Typhoid is an infectious disease caused by Salmonella typhi which causes severe symptoms in the digestive system. It can be life-threatening, but if treated early antibiotics are effective.
The disease is transmitted from human to human via food or drinking water, and it is therefore mainly hygiene and sanitary conditions that determine its spread. It is primarily for this reason that it is mainly seen in areas with poor sanitation/living conditions.
The incubation period is 10 to 20 days and depends on, among other things, how large a dose of bacteria has been taken in.
In the mild disease, the bacterium is eliminated very early in the course of the disease and there are perhaps only mild symptoms. It is possible to become a healthy carrier of infection.
A more serious case of typhoid may include high temperature, sweating, cough, headache, vomiting and constipation (diarrhoea in children).
Hepatitis A is an infection of the liver caused by the hepatitis A virus. It is spread through contaminated water and food, especially shellfish or through person to person contact where personal hygiene is poor.
Hepatitis A occurs worldwide, mostly in countries where sanitation is poor. It is now rare in Western Europe, Scandinavia, North America, Japan, New Zealand and Australia. Most cases imported into Britain have been contracted in the Indian sub-continent.
The illness of all forms of hepatitis is similar. Symptoms include mild fever, gastro-intestinal upset, nausea/vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain. Jaundice may also occur. Infection with hepatitis A results in lifelong immunity.


What Can I Bring To The HHW Event?
Click here to view the list of items that will and will not be accepted at the annual Household Hazardous Waste Day event located at 1320 West Main Street.
What Are Hazardous Wastes?Many products used in the home, garden, garage and hobby shop contain hazardous ingredients and need to be used and stored safely. Once you decide to discard these products, they become household hazardous wastes requiring proper disposal. Household hazard wastes can be described as discarded solid or liquid materials or containers holding gases, which may cause an adverse, harmful or damaging biological effect in an organism or to the environment unless given special handling and treatment.
Hazardous wastes usually account for a small portion of the waste stream, but can contaminate our water and soil if disposed of improperly. That's why hazardous waste should not be disposed of with regular garbage or poured into the sewers.
A substance is considered hazardous if it can catch fire, if it can react or explode when mixed with other substances, if it is corrosive, or if it is toxic. This definition includes many things that you probably are storing right now in your garage, basement, bathroom or kitchen. Some, like paint thinner or car batteries, are pretty obvious, but there are many that you might not ordinarily think of such as polishes, insecticides and glues.
hat Type Of Products Might Have Hazardous Characteristics?
- Examples of flammable products include many solvent-based materials such as varnish strippers and driveway sealants. Some products will even spontaneously combust if improperly stored.
- Household items that may be corrosive include acidic or caustic cleaners such as toilet bowl cleaner, oven cleaner and drain opener, as well as batteries, especially car batteries.
- Reactive type chemicals can include strong peroxides, ammonia, chlorine-based products and mothballs.
- Toxic materials include anti-freeze, pesticides and windshield washer fluid.


Websites Stalk Us
By Zach Lewis
November 17, 2021
How do websites track us?
Most websites force us to accept cookies and deny access if the user declines. Other sites will preface that their cookies are only in place to help the user have a better experience on their site. Chances are, this is a lie. Cookies only exist to gather information on users to benefit the website. Cookies are added by developers and are not necessary for the integral functions of a website.
More Than Browser History
Even when a user clears their browser history and deletes cookies from their browser the website still contains all the information. Thus, when you return to a site, the process begins again.
Photo by Brian McGowan on Unsplash
How Big Tech Tracks You
Google’s Chrome browser has privacy settings that users can configure and customize. However, this puts the burden of data privacy on you when the browser itself should be automatically protecting this data. Chrome has an option to block all cookies except Google does not recommend using this function. Car manufacturers wouldn’t be able to recommend their consumers to not wear a seatbelt or use an airbag, so why should Google be able to recommend detrimental safety practices to their users?
Cookies are not the only issue. Many sites and apps share user info with Facebook and Google to build an even more comprehensive data set on us. When individuals log in to any number of sites using either Facebook’s or Google’s, Single Sign-On (SSO), that comprehensive data set is paired with a user’s personal information. Even though this method doesn’t require a password, your personal data is still collected and becomes the property of these sites, and is left vulnerable to hackers.
Google’s infamous Incognito mode only blocks another person using your device, or whichever device you are using at the moment, from seeing your browser history. The same information is stored by Google.
Photo by Loly Galina on Unsplash
Why is tracking bad?
Obtaining a user’s IP address alone is tantamount to acquiring the key to their home’s front door and can lead to unlocking more sensitive information. This can include bank account numbers, driver license numbers, and even Social Security Numbers.
Users have their personal data monetized as well, with no profits being sent to the user. If any of these sites have collected a user’s data with cookies and are then hacked, the end result is detrimental to the very user these sites are exploiting to make a profit.
Ways to Stop Tracking
There are a myriad of ways to protect your data privacy online. VPN’s (Virtual Private Networks) Keep a user’s IP address private and allow them to access the internet in anonymity but if you login to a site those sites will still track some data on the user unless that login is encrypted in some way.
The European Union has implemented laws to better ensure data privacy such as the General Data Protection Agency passed in 2018. Although no such legislation exists in the United States of America, there is an important yet antiquated data protection law from 1980, nothing new has been enacted on a federal level to protect internet users from tracking.
California enacted the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in 2020 which does involve more safeguards in regards to data protection and tracking than any federal laws in the United States but it’s protection is only for residents of California.
Photo by Sara Kurfeß on Unsplash
Other browsers exist that take measures to protect your data. Brave and Torproject.org are two different browsers that provide users with privacy protection. Tor utilizes multiple servers to obscure the stream of internet traffic of its users.
Brave states on its website that they collect no information on any of its users but allows them to curate interests locally. Brave gives the power of personalization to its users without resorting to tracking or the need for users to log in with a password.
Photo by Andy Kelly on Unsplash
How humanID Protects Information
Anonymous and secure login ensures data privacy for you on any website that is accessed with humanID. This SSO allows users to login to any site without the fear of tracking. A unique, random, and anonymous signifier is attached to you without any personal information included.
Browsers such as Tor and Brave are a great step in the right direction to not being tracked by websites. However, the safest way to travel the internet is to start by using a secure and anonymous login like humanID.


Biosecurity - caring for the forest
What is biosecurity?
Biosecurity is the set of precautions we take to stop the spread of diseases and pests in our forests.
Tree pests and diseases can be harmful for our landscape and wildlife. You can help stop their spread with some simple steps:
- If you are visiting one of our woodlands by car, please drive and park on hard standing surfaces where possible. This makes it harder for the pests that might be living in your tyres to come in to contact with the forest floor.
- Cleaning down your dirty kit, including boots, bikes, and buggies, before you leave for the day can also prevent pests from moving from one place to another.
- If you travel to other countries, please don't bring any plant or tree products back with you, as these may be carrying harmful non-native tree pests or diseases.


Horse racing is not only popular in North America, UK, European or Arab countries, but also develops in some Asian countries such as Japan, Hong Kong (China), Malaysia, and also in our country.
Horse race training is a profession that requires skill and perseverance for owners. Racehorses begin their training at the age of 2, starting with cargo and horse riding. Caring and training is still the process of most concern whether the horse has entered the race or not.
People also coined many terms to honor racehorses. The mare under 5 years old is called “fillies” and then when a grown-up is called “mere”. While males under the age of 5 are called “gelding” or “colt” and after reaching the age of 5, they are called “stallions”.
Children once dreamed of riding as if they were seen on TV, but very few of these would be able to fulfill that dream in the future.
Horse racing requires training and grooming for events, and it can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. For example, the average cost to launch a racehorse can exceed $ 200,000 a year.
But that is not to mention the money to buy horses. The price of the stallions participating in the races is not cheap, can reach millions of dollars. The world has seen many horse racing deals with deals up to many million USD.
10 years ago, in 2006, the Arabian stallion named Plavius was owned by the Deputy Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for $ 9.2 million.
The most expensive horse ever sold was the name Fusaichi Pegasus. It was the horse that won the big Kentucky Derby in 2000 and ended his career with 9 races, 6 wins, and 2 losses.
Over the course of his career, Pegasus has helped bring in bonuses of up to 1,994,400 USD, which is a very impressive number.


In a finding that challenges a long-held belief regarding the cultural spread of tool use among chimpanzees, researchers report that chimpanzees in the Ebo forest, Cameroon, use stone hammers to crack open hard-shelled nuts to access the nutrient-rich seeds. The findings are significant because this nut-cracking behavior was previously known only in a distant chimpanzee population in extreme western Africa and was thought to be restricted by geographical boundaries that prevented cultural spread of the technique from animal to animal. The findings, which involve the most endangered and least-understood subspecies of chimpanzee, are reported by Dr. Bethan Morgan and Ekwoge Abwe of the Zoological Society of San Diego's Conservation and Research for Endangered Species (CRES) and appear in the August 22nd issue of the journal Current Biology, published by Cell Press.
Prior to this discovery, it was thought that chimpanzee nut-cracking behavior was confined to the region west of the N'Zo-Sassandra River in Cote d'Ivoire. Because there are no relevant ecological or genetic differences between populations on either side of this "information barrier," explain the researchers of the new study, the implication had been that nut-cracking is a behavioral tradition constrained in its spread by a physical barrier: It was absent to the east of the river because it had not been invented there. The new finding that chimpanzees crack open nuts more than 1700 km east of the supposed barrier challenges this long-accepted model. According to the authors of the study, the discontinuous distribution of the nut-cracking behavior may indicate that the original "culture zone" was larger, and nut-cracking behavior has become extinct between the N'Zo-Sassandra and Ebo. Alternatively, it may indicate that nut-cracking has been invented on more than one occasion in widely separated populations.
This is one of the first reports of tool use for Pan troglodytes vellerosus, the most endangered and understudied chimpanzee subspecies. It highlights the necessity to preserve the rich array of cultures found across chimpanzee populations and communities, which represent our best model for understanding the evolution of hominid cultural diversity. As such, the new finding promises to both benefit research and inform the conservation of our closest living relative.


