ejaasaari/simplewiki-2025-04-01 huggingface dataset:
An ellipsoid is a shape like a sphere, but prolate (longer in one or more directions) like a rugby ball, or like an egg. It is the 3 dimensional analogue of an ellipse. The Earth is shaped slightly like an ellipsoid. Its shape is called an oblate spheroid. An ellipsoid shaped like the Earth, called a reference ellipsoid, is often preferred to the geoid because it makes calculations simpler.
The Liancourt Rocks are a group of small islands in the Sea of Japan. In Korea they are called Dokdo (). In Japan they are called Takeshima (). The islands are currently occupied under the South Korean armed police. The name Liancourt Rocks comes from the French whaling ship Liancourt. The people on the Liancourt made a map of the islands in 1849. Korea and Japan both say that the islands are theirs, and have for a long time. Japan has suggested asking the International Court of Justice to decide, but the South Korean government refused.  Geography. Liancourt Rocks consists of two main islands and 35 smaller rocks. The main islands are called West Islet and East Islet. The western island is the larger of the two. There are about 90 islands and reefs total. The islands and rocks have a volcanic nature. 37 of these islands are recognized as permanent land. The eastern islands formed 4.5 million years ago. Ulleungdo formed 2 million years later. Both are eroding and weathering. The total area of the islands is about 187,450 square meters. Their highest point is 169 meters on the western islet. The western islet is about 88,640 square meters in area; the eastern islet about 73,300 square meters. Liancourt Rocks is at about 131°52′ East longitude and about 37°14′ North latitude. The western islet is at and the eastern islet is at . The main islands coast lines are 217 km apart from mainland Korea and 212 km apart from main islands of Japan (Honshu). The nearest Korean territory (Ulleungdo) is 87 km away and can be seen on clear days; the nearest Japanese territory (Oki islands) is 157 km away. The western island is made of a single peak. It has many caves along the coastline. The cliffs of the eastern island are about 10 to 20 meters high. There are two caves giving access to the sea, and a crater. Economy. 26 Korean people live on the islands. 20 of them
A pentagram is a five-pointed star, with all lines the same length and all angles the same. A 'pentangle', 'star pentagon', or 'pentalpha' means the same thing. It is a type of pentagon. The word "pentacle" originally meant 'any symbol that defies against pureness spirits'. There are many of such symbols, only a few of which include a pentagram. During the modern age of Wicca, the word 'pentacle' acquired a second definition, due to sounding similar to the word 'pentagram', and the fact that wiccan pentacles use a pentagram. That second definition of 'pentacle' is 'a circumscribed pentagram', which means 'a pentagram drawn inside a circle so that the points of the pentagram touch the circle'. The pentagram has been portrayed as a satanic symbol in popular media. Religious meanings. In ancient times, the pentagram was used as a Christian symbol. It stood for the five wounds that Jesus Christ received during his crucifixion (the nails in each hand and foot, and the spear wound in his side). In the past, the pentagram was commonly seen as a symbol for good and for protection against evil. One of the earliest recorded uses for the pentagram was by the Pythagoreans as a sign of initiation for its mathematical relation to the golden ratio and common presence in naturally occurring shapes.  In Taoism, a pentagram shows how the five classical oriental elements (earth, water, wood, fire, and metal) are related. Today, the pentacle, commonly mistaken as a pentagram, is the most commonly used symbol of Wicca. Some post-Gardnerian wiccans, imitating Taoism, associate the five points of the pentagram with the four classical Greek elements (fire, water, earth, and air) and spirit. Some Satanists, especially members of the Church of Satan, use an upside-down pentacle as a symbol for their religion. The Church of Satan's official symbol is an upside-down pentacle with a goat head inside, called the "Sigil of Baphomet." (A '
Benzene, also known as benzol, is an organic chemical compound with the formula C6H6. It is a colorless and flammable liquid with a sweet smell. Benzene molecules are a ring of six carbon atoms that are each bonded to one hydrogen atom. It is an "aromatic" compound, meaning the ring has alternating double bonds.  