Datasets:

Aarushhh

/

wikipedia-simple-splitted

like 0

Cities in the US are usually very-left leaning. The best examples of these would be New York, New York, and Washington, D.C. For example, in Louisiana, the only Democratic delegate in US Congress who is a Democrat was elected from a district comprising in New Orleans. Below is a list of states and the major city/cities that provide much of the liberal support in them :

Atlanta, Georgia: 5 of the 16 delegates representing Georgia in the US Congress are Democrats. All hail from districts in Atlanta. New Orleans, Louisiana: the only Democratic delegate from Louisiana in the US Congress was elected from a New Orleans district. Kansas City, Kansas: the only Democratic congressman from Kansas was elected from a district in Kansas City. Las Vegas, Nevada: all of the Democrats in the US House who represent Nevada are from Las Vegas. Salt Lake City, Utah: the only Democrat representing Utah in the US Congress was elected from a Salt Lake City district. Chicago, Illinois: if it weren't for Chicago, the state of Illinois would be as conservative as Indiana. Louisville, Kentucky: the only Democrat representing Kentucky in the US Congress was elected from a Louisville district. World's largest cities

These cities have more than 10 million people and can be called megacities: Tokyo, Japan - 37 million Delhi, India - 29 million Shanghai, China - 26 million São Paulo, Brazil - 22 million Mexico City, Mexico - 22 million Cairo, Egypt - 20 million Mumbai, India - 20 million Beijing, China - 20 million Dhaka, Bangladesh - 20 million Osaka, Japan - 19 million New York, United States - 19 million Karachi, Pakistan - 15 million Buenos Aires, Argentina - 15 million Chongqing, China - 15 million Istanbul, Turkey - 15 million Kolkata, India - 15 million Manila, Philippines - 13 million Lagos, Nigeria - 13 million Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 13 million Tianjin, China - 13 million Kinshasa, DR Congo - 13 million Guangzhou, China - 13 million Los Angeles, United States - 12 million Moscow, Russia - 12 million Shenzhen, China - 12 million Lahore, Pakistan - 12 million Bangalore, India - 11 million Paris, France - 11 million Bogotá, Colombia - 11 million Jakarta, Indonesia - 11 million

Chennai, India - 10 million Lima, Peru - 10 million Bangkok, Thailand - 10 million

Gallery of cities References

Cooking is a process to make food ready to eat by heating it. Raw food is food that is not cooked. Some foods are good to eat raw. Other foods are not good for the body when they are raw, so they must be cooked. Some foods are good to eat either raw or cooked. Methods Cooking is often done in a kitchen using a stove or an oven. It can also be done over a fire (for example, over a campfire or on a barbecue). The heat for cooking can be made in different ways. It can be from an open fire that burns wood or charcoal. It can be on a stove or in an oven that uses propane, natural gas, or electricity. There are several different ways to cook food. Boiling cooks food in hot water. Frying (deep or shallow) cooks food in hot butter, fat or oil. Baking and roasting cook food by surrounding it with hot air. Grilling means cooking food on a metal grill that has heat under it. People often cook meat by boiling, roasting, frying, or grilling it. Some foods such as bread or pastries are usually baked.

Usually food is cooked in some kind of pot or pan. Sometimes people cook food by putting it directly into the fire, or by wrapping the food in leaves before they put it into the fire. Cooks A person whose job it is to cook food may be called a cook or a chef. The word cooker means a machine or tool that a cook might use to cook food. Rice cookers and pressure cookers are examples. Basic English 850 words

To chat is to talk about ordinary things that are not very important. A person can chat with another person, or to many people. People also use this word now for parts of the Internet where we can talk with many different people at the same time. Usually, people chat on the Internet in a chat room or messaging service like AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), Yahoo Messenger Windows Live Messenger or Tencent QQ. There are also programs which let people use different messaging services from one program, such as Pidgin. Related pages Internet Relay Chat (IRC) Conversation Human communication Internet communication Messaging

A cup is any kind of container used for holding liquid and drinking. These include: teacup paper cup Cup may also mean: Measuring cup, a measuring instrument for liquids and powders, used primarily in cooking Cup (unit), a customary unit of volume and measure Cancer of unknown primary origin, form of cancer The cup of a brassière, the part that covers the breasts A cup-shaped trophy or award for winning in a sport Basic English 850 words

A crime (or misdemeanor or felony) is an act done by a person which is against the laws of a country or region. A person who does this is called a criminal. The basic idea of what things are called "crimes" is that they are thought to be things that might cause a problem for another person. Things like killing another person, injuring another person, or stealing from another person are crimes in most countries. Also, it can be a crime to have or sell contraband such as guns or illegal drugs. The latter two often fall under the category of victimless crime When some criminals make money from crime, they try to stop the police finding out where the money came from by money laundering. Men and boys commit many more crimes than women and girls.

Etymology The word crime is derived from the Latin root cernō, meaning "I decide, I give judgment". Originally the Latin word crīmen meant "charge" or "cry of distress." The Ancient Greek word κρίμα, krima, from which the Latin cognate derives, typically referred to an intellectual mistake or an offense against the community, rather than a private or moral wrong. In 13th century English crime meant "sinfulness", according to the Online Etymology Dictionary. It was probably brought to England as Old French crimne (12th century form of Modern French crime), from Latin crimen (in the genitive case: criminis). In Latin, crimen could have signified any one of the following: "charge, indictment, accusation; crime, fault, offense". Definition

Definition England and Wales Whether a given act or omission constitutes a crime does not depend on the nature of that act or omission; it depends on the nature of the legal consequences that may follow it. An act or omission is a crime if it is capable of being followed by what are called criminal proceedings. Scotland For the purpose of section 243 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, a crime means an offence punishable on indictment, or an offence punishable on summary conviction, and for the commission of which the offender is liable under the statute making the offence punishable to be imprisoned either absolutely or at the discretion of the court as an alternative for some other punishment. Sociology A normative definition views crime as deviant behavior that violates prevailing norms – cultural standards prescribing how humans ought to behave normally.

Levels of crime There are various levels of crimes. In some jurisdictions they are: misdemeanor - a minor crime, typically punished by a fee or less than 1 year in jail. felony (or high crime) - a major crime, typically punished by 1 year or longer in prison. Different countries have different ideas of what things are crimes, and which ones are the worst. Some things that are crimes in one country are not crimes in other countries. Many countries get their ideas of what things are crimes from religions or controversial events which cause a law to be quickly created. For example, a religious Taboo might say eating a particular food is a crime. When automobiles became numerous, they killed or hurt many people in road accidents, so new laws were made for them. In many countries, if people say they made or wrote a book, movie, song, or Web page that they did not really make or write, it is a crime against copyright laws. In many countries, helping to grow, make, move, or sell illegal drugs is a crime.

