What is the usual name for the animal sometimes called a glutton?

Facts About Wolverines Facts About Wolverines By Alina Bradford, Live Science Contributor | August 1, 2014 12:11pm ET MORE Credit: Stayer / Shutterstock.com Wolverines look something like a mixture of a dog, a skunk and a bear, with short legs, long hair and elongated snouts. Wolverines also have a distinctive mask of dark fur around their eyes and forehead, and a stripe of blond or ivory fur that runs from each shoulder to the base of the animal's tail. Though wolverines are the biggest of the weasel family, according to the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS), they are still very small. They are normally 26 to 34 inches (66 to 86 centimeters) from head to rump. Their tail adds another 7 to 10 inches (18 to 25 centimeters) to their length. They weigh 24 to 40 lbs. (11 to 18 kilograms). Diet Wolverines are omnivores; they eat both meat and vegetation. Typical meals for a wolverine include large game like caribou,  moose  and mountain goats; smaller animals like ground squirrels and rodents; and even birds' eggs and berries. They like meat best, though, and will go to great lengths to get it. They can travel 15 miles (24 kilometers) in a 24-hour period in search of food and will even eat dead animals they did not kill.  Wolverines have a keen sense of smell; they can smell prey 20 feet under the snow. They will dig down into burrows and kill hibernating animals.  Wolverines are sneaky when finding food, too. They have strong jaws and teeth, and can crush a carcass and munch right through the bone. They have been known to eat the bones and teeth of their prey. Wolverines also seem to be aware of how to store food. Research shows that  wolverines use snow as refrigerators  to keep their food fresh. During times when food is scarce, the wolverines will go back to their stockpile to and retrieve a meal. Habitat & habits Wolverines prefer colder areas because they use the snow for dens, besides food storage. They live in the Arctic and subarctic, in grasslands, Alpine forests, taiga, boreal forests and tundra of Europe, Asia, and in North America in the northern latitudes.  Wolverines are solitary creatures, and need great swaths of territory to roam. Males mark their territory with their scent and only share their turf with females. Their territories can range from 40 miles (65 km) to more than 372 miles (600 km). The skull of wolverine shows the strong bones and teeth of the mammal. These hunters are nocturnal, which means they sleep during the day and hunt at night. Offspring Wolverines are polygamous. This means that a male will mate with several females. They mate from May to August. After mating, females create dens in which to have their young. These dens are often caves dug in the snow and can be up to 15 feet deep.  Females give birth to two or three young at the same time every year, which is usually in the late winter or early spring. Most young are born between February and mid-March.  Baby wolverines are called kits. Kits are born with their eyes closed and are covered in white fur. While the females handle the bulk of the rearing, males will visit from time to time and care for the young. Sometimes, kits will stay with their mother until they are ready to have kits of their own. Wolverines are ready to reproduce at around 2 years old. Usually, though, kits head out on their own by September, according to  The Wolverine Foundation . Wolverines typically live seven to 12 years. Classification/taxonomy  The taxonomy of wolverines, according to the  Integrated Taxonomic Information System  (ITIS), is: Kingdom: Animalia Family: Mustelidae  Genus and species: Gulo gulo Subspecies: Gulo gulo albus, Gulo gulo gulo, Gulo gulo katschemakensis, Gulo gulo luscus, Gulo gulo luteus and Gulo gulo vancouverensis Conservation status Wolverines are not endangered. The International Union for Conservation of Nature's  Red List  lists them as "Least Concern" for extinction, although their numbers are decreasing, especially in Europe, where it is considered "Vulnerable." Their population is estimated to be between 15,000 a


Fleas Fleas The dark speck that suddenly appears when you walk across the carpet, then disappears, is likely a flea. It’s a bloodsucker, reddish-brown, about one-eighth of an inch long. Using a magnifying glass, you’d see the flea’s body is flattened from side-to-side and it has long claws on its legs – both are adaptations for traveling between hair shafts. The flea also has spines on its mouth, legs and back to help prevent it from being groomed off. Nevertheless, a dog will probably pick off many of the cat fleas it hosts. Cat fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) are more common on cats, dogs and humans than dog fleas (Ctenocephalides canis) and human fleas (Pulex irritans). Each has its preferred hosts. The human flea prefers the blood of humans and pigs. Cat and dog fleas prefer cats and dogs, though children can become infested when pets sleep or rest on the same bed. Cat and dog fleas also will infest certain types of wild carnivores, including opossums and raccoons, but not squirrels, rats or mice. While these two species do not carry human diseases, they can carry tapeworms (Dipylidium caninum) that infect dogs. Other flea species occasionally encountered by humans include the oriental rat flea (Xenopsylla cheopis) and the northern rat flea (Nosopsyllus fasciatus). These fleas live on Norway rats and roof rats, and are capable of transmitting plague and murine typhus to humans. FLEAS AND DISEASE Fleas often probe the skin before taking a blood meal. After 30 minutes, lines or clusters of itchy red marks appear. On sensitive persons, bites develop into raised bumps within 24 hours after being bitten. Fleas have been associated with humans and other animals for thousands of years. A bacterium (Yersinia pestis) spread by fleas killed 25 million people, more than a quarter of the European population, in 14 th century Europe. This was the “black plague.” Epidemics also occurred in Egypt, Africa, China, India and even the U.S., before the discovery of antibiotics. All told, perhaps 200 million people have died of plague – more than have died in all the wars in history. Today, plague occurs worldwide. Each year, a few cases of bubonic plague are recorded in the United States, mostly in the Southwest. The disease is typically carried by wild rodents, and transmitted to the fleas that bite them. The digestive system of an infected flea can become blocked by rapid reproduction of the bacteria, causing the flea to bite repeatedly in an attempt to avoid starvation. Humans typically contract the disease from the bites of infected fleas, or through skin abrasions that contact the blood of infected animals or the feces of infected fleas. Bubonic plague occurs most often where persons live or participate in outdoor activities in close proximity to wild rodents, such as rock squirrels, ground squirrels, prairie dogs, chipmunks and rats. Pets also bring plague-infected fleas into the home. Cats are highly susceptible to the disease. Outbreaks can arise in urban and rural areas, especially where conditions are primitive or unsanitary. Symptoms of bubonic plague develop within one week of exposure to the bacterium, and may include headache, fever, weakness, fatigue and painful, swollen lymph nodes known as “buboes.” The disease responds well to antibiotics, but untreated persons may die within a week of showing symptoms. Another disease transmitted by fleas is murine typhus. In the United States, only a few cases are reported annually. These typically occur in Texas, or result from travel abroad, especially to tropical countries. Transmission of a bacterium (Rickettsia typhi) that causes murine typhus takes place in rat-infested areas, in the same manner as mentioned above for bubonic plague, and by inhalation of airborne flea feces. Headache, body aches, fever and, occasionally, a rash and other symptoms develop within two weeks after infection. Like plague, murine typhus responds well to treatment with antibiotics. THE SECRET LIVES OF FLEAS We are most familiar with adult fleas, those specks that jump and occasionally bite, but spend mo


What is the minimum age of the President of the USA?

Why is minimum age for president 35? FacebookEmail Twitter Google+ LinkedIn Pinterest Why is minimum age for president 35? What's so magical about the age of 35 when it comes to running for president? George Hager, an Editorial Page writer for USA TODAY, answers this reader question. Post to Facebook Why is minimum age for president 35? What's so magical about the age of 35 when it comes to running for president? George Hager, an Editorial Page writer for USA TODAY, answers this reader question. Check out this story on USATODAY.com: http://usat.ly/1e75kWx CancelSend A link has been sent to your friend's email address. Posted! A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. 11 To find out more about Facebook commenting please read the Conversation Guidelines and FAQs Why is minimum age for president 35? USATODAY 9:16 p.m. EDT July 29, 2013 x Share A reader wants to know why the minimum age for running for president is 35. Editorial Page writer George Hager answers this reader question. Find out why, and how old our youngest president was. Ask your question with #askusatoday on Twitter. John F. Kennedy was the youngest elected president, taking the office at the age of 43. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images) What's so magical about the age of 35? Age is obviously no guarantee of good judgment for a politician — see New Yorkers Anthony Weiner (48) and Eliott Spitzer (54). But the idea that age brings wisdom and maturity is what the Founding Fathers had in mind when they spelled out in the Constitution that a president of the USA must be at least 35. Some note that 35 was "older" when the Constitution was written because average life expectancy in the 1700s was much lower than it is today — about 40 years, though that's a misleading average that counts the many who died at birth or in early childhood. Founding Father and first president George Washington lived to the age of 67. Thomas Jefferson died at 83. But there's a movement to let anyone old enough to vote, run for any office, including the presidency. France does this, and backers say it's only fair. Critics worry that some wildly popular young entertainer such as Justin Bieber (19) or Taylor Swift (23) might sweep into office on the youth vote. Not to fret. Another provision of the Constitution would block Canadian-born Bieber from becoming president, and since older Americans vote far more reliably than younger ones, there's not much chance (yet) of a president Swift. Have a question of your own? Send it to us and we'll try to answer. E-mail askusatoday@usatoday.com, or tweet #askusatoday. Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1e75kWx


"To what was John Keats referring in his line ""Thou still unravish'd bride of quietness""?"

John Keats: Ode On A Grecian Urn ODE ON A GRECIAN URN By John Keats Thou still unravished bride of quietness,       Thou foster child of silence and slow time, Sylvan historian, who canst thus express       A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme: What leaf-fringed legend haunts about thy shape       Of deities or mortals, or of both,             In Tempe or the dales of Arcady? What men or gods are these? What maidens loath?       What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape?             What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy? Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard       Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on; Not to the sensual ear, but, more endeared,       Pipe to the spirit dities of no tone. Fair youth, beneath the trees, thou canst not leave       Thy song, nor ever can those trees be bare;             Bold Lover, never, never canst thou kiss, Though winning near the goal---yet, do not grieve;       She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss             Forever wilt thou love, and she be fair! Ah, happy, happy boughs! that cannot shed       Your leaves, nor ever bid the Spring adieu; And, happy melodist, unweari-ed,       Forever piping songs forever new; More happy love! more happy, happy love!       Forever warm and still to be enjoyed,             Forever panting, and forever young; All breathing human passion far above,       That leaves a heart high-sorrowful and cloyed,             A burning forehead, and a parching tongue. Who are these coming to the sacrifice?       To what green altar, O mysterious priest, Lead'st thou that heifer lowing at the skies,       And all her silken flanks with garlands dressed? What little town by river or sea shore,       Or mountain-built with peaceful citadel,             Is emptied of this folk, this pious morn? And, little town, thy streets for evermore       Will silent be; and not a soul to tell             Why thou art desolate, can e'er return. O Attic shape! Fair attitude! with brede       Of marble men and maidens overwrought, With forest branches and the trodden weed;       Thou, silent form, dost tease us out of thought As doth eternity. Cold Pastoral!       When old age shall this generation waste,             Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st,       "Beauty is truth, truth beauty"---that is all             Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know. 1820


"Which economist wrote ""The Affluent Society"" in 1958?"

