AcharyaChanakya/simple-wikipedia huggingface dataset:
Sir William de la Pole was the town's first mayor.
The town grew rich during the 16th and early 17th centuries. At this time Wilberforce House was built. It is now a museum about William Wilberforce. who campaigned to abolish the slave trade.
In 1642 Hull decided to support for Parliament and refused to let Charles I enter the town. This meant the king could not have Hull's arsenal. Named a traitor, Hotham was eventually executed, in spite of a pardon issued by Parliament. Charles I besieged the town, that is he ordered his army to surround the town and force Hull to surrender. This siege helped start the fighting in the Civil War.
Hull became a city in 1897 This was then time when the city was the richest it had ever been. Catching whales and fishing were very important. Whaling is now banned, and fishing is limited by EU rules. But Hull is still a major port sending bulk goods and commercial road traffic by RORO ferry to and from the Dutch ports of Rotterdam and Zeebrugge and on to Europe. Hull is also an important centre of food-processing for the United Kingdom.
In the Second World War much of the city centre was completely destroyed. Hull was the most severely-bombed city or town apart from London during World War II, with 95% of houses being damaged or destroyed.
Hull was hit hard by the June 2007 floods. There was standing water over a wide area affecting 20% of the city's housing and damaging 90 out of its 105 schools. But the flooding was not as dramatic as the localised flooding in Sheffield and Doncaster. Newspapers and television reported about other areas, and Hull Council leader Carl Minns said Hull was the "forgotten city" of the floods.
Damage to schools alone has been estimated at £100 million.
Kingston upon Hull's city centre is close to the Humber. The city is surrounded by the rural East Riding of Yorkshire, isolating it from the rest of the United Kingdom.
Much of Hull is on reclaimed land at or below sea level. The Hull Tidal Surge Barrier is where the River Hull joins the Humber Estuary and is lowered at times when unusually high tides are expected. It is used between 8 and 12 times per year and protects about 10,000 people from flooding.
Due to its low level, Hull is expected to be at increasing levels of risk from flooding due to global warming.
The city is quite small, but there are many villages in the metropolitan area. The largest of these suburbs is Cottingham.
Hull was a county borough in the East Riding of Yorkshire from 1889 to 1974. Then it became a non-metropolitan district of the new Humberside county. When that county was abolished in 1996 it was made a unitary authority.
The governing body of the city is now Hull City Council, based in the Guildhall in the city centre.
The council has adopted the "leader and cabinet" model. This means that most decision are made by the leader of the council and a "Cabinet"
The council was the UK's worst council in both 2004 and 2005, but is now rated as a two star "improving adequate" council after its recent "corporate performance assessment".
Hull has the following twin towns:
Hull, Massachusetts in the USA is named after this city, as is Hull, Quebec, which is part of Canada's national capital region.
Hull is the only city in the UK with its own independent telephone network company, now called KCom. On 24 May 2007, the council sold their remaining stake in the company for over £107 million.
People linked to the city include:
Riding (division)
In the United Kingdom, a riding is a division of certain large historic counties. It is usually one of three parts; the word itself comes from Old English "trithing" (itself from Old Norse "thrithjungr") which means 'third part'.
Several counties are divided into ridings, but are usually governed by a council bearing the same name as the county. However, the ridings of Yorkshire are so large that each riding was given its own county council. Thus there were county councils for the East Riding, the North Riding and the West Riding. In 1974 when all the administrative counties of England and Wales were reorganised, these councils were replaced by six new ones within Yorkshire (either wholly or in part) called North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Cleveland, Durham and Humberside.
In Canada, a riding is a federal constituency, or "electoral division" as they are known in Canada.
Pulkkila
Pulkkila is a former municipality in Northern Finland. It was in Northern Ostrobothnia, "Pohjois-Pohjanmaa", Oulu province, Finland, and its original name (with ) is Pulkkila. The population of Pulkkila is about 1,600. Pulkkila is best known for its metal works.
Since 2009, it was merged to form the new municipality of Siikalatva.
Emmental cheese
Emmental cheese (sometimes also called Emmentaler or Emmenthal) is a Swiss cheese. It first came from Switzerland. It is named after the "Emmental", the valley of a river, near Berne. Emmental cheese was first made around 1353 when Bern joined the confederacy.
Today, most cheese-producing countries make a cheese called "Emmental cheese" - These cheeses often have little in common with the original though, except for the holes in the cheese. In 1882 was the first time, products could be protected in Europe. Already at that time, Emmentaler was made in countries other than Switzerland.
Emmental cheese is amongst the best-known types of cheese. It is made from cow's milk. Two of the features that make Emmental distinctive are its holes and sweetness. The holes are there because of the way the cheese is made with bacteria which produce the cheese and over time (usually several months) create bubbles of carbon dioxide gas.
Today, Switzerland, France, Austria, and Germany produce Emmental cheeses that have a Protected Designation of Origin. In Switzerland, Austria and Germany, untreated milk is used; most of the other countries use pasteurized milk. About 12 litres of milk are needed to make 1 kg of cheese.
