Steatite is softer than most stones. Because steatite feels like soap, people call it "soapstone". People have been making things out of soapstone for thousands of years.
Soapstone has been a major component of ceramics used as electrical component insulators for many years. It is easily formed or carved into shapes.
During the Harappan/Indus civilization (2500 BC1750 BC) soapstone was used in the manufacture of seals. These people used to import steatite from Shaher-i-sokhta and the Kirthar hills.
Treaty of Tordesillas
The Treaty of Tordesillas was a treaty between Portugal and Spain in 1494 in which they decided to divide up all the land in the Americas between the two of them, no matter who was already living there. Pope Alexander VI, who was Spanish, was the Pope at the time of the treaty. He drew an imaginary line 2,193 kilometers to the west of the Cape Verde Islands, gave Portugal the land to the east of this line, and gave Spain the land to the west of this line. King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile were the rulers of Spain at the time and together they signed this treaty in Tordesillas, Spain, which is how the treaty got its name. This also changed Spanish and Portuguese exploration of the New World, which in part explains why the Portuguese-speaking part of South America became one country called Brazil and the Spanish-speaking colonies split up into many different independent countries including Argentina, Colombia, and many others.This treaty took place during the age of discovery and was one a very important part of it.
This was the justification of Spain for occupying the French colony of Port St Louis established on the Falklands Islands in 1764, saying it was on their side of the world.
Spain governed the territories West of the line and Portugal governed the territories east of the line.
After Great Britain (1600) and the Netherlands (1602) joined the Portuguese and Spanish in exploring the world at the beginning of the 17th century, the Treaty was breached and more or less 'cancelled'. By this time, Portugal's limited resources had already reduced its ability to hold its Asian colonies and trade superiority. In time, the French, Danes, Swedes and eventually the Americans joined the earlier Europeans in seeking a foothold in South and East Asia.
Second (disambiguation)
Second stands for:
Mr. Magoo
Mr. Quincy Magoo is a popular cartoon character from the late 1940s until the 1970s. Jim Backus was the voice of Mr. Magoo. Mr. Magoo was not able to see well because he was very nearsighted.
The first cartoon with Mr. Magoo was "The Ragtime Bear" (1949).
Jam
Jam is a condiment. It is usually made from pressed fruit, sugar, and sometimes pectin. Most jams are cooked. After making, jam is normally put into an airtight jar.
Usually a jam contains as much sugar as it contains fruit. The two parts are then cooked together to form a gel.
In the European Union, the jam directive (Council Directive 79/693/EEC, 24 July 1979) sets minimum standards for the amount of "fruit" in jam. It also expanded the definition of fruit. This was done to take several unusual kinds of jam made in the EU into account. For this purpose, "fruit" is considered to include fruits that are not usually treated as fruits, such as tomatoes; fruits that are not normally made into jams, such as melons and watermelons; and vegetables that are sometimes made into jams, such as: rhubarb (the edible part of the stalks), carrots, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, and pumpkins. This definition continues to apply in a later directive, Council Directive 2001/113/EC (20 December 2001).
According to Canadian food and drug regulation (CRC), jam and jam products must at least have 45% of the named fruit and 66% of water-soluble solids. In addition, it may contain added pectin, pectinous preparation, or acid ingredient. Also, reasonable amount of a Class II preservative, a pH adjusting agent, and an antifoaming agent is acceptable. However, the jam product shall not contain apple or rhubarb.
Marmalade is jam made from oranges and tends to have pulp and peels.
Jelly is different from jam as it is made from mostly juice instead of fruit.
Fruit butters are made from slow cooking fruit to a smooth consistency.
Joan Miró used blackberry jam as an art medium.
As a gel, jam is neither a solid or a liquid. It can contain chunks of fruit which are solids. Once opened and out of the fridge the gel becomes more like a liquid, and is able to decay.
Neiße
The word Neisse or Neiße (German) or Nysa (Polish) is the name of three rivers and one city.
Penalty kick
A penalty kick (short pen) is a type of free kick in football. The ball is 11 meters away from the goal post. A penalty kick is taken by the team which has been fouled if the violent act is made in the penalty box.
Penalties can also happen in a penalty shootout, when there is a draw in a match even after added extra time.
Vanilla
Vanilla is a spice and a flavoring. The plant it grows on is the orchid "Vanilla", which is a vine.
The main species picked for vanilla is called "Vanilla planifolia". Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés is credited with introducing both vanilla and chocolate to Europe in the 1520s.
Today, most of the flavoring is done in chemical laboratories. The pure (man-made) form of the flavoring is known as 'vanillin'.
The plant was brought to Europe by the Spanish in the 1520s. Vanilla was a well-regarded spice in Mesoamerica.
The first people to grow vanilla were the Totonac people. They lived the east part of Mexico, by the sea. The Totonac people say that the vanilla plant was first made when a royal daughter and her lover were killed.
In the 15th century, Aztecs fought a war with the Totonacs. The Totonacs lost the war. The Aztecs liked the taste of vanilla. They named the fruit "tlilxochitl", which means "black flower", because vanilla fruits turn black and dry after they are picked.
Until the mid-19th century, Mexico was the biggest producer of vanilla. In 1819, however, French businessmen shipped vanilla to the islands of Réunion and Mauritius in hope of growing vanilla there. Vanilla did not grow well there, because these places did not have the right kind of bees to take pollen between the plants. A young slave, Edmond Albius, discovered how to take pollen to the flowers quickly by hand. Then vanilla began to grow well in the new places. Soon, vanilla plants were sent from Réunion Island to the Comoros Islands and to Madagascar. By 1898, Madagascar, Réunion, and the Comoros Islands produced 200 metric tons of vanilla fruits, about 80% of the vanilla grown in the world.
In the 1930s, businesses made a group to choose prices. The price of vanilla rose very high in the late 1970s after a big storm hurt important croplands. Prices remained high through the early 1980s, but then the group ended. Prices dropped 70% in a few years, to nearly US$20 for one kilogram. In 2000, prices rose sharply again after another big storm struck Madagascar. The storm, political problems, and poor weather in the third year drove vanilla prices up to US$500 for one kilogram in 2004. In 2005, the price went down to about $40 for one kilogram. By 2010, prices were down to US$20 for one kilogram.
Today, most Bourbon vanilla and vanilla fruit is produced in Indonesia. Madagascar also grows a lot of vanilla. Mexico, once the biggest producer of natural vanilla, used to grow 500 tons of vanilla in a year. In 2006, it made only 10 tons of vanilla.
About 95% of "vanilla" foods are flavored with man-made vanillin instead of with vanilla fruits. Vanillin can be produced synthetically from lignin, a natural polymer found in wood.
Pepper
Peppers are plants, but there are many unrelated genera
Glatzer Neisse
The Glatzer Neiße (Polish Nysa Kłodzka) is a river that flows into the Oder river from the left.