John Kenneth Galbraith | The Economist John Kenneth Galbraith John Kenneth Galbraith, economist and public intellectual, died on April 29th, aged 97 May 4th 2006 Tweet Corbis ABOVE a large oak bookcase in John Kenneth Galbraith's elegant sitting room in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a framed sampler was displayed. “Galbraith's First Law”, read the meticulous red and blue cross-stitch: “Modesty is a vastly overrated virtue.” He thoroughly believed it. Save for his humble origins on a farm in Ontario, little about Mr Galbraith or his life was modest. At six foot eight, he was a giant. Intellectually he was equally towering, a man who spent more than seven decades either on the stage of American public policy—as a bureaucrat in Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, a confidante of John Kennedy and adviser to countless other Democrats—or loudly lambasting Washington from offstage left, as a Harvard professor. For several of those decades, Mr Galbraith—much to the chagrin of his academic colleagues—could claim to be the best-known economist in the world. His books, more than 40 of them, were spectacularly successful. All this made him an extraordinary public intellectual. But for many, particularly on America's left, he was much more. Mr Galbraith embodied a creed (a broad scepticism of markets and unshakeable belief in a strong state to balance them) and an era, the 1960s, when that sort of liberalism reached its peak. In many eyes, and perhaps his own, Mr Galbraith was America's Great Liberal Economist, the intellectual heir to John Maynard Keynes, whose contributions to economics are underappreciated by a profession obsessed with mathematical formulae. Related items J.K. Galbraith: Unconventional wisdom Apr 7th 2005 He was certainly Keynes's heir in his passion for the trenches of public policy, his recognition that economics could and should be accessible, and his way with words. A devotee of Trollope and Evelyn Waugh—“Scoop” was a favourite—Mr Galbraith strove to perfect his prose, reworking each passage at least five times. “It was usually on about the fourth day that I put in that note of spontaneity for which I am known,” he once admitted. Bons mots, however, seemed to come naturally to him. “Economists are economical, among other things, of ideas; most make those of their graduate days last a lifetime.” “Wealth is not without its advantages, and the case to the contrary, although it has often been made, has never proved widely persuasive.” As Kennedy's ambassador to India, Mr Galbraith preferred to write to the president direct: sending letters through the State Department, he told Kennedy, was “like fornicating through a mattress”. Where Mr Galbraith differed from Keynes, and from other Great Economists such as Milton Friedman, was that he produced no robust economic theories. Robert Skidelsky, Keynes's biographer, thought that he lacked “the theoretical brilliance, or perhaps merely interest”. In fact, Mr Galbraith disdained a theoretical approach to economics. This was more than a simple aversion to mathematical formulae. The greatest problem with economics, he argued, was its “wilful denial of the presence of power and political interests”. By positing an idealised world of perfect competition, economic theory assumed away the factors that drove societies. Mr Galbraith was thus less an economist than a mixture of sociologist, political scientist and journalist. His three most influential books were snapshots of the America of their time. In “American Capitalism” (1952), giant firms were balanced by the “countervailing power” of, for instance, unions; in “The Affluent Society” (1958), massive private consumption coexisted with public decay; in “The New Industrial State” (1967), producers held all the economic power and competition was irrelevant. Time proved especially unkind to that idea. His faith in government, born of the searing experience of the Depression, verged sometimes on the bizarre. In 1973, for instance, he argued that America's few-hundred biggest companies should be brought into public ownership. Yet if Mr Ga


How many legs does a lobster have? | Reference.com How many legs does a lobster have? A: Quick Answer Lobsters have 10 legs, with five pairs of jointed legs attached to their thorax region. Lobsters are crustaceans that are closely related to crabs and shrimp, and they can be found all over the world in oceans, freshwater and brackish environments. They can grow as long as 3 feet, and they have an average lifespan of 50 years. Full Answer The body of a lobster has 21 segments, and most species of lobsters have large claws. The species with the claws usually has one claw that is larger than the other one, with sharp and thick teeth used for cutting and crushing objects. Lobsters have a blackish-green or brown body, and they only turn red after being boiled. With an omnivorous diet, lobsters mostly eat algae, plants, fish and even other lobsters. They have three stomachs in their digestive system: the forgut, midgut and the hindgut. The first stomach is used for grinding food, the second stomach is used for digesting food particles and the third stomach is used to pass all of the non-absorbed particles to the anus. Lobsters are solitary creatures that rarely interact with other lobsters. They spend their days hiding among rocks to protect themselves from their known predators, including cod. They mainly leave their rocks at night to find their food. Lobsters have the ability to recognize other lobsters by excreted chemicals.


What is the name of the colourless plum brandy which is made in several Balkan and Eastern European countries?

Slivovitz: A Plum (Brandy) Choice Home -> Issues -> 2014 March/April -> Slivovitz: A Plum (Brandy) Choice Slivovitz: A Plum (Brandy) Choice Share ! tweet By Josh Tapper For many Jews, slivovitz—the Eastern European plum brandy—is wrapped in nostalgia, evoking memories of irascible relatives downing fiery shots over Yiddish banter, or the mysterious bottle at the back of your grandmother’s pantry, revealed only during Passover seders. Over the years, slivovitz has become a distinctly Jewish beverage, one to  rival Manischewitz wine, and a popular social lubricant to celebrate the good times and lament the bad. “For Jews it became one of those things that represented the old country,” says Noah Rothbaum, the editor-in-chief of liquor.com and author of The Business of Spirits. “It was something for us, that we had, that was traditional.” Slivovitz comes from sliv, the Slavic root word for plum, and refers to variants of 100- to 140-proof brandy that remain immensely popular in Slovakia, Croatia, Poland, Bosnia, the Czech Republic and Serbia, which claims it as a national drink. Martin Votruba, a professor of Slovak studies at the University of Pittsburgh who researches the history of slivovitz, suspects plums were first distilled into alcohol in the 15th or 16th century, when Europeans began domestic cultivation of fruit trees. “It looks like there weren’t enough pears, and the apples weren’t good enough [for distillation],” says Votruba. “Plums had the most sugar.” Until the late 1800s, when commercial production began to spread across Europe, slivovitz was mostly prepared in small batches, by home brewers and village tavern keepers, leading to regional nuances based on the type of plum available and the length and quality of the fermentation and distillation processes. At first, Jewish contact with slivovitz was largely circumstantial, just as it was with other Eastern European staples, such as borscht. “Jews would acquire this local drink after moving into European kingdoms,” Votruba says. “They would simply pick it up as part of the culture.” But the ties appear to be stronger in the 19th-century Kingdom of Poland, where Jews had cornered the liquor trade. Viewed by the Polish nobility as sound bookkeepers and responsible drinkers, Jews were entrusted with operating the kingdom’s taverns, says Glenn Dynner, a professor of Jewish Studies at Sarah Lawrence College and author of Yankel’s Tavern: Jews, Liquor, and Life in the Kingdom of Poland. As such, these Jewish tavern keepers, says Dynner, would have had an intimate knowledge of slivovitz production, from overseeing the plum harvest to distillation to distribution. The drink also grew in popularity among Jews out of religious necessity. As a grain-free spirit, slivovitz was—and continues to be—saleable during Passover, when Jewish vendors stopped selling their wheat- and rye-based alcohols. “It was a great drink to make over Passover to keep your tavern running,” says Dynner. “We’re only talking about a week, but a week’s lost business was very significant in a cutthroat economy.” Slivovitz is the favored poison of Michael Chabon’s Jewish detective in The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, and is an early-morning jolt for the conniving Senator Andrew Lockhart in the third season of Homeland. There was, Dynner suggests, another pragmatic reason for Jews to drink slivovitz in the non-wine-growing regions of Central and Eastern Europe. For poor 18th- and 19th-century Jews, wine was an expensive import and thus not always available. Under the rules of the chamar medina, or “drink of the land”—a halachic category developed so observant Jews could use local beverages for sacramental purposes in the absence of wine—the ever-abundant slivovitz was one of the alcoholic beverages Jews would have imbibed during the Sabbath and festivals, says Dynner. All of these factors dovetailed with the rise of Hasidism, whose adherents exuberantly pursued drinking as a religious ritual. Among the few written references to Jews and slivovitz is the introduction to an 1884 commentary called Hesed le-A


Which dramatist wrote 'The Alchemist in 1610?

Ben Jonson - The Alchemist The Alchemy web site on Levity.com Ben Jonson - The Alchemist Ben Jonson (1573-1637) was one of the foremost of the Jacobean dramatists. He wrote a number of plays (both comedies and tragedies) and a series of stylised masques for the Court. He had a keen eye for the follies of his contemporaries, and in this play he particularly satirises human gullibility. He displays considerable understanding of alchemy and makes many jokes based on its symbolism (and in two places even refers to Dee and Kelly). He obviously expected the audience for this play to have some knowledge of alchemical ideas. Jonson's The Alchemist written in 1610, thus presents us with a satirical window through which we can see one way in which alchemy was perceived in the opening decade of the 17th century. The characters in the play:- Subtle - The Alchemist. Face - The house-keeper, otherwise Lovewit's butler Jeremy. Dol Common - The conspirator of Subtle and Face. Lovewit - The owner of the house in which Subtle sets up his work. Dapper - A Lawyer's Clerk, who wants Subtle to help him in gambling. Abel Drugger - A Tobacco merchant, who wants Subtle to assist him, through magic in setting up an apothecaries shop. Sir Epicure Mammon - A Knight, who wants Subtle's help in making him wealthy. Tribulation Wholesome - A Pastor of Amsterdam. Ananias - A Deacon, colleague of Tribulation. These religious brothers want Subtle's help in minting money to help establish Puritanism in Britain. Kastril - The angry boy, recently come into an inheritance. He wants Subtle's help in aiding him to win fights. Dame Pliant - A widow, sister of Kastril, wants to know her fortune in marriage. Pertinax Surly - A Gamester, who sees through the deceptions. Neighbours, Officers, Attendants. The action takes place in Lovewit's house in London, while he is away in the country. If you have problems understanding these alchemical texts, Adam McLean now provides a study course entitled How to read alchemical texts : a guide for the perplexed . Alchemical texts


What are classified using the Hubble Sequence?

