cahya/wikipedia-simple-en huggingface dataset:
Rainbow flag

The  rainbow flag is a multi-colored flag consisting of stripes in the colors of the rainbow that is displayed in many cultures around the world as a sign of diversity and inclusiveness. The German pastor Thomas Müntzer used a rainbow flag as a symbol of solidarity as early as the German Peasants' War of the 16th century. It is common as a symbol of the Peace movement, first used this way in a peace march in Italy in 1961.

Meher Baba (1924)

In 1924 the Indian spiritual teacher Meher Baba designed a rainbow flag. It is flown each year near his tomb near Ahmednagar, India during the anniversary of his death on January 31, 1969. Baba explained the symbolism, saying, "The colors in the flag signify man's rise from the grossest of impressions of lust and anger – symbolized by red – to the culmination in the highest state of spirituality and oneness with God – symbolized by sky blue."

Cursillo (1944)

The rainbow is also a symbol in the Christian and Jewish Bible. It shows God's promise to Noah and his family to never cover the world in water again.

A Christian movement known as Cursillo, founded in 1944, uses these traditional rainbow symbols, including flags.  Their version can have 5 to 7 colors, with red at the top, blue or purple at the bottom, and the Spanish words De Colores! ("of colors") in large letters on the front.

Peace movement (1961)

This rainbow flag in Italy was first used in a peace march in 1961, inspired by similar multi-coloured flags used in demonstrations against nuclear weapons. The most common variety has seven colours, purple, blue, light blue, green, yellow, orange and red, and is emblazoned in bold with the Italian word PACE, meaning "peace".

Gay pride movement (1978)

It has also been the symbol of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) community since it's creation in 1978. It is also called the 'Pride Flag.' The flag was created by Gilbert Baker of San Francisco, California in 1978.

References 

Rainbow flag
Dualism

Dualism is the idea or theory that something (an object, an idea or the whole world) is split into two parts. These parts are separate from each other, and the thing cannot be divided up in any other way. The idea or theory that something cannot be split into any parts is called monism. The idea that something can be split into many parts is called pluralism.

In philosophy there are many kinds of dualism.
 In the philosophy of mind dualism means that the mind and the body are two very different things. Nothing that is part of the body can be part of the mind and nothing that is part of the mind can be part of the body. People like this sort of dualism because they think that the mind is too important or too strange to be part of the body. A contrasting idea is that the mind and body are the same thing or that mind is just another word for the brain. (See also René Descartes)
 In epistemology, dualism means that there is a barrier between a person and the world around them. This barrier splits the world into two for that person, into 'myself' and 'the world'. Each person can see, hear, taste, smell and touch the world but cannot know it directly. For example, somebody cannot know just by looking that things are made up of many atoms. This means that something could happen in the world that we would not know about because we could not see, hear, taste, smell or touch it. A non-dualist idea is that a person is just another part of the world and that there is no barrier. For example, it could be said that if somebody cannot see, hear, taste, touch or smell something then it does not affect them.

Dualism is also a common sense idea. For example, it is a form of dualism to say that a thing is either hot or cold, good or bad, mine or somebody else's, with no allowance for possible states in between.

Ditheism
In theology, dualism may also refer to duotheism, bitheism or ditheism. This the doctrine or belief that there are two independent divine beings or eternal principles, one good and the other evil. Examples of ditheism include Zoroastrianism, Wicca and Marcionism. Although the Bible mentions Satan, this is not ditheism as he is not equal to God, but merely an angel. (See Epistle of Jude, verse 6). Ditheism is not the same as dualism, but they are similar. Ditheism implies (at least) two gods, while moral dualism does not imply any -theism (belief in a god) whatsoever.

References 

Philosophical movements and positions
Theology
Jana Gana Mana

"Jana Gana Mana" (hi. जन गण मन) is the title for the national anthem of India. The original words were written in the Bengali language. It was originally a five-verse poem created in 1911 by Rabindranath Tagore—the same author for the Bangladeshi anthem. In January 1950, just the first verse was made to be officially part of the national anthem of India per the Constituent Assembly of India. In addition, the lyrics now contain many words of Sanskrit origin.

Lyrics

Transcriptions

References

Other websites

Second Option of Performance at YouTube

India
National anthems
Chat room

A chat room is a virtual place on the Internet where people can get together and type messages to each other using text. People use programs like IRC to join a chat room and type messages or send pictures to the other people within that chat. There are also other programs called instant messengers to stay in contact with friends, colleagues and other people. Websites on the Internet often have types of chat rooms built into them, and lots of chat rooms also use .

Chat rooms are normally used as tools to talk with people that are far away, but many people still use them to talk to people who live near them, because it's very convenient.

Related pages 
 Chat

Internet communication
Messaging
Alan Wake

Alan Wake is a video game made by Remedy Entertainment. It is a "thriller" game and was voted best game of E3 in 2005. It was released on Xbox 360 in May 2010 and Microsoft Windows in February 16, 2012.

