open-index/open-wikipedia-markdown huggingface dataset:
Ritual

membership with commitment and consequences]]

 ceremonial mask]]
 at Oxford University]]

A **ritual** (or a ***rite***) is a set of actions  do. In a ritual, the actions are important because every action stands for something. Each ritual of a type is done in a certain way.   might be involved in carrying out the ritual. When the ritual has been performed successfully, it is often followed by a celebration.

Rituals can mark a personal change. For example, a rite of passage may show that a child has reached the age of majority. All societies seem to have had them.

A religious rite is a religious ceremony. Many rituals have a religious significance and are part of the religion or traditions of a community. The rite signals that those who take part are members of the religion, or believers in the religion. The rite may signal status, qualification, prayer and commitment to the god or to the belief.

A rite need not be to a religion as understood in the present day. Fervent support of a sports team, or kissing the ring of an organised crime lord, or a military enrollment is equally a rite, because it has consequences for the behaviour of the person, and for their beliefs.

A ritual can also be linked to obsessive compulsive disorder, when a person believes that performing the ritual again and again is necessary.

## References 
## Related pages 
* Liturgy
* Mass (liturgy)
* Ceremony
Anne of Brittany

**Anne of Brittany** (25/26 January 1477 – 9 January 1514) was Duchess of Brittany from 1488 until her death and Queen of France twice—first from 1491 to 1498 and again from 1499 until 1514. She is the only woman in history to have been Queen of France twice. During her life, she also held titles like Queen of Naples and Duchess of Milan.

Anne became Duchess of Brittany at age 11 when her father, Francis II, died. As one of the richest heiresses in Europe, she was quickly sought after in marriage. She first married Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor by proxy, but Charles VIII of France saw this as a threat to his power. He waged war and forced her to break that marriage. In 1491, Anne married Charles VIII. Unfortunately, none of their children survived, and when Charles died in 1498, Anne had to marry his cousin and successor, Louis XII, to secure Brittany's continued connection to France. Together, Anne and Louis had two daughters.

Anne worked hard to protect the independence of Brittany. She arranged for her daughter to be engaged to Charles of Austria, but after Anne's death in 1514, her daughter married her cousin, Francis I of France. This eventually led to the formal union between France and Brittany.

Anne is remembered as a strong and dedicated ruler of Brittany. She defended her duchy against French control and left a lasting cultural impact, especially in the Loire Valley, where she contributed to the building of several châteaux. After her death, Anne became a symbol of Breton pride and patriotism.

## Children 
Her marriage with Charles VIII of France produced six documented pregnancies:
* Charles Orland, Dauphin of France (11 October 1492 – 16 December 1495).  Anne's only healthy child with Charles, he died of measles at three years old and was buried at Tours Cathedral.
* Francis (August 1493). Anne had a stillborn son after going into labor during a journey. He was buried at Notre-Dame de Cléry.
* Stillborn daughter (March 1495).Another child was lost in late 1494.
* Charles, Dauphin of France (8 September 1496 – 2 October 1496). He died just weeks after his birth, causing Anne great despair. He was buried at Tours Cathedral.
* Francis, Dauphin of France (July 1497). Born and died on the same day. Buried at Tours Cathedral.
* Anne of France (20 March 1498). She died on the day of her birth at Château de Plessis-lez-Tours and was also buried at Tours Cathedral.

Her marriage with Louis XII of France, produced at least another five recorded pregnancies:
* Claude of France (13 October 1499 – 20 July 1524), who succeeded her as Duchess of Brittany and later also became Queen consort of France as wife of Francis I.
* Son ([late 1500/early 1501] – died young).
* Stillborn son (21 January [1503/07]).
* Renée of France (25 October 1510 – 12 June 1574), married Ercole II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, and became Duchess of Chartres and Lady of Montargis on the occasion of her wedding.
* Stillborn son (January [1513]).

## Notes
## References
1660

**1660** (MDCLX) was a leap year starting on Thursday in the Gregorian calendar and a leap year starting on Sunday in the Julian calendar.

## Events 
* Expulsion of the Carib indigenous people from Martinique by French occupying forces.
* Hopkins School is founded. *(exact date uncertain)*
* January 1 – colonel George Monck with his regiment crosses from Scotland to England at the village of Coldstream and begins advance towards London in support of English Restoration. Samuel Pepys began his diary.
* February 2 – George Monck and his regiment arrive in London
* February 23 – Charles XI becomes king of Sweden.
* February 27 – John Thurloe reinstated as England's secretary of State for a short time
* March 16 – The Long Parliament disbands
*May 8 – The Parliament of England declares Prince Charles Stuart King Charles II of England
* May 15 – John Thurloe arrested for high treason after English Restoration
*May 23 – King Charles II of England reaches the shores of his Kingdom. On May 29 he arrives in London and assumes the throne, marking the beginning of the English Restoration
* May 25 – Charles II of England crowned
* June 29 – John Thurloe released
* November 28 – At Gresham College, 12 men, including Christopher Wren, Robert Boyle, John Wilkins, and Sir Robert Moray meet after a lecture by Wren and decide to found "a College for the Promoting of Physico-Mathematicall Experimentall Learning" (later known as the Royal Society).
* Theaters opened again in England – Margaret Hughes debuts as the first female actor as Desdemona in *Othello*
*Blaise Pascal's The Provincial Letters, a defense of the Jansenist Antoine Arnauld, was ordered shredded and burned by King Louis XIV of France.
* Sweden recovers its southern provinces from Denmark.
## Births 
* April 16 - Hans Sloane, Irish physician
* May 2 - Alessandro Scarlatti, Italian composer
* May 28 - George I of Great Britain, King of Great Britain and ruler of Hanover in North Germany.
* November 12 - Francesco Maria de' Medici, Duke of Rovere and Montefeltro, Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and Duke of Rovere and Montefeltro.
* November 28 - Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria, mother of Philip V of Spain