Hubble Sequence - Group of Questions Last Modified: 2 years ago Hubble Sequence To print this group, add it to a test. Use the diagram below to answer the questions. Grade 9 Universe A. spiral with tightly wound arms spiral with loosely wound arms barred spiral with tightly wound arms barred spiral with loosely wound arms Grade 9 Universe elliptical, lenticular, and spiral galaxies spiral, lenticular, and elliptical galaxies. elliptical, irregular, and spiral galaxies spiral, irregular, and elliptical galaxies. Grade 9 Universe E3 is more elliptical in shape than E7 E7 is more elliptical in shape than E3 E3 has barred spiral arms and E7 does not E7 has barred spiral arms and E3 does not Grade 9 Universe H. M95 is a barred galaxy and Andromeda is not Andromeda is a barred galaxy and M95 is not M95 has more tightly wound spiral arms than Andromeda Andromeda has more tightly wound spiral arms than M95 Grade 9 Universe I.


Where was the first fossil 'Homo Erectus' found?

Homo erectus | The Smithsonian Institution's Human Origins Program Your browser does not support the audio element. Homo erectus Where Lived: Northern, Eastern, and Southern Africa; Western Asia (Dmanisi, Republic of Georgia); East Asia (China and Indonesia) When Lived: Between about 1.89 million and 143,000 years ago Early African Homo erectus fossils (sometimes called Homo ergaster) are the oldest known early humans to have possessed modern human-like body proportions with relatively elongated legs and shorter arms compared to the size of the torso. These features are considered adaptations to a life lived on the ground, indicating the loss of earlier tree-climbing adaptations, with the ability to walk and possibly run long distances. Compared with earlier fossil humans, note the expanded braincase relative to the size of the face. The most complete fossil individual of this species is known as the ‘Turkana Boy’ – a well-preserved skeleton (though minus almost all the hand and foot bones), dated around 1.6 million years old.  Microscopic study of the teeth indicates that he grew up at a growth rate similar to that of a great ape. There is fossil evidence that this species cared for old and weak individuals. The appearance of Homo erectus in the fossil record is often associated with the earliest handaxes, the first major innovation in stone tool technology. Early fossil discoveries from Java (beginning in the 1890s) and China (‘Peking Man’, beginning in the 1920s) comprise the classic examples of this species. Generally considered to have been the first species to have expanded beyond Africa, Homo erectus is considered a highly variable species, spread over two continents (it's not certain whether it reached Europe), and possibly the longest lived early human species - about nine times as long as our own species, Homo sapiens, has been around! Year of Discovery: 1891 History of Discovery:  Eugène Dubois, a Dutch surgeon, found the first Homo erectus individual (Trinil 2) in Indonesia in 1891. In 1894, Dubois named the species Pithecanthropus erectus, or ‘erect ape-man.’ At that time, Pithecanthropus (later changed to Homo) erectus was the most primitive and smallest-brained of all known early human species; no early human fossils had even been discovered in Africa yet. Height: Ranges from 4 ft 9 in - 6 ft 1 in (145 - 185 cm) Weight: Ranges from 88 - 150 lbs (40 - 68 kg) We don’t know everything about our early ancestors—but we keep learning more! Paleoanthropologists are constantly in the field, excavating new areas, using groundbreaking technology, and continually filling in some of the gaps about our understanding of human evolution. Below are some of the still unanswered questions about Homo erectus that may be answered with future discoveries: Was Homo erectus the direct ancestor of Homo sapiens, our own species? Data suggest that increasing body size, greater reliance on animal food resources, and increased range size were part of a web of factors that facilitated the initial early dispersal of H. erectus from Africa. Was one of these factors more important than the others? Are the fossils from earlier time periods in East Africa, and from Georgia, all part of a single species (Homo erectus), regionally variable in size and shape? Or are there actually several species of early human represented by what we are now calling Homo erectus? How well did Homo erectus master the control of fire and how widespread was fire used? What does this say about possible dietary shifts in this species? Did Homo erectus grow up in a more human-like pattern and rate, or a more ape-like one?  Was Homo erectus the first early human species to experience an adolescent growth spurt? First paper: Other recommended readings: Antón, S.C., 2003. Natural history of Homo erectus. Yearbook of Physical Anthropology 46, 126–170. Le Gros Clark W.E., 1964. The fossil evidence for human evolution, 2nd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Leonard, W.R., Robertson, M.L., 1997. Comparative primate energetics and hominid evolution. American Journal


Which geological period is popularly named the 'Coal Age'?

The Geologic Time Scale | Geologic Time | Paleozoic Era | Mesozoic Era | Cenozoic Era | The Geologic Time Scale The study of the Earth from the beginning of time to the present has been the task of geologists who attempt to unravel the events that have shaped our planet as it is today. The Earth carries the history of geological events in its rock layers. It follows that the oldest layers are at the bottom and the youngest are at the top. With this understanding geologists are able to determine the ages of rock relative to one another. By assembling all these layers together, scientists have worked out what is known as the stratigraphic column or record of the various ages of rock. This record spans the 4.6 billion year record of Earth's history. In order to simplify the huge amount of geological information, geologists have broken Earth's history down into sections which are called geological eras, periods, and epochs. Fossils records have shown that life existed for about 3,800 million years, but complex life emerged only about 600 million years. Over time, life forms change. Their fossil record allows geologists to date and compare rocks across geological time. For example, dinosaur fossils are only found during the Mesozoic era some 245 to 65 million years ago. The following table shows the geologic time scale. Phanerozoic Eon (544 million years ago - Present) The period of time, also known as an eon, between the end of the Precambrian and today, The Phanerozoic begins with the start of the Cambrian period, 544 million years ago. It encompasses the period of abundant, complex life on the Earth. Era Period or System Epoch or Series (65 million years ago - Present) "Age of Recent Life" An era of geologic time from the beginning of the Tertiary period to the present. Its name is from Greek and means "new life." Quaternary (1.8 million years ago - Present) The second period of the Cenozoic era . It contains two epochs: the Pleistocene and the Holocene. It is named after the Latin word "quatern" (four at a time). The several geologic eras were originally named Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, and Quaternary. The first two names are no longer used. Tertiary and Quaternary have been retained but used as period designations. Holocene (8,000 years ago - Present) An epoch of the Quaternary period. It is named after the Greek words "holos" (entire) and "ceno" (new). Pleistocene (1.8 million - 8,000 years ago) "The Great Ice Age" An epoch of the Quaternary period. It is named after the Greek words "pleistos" (most) and "ceno" (new). Tertiary (65 - 1.8 million years ago) The first period of the Cenozoic era (after the Mesozoic era and before the Quaternary period). Pliocene (5.3 - 1.8 million years ago) Final epoch of the Tertiary period. It is named after the Greek words "pleion" (more) and "ceno" (new). Miocene (23.8 - 5.3 million years ago) A epoch of the upper Tertiary period. It is named after the Greek words "meion" (less) and "ceno" (new). Oligocene (33.7 - 23.8 million years ago) An epoch of the early Tertiary period. It is named after the Greek words "oligos" (little, few) and "ceno" (new). Eocene (55.5 - 33.7 million years ago) An epoch of the lower Tertiary period. Its name is from the Greek words "eos" (dawn) and "ceno" (new). Paleocene (65 - 55.5 million years ago) Earliest epoch of the Tertiary period. It is named after the Greek words "palaois" (old) and "ceno" (new). Era (145 - 65 million years ago) "The Age of Dinosaurs" The final period of the Mesozoic era. The name is derived from the Latin word for chalk ("creta") and was first applied to extensive deposits of this age that form white cliffs along the English Channel between Great Britain and France. Late or Upper Early or Lower Jurassic (213 - 145 million years ago) The middle period of the Mesozoic era. It is named after the Jura Mountains between France and Switzerland, where rocks of this age were first studied. Late or Upper Middle Early or Lower Triassic (248 - 213 million years ago) The earliest period of the Mesozoic era. The name Triassic refers


Which geological period is named after the chalk laid down?

Geological Time Geological Time As sediments pile up, layer after layer, and eventually form into sedimentary rocks, it is obvious that the newest, youngest later is on top, and the oldest layer is at the bottom of the pile. This is "The Principle of Superposition." However, it is basic common sense, and we can begin to assess relative ages of rock layers. A geologist may observe a sequence of rocks in one road cut: mudstones, sandstones, limestones, etc., and another sequence in the next road cut a mile up the road. If the sequences are identical, the geologist might begin to form the hypothesis that they are the same rock beds, and so of the same age, and this might allow him or her to infer that the rock beds were continuous between the two roadcuts, where they run under the ground/grass/poison oak and so cannot be seen. The whole science of studying rock layers is stratigraphy, and the process of matching identifying rocks laid down at the same time is correlation. Unfortunately, sequences of common kinds of sedimentary rock frequently look alike. If there is a special, rather distinctive or rare sediment in the sequence, that would act as a "marker bed" to allow the geologist to be more confident in identifying two sequences as identical. Examples might be beds laid down by a tsunami (a wave kicked up in the ocean by an earthquake), or a volcanic ash bed. These marker beds are not only distinctive, but are formed practically instantaneously, so that they are precise time markers. We do not know how old they are in thousands or millions of years, but we do know that they formed on the same day! So simply matching rock types (lithostratigraphy) can be a powerful method of correlation. However, there is a more powerful way, based on the existence of specific time markers in rock sequences. If Klingons had visited the Earth every zillion years, and had sprinkled colored BBs over the entire surface of the planet in some sort of religious ceremony (different color for each visit), we could explore the planet, seeing always that certain colors were in older layers than others. We could then draw time lines, guaranteed accurate in different continents, using the BB layers. Every time we found blue BBs, we would know, perhaps, that we were in older rocks than the layers that had red BBs. We might not know the actual dates to within 100 m.y., but we could work out the relative sequence of colors. That did not happen, but we have a perfectly acceptable substitute, in the form of fossils. Since life formed on this planet, it has evolved. The organisms alive at any time are different from their ancestors, and different from their descendants. What we have to do is to examine the sequence of fossils that occur in sedimentary rocks, and (laboriously) to collect up and down the layers, noting the changes, and getting to know which fossils are the best ones for telling us the age at which they were alive. This process is biostratigraphy. (Just as an aside, you don't *have* to believe in evolution to make this work. All you have to recognize is that fossils have changed through time. You can believe that fossils were planted by Klingons if you like, and you can still be an effective biostratigrapher. In fact, biostratigraphy began, and was very successful, long before Darwin explained the mechanism for evolution.) Early geologists in Western Europe collected fossils in the extensive chalk deposits that extend from England and France all the way to Russia. The fossils (called Cretaceous after the Latin for "chalk") were generally alike, and they were different from those collected in the rocks sequences just below (named the Jurassic after the Jura Mountains of eastern France). So rather quickly, geologists began to set up a sequence of time periods, during which certain sedimentary sequences of rocks were laid down, each period with a recognizable set of fossils that reliably occurred in the rocks and defined the period. Geologists competed to discover and name these sets of rocks-with-their-own-fossils, and they were often named


The endangered kakapo of New Zealand is the world's largest member of which bird family?