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This Key Stage 1 lesson on homophones is part of the Beano’s SPaG Lolz programme.
The learning objectives are:
There are starter activities, a main activity, extension work and a plenary, differentiation ideas and more.
Also included are two worksheets; one which asks students to complete a sentence by picking the correct answer from two homophones, and one which gets students to match up the setup and punchline of jokes based around homophones.
Download loads more Beano SPaG lesson plans at schools.beano.com.
Here you’ll find 12 easy step-by-step lesson plans with presentations and worksheets linked to the English, Welsh and Scottish Curriculums and complete with learning objectives and outcomes, pupils will investigate ways to create their own jokes.
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The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg
By Rodman Philbrick
2010 Newberry Honor Book
A humorous and informative book from the beginning. Homer and his older brother Harold are orphans being brought up by a mean uncle. Their uncle sells 17-year-old Harold into the Union Army and 12-year-old Homer runs off to find him. The story, filled with one way-out adventure after another, starts in Pine Swamp, Maine and it ends up at Gettysburg.
The story is filled with characters with crazy names. It reminds you of Mark Twain’s Huck Finn. Homer is courageous and funny and has a knack of stretching the truth whenever he needs to.
The reader learns a lot about the time period – the underground railroad and the Civil War. When at Gettysburg the story does gets a little graphic about the fighting. He does find his brother, but I’ll let you read the book to see how it ends.
And if you don’t like the book, you have Jebediah Brewster to blame, not Homer. You also must read the book to find out why.
Go over to Always in the Middle to find out who else is posting about MG Books.


Bicycle Safety for the cyclist
As the summer is slowly rolling into season; cycling enthusiasts will be gearing up for bike rides. While all levels of cyclists take to the streets and open roads, it is important to remember some safety protocols when sharing the roads with drivers.
Here is a handy review and list of some common things one can do to be safe on the roads and to enjoy cycling this summer:
Make sure your bike is “road ready” – Be sure that the rider is fitted for the frame of bike they are using. Too large or too small frames can be dangerous to control. Make sure to ride a bike which is legal and that the equipment on the bike also covers what is legally needed to ride.
Helmets – A helmet can save your life. An approved helmet can reduce injury and risk of death in the event of an accident or collision. Be sure that the helmet is fitted correctly and meets the CSA approval standards. It is law in Ontario that every rider under the age of 18 must wear an approved bicycle helmet.
Lighting – Your bicycle must be lit with a front white light, and rear red light or reflector when riding one-half hour before sunrise and one-half hour before sunset. Also, reflective strips are required on the front (white) and back forks (red).
Clothing – Highly visible clothing is recommended; especially when sharing the road – yellow and white stand out best at night. Pedal reflectors and other reflective material can also be worn on wrists, ankles, heels, etc.
Being Heard – Cycling can be very quiet; so it is important to warn others as you approach them. By law, all bikes must have a working bell or horn. It is also just as effective or courteous to shout something like “passing on the right” when passing others.
(Straight Line) Riding – Riding in a straight line is important in keeping safe when riding in traffic.
- Ride in single file
- Ride on the right side of the road, with traffic
- Don’t ride on busy streets
- Only ride on sidewalks or paths where permitted
- Stop for all stop signs
- Stop at all intersections
Shoulder Checking – Although this may take some practice it is important to check over your shoulders to see what the traffic behind you is doing. This is vital for making safe turns. Also, be sure to remain in a straight line when checking.
Hand Signals – It is very important to learn and use hand signals so other motorists know what you are doing. Always make sure it is safe to turn by doing a shoulder check before you turn. Be sure to hold your hand signals long enough that drivers can see them.
For a great resource from the Ontario Government please refer to – Ontario’s Guide to Safe Cycling here:
A quick note on riding in traffic.
Since bicycles tend to travel a lower speed there are two main rules to follow on the road:
- Slower traffic is to stay right
- Slower traffic must give way to faster traffic when safe and practical.
Taking the proper safety precautions and utilizing the rules or the road are so important in preventing injury and fatality. Our line of insurance products and offerings have you covered in the event of an unforeseeable accident. At Lambton Mutual we are looking out for our policy holders with the best plans and information, so you can enjoy your summer activities. Please be sure to ask us about coverage when getting road ready with your bicycle(s) and other toys this summer.


2.1 Installing WordPress
The first step in our journey is to install WordPress. It’s very simple, as I’ll show you in this lesson.
1.Introduction1 lesson, 01:20
2.Framework Basics2 lessons, 14:38
3.PHP Files16 lessons, 2:08:48
4.Finishing Touches2 lessons, 23:07
5.Conclusion1 lesson, 01:31
2.1 Installing WordPress
Hey, welcome to the first lesson. So before we go into any coding, we need to install WordPress first. Right? And, if you're familiar with WordPress, then you know how to do this. But if you're just a beginner, and are looking to create a framework for WordPress well you're gonna need a working environment. So I recommend you work locally because it's faster and you can also use GitHub for version control, and you can work offline, right? You can go to a coffee shop, which maybe doesn't have an internet connection, and you can work there. So, I'm gonna show you a very quick way to install WordPress locally using MAMP. Now MAMP is an application which is available for both MacOS and Windows that will install a local server and you'll be able to install WordPress on that server. Now, MAMP also has a pro version, which in version three actually has a very simple way of installing WordPress, but I'm gonna show you the old fashion way. I have a version two of MAMP Pro here and as you can see I have a few hosts set up, for example, WordPress38.ms. In my system that stands for WordPress version 3.8.multisite. Which is just a way of saying or showing that this website is a part of a larger system. And what I'm gonna do here is copy this address and then I'm gonna hit this plus button, server name I'm going to call it WordPress39.ms so we're installing the latest version. I'm gonna paste this in and change it to 39. And also I'm gonna create an alias for this which is gonna be called WordPress 39.ms. And before I hit apply, I gotta go into my sites folder, where I host all of my WordPress installs. I am going to create a new folder called WordPress 39.ms. So now I'm gonna go back here. I'm gonna hit Apply. And it's gonna ask me for my password. Hit OK. It's gonna restart the server and you're good to go basically. So let's minimize this. Now, you need to go to wordpress.org, hit on the Download button. And you'll need to download the current version, which at the time of this recording is 391. And I've already downloaded this zip file and I have all it's contents right here, so I'm gonna copy all of them and paste them in my newly created folder. And you can see that we have some files generated by MAMP. But you can go ahead and delete these and paste in the new ones. Now every WordPress installation has a config file, which is this. So, first thing, you gotta rename it wp-config, and then you need to open this in a code editor, and you need to change a couple of things. So, first of all, the database name, we're gonna call this wordpress39. Username and password, in my case, it's root. It's the default user and password. DB_HOST is local host. You need to scroll down. Table prefix, I'm gonna call it WordPress 39. And then WP_DEBUG, I'm gonna set it to true. And that's all you need to do here basically. Okay so we're gonna close this. And now, you got to open MAMP again and you got to click this web start button. And this will take you right here, into your MAMP screen. Now, when working with WordPress, you need to use some kind of database. So, you need to go to phpMyAdmin, you need to go to Databases and you need to create a database with the name that you put in the config file. In my case, it's WordPress3.9 and I went ahead and created this database. But it's very simple, you just type the name here, Create, and you have your database. Now, once you do that you can go ahead and access wordpress3.9.ms. And this works because I've set up the alias of wordpress3.9.ms right here in MAMP. So it works. Now, this is the install screen. It asks you for a site title, so we're just gonna say WordPress 3.9. Username, I'm just gonna say admin. You gotta input your password twice. Your email. And since we're working locally, we're just gonna tick off this check box, allow search engines to index this site. Hit Install WordPress, and now it says that WordPress has been successfully installed. So click on Log In. Admin. And then your password. Log In. And there we go. This is a fresh install of WordPress 3.9. And if we open it, you're gonna see it with it's default theme which is I think 2014. Let's see, yep, active theme is 2014. So there you go, that's how you install WordPress. And now you're ready to begin working on the actual framework. But before you do that, you gotta make up a plan of what files you're gonna need and the order you're gonna use to write them. And I'm gonna show you how to do that in the next lesson.


