cyanic-selkie/wikianc huggingface dataset:
Raheela Anwar
Political career
She was elected to the [//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provincial_Assembly_of_the_Punjab Provincial Assembly of the Punjab] as a candidate of [//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan_Tehreek-e-Insaf Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf] on a reserved seat for women in [//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistani_general_election,_2013 Pakistani general election, 2013].
Acidobacteria
The phylum acidobacteria is distributed across nearly all ecosystems. Acidobacteria are particularly abundant in acidic soils, peatlands and environments with rich iron minerals. Most acidobacteria prefer acidic conditions (pH3.0-6.5) for growth, but multiple members also live in alkaline soils.
The characteristics of acidobacteria are gram-negative (gram staining negative), non-spore-forming and with multiple shapes. In most cases, they reproduce through binary fission (separate a body into two new parts). Most acidobacteria get energy from chemical substances (chemoheterotrophs), but some get it from light.
Acidobacteria has a large proportion of the genes encoding proteins that can transport nutrients from the environment into cells, which facilitates acidobacteria to acquire a wide range of nutrients, helping them to survive in nutrient-poor environments.
Modulation of biogeochemical cycles
Acidobacteria can process nitrogen in many different forms and they play a central role in the nitrogen cycle in plant-soil ecosystems.
Some members of acidobacteria can do anaerobic respiration (respiration without oxygen) and promote the global sulfur cycle.
Some acidobacteria can breathe oxygen at atmospheric and at very low oxygen concentrations. They have survival advantages in soils with a low level of oxygen.
Some strains can consume hydrogen (H2) at the atmospheric level and this contributes to the global hydrogen cycle.
Production of complex sugars
Acidobacteria species can produce and send complex sugars to the outside of their cells, which could help plant roots uptake nutrients and water from soils by modifying the properties of soils around roots. These sugars also support bacteria to adhere to the root surfaces.
Influencing plant growth
Acidobacteria species could actively produce important compounds that stimulate plant growth.
1910 England–Belgium women's fencing competition
The 1910 England–Belgium women's fencing competition was a women's fencing competition of British women from the Bertrands Fencing Academy in London againt a team from Belgium. It took place in London in 1910. It was one of the earliest international women's fencing competitions. The competition was won by the Belgian team.
Peacemaker (TV series)
Peacemaker is an American television series created by James Gunn for the streaming service HBO Max. It is based on the DC Comics character Peacemaker. It is the first DC Extended Universe (DCEU) television series, a spin-off from the 2021 movie The Suicide Squad.
John Cena stars as the title character. Steve Agee, Danielle Brooks, Robert Patrick, Jennifer Holland, Freddie Stroma, and Chukwudi Iwuji also star. Peacemaker premiered on January 13, 2022. The series has been renowned for a second season.
Plot
A man named Christopher Smith fights for peace at any cost (as Peacemaker), no matter how many people he has to kill to get it.
Pump Up the Valuum
Pump Up the Valuum is the eighth studio album by American punk rock band, NOFX. Pump Up the Valuum was released on June 13, 2000. The producers of the album were Ryan Greene and Fat Mike. The title of the album is purposely spelled wrong to avoid a lawsuit with Valium and is a play on words.
Piggy bank
A piggy bank is used to collect coins. It is shaped like pig and comes in various colors and sizes. It is often used by parents to teach their children how to save money. It is not certain about why it is a called piggy bank and how it was started.
Some people say that "Piggy" was "Pygg" at first. Pygg is a clay that was used to make a bowl or vase to store salt or money.
Marcy Kaptur
Marcia Carolyn "Marcy" Kaptur (born June 17, 1946) is an American politician. He is the U.S. Representative representing Ohio. She has served since 1983. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
Lockheed-Martin X-35
The Lockheed-Martin X-35 is a prototype aircraft designed and built in the United States. It was selected against the Boeing X-32 for the Joint Strike Fighter program. Three variants of X-35 were built. Series aircrafts are known like F-35 Lightning II.
Emmanuelle Riva
Emmanuelle Riva (born Paulette Germaine Riva; 24 February 1927 – 27 January 2017) was a French actress, writer, photographer, and poet. She was known for her BAFTA Award-winning role as Anne in Amour. She was nominated for an Academy Award and won an BAFTA Award for her role in Amour.
Riva was born on 24 February 1927 in Cheniménil, France. Her grandfather was Italian. Riva was raised and studied acting in Paris.
Carville, Calvados
Carville is a former commune. It is found in the region Basse-Normandie in the Calvados department in the northwest of France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Souleuvre-en-Bocage.
Wii Sports Club
Wii Sports Club/Wii Sports 3 is a sports video game for the Wii U. It has high definition ports of the sports seen in the 2006 Wii video game Wii Sports which can be downloaded from the Wii U's eShop service. The first two sports, bowling and tennis, were released in Japan on October 30, 2013, in Europe and North America on November 7, 2013, and in Australia and New Zealand on November 8, 2013. Other sports will be released at a later date.
