ejaasaari/simplewiki-2025-04-01 huggingface dataset:
Modern Talking was a German dance pop duo consisting of Thomas Anders and Dieter Bohlen. Their music was often classified as Europop. Modern Talking is, by sales, the most successful and popular group in Germany, and they a number of hit singles reaching the top-5 in many countries. Some of their most popular and widely known singles are "You're My Heart, You're My Soul", "You Can Win If You Want", "Cheri Cheri Lady", "Brother Louie", "Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. for Love)" and "Geronimo's Cadillac".  Modern Talking's first period of activity was from 1984 to 1987. The duo reunified in 1998 and made a successful comeback, releasing more music from 1998 to 2003. Modern Talking's sound, however, was rather different from its original 1980s sound after its reunion. The duo came back in 1998 recording their materials based on what the demand was in central European music markets at the time in the late 1990s, which required their original 1980s mellow Europop sound to switch into 1990s up-tempo Eurodance. The duo released singles which again entered the top-10 not only in their home country but also abroad. Some of those singles were "You're My Heart, You're My Soul '98", "Brother Louie '98", and "You Are Not Alone".
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, also called the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake (known by the scientific community), was a great underwater earthquake. It happened at 00:58:53 UTC (07:58:53 local time) December 26, 2004.  The epicenter of the earthquake was off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. At first, the earthquake was measured as a 9.0 on the Richter scale. It was the longest ever recorded ocean earthquake. It lasted between 500 (8.3 minutes) and 600 (10 minutes) seconds. It was so powerful that it caused the entire Earth to vibrate. It started other earthquakes as far away as Iceland. The Asian tsunami. The large movement of earth under the water caused a very large and powerful tsunami. The tsunami was called the "Asian tsunami", or the "Boxing Day tsunami" in Australia, Canada, England, and South Africa because it happened on the 26th of December 2004 (Boxing Day). It spread all over the Indian Ocean. The tsunami caused heavy damage to countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. It also devastated the eastern coast of India, such as the states of Tamil Nadu, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. Waves as high as 30m (100ft) killed many people and damaged or destroyed a lot of buildings and other property. Over 225,000 people died or were not found after the tsunami. The wave did damage in East Africa as far away as South Africa (8000km/ 5000mi) where as many as 8 people died because of high water caused by the wave. Because of how much damage was caused and the number of people the earthquake affected, over $7 billion (USD) was donated to help rebuild the areas damaged. This was extremely helpful in rebuilding their respective economies. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, US Secretary of State Colin Powell, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, and Australian Prime Minister John Howard all visited Aceh to see the disaster aftermath.
Taiwan (minus the Pescadores) is an island of eastern Asia. Its first people were Austronesians with small numbers of Chinese. After the arrival of the Dutch in the 1600s, many Chinese moved to Taiwan to work. Few European people moved to Taiwan, and the native people married with Chinese or moved away from the west side of the island. When the Qing dynasty began in China, a supporter of the old Ming dynasty, Koxinga, hid in Taiwan. Eventually the Qing came to Taiwan, defeated him, and added Taiwan to China. Taiwan remained Chinese territory through most of the Qing dynasty until it was taken by Japan in 1895. Taiwan became a colony of Japan for fifty years until the end of World War Two. For a brief time, it was under the control of China through the Guomindang government, but that government lost the Chinese Civil War and moved to Taiwan. The rule of the Guomindang is considered controversial today. Some criticize its treatment of the people of Taiwan, but others focus on the positive political and economic change that it made. In the 1980s, the government became more democratic. This has also been controversial because it allows different political parties to compete. The Democratic Progressive Party gained influence. During this time, Taiwan has officially been called the Republic of China but has acted independently of China. The People's Republic of China demands that Taiwan must become a part of China, while most Taiwanese debate the appropriate political status for today. These perspectives make complications in the politics of Taiwan. Prehistoric Taiwan. The original people to move to Taiwan can be called the Aboriginal people. They have many similarities with others societies called Austronesian. Chinese historians have mentioned Taiwan several times since its Three Kingdoms period, although it was considered a land of barbarians. About 50,000 years ago was the "Old Stone Age" in Taiwan. At that time, people hit rocks against each other to make tools. The most famous culture of Taiwanese old Stone Age is Changping Culture. The Changping culture's monument is the Eight Gods' Hole Monument in Taitung Conty. About 5,000 years ago was the "New Stone