Other websites 
 Official site
 Official forums 
 Official Community site

2008 video games
Xbox 360 games
Windows games
50 Cent

50 Cent (also known as Fitty" or "Fifty") is an American rapper, actor, entrepreneur and executive producer. He was born in Queens, New York City on July 6, 1975. 50 Cent is his public name, but his birth name is Curtis Jackson. Growing up, he never knew his father and his mother were murdered when he was just 8 years old. He grew up in a neighborhood called STP. He learned how to play basketball and football. He got shot nine times in STP. Before becoming a rapper he was a drug dealer.

Career 
50 Cent first became successful in rap music in 2002. He was helped by his fellow gang boss Rijaan D. M. (the same person who helped him release track "Wanksta"). Since then, he has sold millions of records. His first album, "Get Rich Or Die Tryin'" broke music records and went multi-platinum. It was number one right away on the Billboard 200.  It sold 872,000 copies in the first four days. 50 and the album both won an  American Music Award. He won the first Sound of... award by the BBC for new artists. He also won the BET Award for Best New Artist.

In the summer of 2005, 50 Cent had a fight (or "beef") with The Game, a rapper in his G-Unit group. After this, The Game left G-Unit, and made some diss songs about 50 Cent. 50 Cent answered with songs like "Mr. Potato Head" and "300 shots" featuring G-Unit. 50 Cent was also the first to sign onto a joint effort between Eminem's Shady Records and Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment. 50 Cent also mentions Rijaan D.M. in many of his tracks e.g. 'Candy Shop', 'Down On Me FT Jeremih' etc. As a teen 50 Cent's role model was Tupac Shakur so, from the start his ambition was to be a gangster rapper. 50 Cent rapped on "Monster" on Michael Jackson's 2010 album Michael.

Albums 
 2003: Get Rich or Die Tryin'
 2005: The Massacre
 2007: Curtis
 2009: Before I Self Destruct
 2014: Animal Ambition
 2017: Street King Immortal (in production)

Awards

Grammy Awards
The Grammy Awards are awarded each year by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. 50 Cent has been nominated 14 times and won once.

World Music Awards
The World Music Awards is a yearly international awards show. It honors recording artists based on their worldwide sales figures. The figures are provided by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. 50 Cent has won six awards.

Filmography

References

Other websites 

 50 Cent (Note: needs Adobe Flash)
 50 Cent 

1975 births
Living people
50 Cent
Actors from Queens
African American actors
American crime victims
American movie actors
Rap musicians from New York
Criminals from New York City
Drug dealers
Grammy Award winners
Movie producers from New York City
Musicians from Queens
Singers from New York City
African-American rappers
American composers
American fashion designers
American hip hop singers
American people convicted of drug offenses
American philanthropists
American record labels
American record producers
Brit Award winners
Businesspeople from New York City
Gangsta rappers
Pseudonyms
Writers from New York City
Subject (school)

Subjects are the parts into which learning can be divided. At school, each lesson usually covers one subject only. Some of the most common subjects at school are English, history, mathematics, physical education and science.

Examples 
Primary school subjects: (ages 4–11)
 Art
 Citizenship
 Geography
 History
 Languages (French, German, Spanish) 
 Literacy
 Music 
 Natural history
 Personal, social and health education (PSHE)
 Science
 Arithmetic
Social Studies
Reading
Writing
Math

Secondary school subjects: (ages 11–16)
 Art
 Business studies
 Citizenship
 Critical reading
 Dance
 Design & technology
 Drama
 English
 Geography
 History
 Information and communication technology (ICT)
 Languages
 Mathematics
 Modern studies
 Music
 PE: Physical education
 P.S.H.E: Personal, social and health education (PSHE)
 RE: Religious education
 Science
 Study skills

Other subjects include: 
 Ancient Greek
 Animal husbandry
 Art
 Biology
 Chemistry
 Commerce
 Computer studies. 
 Design technology
 Drama
 Ethic(s)
 Food technology
 Foreign languages: Spanish, French, German, Irish, Welsh, Italian etc.
 Geography
 Health and hygiene
 Home economics
 Latin
 Literature
 Music
 Physics
 Psychology
 Religion
 Sociology
 Woodwork
Design Technology (Paper and Board, Resistant Materials, Food Technology, Textiles)

Other websites
 
 

Education
Learning English

Learning English is what people do when they want to use the English language. In language learning, we often talk about language skills and language systems. Language skills include: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Language systems include vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation.

A lot of people learn English at school, where English is a common subjects. Many people also want to spend their own personal time to learn English. Some of these people may not know any English, where others will have learned some English in school, and will want to advance their knowledge of it.

Learning in schools
English is taught in many schools. It may be a required course for graduation, or students may choose to study it. For profit language schools are also common in many countries. These businesses sell English lessons.

Individual learning
Other people try to learn English on their own, or in a less formal setting than in a group of people with a teacher.

People might meet with others who are trying to learn English, in order to practice speaking.

People can also listen to radio broadcasts in English, or watch television programmes in English to help them improve their listening ability.  A popular channel to listen to the radio on is broadcast by the BBC, called the BBC World Service .

People can also study English by reading books, or listening to English courses on recorded CDs or cassettes.