## Deaths
* June 6 - Diego Velázquez, Spanish painter
* July 8 - Henry Stuart, Duke of Gloucester
* November 4 - Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange
Jennifer Lopez

**Jennifer Lynn Affleck**), also known by her nickname **J.Lo**, is an American singer, actress, dancer, fashion designer, businesswoman and television personality. She's most known for her performances in *Selena*, *Maid in Manhattan*, *Out of Sight* (co-starring George Clooney), *Monster-in-Law*, *The Cell*, and *An Unfinished Life* (with Robert Redford and Morgan Freeman). She also was a judge for the talent reality series *American Idol* in 2011 and from 2014 until the show's series finale in 2016.

She began her career as a "Fly Girl" dancer on the 1990s TV series, *In Living Color*.  Her first album *On the 6* was released in 1999. It contains the hit singles "If You Had My Love", "No Me Ames", "Waiting for Tonight", "Feelin' So Good" and "Let's Get Loud". She released *J.Lo* in 2001, her most successful album to date. *J to tha L-O!: The Remixes* and *This Is Me... Then* were released in 2002.  The album *Brave* was released in 2007, followed by *Love?* in 2011. She has released one greatest hits album, *Dance Again... The Hits*, in 2012.  Her most recent album is *A.K.A.*, which was released in 2014.

She has many records, including record for having a movie and album (*The Wedding Planner*, and *J.Lo*) both #1 on the same week.

## Personal life 
Lopez' first three marriages ended in divorce.

From February 1997 until January 1998 Lopez was married to Ojani Noa.

From September 2001 until June 2002 she was married to Cris Judd.

On June 5, 2004, Lopez married Marc Anthony. On February 22, 2008, she gave birth via c-section to  their twins, a boy, Maximillian David, and a girl, Emme Maribel Muñiz. The couple separated in July 2011 and divorced in June 2014.

From 2011 to 2016, she dated backup dancer Casper Smart.

From 2017 to 2021, Lopez has been in a relationship with former MLB star Alex Rodriguez. They were engaged in March 2019. They split in 2021. 

After dating from 2002 to 2004, Lopez reconciled with and began dating actor Ben Affleck in April 2021. She publicly confirmed their relationship on her 52nd birthday later that July.  Affleck and Lopez were married in Las Vegas at the Little White Wedding Chapel on July 16, 2022. She files for divorce from Affleck after two years of marriage on August 20, 2024 and its finalized on February 21, 2025.

## Discography 
;Studio albums
* 1999: *On the 6*
* 2001: *J.Lo*
* 2002: *This Is Me... Then*
* 2005: *Rebirth*
* 2007: *Como Ama una Mujer* (Spanish language album)
* 2007: *Brave*
* 2011: *Love?*
* 2014: *A.K.A.*
* 2024: *This Is Me... Now*

;Compilation albums
* 2012: *Dance Again... the Hits*

;Remix albums
* 2002: *J to tha L-O!: The Remixes*

;Soundtrack albums
* 2022: *Marry Me*

;DVDs

* 2000: ''Feelin' So Good*
* 2003: *Let's Get Loud*
* 2003: *The Reel Me*
* 2007: *Como Ama una Mujer''

## Number-one singles 
## Filmography 
### Movies 
### Television 
## Notes
## References
Maria Theresa

**Maria Theresa** (13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the only female ruler of the Habsburg Dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire.
## Overview
Maria Theresa was queen of Hungary and Bohemia, archduchess of Austria, and held many other titles. She changed the royal palace outside Vienna (Austria's capital) to look much like Versailles. Vienna itself became an important center for the arts, especially classical music. Maria Theresa added support to her absolute power by tightening her hold on the government. She also improved conditions for the peasants. She is generally known to history as the **Empress Maria Theresa**.
## Biography
Maria Theresa was born in Vienna, Austria, on 13 May 1717. Her parents were Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor and Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Her father had made the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713, a decree which allowed a female ruler despite the Salic law's prohibition. Maria Theresa married Duke Francis Stephan I of Lorraine. They had sixteen children:
# Archduchess Maria Elisabeth of Austria (1737 – 1740)
# Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (1738 – 1789)
# Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria (1740 – 1741)
# Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II (1741 – 1790)
# Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria, Duchess of Teschen (1742 – 1798)
# Archduchess Maria Elisabeth of Austria (1743 – 1808)
# Archduke Charles Joseph of Austria (1745 – 1761)
# Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria (1746 – 1804)
# Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II (1747 – 1792)
# Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria (stillborn 1748)
# Archduchess Maria Johanna Gabriela of Austria (1750 – 1762)
# Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria (1751 – 1767)
# Queen Maria Carolina of Austria of Naples and Sicily (1752 – 1814)
# Queen Marie Antoinette of France and Navarre, born Maria Antonia (1755 – 1793)
# Archduke Maximilian Francis of Austria (1756 – 1801) 
Maria Theresa died in Vienna, Austria, on 29 November 1780.
Poseidon

**Poseidon** () is the god of the sea, earthquakes, storms and horses in ancient Greek religion and myth. He was one of the Twelve Olympians. His parents were Cronos(Kronos) and Rhea. He was the older brother of Zeus yet not by much.