Emmental is produced in loaves of 70–80 kg. Usually, Emmental cheese is left to ripen for a period of 6–7 weeks. Ripening it for 8–12 weeks gives a more spicy (salty) cheese. In Europe, about 464 200 tons of Emmental are produced each year. This means that about 6% of the total amount of milk these countries produce is used to make Emmental cheese. France is the biggest producer of Emmental. In 2005, 247 069 tons were produced there. For this, 13.1% of national milk production was used. About 19% of the production was exported.
French and Swiss people eat the most of this kind of cheese, about 3.3 kg per person per year. Germans eat about half that amount, 1.7 kg per person, per year.
Emmental is also widely used in convenience food products, because it is so widely known.
Emmental
Emmental is a part of Switzerland. It is made of low hills. Most of it is in the Canton of Berne. Its biggest rivers are the Emme and the Ilfis. The biggest localities are Burgdorf, Langnau and Huttwil.
The landscape is mostly made of meadows. There are some forests too. Most of the people live from raising cattle (mostly cows), or from things closely related to cattle-raising. Emmental cheese has its name from this region. Langnau is known for Ceramics. Pottery from the region is also well-known.
There is also some industry. The Emmental had one of the first fully-electric railway lines in Switzerland.
Jeremias Gotthelf was a famous writer who spent most of his life in the Emmental.
2001 Pacific hurricane season
The 2001 Pacific hurricane season officially started on May 15, 2001 in the eastern Pacific, and on June 1, 2001 in the central Pacific, and lasted until November 30, 2001. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northeastern Pacific Ocean. The first storm formed on May 25 and the last storm dissipated on November 3.
There were no significant storms during the 2001 Pacific hurricane season. Hurricanes Adolph and Hurricane Juliette both reached Category 4 strength, while Juliette made landfall in the Baja California peninsula as a weak Category 1 hurricane, causing two deaths.
2000 Pacific hurricane season
2006 Pacific hurricane season
The 2006 Pacific hurricane season was an above normal hurricane season with 19 named storms of 11 which were hurricanes and 6 were major hurricanes it was the most active season since 2000 Pacific hurricane season It officially began May 15, 2006 in the eastern Pacific, designated as the area east of 140°W, and began on June 1 2006 in the central Pacific, which is between the International Date Line and 140°W. Both seasons officially ended on November 30, 2006. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the eastern Pacific basin.
On May 27 Tropical Depression One-E formed. It became Tropical Storm Aletta later on. Aletta stalled offshore Mexico causing minor damage. Tropical Storm Aletta weakened to a tropical depression and died on May 30.
Two-E formed off shore Mexico on June 3. It died 2 days later. Two-E produced 15 inches of rain in Mexico before it died.
Bud was a Category 3 storm. It rapidly strengthened and then weakened just as fast.
Carlota caused light rain in Mexico but no damage was reported. It was a Category 1 storm.
Daniel was a long lived Major hurricane that Affected Hawaii with some rain. It peaked as a Category 4. It was the second strongest storm this year.
It caused some rain in Mexico, causing minor damage.
Fabio caused heavy rainfall in Hawaii.
Gilma produced light rain in Mexico. It was also the weakest storm so far.
Hector was a Category 2 hurricane. It made it to the Central Pacific.
Ioke was the strongest hurricane ever in the Central Pacific that threated the Johnson Atoll and Wake Island. It formed on august 20. Ioke rapidly became a major hurricane 36 hours later. Ioke went extratropical on September 6. Damage was nearly $100 million. Ioke was retired at the end of the year. It also caused heavy rain in Alaska. Ioke is the most intense storm ever in the central Pacific and the only Category 5 storm that formed in the basin.
Illena killed one person in Mexico. It peaked as a Cateogory 3 storm.
John started as Tropical Depression Eleven-E and later on became a tropical storm and then a hurricane. The hurricane peaked as a Category 4. John killed 5 when it hit Baja California as a Category 2 storm on September 1. Hurricane John died on September 4.
Kristy was a Category 1 hurricane that was outflowed by Hurricane John.
Lane caused severe damage in Mexico, when it hit there as a Category 3 major hurricane. Lane killed 4 people and left $203 million in damage.
Three-C was a short lived tropical depression that started several hundred miles southwest of Hawaii. It died the next day while no where near any land.
Norman struck Mexico as a tropical depression, causing minor damage.
Olivia did not affect land.
Four-C was a short lived tropical depression. It formed on October 13 and died the next day. The remaims of Four-C caused heavy rain in Hawaii.
Paul was a Cateogory 2 hurricane that killed 4 in Mexico.
Rosa produced light rain to Mexico in November.
Tropical Depression Twenty-E formed and died on the same day, November 11. Twenty-E did not affect any land.
Sergio was also a Cateogory 2 storm. It was also the strongest November storm.
The following names were used for named storms that formed in the northeast Pacific in 2006. This is the same list that was used in the 2000 season. There were no names retired from the northeast Pacific list. Therefore, the same list was reused in the 2012 season.
For storms that form in the Central Pacific Hurricane Center's area of responsibility, encompassing the area between 140 degrees west and the International Date Line, all names are used in a series of four rotating lists. The next four names that were slated for use in 2006 are shown below, however only the name Ioke was used.