Distillation is sometimes the only possible for of treatment to purify water. After disasters and during emergencies there are times when there isn’t enough fuel for boiling, or there isn’t a suitable container available to place over an open flame. In a true end of organized society situation or even just disruptions to the supply chains, replacement water filters will not be available and new supplies of disinfection chemicals will disappear. Even backup sources of water need to be disinfected. This is something everyone with have to deal with and a small solar distiller can be built by anyone. Solar water distillers can be created using household items. What you need is a clear glass pot or bowl. As long as it is oven safe. A cup, also glass and tin foil. The tin foil could be better served with something clear, like the lid to your glass pot. Plastic wrap can work if it is thick enough to withstand the heat generated in the device.
The construction is simple:
1) Place the cup in the bowl.
2) Fill bowl with water. Do not go over the height of the cup. Less water will distill faster.
3) Cover the bowl. With the lid/tin foil/plastic wrap.
4) Place the still out in an area that receives a lot of sun.
This is a solar still at it’s simplest, All you have to do is set it up in a sunny area and come back an hour later. The main drawback is the volume of water treated, in this example you only get a cup of water every few hours. There are additional things you can do to increase the effectiveness and the efficiency. The first thing you can do is add another cup, or two to collect more of the distillate. If your bowl has a lid with a handle in the centre, place the lid on the distiller upside down with the handle pointing into the cup. This should look like a funnel (of sorts) and it will direct more distillate into the cup.
Keeping the water shallow will heat it up faster, using a wider bowl or tray will help with this. There is a balance however to be kept to ensure the water condenses into the cup, which is favored by a narrow bowl.
Placing the still on a black piece of metal will also greatly assist in the heating of the water. You could also place something black and metal in the water or paint the bottom of the bowl. The point is, black surfaces heat up faster.
There are specifically designed lab glassware for distillation. If you can buy these, I suggest you do as they will be your most efficient, and can be placed over a flame if you buy the right ones. The piece that is most useful is the condenser tube. The collection of the distilled water is much more efficient with a condenser tube. Collecting the distilled water in another container allows for faster distillation due to a rapid drop in temperature from the heated vessel to the cooling vessel.
There is only one type of contaminant not removed by distillation, those are volatile chemicals with a boiling point less than water. Volatile chemicals are usually dissolved gasses in the water, they aren’t removed by distillation because these chemicals follow the water through the phase change to a gas and back again into a liquid.
Distillation has another big problem in my opinion. Distilled water tastes bad. You may have different tastes than I do, if you do then go ahead and drink distilled water. Now taste is a luxury in a survival situation and drinking bad tasting clean water is better than contaminated water. As I say at the end of all my emergency water treatment articles, always drink the safest water possible. This is another water disinfection tool you can use when you really need it.


A recent study suggests that young people tend to lack trust in mental health apps on their phones, thus reducing the likelihood of intervention.
The study can be read in Health Policy and Technology.
The research stemmed from a questionnaire administered to 248 young people aged 17 to 25.
The result of the study suggests that the participants were mainly neutral towards the idea of digital mental health interventions (DMHIs). This is despite the fact that DMHIs have the potential to provide support for young people.
“Young people aged 17–25 were recruited online via advertising (e.g., Facebook, Twitter) to a survey assessing attitudes of technology acceptance and intentions to use DMHIs, previous use of DMHIs, demographics, and mental health need,” the study reads.
“Moderate levels of technology acceptance for mental health, particularly in domains of perceived usefulness and trust of DMHIs, may represent a barrier to DMHI adoption among young people.”
“Developers and service providers are recommended to provide information about the usefulness, effectiveness, and trustworthiness of DMHIs to improve uptake among young people.”


We sometimes regard fish farms as a way to raise seafood in a controlled environment, not subject to oceanic pollution and other factors that ravage aquatic populations. But in reality, there’s often a horrible backfire to cultivating artificial populations. According to Environment News Service, as many as 95% of wild salmon migrating past commercial salmon fisheries are devastated by parasites raised within the facilities.
The debate over whether to buy farm-raised or wild salmon has long been a hot one, with many eco-conscious lox lovers opting for the wild-caught variety. But that may not be an option much longer, thanks to some tiny tagalongs. The Environment News Service reports that deadly sea lice have been feasting upon the flesh of juvenile wild salmon on their way out to sea. It sounds like a Halloween horror story, and indeed there is a daunting villain: the massive commercial fish farm industry. According to a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, “[p]arasites from fish farms kill as much as 95 percent of young wild salmon that migrate past the facilities.”
It’s ironic. Build a fishery to create sustainable artificial populations, and in the process end up devastating the remaining natural population.


A Quick Introduction to William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England, descended from tenant farmers and landed gentry. His traditional birth date, April 23, 1564, is conjectural. Baptism was on April 26, so April 23 is a good guess—and a tidy one, since that date is also St. George’s Day as well as the date of Shakespeare’s own death.
One of Shakespeare’s grandfathers, Richard Shakespeare of Snitterfield, rented land from the other, Robert Arden of Wilmcote. Shakespeare’s father, John, moved to nearby Stratford-upon-Avon, became a prosperous shop owner (dealing in leather goods) and municipal officeholder, and married his former landlord’s youngest daughter, Mary Arden. Thus Shakespeare—the third of eight children but the first to survive infancy—was born into a solidly middle-class family in a provincial market town.
During Shakespeare’s infancy, his father was one of the town’s leading citizens. In 1557, John Shakespeare had become a member of the town council and subsequently held such offices as constable, affeeror (a kind of assessor), and chamberlain (treasurer). In 1568, he became bailiff (mayor) and justice of the peace. As the son of a municipal officer, the young Shakespeare was entitled to a free education in the town’s grammar school, which he probably entered around the age of seven. The school’s main subject was Latin studies—grammar and readings drilled into the schoolboys year after year. The Avon River, the surrounding farmlands, and the nearby Forest of Arden offered plenty of opportunities for childhood adventures.
When Shakespeare was a teenager, his family fell on hard times. His father stopped attending town council meetings in 1577, and the family’s fortunes began to decline. Matters were not improved in 1582 when Shakespeare, at the age of eighteen, hastily married Anne Hathaway, the twenty-six-year-old daughter of a farmer from the nearby village of Shottery. She presented him with a daughter, named Susanna, approximately five months later. In 1585, the couple also became the parents of twins, Hamnet and Judith. As was then customary, the young couple probably lived in his parents’ home, which must have seemed increasingly crowded.
The next mention of Shakespeare is in 1592, when he was an actor and playwright in London. His actions during the seven-year interim have been a matter of much curious speculation, including unproved stories of deer poaching, soldiering, and teaching. It may have taken him those seven years simply to break into and advance in the London theater. His early connections with the theater are unknown, although he was an actor before he became a playwright. He might have joined one of the touring companies that occasionally performed in Stratford-upon-Avon, or he might have gone directly to London to make his fortune, in either the theater or some other trade. Shakespeare was a venturesome and able young man who had good reasons to travel—his confining family circumstances, tinged with just enough disgrace to qualify him to join the disreputable players. The theater was his escape to freedom; he therefore had strong motivation to succeed.


The birth of more than one offspring at a time is called a multiple birth. Multiple births are common in smaller mammals, such as domestic cats and dogs. Humans and other large mammals, however, ordinarily give birth to only one offspring at a time. In humans, about 1.5 percent of all births are multiple. The increasing use of drugs and other medical procedures beginning in the 1980s to combat infertility—the inability to conceive a child by natural means after one year—has contributed to the growing number of multiple births in humans.
A woman normally releases a single egg from an ovary about once a month. Once the egg is fertilized by a sperm cell, it is called a zygote. It is then implanted in the wall of the uterus where it develops until birth. (See also embryology; reproductive system.)
Occasionally two or more eggs are released. In this case, each egg can be fertilized by a different sperm cell. Two separate fertilized eggs produce fraternal (also called dizygotic, or two-egg) twins. Identical (monozygotic, or one-egg) twins result when a single zygote divides in two and develops as two separate embryos. Why this division of the zygote occurs is unknown. Other multiple births can result from the simultaneous occurrence of both events, so that among triplets, two may be identical and the third fraternal.
Although some fraternal twins look very similar, they are no more alike than siblings (brothers or sisters) born years apart. They may be the same or different sexes. Identical twins, on the other hand, are formed from the same genetic material and are always the same in sex, blood type, biochemical detail, and appearance. (See also genetics.) Their fingerprints are slightly different, however, and one twin is usually more dominant or outgoing in personality.
Just as with some siblings born at different times, fraternal twins sometimes look remarkably alike, so that appearance alone is no certain indication that twins are identical. Fraternal twins can often be recognized at birth if there are two separate placentas (also called afterbirths), because identical twins always share a single placenta. Since the two placentas of fraternal twins can fuse together, however, the presence of a single placenta is no guarantee that twins are identical. The only certain diagnosis is genetic analysis.
Studies of identical twins who were raised apart are providing data that seem to indicate that heredity may influence traits once assumed to be environmentally determined. Some twins have almost identical health problems, such as cyclic headaches, high blood pressure, and even infections. Intelligence quotients (IQ), brain-wave patterns, personalities, handwriting, and even hobbies can also be amazingly similar.
An estimated 125 million sets of twins currently exist worldwide. About one-third of these are identical; they occur randomly without regard to genetics, ethnicity, culture, or geographic location. The chances of giving birth to fraternal twins, however, appear to be influenced by genetic and possibly environmental factors. In the United States, women bear one set of fraternal twins in every 70 to 89 births, depending on race. In Nigeria one in every 22 births is a pair of twins. The rate in Japan is only one in every 150 births. However, in a small South Korean village with only 275 families, 38 pairs of twins were born in a single year—the highest twin ratio ever recorded.
It has been found that a woman is more likely to bear fraternal twins if she herself is a fraternal twin. A woman with twins in her family also has a greater likelihood of bearing twins. For any woman the chances of bearing twins increase each year from age 20 to 39, particularly if she has already had a child.
Women who take fertility drugs are also more likely to have multiple births. Fertility drugs are hormones that are given to women who fail to release an egg every month and so cannot become pregnant. These drugs, which tend to overstimulate the ovaries, may cause more than one egg to be released at a time. Other infertility procedures, such as in vitro fertilization, where eggs are fertilized outside the human body and then inserted into the woman’s uterus, also contribute to the rising number of multiple births.
Conjoined, formerly called Siamese, twins are identical twins who are physically joined at some part of the body. Conjoined twins result when the zygote does not completely separate. If the twins are joined by bones or ligaments, surgery can separate the two. The first successful separation of this sort was performed in 1952 on two girls who were joined at the sternum, or breastbone. Sometimes, however, conjoined twins share the same organs. In this case surgery can rarely save both of them, though it is sometimes attempted in order to save one. In general, the life expectancy is short for conjoined twins.
Multiple births are riskier because most such infants are born prematurely. The normal length of a single-embryo pregnancy is 40 weeks. Two or more fetuses stretch the uterus, however, causing labor to start early. The average length of a twin pregnancy is 36 weeks, a triplet pregnancy 33 weeks, and a quadruplet pregnancy 29 weeks. Babies born before 37 weeks are considered premature and can weigh less than 5 pounds (2.3 kilograms). Because premature babies are more susceptible to serious illness, including respiratory ailments, the mortality rate for twins is five times that of full-term single infants during the first two years of life.
Sometimes only one twin survives—usually the first-born. The second-born twin is often smaller and is frequently born in a breech position (feet or buttocks first), making delivery more difficult. In addition, because the uterus contracts after delivery of the first twin, the remaining twin may be deprived of oxygen.
Twins are probably conceived more often than they are born. Multiple embryos account for many spontaneous abortions, or miscarriages. Sometimes chimerism may occur—when fraternal twin embryos fuse early in development, producing a single infant.
Survival rates of multiple-birth infants have improved in recent years for several reasons. More advanced instruments can better monitor the fetuses’ progress in the womb. Specially designed stethoscopes can detect more than one fetal heartbeat. Physicians can also use ultrasound, sound waves similar to sonar, to produce a computerized image of the fetuses showing each one’s position. Delivery by cesarean section (surgical incision of the abdomen) reduces the chances of complications in certain circumstances. Once the infants are delivered, neonatal specialists use medicines and instruments developed especially for tiny babies to help them breathe, to control internal bleeding, and to solve other medical problems common in premature births.
Multiple Births in History
The largest number of children ever born to one woman was 69. The woman, a Russian peasant, was pregnant 27 times between 1725 and 1765 and gave birth to 16 sets of twins, seven sets of triplets, and four sets of quadruplets. Survival beyond infancy of four or more multiple-birth children became more common in the late 20th century because of the advances in medical technology. Numerous sets of quintuplets born throughout the world have survived.
Beginning in the late 20th century, multiple births were common among women undergoing fertility treatment. Sextuplets born in South Africa in 1974 made medical history because all six survived. In the United States, the first surviving sextuplets were born in 1993, the first surviving septuplets in 1997, and the first surviving octuplets in 1998 (one was delivered two weeks before the other seven, and one died a week after birth). There are documented reports of 9 and 10 infants being born at one time, yet in none of these cases have all the babies survived. By the early 21st century, fertility doctors in the United States and other countries were better able to control the fertility process and reduce the risk of women carrying high numbers of fetuses.


