cahya/wikipedia-simple-en huggingface dataset:
Parable of the Lost Sheep

The Parable of the Lost Sheep is one of the parables of Jesus. It is found in the Gospel of Matthew at 18:12–14 and the Gospel of Luke at 15:3–7. It also appears in the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas. The parable is one of three that tell of loss and redemption. The others are The Lost Coin and The Prodigal Son. The Lost Sheep tells of a shepherd who leaves his 99 sheep to search for one sheep that is lost. Joel B. Green writes that "these parables are ... about God, ... their aim is to lay bare the nature of the divine response to the recovery of the lost." The parable has been depicted often in art.

References 

Lost Sheep
Brandenburg Gate (Potsdam)

The Brandenburg Gate () on the Luisenplatz in Potsdam, should not be confused with the gate of the same name on Berlin's Pariser Platz, it was built in 1770/71 by Carl von Gontard and Georg Christian Unger by order of Frederick II of Prussia. It stands at the western end of Brandenburger Straße, which runs in a straight line up to the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul.

Previously, from 1733, there was another, simpler gate on the same spot, which resembled a castle gateway. Together with the city wall, a form of toll barrier, and the other gates it was intended to prevent desertion and smuggling.

Towards the end of the Seven Years' War, Frederick the Great had the old gate demolished and built, in its stead, this new Brandenburg Gate, as a symbol of his victory.

Since the city wall was demolished around 1900 the Brandenburg Gate has been a free-standing structure.

Sources 
 Paul Sigel, Silke Dähmlow, Frank Seehausen und Lucas Elmenhorst, Architekturführer Potsdam, Dietrich Reimer Verlag, Berlin 2006, .

Other websites 

Potsdam
Buildings and structures in Germany
1770s establishments in Europe
18th-century establishments in Germany
Frogs as pets

Frogs have become a popular exotic pet. They can be kept in basic conditions, compared to reptiles. They are not expensive and their food is easily purchased. Common pet frogs includes ranids, hylids, bufonids, leptodactylids, and dendrobatids.

Pet frogs can be fed a lot of different live foods. These include crickets, rodents and fish. Small pet frogs will only eat crickets, fruit flies, springtails and other small arthropods. Medium-sized pet frogs can be fed larger crickets, mealworms, butterworms, silkworms, grasshoppers and small fish. Large pet frogs like Ceratophrys frogs, can be fed small fish, other frogs, reptiles, and small mammals such as mice or rats.

Amphibians of all sizes would need different terrariums. Tree frogs like to climb and can escape if a pet owner does not add a top cover for their tanks. Semi-aquatic amphibians need both land and water divided in the tank. Tropical frogs would need mist and high humidity in their terrariums. All amphibians water must be treated with dechlorination. The chlorine can kill amphibians, and are found in tap water. Many amphibians are a popular exotic pet and are found in pet stores that sell reptiles.

Pets
Frogs
Bombinatoridae

Bombinatoridae or fire-bellied toads is a family of toads. It includes two genus Barbourula and Bombina. They have bright colors which means that they are toxic.

Species
Family Bombinatoridae
 Genus Barbourula
 Barbourula busuangensis - Busuanga Jungle Toad
 Barbourula kalimantanensis - Kalimantan Jungle Toad
 Genus Bombina
 Bombina bombina - Common Firebelly Toad
 Bombina fortinuptialis - Guangxi Firebelly Toad
 Bombina lichuanensis - Lichuan Firebelly Toad
 Bombina maxima - Yunnan Firebelly Toad
 Bombina microdeladigitora - Hubei Firebelly Toad
 Bombina orientalis - Oriental Firebelly Toad
 Bombina pachypus - Apennine Firebelly Toad
 Bombina variegata - Yellow-bellied Toad

Books 

Toads
Debbie Allen

Deborrah Kaye "Debbie" Allen (born January 16, 1950, Houston ) is an American dancer, actress and television producer. She also taught choreography and acted in Broadway plays.

References

Actors from Houston, Texas
American movie actors
American choreographers
1950 births
Living people
Drama Desk Award winners
Ascaphidae

Ascaphidae is a family of frogs. They are called tailed frogs because they have an organ that looks like a tail. The tail helps them to live in fast-moving streams. They live in North America.

References

Books

Other websites 

Excerpt from Zeiner et al. 1988 describing tailed frogs 
Type information from the American Museum of Natural History

Frogs
Pipidae

The Pipidae is a family of frogs. They do not have tongues. There are over 30 species of Pipidae frogs. They are found in tropical places in South America and Africa.

Genera 
Family Pipidae
 Hymenochirus - Dwarf clawed frogs
 Pseudhymenochirus - Merlin's clawed frog
 Xenopus - Common clawed frogs
 Silurana - Tropical clawed frogs
 Pipa - Surinam toads

References

Other websites

Frogs
African bullfrog

The African bullfrog (Pyxicephalus adspersus) is a species of frog. They are in the Ranidae family. They are commonly named pixie frog because of their Latin name. They are found in Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and possibly Democratic Republic of the Congo. They live in dry savannas, subtropical or tropical habitats. Males are bigger and longer than females.

Other websites
 The Natural History of the African Bullfrog, copyright 2002 by Terry Gampper.
 Natural History, Care and Breeding Information for African Bullfrogs / Pyxie frogs 

Frogs
Twyla Tharp

Twyla Tharp (born July 1 1941) is an American dancer and choreographer.  She lives and works in New York City.  

