open-index/open-wikipedia-markdown huggingface dataset:
Pavo (bird)

The **Asiatic peafowl** is a kind of bird.  They are the genus *Pavo* from the Phasianidae family. They originate from Southeast Asia.

* Genus *Pavo*
** Blue peafowl or Indian peafowl (*Pavo cristatus*): originally from India, and Pakistan. In Pakistan, it is the provincial/regional bird of the province of the Punjab
** Green peafowl (*Pavo muticus*): was very widespread in southeast Asia, including northern Myanmar and southern China, Laos, Thailand,  Vietnam, Cambodia, peninsular Malaysia and the islands of Java. Habitat destruction and hunting have reduced its range.

The male is called a *peacock*, the female a *peahen*.

The males are very colorful, and they have very long *train feathers* (or *tail feathers*), which they can move up like a . Females are less colorful, and do not have the long train-feathers. Both the male and the female have a little "crown" of feathers on their head.
Males show their train feathers to court a female peafowl, or to scare other animals away by making them afraid.

Peafowl are omnivorous and eat plant parts, flower petals, seeds, insects, and small vertebrates, like reptiles and amphibians.

Image:Pavo muticus1.jpg|A male *green peafowl* fanning his train feathers.
Image:Pavo cristatus(03).jpg|A female *blue peafowl*.
Image:Peacock courting peahen.jpg|A *blue peacock* courting a *blue peahen*.

]]
Hans Christian Andersen

**Hans Christian Andersen** (2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish writer. 

Andersen was born in Odense, Denmark. His father was a shoemaker, and his mother washed clothes for customers. The family was poor. When Andersen was 11, his father died. At 14, Andersen left his mother and his home. He moved to Copenhagen. 

The king helped Andersen finish his education. Andersen wanted to be an actor or dancer. He did not have the talent for either. He started to write novels, plays, poems, short stories, and travel books. In 1835, he published four fairy tales that were liked by the readers. After this success, he wanted to write more fairy tales. 

Andersen's stories were popular all over Europe. He was invited into the homes of rich and powerful people. He fell in love with several men and women. He was in love with singer Jenny Lind. He also fell in love with ballet dancer Harald Scharff. 

Andersen was a happy and carefree man. He travelled all over Europe. He wanted to see the sights. He hoped travelling would make him even happier. He always carried a rope with him. He planned to use this rope as a fire escape if needed. In the spring of 1872, Andersen fell off of his bed and suffered major injuries. He never recovered fully. Soon after that, Andersen showed signs of liver cancer. He died on 4 August 1875 from liver cancer.

## Works 
* *The Princess and the Pea* (1835)
* *The Tinderbox* (1835)
* *Thumbelina* (1835) 
* *The Little Mermaid* (1837)
* ''The Emperor's New Clothes* (1837)
* *The Steadfast Tin Soldier* (1838)
* *The Wild Swans* (1838)
* *Ole Lukøje* (1841)
* *The Swineherd* (1841)
* *The Angel* (1843)
* *The Nightingale* (1843)
* *The Ugly Duckling* (1843)
* *The Little Match Girl* (1845)
* *The Red Shoes* (1845)
* *The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep* (1845)
* *The Snow Queen* (1845)
* *The Fir Tree* (1845)
* *The Shadow* (1847)
* *The Story of a Mother* (1847)
* *'' (?)

## Related pages
*List of Danish writers

## References
Atlantic herring

The **Atlantic herring** (*Clupea harengus*) is a kind of herring, a fish. It can be found on both sides of the Atlantic. It can grow up to 45cm in length, weighing more than half a kilogram. It is a swarm fish, meaning many fish come together and form a *school* (or swarm) of fish. Swarms of up to 4 cubic kilometers in size have been measured of *atlantic herring*, with an eastimated 4 billion individual fish. Like with so many other fishes though, commercial overfishing is posing a problem. Stocks of herring have been collapsing. 

Their natural predators are seals, cod, other large fish as well as some kinds of whales. 
The current reason for the overfishing is the need of the Omega Fatty Acid, which helps increase memory, and brain functions.

## Baltic herring 
The herrings that occurs in the Baltic Sea is much smaller. Some people consider it a distinct subspecies. They call it Baltic herring, *C. harengus membras.*
Pelagie Islands

The **Pelagie Islands** are three islands in the Mediterranean. They are Lampedusa, Linosa and Lampione. They are between Malta and Tunisia. They are part of the African continent but belong to Italy.

Because of deforestation, the islands are very . In the past they lived on agriculture, but nowadays they live on fishing and tourism.
Lampedusa

**Lampedusa** is the largest of the Pelagie Islands. Sicily is 205&nbsp;km to the north, Tunisia is 113&nbsp;km to the south. There are no sources of freshwater on the island, so those living there collect rainwater. Fauna and Flora, as well as the climate is similar to what can be found in North Africa. 

There is a NATO base on the island. It is also a popular destination for refugees who try to enter the European Union that way.
Muscat

in Muscat, Oman]]

**Muscat** () is the capital and largest city of The Sultanate of Oman. It is the largest city in the mintaqah (governorate) of Muscat. The city of Muscat has a population of 1.28 million people (2015). The official language is Arabic and English is used as an additional language for many purposes, including business and tourism purposes. Muscat is located on the north east coast of Oman.  The city is 3,500&nbsp;km2  in size.

## History 
People started living in the Muscat area about 2300 years ago but the first writings of the city are about 1900 years old in the 1st century CE.  Muscat developed into an important city in the 9th century CE because of business and trade at the port.  Portugal, Persian (Iran) and Turkey had many wars for control over Muscat from the 1500s to the 1700s.  The Al Bu Sa 'id tribe has ruled Muscat since then.