In most countries, police try to stop crimes and to find criminals. When the police find someone who they think might be a criminal, they usually hold the person in a jail. Then, usually, a court or a judge decides if the person really did a crime. If the court or judge decides that the person really did it, then he or she might have to pay a fine or go to prison. Sometimes the judge might decide that the criminal should be executed (killed). This is called Capital punishment (or the Death Penalty). There are countries in the world that execute criminals, and others that do not. In many countries, two conditions must exist for an act to be thought of as a crime: Actus rea - the criminal did something against the law Mens rea - the criminal knew what they were doing was against the law and did it anyways, or they knew they were doing something that could accidentally end up being against the law and didn't care Both must be present for the act to be thought of as a crime. References

References Basic English 850 words

Time Cube was a personal website created on 1997 by Otis Eugene Ray. On that website, Ray explained his theory of everything, known as "Time Cube". It described the planet Earth as having a cubic symmetry, and time as rotating four "corners". He also said that all of modern physics is wrong. Scientists reject these ideas, saying that they make no sense and cannot be tested. The Time Cube website was written in an angry and hateful voice. On his site, Ray said that not believing in Time Cube would be "stupid and evil". Some of the comments were racist and discriminatory, especially against black people and Jews. There were also many comments against gay people. Many people found the site to be difficult to understand.

Ray spoke about Time Cube at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in January 2002. At MIT, a professor tried to cancel the lecture before it took place. Ray believed this is proof of a conspiracy to keep information about Time Cube hidden. Ray also spoke about Time Cube at the Georgia Institute of Technology in April 2005. Otis Eugene Ray died on March 18, 2015. He was 87 years old. The website went down in August 2015. It was last archived by the Wayback Machine on January 12, 2016. Related pages Conspiracy theory Pseudoscience References Pseudoscience American websites 1997 establishments in the United States Conspiracy theories

The Census of Marine Life was a ten-year survey of life in the oceans, starting in 2000. Its head was Ron O'Dor of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It used data from researchers all over the world. More than 70 nations were involved and over a billion US dollars were spent on it. It was a major work of marine ecology. It was founded by J. Frederick Grassle. The purpose of the Census of Marine Life was to say what is alive in our seas and oceans. Other websites Census of Marine Life website Biological oceanography Marine life

Maize or Indian corn (called corn in some countries) is Zea mays, a member of the grass family Poaceae. It is a cereal grain which was first grown by people in ancient Central America. Approximately 1 billion tonnes are harvested every year. However, little of this maize is eaten directly by humans. Most is used to make corn ethanol, animal feed and other maize products, such as corn starch and corn syrup. Maize is a leafy stalk whose kernels have seeds inside. It is an angiosperm, which means that its seeds are enclosed inside a fruit or shell. It is has long been a staple food by many people in Mexico, Central and South America and parts of Africa. In Europe and the rest of North America, maize is grown mostly for use as animal feed. In Canada and the United States, maize is commonly referred to as "corn".

Centuries of cross breeding have produced larger plants, and specialized varieties. Corn has become an important ingredient in American foods through the use of corn starch. People have long eaten sweet corn and popcorn with little processing, and other kinds after processing into flour for making cornbread, tortillas, and other artificial foods. Maize has been a fruitful model organism for research in genetics for many years: see Barbara McClintock. Research has shown that artificial selection developed maize from a Mexican plant called Teosinte. The genus Zea There are five species and many subspecies in the genus. They are all plants similar to the cultivated maize, with less developed cobs. The wild ones are sometimes called teosintes, and they are all native to Mesoamerica. References Model organisms

Civics is the study of government. It most often refers to studying government in high school to prepare to be a good citizen. In college, civics is usually called political science. Since a city has the most unsimple government problems, the word for this study is like that for city. Theories of civics can be grouped as: Anarchist Capitalist Democrat Green Libertarian Republican It contains the rule and regulations of the citizen to make the country democratic Political science

Calculus is a branch of mathematics that describes continuous change. There are two different types of calculus. Differential calculus divides (differentiates) things into small (different) pieces, and tells us how they change from one moment to the next, while integral calculus joins (integrates) the small pieces together, and tells us how much of something is made, overall, by a series of changes. Calculus is used in many different sciences such as physics, astronomy, biology, engineering, economics, medicine and sociology.

History In the 1670s and 1680s, Sir Isaac Newton in England and Gottfried Leibniz in Germany figured out calculus at the same time, working separately from each other. Newton wanted to have a new way to predict where to see planets in the sky, because astronomy had always been a popular and useful form of science, and knowing more about the motions of the objects in the night sky was important for navigation of ships. Leibniz wanted to measure the space (area) under a curve (a line that is not straight). Many years later, the two men argued over who discovered it first. Scientists from England supported Newton, but scientists from the rest of Europe supported Leibniz. Most mathematicians today agree that both men share the credit equally. Some parts of modern calculus come from Newton, such as its uses in physics. Other parts come from Leibniz, such as the symbols used to write it.

They were not the first people to use mathematics to describe the physical world — Aristotle and Pythagoras came earlier, and so did Galileo Galilei, who said that mathematics was the language of science. But both Newton and Leibniz were the first to design a system that describes how things change over time, and can predict how they will change in the future. The name "calculus" was the Latin word for a small stone the ancient Romans used in counting and gambling. The English word "calculate" comes from the same Latin word. Differential calculus Differential calculus is used to find the rate of change of a variable—compared to another variable. Variables can change their value. This is different from numbers because numbers are always the same. For example, the number 1 is always equal to 1, and the number 200 is always equal to 200. One often writes variables as letters such as the letter x: "x" can be equal to 1 at one point and 200 at another.

Some examples of variables are distance and time, because they can change. The speed of an object is how far it travels in a particular time. So if a town is 80 kilometres (50 miles) away and a person in a car gets there in one hour, they have traveled at an average speed of 80 kilometres (50 miles) per hour. But this is only an average: they travelled faster at some times (say on a highway), and slower at other times (say at a traffic light or on a small street where people live). Certainly it is more difficult for a driver to figure out a car's speed using only its odometer (distance meter) and clock—without a speedometer. Until calculus was invented, the only way to work this out was to cut the time into smaller and smaller pieces, so the average speed over the smaller time would get closer and closer to the actual speed at a point in time. This was a very long and hard process, and had to be done each time people wanted to work something out.

Differential calculus is also useful for graphing. A very similar problem is to find the slope (how steep it is) at any point on a curve. The slope of a straight line is easy to work out — it is simply how much it goes up or down (y or vertical) divided by how much it goes across (x or horizontal). On a curve, however, the slope is a variable (has different values at different points) because the line bends. But if the curve was to be cut into very, very small pieces, the curve at the point would look almost like a very short straight line. So to work out its slope, a straight line can be drawn through the point with the same slope as the curve at that point. If this is done exactly right, the straight line will have the same slope as the curve, and is called a tangent. But there is no way to know (without complex mathematics) whether the tangent is exactly right, and our eyes are not accurate enough to be certain whether it is exact or simply very close.

What Newton and Leibniz found was a way to work out the slope (or the speed in the distance example) exactly, using simple and logical rules. They divided the curve into an infinite number of very small pieces. They then chose points on either side of the range they were interested in and worked out tangents at each. As the points moved closer together towards the point they were interested in, the slope approached a particular value as the tangents approached the real slope of the curve. The particular value it approached was the actual slope.