A katana is a Japanese long sword used by samurai warriors. It is the most important sword of the three swords worn by samurai: katana, wakizashi, and tanto. The katana was popular from 1400 A.D. until 1876, when the samurai were abolished as a social class.  In Japanese, "katana" means a "long sword" and it represents a blade, which is a little curved, with a single edge and a very sharp point.  Types. There are several types of katanas: Forging and polishing. A traditional katana is made of a type of high carbon steel called tamahagane, which is made by smelting a type of Japanese iron ore, called iron sand, in a large furnace called a tatara. This steel is sent to a smith who breaks it down to small pieces and layers the steel according to carbon content, they smelt this in their forge and repeatedly fold the steel in order to homogenise it. The most important part of the forging is the tempering, when the sword is quench-hardened. In ancient times it was said that the soul of the sword was put into the katana at this point. The sword is sometimes given a rough polish by the smith and then sent to a professional polisher for polishing (usually to a mirror finish). After polishing, the sword to be fitted. Today katanas are mainly made of carbon steel of different quality. But there are some swords made of zinc and aluminum alloys, which are able to resist some external forces and are only used for decoration or non-tameshigiri practice. To determine the quality of a katana it is enough to check its "resistance" (how much it bends when it is hit), "elasticity" (the ability of katana to return to its original shape), and the "endurance" of the blade after striking (how long it lasts). Wearing and use. Generally, katana is designed for cutting, but it was widely used for stabbing too. This depended mainly on the length of the tang (the handle). The katana could be easily used for cutting if it
Lindisfarne (often called Holy Island), is a tidal island off the north-east coast of England. It is connected to the mainland of Northumberland by a causeway and is cut off twice a day by tides – something well described by Sir Walter Scott: For with the flow and ebb, its style Varies from continent to isle; Dry shod o'er sands, twice every day, The pilgrims to the shrine find way; Twice every day the waves efface Of staves and sandalled feet the trace. As of 27 March 2011, the island had a population of 180 Nature reserve. Large parts of the island, and all of the adjacent inter-tidal area, are protected as Lindisfarne National Nature Reserve to help safeguard the internationally important wintering bird populations.  Grey seals are frequent visitors to the rocky bays at high tide. Lindisfarne Priory. The monastery of Lindisfarne was founded by Irish-born Saint Aidan. He was brought from Iona off the west coast of Scotland to Northumbria around AD 635 by King Oswald of Northumbria. It became the base for Christian evangelising in the North of England and also sent a successful mission to Mercia. Monks from the community of Iona settled on the island. Northumberland's patron saint, Saint Cuthbert, was a monk and later Abbot of the monastery, and his miracles and life are recorded by the Venerable Bede. Cuthbert later became Bishop of Lindisfarne. In the early 700s the famous illuminated manuscript known as the Lindisfarne Gospels (an illustrated Latin copy of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) was made, probably at Lindisfarne. Later, a monk named Aldred added an Anglo-Saxon translation to the Latin text. This made (late 10th century) the earliest surviving Old English copies of the Gospels. History. In 793 a Viking raid on Lindisfarne scared many people throughout the Christian West. The year 793 is often called the beginning of the age of Viking raids. A very famous passage in the Anglo-S
Peter Lorre (born was Ladislav (László) Löwenstein, June 26, 1904 – March 23, 1964) was a Hungarian-American actor.  Biography. Lorre's family was Jewish. Lorre was born in Rózsahegy (Rosenberg) in a country called Austria-Hungary. Now the place where he was born is in the country Slovakia. He began acting in theaters in Vienna, Breslau, and Zürich. In the 1920s, he moved to Berlin to work as an actor. In 1931, the movie director Fritz Lang chose Lorre to act in a movie called "M". Lorre played the role of a serial killer who murders children. This was Lorre's first big role that brought him lots of attention. When the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933, Lorre had to leave Germany. Lorre went to England to be safe from the Nazis. Lorre got work as an actor in a movie by Alfred Hitchcock called "The Man Who Knew Too Much". When Lorre was hired for this role, he only knew a little English. At first, it was hard for him to act in English movies. In the 1940s, Lorre moved to Hollywood, California (USA), where he acted in many movies. He usually played foreign characters. Some of Lorre's most famous movie roles are Joel Cairo in "The Maltese Falcon" (1941), Ugarte in "Casablanca" (1942), and Dr. Einstein in "Arsenic and Old Lace" (1944). Lorre got married three times: Celia Lovsky (1934–13 March 1945, divorced), Kaaren Verne (25 May 1945–1950, divorced), and Annemarie Brenning (21 July 1953–23 March 1964, his death). He had his only child with Brenning, a daughter named Catharine (1953–1985). He died of a stroke in Los Angeles on March 23, 1964.