## Climate and weather 
Muscat is a hot and dry city.  The average daytime temperature in summer can be as high as 40&nbsp;°C.  The winter is cooler and the average daytime temperature is between 19&nbsp;°C and 22&nbsp;°C.  There is very little rain with only 10&nbsp;cm per year.

## Tourism 
Muscat has several tourist sites including seven museums, a fort, an old palace and a new opera house.  The city has beaches with hotel resorts.  People can do many water-sports including dolphin tours in the city's harbour.  In 2016, 2.5 million tourists visited Muscat.  According to an article in Times Of Oman, almost 500,000 people visited in February alone for the popular Muscat Festival.
Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium

The **Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium** is a football stadium in Istanbul in Turkey. It is home to the club Fenerbahce.

## Other websites 
* Fenerbahçe SK Stadium Link

* Satellite Photo of Fenerbahçe Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium
Native speaker

A **native speaker** is someone who learned to speak a language as part of their childhood development. A native speaker's language is usually the language their parents speak and/or the language of their country of origin. It is the only language of a monolingual person, and likely the first language of a multilingual person which is acquired naturally in their native environment. It may serve as the basis for their sociolinguistic identity. 

A native speaker of a language has the following traits: 
# The speaker learnt the language in childhood,
# mastery of idiomatic forms of the language,
# comprehension of regional and social variance,
# fluent, spontaneous production and comprehension of discourse.
# Mastery of the grammar and vocabulary of the language tacitly.

Many employers of language teachers prefer native speakers.

## Alternative Perspectives on Native-Like Proficiency 
While the traditional definition of a **native speaker** is tied to early childhood language acquisition, some linguistic researchers argue that native-like proficiency can be achieved later in life through full immersion and mastery.

A speaker who meets the following criteria may be **indistinguishable from a native speaker**, despite learning the language beyond childhood:

# **Fluency and spontaneity** in discourse, without hesitation.
# **Mastery of idiomatic expressions, cultural references, and regional variations.**
# **Pronunciation and accent that align with native norms.**
# **Tacit understanding of grammar and natural usage patterns.**
# **Social and professional functionality identical to a native speaker.**

This perspective aligns with research in **second language acquisition** and the concept of **near-native proficiency**, where individuals acquire full linguistic competence comparable to those who learned the language as their first language. Studies in applied linguistics suggest that sustained immersion and high-level practice can result in **functional nativeness**, even if the language was not acquired from birth.

While traditional definitions emphasize **early exposure**, some scholars advocate for a distinction between **biological nativeness** (acquired in childhood) and **functional nativeness** (achieved through extensive mastery).

## Further reading 
* Davies, A. (2004). The native speaker in applied linguistics. In A.Davies & C. Elder (Eds.), The handbook of applied linguistics (pp. 431-450). Oxford, UK: Blackwell 

## References
Ukrainian language

being read in Ukrainian]]

The **Ukrainian language** (Ukrainian: **українська (мова)**, transliteration: ukrajinśka mova) is an Eastern Slavic language. This language is a part of the Indo-European language family.

Ukrainian is the second most spoken Slavic language. It is the official language of Ukraine. There are 37 million speakers in Ukraine. Most of them are native speakers. All over the world there are more than 50 million speakers.

The Ukrainian language is written with Cyrillic letters.

Many words are similar to the Polish language.

## Alphabet 
The Ukrainian alphabet with transliteration and transcription (to English and German):

### Notes 
:1only before o
:2only after consonants; a capital letter does not exist; the soft sign ь is not a letter representing a sound, but modifies the sound of the preceding letter, indicating palatalisation ('softening').
:3an apostrophe (’) is used to mark de-palatalization of the preceding consonant.

## References
1228

## Events 
* The Sixth Crusade is launched by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, after delays due to sickness and an excommunication from Pope Gregory IX.
* Conrad IV of Germany becomes titular King of Jerusalem, with Frederick II as regent.
* Baldwin II becomes emperor of the Latin Empire in Constantinople, with John of Brienne as regent.
* Amadeus IV becomes count of Savoy.
* Francis of Assisi founder of the Franciscan order Canonized by Pope Gregory IX
* Sukaphaa, the first Ahom king, establishes his rule in Assam. The Ahom kings reigned for close to 600 years.
* First mention of the Transylvanian town of Reghin, in a charter of Andrew II of Hungary.
1305

## Events 
* August 5 – English troops capture William Wallace
* Wenceslas III becomes king of Bohemia
* Archbishop of Bordeaux, Bertrand de Got, was elected as Pope Clement V.
* Philip IV of France accused the Knights Templar of heresy.
1327

## Events 
* January 25 – Edward III becomes King of England.
* Beginning of reign of Alfonso IV of Aragon.
* April 6 – Petrarch sees a woman he names Laura in the church of Sainte-Claire d'Avignon, which awakes in him a lasting passion. He writes a series of poems dedicated to her, which are collected into his *Canzoniere* ("Song Book").
312

## Events 
* October 28 – Battle of Milvian Bridge: Constantine I defeats Maxentius and becomes the only Roman Emperor in the West.
* Construction of the Arch of Constantine in Rome begun.
Apocalypse Now

***Apocalypse Now*** is a 1979 American psychological epic war drama movie directed by Francis Ford Coppola.

It tells a fictional story which takes place in the 1960s during the Vietnam War. It tells the story of an Army Captain who is sent on a boat deep into the Cambodian jungle to capture a Special Forces colonel who, it is suggested, has gone insane. It was partly based on Joseph Conrad's novel about a journey down the Congo River, *Heart of Darkness*.

