ejaasaari/simplewiki-2025-04-01 huggingface dataset:
The Palaeozoic (or Paleozoic) era is the earliest of the three eras of the Phanerozoic. Its name means "early life". It lasted from about 541 to 252 million years ago (mya) and ended with the greatest extinction event, the Permian–Triassic extinction event. The Palaeozoic was the beginning of plants and animals. In particular, fish dominate the Palaeozoic. Beginning. The Cambrian explosion marks the era with thousands of new life forms in the ancient seas. The era saw the development of most invertebrate groups, life's conquest of land, the evolution of fish, reptiles, synapsids (the ancestors of mammals), amphibians, insects, and plants, the formation of the supercontinent of Pangea and at least two distinct ice ages. The Earth rotated faster than it does today, so days were shorter, and the nearer moon caused stronger tides. Oxygen and CO2 levels. At the start of the long Carboniferous period oxygen was low and carbon dioxide was high. The huge growth of trees and other plants during this time reversed these data. The carbon dioxide level dropped throughout the Carboniferous, and the oxygen level rose continuously until it dropped in the Permian.  Oxygen reached a peak of about 30% about 280 million years ago. That is much higher than today's 21%. Periods. The six periods of the Palaeozoic are:
Blackjack (Twenty-one, pontoon or "Vingt-et-un") is a kind of card game which usually involves gambling. It is often played in casinos. There is a dealer, who deals cards from a special device called a 'dealer's shoe' or a 'shuffling machine'. The dealer has one to eight decks. When there are one or two decks, the dealer usually holds the decks instead of dealing from a shoe. It is a 'dealer versus players game'. Each player has their own game against the dealer. Cards are dealt in succession, and bets placed for each hand. Players win if their cards add up to more than the dealer's hand to a limit of 21. Hands which add up to more than 21, called busted hands, lose. Face cards count as 10. Aces can count as one or eleven. 'Blackjack', an ace and a face card or ten, is the top scorer. Blackjack usually pays a bonus. Five cards adding to 21 or fewer is the next ranking hand. Apart from that, unbusted hands rank by total add-up. Hands below the dealer's hand lose unless the dealer goes over 21 (busts). Hands equal to the dealer's keep their chips. If both the player and dealer bust, the dealer wins. Players have a choice whether or not to get extra cards. Stand means to get no more cards and hit means to ask for another card. To stand, wave your hand back and forth. To ask for another card, wave your hand toward you. Players can ask for any number of cards unless they bust. The dealer has rules as to when he takes extra cards for himself (or herself). In the UK, the dealer must stand on 16. These rules are set by the casino and cannot change after the game has started. In some states or countries, the rules are set by the government. There is some skill in blackjack, because the odds change as the cards are dealt. The critical information is the numbers of tens (including face cards) which have been dealt. This is because they are the common cause of 'busting' the dealer hand and because they are needed for a blackjack. Aces
The Phanerozoic eon is the current eon on the geologic timescale. It is the one in which abundant animal life has existed. It covers about 541 million years, and goes back to the time when hard-shelled animals first appeared. It was once thought that life began in the Cambrian, the first period of this eon.  The time before the Phanerozoic, formerly called the "Precambrian", is now divided into the Hadean, Archaean and Proterozoic eons. Details. The exact time of the boundary between the Phanerozoic and the Proterozoic is slightly uncertain. In the 19th century, the boundary was set at the first abundant metazoan fossils. But several hundred kinds of Proterozoic metazoa have been discovered in the Ediacaran. Study of the Ediacaran biota started in the 1950s. There are three dividing points at the Proterozoic-Phanerozoic boundary. It might be where the first trilobites and archaeocyatha appear; or at the first appearance of signs of burrowing; or at the first appearance of the 'small shelly fauna'. The three different dividing points are within a few million years of each other. In the Phanerozoic biodiversity increased hugely:  During the period covered, continents drifted about, eventually collecting into a single landmass known as Pangea and then splitting up into the current continental landmasses. The Phanerozoic is divided into three eras: the Palaeozoic, Mesozoic, and Cainozoic.