Like in Wii Sports, players use the Wii Remote to make movements like the ones seen in sports, including tennis, bowling, baseball, golf, and boxing. However, like in Wii Sports Resort, the player has to use the Wii MotionPlus to play the game. Players can join clubs that are of different places around the world. They can play against people in the club. Players can talk to other players with messages and drawings from the Wii U GamePad. The game is really nice because of that.
Heinrich Lübke
Heinrich Lübke (October 14, 1894 – April 6, 1972) was the second President of the Federal Republic of Germany. He was president from 1959 to 1969.
The Rebel
The Rebel is a television series. It aired on ABC from 1959 to 1961. It starred Nick Adams as Johnny Yuma. The series was about an ex-Confederate soldier wandering through the post-Civil War West in search of peace.
Stanisław Wołodko
Stanisław Wołodko (20 March 1950 – 4 February 2021) was a Polish athlete. He competed in the men's discus throw at the 1976 Summer Olympics. He was born in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Wołodko died on 4 February 2021 in Warsaw, aged 70.
Laura Tobin
Laura Elizabeth Tobin (born 10 October 1981) is an English broadcast meteorologist for the Met Office on Good Morning Britain. Tobin worked for the BBC before joining the ITV breakfast show Daybreak in 2012. Daybreak was later replaced by Good Morning Britain in April 2014.
Early Life and Education
Tobin was born and raised in Northampton. She attended Duston Upper School, earned A-levels in Mathematics, Physics and Art and then earned a degree in Physics and Meteorology from the University of Reading. She also completed a World Meteorological Organization course on climate.
Boeing X-37
The Boeing X-37 is an unpiloted demonstration spaceplane that is intended to test future spaceflight technologies while in orbit and during atmospheric reentry. It is a reusable robotic spacecraft based on the smaller X-40. The X-37 began as a NASA project in 1999, then was transferred to the US Department of Defense in 2004. The X-37 had its first flight as a drop test in April 2006 at Edwards AFB. The spacecraft was launched in April 2010 to begin a United States Air Force mission.
History
In 1999, NASA chose Boeing to design the vehicle. The vehicle was built at the California branch of Boeing's Phantom Works. At the end of 2002, a new $300 million contract was awarded to Boeing in the framework of NASA’s Space Launch Initiative.
The X-37 was transferred from NASA to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in September, 2004. The program has become a secretive, though it is not known whether DARPA will maintain this status for the project.
In June 2005, the X-37 completed a captive-carry flight underneath the White Knight at Mojave Spaceport, Mojave, California. Through the second half of 2005, the X-37 underwent structural upgrades including reinforcement of the nose wheel supports. Further captive-carry flight tests and the first drop test were expected mid-February 2006.
March 2006 was scheduled for the X-37's first free flight but a snow storm covered the area, dropping snow on the Mojave. The next flight attempt in March was canceled due to high winds. In late March the X-37 flew, but a flaw prevented the free flight and the vehicle returned to the ground still docked with its White Knight carrier. In April 2006, the X-37 made its first free glide flight. During landing the vehicle ran off the runway. After the vehicle was repaired, the program moved from Mojave to Air Force Plant 42 (KPMD) in Palmdale, California for the remainder of the flight test program. White Knight continued to be based at Mojave, but would ferry over to Plant 42 when flights were scheduled. Five additional flights were performed, at least one of which is believed to have been a free flight with a successful landing.
In November 2006 the U.S. Air Force announced it would develop the X-37B from the NASA X-37A. The Air Force version is designated X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV). The OTV program builds on industry and government investments by DARPA, NASA and the Air Force. The X-37B effort will be led by the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office and includes partnerships with NASA and the Air Force Research Laboratory. Boeing is the prime contractor for the OTV program. The X-37B can remain in orbit for up to 270 days at a time.
The Secretary of the Air Force states the OTV program will focus on "risk reduction, experimentation, and operational concept development for reusable space vehicle technologies, in support of long term developmental space objectives."
The X-37B was originally scheduled for launch in the payload bay of the Space Shuttle, but following the Columbia accident, it was transferred to a Delta II. It was then transferred to the Atlas V following concerns over the spacecraft's aerodynamic properties during launch.
Design
The main engines are fueled by JP-8 kerosene, a military standard jet fuel. The maneuvering engines are fueled by hydrogen peroxide. This is wrong, the propellants were changed to hypergols long ago when it was a NASA program.
The X-37 was originally designed to be carried into orbit in the Space Shuttle cargo bay, but underwent redesign to launch on Atlas V and Falcon 9 after it was determined that a shuttle flight would be uneconomical.
