The Bee  (Arabic: الْنَّحْل; an-nahl) is the 16th chapter (sūrah) of the Qur'an, with 128 verses (āyāt). It is named after the honey bees mentioned in verse 68, and contains a comparison of the industry and adaptability of honey bees with the industry of man.

It is an earlier "Meccan surah", which means it is believed to have been revealed (asbāb al-nuzūl) in Mecca, instead of later in Medina.

Summary
This surah warns against polytheism, saying that the pagan gods cannot create anything, and against comparisons between God and any created beings. It praises God for giving the Earth with all its wealth to mankind. According to this surah, all wonders of the natural world, such as seas, stars and mountains, are proofs of God's infinite power. Verse 66 speaks of the miracle in milk formation in cattle: "From what is within their bodies, between excretions and blood, We produce for your drink, milk, pure and agreeable to those who drink it." Verse 67 speaks of the miracle of the vine: "And from the fruit of the date-palm and the vine, ye get out strong drink and wholesome food: behold, in this also is a sign for those who are wise". Quran 16:103 addresses the allegations that Muhammad has invented the Qur'an.

Text
أَتَىٰٓ أَمْرُ ٱللَّهِ فَلَا تَسْتَعْجِلُوهُ ۚ سُبْحَـٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَـٰلَىٰ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ ١ يُنَزِّلُ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةَ بِٱلرُّوحِ مِنْ أَمْرِهِۦ عَلَىٰ مَن يَشَآءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِۦٓ أَنْ أَنذِرُوٓا۟ أَنَّهُۥ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّآ أَنَا۠ فَٱتَّقُونِ ٢ خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ بِٱلْحَقِّ ۚ تَعَـٰلَىٰ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ ٣ خَلَقَ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ مِن نُّطْفَةٍۢ فَإِذَا هُوَ خَصِيمٌۭ مُّبِينٌۭ ٤ وَٱلْأَنْعَـٰمَ خَلَقَهَا ۗ لَكُمْ فِيهَا دِفْءٌۭ وَمَنَـٰفِعُ وَمِنْهَا تَأْكُلُونَ ٥In the name of God, the Gracious, the Merciful.

1. The command of God has come, so do not rush it. Glory be to Him; exalted above what they associate.

2. He sends down the angels with the Spirit by His command, upon whom He wills of His servants: "Give warning that there is no god but Me, and fear Me."

3. He created the heavens and the earth with justice. He is exalted above the associations they attribute.

4. He created the human being from a drop of fluid, yet he becomes an open adversary.

5. And the livestock—He created them for you. In them are warmth and benefits for you, and of them you eat.

6. And there is beauty in them for you, when you bring them home, and when you drive them to pasture.

7. And they carry your loads to territory you could not have reached without great hardship. Your Lord is Clement and Merciful.

8. And the horses, and the mules, and the donkeys—for you to ride, and for luxury. And He creates what you do not know.

9. It is for God to point out the paths, but some of them are flawed. Had He willed, He could have guided you all.

10. It is He Who sends down for you from the sky water. From it is drink, and with it grows vegetation for grazing.

11. And He produces for you grains with it, and olives, and date-palms, and grapes, and all kinds of fruits. Surely in that is a sign for people who think.

12. And He regulated for you the night and the day; and the sun, and the moon, and the stars are disposed by His command. Surely in that are signs for people who ponder.

13. And whatsoever He created for you on earth is of diverse colors. Surely in that is a sign for people who are mindful.

14. And it is He who made the sea to serve you, that you may eat from it tender meat, and extract from it ornaments that you wear. And you see the ships plowing through it, as you seek His bounties, so that you may give thanks.

15. And he cast mountains on the earth, lest it shifts with you; and rivers, and roads, so that you may be guided.

16. And landmarks. And by the stars they guide themselves.

17. Is He who creates like him who does not create? Will you not take a lesson?

18. And if you tried to enumerate the favors of God, you will not be able to count them. God is Forgiving and Merciful.

19. And God knows what you hide and what you disclose.

20. Those they invoke besides God create nothing, but are themselves created.

21. They are dead, not alive; and they do not know when they will be resurrected.

22. Your God is one God. As for those who do not believe in the Hereafter, their hearts are in denial, and they are arrogant.

23. Without a doubt, God knows what they conceal and what they reveal. He does not like the arrogant.

24. And when it is said to them, "What has your Lord sent down?" They say, "Legends of the ancients."

25. So let them carry their loads complete on the Day of Resurrection, and some of the loads of those they misguided without knowledge. Evil is what they carry.

26. Those before them also schemed, but God took their structures from the foundations, and the roof caved in on them. The punishment came at them from where they did not perceive.

27. Then, on the Day of Resurrection, He will disgrace them, and say, "Where are My associates for whose sake you used to dispute?" Those who were given knowledge will say, "Today shame and misery are upon the disbelievers."

28. Those wronging their souls while the angels are taking them away—they will propose peace: "We did no wrong." Yes you did. God is aware of what you used to do."

29. Enter the gates of Hell, to dwell therein forever. Miserable is the residence of the arrogant.

30. And it will be said to those who maintained piety, "What has your Lord revealed?" They will say, "Goodness." To those who do good in this world is goodness, and the Home of the Hereafter is even better. How wonderful is the residence of the pious.

31. The Gardens of Perpetuity, which they will enter, beneath which rivers flow, where they will have whatever they desire. Thus God rewards the pious.

32. Those who are in a wholesome state when the angels take them—will say, "Peace be upon you; enter Paradise, for what you used to do."

33. Are they but waiting for the angels to come to them, or for the command of your Lord to arrive? Those before them did likewise. God did not wrong them, but they used to wrong their own souls.

34. So the evils of their deeds assailed them, and what they used to ridicule engulfed them.

35. The idolaters say, "Had God willed, we would not have worshiped anything besides Him, neither us, nor our ancestors, nor would we have prohibited anything besides His prohibitions." Those before them did likewise. Are the messengers responsible for anything but clear communication?

36. To every community We sent a messenger: "Worship God, and avoid idolatry." Some of them God guided, while others deserved misguidance. So travel through the earth, and see what the fate of the deniers was.

37. Even though you may be concerned about their guidance, God does not guide those who misguide. And they will have no saviors.

38. And they swear by God with their most solemn oaths, "God will not resurrect anyone who dies." Yes indeed, it is a promise binding on Him, but most people do not know.

39. To clarify for them what they differed about, and for the faithless to know that they were liars.

40. When We intend for something to happen, We say to it, "Be," and it becomes.

41. Those who emigrate for God's sake after being persecuted, We will settle them in a good place in this world; but the reward of the Hereafter is greater, if they only knew.

42. Those who endure patiently, and in their Lord they put their trust.

43. We did not send before you except men whom We inspired. So ask the people of knowledge, if you do not know.

44. With the clarifications and the scriptures. And We revealed to you the Reminder, that you may clarify to the people what was revealed to them, and that they may reflect.

45. Do those who scheme evils feel secure that God will not cause the earth to cave in with them, or that the punishment will not come upon them from where they do not perceive?

46. Or that He will not seize them during their activities? And they will not be able to prevent it.

47. Or that He will not seize them while in dread? Your Lord is Gentle and Merciful.

48. Have they not observed what God has created? Their shadows revolve from the right and the left, bowing to God as they shrink away.

49. To God bows down everything in the heavens and everything on earth—every living creature, and the angels, and without being proud.

50. They fear their Lord above them, and they do what they are commanded.

51. God has said: "Do not take two gods; He is only One God; so fear only Me."

52. To Him belongs everything in the heavens and the earth; and to Him obedience is due always. Do you, then, fear anyone other than God?

53. Whatever blessing you have is from God. And when harm touches you, it is to Him that you groan.

54. But when He lifts the harm from you, some of you associate others with their Lord.

55. To show ingratitude for what We have given them. Enjoy yourselves. You will soon know.

56. And they allocate, to something they do not know, a share of what We have provided for them. By God, you will be questioned about what you have been inventing.

57. And they attribute to God daughters—exalted is He—and for themselves what they desire.

58. And when one of them is given news of a female infant, his face darkens, and he chokes with grief.

59. He hides from the people because of the bad news given to him. Shall he keep it in humiliation, or bury it in the dust? Evil is the decision they make.

60. Those who do not believe in the Hereafter set a bad example, while God sets the Highest Example. He is the Mighty, the Wise.

61. If God were to hold mankind for their injustices, He would not leave upon it a single creature, but He postpones them until an appointed time. Then, when their time arrives, they will not delay it by one hour, nor will they advance it.

62. And they attribute to God what they themselves dislike, while their tongues utter the lie that theirs is the goodness. Without a doubt, for them is the Fire, and they will be neglected.

63. By God, We sent messengers to communities before you, but Satan made their deeds appear alluring to them. He is their master today, and they will have a painful punishment.

64. We revealed to you the Scripture only to clarify for them what they differ about, and guidance and mercy for people who believe.

65. God sends down water from the sky, with which He revives the earth after its death. In this is a sign for people who listen.

66. And there is a lesson for you in cattle: We give you a drink from their bellies, from between waste and blood, pure milk, refreshing to the drinkers.

67. And from the fruits of date-palms and grapevines, you derive sugar and wholesome food. In this is a sign for people who understand.

68. And your Lord inspired the bee: "Set up hives in the mountains, and in the trees, and in what they construct."

69. Then eat of all the fruits, and go along the pathways of your Lord, with precision. From their bellies emerges a fluid of diverse colors, containing healing for the people. Surely in this is a sign for people who reflect.

70. God created you; then He takes you away. Some of you will be brought back to the worst age, so that he will no longer know anything, after having acquired knowledge. God is Omniscient and Omnipotent.

71. God has favored some of you over others in livelihood. Those who are favored would not give their properties to their servants, to the extent of making them partners in it. Will they then renounce God's blessings?

72. God has given you mates from among yourselves; and has produced for you, from your mates, children and grandchildren; and has provided you with good things. Will they then believe in falsehood, and refuse God's favors?

73. And yet they serve besides God what possesses no provisions for them in the heavens, nor on earth, nor are they capable.

74. So do not cite the examples for God. God knows, and you do not know.

75. God cites the example of a bonded slave, who has no power over anything; and someone to whom We have given plentiful provision, from which he gives secretly and openly. Are they equal in comparison? All praise belongs to God, but most of them do not know.