Poseidon was generally regarded as an ill-tempered being. His mood was a reflection of the state of his realm. He was thought to conjure up violent storms at sea when angered. While he was married to the goddess Amphitrite, one of the Nereids, like his brother Zeus, Poseidon had a number of affairs with other goddesses and mortal woman, siring such heroes as Theseus and Bellerophon. Lord of the waters, Poseidon was both patron and protector of both sailors and seafarers, who would pray to him for safe passage across the sea. Poseidon was often regarded as the “Father of Horses,” as they were thought to be his creations. He was additionally the chief deity and patron of the city of Corinth, whereupon the Isthmian Games were held every other four years in his honor. Otherwise known as the **Earf-Shaker** (), Poseidon was thought to be the cause of such disasters, striking the Earth with his trident (a three-pronged spear) whenever he was particularly enraged. The god's symbol was his trident and the bull, horse and dolphin were his sacred animals. The god Neptune is his Roman equivalent. Neptune was a more war-like figure. He is named after the ship which sank by a tsunami.

## Related pages
* Neptune (god) – Roman version of Poseidon
*Percy Jackson – Fictional Child of Poseidon
*Proteus - sea god in Greek mythology
Oscar

**Oscar** can refer to two things:
*Academy Award, commonly known as the **Oscars**
*Oscar (given name), a male given name
Handball

(For the different sport of the same name played with two, three or four players, see American handball.)

**Handball** (also known as **team handball**, **field handball** or **Olympic handball**) is a team sport similar to football (soccer). Two teams of 7 players each (six players and a goalkeeper) pass and bounce a ball using the hands, trying to throw it into the goal of the other team. Games are an hour of playing time, divided into 30-minute halves, with 15 minutes break at halftime. The size of the court is a little bigger than a basketball court, 40 meters by 20 meters, which is the same court as indoor soccer. It has a six-meter line which no one but the goalie is allowed to have possession of the ball and touching the ground. If this happens, a foul is called and the player committing the foul gets ejected, (sitting out of the game for two minutes, five minutes, or the rest of the game). There are seven players total on a handball team, six players and a goalie. Most historians agree that handball predates soccer, (football) but that is not for certain

## References
## Books to read 
* "Team handball." World Book Advanced. World Book, 2012
Twelve Olympians

The **Twelve Olympians** are the most important gods of Greek mythology, who lived atop Mount Olympus (Mytikas peek 2917.727 m). Seventeen gods have been said to have been Olympians, but there were never more than twelve at the same time. 

Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Ares, Hermes, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Athena, Apollo, and Artemis are always considered to be Olympians. Hestia, Dionysus, and Hades are the gods who have sometimes been Olympians. Thus, it is theorised that Hestia gave up her place to Dionysus because she wanted to live amongst humans however no records of this actually exist

The Olympians became the most important gods when Zeus and his brothers and sisters won a war against the Titans. Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Hestia, and Hades are all brothers and sisters. All the other gods are Zeus's children and have different mothers.

## Gods who are Olympians 
* Zeus is the most important god. He is the ruler of Mount Olympus and is the god of the weather. "If you were to chain the heavens and attempt to drag me down, with the power of you all, you could not. If I were to attempt to drag you down, it would be an easy matter."
* Poseidon is the god of the oceans. He is the next most important god to Zeus along with Hades.
* Hera is Zeus' wife. She is the goddess of marriage.
* Ares is the god of war and violence.
* Artemis is the goddess of hunting and animals.
* Hephaestus is the god of fire and forging.
* Apollo is the god of light, dance, music, medicine, archery, and poems.
* Hermes is the messenger of the gods. He is also the god of travelers, thieves and shepherds.
* Hestia is the goddess of the home and family.
* Demeter is the goddess of the earth, wheat, flowers and plants.
* Aphrodite is the goddess of love and beauty.
* Athena is the goddess of wisdom, the arts, industry, justice and skill.

## References
Hermes

**Hermes** is the *messenger of the gods*. He is the god of winter, travellers and shepherds in Greek mythology. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and is often shown with his caduceus. 

Hermes is the son of Zeus and Maia. He was born on Mount Cyllene. The story of his birth was told in the Homeric Hymn, which means *Hymn to Hermes*. It said that Maia was a nymph.

Hermes was very clever and on his first day invented the lyre, by using the shell of a tortoise. He carries a golden sword. One of the myths about Hermes is that he once stole his brother's oxen, and burned them as a sacrifice.

## Children 
* Tyche was a daughter with Aphrodite.
* Hermaphroditus was a son with Aphrodite.

## Related pages
* Hermeticism
* Turms - Etruscan mythology version of Hermes
* Mercury - Roman mythology version of Hermes

## Other websites
Maia

]]
**Maia** is the goddess of the fields in Greek mythology. She is the oldest of the Pleiades.  She is also the most beautiful and the shyest. 

The Pleiades were the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione. Maia and her sisters were all born on Mount Cyllene, which is in Arcadia.  