Given a function . f is short for function, so this equation means "y is a function of x". This tells us that how high y is on the vertical axis depends on what x (the horizontal axis) is at that time. For example, with the equation , we know that if is 1, then will be 1; if is 3, then will be 9; if is 20, then will be 400. The slope of the tangent line produced using this method here is , or 2 multiplied by . So we know without having to draw any tangent line at any point on the curve that the derivative, often written as (marked with the prime symbol), will be at any point. This process of working out a slope using limits is called differentiation, or finding the derivative. The way to write the derivative in mathematics is

Leibniz came to the same result, but called h "", which means "with respect to x". He called the resulting change in "", which means "a tiny amount of y". Leibniz's notation is used by more books, because it is easy to understand when the equations become more complicated. In Leibniz notation: . Mathematicians have grown this basic theory to make simple algebra rules—which can be used to find the derivative of almost any function. In the real world, calculus can be used to find the speed of a moving object, or to understand how electricity and magnetism work. It is very important for understanding physics—and many other areas of science. Integral calculus Integral calculus is the process of calculating the area underneath a graph of a function. An example is calculating the distance a car travels: if one knows the speed of the car at different points in time and draw a graph of this speed, then the distance the car travels will be the area under the graph.

The way to do this is to divide the graph into many very small pieces, and then draw very thin rectangles under each piece. As the rectangles become thinner and thinner, the rectangles cover the area underneath the graph better and better. The area of a rectangle is easy to calculate, so we can calculate the total area of all the rectangles. For thinner rectangles, this total area value approaches the area underneath the graph. The final value of the area is called the integral of the function. In mathematics, the integral of the function f(x) from a  to b, is written as . Main idea of calculus The main idea in calculus is called the fundamental theorem of calculus. This main idea says that the two calculus processes, differentiation and integration, are inverses of each other. That is, a person can use differentiation to undo an integration process. Also, a person can use integration to undo a differentiation. This is just like using division to "undo" multiplication, or addition to "undo" subtraction.

In a single sentence, the fundamental theorem runs something like this: "The derivative of the integral of a function f is the function itself". Applications of calculus Calculus is used to describe things that change, like things in nature. It can be used for showing and learning all of these: How waves move. Waves are very important in the natural world. For example, sound and light can be thought of as waves. Where heat moves, like in a house. This is useful for architecture (building houses), so that the house can be as cheap to heat as possible. How very small things like atoms act. How fast something will fall, also known as gravity. How machines work, also known as mechanics. The path of the moon as it moves around the earth. Also, the path of the earth as it moves around the sun, and any planet or moon moving around anything in space. Related pages Calculus of variations Derivative (mathematics) Difference quotient Mathematical analysis Multivariable calculus Vector calculus References

A coin is a piece of metal that is used as currency, or money. The earliest coins were in Lydia, in what is Turkey today, in 7th Century BC. They were made from electrum, an alloy found in riverbeds. Most people use coins as currency. They usually have lower value than banknotes. Most are made in government mints. Appearance Many coins have unique or complicated decorations; one side often has the picture of a king or ither important person's head on it. The different decorations on each side of a coin might be used to decide things randomly. This is called "tossing a coin". A person can throw the coin into the air and catch it. You then look at which side is facing up. If the head is facing up it is called "heads", if the other side is facing up it is called "tails". Before tossing the coin someone has to decide what each side means. Tossing a coin can be a type of gambling, which is illegal (against the law) in some countries. Collecting

Collecting Because coins have been made for a very long time, some people collect old coins. They can be much cheaper than other old things, especially if they are made of cheap metals like copper. Older coins normally cost more than newer ones, but rarity matters more-some coins from the 1920s cost vast sums, while some Roman coins cost very little. References

A conceptual metaphor or cognitive metaphor is a metaphor which refers to one domain (group of ideas) in terms of another. For example, treating quantity in terms of direction: Prices are rising. I attacked every weak point in his argument. (Argument as war rather than enquiry or search for truth). Life is a journey. Love talked about as if it were war or competition. Time talked about as if it were a path through space, or a quantity that can be saved or spent or wasted. The idea of a conceptual metaphor came from a book by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson in 1980: Metaphors we live by. "The most recent linguistic approach to literature is that of cognitive metaphor, which claims that metaphor is not a mode of language, but a mode of thought". Donald Freeman. A convention is to write conceptual metaphors in small capital letters, e.g. , with the target domain (idea being referred to) first, here "money," and the source domain (terms used to refer to it) second.

Political metaphors eminence grise: literally, "grey man," from French. Colloquially, the power-behind-the-throne. An official close to the president or monarch who has so much power behind the scenes that he or she may double or serve as the monarch. figurehead: a leader whose powers are entirely symbolic, such as a constitutional monarch. puppet government: a government that is manipulated by a foreign power for its own interests. star chamber: a secretive council or other group within a government that possesses the actual power, regardless of the government's overt form. character assassination: spreading (usually) manufactured stories about a candidate with the intent to destroy his or her reputation in the eyes of the public. landslide victory: a huge victory for one side. riding coattails: victories by local or state politicians because of the popularity of more powerful politicians. grassroots: a political movement driven by the constituents of a community.

astroturfing: public relations campaigns in politics and advertising that try to create the impression of being spontaneous, grassroots behavior. straw man: the practice of refuting an argument that is weaker than one's opponent actually offers, or which he simply has not put forth at all. A type of logical fallacy. spin (public relations): a heavily biased portrayal of an event or situation. witch-hunt: the hysterical pursuit of political enemies bread and circuses: satisfaction of shallow or immediate desires of the populace at the expense of good policy; also, the erosion of civic duty and the public life in a populace.

There are many more, enough to prove the importance of the metaphor in our lives. Notes Metaphors

Crust is a piece of bread where the edge where it is harder and darker. Crust can also mean: Crust (geology) - the outer solid layer of a planet such as the Earth but other planets also. On Earth the crust can be divided into: continental crust on which the land of the planet Earth sits oceanic crust which forms most of the ocean floor

Comedy (from ), in modern times, is an entertainment with generally funny content. It is able to make people laugh. This definition was used for theatre plays, and was first used in Ancient Greece. Aristotle defined this as “Comedy is, as an imitation of characters of a lower type- not, however, in the full sense of the word bad, the ludicrous being merely a subdivision of the ugly. It consists in some defect or ugliness which is not painful or destructive. To take an obvious example, the comic mask is ugly and distorted, but does not imply pain.” To him, the lampooners became writers of Comedy and the truly artistic ones became writers of Tragedy. Comedy is also a media genre that is for television shows or movies that are either funny or silly. People who are known for acting in comedies are termed as comedians or comedic actors. History Satire The ancient Greeks had comedies, which were presented in competitions at the festival of Dionysia.

One of the best-known comedy authors of the time was Aristophanes (about 446386 BC). One of his works, The Clouds was performed 425 BC. The work did not survive completely, but a later version did survive. It is a satire against Socrates, and pictures the great philosopher as a swaggering con artist. Some of the accusations were re-used at Socrates' trial, twenty years later. Typical for satire are that the author criticizes society, and living people. Satyr plays Another type of Ancient Greek theatre was the satyr play. This was mock drunkenness, brazen sexuality (including phallic props), pranks, sight gags, and general merriment. The modern equivalent would be knock-about comedy. Humour Humour, or 'New Comedy' is not about criticizing people or ideas, but rather about showing characters in funny situations. The most important Greek playwright of this type was probably Menander. The best known Roman comedy writer was Plautus. He often used Greek comedies for his plays.

