In 2007, on the east coast of Korea, the first train crossed the DMZ on the new Donghae Bukbu (Tonghae Pukpu) Line. The new rail crossing was built next to the road which took South Koreans to Kŭmgangsan, a region that has significant cultural importance for all Koreans. More than one million civilian visitors crossed the DMZ until the route was closed after a 53-year-old South Korean tourist was shot in July 2008. The North Korean government did not want that both police forces investigate the shooting together, so the South Korean government stopped offering tours to the resort. Since then the resort, and the Donghae Bukbu Line have effectively been closed by the North.
In the past half century, the Korean DMZ has been a deadly place for humans, making habitation impossible. Only around the village of Panmunjeom and more recently the Dong Bukbu Line on Korea's east coast have there been regular incursions by people.
This natural isolation along the length of the DMZ has created an involuntary park which is now recognised as one of the most well-preserved areas of temperate habitat in the world.
Several endangered animal and plant species now exist among the heavily fortified fences, landmines and listening posts. These include the extremely rare Red-crowned Crane (a staple of Asian art), and the White-naped crane as well as, potentially, the extremely rare Korean Tiger, Amur leopard and Asiatic black bear. Ecologists have identified some 2,900 plant species, 70 types of mammals and 320 kinds of birds within the narrow buffer zone. Additional surveys are now being conducted throughout the region.
The DMZ owes its varied biodiversity to its geography which crosses mountains, prairies, swamps, lakes and tidal marshes. Environmentalists hope that by the time reunification occurs, the former DMZ will be conserved as a wildlife refuge, with a well-developed set of objective and management plans vetted and in place. In 2005, CNN founder and media mogul, Ted Turner, on a visit to North Korea, said that he would financially support any plans to turn the DMZ into a peace park and a UN-protected World Heritage Site.
Since trying to cross the DMZ is extremely dangerous, most North Korean defectors, or people who leave their home country to join an new country in a way the first country claims to be illegal, begin their escape through the border with China. This is because the Chinese-North Korean border is much less heavily guarded, although crossing the Chinese border is not without risks. However, there have been some escapees who have escaped by crossing the DMZ. Most of these people who successfully crossed the DMZ were North Korean soldiers who already had some knowledge of the area. Of the 33,000 North Korean defectors, only 21 North Korean soldiers crossed the DMZ and lived since the North Korean famine in 1996.
Robert Falcon Scott
Captain Robert Falcon Scott CVO, RN (6 June 1868 – 29 March 1912) was an English Royal Navy officer and explorer who died on an expedition to the South Pole. He is widely known as "Scott of the Antarctic", the title of a 1948 movie.
Scott led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery Expedition, 1901–04, and the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition, 1910–13.
Before his appointment to lead the Discovery Expedition, Scott had followed the conventional career of a naval officer in peacetime Victorian Britain, where opportunities for career advancement were keenly sought after by ambitious officers.
It was the chance for personal distinction that led Scott to apply for command of the "Discovery". His name became associated with the Antarctic, his field of work for the final twelve years of his life.
During this second venture, Scott led a party of five which reached the South Pole on 17 January 1912, only to find that Roald Amundsen's Norwegian expedition had got there first. On the return journey, Scott and his four comrades died from exhaustion, starvation and extreme cold. The tragic fate of his expedition is still remembered throughout the world.
After his death, Scott became a British hero. His reputation suffered from several books written later in the 20th century. Still later, Scott's record was reviewed more favourably. The main cause of the failure of the expedition is now said to be the exceptionally adverse weather at the end of the return from the pole.
Scott took ponies, motorised sleds and ordinary sleds, which he and his men pulled. He thought that the number of animals overworked and killed should be held as low as possible and considered his rival Roald Amundsen's approach as cruel. Amundsen, on the other hand, killed dog after dog to feed himself, the men and the rest of the dogs. He did not feel bad about it. The ponies helped travelling part of the way to the pole, but some of them were so stubborn that the expedition members, especially Lawrence Oates, lost much energy that was needed to get back from the pole. The motorised sleds (which worked well at the start) eventually froze up. The dogs, of which there 36, were left behind on the final attempt on the Pole.
One factor which has been re-discovered is that Scott gave the dog driver Meares written orders before leaving for the final attempt on the pole. The order was for dogs to be brought up towards the returning party. This order was supplemented by Scott asking Atkinson to make a similar attempt (Atkinson was one of those not chosen for the final attempt group). In the event, neither of these actions took place.
Standard state
The standard state is a common way for measuring properties of chemicals. Standard state normally is room temperature (25°C) and normal atmospheric pressure (14.7 psi). Normally when no temperature or pressure is given, standard state is implied. If an article says "bromine is a liquid" it means bromine is a liquid in the standard state.
Tellurium trioxide
Tellurium trioxide, also known as tellurium(VI) oxide is a chemical compound. Its chemical formula is TeO. It contains tellurium and oxide ions. It contains tellurium in its +6 oxidation state.
Tellurium trioxide can come in two forms. There is a yellow-red form and a gray form. The yellow red form is more reactive. It is a powerful oxidizing agent. It reacts with strong bases to make tellurates. It releases oxygen to turn into tellurium dioxide when heated.
It is made by taking the water from telluric acid. The gray form can be made from this by reacting the yellow-red form with sulfuric acid and air.
Sons of Liberty
The Sons of Liberty were a group of people in Boston at the time of the American Revolution. They were led by Samuel Adams, James Otis, and Paul Revere. Other well-known members included Benedict Arnold and Patrick Henry. They were in favor of rights of colonial Americans, which meant they often did not like the British. Some people thought the Sons of Liberty were a mob. The Sons of Liberty were the main group involved in the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party. They also participated in the Stamp Act.
Agnes Grey
Agnes Grey is a novel written by the English author Anne Brontë and first published in 1847. The novel is about a governess of that name and is said to be based on Anne Brontë's own experiences. It was her first novel.
Story has happy end. Finally, Agnes married her heart friend Edward Weston and they have three children called Agnes, Mary and Edward.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is the second and final novel by English author Anne Brontë, published in 1848 under the false name Acton Bell. Story framed as a letter from Gilbert Markham to his friend and brother-in-law. He writes about events leading to his meeting his wife. It is a classic of English literature.