An odor or odour is a volatilized chemical compound, usually at a very low concentration, which humans and other animals perceive by the sense of olfaction.

Odors are also called smells, which can be used to describe both pleasant and unpleasant odors. The words fragrance, scent, or aroma are used mostly by the food and cosmetic industry to describe a pleasant odor, and is sometimes used to refer to perfumes. On the other hand, the words stench, reek, and stink are used specifically to describe unpleasant odors.

Basics

Odor is a sensation caused by molecules dissolved in air.
The widest range of odors are made up of organic compounds although some inorganic substances, such as hydrogen sulfide and ammonia, are also odorants.
The perception of an odor effect is a two step process.
First, there is the physiological part; the sense of the stimulus by receptors in the nose.
After that the psychological part follows. The stimuli are processed by the region of the human brain which is responsible for smelling.

Because of this, an objective and analytical measure of odor is impossible.
While odor feelings are very personal perceptions, individual reactions are related to gender, age, state of health and private affectations. Common odors that people are used to, such as their own body odor, are less noticeable to individuals than external or uncommon odors.

For most people, the process of smelling gives little information concerning the ingredients of a substance. It only offers information related to the emotional impact. However, experienced people, such as flavorists and perfumers can pick out individual chemicals in complex mixes through smell alone.

Odor analysis

The concentrations of odorant in Germany are defined by the "Olfaktometrie" since the 1870s. In this connection it's about the standard method to define the sense barrier of odors on basis the thinner of concentrated odor loaded assays. Following parameters are defined: odor substance concentration, intensity of odor and hedonism assessment.

Pheromones

Pheromones are odors that are deliberately used for communication. A female moth may release a pheromone that can entice a male moth that is several kilometers away. Honeybee queens constantly release pheromones that regulate the activity of the hive. Workers can release such smells to call other bees into an appropriate cavity when a swarm moves in or to "sound" an alarm when the hive is threatened.

In mammals, some pathway of pheromones identification are in the vomeronasal organ and some in olfactory receptors.

Related pages
 Incense
 Olfaction

Other websites
 Odors categorized by main chemical constituent and organized by odor class, percept, etc.

Chemistry

Odor


The New Musical Express (better known as the NME) is an Indie and pop music magazine in the United Kingdom. It has been published every week since March 1952. It was the first British magazine to include a singles chart.

History
The magazine's first issue was published on 7 March 1952. It was first published in a non-glossy tabloid format on standard newsprint.

1960s
During the 1960s, the magazine championed the new British groups emerging at the time. The Beatles and The Rolling Stones were frequently on the front cover a lot. These and other artists would also appeared at the NME Poll Winners Concert, an awards event that featured artists voted as most popular by the NME's readers. The concert also featured an awards ceremony where the poll winners would collect their awards.

The later part of the 1960s, the magazine began to report about psychedelia as well as the continuation of articles about British groups of the time.

1970s
In early 1972, with the magazine on the verge of closure by its owners, But a new person became editor and the paper's coverage changed radically from an uncritical to something intended to be smarter, hipper, more cynical and funnier than any mainstream British music paper had previously been (an approach influenced mainly by writers).

In mid-1973, the paper was selling nearly 300,000 copies per week and was outselling its other weekly rivals, Disc, Record Mirror and Sounds.

The year 1976 saw Punk Rock arrive on the music scene and NME, like other "specialist" publications, was slow in reporting and covering this new music phenomenon. In an attempt to boost sales, the paper advertised for a pair of "hip young gunslingers" to join their editorial staff. This resulted in the recruitment of two journalists who made sure the magazine was completely up to date on this new music style. Bands who a few months previously had been criticising the NME were now eager to be included.

The magazine also became more openly political during the time of Punk. Its cover would sometimes feature youth-oriented issues rather than a musical act.

1980s
Sales were dropping, and by 1985 NME had hit a rough patch and was in danger of closing again. During this period, the editors at the magazine were split between those who wanted to write about hip hop, a genre that was relatively new to the UK, and those who wanted to stick to rock music. Sales were apparently lower when photos of hip hop artists appeared on the front and this led to the paper suffering as the lack of direction became even more apparent to readers.

The late eighties and early nineties had a generally weak rock scene in the UK and the paper was forced into giving a high profile to long forgotten bands like Kingmaker and the Railway Children.

1990s
By the end of 1990, although the magazine still supported new British bands, the paper was dominated by American bands, because that was what the music scene in general was about.

Although the period from 1991 to 1993 was dominated by American bands like Nirvana, this did not mean that British bands were being ignored. The NME still covered the Indie scene a lot.

By 1992, some new British bands were beginning to appear. Suede were quickly hailed by the paper as an alternative to the heavy Grunge sound and hailed as the start of a new British music scene. Indie however was still the dominant force, but the rise of new British bands would become something the paper would focus more and more upon.

In April 1994 Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain was found dead, a story which affected not only his fans and readers of the NME, but would see a massive change in British music. Grunge was about to be replaced by Britpop BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Highlights from the Britpop year, a new form of music influenced by British music of the 1960s and British culture. The phrase was coined by NME after the band Blur released their album Parklife in the same month of Cobain's death. Britpop began to fill the musical and cultural void left after Cobain's death, and Blur's success, along with the rise of a new group from Manchester called Oasis saw Britpop gather popularity for the rest of 1994. By the end of the year Blur and Oasis were the two biggest bands in the UK and sales of the NME were increasing thanks to the Britpop effect.
1995 saw the NME cover many of these new bands and saw many of these bands play the NME Stage at that years Glastonbury Festival where the magazine had been sponsoring the second stage at the festival since 1993.

2000s
The new millennium saw the NME focus on new British bands such as Franz Ferdinand and the Kaiser Chiefs who emerged as "indie music" continued to grow in commercial success. This commercial success has led to bands such as the Arctic Monkeys being both successful in the extreme and being championed by the NME; a phenomenon not seen since Britpop.

In December 2005 accusations were made that the NME end of year poll had been edited for commercial and political reasons.NME defends album of year poll | UK news | The Guardian These criticisms were rebutted by McNicholas, who claimed that webzine Londonist.com had got hold of an early draft of the poll.

In 2006 NME won the CocaCola best magazine this century award.

NME.COM
Its first editor was Brendan Fitzgerald. Later Anthony Thornton redesigned the site, focusing on music news. The website was awarded Online Magazine Of The Year in 1999 and 2001 and Anthony Thornton was announced as Website Editor Of The Year on three occasions.

It was awarded 'Best Music Website' at the Record Of The Day awards in October 2005. In 2006 NME.COM celebrated with a party at London's KOKO featuring Leicester band Kasabian and was subsequently awarded the BT Digital Music Award for Best Music Magazine and the first 'Chairman's Award' from the Association of Online Publishers awarded by the Chairman, Simon Waldman.

In 2007 NME.COM was launched in the USA with additional staff and plans to launch its Breaking Bands contest and the NME Awards across the Atlantic.

The site now provides news, reviews, gig listings, and videos as well as featuring downloads, merchandising and message boards.

The website over the last year has shifted it focus to also include tabloid gossip alongside its traditional music news. With regular news articles entitled "Daily Ligger" and "Tabloid Hell."

In 2007 NME.com had a free download from the Verve, and it was the first songs the Verve released since they got back together.

Music magazines
Companies of the United Kingdom
1952 establishments in Europe
1950s establishments in the United Kingdom
British weekly magazines
British record charts
Media in the United Kingdom
Pop music
Rock music

New Musical Express


The Labors of Herakles is a series of tasks performed by the Greek hero Herakles () as a penance for a terrible crime he committed. These tasks required great strength and courage. For the most part, they involved killing fierce animals and horrible monsters. The Labors were said to have been devised by Hera, the goddess of marriage.  She hated Herakles because he was a bastard son of her husband Zeus. She hoped these tasks would kill him. Herakles however performed them with great success, and, in the process, became very famous. The Labors of Herakles probably had their origin in the religious and magical practices of prehistoric man. They are the subject of ancient and modern art.

Background
Mortals die, but gods live forever. Herakles was part mortal, part god. His father was the god Zeus and his mother was the mortal Alkmene. Zeus' wife Hera was the goddess of marriage. She hated Herakles because he was one of her husband's bastards. She tried many times to kill him, even when he was a baby. He lived in spite of Hera's persecution and hatred, and did many great deeds as a young man.

Herakles married Megara, the daughter of a king. They became the parents of several children. Hera caused Herakles to go mad and to kill his family. The priestess of Delphi ordered Herakles to serve his cousin King Eurystheus of Tiryns as a penance for this crime. Eurystheus would present a series of tasks to Herakles. These tasks were said to have been designed by Hera herself in the hope that they would kill Herakles.

Labors of Herakles
There is no definite order for the Labors. Most of the time, however, the order is: Nemean Lion, Lernean Hydra, Cerynitian Hind, Erymanthian Boar, Augean Stables, Stymphalian Birds, Cretan Bull, Mares of Diomedes, Girdle of Hippolyta, Cattle of Geryon, Apples of the Hesperides, and Kerberos. The order here is that of the sculptures called metopes on the Temple of Zeus at Olympia. These sculptures (made about 460–450 BC) were placed high on the outside of the temple in a frieze. Their order was described by the ancient Greek geographer, Pausanias. Some of these metopes are used in this article to illustrate the Labors. The first group of six metopes are from the west end of the temple. The second group of six are from the east end. Some of the illustrations here are taken from Greek vase paintings. The Labors of Herakles became the subject of much ancient and modern art, and even movies like Hercules (1958) starring Steve Reeves and the Walt Disney animated movie Hercules (1997).

Lion of Nemea

A large and dangerous lion was terrorizing the people and animals near the city of Nemea. Weapons of iron, bronze, or stone could not pierce the lion's thick hide (skin). Eurystheus ordered Herakles to kill and skin this lion.

