Question: Who penned the song "Hallelujah, I Just Love Her So"?

"Hallelujah I Love Her So" is a song by Ray Charles, who also wrote it. It was released as a single in 1956 on the Atlantic label and later included on his debut LP in 1957, also on Atlantic. The song, which is a jazz and rhythm and blues hit, reached number five on the Billboard R&B chart. It is inspired by Ike Turner's "Get It Over Baby" from 1953.

"Love Me, I'm a Liberal" is sung from the perspective of a liberal. In the first verse, the singer laments the assassinations of Medgar Evers and President John F. Kennedy, but says Malcolm X got what he deserved. Each verse ends with the refrain, "So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal."[4] In the song's other verses, the singer says he supports the Civil Rights Movement and "love[s] Puerto Ricans and Negros as long as they don't move next door",[5] but adds that if somebody suggests busing the singer's children to integrate their schools, he "hope[s] the cops take down [their] name".[6] In the final verse, the narrator reveals that he used to be like the listener:[6]

"Levon" is a song written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin and recorded by Elton John. John recorded it on February 27, 1971 and released it on his fourth album, Madman Across the Water.[1] The song reached number 24 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and peaked at number six on the Canadian RPM singles chart.[2]

Cassietta George was born in 1929 in Memphis Tennessee, the daughter of Reverend Peter Baker and Cassietta. When she was four, she began singing in her father's church. She graduated from McKinley High School in Canton, Ohio, where she lived for a number of years. After she finished school, she returned to Memphis and sang for a while with the Songbirds of the South, one of the many female quartets in Memphis during the 1940s and early 1950s. She later sang with the Brewster Ensemble. In the 1953 she moved to Chicago, and in 1954 became a member of The Caravans, recording with them for States and Savoy. Her most popular song with the Caravans was a spirited arrangement of "Somebody Bigger than You and I". George began composing while with The Caravans and wrote more than twenty-five songs for them, including "To Whom Shall I Turn?" and "I Believe in Thee."[2] Her style was heavily influenced by that of Clara Ward. While a member of the Caravans, she sang with such greats as James Cleveland, Albertina Walker, Inez Andrews, Delores Washington and Shirley Caesar.

His debut record "(Got a) Heartsick Feeling" and "Brother Heartache and Sister Tears", in January 1958, failed to make the charts. Good gave him a part in the stage show of Six-Five Special, along with the John Barry Seven but the show folded after four performances. His second release later that year was a cover of Jerry Lee Lewis's "High School Confidential", backed with the Burt Bacharach and Hal David penned "Country Music Holiday", but this also failed.

"All I Want for Christmas Is You" is a Christmas song performed by American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey. She wrote and produced the song alongside Walter Afanasieff. Columbia Records released it on November 1, 1994, as the lead single from her fourth studio album and first holiday album, Merry Christmas (1994). It is an uptempo love song that includes bell chimes, heavy back-up vocals, and synthesizers.

"All Through the Night" is a song written and originally recorded in 1983 by American singer-songwriter Jules Shear, though it is best known for the hit single version recorded by Cyndi Lauper later that same year.  It is included on Lauper's debut album She's So Unusual. Shear wrote "All Through The Night" as a mid-tempo folk-rock song for his 1983 album Watch Dog. After the Cars recorded their own version, which they did not use on any of their albums, Lauper decided to cover it. Although she initially intended to do a straight cover of Shear's version, she turned it into a pop ballad instead.

In late 1961 singer Solomon Burke arrived at Jerry Wexler's office unannounced. Wexler was a fan of Burke's and had long wanted to sign him so when Burke told Wexler his contract with his former label had expired Wexler replied: "You're home. I'm signing you today". The first song Wexler produced with Burke was "Just Out of Reach", which became a big hit in September 1961. Burke's the soul/country & western crossover predated Ray Charles' similar venture by more than 6 months. Burke became a consistent big seller through the mid-1960s and scored hits on Atlantic into 1968. In 1962 folk music was booming and the label came very close to signing Peter, Paul & Mary; although Wexler and Ertegun pursued them vigorously the deal fell through at the last minute and they later discovered music publisher Artie Mogull had introduced their manager Albert Grossman to Warner Bros. Records executive Herman Starr, who had made the trio an irresistible offer that gave them complete creative control over the recording and packaging of their music.[65]

"The Reverend Mr. Black" is a 1963 song by Billy Edd Wheeler, Mike Stoller, and Jerry Leiber.  The chorus came from the 1931 folk song, "The Lonesome Valley,"  a version of which appears in the 2000 film, O Brother, Where Art Thou?. It was recorded by The Kingston Trio in 1963 for their album The Kingston Trio No. 16 and became a top-ten hit for them on the Billboard Hot 100.[1] Johnny Cash covered the song in 1981 for his album The Baron.[2]

"Could It Be I'm Falling in Love" is a 1972 song recorded by the American R&B vocal group The Spinners (known as "Detroit Spinners" in the UK). The song was co-written by Melvin and Mervin Steals, two songwriter brothers working for Atlantic, who were sometimes credited as "Mystro and Lyric."[1] It was produced by Thom Bell, recorded at Philly's Sigma Sound Studios and the house band MFSB provided the backing. Bobby Smith sings lead through most of the song while Philippé Wynne handles vocal duties on the song's outro.

Many Crowell-penned songs have since been covered by other artists. "Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight" was covered by Emmylou Harris in 1978 and, a year later, by The Oak Ridge Boys from The Oak Ridge Boys Have Arrived. They released it as a single that reached Number One.


Question: What is the Roman name for a liberal arts education recognized as?

The Roman term for a liberal arts education, known as "artes liberales," originated from the late Classical and Hellenistic Greek education system, referred to as "enkuklios paideia" or "education in a circle." Cicero's work, "De Inventione," marks the first known use of the term "liberal arts," although it is uncertain if he coined the phrase. Seneca the Younger critiqued the liberal arts in education from a Stoic perspective in his Moral Epistle 88. The classification of the liberal arts varied during Roman times, but it was not until Martianus Capella's influential work in the 5th century AD, where he depicted the seven liberal arts as bridesmaids at the Marriage of Mercury and Philology, that they acquired a canonical structure.