Her work often uses classical music, jazz, and contemporary pop music.  In 1973, Tharp choreographed the ballet Deuce Coupe to the music of The Beach Boys.  It is considered to be the first crossover ballet.  Later she choreographed Push Comes to Shove.  That ballet featured Mikhail Baryshnikov and is now thought to be the best example of the crossover ballet.

Tharp has choreographed dances for many important ballet companies around the world.  She also has had success on Broadway.  In 1985, her staging of Singin' in the Rain, played at the Gershwin for 367 performances.  Her dance musical Movin' Out ran for 1,331 performances on Broadway. The musical is set to the music and lyrics of Billy Joel. It received 10 Tony Award nominations and Tharp was named Best Choreographer.

Honors and awards
Twyla Tharp received two Emmy Awards, 19 honorary doctorates, the Vietnam Veterans of America President’s Award, the 2004 National Medal of the Arts.

Tharp was inducted into the Academy of Achievement in 1993.

She was named a Kennedy Center Honoree for 2008.

Movies
Hair	
Ragtime 	
Amadeus 	
White Nights 
I'll Do Anything

References

Writers from New York City
American stage actors
1941 births
Living people
Emmy Award winners
Tony Award winners
Kennedy Center honorees
Writers from Indiana
Drama Desk Award winners
Actors from Indiana
Actors from New York City
American choreographers
American dancers
Chytridiomycosis

Chytridiomycosis is a disease that can kill amphibians, for example frogs.  A fungus causes it.  THe chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis causes the disease.  The animals can catch it from each other. Chytridiomycosis one reason why there are fewer amphibians on Earth than there were. The fungus has decreased the amphibian population by 30% worldwide.  Many spcies are now extict because they died of chitridiomycosis.  In some species, only a few animals die, but in other species, they all die.  This is called 100% mortality. There is no cure.

Other websites 

 Article in National Geographic Magazine, April 2009 
 Wildlife Trade and Global Disease Emergence
 Main preventative management strategies for the Chytrid fungus
 Amphibian chytridiomycosis at Amphibian Diseases Home Page 
 'Amphibian Ark' aims to save frogs from fungus 

Animal diseases
Fungal diseases
Temnospondyl

Temnospondyls are an order of small to giant batrachomorph tetrapods. They lived worldwide from the Carboniferous to the Triassic. A few species continued into the Lower Cretaceous.

The Temnospondyls are similar or identical to the Labyrinthodonts minus the Lepospondyls. It is probably an evolutionary grade, not monophyletic. It is convenient to use, because all these early amphibia were so different from present-day amphibia.p169 Many in the early Permian looked more like reptiles because they were adapted to life in a drier climate. Nevertheless, they were amphibians, and many larval stages have been found.

They are a large group of some 40 families and 160 genera.p322 Fossils have been found on every continent. Their evolutionary history spans 210 million years. During this time, they adapted to a wide range of habitats including fresh water, terrestrial, and even coastal marine environments.

Fossils are known from the larval stage, metamorphosis, and maturity.p184 Most temnospondyls were semiaquatic, although some were almost fully terrestrial, returning to the water only to breed. These temnospondyls were some of the first vertebrates fully adapted to life on land. Although temnospondyls are considered amphibians, many had characteristics such as scales, claws, and armour-like bony plates which modern amphibians do not have.

The youngest known temnospondyl is the Australian Koolasuchus that lived about 120 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous.

References

Other websites 

 Temnospondyli  Tree of Life project page on temnospondyls.
 Temnospondyli Palaeos page on temnospondyls.
Lepospondyl

The Lepospondyli are a large group of batrachomorph tetrapods from the Palaeozoic era. They are sometimes included in the Labyrinthodonts. 

They lived during the Carboniferous to the early Permian. There are six different groups. The Acherontiscidae, Adelospondyli, Aïstopoda, Lysorophia, Microsauria and Nectridea. The included species which looked somewhat like newts, eels, snakes and lizards. Some of them were aquatic, semi-aquatic, and terrestrial animals. None of them were big animals.

Other websites 

 Lepospondyli - Palaeos 
 Lepospondyli 
 Lepospondyli - phylogeny 

Amphibians
Peltobatrachus

Peltobatrachus (from Greek pelte, meaning shield and batrakhos, meaning frog) is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibians from the late Permian period of Tanzania. They were large and slow-moving animals. They reached 70 centimeters (2.3 ft) in length. They were terrestrial amphibians. They only went back to the water to lay their eggs. They eat insects, worms and snails.

References

Temnospondyls
Terrestrial animal

A terrestrial animal is an animal that lives on land such as dog, cat, an ant or an emu. It can also be used for some species of amphibians that only go back to the water to lay their eggs. It is usually a term to describe the difference between animals that live in water, (such as lobsters and fish), from animals that live on land.

Books
 Clark J. A. (2002). Gaining ground: the origin and evolution of tetrapods. Indiana University Press, 369 pp., .
 Cloudsley-Thompson J. L. (1988). Evolution and adaptation of terrestrial arthropods. Springer, 141 pp., .
 Little C. (1983). The colonisation of land: Origins and adaptations of terrestrial animals. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 290 pp., .

Zoology
Sister group

A sister group or sister taxon is a term used to describe the closest relatives of an organism (or other taxon) in a phylogenetic tree. It is a term in cladistics.

The sister group of organism A is B. The sister group of the clade B+A, is C.

References 

Cladistics
Reptiliomorpha

Reptiliomorpha is a clade of the amniotes and those tetrapods that share a more recent common ancestor with amniotes than with living amphibians (lissamphibians).

Unfortunately, different experts have used the term in several different ways. It has even been used for fossils of early amphibians. It is best used for animals which lay cleidoic eggs, but are not synapsids. Otherwise precursors of reptiles (sauropsids) get lumped together with precursors of mammals (synapsids).