The Ordovician is the second period of the Paleozoic era and the Phanerozoic eon. It lasted from about 485.4 million years ago (mya) to 443.4 mya. It follows the Cambrian period and is followed by the Silurian period. The Ordovician was named after the Welsh tribe of the "Ordovices". It was defined by Charles Lapworth in 1879. He recognized that the fossils in the disputed strata were different from those of the Cambrian or the Silurian. Therefore, he reasoned, they should be placed in a period of their own. Recognition of the Ordovician period was slow in Britain, but elsewhere it was quickly accepted. In 1906 it was adopted as an official period of the Paleozoic era by the International Geological Congress. The Ordovician ended with a series of extinction events that, together amount to the second greatest extinction of the Phanerozoic. This was the EndOrdovician extinction event. Geology. Palaeogeography. Sea levels were high during the Ordovician. Shallow (&lt;50 metres) inland seas were the greatest for which evidence is preserved in the rocks. During the Ordovician, the southern continents collected into a single continent called Gondwana. Gondwana started the period in equatorial latitudes and, as the period progressed, drifted toward the South Pole. Early in the Ordovician, the continents Laurentia (present-day North America), Siberia, and Baltica (present-day northern Europe) were still independent continents. Geochemistry. The Ordovician was a time of calcite sea geochemistry in which low-magnesium calcite was the main marine precipitate of calcium carbonate. Fauna.   For most of the Ordovician, life continued to flourish, but near the end of the period the EndOrdovician extinction event seriously affected planktonic forms like conodonts, graptolites, and some groups of trilobites. Brachiopods, bryozoans and echinoderms were also heavily affected, and the cone-shaped nautiloids died
The Silurian was the period from the end of the Ordovician, about 443.4 million years ago (mya) to the beginning of the Devonian period, about 419 mya. It is the third period of the Paleozoic era and the Phanerozoic eon and the shortest period in the Paleozoic. As with other geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period's start and end are well identified, but the exact dates are uncertain by several million years. The beginning of the Silurian is set at a major extinction when 60% of marine species were wiped out, the End-Ordovician extinction event. First terrestrial biota. The Silurian was the first period that produced fossils on land that are macroscopic. That means you can see them without using a microscope. These fossils are moss forests along lakes and streams, and millipedes and scorpions on land later in the period. The fossil record of Eurypterids (sea scorpions) reached its greatest extent in the middle Silurian, about 430 million years ago. The first fossil records of vascular plants, appeared in the second half of the Silurian period. The earliest known representatives of this group are the "Cooksonia" (mostly from the northern hemisphere) and "Baragwanathia" (from Australia). A primitive Silurian land plant with xylem and phloem but no differentiation in root, stem or leaf, was much-branched "Psilophyton". This plant reproduced by spores and respired through stomata on every surface, and probably photosynthesized in every tissue exposed to light.  Some evidence suggests the presence of primitive predatory arachnids and myriapods in later Silurian rocks. Predatory invertebrates would indicate that simple food webs were in place which included non-predatory prey animals.
The Devonian is the fourth period of the Paleozoic era and the Phanerozoic eon. It lasted from about 419 million years ago (mya) to about 359 mya. It is named after Devonshire, England, where rocks from this period were first studied. Sea levels were high, and there was a great variety of fish and other marine organisms. The Devonian fish included the Agnatha (jawless fish), the Acanthodii (spiny fish), the Placoderms (armoured fish), the Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fish), and the early Osteichthyes (bony fish). The Devonian strata are divided into lower, middle and upper subdivisions. During the Devonian the evolution of fish into tetrapods occurred. Various terrestrial arthropods also became established. The first seed-bearing plants spread across dry land, forming huge forests. The supercontinent of Gondwana was to the south, and the continent of Siberia to the north. The early form of the small continent of Euramerica was in between. The supercontinent Pangaea was just starting to form. By the late Devonian, the land had been colonized by plants and insects. In the oceans, massive reefs were built. Euramerica and Gondwana were beginning to converge into what would become Pangaea. Period ended with extinctions. Tectonic and volcanic activity was high. A series of extinction events occurred towards the end of the Devonian, including a major event at the Frasnian-Famennian boundary in the Late Devonian, about 364 mya.  A major extinction occurred at the start of the last phase of the Devonian period, the Frasnian-Famennian boundary, about 372.2 mya. Almost all the fossil agnathan fishes suddenly disappeared. A second strong extinction closed the Devonian period. The late Devonian extinction was one of five major extinction events in the history of the Earth. The cause or causes are not known.