Daedalus and Icarus Trivia
Brain Snacks: Tasty Tidbits of Knowledge
Okay, this is amazing: In 1988, a group of MIT researchers partially recreated Daedalus' journey with a winged contraption of their own. Powered by a champion cyclist, the lightweight craft flew from Crete to the island of Santorini, traveling a distance of 71.5 miles. See it in action.
Taking it one step further, in 2008, a modern-day Daedalus named "FusionMan" was the first person to fly with jet-powered wings strapped to his back. He even developed the wings himself. (Source.)
Through a program called Project Icarus, the British Interplanetary Society is working to develop an unmanned spacecraft that could travel beyond our solar system. Whoa.
King Minos may have been a real king! Or even a compilation of several different kings who lived during the Minoan period. In any case, you can visit his palace (called Knossos) on Crete. According to legend, this is where Theseus fought the Minotaur.
Minotaur literally means "Minos-bull." How about that?
Daedaleopsis confragosa is the name of a mushroom that has a maze-like pattern on it. Since Daedalus built one of the most famous mazes of all time (the Labyrinth), scientists named it after him. Makes sense to us.
Daedalus also has a reef named after him in the Red Sea. Not too shabby.
Daedalus has his very own crater on the dark side of the moon. Sneak a peek of the photo taken of it by Apollo 11 astronauts.
And one last big of fun: Daedalus is the official journal of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Fancy!


St Patrick's Cathedral
Corner Sturt and Dawson Streets, Ballarat
St Patrick's Cathedral first conducted services from 1851
onwards, the parish of Ballarat was instituted in 1852. The
first Parish Priest was Father Matthew Downing, who
selected in 1853 the two acres site for this church which
was granted under a crown Grant in 1855.
The style of the church is early Gothic from the era of
Edward the 1st in the 13th Century.
Neil Street Uniting Church
Cnr Neil and Macarthur Streets, Ballarat
The present three-manual organ was built by Fincham & Hobday at a cost of £1,145 and was opened by G.B. Fentum on 24 October 1890. This was one of the firm’s largest church organs of the period, incorporating a detached drawstop console, tubular-pneumatic action, and a 16ft case. The instrument was rebuilt in 1924 and again in 1954 by George Fincham & Sons Pty Ltd, at which time the action was converted to electro-pneumatic and a new three manual stopkey console installed. The original tonal scheme and pipework remain largely unaltered, however the original decoration of the façade pipes has regrettably been overpainted.
Ballarat Central Uniting Church
Corner Dana and Lydiard Streets, Ballarat
The first Methodist service to be held in the Ballarat area took place on 28 September 1851 and during the second half of the 19th century a number of Methodist churches were erected in the city, the most prominent of which was Wesley Church,
Lydiard Street, centrally located in the town.
The present bichromatic brick church was erected in 1883-84 to the design of Terry & Oakden in an Italianate Gothic style, with additions in 1899. In 1922 the choir gallery - originally with a cast iron balustrade - was redesigned. The church is built on the edge of the ‘escarpment’. The main entrance in Lydiard Street is set at a higher level than the apse and the floor follows the slope of the land. The external brickwork is elaborately detailed around the windows and doors with notched brickwork while the external walls have diapered patterns. The amphitheatrical interior is lofty and spacious and includes cast iron galleries at the sides and rear of the nave. The building is comparable with the firm’s Toorak Methodist Church which was wantonly demolished in the 1980s.
The first pipe organ, in the early building, was a large single
manual instrument and probably the first organ in Ballarat.
It was later moved to the Methodist Church, Pleasant Street, Ballarat, St Mark’s Anglican Church, Camberwell and finally
to St Paul’s Anglican Church, Fairfield where it was broken
up in the late 1960s.
The Wendouree Centre for Performing Arts
1220 Howitt Street, Wendouree
is a splendid jewel in the crown for Ballarat, further enriching the cultural and artistic life of the city and Western Victoria.
This recently completed Proscenium Arched Concert Hall boasts an acoustically superior Auditorium consisting of stalls seating and two balconies. The configuration of the seating allows unrestricted views from each of the 857 seats.
With 170 square metres of stage and an additional 60 square metres of wing space the Wendouree Centre for Performing Arts is suitable for a huge range of functions. The stage is wide enough to accommodate a symphony orchestra, yet it can be made narrow enough to make even solo performers feel comfortable. This is done with the use of a unique pivot proscenium that can be opened or closed without affecting audience sightlines. Beyond the wings, on stage right, is a street level loading dock allowing single level stage access from street to stage.
Directly under the stage are pivoting walled dressing rooms which allow versatility in layout. The system enables conversion from a single open room into two, three or four smaller dressing rooms in a matter of minutes. An unhindered passageway allows stage access from dressing rooms to either side of the stage via stairs at either end.
The Centre has two spacious foyers, one on either side of the auditorium, on the same level as initial seating rows, making access to the venue easy.
1600 Sturt St, Ballarat VIC 3350
Loreto College is the oldest school in Ballarat, Victoria. The school has many historical buildings and much heritage that remains present to this day.
Possibly Australia's most magnificent convent church, this building was erected between 1898 and 1902 to the design of W.B. Tappin, of the firm of Reed, Smart & Tappin, and is stylistically comparable with the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Bendigo, Tappin's magnum opus. It was substantially funded through the estate of a German countess, Elizabeth Wolff-Metternich, who had resided for some time in Ballarat. The chapel is constructed in Barrabool stone with Oamaru stone detailing and consists of a large and lofty clerestoried nave and a spacious apsidal sanctuary, all surrounded by an external ambulatory. The elaborate plastered and painted interior, recently restored, focuses upon a marble high altar surmounted by three rose windows placed above elaborate Gothic arcading.
At the rear, a huge rose window, with glass by William Montgomery, is framed by the blue stencilled facade pipes of the divided organ built in 1903 by George Fincham & Son at a cost of £675. The instrument remains largely intact apart from the refitting of the console by the same firm in 1938, when stopkeys replaced the original drawstops and the coupling actions replaced. Restoration work has been carried out by Australian Pipe Organs in recent years.
Mechanics' Institute Ballarat
117 Sturt St, Ballarat VIC 3350
In 1856 an unsuccessful attempt was made to form an Industrial Institute in Ballarat.
By early 1859, following a public meeting, the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute was established. Committee meetings and lectures were held in a little cottage in Main Road and thanks to the generosity of the Fire Brigade, a Reading Room was established on the first floor of the Ballarat East Fire Station in Barkly Street. According to Nathan Spielvogel, the reading room contained three tables, 18 chairs, a number of newspapers and 72 books on the shelves.
Through the efforts of Peter Lalor (then an MP) a piece of land in Sturt Street was set aside as the site for the future Mechanics’ Institute. Much argument ensued between the East and West Councils over the future location of a permanent Mechanics’ Institute in Ballarat.
Finally on Friday, September 28, 1860 the foundation stone of the back section of the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute was laid with full Masonic honours in front of a crowd, estimated by the Ballarat Star, as numbering 10,000.
St Paul's Anglican Church Clunes
Templeton Street, Clunes
St Paul’s was built in 1870-71, at the height of the gold mining in Clunes. The historic bluestone building is of Gothic style and, in its hill top setting surrounded by mature English trees, resembles a medieval parish church. It is the only known Australian work of architect Thomas Austin who is described as a protégé of the famous English Gothicist, Sir George Gilbert Scott.
The original church, now situated at the rear of St Paul’s, was pre-fabricated in America. It was assembled in Clunes in 1859 of prefabricated board and batten construction with Tudor moulds over doors and windows and is of a design common in North America but rarely seen in Australia. You are welcome to visit this building.
During the mining years, the congregation was very large. Records show that 576 adults and children attended St Paul’s Sunday school picnic in 1877. The church itself holds a large congregation.
The mechanical action pipe organ was built for private use in about 2860 by the little known firm, Hamlin & Son of London. Hamlin had been an employee of Hill & Son. Only one other Hamlin organ has been located and that is in Great Britain. Two were exported to Australia, one for the Collins Street Baptist church and one, the organ in St Paul’s, Clunes, manufactured under the direction of a Melbourne gentleman for the use of his son, but sadly the son died before the organ arrived in Australia.
This beautiful little organ and beautiful historic church are treasures of our heritage. Both are in need of gentle but urgent, protective restoration.
Craig’s Royal Hotel
Lydiard Street Sth, Ballarat VIC 3350
As one of the first Grand Hotels in the colony, Craig’s Royal Hotel was born from the wealth of the Australian Gold Rush Era. Established in 1853, Craig’s soon set the standards for unparalleled hospitality and service. Hosting poets, princes and prime ministers over its 155 year history, the hotel is a true icon of the Victorian period.
Now, after nearly 6 years extensive restoration, the magnificent accommodation, dining, meeting and banquet facilities are re-establishing Craig’s as the finest boutique heritage hotel in Australia. Located on historic Lydiard Street in the heart of Ballarat, this Victorian landmark invites you to experience the legend that is Craig’s alone.
St Joseph's Blampied
After 144 years of worship, St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Blampied has now been closed but it remains a solid bluestone beacon looking over the countryside on the road to Daylesford.
The festival is fortunate to have this historic building available for a late afternoon recital in 2019.
The nearby Swiss Mountain Hotel was established in 1865 and is reputed to be the oldest licensed weatherboard hotel in Victoria.