The name "Ioke" was retired from the north-central Pacific list by the World Meteorological Organization in the spring of 2007 and replaced with "Iopa". During the 61st Interdepartmental Hurricane Conference, the Hawaii State Civil Defense requested the retirement of the name "Daniel", citing that the storm had become memorable due to threat of damage. However, the request was denied, as the name remains on the tropical cyclone naming list.
This is a table of all the storms that formed in the 2006 Pacific hurricane season. It includes their duration, names, landfall(s), denoted in parentheses, damages, and death totals. Deaths in parentheses are additional and indirect (an example of an indirect death would be a traffic accident), but were still related to that storm. Damage and deaths include totals while the storm was extratropical, a wave, or a low, and all the damage figures are in 2006 USD.
1997 Pacific hurricane season
The 1997 Pacific hurricane season was a yearly event in tropical cyclone meteorology. Storms in this season caused hundreds of deaths and billions of dollars in damage.
Tropical Depression One-E formed June 1. The next day, it became Tropical Storm Andres. After a brief period of a normal track, Andres was picked up, becoming the first named storm to threaten Central America sine Simone in 1968. It then turned to the southeast and paralleled the coast. This was the first time any East Pacific storm had taken such a path. Andres weakened to a depression and made landfall near San Salvador on June 7 and dissipated shortly thereafter. The only casualties were two fishermen who were reported missing.
Blanca was a short-lived tropical storm that briefly threatened land. Tropical Depression Two-E formed June 9 and strengthened into Tropical Storm Blanca six hours later. It moved northwest and briefly threatened land on June 10 as warnings and watches were established. Then, a ridge of high pressure turned Blanca away from the coast. Despite moving over warm waters, a weakening trend unexpectedly began, and Blanca was downgraded to a depression. and Blanca lost its circulation shortly after being downgraded to tropical depression status on June 12. There was no deaths, because Blanca's impact was generally minimal.
A tropical wave that drifted across the shear-ridden Atlantic emerged into the Pacific Ocean on July 27. It organized into a depression July 30 and was named Tropical Storm Guillermo the next day. It quickly intensified, reaching hurricane status on August 1. Guillermo became a major hurricane August 2. It reached Category 4 intensity on August 3 before weakening slightly and restrengthening. The hurricane attained Category 5 strength August 4. Guillermo's peak intensity was 919 mbar (919 hPa) and .
Guillermo then weakened slowly, becoming a tropical storm August 8. It crossed 140°W and entered the Central Pacific. It weakened to a depression late August 10 but restrengthened back into a storm 24 hours later when it encountered a small area of warm water. It weakened to a depression for the second and final time August 15 and lost tropical characteristics early the next day.
Guillermo's remnants recurved over the far northern Pacific. They were tracked to a point west of Vancouver Island. The remnants hung on for a few more days and drifted south before being absorbed by a mid-latitude cyclone August 24 off the coast of California.
A depression formed from an area of disturbed weather on August 17. The depression organized into a tropical storm 12 hours later. Ignacio's location of tropical cyclogenesis was farther north and west of where most East Pacific tropical cyclones form. Steering currents pulled Ignacio north, where it encountered wind shear and cooler waters. Ignacio lost tropical characteristics August 19. The extratropical cyclone was absorbed by Gulermeno and another extratropical cyclone.
It brought gusty winds to California coastal waters before dissipating. Damage is at $50 million. The rainfall caused a power outages as well as the worst rain since Hurricane Kathleen in 1976. Ignacio passed directly over the San Francisco Bay Area which is where the worst effects were felt.
A tropical disturbance that had meandered south of Johnston Atoll organized into Tropical Depression Two-C on September 2. Later that day, it was upgraded to Tropical Storm Oliwa (Hawaiian for Oliver) as it slowly moved towards the west. It crossed the dateline late on September 3 and entered the Joint Typhoon Warning Center's Area of Responsibility.
Oliwa passed south of Wake on September 6, where it caused heavy rains but no damage. On September 7, Oliwa started a period of rapid strengthening, becoming a typhoon September 8 and a Super Typhoon 8 hours later. Oliwa stayed at that intensity for over two days. While still a strong super typhoon, Oliwa passed near the Northern Marianas Islands. It then started weakening as it curved towards Japan. It made landfall as a minimal typhoon September 16. It quickly dissipated later that same day. Oliwa caused "damage and several fatalities" in Japan.
A tropical depression formed south of Manzanillo September 9. It rapidly intensified, becoming a hurricane early September 11. It became a major hurricane later that day. The deepening continued, and Linda reached Category 5 intensity the next day. It broke Hurricane Ava's long-standing intensity record. That record had stood for over 24 years. Linda reached peak intensity on September 12. Linda's intensity record still stands as of 2005. Linda then started weakening. On September 15, it was downgraded to a tropical storm. On September 17, it fell to a depression, and dissipated early September 18.
In California, Linda was responsible for 8 deaths and $68 million in damage. Five people were drowened in a jetty. Flash floods caused 3 deaths and mudslides destroyed millions many homes and $68 million in damage. The Southwest would get devastated again by Hurricane Nora weeks later.