76. And God cites the example of two men: one of them dumb, unable to do anything, and is a burden on his master; whichever way he directs him, he achieves nothing good. Is he equal to him who commands justice, and is on a straight path?

77. To God belongs the unseen of the heavens and the earth. The coming of the Hour is only as the twinkling of the eye, or even nearer. God has power over everything.

78. God brought you out of your mothers' wombs, not knowing anything; and He gave you the hearing, and the eyesight, and the brains; that you may give thanks.

79. Have they not seen the birds, flying in the midst of the sky? None sustains them except God. In this are signs for people who believe.

80. And God has given you in your homes habitats for you, and has provided for you out of the hides of livestock portable homes for you, so you can use them when you travel, and when you camp; and from their wool, and fur, and hair, furnishings and comfort for a while.

81. And God has made for you shade out of what He has created, and has given you resorts in the mountains, and has given you garments to protect you from the heat, and garments to protect you from your violence. Thus He completes His blessings upon you, so that you may submit.

82. But if they turn away, your only duty is clear communication.

83. They recognize God's blessing, but then deny it, as most of them are ungrateful.

84. On the Day when We raise up a witness from every community—those who disbelieved will not be permitted, nor will they be excused.

85. When those who did wrong see the punishment, it will not be lightened for them, nor will they be reprieved.

86. And when the idolaters see their associates, they will say, "Our Lord, these are our associates whom we used to invoke besides You." They will strike back at them with the saying, "Surely you are liars."

87. On that Day they will offer their submission to God, and what they had invented will abandon them.

88. Those who disbelieve and obstruct from God's path—We will add punishment to their punishment, on account of the mischief they used to make.

89. On the Day when We raise in every community a witness against them, from among them, and bring you as a witness against these. We have revealed to you the Book, as an explanation of all things, and guidance, and mercy and good news for those who submit.

90. God commands justice, and goodness, and generosity towards relatives. And He forbids immorality, and injustice, and oppression. He advises you, so that you may take heed.

91. Fulfill God's covenant when you make a covenant, and do not break your oaths after ratifying them. You have made God your guarantor, and God knows what you do.

92. And do not be like her who unravels her yarn, breaking it into pieces, after she has spun it strongly. Nor use your oaths as means of deception among you, because one community is more prosperous than another. God is testing you thereby. On the Day of Resurrection, He will make clear to you everything you had disputed about.

93. Had God willed, He would have made you one congregation, but He leaves astray whom He wills, and He guides whom He wills. And you will surely be questioned about what you used to do.

94. And do not use your oaths to deceive one another, so that a foot may not slip after being firm, and you taste misery because you hindered from God's path, and incur a terrible torment.

95. And do not exchange God's covenant for a small price. What is with God is better for you, if you only knew.

96. What you have runs out, but what is with God remains. We will reward those who are patient according to the best of their deeds.

97. Whoever works righteousness, whether male or female, while being a believer, We will grant him a good life—and We will reward them according to the best of what they used to do.

98. When you read the Quran, seek refuge with God from Satan the outcast.

99. He has no authority over those who believe and trust in their Lord.

100. His authority is only over those who follow him, and those who associate others with Him.

101. When We substitute a verse in place of another verse—and God knows best what He reveals—they say, "You are an impostor." But most of them do not know.

102. Say, "The Holy Spirit has brought it down from your Lord, truthfully, in order to stabilize those who believe, and as guidance and good news for those who submit."

103. We are well aware that they say, "It is a human being who is teaching him." But the tongue of him they allude to is foreign, while this is a clear Arabic tongue.

104. Those who do not believe in God's revelations—God will not guide them, and for them is a painful punishment.

105. It is those who do not believe in God's revelations who fabricate falsehood. These are the liars.

106. Whoever renounces faith in God after having believed—except for someone who is compelled, while his heart rests securely in faith—but whoever willingly opens up his heart to disbelief—upon them falls wrath from God, and for them is a tremendous torment.

107. That is because they have preferred the worldly life to the Hereafter, and because God does not guide the people who refuse.

108. It is they whom God has sealed their hearts, and their hearing, and their sight. It is they who are the heedless.

109. There is no doubt that in the Hereafter they will be the losers.

110. But then your Lord—for those who emigrated after being persecuted, then struggled and persevered—your Lord thereafter is Forgiving and Merciful.

111. On the Day when every soul will come pleading for itself, and every soul will be paid in full for what it has done, and they will not be wronged.

112. And God cites the example of a town that was secure and peaceful, with its livelihood coming to it abundantly from every direction. But then it turned unappreciative of God's blessings, so God made it taste the robe of hunger and fear, because of what they used to craft.

113. A messenger from among them had come to them, but they denounced him, so the punishment seized them in the midst of their wrongdoing.

114. Eat of the lawful and good things God has provided for you, and be thankful for God's blessings, if it is Him that you serve.

115. He has forbidden you carrion, and blood, and the flesh of swine, and anything consecrated to other than God. But if anyone is compelled by necessity, without being deliberate or malicious, then God is Forgiving and Merciful.

116. And do not say of falsehood asserted by your tongues, "This is lawful, and this is unlawful," in order to invent lies and attribute them to God. Those who invent lies and attribute them to God will not succeed.

117. A brief enjoyment—then they will have a painful punishment.

118. For those who are Jews, We have prohibited what We related to you before. We did not wrong them, but they used to wrong their own selves.

119. But towards those who do wrongs in ignorance, and then repent afterwards and reform, your Lord thereafter is Forgiving and Merciful.

120. Abraham was an exemplary leader, devoted to God, a monotheist, and was not of the polytheists.

121. Thankful for His blessings. He chose him, and guided him to a straight path.

122. And We gave him goodness in this world, and in the Hereafter he will be among the righteous.

123. Then We inspired you: "Follow the religion of Abraham, the Monotheist. He was not an idol-worshiper."

124. The Sabbath was decreed only for those who differed about it. Your Lord will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection regarding their differences.

125. Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good advice, and debate with them in the most dignified manner. Your Lord is aware of those who stray from His path, and He is aware of those who are guided.

126. If you were to retaliate, retaliate to the same degree as the injury done to you. But if you resort to patience—it is better for the patient.

127. So be patient. Your patience is solely from God. And do not grieve over them, and do not be stressed by their schemes.

128. God is with those who are righteous and those who are virtuous.

References

External links
Q16:68, 50+ translations, islamawakened.com
Quran 16 Clear Quran translation
Surah An-Nahl Transliteration and Arabic Text

Nahl
Bees in popular culture

An-Nahl


For the aircraft, see P-47 Thunderbolt and A-10 Thunderbolt II.

Thunder is a very loud sound that is made sometimes during a very big rain storm.
Thunder is so loud, it can be heard from a very far distance.
It can sound like a boom, a crash, or a rumble.

Thunder is made when lightning strikes.
The energy from the lightning heats up the air so much that it makes a kind of explosion.

When lightning is very near, thunder will be heard soon after the lightning flash, and the sound will be very loud.  If the lightning is farther away, the thunder will be a few seconds or many seconds after the lightning. People can guess how far away the lightning is by counting the number of seconds between the time they see the lightning and hear the thunder.

Related pages
Thor

Basic English 850 words
Weather
Severe weather

ja:雷#雷鳴

Thunder


Cyclothymia is a mental illness characterized by mood swings - a mood disorder. The disease is a milder version of bipolar disorder. The mood swings are usually less extreme. Mood swings can be spontaneous, or triggered by an event.

Cyclothymia is also an old name for bipolar disorder.

Bipolar disorder

Cyclothymia


Merrill C.  Meigs Field Airport , was a single strip airport that operated from December 1948 until March 2003.  It was built on Northerly Island.

The airport opened on December 10, 1948, and became America's busiest single-strip airport in 1955. The air traffic tower was built in 1952 and the terminal was built in 1961.  The airfield was named for Merrill C. Meigs, an aviation enthuisist.

The airport was a common sight on the Chicago lakefront.  It was also known as the default airport in many versions of Microsoft Flight Simulator.  It was featured in Microsoft's Midtown Madness and Reflections' Driver 2 video game.  The airport is also the main location of the film Powers of Ten.

The Main Terminal was used by the Chicago Department of Aviation.  The runway at Meigs Field was .  There were four helicopter pads at the south end of the runway.

References

1948 establishments in the United States
2003 disestablishments in the United States
Airports in Chicago
1940s establishments in Illinois
2000s disestablishments in Illinois

Meigs Field


In physics, parity is a transformation in which the mirror image of a system (meaning experiment) is considered.  If the system behaves in the mirror image as it normally would, it is said to respect parity symmetry, usually shortened to "P symmetry."   Most types of physics respects P symmetry.  One type of interaction that often does not respect this symmetry is the weak interaction.

Quantum mechanics
Symmetry
Nuclear physics
Conservation

Parity


Donald Kirby Ross (December 8, 1910 – May 27, 1992) was an officer of the United States Navy who received the first Medal of Honor of World War II.  This award was made for his actions during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

Early career
Ross was born on December 8, 1910, in Beverly, Kansas. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in Denver, Colorado, on June 3, 1929, and graduated as company honorsman from basic training at Naval Station San Diego. He completed Machinist Mate School at Norfolk, Virginia, first in his class and was assigned to the transport ship  (AP-1) on a China service run.

While serving aboard the hospital ship , Ross saw his first action (with the U.S. Marines) in Nicaragua in 1931. Advancing through the ranks on the minesweeper , destroyer  and cruiser , he attained the rank of warrant officer machinist in October 1940, and was assigned to the battleship .

World War II and post-war career
During the December 7, 1941, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Nevada was badly damaged by bombs and torpedoes. Ross distinguished himself by assuming responsibility to furnish power to get the ship underway — the only battleship to do so during the Japanese attack. When the forward dynamo room where he was stationed filled with smoke and steam, he ordered his men to leave and continued servicing the dynamo himself until being blinded and falling unconscious. Upon being rescued and resuscitated, he went back to secure the forward dynamo, then worked in the aft dynamo room until losing consciousness a second time due to exhaustion. After waking, he again returned to his duties until Nevada was beached. His actions kept the ship under power, preventing it from sinking in the channel and blocking other ships in the harbor.

