ejaasaari/simplewiki-2025-04-01 huggingface dataset:
Norway is a country in the north of Europe. It is the western part of the Scandinavian peninsula. The mainland of Norway is surrounded by the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean on the west side, and borders Russia, Finland, and Sweden to the east. The southern coast touches the Oslofjord, Skagerrak, and the North Sea. The Monarchy of Norway has been independent since 1814. Its head of state is a king - Harald the 5th (as of 2022). The national day is May 17, which celebrates Norway's constitution of 1814. The parliament is called "Stortinget" and its members are elected by the people every 4 years. About 5 million people live in Norway. The capital is the city of Oslo. Norwegian is the national language. There are two official written versions of Norwegian called "Bokmål" and "Nynorsk". The Northern Sami language is spoken by around 90% of those who speak one of Norway's 3 Sami languages. Northern Sami is also an official language in a number of municipalities. History. The battle of Hafrsfjord (872 A.D.) resulted in small kingdoms becoming one larger kingdom, ruled by Harald Fairhair. After the king's death, again there were smaller kingdoms, inside Norway. Stockfish (or fish that has been freeze-dried, outside in cold weather) has been traded and exported; this happened as early as either the 9th century, 10th century, or 11th century until 1066. Other sources say that the exporting was happening as early as the 12th century; stockfish is one of the country's oldest [type of] things to be sold for export. In 1349 half of the Norwegian people died, getting sick from the bubonic plague (or Black Death). When a Norwegian king died in 1387, there was no king in Norway until the 20th century. In 1397, Denmark, Norway and Sweden began the Kalmar Union. The first [known] map, where Norway is drawn, was made in 1482. Sweden left the Kalmar
Albania ( ; ), officially called the Republic of Albania is an independent country located in Southeast Europe, more specifically it is located in the Balkans. The capital is Tirana, and other important cities are Durrës, Elbasan and Vlora. Over 3 million people live in the area of that Albanians call their home. The majority of Albanians are Muslim with 55%, 23% Eastern Orthodox and 15% Roman Catholics. Albania is next to Montenegro, Serbia, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Greece. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea in the west, and a coast on the Ionian Sea in the southwest. The official language is Albanian(Gjuha Shqipe). The national anthem is "Hymni i Flamurit". History. Albania was the southern part of "Illyria" during the Roman Empire. In the Middle Ages the Albanians were ruled by many foreign countries, including the Byzantine and Venetian Empires and during the 16th century resistance to the Ottoman Empire's rule was led by the Albanian national hero "Skanderberg" but his real name was Gjergj Kastrioti. After four centuries of Turkish domination, finally in the 20th century an independent Albania was created. In 1939 Albania was conquered by fascist Italy and was part of the Kingdom of Italy until 1943. After World War II Albania became independent again, under communist rule. It was ruled by Enver Hoxha, who died in 1985. Ramiz Alia took over and also later became president when, in 1992, Albania returned to democracy, and it now has friendly relations with the European Union, which it has applied to join. Divisions. Albania is divided into 12 counties. These counties include 36 districts and 373 municipalities  Cities. This is a list of the largest cities in Albania. Armed forces. The Albanian Armed Forces were first formed after independence in 1912. Albania reduced the number of active troops from 65,000 in 1988 to 14,500 in 2009. In 2010 forced conscription was abolished.