The Proterozoic eon comes before the Phanerozoic. It was a period before the first abundant complex life on Earth. The name Proterozoic comes from the Greek "earlier life". The Proterozoic Eon extended from 2500 million years ago (mya) to 541 mya. It is the most recent part of the former Precambrian. The Proterozoic consists of 3 geologic eras, from oldest to youngest: The well-identified events were: Study of these rocks shows that the eon featured massive, rapid continental accretion (unique to the Proterozoic), supercontinent cycles, and mountain building.
The Cainozoic (Cenozoic) is the current geological era. It began 66 million years ago and continues today. Before it was the Mesozoic. During the Cainozoic the continents moved into their present positions. The climate started warm, but cooling continued steadily. Finally ice ages occurred.  The word Cainozoic is derived from Greek "kainos" = "new", and "zoe" = "life". 'Cainozoic' may be spelled 'Cenozoic'. It has three periods, and the periods are split into stages.  Previously, what is now the Cainozoic was divided into two periods, the Tertiary and the Quaternary. The Tertiary corresponded to the Palaeogene+Neogene. Now, the term 'Tertiary' is not used. Officially, it is 'deprecated'.  Biota. On land, the Cainozoic is the era of mammals, and of birds and flowering plants. Grassland became a major habitat. Aquatic mammals took over the roles of predatory reptiles like the mosasaurs and plesiosaurs. As a result, the ecological landscape of the Cainozoic has become quite different from the Mesozoic.
Token passing is a communication protocol used in telecommunications. The system uses a signal called a "token" to limit when a device can transmit on the network. Only the device with the token can transmit. When that device is done, the token is sent to the next device. With large transmissions, the token may move to the next station before the transmission is finished. The device has to wait until it gets the token back before it can continue to send data. The most well known examples of token passing are token ring and ARCNET. The rules of the system say how long a device may keep the token, how long it can transmit for and how to create a new token if there is not one in use.
Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA) is a Media Access Control (MAC) protocol. When transmitting on a medium that is shared by many transmitters, the transmitter first checks to see that nothing else is already transmitting. Examples of shared transmission medium include an electrical bus, or part of the electromagnetic spectrum. "Carrier Sense" means that a transmitter uses feedback from a receiver to know if the medium is already in use before trying to send. That is, it tries to find a signal from another station before trying to transmit. If a signal is found, the station waits for that transmission to end before starting its own transmission. "Multiple Access" means that many stations send and receive on the medium. Transmissions are usually received by all other stations using the medium.
The Archaean (or Archean) eon is the geological period after the Hadean and before the Proterozoic. It is one of the four main time periods (eons) of Earth history. The Archaean lasted from 4,000 million years ago (mya) to 2,500 mya. It contains the first sedimentary rocks, and the first fossil life forms, which were cyanobacteria, and acritarchs. Most of the rocks which survive are volcanic (igneous) and metamorphic in origin. Volcanic activity was everywhere. When the Archaean began, the Earth's heat flow was nearly three times higher than it is today. It was still twice the current level when the Archaean ended, 2,500 mya. This high level of heat flow may have made plate tectonics more vigorous than today. The question of when plate tectonics began is a major research area. The large supercontinent Vaalbara formed in the Archaean. There were oceans already, before the Archaean. The atmosphere almost entirely lacked free oxygen, and instead, it was mostly methane and CO2. Fossil bacterial mats, called stromatolites, are found throughout the Archaean after about 3,500mya. These were formed by cyanobacteria, which used photosynthesis and gave off oxygen as a by-product. Initially, this oxygen was absorbed by combining with iron ions in solution. Not until much later did oxygen build up in the atmosphere. Fossil raindrop marks have been found in the later Archaean, 2,700 mya. The rocks were discovered in Ventersdorp in the North West Province of South Africa in the 1980s.