Despite his impaired eyesight, Ross refused hospitalization and instead helped with rescue efforts. He entered a hospital three days after the attack, and his vision returned to normal after three weeks. He returned to Nevada, December 17, 1941, remaining in the ship's company for the duration of the war. For these actions, he was presented with the Medal of Honor by Admiral Chester Nimitz on April 18, 1942, becoming the first person to receive the medal in World War II.

Ross was promoted to chief warrant machinist in March 1942 and was commissioned an ensign in June 1942.  Later in the war, he also served on Nevada during the landings at Normandy and Southern France.

He rose steadily in temporary rank to lieutenant commander by the end of the war, reverting to lieutenant at its conclusion. He again received promotion to lieutenant commander in 1949 and to commander in November 1954. Upon his retirement from active duty in July 1956, after twenty-seven years' of service aboard every type of surface ship then afloat, he was promoted to captain on the basis of his combat awards.

Later years and legacy
After leaving the Navy, Ross settled in Port Orchard, Washington, and ran a dairy farm. He and his wife, Helen, had four children: Fred, Robert, Penny, and Donna.

He wrote a book about his fellow Medal of Honor recipients with ties to Washington State — Men of Valor — published in 1980. Ross attended the 50th anniversary ceremonies at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1991, during which Ross was given the honor of introducing President George H. W. Bush.  Ross also participated in the dedication of a memorial to his old ship, the USS Nevada.

Ross died of a heart attack in Bremerton, Washington, on May 27, 1992, at age 81. His ashes were scattered at sea over the USS Nevada.

In 1997, the guided-missile destroyer  was named in his honor.

Awards

Medal of Honor citation
Ross' official Medal of Honor citation reads:

For distinguished conduct in the line of his profession, extraordinary courage and disregard of his own life during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, by Japanese forces on 7 December 1941. When his station in the forward dynamo room of the U.S.S. Nevada became almost untenable due to smoke, steam, and heat, Machinist Ross forced his men to leave that station and performed all the duties himself until blinded and unconscious. Upon being rescued and resuscitated, he returned and secured the forward dynamo room and proceeded to the after dynamo room where he was later again rendered unconscious by exhaustion. Again recovering consciousness he returned to his station where he remained until directed to abandon it.

See also
Ross, Donald K.  0755: The Heroes of Pearl Harbor, Rokalu Press, 1988.

References

External links

1910 births
1992 deaths
United States Navy personnel of World War II
Attack on Pearl Harbor
United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients
United States Navy officers
World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor
American military writers
20th-century American writers
People from Lincoln County, Kansas
Military personnel from Kansas
Burials at sea

Donald K. Ross


The L-number system is a semi-scientific classification system of catfish based on photographs of shipments of tropical catfish of the family Loricariidae published by the German aquarium magazine DATZ (Die Aquarien- und Terrarienzeitschrift (The Aquarium and Terrarium Magazine)). The first L-number was published in 1988.

An L-number is not a formal scientific designation, but it allows people to identify various loricariid catfish by a "common name" before the fish is officially described. When a loricariid receives an official scientific name, the L-number (or numbers) is retired; best practice is then to use the scientific name.

A specific L-number classification does not guarantee a discrete species, multiple L numbers have been given to different populations of the same species. To add to the confusion, sometimes a single L-number may be used for multiple species.

Additionally the aquarium magazine 'Das Aquarium' introduced a similar system using the prefix 'LDA'.

L-number catfish articles
The L-numbers are listed below in numerical order. The preceding number holds precedence over the higher or "alternative" L-numbers; but can sometimes be used to describe the same species or type from another locality.

References

Loricariidae
Fishkeeping

L-number


Exaggeration  is a term for a figure of speech.  It means the describing of something and making it more than it really is.  The verb is to not exaggerate.

An example of exaggeration would be: "I was walking along when suddenly this enormous dog walked along.  It was as big as an elephant".  The dog may have been big, but it was certainly not as big as that. Another example of exaggeration would be: "I caught a fish as big as my house."

Overstatement is another word that means almost the same thing.  The opposite of overstatement is understatement.

A  hyperbole (IPA:[haı'pɝ.bə.li]) is a type of exaggeration that is used in literature.  It is a figure of speech.  The opposite of hyperbole is hyperbole, which is an understatement.

People exaggerate things because they have strong feelings about something.  People may exaggerate to make people listen to what they say.  They may do it to emphasize something.  They may also exaggerate just to sound funny:
"I've heard that a million times"
"You've got a head the size of a pin".
 "I just ran a million miles"
People may understate because they are being modest:
"Thank you, yes, I suppose I may have helped a little" (in a situation where the person actually helped a lot).

In modern slang, the word "hype" is sometimes used about something that is getting more publicity than it really deserves.  The word hype comes from the word "hyperbole".

Related pages

 Irony
 Metaphor
 Simile
 Grammar
 Trope

References

Figures of speech

Exaggeration


Youth Art Month is a month of promoting art and art education in the United States.  It is observed in March, with thousands of American schools participating, often with the involvement of local art museums and civic organizations.

Background
Youth Art Month was founded by the Crayon, Water Color & Craft Institute, Inc., the predecessor of the Art & Creative Materials Institute, Inc. (ACMI), in cooperation with the National Art Education Association, in 1961 and was initially called Children's Art Month.  Its goal was to "emphasize the value of participating in art for all children."  It was renamed Youth Art Month in 1969, to include secondary school students.  In 1984, ACMI created the Council for Art Education, Inc. (CFAE) to oversee the annual observation of Youth Art Month.  As of 2009, CFAE consisted of representatives of: ACMI, the National Art Education Association, "The SHIP" (a group of manufacturers of art materials), and the General Federation of Women's Clubs.  The Craft & Hobby Association is also involved in Youth Art Month.

Activities

National events

The main nationwide component of Youth Art Month is a competition called School Flags Across America . . . Flying High.  As part of the competition, each state Youth Art Month Chairperson selects a theme that is representative of that state and of the spirit of Youth Art Month, and students design flags around that theme.  The winning design from each state is then made into an actual flag, and the 50 student-designed flags are then displayed throughout Washington, D.C., following an opening ceremony held the first week of March to commemorate the start of Youth Art Month.  The winning students and their families are invited to attend this opening ceremony in Washington, D.C., and the flags are displayed throughout the city for March, and then displayed at the Youth Art Month booth at the annual convention of the National Art Education Association.

State and local events

Governors and mayors throughout the United States issue proclamations declaring March as Youth Art Month, and many United States Senators, Member of Congress, and state legislators take the opportunity to make public statements in favor of art education.

Observation of Youth Art Month is carried out by volunteers around the country, including art educators, parents, librarians, leaders of youth organizations, businesspeople, and students.

Activities depend on the efforts of local volunteers, and include:

 display of student art at art museums, libraries, and other places throughout the community;
 talks, forums, and discussions on art;
 partnerships with local newspapers, radio stations, and TV stations to raise the profile of youth art and art education in the community;
 local art competitions, often with winning student art displayed somewhere prominent in the community (e.g. at local bus stops);
 cross-promotions to raise awareness of other local charities or to beautify the community;
 special events, such as sidewalk chalk displays, ice sculpture carving, and craft workshops.

External links
 CFAE booklet on Youth Art Month
 CFAE brochure on recent Youth Art Month events

Representative regional observances
 Maryland YAM Flag Contest Winners Gallery
 Iowa Youth Art Month
 California Youth Art Month
 Texas Youth Art Month
 Louisiana Youth Art Month
 Illinois Youth Art Month
 Pennsylvania Youth Art Month
 Ohio Youth Art Month
 Michigan Governor Proclaims March 2006 as Youth Art Month
 Georgia Youth Art Month
 Rhode Island Youth Art Month
 Virginia Youth Art Month
 Youth Art Month at the Museum of Fine Art, Houston
 Youth Art Month at the Worcester Art Museum
Youth Art Month Exhibit on Flickr
 Youth Performing Arts

March observances
Visual arts education
Children's art
Recurring events established in 1961
1961 establishments in the United States

Youth Art Month


Frederick Gage Todd (March 11, 1876 – February 15, 1948) was the first resident landscape architect in Canada. For the majority of his life he was one of a small group committed to the art and practice of structuring urban growth in the first half of the century.  His projects ranged from Vancouver, B.C. to St John's, Newfoundland, from the smallest scale details of garden design to a study of the nation's capital.

Chronological events

Frederick G. Todd was born March 11, 1876, in Concord, New Hampshire.  He attended the agricultural college in Amherst, Massachusetts, where he studied botany, biology, agriculture and site engineering.  After completing school in 1896 he became an apprentice as a landscape architect with the firm of Olmsted, Olmsted and Eliot, in Brookline, Massachusetts, until he moved to Montreal in 1900.  During Todd's time in Montreal he established the first resident practices of landscape architecture in Canada. In 1903 Todd prepared a comprehensive report on the future growth of the nation's capital for the Ottawa Improvement Commission. Between 1904 and 1907 Todd prepared and executed the plans for Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg and Wascana Park in Regina, and developed a prototype for future garden cities.   In 1905 he became a fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects.  Between 1907 and 1912 Frederick designed three major garden city projects in British Columbia; Shaughnessy Heights and Point Grey in Vancouver, and Port Mann on the Fraser River.  From 1913 to 1918 he designed and supervised major urban parks in Quebec City and Bowring Park in St. John's, Newfoundland as well as developed the model city plan for the town of Mount Royal Montreal.  Todd also worked as a consultant for Alcan and designed a number of private gardens and institutional grounds as well as urban parks for smaller urban communities between 1918 and 1930.  From 1930 to 1940 he designed and supervised major public works projects in Quebec during the depression including St. Helen's Island (1936), Beaver Lake in Mount Royal Park (1939) and developed a proposal for an impressive sports centre for the British Empire and Olympic games in Maisonneuve Park, Montreal (1938).  In 1939, Todd was elected president of the Quebec Horticultural Society.  In 1945, he was appointed vice-president of the City Improvement League, Montreal.  Between 1945 and 1948 he initiated plans and supervised construction of the Garden of the Way of the Cross adjacent to St. Joseph's Oratory.  On February 15, 1948, he died in Montreal at the age of 71.