Maia was the mother of Hermes by Zeus, who is another god. She gave birth to Hermes in a cave in Arcadia. After Maia gave birth to Hermes she wrapped him in blankets and then went to sleep. When she woke up, Hermes had crawled away to Thessaly and had invented the lyre and stole some of Apollo's cattle.

Maia also looked after Arkas when Hera had turned his mother, Kallisto, into a bear.

## Related pages
*Pleiades (mythology)
Pleiades (mythology)

The Pleiades or Seven Sisters are seven nymphs in Greek mythology, and companions of Artemis. They were the seven daughters of Atlas and the nymph Pleione.  They were all born on Mount Cyllene, which is in Arcadia.

## The Pleiades
* Maia, who was the eldest.  She was the mother of Hermes by Zeus.  
* Elektra, who was the mother of Dardanus and Iasion by Zeus.
* Taygete, who was the mother of Lacedaemon by Zeus.
* Alkyone, who was the mother of Hyrieus by Poseidon.
* Kelaino, who was mother of Lycus and Eurypylus by Poseidon. 
* Asterope, who was mother of Oenomaus by Ares. 
* Merope, who was youngest, and married Sisyphus.

## Footnotes
Heresy

convicted of heresy]]
 at the Council of Constance, 1415. Historical drawing]]
**"Heresy"** means ideas or actions that do not agree with traditional religious doctrines. Some religious groups use the word "heresy" to describe beliefs that challenge theirs. A person who has these beliefs is called a **heretic**. 

## History 
Jewish leaders during Jesus's lifetime called him a heretic because he did not preach traditional Judaism, according to the Gospel of Matthew (26:57-67).

In its first few centuries, the Roman Catholic Church accused religious doctrines like Monophysitism and Arianism of heresy. Later, throughout the Middle Ages, they accused a number of other religious sects (like the Cathars) of being heretical. In the 11th and 12th centuries, thousands of people were burned at the stake for heresy. This execution ritual was supposedly meant to save the heretic's soul. Under torture, many people accused of heresy falsely confessed.

As a result of the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic Church created the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. It is the official doctrine that decides what heresy is and how to deal with it.

* Protestants claim only scripture (the Bible) is relevant for the faith (*sola scriptura*); the Catholic Church says traditions are also important.
* Protestants say that belief is enough to be saved (*sola fide*). Catholics say that good deeds are necessary as well.
* Protestants say that any baptised person can be a priest. In the Catholic and Orthodox churches, priests are ordained. This means that some people are not priests, even though they have been baptised.
* According to Protestants, there is no Transubstantiation during mass (liturgy).

The Roman Missal contains heresies, according to Protestants.

## References
Imperialism

**Imperialism** is a policy (way of governing) in which large or powerful countries seek to extend their authority beyond their own borders. The policy of imperialism aims at the creation of an empire.  

Imperialist countries take control of other countries.  They may use military force to do this. However, they may also avoid using military force. They may simply establish economic and/or political control over the other country. 

Imperialist policies of countries or kingdoms have goals of taking over more land to create bigger empires. 

The ruler of an empire gains natural resources such as agricultural and mining products. Human resources are also gained. Conquered peoples may be forced into slavery or into low-wage work. They may also be called into military service on behalf of the empire. Trade markets are also gained. The people under an imperial government may be forced to buy products from that government or from that government's industries.  

Thus, a policy of imperialism can vastly enrich the imperialist country. This benefit can extend over a long period of time.

Imperialism has been practiced throughout recorded history. However, there is one historical period that is specifically known as the Age of Imperialism. This period extends from the early 18th century to the mid-20th century. 

During the Age of Imperialism, modern and industrialized countries competed for control of pre-industrial parts of the world. In pre-industrial areas, natural and human resources were widely and cheaply available. The imperialist countries that acquired the largest empires during the Age of Imperialism are The United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, and the United States.

Some writers use the term "imperialism" informally.  They use the term to mean any type of domination of one country over another part of the world. Domination especially happened in Asia and Africa.

## Related pages 
*Colony
*Nazism
*Fascism
*Annexation
*Colonialism
**Mein Kampf*
*Fascist Italy
*Protectorate
*World War II
*Nazi Germany
*Decolonization
*Russian Empire
*German Empire
*

## Other websites 
* Imperialism Quotations
* State, Imperialism and Capitalism by Joseph Schumpeter
* Economic Imperialism by A.J.P.Taylor 
* Imperialism Entry in the Columbia Encyclopedia (Bartleby)
* The Nation-State, Core and Periphery: A Brief sketch of Imperialism in the 20th century.
41

## Events
### Roman Empire 
* January 24 – Roman Emperor Gaius Caesar (Caligula) is assassinated by his unhappy Praetorian Guards.
* January 25 Claudius is made Roman Emperor by the Senate.
* Claudius makes Agrippa king of Judea.
* Seneca the Younger is banished to Corsica on a charge of adultery with Julia Livilla
* Claudius restores religious freedom to the Jews throughout the empire.
* An attack across the Rhine by the Germans is stopped by the Romans.

### Asia 
* Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty deposes his wife, Guo Shentong.  He places his consort Yin Lihua empress in her place.