Hungary ( ) is a landlocked country in southeastern Central Europe. By some definitions, it forms part of the northern border of the Balkans. Its capital city is Budapest. Hungary is bordered by Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and Austria. The country’s official language is the Hungarian language. It has been a member of the European Union (EU) since 2004. In Hungarian, the country is called "Magyarország" (literally, "Hungarian country"), or "Magyar Köztársaság" (Hungarian Republic). This is named after the Magyar tribes who arrived in Hungary from Asia in the late 9th century. History. Medieval Hungary, 896-1526. The Magyars established Hungary in 896, after they had arrived there from their previous, Eastern European territories. Prince Árpád was their leader at the time; he also established the first royal house of the country, the Árpád-house. In 1000, after the first king, Saint Stephen had been crowned, the country became a Kingdom. In 1241, the Mongol Empire invaded the country, causing the Hungarian king Béla IV to flee and approximately 500,000 Hungarians were killed, along with with heavy damage. In 1301, the Árpád-house died out. Later on, kings from various houses ruled over Hungary. The greatest of them is Matthias Corvinus, famous for taking Austrian terrirories like Vienna, etc. and protecting the country against Ottoman aggression. However, some decades after he had died (1490), the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent defeated the Hungarian king in the Battle of Mohács (1526). The Kingdom was cut up into three parts: the western and northern areas remained Hungary, the southern region fell under Ottoman rule, and the eastern part became an Ottoman vassal as the Principality of Transylvania. Between 1526 and 1867. The Kingdom of Hungary became a Habsburg dependency, because an agreement made in Vienna in 1515 said that the Habsburg family would take over the territory of the Jagell
The Netherlands (or Holland) is a country that is part (of a constituent country) of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Most of it is in Western Europe, but there are also some parts in the Caribbean. Nearly 18 million people live there. To the north and west of the European part of the Netherlands is the North Sea, and to the east is Germany, and to the south is Belgium. The Netherlands is one of the countries that started the European Union. People who live in the Netherlands are called "Dutch". The language of the Netherlands is also called Dutch. The official capital of the Netherlands is Amsterdam. However, the government is in The Hague. Name. "The Netherlands" means "the low lands". The land only rises, on average, 1 meter above sea level. One third of the land is below sea level. The Netherlands is also - incorrectly - referred to as Holland. Holland is a very rich area (two provinces) in the western part of the Netherlands, thus causing people to be mistaken. Most people who do not live in the western part of the Netherlands do not like it when people call the country Holland. The name "Holland" originates from the old Dutch words "Holt land" which means "wood lands". Holt eventually changed into hout, the current Dutch word for wood. History. At the end of the Middle Ages the dukes of Burgundy, a country that is now part of France, united seventeen areas. Those areas were called the Burgundian Netherlands. When the daughter of their duke married Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor in 1477, the Netherlands became part of Spain. In the 16th century many Dutch people became Protestant. The king of Spain did not like it, he wanted all Dutch to be Roman Catholic. Of course the Dutch people did not like this, and after violent excesses by the Spanish they started a war against Spain in 1568, also for reasons of taxation. The war lasted until 1648, therefore it is called the Eighty Years' War. An important leader of the Dutch in this war was Willem van Oranje (William of Orange) also called William the Silent. In
Ukraine (, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. Russia is to the north-east of Ukraine, Belarus is to the north-west, Poland and Slovakia are to the west, Hungary, Romania, Moldova and self-proclaimed Transnistria are to the south-west and the Black Sea is to the south. Ukraine is a republic. The capital of Ukraine is Kyiv (). It was a part of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. Official language. The official language of Ukraine is Ukrainian (, [ukrajin’s’ka mova]). In the 2001 census, about 29% of people in Ukraine said that they consider Russian to be their main language. These two East Slavic languages are similar in some ways but different in other ways. Division of Ukraine. Ukraine is divided into 24 oblasts and one autonomous republic, with Kyiv City and Sevastopol having special status. The largest cities of Ukraine. The largest cities in Ukraine are: Name origin. The name "Ukraine" (u-krayina) has usually been interpreted as "edge" or "borderland", but this an alternative interpretation as "territory" has been proposed. Language specialists are still searching for evidence of the history of the meaning of the word. It was first used in reference to a core part of the territory of Kyivan Rus in the 12th century. In English, the historical region was usually known as "the Ukraine". Since independence in 1991, adding "the" is no longer proper style for referring to the country. History. Ancient times. Many different tribes lived on the territory of modern Ukraine since pre-historical times. Most historians believe that the Great Steppe at the North of the Black Sea was a homeland of all Indo-European and Indo-Iranian languages. Some believe it was also the birthplace of the whole European population. Wends, Goths, Huns, Sclaveni, Avars, and other tribes and tribal groups fought among themselves, joined unions, terminated, and assimilated each other. By the middle of the 4th century AD, Antes joined other tribes and established a state under their rule.