The Centro Cultural Ignacio Ramirez, also called the Escuela de Bellas Artes or El Nigromante, is housed in the former Hermanas de la Concepción (Sisters of the Conception) convent.[16] The Concepcion convent and adjoining church were founded by a member of the De la Canal family,[10] María Josefina Lina de la Canal y Hervás in 1775.[3] In the latter 19th century, the convent was closed by the Reform Laws and it remained empty from then until the mid 20th century. The Escuela de Bellas Artes, was established in 1938 by Peruvian Felipe Cossío del Pomar and American Stirling Dickinson. This and other art institutions began to attract American exchange students who came to study and live. The cultural center today is part of the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes (INBA) and is often referred to by locals as "Bellas Artes."[2] It is a two story cloister surrounded an extremely large courtyard with large streets with a large fountain in the middle. It houses art exhibits, classrooms for drawing, painting, sculpture, lithography, textiles, ceramics dramatic arts, ballet, regional dance, piano and guitar.[16]

In the 1950s, new academic units and degree programs were established. Another major reform, the General Education (G.E.) Program, was introduced in 1959. The G.E. Program became a series of core courses prescribed for all students at the undergraduate level. Most of these courses were being taught at the then College of Liberal Arts. As a result, U.P. President Vicente Sinco saw fit to reorganize the college into a University College, which would offer the core subjects to be taken during the first two years of the undergraduate program. Meanwhile, the College of Arts and Sciences and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, offered major courses in the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences. During President Sinco's term, more institutes and colleges were established. These institutes and colleges include the Institute of Public Administration (1952), the Statistical Center (1953), the Labor Education Center (now the School of Labor and Industrial Relations, established in 1954), the Asian Studies Institute (now the Asian Center, established in 1955), the Institute of Library Science (now the School of Library and Information Studies, established in 1961), and the College of Home Economics (1961).

Veristic portraits of the late Republic hold a special fascination for classical art historians. Romans had inherited the use of sculpted marble heads from the Greeks but they did not inherit the veristic style from them. To scholars verism is uniquely Roman. Scholars have put forth multiple theories as to what or who were the precursors to Republican portraiture. Yet what is important to note is that there is not one single accepted theory of the origin of verism. The question of veristic style remains to this day essentially open and unresolved. Each theory, while plausible in its own way, will require further research and adequate consideration among scholars.

A philosopher of the Renaissance, Pico della Mirandola, granted dignity to ideas and to beings. In his "Oration on the Dignity of Man", he told hostile clerics about the dignity of the liberal arts and about the dignity and the glory of angels. His comments implied the dignity of philosophers.[13] This oration is commonly seen as one of the central texts of the Renaissance, intimately tied with the growth of humanist philosophies.[14][15]

As the republican principle of citizens' equality under the law faded, the symbolic and social privileges of the upper classes led to an informal division of Roman society into those who had acquired greater honours (honestiores) and those who were humbler folk (humiliores). In general, honestiores were the members of the three higher "orders," along with certain military officers.[167][168] The granting of universal citizenship in 212 seems to have increased the competitive urge among the upper classes to have their superiority over other citizens affirmed, particularly within the justice system.[168][169][170] Sentencing depended on the judgement of the presiding official as to the relative "worth" (dignitas) of the defendant: an honestior could pay a fine when convicted of a crime for which an humilior might receive a scourging.[168]

The legend as a whole encapsulates Rome's ideas of itself, its origins and moral values. For modern scholarship, it remains one of the most complex and problematic of all foundation myths, particularly in the manner of Remus's death. Ancient historians had no doubt that Romulus gave his name to the city. Most modern historians believe his name a back-formation from the name Rome; the basis for Remus's name and role remain subjects of ancient and modern speculation. The myth was fully developed into something like an "official", chronological version in the Late Republican and early Imperial era; Roman historians dated the city's foundation to between 758 and 728 BC, and Plutarch reckoned the twins' birth year as 771 BC. A tradition that gave Romulus a distant ancestor in the semi-divine Trojan prince Aeneas was further embellished, and Romulus was made the direct ancestor of Rome's first Imperial dynasty. Possible historical bases for the broad mythological narrative remain unclear and disputed.[21] The image of the she-wolf suckling the divinely fathered twins became an iconic representation of the city and its founding legend, making Romulus and Remus preeminent among the feral children of ancient mythography.

Hidden Ivies discusses the college admissions process and attempts to evaluate 63 colleges in comparison to Ivy League colleges. The schools are examined based on academics, admissions process, financial aid, and student experiences. The book argues the importance of a liberal arts education and goes on to inquire about the qualities of Ivy League schools in general, and how such qualities apply to higher education.

The Eastern Roman Empire, governed from Constantinople, is usually referred to as the Byzantine Empire after 476, the traditional date for the "fall of the Western Roman Empire" and for the beginning of the Early Middle Ages. The Eastern Roman Empire survived the fall of the West, and protected Roman legal and cultural traditions, combining them with Greek and Christian elements, for another thousand years. The name Byzantine Empire was used after the Byzantine Empire ended, the inhabitants of the Byzantine Empire continued to call themselves Romans.

The mission statement states "To provide intensive training in the arts and academics". Arts Magnet prepares students to attend college, conservatory or to enter the professional field. Since its inception the school has garnered 18 presidential scholars and 194 DeeBee awards sponsored by Downbeat Magazine – a total unmatched by any institution, college or university in the country. The dynamic and constantly evolving curriculum prepares students to explore an artistic career. Rigorous academic program offers all courses required for the State of Texas 3 graduation plans. In addition to a host of honors and advanced placement courses in both the academics and the arts, the O’Donnell Foundation provides teachers with training in the Advanced Placement Program. Several teachers have been awarded the Surdna Grant which provides for professional enrichment. The National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts named BTWHSPVA as one of the five Distinguished Schools in the Arts.

Athenaeus (writing in the 1st or 2nd century BCE, and drawing on the etymological speculation of Apollodorus of Athens) notes that the red mullet is sacred to Hecate, "on account of the resemblance of their names; for that the goddess is trimorphos, of a triple form". The Greek word for mullet was trigle and later trigla. He goes on to quote a fragment of verse "O mistress Hecate, Trioditis / With three forms and three faces / Propitiated with mullets".[65] In relation to Greek concepts of pollution, Parker observes, "The fish that was most commonly banned was the red mullet (trigle), which fits neatly into the pattern. It 'delighted in polluted things,' and 'would eat the corpse of a fish or a man'. Blood-coloured itself, it was sacred to the blood-eating goddess Hecate. It seems a symbolic summation of all the negative characteristics of the creatures of the deep."[66] At Athens, it is said there stood a statue of Hecate Triglathena, to whom the red mullet was offered in sacrifice.[67] After mentioning that this fish was sacred to Hecate, Alan Davidson writes, "Cicero, Horace, Juvenal, Martial, Pliny, Seneca and Suetonius have left abundant and interesting testimony to the red mullet fever which began to affect wealthy Romans during the last years of the Republic and really gripped them in the early Empire. The main symptoms were a preoccupation with size, the consequent rise to absurd heights of the prices of large specimens, a habit of keeping red mullet in captivity, and the enjoyment of the highly specialized aesthetic experience induced by watching the color of the dying fish change."[68]


Question: When was the first Horrid Henry book published?