Your introduction will include your frame of reference, grounds for comparison, and thesis. There are two basic ways to organize the body of your paper. In text-by-text, you discuss all of A, then all of B.
Structuring a comparative essay. Packing your analysis of two poems into one essay involves planning. There are different ways you could approach writing a comparative essay.
Comparative Analysis Essay. A comparative analysis essay is an essay that compares two different subjects such as people, texts, events, and theories. The focus of a comparative analysis essay is mainly on identifying the main similarities or differences between the subjects.The broad structure of a comparative essay is already very familiar to you, and consists of an introduction, several body paragraphs and a conclusion. The introduction should include a clear contention that alerts the reader to your response to the topic, as well as the main ideas your essay will explore. It must contain references to both texts.A comparative analysis compares two or more things, for instance “two texts, two theories, two historical figures, two scientific processes, and so on.” A comparative analysis can be about two similar things that have crucial differences or two similar things with crucial difference yet have surprising commonalities.
A comparative essay is a writing task that requires you to compare two or more items. You may be asked to compare two or more literary works, theories, arguments or historical events. In literature, a comparative essay typically asks you to write an essay comparing two works by the same writer.Read More
In a comparative literary analysis, two literary works are compared and contrasted with each other. Traditionally, there are five steps to writing a.Read More
The conclusion of a comparative paper drives home your main points by restating key similarities and differences. You get a chance to emphasize why comparing the two ideas matters and what readers.Read More
The opening of your essay should be specific and to the point. Learn how to write an introduction to an essay in this Bitesize English video for KS3.Read More
When writing your comparative essay you will have to present a valid argument with supporting evidence and then finish the final paper with a conclusion that wraps up your aforementioned arguments in a sound and cohesive way.Read More
Now, after you have some clues on how to write a comparative analysis essay, you can start writing your outline and then the first draft. The essay should be comparatively short, but very substantial, i.e. to include a well-proved thesis and relevant arguments and examples.Read More
Writing a comparative essay about two poems, seen or unseen, is what students will eventually be assessed on when they come to sit the poetry analysis part of their GCSE Literature in essay. It makes sense, therefore, to get some early practice in and see what the assessment criteria will be asking for in preparation for the day the stakes are high.Read More
Every essay you write in Comparative Literature should include detailed analyses of the literary text or texts you are discussing. Close, careful and critical reading is essential in order for you to develop nuanced readings and interpretations, to bring out similarities and differences between the texts you are comparing, and to demonstrate.Read More
Guide for writing influential Comparative Essays with easy to understand instructions and compelling tips. This article includes 9 powerful steps and 6 incredible tips for helping you to write better Comparative essays. Comparative essays take readers into an analysis of two sides.Read More
How to Write a Character Analysis Essay? To go into a more profound sense and truly understand these characters, one must immerse oneself in the story or literary piece. Take note of the setting, climax, and other important literary parts. You must be able to feel and see through the characters.Read More


Oct 13, 2015 | Atlanta, GA
Miss Georgia tripped in the final round of the 2015 Miss America Pageant. Jennifer Lawrence stumbled on her way to accept an Oscar. Even rock stars, world leaders and presidential candidates have fallen in front of the crowd or completely off stage.
Researchers at Georgia Tech have identified a way to teach robots how to fall with grace and without serious damage. The work is important as costly robots become more common in manufacturing alongside humans. The skill becomes especially important, too, as robots are sought for health care or domestic tasks – working near the elderly, injured, children or pets.
Ph.D. graduate Sehoon Ha and Professor Karen Liu developed a new algorithm that tells a robot how to react to a wide variety of falls – from a single step to recover from a gentle nudge, to a rolling motion that breaks a high-speed fall. As a result, robots can minimize the damage or injury they might cause to themselves or others while falling by learning the best sequence of movements to slow their momentum. The planning algorithm was validated in physics simulation and experimentally tested on a BioloidGP humanoid.
“A fall can potentially cause detrimental damage to the robot and enormous cost to repair,” said Ha, who graduated in summer 2015 and is now a postdoctoral associate at Disney Research Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. “We believe robots can learn how to fall safely. Our work unified existing research about how to teach robots to fall by giving them a tool to automatically determine the total number of contacts (how many hands shoved it, for example), the order of contacts, and the position and timing of those contacts. All of that impacts the potential of a fall and changes the robot’s response.”
With the latest finding, Ha builds upon Liu’s previous research that studied how cats modify their bodies in the midst of a fall. Liu knew from that work that one of the most important factors in a fall is the angle of the landing. She also knew that a well-designed robot has the “brain” to compute a softer landing, but hadn’t yet optimized the sequence of motions that take place during a fall, like she and Ha were able to do in their latest research.
“From previous work, we knew a robot had the computational know-how to achieve a softer landing, but it didn’t have the hardware to move quickly enough like a cat,” Liu said. “Our new planning algorithm takes into account the hardware constraints and the capabilities of the robot, and suggests a sequence of contacts so the robot gradually can slow itself down.”
Now the robots may fall more gracefully than people and possibly cats, too. Imagine that.
The research, entitled “Multiple Contact Planning for Minimizing Damage of Humanoid Falls,” was presented this month at the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems in Hamburg, Germany.


Definition of kaolinite in English:
A white or grey clay mineral which is the chief constituent of kaolin.
- In this case the surrounding sediment matrix is dominated by detrital quartz and illite along with various other clay minerals (e.g. kaolinite and chlorite).
- Vein minerals are barite, calcite, chalcopyrite, kaolinite, pyrite, sphalerite, and wurtzite.
- These include clay minerals such as kaolinite and talc, micas, montmorillonites, and the remainder of the asbestos minerals including chrysotile (white asbestos).
Words that rhyme with kaoliniteLeninite
Definition of kaolinite in:
- US English dictionary
What do you find interesting about this word or phrase?
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Low-carbohydrate diets may be gaining in popularity, but carbs are not the enemy.
The right carbs fuel your body and brain and supply an abundance of nutrients, too.
Low-carb diets are nothing new – in fact, they’ve been around for more than 100 years. Since that time, they’ve cycled in and out of popularity. Dieters are often drawn to them because they promise fairly rapid weight loss. And, with a focus on protein and fat, low-carb plans do a pretty good job at controlling hunger. But very low carb diets have some downsides, too.
Why are carbs important?
Carbs don’t really deserve their bad reputation. In fact, they’re your body’s primary fuel source. When you eat carbs, they are broken down into a sugar, called glucose, which is transported in the bloodstream to your cells, tissues and organs. While your entire body relies on a steady supply of glucose, your muscles actually store glucose – in a form called glycogen – to provide quick energy, and your brain depends almost exclusively on glucose for fuel.
Carbs are found in lots of foods – some are very healthy, and some aren’t so good for you. Vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans are healthy, natural sources of carbohydrates. These foods provide not only the carbs your body needs, but an abundance of vitamins, minerals, fiber and phytonutrients (many of which act as antioxidants and protect the health of your cells). The problem is that many people eat too many of the less-healthy carbohydrates – like those found in sugars and sweets as well as refined and starchy grain foods like white rice, pasta, white bread and refined and sweetened breakfast cereals.
What happens when you eat a very low-carb diet?
When you don’t eat enough carbohydrates to supply glucose to your cells, your body is forced to break down body fat for energy. Rather than producing glucose, the end result of fat breakdown are compounds called ketones (and how “keto” diets get their name). Your body is programmed to make this switch when you are starving in order to keep your systems running. When you eat a well-balanced diet, few (if any) ketones are produced. But, on a very low-carbohydrate diet, your body is basically tricked into thinking there is no fuel coming in, so it goes into a state called ketosis.
Eating the right carbs matters
While your body can adjust to running on ketones, keep in mind that this isn’t a normal physiological state – it’s a defense mechanism that your body employs to keep your engines running. A very low-carb plan is unbalanced and difficult to sustain – which means that any weight loss that occurs is likely to be regained. Most importantly, a very low carbohydrate plan eliminates not just the unhealthy carbs like sweets, but also limits the healthy fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains, meaning you’ll miss out on an abundance of nutrients that these foods provide.
Find out more at: http://www.DiscoverHerbalife.com