Herakles went to the region of Nemea and stayed with a poor man named Molorchos at Kleonai. Molorchos' son had been killed by this lion. Molorchos wanted to sacrifice his only ram to Herakles, but Herakles asked him to wait thirty days. If he did not return within thirty days, the ram was to be sacrificed to him as a hero. If he returned within thirty days, the ram was to be sacrificed to Zeus the Deliverer.

Herakles found the lion outside its lair on Mount Tretos. His arrows and sword were useless against the beast. He hit the lion with his club and the animal went into his lair. Herakles blocked one of the two openings to the cavern with nets, then entered the cavern. He wrestled the lion and choked it to death. The lion bit off one of his fingers. He returned to Molorchos' hovel with the lion's carcass on his back. The two men sacrificed to Zeus.

When Herakles presented the dead animal to Eurystheus, the king was disgusted. He ordered Herakles to leave such things outside the gates of Tiryns in the future. Eurystheus then put a large bronze jar underground. This was the place where he would hide whenever Herakles returned to the city with some trophy of his labours. Zeus put the lion among the stars as the constellation Leo.

In the future, Eurystheus would only communicate with Herakles through Kopreus, his dungman. Herakles skinned the lion with one of its own claws. He wore the skin as a kind of armor and the lion's skull as a helmet. Euripides wrote in his play Herakles:"First he cleared the grove of Zeus of a lion, and put its skin upon his back, hiding his yellow hair in its fearful tawny gaping jaws."

The origin of the Nemean Lion is not certain. Some say he was the son of either Typhon or the Chimera and the dog Orthros. Some say the moon goddess Selene gave birth to the lion and let it fall to Earth near a two-mouthed cave at Nemea. She set it against the people because they had failed to properly observe her worship. Some say that Hera had Selene create the lion from sea foam and that Iris, the goddess of the rainbow, carried it to Nemea. Others say the lion was the son of the snake goddess Echidna and her son, the dog Orthos.  This would make the lion a brother to the Sphinx of Thebes.  Hera was said to have brought the lion from the eastern land of the Arimoi and to have released it near Nemea.

Hydra of Lerna

The Hydra ("water-snake") was a monster with many heads. She lived beneath a plane tree near the spring called Amymone. This spring was near the seaside city of Lerna. She was the offspring of Typhon and Echidna, and the sister of Kerebos. Hera raised the Hydra to torment Herakles. The Hydra had a dog-like body. Its breath was poisonous. The head in the middle of the monster was immortalit could not die. Eurystheus ordered Herakles to kill this monster. Herakles and his nephew Iolaos (the son of his brother Iphicles) drove to the swamp near Lerna in Herakles' war chariot. Iolaos was Heracles' charioteer and his lover.

Athena told Herakles to force the monster from the swamp with fire arrows. He did, but the monster twisted itself about his feet. He beat the heads with his club, but crushing one head only caused others to erupt. A great crab crawled from the swamp to help the Hydra. It bit Herakles in the foot. He crushed its shell. Herakles called Iolaos for his help and cut the Hydra's heads off with his sword. Iolaos sealed the neck stumps with torches so other heads could not grow in their place.

The Hydra was at last killed. Herakles cut off the immortal head and buried it under a heavy stone in the road. He dipped his arrowheads in the Hydra's poisonous blood. They became deadly. Back in Tiryns, Eurystheus would not count this adventure as a Labor because Herakles had had his nephew's help. He added another Labor to the list. Hera set the crab in the sky as a constellation. The river Anigrus in Elis stank because the Hydra's poison was washed from the arrows Heracles used to kill the centaur Nessus in its waters.

Stymphalian Birds

The Stymphalian Birds were man-eating birds living on the shores of Lake Stymphalos in north-eastern Arcadia. The birds were sacred to Ares, the god of war. Their feces poisoned the land and crops would not grow. The birds attacked men with their bronze beaks and claws. They could rain down their sharp bronze feathers to kill men and their animals.

Herakles failed to drive them off with his arrows. Athena gave him a set of metal castanets (or a rattle) made by the blacksmith of the gods, Hephaestus. Herakles climbed to a rocky place over the lake and made so much noise with the castanets that the birds flew as far as the Isle of Ares in the Black Sea. Herakles was able to kill many of them with his arrows as they flew away.

Some say the birds were women. Artemis Stymphalia ruled the swamps about the lake. Her temple there had pictures of young girls with the feet of birds. These girls lured men to their deaths in the swamps. They were said to be the daughters of Stymphalos and Ornis. These two were killed by Herakles when they would not give him food, drink, and a place to rest.

Cretan Bull

The Cretan Bull rose from the sea. Poseidon, god of the sea, intended King Minos to sacrifice the bull, but it was so handsome that Minos kept it for himself. He sent it to mate with his cows, then sacrificed another bull to Poseidon. The god was angry and caused Minos' wife, Queen Pasiphaë, to develop a sexual desire for the animal.

She mated with it and gave birth to a son. This son was the Minotaur, a monster with the head of a bull and the body of a man. The Cretan Bull went mad. Heracules captured it by throwing a rope about its head and about a leg. Some say he wrestled it, or stunned it with his club.

Minos let Heracules take the bull to Greece. Eurystheus wanted to give the bull to Hera but she would not take it because Heracules had captured it. She let it go and it wandered about Greece. Theseus of Athens finally captured it and sacrificed it to Athena, or some say, Apollo. The bull had spent its days in Crete destroying crops and belching fire.

Hind of Artemis

When Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, was a child, she saw five hinds (female deer) grazing near the Anaurus River in Thessaly. Each was as large as a bull, each had hooves of bronze, and all had antlers of gold.  She caught four of them, and used them to pull her chariot. The fifth escaped the goddess and lived on the Keryneian Hill in Arkadia. Hera planned to use this hind against Herakles someday.

Eurystheus ordered Herakles to catch this hind and bring it alive to Tiryns. The danger in this Labor lay in pursuing the hind through wild lands from which no hunter ever returned. Herakles hunted the hind for a year, chasing it through Istria and the Land of the Hyperboreans. The hind took refuge on Mount Artemision. Herakles let fly an arrow that pinned the hind's forelegs (front legs) together without drawing blood. He put the hind on his shoulders and took her back to Tiryns.

Artemis and Apollo stopped Herakles on his way to Tiryns. On some vases, Apollo is seen trying to forcibly take the hind from Herakles.  Herakles however lay the blame for the theft on Eurystheus. Artemis accepted this plea and allowed him to pass. Some say Herakles used a net to capture the hind or captured her when she was asleep under a tree.

Girdle of Hippolyte

Eurystheus' daughter Admete was a priestess of Hera. She wanted the Golden Girdle (belt) of Hippolyte, the Queen of the Amazons. This girdle had been a gift to Hippolyte from her father, Ares, the god of war. The Amazons were all related to Ares. They hated men and mated only to make more female warriors. Baby boys were killed or crippled. The lives of these women were devoted to war.

Herakles and friends sailed to their land of Pontos on the Black Sea. The Amazons lived at the mouth of the Thermodon River. Hippolyte welcomed Herakles. She fell in love with his muscles and his great fame. She promised him the girdle as a love token. Hera disguised herself as an Amazon. She whispered among others that Herakles was going to kidnap the Queen. The Amazons charged Herakles' ship on horseback. Herakles killed Hippolyte, and took the girdle. Many Amazons were killed.

Some say Hippolyte would not part with the girdle. Herakles threw her from her horse and threatened her with his club. She would not ask for mercy. Herakles killed her. Some say Hippolyte's sister Melanippe was taken prisoner. She was ransomed with the girdle. Some say Hippolyte herself was taken prisoner and ransomed with the girdle. Others say Theseus took Hippolyte prisoner and gave the girdle to Herakles. Herakles gave the girdle to Eurystheus, who gave it to Admete.

Erymanthian Boar

A large and dangerous boar was living on Mount Erymanthos. Eurystheus ordered Herakles to catch this boar. On Mount Erymanthos, Herakles forced the boar from the wood with his shouts. He then drove the boar into deep snow and jumped on its back. He put the boar in chains, placed it on his shoulders, and took it to Eurystheus. The king was so scared he hid in his bronze jar. Herakles left the boar in the market square of Tiryns. He then joined the Argonauts on the Quest for the Golden Fleece.

Mount Erymanthos took its name from a son of Apollo. Aphrodite blinded him because he saw her taking a bath. Apollo was angry. He turned himself into a boar and killed her boyfriend Adonis.

Horses of Diomedes

Eurystheus ordered Herakles to bring him the Horses of King Diomedes of Thrace. King Diomedes' horses were savage man-eaters, and were fed on the flesh of Diomedes' innocent guests. Herakles and his friends sailed to the coast of Thrace. Having found the stables of Diomedes, they killed the king's servants. They then put Diomedes before the horses. The animals tore him to pieces and ate him. The horses grew calm after feeding, and were led to the ship. Herakles sent them to Eurystheus.

Diomedes was the son of Ares, the god of war, and the king of the Bistones, a Thracian tribe of warlike people. While travelling in connection with this Labor, Herakles visited King Admetos. His wife Alcestis had just died. Herakles wrestled Death for Alcestis and he won. Alcestis was returned to life. This event is the basis for Euripides' play Alcestis. Eurystheus dedicated the savage horses to Hera. They were said to have bred into the age of Alexander the Great.

Another story says Herakles captured the horses and drove them to his ship. Diomedes and his men chased the thieves. Herakles and his friends left the ship to fight the king and his men. The horses of Diomedes were left in the care of Abderos, Herakles' male lover. The horses ate him. Herakles built the city of Abdera in his memory. It was after this Labor that Herakles joined the Quest for the Golden Fleece. He dropped out of the search when his lover Hylas was lost on a strange island. Some say Herakles went on to Kolchis and rejoined the Quest. Others say he returned to Tiryns and the Labors.

Cattle of Geryon

Geryon was a very strong giant with three bodies, six hands, and three heads. He was the King of Tartessus in Spain. He had wings, and the picture on his shield was an eagle. He lived on an island called Erytheia. This island was far to the west in Okeanos, the river that circles the Earth. At night, the Sun sailed upon this river in a Golden Cup.