It is now thought to be a great movie, but in the making it ran into problems. Its key star Martin Sheen, is on the screen for almost all the movie. He had a breakdown, and a heart attack. Editing the mile plus of film took years. It was unfinished when it was shown in the Cannes Film Festival.

*Apocalypse Now* is today considered to be one of the greatest films ever made. It was nominated for eight Academy Awards at the 52nd Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (Coppola), and Best Supporting Actor for Robert Duvall. It went on to win for Best Cinematography and Best Sound. It ranked #14 in *Sight & Sound*s greatest films poll in 2012, and #6 in the Director's Poll of greatest films of all time.

The film as now shown on streaming channels is the Director's "Final Cut". This was first shown in 2019 at the Tribeca Film Festival. It runs for 3 hours, 22 minutes.

## Awards and honors 
;American Film Institute lists
* AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – No. 28
* AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes:
** "I love the smell of napalm in the morning." – No. 12
* AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – No. 30

## References
## Other websites
*
1336

## Births 
* April 14 – Emperor Go-Kogon of Japan (died 1374)
* July 25 – Albert, Count of Holland (d. 1404)
* King Albert of Sweden (died 1412)
* Cyprian, Metropolitan of Moscow (died 1406)
* Pope Gregory XI (died 1378)
* Pope Innocent VII (died 1406)
* Gao Qi, Chinese poet (died 1374)
* Tamerlane, founder of the Timurid Empire (died 1405)
1374

## Deaths 
* March 12 – Emperor Go-Kogon of Japan (born 1336)
* July 19 – Petrarch, Italian poet (born 1304)
* November 25 – Prince Philip II of Taranto
* King Gongmin of Goryeo
* Joanna of Flanders, Duchess of Brittany (born 1295)
* Gao Qi, Chinese poet (born 1336)
* William Whittlesey, Archbishop of Canterbury
1295

## Events 
* Mongol leader Ghazan Khan is converted to Islam, ending a line of Tantric Buddhist leaders.
* Philip IV of France and Pope Boniface VIII begin having disagreements.
* Jayavarman VIII of the Khmer Empire in Cambodia abdicates.
* Marco Polo returns to Italy from his travels to China.
* Edward I summons the Model Parliament.

## Births 
* September 16 – Elizabeth de Clare, English noblewoman (died 1360)
* John IV, Duke of Brittany (died 1345)
* Eudes IV, Duke of Burgundy (died 1350)
* Reginald de Cobham, 1st Baron Cobham (died 1361)
* Joanna of Flanders, military leader in the Breton War of Succession (approximate date; died 1374)
* Nicephorus Gregoras, Byzantine historian (approximate date; died 1360)
* Al-Nasr Muhammad, sultan of Egypt (died 1341)
* Saint Roch (approximate date; died 1327)

## Deaths 
* April 25 – King Sancho IV of Castile (born 1257)
* August 12 – Charles Martel d'Anjou (born 1271)
* December 7 – Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Hertford, English politician (b. 1243)
* December 21 – Marguerite Berenger of Provence, queen of Louis IX of France (born c. 1221)
* Meinhard II of Gorizia-Tyrol (born 1238)
1360

## Events 
* October 24 – The Treaty of Brétigny is ratified at Calais, marking the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years' War.
* King Valdemar Atterdag of Denmark seizes Scania (from 1658 a Swedish province).

## Births 
*May 2 – Yongle Emperor of China (died 1424)
1709

## Events 
* January 10 - Abraham Darby I makes cast iron using coke fuel at his Coalbrookdale blast furnace in Shropshire, England.
* February - In America, Mardi Gras is celebrated one more time with *Masque de la Mobile* in the capital of French Louisianne, Mobile (Alabama), before Mobile is moved 27 miles (43&nbsp;km) down the Mobile River to Mobile Bay in 1711.
* February 2 - Alexander Selkirk is rescued from shipwreck on a desert island, inspiring the book *Robinson Crusoe* by Daniel Defoe.
: Battle of Poltava.]]
* July 8 (New Style) - Battle of Poltava: In Ukraine, Peter I of Russia defeats Charles XII of Sweden at Poltava (see above).
* August 8 - The hot air balloon of Bartolomeu de Gusmão flies in Portugal.
* September 11 - Battle of Malplaquet: Great Britain, the Netherlands and Austria defeat France.
* October 12 - The City of Chihuahua, México is founded.
* December 25 - In London, 10 ships leave for the New York colony, carrying over 4,000 people.

## Births
* February 24 – Jacques de Vaucanson, French inventor (d. 1782)
* March 10 – Georg Steller, German naturalist (d. 1746)
* August 7 – Jean-Jacques Lefranc, marquis de Pompignan, French poet (d. 1784)
* August 8 – Tokugawa Ietsugu, 7th Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan (d. 1716)
* September 18 – Samuel Johnson, English writer and lexicographer (d. 1784)
* November 2 – Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange, (d. 1759)
* December 18 – Elizabeth of Russia, reigning Empress of Russia (d. 1762)
* John Cleland, English novelist (d. 1789)
* Charles Collé, French dramatist (d. 1783)

