Which reptile's name comes from the Spanish ' el lagarto ' , meaning ' the lizard ' ?

Alligator - definition of alligator by The Free Dictionary Alligator - definition of alligator by The Free Dictionary http://www.thefreedictionary.com/alligator Related to alligator: Chinese alligator al·li·ga·tor  (ăl′ĭ-gā′tər) n. 1. Either of two large semiaquatic reptiles, Alligator mississipiensis of the southeast United States or A. sinensis of China, having sharp teeth and powerful jaws. They differ from crocodiles in having a broader, shorter snout. 2. Leather made from the hide of one of these reptiles. 3. A tool or fastener having strong, adjustable, often toothed jaws. [Alteration of Spanish el lagarto, the lizard : el, the (from Latin ille, that; see al-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots) + lagarto, lizard (from Latin lacertus).] alligator (ˈælɪˌɡeɪtə) n 1. (Animals) a large crocodilian, Alligator mississipiensis, of the southern US, having powerful jaws and sharp teeth and differing from the crocodiles in having a shorter and broader snout: family Alligatoridae (alligators and caymans) 2. (Animals) a similar but smaller species, A. sinensis, occurring in China near the Yangtse River 3. (Animals) any crocodilian belonging to the family Alligatoridae 4. (Tools) any of various tools or machines having adjustable toothed jaws, used for gripping, crushing, or compacting [C17: from Spanish el lagarto the lizard, from Latin lacerta] al•li•ga•tor (ˈæl ɪˌgeɪ tər) n. either of two crocodilians of the genus Alligator, of the southeastern U.S. and E China, characterized by a broad snout. [1560–70; < Sp el lagarto the lizard < Vulgar Latin *ille that + *lacartus, for Latin lacertus lizard ] al·li·ga·tor (ăl′ĭ-gā′tər) A large, meat-eating, aquatic reptile having sharp teeth and powerful jaws. Alligators have a broader, shorter snout than crocodiles, and their teeth do not show when the jaws are closed. There are two species of alligators: one living in the southeast United States and one living in China. alligator - From Spanish el lagarto, "the lizard," which may have come from Latin lacerta; the alligator has a shorter, blunter snout than a crocodile. See also related terms for shorter . ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:


"According to Dr Johnson , what in England is "" given to horses , but in Scotland supports the people "" ?"

Johnson's Dictionary - Oats Johnson's Dictionary - Oats Here Johnson gives a very unusual definition for the word oats: 'a grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people.' The description reveals his low opinion of the Scots. Taken from: Dictionary of the English Language Author / Creator: Johnson, Samuel


Which bridge in central London was originally known as the Strand Bridge when opened in 1817 ?

City Walk: Bridges of London, London, England Author: clare 1) Lambeth Bridge Lambeth Bridge spans the River Thames between Lambeth Palace on the East side of the river and Thames House (headquarters of MI5), Millbank Tower and Tate Britain on the West side. This fine foot and road bridge was designed by Sir George Humphries, Sir Reginald Blomfield and G. Topham Forrest and built by Dorman Long. It was inaugurated by King George V in 1932. The bridge is 776 ft long and 60 ft wide; its steel latticework is painted red – the same colour of the benches in the nearby...   view more Image Courtesy of Wikimedia and Tagishsimon Sight description based on wikipedia 2) Westminster Bridge “Earth hath nothing to show more fair,” wrote William Wordsworth, while looking out over early morning London from Westminster Bridge in 1802. Of course, he was standing on the first bridge, constructed in 1750 by the Swiss architect Charles Labelye. The bridge you can cross today was opened in 1862 and was designed by Thomas Page, who also worked on the designs for the Thames Embankment. The bridge spans the Thames from the County Hall and the London Eye on the East side of the river to...   view more Image Courtesy of Wikimedia and Iridescent Sight description based on wikipedia 3) Hungerford Bridge In 1845 the Hungerford Bridge was a suspension bridge that farmers from the south of England used for crossing the River Thames when they freighted their produce to the Hungerford Market, which was the most important market in the south of the capital at that time. In 1859 the bridge was bought by the South Eastern Railway Company, who wanted to build a railway bridge from the south of England to the capital. Businessmen working in London were leaving their city houses to live in the country...   view more Image Courtesy of Wikimedia and ChrisO Sight description based on wikipedia 4) Waterloo Bridge Waterloo Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge crossing the River Thames in London, between Blackfriars Bridge and Hungerford Bridge. The name of the bridge is in memory of the British victory at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Thanks to its location at a strategic bend in the river, the views of London from the bridge are widely held to be the finest from any spot at ground level. The first bridge on the site was designed in 1809-10 by John Rennie and opened in 1817 as a toll bridge. From...   view more Image Courtesy of Wikimedia and Adrian Pingstone Sight description based on wikipedia 5) Blackfriars Bridge To get to the Tate Modern from the Inns of Court, you will, of course, cross the Blackfriars Bridge, which received Grade II Listed status in 1972. The Bridge House Estates own the bridge and are responsible for its upkeep. This foot and road bridge is 923 ft long with five wrought iron arches to match its sister railway bridge, now demolished. It was built by the P.A. Thom & Company firm to designs by Thomas Cubitt and was opened by Queen Victoria in 1869. As you cross, you will...   view more Image Courtesy of Wikimedia and Adrian Pingstone Sight description based on wikipedia 6) Millennium Bridge The Millennium Bridge has three claims to fame: it is the newest bridge to span the Thames; it is the only pedestrian-only bridge in London and it holds the record for being the bridge with the shortest opening-closing time in history, as it was closed only two days after being inaugurated. The bridge was designed, as its name suggests, to be opened in 2000, the start of the 21st century. In 1996 Southwark Council held a competition and invited architects from all over the world to design a...   view more Image Courtesy of Wikimedia and Arpingstone Sight description based on wikipedia 7) Southwark Bridge Southwark Bridge is an arch bridge for traffic linking Southwark and the City across the River Thames, in London. It was designed by Ernest George and Basil Mott. It was built by Sir William Arrol & Co. and opened in 1921. A previous bridge on the site, designed by John Rennie, opened in 1819, and was originally known as Queen Street Bridge, as shown


Which type of coal contains the highest carbon count and the fewest impurities ?

Carbon Materials - Shamokin Carbons Carbon Materials Synthetic Graphite Is primarily the result of Electrode manufacturing. These electrodes carry the electricity that heats electric arc furnaces, the vast majority steel furnaces. They are made from petroleum coke after it is mixed with petroleum pitch, extruded and shaped, then baked to sinter it, and then graphitized by heating it above the temperature (3000 °C) that converts carbon to graphite. They can vary in size up to 11 ft. long and 30 in. in diameter. Powder and scrap The powder is made by heating powdered petroleum coke above the temperature of graphitization. The graphite scrap comes from pieces of unusable electrode material (in the manufacturing stage or after use) and lathe turnings, usually after crushing and sizing. Most synthetic graphite powder goes for carbon raisers in foundries and steel plants. Synthetic graphite is processed at ultra high temperatures, and impurities contained in the precursor carbons are significantly reduced in concentration during processing. This occurs as a result of the high temperature vaporization of volatile impurities, which at the process temperatures utilized includes most metal oxides, sulfur, nitrogen, hydrogen, and all organic components that were part of the original petroleum or coal tar pitch.  Synthetic graphite is essentially the most chemically pure form of carbon available. Anthracite Coal Anthracite coal has the highest carbon count and contains the fewest impurities of all coals, and has the highest calorific content as compared to other types of coals such as bituminous coal and lignite. Anthracite coal is a hard mineral coal that has the highest luster and lowest impurities of all coals. It is the cleanest variety of coals. Anthracite is the most metamorphosed type of coal it's carbon content is between 92.1% and 98%. The term is applied to those varieties of coal which do not give off tarry or other hydrocarbon vapors when heated below their point of ignition. Anthracite burns with a short, blue, and smokeless flame. Anthracite may be considered to be a transition stage between ordinary bituminous and graphite, produced by the more or less complete elimination of the volatile constituents of the former, and it is found most abundantly in areas that have been subjected to considerable earth-movements, such as the flanks of great mountain ranges. With the growth of mini-mill's increasing need for higher quality materials in the (EAF) Electric Arc Furnace anthracite coal has become the injection carbon of choice for the top EAF steel plants. Because scrap metal is the primary source of metal in the EAF there have been a limited variety of finished products a mini-mill could produce. DRI pellets and other iron ore based materials have been substituting or supplementing traditional scrap allowing for a greater variety of finished products produced in the EAF. As a result of the use of these materials only the cleanest, lowest sulfur, anthracite injection carbons can be used. Anthracite is among the lowest sulfur materials available for injection and is the most environmentally friendly material due to its purity. Metallurgical Coke Coke is a solid carbonaceous residue derived from low-ash, low-sulfur bituminous coal from which the volatiles are driven off by heating without oxygen at temperatures as high as 1,000 °C (1,832 °F) so that the fixed carbon and residual ash are liquefied and fused together. Metallurgical coke is used as a fuel and as a reducing iron ore to iron in the blast furnace. The product is cast iron and is too rich in dissolved carbon, and so the carbon is reduced next in the steelmaking process. The coke must be strong enough to resist the weight of overburden in the blast furnace, or cupola in a foundry application which is why coking coal is so important in making hot metals by the conventional route. The trend is the alternative to coke or DRI (direct reduced iron) which is typically higher in sulfur causing the rising demand of low sulfur carbons (anthracite coal)


In which century were the Royal Marines founded ?