Geryon had large herds of cattle. They were watched over by Eurytion, Geryon's servant, and a huge two-headed dog named Orthrus, the offspring of Typhon and Echidna. King Eurystheus ordered Herakles to capture Geryon's cattle.

Herakles crossed the Libyan desert. At the narrow channel that separates Europe and Africa, he built the Pillars of Herakles. The Sun was hot and Herakles threatened to shoot him with his bow and arrows. The Sun asked him not to do this. Herakles agreed. He borrowed the Sun's Golden Cup and sailed away in it. The Titan Oceanus tested Herakles' seamanship by causing violent waves. Herakles threatened to shoot Oceanus, too. Oceanus calmed the waves. Some say Herakles sailed in an urn and used his lion skin as a sail.

On Geryon's island, Herakles killed the two-headed dog Orthos and the servant Eurytion, who tried to help the dog. Herakles was driving the cattle to the Golden Cup when Geryon appeared, ready to fight. Herakles shot him down and sailed away with the cattle. Herakles had many adventures on his return to Greece. On the Greek coast, Hera sent gadflies to drive the herd of cattle far and wide. Herkales managed to round-up a few and these he presented to Eurystheus. He sacrificed them to Hera.

Apples of the Hesperides

Hera received golden apples as a gift when she married. She planted them in her garden far to the west near Mount Atlas. It was on this mountain that the Titan Atlas held the sky on his shoulders. He was being punished for having joined the other Titans in making war on Zeus. When Hera heard his daughters were stealing from the garden, she sent a one hundred-headed dragon called Ladon to the garden to protect the apples. Three nymphs called the Hesperides also guarded the apples.

Eurystheus wanted Herakles to bring him three golden apples. Herakles set off. The river god Nereus refused to give him directions and changed his shape again and again. Herakles tied him to a tree until he told the way. In the Caucasus, Herakles freed the Titan Prometheus, the fire-bringer, from his chains. Prometheus warned Herakles not to pick the apples himself, but to ask someone else to do it.

Herakles asked Atlas to pick the apples. The Titan agreed, but only if Herakles would kill the dragon and then take the sky on his shoulders. Herakles killed the dragon and took the sky on his shoulders. Atlas picked the apples but refused to take the sky again. He liked being free. Herakles tricked him. He asked Atlas to take the sky — only for a moment — while he put a cushion on his shoulders. Atlas took the sky. Herakles took the apples and headed for Tiryns. Eurystheus did not know what to do with the apples. He gave them to Herakles. Athena returned the apples to the garden, because they did, after all, belong to the gods.

Kerberos

Eurystheus ordered Herakles to bring him Kerberos, a three-headed dog-like monster with a dragon's tail and a mane of poisonous snakes. It guarded the entrance to the Underworld. The three heads could see the past, present, and future. Some say they represented birth, youth, and old age. Kerberos allowed the dead to enter the Underworld, but anyone who tried to leave was eaten. Kerberos was the offspring of Echidna, a monster part woman/part snake, and Typhon, a fire-breathing giant. Kerberos' brother was the two-headed dog Orthrus.

Herakles' first step was to undergo the Mysteries of Eleusis. These rites would protect him in the land of the dead. They would also cleanse him of the massacre of the Centaurs. Athena and Hermes guided Herakles into the Underworld. He was ferried across the River Styx in Charon's boat. On the opposite shore, he met the Gorgon, Medusa. She was a harmless phantom and he passed her without trouble. He met Meleagros and offered to marry his sister, Deianeira. Eventually, he did. When Herakles asked Hades for Kerberos, Hades allowed him to take the monster, but only if he could do so without using his weapons. Herakles wrestled the monster and choked it. Once the monster had yielded, he led it away.

As they neared the Earth's surface, Kerberos tossed his three heads because he hated the sunlight. His spit flew in all directions. From that spit grew the poisonous plant, aconite. When Heracles arrived in Tiryns, Eurystheus was performing a sacrifice. The king gave the best cuts of meat to his relatives and only a slave's portion of meat to Herakles. Herakles was furious with this insult and killed Eurystheus' three sons. Eurystheus was terrified when presented with Kerberos and hid in his bronze jar. Herakles took Kerberos back to the Underworld. Another account says the monster escaped. This Labor is the twelfth and last Labor in some accounts.

Augeian Stables

King Augeias of Elis lived on the west coast of the Peloponnese. He was a son of Helios, the sun god. It was said that the rays of the sun shone in his eyes. Augeias had many cattle. His animals were always healthy, and gave birth to many young.  His stables had not been cleaned in years and were thick with animal waste. The valleys were also full of waste. The smell of this waste poisoned the land. Eurystheus ordered Herakles to clean the stables in a day. He liked the thought of Herakles doing such dirty work.

Herakles went to Elis. He did not tell Augeias that Eurystheus had ordered him to clean the stables.Instead, he made a bargain with Augeias. He promised to clean the stables if Augeias would give him some of his cattle. The bargain was made. Augeias' son Phyleos acted as witness. Herakles set to work. First, he made two holes in the stone foundation of the stables. Then he changed the paths of the Alpheios and Peneios Rivers. The rivers were made to flow through one hole and out the other. This is how the stables were washed clean.

Augeias learned from Eurystheus' servant Copreus that Eurystheus had ordered Herakles to clean the stables. He would not respect the bargain he had made with Herakles. Herakles took the case to court. Phyleos was called to court and told the truth about the bargain. Augeias was so angry he drove his son and Herakles out of the land. Back in Tiryns, Eurystheus said that the Labor did not count because Herakles had made a bargain with Augeias. Eurystheus also thought that the river gods had really done the work.

This Labor was the last one presented in the frieze on the Temple of Zeus at Olympia. It was important to the Greeks because one day Herakles made war on Augeias and defeated him. Herakles then laid out the Olympian sanctuary in the land of King Augeias and started the Olympic Games. It was said that Menedemus of Elis gave Herakles advice on this Labor and that the hero had the help of his nephew Iolaos. While Augeias and Herakles were making their bargain, Phaeton, one of Augeias' twelve white bulls, charged Herakles. These white bulls guarded all the cattle against wild animals. Phaeton thought the hero was a lion. Herakles forced the bull to the Earth by twisting its horn. Herakles was going to get Augeias' daughter as part of the bargain, but he did not. This was given as one reason for making war later on Augeias. He was also going to become Augeias' slave if the work was not done in one day.

Notes

References

More reading

Herakles

The Labors of Herakles


Statistical inference  is the statistical process of drawing conclusions from data.

Examples would be the randomness of the data, observational errors, sampling variation, and other issues.

Scope
For the most part, statistical inference makes statements about populations, using data drawn from the population of interest by some form of random sampling. The result is some kind of statistical proposition, such as:
 an estimate; i.e., a particular value that best approximates some parameter of interest
 a confidence interval. That is an interval from a dataset such that, under repeated sampling, the interval would contain the true parameter value with the probability at the stated confidence level
 a credible interval; i.e., a set of values containing, for example, 95% of samples would include the true value of the parameter.
 rejection of a hypothesis
 clustering or classifying data points into groups

References

Statistics

Inference (statistics)


Fan fiction or fanfiction (also known as fanfic) is a name for fiction created by fans instead of the original author.

Fanfiction writers take fictional characters and settings from fictional (or sometimes historical) stories that were created by other people, and write original stories about them. People write fan fiction for many different book, television series, and movie fandoms.

When fanfiction first began, it was often only published in fan magazines. Today fanfiction, like many fandom activities, can be usually found on the internet. This has created many fanfiction communities. People in these communities post their fanfiction and receive feedback (reviews) from other community members.

There is also fan art (also called fanart), which is often drawings or other visual art based on a fandom.

Related pages
Fandom
Fictional universe

Other websites

Fanfiction.net

Fan fiction

Fan fiction


An airmie (or airmy), braidlie speakin, is the laund-based airmed forces o a soverein kintra. In hott kintras it is whyls cried a laund airmie ti distinguish it frae the "air airmie" (airforce) o that kintra. The mukkilest airmie at praisent is the Fowk's Liberation Airmie o Cheenae wi 2,250,000 kemps an 800,000 reser sodgers. A staundin airmie is an airmie componed o fou tym sodgers wha "staund ower" an dinna disbaund in tyms o peace, whilk is unalyk reser forces whilk anerlie activate in tyms o need, siclyk weir or a naitral disaster.

See an aw
Breetish airmy
Irish Airmy

Militar

Airmy


Ratification is the confirmation of a treaty.

Treaties are signed by members of the government of a country.  Many treaties make a country do something, or change the law of the countries which agree to it.  Therefore some countries can only ratify a treaty if it is confirmed by the legislature of the country, or by a referendum (a vote of the people).

The founders solved this issue by dropping the Amendment requirements.

In the past treaties were signed by delegates chosen by the ruler of a country.  To make sure that the treaty was acceptable to the ruler the treaty would not take effect until it was ratified by the ruler.

The United States is only bound by a treaty if the Senate agrees.  So although President Woodrow Wilson signed the Treaty of Versailles which ended the First World War with Germany and set up the League of Nations the treaty never took effect for the USA because the US Senate never gave its "advice and consent" (agreed) to the treaty.  This is why there was a separate peace treaty between Germany and the USA

In the United Kingdom the government ratifies treaties, it does not need the agreement of the House of Commons.  However if the treaty is going to change the law then a separate act of parliament is needed.  For example before Britain entered the European Union in 1973 the European Communities Act had to be passed to  make the changes to the law that were needed.

Related pages
Signature
International law

Ratification


The Poincaré Conjecture is a question about spheres in mathematics. It is named after Henri Poincaré, the French mathematician and physicist who formulated it in 1904.

