center of the breast is the nipple. The areola is a circular area around the nipple. The breast contains mammary glands. Each breast has 15 to 20 milk ducts. Ducts carry the milk produced by these glands to the nipples. After a woman has a baby, her breasts undergo lactation — the production of natural milk.
Feeding babies milk is called breastfeeding or "nursing".
The breasts of a woman also play a role in human sexual behavior. They are one of the most visible or obvious female secondary sex characteristics. They play an important role in sexual attraction of partners. They can also give pleasure to the individual. When sexually stimulated, the size of the breasts increases, venous patterns across the breasts become more visible, and nipples grow harder. During sexual intercourse, it is common practice to press or massage breasts with hands. Breasts are sensitive to touch as they have many nerve endings. Oral stimulation of nipples and breasts is also common. Some women can achieve "breast orgasms". In the ancient Indian work the "Kama Sutra", marking breasts with nails and biting with teeth are explained as erotic.
Pregnancy is when a female mammal has an unborn baby inside her. During pregnancy, a female is called "pregnant". A human pregnancy is about 38 weeks long, from conception to childbirth. Usually the mother has one baby at a time. Sometimes the mother has two babies at one time. Two babies are called twins. The mother can have three or more babies at one time. This does not happen very often in humans.
Pregnancy usually starts after a woman has sexual intercourse with a man. Her ovum (or egg) and his sperm (seed) come together and form a zygote (fertilized egg) inside her.
Some people have trouble becoming pregnant. This is called "infertility". Women and men with infertility may take drugs or have surgery to help a pregnancy start. Some people use treatments that are not natural, like in vitro fertilization, to become pregnant with the help of a doctor.
When the woman's egg and the man's seed come together, it makes one cell called a "zygote". The zygote grows into an embryo, which grows into a fetus. When the fetus is ready, the baby is born.
Human pregnancy is divided into three parts called "trimesters". A trimester is about three months long. During the first trimester, the woman might feel ill in her stomach. She might have to urinate often. During the second trimester, the woman's abdomen starts to stick out. During the third trimester, her abdomen sticks out even more, and she becomes even heavier.
At the end of a full pregnancy, the woman's body pushes the baby out through her vagina. This is called "delivering a baby" or "giving birth". Mothers can get help for birth from a midwife, nurse, or doctor. In some places, mothers give birth at home. In other places, mothers give birth in a hospital. Mothers who are ill or hurt may need to go to a hospital.
Giving birth can hurt a lot at the end. In hospitals, a doctor or midwife can give drugs to the mother to reduce the pain.
If the baby cannot be pushed out, then a doctor can cut the mother open to take the baby out. This operation is called a Caesarean section.
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women says that pregnant women must be given time away from work or equal welfare for her baby without losing her job (Article 11).
Sometimes there are problems with pregnancies. A miscarriage (spontaneous abortion) is when the baby dies before it is born. A stillbirth is when the baby is dead when it is born. There are also diseases caused by pregnancy.
Sometimes, women die from giving birth. In developed countries, this is much less common than it used to be. Every year, about 500,000 women die from giving birth, while about 7,000,000 mothers have big problems from giving birth. For example, giving birth can tear the mother's body and cause an obstetric fistula.
A pregnancy can also stop without the baby being born. This is called abortion. Doctors can do things that will stop a pregnancy. Such an abortion is called "induced abortion". Countries have different laws about induced abortions. Some countries allow it, and others do not. In some countries, it is allowed, but only for certain reasons, such as the pregnancy resulting from rape, or a doctor saying that the pregnant woman might die if the pregnancy is not stopped. People also have different opinions about abortion. Often, these are influenced by religious beliefs.
There are a few diseases that can kill a woman or make her very ill if she has a baby. Having abortions could save the lives or health of these mothers.
A pregnancy test is something that women use to tell whether they are pregnant. The woman urinates on the stick. If the woman is pregnant, a plus sign or two lines will appear on the stick. If the woman is not pregnant, then a minus sign or one line will appear on the stick.
A forest is a piece of land with many trees. Many animals need forests to live and survive. Forests are very important and grow in many places around the world. They are an ecosystem which includes many plants and animals.
Temperature and rainfall are the two most important things for forests. Many places are too cold or too dry for them. Forests can exist from the equator to near the polar regions, but different climates have different kinds of forests. In cold climates conifers dominate, but in temperate zone and tropical climates forests are mainly made up of flowering plants. Different rainfall also makes different kinds of forest. No forests exist in deserts, just a few trees in places where their roots can get at some underground water.