A History of the Royal Navy: The Royal Marines A History of the Royal Navy: The Royal Marines Britt Zerbe See others in the series Description Bibliographic Info The Royal Marines are the elite force of the Royal Navy. Founded in 1755, but tracing their origins as far back as 1664, the Marines are an iconic amphibious infantry force, combining military and naval skills and operations. During World War I, the Marines were key players in the amphibious landings at Gallipoli and in World War II the Marines were active in a number of theatres including the capture of Madagascar and the defence of Crete. In the post-war world, the Marines were active in the ill-fated Suez crisis. Today's Marines are highly-skilled maritime-focused commandoes who have played a pivotal role in recent conflicts in the Falklands, Afghanistan and Iraq. This book provides a complete history of the force from formation to the present day. As well as covering the campaigns fought by the Marines - from the Napoleonic Wars to the twenty-first century - the book also looks aspects of change and continuity in marine identity over the 300 years of their existence. As the first complete history of the Royal Marines, this book will be essential reading for all military and naval history enthusiasts. Imprint: I.B.Tauris Illustrations: 50 bw integrated, 16 colour in 8pp plates, 2-3 map Description The Royal Marines are the elite force of the Royal Navy. Founded in 1755, but tracing their origins as far back as 1664, the Marines are an iconic amphibious infantry force, combining military and naval skills and operations. During World War I, the Marines were key players in the amphibious landings at Gallipoli and in World War II the Marines were active in a number of theatres including the capture of Madagascar and the defence of Crete. In the post-war world, the Marines were active in the ill-fated Suez crisis. Today's Marines are highly-skilled maritime-focused commandoes who have played a pivotal role in recent conflicts in the Falklands, Afghanistan and Iraq. This book provides a complete history of the force from formation to the present day. As well as covering the campaigns fought by the Marines - from the Napoleonic Wars to the twenty-first century - the book also looks aspects of change and continuity in marine identity over the 300 years of their existence. As the first complete history of the Royal Marines, this book will be essential reading for all military and naval history enthusiasts. Bibliographic Info


Gideon , whose story is told in the Book of Judges , was a member of which tribe ?

Book of Judges Bible Study Chapter 6 Gideon and the power of weakness The Book of Judges Bible Study Outline Judges Chapter 6: Gideon and the Power of Weakness (Part 1)   By I Gordon   1 Cor 1:27-29 God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised thingsï¿½and the things that are notï¿½to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.   Introduction   God loves to do the Gideon. Sounds like a dance I know but in actual fact, itï¿½s not. It is something that He has done throughout human history and will continue to do until the very day that He returns to sort this whole mess out! ï¿½The Gideonï¿½ is where God takes weak, humble, sometimes fearful people and uses them to do wonderful things. He loves doing it! And the story of Gideon has been repeated (in each persons own way) through the lives of millions throughout history.   This Bible study is from the book of Judges chapter 6, where we are introduced to our hero Gideon, and learn a little about this man that God chose to deliver Israel . The second Bible study concerning Gideon will be on Judges chapter 7, the defeat of Midian, and its strikingly accurate portrayal of New Testament truth.   Enter the Midianites!   Judges 6:1-5 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country. They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel , neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count the men and their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it.   How low can you go! The NASB says ï¿½so Israel was brought very low because of Midian.ï¿½ The lowest they had ever been I would say. Instead of the ï¿½land flowing with milk and honeyï¿½ they lived in the caves and clefts in the rocks, too scared to face their enemy. What they did get to plant was destroyed by the enemy [1] . And I donï¿½t want to even mention what happened to their livestock. This is as bad as it ever gets! Now the name Midian [2] means ï¿½Strifeï¿½ and they were certainly being true to their name in their actions with Godï¿½s people Israel ! Midian speaks to us of the strife and trouble that comes to Christians while living in this world. Sometimes the strife is caused by the desires of our sinful nature; sometimes it is the strife and troubles that occur from simply living in a fallen world. Whatever the source of our strife, God uses all circumstances to teach us truth, and, as we shall soon see, the best victories often come when we are weakest.ï¿½ ï¿½   Letï¿½s get to the source of the problem!   Judges 6:6-10 When the Israelites cried to the LORD because of Midian, he sent them a prophet, who said, ï¿½This is what the LORD, the God of Israel , says: I brought you up out of Egypt , out of the land of slavery. I snatched you from the power of Egypt and from the hand of all your oppressors. I drove them from before you and gave you their land. ï¿½I said to you, ï¿½I am the LORD your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.ï¿½ But you have not listened to me.ï¿½   So Israel comes to the point of crying out to the Lord. About time too - only took seven years! Now In the past when Israel has cried out to the Lord, God has raised up a judge to deliver themï¿½ but not this time! This time He sends them a prophet to do two things ï¿½ Firstly to convict them some more of their sins and their need of Him; and secondly, to show them where they have gone wrong. God knows that He can and will deliver them, but He is firstly interested that they see what the root cause of their bon


The Eiffel Tower has a restaurant named after which author ?

Jules Verne Restaurant Eiffel Tower Paris France By: Jennifer Miner 20 Comments Unknown structure in a quiet town somewhere Quick, what’s the most iconic symbol of Paris, France? The Eiffel Tower, of course. Even the most intrepid travelers who seek unique and offbeat activities while exploring Paris, can’t help but stop in their tracks and appreciate the Eiffel Tower. No vacation in Paris is complete without at least a cursory stop at the Eiffel Tower, and for most tourists, walking to the top observation deck of the Eiffel Tower is as important a Paris activity as is exploring the Louvre and Musee d’Orsay. But here’s something that is truly special: a meal at the Jules Verne restaurant, i.e. Le Jules Verne, which sits a flight above the highest observation deck the stair-climbing tourists can go. It’s a luxury restaurant with seasonal menus created by world-famous chef Alain Ducasse and the quiet attentiveness that marks top restaurant service throughout Paris.  The food’s a knockout, and then, well…and then there’s the view. Dining at Le Jules Verne in the Eiffel Tower is part of a complete luxury travel experience in Paris , France.   They let us in with jeans and sneakers, which were the nicest clothes we had packed Going up, in the private elevator. Kids and adults alike go “whee!” A private elevator takes guests right up to Le Jules Verne , and the windows on the elevator provide an eye-popping view. Skipping the two-hour wait to climb up the Eiffel Tower removed the theme-park-like element of the destination, and instantly lands guests in the realm of elegance and glamour. The elevator attendant is used to the gasp of tourists, apparently; ours laughed happily at my children’s obvious delight. TIP: There’s a strictly enforced dress code at this restaurant. No shorts, even in the heat of summer. Jeans and sneakers are okay, though many arrive wearing much more formal attire. View of Eiffel Tower observation deck from our table at Le Jules Verne restaurant Warning: The original stairwell to the now-closed third level of the Eiffel Tower may lead to philosophical musing Le Jules Verne is one of the most exclusive restaurants in Paris (a city that has more than a fair share of exclusive world-class restaurants to begin with). If lunch or dinner at Le Jules Verne is a Paris vacation goal, please make a reservation as soon as you book your air fare and hotel room. Yes, even as much as three months ahead of time. TIP: While no one needs to plan their Paris travel dates AROUND their reservation, a la the French Laundry in Napa Valley , you certainly ought plan that particular day around the lunch or dinner reservation at Le Jules Verne. So this was delicious   And this was pretty great too With only one lunch seating and one or two dinner seatings daily, the restaurant is always completely booked throughout the year. Reserving, and securing, a table by a window is much more likely the earlier you make your reservation. The curving layout means that there are a lot of tables with A+ views, and the tables set in the interior are still not too far from the windows, hence, bathed in light. The views of Paris are still easily seen from those tables. As prettily presented as it was tasty   I’d say this was the piece de resistance, but all courses were amazing We had a lunch reservation, but from what I understand the views at dinner are spectacular. Watching the sun set and the glittering lights take over Paris is surely a sight to behold. Evening at Le Jules Verne in the Eiffel Tower Evening reservations are harder to get than lunchtime ones, I’d say, but after lunch at this restaurant, dinner is going to be a very small affair that night anyway. Unless you order a la carte, both lunch and dinner here are such extensive multi-course meals that it’s impossible to finish dessert. Prepare to pace yourself. (We didn’t, and were so uncomfortably full that the delicious desserts’ charms were wasted on us.) This one I managed to eat as well, but not the mango tart Think of eating here as more than just having a meal. It’s a complete


Who wrote the music of the oratorios The Apostles and The Kingdom ?

BBC - Radio 3 - Elgar/The Kingdom Programme notes The Kingdom (1901–06) It was to have been one of the grandest things in English music – if not the grandest of them all: a trilogy of oratorios, dealing, not with selected events from Christian or Old Testament history, but with the foundation and ultimate purpose of the Church. Elgar remembered the event that first set his imagination working towards this exalted goal. A teacher at his Worcester school, Francis Reeve, told Elgar’s class: ‘The Apostles were very young men and very poor. Perhaps, before the descent of the Holy Ghost, they were no cleverer than some of you here.’ Gradually, the young Elgar began to think in terms of a religious work about those lowly, uneducated men who had laid the foundations of modern Christianity. The idea stayed with him into adulthood – the first sketches date from the early 1880s – but by the time he sat down to compose in earnest, it had become clear that one work, however ambitious, could hardly contain all he wanted to say. And so Elgar arrived at the idea of the trilogy: three full-length oratorios depicting the calling of the twelve young men ( The Apostles ), the beginning of their evangelical mission on earth (The Kingdom) and – most ambitious of all – the outcome at the end of time (The Last Judgement). Wagner’s monumental operatic Ring cycle would at last have found its religious counterpart. But Elgar only managed to get two-thirds of the way through his trilogy. The Apostles was finished in 1903, The Kingdom in 1906; but although he continued sketching out The Last Judgement almost up to his death in 1934, the music remained fragmentary. In the end, a few of the more striking ideas were commandeered for the Third Symphony, which Elgar began in 1933, but never finished. The austerely powerful idea associated with ‘Antichrist’ in the Last Judgement sketches can now be heard in the opening bars of Anthony Payne’s magnificent reconstruction of the unfinished Symphony. Why was the trilogy never completed? For one thing, the experience of writing The Kingdom was unusually draining. Elgar’s physical health declined, and towards the end he began to suffer seriously from anxiety and depression. The first performance seems to have been a success with the audience, and critical reaction was far from damning; one reviewer even ranked The Kingdom with Bach’s St Matthew Passion. But several critics were politely dubious – and gently expressed doubt can be far more dangerous to an artist’s self-confidence than outright abuse. One article, by the influential critic Ernest Newman, seems to have left a deep imprint: ‘He has seen fit to fasten upon his own back the burden of an unwieldy, impossible scheme for three oratorios on the subject of the founding of the Church; and until that scheme is done with, and Elgar seeks inspiration in a subject of another type, the most sanguine of us cannot expect much from him in the way of fresh or really vital music ... At present he is simply riding post-haste along the road that leads to nowhere.’ It may be pure coincidence – or it may be that Newman had instinctively fastened onto something that Elgar was beginning to feel himself; but about the time that article appeared, Elgar began work on his First Symphony , which – at its premiere in 1908 – was to prove one of the greatest successes in the history of British music. It was followed by more great symphonic works: the Symphony No. 2 , the  violin and  cello concertos, and the ‘symphonic study’ Falstaff. Elgar had found his true métier. He may have gone on tinkering with The Last Judgement, but it seems that, at heart, he knew the trilogy idea was dead in the water. Still, The Kingdom itself survives, and it has had some distinguished admirers, among them the conductors Hans Richter and Adrian Boult (who rated it above The Dream of Gerontius). So why isn’t it widely appreciated as the thing of beauty it undoubtedly is? Well, dramatically speaking, Elgar did set himself a few problems. The character of Judas, who inspired such memorable, dark music


What was the name of the first Aintree Grand National winner to be trained by a woman ?