Many comedy plays were written in the 1500s by the British writer William Shakespeare. Shakespeare's comedy plays include: All’s Well That Ends Well, The Comedy of Errors, A Midsummer Nights Dream, and Twelfth Night. In Shakespeare's day a comedy did not mean a play that would make people laugh or that had a lot of jokes. Instead it was a play in which all the problems work out all right in the end. This was unlike a tragedy, where the problems do not work out, usually resulting in someone's death. The two masks, one was smiling, the other crying, often associated with theatre represent comedy and tragedy. Types Slapstick There are different types of comedy. One type of comedy is called "slap stick comedy." In "slap stick comedy," people do silly things such as tripping, falling over or embarrassing themselves just to make people laugh. Slap stick comedy can be used in comedy movies or comedy television shows.

Slap stick comedy was used a lot in silent (no sound) movies from the 1920s. A comedian who acted in the silent movies who used a lot of slapstick comedy was Charlie Chaplin. In the 1950s and 1960s, comedian Jerry Lewis also used silly slap stick comedy in his comedy movies. Comedy movies A comedy is a very popular type of movie. Some comedy movies have "slapstick comedy," in which people just do silly things such as tripping, falling over or embarrassing themselves just to make people laugh. Other comedy movies show funny stories or situations in which people are behaving in a silly manner. Some comedies make the audience laugh by showing strange or unusual images or situations that do not make sense. Parody/Spoof A parody or spoof movie imitates or exaggerates another person or movie to make them seem silly, dumb, or just plain out of it.

Different types of comedy movies Some types of comedy movies mix comedy with other types of movies. There is a type of movie called a dramedy, which is a mix of a drama movie and a comedy movie. There is also a type of movie called a romantic comedy (sometimes called a "rom-com"). In romantic comedies, there is a love story about a couple who fall in love, along with silly or funny comedy parts. Comedy television shows Comedy shows are very popular on television. Comedy shows on television are often called "sitcoms." The word "sitcom" is a shortened way of saying "situational comedy." Television situational comedies usually show characters who do silly or funny things which make the audience laugh. Related pages Comedian Opera buffa Genres

A comet is a ball of mostly ice that moves around in outer space. Comets are often described as "dirty snowballs". They are very different from asteroids. The orbital inclinations of comets are usually high and not near the ecliptic where most solar system objects are found. Most of them are long-period comets and come from the Kuiper belt. That is very far away from the Sun, but some of them also come near enough to Earth for us to see at night. They have long "tails", because the Sun melts the ice. A comet's tail does not trail behind it, but points directly away from the Sun, because it is blown by the solar wind. The hard centre of the comet is the nucleus. It is one of the blackest things (lowest albedo) in the solar system. When light shone on the nucleus of Halley's Comet, the comet reflected only 4% of the light back to us. Periodic comets visit again and again. Non-periodic or single-apparition comets visit only once.

Comets sometimes break up, as Comet Biela did in the 19th century. Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 broke up, and the pieces hit Jupiter in 1994. Some comets orbit (go around) together in groups. Astronomers think these comets are broken pieces that used to be one object. Famous comets Halley's Hale-Bopp Shoemaker-Levy 9 Ikeya seki

History of comets For thousands of years, people feared comets. They did not know what they were, or where they came from. Some thought that they were fireballs sent from demons or gods to destroy the earth. They said that each time a comet appeared, it would bring bad luck with it. Whenever a comet appeared, a king would die. For example, the Bayeux Tapestry shows the return of Halley's Comet and the death of a king. Comets were also known to end wars and thought to bring famine. During the Renaissance, astronomers started to look at comets with less superstition and to base their science on observations. Tycho Brahe reasoned that comets did not come from the earth, and his measurements and calculations showed that comets must be six times farther than the earth is from the moon. Edmond Halley reasoned that some comets are periodic, that is, they appear again after a certain number of years, and again and again. This led to the first prediction of a comet's return, Halley's Comet, named after him.

Isaac Newton also studied comets. He realised that comets make U-turns around the sun. He asked his friend Edmond Halley to publish this in his book Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica. Before Newton said this, people believed that comets go in to the sun, then another comes out from behind the sun. In later years, some astronomers thought comets were spit out by planets, especially Jupiter. All this new information and research gave people confidence, but some still thought that comets were messengers from the gods. One 18th century vision said that comets were the places that hell was, where souls would ride, being burned up by the heat of the sun and frozen by the cold of space. In modern times, space probes have visited comets to learn more about them. Related pages List of comets Other websites Are Comets Made of Antimatter?

Cytology is the study of the cells, especially their appearance and structure. Cells are the small parts that make up all living things, and their effects on each other and their environment. There are two types of cells. Prokaryotic cells do not have a clear and easy-to-see nucleus, and do not have a membrane, or wall, around them. Eukaryotic cells have an easy-to-see nucleus where all of the cell's functions take place, and a membrane around them. The main organelles of a cell and their uses are: Mitochondria: produces energy for the cell Endoplasmic reticulum: makes proteins and carbohydrates for the cell to use Golgi bodies: store and package products that the cell uses Plastid (present in plant cells only): contains chemicals needed to photosynthesize (create energy from sunlight); in plants only. Nucleus: directs the actions of the cell Centrosomes: guides the cell in mitosis and meiosis, the processes for cell division.

Related pages Cell biology is mostly about how cells work, and about cell division and molecular biology. Histology deals with techniques for looking at tissues under a microscope. Cytopathology is a medical discipline that deals with techniques for looking at cells under a microscope. Molecular biology

A Christian () is a person who believes in Christianity, a monotheistic religion. Christianity is mostly about the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, in the New Testament and interpreted or prophesied in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. Christianity is the world's largest religion, with 2.1 billion followers around the world. Views of the Bible Christians consider the Holy Bible to be a sacred book, inspired by God. The Holy Bible is a combination of the Hebrew Bible, or Torah, and a collection of writings called the New Testament. Views on the importance of these writings vary. Some Christian groups prefer to favor the New Testament, while others believe the entire Bible is equally important. Also, while many Christians prefer to consider the Bible as fully true, not all Christian groups believe that it is completely accurate.

Who is a Christian? The question of "Who is a Christian?" can be very difficult. Christians often disagree over this due to their differences in opinion on spiritual matters. In countries where most persons were baptized in the state church or the majority Christian church, the term "Christian" is a default label for citizenship or for "people like us". In this context, religious or ethnic minorities can use "Christians" or "you Christians" as a term for majority members of society who do not belong to their group - even in a very secular (though formally Christian) society.

Persons who are more devoted the their Christian faith prefer not to use the word so broadly, but only use it to refer to those who are active in their Christian religion and really believe the teachings of Jesus and their church. In some Christian movements (especially Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism), to be a born-again Christian is to undergo a "spiritual rebirth" by believing in the Bible's teachings about Jesus and choosing to follow him. Church life Many Christians choose to go to church. Most Christians believe this to be a sign of their religious devotion to God and an act of worship. However, some Christian groups think that one can be a Christian without ever going to a church. Though there are many different viewpoints on the issue, most Protestants believe all Christians are part of the spiritual church of Christ, whether or not those Christians go to an actual church each week. On the other hand, Catholics in the past have believed that the Holy Catholic Church is the only true church.