This vehicle has the potential to become the United States' first operational military spaceplane, after the cancellation of Dyna-Soar in 1963. It is expected to operate in a velocity range of up to Mach 25 on reentry. Among the technologies to be demonstrated with the X-37 are improved thermal protection systems, avionics, the autonomous guidance system, and an advanced airframe. The on-board engine is the Rocketdyne AR-2/3, which is fueled by hydrogen peroxide and JP-8.
The X-37's aerodynamic design was derived from the Space Shuttle, hence the X-37 has a similar lift-to-drag ratio, and a lower cross range at high altitudes and mach numbers than the Hypersonic Technology Vehicle.
The test vehicle, which was used as an atmospheric drop test glider, had no propulsion system. Instead of an operational vehicle's payload bay doors it had an enclosed and reinforced upper fuselage structure to allow it to be mated with a mothership. Most of the thermal protection tiles were 'fake', made of inexpensive foam rather than ceramic; a smaller number of the X-37's tiles were actual TPS tiles, and TPS blankets were used in areas where heating would not have been severe enough to require tiles.
Following their missions, X-37B spacecraft are to land on a runway at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California with Edwards Air Force Base as an alternate site.
Moon wrasse
The moon wrasse (Thalassoma lunare), also known as the crescent wrasse or lyretail wrasse, is a species of wrasse native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. It is an inhabitant of coral reefs and surrounding areas at depths from 1 to 20 m (3.3 to 65.6 ft).
Moon wrasses are carnivores and tend to prey on fish eggs and small sea-floor dwelling invertebrates. This species can reach 45 cm (18 in) in total length. It is part of the aquarium trade.
Extraordinary Machine
Extraordinary Machine is the third album by American singer Fiona Apple. It was released in 2005. Four singles were released from the album: "O'Sailor", "Not About Love", "Get Him Back", and "Parting Gift". Critics generally had positive responses to the album. It was going to be released in 2003.
Pelodryadidae
Pelodryadidae is a family of frogs. They are named Australian treefrogs in English. They live in Australia and New Guinea. Human beings also brought them to New Caledonia, Guam, New Zealand, and Vanuatu. Some scientists say these frogs should be called a subgroup inside the group Hylidae. They call this family Pelodryadinae.
Most of the frogs in Pelodryadidae live in trees but some do not.
Scienitsts think of Pelodryadidae as a sister group to the leaf frogs (Phyllomedusidae). Those frogs live in trees and live in tropical places. Both families of frogs came from the same ancestor frog. Scientists think this frog lived during the early Cenozoic in South America. The two groups of frogs would have become different from each other during the Eocene. The ancestors of the Pelodryadidae frogs probably went to Australasia by going to Antarctica first. At the time, Antarctica was further north and not frozen, so frogs could live there. The clade comprising both families is sister to the Hylidae. They became different from the frogs in Hylidae during in the early Paleogene.
Taxonomy
The family has 215 species in three genuses:
Dashiki
A Dashiki is a loose fitting, brightly coloured garment associated with African culture. It is also associated with the counterculture of the 1960s in the United States. The most popular styles cover the top half of the body. It originated in West Africa. A common form is a loose-fitting pullover garment, with an ornate V-shaped collar. It often has an embroidered neck and sleeve lines. There are both casual and formal versions.
Optical mark recognition
OMR (optical mark recognition) is a form of automated data input. Marks are made on a specially printed paper forms which are then read by an OMR reader. The data is then sent to a computer for processing. One of the most common uses of OMR is in multiple choice examinations. Students mark their answers on specially printed sheets using either a pencil or a special marker. The sheets are then collected in and the data read using a sheet feed OMR scanner.
Dashiki
History
The dashiki originated in West Africa and East Africa. Twelfth and thirteenth centuries burial mounds in Mali (West Africa) have revealed versions of dashikis. Dashikis were worn by both men and women. They may have been influenced by the thawb worn by Arabs who came to the region. Both garments keep the wearer cool in the hot African climate. The dashiki was worn as a work shirt in the shorter version. Another much longer version was called the grand boubou. It is also similar to the kaftan. All three are common to West Africa.
1960s US counterculture
The dashiki became popular in the hippie culture of the 1960s. Peace Corps members returning from Africa brought back dashikis. African diplomats to the United Nations in New York were often seen and photographed wearing colorful dashikis. Dashikis were seen as a symbol of support for black racial struggles. Groups like the Black Panthers wore the Dashiki as a symbol of their black heritage. The Afro hairstyle, faded blue jeans and the Dashiki were all popular expressions of the Black is beautiful cultural movement.
Marvin Mandel
Marvin Mandel (April 19, 1920 – August 30, 2015) was an American politician. He was the 56th Governor of Maryland. He was a member of the Democratic Party. He was governor from 1969 to 1979.
Mandel was born in Baltimore, Maryland.
When the Pawn...