13 Snapshots of the World's Rarest Birds 13 Snapshots of the World's Rarest Birds 13 Snapshots of the World’s Rarest Birds ADVERTISEMENT Image: Quan Min Li Winner: Quan Min Li: a beautiful photo of a flying Asian Crested Ibis from China. Have you ever stopped and listened to the calls of birds in your area or a forest? Or marveled as they swooped and dived in flight? Birds are one of the wonders of our world, from the smallest hummingbird to the largest living bird, the ostrich, yet hundreds of species are threatened with extinction, with many already extinct. The World’s Rarest Birds project has joined with Birdlife International in an effort to highlight the plight of the most threatened of these, and one of their first steps was a photo competition to find images of the rarest of all in three categories, which will be published in a book next year. We are lucky to have all 13 winning photos to share with you in the meantime. The beautiful crested ibis has white plumage with red or pink skin that shines through. Once plentiful throughout Asia, now only a few individuals are left, with estimates of between 50 and 250 living in the world. Listed as endangered, there is some good news as the Chinese and Japanese governments are taking measures to conserve and protect this special bird. Through protected areas and captive breeding programs, the population is slowly increasing overall. There is a small enclave of wild crested ibis in the Shanxi province in China, while Japan has reintroduced 10 birds to the wild with a goal of 60 by 2015. Kakapo Winner: Shane McInnes: a wonderful image of a Kakapo, a flightless parrot from New Zealand. The critically endangered Kakapo, one of the world’s few flightless birds and a member of the parrot family, is the heaviest parrot, is one of the longest living, and is nocturnal and herbivorous. As of 2010 there were only 124 individuals known, so few that each one of them has been given a name and a radio transmitter. The Kakapo Recovery Plan has done herculean work to preserve and increase the population. All known kakapos were relocated to two islands where stoats and feral cats had been removed, Codfish and Anchor Island. Both islands will hold 100 kakapos each and work is ongoing to find a suitable island where one day kakapos will be able to live free from human management such as the sanctuaries. Two possibilities have been identified by the department of conservation and it seems some work is already being done to prepare them. Out of all the birds on the list, the kakapo has a good chance because the government is so intimately involved in trying to protect the species. ADVERTISEMENT Red-crowned Crane Runner-up: Huajin Sun: an amazing photo of a displaying Red-crowned Crane from East Asia. The Red Crowned Crane is named for a patch of skin on its otherwise white head and body that is red and brightens when it is excited or angry. There are only 1,700 of these endangered birds left in the wild; much of its decline being due to habitat loss, such as wetlands drying up in Asia and fires in its breeding areas in Siberia. They are legally protected now in Russia, China and Japan and more work is being done to protect and conserve their habitat. ADVERTISEMENT


Who was the East German leader ousted in 1989?

BBC ON THIS DAY | 18 | 1989: East Germany leader ousted About This Site | Text Only 1989: East Germany leader ousted The Communist leader of East Germany, Erich Honecker, has been forced to step down as leader of the country. After 18 years in power he will be replaced by Egon Krenz, currently the head of internal and external security for the Politburo. The official reason for his departure is said to be "ill health" but failure to deal with the tide of discontentment sweeping the country and the party is thought to be the real reason. Up to 120,000 people marched in Leipzig on Monday to protest against a lack of political reforms and thousands of people are continuing to leave the country in search of better opportunities. We were dying on our feet under Honecker Student Steffi Muller The recent visit of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev is also being seen as a contributing factor to the downfall of Mr Honecker. The Soviet leader was highly critical of the East German leadership saying there was a need for people to feel involved with their country and to have their opinions taken seriously. The placement of Mr Krenz is being seen by the opposition as a change of tactics rather than a change of direction. The banned opposition movement New Forum said: "Krenz's appointment shows the Communist party has no intention of sharing power. Reform under him is unlikely." A decade's grooming Mr Krenz, who at 55 is the youngest member of the Politburo, has been groomed to take over for more than a decade by Mr Honecker. The news has so far received mixed reactions. Student Steffi Muller, referring to the official announcement that "health reasons" were the cause for the departure said: "They were really referring to the health of the country - we were dying on our feet under Honecker." Rainer Eppelmann, an East Berlin vicar said: "Krenz must show that he has the will to change things, and not only cosmetically." Mr Honecker was expected to retire next year, following the country's 40th anniversary celebrations.


Which Slovak was elected Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in January 1968?

Czechoslovakia The 1968 Invasion - Flags, Maps, Economy, History, Climate, Natural Resources, Current Issues, International Agreements, Population, Social Statistics, Political System << Back to Czechoslovakia Government The Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 was a pivotal event in Czechoslovakia's political development. The August intervention by forces from the Soviet Union, the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), Poland, Bulgaria, and Hungary marked the beginning of the end of the Prague Spring and the reformist policies introduced by the Dubcek regime. It also set the stage for the reemergence in Czechoslovakia of a pro-Soviet regime and a politically orthodox environment. In January 1968, Alexander Dubcek, who since 1963 had been first secretary of the Communist Party of Slovakia (Komunisticka strana Slovenska--KSS), was chosen to replace Antonin Novotny as first secretary of the KSC. Dubcek was not then the leader of the KSC reformers but rather was a compromise selection. The removal of Novotny triggered an outpouring of demands for further changes in all sectors of society. The drive for reform centered on four broad issues: the overall question of political structure and participation, justice and civil liberties, Czech-Slovak relations, and economic organization and planning. In April 1968 the KSC Central Committee issued its so-called Action Program, which outlined steps toward constructing a "Czechoslovak way to socialism." Within the framework of a socialist society ruled by the communist party, the program attempted to decentralize and democratize the system of authority by reducing the role of the KSC in national life and transferring greater responsibility to the elected bodies of government. Other goals of the reform were to introduce strong guarantees of civil liberties and justice by establishing a system of checks and balances and reducing the power of police organs; to construct a more equitable relationship between Czechs and Slovaks by granting greater autonomy to the latter; and to institute a decentralized planning apparatus with aspects of market socialism. A number of public opinion polls taken at the time indicated that the reforms envisioned in the Action Program received an extraordinary measure of public support. It was for this reason that they aroused deep concern among the leadership of the Soviet Union and neighboring communist nations. Those leaders feared that the reformist policies in Czechoslovakia would result in the erosion of the authority of the communist party, which in turn would weaken Czechoslovakia's commitment to socialist unity and to the Warsaw Pact and Comecon alliances. They also worried that the implementation of reforms in Czechoslovakia would lead to calls for similar reforms in the Soviet Union and other East European nations. During the night of August 20-21, the armies of five Warsaw Pact nations invaded and occupied Czechoslovakia. The KSC Presidium issued a statement over Prague radio condemning the invasion and appealing to the people to remain calm and the army not to resist. No armed resistance was forthcoming. Instead, outrage at the massive invasion was expressed nonviolently: road signs were altered and removed to slow the oncoming invaders; radio transmitters were repeatedly moved to elude takeover; and foreign soldiers were refused service in stores and restaurants and were engaged in heated arguments with Czechoslovak citizens from whom they vainly sought cooperation. As the Warsaw Pact troops moved into Prague, Soviet security forces arrested Dubcek and other top party leaders and flew them to Moscow. Meanwhile, despite the presence of Warsaw Pact troops in Prague, the National Assembly met August 21-27, and delegates managed to convene the "Extraordinary" Congress of the Czechoslovak Communist Party. Dubcek's supporters in the government refused to recognize the Soviet-imposed government and instead demanded to join Dubcek in directly negotiating with the Soviets. The talks resulted in the signing of the Moscow Protocol, an uneasy comp


Which film won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director Robert Zemeckis and Best Actor Tom Hanks?