The three major forest biomes are coniferous forests, deciduous forests, and tropical rain forests.
Coniferous forests stretch across Canada, Alaska, Northern Asia, and Northern Europe. Their main trees are evergreen conifers which produce seeds in cones.
The weather during the winter is cold, but when snow melts in the spring, some parts of the forest become swamps. There are not many different types of trees in coniferous forests because of the cold weather, and the poor soil. Fallen branches, needles, and dead animals do not decay as fast as in warmer regions. This is why the soil in coniferous forests is not very fertile. Also, only those trees that have adapted to cold weather and poor soil can survive. These trees have flexible branches that support heavy snowfalls. Less water evaporates from their leaves because of the shape of their needles.
Many coniferous trees shade large parts of the soil below them, which keeps many plants from growing on the forest ground. Some animals that live in the coniferous forests are pine martens, deer, bears, caribou, moose, lynes, heavers, and birds such as grey owls, crossbills, and marblers.
Deciduous forests mostly grow in the temperate zone of North America, Europe and Asia. They have a moderate climate during the spring, summer, autumn (fall) and winter, with rainfall of at least 500mm a year. Summers are warm and winters are cold, but not as cold as the northern coniferous forests. In the winter, snow covers the ground and the deciduous trees and plants lose their leaves. The decaying leaves help make the soil rich in nutrients. Many insects, spiders, snails, and worms make their homes in this rich soil. Wild flowers and ferns grow almost everywhere in the spring. New leaves capture the energy of the sun and sprout before the tall trees shadow them.
During the winter, many birds migrate to warmer climate. Many small animals hibernate or aestivate, in other words, slow down their metabolism and sleep or stay in their burrows. Some of the other animals just slow down their metabolism and eat food they stored during the summer and fall months. The trees in winter are bare, but with the coming of spring, leaves sprout, birds return, animals are born, and all the forest animals get busy with their lives. Animals that we may see or hear in this biome include bears, deer, raccoons, otters, beavers, foxes, frogs, squirrels, snakes, salamanders, and birds such as woodpeckers, robins, owls, blue jays and the small birds usually called tits.
Some deciduous forests grow in tropical places that do not have a winter but do have a wet season and a dry season.
Tropical rainforests grow in South America, the Congo, Indonesia and some nearby countries, Hawaii, and eastern Australia. Tropical rainforests are aptly named, as it rains here on about half the days. The only season in a tropical rain forest is summer, so plants grow for all 12 months of the year. Trees are tall and thick in the rain forest and they grow so close together that they seem to form a big umbrella of greenery called a canopy. This blocks out most of the sunlight. The air is muggy as it filters through the dense canopy cover of the trees. The light that filters through this tree cover is dim and green. Only along river banks and in places that have been cleared does enough sunlight allow plants to grow on the forest ground.
Millions of species of plants and animals live in the world's tropical forests. Life in the rain forest exists at different levels or layers in the trees. Each layer has a name, such as 'emergent', 'canopy', 'understory', and 'forest floor"." Animal life is found on all levels.
Barber
A barber is someone who cuts hair and shaves beards. Usually, it is men who go to a barber. Women usually go to hairdressers instead. Barbers sometimes have a pole outside, which is red and white in most countries. Barbering is a most ancient and honorable profession, with a very interesting history. Barbering is the practice of cutting or trimming hair and includes shaving or trimming facial hair. Besides cutting hair, barbers also shampoo and style hair, mostly for male clients. Other duties include scalp treatment, skin care and fitting or grooming hairpieces. In some states, barbers color, highlight or bleach hair.
The main job of a barber is to cut a client's hair. The goal is to improve the appearance of the hair and to adapt styles to the customer's wishes. Barbers also shape and trim beards and mustaches. Instruments such as scissors and combs must be kept sterile and in good condition, and the barber is also responsible for keeping the shop clean by sweeping up hair. Owners of barbershops also order supplies, pay bills and may hire and supervise staff. Good interpersonal skills and a positive attitude are important qualities to have when working as a barber. Examples of famous barbers are Alex Kelly and Cameron Kelly formally known as the Kelly Cutters. Many barbers use these men as examples and aim to also deliver a very high quality service.
With experience, barbers can manage a salon or barber shop, or eventually open their own shop. Advancement is also possible in teaching barbering. Some states combine barbering and cosmetology licenses into one. Some states allow transferring a barbering license from another state without additional formal training, but not all states allow this.
A carpenter is a person who works with wood. They can make cabinets, build houses, or do other things with wood.