## References
Pennsylvania Station

]]
**Pennsylvania Station**, or **Penn Station**, is a name of several railway stations in the United States. The name "Pennsylvania Station" comes from the times when all these stations belonged to the Pennsylvania Railroad and, later, to Penn Central. The stations in New York City, Newark, New Jersey, and Baltimore still have this name.  The station in Pittsburgh, although officially known as Union Station, is also called Penn Station by locals. All these stations are currently served by Amtrak.
Vojvodina

|-
| style="background: #ffffff;" align=center colspan=2 |

|- style="border-top: 2px solid gray;"
| align=center | 
| 
|-
|- style="border-top: 2px solid gray;"
|-
| valign=top | Official languages
| Serbian, Hungarian, Slovak, Romanian, Croatian, Rusyn1
|-
| Capital
| Novi Sad
|-
| Area&nbsp;– Total&nbsp;– % water
| &nbsp;21,500 km²&nbsp;n/a
|-
| valign=top | Population&nbsp;– Total (2002)&nbsp;– Density
| &nbsp;2,031,992&nbsp;94.51/km²
|-
| valign=top | Ethnic groups(2002)
| Serbs: *65.05%*Hungarians: *14.28%*Slovaks: *2.79%*Croats: *2.78%*Yugoslavs: *2.45%*Montenegrins: *1.75%*Romanians: *1.5%*Roma: *1.43%*Others: *7.97%*
|- 
| colspan=2 | 1 All of the official languages are used in the provincial government, Serbian is used in all municipality governments, others are used in selected municipality governments, and few minority languages are used outside official documents
|}
The **Autonomous Province of Vojvodina** (Serbian: Аутономна Покрајина Војводина or *Autonomna Pokrajina Vojvodina*) is one of the two autonomous provinces in Serbia. It is located in the northern part of the country, in the Pannonian plain. Its capital and the largest city is Novi Sad and the second largest city is Subotica. 

Vojvodina is ethnically, culturally and linguistically diverse, with more than 26 different ethnic groups and six official languages.
Cincinnati

**Cincinnati** is a city in the southwestern corner of the state of Ohio near the states of Kentucky and Indiana. The city is in Hamilton County, Ohio. Cincinnati is home to major sports teams including the Cincinnati Reds and the Cincinnati Bengals, as well as events like the Cincinnati Masters and the Thanksgiving Day race. The University of Cincinnati traces its foundation to the Medical College of Ohio, which was founded in 1819.

Cincinnati was named after the Roman leader Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus and was an early major city in the midwestern United States. Many Germans settled in the city and the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood gets its name from the river in Germany. Soap and machine tools are major industries in the area, which is home to the company Procter & Gamble as well as Macy's. Cincinnati's economy and population declined in the late 1900s, but the city is on the upswing. The Over-The-Rhine neighborhood has seen a lot of new businesses and development in recent years.

## People from Cincinnati 
* Michael K. Allen – former Hamilton County, Ohio prosecutor
* Stan Aronoff – former president of the Ohio Senate
* Oba Chandler – rapist and murderer on death row in Florida
* Dixon Edwards – former NFL linebacker
* Marc Edwards – NFL fullback
* Ray Edwards – NFL defensive end
* Joseph H. Albers – first bishop of Lansing, Michigan
* Anthony Allaire – New York City Police inspector
* Levi Addison Ault – businessman, naturalist, donor of Cincinnati's Ault Park
* Doris Day -actress, singer, animal lover
* Jonathan Good, better known as Jon Moxley – professional wrestler currently signed with All Elite Wrestling  
* Ken Griffey Sr. – Cincinnati Reds player, and father of:
* Ken Griffey Jr. – Hall of Fame baseball outfielder, most notably with the Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds. Born in Donora, Pennsylvania, but grew up in Cincinnati.
* Pete Rose -  most MLB hits, ever.  Famous athlete.
* Charles Manson -  Manson family leader, Famous '60s murder conspirator.
* Barry Larkin - Hall of Fame baseball player with the Cincinnati Reds.
* William Howard Taft, 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913.

## References
Dan Quayle

**James Danforth Quayle** (; born February 4, 1947) is an American retired politician who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. Before becoming vice president, he was a U.S. representative for Indiana's 4th congressional district from 1977 to 1981. He was also a junior United States senator from Indiana from 1981 to 1989.

In 1988, incumbent vice president and Republican presidential nominee George H. W. Bush chose Quayle as his running mate. The Bush-Quayle ticket defeated the Democratic ticket of Dukakis-Bentsen. As vice president, Quayle made official visits to 47 countries and was appointed chairman of the National Space Council. In 1992, Bush and Quayle was defeated by the Democratic ticket of Clinton-Gore.

In 1994, Quayle published his memoir, *Standing Firm*. He sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2000 but suspended his campaign early on and supported the nominee, George W. Bush. He joined Cerberus Capital Management, a private-equity firm in 1999. Since leaving office, he has remained active in the Republican Party, including making presidential endorsements in 2000, 2012, 2016, and 2020.

## Early life
Quayle was born at Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital (When he was born as Methodist Hospital in 1947) in Indianapolis, Indiana. His parents were Martha Corinne (née Pulliam) and James Cline Quayle. He has often been incorrectly referred to as *James Danforth Quayle III*. In his memoirs, he points out that his birth name was simply James Danforth Quayle. The name Quayle originates from the Isle of Man, where his great-grandfather was born.

His maternal grandfather, Eugene C. Pulliam, was a rich and influential publishing magnate who founded Central Newspapers, Inc., owner of over a dozen major newspapers such as *The Arizona Republic* and *The Indianapolis Star*. James C. Quayle moved his family to Arizona in 1955 to run part of the family's publishing business. While his family was very wealthy, Quayle was less rich; his total net worth by the time of his election in 1988 was less than $1 million.

