During World War II, the breed became nearly extinct. A Norwegian cat club helped the breed. They created an official breeding program. It was registered as a breed with the European Fédération Internationale Féline in the 1970s. This was when a local cat fancier, Carl-Fredrik Nordane, took notice of the breed. He made efforts to register it. Currently, the Norwegian Forest breed is very popular in Norway, Sweden, Iceland and France.
Diss railway station
Diss railway station is a station in Diss, Norfolk. The station is operated by Greater Anglia services. Trains go to and from Norwich and London. Diss railway station is part of the National Rail network.
Elimination Chamber (2013)
Elimination Chamber (2013) (No Escape (2013) in Germany) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view show made by WWE. It was held on February 17, 2013 at New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was the fourth Elimination Chamber event held by the WWE.
The main even saw The Rock defeat CM Punk to retain his WWE Championship. Jack Swagger defeated Daniel Bryan, Chris Jericho, Kane, Mark Henry and Randy Orton in the Elimination Chamber match for a World Heavyweight Championship match against Alberto Del Rio at WrestleMania 29.
Hurricane Edna
Hurricane Edna was a powerful hurricane that hit the East Coast of the United States in September 1954. This storm made landfall over Cape Cod. New Hampshire and Maine were hit very hard. The storm caused 20 deaths. Edna hit a few days after Hurricane Carol had hit the same area.
Michael Rosen
Michael Wayne Rosen (born 7 May 1946) is an English children's novelist and poet of Jewish descent.
Rosen wrote over 140 books. He was the fifth British Children's Laureate from June 2007 to June 2009. He has been a TV presenter, socialist columnist, and republican advocate.
Charlie Hall (politician)
Charles Albert "Charlie" Hall, Jr. (May 7, 1930 – November 20, 2014) was an American firefighter, labor activist, academic, and politician. He served in the Florida House of Representatives from the 118th district. He served as a representative from 1980 through 1982. He was a professor at Florida International University.
Hall was born in Miami, Florida, and died in Tallahassee, Florida, aged 84.
Bojihwayangdong buralsongseonsaeng
Bojihwayangdong buralsongseonsaeng () is a bilingual pun in Classical Chinese and Korean. It is part of the literature of the Joseon period of Korea. It has historically been used as a source of humour in Korean.
When Heo Mok was ordered to attend the academy of the more senior scholar Song Siyeol at Hwayang-dong, he made the journey. Once he got there, he was forced to wait for a long time. Then he found out the appointment had been cancelled. Heo Mok angrily stated ""bojihwayangdong buralsongseonsaeng"". In Classical Chinese, the statement means "Walked to Hwayang-dong; did not see teacher Song", but in native Korean, "boji" () refers to "female genitals", while "bural" () means "testicles", making the expression additionally mean "cunt Hwayang-dong; testicles teacher Song".
The world's 100 most threatened species
The world's 100 most threatened species was chosen by over 8,000 scientists from the IUCN Species Survival Commission (IUCN SSC), and the Zoological Society of London. The report was published by the Zoological Society of London in 2012 as the book, "Priceless or Worthless?"
The species are threatened with extinction, and they have no obvious benefit for humans. This was deliberate, to avoid "vested interests". Iconic and charismatic species, such as tigers and pandas, and economically important species, have many defenders. These apparently "worthless" species had none. The title of the report, "Priceless or Worthless?", is based on that shared quality of the species. The report's co-author, Ellen Butcher, stated one of the guiding principles of the list, "If we take immediate action we can give them a fighting chance for survival. But this requires society to support the moral and ethical position that all species have an inherent right to exist".
Scientists are finding they have to justify funding for protection by showing what the human benefits would be. Jonathan Baillie, of the Zoological Society of London, said "The donor community and conservation movement are increasingly leaning towards a 'what can nature do for us?' approach, where species and wild habitats are valued and prioritised according to these services they provided for people. This has made it increasingly difficult for conservationists to protect the most threatened species on the planet".
Some of the threatened species are down to only a handful of surviving members. Santa Catarina’s guinea pig, native to a single island in Brazil, is down to its last 40–60 individuals, reduced by hunting and habitat disturbance. The Great Indian bustard is threatened by habitat loss resulting from agriculture and human development, and is down to the last 50–250 individuals. "Elaeocarpus bojeri", a flowering plant found only on the island of Mauritius, has fewer than 10 surviving individuals, because of loss of habitat. The Baishan fir ("Abies beshanzuensis"), native to China, is down to five surviving mature individuals. "Priceless or Worthless?" describes the threats that each species is facing, and measures that would help their survival.
Whist
Whist is a classic English trick-taking card game which was widely played in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Whist is played by four players. They play in two partnerships with the partners sitting opposite each other. Players cut or draw cards to determine partners, with the two highest playing against the two lowest. The players then cut for deal. Unlike contract bridge, there is no bidding process. Trumps are decided by cutting a deck of cards. Therefore the game can be played by people who know nothing about modern bridge bidding.
Although the rules are simple, there is scope for scientific play. Originally it was a gambling game played in clubs and coffee houses.
Whist is a descendant of the 16th century game of "trump" or "ruff". The game takes its name from the 17th century "whist" (or "wist", or "whisk") meaning "quiet", "silent", "attentive", which is the root of the modern "wistful".
Whist is first described by Charles Cotton in his "The Compleat Gamester", published in London in 1674. It appears again in Seymour's "Court Gamester" of 1719, and we know that whist was played in some coffee houses in London. About 1728, a group led by the first Lord Folkestone played in Crown's coffee house in Bedford Row, London. They began to develop its potential as a partnership game.
Edmond Hoyle tutored wealthy young gentlemen in the game and published "A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist" in 1742. It became the standard text and rules for the game for the next hundred years and helped the game become fashionable. There are over 150 editions of this little book.
In the 1890s, a variant known as bridge-whist became popular. It evolved in stages to become auction bridge, and finally contract bridge in the late 1920s.
The traditional game of whist is still played at social events called "whist drives".
The rules are how it is played; the etiquette is how the players should behave.
A standard 52-card pack is used. The cards in each suit rank from highest to lowest: A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2. Whist is played by four players, who play in two partnerships with the partners sitting opposite each other. Players cut or draw cards to determine partners, with the two highest playing against the two lowest. The players then cut for deal.
It is against the etiquette to comment on the cards in any way. One may not comment upon the hand one was dealt nor about one's good fortune or bad fortune.