Grand National Betting - Woman Trainer to Win at Aintree Woman Trainer Betting on if a Woman will be the trainer of the National Winner This type of Grand National bet began as a result of one woman and that is Jenny Pitman who in 1983 became the most popular women in the racing game by becoming the first women to train a winner of the Grand National betting with Corbiere. Jenny had a second victory in 1995 with Royal Athlete and also trained the winner of the void race in 1993. While back then there where very few women trainers but today that has changed and there are now quite a few top class women trainers and the most popular one today is Henrietta Knight the trainer of the legend Best Mate. Other noteworthy women trainers to look out for in the Grand National Betting Odds are Mrs Sue Smith, Miss V Williams and Miss Lucinda Russell. Any horse that comes from these stables would have a good chance of winning the Grand National. A women trained winner of the Grand National does not come around very often that is why the UK Bookmakers my open a book on this market should their be a couple of entries by the women trainers and especially if one of their horses is fancied as this is a very topical and good novelty Grand National bet. Free Bets & Betting Offers


Rudyard Kipling was the cousin of which British Prime Minister ?

Westminster Abbey » Rudyard Kipling Burial Date: 23 Jan, 1936 Field: Writer; poet Location in the Abbey: South transept, poets corner Type of memorial: Grave The ashes of Rudyard Kipling, poet and writer, were buried in Poets' Corner at noon on 23 January 1936, next to the graves of Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy. The inscription on the stone reads: RUDYARD KIPLING. BORN 30th DEC. 1865 DIED 18th JAN. 1936. Order of Service for the Burial of Rudyard Kipling 1936 (PDF, 423 KB) The original gravestone (now at Kipling's house in Sussex) was replaced by the present Belgian marble stone in 1966. The pallbearers at the funeral included Kipling's cousin the Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin and the marble casket was covered by a Union flag. Joseph Rudyard Kipling was born in Bombay, son of Professor John Kipling and his wife Alice (Macdonald). His parents came to England on leave but did not take Rudyard and his sister Alice back with them and they were left in the charge of paid guardians. After attending the United Services College he did not attend university due to lack of means and he went to India to work as a journalist. His books Plain Tales from the Hills, Soldiers Three and Wee Willie Winkie were a success and he returned to England in 1889. The Jungle Book, Kim and many other works followed. His poems Mandalay, A Smuggler's Song and If are still well known. In 1892 he married American Caroline Balestier and they lived in the USA for several years. Their son John was killed in the war in 1915 and daughter Josephine died young. Their other daughter Elsie married George Bambridge. In 1907 Kipling was the first English writer to receive the Nobel Prize for literature but he declined many other honours. He was one of the first members of the Imperial (now Commonwealth) War Graves Commission and advised on the inscriptions for the headstones in British war cemeteries. He died on 18 January 1936 after an operation for a perforated ulcer. A photo of the gravestone can be purchased from Westminster Abbey Library. Further reading: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2004. Kipling's home, Batemans, at Burwash in Sussex is open to the public www.nationaltrust.org.uk


Who was the last English king to die in battle ?

Frequently Asked Questions | Britroyals Frequently Asked Questions When did the last British King fight in         a battle? George II was the last         British King to lead his army in person, during the War of the         Austrian Succession, at the Battle of Dettingen in Bavaria, 27th         June, 1743. The last English King to die in battle was Richard         III at the Battle of Bosworth Field in Leicestershire on 22         August 1485 defeated by Henry Tudor who became Henry VII ending         the Wars of the Roses between the Houses of York and Lancaster         and starting the Tudor dynasty. The last British King to die in         battle was James IV of Scotland killed at the Battle of Flodden Field in Northumberland on 9 September         1513 when the Scots invaded England hoping to take advantage of         Henry VIII's absence in France, but were defeated by English forces         under Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey. How far back can the British Royal Family         trace their roots? Is Queen Elizabeth II really directly descended         from Alfred the Great? She is the 32nd great granddaughter of King         Alfred who 1,140 years ago was the first effective King of         England. He ruled from 871 to 899. I thought that American Independence was         in 1776. Why is it quoted as 1783? The Continental Congress of the 13 American colonies declared         independence in 1776. However, the war continued and independence         from Britain was not achieved until the Treaty of Paris in 1783. Was George III really mad? For most of his reign King         George III was an astute king and politician with a strong         sense of duty. Later in his reign he suffered from recurrent and         eventually permanent mental illness. This baffled medical science         at the time, although it is now generally thought that he suffered         from the inherited blood disease porphyria. He suffered his first         attack in 1788 and by 1810 was unfit to rule. In 1811 his son         George, Prince of Wales, became Regent for 9 years until his father         died in 1820. Who would now be King or Queen if Edward         VIII had not abdicated? Edward VIII abdicated         in 1936 less than a year after becoming King to marry Wallis Simpson.         His younger brother Bertie became King         George VI and was the father of the present Queen         Elizabeth II . He died in 1952, and Edward who had no children         died in 1972. So even if Edward had not abdicated Elizabeth would         now be Queen. She would have come to the throne in 1972 instead         of 1952. Why did Edward VIII have to give up the throne         to marry a divorcee but Prince Charles is still in line to the         throne? Royals who are divorced or marry divorcees do not lose         their position in the line of succession. Edward VIII had a number         of affairs with married women including Wallis Simpson who was         already divorced and still married to her second husband. His         parents King George V and Queen Mary did not approve and refused         to meet her. When George V died Prime Minister Baldwin made it         clear that the Government, popular opinion in the country and the oversees Dominions (now the Commonwealth nations) did not         approve of his plans to marry Wallis. Social attitudes towards         divorce and a women looking for a third marriage were considered         scandalous at the time, and if Edward married against the advice         of his Ministers it would have caused the Government to resign         and a constitutional crisis. Edward chose to


Which sister ship of the Titanic never entered commercial service and was sunk by a mine while serving as a hospital ship in 1916 ?

PBS Online - Lost Liners - Britannic The Britannic.    Credit bed full, the Britannic could transport 3,309 patients. Only the Aquitania could carry more: almost 4,200 wounded. But until the Britannic reached the port of Mudros on the Aegean island of Lemnos, the gathering point for casualties from all the Mediterranean theaters, she would be relatively empty, her nurses, doctors and orderlies with nothing to do except to make sure the hospital was ready to receive its patients. Nurse Macbeth spent much of the first leg of the trip making beds, but still found time each day for a morning gymnastics class given by one of the sergeants and an afternoon swim in the first-class swimming pool, followed by tea and then perhaps a game of cricket out on deck. It was a pleasant enough interlude before what would be the very serious business of tending victims of a conflict that had long since lost any aura of romance and adventure. By November 1916, the war that was to be "over by Christmas" of 1914 looked as if it might last forever. On the Eastern and Western Fronts, the opposing troops were locked in bloody stalemate. The recent Battle of Jutland, the greatest naval engagement ever, had failed to break the British naval blockade of Europe, increasing pressure on the Germans to resort to unrestricted submarine warfare, despite the risk it might draw the United States into the war. And while the Allies had finally abandoned Gallipoli the previous January, hundreds of thousands of troops were now tied up in Greek Macedonia, Palestine and Mesopotamia, making hospital ships in the Mediterranean as vital as ever. On the Britannic's most recent trip she had returned with almost every bed full, and it had taken 15 hospital trains to transport the casualties from Southampton. In theory, the Britannic had nothing to fear from enemy submarines. As a hospital ship she was protected from attack under the Geneva Convention, but this was never a guarantee. The Germans suspected hospital ships of secretly transporting troops -- a charge that would be laid against the Britannic after she sank. (No evidence to support this charge has ever appeared.) And while the majority of German submarines were occupied in trying to break Britain's Atlantic blockade, a number were active in the Mediterranean, laying mines along routes heavily traveled by troopships and torpedoing enemy targets when the opportunity arose. Mines, of course, did not distinguish between warships and noncombatants. The many narrow sea passages along the main Mediterranean shipping routes were natural areas for mine laying. And at least one mine-laying submarine had recently been active along the course the Britannic would soon be following. This was U-73, under command of Kapit�nleutnant Gustav Siess. Late in October, he had been scouting out the Kea Channel between the Greek mainland and the island of Kea just east of Athens. Noting that most ships passed close to the island, he laid two barriers of six mines each at right angles to the shipping lane. Despite these dangers, those traveling aboard the Britannic had reason to feel confident. At a service speed of 21 knots -- faster if necessary -- she could outrun any U-boat. And her builders had designed her to withstand the sort of disaster that had sunk the Titanic. A watertight inner skin, running for almost two-thirds of the ship's length and making her 18 inches wider than her two predecessors, protected her engines and boiler rooms. Five of her 17 watertight bulkheads extended as high as B deck, also known as the bridge deck, fully 40 feet above the waterline. The rest rose as high as E deck. All the bulkheads had the latest in electrically operated watertight doors, and the pumping system allowed any watertight compartment to be drained by means of a valve placed well above the waterline. The higher bulkheads were meant to keep her afloat with any six of her compartments flooded. In theory, it would take more than one torpedo to sink her. And in the unlikely event that she sank, there would be a lifeboat seat for everyone.