Liechtenstein (officially the Principality of Liechtenstein) is a country in Western Europe. It is the sixth smallest country in the world and, with Uzbekistan, one of only two doubly landlocked countries. This means that it is bordered only by landlocked countries. Liechtenstein is located between Austria and Switzerland. The official language in Liechtenstein is German. The capital of Liechtenstein is Vaduz, a very small town of 5,000 people. Liechtenstein is famous for its many private banks. Liechtenstein is known as a principality. This means that the monarch has the title of Prince.  History. The territory that is now Liechtenstein was once split into two different states, the County of Vaduz and the Lordship of Schellenberg, which were both part of the Holy Roman Empire. The Liechtenstein family wanted more power within the Holy Roman Empire. In the 17th century, the Holy Roman Emperor made Karl Liechtenstein a Prince. Karl's descendant, Hans Adam I purchased the lands of the County of Vaduz and the Lordship of Schellenberg and united them into one principality named Liechtenstein. In 1806, the Holy Roman Empire was broken up by Napoleon. With the fall of the Empire, Liechtenstein became a free independent country. Liechtenstein remained neutral during World War I and World War II. Hitler did have plans to invade Liechtenstein alongside Switzerland in the planned Operation Tannenbaum but never did. In 1969, NASA gave Liechtenstein moon rocks and a national flag that had been on the moon to thank them for their support from a Liechtenstein company during the Apollo 11 mission. Geography. Liechtenstein is located in the European Alps and is bordered to the east by the Austrian state of Vorarlberg, to the south by the canton of Grisons (Switzerland) and to the west by the canton of St. Gallen (Switzerland).  The Rhine forms the entire western border of Liechtenstein. Measured south to north the country is about 24 km (15 mi) long. Its highest point, the Grauspitz
Portugal is a country in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. It is the westernmost country of Europe and part of the Mediterranean area. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east. Its capital city is Lisbon. It has been a member of the European Union since 1986.  Portugal was under a dictatorship between 1926 and 1974 called Estado Novo. This dictatorship was ended by a peaceful revolution called the Carnation Revolution. The Portuguese economy has been very good since then although it was hit hard by the recession of 2007-2008. It once had an empire called the Portuguese Empire, and was a powerful maritime nation from the 1500s to the 1800s, being the tenth-largest empire, with a maximum land area of 10.4 million km² which included Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, East Timore, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Portuguese Ceylon (Sri Lanka), as well as Macau in China (until 2002). Portugal is a popular holiday destination but is sometimes overlooked in favour of larger countries like France, Spain and Italy. The Algarve region in the south and the capital Lisbon are the most popular destinations. The country has a national football team. Portugal won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2017, and hosted the contest the following year. Geography. Three groups of islands in the Atlantic Ocean are also part of Portugal: the Azores ("Açores"), Madeira and the Savage Isles ("Ilhas Selvagens"). The Savage Isles are a small group of uninhabited islands, administered by Madeira. Portugal claims that Olivença is also part of its territory, but it is controlled by Spain. History. Kingdom of Portugal. Portugal became a kingdom in 1139 but was not officially recognized until 1143. It has had links with England since the 1100s by a treaty. The border with Spain has been almost the same since the 13th century. Fishing and trading with other countries were important here. Portugal was important in world exploration for two reasons. Firstly,
