A clothes iron (also flatiron or smoothing iron) has a handle and a flat triangle shaped surface. Electricity makes the flat surface hot. A hot iron is rubbed on clothes to make them flat and smooth. This is called ironing. The handle does not get hot because that is where it is held. They are named clothes irons because they used to be made out of the metal iron.
Cloth is made from lots of small strings. When people wear clothes or move other things made from cloth, the little strings might bend and make lumps. Because the iron is heavy and hot when it is turned on, the little strings stretch and go flat when the iron is put on top. Different kinds of cloth need to be ironed in different ways. If the iron is too hot then the cloth might get broken or burn. If the iron is too cold then the strings might stay lumpy and not go flat. Sometimes people use water with an iron, which makes steam. This can make it easier to iron clothes because the small strings get soft. Some cloth does not need to be ironed because the strings always stays flat.
No one can agree why people iron clothes. Some people think wearing clothes that have been ironed shows they are not lazy. Other people think that not ironing clothes can make them look nicer.
Bab Christensen
Barbra Karine "Bab" Christensen (8 January 1928 – 10 April 2017) was a Norwegian actress.
Christensen was born in Kristiania, Norway. She made her stage debut in 1947 at the National Theatre, and was employed at Den Nationale Scene from 1949, the National Theatre from 1952, Trøndelag Teater from 1963, Fjernsynsteatret from and Det Norske Teatret from 1970.
Christensen appeared in a small number of movies, but her best known work was in "Stevnemøte med glemte år" (1957).
She was married to Lasse Kolstad from 1957 until his death in 2012.
Christensen died on 10 April 2017 in Oslo, aged 89.
Dennis F. Kinlaw
Dennis Franklin Kinlaw (June 26, 1922 – April 10, 2017) was an American academic. He was born in Lumberton, North Carolina.
Kinlaw was President of Asbury College from 1968 through 1981 and again from 1986 through 1991 and Chancellor of the school in 1992.
He was a professor of Old Testament Languages and Literature at Asbury Theological Seminary from 1963 through 1968 and a visiting professor at Seoul Theological College, Seoul, South Korea in 1959.
Kinlaw studied at Asbury College and at Brandeis University. He was the founder of the Francis Asbury Society and authored several books. He was married to Elsie Kinlaw until her death in 2003.
Kinlaw died on April 10, 2017 in Wilmore, Kentucky, aged 94.
Kirill Kovaldzhi
Kirill Vladimirovich Kovaldzhi (; 14 March 1929 – 10 April 2017) was a Russian poet, novelist, literary critic and translator.
In Moscow, published collections of poems "At Dawn" (1958), "Voices" (1972), "After Noon" (1981), "Yearly Rings" (1982), "High Dialogue" (1988), "Links and Grains" (1989), "The Book of Lyrics" (1993), "The Invisible Threshold" (1999), "To You. On Demand" (2002), the book of prose and poetry "Countdown" (2003), the short book "Zerna" (2005).
The author of a number of short stories, the story "Five Points on the Map" (1965), the novel "Liman Stories" (1970) - his new supplemented edition, published under the title "Candle in draft" (1996), was nominated for the State Prize of Russia.
Kovaldzhi died in Moscow on 10 April 2017, aged 88.
Michael Ballhaus
Michael Ballhaus, A.S.C. (5 August 1935 – 11 April 2017) was a German cinematographer.
When his career began, Ballhaus became known for his works with Rainer Werner Fassbinder beginning with "Whity" (1971) and, including "The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant" (1972), "Chinese Roulette" (1976) and "The Marriage of Maria Braun" (1978).
After settling in the United States, he worked on many American movies, including "Baby It's You" (1983), "Old Enough" (1984), "After Hours" (1985), "The Color of Money" (1986), "The Last Temptation of Christ" (1988), "Goodfellas" (1990), "The Age of Innocence" (1993), "Air Force One" (1997), "Gangs of New York" (2002) and "The Departed" (2006). He is also known for his works in "Dracula" (1992) and "Sleepers" (1996).
Ballhaus was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, for "Broadcast News" (1987), "The Fabulous Baker Boys" (1989), and "Gangs of New York" (2002), but never won. However, he did win the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography for "Goodfellas".
Ballhaus died on 11 April 2017 in Berlin, aged 81.
Charlie Murphy
Charles Quinton "Charlie" Murphy (July 12, 1959 – April 12, 2017) was an American actor, comedian, voice artist, and screenwriter. He was the older brother of Eddie Murphy.
Murphy was best known for being a writer and cast member of the Comedy Central sketch-comedy series "Chappelle's Show" and for writing and starring in the Adult Swim animated series "The Boondocks". He also wrote the screenplay for "Norbit" and "Vampire in Brooklyn".
Murphy died from leukemia on April 12, 2017 in New York City, aged 57.
Margit Schumann
Margit Schumann (14 September 1952 in Waltershausen – 11 April 2017 in Oberhof) was an East German luger. He competed during the 1970s and early 1980s. Competing in three Winter Olympics, she won two medals in the women's singles event with a gold in 1976 and a bronze in 1972).
Wayne Hardin
Irving Wayne Hardin (March 23, 1926 – April 12, 2017) was an American football player and coach.
Hardin was born in Smackover, Arkansas. He was raised in Stockton, California. He studied at College of the Pacific.
Hardin served as the head football coach at the United States Naval Academy from 1959 to 1964 and at Temple University from 1970 to 1982. Hardin led Navy to the 1961 Orange Bowl and the 1964 Cotton Bowl Classic. He coached two Midshipmen to the Heisman Trophy, Joe Bellino in 1960 and Roger Staubach in 1963.
After leaving Navy, Hardin coached the Philadelphia Bulldogs of the Continental Football League, leading the team to a championship in 1966. Hardin was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2013.
Hardin died at the age of 91 on April 12, 2017 after suffering a massive stroke at his home in Oreland, Pennsylvania.
Sheila Abdus-Salaam
Sheila Abdus-Salaam (Sheila Turner; March 14, 1952 – April 12, 2017) was an American judge. She served as a judge on the New York Court of Appeals. She was the first black woman and Muslim to be appointed to a seat on New York's highest court, and the first Muslim woman to serve on the bench in the United States.
Abdus-Salaam was found dead on April 12, 2017 at the age of 65. Her body was found floating in the Manhattan side of the Hudson River hours after she was reported missing from her home in Harlem.
Police believe Abdus-Salaam committed suicide by jumping into the river as she was suffering from depression for a long time. An official autopsy is pending.
Santa Luzia, Cape Verde
Santa Luzia is an island of the Cape Verde archipelago. It covers an area of 35 km².
Léon Degrelle
Léon Joseph Marie Ignace Degrelle (June 15, 1906 in Bouillon - March 31, 1994 in Malaga) was a Belgian politician and collaborator.
Degrelle is the founder of the fascist party of Rex in 1936.
During World War II he erected the Walloon Legion, which fought as a Waffen-SS unit at the Eastern Front. He ultimately had the rank of SS-Standartenführer der Waffen-SS (comparable with the rank of colonel).
After the war he managed to escape to Spain, where he died in 1994, aged 87.
Denis Mathen
Denis Mathen (born October 29, 1965 in Namur) is a Belgian politician of the conservative liberal Mouvement réformateur (MR).
Mathen was a councillor and alderman of the city of Namur, and also briefly a member of the provincial parliament of Namur.
From 2004 to 2006 he was both a member of the Walloon Parliament and the Parliament of the French Community of Belgium.
He has been governor of the province of Namur since January 8, 2007.
Benoît Lutgen