The first book in the Horrid Henry series, titled "Horrid Henry," was published in 1994. It was penned by Francesca Simon and illustrated by Tony Ross. This book, similar to the Just William series, is a compilation of short stories featuring recurring characters.

A later series, The Famous Five, initiated by Victor Glynn of Portman Zenith was aired first in 1995, a co-production between a number of companies including Tyne Tees Television, HTV, Zenith North and the German channel ZDF. Unlike the previous TV series, this set the stories in the 1950s, around when they were written. It dramatised all the original books. Of the juvenile actors the best known is probably Jemima Rooper, who played George. Julian was portrayed by Marco Williamson, Dick by Paul Child, and Anne by Laura Petela. In this series, because of the slang meaning of the word fanny, Aunt Fanny, played by Mary Waterhouse, was known as Aunt Frances. (In some but not all recent reprints of the book, the character has been re-christened Aunt Franny.)

In 1880, Dr. Henry Faulds, a Scottish surgeon in a Tokyo hospital, published his first paper on the subject in the scientific journal Nature, discussing the usefulness of fingerprints for identification and proposing a method to record them with printing ink. He also established their first classification and was also the first to identify fingerprints left on a vial.[77] Returning to the UK in 1886, he offered the concept to the Metropolitan Police in London but it was dismissed at that time.[78] Faulds wrote to Charles Darwin with a description of his method but, too old and ill to work on it, Darwin gave the information to his cousin, Francis Galton, who was interested in anthropology. Having been thus inspired to study fingerprints for ten years, Galton published a detailed statistical model of fingerprint analysis and identification and encouraged its use in forensic science in his book Finger Prints. He had calculated that the chance of a "false positive" (two different individuals having the same fingerprints) was about 1 in 64 billion.[79]

Left Behind is a series of 16 best-selling religious novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, dealing with Christian dispensationalist End Times: the pretribulation, premillennial, Christian eschatological interpretation of the Biblical apocalypse. The primary conflict of the series is the members of the Tribulation Force, an underground network of converts, against an NWO-esque organization, Global Community, and its leader Nicolae Carpathia—the Antichrist. Left Behind is also the title of the first book in the series. The series was first published between 1995–2007 by Tyndale House, a firm with a history of interest in dispensationalism.

In 1976 the brand entered publishing business with the book "Infant development program: birth-12 months" by Richard A. Chase,[20] followed by "The First wondrous year: you and your baby" (1979) by Chase and Richard R. Rubin.[21]

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules is a satirical realistic fiction novel by American author and cartoonist Jeff Kinney, based on the FunBrain.com version. It is the sequel to Diary of a Wimpy Kid, followed by The Last Straw.[2] The hardcover was released on February 1, 2008.[3] Rodrick Rules was named New York Times bestseller among awards and praise. A film of the same name was released on March 25, 2011.

Chesterton portrays Father Brown as a short, stumpy Roman Catholic priest, with shapeless clothes, a large umbrella, and an uncanny insight into human evil. In "The Head of Caesar" he is "formerly priest of Cobhole in Essex, and now working in London". He makes his first appearance in the story "The Blue Cross" published in 1910 and continues to appear throughout forty-eight short stories in five volumes, with two more stories discovered and published posthumously, often assisted in his crime-solving by the reformed criminal M. Hercule Flambeau.

The next year, from 28 September 1964, Blue Peter began to be broadcast twice weekly, with Baxter becoming the editor in 1965, and Barnes and Rosemary Gill (an assistant producer who had joined as a temporary producer while Baxter was doing jury service) becoming the programme's producers.[26] The first Blue Peter book, an annual in all but name, was published that year, and one has been produced nearly every year since.[27][28] A third presenter, John Noakes, was introduced at the end of 1965 and became the longest-serving presenter. A complete contrast to Trace, Noakes set the scene for "daredevil" presenters that has continued through the generations of presenters.[29] Trace left Blue Peter in July 1967,[30] and was replaced by Peter Purves in November. The trio of Valerie Singleton, John Noakes and Peter Purves lasted five years, and according to Richard Marson were 'the most famous presenting team in the show's history'.[31] In 1965, the first Summer Expedition (a filming trip abroad) was held in Norway, and continued every year (except 1986 and 2011) until 2012, all over the world.[32]

In addition to the primary books, other books have also been published in the Wally franchise. The first alternate-format Wally book was the Ultimate Fun Book. In addition to standard Wally scenes, this paperback activity book featured other types of games and activities, as well as cardboard punch-outs and stickers. The Magnificent Poster Book, which was a large-format book of posters including five scenes from past books and six new scenes (later included in The Great Picture Hunt).

Cawthon posted a teaser on his official website in 2015 that announced he had plans to release his first novel called Five Nights at Freddy's: The Untold Story (that would later be renamed to Five Nights at Freddy's: The Silver Eyes) sometime in the near future, and that it was to be written separate-canon to the games.[12] On June 20, 2016, Scholastic announced that it would be collaborating with Scott Cawthon on a multi-book deal.[13] Five Nights at Freddy's: The Silver Eyes, was to be re-printed in paperback on October that year. It was then rescheduled for release on September in the same year. The next two novels were scheduled for release in 2017 and 2018 respectively.[13] A guidebook based on the series was also scheduled for release in 2017.[14]

Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome, first published in 1889, is a humorous account of a boating holiday on the Thames between Kingston and Oxford. The book was intended initially to be a serious travel guide, with accounts of local history of places along the route, but the humorous elements eventually took over. The landscape and features of the Thames as described by Jerome are virtually unchanged, and the book's enduring popularity has meant that it has never been out of print since it was first published.


Question: Dallol crater located in the Afar region of Ethiopia?

Dallol is a volcanic feature located in the Danakil Depression of Ethiopia, near the Erta Ale Range. It is a cinder cone volcano that formed due to the intrusion of basaltic magma into ancient salt deposits, triggering hydrothermal activity. The area is known for its phreatic eruptions in 1926, which created Dallol Volcano and other craters, making them the world's lowest subaerial volcanic vents, situated over 150 feet below sea level. In 2004, the magma chamber beneath Dallol deflated, leading to a magma intrusion further south in the rift, and another phreatic eruption was observed in 2011.