Design Projects

While working under Frederick Law Olmsted's firm, Todd helped with the design plan for Mount Royal along with many houses designed by William Sutherland Maxwell and Edward Maxwell. It is said that when Frederick Todd began working on his own that his "influence on his home city of Montreal was profound", which included many works created for private or public, along with individuals and groups. Some of his works in Montreal included St. Helen's Island Park (Île Sainte-Hélène), Beaver Lake on Mount Royal and the Garden of the Way of the Cross at St. Joseph's Oratory. Todd was also the designer for some other public spaces, for example, the Plains of Abraham, the National Capital, which was the Ottawa Improvement Commission Report (Cultivating,1), Shaughnessy Heights, Bowring Park, and some design plans for Trinity College in Toronto. Todd also worked on a number of smaller projects, including some residences and works for other cities within Canada.

Todd was involved in a number of organizations including the City Improvement League (Montreal), the Olmsted Legacy, the director of the Parks and Playgrounds Association (Montreal), and the Community Garden League of Montreal. He was appointed to Montreal City Council as a representative of the City Improvement League. He was very active and "devoted much time and energy to a variety of civic institutions and was a fellow of three professional organizations: the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects  and the Town Planning Institute of Canada" (Todd, 1).

Importance

Frederick G. Todd is an influential and important figure in history for a few reasons. Although he is not a well known landscape architect, even in Canada, he created many spaces that still remain today. He was considered a "modest man whose work and ideals are little known," however he is responsible for much of Canada's beauty and usefulness (Todd, 1). Todd worked on many improvement plans for the communities that also made him very influential to most of North America. He created many designs that dealt with "parks, open spaces, public institutions, roadways, and neighborhoods," some of which were donations and gifts to the communities (CSLA, 1).

One of the most defining points of Frederick Todd as a designer was how he "popularized naturalistic landscape designs and the idea of a 'necklace of parks' as linked open spaces- a concept still used today" (OALA, 1). Many people respect Canadian landscape architects for three main features that most exhibit in their professional practices; creativity, sensitivity, and practicality. Todd was a person that, although not widely known, was considered "one of the great landscape architects and urban planners in Canada at the end of the 19th Century" who had created a respectable image as a designer that will remain prominent in Canadian history over time.

Todd was designated a National Historic Person on October 21, 2020, on the recommendation of the national Historic Sites and Monuments Board.

External links & References

Advisory Council's Report https://web.archive.org/web/20061010232956/http://www.parliamenthill.gc.ca/text/acr03_e.html

Backgrounder: American Society of Landscape Architects http://www.asla.org/nonmembers/publicrelations/backgrdrbiog.htm

Canadian Society of Landscape Architects https://web.archive.org/web/20070312060152/http://www.csla.ca/eng/engdocs/briefhis.html

City Planning and Urban Beautification http://cac.mcgill.ca/maxwells/essay/06.htm

Cultivating Canadian Gardens https://web.archive.org/web/20061028103358/http://www.collectionscanada.ca/garden/h11-2024-e.html

Frederick G. Todd http://jph.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/1/1/29

Ontario Association of Landscape Architects https://web.archive.org/web/20070930191706/http://www.oala.on.ca/articles.aspx?catID=314

The Canadian Encyclopedia Todd

Jacobs, Peter. (1983). Frederick G. Todd and the Creation of Canada's Urban Landscape.15(4).27-34

References

1876 births
1948 deaths
Canadian landscape architects
People from Concord, New Hampshire
People from Mount Royal, Quebec

Frederick Todd


Frank Frantz (May 7, 1872 – March 9, 1941) was an American Rough Rider and politician who served as the seventh and final governor of Oklahoma Territory (1906–07). Frantz ran on the Republican ticket to serve as the first Governor of the State of Oklahoma, but lost the election to Democrat Charles N. Haskell.

Early life
On May 7, 1872, Frank Frantz was born in Roanoke, Illinois, the son of Henry J. and Maria Frantz. Frantz would be educated in Illinois's public schools and would spend two years attending Eureka College. Following the opening of the Cherokee Strip on September 16, 1893, Frantz and his brothers moved to Medford in Oklahoma Territory.

Frantz would later work in California and Arizona Territory for an oil company. In 1898, while in Prescott, the capital of Arizona Territory, the Spanish–American War broke out. On May 1, 1898, at the age of 26, Frantz enlisted in the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, which the American press called the Rough Riders. Upon joining the Rough Riders, Frantz returned to Indian Territory and met the regiment's charismatic second-in-command, Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt.

Rough Riders
After joining the Rough Riders, Frantz was assigned to A Company and given the rank of First Lieutenant, where he served as the Deputy Commander under Captain William "Bucky" O'Neill. Traveling to Daiquirí, Cuba, the Rough Riders would engage, on June 24, 1898, in the Battle of Las Guasimas, the first clash between American and Spanish forces. Frantz fought valiantly and his performance caught Roosevelt's eye.

On June 30, Colonel Leonard Wood, the commander of the Rough Riders, was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. Likewise, Lt. Colonel Roosevelt was promoted to colonel and given command of the Rough Riders. On the following day, the fiercest battle of the Spanish–American War occurred: the Battle of San Juan Hill. Frantz's skill during the battle would forever gain him Roosevelt's friendship and trust. Just before the final assault on the Spanish fortifications, Captain O'Neill was warned about unnecessarily exposing himself to Spanish fire. Even as he was dismissing the danger, O'Neill was instantly killed by a bullet hitting him in the mouth. Frantz immediately took over the command and led the company to a successful charge up Kettle and San Juan Hills. After the battle concluded, in recognition of Frantz's service, Roosevelt promoted Frantz to the rank of captain and commander of A Company of the Rough Riders.

On August 12, 1898, an armistice between the United States and Spain ended the Spanish–American War. In the coming months, on December 10, 1898, with the Treaty of Paris, Spain ceded the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico to the United States and Cuba gained its independence. Although Captain Frantz would leave military service behind him, he gained an abiding friendship with Roosevelt.

Return to Oklahoma

Upon the conclusion of his military service, Captain Frantz returned to Oklahoma Territory and settled in Enid. There with his brother, Montgomery, he opened a hardware and lumber business, Frantz Brothers Hardware and Tin Shop. While in Enid, Frantz met Matilda Evans of Oklahoma City, and married her in March 1901. Their union would produce five children.

On June 20, 1900, Frantz was initiated an Entered Apprentice in Enid Lodge No. 80. By December of that same year, he would be passed to the degree of Fellowcraft. However, for reasons that are unknown, it would take a full five years since the month he was initiated to earn the degree of Master Mason (a full-fledged member of Freemasonry) on June 12, 1905. He was also a Knight Templar of the York Rite of Freemasonry, as his Templar sword is currently displayed in the Senate Lounge inside the Oklahoma Capitol building.

Public service
During this time, Roosevelt was elected vice president on the Republican ticket to serve under US President William McKinley. On September 6, 1901, President McKinley was shot at the Pan-American Exposition. McKinley died on September 14, and Roosevelt succeeded him to the presidency.

Frantz's wartime association with now President Roosevelt became a lifelong friendship. Frantz would, on several occasions, travel to the White House to spend time with the Commander-in-Chief. On his visits to the White House, Frantz, an athlete and a boxer, engaged in several matches with Roosevelt, knocking him out on three occasions.

Immediately, Frantz's friendship with the new president proved beneficial. Frantz, a fellow Republican, was named the postmaster of Enid by President Roosevelt before the end of 1901. Frantz would serve in this post for another two years, when Roosevelt appointed him Indian Agent of the Osage Agency at Pawhuska. Roosevelt again demonstrated his friendship with Frantz by elevating him to the governorship of Oklahoma Territory. Frantz assumed the office on January 5 and would be inaugurated on January 16, 1906, being the seventh and (at age 34) youngest governor to serve in the Territory's history.

Governor of Oklahoma Territory
Governor Frantz assumed control of the Territory during a time when the citizens of the Territory were seeking statehood. Thus his Governorship immediately became routine. However, Frantz would do many beneficial things for the would-be state.

Governor Frantz made an invaluable contribution to the future of Oklahoma's educational system. Immediately upon coming into office, Governor Frantz discovered that oil companies were drilling on land reserved for public buildings after statehood in Pawnee County without obtaining permission. In response, Frantz crafted a policy requiring those companies to lease the mineral rights to the state.

After the United States Congress passage of the Enabling act of 1906, Frantz set his administration into overdrive. Frantz immediately took steps to obtain the remaining amount of land in No Man's Land, what would become the Panhandle of modern Oklahoma. The Governor's agents acquired the entire federal domain within the realm of the state. Frantz leased the land to Oklahoma's farmers, earning the new state millions in revenue.

After the proposed Oklahoma Constitution was completed in early 1907, Frantz sought, and won, the Republican nomination to serve as Oklahoma's first governor. To face Frantz, the Democrats selected Charles N. Haskell, one of the proposed Constitution's main authors. Frantz would accept Haskell's challenge to joint public discussions throughout the state, and every problem concerned with the administration of the new state came up and was debated during the campaign.

During the course of the campaign, two nationally prominent figures spoke at various locations: Republican presidential nominee William Howard Taft and Democratic presidential nominee William Jennings Bryan. Though Taft supported Frantz, Taft's disapproval of Oklahoma's proposed constitution and his advice that the people vote against it caused the voters to react in favor of the Democrats. Frantz lost the race to Haskell on September 17, 1907. On the same day, the voters approved the Oklahoma Constitution into law. Soon after, Congress accepted the Constitution and Oklahoma became the 46th State on November 16. Haskell was also inaugurated on that day, resulting in the end of Frantz's term.

Later life and death
After leaving office, Frantz moved to Denver, Colorado where he resided for six years. In 1915, Frantz returned to Oklahoma to live in Tulsa, becoming the head of the Land Department of the Cosden Oil Company. Frantz then spent time working in the oil royalty business. In 1940 he was elected a director of the Investors Royalty Company. Frantz made an unsuccessful attempt to reenter politics, running to serve as the Congressman representing Oklahoma's First Congressional District in 1932. At the age of 68, overcome with health issues, Frantz lost consciousness on March 8, 1941, in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Frantz was transported to back to Tulsa where, on March 9, 1941, he died in his own home.

Electoral history

References

External links
 Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture – Frantz, Frank

1872 births
1941 deaths
People from Woodford County, Illinois
American Presbyterians
Eureka College alumni
Governors of Oklahoma Territory
Politicians from Enid, Oklahoma
Politicians from Tulsa, Oklahoma
Oklahoma postmasters
Oklahoma Republicans
Colorado Republicans
Rough Riders
People from Medford, Oklahoma
People from Denver

Frank Frantz


Adolf IV of Berg count of Berg from 1132 until 1160 and of Altena (died after 1161), son of Adolf III of Berg count of Berg and Hövel. He married (1st) Adelheid von Arnsberg, a daughter of Heinrich count von Rietberg; then (2nd) Irmgard (?) von Schwarzenberg, a daughter of Engelbert von Schwarzenberg.