Online learning
The internet boom has created lot of avenues for learning. People can get lot of ideas on how to improve English communication skills using search engines like Google, Yahoo, etc. Especially during the lockdown due to Covid-19, online classes and courses became a main source of learning. The BBC World Service has a free website for people who are learning English as a second or foreign language called BBC Learning English.

Testing

Related pages 
 English as an additional language
 Wikipedia: Basic English picture wordlist, 200 words in Basic English with pictures

Other websites 
 BBC English learning center 

Learning
English language
Bioinformatics

Bioinformatics or computational biology is the study of large amounts of biological information or genome. It focuses on molecules like DNA. It is done often with the help of computers.

Foundation
As species of living things change over time, the DNA contained in their cells change, because of evolution. If we can extract the information from living things today, and compare them to each other, we can see which living things are most closely related, the most similar can be thought to be the most closely related in time. Biologists can then construct family trees, or phylogenies. By combining each tree, a grand tree connecting all living things can be made, this is called the "Tree of Life". Bioinformatics uses integration of mathematical, statistical and computational method to analyze biological, biochemical and biophysical data.

The process
All of the information needed by a cell is provided in its DNA. When a cell wants to build a protein, it finds the appropriate piece of DNA, makes a copy of it (called RNA), and uses the instructions in the copy to make the protein. 

Proteins can perform many functions like transportation, structural support, movement and metabolism. Proteins are made from amino acids. There are twenty different amino acids that are used to build millions of different protein molecules. 

These molecules can be studied using computers to analyze the DNA, RNA, and amino acid sequences from which they are created. Because there are so many different molecules, the best way we have of understanding how the entire system works is to use bioinformatics.

Computers in bioinformatics
Chemists have developed ways to understand the shape and behavior of small molecules, using mathematical analysis. They might use computers to study these molecules. The DNA contained in just one cell of an organism is far too large to be read by any person, and to compare the DNA between two (or more) organisms, be they in the brother and sister, or of a completely different species, requires comparing large amounts of information to find differences. Computers are better suited to such comparisons, and computer programmers have worked with biologists to create very very large databases to store all the DNA information that has ever been learned.

Related pages
Sequence analysis

Branches of biology
Computer science
Economy of India

The Economy of India is the sixth

largest in the world with a GDP (a year's goods and services) of $2.94 trillion (U.S.). If you consider PPP (purchasing power parity: how much that money can buy in India compared to other countries), the economy is third largest (worth $10.51 trillion U.S.). However, due to India's huge population, the economy was still only $6,209 (considering PPP) per person per year in 2015.

India's economy includes agriculture, handicrafts, industries, and a lot of services. The service sector is the main source of economic growth in India today, though two-thirds of Indian people earn their living directly or indirectly through agriculture. In recent times, due to its many well-educated people who can speak English, India became a pioneer in information technology.

For most of India's independent history, it had strict government controls in many areas such as telecommunications (communication over long distances), banking and foreign direct investment. Since the early 1990s, India has slowly opened up its markets by reducing government control on foreign trade and investment.This was started by Manmohan Singh under the leadership of P.V.Narasimha Rao.From then, the Indian Economy grew at a rapid pace.

The social and economic problems India faces are the increasing population, poverty, lack of infrastructure (buildings, roads, etc.) and growing unemployment. Although poverty has gone down 10% since the 1980s, a quarter of India's citizens still cannot pay for enough food.
Multiplayer video game

Multiplayer is a term for games, usually video games, meaning more than one person can play it.  It was popularized by gaming systems like the Nintendo 64 that allowed four joysticks to be plugged into a home console unit for head-to-head play, competitive, or cooperative play.

Types of video games
Video game gameplay
"Weird Al" Yankovic

Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic (born October 23, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, parodist, record producer, satirist, music video director, movie producer, actor, and author. He is known mainly for his parodies of popular songs. He has also starred in the movie called UHF (1989). Yankovic had a children's program for a short time. It was named The Weird Al Show. He has made parodies of songs such as "American Pie" (his ever popular "The Saga Begins"), "Ridin'" ("White and Nerdy"), "Bad" ("Fat"), "Like a Virgin" ("Like a Surgeon") and "Gangster's Paradise" ("Amish Paradise").

He also has a band to help him perform his songs. His band members are: Jim West (guitar), Steve Jay (bass), Rubén Valtierra (piano), and Jon Schwartz (drums).

Yankovic has also written a children's book titled When I Grow Up.

Early life
Alfred was born in Downey, California. He was raised in the town of Lynwood, California. He is the only child of Nick Louis Yankovic (June 4, 1917 – April 9, 2004) and Mary Elizabeth Yankovic (née Vivalda; February 7, 1923 – April 9, 2004). His father was born in Kansas City, Kansas, of Yugoslavian ancestry, and began living in California after serving during World War II; he believed "the key to success" was "doing for a living whatever makes you happy" and often reminded his son of this philosophy.  Nick Yankovic married Mary Elizabeth Vivalda in 1949. Mary, who was of Italian and English descent, and had come to California from Kentucky, gave birth to Alfred ten years later.