Like Lake Tanganyika, Lake Baikal was formed as an ancient rift valley, having the typical long, crescent shape with a surface area of 31,722 km2 (12,248 sq mi). Baikal is home to thousands of species of plants and animals, many of which exist nowhere else in the world. The lake was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.[14] It is also home to Buryat tribes who reside on the eastern side of Lake Baikal,[15][16] raising goats, camels, cattle, sheep, and horses,[16] where the mean temperature varies from a winter minimum of −19 °C (−2 °F) to a summer maximum of 14 °C (57 °F).[17]

There have been many different theories about the formation of Valles Marineris that have changed over the years.[7] Ideas in the 1970s were erosion by water or thermokarst activity, which is the melting of permafrost in glacial climes. Thermokarst activity may contribute, but erosion by water is a problematic mechanism because liquid water cannot exist in most current Martian surface conditions, which typically experience about 1% of Earth’s atmospheric pressure and a temperature range of 148 K (−125 °C; −193 °F) to 310 K (37 °C; 98 °F). Many scientists agree that there was liquid water flowing on the Martian surface in the past. Valles Marineris may have been enlarged by flowing water at this time. Another hypothesis by McCauley in 1972 was that the canyons formed by withdrawal of subsurface magma. Around 1989 Tanaka and Golombek proposed a theory of formation by tensional fracturing. The most agreed upon theory today is that Valles Marineris was formed by rift faults like the East African Rift, later made bigger by erosion and collapsing of the rift walls. It has also been proposed that Valles Marineris was formed by flowing lava.

In the Amharic Bible used by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (an Oriental Orthodox Church), those books of the Old Testament that are still counted as canonical, but not by all other Churches, are often set in a separate section titled "Deeyutrokanoneekal" (ዲዩትሮካኖኒካል), which is the same word. The Ethiopian Orthodox Deuterocanon, in addition to the standard set listed above, along with the books of Esdras and Prayer of Minasse, also includes some books that are still held canonical by only the Ethiopian Church, including Enoch or Henok (I Enoch), Kufale (Jubilees) and 1, 2 and 3 Meqabyan (which are sometimes wrongly confused with the "Books of Maccabees").

The 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull were volcanic events at Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland which, although relatively small for volcanic eruptions, caused enormous disruption to air travel across western and northern Europe over an initial period of six days in April 2010. Additional localised disruption continued into May 2010. The eruption was declared officially over in October 2010, when snow on the glacier did not melt. From 14–20 April, ash from the volcanic eruption covered large areas of Northern Europe. About 20 countries closed their airspace to commercial jet traffic and it affected approximately 10 million travellers.[1]

Eruptions of Etna follow a variety of patterns. Most occur at the summit, where there are currently (as of 2008)[update] five distinct craters — the Northeast Crater, the Voragine, the Bocca Nuova, and the Southeast Crater Complex (2). Other eruptions occur on the flanks, which have more than 300 vents ranging in size from small holes in the ground to large craters hundreds of metres across. Summit eruptions can be highly explosive and spectacular, but rarely threaten the inhabited areas around the volcano. In contrast, flank eruptions can occur down to a few hundred metres altitude, close to or even well within the inhabited areas. Numerous villages and small towns lie around or on cones of past flank eruptions. Since the year AD 1600, at least 60 flank eruptions and countless summit eruptions have occurred; nearly half of these have happened since the start of the 20th century. Since 2000, Etna has had four flank eruptions — in 2001, 2002–2003, 2004–2005, and 2008–2009. Summit eruptions occurred in 2006, 2007–2008, January–April 2012, and again in July–October 2012.

Null Island is a fictional island in the Gulf of Guinea added to the Natural Earth public domain map dataset,[1] located where the equator crosses the prime meridian, at coordinates 0°N 0°E / 0°N 0°E / 0; 0.[2][3][4] Natural Earth describes the entity as a "1 meter square island" with "scale rank 100, indicating it should never be shown in mapping."[1] The name 'Null' refers to the two 0 co-ordinates, both of which are sometimes known as null in mathematics .

The obvious circular area in the central valley is the Klyuchevskaya Sopka, an isolated volcanic group southeast of the curve of the Kamchatka River. West of Kronotsky Point is the Kronotsky Biosphere Reserve with the Valley of Geysers. At the southern tip is the Southern Kamchatka Wildlife Refuge with Kurile Lake. There are several other protected areas: Palana is located in the Koryak area on the northwest coast.

Ethiopia maintained its independence from Italy after the Battle of Adwa which resulted in the Treaty of Addis Ababa. With the exception of the occupation between 1936 and 1941 by Benito Mussolini's military forces, Ethiopia is Africa's oldest independent nation.

Africa's average population is the youngest amongst all the continents;[5][6] the median age in 2012 was 19.7, when the worldwide median age was 30.4.[7] Algeria is Africa's largest country by area, and Nigeria is its largest by population. Africa, particularly central Eastern Africa, is widely accepted as the place of origin of humans and the Hominidae clade (great apes), as evidenced by the discovery of the earliest hominids and their ancestors as well as later ones that have been dated to around 7 million years ago, including Sahelanthropus tchadensis, Australopithecus africanus, A. afarensis, Homo erectus, H. habilis and H. ergasterâ€”with the earliest Homo sapiens (modern human) found in Ethiopia being dated to circa 200,000 years ago.[8] Africa straddles the equator and encompasses numerous climate areas; it is the only continent to stretch from the northern temperate to southern temperate zones.[9]

Ancient Egypt was divided into two regions, namely Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. To the north was Lower Egypt, where the Nile stretched out with its several branches to form the Nile Delta. To the south was Upper Egypt, stretching to Syene. The terminology "Upper" and "Lower" derives from the flow of the Nile from the highlands of East Africa northwards to the Mediterranean Sea.


Question: Nodding your head no is an example of what?

A nod of the head, characterized by alternating tilts in an up and down motion along the sagittal plane, serves as a gesture in many cultures. While not universal, it is often used to signify agreement, acceptance, or acknowledgment.

Messages travel through the sympathetic nervous system in a bi-directional flow. Efferent messages can trigger changes in different parts of the body simultaneously. For example, the sympathetic nervous system can accelerate heart rate; widen bronchial passages; decrease motility (movement) of the large intestine; constrict blood vessels; increase peristalsis in the oesophagus; cause pupillary dilation, piloerection (goose bumps) and perspiration (sweating); and raise blood pressure. One exception is with certain blood vessels such as those in the cerebral and coronary arteries, which dilate (rather than constrict) with an increase in sympathetic tone. This is because of a proportional increase in the presence of β2 adrenergic receptors rather than α1 receptors. β2 receptors promote vessel dilation instead of constriction like α1 receptors. An alternative explanation is that the primary (and direct) effect of sympathetic stimulation on coronary arteries is vasoconstriction followed by a secondary vasodilation caused by the release of vasodilatory metabolites due to the sympathetically increased cardiac inotropy and heart rate. This secondary vasodilation caused by the primary vasoconstriction is termed functional sympatholysis, the overall effect of which on coronary arteries is dilation.[9]

Behaviorism (or behaviourism) is a systematic approach to understanding the behavior of humans and other animals. It assumes that all behaviors are either reflexes produced by a response to certain stimuli in the environment, or a consequence of that individual's history, including especially reinforcement and punishment, together with the individual's current motivational state and controlling stimuli. Although behaviorists generally accept the important role of inheritance in determining behavior, they focus primarily on environmental factors.

