Hurricane Rita was a powerful hurricane in the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. It hit the United States' Gulf Coast. At its peak intensity, it was a strong Category 5 storm with sustained winds of 175 miles per hour. It made landfall as a Category 3 storm, and caused more flooding in New Orleans, which already had weakened levees due to Hurricane Katrina. In addition, it caused large power outages.
Boeing 767
The Boeing 767 is a passenger airplane manufactured by Boeing. The Boeing 767 is a large airplane; however, it is Boeing's smallest widebody (an aircraft which has two aisles), larger than the Boeing 757 but smaller than the 777. The passengers sit two across, aisle, three across, aisle, and then two across. It can seat a maximum of 375 to 410 passengers.
The first airplane, American Airlines, Flight 11 to hit the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 was a Boeing 767.
United, Delta, Continental, British Airways and other airlines operate Boeing 767s. The 767 can have engines supplied by Rolls-Royce, General Electric or Pratt and Whitney.
The Boeing 767 was produced from 1981 and remains in production today. Boeing will replace the 767 with the 787.
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Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American writer from Maine. He wrote scary horror novels. His books and stories have sold more than 300 million copies. He has written more than fifty novels, two hundred short stories, and nine collections of short fiction.
King's first novel, Carrie, was published in 1974. Many of his stories have been made into movies or television programs. The movies and programs include "The Shining", "The Shawshank Redemption", "The Green Mile", "Misery", "Pet Sematary", "It" (the miniseries) and the 2017 movie "It".
King has written some of his books under the name "Richard Bachman". He collaborated with Peter Straub on others.
King's highest rated books (as rated by readers) include "Carrie", "The Shining", "The Stand", "Misery", "It", "Cujo", "The Dark Tower", "Under the Dome" and "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption".
Stephen King was born in Portland, Maine. His mother's name is Nelie Ruth and his father's name is Donald Edwin King.
King and his wife Tabitha own three different houses. One house is in Bangor, Maine, one is in Lovell, Maine and one is in Sarasota, Florida. Stephen and Tabitha have three children and three grandchildren.
Baby
A baby is a human younger than about 1 or 2 years old.
Other terms can be used to describe the baby's stage of development. These terms do not follow clear rules and are used differently by different people, and in different regions. For example, "infant" may be used until the baby can walk, while some use "infant" until the baby is one year old. From birth until 3 months of age, a baby can be called a "newborn". Depending on how many weeks gestation at birth, newborns may be called premature, post-mature, or full term. The word "infant" comes from Latin: "infans" means "unable to speak".
At birth, many parts of the newborn's skull are not yet converted to bone, leaving "soft spots". Later in the child's life, these bones join together naturally. A protein called noggin is responsible for the delay in an infant's skull fusion. During labour and birth, the infant's skull changes shape as it goes through the birth canal. Sometimes this causes the child to be born with a misshapen or elongated head. It will usually return to normal in a short time.
Some religions have ceremonies that occur after a new baby is born, such as Baptism, which involves partly or fully covering the baby in water.
After learning to walk, babies are often called toddlers, usually between one and three years of age.
Sometimes, a woman's baby may die before or during its birth. Babies which have died in this way are called stillborn babies, or miscarried babies.
Cactus
A cactus is a kind of a plant adapted to hot, dry climates. Plants which live this kind of life-style are called xerophytes. Most are succulents, which store water.
Cacti are members of the plant family Cactaceae, in the order Caryophyllales. There are about 127 genera, with over 1750 known species. "Almost all of them are native to the Americas", from Patagonia in the south to parts of western Canada in the north. The species "Rhipsalis baccifera" also grows in Africa and Sri Lanka.
Theophrastus was the first to use the word "cactus": It comes from Ancient Greek . Theophrastus used it for a spiny plant whose identity is not known for sure. Cacti are part of an important food chain in dry, hot climates. Now cacti have spread to many other parts of the world, and many people like to grow them in pots or gardens.
Many cacti live in dry places, such as deserts. Most cacti have sharp thorns (stickers) and thick skin. There are many shapes and sizes of cacti. Some are short and round; others are tall and thin. Many cactus flowers are big and beautiful. Some bloom at night and are pollinated by moths and bats. Some cactus fruits are brightly coloured and good to eat: many animals eat cactus fruits.
An adaptation is anything that helps a living thing survive and make more of its own kind. Cacti have many adaptations for living in places that are sometimes dry for a long time. At other times these places can get lots of rain.
Cacti can have many small, thin roots near the top of the soil. These roots take in water quickly after a rain. The same cactus may have one long, thick root called a taproot. The taproot grows deep in the soil. It can reach water when the soil on top is dry.
Cacti store water in thick stems. The stems are covered with tough skin, and the skin is covered with wax. The thick waxy skin slows down loss of water. The leaves of cacti are sharp spines (thorns, stickers). Many animals want the water inside the cactus, but the sharp spines and thick skin protect the cactus.
Cacti are commonly grown as houseplants. They are pretty and easy to grow. Some cacti are grown in gardens, especially in dry areas. Cactus can be used as a living fence. The wood of dead cactus is sometimes used for houses
People eat the fruit of some kinds of cactus, such as dragonfruit and prickly pear. "Dactylopius coccus" is a scale insect from which cochineal dye is got. This insect lives on cacti from the genus "Opuntia", feeding on moisture and nutrients in the cactus sap. The insect produces carminic acid, which deters predation by other insects. The carminic acid can be extracted from the insect's body and eggs to make the red dye.
The ancient Aztecs of North America held cactus to be very important. Cactus can be found in many of their sculptures and drawings. The national coat of arms of Mexico shows an eagle, a snake, and cactus.
Christopher Columbus brought the first cactus to Europe. Scientists and gardeners became very interested in cactus.
Prickly pear was taken to Australia in the 19th century for use as a natural fence and for use in the cochineal industry. The cactus spread out of control, but was controlled by the larva of a South American moth.
From the start of the 20th century interest in cactus has grown. Every year, scientists discover new kinds of cactus. A bad effect of this has been the digging up of many cacti from the wild, making some kinds endangered.
A cactus does not have leaves because it lives in dry places. Leaves transpire, and this can waste water. So, the cactus saves water by having no leaves. The green parts of the cactus are actually its stems. Because the stems are green, they do the photosynthesis for the cactus. They also grow prickly needles to protect the cactus from animals that want to eat it.
The family contains more than 100 genera. Some of them are:
Desert
A desert is an arid (very dry) biome. They get less than of rainfall a year. Another source defines it as "any region that can have a moisture deficit over the course of a year. In other words, they can have less rainfall in a year than they give up through evaporation".