Its only justification is that it may not always be possible to decide which group a fossil is from. But gradually, as with Seymouria, it is possible to separate fossils into more specific grouups.

Amphibians
Reptiles
Youth Riding a Hippalektryon (Epiktetos)

Youth Riding a Hippalektryon is a circular painting (tondo) in the bottom of the bowl of an ancient Greek terracotta drinking cup. It was painted by Epiktetos. It is dated to the Archaic period of Greek art (ca. 530–520 BC). The cup stands about 5 1/8 in. (13 cm) tall. A hippalektryon is a mythical creature, part horse and part rooster. The cup is held in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The museum writes, "Late sixth-century vases connected with drinking occasionally have subjects that go beyond the familiar gorgons, griffins, or sphinxes. The hippalektryon belongs to this category. It is interesting to compare this piece to the fine early red-figure plate by Epiktetos showing a youth riding a rooster."

References

Other websites 
 

Ancient Greek paintings
Ancient Greek pottery
Paintings and pottery by Epiktetos
Spy-fi

The genre known as Spy-fi is a cross-over between the genres of spy fiction and science fiction. The story usually involves a spy with advanced technological weapons or gadgets, and sometimes the villain is a mad scientist or evil genius with robots or advanced technological weapons and gadgets. The film and novel series James Bond was a popularizer of the genre, as well as such TV shows as The Man from UNCLE, Mission: Impossible, and I Spy.

Science fiction
Genres
Amanda Marshall

Amanda Marshall (born August 29, 1972) is a Canadian pop-rock singer. Her self-titled first record was in 1995. It was a major success in Canada. Her most successful single was "Birmingham". Marshall has released many singles. She has not had a studio album since around 2001.

References

Other websites

Singers from Toronto
1972 births
Living people
Singing Reveler (Epiktetos)

Singing Reveler is the tondo (circular painting) in a terracotta drinking cup said to have been painted by Epiktetos. It is dated about 520510 BC.  The cup measures 3 1/16 x 9 15/16 x 7 1/16 to 7 3/16 in. The cup is in the collections of The J. Paul Getty Museum.

The tondo depicts an older, balding man reclining on a couch and singing. The setting is probably a drinking party (symposium). These cups were meant to be used at such parties and were often decorated with party scenes. 

The tondo presented problems to painters. It was difficult to present upright figures in a circle. Epiktetos solved this problem by using the couch as a line. The man's mantle slipping from the couch creates depth and space. The museum writes, "Epiktetos also used the circular frame of the tondo as part of the composition: it supports the man's pillow, and he props his foot on it."

References

Other websites 
 

Paintings and pottery by Epiktetos
Ancient Greek paintings
Ancient Greek pottery
Pentathletes (Carpenter Painter)

Pentathletes is a painting on an ancient Greek terracotta drinking cup from Athens. It is said to be the work of the Carpenter Painter. It is dated about 510500 BC.  The cup measures 4 5/16 x 15 x 13 3/16 in. In the circular painting (tondo) at the bottom of the bowl of the cup, a youth pulls an older man to him for a kiss. The outside of the cup depicts bearded men and youths exercising with discus and javelin. A youth in a long robe plays music. The pictures reflect the interests of the aristocrats who would have used such a cup at a drinking party.

References 
 

Ancient Greek paintings
Ancient Greek pottery
Salt pan

A salt plain (also known as a salt pan or salt flat) is a flat area of ground covered with salt and other minerals. They are usually purely white. They are found in desert areas. In areas where salt plains form, the rate of evaporation (how quickly water dries up) is faster than the rate of precipitation (how often rain falls). A salt plain is formed where a lake or pond would otherwise be found. When the water dries up, the minerals stay left behind on the suface of the ground. Over thousands of years, the minerals (usually salts) build up on the surface.

Large salt plains are common in the Sahara Desert, the Kalahari Desert, the Rann of Kutch, the western United States and the central deserts of Australia. The Altiplano in Bolivia has the world's largest salt plan, the Salar de Uyuni.

Related pages
 Salt lake

References

Other websites 

Plains
Landforms
Witchetty grub

A witchetty grub (also spelled witchety grub or witjuti grub) is the large, white larva of a moth. It is a name used in Australia. Normally, it refers to the larvae of the cossid moth Endoxyla leucomochla, found in central Australia. These moths eat the roots of the witchetty bush (a plant named after the grubs). It is also sometimes used to refer to the larvae of other cossid moths, as well as those of ghost moths (Hepialidae). It is used mainly when the larvae are being thought of as food. Because it contains a lot of protein, the grub is the most important insect food of the desert. It was a staple in the diets of nomadic Aboriginal people living in the outback.

The name witchetty (or witjuti) comes from the Adnyamathanha language. The name comes from the words wityu (meaning "hooked stick") and vartu (meaning "grub").

References

Other websites
Witchetty Grub on Australian Insects

Indigenous Australian culture
Moths
Carpenter Painter

The Carpenter Painter was a red-figure vase painter. He worked in Athens. He was active between 515 and 500 BC.  He chiefly painted cups. His real name is unknown. "Carpenter Painter" is taken from his depiction of a carpenter at work on a cup in the British Museum. Few of his works are known. The way he painted nipples, pectorals, hands, garments, and other details identify his work.

Related pages 
 Pentathletes (Carpenter Painter)

References 
 

Ancient Greek painters
Ancient Greek potters
John Astin

John Allen Astin (born March 30, 1930) is an American movie, television, stage, voice, and radio actor. He has acted in many movies and television shows. He is best known for his role as Gomez Addams in The Addams Family, his role in Evil Roy Slade, and other comedic characters.