Consistency allows us to more effectively make decisions and process information. The concept of consistency states that someone who commits to something, orally or in writing, is more likely to honor that commitment. This is especially true for written commitments, as they appear psychologically more concrete and can create hard proof. Someone who commits to a stance tends to behave according to that commitment. Commitment is an effective persuasive technique, because once you get someone to commit, they are more likely to engage in self-persuasion, providing themselves and others with reasons and justifications to support their commitment in order to avoid dissonance. Cialdini notes Chinese brainwashing of American prisoners of war to rewrite their self-image and gain automatic unenforced compliance. Another example is children being made to repeat the Pledge of Allegiance each morning and why marketers make you close popups by saying “I’ll sign up later” or "No thanks, I prefer not making money”.[19]

There are various ways in which stress manifests itself in the speech stream, and these depend to some extent on which language is being spoken. Stressed syllables are often louder than non-stressed syllables, and may have a higher or lower pitch. They may also sometimes be pronounced longer. There are sometimes differences in place or manner of articulation â€“ in particular, vowels in unstressed syllables may have a more central (or "neutral") articulation, while those in stressed syllables have a more peripheral articulation. Stress may be realized to varying degrees on different words in a sentence; sometimes the difference between the acoustic signals of stressed and unstressed syllables are minimal.

Besides referring to the language of the dominant people groups in Botswana, Setswana is the adjective used to describe the rich cultural traditions of the Batswanaâ€”whether construed as members of the Tswana ethnic groups or of all citizens of Botswana. In Botswana most of the tribes have different ways that they use to greet one another, but for easy communication and connection batswana use a three way hand shake or one can just greet another by saying "Dumelang" as a way of saying "hello" without having to use hand shakes. In community celebrations like Dikgafela or during marriage ceremonies batswana women show exitement and happiness by the use of ululations as part of their culture.

In linguistics, code-switching occurs when a speaker alternates between two or more languages, or language varieties, in the context of a single conversation. Multilinguals, speakers of more than one language, sometimes use elements of multiple languages when conversing with each other. Thus, code-switching is the use of more than one linguistic variety in a manner consistent with the syntax and phonology of each variety.

Palilalia has been theorized to occur in writing and sign language.[5][9] A case study by Tyrone and Moll examined a 79-year-old right-handed deaf man named PSP who showed anomalies in his signing.[9] PSP had learned British sign language (BSL) at the age of seven and had developed left-sided weakness and dysphagia at age 77. PSP showed involuntary movements and repetitions in his signing.[9] Tyrone and Moll reported his movements were palilalic in nature, as entire signs were repeated and the repetitional movements became smaller and smaller in amplitude.[9]

As suggested by Kimura (1975, 1982), left hemisphere speech lateralization might be based upon a preference for movement sequences as demonstrated by American Sign Language (ASL) studies. Since ASL requires intricate hand movements for language communication, it was proposed that skilled hand motions and speech require sequences of action over time. In deaf patients suffering from a left hemispheric stroke and damage, noticeable losses in their abilities to sign were noted. These cases were compared to studies of normal speakers with dysphasias located at lesioned areas similar to the deaf patients. In the same study, deaf patients with right hemispheric lesions did not display any significant loss of signing nor any decreased capacity for motor sequencing (Annett, 1991).

This is a list of notable and commonly used emoticons, or textual portrayals of a writer's moods or facial expressions in the form of icons. Originally, these icons consisted of ASCII art, and later, Shift_JIS art and Unicode art. In recent times, graphical icons, both static and animated, have joined the traditional text-based emoticons; these are commonly known as emoji.[1][2]

Thus, the DP formulation of behavior contrasts sharply with mainstream psychology's notion of behavior as observable physical movement. Unlike the latter, it provides entree to the descriptions of behavior that are virtually always at issue in human discourse; for example, questions regarding the nature of a person's behavior are virtually never requests for another to describe the already known visible movements that that person is making. It covers mental acts such as planning, calculating, or problem solving "in one's head", and excludes involuntary movements such as the patellar and eyeblink reflex actions. The DP conception does not require, like the mainstream view, the creation of some sort of human mechanics designed to causally reattach such things as motives, thoughts, or personality traits to the observable physical movements of persons. Finally, going well beyond what space permits here into matters that one can perhaps only glimpse from the foregoing discussion: the DP conception articulates the calculational system that persons in fact employ in the giving of behavior descriptions.[2]


Question: Who were the parties that the Spanish Civil War was fought between?

The Spanish Civil War, fought from 1936 to 1939, was a conflict between the Republicans, who supported the democratic, left-leaning Second Spanish Republic, and the Nationalists, a conservative group led by General Francisco Franco. The Republicans, including Anarchists and Communists, were in alliance against the Nationalists, who were largely aristocratic and supported by the Falangists, Carlists, and the Catholic Church. The war is often viewed as a struggle between democracy and fascism, but it can also be seen as a battle between leftist revolution and rightist counter-revolution. The Nationalists emerged victorious in early 1939, and Franco governed Spain until his death in November 1975.

As pressure mounted with the increasing success of the Nationalists, many civilians were executed by councils and tribunals controlled by competing Communist and anarchist groups.[351] Some members of the latter were executed by Soviet-advised communist functionaries in Catalonia,[355] as recounted by George Orwell's description of the purges in Barcelona in 1937 in Homage to Catalonia, which followed a period of increasing tension between competing elements of the Catalan political scene. Some individuals fled to friendly embassies, which would house up to 8,500 people during the war.[352]

This faction was called variously leales "Loyalists" by supporters, "Republicans", the "Popular Front", or "the government" by all parties; and/or los rojos "the Reds" by their opponents.[103] Republicans were supported by urban workers, agricultural labourers, and parts of the middle class.[104]

The Cuban Revolution (Spanish: RevoluciÃ³n cubana) was an armed revolt conducted by Fidel Castro's revolutionary 26th of July Movement and its allies against the authoritarian government of Cuban President Fulgencio Batista. The revolution began in July 1953,[4] and continued sporadically until the rebels finally ousted Batista on 1 January 1959, replacing his government with a revolutionary socialist state. 26 July 1959 is celebrated in Cuba as the Day of the Revolution. The 26th of July Movement later reformed along communist lines, becoming the Communist Party in October 1965.[5]