Benzene is carcinogenic, which means it can cause cancer. It has many real-world uses. It is used as an additive in gasoline, plastics, synthetic rubber, dyes and it is an industrial solvent, which means it can dissolve many other chemical molecules. Benzene is also a natural part of crude oil and is therefore present in gasoline. Many medicines contain parts made from benzene. Structure. Benzene has special properties called aromaticity. All six carbon atoms in the ring are on the same flat plane. To account for all the bonds on a six carbon ring, there must be alternating double carbon bonds (Conjugated system): If benzene had three double bonds, three sides of its ring would be shorter than the other three sides. X-ray diffraction shows that all of six carbon-carbon bonds in benzene are of the same length of 140 picometres (pm). The C–C bond lengths are greater than a double bond (135 pm) but shorter than a single bond (147 pm). This intermediate distance is consistent with electron delocalization: the electrons for C–C bonding are distributed equally between each of the six carbon atoms. The molecule is planar. One representation is that the structure exists as a superposition of so-called resonance structures, rather than either form individually. (In other words, the molecule's double bonds switch quickly between pairs of carbon atoms.) The delocalization of electrons is one explanation for the thermodynamic stability of benzene and related aromatic compounds. It is likely that this stability contributes to the peculiar molecular and chemical properties known as aromaticity. To indicate the delocalized nature of the bonding, benzene is often depicted with a circle inside a hexagonal arrangement of carbon atoms. As is common in organic chemistry, the carbon atoms in the diagram above have been left unlabeled. Realizing
The Tasmanian devil ("Sarcophilus harrisii") is a meat eating mammal. It is a marsupial, which means it has a small pouch to carry its babies. It is the largest meat eating marsupial in the world. It is nocturnal, which means it sleeps during the day and is awake during the night. Tasmanian devils now live only in Tasmania, an island state of Australia. The devil is the same size as a small dog with a wide head and a short tail. Male devils can weigh 12 kg and be 30 cm tall. It has black fur and makes a loud and very scary screeching noise. It will hunt other animals and also feed on dead animals. The devil has strong teeth and jaws and will eat all its prey, even bones and fur. The Tasmanian devil became extinct on the Australian mainland about 3,000 years ago - before European settlement in 1788. They were hunted in Tasmania. In the 1930s the Van Dieman's Land Company offered 25 cents for each male and 35 cents for each female killed. In 1941 they became officially protected. Disease. In 1996 the devils began to get very sick and then die with large tumours on their faces. Devil facial tumour disease has greatly reduced the number of devils and now threatens their survival. In some areas 85% of devils have been found with the disease. In the places where the tumours were seen first, devil numbers have dropped by 95%. The tumour is spread by biting. Because the devils are all closely related (not enough genetic diversity), the tumour cells are not seen as new; so the devil's immune system does not fight it. In May 2008 the Tasmanian devil was listed as endangered. Programs are being tried by the Tasmanian government to reduce the impact of the disease. About 60 devils without the disease have been captured and are to be kept as a tumour free group for rebreeding. Scientists have been looking at ways to give the devils immunity but so far this has not worked. New research is showing the
Franz Joseph Haydn (31 March 1732 – 31 May 1809) was an Austrian composer. He was one of the most famous composers in the Classical music period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony." He also taught Ludwig van Beethoven and a friend of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Mozart considered him a mentor). Life. Haydn's father made wheels for a living. He had the skills of a blacksmith, stonemason, and carpenter. He used that skill in his spare time to make musical instruments for his family to play. The Haydn family would give informal weekend concerts. One of Joseph's relatives thought that Joseph had a great singing voice and should go with him to a boarding school where he would start studying to become a priest. Haydn did not like it very much at the boarding school, but his voice developed to a point where he was selected to be a part of the Boy's Choir of the Vienna Cathedral. He stayed there until his voice changed. Haydn made a living teaching lessons and playing in the streets for handouts until he met Nicola Porpora, who hired Haydn as an accompanist and general servant.  Eventually Haydn got a job working for Nicholas Esterhazy. He worked for the Esterhazys for over 30 years. He wrote symphonies, string quartets, operas, piano sonatas, and other pieces. After he was released from his duties with the Esterhazys, Haydn travelled to London. Even at the age of 60 he was still active and wrote some of his most famous symphonies there. While in London, he heard Handel's Messiah, and was inspired to write two oratorios of his own, The Seasons and The Creation. While working on these oratorios in Vienna, Haydn gave lessons to Ludwig van Beethoven. Beethoven had first wanted to study with Mozart, but by the time Beethoven was ready to study in Vienna, Mozart had died. The house in Vienna where Haydn wrote his oratorios has been turned into a museum called 'Haydnhaus'. There visitors can see the piano by Anton Walter that composer was using for writing music. Haydn was so well-respected in Vienna that he was known as "Papa Haydn" and his influence on music was profound and great.