Astin was born on March 30, 1930 in Baltimore, Maryland. He studied at Washington & Jefferson College and at Johns Hopkins University.

Astin was married to Suzanne Hahn from 1956 until they divorced in 1972. He was married to Patty Duke from 1972 to 1985. He married Valeri Ann Sandobal in 1989. Astin had five sons; three by Hahn (David, Allen, and Tom), one by Duke (Mackenzie) and one adopted by Astin and Duke (Sean). Astin lives in Baltimore, Maryland.

References

Other websites

 
 

1930 births
Living people
American movie actors
American television actors
American voice actors
American stage actors
American radio actors
Actors from Baltimore
Cerastes

Cerastes is a genus of small venomous vipers growing up to the length of around 50 cm. There are currently three species found. They are usually known as the "Horned Vipers", the "North African Desert Vipers", or the "Cerastes Vipers".

Behavior
The Horned Viper is nocturnal and terrestrial (lives on the ground), and is usually found buried underneath the sand. They are said to be slow moving, but they are able to do sidewinding. When they do sidewinding they can move faster across the sand. They are able to sink into the sand by moving in a rocking motion. They sink into the sand tail first and keep on sinking deeper into the sand until only their eyes and nose are sticking out of the sand. The reason they do this is so they can ambush prey which come close to it. They are oviparous, meaning they lay eggs. They live in the deserts of North Africa, Arabia, and Iran.

Feeding
The Horned Viper catch their prey by ambushing. They eat mainly rodents, birds and lizards.

Species
 Desert Horned Viper, C. Cerastes
 Arabian Horned Viper, C. Gasperettii
 Sahara Sand Viper, C. Vipera

Vipers
Las Vegas culture

Las Vegas culture is the name for a number of setltements on the coast of present-day Ecuador. These settlements were created between roughly 8000 and 4600 BCE. In total, there are 31 settlements. The people who lived there were hunter-gatherers. They had also started agriculture. Bone points and a spatula have been discovered. They may have been used for making nets or textiles, along with various tools and containers shaped of shell; wood, bamboo, reeds, and bark are also believed to have been used in the tool industry.

No mummies have been found on the coast of Ecuador. The Las Vegas people had similarities with the people whose remains are preserved as the Chinchorro mummies of the north coast of Chile.They also lived at the same time.

References

History of Ecuador
Cultural anthropology
Yu Kil-chun

Yu Kil-chun (, 1856 – 1914) was a Korean politician, philosopher, thinker, reform activist and independence activist during the Joseon Dynasty. His nickname was Gudang, Chunmin, Guyil.

Life 
Yu Kil-chun was born in Kwangju. In his early years he studied under Park Kyu-su and Oh Kyung-suk. As a young man in 1881, he went to Meiji Japan to study at Keio University. He then went to the United States in 1884 to study mathematics. After his he was accused of supporting the Gaehwadang (enlightenment party). He was arrested and put in jail from 1885 to 1894.

Between 1894 and 1895, Yu worked for the government of prime minister Kim Hongjip. He was Vice Minister of State for Home Office. In October 1895, Korea's King Gojong claimed that Yu was involved in the assassination of Queen Min. Kim was killed and his cabinet was disbanded. Yu went to the Russian embassy and escaped the country for exile in Japan. He returned to Korea in 1907 after he was pardoned by Emperor Sunjeong.

In 1910, when Korea was annexed by Imperial Japan, Yun started a movement against the annexation. Yu was offered the title danshaku by the Government of Japan, but he refused it. He died in 1914 of a heart problem. He was aged 58.

Works 
 Seoyugyonmun (서유견문)

Notes

Sources 
 De Ceuster, Koen. “The World in a Book: Yu Kilchun’s Soyu kyonmun.” In Remco E. Breuker, ed. Korea in the Middle: Korean Studies and Area Studies: Essays in Honour of Boudewijn Walraven. Leiden: CNWS Publications, 2008.

Other websites 
 구당 유길준(矩堂 兪吉濬):2003년 12월의 문화 인물   
 Yu Kil-chun  
 Yu Kil-chun , Korean historical person information 
 Yu Gil-jun  
 Yu Gil-jun  
 Yu Gil-jun  

1856 births
1914 deaths
Korean activists
Korean educators
Anti-Communists
Korean politicians
Murder victims
Autobiographers
Katherine Jackson

Katherine Esther Jackson (born May 4, 1930 as Kattie B. Screws) is the matriarch of the Jackson family of musicians and singers, including Michael Jackson, La Toya and Janet Jackson. She is the widow of Joe Jackson. 

Jackson had 10 children. Several of the children became famous.  In 1985 Essence honored her as "Mother of the Year".

In 1990, Jackson released her autobiography, My Family.  The book told about her early years and her relationship with her husband and their children.

On June 25, 2009, Michael Jackson died. Katherine was granted temporary guardianship of Michael's three children. In 2012 her guardianship was suspended for a short time.  The guardianship resumed with TJ Jackson, Michael's nephew, added as a co-guardian.

Children
Maureen Reillette "Rebbie" Jackson (born May 29, 1950)
Sigmund Esco "Jackie" Jackson (born May 4, 1951)
Toriano Adaryll "Tito" Jackson (born October 15, 1953)
Jermaine La Jaune Jacksun (born December 11, 1954)
La Toya Yvonne Jackson (born May 29, 1956)
Marlon David Jackson (born March 12, 1957)
Brandon Jackson (March 12, 1957)
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958–June 25, 2009)
Steven Randall "Randy" Jackson (born October 29, 1961)
Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966)

References

African-American people
Jackson family
People from Alabama
1930 births
Living people
Fax

Fax (short for facsimile),  or telecopying, is the transmission of scanned printed material (both text and images), to a telephone number connected to a printer or other output device. 