References

Actors from Los Angeles County, California
American movie actors
Singer-songwriters from California
Comedians from Los Angeles County, California
Musicians from Los Angeles County, California
Singers from Los Angeles County, California
1959 births
Living people
People from Downey, California
Sting

Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner  (born 2 October 1951) better known as Sting, is an English singer and musician. He first became famous as a member of the band, The Police.

As a solo musician and a member of the Police, Sting has received 17 Grammy Awards: he won Song of the Year for "Every Breath You Take", three Brit Awards, including Best British Male Artist in 1994 and Outstanding Contribution in 2002, a Golden Globe, an Emmy and four nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. In 2019, he received a BMI Award for "Every Breath You Take" becoming the most played song in radio history. In 2002, Sting received the Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Achievement from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors and was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Police in 2003. In 2000, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for recording. In 2003, Sting received a CBE from Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace for services to music. He was made a Kennedy Center Honoree at the White House in 2014, and was awarded the Polar Music Prize in 2017.

With the Police, Sting became one of the world's best-selling music artists. Solo and with the Police combined, he has sold over 100 million records. In 2006, Paste ranked him 62nd of the 100 best living songwriters. He was 63rd of VH1's 100 greatest artists of rock, and 80th of Q magazine's 100 greatest musical stars of the 20th century. He has collaborated with other musicians on songs such as "Money for Nothing" with Dire Straits, "Rise & Fall" with Craig David, "All for Love" with Bryan Adams and Rod Stewart, "You Will Be My Ain True Love" with Alison Krauss, and introduced the North African music genre raï to Western audiences through the hit song "Desert Rose" with Cheb Mami. In 2018, he released the album 44/876, a collaboration with Jamaican musician Shaggy, which won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album in 2019.

Studio albums 
 The Dream of the Blue Turtles  (1985)
 Bring On the Night  (1986)
 ...Nothing Like the Sun  (1987)
 The Soul Cages  (1991)
 Ten Summoner’s Tales  (1993)
 Mercury Falling  (1996)
 Brand New Day  (1999)
 Sacred Love  (2003)
 Songs from the Labyrinth  (2006)
 If on a Winter’s Night...  (2009)
 Symphonicities  (2010)
 The Last Ship  (2013)
 57th & 9th  (2016)
 Sting & Shaggy: 44/876  (2018)
 My Songs  (2019)
The Bridge (2021)

1951 births
Living people
English guitarists
English movie actors
English rock musicians
English singer-songwriters
English television actors
People from Newcastle upon Tyne
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Starbucks

Starbucks is a chain of stores that sell coffee. A chain is many stores owned by the same company. Many of the stores look the same, and all stores sell the same items, often at the same prices. As well as coffee, Starbucks sells beverages and baked goods.

Starbucks started in Seattle in the United States in 1971. The number of stores has grown quickly. There are over 9,000 Starbucks stores all over the world. Most of these stores are in the United States. Some large cities in the U.S. have many Starbucks stores. Sometimes they open so many stores in one city that there are two Starbucks within a few blocks of each other.

Starbucks sells many kinds of drinks. There are 5 sizes: short, tall, grande, venti and trenta. There are many ways to customize each drink. A frappuccino, for example, is a cold drink. Flavored syrup and cream is added to coffee or juice and stirred with ice.

Some stores sell special items, such as mugs related to the city they are located in.

International growth

The first Starbucks in Japan opened in Ginza in 1996. There were 985 stores in Japan in 2012.

References 

American food companies
Coffee houses
1971 establishments in the United States
1970s establishments in Washington (state)
Companies based in Seattle, Washington
Frasier

Frasier is an American sitcom starring Kelsey Grammer. The series aired on NBC from 1993-2004. It was a spin-off from Cheers. Story based upon the intellectual, mild mannered psychiatrist and his life. Revolving around his personal life and hilarious interpersonal interactions with his father (Martin Crane, an ex-cop who got shot in the hip, so he needs a cane), his eccentric brother Niles, who is also a psychiatrist, his father's attractive English health care worker Daphne Moon and a host of folks he regularly runs into / works with at the radio station (including his producer Roz Doyle) where he hosts a community psychiatric call-in show.

Cast :
Dr. Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer)
Daphne Moon (Jane Leeves)
Dr. Niles Crane (David Hyde Pierce)
Roz Doyle (Peri Gilpin)
John Mahoney (Martin Crane)

Other websites 

1993 American television series debuts
2004 American television series endings
1990s American sitcoms
2000s American sitcoms
American television spin-offs
NBC network shows
Television series about brothers
Television series about families
Television series set in Seattle, Washington
English-language television programs
Lionel Richie

Lionel Richie (born June 20, 1949) is an American R&B singer-songwriter. He is best known for his 1980s songs.

Early life
Richie was born in Tuskegee, Alabama. His family is of African American, Cherokee Native American, English, French-Canadian and Scottish descent. He spent his childhood there. He spent his teenage years in Joliet, Illinois.

Career
He started his career with The Commodores; between him and the band, Three Times a Lady is their best remembered song. His self-titled debut album was one of the biggest music successes of 1982. More successful was its follow-up, Can't Slow Down.