Related pages Christianity Religion Salvation Meitei Christians References Christians

Origin People have been making cheese since before history was written down. It is not known when cheese was first made. It is known that cheese was eaten by the Sumerians in about 4000 BC. Classification There are many different ways to classify cheeses. Some ways include: How long the cheese was aged The texture of the cheese. These include Hard, Soft and Softer. How the cheese was made What type of milk was used to make the cheese. This is mainly what animal the milk comes from, such as cows, sheep, and goats. The diet of the animal can also affect the type of cheese made from its milk. How much fat is in the cheese What color the cheese is (common colors are yellow, and white) There are also man-made foods that some people use instead of cheese. These are called Cheese analogues. Different types of cheese include: References Other websites Basic English 850 words

The constitution of a country (or a state) is a special type of law document that tells how its government is supposed to work. It tells how the country's leaders are to be chosen and how long they get to stay in office, how new laws are made and old laws are to be changed or removed based on law, what kind of people are allowed to vote and what other rights they are guaranteed, and how the constitution can be changed. Limits are put on the Government in how much power they have within the Constitution (see Rule of Law ). On the other hand, countries with repressive or corrupt governments frequently do not stick to their constitutions, or have bad constitutions without giving freedom to citizens and others. This can be known as dictatorship or simply "bending the rules". A Constitution is often a way of uniting within a Federation.

The UK's constitution is not written in one single document like many other countries' are. In fact, the UK's constitution is not completely written down at all. Some of it can be found in writing, starting with the Magna Carta of 1215 and the Bill of Rights Act 1689 and including more modern Acts of Parliament. Other parts of it are considered common law and are made up of the decisions of judges over many hundreds of years in a system called legal or judicial precedence. Because of this, some people say that the United Kingdom has a de facto or "unwritten" constitution. The United States in 1787 began a trend in the writing of constitutions. The United States Constitution is also the shortest that people are still using, and it has been changed (amended) many times over the years. It was made after the colonists won their independence from Britain. At first they had the Articles of Confederation but the Articles were replaced with today's Constitution.

The Indian constitution of 1950 is the longest ever written constitution in the world. It originally consisted of 395 Articles arranged under 22 Parts and 8 Schedules. As of 2021, it has 470 Articles, 12 schedules, and 25 Parts with 5 appendices and 98 amendments. Related pages Constitutional law Constitutionalism Constitutional economics Democracy International law Jurisprudence Rule of law Social contract US Constitution References

A circle, also known as a nought, is a round, two-dimensional shape. All points on the edge of the circle are at the same distance from the center. The radius of a circle is a line from the center of the circle to a point on the side. Mathematicians use the letter for the length of a circle's radius. The center of a circle is the point in the very middle. It is often written as . The diameter (meaning "all the way across") of a circle is a straight line that goes from one side to the opposite and right through the center of the circle. Mathematicians use the letter for the length of this line. The diameter of a circle is equal to twice its radius ( equals times ): The circumference (meaning "all the way around") of a circle is the line that goes around the center of the circle. Mathematicians use the letter for the length of this line.

The number (written as the Greek letter pi) is a very useful number. It is the length of the circumference divided by the length of the diameter ( equals divided by ). As a fraction the number is equal to about or (which is closer) and as a number it is about . The area, , inside a circle is equal to the radius multiplied by itself, then multiplied by ( equals times times ). Calculating π can be measured by drawing a circle, then measuring its diameter () and circumference (). This is because the circumference of a circle is always equal to times its diameter. can also be calculated by only using mathematical methods. Most methods used for calculating the value of have desirable mathematical properties. However, they are hard to understand without knowing trigonometry and calculus. However, some methods are quite simple, such as this form of the Gregory-Leibniz series:

While that series is easy to write and calculate, it is not easy to see why it equals . A much easier way to approach is to draw an imaginary circle of radius centered at the origin. Then any point whose distance from the origin is less than , calculated by the Pythagorean theorem, will be inside the circle: Finding a set of points inside the circle allows the circle's area to be estimated, for example, by using integer coordinates for a big . Since the area of a circle is times the radius squared, can be approximated by using the following formula: Calculating measures of a circle Area Using the radius: Using the diameter: Using the circumference: Circumference Using the radius: Using the diameter: Using the area: Diameter Using the radius: Using the circumference: Using the area: Radius Using the diameter: Using the circumference: Using the area: Related pages Semicircle Sphere Squaring the circle Pi Tau References Other websites

Other websites Calculate the measures of a circle online Shapes Conic sections

Capitalization (North American spelling), or capitalisation (British spelling), is a process to make one letter or more uppercase. The first letter of a sentence is capitalised in many languages, as are the first letters of proper nouns such as names of people and places. In German, however, all nouns are capitalized.. In the Latin alphabet, which is used in English, these are the uppercase or capital letters: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z These are the lowercase or small letters: a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z The homonym capitalize is a different word, and means "to fully fund as an investment". Spelling

Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean Sea. The country is made up of the big island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud island (Isle of Youth), and many smaller islands. Havana is the capital city of Cuba. It is the largest city. The second largest city is Santiago de Cuba. In Spanish, the capital is called "La Habana". Cuba is near the United States, Mexico, Haiti, Jamaica and the Bahamas. People from Cuba are called Cubans (cubanos in Spanish). The official language is Spanish. Cuba is warm all year. In 1492, Christopher Columbus landed on the island of Cuba. He claimed it for the Kingdom of Spain. Cuba became a Spanish colony until the Spanish–American War of 1898. After the war, it was part of the United States. It gained independence in 1902.

In 1959, guerrilla fighters led by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara overthrew Cuba's dictator, Fulgencio Batista, in what became the Cuban Revolution. Castro began making relations with the Soviet Union and tried to close a lot of American businesses in Cuba; the United States did not like this. In 1961 Castro officially announced that his government was socialist. The US attempted to invade Cuba to regain control of it and overthrow its communist-led government but failed. The Communist Party of Cuba was created in 1965 and has ruled the island ever since. Today, Cuba is the only socialist state outside of Asia, in the Caribbean, and in the western hemisphere. Culture Cuba is famous for many types of music, especially dance music such as the Salsa and Mambo. Because Cubans have ancestors from Spain, Africa, South America and North America, Cuban music is special and different.

Reading is very popular in Cuba. Many people especially enjoy reading books or things that come from outside the country, even though the government does not approve of this. They also love music and sports. Cuban music is very lively. This is because a lot of it comes from African and Spanish rhythms. Baseball, basketball, and athletics events are loved by many Cuban people. The Chiefs football-team took at one Football-World-Cup part. In 1938, they reached the quarter-final and lost against Sweden 0:8. History

History Early history Before Cuba was conquered by the Spaniards, three tribes lived on the island. They were the Taínos, the Ciboneys, and the Guanajatabeyes. The Taínos were the largest and most common of the three tribes. They farmed crops such as beans, corn, squash, and yams. The Taínos also slept in hammocks, which the Spaniards would introduce to the rest of the world. Then, in 1492, Christopher Columbus arrived in Cuba on his first trip to the Americas. Three years later, he claimed the islands for the Spanish. The Spanish began to rule Cuba afterwards. The Spanish brought thousands of slaves from Africa to Cuba to work for them. Most of the native Cubans died because of the new diseases brought by the Spanish and Africans. The Spanish also treated the native Cubans very cruelly and massacred many of them.