Slovakia (Slovak: "Slovensko") (Official name The Slovak Republic, "Slovenská republika") is a landlocked country in the eastern region of Central Europe. It is bordered by Austria in the southwest, Hungary in the south, Ukraine in the east, Poland in the north and Czech Republic in the northwest. Its capital city is Bratislava, the only capital of the world that borders with other two countries. Other main cities are Košice, Prešov, Žilina, Banská Bystrica, Trenčín, Nitra and Trnava. Slovakia has been a member of the European Union since 2004 and its official currency is the Euro. History. The Celts started to settle since 450 BC. The coins named "Biatec" represent the first use of writing in Slovakia. After the time of the Julio-Claudian dynasty many different Germanic tribes like Quadi and Marcomanni started to overtake the area. The Roman Empire established many outposts along the Danube river. They fought Germanic tribes, with the most northern presence being in Trenčín ("Laugaritio"), during the Marcomannic Wars. Great Moravia was at first in constant quarrels with East Francia and at the beginning of the 10th century, with the Magyars who arrived from Asia. The Magyars conquered Great Moravia in 906, and established the Hungarian Principality, resulting later in the creation of the Kingdom of Hungary in year 1000. Slovaks continued to live in the north, while most Hungarians were in the south.  A huge population loss resulted from the Mongol invasions in 1241. The Hungarian kings started to invite other settlers, for example Germans in the 13th century, and many others started to arrive in the kingdom, Vlachs from Romania in the 14th century and Jews. In the 16th century the Ottoman Empire occupied the southern part of the kingdom including the two most important towns, Buda (capital) and Székesfehérvár (coronation capital
Slovenia is a country in the southern region of Central Europe. The capital and largest city of Slovenia is Ljubljana. Its major language is Slovenian. Its current population is about 2.1 million. Slovenia's leading exports are manufactured goods and aluminium. It is a parliamentary republic It is a member of the European Union and NATO. The economy of Slovenia is small, open, and export-oriented. History. A very long time ago, Illyrian and Celtics tribes lived in Slovenia. In the 1st century BC, Slovenia was ruled by the Romans. In the sixth century AD, Slavs lived there. Slovenia was ruled by Austria from 1335 until 1918.  In 1918 it became a part of Yugoslavia. During World War II, Italy, Hungary and Germany took parts of the country but in 1945 it became part of Yugoslavia again. In June 1991, Slovenia voted to become independent. Yugoslavia's army tried to stop this from happening but following a 10-day war, Slovenia became an independent country. Currently, it is considered the most advanced country in what is called "Ex-Yugoslavia." It is also a member of the European Union.
Oldham Cricket Club are a cricket team which currently plays in the Central Lancashire League. The ground that the club plays at is called "The Pollards". First Division: 1909, 1916, 1957, 1979, 1982 Wood Cup: 1943, 1979, 1983, 1985, 1988 Second Division: 1902, 1930, 1944 (shared), 1983, 1985, 1986 Burton Cup: 1976
The denarius was a small silver coin used by the Roman Empire and Roman Republic. The denarius weighed about 3 to 4.5 grams. It was the main coin of Ancient Rome. It became the most common coin produced for circulation but was slowly debased in weight and silver content. The coin was then sometimes made of copper and painted silver in color. During the Empire the front side usually had a picture of the emperor on it. The denarius was introduced in 211 BC, and was last made in 275 AD. By then it was made of bronze.