Hurricane Nora was the first hurricane to a significant danger to the Continental United States since Kathleen in 1976. Part of a tropical wave that contributed to the formation of Hurricane Erika in the Atlantic moved into the Pacific and organized into Tropical Depression 16-E on September 16 and Tropical Storm Nora that same day. Nora became a hurricane in a favourable environment September 18 while moving northwest. Its motion then stalled over an upwelling of cooler water that weakened it. On September 20, Nora again started moving. It reached its peak intensity of 115 knots and 950 mb On September 21 and 22 it moved over the wake of Hurricane Linda. This weakened the storm pack down to a Category 1. During this time, a trough developed that turned Nora to the northeast. This carried Nora over a favourable environment and towards Baja California. After restrengthening slightly, Nora made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane near Punta Eugenia and again south of San Fernando, both times as a hurricane.
Nora stayed a tropical storm as it moved into the United States. Yuma reported sustained gale-force winds. Rains were heavy, sometimes exceeding the "annual" rainfall for the area. Nora weakened to a depression while over California, and it dissipated September 26. Nora killed two people in Mexico. One was killed by a downed power line in Mexicali, and the other was a scuba diving in underwater currents. No one in the United States was directly killed by Nora. However, the California Highway Patrol attributed several traffic accident deaths to the weather. There was extensive damage to areas hit by Nora. Waves ruined dozens of homes. Roughly 350 to 400 people were left homeless in San Felipe, and winds uprooted trees and peeled roofs from homes in Puerto Peñasco.
Olaf was a weak but persistent tropical storm that made two landfalls and took an erratic path. A tropical depression formed September 26, was upgraded a tropical storm at the next advisory, and immediately moved north. On September 29, Olaf made landfall near Salina Cruz. Olaf dissipated, and the remnants moved far out to sea. During later reanalysis, Olaf was found to be a tropical depression during most of this time, but at the time was considered dissipated.
Olaf's remnants reformed, and started moving southeast on October 5. Olaf then turned to the north, and on October 12 made a second landfall near Manzanillo. Olaf dissipated, and the remnants moved out to sea where they did not reform again.
There were a few reports of damage. Three fishing boats were missing near Acapulco, and there was flooding in Mexico and Guatemala. Most of Olaf's damage was from its first landfall.
Hurricane Pauline was the deadliest storm of the season. Landslides and flooding caused by it killed hundreds of people.
Tropical depression Eighteen-E formed October 5 and briefly moved to the east before turning to the northwest. In a favourable environment, the cyclone intensified rapidly, reaching a peak of 115 knots and a central pressure of 948 mb. It weakened slightly before peaking again.
Interaction with land weakened Pauline a bit, and the hurricane made landfall on October 9 in a thinly populated area. Accelerating, Pauline paralleled the coast for a day before dissipating on October 10 while over Jalisco.
There are no known damages from wind or storm surge. Heavy rains affected Oaxaca and Guerrero, causing catastrophic loss of life around Acapulco. Mudslides and flooding was widespread, leaving thousands homeless and at least 230 dead. The Red Cross reported that 400 were dead, but this was disputed by Mexican officials. Pauline was Mexico's deadliest Pacific hurricane since Hurricane Liza in the 1976 season.
Hurricane Rick was the first November formation since the 1991 season. A tropical wave acquired enough organization to be called a tropical depression on November 7. It moved north before a trough of low pressure turned it to the northeast. It was named on November 8, and was upgraded to a hurricane the next day. It reached its peak intensity of 80 knots and 973 mb November 9. Rick made landfall in Oaxaca— the same place devastated by Hurricane Pauline one month earlier— and quickly weakened, dissipating early November 11.
There were no deaths from Rick. Trees were downed and recently repaired roads were washed out.
Tropical Depression Five-C formed December 2, two days after the season ended. It strengthed into Tropical Storm Paka (Hawaiian for Pat) while west of Palmyra Atoll. After drifting east, it reversed direction. As it moved west, dry air and wind shear disrupted its development until it crossed the dateline on December 6.
After entering the Western Pacific, the environment rapidly became more favourable and Paka's strengthening quickened. It became a typhoon on December 10 and passed near Kwajalein with winds of 100 knots. It strengthened further, twice reaching Category 5 intensity. While close to maximum intensity, Paka passed close to Guam on December 17 and 18, causing "major damage". Afterwards, Paka encountered a hostile environment and had completely dissipated by the evening of December 21.
1987 Pacific hurricane season
The 1987 Pacific hurricane season officially started May 15, 1987 in the eastern Pacific, and June 1, 1987 in the central Pacific, and lasted until November 30, 1987. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northeastern Pacific Ocean.
Despite there being twenty cyclones, there were very few notable storms this year. Only three storms came anywhere near to threatening land. Hurricane Eugene was the first Pacific hurricane to make landfall in Mexico in July since at least the 1949 season. Tropical Storm Pilar and Hurricane Norma also came close to land. The remnants of Hurricanes Ramon and Norma caused rain in the Continental United States. Elsewhere, Peke was a central north Pacific hurricane that crossed the dateline and became a typhoon.