'Forrest Gump' Triumphs With 6 Academy Awards - NYTimes.com 'Forrest Gump' Triumphs With 6 Academy Awards By WILLIAM GRIMES Published: March 28, 1995 "Forrest Gump," the runaway hit about a simple soul caught up in the most turbulent events of postwar America, triumphed last night at the 67th Academy Awards, sweeping all three major awards for which it was nominated, including best picture. Robert Zemeckis won the Oscar for best director, and Tom Hanks was named best actor for his performance in the title role. The sweep represented a vote for traditional Hollywood values as the feel-good film triumphed over the rawer, more experimental "Pulp Fiction," which won only one award. The other nominees for best picture, "Four Weddings and a Funeral," "Quiz Show" and "The Shawshank Redemtion," were shut out. "Gump" also won Oscars for film editing, visual effects and best adapted screenplay, by Eric Roth, based on Winston Groom's novel. Mr. Hanks, who won last year's Oscar for best actor for "Philadelphia," became the first person to receive back-to-back Oscars in the category since Spencer Tracy, who won in 1937 and 1938 for "Captains Courageous" and "Boys Town." Accepting the award, Mr. Hanks, close to tears, said, "The power and the pleasure of this moment are as constant as the speed of light; it will never be diminished." The 13 nominations for "Forrest Gump" fell just one short of the record, set by "All About Eve" in 1950, and equaled the number of nominations for "Gone With the Wind." The Oscar for best actress went to Jessica Lange for her performance as the manic-depressive wife of an Army officer in "Blue Sky," a film that struggled to make it to theaters after the studio distributing it, Orion Pictures, went bankrupt. Ms. Lange won an Oscar as best supporting actress for "Tootsie" in 1982 and had previously been nominated four times as best actress. Ms. Lange, in accepting the award, paid tribute to Tony Richardson, who died soon after directing the film. "He kept nudging me over the edge," she said, "and with a character like this, it's exactly what I needed." Dianne Wiest was named best supporting actress for her performance as an aging Broadway ham with delusions of grandeur in "Bullets Over Broadway." It was Ms. Wiest's second Oscar and third nomination in the category. She won for "Hannah and Her Sisters" in 1986 and was nominated for "Parenthood" in 1989. Martin Landau was named best supporting actor for his performance as an aged Bela Lugosi in "Ed Wood," the director Tim Burton's homage to the director of 50's mega-bombs like "Plan 9 From Outer Space" and "Bride of the Monster." The Oscar for best foreign-language film went to "Burnt by the Sun," a Russian film directed by Nikita Mikhalkov. Mr. Mikhalkov brought his young daughter onstage, calling her the only actress with whom he had never experienced any problems. He then lifted her up, slung her over his shoulder and marched toward the wings. Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary, who wrote "Pulp Fiction," won the Oscar for best original screenplay. In a year remarkable for its lack of Oscar-caliber films, David Letterman, making his first appearance as host of the event, held at the Los Angeles Shrine Auditorium, was the subject of as much pre-Oscar talk as the nominees themselves. In essence, Mr. Letterman transferred his television show, "Late Show With David Letterman" to the Oscar stage, right down to the top-10 list and stupid pet tricks. Judging by the audience reaction, a lot was lost in the translation. A running gag about introducing "Uma" (Thurman) to "Oprah" (Winfrey) died on the vine, and some others seemed to cut a little too close to the Hollywood bone. Referring to Dreamworks SKG, the company recently formed by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen, Mr. Letterman said: "I think that this partnership is going to be really, really good for Hollywood. Now, instead of hoping that they're not successful individually, you can hope that they're not successful as a group." A taut silence ensued, punctuated by nervous laughter. Hans Zim


Which film won Oscars for Best picture, Best Director Barry Levinson and Best Actor Dustin Hoffman?

1988 Academy Awards® Winners and History Working Girl (1988) Actor: DUSTIN HOFFMAN in "Rain Man", Gene Hackman in "Mississippi         Burning", Tom Hanks in "Big", Edward James Olmos         in "Stand and Deliver", Max von Sydow in "Pelle         the Conqueror" Actress: JODIE FOSTER in "The Accused", Glenn Close in "Dangerous         Liaisons", Melanie Griffith in "Working Girl",         Meryl Streep in "A Cry in the Dark", Sigourney Weaver         in "Gorillas in the Mist" Supporting Actor: KEVIN KLINE in "A Fish Called Wanda", Alec Guinness         in "Little Dorritt", Martin Landau in "Tucker:         the Man and His Dream", River Phoenix in "Running on Empty", Dean Stockwell in "Married to the Mob" Supporting Actress: GEENA DAVIS in "The Accidental Tourist", Joan Cusack         in "Working Girl", Frances McDormand in "Mississippi         Burning", Michelle Pfeiffer in "Dangerous Liaisons",         Sigourney Weaver in "Working Girl" Director: BARRY LEVINSON for "Rain Man", Charles Crichton for "A         Fish Called Wanda", Mike Nichols for "Working Girl",         Alan Parker for "Mississippi Burning", Martin Scorsese         for "The Last Temptation of Christ" Beginning          this year, the trademark phrase: "and the winner is..." was          substituted with "and the Oscar goes to..." Director Barry Levinson's critically and financially-successful Rain          Man was the major Oscar winner in 1988. It was the buddy-road          saga of the human relationship that gradually develops between          two sibling brothers: the elder one a TV-obsessed, institutionalized          adult autistic (Hoffman), the other an ambitious, hotshot          money-maker/car salesman and hustler (Cruise). The autistic          savant's kidnapping from an asylum by his fast-talking brother          is with the intent to swindle him of his inheritance, but          during a cross-country road trip, a loving relationship develops          between the brothers with strong blood ties. Rain Man had a total of eight nominations          and four wins - for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director,          and Best Original Screenplay (by Ronald Bass and Barry Morrow).          It was the year's highest-grossing picture as well, taking          in $173 million (domestic). The other Best Picture nominees included the          following: director Lawrence Kasdan's adaptation of Anne           Tyler's novel, the psychological drama The Accidental            Tourist (with four nominations and one win - Best Supporting           Actress), with two co-stars - Kathleen Turner and William           Hurt - that Kasdan had teamed together in an earlier film           - Body Heat (1981) British director Steven Frears' first American           feature film, the lush, pre-Revolutionary France costume           drama of competitive sexual seduction Dangerous Liaisons (with           seven nominations and three wins - Best Screenplay, Best           Art/Set Direction, and Best Costume Design) director Alan Parker's propagandist account           of the investigation of the disappearance of three civil           rights activists in 1964 in the social drama Mississippi            Burning (with seven nominations and only one win - Best           Cinematography) director Mike Nichols' sophisticated romantic           comedy about 80s corporate ladder-climbing and office politics           in Working Girl (with six nominations and one win           - Best Song by Carly Simon: "Let the River Run") Two of the five directors of Best Picture nominees          were not included in the list of Best Director nominees. The          tw


Daniel Arap Moi was President of which country?

Daniel arap Moi | president of Kenya | Britannica.com president of Kenya Alternative Title: Daniel Toroitich arap Moi Daniel arap Moi Daniel arap Moi, in full Daniel Toroitich arap Moi (born 1924, Sacho, Kenya Colony [now Kenya]), Kenyan politician, who held the office of president (1978–2002). Daniel arap Moi, 1988. William F. Campbell—Time Life Pictures/Getty Images Moi was educated at mission and government schools. He became a teacher at age 21 and in the early 1960s, as Kenya began to move toward independence (1963), was appointed minister of education in the transitional government. Although he had originally been cofounder and chairman of the Kenya African Democratic Union, a party composed of minority peoples, he joined the Kikuyu-dominated Kenya African National Union (KANU) in 1964. That same year Moi was appointed minister of home affairs. Named vice president in 1967, Moi became president in 1978 following the death of Jomo Kenyatta . He quickly consolidated his power, banning opposition parties and promoting his Kalenjin countrymen to positions of authority at the expense of the Kikuyu . He also curried favour with the army, which proved loyal to him in suppressing a coup attempt in 1982. His continuation of Kenyatta’s pro-Western policies ensured significant sums of development aid during the Cold War (1947–91), and under Moi’s stewardship Kenya emerged as one of the most prosperous African nations. In the early 1990s, however, Western countries began to demand political and economic reforms, leading Moi to legalize opposition parties in 1991. The following year he won the country’s first multiparty elections amid charges of electoral fraud. Riots and demonstrations marred the 1997 elections, and hundreds of Kenyans, mainly Kikuyu, were killed. Easily elected to his fifth term as president, Moi promised to end government corruption and implement democratic and economic reforms. In an effort to combat corruption, in 1999 he appointed Richard Leakey , the popular and respected anthropologist, the head of the civil service and permanent secretary to the cabinet, a position Leakey retired from in 2001. Required by the constitution to resign in 2003, Moi backed Uhuru Kenyatta , son of Jomo Kenyatta, as the KANU candidate in the 2002 elections, but many feared that Kenyatta would be a puppet for Moi. KANU split in two, with dissidents joining the National Rainbow Coalition, whose candidate, Mwai Kibaki , succeeded Moi in December 2002. Learn More in these related articles: in Kenya


The Pula is the monetary unit of which African country?

Pula-paper monetary unit, the note, a denomination, modern money of Botswana of 569 582 sq. km a Setswana (state), etc. BW (BWA) 072 Monetary unit of Botswana is a pula, the component 100 thebe and manufactured by Bank of Botswana. Botswana (till 1966 the British protectorate a Bechuanaland) was included into a sterling area. The first national monetary unit of Botswana - a pula - is entered in August 1976. Instead of a rand which addressed since February 1961, having replaced the South African pound. In the cash circulation there are notes of denomination 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 pula. Paper moneys 1, 2, and 5 pula have been introduced from a turn-over on July, 1st, 2011. Denominations of all nominal values have some various modifications, thus all of them are a lawful legal tender in all territory of Botswana. The international symbolical designation of this African currency the alphabetic combination BWP is accepted. On paper token moneys of Botswana portraits of outstanding politicians of this African country are seated. In particular, the face side of the note in nominal value 50 pula is decorated by a portrait a Seretse Khama which is known as the first president of Botswana, and the national arms, on the back the this denomination the plotting of a river landscape, a bird bearing fish in claws (on the right), and men on a canoe (at the left) is seated. The denomination has the sizes 150 x 75 mm and is coloured mainly in beige, yellow and green colours. For protection of authenticity of the note in nominal value 50 pula the watermarks which are looking like a zebra and a digital designation of nominal value, the protective strip which is passing to the left of the center on which the microtext on all length puts a retried inscription of the Second World War 50 are used. Also the note is supplied by a protective thread and the face side of a denomination possessed in the right bottom angle the hologramme on which it is possible to see or the retried plotting of the humming-bird, or numerous digital designations of nominal value. To pula fall into to number most permanent mediums of Africa to what its rate against the dollar the USA testifies: for 6 Botswanian pula it is possible to acquire 1 US dollar that is rather quite good index. The Last series of notes in Botswana has been manufactured on August, 23rd, 2009. In this series there was a new note in 200 pula. The denomination is executed in is violet - brown - purpurno-green tones. On face side the woman who learns children to read, on the back - four zebras on a watering place is represented. A watermark - a zebra on hinder legs and number 200. The sizes of the note - 156 x 78 mm. It is updated 03.2012


In what did the Owl and the Pussycat keep their money and honey?