## Personal life
Quayle and his wife are Presbyterians. He currently lives in Paradise Valley, Arizona.

## References
Tokusatsu

**Tokusatsu** is a Japanese word that means "special effects". It is used to talk about television shows and movies that have superheros, giant monsters, and other science fiction and fantastic themes. Some famous tokusatsu features include Godzilla, *Ultra Series*, *Kamen Rider* and *Super Sentai*.
Snakes on a Plane

***Snakes on a Plane*** (released in Japan as *Snake Flight* (スネーク・フライト)) is a 2006 American action horror crime thriller movie. It was directed by David R. Ellis and it stars Samuel L. Jackson and released to movie theaters by Warner Bros. It is about many snakes attacking people on a plane that is traveling from Hawaii to Los Angeles, California.

## Plot
After witnessing the murder of prosecutor Daniel Hayes in Hawaii, by Yakuza boss Eddie Kim, a biker named Sean Jones runs away but is escorted out by Samuel L. Jackson's character, FBI agent Neville Flynn. They catch a flight heading to California. Suddenly snakes start attacking people on the plane, and Flynn becomes angry at the snakes, so he fights them. After fighting the snakes, the plane lands on a nearby airport, everyone gets out of the plane safely on a liferaft until a snake attacks Sean and Flynn shoots the snake off of him with his gun. Eddie Kim is also sentenced to death. After the incident Flynn and Sean go on a holiday in Bali, Indonesia.

## Reception
The movie became very popular before it was released because of the title and because of many people talked about it on the Internet.

## Other websites 
*
Falsetto

A **falsetto** voice is a special way of speaking or singing where you speak in a higher pitched voice than normal. Imagine Mickey Mouse's talking style but with a fancy name. Actors do this sometimes, e.g. Robin Williams in the film *Mrs Doubtfire* or Kevin Clash when voicing the character Elmo in *Sesame Street* and Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees, with his R&B falsetto. Also, Kellin Quinn from the band sleeping With Sirens uses falsetto sometimes.

It is like stretching the mouth out into a wide smile and saying 'ee', except it is sung.

## Processes and uses of falsetto  
When people speak or sing, their vocal cords vibrate.  When a man sings falsetto only the edges of his vocal cords vibrate.  These produce harmonics.  It is similar to playing harmonics on a string instrument by lightly touching the string at a certain point so that only part of the string vibrates.  When a man sings falsetto his vocal range is usually one octave higher than his normal singing voice. When people sing in falsetto, their voice can be breathy sometimes.

Falsetto singing was used in the days when women were not allowed to sing in churches.  Instead, men sang countertenor.  Later the popularity of the countertenor disappeared, but in the mid 20th century it became popular again for performing Renaissance and Baroque music. Today the tradition of men singing alto (with countertenor voices) still exists in Britain in cathedral choirs and some church choirs which are all-male choirs.  It is not a big, operatic voice, and it blends in well with boys’ treble voices in the acoustic of churches and cathedrals.  

Occasionally falsetto can be used for comic effect, as in the roasted swan in the *Carmina Burana* by Carl Orff.

## Other websites 
* Definition of falsetto  at Virginia Tech's website
Castrato

recordings. This photograph was taken about 1880.]]

A **castrato** (plural *castrati*) was a type of male singer with a very high voice. The effect was produced either through castration, or because of some hormonal problems. The word *castrato* literally means castrated. Such singers were very sought after in the early days of the opera. Most of the main soprano roles in operas by Handel and other composers of that time were written for castrati. Nowadays they are almost always sung by female sopranos, since there are no castrati left.

The practice of castrating young boys who had good singing voices was quite common in Italy in the 17th century. When castration is done before puberty, the usual effects of puberty will not happen. These include the vocal cords enlarging and growing bigger, and the voice getting deeper as a consequence. 

Even though castration was illegal in many parts of Italy, it was often performed. Many families who were poor had their children castrated because it might give them a better future. 

Once a boy was castrated he would go to a special music school where children learned singing and musical instruments. The castrati pupils were given special treatment. They were fussed over and kept warm to stop them from getting colds. When they grew up they hoped to become famous opera singers. A few of them had very successful careers in opera. They were the great stars of their day, and audiences came to the opera to cheer on their favourite singers. Those who were not good enough to make a career in opera joined church choirs instead.

It is impossible now for us to know what these great castrato voices sounded like, but they must have had very powerful voices and many of the singers were very skilled in singing and adding musical ornamentation to the songs. In the 18th century Italian opera became very popular in England. This was largely due to the German-born composer Georg Friderich Händel who moved to England in 1709 and wrote lots of Italian operas. Many singers who sang in London came from Italy, and many were castrati. The most famous one was called Farinelli. 

The popularity of castrato singers died out in the 19th century. By the mid-19th century they were no opera castrati left, although a few castrati still sang in church choirs. The last one, a man called Alessandro Moreschi, died in 1922 aged 64. There is a recording of his voice made in 1902 which can be heard online, but he may not have been a good singer and he was old when he made the recording, so we cannot judge whether the castrato voice was beautiful by that recording.

## Related pages
* Breeches role

## Other websites 
* Alessandro Moreschi at *Internet Archive*
Breeches role

A **breeches role** is a part in an opera in which a woman plays the role of a man. It is also called a **trouser role** (British) or **pants role** (U.S.) or **travesti role** (the Italian word). It is called a breeches role because breeches are tight-fitting, knee-length trousers. These used to be worn by men at the time that breeches roles became popular. Sometimes breeches roles are in plays, but they are usually in opera.

