Many basic ideas in card-play were discovered by whist players, and survive today in contract bridge. An example is the "finesse". This is an attempt to win a trick with a card lower than your best. For example: holding AQ73 in the South hand, the partnership lacks the K. North leads a low card, next hand plays low and South plays the Q. If it wins, an extra trick has been made.
Signalling between partners by means of the card-play was well understood and used. Examples are: leading the top card in a sequence, such as K from KQJx, and also leading 4th highest from any suit (which implies you hold one or two top honours in that suit). In 1834 Lord Henry Bentinck invented the "high-low" signal, which encourages partner to continue the suit. Some advanced ideas were known. Alexandre Deschapelles (17801847), a French genius at both cards and chess, invented a play now known as the Deschapelles coup. It is the sacrifice of a high-ranking card to get entry to partner's hand.
The technique of running events where all players sitting in the same direction play the same cards was invented for whist. A duplicate whist drive has placings N/S and placings E/W. Modern movements for contract bridge events are developments of that duplicate whist system.
The basic movement was invented by John T. Mitchell, a Scot who moved to the U.S. He invented the boards which hold the cards, and the movement for whist drives, in the 1890s. In the basic Mitchell movement all N/S pairs sit, while E/W pairs move one table up each round. When they move, boards go down one table. The effect of this is to divide the tournament into two halves, but later movements can avoid this. By allowing many pairs to play the same set of boards, tournament whist was invented. The idea, with variations, is still used today for bridge tournaments.
Pierre Bérégovoy
Pierre Eugene Bérégovoy (23 December 1925 - 1 May 1993) was a French socialist politician.
Bérégovoy was born to a French mother and Ukrainian father in Déville-les-Rouen. Bérégovoy was Prime Minister of France from 1992-1993. He shot himself dead in Nevers.
Silky sifaka
The silky sifaka ("Propithecus candidus"), is a large lemur with long, silky white fur. It has a small range in northeastern Madagascar, where it is known locally as the "simpona". It is one of the rarest mammals on Earth, and is listed by the IUCN as one of the world's 25 most endangered primates. The silky sifaka is one of nine species in the genus "Propithecus". The species is only found within a few protected areas in the rainforests of northeastern Madagascar, with most of the remaining population in Marojejy National Park and Anjanaharibe-Sud Special Reserve.
The silky sifaka has a social structure, and lives in groups of two to nine individuals. It spends most of its day feeding and resting, and spends time to social behaviors like playing, grooming and travelling. Females occasionally take priority over males during feeding. Like other eastern sifakas, it eats mainly leaves and seeds, but also fruit, flowers, and even soil on occasion.
It is a seasonal breeder and only mates one day a year during the start of the rainy season. As with other sifaka species, non-maternal infant care is common. Group members of all ages and both sexes will often groom, play, occasionally carry, and even nurse infants that are not their own. The silky sifaka vocalizes frequently, and relies strongly on scent for communication.
Gang of Four
The Gang of Four () was the name given to a political group of four Chinese Communist Party officials. The leader of the group was Jiang Qing, Mao Zedong's last wife. The other three were Zhang Chunqiao, Yao Wenyuan and Wang Hongwen. They became powerful during China's Cultural Revolution. After the death of Mao Zedong, Jiang Quing was plotting a coup d'état to take over power. She and her close associates in the Gang of four were arrested, put on trial.
Jiang Qing and Zhang Chunqiao received death sentences that were later changed to life imprisonment. Wang Hongwen and Yao Wenyuan were given life and twenty years in prison, respectively. All members of the Gang of Four have since died. Jiang Qing committed suicide in 1991, Wang Hongwen died in 1992. Yao Wenyuan and Zhang Chunqiao died in 2005: they had been released from prison in 1996 and 1998 respectively.
Puja (Hinduism)
Pūjā (Devanagari: पूजा) is a prayer service ritual done by Hindus. The word puja comes from Sanskrit, and means reverence, honor and worship. A puja honors one or more deities. It also spiritually celebrates an event. It is sometimes spelled phonetically as "pooja" or "poojah". A Puja is the most common form of worship in the Hindu religion. It may honor or celebrate the presence of special guests or their memories after they die. Puja rituals are also held by Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs.
World Bridge Federation
The World Bridge Federation (WBF) is the international body for contract bridge. The WBF is responsible for world championship competition, most of which is on a four-year cycle. The top championships are those for national teams in Open, Women, and Seniors categories. There is a World Team Olympiad every four years.
The World Bridge Federation was founded August 1958 by delegates from Europe, North America, and South America (now Zones 1 to 3). Each national organisation is in one of the eight geographic zones.
It is incorporated under the laws of Switzerland as a 'non-profit' organization. Harold Stirling Vanderbilt was made the first honorary member of the WBF for his work developing the game.
Edward Williams
Edward Williams, known as his bardic name Iolo Morganwg (10 March 1747 – 18 December 1826), was an influential Welsh poet, antiquarian, and literary forger.
Iolo Morganwg wrote poems in both the English and Welsh languages. He wrote in the voice of other poets, as well as his own. Some of the forged poems were said to be written by the fourteenth century poet Dafydd ap Gwilym. Iolo Morganwg was known for his works as a literary forger. After his death, he had a reputation as one of Europe's most successful forgers
Morganwg was known as an Architect of the Welsh nation. This title was given for his contributions to the eighteenth-century cultural renaissance. He upheld Wales's reputation as a civil nation in Bardism and the Gorsedd of the Bards. Iolo Morganwg tried to get started some national institutions. Some of them were libraries, academies, and several museums.
This legend or anecdotal tale is a work of Edward Williams. The work is one of the anecdotes and recollections that were included in the book entitled "RECOLLECTIONS and ANECDOTES of EDWARD WILLIAMS, THE BARD OF GLAMORGAN ; IOLO MORGANWG, B. B. D.". The book was written by Elijah Waring. The work was inspired by Chun Quoit. It was also inspired by a piece of moor land called the Gump. The moor land was between Saint Just and Pendeen in Cornwall.
The legend has it that if crossing the Gump on a moonlit night, there is a possibility that you could meet the White Hare of the Gump. If you do, then to bring good fortune, and ward off evil, you must place a silver coin under your right foot. The White Hare is a friend of the Fairy King of the Gump.
• "Diddanwch y Cymry" (Entertainment of the Welsh, an anthology of poetry, 1770s)
• "Dywenydd Morganwg" (The Delight of Glamorgan, a quarterly magazine, 1780s)
• "Selected Pieces of Ancient Welsh-Poetry" (translations of poetry by the canonical poets of the period of the Cywyddwyr, 1790s and 1810s).
• "The History of the Bards" (1794)
• "Christianity versus Kingcraft, with a Plan proposed for abolishing the Christian Religion, as inimical to the Rights of Man." (1794)