Architectural History: 1759-1867
At least until the 1830s, and even later in some regions, the architecture of the English regime was polarized between Georgian forms, symbolizing British imperial order, and the various regional tendencies, already established or in the process of formation throughout the territory. One way to look at the diversity of architectural forms during that period is thus to examine how that polarity affected their development in each region.
Québec After the Conquest
In Québec, the change from the French to the English régime did not have an immediate impact on architectural forms. The Seven Years' War brought destruction to towns and villages along the St Lawrence river, but the period of reconstruction favoured models already in use and strengthened their vernacular interpretations. Views of Montréal and Québec City at the beginning of the 19th century show houses that respect the type established during the French régime. The most characteristic feature of these buildings, however, appears in cross-section: the large roof-frame has a "raised tie beam" (entrait retroussé) that makes them look like the letter "A," open at the base. With the upper floor set below the level of the wall plates, this feature allows the creation of a livable attic space partly surrounded by the masonry structure and partly enclosed under the roof. The typical French Canadian dormer window, situated in the lower portion of the roof and resting directly on the wall plates, results from this interior arrangement. On the facade, the portion of wall situated above the upper floor - called in French a "surcroît," with the suggestion of increased height - can be identified by an unusually high space between the uppermost windows and the edge of the roof. It is a common feature of Québec houses well into the 19th century.
Religious institutions helped perpetuate other well-established building types. One example is the Château Bellevue (1777-81; extended 1870) at Petit-Cap near Saint-Joachim, built by the Séminaire de Québec as a vacation house for its students. This building belongs to the large single-pile type used for religious institutions all through the French régime. The Château Bellevue, as built between 1777 and 1781, is an elongated two-storey building with a high pitched roof hipped at both ends. This roof is supported by a raised tie beam frame, something that can be inferred from the arrangement of the apertures on the outside. The plan has a single flight of rooms interconnected with a string of doors on one side, as in many 18th-century French palaces and hotels. Today, the main facade has two flat-arched portals with bossage: that in the original part, on the left, is made out of stone, and that in the 1870 extension is a wooden copy of the earlier one. The apertures are regularly spaced, and only the dormer windows, placed in a tighter order above the original door, show some irregularity.
In contrast to this perpetuation of French building types, British authorities gradually established their presence in Québec by transforming existing public buildings and by erecting new structures in the Palladian style. These interventions occasionally resulted in the formation of new clusters, such as on Place d'Armes in Québec City, which provided powerful symbols of British presence. The Château Haldimand (1786, destroyed 1892) was built on Place d'Armes as an annex in which to hold the receptions that could not be accommodated in Château Saint-Louis. Its exterior is an example of the austere appearance characterizing the first public buildings erected by the new régime. The courthouse (1799-1804, burned 1873), facing St Louis Street on the opposite side of the square, followed a pattern adopted in other courthouses across Canada at the time, even though its architect was Québec City artist François Baillairgé (1759-1830).
Then, Holy Trinity Cathedral (1800-04, modified 1816), whose apse is treated as a secondary facade towards the square, was erected in an uncompromising Palladian style according to the plans of two British officers, Captain William Hall and Major William Robe. Robe was also in charge of the landscaping of Place d'Armes. A few years later, the old Château Saint-Louis (modified 1808-11; burned 1834) was also transformed into a Palladian composition: a third storey was added, a new roof with a lower pitch was installed, and broad classical pediments completed the whole. Thus, the Place d'Armes and its surroundings were transformed into a powerful symbol of British imperial order.
These symbolic buildings were complemented by the renewal of Québec City's fortifications, which culminated with the construction of a citadel planned by Elias Walker Durnford between 1820 and 1831. The basic scheme of the citadel is derived from principles developed in France by Sébastien Le Prestre, marquis de Vauban, during the reign of Louis XIV. The scheme is primarily composed of a series of bastions connected by curtains, and arranged in such a way that they can defend each other. This primary system is completed by external elements, making it more difficult for the assailants to approach the fortified area. Meant to protect Québec City from possible attack by the Americans, Durnford's citadel is one of the last examples to be built according to these classical principles.
The Maritimes Before the Loyalists
In the Maritimes, the expulsion of the Acadians and the arrival of settlers from the British colonies along the Atlantic coast created a situation quite different from that in Québec. Nevertheless, the polarity between regionalism and imperialism remains an essential characteristic of the architecture of this period in that region. New settlers brought building types and techniques with which they were familiar. This movement established a strong connection with New England well before the arrival of the Loyalists in the 1780s. This connection can be seen in the number of frame buildings from the 1760s and 1770s that were conceived in the New England manner, with an arrangement of the apertures that indicates the presence of simple triangular trusses inside the gable roof. In the front and back elevations of these buildings, the upper windows are usually situated at the top of the wall, close to the eave of the roof and leaving no surcroît. The Simeon Perkins house (1766-67, enlarged 1781, 1792) in Liverpool, Nova Scotia, provides a good example of this kind of arrangement. In 1781, when the house was lengthened, dormer windows were also added, and they had to be placed half-way in the slope of the roof in order to match the interior space.
The town of Barrington, NS, was established in 1761 on the site of La Passage, razed by New Englanders in 1755. Its meeting house (1765) belongs to a type commonly used by New England Congregationalists in the 18th century. The entrance door is located in the middle of one long side, and the interior is developed along the short axis of the building. The pulpit is situated across the entrance, and the large assembly room is surrounded with galleries on the three other sides. On the exterior, the upper windows, giving light to the galleries, are tucked against the eaves of the roof in the typical New England fashion. They interrupt the frieze under the cornice which, together with the elongated corner pilasters, are the only classical ornaments on the building.
In contrast to these vernacular buildings, projects conducted by the authorities usually followed British precedents that suggested allegiance to the Crown. The Duke of Kent, who had expressed his dissatisfaction with the architecture of public buildings in Halifax during his stay in that city, had the Town Clock erected on Citadel Hill in 1802-03. As a variation on Bramante's Tempietto in Rome, this building is a typical example of Georgian classicism applied in the colonies.
More elaborate and monumental is Province House (1811-19), which looks like the central block of an 18th-century estate residence in Britain. In this building, the Palladian forms are interpreted in a baroque manner. The monumental Ionic columns support a central pediment bearing the royal arms. Pilasters, at the two ends of the main facade and in the centre of the lateral ones, also support their own pediments, smaller than the main one. These columns and pilasters bind together the two upper levels of the elevation, and a rusticated first level provides a visual base for the upper part.
The Palladian style - a particular manner of using the classical vocabulary in Britain that is based on the designs of Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio - remained in use for buildings representing the British imperial order until the middle of the century in many areas, and the Colonial Building (now Province House; 1843-48) in Charlottetown, PEI, uses it quite effectively. Situated on Queen Square, it is part of another cluster of symbolic buildings referring to British institutions. In St John's, Newfoundland, the Colonial Building (James Purcell, 1846-50) is also a well-mastered Palladian design, with its monumental Ionic portico supporting a classical pediment with the Royal arms.
The Loyalists, whose arrival in 1783-84 meant a radical increase in population in many areas, brought with them architectural ideas from the colonies they had left, but they also turned directly to the British models favoured by local elites. The town of Shelburne, NS, was surveyed for the new settlers, free land was distributed, and close to 1500 buildings were erected in 1783 and 1784. The two adjacent buildings known as the Ross-Thompson house and store (early 1780s) carry the American colonial influence already prevalent in Nova Scotia. The gambrel roof, which adds a clear Georgian reference to the store, can be frequently seen in New England on 18th-century houses and public buildings.
Many houses using the classical vocabulary in this period relate to colonial American models, but their Georgian features held the same meaning as they had in those colonies during the 18th century, namely the aspiration to British values and loyalty to the Crown. What gave meaning to these forms is the colonial context itself rather than the actual source of inspiration. The Loyalist House in Saint John, NB (c 1810-17), a double-pile house raised on a high basement and covered with a hipped roof, easily recalls merchant houses in Salem (Mass), Marblehead (Mass) or Portsmouth (NH). Its frame construction covered with clapboard is specific to America, but its Adamesque entrance shows an awareness of British models.
Acacia Grove, at Starr's Point, NS (1811-17), is a large yet compact masonry structure with a similar kind of plan. Its two chimneys, however, rise between the front and back rooms, and the flues therefore appear in the middle of the hips on the roof instead of in the end walls. Its sobriety and its stability recall many southern plantation houses, but, as a well-mastered Georgian design, it expresses allegiance to British values, as it would have done in Virginia or in the Carolinas before the revolution.
Upper Canada (Ontario)
Upper Canada was scarcely populated until Loyalists began migrating to Canada. Their settlement became part of the means by which British authorities developed that region. Cataraqui (Kingston) was surveyed in October 1783 to receive a group of Loyalists from New York. Newark (Niagara-on-the-Lake) was established in 1792 as the capital of Upper Canada. These Loyalist towns and many others were laid out on a grid-iron plan applied with military rigidity. Similarly, York (Toronto), which replaced Newark as capital in 1796, was laid out in 1793 without consideration for topography.
Well into the 19th century, most of the people of Upper Canada occupied log houses, and, less frequently, frame houses or masonry houses. French-Canadian builders contributed to spreading building techniques with which they were familiar, and the Loyalists coming from various parts of the United States did the same. Most owners, however, would aspire to the Georgian models provided by the elite. As in the other regions, the Georgian classical vocabulary and, in a more particular way, the Palladian manner constituted symbols of the British colonial power structure and participated in its legitimation by being associated with good taste and cultural refinement.
One of the most successful Palladian designs of the period can be found in The Grange, the brick house built by D'Arcy Boulton, Jr, in Toronto (1817-18, enlarged c 1840 and c 1880). The three central bays of the five-bay facade project forward and are topped with a broad classical pediment. The base of the elevation is kept low, as in Palladio's designs for two-storey villas, the hipped roof has a low pitch, and the general sobriety of detailing allows the entire design to breathe easily. Most houses of the elite from the early 19th century followed similar patterns. The William Campbell house (1822) is another outstanding example located in Toronto, while several others can be seen in Kingston and in Perth.
During this period, the development of the Prairies was controlled by the fur-trading companies, which at first discouraged permanent settlement on the land where they were granted trading rights. The Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company employed many craftsmen from Québec to build trading posts, and thus contributed to the dissemination of building techniques originating in New France, such as the colombage pierroté and the poteaux en coulisse, or "grooved post" technique.
Lower Fort Garry, established in 1830 on the Red River in Manitoba, survives as a good example of trading post architecture, although not an entirely typical one because of the use of masonry. Lower Fort Garry is a compound of buildings with a clear hierarchical organization, surrounded by straight masonry walls with circular bastions at the corners. The main building, called the Big House (1831-32), is a masonry structure with a steep hipped roof, and it is surrounded on three sides by a veranda, recalling by these features the domestic architecture of Québec. Examples of the grooved post technique can be seen in the recent reconstruction of Carlton House, in Carlton, Saskatchewan. A trading post established by the Hudson's Bay Company in 1810, it had a formal arrangement of buildings surrounded by a wooden palisade with bastions at the corners, as in Lower Fort Garry, but it was entirely built of wood.
The development of the Red River area was prompted by Lord Selkirk, who acquired a large amount of land from the Hudson's Bay Company in 1811 in order to pursue his philanthropic mission in favour of the dispossessed from Scotland and Northern Ireland. Despite conflicts with the North West Company, the Red River settlement managed to grow, and documents show that the grooved post technique, which became known as the Red River frame, was the most common construction technique. In this technique, the posts, resting on a sill, provide a sturdy frame whose bays are filled with horizontal pieces of timber with tongues sliding into the grooves made in the sides of each post. Usually one storey, the houses built in this way often have an attic space whose floor is framed into the walls below the level of the wall plates, thus creating a surcroît in the Québec manner. The house of Pierre Delorme (c 1857-71), preserved at St Norbert Provincial Park, is an excellent example of this technique.
The two-storey Convent of the Grey Nuns in St Boniface, Manitoba (1846-51), is also a Red River frame construction. The dormer windows set at the base of the roof and the important piece of wall above the upper windows in the elevation reveal again the existence of a surcroît space.
The Georgian vocabulary is not frequently seen in the Prairies during this period, but when reference to British institutions is sought, models and types common in Eastern Canada reappear. By mid-century, however, the popularity of revival styles had made wide breaches in the authority the classical vocabulary inherited from the Renaissance, and other references began to appear throughout colonial Canada.
The Revival Styles
The revival styles, such as the classical revival, the Greek revival, and the gothic revival, established a new kind of relation with the past. Each revival style interpreted its historical sources as a rigid system that could be adopted on the basis of the associations they created in people's minds. In Canada, a significant number of buildings strictly applied the codes of specific revival styles, but, more often, architectural elements were used as "archaeologically correct" fragments, incorporated into compositions that otherwise followed the Georgian conventions. The Colonial Building in St John's, Nfld, is a good example of this practice. The porch, derived from antique temples, reflects a certain archaeological awareness. The steps recall those before a temple, and the Ionic capitals have volutes on the front and on the back only, instead of on four sides.
A more complete example in the Greek revival style is St Andrew's Presbyterian Church (1831, the spire replaced in 1854) in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Its facade is composed like the front of a temple, with a free-standing Doric colonnade in the antique manner. The columns have no base, the capitals have a plain echinus (rounded molding), and the abacus is a simple square element. The roof, whose gable end forms a classical pediment, integrates this archaeological fragment into the rest of the building.
The Classical Revival
The neo-classical period, spreading mostly through the 1830s, 1840s, and 1850s, is the period during which an important number of architects from Britain migrated to Canada. Among them one can find Henry Musgrave Blaiklock (1790-1843) in Québec City, George Browne (1811-85), who lived in Québec City, Montréal and Kingston, John Ostell (1813-92) in Montréal, Thomas Rogers (c 1780-1853) in Kingston and Toronto, William Thomas (1799-1860) in Toronto, and John Wells (1789-1864) in Montréal.
The neo-classical style was quickly adopted for public buildings, from the governmental to the municipal level. The monumental Kingston City Hall (George Browne, 1843-4, the dome replaced in 1909) is an excellent example of this development. The temple front placed in the centre of its long facade is very well integrated. The plain Tuscan columns, the cornice that runs across the entire facade, the pilasters at the two ends, the bossage, the arches around the windows, all these elements have a clear, simple and powerful design.
In Toronto, Osgoode Hall, built in several phases (1833, 1844-5, 1857-60), is another fine example of the neo-classical reinterpretation of the Georgian vocabulary. The most elegant one, however, is probably the Bank of Montréal (1845-48) on Place d'Armes in Montréal, whose facade was kept before the Beaux-Arts building of McKim, Mead, and White. The emphasis put on the classical orders and vocabulary in the classical revival can be appreciated by comparing this facade to the earlier building of the Bank of Montréal (1818-19), next to which it was erected.
In Québec, neo-classicism was strongly associated with Abbé Jérôme Demers (1774-1853) and his architect, Thomas Baillairgé (1791-1859). Demers, vicar-general of the diocese, taught a course on architecture at the Québec Seminary that adapted Jacques-François Blondel's principles to Québec, thus bringing neo-classical ideas to bear on the architecture inherited from New France. The Séminaire de Nicolet (1826-33) was planned by Demers himself while the "architecture" - the pediment, the cornice, the portal and the belfry - were conceived by Baillairgé.
In the 1830s, Baillairgé's practice became more comprehensive, partly influenced by that of British architects established in the city. His projects for the Québec Parliament (built 1831-50, burned 1854) and the Cathedral Notre-Dame de Québec (partly built, 1843-44) reveals his assimilation of the contemporary architectural practice.
The Gothic Revival
The gothic revival gradually became the most important trend in Canadian architecture in the second half of the 19th century. Partly because gothic buildings were considered as Britain's own antique architecture, the gothic revival in Britain evolved from a decorative and picturesque tendency towards a better archaeological understanding of medieval buildings and, through this understanding, it moved towards a rationalist design philosophy with moral underpinnings. These different phases of the gothic revival all had an impact on Canadian architecture.
The earliest landmark building to adopt the gothic vocabulary is the Church of Notre-Dame (1823-29; towers completed in 1843) in Montréal. Designed by the New York-based architect James O'Donnell (1774-1830), the church has a simple rectangular plan in the Georgian manner, but its architectural vocabulary - pointed arches, polygonal supports, crenellations - is entirely borrowed from gothic.
Although the gothic revival continued to have some success with the Roman Catholic Church, it never became its preferred style. Instead, the neo-baroque, providing associations with Italy, was more commonly adopted. In the Anglican church, in contrast, the gothic rapidly became the most usual reference. Christ Church Cathedral (Frank Wills, with modifications by William Butterfield, 1845-53; spire rebuilt 1911-12) in Fredericton, NB, reflects the ideas of the Ecclesiological movement in Britain. The building not only includes well-understood ornamental details, it is also characterized by complex spaces, each of which is expressed as a distinct volume on the outside. Even the entrance is treated as an independent volume juxtaposed to the body of the church.
The principles of the Ecclesiological movement were also followed in parish churches, such as St Stephen's-in-the-Fields (1858, restored 1865) in Toronto, and were quickly endorsed by other Protestant denominations. These principles were also applied to small wooden churches built from the Maritimes to British Columbia, whose development exploded with the Gold Rush at the end of the 1850s. In this manner, the gothic revival completely displaced the Georgian vocabulary, whose universality had remained unquestioned until the 1830s. By the middle of the 19th century, a universal architectural language had become impossible and typological eclecticism, according to which each building type must be given an appropriate style, was allowed to take over: classicism became associated with banks, gothic with Anglican and Protestant churches, baroque with Roman Catholic ones, etc.
The Parliament Buildings in Ottawa
The popularity of the gothic culminated in the Parliament Buildings erected in Ottawa, which was selected as the capital of Canada in 1857. At that time, the buildings were said to follow the "civil gothic style" that one can see, for example, in Flemish late-medieval city halls. However, they also represent a step towards the combination of multiple references and styles in one single project. The composition of the entire complex can be compared to Michelangelo's Campidoglio in Rome, with the seat of government at one end of a court and matching buildings on two opposite sides. The Parliament Building (Thomas Fuller and Chilion Jones, 1859-77; burned 1916), with its monumental tower in the centre of the facade, and the symmetrically arranged departmental blocks (Thomas Stent and Augustus Laver, 1859-77), established a comparable set of relations, but the formal character of the whole is counterbalanced by the multitude of gothic elements, the polychrome masonry, and some calculated dissimilarities in the latter two buildings.
The Library of Parliament, which is the only surviving part of the main building, clearly illustrates this synthetic approach by combining the circular library type, a well-established classical formula, with the exterior of a medieval chapter house, also a circular building. The architects multiplied pointed dormers, gables and pinnacles as much as possible, thus creating the picturesque mass that still dominates Parliament Hill when seen from afar.
See also Architectural History, Early First Nations; Architectural History, The French Colonial Régime; Architectural History, 1867-1914; Architectural History, 1914-1967; Architectural History, 1967-1997.