Breeches roles are usually female singers acting the role of a young man. They are normally sung by mezzo-sopranos or contraltos with light voices because they can often sound boyish. In the 17th and 18th centuries it was normal to have actors and actresses who cross-dressed. It was the time when castrato singers were popular. These castrati were men pretending to be women, but there were also women pretending to be men (especially when the actress was trying to deceive another character) and the audiences were used to this kind of thing. As they gradually stopped the horrible practice of castrating young boys in the late 18th century these male characters started to be sung by mezzo-sopranos instead.

Mozart wrote an opera called *The Marriage of Figaro*. In this opera the role of Cherubino, a young page boy, is sung by a mezzo-soprano. Other famous examples include the role of Siebel in Dvořák’s opera *Rusalka* and the role of Prince Orlofsky in Johann Strauss’s opera *Die Fledermaus*.

Composers from the 20th century do not usually have breeches roles in their operas. There is the role of Oktavian in Richard Strauss’s opera *Der Rosenkavalier* (1911), but this opera was deliberately trying to produce the old-fashioned atmosphere of Mozart’s time. Benjamin Britten wrote an opera called *Midsummer Night’s Dream*, based on Shakespeare’s play. There is no breeches role here. Instead, the part of Oberon is written for a countertenor: a man with a high, falsetto voice.

There is also a term called a **skirt role**. This is the opposite of a trouser role: it is a man acting the part of a woman. Benjamin Britten uses one in the role of the Madwoman in *Curlew River*. The witch in Humperdinck’s *Hansel and Gretel* is also sung by a man. In both cases it makes the characters more dramatic, but the first is very serious while the second is supposed to be humorous.
1649

## Events 
* January 30 – King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland is beheaded. His widow Henrietta Maria lives in her native France.
* January 30 – The Commonwealth of England, a republican form of government, replaces the monarchy as the form of government of England and later of Scotland and Ireland. Members of the Long Parliament serve as government.
* January 30 – Prince Charles Stuart declares himself King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland. At the time all three Kingdoms had not recognized him as ruler.
* February 5 – In Edinburgh, Scotland claimant King Charles II of England is declared King in his absence. Scotland is the first of the three Kingdoms to recognize his claim to the throne.
* March 11 – The Frondeurs (rebels) and the French government sign the Peace of Rueil.
* March 19 – The House of Commons pass an act abolishing the House of Lords, declaring that it is *"useless and dangerous to the people of England"*.
* May 17 – Banbury mutiny ends – leaders of the Leveller mutineers in the New Model Army are hanged
* May 19 – *An act declaring England to be a Commonwealth* is passed by the Rump Parliament.

* Robert Blake is promoted to become an Admiral of the English fleet
* August 15 – Admiral Robert Blake blockades Prince Rupert to allow Oliver Cromwell to land in Dublin and begin the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
* September 2 – The Italian city of Castro is completely destroyed by the forces of Pope Innocent X, ending the Wars of Castro.
* Unknown date – Urga founded (now Mongolian capital)
* Digger movement crushed at St George's Hill

## Births 
* February 2 – Pope Benedict XIII
* February 8 – Gabriel Daniel, French Jesuit historian
* February 11 – William Carstares, Scottish minister
* April 5 – Elihu Yale, American benefactor of Yale University
* April 9 – James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland
* June 13 – Adrien Baillet, French scholar and critic
* July 23 – Pope Clement XI
* September 15 – Titus Oates, English minister and plotter
* December 7 – Charles Garnier, French Jesuit missionary

## Deaths 
* January 30 – King Charles I of England, Scotland, and Ireland (executed)
* March 9 – James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton, Scottish statesman
* March 9 – Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland, English soldier (executed)
* March 16 – Jean de Brébeuf, French Jesuit missionary
* March 19 – Gerhard Johann Vossius, German classical scholar and theologian
* March 26 – John Winthrop First Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony
* May 14 – Friedrich Spanheim, Dutch theologian
* June 3 – Manuel de Faria e Sousa, Portuguese historian and poet
* September 6 – Robert Dudley, styled Earl of Warwick, English explorer and geographer
* September 15 – John Floyd, English Jesuit preacher
* October 3 – Giovanni Diodati, Swiss Protestant clergyman
* October 16 – Isaac van Ostade, Dutch painter
* November 19 – Caspar Schoppe, German scholar
* December 4 – William Drummond of Hawthornden, Scottish poet
* December 8 – Noël Chabanel, French Jesuit missionary
Leech

A **leech**, plural **leeches,** is a kind of worm that live in wet areas. Some only live in water, but some, called terrestrial leeches, can live on land. Terrestrial leeches can only live in wet and humid areas. Some leeches that live in water can swim. Leeches have 34 connected parts, called segments, that make up the body.

## References
Claque

A **claque** (pronounce: ‘clack’) is a small group of people in an opera house who deliberately either clapped loudly (applauded) or shouted boo for a particular singer. Usually it means an *organised* group who know in advance what they are going to do.

In the 19th century there was very often a claque at performances of an opera. Someone who liked one of the singers and wanted them to have lots of applause would pay a group of people to sit near the back of the opera house and to clap and shout enthusiastically whenever that singer had finished a song. This would encourage the rest of the audience to clap loudly too. Sometimes the claque would be paid to do the opposite: they would be told to hiss and boo when the singer had sung.

Very often a singer would have to pay some money to the claque so that they would applaud him (or her). If the singer did not pay, the claque would hiss and boo. This was, of course, a nasty form of blackmail. In the early 20th century, when the world-famous tenor Enrico Caruso refused to pay the claque in Naples a bribe, they hissed during his singing of the great aria *Una furtiva lagrima*.