The history of Tamil Nadu goes back to the early Stone Age. Tamil Nadu (now one of the states in the south of the Republic of India) has been under continuous human habitation since prehistoric times. The civilisation of the Tamil people is among the oldest in the world. It has coexisted with many external cultures and has influenced and been influenced by them. Overview. The three Tamil dynasties of Chera, Chola and Pandya were all of ancient origins. Together they ruled over Tamil Nadu with a unique culture and language, contributing to the growth of "Sangam Literature", some of the oldest literature in the world. They had extensive oversee trade contacts with the Roman and Greek empires. The three dynasties were in constant struggle with each other as they wanted hegemony over the land. Invasion by the Kalabhras during the third century disturbed the tradition, and order of the land by displacing the three traditional ruling dynasties. These occupiers were overthrown by the Pandyas and the Pallavas, who restored the kingdoms. The Cholas in the ninth century defeated the Pallavas and the Pandyas and became a great power and extended their empire over the entire southern peninsula. At its height the Chola empire spread from Bengal in the northeast to Sri Lanka in the south. The Chola navy held sway over the Sri Vijaya kingdom in Southeast Asia. Rapid changes in the political situation of the rest of India occurred with Muslim armies from the northwest. With the decline of the three ancient dynasties during the fourteenth century, the Tamil country became part of the Vijayanagara Empire. The Telugu speaking Nayak governors ruled the Tamil land. The brief appearance of the Marathas gave way to the European trading companies during the seventeenth century. The Madras Presidency comprising of most of southern India including what is now Tamil Nadu, was created in the eighteenth century. It was ruled directly by the British East India Company. After the independence of India the Tamil Nadu state was created based on linguistic boundaries, due to a Telugu man who wished the Telugu speaking land bordering Tamil Nadu to become its own state, which it did, Andra
Clarence Leonidas Fender (August 10, 1909 – March 21, 1991) also known as Leo Fender, was an American instrument maker. He founded a company called Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company. It makes electric guitars, electric bass guitars, and electric guitar amplifiers. Leo Fender designed electric guitars which he called the " Telecaster" and the "Stratocaster." Fender also designed the first bass guitar, which he called the "Precision Bass". In the 1960s, Fender designed another bass guitar, which he called the "Jazz Bass". All of these instruments (the "Telecaster, Stratocaster, Precision Bass," and the "Jazz Bass") became popular. Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company sold thousands and thousands of these instruments. Many rock and pop music bands from the 1960s to the 2000s use these electric guitars and electric bass guitars.
A fret is a thin strip of varying materials (most commonly metal, but occasionally gut or nylon) found on string instruments. Guitars, mandolins, and banjos have frets. Frets are mounted on the long necks of the instrument. The frets help the musician playing the instrument to know where to place their fingers on the instrument. On historical instruments and some non-European instruments, pieces of string tied around the neck are frets. Frets divide the neck into sections related to a musical framework. On instruments such as guitars, each fret marks one semitone in the standard western system where one octave is divided into twelve semitones.