1976 Pacific hurricane season
The 1976 Pacific hurricane season was an event in tropical cyclone formation. Hurricanes Kathleen, Liza, and Madeline are the most notable storms this year. Hurricane Kathleen caused death and destruction in California and Arizona because of flooding. Hurricane Liza was the deadliest storm of the season when it killed over 600 people in Mexico. Hurricane Madeline is notable for being the second-most intense Pacific hurricane at landfall.
Kathleen was a costly and damaging storm mainly in Nevada, California and Arizona. It also killed 7 people.
Liza was very deadly and the third deadliest ever behind Hurricane Paul and the Mexico hurricane.
Madeline became the third storm in the row to make landfall in Mexico. It was also the most intense.
Kronosaurus
Kronosaurus was a large pliosaur, one of the largest. It was one of the largest pliosaurs, and is named after the leader of the Greek Titans, Kronos. It lived in the Lower Cretaceous.
Body-length estimates, based on the 1959 Harvard reconstruction, had put the total length of "Kronosaurus" at 12.8 meters (42 feet). However, a recent study compared fossil specimens of "Kronosaurus" to other pliosaurs. The Harvard reconstruction may have included too many vertebrae, exaggerating its length. Its true length was probably only 9–10.9 meters (30–36 feet).
Riding has many meanings:
Fermat number
A Fermat number is a special positive number. Fermat numbers are named after Pierre de Fermat. The formula that generates them is
where "n" is a nonnegative integer. The first nine Fermat numbers are :
As of 2007, only the first 12 Fermat numbers have been completely factored. (written as a product of prime numbers) These factorizations can be found at Prime Factors of Fermat Numbers.
If 2 + 1 is prime, and "n" > 0, it can be shown that "n" must be a power of two. Every prime of the form 2 + 1 is a Fermat number, and such primes are called Fermat primes. The only known Fermat primes are "F"...,"F".
Today, Fermat numbers can be used to generate random numbers, between 0 and some value N, which is a power of 2.
Fermat, when he was studying these numbers, conjectured that all Fermat numbers were prime. This was proven to be wrong by Leonhard Euler, who factorised formula_2 in 1732.
Improper rotation
An improper rotation can be understood as an inversion followed by a proper rotation.
Equivalently it is the combination of a rotation and an inversion in a point on the axis. Therefore it is also called a rotoinversion or rotary inversion.
A simple example of an improper rotation in 3D (but not in 2D) is a coordinate inversion: x goes to −x, y to −y and z to −z. Under this transformation, a and b go to −a and −b (by the definition of a vector), but p clearly does not change. (It follows that any improper rotation multiplies p by −1 compared to the rotation's effect on a true vector.)
Inverse or Inversion could mean:
Endorphins
Endorphins are natural chemicals in the body that fight pain. Endorphins are released when a person gets hurt, but also during exercise, laughter or sex. In addition to blocking pain, endorphins can make people happy.
Endorphins resemble drugs like morphine, so when scientists first discovered these chemicals in the 1970s, they called them "endogenous morphine". Since then, scientists have identified and named five different types of endorphins, all of which occur naturally in the body. Endorphins can also be found in most animals.
They are produced by the central nervous system and the pituitary gland. Their name has two parts: "endo-" and "-orphin"; these are short forms of the words "endogenous" and "morphine". They mean "a morphine-like substance from within the body". Endorphins are three compounds which bind to receptors. The main function of endorphins is to inhibit the communication of pain signals. They may also produce a feeling of euphoria very similar to that produced by other opioids.
Four types of endorphins are created in the human body. They are named "alpha" (α), "beta" (β), "gamma" (γ) and "sigma" (σ) endorphins. The four types have different numbers and types of amino acids in their molecules; they have between 16 and 31 amino acids in each molecule.
Beta-endorphins (β-endorphins) are the most powerful endorphins in the body. They are usually in the hypothalamus and pituitary gland. More endorphins are released in the pituitary gland during times of pain or stress. Exercise increases the endorphin release too. For the same reason, exercise results in a better mood.
Met-enkephalin and leu-enkephalin are in the brain stem and spinal cord; they are the pain killers of the spinal cord. Both of them have 16- 31 amino acids in their structure; the first four are similar, but the last one is different.
All of the endorphins bind to the opioid receptors in the brain. Many of the analgesic (pain killer) drugs have a similar action in the brain. The main difference between the natural endorphins and the analgesic drugs is that natural endorphins are cleared from the blood very quickly. Endorphins are also involved in the release of sex hormones in the pituitary gland. Also, scientists think that acupuncture results in the release of more endorphins. Endorphins may have a role in obesity, diabetes and psychiatric diseases too.
The term 'endorphin rush' is sometimes used in normal speech to refer to a feeling of wellness caused by exercise, danger or stress. However, it is not a medical term, and it is not proven that higher endorphin production after exercise really has a role in the wellness feeling.
Another term which is commonly used is 'runner's high'. It refers to the feeling being "high" (full of energy and wellness) after exercise. It is commonly said that the "high" is a result of the release of bigger amounts of endorphins in the body during the exercise. However, some scientists think this feeling is caused by the challenge, and is not related to endorphin release.