## Births 
* February 12 &ndash; Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus, son of Claudius and Messalina

## Deaths
* Julia Drusilla, daughter of Caligula
* Julia Livilla, daughter of Germanicus
* Milonia Caesonia, wife of Caligula
1522

## Events 
*January 9 – Adrian Dedens becomes Pope Adrian VI.
* February 26 – Execution by hanging of Cuauhtémoc, Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlan under orders of conquistador Hernán Cortés.
*April 22 – Battle of Bicocca – French and Swiss forces under Odet de Lautrec are defeated by the Spanish in their attempt to retake Milan, and are forced to withdraw into Venetian territory.
*July 28 – Beginning of Ottoman Sultan Suleiman I's siege of the Knights of St. John in Rhodes.
* September 6 – The *Vittoria*, one of the surviving ships of Ferdinand Magellan's expedition, returns to Sanlcar de Barrameda in Spain, becoming the first ship to circumnavigate the world.
*December 18 – The Turks finally break into Rhodes, but the Knights continue fierce resistance in the streets.
*December 20 – Suleiman the Magnificent accepts the surrender of the surviving Knights, who are allowed to evacuate. They eventually re-settle on Malta and become known as the Knights of Malta.
* First Diet of Nuremberg.
* The third edition of the Textus Receptus of the Bible published.
American Sign Language

**American Sign Language** (old names: Amslan, Ameslan) is the most popular sign language for deaf people in the United States, in the English-speaking parts of Canada, and in parts of Mexico. Although the United Kingdom and the United States share English as a spoken and written language, British Sign Language (BSL) is different from American Sign Language.  ASL actually comes from French Sign Language, as Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet went to England for help learning sign language to teach to his deaf neighbors.  He could not find anyone willing to teach him the British Sign Language, but did find some French people who were willing to help, he convinced one of them to travel back to the United States with him to set up the first deaf school in the U.S.

ASL is also used (sometimes with other sign languages) in the Philippines, Singapore, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Chad, Gabon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Mauritania, Kenya, Madagascar, and Zimbabwe. Like other sign languages, its grammar is different from any spoken language.

ASL includes fingerspelling.  Fingerspelling is a way to show the written letter.  ASL uses one hand to show the English alphabet, although there are ways to show alphabets from other languages.  Names of people and places can be fingerspelled. Fingerspelling is also used for words that have no sign, or for when people are confused about what a used sign means.

## Statistics 
Counting the number of ASL speakers is difficult because ASL users have never been counted by the American census. ASL use in the general American population has not been directly measured. The ultimate source for current estimates of the number of ASL users in the United States is a report for the National Census of the Deaf Population (NCDP) by Schein and Delk (1974). Based on a 1972 survey of the NCDP, Schein and Delk provided estimates consistent with a signing population between 250,000 and 500,000. The survey did not distinguish between ASL and other forms of signing.

Incorrect figures are sometimes cited for the population of ASL speakers in the United States based on misunderstandings of statistics. Demographics of the deaf population have been confused with those of ASL use. This accounts for cited estimations which are greater than 500,000. Such mistaken estimations can reach as high as 15,000,000.

ASL is sometimes incorrectly cited as the third- or fourth-most-spoken language in the United States. These figures misquote Schein and Delk (1974), who said ASL speakers constituted the third-largest population *requiring an interpreter in court*.

## References 
## Bibliography 
* 

## Other websites 
* The ASL Dictionary  (over 2,600 signs in their database)
Saint-Dié-des-Vosges

**Saint-Dié-des-Vosges** is a city in the northeast of France, in Lorraine.

## Demography 
Now about 23,000 people live there.

## Tourism 
Surrounded by the Vosges mountains, it is a popular resort for tourists.
* Cathedral
* Museum Pierre-Noël

## Events 
The city is famous for the International Festival of Geography, which takes place every autumn. 

## Higher education 
Electronics, computer science, graphic design and communication are studied at the University Institute of Technology.
 
In French it is called "IUT" (Institut universitaire de technologie).

## People of Saint-Dié-des-Vosges 
* Jules Ferry
* Yvan Goll

## Other websites 
* Saint-Dié-des-Vosges website
* Institut universitaire de technologie
Rhodesian Ridgeback

**Rhodesian Ridgeback** is a breed of dog. 

It has a red-brown coat of fur on its body and a line of hair down its back which is different from the rest of hair on its body. They are sometimes called *The African Lion Dog*, because they were used by hunters in Africa to find and confuse lions while the hunter shot the lion.

## References
## Other websites 
* Rhodesian Ridgeback and other dog breeds 
* Rhodesian Ridgeback Startpage.
Glove

A **glove** is a piece of clothing that covers a hand. There are many different kinds of gloves. Gloves are made of many different fabrics and materials, and gloves are used in many ways.

## Gloves worn for protection 
People wear thick gloves, usually made of wool or fabric, to keep their hands warm in cold weather. They wear thin gloves (usually made of rubber or plastic) to keep their hands clean. People also wear thin gloves made of rubber or plastic to keep things they touch clean. Some workers wear gloves made of heavy rubber to protect their hands from chemicals. A mitten is a glove which has a separate place for the thumb, but the other four fingers are together. There are also mittens, which are very similar to gloves. Gloves and mittens are usually used to protect people from cold, and chemicals. People use latex gloves during Earth day to clean up.

## Gloves worn for fashion 
There are also gloves that are worn for fashion, because they look good. These type of gloves are made from leather, fur, or different fabrics.

Image:Handschuhe (fcm).jpg|Leather work gloves.
Image:Glove.png|A construction worker's glove.
Image:Gloves1.jpg|Fine gloves worn for fashion .
Image:PVC-Handschuh.jpg|Thin gloves used in medicine.