In music, a scale is a set of notes in order of their pitch (that is, their frequency). If the scale starts with the note which has the lowest pitch and goes up to the note with the highest pitch, the scale is called "ascending". If the scale starts with the note which has the highest pitch and goes down to the note with the lowest pitch, the scale is called "descending". Scales are often the same both ascending and descending, but this is not always true. Very often, a scale is defined over an interval (such as an octave). The most common scales use intervals of five, six or seven different notes. Major and minor scales. Major scales. On a piano, there are white keys and black keys. If we start on the note "C" and play each white key going up until we come to the next "C", we have played the "C Major" scale. It has eight notes because there are eight notes from each "C" to the next one: "C", "D", "E", "F", "G", "A", "B", "C". The note played by each black key has two names: it can be named by the note after it, or the note before it. For example, the black key after "C" can be called "C♯" (C-sharp). "Sharp" means higher in pitch. That same note can also be called "D♭" (D-flat) because it is the note before "D". "Flat" means lower in pitch.  There are half steps (or semitones) between two keys next to each other on the piano. The key to the right plays a note half a step higher (sharp) and the key to the left plays a note half a step lower (flat). So between the third and the fourth note, and between the seventh and eighth note, there is only half a step. Starting the scale at the next white key (D), two black keys will need to be touched to get the same scale, the first one for the third note, the second for the seventh note: "D", "E", "F♯",
"For the use in evolutionary biology, see Orthology (biology)" Orthology is the study of the right use of words in language. The word comes from Greek "ortho"- ("correct") and -"logy" ("science of"). This science is a place where psychology, philosophy, linguistics, and many otherwife fields of learning come together. The most noted use of "Orthology" is for the selection of words  for the language of Basic English by the Orthological Institute. The book, "The Meaning of Meaning", by C.K. Ogden and I.A. Richards, is an important book dealing with orthology. The term "Orthology" comes from the book "The Grammar of Science" by Karl Pearson.
Toei Company, Ltd. (東映株式会社 "Tōei Kabushiki-gaisha" (pronounced "toe ay") is a Japanese film, television production, and  distribution corporation. Based in Tokyo, Toei owns and operates thirty-four movie theaters across Japan, studios at Tokyo and Kyoto; and is a shareholder in several television companies. It is notable for anime franchises such as "Dragon Ball Z", "YoRo RoYo", "One Piece" and "Sailor Moon", live action dramas known as tokusatsu, and historical dramas. History. Tokyo-Yokohama Films (東横映画 "Tō-Yoko Eiga", incorporated in 1938, had previously erected its facilities immediately east of the Tōkyū Tōyoko Line, they managed the Tōkyū Shibuya Yokohama studio system prior to V-J Day. From 1945 through the Toei merger, Tokyo-Yokohama Films leased from the Daiei Motion Picture Company a second studio in Kyoto. Through the merger, they gained the combined talents and experience of different actors. On October 1, 1950, the Tokyo Film Distribution Company was incorporated; in 1951 the company purchased Ōizumi Films. In 1956, Toei established an animation division, Toei Animation at the former Tokyo-Ōizumi animation studio, purchasing the assets of Japan Animated Films (originally founded in 1948) Toei was a pioneer in the use of transformation in live-action martial-arts dramas, a technique developed for the "Kamen Rider", "Metal Heroes" and "Super Sentai" series; The genre currently continues with "Kamen Rider" and "Super Sentai". On April 6, 2020, Toei create their official YouTube Channel and uploading some of the oldest tokusatsu series (from the 50s to 90s).