When the Pawn... is a 1999 album by Fiona Apple. The following poem is the full title of the album:
"When the pawn hits the conflicts he thinks like a king What he knows throws the blows when he goes to the fight And he'll win the whole thing 'fore he enters the ring There's no body to batter when your mind is your might So when you go solo, you hold your own hand And remember that depth is the greatest of heights And if you know where you stand, then you know where to land And if you fall it won't matter, cause you'll know that you're right" When it was released it had the world record for the longest album title.
Three singles were released from the album: "Fast as You Can", "Limp", and "Paper Bag". "Paper Bag" was nominated for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for the 43rd Grammy Awards (2001).
The album got good reviews. Pitchfork gave it a score of 8.0.
Track listing
The Japanese edition of the album had "Across the Universe" and "Never is a Promise [live]" as bonus tracks.
Castillon, Calvados
Castillon, Calvados is a commune. It is in the region Basse-Normandie in the Calvados department in the northwest of France.
District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment
Text
"Section 1 For purposes of representation in the Congress, election of the President and Vice President, and article V of this Constitution, the District constituting the seat of government of the United States shall be treated as though it were a State.
Section 2 The exercise of the rights and powers conferred under this article shall be by the people of the District constituting the seat of government, and as shall be provided by the Congress.
Section 3 The twenty-third article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.
Section 4 This article shall be inoperative, unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission."
Legislative history
Representative Don Edwards of California proposed House Joint Resolution 554 in the 95th Congress. The United States House of Representatives passed it on March 2, 1978, by a 289–127 vote, with 18 not voting. The United States Senate passed it on August 22, 1978, by a 67–32 vote, with 1 not voting. With that, the District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment was submitted to the state legislatures for ratification. The Congress included in the text of the proposed amendment that included the requirement that ratification by three-fourths (38) of the states be completed within seven years following its passage by the Congress (i.e., August 22, 1985) in order for the proposed amendment to become part of the Constitution. By placing the ratification deadline in the text of the proposed amendment, the deadline could not be extended, as had been done regarding the Equal Rights Amendment.
Ratification history
Ratification by the legislatures of at least 38 of the 50 states by August 22, 1985 was necessary for the District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment to become a part of the Constitution. During the seven-year period specified by Congress it was ratified by only 16 states and so failed to be adopted. The amendment was ratified by the following states:
Effects if it had been adopted
Had it been adopted, this proposed amendment would have given Washington, D.C. full representation in both houses of the Congress. Also, this proposed amendment would have repealed the Twenty-third Amendment. The Twenty-third Amendment does not allow Washington, D.C. to have more electoral votes "than the least populous State," nor does it grant Washington, D.C. any role in the election of a President by the House of Representatives (or that of the Vice President by the Senate). In contrast, this proposed amendment would have provided Washington, D.C. full participation in the Electoral College. Finally, the proposed amendment would have also allowed the Council of the District of Columbia, the Congress, or the people of Washington D.C. (depending on how this proposed amendment would have been interpreted) to decide whether to ratify any proposed amendment to the Constitution, or to apply to the Congress for a convention to propose amendments to the United States Constitution, just as a state's legislature can according to the Constitutional amendment process. The amendment would neither have made Washington, D.C. a state, nor affected Congress's authority over it.
Anisodontea
Anisodontea is a genus of flowering plants in the tribe Malveae of the mallow family Malvaceae.
Tony McCoy
Anthony Peter McCoy OBE (born 4 May 1974), commonly known as A. P. McCoy or Tony McCoy, is a horse racing jockey from Northern Ireland. He lives and races in England.
McCoy won for the first time in 1992. He was 17 years of age at the time. McCoy has rode over 3,850 winning horses. This is many more than any other National Hunt jockey ever. McCoy has been Champion Jockey every year he has been professional. Even in his first season riding in Britain, McCoy won the Conditional Jump Jockeys Title with a record 74 winners for a conditional jockey. McCoy got his first Champion Jockey title in 1995/6. As of 2012/2013, he has won the title 18 times in a row. The old record was 7 consecutive titles by Peter Scudamore.
Anisodontea
Species
Anisodontea alexandrii Anisodontea anomala Anisodontea biflora Anisodontea bryoniifolia Anisodontea capensis Anisodontea dissecta Anisodontea dregeana Anisodontea elegans Anisodontea fruticosa Anisodontea gracilis Anisodontea hypomandarum Anisodontea julii Anisodontea malvastroides Anisodontea procumbens Anisodontea pseudocapensis Anisodontea racemosa Anisodontea reflexa Anisodontea scabrosa Anisodontea setosa Anisodontea theronii Anisodontea triloba
The Hush Sound
The Hush Sound is an indie rock band originally known as The Hush. They changed their name when they found out that there was a rapper called "The Hush."