For example, in some studies a drug was given to people which blocked the effect of endorphins. These people still felt the runner's high; it means this feeling is not caused by the release of endorphins in the blood. Another study was performed in 2004, which showed this feeling is related to a different body chemical named "anandamide". is not an endorphine but is an endocannabinoid, similar to one of the chemicals in marijuana and chocolate.
Team Fortress 2 is a free-to-play multiplayer first-person shooter video game made by a company called Valve Corporation.
The game has nine characters, called classes, and two teams that battle each other in many different ways, like Payload, which has one team pushing a cart along a track while the other team tries to stop them, and a twist on capture the flag where instead of a flag players must capture a briefcase with important papers. The game is set in 1968, in an alternate history. The game is also inspired from many famous Spy Movies and TV shows, taking elements from James Bond, The Man from U.N.C.L.E, and Get Smart.
The game was first released in October of 2007 in "The Orange Box", a package with "Half Life 2", "Portal" and "Team Fortress 2". It was later released separately for the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, Linux and Mac computers. It became free to play on June 23, 2011.
"Team Fortress 2" has nine classes. The classes are split into groups of three, which are offense, and support. Each class has its own strengths and weaknesses, causing the classes to rely on each other to win, promoting teamwork. Also, each class can change their weapons to different ones that they find over time or make from scrap metal. For example, the Soldier could change his normal rocket launcher into 'The Direct Hit.' It shoots faster, stronger rockets at the cost of having a smaller explosion size. In general, the different weapons are not upgrades, but rather 'side-grades.' They are better at certain times, while worse at other times.
The offensive classes are the "Scout", the "Soldier", and the "Pyro". These classes have abilities that make them best suited for attacking the other team, but also easy to kill.
"The Scout" is a young man from Boston with an interest in baseball. He is the fastest runner in the game, making him a good class to use in capture the flag, as he can run in, grab the enemy team's briefcase, and run out. Also, he captures control points at twice the speed of any other class. However, he also is tied for the lowest health of any class. His default weapons include a scattergun, a pistol, and a baseball bat. He is excellent at killing Medics and Demomen.
"The Soldier" is a middle-aged man from the American midwest. His main weapon is a rocket launcher which he can use to blow up enemies, or, if fired at his own feet, can be used to make him jump very high. This is called 'rocket jumping.' Rocket jumping will hurt the Soldier, though, and if he is low on health, it could kill him. Rocket jumping can also make the Soldier move forward very fast, sometimes even faster than the Scout. Soldier also uses shotguns and shovels to attack. The Soldier is a good offensive class but he cannot move very fast and is easy to hit. The Soldier has a large amount of health, the second highest of all the classes.
"The Pyro" is a character wearing a full-body rubber suit and gas mask, so nobody knows their race, age, or gender. They also speak in a muffled voice so nobody knows what they're really saying. Pyro's main weapon is a flamethrower, used to set enemies on fire. Once an enemy is set on fire, they will burn for several seconds, meaning they can die even if they have killed the Pyro that set them on fire. This is called "Afterburn". For backup, they have a shotgun and a fire axe. The Pyro is good for checking for Spies using their flamethrower. This is called "Spy-checking". Pyros can help against Übercharged players by pushing them back with an "Air blast" or "Compression blast". The air blast can also reflect projectiles, such as grenades or rockets, back at the enemy team, which will inflict bonus damage. They are weak at long range. The Pyro has a good amount of both health and speed.
The defensive classes are the "Demoman", the "Heavy Weapons Guy", and the "Engineer". The abilities of these classes make them best for defending things their team needs, such as control points, briefcases, and carts.
"The Demoman", short for Demolition Man, is a black Scotsman with an eyepatch. His main weapons are a grenade launcher and sticky bombs. Grenades will explode immediately if you hit a player before the grenade hits the ground, or a few seconds after being shot if they do not hit anything. Sticky bombs can stick to walls and then be set off by the Demoman when an enemy gets close. The Demoman can also replace his sticky launcher for a shield. The shield lets the Demoman charge forward at high speeds, and do more damage with his close-ranged weapon. His close-range weapon is a bottle of whiskey. The Demoman is a very strong class. His sticky bombs do great damage, and can be used to 'sticky jump' much like how a Soldier can rocket jump. Also like the Soldier, the Demoman is good in most situations. He is an easy target for Scouts, however.
"The Heavy Weapons Guy", also known as the Heavy, is a middle-aged man from the Soviet Union who is built like a tank. Because of his large size, he has the highest health of all the classes. Also because of his size, he is the slowest runner. His main weapon is a minigun which he named Sasha and treats like a person. The minigun does by far the most damage at close range of any gun in the game, due to its high fire rate and damage. It uses a lot of ammunition very quickly, so if he runs out, he can use his shotgun or his fists to punch enemies to death. The Heavy is great at close range or in small, cramped places. Spies and Snipers are useful for killing Heavies because they are capable of doing high damage instantly with backstabs (Spy) and headshots (Sniper). At close range, the Heavy will usually win one-on-one fights unless he is surprised.