## Gloves worn in sport 
Gloves are worn in sports, the most common reason being for extra grip for the competitors hands. Like in golf, baseball and goalkeepers in soccer.

## Mittens 
The word is used for certain kinds of usually knitted gloves. Some don't have separate finger pieces, and are made for children. Others have separate finger pieces without tips, so the wearer can use his fingers for delicate work, and keep his hands warm at the same time. some are fingerless gloves .

Image:Vancouver 2010 red mittens HBC.JPG|Memorial mittens
Image:Baking glove.jpg|Oven mitten
Image:Fold mitten Klappfäustling 2 in 1 Handschuh 08.JPG|For delicate work the top of the thumbpiece should be cut off
Tales of Symphonia

***Tales of Symphonia*** is a role-playing video game released in 2004 for the Nintendo GameCube. It is a fantasy RPG.

## Story
The main character Lloyd Irving and his friends, Genis Sage and Colette Brunel, are sent away from the town where Lloyd lived. Genis' sister Raine and the mercenary Kratos join them. While traveling, Colette begins to change into an angel. Lloyd learns that she is in charge of saving the world. Two groups of people want her to stop. They are the Desians, bad guys that enslave humans, and Sheena, a woman that wants to kill Colette. Sheena and Colette save each other from the Desians and become friends. Eventually, they get ready to save the world. Kratos betrays Colette and the others to Cruxis, the angels who control the Desians. Lloyd and the others manage to escape. They go to a different world called Tethe'alla.  There, they make three new friends called Zelos, Presea, and Regal. Kratos still wants to find them and the Cruxis leader, Mithos, is very angry. Lloyd's group learns that if they want to save the world, they need to have Sheena gain the power of the eight "Summon Spirits". The spirits are magical creatures.  After using the power of the summon spirits, the problem gets worse. Lloyd and Kratos need to work together to save the world from being  by the Giant Kharlan Tree. Yuan uses a drug where it puts people to sleep on everyone. After this, Lloyd wakes up in the middle of the night. Kratos is with Yuan and two of Yuan's henchman. Lloyd learns that Kratos is his father. Kratos dives in front of Lloyd to stop him from being hurt. Kratos then tells Lloyd that there is a ninth Summon Spirit by the name of Origin. Lloyd has to fight Kratos to get its help because Origin was sealed by Kratos himself. The Summon Spirit helps Lloyd use the eternal sword. After this, they go to Derris Kharlan and there is one last battle with Mithos.
Sermon

. Bloch painted it in the second half of the 19th century. It shows Jesus giving the Sermon with the same name]]
A **sermon** is a speech that a priest or other speaker gives during church service. The speech has a theological, religious or moral content. The purpose of a sermon is to give hope to the people who hear it, or to encourage them to do right things in their lives.  The speaker may also talk about the current problems of the community, and offer ways to solve them.Very often, sermons given by priests or other clergy are based on passages from the Bible.

## Other websites
*Sermon central
*A large collection of professional sermons
Sand

**Sand** is a mixture of very small pieces of different rocks or minerals. It is the same minerals from which those pieces are broken, such as granite and feldspar. Sand is gritty to touch. It is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles. Sand is also formed various rocks by weathering and erosion. Erosion breaks large boulders into smaller rocks. They get smaller and smaller until they reach the beach or a low-lying area as sand.

Sand grains are smaller than gravel grains, (from  to ), and larger than silt, (around  to ).  Sand is mostly found on beaches, and in deserts. The most common types of sand are made of silica, or silicon dioxide (SiO2). Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is the second most common. Sand dunes are made when wind or a river pulls sand into a mountain-like shape. They can be found in deserts, but sometimes high up on beaches too.

## Applications
Sand is crucial in the process of mixing concrete. It can also be used to make sand castles. Sand is sometimes used in households for aesthetic purposes.

## Related pages
* Earth
* Geology
* Physical chemistry
* Inorganic chemistry
* Environmental chemistry

## Gallery

File:SandRoad.jpg|A sand road in Namibia.
File:Kalabrien Ricadi Sandwellen 2129.jpg|Sand dune on a beach in Calabria.

## Other websites
Alsatian language

**Alsatian** (, ) is a Germanic language. It is spoken in Alsace (eastern part of France). It is used for a number of dialects, spoken in Alsace, Franche-Comté, and Jura. Linguistically, we are looking at a number of dialects, with common properties. 

Most of the Alsatian dialects are Germanic. Alsatian is also used for a few dialects that are based on French, and that are spoken in the Vosges, Franche-Comte, territoire de Belfort, and Jura (on both sides of the border). 

There are slight differences in the dialects, the one in the north have a sligtly different vocabulary and grammar to the ones in the south. The dialect spoken in the city of Strasbourg is also slighlty different from those in the sourrounding areas. 

## Statistics 
In 2012, the Office pour la Langue et la Culture d’Alsace did a survey:

* 43% said they had a good knowledge of Alsatian, and they used it regularly.
* 33% said they had a basic knowledge or understanding of Alsatian
* 25% said they didn't know Alsatian.

Of those who speak Alsatian:

* 96% speak it with their families
* 88% speak it with friends
* 48% speak it at the office

Those who speak Alsatian are generally older:

* In the age group 60 years and older, 74% speak Alsatian
* In the age group 44-59, 54% do
* Of those 30-44, 24% do,
* 12% of the 18-30 year old
* only 3% of the 3 to 17 year old

In the three big cities of the region (Strasbourg, Colmar and Mulhouse), Alsatian is spoken less. There, fewer than a third of the adults say they speak Alsatian. Around Wissenbourg, Haguenau, and Saverne, over half the people answered they were good speakers.