Tony McCoy
McCoy has won almost every big race there is. His most high profile winners include the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase, King George VI Chase and the 2010 Grand National, riding the horse "Don't Push It".
The Hush Sound
The Hush Sound has released three albums. Their first album, So Sudden, was released in 2005. Their second album was released in 2006, titled Like Vines. Goodbye Blues, their third and latest album, and was recorded in released in March 2008.
Tony McCoy
McCoy has raced in over 13,000 races. This is equal to 31,000 miles or 1.25 times around the Earth. He has had many falls since becoming a jump jockey. McCoy has injured many bones in his body. These include middle and lower vertebrae, both shoulder blades, ribs, an ankle, cheekbones, a wrist, a leg, collar bone, fingers and teeth.
The Hush Sound
The Hush Sound is currently on a break.
Tony McCoy
McCoy was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2010. He was the first jockey to win the award.
The Hush Sound
Foundation
By the start of 2005, the band had formed properly with all its members. They had decided that piano and drums were not enough and looked for bass and guitar.
Pete Wentz from Fall Out Boy came across the band's music and liked what he heard. He expressed interest in signing them onto his record label.
Touring
The Hush Sound had their first major tour in 2006. It was called Black Clouds and Underdogs. Other bands included Fall Out Boy and Hawthorne Heights.
Barcode
A barcode is a way of storing numbers printed in a way that a computer can easily read. The first barcodes stored the numbers using lines (bars).
The first use of barcodes was to label railroad rolling stock. They became a big success when they were used in supermarket checkout systems. The first product that used a barcode was a pack of Wrigley's Juicy Fruit Gum sold on June 26, 1974. It was invented by IBM engineer George J. Laurer. Barcodes are now used for many purposes.
History
Norman Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver developed the modern barcode, and were granted a patent for it in 1952. The idea was to make the checkout of articles easier, using a code which was inspired by Morse code. In 1959, David Collins developed a system for tracking railroad carriages which used barcodes. This system was unreliable, because of dirt on the barcodes. In the 1970s, the system was abandoned, but in the 1980s, a similar system which used radio tags was introduced.
Design
There are different barcode types, which use different designs: The standard barcode uses changes in lines and spaces to store numbers in a code that computers can read. The lines are read by a scanner and changed into numbers. It is designed that it can be read forwards or backwards, so the user does not have to be careful how a product is put in front of the reader. A laser line can be used to scan (read) the changes. The laser scanners are also called barcode readers. Since this laser line scans in one direction (left or right), this is called a 1D barcode.
Newer 2D systems use symbols other than bars and can hold more information, but they are also called barcodes. They need to be scanned left or right, and up or down (two directions). QR codes were invented in 1994 to use in factories to track parts and products. People use them for many purposes in the 21st century. Special software can read QR from an image. Smartphones can have an app to show and read them. This is becoming increasingly popular as more apps are able to use such features to help the user obtain access to websites and special resources, such as being used in 'digital cities', such as Bordeaux. Many kinds of tickets, including those for transport, have a QR code.
Uses
Barcodes — especially the Universal Product Code, UPC — have slowly become an important part of modern life. They are used in many places, and the technology is constantly improving. Some modern uses of barcodes are:
Benefits
In sales, the use of barcodes can provide up-to-date information to help the business. For example:
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, just outside of Boston.
It is the home of Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Wikimania
The second Wikimania was hosted in this city in 2006.
Cadet grey
Cadet grey is a  blue-greyish shade of the color grey.
Cadet blue
A blue-ish shade of Cadet grey
Cadet
A darker shade of Cadet grey
Thomas Rutherford Brett
Thomas Rutherford Brett (October 2, 1931 – February 6, 2021) was an American politician and lawyer. He was a United States District Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma from 1979 until 2003, after being nominated by President Jimmy Carter. Brett was born in Oklahoma City.
Brett died on February 6, 2021 in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the age of 89.
Stephen F. Cohen
Stephen Frand Cohen (November 25, 1938 – September 18, 2020) was an American historian of Russian studies. His works focused on modern Russian history since the Bolshevik Revolution and Russia's relationship with the United States. Cohen was an editor to The Nation magazine. Cohen was a founding director of the reestablished American Committee for East–West Accord which was revived in 2015. He was born in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Thái Nguyên province
Thái Nguyên is a province of Vietnam. Its capital is Thái Nguyên.
Masturbation
Masturbation is when a person touches their own sex organs to have pleasure. It often results in an orgasm. Although some religions say it is bad, the modern view is that it is a totally normal and healthy thing to do. Almost all boys and most girls masturbate, starting in puberty if not earlier. Both teenaged boys and girls masturbate, daily on average for mid-teens according to one survey. Studies have shown that many people, including adults with sex partners, masturbate regularly. There are many slang words and expressions for masturbation. Among the most common, at least in the United States and Canada, are: jacking, jacking off and jerking off. Those are usually just used for males and are definitely slang. A teenaged boy might say, "I've got to jack." Some words or expressions can be for anyone and are reasonably polite: playing with yourself, touching yourself, pleasuring yourself, self pleasure and solo sex. Those expressions might be used on TV or radio talk shows. In comics, the words fap fap fap mean the person is masturbating (but there's not a picture showing it.)