In 1984, as a surprise guest, he sang All Night Long to a worldwide audience of over two billion at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

After a few years break, Richie returned to the music industry in 1996 with Louder than Words. Another album of his, Renaissance, came out four years later and featuring the song Angel.

Richie made a dramatic comeback to the top of the charts in 2012 with Tuskegee, a country album made up of new versions of many of his biggest hit songs, each featuring a different guest artist. It became his first Number 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart since 1986, and also reached Number 1 on the Billboard country album chart. Tuskegee also became his first album since 1986 to be certified as platinum (more than 1 million copies sold) by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Personal life
In 1990, Richie adopted Nicole Escovedo. Her name is now Nicole Richie. She co-starred on Fox's The Simple Life with Paris Hilton.

Television
 American Idol (2018) - Judge

References

Other websites 

1949 births
Living people
Best Original Song Academy Award-winning songwriters
African American musicians
American pianists
American pop musicians
American R&B singers 
American soul musicians
Golden Globe Award winning composers
Grammy Award winners
Singers from Alabama
Singers from Illinois
People from Joliet, Illinois
Walt Disney Pictures

Walt Disney Pictures is a movie studio from the United States that makes family-friendly movies with a G and PG rating from the MPAA, like Pinocchio and The Nightmare Before Christmas. The only non-G/PG rated Disney movies are 2003's Pirates of the Caribbean, which was given a PG-13 rating, its sequels, and John Carter, which were also rated PG-13.

Walt Disney Pictures started as a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Studios in 1985. Before that, Disney movies were released under the Walt Disney Productions name.

Part of film distributor Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group, the studio also has Walt Disney Feature Animation and Disney MovieToons.

Related pages
List of Disney movies
List of Disney animated movies

Other websites 
The Official Site
The Big Cartoon DataBase page for Disney animated movies

Movie studios
American animation studios
Disney companies
1929 establishments in the United States
Companies based in Burbank, California
Scrotum

The scrotum is the bag that holds the testicles (commonly called balls) in male mammals. It is made of skin and muscle and is found between the penis and anus. It is often covered in pubic hair and becomes tight when the male is aroused.

Use 

The function of the scrotum is to keep the testicles less warm than the rest of the body. Human testicles work best at 36.8 degrees Celsius (98 degrees Fahrenheit) when normal body temperature is 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit). Higher temperatures than 36.8 degrees will damage the sperm inside the testicles.

The temperature is controlled by moving the testicles closer to the abdomen when they are too cold, and away when too hot. This is done by muscles contracting or relaxing. This lifts and lowers the testicles inside the scrotum. The scrotum will usually tighten during erection. The testicles can also be lifted by tightening the anus and pelvic muscles.

Temperature 
The best temperature for the testes varies between species, but usually it is a bit cooler than body temperature. This means that the testicles have to be held outside of the body in most male mammals.

Protection
The scrotum may move the testes closer to the abdomen when in danger. Testes are extremely sensitive, and hitting or injuring them causes extreme pain. Males avoid this by involunatirly moving the testes closer. 

Another explanation for the location of the scrotum is to that their exterior location protects the testes from jolts and being crushed inside the body. Animals that have slow movements - such as elephants, whales, and moles - have internal testes and no scrotum.

When the scrotum is hanging loosely, the testicular cords that the testicle hangs from can get twisted. This is especially prone to happen during exercise.  This is called testicular_torsion. It is a medical emergency.

Gallery

Related pages
 Sex organ
 Castration
 Penis

References 

Anatomy of the male reproductive system
Ingot

Ingots are bars of metal, formed by pouring the molten metal into a mould. This is done after it has been purified from the ore. Gold ingots are often seen in movies. 

Metals
Westlife

Westlife is an Irish boy band who formed in 1998. Its members once were Shane Filan, Kian Egan, Nicky Bryne, and Mark Feehily. Then Bryan McFadden left the band on March 9, 2004 to give more of his time to his family life with the British TV personality and former Atomic Kitten member Kerry Katona, although he has subsequently separated from her and changed the spelling of his first name back to 'Brian'.

Westlife did not manage success in America, although their debut single, "Swear It Again" was a minor hit on mainstream radio and MTV. Its video made MTV's Total Request Live briefly, and it managed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 2000, going up to No. 20 on the chart. Their debut American album was also released in 2000, but flopped. Beyond Europe and the USA, Westlife's fan base is truly global, including Canada, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Australia.

Like most other boy bands, Westlife was primarily marketed to teenagers, besides girls there were approximately 20% of Westlife fans are male. They also had a large following among gay men, and performed numerous times at gay venues in the UK.

It was announced in October 2011 that Westlife would split in 2012. They had their last concert in Dublin, Ireland in 2012. Tickets for it sold out in 5 minutes.

