The Bahrain Grand Prix is usually the third race on the Formula One schedule. In the 2006 season, Bahrain traded places with the usual first race, the Australian Grand Prix. The Australian Grand Prix date was changed to avoid interfering with the Commonwealth Games. In , Bahrain was moved to the fourth race on the schedule. In , Bahrain was the first race of the season. For 2010, the Formula One cars raced on the full "Endurance Circuit".
Starting in 2011, Formula One will return to the original track layout. This is the layout that was used in 2004.
Phase 10
Phase 10 is a card game for people to play, somewhat similar to Uno, or Skip-Bo.
Muharraq Governorate
The Muharraq Governorate is one of the five governorates of Bahrain. It is together with the municipality of Al Muharraq and with Muharraq Island and with outlying islets. It includes the former municipality of Al Hadd at the southern end of that island.
Muharraq is Bahrain's second largest city and is also called the "Place of Ashes".
1997 Qayen earthquake
The 1997 Qayen earthquake was a large earthquake that struck in Northern Iran's Khorasan Province on May 10, 1997. It was also known as the Quayen, Ardekul or Qaen earthquake. It was the largest in that area since 1990 and measured 7.3 on the moment magnitude scale. It was the third earthquake in 1997 that caused a lot of damage. It killed 1,567 people and injured over 2,300. It also left 50,000 homeless by damaging over 15,000 homes. There were 155 aftershocks that added to the damage, which was guessed to cost about $100 million.
The United States Geological Survey said that it was the most deadly earthquake in 1997.
Wind turbine
A wind turbine is a rotating machine that transfers kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used directly by machinery, such as for pumping water, cutting lumber or grinding stones, the machine is called a windmill. If the mechanical energy is instead converted to electricity, the machine may be called a wind turbine generator (WTG), wind power unit (WPU), wind energy converter (WEC), or aerogenerator.
The wind turbine's blades are turned by the wind. This turns a shaft turning slowly, at about 10-20 rpm with a high torque. The shaft goes into a reduction gearbox with a ratio of about 1:50, although some wind turbine gearboxes can have a ratio of 1:100 or more. Some wind turbines may have no reduction gearbox at all, and have a ratio of 1:1. The gearbox turns the generator more quickly, at around 1000 rpm, at a low torque. The generator creates electricity. This electricity is combined with any other wind turbines that may be in the same wind farm. This combined electricity may be used locally, or adjusted to match the electricity in the power grid and sent to the power grid.
Although wind turbines are a renewable source of energy and don't pollute the environment as a result of generating power, they have an environmental impact. Some people think that wind turbines create a lot of noise and look unappealing. However, wind turbines are placed no closer than 300 meters from residential homes. At that distance, a wind turbine is no louder than an average household air conditioner.
Wet-tail
Wet-tail or proliferative ileitis, is a disease in rodents kept in cages, mainly hamsters, but can include rabbits, gerbils, rats, and mice. It is caused by stress. Even with treatment, the animal can die within 24–48 hours. Baby hamsters are much more likely to get the disease than older hamsters. It commonly is found when the hamster is being weaned at about four weeks of age.
Wet-tail is a disease in the animal's intestines caused by the bacteria, "Lawsonia intracellularis". Wet-tail is stress related. The stress can be caused by:
The symptoms may not appear for several days. The main symptom is the animal has a wet tail, matted with faeces. Other signs of the disease are:
There are drugs to treat wet-tail which can be bought from pet shops. A vet may choose to give the animal other drugs. The sick animal should be kept in a cage by itself so that others do not catch the disease.
Luxury box
Luxury box or luxury suite is the North American term for a special seating section in arenas, stadiums and other sports venues. In the United Kingdom and Australia the terms used are corporate box, executive box, sky box and private box. They are usually in the mid-section of the stadium. The seats have usually the best views of the sporting event. Some have glass panels that can be opened, in order for the spectators to feel closer to the action of the sporting event. The inside of a luxury box usually has a bar, several televisions sets, a row of seats and a private bathroom. The boxes are usually catered. The lease to a box also comes with a personal parking space, and a private entrance. The boxes usually generate more revenue than regular seating.
Contactless smart card
A contactless smart card is a kind of smart card with integrated circuits that can process and save data. Most cards are as big as a credit card. They can receive information which is processed and delivered through radio. There are two main kinds of contactless smart cards.
Many people believe contactless smart cards have a read-only RFID inside it. This is not true, but they do have a re-writable smart card microchip inside them. Contactless smart cards can be used for identification, authentication, and saving data.
Pericles' Funeral Oration
Pericles' Funeral Oration is a famous speech from Thucydides' "History of the Peloponnesian War". The speech was delivered by Pericles at the end of the first year of the Peloponnesian War (431 - 404 BCE). He was a famous Athenian politician. The speech was a part of the yearly public funeral for the people who died in the war.
At that time, people in Athens had a custom of holding a public funeral for the people who died in war. The bodies of the dead were left out for three days in a tent, where offerings could be made for the dead.
"Funeral Oration" was recorded by Thucydides in book two of his "History of the Peloponnesian War". Thucydides records the speech as if every word in the record was what Pericles said. However, people agree he did, at least, correct or change the speeches a little. Thucydides says in his "History" that the speeches are not completely the same as what was really said, but written to show the main ideas of what was said. It is quite certain that Pericles delivered a speech at the end of the first year of the war. However, people are not sure how much Thucydides' record is the same as Pericles' actual speech.
The Funeral Oration is important because the speech was different from usual Athenian funeral speeches. David Cartwright describes it as "a eulogy (description) of Athens itself...". The speech is about what great things Athens did, delivered to encourage the people.
American Civil War scholar Garry Wills calls Abraham Lincoln's famous Gettysburg Address the modern parallel to Pericles' Funeral Oration.
Gorgoneion
In Ancient Greece, the Gorgoneion () was originally a magic pendant showing the Gorgon's head. (The use of magic against evil, or bad luck is generally called Apotropaism).
The gorgoneion was linked with the gods Zeus and Athena; both are said to have worn it as a pendant. It was also popular as a royal symbol, worn on shields and capes. These can be seen on the Alexander Mosaic and the Gonzaga Cameo.
Homer wrote about the Gorgon on four occasions, but only about the head, as if the creature had no body. Jane Ellen Harrison notes that "Medusa is a head and nothing more...a mask." The body was added many years later. Up to the 5th century BC, the head was shown as being very ugly, with her tongue sticking out, boar tusks, puffy cheeks, her eyeballs staring straight ahead and the snakes twisting all around her.