What is the name of the ' world's highest ' restaurant , on the 122'nd floor of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai ?

the worlds highest restaurant? - At.Mosphere Restaurant, Dubai Traveller Reviews - TripAdvisor Restaurant details Good for: Bar Scene, View, Special Occasion Dining, Business meetings, Romantic Dining options: Lunch, Drinks, Dinner, After-hours, Free Wifi, Full Bar, Parking Available, Private Dining, Reservations, Seating, Serves Alcohol, Valet Parking, Validated Parking, Waitstaff, Wheelchair Accessible Neighbourhood: Downtown Dubai Description: At.mosphere Restaurant sports sleek and stylish interiors where guests can enjoy contemporary international cuisine. The venue can accommodate 80 guests including a private dining room that can seat 12 people. It is open through the week offering a full à la carte menu for lunch and dinner. Some of the specialties include prime cuts of beef, organic poultry and seafood – all freshly sourced and prepared. This dining room allows you to relax with soft tempo music in the background. The interior is comprised of hand-polished mahogany wood walls with furniture in shades of amethyst and cocoa. It contains a beverage display wall, decanting tables and overhead glass displays. A sleek exhibition grill, divided by a marble and glass wall, separates the private and main dining area. There are newer reviews for this restaurant “the worlds highest restaurant?” Reviewed 29 September 2015 Atmosphere restaurant is on the 122nd floor (or thereabouts) of the Burj Khalifa and is definitely a fantastic experience. The views are stunning and the food is good but very expensive - I have had much better food for a third of the price - but you are paying for the experience. You do need deep pockets though Visited August 2015


"According to Dr Johnson , "" Claret is the liquor for boys ; port , for men "" , but he "" who aspires to be a hero "" must drink - what ?"

The Samuel Johnson Sound Bite Page: Quotes on Drinking The Samuel Johnson Sound Bite Page 131. Drinking; Moderation "Sir, I have no objection to a man's drinking wine, if he can do it in moderation. I found myself apt to go to excess in it, and therefore, after having been for some time without it, on account of illness, I thought it better not to return to it. Every man is to judge for himself, according to the effects which he experiences." Boswell: Life 178. Drinking; Exercise "Exercise!! I never heard that he used any: he might, for aught I know, walk to the alehouse; but I believe he was always carried home again." Piozzi: Anecdotes 179. Drinking Boswell: "You must allow me, Sir, at least that it produces truth; in vino veritas, you know, Sir--" "That (replied Mr. Johnson) would be useless to a man who knew he was not a liar when he was sober." Piozzi: Anecdotes "Melancholy, indeed, should be diverted by every means but drinking." Boswell: Life 212. Drinking We discussed the question whether drinking improved conversation and benevolence. Sir Joshua maintained it did. Johnson: "No, Sir: before dinner men meet with great inequality of understanding; and those who are conscious of their inferiority, have the modesty not to talk. When they have drunk wine, every man feels himself happy, and loses that modesty, and grows impudent and vociferous: but he is not improved; he is only not sensible of his defects." Boswell: Life 213. Drinking I observed, that wine did some people harm, by inflaming, confusing, and irritating their minds; but that the experience of mankind had declared in favour of moderate drinking. Johnson: "Sir, I do not say it is wrong to produce self-complacency by drinking; I only deny that it improves the mind. When I drank wine, I scorned to drink it when in company. I have drunk many a bottle by myself; in the first place, because I had need of it to raise my spirits; in the second place, because I would have nobody to witness its effects upon me." Boswell: Life 258. Drinking Talking of drinking wine, he said, "I did not leave off wine because I could not bear it; I have drunk three bottles of port without being the worse for it. University College has witnessed this." Boswell: "Why then, Sir, did you leave it off?" Johnson: "Why, Sir, because it is so much better for a man to be sure that he is never intoxicated, never to lose the power over himself." Boswell: Life 259. Drinking Boswell: "I think, Sir, you once said to me, that not to drink wine was a great deduction from life." Johnson: "It is a diminution of pleasure, to be sure; but I do not say a diminution of happiness. There is more happiness in being rational." Boswell: Life 262. Abstinence; Drinking Talking of a man's resolving to deny himself the use of wine, from moral and religious considerations, he said, "He must not doubt about it. When one doubts as to pleasure, we know what will be the conclusion. I now no more think of drinking wine, than a horse does. The wine upon the table is no more for me, than for the dog that is under the table. Boswell: Life 291. Drinking "I must entreat you to be scrupulous in the use of strong liquors. One night's drunkenness may defeat the labours of forty days well employed." Johnson: Letter to Boswell 547. Depression; Drinking I called on Dr. Johnson one morning, when Mrs. Williams, the blind lady, was conversing with him. She was telling him where she had dined the day before. "There were several gentlemen there," said she, "and when some of them came to the tea-table, I found that there had been a good deal of hard drinking." She closed this observation with a common and trite moral reflection; which, indeed, is very ill-founded, and does great injustice to animals -- "I wonder what pleasure men can take in making beasts of themselves." "I wonder, Madam," replied the Doctor, "that you have not penetration to see the strong inducement to this excess; for he who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man." Anecdotes of the Revd. Percival Stockd


Which was the first horse to complete the Cheltenham Gold Cup-Grand National double in the same season ?

Facts & Figures Facts & Figures It is illegal for anyone aged under 18 to gamble Facts & Figures Records The first race was held in 1839, but it started in inauspicious circumstances, going off two hours late after confusion over weighing procedures. The aptly named, and 5-1 favourite, Lottery came home first. The 1929 National featured the most starters in the race when 66 horses lined up. The smallest field was in 1883 when just 10 faced the starter. The fastest ever time is the 8 minutes 47.8 seconds Mr Frisk recorded in taking victory in 1990. The slowest time is the 14m 53s it took Lottery to win the first National in 1839. The smallest number of finishers was in 1928 when Tipperary Tim, a 100-1 outsider, was the first of two past the post. The greatest number of horses to finish was 23 in 1984. Hallo Dandy, ridden by Neale Doughty, was the winner. 17 completed last season. The 1997 Grand National, which was won by Lord Gyllene, was the 150th running of the race at Aintree and Sir Peter O'Sullevan's 50th and final commentary for the BBC. 2013 saw the first screening of the race by Channel 4. The shortest price winner was Poethlyn at 11-4 in 1919. The Course The first five Grand National's included one jump that was a stone wall. It was situated where the water jump now stands. Becher's Brook earned its name when a top jockey, Captain Martin Becher, took shelter in the brook after being unseated. "Water tastes disgusting without the benefits of whisky" he reflected. The Chair is the tallest fence at 5ft 2ins, and the broadest. The fence got its name as it was once alongside the seat used by the distance judge. The fences at Aintree are made up of spruce from the Lake District. The cost of the building work is tens of thousands of pounds and takes a month to complete. As well as horse racing, Aintree has also hosted a European and five British Grand Prix. Stirling Moss won his first Grand Prix in Liverpool in 1955. The change seemed to work in 2014 as no horse lost his jockey until the Canal Turn, although there were plenty of early casualties last year. Horses Red Rum is the most successful horse, having won the Grand National three times: 1973, 1974 and 1977. The oldest winning horse is Peter Simple, aged 15 (1853); the youngest winning horses were Alcibiade (1865), Regal (1876), Austerlitz (1877), Empress (1880), Lutteur III (1909), all aged 5. Abd-El-Kader was the first horse to win back-to-back Nationals, in 1850 and 1851. The Colonel, (1869 & 1870), Reynoldstown (1935 & 1936) and Red Rum (1973 & 1974) have also retained the crown. Can Many Clouds join this elite club this year? Moiffa won in 1904 - having disappeared a year earlier. On a trip to Liverpool from New Zealand, Moiffa's ship was shipwrecked. The horse was presumed lost at sea before turning up on an outcrop south of Ireland. The legendary Golden Miller won in 1934 and became the only horse to complete the Cheltenham Gold Cup-Grand National double in the same season. Garrison Savannah narrowly failed to emulate the feat in 1991. Manifesto has run in more races than any other horse. Between 1895 and 1904, he ran in eight races, winning two and coming third on three occasions. He only failed to finish once. Two Russian horses, Reljef and Grifel, competed in the 1961 Grand National, but neither finished. Horses from Hungary, the Czech Republic and Norway have also run in previous Grand Nationals, although all with similarly disappointing results. Hungarian chaser Buszke was pulled up in 1868, while Gyi Lovam, the first Czechoslovakian challenger in 1931, came to grief at Becherï¿½s, was remounted but fell again four fences later. The Czech-trained Essex, Fraze and Quirinus all carried automatic top-weight in the 1980s and 1990s but failed to complete. The 2000 renewal saw the first Norwegian-trained runner in the shape of Trinitro, but he got no further than the first fence where he fell. Japanese thoroughbred, Fujino-O captured four consecutive renewals of the prestigious Nakayama Daishogai in his homeland before being sent to Britain to be prepared f


Who is the mother of the actor Toby Stephens ?