The Spanish ruled for many years. Cuba became the most important producer of sugar. In the early 1800s, Cubans rebelled against the Spanish rulers, but failed until 1898, when the United States went to war with the Spanish and defeated them. Cuba became American for four years afterwards, before it became an independent republic in 1902. Even though Cuba was independent, the Americans still controlled the island by a law called the Platt Amendment. In 1933 the Cubans stopped the Platt Amendment, but the Americans still had a big say in Cuban politics. Americans owned most of Cuba’s businesses. The Americans supported the leader Fulgencio Batista, who was seen by many Cubans as corrupt.

In addition to political control, the United States also exercised significant control over the Cuban economy. At the time, Cuba was a monoculture economy. While they produced coffee, tobacco, and rice, they relied primarily on sugar. Thus, they were known by other countries as the "sugar bowl of the world." The United States bought sugar from the Republic of Cuba at a price higher than the global standard. In exchange, Cuba was to give preference to the United States, and its industries. Cuba depended on the United States and their investments. Cuba was not industrialized and needed the revenue for goods and oil. They also needed the US investment for gas, electricity, communications, railways, and banks. While Cuban workers had better conditions than other countries in the continent, they still faced inequality, lack of infrastructure, high illiteracy rates, and a lack of full-time work (the sugar industry was seasonal).

Cuban Revolution In 1959, Fidel Castro led a revolution against Fulgencio Batista. Castro took power in Cuba with Che Guevara from Argentina, his brother Raul, and others who fought against Batista. Castro made many changes to Cuba. He ended American ownership of Cuban businesses. This made Castro unpopular in America and the United States banned all contact with Cuba. Many Cubans went to America because of this. In 1961, the Americans helped some of these Cubans to attack Cuba and try to remove Castro, but they failed. Castro then asked the Soviet Union to help defend them from the Americans, which they did. The Soviet Union put nuclear weapons in Cuba and aimed them at the United States. American President Kennedy demanded that they be removed or a new war would begin. This was known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Soviet Union removed the missiles when the United States agreed to not continue attacking Cuba and to remove missiles from Turkey.

Cuba became a communist-led country like the Soviet Union after this. The Soviet Union bought most of Cuba’s sugar for expensive prices. Cuba spent this money on health, education and the army. This made Cuba’s schools and hospitals some of the best in the world. The army fought in Africa to support black Africans against the white South African army. Cuba also supported groups in South America fighting against the dictators of those countries. However, the Cuban government began to control most of life in Cuba under the communist system. Disagreeing with the Cuban government and Fidel Castro in public was not allowed. Some Cubans did not like this and tried to leave Cuba. Most Cubans who left went to the United States. Some Cubans who did not like the government and stayed were put in jail. Many groups from around the world protested against Cuba because of this, and demanded that Fidel Castro give up power.

In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed. This meant that Cuba, which had sold most of its products to the Soviet Union, had no money coming into the country. The Americans made the restrictions against contact with Cuba tighter. America said the restrictions on contact would continue unless Fidel Castro gave up power. Cuba became very poor in the 1990s. This became known in Cuba as “The Special Period”. Because of the disaster, Cuba changed to allow less control by the government, more discussion amongst the people, and private shops and businesses. Cuba also tried to get tourists to visit the island. In the 2000s, tourism to Cuba began to make money for the island again. Though Fidel Castro had remained in power, he had passed all duties to his brother Raul after an illness. Fidel Castro was one of the longest-serving heads of state. In 2018, Miguel Díaz-Canel became the official President of Cuba.

In April 2015, historic talks took place with US President Obama and Cuban General Secretary Raúl Castro in improving relations between the two nations. The trade embargo issued by President Kennedy in the 1960s has been considerably loosened under Obama's administration. US citizens can now travel directly to Cuba at certain times of the year. Before, Americans had to go via Mexico if they wanted to go to Cuba. Americans are still not allowed to purchase or smoke Cuban cigars. The cigars are smuggled over the US-Canadian border since they are legal in Canada. For military service, men from the age of 17 to 28 years old must go into the army for two years. It is optional for women. In July 2021, there were demonstrations against the government. See the English Wikipedia article, 2021 Cuban protests, for details. Administrative divisions The country is divided into 15 provinces and one special municipality (Isla de la Juventud). The provinces are divided into municipalities.

Demographics The population of Cuba is close to 13 million. The people of Cuba come from three different groups. The largest group is the descendants of the Spanish settlers who came to Cuba. The smallest group is the descendants of the black African slaves who were brought in to do the work and birth children (in the barracoon) as New World slaves who could be legally sold into life time bondage in the United States. The middle-sized group is a mix of African and Spanish. The government succeeded in seeing that the three different groups were treated the same. According to a DNA Caribbean Studies Institute, the racial-makeup of the population of Cuba is:

European Cubans descend from settlers that came during the very late 15th century and onward. Most white Cubans came from many different parts of Spain, but the most numerous were the Canary Islanders, Andalusians, and Catalans. There was as well some French, Italian and English peoples. Whites makeup approximately 30% of Cuba's population as of 2012, and they mostly populate the western part of Cuba, specially cities like Havana and Pinar del Rio. These brought with them their language, religions, music and others.

Africans and Mulatto Cubans descend from the arrival of African slaves that came from various parts of Africa but the most numerous were West Africans. There were also more than 500,000 Haitians that came to Cuba during the Haitian Revolution days. Most Cuban slaves tended to come from the Kongo and Yoruba tribes, there were also the Igbos, Ewes, Fons, Fulas, Mandinkas and some others. Afro-Cubans range enormously from 33.9 percent to 70 percent of the population, and they are mostly concentrated in the east parts of Cuba. These brought with them their instruments, reigion (Santeria), and customs to the Cuban culture.

Mediterranean Cubans are about 3% of the population, however; one must know that a lot of the Southern Spaniard Cuban descendants have good portion of Moor blood in their family lines; due to the close proximate Spain is to North Africa. Many Mediterranean Cubans came during the 1820s-1880s and sometimes onward. These are most concentrated in the East specially cities like Guantanamo Bay. They brought much of their foods and cuisines to Cuba and a few vocabularies.

Health and education Cuba is a developing country, and is often depicted as a very poor country. In some aspects, however, like education, health care and life expectancy it ranks much better than most countries in Latin America. Its infant death rate is lower than some developed countries. The average life expectancy is 78 years. All the children are required to go to school from six to twelve years old, and nearly everybody is able to read and write at least. There is free education at every level. Because of this, Cuba has a 99.8% literacy rate. In 2006, the World Food Programme certified Cuba to be the only country in this region without undernourished children. In the same year, the United Nations said that Cuba was the only nation in the world that met the World Wide Fund for Nature's definition of sustainable development. Geography

Geography Cuba is the largest island in the West Indies. It has many resources. Only about one-fourth of the land is mountains or hills. Much of the land is gentle hills or plains which are good for farming or raising cattle. Cuba has fertile soil and a mostly warm and humid climate that makes it a great place for growing crops.