Death totals remain debated. British historian Antony Beevor wrote in his history of the Civil War that Franco's ensuing "white terror" resulted in the deaths of 200,000 people and that the "red terror" killed 38,000.[313] Julius Ruiz contends that, "Although the figures remain disputed, a minimum of 37,843 executions were carried out in the Republican zone, with a maximum of 150,000 executions (including 50,000 after the war) in Nationalist Spain".[314]

The Nationalist side included the Carlists and Alfonsists, Spanish nationalists, the fascist Falange, and most conservatives and monarchist liberals. Virtually all Nationalist groups had strong Catholic convictions and supported the native Spanish clergy.[103] The Nationals included the majority of the Catholic clergy and practitioners (outside of the Basque region), important elements of the army, most large landowners, and many businessmen.[89]

The War of 1812 (1812–1815) was a conflict fought between the United States, the United Kingdom, and their respective allies. Historians in Britain often see it as a minor theatre of the Napoleonic Wars; in the United States and Canada, it is seen as a war in its own right.

Hitler approved the use of Spanish volunteers on June 24, 1941. Volunteers flocked to recruiting offices in all the metropolitan areas of Spain. Cadets from the officer training school in Zaragoza volunteered in particularly large numbers. Initially, the Spanish government was prepared to send about 4,000 men, but soon realized that there were more than enough volunteers to fill an entire division: – the Blue Division or División Azul under Agustín Muñoz Grandes – including an air force squadron – the Blue Squadron, 18,104 men in all, with 2,612 officers and 15,492 soldiers.

The Nacionales or Nationalists—also called "insurgents", "rebels", or, by opponents, Franquistas or "fascists" (see: the Nationalist faction)—feared national fragmentation and opposed the separatist movements. They were chiefly defined by their anti-communism, which galvanized diverse or opposed movements like falangists and monarchists. Their leaders had a generally wealthier, more conservative, monarchist, landowning background.[103]

Nationalist atrocities, which authorities frequently ordered so as to eradicate any trace of "leftism" in Spain, were common. The notion of a limpieza (cleansing) formed an essential part of the rebel strategy, and the process began immediately after an area had been captured.[323] According to historian Paul Preston, the minimum number of those executed by the rebels is 130,000,[324] and is likely to have been far higher, with other historians placing the figure at 200,000 dead.[325] The violence was carried out in the rebel zone by the military, the Civil Guard and the Falange in the name of the regime.[326]

Isolated, the Left Fraction sought to discover allies within the milieu of groups to the left of the Trotskyist movement. Typically these discussions came to nothing, but they were able to recruit from the disintegrating Ligue des Communistes Internationalistes (LCI) in Belgium, a group which had broken from Trotskyism. A loose liaison was also maintained with the Council Communist groups in the Netherlands and in particular with the GIK. However, these discussions were pushed into the background as the attempted fascist coup in Spain led to revolution and civil war.


Question: Where is the Suez Canal situated on a map?

The Suez Canal, an artificial waterway in Egypt, links the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea, passing through the Isthmus of Suez. Constructed by the Suez Canal Company from 1859 to 1869, it was inaugurated on November 17, 1869. The canal provides a shorter route for ships traveling between the North Atlantic and northern Indian Oceans, bypassing the South Atlantic and southern Indian oceans, thereby saving approximately 7,000 kilometers (4,300 miles) in travel distance. It spans 193.30 kilometers (120.11 miles), including the access channels at both ends. In 2012, 17,225 vessels passed through the canal, averaging 47 per day. Its northern endpoint is Port Said, while its southern endpoint is Port Tewfik in the city of Suez.

France began work on the canal in 1881 but stopped due to engineering problems and a high worker mortality rate. The United States took over the project in 1904 and opened the canal on August 15, 1914. One of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken, the Panama Canal shortcut greatly reduced the time for ships to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, enabling them to avoid the lengthy, hazardous Cape Horn route around the southernmost tip of South America via the Drake Passage or Strait of Magellan.

Africa is the world's second largest and second most-populous continent (the first being Asia in both categories). At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million squareÂ miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area and 20% of its total land area.[3] With 1.2 billion people[1] as of 2016, it accounts for about 16% of the world's human population. The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, both the Suez Canal and the Red Sea along the Sinai Peninsula to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The continent includes Madagascar and various archipelagos. It contains 54 fully recognised sovereign states (countries), nine territories and two de facto independent states with limited or no recognition.[4] The majority of the continent and its countries are in the Northern Hemisphere, with a substantial portion and number of countries in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Treaty of Tordesillas (Portuguese: Tratado de Tordesilhas [tɾɐˈtaðu ðɨ tuɾðɨˈziʎɐʃ],[3] Spanish: Tratado de Tordesillas [tɾaˈtaðo ðe toɾðeˈsiʎas]), signed at Tordesillas on June 7, 1494, and authenticated at Setúbal, Portugal, divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between the Portuguese Empire and the Crown of Castile, along a meridian 370 leagues[note 1] west of the Cape Verde islands, off the west coast of Africa. This line of demarcation was about halfway between the Cape Verde islands (already Portuguese) and the islands entered by Christopher Columbus on his first voyage (claimed for Castile and León), named in the treaty as Cipangu and Antilia (Cuba and Hispaniola).

After the opening, the Suez Canal Company was in financial difficulties. The remaining works were completed only in 1871, and traffic was below expectations in the first two years. De Lesseps therefore tried to increase revenues by interpreting the kind of net ton referred to in the second concession (tonneau de capacitÃ©) as meaning a ship's cargo capacity and not only the theoretical net tonnage of the "Moorsom System" introduced in Britain by the Merchant Shipping Act in 1854. The ensuing commercial and diplomatic activities resulted in the International Commission of Constantinople establishing a specific kind of net tonnage and settling the question of tariffs in its protocol of 18 December 1873.[57] This was the origin of the Suez Canal Net Tonnage and the Suez Canal Special Tonnage Certificate, both of which are still in use today.