Groups of supporters at football ('soccer') matches do much the same thing without being paid. Abuse of match officials is also quite common. Abuse between rival groups of fans is also common. Clubs are required to keep away fans in different sections from home fans. 

## References 
**Teach yourself opera* by Susan Sutherland 1997, LCCC number: 06-72382
Glycoprotein

A **glycoprotein** is a big molecule. It is composed of a protein and a carbohydrate (which is usually a sugar-like substance). Glycoproteins are important to recognise immune cells in mammals. 
Well-known glycoproteins are:
* antibodies which react with antigens

Hormones that are glycoproteins are (amongst others)

* Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH)
* Luteinising hormone (LH)
* Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH)

## Related pages 
*Miracle fruit

## References
Tissue culture

s being cultured]]

**Tissue culture** or  **cell culture** is a way to grow cells in a laboratory. Cells are taken, and put into in a flask or Petri dish. They can be grown on a growth medium, sometimes an agar plate. The cells divide, and can be treated in various ways.  This is done for a number of purposes, especially for the use of scientific research: 

*Growing bacteria or fungi for experiments or for identification. An example would be growing bacteria to see what antibiotics they are resistant to.
*Growing cells of plants or animals for various experimental purposes. 
**Plant cuttings can be grown: roots grow out of a sprig. 
**In-Vitro Fertilization is when eggs are taken and fertilized with sperm in the dish.

## References
East Slavic languages

The **East Slavic languages** are one of the three regional subgroups of the Slavic languages. It is the largest subgroup of the Slavic languages by number of speakers. The East Slavic languages are natively spoken in Eastern Europe, Siberia, and the Russian Far East. It is also used as a lingua franca in the Caucasus and Central Asia.

The main East Slavic languages are Belarusian, Russian, and Ukrainian. Sometimes Rusyn is also made separate, but other times it is said to be a dialect of Ukrainian. All of these languages use the Cyrillic script.

## References
Chemotherapy

.]]
 was one of the first drugs used for chemotherapy. It was developed in the 1950s, and is used to treat autoimmune diseases and cancer. It can also be used to treat an ectopic pregnancy, or to perform an abortion. ]]
**Chemotherapy**, or 'chemo', is the use of chemical substances to treat diseases. The word "chemotherapy" is often used for a type of medicine used to treat cancer. The drugs are cytotoxic, which means they are toxic to the body's cells.

There are many types of chemotherapy. and doctors chose the medication that will treat each types of cancer in the best way. Often, chemotherapy drugs are combined with each other and with other drugs when a person is treated for cancer.

When a person has surgery to remove a tumor, chemotherapy may be given before or after. 

Chemotherapy can also be used to treat other diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis. 

Chemotherapy often has bad side effects:
* Loss or damage of hair and nails
* Weakened immune system
* Nausea and vomiting

## Related pages 
*Antiviral drug
*Paul Ehrlich
*Pharmacotheraphy
*Radiotherapy
*Therapy

## References
Typhoid

:*Other unrelated diseases with a similar name are typhus and paratyphoid fever*

**Typhoid**, or **typhoid fever**, is an illness caused by the bacterium *Salmonella enterica* subspecies *enterica*. Symptoms may vary from mild to severe, and usually begin 6 to 30 days after exposure. The disease is spread by water which has the bacteria in it. 

## Transmission 
Typhi is spread through from what is called the *fecaloral route*. The source is people who are infected but have no symptoms. An asymptomatic human carrier is an individual who is still excreting typhoid bacteria in their stool a year after the acute stage of the infection. For example, in the Indian subcontinent, typhoid is one of the most common diseases because of poor sanitation and lack of basic hygiene.In that case, typhoid fever is common in children of the one to 15 years age group.

The disease can be treated with antibiotics. There are standard drugs like *chloromycetin* which cure typhoid. 

## References
Treble (singer)

The word **treble** is used, especially in British English, to mean the singing voice of a boy or girl. Often it is called a **boy soprano** or a **boy alto**, but since there are also many girls who sing in cathedral and church choirs these days, the word treble is now used to describe the voice of either sex.

A boy cannot sing treble forever. At puberty he starts to become a man and his voice range will go up (we say that his voice “breaks”). He will then become a tenor, a baritone, or a bass, or he may even train to be a countertenor. A girl’s voice also changes when she reaches puberty, but the change into a grown-up female voice is more gradual than with a boy, and it is still within the soprano or alto range.

Boys who join a cathedral choir or the choir of a large church will have to work hard to develop their voice and learn to sing musically. They often start this training aged 7 or 8, and they may only have four or five years before their voice starts to break. They do not usually become famous as soloists, but the Welsh treble Aled Jones became very famous for about three years and made many recordings before his voice broke in 1987.

The word ‘treble’ is used for children singing in a Classical Music style, especially church music. Although children do not usually sing in opera, occasionally a treble is used for the part of a very small boy, e.g. in Debussy’s opera *Pélléas et Mélisande* or the shepherd in Puccini's opera *Tosca*.

## References
Transylvania

, the part in yellow is Transylvania]]
]]

**Transylvania** is a historical region in Central Europe. In the past, it was administered by Hungary, as an independent principality, belonging to the Ottoman Empire, and a province of Austria-Hungary. It has been part of Romania since the end of World War I in 1918.

The borders was made up by the Siret River from east, river Tisza from west of north and south by the Carpathian Mountains. 