"The Engineer" is a middle-aged man from Bee Cave, Texas with 11 Ph.D.s. His main use is to make buildings. His first building, the Sentry Gun, is a non-moving gun that targets enemies and shoots automatically. It can be improved to have more health and firepower. His next building is the Dispenser, which gives his nearby friends health and ammo. Finally, he can also build teleporters, which can move his friends closer to the fight. The Engineer also has a shotgun, pistol, and a wrench to defend himself. His Sentries are great for stopping anything short of an Übercharged player. The Engineer himself is weak, and poorly placed Sentries can be blown up by smart Soldiers and Demomen. Spies also ruin the Engineer's day.
Finally, the supporting classes are the "Medic", the "Sniper", and the "Spy". Their abilities are there to help the team, so they do not typically engage in direct combat, but can if they must.
"The Medic" is an older man from Stuttgart, Germany. His main duty is healing the other classes. He has a machine called the Medigun which, when pointed at a teammate, slowly restores their health. He can also 'overheal' players, which gives them more health than they can normally have. This overheal slowly fades over time. After healing for a few minutes, the Medic is able to use an Übercharge, which makes him and his heal target invincible for a few seconds. For defense, the Medic has a bone saw and a gun that shoots syringes. The Medic is a very powerful teammate, but is easy to kill at the same time. Since he loses almost every direct fight, he usually stays with a teammate who he heals, called a 'Medic Buddy' or 'Pocket.' This Pocket player's job is to keep the Medic safe. The Pocket is usually a Heavy, Soldier, or Demoman due to their large health and firepower.
"The Sniper" is Australian. His main weapon is a sniper rifle. He often stays in one area away from the main battlefield and shoots enemies from a distance using careful aim. He also has a sword and a sub-machine gun he can use in close combat. The Sniper is very good at killing the enemy Medics, Heavies, and Engineers. An uncharged shot to the head does 150 damage. Only Pyros, Demomen, Soldiers, and Heavies can survive this without an overheal. A fully charged shot to the head deals 450 damage, enough to kill even an overhealed Heavy.
"The Spy" is a French man. His main asset is stealth. He has a watch which makes him invisible for short periods of time, and a cigarette case with disguises in it. He can disguise as any member of the other team to trick them into not hurting him. This disguise also tricks Sentry Guns built by Engineers. The Spy can also place 'sappers' on enemy buildings, hurting them and turning them off until an Engineer can remove the sapper. For fighting, he has a revolver and a knife. The knife allows the Spy to kill an enemy instantly if he stabs them in the back. He is useful for killing Medics, Heavies, Engineers, and Snipers. The Pyro is able to easily stop him, as even when he turns invisible or is disguised, players can still see the fire on him. The Spy is considered a "pick class", meaning he is very dispensable but also very useful to get certain kills.
There are several different ways the game can be played, each with different goals for the two opposing teams. For all games, players are split into the RED and BLU teams. RED stands for Reliable Excavation and Demolition. Players on this team have red uniforms. Buildings owned by the RED team are also usually red and made of wood. BLU stands for Builders League United. Players on this team wear blue uniforms. Buildings owned by the BLU team are usually blue and made of concrete.
The Payload game mode has the offensive team pushing a cart with a bomb on it along a track while the defending team tries to stop them. If the offensive team cannot get the cart to the end of the track before the time limit runs out, they lose. If they are successful, the defending team's base is blown up. Along the track are Checkpoints. Each Checkpoint the offensive team pushes the cart over will give them extra time to get the cart to the end of the track.
Valve later added a race mode to Payload maps, where both teams push a cart along a track to the other team's base. The team that gets the cart to the other team's base first wins.
Control Point maps involve both teams attacking and defending the opposing team's Control Points. A Control Point is a circle on the ground that glows the color of the team that has captured it. Control Points are captured by standing on them for a certain length of time. There are three kinds of Control Point maps.
Standard Control Point, or Linear Control Point, maps play symmetrically. Both teams start with two controlled points, and a central point starts out neutral. The team that captures all control points wins. Traditional Control Point maps will go into Sudden Death (or Stalemate) if no team captures all the control points before times runs out. Control points closer to a team's spawn point are captured more quickly by the enemy team.
Attack/Defend maps play asymmetrically. RED begins with all the points in their control. BLU wins if it captures all of RED's points, but RED wins if the timer runs out before BLU can capture them all. Points may only be captured in a set order (though some maps, such as Gravel Pit and Steel, may make exceptions). RED wins if it prevents BLU from capturing all points before the timer expires. Points captured by BLU are typically locked and cannot be captured again by RED.
In Territorial Control, the goal is to take over the entire map by capturing "territories". Each game is randomly selected from the six available layouts in a 'point against point' game where both teams must capture the opposite point while defending their own. After a team successfully captures the opposite point, the next round takes place in a different area of the map which is also randomly selected. After a team captures all four territories, that team must capture the enemy team's base. If the base point is captured (in Hydro, the Radar Dish for RED, the Power Plant for BLU), the attacking team wins the game. When the next round begins, territories are reset and a new random layout is selected. The Territorial Control game mode is not very popular amongst players.