Toby Stephens: Being born into the theatre was a mixed blessing - Telegraph Toby Stephens: Being born into the theatre was a mixed blessing Actor Toby Stephens tells Tim Walker why having famous parents isn't always  easy. Toby Stephens, above, is preparing for a role in Ibsen's 'A Doll's House' at the Donmar Warehouse Photo: MARTIN POPE By Tim Walker 7:00AM BST 21 May 2009 It amuses Toby Stephens to see himself occasionally mooted as a successor to Daniel Craig as James Bond. "God knows, I could use the money, but it won't happen," the 40-year-old actor says. "They had enough problems with a blond Bond. The idea of someone with reddish hair getting the part would cause insurrection." The son of Dame Maggie Smith and the late Sir Robert Stephens has a nice line in self-deprecation. He has, however, notched up some fine performances over the years: Edward Rochester in Jane Eyre for the BBC, the title role in an RSC production of Coriolanus, and, more recently, King John in Robin Hood. His one brush with Bond – as the baddy in Die Another Day with Pierce Brosnan – was, he says now, something of an aberration. "I have no idea how I got the part. I remember meeting Lee Tamahori, the director, and asking him about my character, as they had only sent me three pages of script. He said, 'Well, in a nutshell, you are playing a Korean who has been genetically modified into being a westerner', and I must say he lost me somewhere in that sentence. I had a lot of fun making that film, but honestly it wasn't where I came from or what I was a part of, and I subsequently just got on with what I had been doing before." Stephens is about to open in a production of Ibsen's A Doll's House at the Donmar Warehouse in Covent Garden, and it is clearly his stage work – along with his family – that mean the most to him. Anna-Louise, his New Zealand-born actress wife of the past eight years, has just presented him with an 8lb 4oz baby girl whom they have called Tallulah. They already have a boy named Eli, who was born in 2007. Toby says Dame Maggie took a sharp intake of breath at the name of her granddaughter. "She thought of Tallulah Bankhead, a Hollywood actress of some repute. 'I love the name, of course, but you must understand she was a very naughty woman,' she told me. 'She was addicted to cocaine and had, among other things, a huge lesbian following.' " Related Articles Maggie Smith's actor son Toby Stephens pleads for 'class-blind’ casting 03 Oct 2012 One can imagine his mother delivering the lines with her customary relish, but then she is – as Sir Robert once was – a larger-than-life character. There was a time when Toby resented all the questions about his parents, who starred together in the 1969 film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. But now he understands the fascination that they both continue to garner, and it makes him feel proud. Sir Robert was still married to his second wife when he met Maggie while working at the National Theatre in the mid-Sixties, and, after a torrid affair, they became man and wife in 1967, 10 days after the birth of their first son, Christopher. Toby eschews the glamorous life that they lived, and one suspects there is a somewhat studious normality about his family life in north London. He says he seldom, if ever, goes to showbusiness parties. He has clearly learnt the lessons from his parents' stormy eight-year union: the rows, the ceaseless media attention and his father's drinking and philandering. Ten years ago, Stephens realised he had inherited his father's addiction to alcohol, and, as it was beginning to take its toll on his work on stage, he decided never to drink again. Sir Robert died at the age of 64 in 1995 after liver and kidney transplants, but would have been furious if anyone had ever suggested he was an alcoholic. "Of course he was an alcoholic in the same way that I am, in that he had no control over his drinking. If I were to have one drink now, I would want another and it would be agony if I couldn't. I simply decided to spare myself that by not allowing myself the first glass. People


Who wrote the music of the oratorios The Creation and The Seasons ?

oratorio | music | Britannica.com Oratorio choral music Oratorio, a large-scale musical composition on a sacred or semisacred subject, for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra . An oratorio’s text is usually based on scripture, and the narration necessary to move from scene to scene is supplied by recitatives sung by various voices to prepare the way for airs and choruses. A basically dramatic method is used in all successful oratorios, though they may or may not be produced with theatrical action. The oratorio is not intended for liturgical use, and it may be performed in both churches and concert halls. The principal schools of oratorios are the Italian, essentially a form of religious opera; the German, developed from treatment of the Passion story; and the English, synthesized by the composer George Frideric Handel from several forms. The term oratorio derives from the oratory of the Roman church in which, in the mid-16th century, St. Philip Neri instituted moral musical entertainments, which were divided by a sermon, hence the two-act form common in early Italian oratorio. The golden age of oratorio: 1600–c. 1750 The earliest surviving oratorio is Rappresentazione di anima et di corpo ( The Representation of Soul and Body ) by Emilio del Cavaliere , produced in 1600 with dramatic action, including ballet. Toward the mid-17th century Giacomo Carissimi introduced a more sober type with a Latin text based on the Old Testament . His oratorios (some short, some longer) are simple and free from extravagance and make effective use of the chorus. Their style is basically operatic, though, and the most memorable episodes are those in which the narrative is interrupted and the characters express their emotions. Latin- and Italian-language types of oratorios continued in use, but the vernacular Italian oratorio volgare, sung by virtuoso singers, was more popular and flourished until the late 18th century. Stage action had been abandoned in the oratorios of Italy by the late 18th century. The French composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier , who studied with Carissimi, successfully transferred the Italian oratorio to France. Similar Topics Pulitzer Prize The German oratorio began with Heinrich Schütz , a composer whose style is a blend of German and Italian elements. His oratorios, confined to Gospel subjects, show great powers of emotional expression and anticipate those of Johann Sebastian Bach in their vigorous treatment of the choruses. In his Easter Oratorio (published 1623) Schütz retains the old convention of setting the words of each character for two or more voices. His oratorios achieve a balance between austerity and exuberance, but by the late 17th century this balance had been disturbed. Passion oratorio texts (dealing with the death of Jesus) of this period often abandon biblical words for a mixture of rhymed paraphrase and lyrical commentary of a more or less sentimental nature. Listen: Bach, J.S.: St. John Passion, BWV 245 The aria “Lasset uns den nicht Zerteilen” from J.S. Bach’s St. … J.S. Bach ’s two great Passion oratorios, the Passion According to St. John (first performed 1724) and the Passion According to St. Matthew (1729), restored the balance attained by Schütz, though they are written on a greater scale and are enriched by the introduction of the later Italian aria . Bach, besides increasing the significance of the chorale , or congregational hymn , used the evangelist’s narrative as a framework for binding the dramatic element (the words of the characters) to the epic and contemplative sections (arias, chorales, opening and final choruses). There is nothing novel about Bach’s settings except their genius, which holds the long and complex structure in perfect balance. The Christmas Oratorio and other works by Bach that bear the name oratorio are more properly church cantatas. G.F. Handel ’s oratorios are essentially theatrical presentations that reflect his experience as an opera composer. Most of his oratorios use biblical stories put into modern librettos. Influenced by opera, masque, and even Greek tragedy,


Two of the planets in our Solar system don't have moons: Venus - and which other ?

Planets | Scholastic Grades 3–5, 6–8, 9–12 The following questions were answered by astronomer Dr. Cathy Imhoff of the Space Telescope Science Institute. Do all the planets have seasons? What causes seasons? Earth is tilted with respect to its orbit around the sun. So when our North Pole is tilted toward the sun, we get summer in the Northern Hemisphere (winter in the south). When the South Pole is tilted toward the sun, we get winter. So if a planet is tilted with respect to its orbit around the sun, it should have seasons. Here are the numbers that I was able to find this morning (as of September 1994) Venus — 23 degrees tilt, Earth — 23.5, Mars — 24, Jupiter — 3, Saturn — 27, Uranus — 98, Neptune — 29. But you can see that most of the planets have tilts like Earth, so they must have seasons. As I noted above, we definitely see seasons on Mars. In winter its ice caps grow, in summer they shrink. Jupiter has very little tilt, so it doesn't experience noticeable seasons. But Neptune is turned all the way over on its side! It must have very strange seasons! How did the planets get their names? Five of the planets were known to people thousands of years ago. They are bright enough to be seen with the naked eye and they move with respect to the stars. The name planet comes from the Greek word for "wanderer." I'm sure that people in different lands had various names for them, but the names we use come from the ancient Greeks and Romans. They named the planets for some of their gods. Mercury was the Roman god of commerce and cunning, and also messenger to the gods. Venus was the goddess of love. Mars was the god of war. Jupiter was the chief god. Saturn was the god of agriculture. When the next planet was found by Sir William Herschel in 1781, there was quite a debate about what to name it. Finally everyone decided to stay with the Roman names from mythology. So the new planet was finally named Uranus, for the father of the Titans. The next planet was named Neptune, for the god of the seas. And Pluto was named for the god of the underworld. Most of the moons and some asteroids are also named from Roman mythology. What was the first planet discovered? Who discovered it? What kind of equipment did they use? Five planets have been known since ancient times — Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. The first new planet discovered was Uranus. It was discovered by the English astronomer Sir William Herschel in 1781. Herschel was one of the first modern astronomers. His patron was King George III of England (the same King George from the time of the American Revolution!). Herschel wanted to name the planet after King George, but nobody else liked that so they gave it the name Uranus. Herschel and his sister Charlotte (who was an astronomer in her own right) used several reflecting telescopes, some of the first based on a design invented by Sir Isaac Newton. The largest was over 40 feet long and had a mirror 48 inches across. It was held up with a framework of wood, and they had to have helpers move it around using ropes and pulleys. It was the largest telescope in the world until over 100 years later. Which planet was formed first and how was it formed? We think that the planets all formed pretty much at the same time. However the sun probably formed first. The leftover gas and dust remained in a disk around the sun. In this disk, stuff began to clump and form "planetesimals" (pronounced pla-ne-TE-si-mals). These are small rocky bodies, something like asteroids. They crashed into each other and eventually formed the inner planets. At the same time, planetesimals formed the cores of the outer planets Jupiter and Saturn. Because of their strong gravity, they swept up a lot of gas. Uranus and Neptune did this too, but there was less gas around because Jupiter and Saturn got it first. The asteroid belt may be left-over planetesimals that never formed a planet because Jupiter's strong gravity nearby kept it from forming. Are there any living things on any of the planets? So far we know of only one planet with life — Earth! In 1976, we


Which U.K. pop group of the 1980's had No.1 hits with their first three releases ?