Members 
 Shane Filan
 Nicky Byrne
 Mark Feehily
 Kian Egan

Past members
 Brian McFadden

Success 
The band has been very successful since it was started and is popular in both Ireland and United Kingdom, with hits like:

 "Swear It Again" (1999)
 "If I Let You Go" (1999)
 "Flying Without Wings" featuring BoA (appeared on the Pokémon 2000 soundtrack) (1999)
 "I Have A Dream"/"Seasons In The Sun" (covers of ABBA and Terry Jacks respectively) (1999)
 "Fool Again" (2000)
 "Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)" (with Mariah Carey) (cover of Phil Collins) (2000)
 "My Love" (2000)
 "Uptown Girl" (cover of Billy Joel) (2001)
 "Queen Of My Heart" (2001)
 "World of Our Own" (2002)
 "Unbreakable" (2002)
 "Mandy" (cover of Barry Manilow) (2003)
 "You Raise Me Up" (2005)
 "The Rose" (2006)

Not every single of theirs has gone to No. 1 in the UK:

 "What Makes a Man" (2000) #2
 "Bop Bop Baby" (2002) #5
 "Hey Whatever" (2003) #4
 "Obvious" (2004) #3
 "Home" (2007) #3
 "Us Against The World" (2008) #8
 "What About Now" (2004) #2
 "Safe" (2010) #10

The band have also won ITV's Record of the Year competition on a record four occasions, with "Flying Without Wings", "My Love", "Mandy" and "You Raise Me Up".

Discography 
 1999 "Westlife" #2 UK, #129 US
 2000 "Coast to Coast" #1 UK
 2001 "World of Our Own" #1 UK
 2002 "Unbreakable - The Greatest Hits - Vol. 1" #1 UK
 2003 "Turnaround" #1 UK
 2004 "Allow Us To Be Frank" #3 UK
 2005 "Face to Face" #1 UK
 2006 "The Love Album" #1 UK
 2007 "Back Home" #1 UK
 2009 "Where We Are" #2 UK
 2010 "Gravity" #3 UK
 2011 "Greatest Hits" #4 UK
1990s Irish music groups
2000s Irish music groups
2010s Irish music groups
Boy bands
Irish pop music groups
Musical groups disestablished in 2012
Musical groups established in 1998
Musical quartets
Musical quintets
Ulcer

An ulcer is a kind of open wound. Ulcers can be on surfaces of the body. They can be on skin. They can be mucous membranes like the surface of the stomach or inside the mouth.

Ulcers start when the top layer (surface) of skin or mucous membrane is damaged. The top layer dies. When it dies, the skin or mucous membrane and opens. This leaves an open sore called an ulcer.

Ulcers can be from infection with germs.  
Ulcers can be from pressure on a part of the skin.  Ulcers can be from substances that will burn skin or mucous membranes.  Peptic ulcers are sometimes from burning by the acid in the stomach.  Ulcers can be from cancer.  Ulcers can be from diseases of blood vessels.  If not enough blood goes to a body part, it can get an ulcer.  Stress can also sometimes cause ulcers.  Ulcers are often very painful. 

diseases
Dermatology
Homer Simpson

Homer Simpson is a cartoon character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta. He first appeared, along with the other members of the Simpson family on The Tracey Ullman Show in the Simpson Short "Good Night". He is the father of Bart Simpson, Lisa Simpson, and Maggie Simpson. He is also the husband of Marge Simpson. He lives in the fictional town known as Springfield.

Characteristics 
Homer is clumsy, fat and very lazy. He is also an alcoholic, and is not very intelligent. He works as a Safety Inspector at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. Homer is one of the most popular and famous fictional characters and is thought of as one of the greatest comedic animated characters of modern times. Although Homer seems selfish, he does actually care for his family. In one episode he entered Lisa in a beauty contest so she could feel better about herself. He is often heard saying "D'oh!" which has become an often used word when things go wrong. He likes to drink beer and is often seen hanging out at Moe's Tavern with his best friends Carl Carlson, Lenny Leonard, and Barney Gumble.

Creation 
Homer’s name derives from the Greek Homeros (Ὅμηρος). Homer is the name of the Greek poet who wrote the epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey. Matt Groening first drew the Simpson family in the lobby of James L. Brooks' office. After he had decided not to do his "Life in Hell" cartoon series, he quickly sketched out his version of a dysfunctional family and named the characters after members of his own family, with Homer being named after his father. Homer's middle initial "J," which was discovered to stand for "Jay", was a "tribute" to Bullwinkle J. Moose from Rocky and Bullwinkle, a show Matt Groening loved as a child. In a TV Guide poll, Homer was named as the second greatest cartoon character, behind Bugs Bunny.

Homer Simpson syndrome 
A five-year study of more than 2,500 middle-aged people in France found a possible connection between weight and brain function, named as the "Homer Simpson syndrome". Results from a word memory test showed that people with a BMI of 20 (considered to be a healthy level) remembered an average of 9 out of 16 words. Meanwhile, people with a BMI of 30 (inside the obese range) remembered an average of 7 out of 16 words.

References

Other websites 
 Biography from the official Simpsons website

Fictional characters introduced in 1987
The Simpsons characters
ja:ザ・シンプソンズの登場人物#シンプソン家とその親類
A Series of Unfortunate Events

A Series of Unfortunate Events is a series of 13 books written for children by the author Lemony Snicket. They tell the story of three unlucky orphans (Violet Baudelaire, Klaus Baudelaire, and Sunny Baudelaire) and their lives after the death of their parents. The main villain of the books is Count Olaf who wants to steal Baudelaires' inheritance (the money their parents left behind). Count Olaf uses many disguises to get their fortune.