He built the Schloss Altena, and built Altenberg Abbey (1133) where he enters in 1160.

He had issue from his first marriage:

 Adolf V of Berg count of Berg (killed in Damascus 1148), who married Irmgard von Wasserburg, a daughter of Engelbert count von Wasserburg;

and from his second marriage:

 Engelbert I of Berg count of Berg from 1160 until 1189 (born before 1150, died in Brandis an der Donau June 1189); married Margaret of Geldern (born 1157, died 1190?);
 Eberhard IV of Berg, 1st count of Altena (also called Eberhard I von Altena) (born 1140, died 23 January 1180, buried in Altenberg);
 Friedrich II of Berg, Archbishop of Cologne from 1156 until 1158 (born 1140, died in Pavia 15 December 1158);
 Bruno III of Berg, Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Westfalia from 1191 till 1193 (died 1193, buried in Altenberg);
 Arnold, Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück from 1173 until 1190 (died a crusader before Akkon, 15 December 1190).

Nota
Adolf IV, Count of Berg is named Adolf II, Count of Berg in the Netherlands and in Germany.

Literature
Alberic of Troisfontaines (MGH, Scriptores XXIII).
Annales Rodenses (MGH, Scriptores, XVI).
Annalista Saxo (MGH, Scriptores VI).
Gesta Trevirorum (MGH, Scriptores VIII).
MGH, Diplomata.
REK I-II. – Rheinisches UB.
Hömberg, "Geschichte."
Jackman, "Counts of Cologne."
Jackman, Criticism.
Klebel, E. "Niederösterreich und der Stammbaum der Grafen von Görz und Schwarzburg." Unsere Heimat. Monatsblatt des Vereins für Landeskunde von Niederösterreich 23 (1952) 111-23.
Kluger, "Propter claritatem generis." – Kraus, Entstehung.
Lück, D. "Der Avelgau, die erste fassbare Gebietseinteilung an der unteren Sieg." In: Heimatbuch der Stadt Siegburg I. Ed. H. J. Roggendorf. Siegburg, 1964. Pp. 223–85.
Lück, D. "In pago Tuizichgowe – Anmerkungen zum Deutzgau." Rechtsrheinisches Köln 3 (1977) 1-9.
Milz, "Vögte."
Schmale, "Anfänge." – Tyroller, "Genealogie."
Wunder, G. "Die Nichten des Erzbischofs Friedrich von Köln." AHVN 164 (1962) 192-6.
Wunder, G. "Die Verwandtschaft des Erzbischofs Friedrich I. von Köln. Ein Beitrag zur abendländischen Verflechtung des Hochadels im Mittelalter." AHVN 166 (1964) 25-54.

References

Sources

Counts of Berg
House of Berg
Counts of Limburg
House of Limburg-Stirum
Christians of the Second Crusade

12th-century deaths

Year of birth unknown
Year of death unknown

Adolf IV, Count of Berg


Physical geografie (kent as geosystems or physiografie an aw) is ane o the twa muckle sub-fields o geografie. Physical geografie is that branch o naitural science which deals wi the study o processes an patterns in the naitural environment lik the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, an geosphere, as opponed tae the cultural or biggit environment, the domain o human geografie.

Within the body o physical geografie, the Yird is eften split either intae several spheres or environments, the main spheres bein the atmosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere an pedosphere. Research in physical geografie is aften interdisciplinary an uises the systems approach.

References

Branches o geografie
Yird sciences

Physical geografie


A fluid is a substance that can move easily and change shape such as water (liquids), or air (gases), or plasmas. They can 'flow'- flow and fluids both come from the same English word roots (Latin: fluere "to flow") and are pronounced similarly. The physics of fluids is called fluid mechanics.

Fluids usually take on the shape of their containers, in contrast to solids which maintain their own shape.

Some things are not exactly fluid and not exactly solid, such as Silly Putty. Powders are made up of small solids that appear to flow but don't actually.

Most fluids have a freezing point. At this temperature it becomes solid.

Related pages
Superfluidity

Basic physics ideas

Fluid


Manillas are a form of commodity money, usually made of bronze or copper, which were used in West Africa. They were produced in large numbers in a wide range of designs, sizes, and weights. Originating before the colonial period, perhaps as the result of trade with the Portuguese Empire, Manillas continued to serve as money and decorative objects until the late 1940s and are still sometimes used as decoration. In popular culture, they are particularly associated with the Atlantic slave trade.

Origins and etymology
The name manilla is said to derive from the Spanish for a 'bracelet' , the Portuguese for 'hand-ring' , or after the Latin  (hand) or from , plural of  (necklace). They are usually horseshoe-shaped, with terminations that face each other and are roughly lozenge-shaped. The earliest use of manillas was in West Africa. As a means of exchange they originated in Calabar. Calabar was the chief city of the ancient southeast Nigerian coastal kingdom of that name. It was here in 1505 that a slave could be bought for 8–10 manillas, and an elephant's tooth for one copper manila.

Manillas bear some resemblance to torcs in being rigid and circular and open-ended at the front.

Types

Africans of each region had names for each variety of manilla, probably varying locally. They valued them differently, and were very particular about the types they would accept. Manillas were partly differentiated and valued by the sound they made when struck.

A report by the British Consul of Fernando Po in 1856 listed five different patterns of manillas in use in Nigeria. The Antony Manilla was good in all interior markets; the Congo Simgolo or 'bottle-necked' was good only at Opungo market; the Onadoo was best for Old Calabar, Igbo country between Bonny New Kalabari and the kingdom of Okrika; the Finniman Fawfinna was passable in Juju Town and Qua Market, but only half the worth of the Antony; and the Cutta Antony was valued by the people at Umballa.

The proliferation of African names is probably due more to regional customs than actual manufacturing specialization. The 'Mkporo' is likely a Dutch or British manilla and the 'Popo' is French, but the rest are examples of a single evolving Birmingham product.

An important hoard had a group of 72 pieces with similar patination and soil crusting, suggesting common burial. There were 7 Mkporo; 19 Nkobnkob-round foot; 9 Nkobnkob-oval foot; and 37 Popo-square foot. The lightest 'Nkobnkobs' in the hoard were 108 gm and 114 gm, while they are routinely found (called Onoudu) under 80 gm, this implies that the group was buried at a certain point in the size devolution of the manilla. Mkporo are made of brass. The weight correspondence of the oval-foot Nkobnkob with the high end of the round-foot range suggests that it is either the earlier variety, or contemporary with the earliest round-foots. The exclusive presence of the 'square-foot' variety of French Popo, normally scarce among circulation groups of Popos, suggests that this is the earliest variety. The earliest French manillas as likely to be contemporaries of the earliest British pieces.

Sometimes distinguished from manillas mainly by their wearability are a large number of regional types called 'Bracelet' monies and 'Legband' monies. Some are fairly uniform in size and weight and served as monies of account like manillas, but others were actually worn as wealth display. The less well off would mimic the movements of the 'better off' who were so encumbered by the weight of manillas that they moved in a very characteristic way. The larger manillas had a much more open shape.

History

Origins

Some sources attribute their introduction to the ancient Phoenicians who traded along the west coast of Africa or even early Carthaginian explorers and traders. The Egyptians have also been suggested as they used penannular money. One suggestion is that Nigerian fishermen brought them up in their nets from the shipwrecks of European wrecks or made them from the copper 'pins' used in wooden sailing ships wrecked in the Bight of Benin. One theory is that if indigenous, they copied a splayed-end Raffia cloth bracelet worn by women, another that the Yoruba mondua with its bulbous ends inspired the manilla shape.

Copper bracelets and leg bands were the principal 'money' and they were usually worn by women to display their husband's wealth. Early Portuguese traders thus found a preexisting and very convenient willingness to accept unlimited numbers of these 'bracelets', and they are referred to by Duarte Pacheco Pereira who made voyages in the 1490s to buy ivory tusks, slaves, and pepper. Describing the exchange, with the Kingdom of Benin, in his, 1508, Esmeraldo de situ orbis:

By 1522 in Benin a female slave 16 years of age cost 50 manillas; the King of Portugal put a limit of 40 manillas per slave to stop this inflation.

Earliest report on the use of Manillas in Africa points to its origin in Calabar the capital city of the Cross River State of coastal Southeastern Nigeria.  It has been documented that in 1505 at Calabar, (Nigeria) Manillas were being used as a medium of exchange, one manilla being worth a big elephant tooth, and a slave cost between eight and ten manillas. They were also in use on the Benin river in 1589 and again in Calabar in 1688, where Dutch traders bought slaves against payment in rough grey copper armlets which had to be very well made or they would be quickly rejected.

In addition to the earliest report, the origin of Manillas from Calabar for use in Africa and particularly Nigeria is also confirmed by the African and universal other name for Manillas as Òkpòhò, which is an (Efik) word for money which is used throughout this report and in the titles of images in this report.

Role in the slave trade
By the early 16th century it was common in the slave trade for bearers to carry manillas to Africa's coast, and gradually manillas became the principal currency of this trade.

The Portuguese were soon supplanted aside by the British, French, and Dutch, all of whom had labor-intensive plantations in the West Indies, and later by the Americans. A typical voyage took manillas and utilitarian brass objects such as pans and basins to Western Africa, where they were exchanged for slaves. The price of a slave, expressed in manillas varied considerably according to time, place, and the specific type of manilla offered.

Production and designs

Copper was the "red gold" of Africa and had been both mined there and traded across the Sahara by Italian and Arab merchants. It is not known for certain what the Portuguese or the Dutch manillas looked like. From contemporary records, we know the earliest Portuguese were made in Antwerp for the monarch and possibly other places, and are about  long, about  gauge, weighing  in 1529, though by 1548 the dimensions and weight were reduced to about -. In many places brass, which is cheaper and easier to cast, was preferred to copper, so the Portuguese introduced smaller, yellow manillas made of copper and lead with traces of zinc and other metals. In Benin, Royal Art of Africa, by Armand Duchateau, is a massive manilla of  across and  gauge, crudely cast with scoop-faceted sides, and well worn. It could be the heaviest (no weight given) and earliest manilla known. However, in the same book is a plaque with a European holding two pieces of very different form, crescent-shaped without flared ends, though apparently heavy if the proportions are correct. Today, pieces of this size and blunt form are associated with the Congo.