Line 1, shortened to L1 and known as "Hospital de Bellvitge - Fondo", coloured red and often simply called "Línia vermella" ("Red Line"), is the second oldest metro line in Barcelona, after L3. It is operated by Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB).  Stations. Stations or lines shown in italics are under construction.
The Hadean is the geological eon before the Archaean. It began at the Earth's formation about 4.6 billion years ago, and ended 4 billion years ago. The name "Hadean" comes from "Hades", Greek for "Underworld", due to the conditions on the Earth at the time. The geologist Preston Cloud first used the term in 1972. Meteorite bombardment, volcanism and high temperatures were very widespread on the early Earth. There are no sedimentary rocks from the Hadean at all. The earliest geological objects on Earth are some zircons, dated to about 4,400 million years ago (mya). Oceans would probably have formed as soon as the temperature allowed. It is thought that constant bombardment kept the Earth in a molten state until about the end of the eon.  Early in Earth history, the Moon was torn out by a massive collision with a proto-planet. The evidence for this giant impact hypothesis is:  An explanation for the general lack of Hadean rocks (older than 3800 mya) is the large amount of rocky and icy debris present in the early Solar System. After the eight planets formed, large numbers of leftover protoplanets, asteroids, and comets pursued eccentric orbits throughout our system, bombarding the early Earth and the other planets and moons until approximately 3800 mya. This activity may have prevented any large crustal fragments from forming by literally shattering the early protocontinents. A barrage of particularly large impacts known as the Late Heavy Bombardment represents the climax of this violent era.  No life forms are known from this eon. The early atmosphere contained carbon dioxide, methane and nitrogen, but almost no oxygen.
The Permian is a geological period which started about 299 million years ago (mya), and ended about 252 mya. It is the sixth and last period of the Paleozoic era and the sixth period in the Phanerozoic eon, and ended in the largest mass extinction known to science. Climate. The climate in the Permian was quite varied. At the start of the Permian, the Earth was still at the grip of an ice age from the Carboniferous. Glaciers receded in the mid-Permian period as the climate gradually warmed, drying the continent's interiors. In the late Permian period, the drying continued although the temperature cycled between warm and cool cycles. Life. During the Permian, tetrapod life, (amphibians, Sauropsids and Synapsids) which evolved in the Carboniferous, became widespread and diverse. The first modern trees (conifers, ginkgos and cycads) appeared in the Permian. Insects. The Permian was also a period of adaptive radiation in insects. Beetles (Coleoptera) appeared; so did flies (Diptera). 22 out of a total of 36 known orders of insects are known from the Permian. Some became extinct in the end-Permian event, but more radiation followed in the Mesozoic. Insects were probably, by the end of the Permian, the largest phylum, in terms of number of species. Early relatives of cockroaches (Blattopterans) were the most common insects. and dragonflies ruled the air. True Odonata appeared in the Permian. Pangaea. All the major land masses were collected together in the super-continent Pangaea. At the end of the period, the greatest flood basalt lava flows in the Phanerozoic raised world temperatures, and damaged the environment. These formed the extensive "Siberian traps". The causes of the Permian/Triassic extinction event are not yet agreed between scientists. Trilobites, once a dominant life-form in the ocean, became extinct, together with 90% of all marine species.