In other media
In 2004, there was a movie version, "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events," from Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon movies, starring Jim Carrey as Count Olaf.

In 2012, a new series from Lemony Snicket named All the Wrong Questions was written. The series tells the story of Lemony Snicket, a member of a group named V.F.D which is an important part of the series, when he was a child.

In 2016, the series was broadcast through Netflix (children's section).

Other websites 

Lemony Snicket's website

 
Children's books
2004 movies
Paramount movies
Black comedy
Voltaire

François-Marie Arouet (also known as Voltaire) was a French philosopher. He was born in 1694 and grew up in Poitou. He died in Paris in 1778.

Voltaire did not like France at the time because he thought that it was old fashioned. He also did not like the Church and thought that people should be allowed to believe what they want. However he did not like democracy either and thought that a country needed to be led by a wise and strong king. Voltaire had to live in exile in England for three years from 1726 to 1729 where these ideas were more common. He liked the philosophy of John Locke.

Voltaire was also a writer. He wrote many books, poems and plays, some of which are still liked today. A lot of his work was against France and the Church. This meant that he was unpopular at first but became more popular towards the time of the French Revolution. He also studied science and wrote a lot about people and places he knew. His writings later led to the Terror of the French revolution, where there was no liberty and the population was condemned on a whim of the political leaders. 

Voltaire believed in a God but did not believe in a God personally involved in people's lives, like the Christian God. This is called Deism. When he died in Paris, Voltaire was not allowed to be buried in a church because he did not believe in the Christian God.

Note

Other websites 

 An analysis of Voltaire's texts (in the "textes" topic) (in French)
 
 Voltaire's writings from Philosophical Dictionary
 Société Voltaire
 Voltaire's Candide and Leibniz 
 VisitVoltaire.com
  Voltaire, his work in audio version 

1694 births
1778 deaths
17th-century philosophers
French deists
French philosophers
Pen names
South Dakota

South Dakota is a state in the United States. South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. Its capital is Pierre and largest city is Sioux Falls. Other important cities are Rapid City and Aberdeen.  Famous attractions include Mount Rushmore, the Black Hills, and the Wall Drug Store.  The Corn Palace is also famous, and it is in Mitchell.

South Dakota is bordered to the north by North Dakota, to the south by Nebraska, to the east by Iowa and Minnesota, and to the west by Wyoming and Montana.

There are Nine Native American tribes that live in South Dakota.

Related pages
 Colleges and universities in South Dakota
 List of counties in South Dakota

References

Other websites 

 The Official Home Page of South Dakota 

 
1889 establishments in the United States
Mersey Beat

The Mersey Beat or Mersey Sound or Liverpool Sound is the name for a type of music that came out in the city of Liverpool, England in the early 1960s. 

Maybe the first group to be thought of as a part of genre were Kingsize Taylor and the Dominoes. The most famous group of this genre were The Beatles. Other important groups include Gerry and the Pacemakers, The Searchers and the female singer Cilla Black.

Other websites 
http://www.merseybeat.co.uk/ 
http://www.merseybeatnostalgia.co.uk/ 
http://www.merseybeatabd.co.uk/ 
Newsreel footage of The Fourmost 
Short news story on Mersey Sound 

Music genres
The Beatles
Liverpool, Merseyside
1078

Year 1078 (MLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar.

Events 
 The Tower of London is built.
 Philaretos Brachamios does not keep his claim to the Byzantine Empire after he becomes duke of Antioch.
 August 7 – Battle of Mellrichstadt between Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV and the German anti-king Rudolf of Swabia
Motorcycle

A motorcycle (or motorbike) is a vehicle used to transport people from one place to another. It does not have 4 wheels like a car. It has 2 wheels like a bicycle. But it has a motor like a car. A motorcycle is usually driven by one person. A passenger can also ride on the back of the motorcycle. Some motorcycles have a sidecar that can carry another passenger.

In 1901, the first successful motorcycle was made by "Indian motorcycles" in Springfield, Massachusetts. Since then, many other companies have made them.  Major manufacturers include Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha. A well known American manufacturer of motorcycles is Harley-Davidson.

Since motorcycles can be lighter than cars, they can accelerate more quickly. But it also makes them not as safe as cars, because they do not have a protecting chassis around them like cars. Very often motorcycle riders are injured heavily in accidents. A motorcycle rider can wear a helmet and clothing that has armor. This special clothing may reduce the rider's injuries in an accident. Motorcycles also do not protect riders against wind and rain. That makes it difficult to drive in winter or during bad weather.

In poor countries, motorcycles are used by many as a cheap method of transportation. Many people who do not have the money to buy a car can afford a small motorcycle. In rich countries, large powerful motorcycles are used more as a hobby or sport.

Off road 

On-road bikes (ones that are allowed on public roads) require the rider to have a special type of driver's license to be ridden legally. Off-road bikes are not allowed to be driven on public roads.

Speed and stunts are the main goals for off-road bike sports. Many on-road bikes are much faster than off-road bikes and can be used in sports such as motorbike racing.