The sphere (also called the 2-sphere, as it is a 2-dimensional surface, although it is usually seen as inside a three dimensional space) has the property that any loop on it can be contracted to a point (if a rubber band is wrapped around the sphere, it is possible to slide it down to a point). Mathematicians say that the 2-sphere is simply connected. Other spaces do not have this property, for example the donut: a rubber band that goes around the whole donut once cannot be slid down to a point without it leaving the surface.

Mathematicians knew that this property was unique to the 2-sphere, in the sense that any other simply connected space that does not have edges and is small enough (in mathematician terms, that is compact) is in fact the 2-sphere. It is no longer true if we remove the idea of smallness however, as an infinitely large plane is also simply connected. Also, a regular disk (a circle and its interior) is simply connected, but it has an edge (the bounding circle).

The conjecture asks whether the same is true for the 3-sphere, which is an object living naturally in four dimensions. This question motivated much of modern mathematics, especially in the field of topology. The question was finally settled in 2002 by Grigori Perelman, a Russian mathematician, with methods from geometry, showing that it is indeed true. He was awarded a Fields Medal and the $1 million Millennium Prize for his work, both of which he declined.

The Poincaré conjecture can also be extended to higher dimensions: this is the generalised Poincaré conjecture. Surprisingly, it was easier to prove the fact for higher-dimensional spheres: In 1960, Smale proved it to be true for the 5-sphere, 6-sphere and higher. In 1982, Freedman proved that it was also true for the 4-sphere, for which he was awarded a Fields Medal.

Geometry

Poincaré conjecture


SSI or social security income is a type of government check that is given to those in the United States with some type of disability. Those who are above age 65 are automatically qualified to receive SSI benefits. However, children who have a disability can also qualify for SSI benefits. In all cases with children, they can receive SSI until the age of 18 (when they finish school). Some children continue to receive SSI if their disability worsens, or if they continue to develop more disabilities. When a child reaches the age of 18, they are evaluated by a professional physiatrist. The physiatrist asks several questions ranging from their moods to how they are doing in their life. The evaluation also consists of several mental work problems that are based on decision-making. At the end of the evaluation, the physiatrist will determine if the child is still disabled or has more disabilities.

There has been mixed to negative commentaries by the general public who believe that SSI is a mere waste and should not exist. While others argue that if SSI is taken away, the elderly and children with disabilities would struggle with medical expenses and other lifetime economic issues. SSI is founded by the government. The money given to those with SSI are taken from taxes from those who work in the United States. SSI benefits include: insurance, automatic qualification for low income housing, free transportation to and from appointments and a monthly check that arrives on the first of every month.

Websites
Official United States website for SSI

Income

Social Security Income


A fashion accessory is  a decorative item that supplements one's outfit. Items such as such as jewellery, gloves, handbags, hats, belts, scarves, watches, sunglasses, pins, stockings, bow ties, leggings, ties, suspenders, and tights.

Accessories add color, style and class to an outfit, and create a certain look, but they may also have practical functions. Handbags are for carrying small necessary items, hats protect the face from weather, Laptops and mobile phones communicate, and gloves keep the hands warm.

Accessories may be used to show religious or cultural affiliation: Crucifixes, Star of David, Islamic headscarves, skullcaps and turbans are common examples. Designer labels on accessories are perceived as an indicator of social status.

Accessories are also available in the form of bracelets, necklaces, and earrings.

Accessories

Fashion accessory


Chirality is when an object is present in two forms which are mirror images of each other.

The two forms cannot be superimposed. Human hands are chiral. The left hand is a mirror image of the right hand. You cannot turn or move one of your hands to look exactly the same as the other. This is why you can not put a left handed glove on your right hand, or shake the right hand of a person using your left hand.

In chemistry
In chemistry, chirality refers to molecules. If a molecule is chiral it has two forms that are mirror images of each other but otherwise identical.

Chemists call these enantiomers or optical isomers. Because the difference between right and left hands is easy to understand, chemists call enantiomers either 'right-' or 'left-handed'. A mixture of equal amounts of the two enantiomers is called a racemic mixture.

Molecular chirality is quite common. It is found in stereochemistry, inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, physical chemistry, and biochemistry.

The symmetry of a molecule (or any other object) tells us whether it is chiral.  A molecule is achiral (not chiral) if it has an axis of symmetry.

Racemic mixtures
A racemic mixture is one which has equal amounts of left- and right-handed enantiomers of a chiral molecule.

Homochiralism in biology
Many biologically active molecules are chiral, including amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) and sugars. Most of these compounds are of the same chirality. Most amino acids are L (left-handed) and sugars are D. (right-handed). Proteins made of L amino acids, are known as left-handed proteins, whereas D amino acids produce right-handed proteins.

The origin of homochirality in the first place is much discussed. Most believe that the original origin of chiralities was purely random. They think if carbon-based life forms exist elsewhere in the universe, the chemistry might have different chirality. Other theories are possible.

Enzymes, which are chiral, usually only work with one enantiomer of a chiral substrate. Imagine an enzyme as having a glove-like cavity that binds a substrate. If this glove is right-handed, then one enantiomer will fit inside and be bound, whereas the other enantiomer will have a poor fit and is unlikely to bind.

It was economical for life-forms to adopt one form or the other of each type of chiral compound. That way we do not need two enzymes for every chemical reaction which involves chirality.

Notes

Stereochemistry

Chirality


A programming language is a type of written language that tells computers what to do. Examples are: Python, Ruby, Java, JavaScript, C, C++, and C#. Programming languages are used to write computer programs and computer software. A programming language is like a set of commands that tell the computer how to do things.

Usually, the programming language uses real words for some of the commands (e.g. "if... then... else...", "and", "or"), so that the language is easier for a human to understand. Like any normal language, many programming languages use punctuation. To make a program, a programmer writes commands in their chosen programming language and saves the commands to a text file. This text file is called source code. Some programming languages, such as Python and JavaScript, can be read by the computer right away. If not, the source code has to be compiled, which means that the computer translates the source code into another language (such as assembly language or machine language) that a computer can read, but which is much harder for a person to read.

Computer programs must be written very carefully. If a programmer makes mistakes, then the program might then stop working, which is called "crashing". When a program has a problem because of how the code was written, this is called a "bug". A very small mistake can cause very serious bugs.

Types of programming languages
There are many types of programming languages. Most programming languages do not follow one type alone, so it is difficult to assign a type for each language. The examples of each type are given in each section below because they are the best well-known examples of that type.

High-level vs. low-level

High-level programming languages require less knowledge about the hardware compared to low-level programming languages. This is because high-level programming languages abstract away the hardware the program is running on. Many high-level languages require an interpreter to run the source code on the hardware in real time. On the other hand, low-level languages usually convert the whole source code to machine code before running, because the source code is so close to the hardware that it is easy to do so.

Declarative vs. Imperative programming
Declarative programming languages describe a "problem" but they usually do not say how the problem should be solved. The problem description uses logic, and "solving" the problem often looks like automatically proving a system of logical axioms. Examples for such programming languages are Prolog, XSLT, LISP and SQL.

Imperative programming languages describe a system of state changes. At the start, the program is in a certain state, and the computer is given steps to follow, in order to perform an action. Following the steps causes the program to "change state".

In general, declarative programming languages are safer and shorter. Imperative programming languages are more common, because they are easier to use.

Functional vs. Procedural
Functional programming looks at programming like a function in mathematics. The program receives input, together with some information, and uses this information to create output. It will not have a state in between, and it will also not change things that are not related to the computation.

Procedural programs specify or describe sets of steps or state changes.

Stack-based
Stack-based languages look at some of the program's memory like a stack of cards. There are very few things that can be done with a stack. A data item can be put on the top of the stack. This operation is generally called "push". A data item can be removed from the top of the stack.  This is called a "pop".  You can look at the item at the top of the stack without removing it.  This is called a "peek".

If a program is written as "push 5; push 3; add; pop;" it will put 5 on the top of the stack, put 3 on top of the 5, add the top two values (3 + 5 = 8), replace the 3 and 5 with the 8, and print the top (8). Examples for programming languages that are stack-based are the languages Postscript and Forth.

Object-oriented

Object-oriented programming languages place data and functions that change data into a single unit. This unit is called an "object". Objects can interact with each other and change another object's data. This is usually called encapsulation or information hiding. Most modern programming languages are object-oriented, or at least allow this style of programming. Examples of this are Java, Python, Ruby, C++, C# and other C languages.

Flow-oriented
Flow-oriented programming sees programming as connecting different components. These components send messages back and forth. A single component can be part of different "programs", without the need to be changed internally.

Scientific computing

Some of the languages above can be used for scientific computing. For example, C++ and Python are also used in this way. On the other hand, there are some languages that has scientific computing as their main purpose. The following are some examples:

 MATLAB - made by MathWorks
 GNU Octave, Scilab - open source versions of MATLAB
 R (programming language) - widely used in the field of statistics
 Wolfram Mathematica - made by Wolfram Research

Document creation
LaTeX and SATySFi are programming languages which helps document creation.

Rules
Every programming language has rules about what it can and can not do. These include:

 Correct numbers (types of numbers, and how large or small the numbers can be)
 Words (reserved words, case-sensitivity)
 Limits on what the programming language can do

Most languages have official standards that define the rules of how to write the source code. Some programming languages have two or more standards. This can happen when a new standard replaces an old one. For example, the Perl 5 standard replaced Perl 4 in 1993. It can happen because two people made two standards at the same time. For example, there are several standards for APL.

Object-Oriented Programming
Object-Oriented Programming (sometimes shortened to OOP) is a form of programming where all parts of the program are objects. Objects are pieces of memory with the same structure that can be used again and again. A bank account, bitmap, or hero from a video game could all be objects within a program. Objects are made up of properties (pieces of information the object stores) and methods which are things the object can do. A Dog object might have properties like height and hairColor. Its methods might include bark() and wagTail().

All objects are created from templates called classes. You can think of a class as a mold from which objects are made. The class defines all the properties and methods that its objects will have. Objects created from a class are called instances of the class. A class can extend another class, which means that it takes all the properties and methods of the class but can add its own.