A circus is a special kind of entertainment that can be enjoyed by children and adults.  Overview. Circuses are a group of performers that may include acrobats, clowns, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers and other artists who perform stunts. Circuses usually travel about to different parts of the country or to different countries. They perform in a huge tent called the “Big Top”. There may be room for hundreds of people in the audience. The seating is tiered (the seats at the back are higher than those in front). In the middle is the circular area where the artists perform. This area is called the “ring”. The person in charge of the whole show is the “ringmaster”. Not all circuses travel about. A few circuses perform in their own way. Acts. There are many different acts in circuses. Some people do acrobatics and gymnastics. Often a group of gymnasts will finish up standing on top of one another in a pyramid. The gymnasts may also do jumping acts on trampolines. Some people are jugglers, throwing things in the air and catching them. There may be people who walk on stilts or who ride on unicycles. They may perform magic which may include sword-swallowing, knife throwing or fire-eating. There are always clowns who do funny things to make people laugh. They trip over things and fall over, throw buckets of water over one another or put custard pies into one another’s faces. Sometimes these clowns are also very skilful acrobats, musicians or jugglers. They may pretend to be stupid at first, but they often show that they are very clever. Animal acts. Over the last two centuries, and until recently, the modern circus used many kinds of animals. There were wild animals such as lions, tigers or bears. There may also have been camels, horses, elephants, sea lions and domestic animals such as dogs.  In recent years, many have changed their ideas. They think that it is unkind to make wild animals perform tricks that are unnatural to them. Many of their trainers used
Matthew Stajan ( ; born December 19, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. Before playing in the NHL, Stajan played 3 seasons with the Belleville Bulls of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He was drafted with the 57th overall pick by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. On January 31, 2010, the Maple Leafs traded Stajan along with Niklas Hagman, Ian White and Jamal Mayers in exchange for Dion Phaneuf, Fredrik Sjöström and Keith Aulie. He is married to his wife Katie and they live in Calgary. Their first child named Emerson, died on March 3, 2014 shortly after birth.
Mount Athos is a mountain in the Greek province of Macedonia. It is also commonly referred to as the Self-governed Monastic State of the Holy Mountain, which is an autonomous part of Greece.  Overview. There are twenty Eastern Orthodox monasteries inside this state. Spiritually, Mount Athos comes under the direct jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Geography. The peninsula is the easternmost "leg" of the larger Halkidiki peninsula. It protrudes into the Aegean Sea for some at a width between 7 and 12 km and covers an area of , with the actual Mount Athos and its steep, densely forested slopes reaching up to . The seas around the end of the peninsula can be dangerous. Access. The peninsula is only accessible by boat. There is a limit on the number of visitors. People visiting need to get a special permit. Only men are allowed to enter. Monks call Mount Athos the "Garden of the Virgin."  Orthodox Christians take precedence in the permit issuing procedure. Only males over the age of 18 who are members of an Eastern Orthodox Church are allowed to live on Athos. A large number of Albanian Muslims work in the Holy Mountain.  Security. There is a small number of unarmed, religious guards (Σερδάρηδες), who are not monks, for keeping order. Police and Coast Guard presence is very discreet. Any other people not monks are required to live in the peninsula's capital Karyes.  Most workers live at the place where they work. Small low class hotels exist at Karyes (administrative center) and Dafni (main port). The 2001 Greek national census recorded a population of 2,262 inhabitants.
Line 9 (Línia 9 in Catalan) is the newest line in the Barcelona Metro network, currently under construction, with only five complete stations, all in Santa Coloma de Gramenet. These first five stations opened on 13 December 2009. The complete line is a railway project to build a subway line with two branches spanning a good deal of the metropolitan area of Barcelona through Barcelona, Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Badalona, l'Hospitalet de Llobregat and El Prat de Llobregat. TMB is the company operating the line and handled by the division line in two: Line 9 and Line 10. List of stations. El Prat area Central branch, shared with L10 Besòs area
Line 10 (La Sagrera - Gorg and ZAL | Riu Vell - Collblanc) is the name of one of the two branches of the Barcelona metro extension line 9, currently under construction and to be operated by TMB. Overview. It links the Zona Franca with Badalona, through Barcelona proper, sharing a good deal of the area covered by L9. L9/10 will be the deepest line in the network, and the longest line in Europe. Originally expected to be ready by 2008, ongoing problems with its construction are going to delay its completion until as late as 2013. List of stations. Zona Franca area Central branch, shared with L9 Besòs area
Line 2, also known by the names of its termini, currently Paral·lel - Badalona Pompeu Fabra, is a metro line in Barcelona operated by TMB, coloured purple and sometimes simply called "línia lila".  Stations. Station and line names shown in italics are planned or under construction additions.