The word amplifier (sometimes called an amp) usually refers to an electronic amplifier. Electronic amplifiers make a signal from a radio or electric musical instrument (such as an electric guitar or an electric bass guitar) louder and stronger. Amplifiers are also hidden in any electronic thing that makes sound with loudspeakers. This includes televisions, radios, computers, and mp3 players, to name a few. Amplifiers ability to use low impedance speakers may vary. Typical impedance is 8 ohms. Classification can be done by current loss when amplifier is on but does not get signal. Example: A-class amplifier takes more current without signal than B-class amplifier but A-class amplifier have smaller distortion. There is also several distortion types.  How it works. Electronic amplifiers make a signal from the radio or electric instrument louder and stronger by using transistors or vacuum tubes. Electronic amplifiers have to be connected to electrical current or a battery to work. Once the signal from the radio or electric instrument has been made louder and stronger, the signal needs to be connected to a loudspeaker so that people can hear it. When an amplifier tries to make the sound louder than it can, it adds distortion to the sound. Some amplifiers are made to add controlled distortion. Distortion from transistors sounds different than distortion from tubes. Distortion from tubes is often said to be more musical. Because of all this, more expensive amplifiers often add controlled distortion with tubes. Many of these amplifiers use transistors for a "clean" sound (without distortion). History. From the 1920s until the 1950s, electronic amplifiers used vacuum tubes. However, electronic amplifiers with vacuum tubes were heavy, and they produced a lot of heat. They also broke down a lot.  Since the 1960s, most electronic amplifiers have been built with transistors. Transistors are lighter, cheaper, and more reliable.
A loudspeaker, which is also called a loud-speaker or speaker, is an item that is used to create the sound in radios, television sets, and electric musical instrument amplifier systems. How it works. Loudspeakers use both electric and mechanical principles to convert an electrical signal from a radio, television set or electric musical instrument into sound. For a loudspeaker to produce sound, the signal from the radio, television set, or electric musical instrument needs to be connected to an electronic amplifier.  Loudspeakers are usually built by using a stiff paper cone, a coil of thin copper wire, and a circular magnet. The cone, copper wire, and magnet are usually mounted in a rectangle-shaped wood cabinet. The coil of copper wire moves back and forth when an electrical signal is passed through it. The coil of copper wire and the magnet cause the rigid paper cone to vibrate and reproduce sounds. Inside the loudspeaker can be a audio crossover. Types of loudspeakers. Some loudspeakers are designed for lower-pitched sounds, such as "woofer" loudspeakers or "subwoofer" loudspeakers. Other loudspeakers, which are called "tweeters", are designed to reproduce high-pitched sounds (such as the sound of a whistle or a bird singing). Loudspeakers for electric musical instruments are usually much stronger and heavier than loudspeakers for radios or television sets. Their main function is to convert electrical signals given to it into sound signals. History. Alexander Graham Bell invented the first audible loudspeaker in 1876. Bell invented the loudspeaker because he needed a device that would amplify sound for the telephone. In 1878, the inventor Werner von Siemens from Germany patented an improved type of electrodynamic loudspeaker which did not yet include an amplifier.
An organ trio is a type of jazz band with three musicians. Usually a jazz organ trio consists of a Hammond organ player, a drummer, and either a jazz guitarist or a saxophone player.  Organ trios popular in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s. Organ trios usually performed jazz music that had influences from blues music. Organ trios are usually led by the organ player, who is called the leader of the trio. History. Important organ trio leaders from the 1950s were organists such as Jimmy McGriff, Jimmy Smith, and Jack McDuff. In the late 1960s, organist Larry Young had a jazz fusion style organ trio. In the 1970s, Tony Williams had a jazz fusion band called "Lifetime" which was an organ trio. In the 1990s and 2000s, organist Joey DeFrancesco is an organ trio leader.  Other meanings. The word "organ trio" is also used to refer to the type (or "genre") of music played by organ trios from the 1950s and 1960s. For example, a person might say "I want to listen to some organ trio music." This would usually mean that they want to listen to music by Jimmy McGriff, Jimmy Smith, Jack McDuff, or other well-known organ trio leaders.