On 6 October 1981, a victory parade was held in Cairo to commemorate the eighth anniversary of Egypt's crossing of the Suez Canal.[1] Sadat was protected by four layers of security and eight bodyguards, and the army parade should have been safe due to ammunition-seizure rules. As Egyptian Air Force Mirage jets flew overhead, distracting the crowd, Egyptian Army soldiers and troop trucks towing artillery paraded by. One truck contained the assassination squad, led by Lieutenant Khalid Islambouli. As it passed the tribune, Islambouli forced the driver at gunpoint to stop. From there, the assassins dismounted and Islambouli approached Sadat with three hand grenades concealed under his helmet. Sadat stood to receive his salute (Anwar's nephew Talaat El Sadat later said, "The president thought the killers were part of the show when they approached the stands firing, so he stood saluting them"),[15] whereupon Islambouli threw all his grenades at Sadat, only one of which exploded (but fell short), and additional assassins rose from the truck, indiscriminately firing AK-47 assault rifles into the stands until they had exhausted their ammunition and then attempted to flee. After Sadat was hit and fell to the ground, people threw chairs around him to shield him from the hail of bullets.

Ramsetu Bridge is a chain of limestone shoals, between Rameswaram and Mannar Island, off the northwestern coast of Sri Lanka. Geological evidence suggests that this bridge is a former land connection between India and Sri Lanka.[25] The bridge is 29 km (18 mi) long and separates the Gulf of Mannar (North-East) from the Palk Strait (South-West). It was reportedly passable on foot up to the 15th century until storms deepened the channel. The temple records record that Rama’s Bridge was completely above sea level until it broke in a cyclone in 1480 CE.[26] The bridge was first mentioned in the ancient Indian Sanskrit epic Ramayana of Valmiki.[27] The name Rama's Bridge or Rama Setu (Sanskrit; setu: bridge) refers to the bridge built by the Vanara (ape men) army of Rama in Hindu mythology, which he used to reach Lanka and rescue his wife Sita from the demon king Ravana.[27] The Ramayana attributes the building of this bridge to Rama in verse 2-22-76, naming it as Setubandhanam.[28] The sea separating India and Sri Lanka is called Sethusamudram meaning "Sea of the Bridge". Maps prepared by a Dutch cartographer in 1747 CE, available at the Tanjore Saraswathi Mahal Library show this area as Ramancoil, a colloquial form of the Tamil Raman Kovil (or Rama's Temple).[29] Many other maps in Schwartzberg's historical atlas[30] and other sources such as travel texts by Marco Polo call this area by various names such as Adam's Bridge, Sethubandha and Sethubandha Rameswaram.[31]

According to the historian Abd aI-Azim Ramadan, Nasser's decision to nationalize the Suez Canal was his alone, made without political or military consultation. The events leading up to the nationalization of the Suez Canal Company, as other events during Nasser’s rule, showed Nasser’s inclination to solitary decision making. Ramadan considered Nasser to be far from a rational, responsible leader.[64]

As demand is rising for efficient global shipping of goods, the canal is positioned to be a significant feature of world shipping for the foreseeable future. However, changes in shipping patterns —particularly the increasing numbers of larger-than-Panamax ships— necessitated changes to the canal for it to retain a significant market share. In 2006 it was anticipated that by 2011, 37% of the world's container ships would be too large for the present canal, and hence a failure to expand would result in a significant loss of market share. The maximum sustainable capacity of the original canal, given some relatively minor improvement work, was estimated at 340 million PC/UMS tons per year; it was anticipated that this capacity would be reached between 2009 and 2012. Close to 50% of transiting vessels were already using the full width of the locks.[101]

The 1956 Suez Crisis suggested that Britain, financially weakened by two world wars, could not then pursue its foreign policy objectives on an equal footing with the new superpowers without sacrificing convertibility of its reserve currency as a central goal of policy.[25] As the majority of World War II had been fought far from its national boundaries, the United States had not suffered the industrial destruction nor massive civilian casualties that marked the wartime situation of the countries in Europe or Asia. The war had reinforced the position of the United States as the world's largest long-term creditor nation[26] and its principal supplier of goods; moreover it had built up a strong industrial and technological infrastructure that had greatly advanced its military strength into a primary position on the global stage.[27] Despite attempts to create multinational coalitions or legislative bodies (such as the United Nations), it became increasingly clear that the superpowers had very different visions about what the post-war world ought to look like, and after the withdrawal of British aid to Greece in 1947, the United States took the lead in containing Soviet expansion in the Cold War.[28]

Saith King Darius: I am a Persian. Setting out from Persia, I conquered Egypt. I ordered this canal dug from the river called the Nile that flows in Egypt, to the sea that begins in Persia. When the canal had been dug as I ordered, ships went from Egypt through this canal to Persia, even as I intended.


Question: Who manages the Consolidated Fund of the state?

The management of the Consolidated Fund and the National Loans Fund falls under the authority of the Comptroller, who also serves as the Auditor General and the head of the National Audit Office. The official designation for this position is Comptroller General of the Receipt and Issue of Her Majesty's Exchequer, overseeing the state's financial operations.

The government of California is the governmental structure of the state of California as established by the California Constitution. It is composed of three branches: the executive, consisting of the Governor of California and the other constitutionally elected and appointed officers and offices; the legislative, consisting of the California State Legislature, which includes the Assembly and the Senate; and the judicial, consisting of the Supreme Court of California and lower courts. There is also local government, consisting of counties, cities, special districts, and school districts, as well as government entities and offices that operate independently on a constitutional, statutory, or common law basis. The state also allows direct participation of the electorate by initiative, referendum, recall and ratification.

India follows constitutional democracy which offers a clear separation of powers. The judiciary branch is fairly independent of the other two branches with the power to interpret the constitution. Parliament has the legislative powers. Executive powers are vested with the President who is advised by the Union Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister. The constitution of India vested the duty of protecting, preserving and defending the constitution with the President as common head of the executive, parliament, armed forces, etc. not only for the union government but also the various state governments in a federal structure. All three branches have "checks and balances" over each other to maintain the balance of power and not to exceed the constitutional limits.[29]

Both budgets contrast each other drastically, with the consolidated budget being usually thrice the size of the general budget; currently $29B and $9.0B respectively. Almost one out of every four dollars in the consolidated budget comes from U.S. federal subsidies while government-owned corporations compose more than 31% of the consolidated budget.

The executive branch of government is the Council of Ministers, which is composed of members of the House of Keys. It is headed by the Chief Minister, currently (2017) Howard Quayle MHK.

The Haryana Vidhan Sabha or the Haryana Legislative Assembly is the unicameral state legislature of Haryana state in northern India. The seat of the Vidhan Sabha is at Chandigarh, the capital of the state. The Vidhan Sabha comprises 90 Members of Legislative Assembly, directly elected from single-seat constituencies.[1] The term of office is five years.

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (or SGPC) is an organization in India responsible for the management of gurdwaras, Sikh places of worship in three states of Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh and union territory of Chandigarh.[2][3] SGPC also administers Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar.[4]

Like the federal government, state governments have three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. The chief executive of a state is its popularly elected governor, who typically holds office for a four-year term (although in some states the term is two years). Except for Nebraska, which has unicameral legislature, all states have a bicameral legislature, with the upper house usually called the Senate and the lower house called the House of Representatives, the House of Delegates, Assembly or something similar. In most states, senators serve four-year terms, and members of the lower house serve two-year terms.