Expressions for When There Is Really No Choice at All
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Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.
Making choices is necessary, but not always easy. Many of our expressions tell about this difficulty.
One of these expressions is Hobson's choice. It often is used to describe a difficult choice. But that is not what it really means. Its real meaning is to have no choice at all.
The Hobson in the expression was Thomas Hobson. Mr. Hobson owned a stable of horses in Cambridge, England.
Mr. Hobson often rented horses to the students at Cambridge University. But, he did not really trust them to take good care of the horses. So, he had a rule that prevented the students from riding his best horses. They could take the horse that was nearest the stable door. Or, they could not take any horse at all.
Thus, a Hobson's choice was really no choice.
Another expression for having no real choice is between a rock and a hard place. It is often used to describe a difficult situation with few choices, none of them good.
For example, your boss may ask you to work late. But you have plans to go to a movie with your girlfriend. If you refuse to work, your boss gets angry. But if you do not go to the movies with your girlfriend, she gets angry. So what do you do? You are caught between a rock and a hard place.
Another expression, between the devil and the deep blue sea, also gives you a choice between two equally dangerous things.
Its meaning seems clear. You can choose the devil and his burning fires of hell. Or, you can choose to drown in the sea. Some word experts say the expression comes from the days of wooden ships.
The devil is a word for a seam between two pieces of wood along the water-line of a ship. If the seam or crack between the two pieces of wood begins to leak, then a sailor must fix it. The sailor ordered to make the repairs was in a dangerous situation. He was hanging over the side of the ship, working between the devil and the deep blue sea.
There is still another expression that describes a situation with only bad choices, being on the horns of a dilemma.
The dictionary says a dilemma is a situation in which you must make a decision about two equally balanced choices. When your dilemma has horns, a choice becomes impossible. When you are on the horns of a dilemma, no matter which horn you choose, something bad will happen.
This VOA Special English program, Words and Their Stores, was written by Marilyn Christiano. Maurice Joyce was the narrator. I'm Shirley Griffith.