The original document is scanned with a fax machine (or a telecopier), which turns the contents (text or images)  into a bitmap, Then the bitmap is sent through the telephone system. The receiving fax machine reconverts the coded image, printing a paper copy. 

Businesses usually have some kind of fax system, but the technology has faced increasing competition from Internet-based methods. Fax machines still retain some advantages, particularly in the transmission of sensitive material which, if sent over the internet, may be intercepted. However, encryption (a secret coding system) can make internet messages secure.

In some countries, because electronic signatures on contracts are not recognized by law while faxed contracts with copies of signatures are, fax machines enjoy continuing support in business.

In many businesses, standalone fax machines have been replaced by fax servers which receive and store incoming faxes electronically. The servers route them to users on paper or via a secure email. Such systems reduce costs by eliminating unnecessary printouts and reducing the number of inbound phone lines needed by an office.

History

Wire transmission 
Scottish inventor Alexander Bain worked on chemical mechanical fax type devices and in 1846 was able to reproduce graphic signs in laboratory experiments. He received the first fax patent in 1843.  Frederick Bakewell made several improvements on Bain's design and demonstrated a telefax machine. The Pantelegraph was invented by the Italian physicist Giovanni Caselli  He introduced the first commercial telefax service between Paris and Lyons in 1865, some 11 years before the invention of telephones. 

In 1881, English inventor Shelford Bidwell constructed the scanning phototelegraph that was the first telefax machine to scan any two-dimensional original, not requiring manual plotting or drawing. Around 1900, German physicist Arthur Korn invented the Bildtelegraph. It became widely used in continental Europe after a wanted-person photograph was transmitted from Paris to London in 1908. Its main competitors were the Bélinograf by Édouard Belin first, then since the 1930s the Hellschreiber, invented in 1929 by German inventor Rudolf Hell, a pioneer in mechanical image scanning and transmission.

Transmission by landline was replaced by radiotransmission, and from  1960 by satellite transmission. Digital systems are now universal. Faster, more efficient and cheaper fax machines have allowed even small companies to own a fax machine. The technology is now world-wide.

References 

Telecommunications
Audrey Meadows

Audrey Meadows (born February 8 1922; died February 3 1996) was an American actress. She was best known for her role as Alice Kramden on the 1950s American television comedy The Honeymooners. She was born in New York City by the name Audrey Cotter. Meadows died as a result of lung cancer.

Other websites

Actors from New York City
American movie actors
American musical theatre actors
American television actors
Deaths from lung cancer
1922 births
1996 deaths
Carl von Gontard

Carl von Gontard (January 13, 1731 in Mannheim – September 23, 1791 in Breslau) was a German architect; he worked primarily in Berlin, Potsdam, and Bayreuth.

He modified the original Deutscher Dom and Französischer Dom cathedrals in Berlin and added the domed towers.

References

Other websites

1731 births
1791 deaths
German architects
People from Mannheim
Cloris Leachman

Cloris Leachman (April 30, 1926 – January 27, 2021) was an American actress.

Personal Life 
She was in many stage plays, movies, and television programs. She won eight Primetime Emmy Awards and one Daytime Emmy Award. She was a vegetarian. Leachman was born in Des Moines, Iowa.

Leachman won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1971 for her role as Ruth Popper The Last Picture Show.

Death 
Leachman died on January 27, 2021, at her home in Encinitas, California at the age of 94. The cause of death was a stroke caused by COVID-19.

Notes

References

Other websites

American movie actors
American stage actors
American voice actors
American television actors
Emmy Award winning actors
1926 births
2021 deaths
Actors from Des Moines, Iowa
Academy Award winning actors
Golden Globe Award winning actors
BAFTA Award winning actors
Writers from Des Moines, Iowa
American autobiographers
Deaths from stroke
Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
Neue Kirche, Berlin

The Neue Kirche (; colloquially , meaning "German Cathedral"), is in Berlin.  It is on the Gendarmenmarkt across from the French Church. The Lutheran and Calvinist congregants used German as their native language.  This is different than the French-speaking Calvinist congregation who owned the French Church on the opposite side of Gendarmenmarkt. The congregants' native language combined with the domed tower gave the church its colloquial naming.

Famous parishioners
 E. T. A. Hoffmann

References
 Ingrid Bartmann-Kompa, Horst Büttner, Horst Drescher, Joachim Fait, Marina Flügge, Gerda Herrmann, Ilse Schröder, Helmut Spielmann, Christa Stepansky, and Heinrich Trost, Die Bau- und Kunstdenkmale in der DDR: Hauptstadt Berlin: 2 parts, Institut für Denkmalpflege (ed.) (11983), Berlin: Henschelverlag Kunst und Gesellschaft, 21984, part I, p. 217. No ISBN.
 Günther Kühne and Elisabeth Stephani, Evangelische Kirchen in Berlin (11978), Berlin: CZV-Verlag, 21986, pp. 374seq. .

Other websites

 German Bundestag Historic Exhibition 
 Congregation in the Friedrichstadt (German official website)

Protestant churches in Germany
Buildings and structures in Berlin
Mantellinae

Mantellinae is a subfamily of frogs. They are part of the family Mantellidae. These frogs lives in Madagascar and Mayotte. These frogs looks similar to poison dart frogs. Most Mantellinae frogs are toxic. They have a lot of warning colors. There are over 100 species in this family.