Masturbating may be done alone, but can also be done with another person. This is called "mutual masturbation". This is fairly common among pre-teen and early-teenaged boys regardless of sexual orientation. Usually it is done out of curiosity so boys can educate themselves about whether their sexual responses are similar. Girls may also masturbate together, regardless of sexual orientation. Girls and boys who are starting a relationship, who are worried about pregnancy, or who are just curious about sex may begin with mutual masturbation. Two people can also masturbate together over the internet or with phones, although that is usually called cybersex or phone sex rather than mutual masturbation. That can be a good way for two people who are in love but are far away from each other to keep their romantic relationship alive. It can also be a way for people who have not met in person to build a relationship. Even for two people who do not plan to have a romantic relationship with each other, it can be much more fun to masturbate with someone else than to masturbate alone.
Group masturbation (most commonly done by pre-teen or teenaged boys) is called a circle jerk. It used to be considered a normal and common thing for boys to do and not a problem. Today, however, people worry that group masturbation among boys can involve bullying and can have lifelong negative consequences for some people.
Vibrators and dildos can be used to make masturbation easier or feel better, but it is often done with just a person's hand.
Animals can masturbate too.
Female masturbation
The female sex organ most sensitive to touch is the clitoris which is like a very small penis. Female masturbation almost always involves stimulating the clitoris, either by hand or with a vibrator. For some women, the glans (or tip) of the clitoris is so sensitive that they do not enjoy touching it directly. Instead, they touch the clitoral hood and move it as it touches the clitoris. The clitoral hood is made of thin skin like an eyelid and normally covers most or all of the clitoris. Many women also enjoy the feeling of fingers or a sex toy in the vagina, but this is a secondary sensation that is not necessary for orgasm, and that rarely results in orgasm on its own. Some women find stimulation of the front vaginal wall particularly pleasurable. The anus is rich in nerve endings and is also sometimes stimulated during masturbation, as are the nipples. Masturbation is usually continued until orgasm. Some women may have problems reaching an orgasm, especially when they are young, and have little experience masturbating.
Some women experience "multiple orgasms" - several orgasms in a row without loss of arousal. It should be noted, however, that women who are not capable of multiple orgasms report as much orgasmic satisfaction as women who are multi-orgasmic.
Male masturbation
Masturbation for males is the act of stimulating the penis, usually by hand, to provide self-pleasure. For teens and adults, masturbation usually ends in what is called an ejaculation (the release of liquid called semen which contains sperm cells). This ejaculation is usually accompanied by a powerful, pleasurable feeling called an orgasm. Most boys start masturbating between the age of 10 and 15. It is not uncommon for younger boys to do so, even if they cannot ejaculate semen. Even male fetuses in the womb sometimes appear to play with their penis.
There are many ways in which a male can choose to masturbate. The most common of these techniques is using the hand. A man simply wraps his hand or two or three fingers around the shaft of his penis (in erection) and moves his hand up and down. As the sensation increases in intensity, the rate of hand movement generally quickens until orgasm occurs. Orgasm is a very pleasurable feeling which results in semen being ejaculated from the penis. Circumcised males or males with dry skin often use a lubricant when masturbating. A lubricant, usually called lube, is a slippery liquid available at stores. It is often on the same shelf as condoms. If someone masturbates a lot without lube, sometimes the skin can become irritated (rough) from too much rubbing. Usually if the person goes slowly, there is a natural lubricating liquid that drips out of the end of the penis. Books call this liquid pre-ejaculatory fluid or, more commonly, pre-ejaculate (pronounced with an "at" sound at the end, unlike the verb ejaculate, which has an "ate" sound at the end.) A more common name for this liquid is pre-cum. Depending on how much time you take, you may get up to 4 ml (slightly less than 1 U.S. teaspoon) of pre-ejaculate before ejaculation. Pre-ejaculate is clear and slightly sweet-tasting. It can be rubbed around for added stimulation. It dries very quickly. Lube stays slippery much longer. Soap and shampoo should not be used for masturbating. If they get in the penis, they can hurt. Also, they dry out the skin. If someone masturbates and ejaculates very quickly, they usually won't have pre-ejaculate first. Uncircumcised males often begin masturbating by moving the foreskin back and forth over the glans of the penis to get an erection. People may also rub and touch other sensitive areas of the body such as the scrotum (the bag or sac containing the testicles.) For most males, the smooth skin on the back of the scrotum is very pleasurable to touch. Due to the placement of the prostate gland, another method (though much more of a social taboo) involves inserting an object, like one's hand or a sex toy, into the anus to rub against the prostate. This causes a sensation of pleasure through the male's body, and has been stated to cause orgasms more pleasurable than those caused by simply rubbing the shaft.