London, July 20 (IANS) Mammals underwent a rapid ‘burst’ of evolutionary change that reached its peak around the middle of the Jurassic age around 145-200 million years ago, a study says.
The findings suggest that different body shapes and functions in mammals evolved rapidly during this period.
“What our study suggests is that mammal ‘experimentation’ with different body-plans and tooth types peaked in the mid-Jurassic,” said study lead author Roger Close from Oxford University.
Early mammals lived alongside the dinosaurs during the Mesozoic era (252-66 million years ago).
They were once thought to be exclusively small nocturnal insect-eaters, but fossil discoveries of the past decade – particularly from China and South America – have shown that they developed diverse adaptations for feeding and locomotion, including gliding, digging, and swimming.
To find out when and how rapidly these new body shapes emerged, the researchers did a large-scale analysis of skeletal and dental changes in Mesozoic mammals.
By calculating evolutionary rates across the entire Mesozoic, they showed that mammals were evolving up to ten times faster in the middle of the Jurassic than they were at the end of the period.
“Once high ecological diversity had evolved, the pace of innovation slowed,” Close said.
Multituberculates, for instance, saw radical changes to their skeletons and teeth during the mid-Jurassic. However, by the end of the period they had evolved their rodent-like body shape and distinctive teeth, a form that, despite diversifying into hundreds of different species, they would generally retain until they went extinct around 130 million years later.
“In the Jurassic, we see a profusion of weird and wonderful bodies suddenly appear and these are then ‘winnowed down’ so that only the most successful survive,” Close said.


Playing It Safe: Driver Distractions
Be Alert; don’t get hurt.
When was the last time you talked on your cellphone while driving or ate behind the wheel? If you are like many drivers, you have made it a habit, putting yourself and others at risk.
Dangers of Multi-taking at the Wheel
While there may be little you can do to control another person’s driving, you can certainly control your own distractions. To minimize your risks while driving, avoid the following:
- Talking on a cellphone or texing
- Touching up makeup or hair in the rearview mirror
- Tending to smoking materials
- Adjusting the radio
- Reading directions or operating a GPS
While many drivers’ attention may be diverted as a result of multi-tasking behind the wheel, nothing tops the cellphone as a driver distraction. Many drivers use their cellphones to turn their cars into mobile offices, to catch up with friends and loved ones, or to simply squeeze more “productive” time into their day.
“To stay safe behind the wheel, avoid any activity that averts your full attention from the road, and drive defensively.”
Cellphone use is especially dangerous because drivers typically cannot divide their attention between the road and their conversation or text. Even if you use a hands-free device, you risk being distracted and inattentive.
It May Be Against the Law
Many states have laws outlawing the use of cellphones and texting while driving. To avoid a ticket and a potentially dangerous accident, do not use your cellphone in any capacity while driving. If you must make a phone call or text, pull off the road safely and then do so. No message is more important than saving someone’s life.
In addition to avoiding distractions, give driving your full attention by driving defensively to minimize your risk of an auto accident. Driving defensively means being aware of the movements of drivers around you and making adjustments to your driving accordingly.
This is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical or legal advice.© 2009-2010, 2017 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved.


Taste buds serve an important survival function; those tastes that an animal's buds determine are bad might be poisonous or harmful in some way. Yummy tastes typically mean the food is safe to eat. While animals taste similar flavors as humans -- bitter, sweet, salty, sour and umami, or tasting amino acids found in foods such as meats and cheeses -- not all animals have the same number of taste buds.
Carnivores, or animals who eat only meat as part of a normal diet, typically have fewer taste buds than omnivores. Lions, for example, have about 470 taste buds on their tongues, while humans, who eat fruits, vegetables and grain in addition to meat, average 10,000 taste buds. Most carnivores can detect bitter flavors, which helps them avoid rancid meat, but some, including big cats and water mammals such as dolphins, can't taste sweet flavors -- they lack the proper taste buds. Meat isn't sweet, so those taste buds don't help carnivores survive and are unnecessary. When your meals consist of pretty much one type of item -- meat -- you don't need as many taste buds.
Omnivores, or animals that eat both plant matter and meat, tend to have taste buds that allow them to taste all five flavors, including sweet, causing them to have more taste buds than carnivores. Pigs, for example, sport around 15,000 taste buds. The ability to taste sweets helps draw omnivores to carbohydrate sources, such as fruit, which carnivores hardly ever eat. Many birds are omnivorous, but they are an exception to the rule of having more taste buds than carnivores by having some of the lowest numbers of taste buds in the animal kingdom. Birds eat "meat" in the form of worms, grubs or insects, but they also enjoy berries, seeds and grains. But chickens, for example, typically have 30 taste buds or fewer. Parrots have a few hundred taste buds, but they don't rival the number of taste buds in other omnivores.
Herbivores, or animals that eat only plants, often have more taste buds than other land animals. Cows, for example, have about 25,000 taste buds. Like many herbivores, cows don't take a close look at their food -- they just munch away on what's close. The extra taste buds help herbivores quickly distinguish bitter tastes from dangerous plants that might be growing among safe vegetation. The sweet taste buds guide them to safer eating areas. Herbivores need salt to keep proper electrolyte balances and they don't get salt from meat like omnivores and carnivores, so the extra taste buds help them find salty substances to supplement their diets.
Fish tend to have more taste buds than land animals, and the taste buds aren't confined to their mouths. Many fish have taste buds on their skin. This helps them detect tastes through the water and determine which direction the taste is located. Catfish, who often swim and hunt in murky water where sight isn't very helpful, have the most known taste buds of any animal, topping out at 175,000.
- Photodisc/Photodisc/Getty Images


Written By: Dt.Hetal Mehta
Probiotics are good and helpful live bacteria and yeasts that are good for maintaining healthy gut, digestive system and overall health. Now we get clear idea Why Probiotics are important?
They help sustain a balance between good and bad bacteria which helps the body function well keeping it free from diseases and health problems.
Besides, it also helps to cure problems like:
Yogurt: It contains good bacteria that keeps ones gut healthy. It also helps ease lactose intoleranceand also helps subside gas, diarrhea and other tummy troubles.
Sauerkraut: The unpasteurized kind are loaded with immune boosting vitamins that helps ward off infection.
Miso Soup: It’s a fermented soyabean paste used to make a soup filled with probiotics, B vitamins and protective anti-oxidants.
Soft Cheeses: They are good for digestion.
Kefir: It’s a fermented Beverage made from the milk of Caucacious shepherds which has its own strains of bacteria and helpful yeast varieties.
Apart from the above sources, commercial supplements of probiotics are also available which can help the gut to be healthy and sustain good microbiological balance.
So to maintain such good balance, 1-2 million CFUs of probiotics should be consumed daily.
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