Sugar is the most important crop of Cuba, and they may get it from the sugar cane. Sugar cane is the largest cash crop grown in Cuba, and it brings in most of the money. After that, the second is tobacco. Tobacco is made into cigars by hand. A hand-made cigar is considered by many people to be the finest in the world. Other important crops are rice, coffee, and fruit. Cuba also has many minerals. Cobalt, nickel, iron, copper, and manganese are all on the island. Salt, petroleum, and natural gas are there too. The coast of Cuba has many bays and a few good harbors. Havana, which is the capital, is also a port. Other harbors have port cities. Nuevitas is a port city on the north coast. Cienfuegos, Guantánamo, and Santiago de Cuba are some of the port cities on the south coast.

Cuba has a semi-tropical climate. That means that the cool ocean winds keep it from becoming hot, despite it being in the tropical zone. Cuba has a wet season and a dry season. The dry season is from November to April, and the wet season is from May to October. August to October is also the hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean. Because of this, most of Cuba's port cities can be flooded along the coast. Related pages Cuba at the Olympics Cuba national football team List of rivers of Cuba References Spanish-speaking countries Caribbean Community Current dictatorships

A cube is a type of polyhedron with all right angles and whose height, width and depth are all the same. It is a type of rectangular prism, which is itself a type of hexahedron. A cube is one of the simplest mathematical shapes in space. Something that is shaped like a cube can be called cubic. Surface area of cube=6l^2 Lateral Surface area of cube=4l^2 Volume of cube=l^3 Relative 2-dimensional shape The basic difference between a cube and a square is, a cube is a 3D figure (having 3 dimensions) i.e. length, breadth and height while a square has only 2 dimensions i.e. length and breadth. The 2-dimensional (2D) shape (like a circle, square, triangle, etc.) that a cube is made of is squares. The sides (faces) of a cube are squares. The edges are straight lines. The corners (vertices) are at right angles. A cube has 8 corners, 12 edges and 6 faces, as in the most usual kind of dice. A tesseract carries this idea into the fourth dimension (4D) and is made of 8 cubes.

Volume The volume of a cube is the length of any one of the edges (they are all the same length so it does not matter which edge is used) cubed. This means you multiply the number by itself, and then by itself again. If the edge is named 'd' (See Diagram), the equation would be this: Volume=d×d×d (or Volume=d3). Cube-shaped figures Dice Boxes Platonic solids

Cost of living is the amount of money it costs just to live in a certain place. It includes food, housing, etc. Economic indicators

December (Dec.) is the twelfth and last month of the year in the Gregorian calendar, coming between November (of the current year) and January (of the following year). It has 31 days. With the name of the month coming from the Latin decem for "ten", it was the tenth month of the year before January and February were added to the Roman calendar. December always begins on the same day of the week as September, and ends on the same day of the week as April. December's flower is the Narcissus. Its birthstone is the turquoise. Some of the holidays celebrated in December are Christmas, New Year's Eve, Kwanzaa, and Hanukkah. The Month December is the twelfth and last month of every calendar year in the Gregorian calendar, and is one of seven months of the year to have 31 days. December 31 is followed by January 1 of the following year.

December begins on the same day of the week as September every year, as each other's first days are exactly 13 weeks (91 days) apart. December ends on the same day of the week as April every year, as each other's last days are exactly 35 weeks (245 days) apart. In common years, December starts on the same day of the week as April and July of the previous year, and in leap years, October of the previous year. In common years, December finishes on the same day of the week as July of the previous year, and in leap years, February and October of the previous year. In leap years and years immediately after that, December both starts and finishes on the same day of the week as January of the previous year.

In years immediately before common years, December starts on the same day of the week as June of the following year, and in years immediately before leap years, March and November of the following year. In years immediately before common years, December finishes on the same day of the week as September of the following year, and in years immediately before leap years, March and June of the following year. December is one of two months to have a solstice (the other is June, its seasonal equivalent in both hemispheres), and in this month the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere is turned towards the Sun, meaning that December 21 or December 22 is the Northern Winter Solstice and the Southern Summer Solstice. This means that this date would have the least daylight of any day in the Northern Hemisphere, and the most in the Southern Hemisphere. There are 24 hours of darkness at the North Pole and 24 hours of daylight at the South Pole.

In mainly Christian countries, December is dominated by Christmas, which is celebrated on December 25 in most of those countries, though Eastern Orthodox Christians celebrate it on January 7. It marks the birth of Jesus Christ. Epiphany, January 6, is also important in relation to Christmas. Advent starts on the Sunday on, or closest to, November 30, and some countries have their own related celebration before the 25th. Sinterklaas is celebrated on December 5 in the Netherlands and Belgium, and St. Nicholas Day on December 6 is also celebrated in some countries. The Scandinavian countries, mainly Sweden, celebrate St. Lucia Day on December 13, while Iceland celebrates Thorlaksmessa on December 23. The week after Christmas is spent preparing for New Year. Judaism's festival of light, Hanukkah, is also celebrated over eight days in this month. Holidays and Festivals Fixed dates

December 1 - World AIDS Day December 1 - National Day of Romania December 1 - Self-government Day (Iceland) December 1 - Day of Restoration of Independence (Portugal) December 1 - First Day of Summer (Australia) December 2 - National Day of Laos December 2 - National Day of the United Arab Emirates December 2 - International Day for the Abolition of Slavery December 4 - Navy Day in India and Italy December 4 - Miners' Day (Poland) December 4 - Tupou I Day (Tonga) December 5 - Sinterklaas (Netherlands, Belgium) December 5 - Birthday of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand December 6 - Saint Nicholas Day December 6 - Independence Day (Finland) December 6 - Constitution Day (Spain) December 7 - Pearl Harbor Day (United States) December 8 - Constitution Day in Romania and Uzbekistan December 8 - Day of the Immaculate Conception (Roman Catholicism) December 9 - National Day of Tanzania December 10 - Nobel Prize Day December 10 - Constitution Day (Thailand) December 10 - Human Rights Day

December 11 - Republic Day (Burkina Faso) December 11 - Indiana Day December 11 - International Mountain Day December 12 - Independence Day (Kenya) December 12 - Our Lady of Guadalupe (Roman Catholicism) December 13 - St. Lucia Day December 14 - Alabama Day December 15 - Homecoming Day (Alderney) December 15 - Kingdom Day (Netherlands) December 15 - Zamenhof Day (Esperanto supporters) December 16 - Independence Day (Kazakhstan) December 16 - Day of Reconciliation (South Africa) December 16 - Victory Day in India and Bangladesh December 17 - National Day of Bhutan December 18 - National Day of Qatar December 18 - New Jersey Day December 18 - Republic Day (Niger) December 18 - International Migrants Day December 18 - United Nations Day of the Arabic language December 21/22 - Northern Winter Solstice and Southern Summer Solstice December 22 - Dongzhi Festival (East Asia) December 22 - Mother's Day (Indonesia) December 23 - Birthday of Emperor Akihito (Japan)