In Domination Control Point, maps play symmetrically. Both teams start with no controlled points, and all points start out neutral. The team that captures all control points wins. Traditional Control Point maps will go into Sudden Death (or Stalemate) if no team captures all the control points before times runs out. Unlike Standard Control Point, once a team has all three points they win regardless of how much capture progress the other team has. There is currently only one
In Capture the Flag mode, the map is split into two nearly identical bases; one for each team. Both bases have a briefcase in them. The goal is for one team to grab the other team's briefcase and bring it back to their own base, while defending their own briefcase. You must capture the enemy intelligence 3 times in order to win the game, but server modifications can alter the number. When a player carrying the briefcase is killed, the intelligence is on the ground and returns to its base after a 60 second time period. The player who dropped the intelligence or his team can pick up the briefcase before it returns and still capture it. If a player drops the intelligence by falling into a bottomless pit, it automatically returns to its base. The briefcase can also be manually dropped.
In King of the Hill mode, two teams fight to gain control over one point which is in the center of the map. When one team captures the point, they must defend it for three minutes to win. During this time, the enemy team can attack and capture the point too. This happens over and over again until one team successfully holds the point for three minutes in total. It is not needed to hold the point for three minutes at one time.
In Arena mode, two teams fight to the death. Once a team is completely wiped out, the other team wins. There is no respawning in Arena mode. Another way to win is to capture the control point that activates until one minute in the match. Once this point is captured by a team, that team wins.
Medieval Mode is just like Attack/Defend except that there are no guns allowed in Medieval mode. Players can use melee weapons and weapons that don't have firepower but cannot use guns, rocket launchers, flame throwers, stickybomb launchers, or grenade launchers. So far, there is only one official Medieval Mode map, which is DeGroot Keep.
Special Delivery is a Game Mode released as part of the Pyromania Update. In this game mode, an initially neutral briefcase of Australium must be transported to Poopy Joe's rocket before the opposing team can do the same. If a player picks up the Australium and is killed while holding it, only players from the same team as the dead briefcase carrier can pick it up again. If the team fails to do so within a few seconds, the briefcase is sent back to its original position. The player who has hold of the Australium must be on the platform that is raised to the compartment at the head of the rocket and must stay on the platform as the Australium is placed into the compartment, launching the rocket and winning the round. There is currently only one official Special Delivery map, and that is Doomsday.
In Mann vs. Machine (commonly abbreviated as MvM), a team of six players (all wearing RED uniforms) must stop hordes of robots divided into waves from deploying a portable bomb into their base. When a robot is destroyed, it drops an in-game currency known as "credits." Players can pick up these credits before they disappear and use them to buy upgrades for their weapons and themselves. Some weapon upgrades include more damage, faster firing speed, more ammo, etc. Some player upgrades include faster speed, higher jump height, health regeneration, etc. There are different kinds of robots with different weapons and abilities. Some robots are known as "Giants." A giant normally has far better weapons and abilities than their normal counterparts.
There is a special type of MvM known as "Mann Up" mode. In Mann Up mode, players complete "Tours" using "Tour of Duty Tickets" or "Squad Surplus Vouchers" they have bought from the online store, known as the Mann Co. Store. Each "Operation" has a specific number of Tours in them. Finish all the waves in a Tour and all the Tours to complete the Operation. Different Tours are for different skill levels and have different robots. Completing Tours and Operations will give the players "loot" or special in-game cosmetic items players use to customize their character. In Mann Up mode, the gameplay (upgrades, maps, robots) are the same in standard MvM.
Valve Corporation posted several animations using their Source Film Maker (commonly abbreviated as SFM) program from 2009 to 2012. Each one of these videos are short skits using humorous depictions of the 9 Team Fortress 2 classes in their real lives, and out in battle. Some of these videos have been viewed many times with, "Meet The Medic", at 57 Million views. And, "Meet The Spy", at 30 Million views, and more.
The original "Team Fortress" was developed by Robin Walker and John Cook. This early version of "Team Fortress" was a free mod for the 1996 PC game "Quake". In 1998, Walker and Cook were employed by Valve. At the time, Valve just released its first game, "Half-Life." Valve began developing "Team Fortress 2" as a separate retail game using one of Valve's own game engines, GoldSrc. In 1999, Valve released "Team Fortress Classic," a port of the original "Team Fortress," as a free "Half-Life" mod. "Team Fortress Classic" was developed using the publicly available "Half-Life" software development kit as an example to the community and industry of the flexibility of the "Half-Life" game.
Unlike the original "Team Fortress," Valve originally planned "Team Fortress 2" to have a modern war theme. It would feature a command hierarchy including a Commander class, parachute drops over enemy territory, networked voice communication, and many other unique features. The Commander class played similarly to a real-time strategy game, with the player viewing the game from a bird's-eye perspective and issuing orders to players and AI-controlled soldiers.
"Team Fortress 2" was first shown at the trade event E3 1999. At E3 1999, Valve had showcased new technologies that they had developed while making "Team Fortress 2". This included parametric animation, which blended animations for smoother, more lifelike movement. The game also showcased Intel's multi-resolution mesh technology, which increased performance for the game by reducing detail of on-screen elements that are far away from the screen. The game earned several awards including Best Online Game and Best Action Game.