Transylvania's main city, Cluj-Napoca, is seen as the region's informal capital. But Transylvania was also ruled from Alba Iulia during its dependence from the Ottoman Empire, and the seat of the Transylvanian Diet was moved to Sibiu for some time in the 19th century.

In popular culture, Transylvania is mainly known as the seat (and origin) of  the fictional Count Dracula.  This vampire story by Bram Stoker is based on a local nobleman Vlad III the Impaler, known for his cruelty. Bram Stoker never visited Transylvania and used vampire stories from Scotland to write his novel.  

It also was the home of Elizabeth Báthory.
Southwest Airlines

**Southwest Airlines** is a airline based in Dallas, Texas that has a reputation for low fares. The airline started in 1971.  It flies among about a hundred airports, mostly within the United States but also some airports in the Caribbean Sea and Mexico. 

Originally, many of Southwest's flights were to airports in the Southwestern United States, such as Dallas Love Field and Houston Hobby Airport, but it also flies to airports in other parts of the country, such as Chicago Midway Airport and Baltimore/Washington International Airport.  Southwest Airlines controls most of the gates at Dallas Love Field and most other airlines cannot fly from there.

In 2014, it started international flights. 

The company flies 815 Boeing 737 aircraft. This is more than any other airline. It only flies the 737. By 2024, 230 were the newest kind, the Boeing 737 MAX.
 
Southwest Airlines bought the smaller AirTran Airways in 2011 and discontinued the AirTran name. For several years, Southwest was the largest airline in the United States based on number of passengers, but it was not the largest based on distance traveled. 

In 2018, an engine exploded on a Southwest Airlines flight, killing one passenger. That was the first death of a passenger from an aircraft accident on Southwest (earlier passenger deaths were from other causes, such as heart attack and drug overdoses).

In 2025, Southwest started charging for checked baggage and began a transition to assigned seating.  A television commercial about the assigned seating showed a lady throwing a watermelon on the floor of a grocery store, thus violating a social norm.  The charges for checked baggage and assigned seating are examples of how nothing is sacred anymore (not that anything ever was truly sacred). 

## Gallery 

File:Southwest gold (9829870515).jpg|Southwest Airlines original "Desert Gold" livery (1971-2001)
File:Southwest Airlines plane.jpg|Boeing 737 in "Canyon Blue" livery (2001-2014)
File:Southwest737-700N7733B SANFebruary2019.jpg|Boeing 737-700 in current "Heart" livery (2014-present) 
File:N918WN LAX (17154151746).jpg|N918WN "Illinois One" in Southwest livery
File:Southwest Airlines aircraft empty interior.jpg|Inside a Southwest Airlines cabin
File:Southwest Snack 2003.JPG|Typical food on Southwest Airlines

## Related pages 
*Ryanair
*jetBlue
*Frontier Airlines
*Spirit Airlines

## References
Strasbourg

**Strasbourg** is a city in eastern France, the prefecture of Grand Est. Today, about 275,000 people live there (with around 780,000 in the metropolitan area). It lies on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite the German city of Kehl.

Strasbourg is the seat Council of Europe, of the European Court of Human Rights and of the European Parliament. A lot of people also consider Strasbourg to be the capital of the European Union.

## History 
Its old town, la Grande Île ("Grand Island") has been classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Image:Petite France Strasbourg.JPG|A typical view of the old town
Image:CivitatesOrbisTerrarum Strasbourg.jpg|Strasbourg in 1572

The city was founded in 12 BC by Drusus, the brother of Tiberius. Its Celtic name was *Argentorate* (which the Romans called *Argentoratum*). People think this name is linked to the river Ill (that flows into the Rhine near Strasbourg).

At that time, it was on the Limes, a fortification the Romans built across Europe (to keep out the Germanic tribes). There was a fortification (named *castella drusi*, *drusus fort*) at that spot. Soldiers need to live from something, so a local civilian settlement developed there. Later, the Limes was pushed farther east.

## Climate 
Strasbourg has an oceanic climate (*Cfb* in the Köppen climate classification).

## Education 
* École nationale supérieure d'informatique pour l'industrie et l'entreprise
* École pour l'informatique et les nouvelles technologies
* École pour l'informatique et les techniques avancées
* EM Strasbourg Business School
* Institut supérieur européen de gestion group
* ISG Programme Business & Management
* Web@cademie

## References
Necklace

]]
A **necklace** is a jewellery item worn round the neck. It is of ancient origin: all civilisations have worn them. They usually figure precious metals and jewels, but may be made of colourful beads.

## The Indore necklace 
The emeralds threaded onto the necklace were mined in Colombia. The diamonds were mined in India. The necklace's gemstones are believed to have been cut in India in the 17th century, but the early history of the necklace itself is unknown. The first recorded owner of the piece was Tukoji Rao III, Maharaja of Indore (a Princely State in India) in the early 20th century. On his abdication, the necklace was passed to his son, Yashvantrao II, who took up his father's throne. The necklace is sometimes called, though with no reason, the Spanish Inquisition necklace.

## Gallery 

File:Halskette 2.JPG
File:Kenyan man.jpg| Masai men, Kenya, wear traditional necklaces
File:Biser-ogrlica.JPG|Black & white pearls
File:Aegyptisches Museum Berlin InvNr22877 20080313 Halskette Amanishakheto 2.jpg|Ancient Egypt

File:Hedy Lamarr in The Conspirators.jpg|Hedy Lamarr
File:Ancient gold objects from Vani, Georgia.jpg
File:Fire eating Hindu.jpg
File:BisschopVanDenHende.jpg

## References