## References
Mahjong

**Mahjong** is a tile-based game for four players that was created in China. It is a game of skill, intelligence, calculation and luck.

## The Set-Up 
A **Mahjong** game is played at a square table (four sides all the same length). The dealer is called the "east" player and everyone else is called a different direction because of where they are sitting - so the person to East's left is South, the person across from East is West, and the person to East's right is North. If East wins, he is the dealer again for the next round; if he does not, the dealer is the person to his right (North). That person then becomes East. A game of Mahjong ends when every player has been the dealer four times, or when they have played the number of rounds they said they would play before they started.

## Solitaire 
A single-player version of this game exists, called Mahjong Solitaire. It is based on the four-player game, but can be played by one person, so it is one of the games that are played often on computers (such as Solitaire, Spider Solitaire, or Minesweeper). Mahjong Solitaire is much simpler than four-player Mahjong: it is played without dice or chips, by removing tiles (set up in the shape of a pyramid) from the board in sets of two. Each set of two has to match - they are either exactly the same, or go together (two "flowers" tiles, for example). A Mahjong Solitaire player wins when he picks up all the tiles, or he loses when he runs out of sets of two that he can pick up.

## Other websites
Ionia

**Ionia** was a region in the west of Asia Minor in Ancient Greek times. It was in what is now Turkey. It was the birthplace of the Hellenic civilization. The Dorian invasion of the Peloponnesus, caused the migration of Ionic Greeks across the Aegean sea to Anatolia about 1000-900 BCE. The original Greek settlements in the region were numerous and small, but by the 8th century BCE they had consolidated themselves into 12 major cities—Phocaea, Erythrae, Clazomenae, Teos, Lebedus, Colophon, Ephesus, Priene, Myus, and Miletus on the mainland, with the islands Chios and Samos.By the end of the 7th century the Ionian cities had achieved great prosperity through their trading enterprises, their colonization efforts, and their manufacture of ceramics, textiles, and metalware. After World War One it was granted to Greece from Turkey in the Treaty of Sèvres, along with most of the islands in the Aegean sea, Thrace, and Turkey's most important city, Istanbul. The Turkish army drove the Greeks out soon after, killing many Greek people. They did not challenge the Greeks on the Aegean Islands, though.
Harmonic

A **harmonic** of a wave is the part of a signal's frequency that is a whole multiple (an integer) of the fundamental frequency. The fundamental frequency is the lowest frequency of a periodic waveform. If *f* is the fundamental frequency (that is, 1*f*), then the *harmonics* have frequencies 2*f*, 3*f*, 4*f*..., and so on. The second harmonic (2*f*) has a frequency twice that of the fundamental frequency, the third harmonic three times, and so on. This concept applies to wave motions of any form of energy, but is  most often related to acoustics.

Frequencies that lie between one harmonic and another harmonic are called *interharmonics*. For example, 1*f* is an interharmonic between the fundamental frequency (or first harmonic) and the second harmonic. Interharmonics is a term invented, or at least standardised, by the international electronics industry about 1999, particularly for use in electrical energy. However, interharmonic frequencies also occur naturally in other radiant energies, for example music or any type of sound.

## Related pages
* Harmonics (music)
* Harmonic series (mathematics)
* Harmonics (electrical power)
* Sine wave
Art Ross Trophy

The **Art Ross Trophy** is given to the top scoring player each year in the National Hockey League (NHL). The player with the most points ( plus assists) is given the trophy. If two players have the same number of points, the award goes to the player with the most goals. If they are tied in goals, it goes to the player who has played fewer games. If they are tied in games, it goes to the player who scored his first goal of the year the soonest.

Wayne Gretzky has won this trophy ten times, the most of any player. Gordie Howe and Mario Lemieux each won six trophies; Phil Esposito and Jaromir Jagr won five; Stan Mikita won four; and Bobby Hull and Guy Lafleur each won it three times.

The Art Ross Memorial Trophy was first awarded in 1948. This list includes all NHL scoring champions:

## Winners
, ten-time winner and career leader in NHL scoring]]
, six-time winner]]
, six-time winner]]
, five-time winner]]
, four-time winner]]
 (front) and Henrik Sedin (back), back-to-back winners]]

**Bold** Player with the most points ever scored in a season.

## Related pages
* List of NHL players
* List of NHL statistical leaders

## References
Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu

***Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu*** is an action-adventure game video game. It was released in 2003 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and Gamecube. It is also available for the Game Boy Advance and PC.

The game is based on *Batman: The Animated Series*. In the game Batman faces a new enemy who sends Gotham City into chaos.

Some critics said that ''beat 'em up* was too recurring and it lacked the story of *Batman Vengeance''.
Vein

A **vein** is a type of blood vessel in the body. All veins carry blood to the heart. Most veins carry blood that is low in oxygen, except for the pulmonary vein and the umbilical veins which carry blood that is high in oxygen. 

A vein has a large lumen (width) and less pressure than an artery. There are smaller amounts of smooth muscle and elastic fibres in the vessel wall. Most veins have one-way valves that keep blood from going backwards. 