Carpenters usually make very good foremen (people who watch over a job) on larger jobs as they deal with so much of the project from ground up. Carpenters are always adding to their tools and always learning how to use the new tools, materials, and ways of working with wood.
Many carpenters will choose to focus their skills in one of two broad ranging categories. Rough carpenters will focus on building things that need to be simple and structural. This includes framing for houses, or crates for shipping. Finish carpenters will focus on things that are detailed and artistic. For example, they can be furniture builders, cabinet makers or toy makers. Wood carvers are sometimes counted as carpenters.
Electrician
A roof is the top surface of the building. The plural of 'roof' is 'roofs'. The roof keeps out rain and snow and protects people from the sun. Some roofs are sloped, or pitched, so the rain and snow fall off easily. Some roofs are flat, but even flat roofs have a little bit of pitch so the water can flow away towards a drain.
"Gable", "hip", "gambrel", "shed" and "mansard" roofs are the main types of pitched roofs. The type of roof on a building helps identify the building style. For example, an American Arts and Crafts style versus a Cape Cod style. Roofs are often covered in asphalt or wood shingles. But they can also be covered in metal, slate, or clay tiles. It can be dangerous to walk on a pitched roof. Some pitched roofs have parts that stick out for windows. These are called dormers. The edges of pitched roofs are called 'eaves'. Often there are gutters and leaders at the eaves, which take away water from the roof.
Flat roofs are usually covered in rubber or types of plastic. You can usually walk on a flat roof. At the edge of a flat roof there is sometimes a parapet. This is to prevents people from falling off the roof.
A brick is a man-made building material used to make walls and make places to walk. It is a single unit of a kneaded clay-bearing soil, sand and lime, or concrete material, fire-hardened or air-dried, used in masonry construction.
Bricks are made mostly of clay. They are put into molds or cut with wires, and then baked in an oven. The color of a brick depends on the clay from which it was made.
Masons build brick walls. They join bricks together using mortar.
Bricks can be assembled into many different patterns. The most common pattern is called "running bond". A row of bricks is called a course. A wall that is just one brick thick has one wythe.
Bricks used outdoors on the ground are called "pavers". Engineering bricks are used for high load-bearing walls, and for damp-proof courses. They are more expensive, and are made of better clays and fired at a higher temperature.
The oldest shaped bricks found date back to 7500 B.C. They have been found in Çayönü, a place located in the upper Tigris area in south east Anatolia close to Diyarbakir. A bit later, between 7000 and 6395 BC, bricks come from Jericho and Catal Hüyük.
Fired bricks are one of the longest-lasting and strongest building materials. They have been used since about 3000 BC in early Indus Valley cities. Sun-dried mud bricks are much older, and quite satisfactory in hot, dry climates. Fired bricks are much more resistant to cold and moist weather conditions. They allow permanent building in regions where the harsher climate prevents the use of mud bricks.
Most bricks from all places tend to be about the same size: ~9 x ~4¼ x ~2½ inches or 250 × 120 × 65 mm. This is because they are picked up by the brickie in one hand, while in his other hand is a trowel with cement on it.
San Diego () is the second largest city in the U.S. state of California and eighth largest in the United States. It is at the southwest corner of California, as well as the southwest corner of the continental United States. It was founded in 1769 and it is the oldest city in California. The mayor of San Diego as of 2015 is Kevin L. Faulconer
It has comfortable weather most of the year. There are several military bases in and near San Diego. It has many beaches along the Pacific Ocean. The San Diego Zoo is very famous.
San Diego is home to San Diego State University and the University of California, San Diego.
San Diego is on the international Mexico–United States Border. The city of Tijuana is just across the Mexican border.
San Diego is home to the San Diego Padres baseball team.
Heroin, fentanyl, alcohol, and prescription drug addiction are common addiction types in San Diego. In 2017, there were 273 unintentional prescription-related deaths in San Diego County and 7,505 opioid-related visits to emergency rooms. From 2016-2017 there was a 115% increase of fentanyl-related deaths in San Diego. In 2017, there were 357 alcohol-related deaths in San Diego County. Of those deaths, 127 also involved prescription drugs, 15 involved a combination of heroin and prescription drugs, and involved heroin. 15,952 adults were admitted into drug treatment centers in San Diego in 2017. In 2016, an estimated 125 million opioid pills were sold in San Diego County, which equates to nearly 38 pills per person.
Oriole
The oriole ( or Old World oriole) is a bird in the family Oriolidae. They make up the genus Oriolus. Old World orioles are found areas of Africa, Asia and Europe. They are most often found in tropical areas but one species lives in cooler areas. The golden oriole is the only species of Old World oriole which is not a tropical bird.