Hegemony (pronounced with a soft or hard 'g') is the power of one group over other groups. Hegemony is mostly used to refer to relationships between different nations (or countries). This might be direct dominance, such as through military might, but may be indirect dominance, such as when a nation can dictate the terms of trade to its advantage. Hegemony often describes the relationship of a great power to nearby less powerful countries. The term is Greek, and was first used about the influence of a great city over the cities which were allied to it. Examples are the Peloponnesian League of Sparta (6th to 4th centuries BC); the short-lived Delian League of Classical Athens. The later League of Corinth was headed not by a state, but by Philip II of Macedon. Such a hegemon is a king or ruler with personal power. A hegemonic relationship is usually described as less than an empire, but more than a regional power. This means a hegemon may not actually take control of other nations, but has the power to greatly influence what they do. On the other hand, a global hegemon is more powerful than, say, Iran is in the Middle East. Cultural Hegemony. A term made by Antonio Gramsci.It is a form of social control by the elites over the lower classes.  Here, ideas and opinions are enforced by them, so that the lower classes accept only the elite’s opinions and not their own.
Leonard James "Jim" Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, (; 27 March 1912 – 26 March 2005) was a British Labour politician who served as the 48th Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (UK) from 1976 to 1979. Born in the 1910s, Callaghan was an old-style socialist, lacking any higher education, and served as Member of Parliament (MP) for a Cardiff constituency. He is the only person to have held all three leading UK Cabinet positions (Chancellor, Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary), prior to their premiership. He was never expected to reach the premiership, having taken a back seat to the younger and more charismatic Harold Wilson for many years. However, when Wilson unexpectedly announced his retirement in 1976, Callaghan was the most experienced candidate to replace him. His time as prime minister was one of more open government but the electorate was dissatisfied with his relaxed response to high inflation and more industrial unrest, and replaced Labour with a Conservative government under Margaret Thatcher. Callaghan resigned as Leader of the Labour Party 17 monthslater, but remained an MP for some years before being sent to the House of Lords as Baron Callaghan of Cardiff.
Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was the military leader of Cuba from 1933 to 1940. He was a farm worker from eastern Cuba, and moved to Havana where he became a stenographer and a sergeant in the Army. He became a leader of a group of sergeants who wanted better pay. With others they overthrew President Gerardo Machado in 1933 and Batista ended up commanding the Army. In 1940 Batista won election and was President of Cuba until 1944. In 1952 he made his own coup and ruled the country until 1959. His authoritarian government during this time caused opposition despite his attempt to placate critics with a 'show' election in 1954 where he ran without opposition. The opposition included the entire coalition that had overthrown Gerardo Machado.  Fidel Castro's guerrilla movement overthrew Batista. This is known as the Cuban Revolution. Batista fled Cuba on January 1, 1959 and went to the Dominican Republic before moving on to Portugal, and finally to Spain where he died of a heart attack in 1973.
A Sock puppet is a simple type of hand puppet made with a sock. Most sock puppets have some fabric or plastic facial features added to the sock, such as eyes or a mouth. Some sock puppets may also have accessories such as a hat or clothing. Sock puppets are operated by putting a person's hand inside the sock. Uses of sock puppets. Sock puppets are often used for entertaining people, especially children. People often present them on special stages that show sock puppets without showing the puppeteers (the people who use sock puppets) themselves. Well-known sock puppets. In Canada, Ed the Sock is a sock puppet who has appeared on Canadian television shows since 1987. Ed the Sock appears in a weekly Toronto television series called "Ed's Night Party!". In the 1950s, comedian Soupy Sales made two sock puppets famous; 'White Fang' and 'Black Tooth'. Ventriloquist and puppeteer Shari Lewis delighted children with her lovable sock puppets 'Lamb Chop', 'Charlie Horse' and 'Hush Puppy'. They appeared on TV and in person for over four decades. 1950s TV sock puppets 'Kukla' and 'Ollie' appeared with a real person, Fran, who appeared in front of the stage in the long-running program Kukla, Fran and Ollie.