Naoko Takeuchi ((武内直子 Takeuchi Naoko), born 15 March 1967), is a manga artist from Japan. She lives in Tokyo. She wrote the manga Sailor Moon, which was so popular it was made into an anime, musicals, video games and more. Her husband, Yoshihiro Togashi, is the creator of "YuYu Hakusho" and "Hunter × Hunter".
"Kimigayo" (Kanji: 君が代, Hiragana: きみがよ, , meaning "His Imperial Majesty's Reign") is the national anthem of Japan. The anthem is based on a poem written by an unknown poet from Japan about one thousand years ago. The music was composed more recently, about two hundred years ago; however, it had to be rewritten shortly afterwards, because the original tune was unpopular. Although popular for a long period and sung in situations where people from other countries would usually sing their country's national anthem, "Kimigayo" was only considered as Japan's official national anthem in 1999. The law that stated this also defined the Flag of Japan in a similar way. The national anthem of Japan is one of the shortest national anthems in the world, containing only thirty-two syllables. Because it is so short, the anthem is normally played very slowly.
April Fools' Day is celebrated in many countries on April 1 every year. On this day, practical jokes (or "April Fools") are played on friends and family. The jokes are done to embarrass them. In some countries, April Fools only last until noon, and if someone plays a joke after, they are an April Fool. Origins. Classical antiquity. People have set aside a special day for playing jokes for centuries. The ancient Romans had a holiday called "Hilaria". Middle Ages. In the Middle Ages, New Year's Day was celebrated on March 25 in most European towns. In some areas of France, New Year's was a week-long holiday ending on April 1. Some people think that April Fools' started because those who celebrated on January 1 made fun of those who celebrated on other dates. Long standing customs. United Kingdom. This custom makes no sense at all until one remembers how much colder the climate was before the 20th century. Great rivers like the Thames were frozen over in the winter, and young people used to skate on them in wintertime. In the United Kingdom, a person playing a joke would yell "April Fool!" at the recipient. According to tradition, the joking was supposed to stop at midday. Scotland. In Scotland, April Fools' Day used to be for two days. One of them was called Gowk’s Day. "Gowk" in Scots can mean either a cuckoo or a fool. Playing pranks on someone on April Fools’ Day was called "hunting the gowk." A classic prank was to ask someone to deliver a closed letter with a note inside. This note would tell the receiver to send the messenger on another silly task, then another... until someone felt sorry for them. Nordic countries. In the Nordic countries, many news outlets would publish or broadcast a fake news story on April 1.  France. In France, an April fools joke is called a "Poisson d'Avril" (April fish). One tradition there is to try and stick a paper fish on one's friends back, and shout "Poisson d'Avril!" when it
Baroque music is a set of styles of European classical music which were in use between about 1600 and 1750 during the Baroque period. The word "Baroque" is used in other art forms besides music: we talk about Baroque architecture, painting, sculpture, dance and literature. The Baroque period comes between the Renaissance and the period of Classicism. History. Musicians think of the Baroque period as starting around 1600. The famous Renaissance composers Palestrina and Lassus had died a few years earlier. Claudio Monteverdi wrote some music in Renaissance style, and other music in Baroque style. Opera was being invented. It was a time of musical change. The change from writing music in the Baroque style to the Classical style was much more gradual. 1750 is the year that Bach died, so it is an easy date to choose for the end of the Baroque period. The Baroque was a time when people liked large spaces and a lot of ornamentation. This can be seen in the architecture of famous buildings such as St. Peter's Basilica, Rome, or St. Paul’s Cathedral, London. They were built at this time. In Venice there were churches with galleries on either side of the church. Composers liked to write music for two groups of musicians placed in opposite galleries. Giovanni Gabrieli wrote a lot of music like this. Styles and instruments. The idea of two contrasting groups was used a lot in Baroque music. Composers wrote concertos. These were pieces for orchestra and a solo instrument. Sometimes a concerto contrasted a group of soloists with the rest of the orchestra. These are called by the Italian name "Concerti Grossi. Bach's Brandenburg Concertos are good examples. Organs, and some harpsichords, had at least two manuals (keyboards). The player could change from one manual to the other, contrasting two different sounds. Baroque music was often a melody with a bass line at the bottom. This could be, for example, a singer and a cello. There was also a harpsichord or organ that played the bass line as well, and
A canyon (or gorge) is a big and deep crack in the ground, or a very deep valley. Most canyons are made by rivers. A few are made by earthquakes. They can be big, like the Grand Canyon, or small. Canyons can be formed by erosion by running water which will take rocks and soil away.