Species and family 
There are two genus:
 Mantella (16 species)
 Mantidactylus (over 80 species)

Other websites 

Frogs
Pacific tree frog

The Pacific tree frog (Pseudacris regilla) is a species of tree frog. They live on the West Coast of North America. This includes California, Oregon and Washington in the United States, and British Columbia in Canada. They live on the ground, but some have been found living in places 10,000 feet above sea level. They are the only frogs to make a "rabbit" sound. They are either green or brown. They can also change their colors.

References

Other websites

 Fact sheet, taxonomic details, distribution maps, slideshow, and images of Pseudacris regilla at ZipcodeZoo.com.
Californiaherps.com description - Includes detailed description, photos, recordings of calls
mister-toad.com Pacific Tree Frog description - Description of the ecology of Pacific Tree Frogs with photographs, audio and video.
 http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/herps/amphibid/species/hylareg.htm

Frogs
Edible frog

The edible frog (Pelophylax kl. esculentus) is a species of frogs. It lives in Europe. It is also known as water frog or green frog. However, green frog is usually given to the North American frog Lithobates clamitans. The Edible frog is used as a food source to people in France.

Other websites 

Frogs
Animal hybrids
Texas toad

The Texas toad (Bufo speciosus) is a species of toads. They are very small only reaching three inches. They live in the United States in the state of Texas. But they are also found in Oklahoma, New Mexico and Mexico.

References 

  (2004) The history of a Nearctic colonization: Molecular phylogenetics and biogeography of the Nearctic toads (Bufo). Evolution 58: 2517–2535.
  Database entry includes a range map and justification for why this species is of least concern.
IUCN RangeMap: Bufo speciosus
USGS: Texas Toad

Toads
French Cathedral, Berlin

(German for: French Cathedral) is the colloquial naming for the French Church of Friedrichstadt (, ) in Berlin on the Gendarmenmarkt across from the Deutscher Dom (German Cathedral), formerly a church of German-speaking congregants.

The first parts of the actual French Church were built from 1701 to 1705 for the Huguenot (Calvinist) community. At that time, Huguenots made up about 25% of Berlin's population. The French Church was modelled after the destroyed Huguenot temple in Charenton-Saint-Maurice, France.

In 1785 Carl von Gontard modified the church and built - wall to wall next to it - the domed tower, which - together with the French-speaking congregants - earned the church its naming. The domed tower is technically no part of the church, there is no access between church and tower, because both buildings have different owners. The tower, similar to that of Deutscher Dom, was simply built to give the Gendarmenmarkt a symmetric design. 

The church is not a cathedral in the strict sense of the word because it has never been the seat of a bishop.

The domed tower, which is a viewing platform open to visitors, provides a panoramic view of Berlin. A restaurant is located in the basement underneath the prayer hall. The tower also contains the Huguenot museum of Berlin.

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Calvinism
Protestant churches in Germany
Cathedrals in Germany
Buildings and structures in Berlin
Cane toad

The cane toad (Bufo marinus) is a species of toad. They are also known as the giant neotropical toad and the marine toad.
 
Cane toads are terrestrial amphibians. This means that they only go back to the water to lay their eggs. They live in Central America and South America. However, they have been introduced to Oceania and the Caribbean.

In Australia 
Nearly 80 years ago, a group of 102 cane toads were sent to Queensland to catch sugar beetles. 
Cane-growers were concerned about the damage insect larvae were doing to crops. The insects were native to Australia, but bad for the valuable cane crops.

The first cane toads were brought into Queensland by Reginald Mungomery, an entomologist. Before 1935, Australia had no toads. The entire continent, full of various frog species, had no toads. Tough and always moving into new areas, the cane toads started reproducing and expanding outwards every wet season. This "invasion front" moved around 10 km a year until the 1960s, when it began speeding up significantly.

Cane toads are rapidly adapting to dry climates, a huge change from their origins in the South American rainforest. They have poison gland in their skin.

Their predators 
In their native habitat, a number of fish and reptiles prey on the tadpoles and the adult toad.
These include the broad-snouted caiman (Caiman latirostris), the banded cat-eyed snake (Leptodeira annulata),  eels (family Anguillidae), various species of killifish,  the black rat (Rattus rattus) and the Asian water monitor (Varanus salvator).

They have far fewer predators in Australia but, as time passes, some of the local animals will adapt their behaviour. Already some Australian crows have learned strategies allowing them to feed on cane toads, such as using their beak to flip toads onto their back. Opossums of the Didelphis genus likely can eat cane toads with impunity. Meat ants are unaffected by the cane toads' toxins, and therefore are able to kill them. The cane toad's normal response to attack is to stand still and let its toxin kill the attacker, which allows the ants to attack and eat the toad.

In popular culture
A cane toad is one of the non-human characters in Dave Barry's 1999 novel Big Trouble and in the 2002 movie based on the novel.

References

Other websites 

Species Profile - Cane Toad (Bufo marinus), National Invasive Species Information Center, United States National Agricultural Library. Lists general information and resources for cane toad.

Toads
Parotoid gland

The parotoid gland is a skin gland on the back, neck and shoulder of toads and some frogs and salamanders. It's secretes has a substance that predators can smell. This smell will tell them that they are toxic animals. The substance, bufotoxin, acts as a nuerotoxin.

Parotoid glands looks like warts on an amphibian skin. However, warts are grown by viral infections. Parotoid glands are normal and healthy parts of the animals that have them. Many people believe that touching a toad may cause warts. However, this is not true.