Motocross is a form of motorcycle racing.  It is on an off-road circuit. The sport came from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom.

References 

 
Springfield, Massachusetts
1585



Births 
 December 4 – John Cotton, American Puritan leader
Guinea pig

Guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) are a kind of rodent. They are not pigs and are not from Guinea. They are domesticated animals which originated in the Andes. 

Studies on biochemistry and hybridization suggest they are descendants of a closely related species of cavy. They do not occur naturally in the wild.

Guinea pigs as pets 
In many parts of the world, people keep them as pets. In Peru, Bolivia, and several other countries, they are raised for food. The first people who domesticated the animals, did it for food. Besides being a pet and a source of food, in some places people think guinea pigs keep bad spirits away. In Quechua, the language of some the native tribes of Peru, they are called . The Spanish-speaking people of the region call them cuy (plural: cuyes).

Name
This perception of pigginess occurred in many languages other than English; the German word for them is Meerschweinchen, literally "little sea pigs" (sailing ships stopping to reprovision in the New World would pick up stores of guinea pigs, which provided an easily transportable source of fresh meat), the Russian and Polish word for them is similar, "morskaya svinka" (Морская свинка) and "świnka morska" respectively, meaning also "little sea pig" (it comes from archaic use of the word to mean "overseas"). However, this perception of pigginess is not universal to all languages or cultures. For example, the common Spanish term is 'conejillo de Indias' (Indian bunny rabbit).

Housing and breeding guinea pigs 
Guinea pigs need large open air cages in which to romp and frolic. They should have a diet of 1/8 cup of high quality grass-based guinea-pig pellets daily, as per manufacturer’s instructions. They should also have unlimited grass hay, and at least one cup of a variety of veggies. Guinea pigs like to be held in hand.
Guinea pigs should be kept in cages larger than 7.5 square feet or 10.5 square feet for 2 pigs. They should always have a friend as guinea pigs are social animals.
Breeding guinea pigs are not recommended as the rate of pregnancy complications is high.

For their diet guinea pigs generally prefer fresh fruits and vegetables.

Other uses of the term 
Guinea pig is also slang for a person who is the first to try something. It can also mean the subject of an experiment. This is because guinea pigs are used by biologists as model organisms.

References

rodents
pets
Domesticated animals
Environment

Environment means anything that surrounds us. It can be living (biotic) or non-living (abiotic) things. It includes physical, chemical and other natural forces. Living things live in their environment. They constantly interact with it and adapt themselves  to conditions in their environment. In the environment there are different interactions between animals, plants, soil, water, and other living and non-living things.

Since everything is part of the environment of something else, the word environment is used to talk about many things. People in different fields of knowledge use the word environment differently. Electromagnetic environment is radio waves and other electromagnetic radiation and magnetic fields. The environment of galaxy refers to conditions of interstellar medium.

In psychology and medicine, a person's environment is the people, physical things and places that the person lives with. The environment affects the growth and development of the person. It affects the person's behavior, body, mind and heart. 

The living conditions of living organisms in an environment are affected by the weather or climate  changes in the environment.

Natural environment

In biology and ecology, the environment is all of the natural materials and living things, If those things are natural, it is a natural environment.

Environment includes the living and nonliving things that an organism interacts with, or has an effect on it. Living elements that an organism interacts with are known as biotic elements: animals, plants, etc., abiotic elements are non living things which include air, water, sunlight etc. Studying the environment means studying the relationships among these various things. An example of interactions between non-living and living things is plants getting their minerals from the soil and making food using sunlight. Predation, an organism eating another, is an example of interaction between living things.

Some people call themselves environmentalists. They think we must protect the natural environment, to keep it safe. Things in the natural environment that we value are called natural resources. For example; fish, insects, and forests. These are renewable resources because they come back naturally when we use them. Non-renewable resources are important things in the environment that are limited for example, ores and fossil fuels after a few thousand years. Some things in the natural environment can kill people, such as lightning.

 Ecological units which are natural systems without much human interference. These include all vegetation, microorganisms, soil, rocks, atmosphere, and natural events.
 Universal natural resources and physical phenomenon which lack clear-cut boundaries. These include climate, air, water, energy, radiation, electric charge, and magnetism.

Related pages
Environmental chemistry
Environmental factor
Environmental revitalization
Environmentalism
Ecology
Tom Jones (singer)

Sir Thomas John Woodward  (born 7 June 1940), known professionally as Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer. He has won Grammy Awards. Jones is particularly noted for his powerful voice. He released his first album Along Came Jones in 1965. He has released thirty-nine studio albums since then. He released his most recent album Spirit in the Room in 2012.

Early life
He was born at 57, Kingsland Terrace, Treforest, Pontypridd, South Wales.

Personal life
Jones was married to Linda from 1957 until she died of cancer in 2016. He has a son (born 1957) by Linda. He has a son (born 1988) by another woman.

Other websites

References 

1940 births
Living people
Brit Award winners
British R&B musicians
British soul musicians
Grammy Award winners
Musicians from Glamorgan
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Welsh pop singers
Knights Bachelor