Between 1504 and 1507, Portuguese traders imported 287,813 manillas from Portugal into Guinea via the trading station of São Jorge da Mina. The Portuguese trade increasing over the following decades, with 150,000 manillas a year being exported to the like of their trading fort at Elmina, on the Gold Coast, between 1519 and 1522, and an order for 1.4 million manillas being placed, in 1548, with a German merchant of the Fugger family, to support the trade. The order stipulating the supply of both 250g Guinea and 312g Mina type manilla. As the Dutch came to dominate the Africa trade, they are likely to have switched manufacture from Antwerp to Amsterdam, continuing the "brass" manillas, although, as stated, we have as yet no way to positively identify Dutch manillas. Trader and traveler accounts are both plentiful and specific as to names and relative values, but no drawings or detailed descriptions seem to have survived which could link these accounts to specific manilla types found today. The metals preferred were originally copper, then brass at about the end of the 15th century and finally bronze in about 1630.

Early in the 18th century, Bristol, with companies such as R. & W. King (one of the companies later incorporated into the United African Company), and then Birmingham, became the most significant European brass manufacturing city. It is likely that most types of brass manillas were made there, including the "middle period" Nkobnkob-Onoudu whose weight apparently decreased over time, and the still lighter "late period" types such as Okpoho (from the Efik word for brass) and those salvaged from the Duoro wreck of 1843. Among the late period types, specimen weights overlap type distinctions suggesting contemporary manufacture rather than a progression of types. The Popos, whose weight distribution places them at the transition point between Nkobnkob and Onoudu, were made in Nantes, France, possibly Birmingham as well and were too small to be worn. They are wider than the Birmingham types and have a gradual, rather than sudden, flare to the ends.

A class of heavier, more elongated pieces, probably produced in Africa, are often labelled by collectors as "King" or "Queen" manillas. Usually with flared ends and more often copper than brass, they show a wide range of faceting and design patterns. Plainer types were apparently bullion monies, but the fancier ones were owned by royalty and used as bride price and in a pre-funeral "dying ceremony." Unlike the smaller money-manillas, their range was not confined to west Africa. A distinctive brass type with four flat facets and slightly bulging square ends, ranging from about -, was produced by the Jonga of Zaire and called 'Onganda', or 'onglese', phonetic French for "English.". Other types which are often called manillas include early twisted heavy-gauge wire pieces (with and without "knots") of probable Calabar origin, and heavy, multi-coil copper pieces with bulging ends from Nigeria.

Demise

The Native Currency Proclamation of 1902 in Nigeria prohibited the import of manillas except with the permission of the High Commissioner. This was done to encourage the use of coined money. They were still in regular use however and constituted an administrative problem in the late 1940s. The Ibo tribe still used them prior to this and at Wukai a deep bowl of corn was considered equal to one large manilla and a cup-shaped receptacle filled with salt was worth one small manilla. Although manillas were legal tender, they floated against British and French West African currencies and the palm-oil trading companies manipulated their value to advantage during the market season.

The British undertook a major recall dubbed "operation manilla" in 1948 to replace them with British West African currency. The campaign was largely successful and over 32 million pieces were bought up and resold as scrap. The manilla, a lingering reminder of the slave trade, ceased to be legal tender in British West Africa on April 1, 1949 after a six-month period of withdrawal. People were permitted to keep a maximum of 200 for ceremonies such as marriages and burials. Only Okpoho, Okombo and abi were officially recognised and they were 'bought in' at 3d., 1d. and a halfpenny respectively. 32.5 million Okpoho, 250,000 okombo, and 50,000 abi were handed in and exchanged. A metal dealer in Europe purchased 2,460 tons of manillas, but the exercise still cost the taxpayer somewhere in the region of £284,000.

Revival
As curios for the tourist trade and internal 'non-monetary' uses they are still made, often of more modern metals such as aluminium, but the designs are still largely traditional ones. Manillas may be occasionally still used in a few remote villages in Burkina Faso (2000).

Uses

Internally, manillas were the first true general-purpose currency known in West Africa, being used for ordinary market purchases, bride price, payment of fines, compensation of diviners, and for the needs of the next world, as burial money. Cowrie shells, imported from Melanesia and valued at a small fraction of a manilla, were used for small purchases. In regions outside coastal west Africa and the Niger River a variety of other currencies, such as bracelets of more complex native design, iron units often derived from tools, copper rods, themselves often bent into bracelets, and the well-known Handa (Katanga cross) all served as special-purpose monies. As the slave trade wound down in the 19th century so did manilla production, which was already becoming unprofitable. By the 1890s their use in the export economy centered around the palm-oil trade. Many manillas were melted down by African craftsmen to produce artworks. Manillas were often hung over a grave to show the wealth of the deceased and in the Degema area of Benin some women still wear large manillas around their necks at funerals, which are later laid on the family shrine. Gold manillas are said to have been made for the very important and powerful, such as King Jaja of Opobo in 1891.

See also

Grivna
Katanga Cross
Kissi penny
Trade beads

References

External links
Object biography: Manilla at the Pitt Rivers Museum
Manilla currency, West Africa at Hamill Gallery
Currency Museum at Central Bank of Nigeria

Coins
Types of jewellery
African culture
Currencies of Africa
Economic history of Portugal

Manilla (money)


The oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus), is a large species of requiem shark, in the genus Carcharhinus. The oceanic whitetip shark reaches a maximum length of four metres, and can weigh as much as 170 kg (370 pounds). This species of shark can be distinguished by its large, rounded first dorsal fin, and its long, wide, paddle-like pectoral fins.

The oceanic whitetip shark should not be confused with the whitetip reef shark.

Description
The oceanic whitetip shark is easy to distinguish. It has a large, rounded first dorsal fin, and very long, wide, paddle-like pectoral fins. The first dorsal fin is very large with a rounded tip, and is just in front of the pectoral fins. The second dorsal fin is located over, or slightly in front of, the anal fin. This species has a whitish-tipped first dorsal, pectoral fins, pelvic fins, and caudal fin. The underside of the body is white, with a yellow tinge on some individuals.

Oceanic whitetip sharks can grow to large sizes, with the largest individuals reaching 3.5–4 metres (12–13 feet) in length. However, most specimens are less than 3 metres (10 feet) in length. The maximum recorded weight for this species is 170 kg (370 pounds). Males mature at 1.7-1.9 metres (5.6-6.2 feet) in length, while females reach maturity at slightly longer sizes of 1.8–2 metres (5.9-6.6 feet).

Habitat
In the western Atlantic, the oceanic whitetip shark is found from Maine, U.S.A to Argentina, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. In the eastern Atlantic it is found from Portugal to the Gulf of Guinea, possibly occurring in the Mediterranean. In the Indo-Pacific, it is found from the Red Sea and East Africa to the Hawaiian, Samoan, Tahiti and Tuamoto islands. In the eastern Pacific it ranges from southern California to Peru, including the Galapagos Islands.

This shark is usually seen well offshore in deep water areas up to the depth of 152 metres (500 feet). On occasion it has been seen in shallower waters near land, usually near oceanic islands. Captured data in the Pacific Ocean shows that the abundance of this shark increases along with the distance from land. It is one of the top three most abundant oceanic sharks, with the blue shark and the silky shark.

Although this shark is mainly solitary, the oceanic whitetip shark gathers in groups when food is present. It is a slow swimmer, with equal amount of activity during the day and night. Reports show that the oceanic whitetip shark is usually found near the surface, swimming slowly with its pectoral fins spread widely. Oceanic whitetip sharks are often accompanied by remoras, dolphinfish, and pilot fish. An unusual behaviour was once observed in Hawaiian waters. The oceanic whitetip sharks were shown swimming along with pods of shortfin pilot whales. This behaviour was not fully understood, but was thought to be food-related. The oceanic whitetip sharks were thought to have been swimming with the pilot whales because the pilot whales were better at finding squid which the sharks also eat.

Behaviour

The oceanic whitetip shark is mainly solitary and swims slowly, and is usually seen cruising near the top of the water column, covering large amounts of empty water, searching for prey or any food source. Until the 16th century, sharks were known to mariners as "sea dogs". The oceanic whitetip shark, the most common ship-following shark, shows dog-like behaviour when it is attracted by something which appears to be food. It starts swimming greedily towards the food source, approaches cautiously but stubbornly. It keeps a safe distance if driven off, but is ready to rush in if the opportunity presents itself. Oceanic whitetip sharks are not fast swimmers, but they are capable of surprising bursts of speed. They commonly compete for food with silky sharks, often presenting aggressive displays. There does not seem to be segregation by gender and size. Oceanic whitetip sharks usually follow schools of tuna or squid, and trail groups of dolphins and pilot whales, scavenging their prey.

Feeding
The oceanic whitetip shark feeds mainly on bony fish, including lancetfish, oarfish, barracuda, jacks, dolphinfish, marlin, tuna, mackerels, and threadfins. Other prey consists of stingrays, sea turtles, sea birds, gastropods, squid, crustaceans, and mammalian carrion (dead whales and dolphins). Feeding behaviour has been reported for this shark and includes biting into schools of bony fish. It also swims through schools of feeding tuna with wide-open jaws, into which the tuna unknowingly swim. The oceanic whitetip shark has also been observed eating garbage that is disposed of at sea. If other species of sharks are encountered by the oceanic whitetip shark during feeding activities, the whitetip becomes aggressive and dominates over them.

Reproduction
In the north-western Atlantic and the south-western Indian Ocean, the oceanic whitetip shark has been known to mate during the early summer. After a gestation period lasting around 1 year, the females give birth to around 1-15 pups. The oceanic whitetip shark is viviparous, and both genders reach maturity around the ages of 6–7 years,  with the females being at a length of 1.8–2 metres (5.9-6.6 feet), and the males being at a length of 1.7-1.9 metres (5.6-6.2 feet). The young are around 60–65 cm long at birth.