Edward Lear, The Owl and the Pussycat The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea     In a beautiful pea green boat, They took some honey, and plenty of money,     Wrapped up in a five pound note. The Owl looked up to the stars above,     And sang to a small guitar, 'O lovely Pussy! O Pussy my love,       What a beautiful Pussy you are,           You are, What a beautiful Pussy you are!'   II Pussy said to the Owl, 'You elegant fowl!     How charmingly sweet you sing! O let us be married! too long we have tarried:     But what shall we do for a ring?' They sailed away, for a year and a day,     To the land where the Bong-tree grows And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood     With a ring at the end of his nose,           His nose, With a ring at the end of his nose.


England's Lost Country Houses | Alton Towers Derelict and surplus to requirements   As the adults and children run between the amusements which now fill the grounds of Alton Towers, few will think about the once lavish seat of the Earls of Shrewsbury which gives the theme park its name, reduced as it is now to gift shop and garden ornament. Once a glorious showpiece - considered one of A.W.N Pugin's masterpieces - with superb collections of paintings and armour, and aristocratic connections to match, it was designed for pleasure but fell victim to family circumstances and wilful neglect. Alton Towers has a long history and was first known as Alton Lodge before becoming Alton Abbey and finally Alton Towers. Originally a minor seat, but one with which the Earls of Shrewsbury had long family connections being part descended from the Verdun and Furnival families who had owned land in Alton. This was to be an important factor in the future development in the estate as the Talbots sought to reconnect with their medieval past as it was fashionable to do in the eighteenth century. Shortcut: this is a rather in-depth look at the architectural history including the previous houses so here's a link to skip to the main section: Alton Towers Alton Lodge It's known that there was a house at Alton in at least 1686 when it was referred to as 'the old Lodge' in Dr Robert Plot's 'Natural History of Staffordshire'. Alton Lodge was a relatively modest Classical-style house - rectangular, two and half-storeys high with four, square-headed windows per floor. A low, pitched roof was concealed behind a parapet and to the rear of the house engravings show a circular tower rising just above the main house. This tower - the first of the many which eventually gave the house its final name - was probably part of a much older building. It was obviously considered important as not only had it been preserved during the building of the Lodge but it was to survive the many extensive remodellings which took place around it over then next 200 years. It can even today still be seen within the overall structure of the Towers, linked to the only surviving wall of Alton Lodge. The Lodge was formed of two wings, offset by ten degrees, with the circular tower at the centre. An occasional summer residence, the Talbots would live in the grander rooms in the formal east wing with the estate manager, John Burton and family, in the west wing. Even the gardens were split with a large section adjoining the west wing marked as 'Burton's Gardens'. This peripheral existence was to change with the fifteenth Earl of Shrewsbury, Charles, (b.1753 - d.1827) who was so impressed with the location and views that he decided to not only improve the gardens but also "...by adding a few apartments to a house which had formerly been occupied by a steward, render it fit for his occasional reception, with a small suite."1 (emphasis mine). This "small suite" was to be the first part of a building programme which would consume prodigious amounts of money, involve several architects and result in one of the greatest gardens in Europe and one it's finest houses. Works started around 1800 and for the next fifty years were to become the major project of both fifteenth and sixteenth Earls with either construction or plans in progress each year. Work started relatively slowly; in 1804, a payment was made to local architect William Lees of Derby (who had also worked on Locko Park and Darley Abbey) for a drawing of the Lodge, followed by another payment, in 1806, for plans for a new room and his attendance on site. In December 1806, a payment was made for designs for a new dining-room, bedroom and passage and also for 'new gardens' including fishponds and a canal. It was the grounds which were to be the main focus for the 15th Earl; to the east of the house lay a large valley which was mainly inhabited by rabbits. The Earl had seen the potential for this site early on and was very involved in the design despite employing John Claudius Loudon (b.1783 – d.1843) , a renowned landscape arc


On a standard typewriter keyboard which is the only vowel not on the top line?

Why is the keyboard layout QWERTY & not ABCDE...? SHARE: Facebook Twitter The story of the keyboard layout that we use every day is older than you might think; some would argue that the origin of the keyboard layout is older than the keyboard itself, or some variants of the keyboard such as the typewriter. Christopher Latham Sholes, inventor of the first practical typewriter However, for argument sake let’s just start our story in 1875, when Christopher Sholes teamed up with Amos Densmore and applied some innovations on already in practice keyboard so that the letter in the sequence weren’t located too close and the punching bars/type bars that would come from the opposite sides. Sholes typewriter, 1873. Buffalo History Museum. The famous keyboard layout that you encounter on numerous occasion every day, is known as the QWERTY layout, made by simply joining the first five key letter on the top left corner of the keyboard. The layout, though it might seem odd, doesn’t have any singular thought or theory behind it, rather a whole set of events that passed a number of trial and error tests, by the early developers of the systems. The developers were after a system that was not just productive but would also exert minimal strain on the hands of the typist. After the initial introduction of the QWERTY, the system simply stuck around and the subsequent minds thought to keep the layout as it had gotten embedded too deep in our system due to inertia. John Pratt’s Pterotype, the inspiration for Sholes in July 1867, a version close to the stock model advocated by fellow inventor Frank Haven Hall. If we really want to dig further back into the history of the ‘typing’, we would find that the typewriters of the kind that we wouldn’t really feel comfortable using these days, were around since 1714. In the later years, the machine got reinvented by several innovators to bring in ease and productivity. However, the credit of introducing the typewriter on a large commercial scale historically goes to Sholes, who invested almost all of his life and efforts in making his layouts of the machine a part of human life. Sholes was first struck by the typewriter during his time as an editor of a newspaper in Milwaukee, where he tried to build a machine for typesetting, however, he failed miserably and later abandoned the idea altogether. However, he couldn’t stay away from typewrite for too long and with the help of a fellow printer Samuel W. Soule he successfully designed and patented a numbering machine in 1866. This machine was able to print number for pages on books, tickets, and other such items. Soon after that Sholes and Soule had the opportunity to present their machine to a lawyer and amateur inventor Carolos Glidden, who initially liked the machine but thought it would have been a much more productive machine if it had the ability to produce words rather than just number. Sholes quickly picked on the idea and set to work; he thoroughly brainstormed for all possible options to reinvent his machine as a fully functional word producing the machine. A redesign incorporated floral ornamentation, a characteristic from Remington’s sewing machine division. Photo Credit Sholes finally hit the jackpot in 1867 when he came across an article in Scientific American, wherein a prototype of the machine by John Prat called ‘Ptertype’ was illustrated. Sholes analyzed the prototype and thought he could innovate on that prototype with some changes and could use it for his machine. Glidden joined Sholes and Soule in their new endeavor and soon the trio came up with a machine Sholes dubbed the ‘typewriter’ but others started calling it the ‘literary piano’, due to the basic two rows of white and black keys. The keyboard didn’t contain the numerals 0 and 1, as the letters l and O were deemed sufficient for the task. The next five years were especially tough for Sholes as he spent days and nights trying to perfect his layout by a series of trial and error rearrangements. One variant of the Sholes and Glidden typewriter used wires and levers to connect the ke


Which European make of car's logo is a stylized diamond shape?

Evolution of Car Logos - Neatorama Neatorama • 4 This article should come in handy for the next time you're stuck in traffic: have you ever wondered why the Audi in front of you has a logo of four interlocked rings? Did you know that the Cadillac emblem was inspired by a family crest of a nobleman who later turned out to be a fraud? Or that Volkswagen was Hitler's idea? We took a look at the evolution of tech logos before. Today, let's take a look at the fascinating stories behind the logos of some of the most popular cars in the world: Alfa Romeo Source: Cartype Surprise! Alfa Romeo, the car manufacturer and pride of Italy, traced its beginnings to France. In 1910, Milan aristocrat Cavaliere Ugo Stella collaborated with the French car company Darracq to market the line in Italy. When the partnership failed, Stella moved the company and renamed it Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili (Lombard Automobile Factory, Public Company) or A.L.F.A. Alfa Romeo's distinctive logo was created in 1910 by a draftsman named Romano Cattaneo. One day, while waiting for a tram at the Piazza Castello station in Milan, he was inspired by the red cross in the Milan Flag and the Coat of Arms of the noble House of Visconti, which featured a biscione (grass snake) with a man in its jaws, symbolizing "Visconti’s enemies that the snake [was] always ready to destroy." ( Source ) Two Savoia dynasty knots separated the words ALFA and MILANO. The Romeo part came in 1916 when Neapolitan businessman Nicola Romeo bought the company and converted its factories to produce munitions and machineries for World War I. After the war, the company went back to producing cars and took on its owner's last name to become Alfa Romeo. Aston Martin In 1913, Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford founded a company that later would become Aston Martin. At the time, Martin & Bamford Limited produced Singers racing cars, but the duo wanted to create a more sophisticated model of their own. They named their first car Aston Martin after the founder Lionel Martin and the Aston Clinton hill climb racing course where their Singers car had won previously. We can't talk about Aston Martin without mentioning James Bond. In 1959, Ian Fleming put his super spy James Bond in an Aston Martin DB Mark III. When it was made into a movie in 1964, Bond drove an updated, supersleek silver Aston Martin DB5 (complete with machine gun, passenger ejector seat, and revolving number plates!) James Bond and his Aston Martin DB5 in Goldfinger Interestingly, Ian Fleming himself didn't drive Aston Martin. He preferred the 1963 Studebaker Avanti! Audi German engineer August Horch, who used to work for Karl Benz, founded his own automobile company A. Horch & Cie in 1899. A decade later, he was forced out of his own company and set up a new company in another town and continued using the Horch brand. His former partners sued him, and August Horch was forced to look for a new name. When Horch was talking to his business partner Franz Fikentscher at Franz's apartment, Franz's son came up with the name Audi: During this meeting Franz's son was quietly studying Latin in a corner of the room. Several times he looked like he was on the verge of saying something but would just swallow his words and continue working, until he finally blurted out, "Father - audiatur et altera pars... wouldn't it be a good idea to call it audi instead of horch?". "Horch!" in German means "Hark!" or "listen", which is "Audi" in Latin. The idea was enthusiastically accepted by everyone attending the meeting. (Source: Wikipedia , A History of Progress (1996) - Chronicle of the Audi AG) And so Audiwerke GmbH was born in 1910. In 1932, four car makers Audi, Horch, DKW, and Wanderer merged to form Auto Union. The logo of Auto Union, four interlinked rings that would later become the modern Audi logo, was used only in racing cars - the four factories continued to produce cars under their own names and emblems. Four car companies became Auto Union (1932) Fast forward to 1985 (skipping a whole lot of history), when Auto Union ultimately became


"About which bird did Wordsworth write ""Is it a bird, or but a wandering voice?"