December 23 - Thorlaksmessa/St. Thorlak's Day (Iceland) December 23 - HumanLight (Secular Humanism) December 24 - Independence Day (Libya) December 24 - Christmas Eve in Western Christianity December 25 - Christmas Day in Western Christianity December 25 - Birthday of Muhammad Ali Jinnah (Pakistan) December 26 - Boxing Day (UK) December 26 - St. Stephen's Day (Republic of Ireland) December 26 - First Day of Kwanzaa December 27 - Constitution Day (North Korea) December 27 - St. Stephen's Day (Eastern Orthodox Church) December 28 - Proclamation Day (South Australia) December 28 - Day of the Holy Innocents, celebrated in Spanish-speaking countries in a similar way to April Fools' Day December 29 - Independence Day (Mongolia) December 31 - New Year's Eve/ St. Silvester's Day - known as Hogmanay in Scotland and Calennig in Wales

Moveable and Non-Single Day Events Hanukkah (Judaism) - celebrated over a period of eight days Advent in Western Christianity First Sunday in Advent occurs between November 27 and December 3 Second Sunday in Advent occurs between December 4 and December 10 Third Sunday in Advent occurs between December 11 and December 17 Fourth and final Sunday in Advent occurs between December 18 and December 24 Kwanzaa is from December 26 to January 1 Marathon races held in December Fukuoka, Japan Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Singapore Taipei, Taiwan Honolulu, Hawaii, United States Historical Events

December 1, 1918 - The Kingdom of Yugoslavia is proclaimed. On the same day, Transylvania unites with Romania. December 1, 1918 - Iceland becomes independent, but remains under the Danish crown. December 1, 1955 - A protest by Rosa Parks on an Alabama bus starts the Montgomery Bus Boycott. December 2, 1804 - Napoleon Bonaparte crowns himself Emperor of France. December 2, 1942 - A team led by Enrico Fermi initiates the first nuclear chain reaction. December 3, 1984 - A deadly chemical leak in Bhopal, India, kills 8,000 people instantly. December 5, 2013 - Former South African President and Anti-Apartheid icon Nelson Mandela dies aged 95. December 6, 1917 - Finland declares independence from Russia. December 7, 1941 - During World War II, The Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, US. December 8, 1980 - John Lennon is shot dead by Mark David Chapman. December 9, 1961 - Tanganyika becomes independent. It later merges with Zanzibar to form Tanzania.

December 10, 1901 - The first Nobel Prizes are awarded. December 11, 1936 - King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom abdicates from the throne. December 12, 1911 - Delhi becomes the capital city of India. December 12, 1963 - Kenya becomes independent from the United Kingdom. December 14, 1861 - Albert, Prince Consort of Great Britain and Ireland dies aged 42, placing Queen Victoria in a state of mourning his loss for the rest of her life. December 14, 1911 - A Norwegian expedition led by Roald Amundsen reaches the South Pole, where previously no human had ever been. December 15, 1891 - James Naismith introduces basketball. December 16, 1920 - An earthquake in Gansu province, China, kills around 200,000 people. December 16, 1991 - Kazakhstan declares independence from the Soviet Union. December 17, 1903 - The Wright brothers make their first flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. December 17, 1907 - Ugyen Wangchuck becomes King of Bhutan.

December 17, 2010 - Start of the Arab Spring, a series of uprisings across North Africa and the Middle East. December 19, 1783 - William Pitt the Younger becomes the youngest Prime Minister of Great Britain. December 20, 1999 - Portugal gives control of Macau to the People's Republic of China. December 21, 1898 - Marie and Pierre Curie announce their discovery of radium. December 21, 1913 - The first crossword puzzle is published. December 21, 1988 - A terrorist bomb explodes on Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, southern Scotland, killing 270 people. December 21, 2012 - End of the Mayan long-count calendar. December 22, 1989 - The Brandenburg Gate is re-opened. December 22, 1990 - Lech Walesa becomes President of Poland. December 23, 1972 - A major earthquake strikes Nicaragua, killing thousands of people. December 24, 1818 - The Christmas carol Silent Night is first performed at a church in Austria. December 24, 1914 - The World War I Christmas truce takes place.

December 24, 1951 - Libya becomes independent. December 24, 1968 - Apollo 8 orbits the Moon, and a stunning photograph of the Earth rising is taken. December 25, 800 - Charlemagne is crowned Holy Roman Emperor. December 25, 1066 - William the Conqueror is crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey. December 26, 1991 - The USSR collapses. December 26, 2004 - An earthquake off Sumatra, Indonesia, leads to tsunamis that kill over 300,000 people on Indian Ocean coasts, with nearby Sumatra being worst affected. December 27, 531 - Inauguration of the Hagia Sophia as a church in what was then called Byzantium. December 27, 1949 - Queen Juliana of the Netherlands officially recognizes Indonesia's independence. December 28, 1612 - Galileo Galilei observes the planet Neptune, though there is dispute as to whether he mistook it for a star. December 28, 1879 - The Tay Rail Bridge disaster on the east coast of Scotland kills 75 people.

December 28, 1895 - The Lumiere brothers open their first cinema in Paris. December 29, 1911 - Mongolia becomes independent. December 30, 1922 - The USSR is founded. December 30, 2011 - This date is skipped in Samoa as the International Date Line is shifted. December 31, 1857 - Ottawa is chosen as capital city of Canada. December 31, 1999 - The US hands control of the Panama Canal over to Panama.

Trivia The first Sunday of Advent is slightly more likely to fall in November than in December. The star signs for December are Sagittarius (November 22 to December 21) and Capricorn (December 22 to January 20). December 28 falls exactly half-way between the two Scottish celebrations of Saint Andrew's Day (November 30) and Burns Night (January 25). In a leap year, December 31 is the 366th day of the year, rather than the 365th. At the North Pole, the Sun does not rise in December; at the South Pole, it does not set. 12

Dublin () is the capital of the Republic of Ireland, and the biggest city on the island of Ireland. In 2011, there were over 1.1 million people living in the Greater Dublin Area. Dublin was built by the Vikings upon the river Liffey. The river divides the city into two parts, North Dublin and South Dublin. Many famous writers lived in Dublin. Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw were born in Dublin. James Joyce is probably Dublin's best known and most international writer. Dublin is home to Ireland's largest stadium for all sports, Croke Park. It can hold up to 85,000 people. Croke Park is the usual venue for all Ireland hurling and football finals. The Aviva Stadium hosts rugby and soccer. Notes References Other websites "The Reflecting City" Dublin GDP stats WikiSatellite view of Dublin at WikiMapia The Dublin Community Blog Satellite map of Dublin - Including local geographic features. Dublin - Tourist information. County towns in Ireland

Dance is a performing art. It is described in many ways. It is when people move to a musical rhythm, like a drum beat. They may be alone, or in a group. The dance may be an informal play, a part of a ritual, or a part of a professional performance. There are many kinds of dances, and every human society has its own dances. As with other performing arts, some people dance to express their feelings and emotions, or to feel better. Dance can be used to tell a story. In some societies, dance goes with song as well as music. Dancing is sometimes done as sport, and has similar athletic aspects. People who want to learn to dance can go to dance schools. It may take years of practice to become an experienced and capable dancer.

To plan a dance is called choreography, done by a choreographer. Often this goes with music, and fits into a certain style. Dances may be planned in detail, or they may be whatever dancers feel like doing. However, most dancing does follow some general style or pattern. One style is the couple dance, where (usually) a man and a woman dance together. Other dances need an ensemble, a group of people together to make it work. History People have always danced. Many cultures have their own dances. There are pictures, on pottery and stone, which show dances from several thousand years ago, in Egypt and Greece.