The present populations are relicts, and of restricted distribution. They are found in forest and shrubland, in exposed sites. These tall trees are living fossils, dating back to early in the Mesozoic era.
Fossil records show that the genus also formerly occurred in the northern hemisphere until the end of the Cretaceous period. By far the greatest diversity exists in New Caledonia, due to the island's long isolation and stability.
Araucaria are mainly large trees with a massive erect stem, reaching a height of 30–80 m. The horizontal, spreading branches grow in whorls and are covered with leathery or needle-like leaves. In some species, the leaves are narrow and shaped like a lance, barely overlapping each other, in others they are broad and flat, and overlap broadly.
The whole group was common in the Jurassic period. The living "Araucaria araucana" is often called the monkey-puzzle tree, The whole family Araucariaceae is often called that name by palaeo-botanists. The leaves (pictured here) have an average lifespan of 24 years, and cover most of the tree except for the older branches.
9500
9500 is a year in the 10th millennium.
Agathis
Agathis is a genus of evergreen, coniferous trees, the kauri. They grow mainly in the southern hemisphere, including southeast Asia, areas of the western Pacific, and Australasia.
"Agathis" is a relatively small genus, with only 21 known species. As a conifer, it bears its seeds in conifer cones. Mature "Agathis" can become quite large, reaching 130 feet (about 40 m) in height and 10 feet (about 3 m) in diameter.
The genus is part of the ancient Araucariaceae family of conifers, a group once widespread during the Jurassic period, but now largely restricted to the southern hemisphere.
Mature kauri trees have large trunks, forming a bole with little or no branching below the crown. In contrast, young trees are normally conical in shape, forming a more rounded or irregularly shaped crown as they mature.
In the logging industry it is generally referred to as commercial grade mahogany. Timber from the "Agathis" has several uses, including cabinet making, boat building, musical instruments, and in years past, artificial limbs. It also produces a wide variety of resins.
Red Bull
Red Bull is a soda. Red Bull is based on the Thai soda Krating Daeng, which translates as "Red Bull". Red Bull is the most popular energy drink/ soda in the world, based on its share of sales. The company was founded by Thai national Chaleo Yoovidhya and Austrian national Dietrich Mateschitz. Chaleo Yoovidhya and his son own 51 percent interest in the company. Mateschitz is responsible for the company's operations through the Austrian company Red Bull GmbH.
Red Bull's slogan is "it gives you wings". The product is strongly marketed through advertising, tournament sponsorship, sports team ownerships, celebrity endorsements, and with its record label. Red Bull sponsors Red Bull Air Race, "Red Bull Crashed Ice". It owns the sports team Red Bull Racing, Scuderia Toro Rosso, "EC Red Bull Salzburg", "FC Red Bull Salzburg", Red Bull New York, and "RB Leipzig". Red Bull started its own record label, "Red Bull Records".
In 2009 it was discovered that Red Bull Cola exported from Austria contained trace amounts of cocaine. Red Bull has also been criticized about the possible health risks of the drink.
Red Bull took many marketing and ingredient ideas from an energy drink in Thailand called Krating Daeng. Dietrich Mateschitz, an Austrian entrepreneur, developed the Red Bull Energy Drink brand. Mateschitz was the international marketing director for Blendax, a toothpaste company, when he visited Thailand in 1982 and discovered that Krating Daeng helped to cure his jet lag. Between 1984 and 1987, Mateschitz worked with TC Pharmaceutical (a Blendax licensee) to adapt Krating Daeng for the European market.
At the same time Mateschitz and Chaleo Yoovidhya founded Red Bull GmbH; each investing $500,000 of savings and taking a stake in the new company. Chaleo and Dietrich each held a 49% share of the new company. They gave the remaining 2% to Chaleo's son Chalerm, but it was agreed that Mateschitz would run the company. The product was launched in 1987, in a carbonated format.
Red Bull was launched first in Singapore in 1989 followed by Hungary, its second foreign market in 1992. It entered the United States market (via California) in 1997 and the Middle East in 2000. In 2008, "Forbes" magazine listed both Chaleo and Mateschitz as being the 260th richest persons in the world with an estimated net worth of $4.0 billion.
Red Bull contains taurine, glucuronolactone, caffeine, B vitamins, sucrose and glucose. Red Bull sugar-free also contains phenylalanine in place of sucrose and glucose.
Red Bull GmbH also manufactures Red Bull Cola, containing the coca leaf, which has sparked a controversy in Germany regarding minute traces of cocaine.
A review published in 2008 found no documented reports of negative or positive health effects associated with the amount of taurine used in energy drinks, including Red Bull, concluding that "The amounts of guarana, taurine, and ginseng found in popular energy drinks are far below the amounts expected to deliver either therapeutic benefits or adverse events. However, caffeine and sugar are present in amounts known to cause a variety of adverse health effects."
Commonly reported adverse effects due to caffeine used in the quantities present in Red Bull are insomnia, nervousness, headache, and tachycardia (see Caffeine intoxication).
A 2008 position statement issued by the National Federation of State High School Associations made the following recommendations about energy drink consumption, in general, by young athletes:
The results of a study conducted in 2008 showed that the ingestion of one, 250mL can of sugar-free Red Bull, in a sample of 30 healthy young adults, had an immediate detrimental effect on both endothelial function, and normal blood coagulation. This temporarily raised the cardiovascular risk in these individuals to a level comparable to that of an individual with established coronary artery disease.
Based on their results, researchers involved with the study cautioned against the consumption of Red Bull in individuals under stress, in those with high blood pressure, or in anyone with established atherosclerotic disease.
Red Bull representatives, however, stated that this observed increase in cardiovascular risk was not felt to be different from that associated with drinking a regular cup of coffee. They also stated that they believed that Red Bull must be safe, as it was felt the only way Red Bull could have such substantial global sales is if various health authorities had concluded the drink safe to consume.
There has been at least one case report of Red Bull overdose causing postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome in a young athlete.
A February 3, 2009 article in "The Daily Telegraph" called, "Red Bull 'may have triggered heart condition that killed student'"
reported on the death of a 21 year-old woman who died after drinking four cans of Red Bull as well as alcohol at "social levels". It was believed, but had not been proven, that she suffered from a rare heart condition called long QT Syndrome. She was on medication for epilepsy. A medical examination found that there were no illegal drugs in her system. The article quoted a doctor as saying, "The QT levels may have grown over a few years, or it may have been artificially pushed over the limit by caffeine".
In April and June 2009, batches of "Red Bull Cola" drinks imported from Austria were found to contain between 0.1 - 0.3 micrograms of cocaine per litre, according to Hong Kong officials. In Taiwan it was found that the importer was due to launch a marketing campaign the next day. Importing cocaine to the island is an offense that is punishable by death or a life sentence in prison. In Germany, 11 out of 16 states had already banned the drinks by May 25, 2009.