Many species have bright coloured feathers.
The orioles evolved in Australasia, and later spread to Eurasia. They are not related to the New World oriole. New World orioles are members of the blackbird family "Icteridae" and are native to the Americas .
This is a list of kinds of orioles, in the English and Latin languages:
Feathers are the things which cover birds. They help keep birds warm. Feathers also protect them from injury. In most kinds of birds, feathers of wings help them to fly.
The main feathers which cover the outside of a bird are called "vaned feathers". Vaned feather have a stiff center, with soft barbs on the side, which seem like hairs. The center is called a "quill". This type of feather is called pennaceous (= like a pen).
Young birds have small feathers, called "down", which keep them warm, but cannot be used for flying. Down is very soft. Adult birds have down, but also have vaned feathers on top of the down. Down is also used in blankets. Down feathers are just one example of plumaceous feathers (the word means 'fluffy'). Another example is the feathers on flightless birds such as the ostrich.
Birds lose their feathers at certain times. This is called "moulting". By moulting, a bird can replace old feathers with new ones. Many birds moult once every year.
Feathers give birds colour. The function of colour in birds is extremely important. It includes:
People use feathers for many purposes. In the past, quills were commonly used as pens, and colorful feathers were worn on hats. Many pillows, cushions, mattresses, coats, and quilts are stuffed with down. Feathers are also used by people of many tribes for decoration.
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen
Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Fuller Olsen (born June 13, 1986) are twin American actresses. They have acted in movies and on television series since they were nine months old.
The twins began acting on the ABC series "Full House" between 1987 and 1995, in which both of them played Michelle Tanner.
In the early 1990s, they became the youngest entrepreneurs in Hollywood history by starting the Dualstar Entertainment company.
Later that decade, they acted in "Two of a Kind" and "So Little Time", as well as their own animated series.
They also acted in the movies, "It Takes Two" (1994), "New York Minute" (2003), and many direct-to-video movies and specials.
Merchandise related to the Olsens is still very popular in the teenage market. The Olsens have a clothing line for girls ages 4–14 in Wal-Mart stores across North America, as well as a beauty line called "Mary-Kate and Ashley: Real fashion for real girls".
In mid-2004, Mary-Kate Olsen announced she had entered treatment for an eating disorder, anorexia nervosa. A Got Milk? ad featuring the twins was pulled following the announcement. On November 20, 2007 she was hospitalized for a reported kidney infection.
The twins have bought up a number of fashion labels, and this is now their main activity. In 2012 the girls decided to quit acting permanently and focus on fashion.
The Walt Disney Company, commonly nicknamed Disney, is one of the largest entertainment and media companies in the world. Disney is known for Mickey Mouse universe and Donald Duck universe. This studio is famous for their family movies. It was started in 1923 by Walt Disney and his brother, Roy Oliver Disney, as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio. It had the name of Walt Disney Productions from 1937 to 1985.
Disney Enterprises Inc. is a subsidiary of the company; the name is found in many of its franchises.
The current chairman and CEO is Bob Chapek since 2020.
The company's main units are Studio Entertainment, Parks and Resorts, Media Networks and Consumer Products.
This unit, also called the Walt Disney Studios, is headed by Chairman Dick Cook. It consists of:
One of the Studios' largest assets lies in Walt Disney Feature Animation, which has made a successful string of animated movies for almost seven decades. Because of failures with most of their recent additions, it has changed its focus from traditional hand-drawn to CGI movies. Pixar, also owned by Disney, is one of the first studios to create CGI movies. Recently, Disney has acquired 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures and Blue Sky Studios, a big movie production studio, as well as other assets of 21st Century Fox, for $52 billion USD.
Worldwide, Disney has eleven theme parks (as of 2021):
Disney once owned the sports teams, the Angels (baseball) and the Mighty Ducks (ice hockey), both based in Anaheim, California. They are now the property of other people.
The ABC television network, which Disney bought in 1996, serves as the centre of this unit. Cable television channels within it include Disney Channel, Toon Disney, ABC Family, ESPN and SOAPnet.It also partly owns Lifetime, A&E and E!.
Buena Vista Television, responsible for the syndication of many Disney series, produces some of its own as well: "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire", "Live with Regis and Kelly", and "Ebert & Roeper".
Merchandising and licensing within the company are overseen in this division. Disney Publishing Worldwide, part of this unit, has Disney Press, Disney Editions and Hyperion Books as its brands.