Record-Breakers and Trivia - everyHit.com Back To The 'Records & Trivia' Index Most Number 1s This, possibly the most important record, is held by Elvis Presley. He has had 21 chart-toppers, 18 of them different songs (three titles have topped the chart on two distinctly separate chart runs as part of the series of re-issues to commemorate what would have been Elvis' 70th birthday in 2005). You can see how this record has 'changed hands' over the years here . The Beatles are the top group with 17 number 1s. Madonna is the top woman with 13 (as of April 2008). Top female group is The Spice Girls with 9. Only seven acts in chart history have got into double figures with their tally of chart-toppers. They are: Elvis Presley (21, 18 different songs), The Beatles (17), Cliff Richard (14 : six of them with The Shadows, one with The Drifters, one with The Young Ones), Westlife (14 : one of them with Mariah Carey), Madonna (13), The Shadows (11 : six of them with Cliff Richard, two of these also with The Norrie Paramor Strings) and Take That (11: one featuring Lulu). Westlife hold the record for getting into double-figures in the shortest time (2 years and 10 months [ie. 149 weeks] - more than 3 months quicker than The Beatles (who took 165 weeks). Unlike Westlife, however, The Beatles tended to spend several weeks at the summit, slowing down their release rate.) It is worth pointing out that Paul McCartney has appeared on more Number 1s than any other artist under a diverse range of credits. He has, in fact, appeared on 24 Number 1s; solo (1), with Wings (1), Stevie Wonder, The Christians et al (1), Ferry Aid (1), Band Aid (1), Band Aid 20 (1) and The Beatles (17). In total, twenty-one artists have appeared on ten or more number one singles. They are: Paul McCartney (24), Elvis Presley (21), John Lennon (20), George Harrison (18), Ringo Starr (16), Cliff Richard (15), Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan (14), Robbie Williams, Madonna (13), Gary Barlow, Brian McFadden (12), Mel C , Geri Halliwell (11), Mel B, Emma Bunton, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen (10). Artist with Most Weeks at Number 1 It's Elvis Presley. He has topped the chart for a total of 80 weeks (as of w/e 5th Feb 2005). Top group is The Beatles (69 weeks). Top female performer is Madonna (29 weeks - as of w/e 17th May 2008). In his many different manifestations, however, Paul McCartney has spent 93 weeks at the top. Most Consecutive Number 1s 7 - by The Beatles and Westlife. The Beatles' stretch began with "A Hard Day's Night" in 1964 and lasted to "Yellow Submarine"/"Eleanor Rigby" in 1966. The run was broken when "Penny Lane"/"Strawberry Fields Forever" merely made the number 2 position the following year! Westlife's stint began with their debut, "Swear it Again" in 1999 and ran through to "My Love" in November 2000 (though one hit was a 'duet' with Mariah Carey). It was broken by "What Makes A Man" which peaked at number 2 the following month. Beatles fans are, however, quick to point out that "Ain't She Sweet" (which made number 29 in 1964) was recorded in 1961, well before their EMI contract. It was issued by Polydor to 'cash in' on the success of the fab four. Fans argue that this was not an "official" Beatles release. If this logic is accepted (though the track did make the charts), The Beatles run of successive number ones begins with "From Me To You" in April 1963 - making a total of 11. Top female group is The Spice Girls (6 in a row from "Wannabe" through to "Too Much"). Longest Span of Number 1 Singles 47 years, 6 months and 23 days. Held by Elvis Presley. His first number 1 was "All Shook Up" in 1957 (w/e 13th June). His most recent chart-topper was the re-issue of "It's Now Or Never" in 2005 (w/e 5th Feb). Runner up is Cliff Richard. His first chart-topper was "Living Doll" in 1959. His latest was "The Millennium Prayer" in 1999, a span of 40, 4 months and 15 days. (+ 21 days for total span). Longest span for a female artist with solo credit is Madonna on 20 Years, 7 Months, 1 Day (from "Into The Groove", 3rd Aug 1985 to


Which Scottish scientist is generally credited with the invention of the telephone?

Who is credited as inventing the telephone? Was it Alexander Graham Bell, Elisha Gray, or Antonio Meucci? (Everyday Mysteries: Fun Science Facts from the Library of Congress)     Who        is credited as inventing the telephone?     Was it Alexander Graham Bell, Elisha Gray, or     Antonio Meucci?          Alexander Graham Bell is often credited as the inventor of the telephone since he was awarded the first successful patent. However, there were many other inventors such as Elisha Gray and Antonio Meucci who also developed a talking telegraph. Attributing the true inventor or inventors to a specific invention        can be tricky business. Often credit goes to the inventor of the        most practical or best working invention rather than to the original        inventor(s). This happens to be the case of the invention of the        telephone! There is a lot of controversy        and intrigue surrounding the invention of the telephone. There have        been court cases, books, and articles generated about the subject.        Of course, Alexander Graham Bell is the father of the telephone.        After all it was his design that was first patented, however, he        was not the first inventor to come up with the idea of a telephone. Antonio Meucci, an Italian immigrant, began developing the design        of a talking telegraph or telephone in 1849. In 1871, he filed        a        caveat (an announcement of an invention) for his design of a talking        telegraph. Due to hardships, Meucci could not renew his caveat.               His role in the invention of the telephone was overlooked until        the United States House of Representatives passed a Resolution        on        June        11, 2002, honoring Meucci's contributions and work. You can read the resolution (107th Congress, H Res 269) on Congress.gov . To make matters even more interesting some researchers suggest that Elisha Gray, a professor at Oberlin College, applied for a caveat of the telephone on the same day Bell applied for his patent of the telephone- these gentlemen didnï¿½t actually visit the Patent Office, their lawyers did on their behalf. In Historical First Patents: The First United States Patent for Many Everyday Things (Scarecrow Press, 1994), Travis Brown, reports that Bellï¿½s lawyer got to the patent office first. The date was February 14, 1876. He was the fifth entry of that day, while Grayï¿½s lawyer was 39th. Therefore, the U.S. Patent Office awarded Bell with the first patent for a telephone, US Patent Number 174,465 rather than honor Gray's caveat. However, some authors dispute this story and suggest that there was malfeasance by certain individuals at Patent Office, and possibly Bell himself. If someone asks who is credited with inventing the telephone, you can explain the controversy that still surrounds this question. Related          Web Sites Alexander            Graham Bell's Family Papers From the Library of Congress            American Memory Web site, the collection includes "correspondence,            scientific notebooks, journals, blueprints, articles, and            photographs documenting Bell's invention of the telephone            and his involvement in the first telephone company, his            family life, his interest in the education of the deaf,            and his aeronautical and other scientific research. Dates            span from 1862 to 1939, but the bulk of the materials are            from 1865 to 1920." Antonio            Meucci A short history of Antonio Meucci from the Italian            Historical Society of America. Antionio            Meucci Revisited This Web page provides details of Antonio            Meucci's telephone which includes drawings. Elisha            Gray T


"Which music hall star was known as ""The Cheeky Chappie""?"

Max Miller: remembering the Cheeky Chappie Max Miller: remembering the Cheeky Chappie Max Miller in 1951 Credit: Rex Features 7 May 2016 • 10:12am Max Miller used to say, "There'll never be another," and how right he was. The comedian was 68 when he died on May 7, 1963, and although more than half a century has passed since his death, his memory is still alive.  In 2013 in Brighton – where Miller was born Thomas Henry Sargent on November 21, 1894 – a 'Max Miller Walk' street sign was unveiled by the British Music Hall Society and the comedian's appreciation society.  As a youngster, Miller really did run away from home to join the circus (Billy Smart's), where he first honed his skills as an entertainer. Yet it was music hall that turned him into one of the most celebrated and controversial comedians of the 20th century, inspiring people such as Max Bygraves, who acquired his own stage name during the war as a result of his Miller impressions in RAF reviews.  Miller defied respectability and his risqué jokes brought him into conflict with the censors. There were even rumours that he had been banned by the BBC.  Max Miller was noted for his outlandish costumes Credit: Rex Features   Miller, known as the Cheeky Chappie, stood out in the drabness of the Forties and Fifties, not least for his flamboyant attire – the long fur coat over gaudy plus-fours, decorated jackets and ties, white trilby hat and diamond-topped walking stick. People loved his subversive humour, as in the song With a Little Bit of Luck, when he sang "with a little bit of luck... someone else'll do the blinking work." Tunes such as Ride on Your Bicycle had a sentimental tinge, but it was the strong sexual themes that were at the cutting edge of daring comedy. "Nobody else dare sing 'em," he said of his song A Fan Dancer Minus Her Fan. "I've got the beginning and part of the end but what I want is that middle bit, that's what I'm after," he told a raucous audience.  Max Miller in 1951 at London's Palace Theatre Credit: Rex Features My late mother once went to see him at the Finsbury Park Empire in the early Fifties and she said it was the women in the audience who were laughing the hardest, especially at the smutty jokes. Miller loved teasing his female fans. "There's a fellow standing there, not a stitch on. Can you imagine that? How's your memory, gal?," Miller would say to an older lady he picked out in the front row.  Miller kept a clean 'White Book' of jokes and his more notorious 'Blue Book' with the strong material. In The Max Miller Blue Book (published in 1975 by Robson Books and illustrated by cartoonist and jazz musician  Wally 'Trog' Fawkes ), Barry Took wrote: "Max Miller's timing was as sharp as a razor and what made Max Miller a legend was his ability to make sex a cheerful business, something to enjoy and be happy about." Credit: Martin Chilton   His act was carefully crafted, with a range of catchphrases such as "here's a funny thing" and "there'll never be another", and he would often pin the joke on pure innuendo, adding: "go on... make something of that. Filthy lot, filthy lot. You wicked lot... you're the sort of people who get me a bad name." Not all of his jokes were blue, though. He used to tell one that went:  "A Yorkshire man came to London and he couldn't get any Yorkshire pudding... so he went home and battered himself to death."   It was claimed that John Osborne modelled Archie Rice in his play The Entertainer on Miller but Osborne wrote: "This is not so. Archie was a man. Max was a god, a saloon-bar Priapus".  If you listen to him now, Miller is still funny, although some of his references – to Russia's five-year plans, the Folies Bergère and dock workers – naturally seem of a bygone age.  A tribute concert to Max Miller   Miller has inspired lots of comedians – a young Matt Lucas was on the bill of a 2002 concert in Brighton celebrating Miller's life – and among the patrons of the Max Miller Appreciation Society are Michael Aspel, Roy Hudd and Ken Dodd. Stan Laurel, who saw Miller at the Holborn Empire during a Laurel and Har


Which is the world's longest range of mountains?