To the Cuckoo by William Wordsworth | Poetry Foundation To the Cuckoo by William Wordsworth O blithe New-comer! I have heard, I hear thee and rejoice. O Cuckoo! shall I call thee Bird, Or but a wandering Voice? While I am lying on the grass Thy twofold shout I hear; From hill to hill it seems to pass, At once far off, and near. Though babbling only to the Vale Of sunshine and of flowers, Thou bringest unto me a tale Of visionary hours. Thrice welcome, darling of the Spring! Even yet thou art to me No bird, but an invisible thing, A voice, a mystery; The same whom in my school-boy days I listened to; that Cry Which made me look a thousand ways In bush, and tree, and sky. To seek thee did I often rove Through woods and on the green; And thou wert still a hope, a love; Still longed for, never seen. And I can listen to thee yet; Can lie upon the plain And listen, till I do beget That golden time again. O blessèd Bird! the earth we pace Again appears to be


What is the name of the tar-like substance produced from petroleum?

The   formation of petroleum Step 1: Diagenesis forms Kerogen Diagenesis is a process of compaction under mild   conditions of temperature and pressure. When organic aquatic sediments   (proteins, lipids, carbohydrates) are deposited, they are very saturated   with water and rich in minerals. Through chemical reaction, compaction, and   microbial action during burial, water is forced out and proteins and   carbohydrates break down to form new structures that comprise a waxy   material known as ï¿½kerogenï¿½ and a black tar like substance called ï¿½bitumenï¿½.ï¿½ All of this occurs within the first   several hundred meters of burial. The bitumen comprises the heaviest components of   petroleum, but the kerogen will undergo further change to make hydrocarbons   and, yes, more bitumenï¿½ Step 2: Catagenesis (or ï¿½crackingï¿½) turns kerogen into   petroleum and natural gas As temperatures and pressures increase (deeper burial)   the process of catagenesis begins, which is the thermal degradation of   kerogen to form hydrocarbon chains. Importantly, the process of catagenesis   is catalyzed by the minerals that are deposited and persist through marine   diagenesis. The conditions of catagenesis determine the product, such that   higher temperature and pressure lead to more complete ï¿½crackingï¿½ of the   kerogen and progressively lighter and smaller hydrocarbons. Petroleum   formation, then, requires a specific window of conditions; too hot and the   product will favor natural gas (small hydrocarbons), but too cold and the   plankton will remain trapped as kerogen. This behavior is contrary to what is associated with   coal formation. In the case of terrestrial burial, the organic sediment is   dominated by cellulose and lignin and the fraction of minerals is much   smaller. Here, decomposition of the organic matter is restricted in a   different way. The organic matter is condensed to form peat and, if enough   temperature (geothermal energy) and pressure is supplied, it will condense   and undergo catagenesis to form coal. Higher temperatures and pressures, in   general, lead to higher ranks of coal. See the COAL page for more information. So, the plankton is buried and it turns into oil and   gasï¿½but where does it go?     Where   is the petroleum? Because the earth is filled entirely by layers of solid   (or at significant depths) molten rock, the petroleum it contains cannot   exist within a self-contained ï¿½lakeï¿½, but must decide to live within the   small fraction of space (or pores) that exist in these rocks. Like the   sponge in your kitchen sink (albeit, less spongy and a bit heavier) certain   kinds of rock (mainly sandstone and limestone) contain pores large enough   and with enough connections to serve as storage and migration sites for oil   or water or any other fluid wishing to call them home. Because most   hydrocarbons are lighter than water and rock, those that exist within the   earth will tend to migrate upwards until they reach the surface, or are   trapped by an impermeable layer of rock. There is a particular window of temperature that the   zooplankton must find to form oil. If it is too cold, the oil will remain   trapped in the form of kerogen, but too hot and the oil will be changed   (through ï¿½thermal crackingï¿½) into natural gas. Therefore, the formation of   an oil reservoir requires the unlikely gathering of three particular   conditions:ï¿½ first, a source rock rich   in organic material (formed during diagenesis) must be buried to the   appropriate depth to find a desirable window; second, a porous and   permeable (connected pores) reservoir rock is required for it to accumulate   in; and last a cap rock (seal) or other mechanism must be present to   prevent it from escaping to the surface. The geologic history of some   places on earth makes them much more likely to contain the necessary   combination of conditions.   ï¿½  Steam, visbreaking, or   coking o   Catalytic   cracking


Complete the title of this 1960's Group - 'Bachman Turner ....'

Bachman-Turner Overdrive - Music on Google Play Bachman-Turner Overdrive About the artist Bachman–Turner Overdrive is a Canadian rock group from Winnipeg, Manitoba, that had a series of hit albums and singles in the 1970s, selling over 7 million albums in that decade alone. Their 1970s catalogue included five Top 40 albums and six US Top 40 singles. The band has sold nearly 30 million albums worldwide, and has fans affectionately known as "gearheads". Many of their songs, including "Let It Ride", "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet", "Takin' Care of Business", "Hey You" and "Roll On Down the Highway", still receive play on classic-rock stations. The original lineup consisted of Randy Bachman, Fred Turner, Tim Bachman and Robbie Bachman. This lineup released two albums in 1973. The second and most commercially successful lineup featured Blair Thornton in place of Tim Bachman. This lineup released four albums between 1974 and 1977, including two that reached the Top 5 in the US pop charts. Subsequent lineups enjoyed only moderate success. After the band went into a hiatus in 2005, Randy Bachman and Fred Turner reunited in 2009 to tour and collaborate on a new album. In 2010, they played the halftime show at the Grey Cup in Edmonton and continue to tour as of summer 2014. 1 $5.99 Freeways is the sixth studio album by Canadian rock band Bachman–Turner Overdrive, released in 1977. It was the last album that Randy Bachman would be a part of with BTO until seven years later whe... 1 1 $5.99 Head On is the fifth studio album by Canadian rock band Bachman–Turner Overdrive, released in December 1975. On the original vinyl release, the album came with a 24x24 inch poster featuring all the... 1 1 $5.99 Four Wheel Drive is the fourth studio album by Canadian rock band Bachman–Turner Overdrive, released in 1975. It peaked at #1 in Canada on the RPM national albums chart on October 4 and again on Oc... 1 1 $7.99 Not Fragile is the third album by Canadian rock band Bachman–Turner Overdrive, released in 1974. It proved to be the group's most popular album, and is the only BTO album to have reached #1 on the ... 1 1 $5.99 Bachman–Turner Overdrive II is the second album by Canadian rock band Bachman–Turner Overdrive, released in 1973. The album features the well-known single "Takin' Care of Business." Though it never... 1 1 $5.99 Bachman–Turner Overdrive is the self-titled debut album by Canadian rock band Bachman–Turner Overdrive, released in 1973. It was originally to be titled Brave Belt III, as Brave Belt was the name o... 1 1 $9.99 Best of Bachman–Turner Overdrive Live is an album of concert material from a 1985 Bachman–Turner Overdrive performance in Tallahassee, Florida. The album was released on Curb Records in 1994, and s... 1 1 $9.99 Live!-Live!-Live! is an album containing live recordings from 1985 Bachman-Turner Overdrive concerts in East Rutherford, NJ and Detroit, MI as the opening act on Van Halen's 5150 tour. It was recor... The Guess Who 0 The Guess Who is a Canadian rock band, formed in Winnipeg in 1965. Initially gaining recognition in Canada, the group also found international success from the late 1960s through the mid-1970s with... 0 Grand Funk Railroad 0 Grand Funk Railroad, sometimes shortened as Grand Funk, is an American rock band that was highly popular during the 1970s, touring extensively and playing to packed arenas worldwide. David Fricke o... 0 0 THE BAND. . . PAST, PRESENT, AND INTO THE FUTURE In the late 1960’s Roger Earl & Lonesome Dave Peverett first toured America as members of the seminal British Blues band "Savoy Brown". In 1971, w... 0 Steve Miller Band 0 Steven Haworth "Steve" Miller is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter who began his career in blues and blues rock and evolved to a more pop-oriented sound which, from the mid-1970s through ... 0 Joe Walsh 0 Joseph Fidler "Joe" Walsh is an American singer-songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Walsh has been a member of five successful ... 0 Steppenwolf 0 Steppenwolf is a Canadian-Am


What word is given to the limit of distance at which a sound can be heard?