Here is an example of what a class might look like in a programming language:

class Dog extends Mammal {

  // These are properties:
  String breed = "Collie"
  String type = "Herding Dog"

  // These are methods
  void wagTail() {
    //Do some wagging
  }

  void bark() {
    // Do the barking here
  }

}

Notice that the Dog class extends the Mammal class, so all dogs will have the properties of a mammal, like hairLength, and methods, like eat() or sleep().

Object-oriented programming is used in many of today's most popular programming languages, such as Java, C#, Objective-C, C++, Python, Ruby, Javascript, and ActionScript.

Examples

Example of Visual Basic
Here is a simple program written in Visual Basic (a language made by Microsoft):

 Dim Input
 Input = InputBox("How old are you?? - Code")
 If Not IsNumeric(Input) Then
   MsgBox & Input & "That's not a number!"
 ElseIf Input < 0 Then
   MsgBox "You cannot be less than zero years old!"
 ElseIf Input > 100 Then
   MsgBox "That's old!"
 Else
   MsgBox "You're " & Input & " years old."
 End If

This program asks the user his or her age and responds based on what the user typed. If the user typed something that is not a number, the program says so. If the user typed a number less than zero, the program says so. If the user says he or she is older than 100 years old, the program says "That's old!". If the user typed a correct age, the program says back to the user how old he or she is.

Example of Python
Here is a program that does the same thing as the program above, but in Python:

 try:
     age = int(raw_input("How old are you? "))
 except ValueError:
     print ("That's not a number!")
 else:
     if age < 0:
         print ("You cannot be less than zero years old!")
     elif age > 100:
         print ("That's old!")
     else:
         print("You're %s years old." % age)

Example of C#
The same thing as the program above, but in C#:

using System;

public class Hello
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        Console.WriteLine("What is your age?");
        int age;
        if (!int.TryParse(Console.ReadLine(), out age))
            Console.WriteLine("That's not a number!");
        else if (age < 0)
            Console.WriteLine("You cannot be less than zero years old!");
        else if (age > 100)
            Console.WriteLine("That's old!");
        else
            Console.WriteLine("You're {0} years old.", age);
    }
}

Example of Haskell
The same thing again, but in Haskell:

import Text.Read
main = do
  putStrLn "What is your age?"
  input <- fmap readMaybe getLine
  putStrLn $ case input of
    Just age | age < 0 ->   "You cannot be less than zero years old!"
             | age > 100 -> "That's old!"
             | otherwise -> "You're " ++ show age ++ " years old."
    Nothing -> "That's not a number!"

References

Related pages
 Algorithm
 Formal language
 List of programming languages
 Programmer
 Compiler
 Computer programming
 Programming paradigm
 Pseudocode

Programming language


Kamikaze (Japanese: 神風; literally: "god-wind"; usual translation: "divine wind") is a word of Japanese origin. It comes from the name the Japanese gave to a typhoon that destroyed the Mongol ships in the 13th century and saved the country from invasion. In Western culture, the word kamikaze is used to mean the suicide pilots of the Empire of Japan. Those pilots attacked the ships of the Allied Powers in the final years of World War II, during which they flew their planes into enemy ships. It has also come to mean other kinds of suicide attacks.

Most people in Western culture believe the word kamikaze was the name used by the Japanese military for pilots, but that is not true. Their correct name was tokubetsu kōgeki tai (特別攻撃隊), which literally means "special attack team." This is usually abbreviated tokkōtai (特攻隊) in a shortened form. The suicide attacks made by Navy pilots were called shinpū tokubetsu kōgeki tai (神風特別攻撃隊, "divine wind special attack team"). The American translators used a different style of pronunciation of the Japanese language by mistake, and read the word shinpū ("divine wind") as kamikaze, as those Japanese characters can be read both ways. The name became so well known after the war that Japanese also started using it.

History

After the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the Japanese Navy and its Air force were defeated in several important battles, like Midway and the Philippine Sea.  They lost many ships (including nearly all the Japanese aircraft carriers), hundreds of fighter aircraft, and many of their best pilots.  The Japanese industry was small and very poor compared to the American industry.  For this reason, the United States replaced their lost ships and planes with better ones very quickly; but Japan could only make few, and of poor quality. During 1943-44, the Allied forces were moving towards Japan. At the Battle of the Philippine Sea, on June 19-20, 1944, the Japanese forces were pushed back to the Philippines.

On July 15, Saipan (in the Northern Mariana Islands) was captured by Allied forces.  The capture of Saipan made it possible for the United States Army Air Force to attack Japan itself, using B-29 Superfortress bombers.  After the fall of Saipan, the Japanese commanders knew that the Allies would try to capture the Philippines next. The Philippines were very important because they were located between the oil fields of Southeast Asia and Japan. If Japan lost control over the Philippines, they would have little fuel left for their ships. On October 17, the Allies started the attack on the Philippines in the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

Vice Admiral Takijiro Onishi was in charge of the Japanese Air Force in Manila. He understood that it was impossible to win the battle with so few aircraft and trained pilots. For this reason, he decided to form a suicide attack force, the Special Attack Unit. A group of 24 student pilots volunteered for the mission. The Special Attack force was organized into 4 groups, Unit Shikishima, Unit Yamato, Unit Asahi, and Unit Yamazakura. These names were taken from a patriotic poem (waka or tanka), written by the Japanese classical poet, Motoori Norinaga:  (敷島の 大和心を 人問はば 朝日に匂う 山桜花). The poem reads: "Shikishima no Yamato-gokoro wo hito towaba, asahi ni niou yamazakura bana

The Japanese were defeated at the battle of Leyte Gulf, but the Special Attack force had great success. The first kamikaze attack took place on October 21, 1944, against the flagship of the Royal Australian Navy, HMAS Australia. 30 sailors died in the attack, including its Captain Emile Dechaineux, and many more were wounded. By October 26, 47 more Allied ships had been attacked. Most of them were badly damaged or sunk, like the United States aircraft carrier USS St. Lo.

This early success convinced the Japanese commanders to continue the kamikaze attacks. Many more pilots were recruited to act as kamikaze. Over the next few months, more than 2,000 planes made such attacks. When the Japanese stock of airplanes began to run low, new models of low quality were built for these missions. Some of them, like the Nakajima Ki-115 Tsurugi, were made mostly of wood and used stocks of older engines. The plane's landing gear was usually dropped by the pilot after takeoff so it could be used by other aircraft, because he would not be landing again. Similar suicide attack programs were planned, including rocket bombs with pilots (called Ohka) and submarine torpedoes (Kaiten).

The high point of kamikaze attacks came from April 6 to May 25, 1945 during the Battle of Okinawa, in Operation Kikusui ("floating chrysanthemums"). In that time, seven important waves of attacks took place, with more than 1,500 kamikaze planes. Because their training had been too short and their airplanes were poorly made, kamikaze pilots were easy targets for the experienced Allied pilots, who also had much better planes. But still, the kamikaze who escaped the anti-aircraft fire and the enemy fighter airplanes did great damage to the Allied fleet. The Allies won the battle, but they lost many ships and men because of kamikaze attacks. By the end of the battle, at least 21 American ships had been sunk by kamikazes. Some ships from other Allied navies were also sunk, and dozens more were damaged.

Hundreds of extra kamikaze planes were ready to defend Japan from invasion. However, with Japan's surrender on August 15 after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the declaration of war by the Soviet Union, they were never used again.

Effects
The most important effect of the attacks was creating fear among the Allied troops. When the American ships went to the last battles, the crews were very afraid of kamikaze pilots. By the end of World War II, the Japanese Navy had sacrificed 2,525 kamikaze pilots, and the Air force had lost 1,387. The Japanese government said, the missions sank 81 ships and damaged 195. They also claimed that the kamikaze attacks were the cause of 80% of Allied deaths in the last years of the War.

The American sources claim that kamikaze sunk less ships than the Japanese say. But still, they agree that they did very important damage. According to a U.S. Air Force source, the kamikaze attackers sunk 34 Navy ships, damaged 368 others, killed 4,900 sailors, and wounded over 4,800. In a 2010 book, the historian Robin Rielly said that about 60 U.S. ships were sunk by kamikazes, and over 400 were damaged by them.

Kamikaze beliefs

Many kamikaze pilots offered themselves as volunteers for the mission. They were usually very young, between 18 and 24 years old. Their belief was that dying when striking the enemies of Japan and the Emperor down was a very honorable death. This principle was traditional since the days of the samurai, and gave great importance to the sense of duty and obedience. This idea was called Giri ("Obligation"), and was part of the code of conduct of the Japanese warriors since the Middle Ages, the Bushido. Many young men sacrificed themselves by their free will because these beliefs and their love for the home land were the most important things for them. The tokkōtai pilot's manual told pilots to never close their eyes. This was because if a pilot closed his eyes he would miss his target. In the final moments before the crash, the pilot was to shout "Hissatsu!" ("Critical Strike!") as loud as he could.

However, many others did so because of social pressure. Not offering oneself as a volunteer was a sign of cowardice and dishonor. Several professional pilots who were ordered to do suicide attacks did it because of military obedience, not because of honor. One of the first kamikaze pilots, Lieutenant Yukio Seki, wrote after nearly being forced to volunteer:
Japan's future is pale if it is forced to kill one of its best pilots. I am not going on this mission for the Emperor or for the Empire... I am going because I was ordered to.

A special ceremony before going to combat usually took place. Pilots drank sake and ate a ball of rice. They were given medals, and a katana sword. They put on a headband with the rising sun, and a sennibari, a "belt of a thousand stitches" made by a thousand women, who made one stitch each. Many times, they took prayers written by their families with them. According to legend, young pilots on kamikaze missions many times flew southwest from Japan over the 922-metre (~3000 ft) Mount Kaimon. Suicide mission pilots looked over their shoulders to see this, and said farewell to their country. Another legend says that kamikaze pilots dropped flowers from the air, as they departed on their final missions. Some places, like the hills near Kikajima airport, are said to have beds of cornflower that bloom in early May from those days.