References 

Amphibians
Animal anatomy
Mole salamander

The mole salamander is a member of the genus Ambystoma. There are a group of animals that live in North America. The only family in this genus is the Ambystomatidae. The Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) is a popular exotic pet. They are also used in research. The Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum) is an official amphibian of many US states. They are also sold as pets.

Species
 Mountain Stream Salamander (Ambystoma altimirani) V
 Blunt-Headed Salamander (Ambystoma amblycephalum) V
 Anderson's Salamander (Ambystoma andersoni) N
 Ringed Salamander (Ambystoma annulatum) T
 Streamside Salamander (Ambystoma barbouri) T
 Reticulated Flatwoods Salamander (Ambystoma bishopi) T
 Delicate-Skinned Salamander (Ambystoma bombypellum) T
 California Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma californiense) T
 Frosted Flatwoods Salamander (Ambystoma cingulatum) T
 Lake Patzcuaro Salamander (Ambystoma dumerilii) N
 Yellow-Peppered Salamander (Ambystoma flavipiperatum) T
 Northwestern Salamander (Ambystoma gracile) T
 Granular Salamander (Ambystoma granulosum) T
 Jefferson salamander (Ambystoma jeffersonianum) T
 Blue-spotted Salamander (Ambystoma laterale) T
 Silvery Salamander (Ambystoma platineum)
 Tremblay's Salamander (Ambystoma tremblayi)
 Lake Lerma Salamander (Ambystoma lermaense) V
 Leora's Salamander (Ambystoma leorae) T
 Mabee's Salamander (Ambystoma mabeei) T
 Long-toed Salamander (Ambystoma macrodactylum) T
 Santa Cruz Long-toed Salamander (Ambystoma macrodactylum croceum) T
 Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) T
 Barred Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma mavortium) V
 Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) N
 Marbled Salamander (Ambystoma opacum) T
 Puerto Hondo Stream Salamander (Ambystoma ordinarium) V
 Michoacan Stream Salamander (Ambystoma rivulare) T
 Tarahumara Salamander (Ambystoma rosaceum) V
 Durango Salamander (Ambystoma silvense) V
 Mole Salamander (Ambystoma talpoideum) V
 Taylor's Salamander (Ambystoma taylori) N
 Small-mouthed Salamander (Ambystoma texanum) T
 Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum) V
 Plateau Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma velasci) V

Other websites

Tree of Life: Ambystomatidae 
Herpseeker.dk 
IUCN redlist of threatened Ambystomatidae

Salamanders
Rib

A rib is a bone that forms a structure around the thorax of vertebrates. This is known as the rib cage. Humans have 24 ribs, 12 on each side. 

It is a common urban legend that male humans have one fewer pair of ribs than female humans. However, this is not true. This came from the Christian bible explaining the creation of Eve from the rib of Adam.

Other websites 

Bones
Taricha

Taricha is a genus of newts. There are only three species and four subspecies. They are called western newts and Pacific newts. All newts are part of the family Salamandridae. The three species in this genus are California newt, the rough-skinned newt and the red bellied newt. They are all found on the west coast of the United States.

Species 
Genus Taricha (Western Newts / Pacific Newts) - 3 species
 Rough-skinned Newt (Taricha granulosa)
 Red-bellied Newt (Taricha rivularis)
 California Newt (Taricha torosa)

Newts
Lungless salamander

The Plethodontidae is a family of lungless salamanders. They are the largest groups of salamanders. They probably evolved in North America, where there are 14 genera and about 150 species. Only one species is in Europe: it is  Speleomantes, the cave salamander.

Most of them are terrestrial and are active in daytime. Lungless salamanders may communicate with their nose.p168 Slender salamanders are found in the Pacific Coast. They are sometimes called "worm salamanders". This is because they have slimmer (skinny) bodies than most salamanders.p182 If touched, slender salamanders will bounce on the ground and then run away.

References

Other websites 
 AmphibiaWeb - Plethodontidae
 Tree of Life: Plethodontidae 
 Caudata Culture Species Database - Plethodontidae 

Salamanders
Irritation

Irritation in biology is a state of inflammation or painful reaction to allergy or cell damage. The skin and the eyes may turn red.

Related pages
 Itch

Physiology
Slender salamander

Slender salamander is a common name given to lungless salamanders of the genus Batrachoseps. They are different from other lungless salamanders. They have four toes on each foot. They live in Oregon, California and Baja California in Mexico.

Species
19 species are recognized in this genus:

Other websites
 . 2007. Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 5.1 (10 October, 2007). Batrachoseps. Electronic Database accessible at http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/index.php. American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. (Accessed: July 30, 2008). 
  [web application]. 2008. Berkeley, California: Batrachoseps. AmphibiaWeb, available at http://amphibiaweb.org/. (Accessed: July 30, 2008). 
 Tree of Life: Batrachoseps
 A slender salamanders page

Salamanders
Pacific coast

A Pacific coast is when a country is next to the Pacific Ocean.

Geography

The Americas
Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western border.

 Geography of Canada
 Geography of Chile
 Geography of Colombia
 Geography of Costa Rica
 Geography of Ecuador
 Geography of El Salvador
 Geography of Guatemala
 Geography of Honduras
 Geography of Mexico
 Geography of Nicaragua
 Geography of Panama
 Geography of Peru
 West Coast of the United States

Asia
Countries on the eastern side of Asia have a Pacific coast as their eastern border.