The vena cava, the biggest vein in human body, collects blood from the other veins and delivers it to the heart.  Other important veins are the coronary veins (veins on the heart) and renal veins (veins on the kidney).  Veins are mainly seen just below the skin, and are easily seen from the outside, where they look blue because of the lack of oxygen.  The blood carried by veins is dark red, but when a vein is cut or pierced, the dark blood immediately reacts with the oxygen in the air and becomes bright red colored.  The vein appears blue because of the scattering of light through the skin and the way the eye perceives color and light.  Veins contain blood even after death.  This is why a dead body appears blue.
1341

## Events 
* The Queen's College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is founded.
* Petrarch is crowned poet laureate in Rome, the first man since antiquity to be given this honor. 
* Beginning of the Breton War of Succession over the control of the Duchy of Brittany
* Margarete Maultasch, Countess of Tyrol, expels her husband John Henry of Bohemia, to whom she had been married as a child. She subsequently marries Louis of Bavaria without having been divorced, which results in the excommunication of the couple.
Edmonton Oilers

The **Edmonton Oilers** are an ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL).  They joined the NHL in 1979, after seven years in the World Hockey Association. They were named the "Oilers" because Edmonton, Alberta is the center of Canada's petroleum industry.

The Oilers have won the Stanley Cup five times, in 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, and 1990. They also won the President's Trophy as top team in the regular season in 1984, 1986, and 1987. They lost the 1983 Stanley Cup final to the New York Islanders and the 2006 Stanley Cup Final to the Carolina Hurricanes.

Wayne Gretzky won the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player (MVP) eight times on the Oilers.  He also won the Art Ross Trophy seven times on Edmonton, the goal-scoring title (now known as the Richard Trophy) five times, and the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP in the playoffs twice.  Gretzky set many NHL records on the Oilers, including most goals (92), assists (163), and points (215) in a season.

The Oilers have had many other great players:  Mark Messier won the Hart Trophy in 1990 and the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1984; Paul Coffey won the Norris Trophy as best defenceman in 1985 and 1986; Grant Fuhr won the Vezina Trophy as best goaltender in 1988; Jari Kurri led the NHL in goals in 1986; Bill Ranford won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1990; and Connor McDavid won the Hart Trophy in 2017, 2021, and 2023, while teammate Leon Draisaitl won the award in 2020. Glenn Anderson and Curtis Joseph are among their other top players.

## 2023-24 Season 
## References 
## Other websites
*Official website
Philadelphia Flyers

The **Philadelphia Flyers** are an ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL).  They began in 1967, and have been a strong team for most of their history.  The Flyers won the Stanley Cup championship in 1974 and 1975.  They also made the finals in 1976, 1980, 1985, 1987, 1997, and 2010. They won the President's Trophy as top team in the regular season in 1975, 1980, and 1985.

## History
Their championship team in the 1970s was led by Bobby Clarke, who won the Hart Trophy as most valuable player (MVP) in the NHL in 1973, 1975, and 1976.  Bernie Parent was also an important part of this team:  he was named the NHL's top goaltender in 1974 and 1975, and those same years won the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP in the playoffs.  Reggie Leach was the NHL's top goal scorer in 1976; he also won the Conn Smythe Trophy that year.  Bob Dailey, Rick MacLeish, and Bill Barber were also important members of the 1970s Flyers.

In 1979-80, the Flyers set an NHL record for most games in a row without a loss: 35.  No team in North America in hockey, baseball, football, or basketball has had more games unbeaten. Goaltender Pete Peeters was one reason they set this record.

In the 1980s, the team was led by Mark Howe (son of Gordie Howe), a defenceman who also played well on offence.  Pelle Lindbergh (1985) and Ron Hextall (1987) both won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender; Hextall also won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1987.  Tim Kerr was a high goal scorer.

Eric Lindros won the Hart Trophy in 1995.  John Leclair, Mark Recchi, and Eric Desjardins were also strong players in the 1990s.

The Flyers continued to be a strong team in the early 21st century, coming very close to making the Stanley Cup finals twice.  Keith Primeau, Peter Forsberg, and Simon Gagne have been among their top players. They lost the 2010 Stanley Cup finals to Chicago Blackhawks in six games, but did not make the playoffs in four out of the last eight seasons (2012-13, 2014-15, 2016-17, 2018-19).

## References
## Other websites
*Official website
Calgary Flames

The **Calgary Flames** are an ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL).  They began in 1972 in the city of Atlanta, and moved to Calgary in 1980.  They won the Stanley Cup in 1989.  They also made the Stanley Cup finals in 1986, losing to the Montreal Canadiens, and in 2004, losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning four games to three.  The Flames won the Presidents' Trophy as regular season champion in 1988 and 1989.

The Flames play in the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.  It is called the "Saddledome" because the roof is shaped like a saddle.

Some of the best players to play for the Flames include Al MacInnis, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player in the playoffs in 1989; Jarome Iginla, who won the Art Ross Trophy as top point scorer in 2001-02, as well as the Rocket Richard Trophy as top goal scorer in 2001-02 and 2003-04; Lanny MacDonald, who scored 500 career goals, mostly in Calgary; Gary Suter, who won the Calder Trophy as "rookie of the year" in 1985-86 and captained the team to their only Stanley Cup win; goaltender Mike Vernon; and forwards Joe Mullen, Joe Nieuwendyk, and Theoren Fleury.

## References
## Other websites
*Official website