Some important military men who survived the war criticized the kamikaze plan years after. Saburo Sakai, a war time ace pilot said:
''A kamikaze is a surprise attack, according to our ancient war tactics. Surprise attacks will be successful the first time, maybe two or three times. But what fool would continue the same attacks for ten months? Emperor Hirohito must have realized it. He should have said "Stop."

Related pages
 Mongol invasions of Japan

References

Other websites

 WW2DB: Kamikaze Doctrine. Chen, C. Peter. Accessed 2007-11-05.
 Kamikaze Images . Gordon, Bill. Accessed 30-08-2007.
 Kamikaze Footage . World War 2 Pictures in Color. Accessed 30-08-2007.
 An ex-kamikaze pilot creates a new world. Japan Visitor. Accessed 30-08-2007.
 Gyokusai . Antithesis Common Literary Magazine - Issue I, Autumn 2005. Jordan, Julie. Accessed 30-08-2007.
 The kamikaze pilot who chose life before empire. Times Online. Accessed 30-08-2007.
 Kaiten . Photos of the Kaiten Suicide Submarine at the NJ Naval Museum in Hackensack, New Jersey. Accessed 30-08-2007.
 Okinawa Suicide Boat. Photos of the Japanese Suicide Demolition Boat at the Battleship Cove Naval Museum in Fall River, Massachusetts. Accessed 30-08-2007.

1940s in Japan
World War II
Military aviation

Kamikaze


Clothing in Ancient Greece was usually made out of big rectangular pieces of cloth. The cloth was sewn very little, or not at all. The cloth was then put around the body and held in place by belts, fibulae, or other fastenings. The cloth was made from linen or wool.

Types of clothing

Peplos

The peplos (plural: peploi) was a garment worn by women of ancient Greece. The peplos was a large square piece of cloth. The cloth was then folded over to create a double layer, called apoptygma, in the upper part of the body. The cloth is then folded around the body, and fastened over each shoulder.
The ionic or laconic peplos was open on the side of the body, while the doric peplos was sewn shut like a tube. The peplos was worn in such a way that the opening was on the right side of the body. Usually a belt was worn over the peplos. The belt could be worn over or under the apoptygma.

In Greece, the peplos was mostly worn before the 5th century.

Chiton

The chiton was made from a large square piece of cloth. It was worn by both women and men.

The doric chiton was very simple. It was made with a large piece of cloth (usually wool). The cloth was folded and put around the body. It was fastened on the shoulders using brooches and then allowed to fall into folds. A belt, often called a gurdle, was worn around the waist to hold the dress in place.

The ionic chiton was sewn like a tube. The material, usually linen, was folded and sewn with holes left for the head and arms. A belt was also worn on the Ionic style to keep it in position and to make it fall into folds from the waist down.

Himation

The himation (plural: himatia) was a big cloth that was used as a cloak. It was worn by both men and women. The himation was usually put from the back over the left shoulder; the other part of the himation was put under the right arm, and then around the front of the body. The himation was so long that it went down to the knees, or it could also be longer.

The himation was usually made from a lighter cloth, so that it was used as a cloak against warm weather.

Chlamys
The chlamys (plural: chlamydes) was a usually shorter cloak. It was a piece of cloth put over the left shoulder, and fastened over the right shoulder. The chlamys was typically worn by men or soldiers.

Women's clothing
Women in Ancient Greece wore long dresses and cloaks. They wore the peplos and chiton, and the himation.

Cosmetics and make-up
Cosmetics and make-up were not used in Ancient Greece. White lead was used to whiten the skin. White skin for women was seen as a sign of beauty. Juice made from alkanet roots was used to give the cheeks a rosy colour (like rouge). Eye shadow (probably made from ashes) was not used. Lipstick was not used. Perfumes were also important.

Male clothing
Men's clothing was even simpler than women's (if anything). The most important piece of clothing was a shorter version of the chiton, which was also belted at the waist. The top shoulder was often left bare if the man was exercising or doing hard work. The himation was also used, especially on long journeys. A long robe could also be worn with the right shoulder left uncovered. Men usually wore no clothes training for military reasons.They wore no clothes when exercising

Shoes
At home people went without shoes, but in the streets or when travelling they wore leather sandals. These were very simple and usually made to measure - the man or woman went to the cobbler's shop and put his foot on a piece of leather, and the sole was cut out round the foot. The sole was attached to the foot by leather thongs tied across the instep and round the ankle.

Other websites

Clothing
Ancient Greece

Clothing in Ancient Greece


Brachiopods are a phylum of small marine shellfish, sometimes called lampshells. They are not common today, but in the Palaeozoic they were one of the most common types. They lived near the shore (littoral zone), but now they have been pushed into deeper water by competition from bivalve molluscs.

At their peak in the Palaeozoic era the brachiopods occupied a number of marine ecological niches. They were among the most abundant filter-feeders and reef-builders. Many sat on the sea floor, but some swam in the jet-propulsion style of scallops. Brachiopod fossils have been useful indicators of climate changes during the Paleozoic era.

They do look rather like bivalves, but their internal organisation is quite different. Their mostly calcium carbonate shells or "valves" have upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear end. The front can be opened for feeding or closed for protection.

Two major groups are recognized, articulate and inarticulate. Articulate brachiopods have toothed hinges and simple opening and closing muscles, while inarticulate brachiopods have untoothed hinges and a more complex system of muscles used to fit the two halves together. In a typical brachiopod a stalk-like pedicle goes from an opening in one of the valves (the pedicle valve). It attaches the animal to the seabed but clear of silt that would block the opening.

Brachiopods have a huge fossil record going back to the Cambrian. They were much reduced by the two main extinction events, the P/Tr and K/T. Bivalve molluscs took over their inshore habitats in the Mesozoic, and since then the brachiopods have been confined to deeper water, except for a handful of species. There are about 100 to 350 species living; the fossil species number 12,000.

Lingula, one of the oldest genera of brachiopods, has survived from the earliest Ordovician to the present day. The various species look very similar, and the genus is a good example of a living fossil.

Brachiopod classification is being debated by invertebrate palaeontologists.

Image gallery

References

Fossils

Brachiopod


Chemistry is a branch of science that deals with chemical elements and compounds, and how they work together and change. In other words, chemistry is the branch of science about fundamental properties of matter and chemical reactions. Chemistry is the study of the substances and their transformations (or change).

History
Before 1600, people studied substances to figure out how to do things such as turn lead into gold, but no one managed to do that. This was called alchemy. After 1600, using the scientific method alchemists became chemists. Chemists separated the air into many parts and isolated the noble gases from it. They also processed special minerals from a mine in Sweden to get rare earth metals. Radioactivity was also discovered. 118 different elements have been found. Some are very common, like oxygen. Many are very rare and expensive, like platinum. Some cannot be found on earth and can only be made in labs, like rutherfordium.

Since the 1920s, the increased understanding of physics has changed chemists' theories about chemical reactions. With smaller and faster computers, chemists have built better tools for analyzing substances. These tools have been sent to study chemicals on Mars. Police also use those tools to study evidence from crime scenes.

Types of chemistry
There are several types of chemistry. Analytical chemistry looks at which chemicals are in things. For example, looking at how much arsenic is in food. Organic chemistry looks at things that have carbon in them. For example, making acetylene. Inorganic chemistry looks at things that do not have carbon in them. One example is making an integrated circuit. Theoretical chemistry tries to explain chemical data with mathematics and computers.

A large area of chemistry is polymer chemistry. This looks at plastics. One example is making nylon. Because plastics are made of carbon, polymer chemistry is part of organic chemistry. Another area is biochemistry. This looks at the chemistry of living things. An example would be seeing how arsenic poisons people. Biochemistry is also part of organic chemistry. There are many other small branches of chemistry.

Concepts of chemistry

Basic concepts
The basic unit of an element is called an atom. An atom is the smallest building block that you can cut an element into without the element breaking down (turning into a lighter element, for example through nuclear fission or radioactive decay). A chemical compound is a substance made up of two or more elements. In a compound, two or more atoms are joined to form a molecule. The tiniest speck of dust or drop of liquid, that one can see is made up of many millions or billions of these molecules. Mixtures are substances where chemicals are mixed but not reacted. An example would be mixing sand and salt. This can be undone again to produce salt and sand separately. Chemical compounds are changed by a chemical reaction. An example would be heating sodium bicarbonate, common baking soda. It will make water, carbon dioxide, and sodium carbonate. This reaction cannot be undone.

One very important concept in chemistry is that different atoms interact with one another in very specific proportions. For example, two hydrogen atoms interacting with one oxygen atom lead to the water molecule, H2O. This relationship is known as the "Law of constant proportions" and leads to the idea of "stoichiometry", a term that refers to the ratios of different atoms in chemical compounds. For example, in water, there are always exactly 2 hydrogen atoms to 1 oxygen atom. In carbon dioxide, there are exactly 2 oxygen atoms for 1 carbon atom. These relationships are described using chemical formulas such as H2O (two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom) and CO2 (one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms).

Mole
Because atoms of different elements react with one another in very specific proportions but atoms of different elements have different weights, chemists often describe the number of different elements and compounds in terms of the number of "moles". A "mole" of any element contains the same number of atoms: 602,214,150,000,000,000,000,000 atoms. The atomic mass of an element can be used to see how much of the element makes a mole. For example, the atomic mass of copper is about 63.55. That means about 63.55 grams of copper metal has a mole of atoms. The atomic mass of chlorine is about 35.45. That means 35.45 grams of chlorine has a mole of atoms in it.

Moles can be used to see how many molecules are in chemical compounds, too. Copper(II) chloride is an example. CuCl2 is its chemical formula. There is one copper atom (63.55) and two chlorine atoms (35.45 · 2 = 70.90). Add all the molar masses of the elements together to get the molar mass of the chemical compound (63.55 + 70.90 = 134.45). That means in 134.45 grams of copper(II) chloride, there is one mole of copper(II) chloride molecules. This concept is used to calculate how much chemicals are needed in a chemical reaction if no reactants (chemicals that are reacted) should be left. If too much reactant is used, there will be some reactants left in the chemical reaction.

