Verrocchio's statue looks like a real-live boy, dressed in modern parade clothes. He does not stand elegantly. His muscles are all drawn tight. He grips the handle of the sword so tightly that the sinews of his arm stand out. The muscles of his face are pulled into the silly grin that people sometimes get when they are very frightened. Verrocchio's David has just killed the giant, but now he is facing the whole enemy army and wondering what will happen next. The handsome boy that Verrocchio used as his model for David is believed to have been Leonardo da Vinci.
The Medici also gave Verrocchio the job of making a bronze statue of a "Cherub with a Dolphin" to go in the fountain of their home in the countryside. The statue now stands in the small courtyard of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence.
In 1478 Verrocchio began work on his most famous statue. It is a "equestrian statue", a statue of a man on horseback. The statue was made for the Republic of Venice in memory of a famous soldier who had lead military troops many times when Venice was at war. His name was Bartolomeo Colleoni, and he had died in 1475. Colleoni was admired by many people who thought he was a good man, as well as a brave soldier and great military leader. Colleoni left a message to say that he wanted a statue of himself in the main square of Venice, right opposite St Mark's Basilica. The town council would not allow this. The statue was put in another important square, near the Hospital of St Mark and the Church of two Roman soldier-saints, St Giovanni and St Paolo.
When Verrocchio started making this statue, there had been only one big equestrian monument made in more than a thousand years. Donatello had made an equestrian statue of another soldier, who was nicknamed Gattamelata ("the Smug Cat"). Verrocchio must have looked at Donatello's statue, which was in Padua and at the four ancient bronze horses that stood high on the front of St Mark's Basilica. Verrocchio decided to make his horse do something which the St Mark's horses do, but Donatello's horse does not do. The horses at St Marks all have one front hoof raised, so that they are perfectly balanced on only three legs.
Verrocchio's horse looks as if it is moving forward quite fast. It is full of action. The figure of Colleoni is not sitting down in the saddle, he is standing in the stirups, as if he is looking out to spot the enemy. The horse's head turns one way, and the body and face of Colleoni turns the other way. Colleoni looks fierce, as if he is leading his troops into battle. The statue is very lively and very lifelike.
Verrocchio moved from Florence to Venice in 1488, to help with the casting of the bronze statue. But he died that year, and never saw his most famous work finished.
Toxoplasma
Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite that can infect almost all warm-blooded animals, including humans.
In humans, it is one of the most common parasites. Blood test show that up to a third of the world population has been or is infected with "T. gondii". Infection rates differ greatly from country to country.
Although mild, flu-like symptoms occasionally occur during the first few weeks, infection with "T. gondii" generally produces no symptoms in healthy human adults. But in infants, HIV/AIDS patients, and others with weakened immunity, infection can cause serious and occasionally fatal illness (toxoplasmosis).
Infection in humans and other warm-blooded animals can occur
The parasite can only sexually reproduce in the intestines of members of the cat family (felids). Felids are therefore the definitive hosts of "T. gondii", with all other hosts defined as 'intermediate hosts'.
Thai Airways
Thai Airways International (การบินไทย) is the national airline of Thailand. "Thai Airways International" began in 1960. In 1988, it was combine with "Thai Airways Company". This created the current Thai Airways. It joined Star Alliance in 1997. Its headquarters are at 89 Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900. As of December 2020, it has 61 aircraft. It goes to 78 cities all over the world, except Africa and America.
Falklands War
The Falklands War was a war between the United Kingdom and Argentina over the Falkland Islands in 1982. The Falkland Islands are 480 kilometres from Argentina in the southern Atlantic Ocean.
Argentina and the United Kingdom have argued over which country the Falklands Islands belongs to since the 1800s. In the 1760s and 1770s, the British set up a town at Port Egmont, which nearly led to a war with Spain who had a town at Port Louis. Then Argentina became a separate country from Spain in 1817 and set up a colony on the islands (which they call "Malvinas") in 1820. An American warship later destroyed this town, and the British took the islands again in 1833.
The British kept the islands until Argentinian Special Forces invaded on 2 April 1982 and took control of the island.
The United Nations Security Council asked Argentina to withdraw, and tried to end the crisis with diplomacy. After seven weeks, Argentina did not withdraw, so the British Armed Forces traveled 8000 miles to attack. After a short battle in the air and at sea, the British landed on 21 May and fought on land until Argentina's army surrendered on 14 June.
The British captured 11,313 soldiers, and killed about 650. Almost half of these Argentinian deaths were when the warship ARA "General Belgrano" was sunk by the British submarine HMS "Conqueror". In total there were 258 British deaths.
Red kangaroo
The red kangaroo ("Macropus rufus") is the largest kangaroo. The word "macropus" means "big foot" and "rufus" means red. It is the largest mammal in Australia, and the largest marsupial in the world. It lives in the arid open areas of Australia which covers much of the country. It is not found in the south, on the east coast, or in the northern rainforests.
The red kangaroo is a very large kangaroo. The fur is short, red to brown in colour, fading to a pale colour below and on the legs. Females are smaller than males and are a blue-grey colour with a small amount of brown, pale grey below, although arid area females are coloured like males. The kangaroo has long, pointed ears and a squared-off nose. The kangaroo has two front legs with small claws. It has two strong back legs, which are used for jumping, and a strong tail which is often used for balance when standing upright. The tail is also used as a fifth leg when walking slowly.
The males can jump a distance of in one leap.
Males grow up to tall and weigh up to . Females are tall and weigh up to . The tails is about long. There are often reports of larger red kangaroos, with some males reaching about tall.
The red kangaroo is able to keep its body cool (36 °C, 96.8 °F) in a hot climate. Its fur acts to insulate the body and during the heat of the day the kangaroo will rest and stay in the shade. It also control its temperature by panting (breathing hard), sweating and licking its front legs.
The red kangaroo's range of vision is about 300° because of the position of its eyes. (A human's range of vision is about 180°).
The red kangaroo is nocturnal and crepuscular, and spends the day sleeping or resting in the shade. It is active in the cool of the evening and at dawn. It lives alone or in small groups called 'mobs'. Membership of these groups often changes, and males are not territorial. The largest males control most of the matings and chase off other males.
The Red Kangaroo eats grasses and other vegetation. It can go without water, as they are able to get enough moisture out of plants.
The red kangaroo breeds all year round. The gestation period is around 33 days. The females are also able to delay birth of their baby until their previous joey has left the pouch. The young joey leaves the pouch at around 235 days old, but will continue to suckle until it reaches 1 year of age.