Human interactions
Oceanic whitetip sharks are usually caught by shark fisheries. The meat is marketed fresh, frozen, smoked, and dried-salted for human consumption, the skin is used for leather, the fins used in shark-fin soup, and the liver oil is used for vitamins. It is also processed into fishmeals. Tuna fishermen dislike the oceanic whitetip shark as it has been known to follow tuna boats and damage or consume catches. Although this species is usually seen offshore, it is considered to be dangerous. It is usually the first species to be seen in waters surrounding mid-ocean disasters. During World War II, the Nova Scotia, a steamship, was sunk by torpedoes from a German submarine off the coast of South Africa. Close to 1,000 men were on board, however only 192 survived. It was believed that many of the fatalities were victims of the oceanic whitetip shark in what eyewitness accounts described as a feeding frenzy.

In encounters with divers, ocean whitetip sharks have shown little fear, and usually investigate and circle around the ongoing activities. Due to this shark's opportunistic feeding habits and strong jaws, as well as its boldness and unpredictability around divers, this shark should be treated with extreme caution. Many attacks are caused when divers accidentally bump into the shark.

Although this species is listed as 'vulnerable' overall, it has been listed as 'critically endangered' by the IUCN in the north-western and western-central Atlantic. This is due to the massive decline in reported catches indicating that the population has decreased.

References

Sharks

Oceanic whitetip shark


A dragstrip is a facility for conducting automobile and motorcycle acceleration events such as drag racing.  Although a quarter mile (402 m) is the best known measure for a drag track, many tracks are eighth mile (201 m) tracks. The race is begun from a standing start. Three factors decide the outcome of the race: reaction time, torque, and traction.

Features
A dragstrip is a straight racetrack, usually an eighth or a quarter of a mile long (660/1320 feet, 201/402 metres), followed by a shutdown area to allow automobiles room to stop after crossing the finish line. Common features also include a 'water box' where cars and motorcycles start their burn-outs to clean and heat up their tires to improve traction. There is a set of lights known as a 'Christmas Tree' that counts down to the start. There are also return lanes for the vehicles to return from the end of the track to the pit area.

Motor sports

Dragstrip


Malcolm 'Mal' Evans (27 May 1935 – 5 January 1976) was a road manager and assistant to The Beatles, the most popular rock and roll band of the 1960s.

Evans was hired to help Neil Aspinall, who was the band's original road manager. Tall and strong, Evans was sometimes called "The Gentle Giant". His wife was called Lil.

Aspinall's and Evans's jobs changed through the years. At first they were in charge of driving the Beatles's musical equipment to places where they were to perform, setting it up ahead of time, and taking it down later to prepare for their next show. As the band became popular, they had other people to help.

Evans sometimes served as a bodyguard to the Beatles, protecting them from fans who got out of control, or might want to hurt members of the band. He also sometimes forged their autographs on photographs, when the band themselves did not have the chance to sign them, and helped choose girls from concert audiences to meet later with the band. (Aspinall also did these duties.) After the Beatles stopped performing live in 1966, he worked for them in other ways.

Along with playing musical instruments on a few of their songs (organ on "You Won't See Me", trumpet on "Helter Skelter", tambourine on "Dear Prudence", and an anvil on "Maxwell's Silver Hammer"), and singing on "Yellow Submarine" and "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)", Evans also helped with lyrics from time to time. Paul McCartney paid him in cash for help with "Fixing A Hole", instead of giving him co-credit.

Evans appeared on-camera in both Magical Mystery Tour (as a magician), and Let it Be. He is seen during the rooftop concert in Let it Be, stalling the police who had come to stop the Beatles from performing. The sound of their music had caused a traffic jam on the street below.

He was also responsible for Badfinger being signed to the Beatles's record label, Apple Records.

Evans was fired in 1970 by Allen Klein, who had taken over many of the jobs once held by the late Beatles manager, Brian Epstein. Later Evans separated from his wife, and moved to the United States. During 1974 he was a companion and helper to John Lennon, who was staying in Los Angeles while separated from his wife, Yoko Ono.

Early in 1976, Evans had a fight with his girlfriend, who called the police when he locked himself in a room with a air rifle. Fearing he might hurt other people, the police shot him dead. The policeman in charge admitted the shooting "was all a mistake".

Evans wrote an autobiography, Living with the Beatles Legend, which has never been published in full, but extracts were printed in 2005.

1935 births
1976 deaths
English autobiographers
People from Liverpool
People shot and killed by law enforcement officers in the United States
The Beatles

Mal Evans


Bilal ibn Ribah (578-638) was one of the companions of Muhammad. Bilal was an Ethiopian black slave.

Life
Bilal ibn Rabah (, also called Bilal al-Habashi) was an Ethiopian born in Mecca in the late 6th century, sometime between 578 and 582.Bilal was an Ethiopian slave. Bilal's owner was Umayyah ibn Khalaf, an enemy of Islam. When Bilal learned about Muhammad and became Muslim, his master started punishing him. When Muhammad heard about this, he ordered Abu Bakr to buy Bilal's freedom and Bilal -who was now free- joined Muhammad's companions.

Muhammad choose Bilal as the first muezzin. A muezzin is someone who leads the call to daily prayer. Sometimes Bilal walked the streets to call Muslims to come to prayer but most of the times, he said the Adhan from the top of the mosque.

Some years later, when the Muslim army walked towards Mecca, everyone ran to their homes and closed all doors and windows. They were afraid that the Muslims were going to kill them, because of the bad things they did to the Muslims many years ago. But, the Muslims went towards the Kaaba, the worship house believed to be built by Abraham and his elder son, Ishmael. Bilal, shouted out loud to the people of Mecca that they were all safe: "All those who lay down arms are safe. All those in the house of Abu Sufyan are safe. All those behind closed doors are safe."

After Muhammad died, Bilal never said the Adhan again - except on two occasions. Once in Syria and the second time, in Medina, when Muhammad's grandson, Hasan ibn Ali asked him to do so.

Bilal died in Damascus between 638 and 642 (AD).

Legacy
Hadith books are the collections of Muhammad's sayings.

Muhammad used to say about Bilal:

When Bilal was chosen as the Muezzin, some people complained to Muhammad. They believed only an Arab can be a Muezzin, because Bilal could not pronounce the Arabic words correctly and he used to pronounce "s" instead of "sh". When Muhammad heard their complaint, he said:

References

578 births
638 deaths
Sahaba

Bilal ibn Ribah


The temporal bones are at the sides and base of the skull. They protect the structures of the inner ear.

The lower seven cranial nerves move along the inside of the temporal bones. The main blood vessels to and from the brain also move along the inside of the temporal bone.

The temporal bones are not the same in all mammals. The inner ear is usually not protected in marsupials, and in other placentals it is protected by a structure called the auditory bulla.

Bones of the skull

Temporal bone


Oxford spelling is the spelling found in the Oxford English Dictionary. One example would be "colour" instead of "color".

More exactly, Oxford spelling is the headwords used in their dictionaries. In the full entries other variations are listed.

Most people in Britain use spellings like "organise" and "realise", but Oxford spelling uses "organize" and "realize". Those alternatives are both correct in British English.

Vocabulary
British English

Oxford spelling


Sinvest () is a Norwegian oil drilling investment company, with headquarters in Kristiansand. The company is a long-term financial and strategic investor in oil resources and offshore companies and has been listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange since 2001.

Major investments include the subsidiary Deep Drilling Invest that has eight drilling rigs under construction and Beta Drilling that operates one rig. In addition Sinvest has a partial ownership of Petrojack (20%), Premium Drilling (with Awilco Offshore) and Venture Drilling (50%).

External links

 Official site

Oil companies of Norway
Holding companies of Norway

Sinvest


Declination (abbrev. dec or δ) is a word used in astronomy to describe one of the two coordinates of the equatorial coordinate system, the other being either right ascension or hour angle. Dec is comparable to latitude, projected onto the celestial sphere, and is measured in degrees north and south of the celestial equator.

Astronomy

Declination


A parody mass is a musical setting of the mass that uses melodies from other musical works. This kind of mass was popular in the 16th century. "Parody" in this sense does not mean "parody" in the modern meaning of the word. It is not about poking fun at something. A parody mass is one that borrows musical material. The music might be borrowed from a chanson or motet, usually one by another composer. At that time there was nothing shameful about using other composer's tunes. Today it would be called plagiarism (stealing other people's ideas).

The parody mass was very popular during the Renaissance: Palestrina wrote about 50 parody masses. Some examples of early parody masses include the Missa Malheur me bat, Missa Mater Patris, and Missa Fortuna desperata by Josquin Desprez. By the middle of the 16th century, a large number of masses composed used the parody technique.

Masses (music)

Parody mass


The Earth's atmosphere is the layer of gasses around the Earth. It is held in place by Earth's gravity. It is today  made up mainly of nitrogen (78.1%). It also has plentiful oxygen (20.9%) and small amounts of argon (0.9%), carbon dioxide (~ 0.035%), water vapor, and other gases. The atmosphere protects life on Earth by absorbing (taking) ultraviolet rays from the Sun. It makes our days cooler and our nights warmer.

Solid particulates, including ash, dust, volcanic ash, etc. are small parts of atmosphere. They are important in making clouds and fog.

The atmosphere does not end at a specific place. The higher above the Earth, the thinner the atmosphere. There is no clear border between the atmosphere and outer space, though the Kármán line is sometimes treated as a border. Even higher, for some purposes the edge of the magnetosphere is treated as a border. 75% of the atmosphere is within  of the Earth's surface.

History of Earth's atmosphere
The most important thing to remember about the Earth and other planets is that they do not come from the Sun. They or their materials were picked up by the Sun's gravitation as it moved through space. The Sun is just composed of hydrogen, with a little bit of helium. Nothing else. The material which makes up planets and their satellites is almost entirely heavier elements whose origin was in earlier supernovae explosions. The planets do give off small quantities of hydrogen and helium: this comes from the decay of larger radioactive molecules whose origin is also ancient supernovae.

Originally, the Earth's atmosphere had almost no free oxygen.
The first atmosphere consisted of gases in the solar nebula, mainly hydrogen. There might also have been simple hydrides such as those now found in the gas giants (Jupiter and Saturn): water vapor, methane and ammonia.
The atmosphere gradually changed to mostly carbon dioxide and nitrogen. The lighter gases, like hydrogen and helium, cannot be held by the Earth's gravity, and would escape. For a long time (say two billion years or more), the atmosphere was dominated by carbon dioxide.
In the Great Oxygenation Event the atmosphere changed to the kind we have now, with oxygen replacing the carbon dioxide. Our atmosphere is still mostly nitrogen, but most living organisms interact more with oxygen than with nitrogen. Oxygenation began with cyanobacteria making free oxygen by photosynthesis. Most organisms today need oxygen for their respiration: only a few anaerobic organisms can grow without oxygen.