 Geography of Russia
 Geography of Japan
 Geography of South Korea
 Geography of South Korea
 Geography of China
 Geography of the Philippines
 Geography of Taiwan

Oceania
Countries in Oceania may have a Pacific coast anywhere, including their entire border
 Geography of Australia
 Geography of New Zealand
 Geography of Papua New Guinea

Other websites 

Pacific Ocean
Chinese fire belly newt

The Chinese fire belly newt (Cynops orientalis) is a species of newts. They are small and will reach up to 2.2-4 inches (6-10 cm). They are black and have bright orange colors on their front side. They are commonly found in pet stores. They are sometimes confused with the Japanese fire belly newt. This is because of their small size and colors. However, the Chinese fire belly newt has smoother skin and a rounder tail than the Japanese Fire Belly Newt.

References

  Database entry includes a range map and justification for why this species is of least concern
Chang, Mangven L. Y. 1936. Contribution à l'étude Morphologique, Biologique et systématique des Amphibiens urodèles de la Chine. Libraire Picart, Paris, 156 p.
Brodie, Edmund D., Jr., John Hensel, Jr. and Judith Johnson. “Toxicity of the Urodele Amphibians Taricha, Notophthalmus, Cynops and Paramesotriton (Salamandridae)” Copeia. 1974. n2. p506-511.

Newts
Quarter (U.S. coin)

A quarter dollar or quarter, is a coin worth ¼ of a United States dollar. They are worth 25 cents. The quarter has been produced since 1796.

List of designs
Silver quarters
Draped Bust 1796–1807
Draped Bust, Small Eagle 1796
Draped Bust, Heraldic Eagle 1804–1807
Capped Bust 1815–1838
Capped Bust (Large Size), With Motto 1815–1828
Capped Bust (Small Size), No Motto 1831–1838
Seated Liberty 1838–1891
Seated Liberty, No Motto 1838–1865
Seated Liberty, With Motto 1866–1891
Barber 1892–1916
Standing Liberty 1916–1930
Standing Liberty (Type 1) 1916–1917
Standing Liberty (Type 2) 1917–1930
Washington Quarter 1931–1964, 1992–1998 (Proof Only)
Washington Bicentennial 1975–1976 (all were dated 1776–1976) (40% Silver-clad Proof, not intended for circulation)
Washington statehood 1999–2008 (Proof Only)
Washington District of Columbia and U.S. territories 2009 (Proof Only)
Copper-nickel quarters
Washington Quarter 1965–1974, 1977–1998
Washington Bicentennial 1975–1976 (all were dated 1776–1976).
Washington statehood 1999–2008
Washington District of Columbia and U.S. territories 2009
Washington America the Beautiful Quarters 2010–2021

References

Other websites 

Official specifications
http://www.usmint.gov/faqs/circulating_coins/index.cfm?action=faq_circulating_coin
http://www.acoin.com/regularissue/regular25c.htm 
US Quarters by year and type. Histories, photos, and more.

Currency of the United States
1796 establishments in the United States
Coins
Ichthyophis beddomei

Ichthyophis beddomei is a species of caecilians. They are sometimes called Beddome's caecilian. They are part of the family Inchthyophiidae. They have a dark violet-brown body. They have yellow stripes from their head to their tail. Their upper lip and lower jaw are yellow. They live in Western Ghats.

References

Caecilians
Agalychnis callidryas

For another species commonly known as the red-eyed treefrog, see Litoria chloris

Agalychnis callidryas, known as the red-eyed treefrog is a species of tree frogs.

Red-eyed tree frogs spend most of their time on large tropical leaves. They are not poisonous, and rely on camouflage to protect themselves. During the day, they stay still, cover their blue sides with their back legs, tuck their bright feet under their stomachs, and shut their red eyes. So they look almost completely green, and are well hidden amongst the leaves. The large red eyes are a defensive adaptation called deimatic behaviour. When a red-eyed tree frog detects a predator, it abruptly opens its eyes and stares at the predator. The sudden appearance of the red eyes may startle the predator, giving the frog a chance to flee.

They are active at night. They like to eat small insects.

During mating, the female carries the male on her back for several hours during the process. The female chooses a leaf above a pond or large puddle on which to lay her clutch of eggs. The male puts out his sperm onto the eggs as they are released.

Tree frogs lay jelly-like eggs. The mothers will stay near them and help them fight any hungry animals that want to eat them. They become a tadpole in one or two weeks. They drop from the leaf and into the lake which is below the leaf.

If predators are close enough to produce vibration, the embryos sense this. After a few seconds, they vigorously hatch out into tadpoles and spread out to escape.

References

Other websites 
 Red-eyed tree frog facts

Frogs
Common frog

The Common frog (Rana temporaria) is a species of frog. They are also known as the European Common Frog or the European Common Brown Frog. They live in Europe, the Arctic Circle, Scandinavia, Urals, Iberia, Italy, Balkans and Ireland. They are an introduced species in most countries.

References

Other websites 

Amphibians of Europe

Frogs
Quantum theory

Quantum theory may mean:

Quantum mechanics, a branch of physics explaining the physical behaviours at the molecular, atomic and sub-atomic levels
Quantum field theory, a general type of quantum theory, which includes:
 Quantum electrodynamics
 Quantum chromodynamics
 Electroweak interaction
 Quantum gravity, a general term for theories intended to quantize general relativity

Related pages 
Planck constant
Stefan–Boltzmann law
Bronzed frog

The bronzed frog or Günther's golden-backed frog (Hylarana temporalis) is a species of frog. They are found in forests of Western Ghats, India and Sri Lanka. They are an important prey for many snakes include the Malabar Pit Viper and the Vine Snake.

References

Other websites 
IUCN Red List  page on H. temporalis.
Breeding call audio from YouTube [Contributed by Western Ghat Regional Centre, Calicut]

Frogs