Andes: World’s Longest Mountain Range Credit: Johnathan Esper Shutterstock The Andes is the longest mountain range in the world and boasts some of the highest peaks. The range is also known for its volcanoes, ruins of long-ago civilizations and the source of a malaria treatment. The origin of the name Andes has not been definitively determined; most agree that it comes from the Quechua word anti, which translates to "high crest." A minority argue that it comes from Anti Suyu, which is one of the four regions of the Incas who once inhabited the range. The Andes Mountains stretch about 4,500 miles along the western coast of South America. Credit: CIA World Factbook Located along the entire western coast of South America, the Andes mountain range is about 4,500 miles (7,242 kilometers) long. The mountain range spans seven countries — Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina — and can be found between 10 degrees north and 57 degrees south latitudes and 70 degrees to 80 degrees west longitude. It is up to 500 miles (804 km) wide. The only mountains that are taller than the Andes are the Himalaya Mountains and their adjacent ranges, including the Hindu Kush. The average elevation in the Andes is about 13,000 feet (3,962 meters). The highest elevation in the Andes is Mount Aconcagua in Argentina, which is 22,841 feet (6,962 m) above sea level. The Andes are dotted with a number of depressions that separate the length of the range into several segments. [ Image Gallery: Journey into the Tropical Andes ] Climate of the Andes Because the Andes act as a large wall between the Pacific Ocean and the continent, they have a tremendous impact on climate in the region. The northern part of the Andes is typically rainy and warm, and the weather is also wet in the eastern part of central Andes, and the area to the southwest. To the west, the dry climate is dominated by the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. The mountains form a rain cover over the eastern plains of Argentina, which have extremely dry weather. The Andes Mountains of South America are home to 99 percent of tropical glaciers — permanent rivers of ice at high enough elevations not to be affected by the types of balmy temperatures usually associated with the tropics. The Andes are also home to the world’s highest volcano when measured above sea level, Ojos del Salado on the Chile-Argentina border, which reaches 22,615 feet (6,893 m), and more than 50 volcanoes that reach 19,685 feet (6,000 m). [ Related: Satellite Image of Chile-Bolivian Border ] Machu Picchu was an Incan retreat for its emperor. Credit: UNESCO Who and What Lives There A number of cities have sprung up along the Andes, including Huaraz and Cuzco in Peru; Quito and Baños in Ecuador; La Paz, one of the two capitals of Bolivia; Bogata and Medellin in Columbia; and Pucon and Puerto Natales in Chile. A male Andean condor flies above the highlands of Ecuador. Credit: Ammit Jack Shutterstock There is not a lot of evidence of early human life in the Andes, with the oldest human remains being an average of 10,000 to 12,000 years old; although scientists believe there was human habitation prior to that time. The lack of oxygen at high altitudes and rough terrain made it hard for people survive. The mountain shepherds have survived at higher altitudes of 17,000 feet on a permanent basis because their bodies have been able to adapt, including changes to the makeup of their cells. The Incas managed to establish themselves in the Peruvian Andes in the 15th century, only to be wiped out by civil wars and disease from European invaders to which they had not developed immunities. Their existence was largely undiscovered, save for some local residents, until July 24, 1911, when the locals led Yale University professor Hiram Bingham to Machu Picchu , at an elevation of 7,710 feet (2,350 m) in the Peru portion of the mountain range. Because it was relatively undisturbed, Machu Picchu provided a glimpse into the life of the Incas and scientists believe it served as the palace compound of Pachacuti Inca Yupan


Which peace treaty ended the Russo-Japanes war?

Milestones: 1899–1913 - Office of the Historian Milestones: 1899–1913 The Treaty of Portsmouth and the Russo-Japanese War, 1904–1905 The Treaty of Portsmouth formally ended the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05. The           negotiations took place in August in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and were           brokered in part by U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. The final agreement was           signed in September of 1905, and it affirmed the Japanese presence in south           Manchuria and Korea and ceded the southern half of the island of Sakhalin to           Japan. Photograph from the Russo-Japanese War By 1904, Russia and Japan had endured several years of disputes over control of           Manchuria. The Russians had entered the region during the Sino-Japanese War of           1894–95 and, along with Germany and France, was a part of the “Triple           Intervention” that forced Japan to give up its demands for ports in South           Manchuria and the Liaodong Peninsula in the wake of its victory in China.           Instead, Russia moved into the area and took control of Port Arthur, a warm           water port with strategic and commercial significance. A Japanese attempt to           stage a coup in adjacent Korea was thwarted in part by the Russian presence in           the region, and the two nations’ divergent interests appeared more and more           likely to clash. In 1904, the Japanese attacked the Russian fleet at Port Arthur before the formal           declaration of war was received in Moscow, surprising the Russian navy and           earning an early victory. Over the course of the next year, the two forces           clashed in Korea and the Sea of Japan, with the Japanese scoring significant,           but costly, victories. War casualties were high on both sides. At the battle           over Mukden, the Russians lost 60,000 soldiers and the Japanese lost 41,000           soldiers. The military costs were high as well. A Russian fleet made the long           trip from the Baltic Sea around Africa and India, only to be half destroyed by           the Japanese upon its arrival in Northeast Asia. By 1905, the combination of           these losses and the economic cost of financing the war led both countries to           seek an end to the war. Photograph of Attack on Port Arthur The Japanese asked U.S. President Roosevelt to negotiate a peace agreement, and           representatives of the two nations met in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 1905. For           the sake of maintaining the balance of power and equal economic opportunity in           the region, Roosevelt preferred that the war end on terms that left both Russia           and Japan a role to play in Northeast China. Though excited by the Japanese           military victories, Roosevelt worried about the consequences to American           interests if Japan managed to drive Russia out entirely. The negotiations centered on access to ports and territories in Manchuria and           Korea, control of Sakhalin Island, and the question of who was responsible for           paying war costs. The chief aims of the Japanese negotiator included first           control in Korea and South Manchuria, then the negotiation of an indemnity and           control of Sakhalin Island. The Russians wanted to maintain Sakhalin Island,           refused to pay a war costs indemnity to the Japanese, and hoped to maintain           their fleet in the Pacific. The indemnity issue, along with the dispensation of           Sakhalin Island, were the major sticking points in the negotiation, although           given its financial straits in 1905, Russia was likely unable to pay an


Which is the only Australian state capital not named after a person?

Australia travel guide - Wikitravel dial 000 Map of Australia and the External Territories. Australia is world famous for its natural wonders and wide open spaces, its beaches, deserts, "the bush", and "the Outback ". Australia is one of the world's most highly urbanised countries; it is well known for the attractions of its large cities such as Sydney , Melbourne , Brisbane and Perth . Geography[ edit ] Australia is the sixth-largest country by land area. It is comparable in size to the 48 contiguous United States . Australia is bordered to the west by the Indian Ocean, and to the east by the South Pacific Ocean. The Tasman Sea lies to the southeast, separating it from New Zealand , while the Coral Sea lies to the northeast. Papua New Guinea , East Timor and Indonesia are Australia's northern neighbours, separated from Australia by the Arafura Sea and the Timor Sea. Australia is highly urbanised with most of the population heavily concentrated along the eastern and south-eastern coasts. Most of the inland areas of the country are semi-arid. The most-populous states are Victoria and New South Wales , but by far the largest in land area is Western Australia . Australia has an area of 7,682,300km² (2,966,152 square miles) and the distances between cities and towns are easy to underestimate. The Government has published a National Public Toilet Map . Australia has large areas that have been deforested for agricultural purposes, but many native forest areas survive in extensive national parks and other undeveloped areas. Long-term Australian concerns include salinity, pollution, loss of biodiversity, and management and conservation of coastal areas, especially the Great Barrier Reef. Climate[ edit ] As a large island a wide variation of climates are found across Australia. Most of the country receives more than 3,000°hr of sunshine a year. Generally, the north is hot and tropical, while the south tends to be sub-tropical and temperate. Most rainfall is around the coast, and much of the centre is arid and semi-arid. The daytime maximum temperatures in Darwin rarely drop below 30°C (86°F), even in winter, while night temperatures in winter usually hover around 15-20°C (59-68°F). Temperatures in some southern regions can drop below freezing in winter and the Snowy Mountains in the South East experiences metres of winter snow. Parts of Tasmania have a temperature range very similar to England . As Australia is in the southern hemisphere the winter is June-August while December-February is summer. The winter is the dry season in the tropics, and the summer is the wet. In the southern parts of the country, the seasonal temperature variation is greater. The rainfall is more evenly distributed throughout the year in the southern parts of the East Coast, while in the rest of the south beyond the Great Dividing Range, the summers are dry with the bulk of the rainfall occurring in winter. History[ edit ] Based upon scientific evidence and theory, the island of Australia was most likely first settled more than 50,000 years ago with successive waves of immigration of people from south and south-east Asia . With rising sea levels after the last Ice Age, Australia became largely isolated from the rest of the world and tribes developed a variety of cultures, based on a close spiritual relationship with the land and nature, and extended kinship. Australian people maintained a hunter-gatherer culture for thousands of years in association with a complex artistic and cultural life - including a very rich 'story-telling' tradition. While the modern impression of Australian people is largely built around an image of the 'aboriginal desert people' who have adapted to some of the harshest conditions on the planet (equivalent to the bushmen of the Kalahari), Australia provided a comfortable living for the people amongst the bountiful flora and fauna on the Australian coast - until the arrival of Europeans. Although a lucrative Chinese market for shells and beche de mer had encouraged Indonesian fishermen to visit Northern Australia for centuri


What was Lester Piggott's last Derby winner?