Kimono are traditional Japanese style clothes. About a hundred years ago, most people in Japan wore kimono every day. Now, people wear the kimono for special occasions, fun, and fashion. For example, a Japanese couple might wear kimono on their wedding day. A kimono is a robe. When it lies flat, it is shaped like a letter T. Normal kimono reach to the ankles and have long sleeves. The sleeves of some kimono for women also reach to the ankles, but most kimono sleeves reach to the hips. Kimono come in many different designs and colours. Some colours have meanings. Name. The word "kimono" means "something you wear".  History. The kimono that people wear today began in the 16th century. But Japanese people have been wearing clothes that looked like the kimono for hundreds of years, since the Heian period (late 700s to late 1100s). Chinese visitors brought the kimono to Japan. The Japanese decided to make and wear kimono too. These clothes had long, triangle-shaped sleeves and were wrapped over the body. The kimono had two parts: a jacket and either a skirt or trousers. These clothes changed to look more like the kimono we see today. The kimono looked less like a triangle and more like a rectangle. The sleeves became square instead of triangle-shaped. Common people wore a piece of clothing called a "kosode", which means "short sleeve". This looked like a modern kimono with a wider body and smaller sleeves. The overlap at the front of the robe was longer, the collar was wider, and the robe was shorter. Noble people also wore the "kosode", but they wore several layers on top of it. Noble women wore clothing called "jūni hitoe", which means "twelve layers", though the number of layered robes was not always twelve. These robes were wider, longer, and had larger sleeves than the "kosode" that the common people wore. They weighed up to 20 kg. Noblemen wore round-necked jackets with wide, long sleeves and "hakama" trousers. They would wear this with a small cap, which
Culture is a word for the 'way of life' of groups of people, meaning the way they do things. Different groups may have different cultures. A culture is passed on to the next generation by learning, whereas genetics are passed on by heredity. Culture is seen in people's writing, religion, music, clothes, cooking and in what they do.  The concept of culture is very complicated, and the word has some meanings. The word 'culture' is most commonly used in three ways. Most broadly, 'culture' includes all human phenomena which are not purely results of human genetics. The discipline which investigates cultures is called anthropology, though many other disciplines play a part. National cultures. Cultures are what make a country unique and interesting. Each country has different cultural activities and cultural rituals. Culture includes material goods, the things the people use and produce. Culture is also the beliefs and values of the people and the ways they think about and understand the world and their own lives. Different countries have different cultures. For example, some older Japanese people wear kimonos, arrange flowers in vases, and have tea ceremonies. Some countries oppose some things in their culture, like discrimination or religion. Some countries also have multiple cultures within them. Regional or non-regional cultures. Culture can also vary within a region, society or sub group. A workplace may have a specific culture that sets it apart from similar workplaces. A region of a country may have a different culture than the rest of the country. For example, in a large country like China or Canada a region may have a distinctive way of talking, different types of music, and different types of dances.  A group who acts or speaks differently may be said to be, or have, a subculture. Ethnic groups such as the Romani people in Europe have a distinct culture. Company cultures. Companies or other organizations (groups of people) can have a separate culture. Japanese manufacturing companies often have a different culture to Western companies; the workday starts with exercise, and the workers are very loyal to the company.  Companies in the high-technology sector often have a different culture than other companies. Software and computer companies sometimes allow employees to play games during the
A houseplant is any kind of decorative plant. People grow them indoors, sometimes in a house, but very often in an office or a shop. Houses or public premises have conditions not as favorable for plants as in greenhouses. For example, the direction of light, low light, dry air, dust, drafts, uneven temperature. So, special techniques are used to get a healthy state and proper development of plants. Conditions in public and office premises are usually even less favorable than in homes, so the most hardy indoor plants are grown there. Benefits of houseplants. Feel and observe. One obvious advantage of keeping houseplants is the improvement in aesthetic quality that they provide. Some large palm varieties, can serve as a focus point for guests. Condition of the air. Houseplant may enhance indoor air quality. That is a key perk. NASA conducted a study to identify which plants are most effective at filtering out harmful chemicals. Health. Taking care of plants, like taking care of people or animals, can have a positive effect on one's mental and emotional health. Therapeutic, preventative, and cosmetic. Plants and herbs with medical characteristics, such as Aloe Vera, are grown for human consumption.
Waxed paper (or wax paper) is a type of paper which has been coated on both sides with wax. This gives it a translucent look. It is used for wrapping food because grease, oil, and water cannot pass through it. It is also used to line food containers because many kinds of food which would stick to normal paper will not stick to wax paper. Many kinds of dry foods were once stored in wax paper because of its resistance to water. Wax paper has been replaced by plastic wrap for most purposes. Uses. Safety razor blades are traditionally wrapped in wax paper to make holding them less dangerous. Wax paper can also be used to make paper boats that can be used for a long time without getting wet because of its high resistance to water. Wax paper is also used to stick pieces of pattern to fabric while cutting it.  In photography, wax paper can be used as a light diffuser. Wax paper is commonly used in cooking and wrapping sticky foods, because the waxy surface is cling-resistant. It is also used in arts and crafts.