Acids and bases
Acids and bases are common chemicals. Acids release H+ ions when in water, and bases release OH− ions when in water. Acids can react with bases. The H+ ion is taken from the acid by the base. This makes water, H2O. A salt is also made when an acid and a base react together. An example would be reacting hydrochloric acid (HCl) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH). Hydrochloric acid releases H+ and Cl- ions in water. The base releases Na+ and OH- ions. The H+ and the OH- react to make water. There is a solution of sodium chloride (NaCl) left. Sodium chloride is a salt.

Usefulness
Chemistry is very useful in everyday life and makes up the foundation of many branches of science. Most objects are made by chemists (people who do chemistry). Chemists are constantly working to find new and useful substances. Chemists make new drugs and materials like paints that we use every day.

Safety

Many chemicals are harmless, but there are some chemicals that are dangerous. For example, mercury(II) chloride is very toxic. Chromates can cause cancer. Tin(II) chloride pollutes water easily. Hydrochloric acid can cause bad burns. Some chemicals like hydrogen can explode or catch fire. To stay safe, chemists experiment with chemicals in a chemical lab. They use special equipment and clothing to do reactions and keep the chemicals contained. The chemicals used in drugs and in things like bleach have been tested to make sure they are safe if used correctly.

Related pages

 Periodic table
 List of common elements
 Laboratory techniques
 Aerosol

References

Chemistry


An officer is a person who holds a high rank in a uniformed organisation like the military or police. A military officer has a commission, a state document saying others must obey him. Some examples of officer ranks would include captains, majors, and lieutenants, but not sergeants, who are sometimes called non-commissioned officers, or NCOs.

People who are in a position of importance in an organization or company may be a corporate officer, for example:
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a company is the person in charge of that company.
In many organizations, the officers are the president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer. These people run the organization, keep track of what goes on at meetings and handle the money for the organization.

Related pages
Military ranks
Chief executive officer

Military ranks

Officer


The Japanese tea ceremony (called cha-no-yu, chado, or sado) is a special way of making green tea (matcha 抹茶).  It is called the Way of Tea. It is a Japanese cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of matcha, powdered tea. People who study the tea ceremony have to learn about different kinds of tea.  They also have to learn about kimono (Japanese clothes), flowers, and many other things. It takes much practice to learn the tea ceremony.

History
Tea came to Japan from China in about 900 CE. Tea became very popular in Japan, and Japanese people started to grow tea in Japan.

In the 12th century, matcha (green tea powder), became popular. This tea comes from the same plant as black tea.

By the 16th century, all people in Japan, rich people and poor people, liked drinking tea.  A man called Sen no Rikyu started teaching the ceremony.  Many years have passed, but people still make tea the same way that Sen no Rikyu taught. Many schools of Japanese tea ceremony exist now (omote-senke,  ura-senke, etc.), and each school teaches in a slightly different way.

Materials needed
People need many different things for a tea ceremony:

Tea bowl (called chawan ).  In a tea ceremony, people drink tea out of bowls instead of cups.  Some bowls that people use are over 400 years old.

Tea scoop (called chashaku ).  A scoop is a kind of spoon.  Tea scoops are made from bamboo.  They are used to put tea into the tea bowl.  Large scoops are used to put tea into the tea caddy (see below).

Whisk (called chasen ).  A whisk is like a brush made from wire.  People use it to mix tea.  Tea whisks are made from bamboo.

Tea caddy (called natsume or cha-ire ).  A tea caddy is a special container that people put green tea powder in.  There are two kinds of tea caddies: natsume and cha-ire.  Natsume are short and have a flat lid and a round bottom.  They are made of wood. Sometimes natsume is called cha-ki. Cha-ire are tall and thin, and are made of ceramic.  Natsume and cha-ire are used in different ceremonies. Making weak tea (called usu-cha) needs natsume, and making strong tea (called koi-cha) needs cha-ire.

Napkin (called fukusa ).  A fukusa is a special square cloth made out of silk.  It is used to symbolically purify the tea scoop and tea caddy.

Ladle (called hishaku ).  The kind of ladle used is made of bamboo. There is a cup-like part attached to a long handle.

Water jar (called mizusashi ).  Hot water in an iron pot is not fully after making tea, so a person who made tea must add water. A mizusashi holds water for it.

Waste-water container (called kensui ).  When a tea bowl and a whisk are washed before and after making tea, the water used for washing is put in a kensui.

Iron pot (called kama ).  A kama holds hot water. During tea ceremony, water is kept on boiling with charcoal.

Tea (called matcha ). The tea used in the Japanese tea ceremony is pulverized green tea, which is made into a drink during the ceremony by putting some in the tea bowl, adding hot water, and mixing this with the whisk.

Tea ceremony
People do the tea ceremony in a special tea room or a special building called a cha-shitsu. Most people wear kimonos.

When people go into the tea room they take off their shoes and sit on special floor mat called a tatami.

Cha-shitsu often are very small. The guests (the people who go to the tea ceremony) sometimes eat food and drink special Japanese wine called sake.  Before they drink the matcha (green tea) they eat something sweet.

The host (the person who does the tea ceremony) symbolically purifies the tea bowl and the other tea things. Then he or she puts some green tea powder into the tea bowl. The host mixes the tea with hot water. He or she mixes it with a whisk. The guests drink tea from the bowl.

When everyone has finished drinking tea, the host cleans everything and puts them away. Then the guests leave.

A tea ceremony can take from about twenty minutes to about four hours.

References

Related pages

Other websites
Homepage of "Introduction: The Art of Tea" in Urasenke Seattle

English books about the ceremony
Okakura Kakuzo.  The Book of Tea.  Tokyo, Japan: Tuttle, 1977.
Tanaka, S. The Tea Ceremony. New York: Harmony Books, 1977.
Morgan Pitelka, ed. Japanese Tea Culture: Art, History, and Practice. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2003.
Sadler, A.L. Cha-No-Yu: The Japanese Tea Ceremony. Tokyo: Tuttle, 1962.
Freeman, Michael. New Zen: the tea-ceremony room in modern Japanese architecture. London, 8 Books, 2007

Japanese tea ceremony

Japanese tea ceremony


The Wallace Line (or 'Wallace's Line') is a boundary that separates the ecozone of Asia and the Australasian ecozone. The transitional zone is sometimes called Wallacea.

Plants and animals related to Asian species are found to the north-west. Australasian species are found mainly to the south-east, with some Asian species. The line is named after Alfred Russel Wallace, who noticed this clear dividing line during his travels through the East Indies in the 19th century.

The line runs through Indonesia, between Borneo and Sulawesi (Celebes); and through the Lombok Strait between Bali (in the west) and Lombok (in the east).

The distance between Bali and Lombok is only about 35 kilometers. Surprisingly, the distributions of many bird species observe the line, because many birds do not cross even the smallest stretches of open ocean water. Some bats have distributions that cross the Wallace Line, but other mammals are generally limited to one side or the other; an exception is the Crab-eating Macaque. Other groups of plants and animals show differing patterns, but the overall pattern is striking and reasonably consistent.

The term 'Wallace's Line' was first used by Huxley in 1868.

Cause
The root cause of Wallace's line is that the ancient supercontinent Gondwana was separated entirely from other parts of the world after Pangaea broke up. Australasia and its smaller islands were part of Gondwana, and that is why their fauna is so different from that of south-east Asia. Wallace's line marks where part of the old Gondwana plate touches part of the old Laurasia plate.

Ice age
During Quaternary ice age cold periods, when the ocean levels were up to 120 m lower, both Asia and Australia were joined with their respective islands. The deep water between those two large continental shelf areas was — for over 50 million years — a barrier that kept the flora and fauna of Australia separated from that of Asia. Wallacea consists of islands that were never recently connected by dry land to either of the continental land masses, and thus was populated by organisms capable of crossing the straits between islands. 'Weber's Line' runs through this area (rather to the east of centre), at the tipping point between dominance by species of Asian vs. species of Australian origin.

Related pages
Alfred Russel Wallace
Biogeography
Malay Archipelago

References

Ecozones
Physical geography

Wallace Line


A trackback allows one website to notify another about an update. It is one of four types of linkback methods for website authors to request notification when somebody links to one of their documents. This enables authors to keep track of who is linking to their articles. Some weblog software, such as SilverStripe, WordPress, Drupal, and Movable Type, supports automatic pingbacks where all the links in a published article can be pinged when the article is published.  The term is used colloquially for any kind of linkback.

History
The TrackBack specification was created by Six Apart, which first implemented it in its  Movable Type blogging software in August 2002. The TrackBack has since been implemented in most other blogging tools. Six Apart started a working group in February 2006 to improve the Trackback protocol with the goal to eventually have it approved as an Internet standard by the IETF.  One notable blogging service that does not support trackback is Blogger.  Instead, Blogger provides "backlinks", which allow users to employ Google's search infrastructure to show links between blog entries.

Function
A trackback is an acknowledgment. This acknowledgment is sent via a network signal (XML-RPC ping) from the originating site to the receiving site. The receptor often publishes a link back to the originator indicating its worthiness.  Trackback requires both sites to be trackback-enabled in order to establish this communication.

Trackbacks are used primarily to facilitate communication between blogs; if a blogger writes a new entry commenting on, or referring to, an entry found at another blog, and both blogging tools support the TrackBack protocol, then the commenting blogger can notify the other blog with a "TrackBack ping"; the receiving blog will typically display summaries of, and links to, all the commenting entries below the original entry. This allows for conversations spanning several blogs that readers can easily follow.

Software support
Blogging software that supports the TrackBack protocol displays a "TrackBack URL" with every entry. This URL is used by the commenting blogger, whose software will send XML-formatted information about the new entry to this URL. Some blogging tools are able to discover these TrackBack URLs automatically, others require the commenting blogger to enter them manually.