Sound - definition of sound by The Free Dictionary Sound - definition of sound by The Free Dictionary http://www.thefreedictionary.com/sound n. 1. a. Vibrations transmitted through an elastic solid or a liquid or gas, with frequencies in the approximate range of 20 to 20,000 hertz, capable of being detected by human organs of hearing. b. Transmitted vibrations of any frequency. c. The sensation stimulated in the organs of hearing by such vibrations in the air or other medium. d. Such sensations considered as a group. 2. A distinctive noise: a hollow sound. 3. The distance over which something can be heard: within sound of my voice. 4. Linguistics a. An articulation made by the vocal apparatus: a vowel sound. b. The distinctive character of such an articulation: The words bear and bare have the same sound. 5. A mental impression; an implication: didn't like the sound of the invitation. 6. Auditory material that is recorded, as for a movie. 7. Meaningless noise. 8. Music A distinctive style, as of an orchestra or singer. 9. Archaic Rumor; report. v. sound·ed, sound·ing, sounds v.intr. a. To make or give forth a sound: The siren sounded. b. To be given forth as a sound: The fanfare sounded. 2. To present a particular impression: That argument sounds reasonable. v.tr. 1. To cause to give forth or produce a sound: sounded the gong. 2. To summon, announce, or signal by a sound: sound a warning. 3. Linguistics To articulate; pronounce: sound a vowel. 4. To make known; celebrate: "Nations unborn your mighty names shall sound" (Alexander Pope). 5. To examine (a body organ or part) by causing to emit sound; auscultate. Phrasal Verb: 1. To express one's views vigorously: was always sounding off about higher taxes. 2. To count cadence when marching in military formation. [Middle English soun, from Old French son, from Latin sonus; see swen- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] sound 2 adj. sound·er, sound·est 1. Free from defect, decay, or damage; in good condition: Is the bridge sound? 2. Free from disease or injury. See Synonyms at healthy . 3. a. Marked by or showing common sense and good judgment; levelheaded: a sound approach to the problem. b. Based on valid reasoning; having no logical flaws: a sound conclusion; sound reasoning. See Synonyms at valid . c. Logic Of or relating to an argument in which all the premises are true and the conclusion follows from the premises. 4. a. Secure or stable: a partnership that started on a sound footing. b. Financially secure or safe: a sound economy. 5. Thorough; complete: gave their rivals a sound thrashing. 6. Deep and unbroken; undisturbed: a sound sleep. 7. Compatible with an accepted point of view; orthodox: sound doctrine. adv. [Middle English, from Old English gesund.] sound′ly adv. n. 1. Abbr. Sd. a. A long, relatively wide body of water, larger than a strait or a channel, connecting larger bodies of water. b. A long, wide ocean inlet. 2. Archaic The swim bladder of a fish. [Middle English, from Old English sund, swimming, sea.] sound 4 v. sound·ed, sound·ing, sounds v.tr. 1. To measure the depth of (water), especially by means of a weighted line; fathom. 2. To try to learn the attitudes or opinions of: sounded out her feelings. 3. To probe (a body cavity) with a sound. v.intr. 2. To dive swiftly downward. Used of a marine mammal or a fish. 3. To look into a possibility; investigate. n. An instrument used to examine or explore body cavities, as for foreign bodies or other abnormalities, or to dilate strictures in them. [Middle English sounden, from Old French sonder, from sonde, sounding line, probably of Germanic origin.] sound′a·ble adj. n 1. (General Physics) a. a periodic disturbance in the pressure or density of a fluid or in the elastic strain of a solid, produced by a vibrating object. It has a velocity in air at sea level at 0°C of 331 metres per second (741 miles per hour) and travels as longitudinal waves b. (as modifier): a sound wave. 2. (Broadcasting) (modifier) of or relating to radio as distinguished from television: sound broadcasting; sound radio. 3. (Physiolog


Who played the part of Mildred Roper on television?

TV: MAN ABOUT THE HOUSE, GEORGE AND MILDRED, ROBIN’S NEST | Laughterlog.com TV: MAN ABOUT THE HOUSE, GEORGE AND MILDRED, ROBIN’S NEST by Peter Tatchell By the early 1970s, British television comedy was able to push back a few boundaries. A decade of Steptoe And Son, Till Death Us Do Part and Monty Python’s Flying Circus had resulted in a more liberal attitude to what was permissable on living room tv screens, with concepts now able to reflect some of the things that were actually happening out there in the real world. In 1973, writers Johnnie Mortimer and Brian Cooke (the men responsible for Father Dear Father, and contributors to the latter days of Round The Horne) had an idea for a sitcom about three young people sharing a flat in suburbia. The twist was that two were girls and one was a guy, and though there would be lots of sexual repartee and the occasional weakening of resolve, nothing would actually happen. Thames Television liked the idea and commissioned a series of seven half hours. The pivotal role of Robin Tripp (the thorn among the roses) was taken by one-time child actor Richard O’Sullivan, recently seen as sycophantic medico Lawrence Bingham in Doctor At Large and Doctor In Charge. His flatmates Chrissy and Jo were played by Paula Wilcox (who had partnered Richard Beckinsale in The Lovers) and Sally Thomsett (one of the participants in The Railway Children). Rounding out the cast, and to represent the older generation, were the landlords George and Mildred Roper (Brian Murphy and sitcom perennial Yootha Joyce). The Ropers were an odd couple to be sure … she, an over-age refugee from the swinging sixties (in thought and fashion), and he, a self-centred layabout (or, to use Mildred’s description, a “nasty little toe-rag”) with the mind of an adolescent and the manners of a five-year-old. As the series begins, Jo and Chrissy are recovering from a wild sendoff party for the third girl in their flat (who is getting married). Amongst the flotsam littering the apartment they find cookery student Robin who has spent the night sleeping it off in the bathtub. In need of someone new to help share the rent, and enticed by his culinary skills, they suggest he move in … but on the proviso he’s only getting lodgings. Thus began six seasons of comic byplay highlighting the romantic pursuits of the tenants upstairs and the marital bickerings of the landlords below. Along the way, we meet a handful of periferal characters like Robin’s mate Larry (played by Doug Fisher), who arrives as an unwanted house guest before moving into the attic, and George’s handyman friend Jerry (one of Roy Kinnear’s many classic portrayals). In 1974 the series spawned a spinoff movie (which premiered at Christmas) with all the original cast taking part, along with comedy greats Spike Milligan and Arthur Lowe, plus a gallery of sitcom faces like Michael Robbins, Jack Smethurst, Bill Pertwee, Melvyn Hayes and Bill Maynard. In 1976, it was decided to allow Man About The House to evolve into two new series featuring the show’s most popular characters. Would Robin finally get Chrissy to fall for him (after thirty-nine episodes of lustful pursuit) and ride off into a sequel? The writers thought not, and a mere three stories before the finale, introduced Robin’s older brother, Norman, who makes his first visit to the flat and it’s love at first sight. He and Chrissy tie the knot in the show’s last edition (and are never heard of again). Five months later, we see the Ropers moving up in the world to their own house in a more genteel neighbourhood. In George And Mildred, the couple find themselves keeping up with the Joneses (or, in this case, the Fourmileses) the economically-correct family next door. Wife Anne (Sheila Fearn) hits it off with Mildred from day one, but husband Jeffrey (played by Norman Eshley, an actor who looks remarkably like the fellow who made off with Chrissy a mere sitcom ago) feels George is a waste of space, who’s now residing far too near his space. To further populate matters, the Fourmiles have a precocious youngster, Tristram


What name is given to a division of a 'Hells Angels' club?

Hells Angels set to descend on Ottawa this weekend | Globalnews.ca July 21, 2016 9:54 am Updated: July 21, 2016 12:10 pm Hells Angels set to descend on Ottawa this weekend By National Online Journalist, Politics  Global News RCMP officers stop an Alberta member of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang at a roadblock during the 2008 Canada Run in Langley, B.C. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Darryl Dyck What is this? Sponsored content is written by Global News' editorial staff without any editorial influence by the sponsor. If you'd like to learn more... X What is this? Sponsored content is written by Global News' without any editorial influence by the sponsor. If you'd like to learn more... - Listen A mandatory meeting for all Canadian chapters of the Hells Angels biker club kicks off Thursday in Ottawa, with hundreds of members of the notorious gang expected to descend on the nation’s capital. Police forces on both sides of the Ottawa River have beefed up the number of officers on patrol and will be monitoring the situation closely, but officials say the public has little to worry about. In short: leave the bikers alone during the four-day event, and they’ll do the same. “This event will result in a large increase in the number of motorcycles on our roads,” noted Ottawa Police Inspector Michel Marin in a release. “This is a reminder to all road users to share the road and respect speed limits.” The centre of the action is expected to be a Hells Angels Nomads 5th Chapter clubhouse in Carlsbad Springs, about 25 minutes southeast of downtown Ottawa. But Hells Angels members may also be putting in appearances at bars, restaurants and other venues across the city. READ MORE: N.S. police on alert as Hells Angels makes return to province The so-called “Canada Run” is a mandatory meeting for the club members, and includes at least one massive motorcycle ride. Anyone who doesn’t attend faces a steep fine paid to the club. The in-person meeting is partly designed to allow club members to talk to one another without being wiretapped or monitored by police, but it would be highly unusual to see any criminal activity during the event, officials have said. The last mandatory run was held four years ago in Saskatoon, and there were no major incidents. The same was true for previous runs held in Langley, B.C., and Windsor, ON. Det. Staff Sergeant Len Isnor, coordinator with the Biker Enforcement Unit of the Ontario Provincial Police, said the OPP, the Ottawa police and the Gatineau police will all be watching the gathering closely. “Policing partners will be responding to any unlawful activity, in an appropriate and professional manner, while having a zero tolerance approach to crime during the weekend gathering.” There is normally a group photo taken during the run, although the location of the shot has not been made public. Police are reportedly hoping it won’t be staged on Parliament Hill. © 2016 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.


Who painted 'The Persistence of Memory'?

MoMA | Salvador Dalí. The Persistence of Memory. 1931 See this work in MoMA’s Online Collection Salvador Dalí frequently described his paintings as “hand painted dream photographs.” He based this seaside landscape on the cliffs in his home region of Catalonia, Spain. The ants and melting clocks are recognizable images that Dalí placed in an unfamiliar context or rendered in an unfamiliar way. The large central creature comprised of a deformed nose and eye was drawn from Dalí’s imagination, although it has frequently been interpreted as a self-portrait . Its long eyelashes seem insect-like; what may or may not be a tongue oozes from its nose like a fat snail from its shell. Time is the theme here, from the melting watches to the decay implied by the swarming ants. Mastering what he called “the usual paralyzing tricks of eye-fooling,” Dalí painted this work with “the most imperialist fury of precision,” but only, he said, “to systematize confusion and thus to help discredit completely the world of reality.” There is, however, a nod to the real: the distant golden cliffs are those on the coast of Catalonia, Dalí’s home. A work of art made from paint applied to canvas, wood, paper, or another support (noun). Glossary What’s Freud Got to Do with It? Salvador Dalí was very interested in Sigmund Freud’s writings on psychology. An Austrian psychologist writing in the late-19th and early-20th century, Freud revolutionized the way people think about the mind with his theory of the subconscious. The subconscious is the part of the psyche that thinks and feels without the person being aware of those thoughts and feelings. According to Freud, dreams are coded messages from the subconscious, and Surrealist artists like Dalí were interested in what could be revealed by their dreams. Madness to His Method? Dalí self-induced hallucinations in order to access his subconscious while creating art, a process he called the paranoiac-critical method . On the results of this process, he wrote, “I am the first to be surprised and often terrified by the images I see appear upon my canvas. I register without choice and with all possible exactitude the dictates of my subconscious, my dreams….” Although he claimed to be surprised by the images, Dalí rendered them with meticulous precision, creating the illusion that these places could exist in the real world. Dalí, in his typically ironic way, once proclaimed, “The only difference between a madman and me is that I am not mad.”