Other common methods of male masturbation include running water on the penis in the bathtub or shower, and rubbing the penis and scrotum with a towel or bed sheets. Some males enjoy masturbating with a lubricated condom on. A man can put his penis into a sex toy that is like an artificial vagina.
Masturbation frequency, age and sex
If and how often people masturbate depends on many things. One of the things it depends on is hormone levels. Hormones cause sexual arousal. Other things that the frequency of masturbation depend on sexual habits. Sexual habits are sexual activities that people do because they are used to doing them. Other people of the same age or standing - called peers - can also influence this frequency. General health is another of the many factors. The general attitude towards masturbation is formed by culture. Medical causes have also been associated with masturbation.
"Forty-eight female college students were asked to complete a sexual attitudes questionnaire in which a frequency of masturbation scale was embedded. Twenty-four of the women (the experimental group) then individually viewed an explicit modeling film involving female masturbation. One month later, all subjects again completed the same questionnaire. Subjects in the experimental group also completed a questionnaire evaluating aspects of the film. Results indicated that the experimental group reported a significant increase in the average monthly frequency of masturbation, as compared to the control group. This same group, however, reported that the film had no effect on sexual attitudes or behavior."
A 2004 survey by Toronto magazine NOW was answered by an unspecified number of thousands. The results show that an overwhelming majority of the males — 81% — began masturbating between the ages of 12 and 15. Among females, the same figure was a more modest majority of 55%. (Note that surveys on sexual practices are prone to self-selection bias.) It is not uncommon, however, to begin much earlier, and this is more frequent among females: 18% had begun by the time they turned 12, and 6% already by the time they turned 10. Being the main outlet of child sexuality, masturbation has been observed in very young children. In the book Human Sexuality: Diversity in Contemporary America, by Strong, Devault and Sayad, the authors point out, "A baby boy may laugh in his crib while playing with his erect penis (although he does not ejaculate). Baby girls sometimes move their bodies rhythmically, almost violently, appearing to experience orgasm."
A 2004 magazine survey in Canada found that 43% started masturbating when they were about 12–13 years old. When boys start masturbating, wet dreams often stop since semen is taken out from his body regularly. According to a Canadian survey of Now magazine readers, (cited above), the frequency of masturbation declines after the age of 17. However, most males masturbate daily, or even more frequently, well into their 20s and sometimes far beyond. This decline is more drastic among females, and more gradual among males. While females aged 13–17 masturbated almost once a day on average (and almost as often as their male peers), adult women only masturbated 8–9 times a month, compared to the 18–22 among men. It is also apparent that masturbation frequency declines with age. Adolescent youths report being able to masturbate to ejaculation six or more times per day, though some men in older middle age report being hard pressed to ejaculate even once per day. The survey does not give a full demographic breakdown of respondents, however, and the sexual history of respondents to this poll, who are readers of an urban Toronto lifestyle magazine, may not extend to the general population.
It appears that females are less likely to masturbate while in a heterosexual relationship than men. Both sexes occasionally engage in this activity, however, even when in sexually active relationships. Popular belief asserts that individuals of either sex who are not in sexually active relationships tend to masturbate more frequently than those who are; however, much of the time this is not true as masturbation alone or with a partner is often a feature of a relationship. Contrary to conventional wisdom, several studies actually reveal a positive correlation between the frequency of masturbation and the frequency of intercourse as well as the number of sex partners. One study reported a significantly higher rate of masturbation in gay men and women who were in a relationship.
Cultural views and practices
The Sambia tribe of New Guinea has rites of passage surrounding manhood. They include frequent ejaculation by fellatio. Semen is valued. Masturbation is seen as a waste of semen. Because of this, it is frowned upon but frequent ejaculation is encouraged. The capacity and need to ejaculate is nurtured for years. This is done from an early age through fellatio. This allows the semen to be consumed rather than wasted. Semen is ingested for strength. It is considered in the same line as mothers' milk.
Other cultures have rites of passage into manhood that end in the first ejaculation of a male. This is often by the hands of a tribal elder. In some tribes such as the Agta in the Philippines, stimulation of the genitals is encouraged from an early age. At puberty, the young male is then paired off with a "wise elder" or "witch doctor". This person uses masturbation to build his ability to ejaculate in preparation for a ceremony. The ceremony ends in a public ejaculation before a celebration. The ejaculate is saved in a wad of animal skin and worn later to help conceive children. In this and other tribes, the measure of manhood is actually associated more with the amount of ejaculate than penis size. Frequent ejaculation through masturbation from an early age fosters frequent ejaculation well into adulthood.