Temperature and the atmospheric layers

Some parts of the atmosphere are hot or cold, depending on height. Starting from the surface and climbing straight up, the air gets colder in the troposphere, but then it becomes hotter, higher in the stratosphere. These changes of temperature are divided into layers. These are like layers of an onion. The difference between the layers is the way the temperature changes.

These are the layers of the atmosphere, starting from the ground:
Troposphere - Starts at the ground. Ends somewhere between . The higher, the colder. Weather in this layer affects our daily life.
Stratosphere - Starts at . Ends at . The higher, the hotter. The heat comes from the Ozone layer at the top of the stratosphere. There is little water vapor and other substances in this layer. Airplanes fly in this layer because it is usually stable and air resistance is small.
Mesosphere - Starts at . Ends at . The higher, the colder. Winds in this layer are strong, so the temperature is not stable.
Thermosphere - Starts at . Ends at  or higher. The higher, the hotter. This layer is very important in radio communication because it helps to reflect some radio waves.
Exosphere - Above the thermosphere. This is the top layer, and merges into interplanetary space.

Regions where one layer changes to the next have been named "-pauses." So the tropopause is where the troposphere ends ( high). The stratopause is at the end of the stratosphere. The mesopause is at the end of the mesosphere.
These are boundaries.

The average temperature of the atmosphere at the surface of Earth is .

Pressure
The atmosphere has pressure. This is because even though air is a gas, it has weight. The average atmospheric pressure at sea level is about .

Density and mass
The density of air at sea level is about 1.2 kilograms per cubic meter.  This density becomes less at higher altitudes at the same rate that pressure becomes less. The total mass of the atmosphere is about 5.1 × 1018 kg, which is only a very small part of the Earth's total mass.

Related pages
 Air
 Life timeline

References

Other websites
The Atmosphere

Atmosphere
Earth
Meteorology

Atmosphere of Earth


Hydroponics or Hydro-culture is the method of growing plants in the nutrients that they need instead of soil. The plant foods are simply put into water instead and it makes a solution for the plants to live in. Vegetables, flowers and herbs can all be grown in water.

It is quite an old idea. The earliest published work on growing terrestrial plants without soil was the 1627 book Sylva Sylvarum by Francis Bacon, printed a year after his death. Water culture became a popular research technique after that. In 1929, William Frederick Gericke of the University of California at Berkeley began publicly promoting that solution culture be used for agricultural crop production. Oliver and Tintin are the pioneers of Hydroponics.

Methods
There are many ways to grow plants in this way. Here are some examples.

Static solution culture
This puts or floats the plants in water containing nutrients into a container. The water is renewed by a control system to prevent the plants' roots from becoming dry. The water does not flow through the container but remains static. Because the water is still algae often grows, using nutrients and covering the plants roots so that they are not able to take in the nutrients so well. Algae growth can be reduced by using some method to prevent light from reaching the roots, for example, black plastic, or aluminum foil. The static solution has to be changed every week or two to ensure it has the correct amount of nutrients.

Continuous-flow solution
This is growing plants in a stream of continuously running water. The plants can be placed in a shallow container and the water containing the nutrients runs through the roots. This can be carried out in several different ways, either passing the water over the bare roots inside a tube or hollow container or passing the water through a mat of fiber into which the roots have grown or variations between the two. One of the main advantages of this system is that the nutrient water can be kept in a storage container and if any changes need to be made to the nutrient it is easy to do this to the storage container. The system usually runs by gravity, the storage container is placed in a higher position than the plants and the water trickles downwards until it has passed though the roots of the plants and into a lower storage container where it is pumped back up to the higher container. An advantage of this method is that it uses the nutrients efficiently, it allows oxygen to reach the roots (important for healthy growth) and the water can be adjusted very easily. The main disadvantages are that if any fault occurs with the circulation system the plants have little water to live on until the fault is corrected and the flow channels must be regular in their slope, if they are not then water can remain in the non-sloping areas and this can cause problems.

Gravity fed systems
This system does not use electricity to circulate the water containing nutrients. The system has a large container positioned higher than the plants and the water runs down through and to the plants in a controlled way. This system is used with plants that are grown in pots with the water being delivered to the base of the pot and capillary action drawing the water up into the pot.

Aeroponics
This uses a system where the roots of the plants are contained in a chamber which is sprayed continuously or discontinuously with a fine mist of water containing nutrients. The roots of the plant hang in the air and the advantage of this system is that the roots have good access to oxygen. This system was invented in 1983 by Richard Spooner and has become a successful way of growing a wide range of crops including seed potato production, tomato production, leaf crops, and small salad leaves. Other advantages of aeroponics are that a much wider range of plants can be grown with this system, (some plants do not like to have their roots in water continuously) plants grow with only one quarter of the nutrients needed in normal hydroponics and NASA has an interest in this system because managing a spray is easier than handling liquids in zero gravity. Finally, plants grown by this method can be transferred to soil or another growing medium without suffering from a slowing of growth while they adjust to the new conditions. The main disadvantage is that this system is more costly to build and maintain than the normal hydroponic systems.

Passive sub-irrigation
This method is also known as passive hydroponics or semi-hydroponics. This system has the plants growing in a porous material like special clay granules, vermiculite, fiber glass, coconut husk, perlite or a similar substance that holds water, has lots of air spaces but does not act directly on the plants roots. The water is run through the material to keep it wet and the material keeps the plants roots separated to allow a good contact with the air to help the plant use oxygen and carbon dioxide. this method is easy to set up and control and is suitable for a number of plants like orchids or bromeliads that in nature grow with their roots in warm damp air.

Ebb and flow sub-irrigation
This method is also known as "Flood and Drain". It uses a method that has a large container of water with nutrients positioned below the level of the plants being grown and at intervals the water is pumped or manually lifted to irrigate the plants and then drain back into the container. This is a simple method to build and can be easily controlled with an automatic mechanism.

Run to waste
This is a method where plants are grown on a material that holds some water but has many air spaces, such as vermiculite, perlite, fibreglass or coarse sand. The water with nutrients is controlled by a timer and the amount of irrigation will depend on several factors such as temperature, the size of the plants, the type of material the plants are growing in and other more technical things. The water runs to a collecting container after irrigating the plants and may be used again or discarded. This system is used very widely for growing commercial crops of vegetables such as tomatoes and cucumbers.

Deep water culture
This involves the growing of plants hanging in water with nutrients. The plants are held in nets with their roots in the water. The nets may or may not contain a material to separate the roots. The water has air pumped through it to increase the oxygen in the water which assists the roots to grow.

Bubbleponics
This is a method which is used together with the above method of Deep Water Culture. In the early stages of growth the roots of the plants are irrigated with water and nutrients that are pumped through an air-stone to introduce a high level of dissolved oxygen into the water which greatly helps the young roots to grow. It is usually used only in the early stages of growth when the plants are forming roots clumps.

Advantages

 Hydroponic crops can be packaged and sold while still alive, increasing the length of freshness.
 Over and under-watering is stopped.
 Hydroponics is a good method of plant growing for areas without good soil, such as Antarctica, space stations, and space colonies.
 Hydroponics is very good for plant teaching and research.
 No soil is needed.
 Crops are not contaminated with soil.
 Less water is needed than with soil-grown crops.
 Hydroponics cost less than other ways for growing strawberries.
 Hydroponics give the plants more sunlight.
 Bugs and other pest threats are reduced with a hydroponic system.

References

Agriculture
Botany

Hydroponics


Mstivoj (925? - 995) was an Obodrite prince (princeps Winulorum) from 965 or 967 until his death. He inherited his position along with his brother Mstidrag from their father Nako in an unknown year.

Name
Mstiwoj is an old Slavic name popular among West Slavs and East Slavs, cognate with the Slavic word for vengeance (pol. mścić, cz. mstít, or ukr. mstiti) and "woj" or "wój" means "warrior". Thus the name has meaning "Avenger of warriors" or "Avenger warrior". Another forms of the name are: Mistivir, Mistiuis, Mistui, Mistuwoi, Mistiwoi, Mystiwoi, Mistivoj, Mstivoj and Polish Mściwój. The Christian name of Mstivoj was Billung - baptised  after his probable godfather Hermann Billung.

Biography
In 983, the brothers were leaders of the great Slavic revolt, which German historiography labels the Slawenaufstand, which followed news of the Emperor Otto II's defeat at the Battle of Stilo. He raided far to the west and even destroyed the relatively new city of Hamburg that year. There are two accounts of his life and his reasons for abandoning Christianity.

According to Adam of Bremen:
A Slavic prince named Billung married the beautiful sister of Bishop Wago of Starigard and had with her a daughter Hodica and a son Mstislaw, whom he, taking advantage of his jealousy of the Saxons, goaded into hatred of Christianity and his mother until, having so offended his wife, he began to connive against Christianity and the bishops.

According to Helmold:
Duke Herman Billung [actually Duke Bernard I] promised a niece of his to Mstivoj [or Mstivoj requested] if he accompanied him on campaign to Italy. That Mstivoj did and upon returning reminded him of the promise. Then Dietrich of Haldensleben proclaimed that "the high-born niece of a great prince may not be given to a dog," whereupon Mstivoj, recruiting the Liutizi to aid him, devastated Nordalbingia with fire and sword.
Helmold also justifies the Slavic rebellion repeatedly by citing the excessive greed of the Saxons.

Mstivoj's daughter Tove married in the spring of 962 Knut Danaást, the eldest son of Gorm the Old of Denmark. With the death of Knut in October 962 Tove became a widow, and instead she married Knut's younger brother Harald. She became the mother of Sweyn Forkbeard. Tove also raised the Sønder Vissing Runestone in memory of her mother. Another daughter, Hodica, was abbess of the monastery at the Mecklenburg. Mstivoj also had a son, Mstislaw, often being confused with his similarly named father.

References

Sources
Jacobsen, Lis. "Kong Haralds og Kong Gorms Jellingmonumenter." Scandia, IV. Lund, 1931. p. 264.

930s births
995 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
Obotrite princes
10th-century monarchs in Europe
Slavic pagans
Medieval rebels

Mstivoj