Pattern language is used to mean a system of patterns that have a certain meaning other than just the pattern. Method. The pattern can be a pattern which has a hidden meaning shown through any sense like sight, sound, touch, taste and smell. Sight. The most obvious form of sight-based pattern language comes in the form of writing. Nearly every language has a unique written form, which grammatically follows the spoken form.
In the United States, National Maritime Day is held every May 22 to honor people who have served in the United States Merchant Marine service. The first National Maritime Day was May 22, 1933, based on a joint resolution passed by the United States Congress on May 20, 1933. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first President to issue a proclamation about the day. The biggest National Maritime Day celebration was in 1946, the first National Maritime Day after the Allied Powers won World War II. That year, governors of many U.S. states also officially named the day National Maritime Day or "Maritime Day" for their state. The first National Maritime Day after the end of the Korean War, in 1954, was also more widely celebrated than most. In the 2006 annual proclamation by president George W. Bush, he made special mention of the Merchant Marine service's hurricane aid work following Hurricane Katrina and the other hurricanes of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season.
Nuclear fusion is the process of making a single heavy nucleus (part of an atom) from two lighter nuclei. This process is called a nuclear reaction. It releases a large amount of energy. The nucleus made by fusion is heavier than either of the starting nuclei. However, it is not as heavy as the combination of the original mass of the starting nuclei (atoms). This lost mass is changed into lots of energy. This is shown in Einstein's famous "E=mc2" equation. Fusion happens in the middle of stars, like the Sun. Hydrogen atoms are fused together to make helium. This releases lots of energy. This energy powers the heat and light of the star. Not all elements can be joined. Heavier elements are less easily joined than lighter ones. Iron (a metal) cannot fuse with other atoms. This is what causes stars to die. Stars join all of their atoms together to make heavier atoms of different types, until they make iron. The iron nucleus cannot fuse further because of its high nuclear binding energy. The reactions stop. The star eventually cools and dies. On Earth it is very difficult to start nuclear fusion reactions that release more energy than is needed to start the reaction. The reason is that fusion reactions only happen at high temperature and pressure, like in the Sun, because both nuclei have a positive charge, and positive repels positive. The only way to stop the repulsion is to make the nuclei hit each other at very high speeds. They only do that at high pressure and temperature. The only successful approach so far has been in nuclear weapons. The hydrogen bomb uses an atomic (fission) bomb to start fusion reactions. Scientists and engineers have been trying for decades to find a safe and working way of controlling and containing fusion reactions to generate electricity. They still have many challenges to overcome before fusion power can be used as a clean source of energy.
The Concertmaster (American English) or leader (British English) is the most important violinist in an orchestra. He or she will sit in the front seat, by the conductor's left. The word "concertmaster" comes from the German "Konzertmeister". The leader will be the highest paid member of the orchestra. He has to decide how the violins will play the music and write in the bowing. He will decide where each member of the violins should sit. He will probably also interview them and offer them the job in the orchestra. He will talk to the conductor about anything the orchestra are not happy about (he may have to remind the conductor when it is time to stop the rehearsal!). If part of the music is marked "solo" then he will play it as a solo while the other violins stop playing. In the United States it is usual for the concertmaster to be on the platform before the concert and to tell the orchestra to tune their instruments, playing on his A string to give them the correct pitch. In European orchestras it is usually the oboe that gives an A for tuning. In Britain the leader usually comes on stage after the orchestra have tuned, and gets an applause. Some famous orchestral leaders. "of the past:" "of today":