Masturbation marathons have occurred in the U.S. and UK. These events provide a supportive environment where masturbation can be performed openly.
Function
Masturbation may increase fertility during sexual intercourse. In females, it can regulate the conditions of the vagina, cervix and the uterus. This can either increase or decrease the chance of conception. Whether the chance is increased or decreased depends on the timing of the masturbation. This timing is a subconscious decision. If she has intercourse with more than one male, it favors the chances of one or the other male's sperm reaching her egg.
Female masturbation can also protect against cervical infections. It does this by increasing the acidity of the cervical mucus and by moving debris out of the cervix.
The function of masturbation in males is to flush out old sperm with low motility from the male's genital tract. The next ejaculate contains more fresh sperm, which has higher chances of achieving conception during intercourse. If more than one male is having intercourse with a female, the sperm with the highest motility will compete more effectively.
Benefits
The physical effect of masturbation and having an orgasm or ejaculating is heightened arousal while epinephrine courses through the body, producing dopamine also known as the happy chemical, shallow breath and post-climactic euphoria.
It is held in many mental health circles that masturbation can relieve depression, stress and lead to a higher sense of self-worth. Some people who don't have other sexual activity find they get sad or irritable (easy to get angry) if they go for several days without masturbating. Masturbation can also be particularly useful in relationships where one partner wants more sex than the other — in which case masturbation provides a balancing effect and thus a more harmonious relationship.
Mutual masturbation, the act by which two or more partners stimulate themselves in the presence of each other, allows a couple to reveal the map to their pleasure centers. Witnessing a partner masturbate is an educational activity to find out the method a partner uses to please themself, allowing each partner to learn exactly how the other enjoys being touched.
In 2003, an Australian research team led by Graham Giles of The Cancer Council Australia concluded that frequent masturbation by males appears to help prevent the development of prostate cancer.
A study published in 1997 found an inverse association between death from coronary heart disease and frequency of orgasm even given the risk that myocardial ischaemia and myocardial infarction can be triggered by sexual activity. Excerpt: "The association between frequency or orgasm and all cause mortality was also examined using the midpoint of each response category recoded as number of orgasms per year. The age adjusted odds ratio for an increase of 100 orgasms per year was 0.64 (0.44 to 0.95)". That is, a difference between any two subjects appeared when one subject ejaculated at around two or more times per week than the other. Assuming a broad range average of between 3-5 ejaculations per week for a healthy males, this would mean 5-7 ejaculations per week. This is consistent with an article on the benefits against prostate cancer However, the article notes that "The question of causation is complex... several explanations are possible".
Masturbation is also seen as a sexual technique that protects individuals from the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases. Support for such a view, and for making it part of the American sex education curriculum, led to the dismissal of US Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders during the Clinton administration. A 2011 study from the Indiana University supports the assertion. After taking age and partner status into account, the study showed that sexually active boys who masturbated regularly were eight times more likely to have used a condom during their last intercourse than other boys. This positive outcome has been observed in other studies and has been the basis of public health policy in Great Britain promoting masturbation.
Some people actually consider masturbation as a cardiovascular workout. Masturbation makes most people feel good and can sometimes replace sexual intercourse when one cannot find a partner. It can also prepare one for sexual intercourse.
Blood pressure
A small study has shown that a test group which only had intercourse experienced, as a whole, lower blood pressure in stressful situations than those who had intercourse but also had masturbated for one or more days.
Insertion
Objects inserted into the vagina or anus should be clean and should not be able to scratch or break. Care should be taken not to fully insert anything into the anus — any object used should have a flared or flanged base; otherwise, medical help may be needed to get it out. Modern dildos and anal plugs are designed with this feature.
Pregnancy
Masturbation involving both a man and a woman (see mutual masturbation) can result in pregnancy only if semen contacts the vulva. Masturbation with a partner can also theoretically result in transmission of sexually transmitted diseases by contact with bodily fluids.
Problems for males
A man whose penis has suffered a blunt trauma or injury during intercourse may rarely sustain a penile fracture or suffer from Peyronie's disease. Phimosis is "a contracted foreskin (that) may cause trouble by hurting when an attempt is made to pull the foreskin back". In these cases, any energetic manipulation of the penis can be problematic.
Compulsive masturbation
Masturbating frequently presents no physical, mental or emotional risk in itself, but masturbation can be used to relieve boredom or stress. In either case, as with any "nervous habit", it is more helpful to consider the causes of the boredom or of the stress, rather than try to repress the behavior itself, in this case masturbation.
There is some discussion between professionals and other interested parties as to the existence or validity of sexual addictions. Nevertheless, there are lists of warning signs such as when sexual activity affects a person's ability to function in everyday life, or is placing them at risk, for example, of pursuing illegal or destructive activities. Very frequent and compulsive masturbation may be seen as a sign of sexual addiction.