Lester Piggott: at 75 still the Derby's lord of the reins | Sport | The Guardian The Observer Lester Piggott: at 75 still the Derby's lord of the reins The Epsom legend shares his views on modern-day racing and looks back at his illustrious past on the 60th anniversary of his first Derby ride Lester Piggott, the 30-times champion jockey, at the Park Lane Hilton earlier this month. Photograph: Tom Jenkins for the Observer Sunday 29 May 2011 03.00 EDT First published on Sunday 29 May 2011 03.00 EDT Share on Messenger Close As the eye picks out Lester Piggott approaching, the mind relocates to Tattenham Corner, where the sharp angles of his frame would coast down the hill at the back of the Derby field, waiting to swoop, ready to assert his ownership of the world's most illustrious Flat race. Piggott is only gliding across a hotel foyer, but the association with Epsom is still instant. In the handshake, his fingers are curled from all the reins he held to steer home 30 Classic winners and nine Derby champions. His face bears softened versions of the creases that scored his features when he was the famished, hardened lord of the weighing-room. And in his eyes now is more of the softness that was so rarely visible behind the mask of the ruthless pilot. In the golden age of sports personalities – Muhammad Ali, Pelé – Piggott acquired charisma by turning his face away from noise and celebrity. He had no use for the tumble of words with which others described their activities. His silence was his calling card. The cold glint in his eye thrilled punters and terrified his rivals. All emotion was excised from the business of winning races. At Epsom, nothing before or since has matched the glamour of him sweeping into the home straight and picking off the leaders on the best horse in a Derby. Saturday brings the 60th anniversary of his first Derby ride, on Zucchero, who finished 13th in 1951. He conquered Epsom's undulations and cambers for the first time three years later on Never Say Die and farmed the great mile-and-a-half fiesta, winning also on Crepello, St Paddy, Sir Ivor, Nijinsky, Roberto, Empery, The Minstrel and Teenoso, the last of his successful Derby mounts, in 1983. He has a tip for us. Piggott first rode for the Queen at Newmarket in 1955 and as our conversation turns to the monarch's Carlton House, favourite for this year's Investec Derby, he says: "It'll probably win, too. He's the obvious one." In his official biography, written with Dick Francis, Piggott picked out his greatest dislike as "people who talk too much", so there is nothing to be gained in his presence from journalistic babble. The trainer Jeremy Tree once asked him: "I've got to speak to my old school, Lester, all the boys at Eton, and tell them all I know about racing. What shall I say?" After a pause, Piggott replied: "Tell 'em you have flu." With his partial deafness and speech impediment, he said he learned to "lip read and watch people's faces," which he still does, intently. He weighs each question carefully and then measures out an answer like a jockey just loosening the reins. He thinks, for example, that Frankie Dettori is the finest of the modern jockeys, and that today's whip is "rubbish" and much less painful to horses than the public understands: "I think today Dettori is still the best. There's a handful of really good jockeys but I think Dettori is the one. Beautiful balance on a horse. Of course, Ryan Moore's good and Kieren Fallon's good but if you really come down to it Frankie's still the best." In his time Piggott was a famously vigorous coercer of horses but was also known for his artistry and his super-human judgment of pace, which looked bred into him through a long ancestry of jockeys and trainers. "I never hit them unless they were answering it. If they were going forward you knew they were responding. But there were a lot of horses I rode I never hit at all because they didn't like it." A quick statistical blizzard: Piggott's 30 Classic wins from 1954-1992 will probably never be surpassed. Since 1900, Willie Carson comes next


What name is given to the fur of the Coypu?

The Nutria, a Rodent Promoted as ‘Guilt-Free Fur’ - The New York Times The New York Times Fashion & Style |Is Their Pest Your Clean Conscience? Search Is Their Pest Your Clean Conscience? ANNA JANE GROSSMAN Continue reading the main story Photo Xiomara del Carmen helped Ana Lodriguss prepare for a nutria fashion show in New Orleans. Credit Jennifer Zdon for The New York Times TREATING nutria as a kind of “guilt free” fur is tough when you’re cutting the pelt and fur gets caught in your eyes. That’s what Micha Michelle Melancon, a fashion designer in New Orleans, found out when she was making a cloak from what is commonly known as a swamp rat. “This is an animal,” Ms. Melancon said, after her work space became filled with fluffy piles of excess fur. “A soft, furry, once-living-and-breathing being.” But unlike other soft and furry animals, nutria is being rebranded as a socially acceptable and environmentally friendly alternative way to wear fur. The effort culminates this Sunday, when Ms. Melancon and about 20 designers take part in a “righteous fur” fashion show at the House of Yes, an art space in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Fluffy hats, muffs, leg warmers and even a wedding dress will be paraded down the runway, in a show expected to draw about 150 people. Don’t look for any celebrities in the front row. A reporter from National Geographic and someone who works at Marc Jacobs are among the expected V.I.P.’s. Photo Aura Fedora wore a nutria shawl designed by Jessica Radcliffe. Credit Jennifer Zdon for The New York Times But Nutria-palooza, as the show is being called, is not just about fashion. The main sponsor is the Barataria-Terrebonne  National Estuary Program, a nonprofit conservation group in Thibodaux, La., that works to preserve the 4.2-million-acre swamp in southern Louisiana that is being threatened by the furry critter. Continue reading the main story As any resident of Louisiana knows, nutria is a herbivorous rodent, about half the size of a beaver, that is native to South America. The animals were shipped to fur farmers in the United States as early as the 19th century, and some eventually escaped into the Louisiana swamps. At first, the population was kept in check by fur trappers and a marketplace that prized the exotic fur. Hollywood starlets like Greta Garbo were fans of nutria coats. Advertisement Continue reading the main story But when the fur market started to founder in the 1980s, the nutria population soared and started to endanger the fragile ecosystem. The invasive rodent eats away the bottom of the plants that hold the coastal wetlands together. In 2002, Louisiana started paying trappers and hunters $5 for every nutria killed. The effort to control the nutria population had some success, with bounty hunters killing about 400,000 animals last year. But the carcasses were simply discarded or left to rot in the swamp. Photo Billy Reid used nutria in his recent collection. Credit Mimi Ritzen Crawford/Getty Images That’s when Cree McCree, an environmentalist and designer from New Orleans, came up with her fashion idea. Instead of wasting all that fur, she wanted to market nutria as a “guilt-free fur that belongs on the runway instead of at the bottom of the bayou,” she said. “If they’re being killed anyway,” she added, “then why not make something beautiful out of them?” Last year, using a grant from the estuary foundation, Ms. McCree founded Righteous Fur, a line of products made with the carcasses’ leftovers. That not only includes the soft brown fur, but also the animal’s signature orange teeth, which she caps with sterling silver and sells as necklaces for $85. Ms. McCree has held three nutria fashion shows in New Orleans in the last year, but the New York event, she said, will help push her campaign to the next level. Photo Nutria have been destroying plants vital to Louisiana swamps. Credit Robin Loznak, The News-Review, via Associated Press Indeed, nutria has been having a moment. Designers like Billy Reid (who recently won a major fashion award; see Front Row, Page 4), Michael Kors and Oscar


Which sporting event takes place in Pasadena, California on New Year's Day?

Old Pasadena : Calendar of Events give us feedback Copyright 2007-2016 © Old Pasadena Management District, Pasadena California - All rights reserved. Old Pasadena is the business district of Pasadena, a lively and diverse city located just ten miles from downtown Los Angeles. This eclectic old town area features entertainment and activities for kids and adults alike: museums, galleries, and music events, as well as movies, shopping, restaurants, and outdoor cafes. Families often stop by after sports events at the Rose Bowl; this clean and safe district is pedestrian friendly and provides convenient parking and easy access to public transportation, served by major bus lines and two Metro Gold Line stops. Welcome to Old Pasadena!


Which city was the interim capital of Pakistan while Islamabad was being constructed?

Rawalpindi | History Pak Posted by: Usama Majeed Rawalpindi is the 4th largest city of Pakistan. It is in Punjab province and located in Pothohar region of Pakistan. Rawalpindi is in the northernmost part of the Punjab province, 275 km (171 mi) to the north-west of Lahore. Rawalpindi is also known as Pindi. Pindi is also known as twin cities along with capital Islamabad. In the 1950s, the city’s economy received a boost during the building of Islamabad (1959–1969) during which time Rawalpindi served as the national capital and its population increased from 180,000 at the time of independence. It is the administrative seat of the Rawalpindi district. The total area of the city is approximately 108.8 square kilometers (42.0 sq. mi). The City-District of Rawalpindi comprises seven autonomous tehsils. Rawalpindi is the military headquarters of the Pakistan Armed forces.   Inhabitants of Rawalpindi District speak a great variety of Punjabi includes Pothohari, Majhi, Pahari, shahpuri, Dhani and Kashmiri. Although Urdu is also the mother tongue of few people but Urdu being a national language is spoken and understood by sizeable population. English is also known and spoken by many people of Rawalpindi. Pashto is also spoken of migrants.   As far as the history of Rawalpindi is concern, Rawalpindi has been from thousands of years, it is believed that a distinct culture flourished on this plateau as far in c1000BC. The nearby town Taxila has Guinness Book of World Record for its world oldest civilization and university. After the  independence  of  Pakistan  in 1947, the minority  Hindus  and  Sikhs  migrated to  India  while the Muslim  refugees from  India  settled in the Rawalpindi. In the succeeding years, Rawalpindi saw an influx of  Muhajir ,  Pashtun  and  Kashmiri  settlers. In late 50’s the city became the interim capital of the country after creation of a new planned capital of Islamabad in the vicinity of Rawalpindi which results most major central government offices and institutions relocate to nearby territory, and its population increases due to migrants from different part of country.   Rawalpindi has a big history in terms of assassinations. At first in 1951, Rawalpindi saw the assassination of the first elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan in Company Bagh which later turns its name as Liaquat Bagh Park. Then in late 70’s Prime Minister Zulifiqar Ali Bhutto was hanged in Rawalpindi jail. In 2007, Liaquat Bagh Park’s gate in Rawalpindi was also the site of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.   The city has two main roads: the Grand Trunk Road and is known as The Mall as it passes through the cantonment, Murree Road breaks north from The Mall,  its way to Islamabad. Murree road which has been has been a hot spot for various political and social events. Others roads are Said Purr Road, Liaqat road, Kashmir road, Bank road, Civil Line road, Jamia Masjid road, Sarfraz Road, College Road, Rawal Road, Band khana road, Iqbal road, circular road, Haider road, 4-7th roads etc. Liaquat Memorial Hall was constructed in memorization of late Mr. Liaquat Ali Khan. It features a huge auditorium and library. Art shows, public shows and stage Dramas are performed right here frequently. Garden Rawalpindi well-laid garden with sports facilities and children’s park has been developed near the community hall in Rawalpindi. Rawalpindi has its significance in terms of its forces headquarters. It has headquarters of the Pakistan Army, Pakistan Air force and also has an active airbase in chakala cantt of Rawalpindi.   The bazaars of the old city offer exciting bargains. You can leisurely browse in the quaint old shops in sadder bazaar, Moti bazaar, Raja bazaar and Kashmiri bazaar while Sarafa bazaar is famous for beaten gold and silver jewelry, brass and copper-ware. Numerous shopping bazaars, parks and a cosmopolitan population attract shoppers from all over Pakistan and abroad. Rawalpindi Population is combination of people having different background. The crowded alleys of the old city are home to many attractions, incl