Spam

Some individuals or companies have abused the TrackBack feature to insert spam links on some blogs.  This is similar to comment spam but avoids some of the safeguards designed to stop the latter practice.  As a result, TrackBack spam filters similar to those implemented against comment spam now exist in many weblog publishing systems. Many blogs have stopped using trackbacks because dealing with spam became too much of a burden.

See also

 Linkback, the suite of protocols that allows websites to manually and automatically link to one another
 Pingback, a similar protocol less prone to spam
 Webmention, an alternate implementation of the pingback protocol that avoids the complexities of xmlrpc.
 Refback, another similar protocol
 Referer, identifies the address of the webpage of the resource which links to it
 Search engine optimization
 Sping, short for "spam ping"

References

External links
 Trackback specification 1.2, date 2004-08-01

Blogging
Drupal
WordPress

Trackback


Folk music is music that represents the tradition or culture of the area/place/state. It is traditional music that people learn by listening to other people playing it and then copying them. We say that the tradition is "orally transmitted" or "handed down orally", meaning that the music is not written down but taught by speaking ("oral" means "belonging to the mouth"). Every country has its own traditional music. Folk song is part of folk music. A folksinger is a person who sings folk songs.

There are three categories of Folk Music -

 Folk Singing
 Folk Dance
 Folk instruments

In the 1960s a new type of music was started by Bob Dylan who mixed traditional folk song with rock and roll. This music is sometimes called "folk rock" .

Folk music is music for everybody to play and listen to. In this way it is different from classical music which is mainly developed by professional musicians for a smaller group of people. Folk music is part of a popular culture, although the term "popular music" or "pop music" today refers to a kind of music which people can hear through television, radio and other means of recording.

In many parts of the world nearly all music is folk music. The term "folk music" is usually used for European and American music which is part of an oral tradition. Folk music as an oral tradition, is much less important than before, in part because of new technology (radio, television etc, and recordings of music ). Folk tunes are now often written down, and they have influenced other kinds of music, so that the differences between various types of music are harder to see.

The traditional origins

In older times folk music was part of "communal recreation". This means that small communities such as villages or families would relax by playing and singing music together. People would often make up a new song or new piece of music, or make changes to music that they already knew. In this way music was always changing. People would get musical ideas from other groups nearby. This is why folk music from neighbouring countries often sound similar.

Ballads were a popular kind of folk music. These were folk songs which told a story (they were "narrative"). Sometimes they had a refrain after each verse so that everybody could join in. Ballads told stories of love, myths or folklore. This is how stories were handed down from one generation to another.

Instrumental folk music was used for dancing. Some of the instruments may have been very simple, such as a pair of sticks, rattle or a simple drum. Other instruments may include fiddle (the folk word for "violin"), bagpipes, harp, zither, or various wind instruments, depending on the time of history and the country.

Some singing was polyphonic, i.e. there were two or more parts (voices). Very often two voices would sing in parallel (going up and down together). In countries such as Russia persons sings in three or four parts, e.g. in the tradition of "podgolosnaya" ("underneath the voice"). In countries such as Britain this polyphonic tradition did not exist. Folk songs there were sung by one singer, unaccompanied.

Folk music used different scales. These are called modes. The Ionian mode (like our major scale) was the most common in Western Europe. In some parts of Eastern Europe modes with several semitones were used, but for the most part, half steps were avoided. This results is the tunes being described as tetratonic (four notes per octave) or pentatonic (five notes per octave).

Folk music also includes simple children's songs and lullabies.

Folk music was sung by people as they worked. In the early days of European immigration in America the pioneers sang as they travelled, cowboys sang as they worked, slaves sang in the cottonfields.

Influence on classical music

In the 18th century folk music started to have an influence on classical music (or "art music"). People from the higher classes started to be interested in folk music because they were conscious of being part of a tradition. Composers such as Mozart and Schubert wrote folk dances for orchestras or small groups of instruments.

Folk music was used by many composers in the Romantic period. Gustav Mahler used folk song in a lot of his music. In the early twentieth century some composers travelled around collecting folk music which was being played or sung by people in the country. They often used some of these ideas in their music. Bartok did this in Hungary as well as in Bulgaria and in the United States, and people such as Cecil Sharp and the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams collected folk music in England. In the United States the influence of jazz on classical music is all part of the story of folk music.

References

Folk music


Australian rules football is a sport created in Australia. It is the national sport and is the most popular sport in Australia. The main league of Australian rules football is the Australian Football League.

History

In 1858, Tom Wills, a former student of the Rugby school and Cambridge College, created a set of football rules that were like a cross between rugby, soccer and Gaelic football. He made up the game for cricketers to keep in shape during the off-season (winter). Wills had help in making up the game from other people like his cousin H.C.A. Harrison, and W.J. Hammersly and J.B. Thompson.

Wills grew up with Indigenous Australians.  He spoke the language of the people who lived near him and played with the children.  It has been suggested that Australian Rules Football is based in part on Marn Grook, an Aboriginal game with some similar rules to Australian Rules Football. Because the indigenous people Wills played with as a child would have played Marn Grook, Wills would have been influenced by this game when creating the rules for Australian Rules Football.

The Melbourne Football Club was founded on 14 May 1859; the Melbourne Football Club is one of the oldest surviving football clubs in the world.  A game of football was played between Scotch College and Melbourne Grammar School. It was played over three days on an oval next to the present day Melbourne Cricket Ground, and the two schools have played an annual game ever since.  This game became known as Melbourne Rules Football, one of many local varieties of football that existed at that time, another notable one being Sheffield Rules Football. Then following its decision to not join either the association rules (1863) or rugby rules (1871), it became known as Victorian Rules, although it closely resembled the two former rule sets. Then in the 1880s as rugby and association rules began to diverge in a much greater way, Victorian Rules which resembled the 1850s type of football that both rugby and the association had based their rules on remained much the same except for moving to oval fields from rectangular fields and eventually introducing more posts.  After the sport became popular in other states, people started calling it "Australian Rules".

The Victorian Football League ( VFL ) was created in 1896. The next year, the first official games were played. The first clubs were Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne, St Kilda, and South Melbourne. In 1908, Richmond and University joined. University left after the 1914 season. In 1925, Footscray, Hawthorn and North Melbourne joined the VFL.

Years later other teams joined in:
West Coast Eagles (joined in 1987)
Brisbane Bears (1987)
Adelaide Crows (1991)
Fremantle Dockers (1995)
Port Adelaide (1997)
Brisbane Lions (1997, when the Brisbane Bears and Fitzroy Lions merged).
Gold Coast Suns (2011)
Greater Western Sydney Giants (2012)

In 1990 the Victorian Football League was changed to the Australian Football League (AFL). Footscray changed its name to the Western Bulldogs in 1997. North Melbourne changed its name to the Kangaroos in 1999, but changed back in 2008.

About
Football is the most popular sport in Australia, with crowd attendances of 50-80,000 people common to normal home and away matches and capacity crowds of 100,000 people at the home of football the MCG during the finals and special matches.  The record crowd still remains at 121,696, who watched that most history-making of all Grand Finals in 1970, between Carlton and Collingwood, where Carlton came from a 44-point deficit at half-time to win the game by implementing an entirely new system of play, handballing out of the backline, which changed the game forever, and marked the beginnings of the transition of the game from one of a 'territorial' base to 'possession football'.

There are 16 teams in the AFL . Each team has 22 players during game day with team lists of 40-45 players.During the game, each team has 18 players on the field, consisting of 6 forwards, 3 centres, 6 backmen, and 3 followers. The 4 remaining players are reserves three of which can be interchanged with any other player in the team as often as the coach wants. The forth can replace a player but the replaced player can not come back on to the field of play.

Every game consists of 4 quarters, being 20 minutes and overtime (stoppage time, time-keepers acting upon central umpire signals to determine how long). After every quarter the teams swap direction. The quarter is started when the umpire blows his whistle and bounces the ball in the middle of the field (similar to a basketball "tip")and opposing players try to tap or punch the ball to their team-mates.

The idea of the game is to kick more goals than the other team. At each end of the field are 4 poles. Players score points by kicking the ball between the poles. A goal is a kick between the centermost posts. It is worth 6 points. A Behind (worth 1 point) is a kick that goes between the outer posts. Players can bounce the ball and hit it with their hand (handball it) to other players .  If a player catches a ball after the ball has been kicked in the air by another player, then this is a "mark" and the player cannot be tackled until he plays on.

It is the only "football" code where the major score can ONLY be scored with the foot.

In other countries

Australian rules football was introduced by expats into many countries around the world. It is also the national sport of Nauru. There is also an Australian Football International Cup held every four years.

Present teams
Clubs competing in the Australian Football League.

Individual major awards

Brownlow Medal (best and fairest )
Coleman Medal (most goals )
AFL Rising Star (best young player)
Leigh Matthews Trophy (most valuable player voted by the players )
Norm Smith Medal (best player in Grand Final)
Michael Tuck (best player in pre -season Grand Final) (now defunct)
AFL Mark of the Year (award for best mark in season)
AFL Goal of the Year (award for best goal in season)
All Australian Team (team made up of the best players from all clubs )
Club Best and Fairest Awards (best player in a club)

References

Australian Football League

Australian rules football


A pigment is something that is added to something else to give it color. Natural pigments can come from just about anything. Pigments can be made from animals, plants, rocks and minerals or even the ground itself, for example clay plus salts. Pigments can also be created by people.

An example of a pigment is ultramarine. It is a powder found in nature. It adds a blue color to paints and dyes.

The first synthetic dye was aniline. Aniline is an organic chemical compound produced in two stages from benzene. It gives a mauve color which was much used for dyeing clothes in the 19th century. It was invented in 1856 by  William Henry Perkin. Apparently, it gave a brilliant fuchsia color when first applied, but fades rapidly to mauve.

References

Pigment