Whereas the Commons of the United Kingdom in Parliament assembled have resolved to authorise the use of resources and the issue of sums out of the Consolidated Fund towards making good the supply which they have granted to Her Majesty in this Session of Parliament:â€”

The executive branch of every state is headed by an elected Governor. Most states have a plural executive, in which several key members of the executive branch are directly elected by the people and serve alongside the governor. These include the offices of lieutenant governor (often on a joint ticket with the governor) and attorney general, secretary of state, auditors (or comptrollers or controllers), treasurer, commissioner of agriculture, commissioner (or superintendent) of education, and commissioner of insurance.[citation needed]

Himachal Pradesh is governed through a parliamentary system of representative democracy, a feature the state shares with other Indian states. Universal suffrage is granted to residents. The legislature consists of elected members and special office bearers such as the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker who are elected by the members. Assembly meetings are presided over by the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker in the Speaker's absence. The judiciary is composed of the Himachal Pradesh High Court and a system of lower courts. Executive authority is vested in the Council of Ministers headed by the Chief Minister, although the titular head of government is the Governor. The Governor is the head of state appointed by the President of India. The leader of the party or coalition with a majority in the Legislative Assembly is appointed as the Chief Minister by the Governor, and the Council of Ministers are appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister. The Council of Ministers reports to the Legislative Assembly. The Assembly is unicameral with 68 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA).[37] Terms of office run for 5 years, unless the Assembly is dissolved prior to the completion of the term. Auxiliary authorities known as panchayats, for which local body elections are regularly held, govern local affairs.


Question: How many square feet is a standard basketball court?

Basketball courts can vary in size, but in the NBA, the standard court measures 94 by 50 feet (28.7 by 15.2 m). According to FIBA rules, the court is slightly smaller at 28 by 15 meters (91.9 by 49.2 ft). In amateur basketball, court dimensions can differ significantly. Regardless of the court size, the baskets are always 10 feet (3.0 m) high. The three-point arc, which determines the value of shots made from different distances, is present on all courts. A shot made from behind the arc is worth three points, while shots made from within the arc or with a foot on the line are worth two points. The free-throw line, where players take foul shots, is located within the three-point arc at 15 feet from the basket. A foul shot is worth one point, but if a player makes a shot from the foul line during play, it is still worth two points.

In speed skating, for short track, the official Olympic rink size is 30 x 60 meters, with an oval ice track of 111.12 meters in circumference. In long track speed skating the oval ice track is usually 400 meters in circumference.

In the United States, prison cells are usually about 6 by 8 feet in dimension[citation needed], with steel or brick walls and one solid or barred door that locks from the outside. Many modern prison cells are pre-cast.[2] Solid doors may have a window that allows the prisoner to be observed from the outside.

Incorporating traditional stadium features from American and European facilities, Toyota Park includes predominantly covered seating, a brick facade and stone entry archway, and first rows placed fewer than three yards from the field. It includes forty two executive suites, six larger party suites, the Illinois Soccer Hall of Fame, and the Fire club offices, as well as a large stadium club/banquet room measuring over 9,000 square feet (840Â m2).

The floors of the south tower are slightly larger, and these apartments as originally designed were all duplexed units. In total, these two-story units were approximately 5,800 sq ft (540 m2), rivaling the apartments in the best buildings of Fifth and Park Avenues (e.g., 834 Fifth Avenue), which typically range from 5,000 to 7,000 sq ft (460 to 650 m2).[citation needed]

Wells Fargo Arena seats 15,181 for hockey and football games, 16,110 for basketball games, and as many as 16,980 for concerts.[6] It also features The Fort Restaurant, which provides views of the Des Moines River and the Iowa State Capitol. The restaurant opened on October 6, 2005, coinciding with the Iowa Stars' inaugural home game.[7]

The Chamberlain Act 1923 reduced the expected standards. The Wheatley Act 1924 attempted to restore some of them. Under the Addison Act, a house would be 1,000 square feet (93 m2) but after 1924 it would be 620 square feet (58 m2).[9] This was a major period of council house construction.

The three-point line is the line that separates the two-point area from the three-point area; any shot converted beyond this line counts as three points. If the shooting player steps on the line, it is counted as two points. Any foul made in the act of shooting beyond the three-point line would give the player three free throws if the shot does not go in, and one if it does.

The Euro step (sometimes "Eurostep") is a move developed in European basketball in which a player, after picking up his dribble, takes a step in one direction, and then quickly takes a second step in the other direction before they attempt a layup. It is an attempt to evade at least one defender before attacking the basket.

To be considered for the Guinness World Record, the palace must have been intended for use as a royal residence, and only the combined area of the palace’s indoor floors (a measurement commonly known as floorspace) is considered. As measured by these standards, Guinness World Records currently considers Istana Nurul Iman to hold the title as the "world's largest residential palace."[2]
Upon completion, Istana Nurul Iman became the largest residential palace in the world and the largest single-family residence ever built.[3] The palace contains 1,788 rooms, which includes 257 bathrooms, a banquet hall that can be expanded to accommodate up to 5,000 guests, a mosque accommodating 1,500 people.[4] The palace also includes a 110-car garage, an air conditioned stable for the Sultan's 200 polo ponies, and 5 swimming pools. In total, Istana Nurul Iman contains 2,152,782 square feet (200,000 m²) of floorspace.[4] Istana Nurul Iman has 564 chandeliers, 51,000 light bulbs, 44 stairwells and 18 elevators.[4]

Most of Ball State University's athletic facilities and intramural fields are located on the northernmost portion of campus near the intersection of McGalliard Road and Tillotson Avenue. These include First Merchants Ballpark Complex (Ball Diamond and Softball Field), Briner Sports Complex, Fisher Football Training Complex, and the 22,500-seat Scheumann Stadium, home to Ball State Cardinals football. The 11,500-seat John E. Worthen Arena anchors the central campus athletic facilities, including the Field Sports Building, the Health and Physical Activity Building, Lewellen Aquatic Center, and the Jo Ann Gora Student Recreation and Wellness Center. Other facilities include the Cardinal Creek Tennis Center and Lucina Tennis Courts.


Question: Who is expected to win the 2018 election in Sri Lanka?

In the 2018 Sri Lankan local elections, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, under the leadership of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, emerged victorious with the highest number of seats and local authorities, amidst a 70% voter turnout and a peaceful election process.

The ruling FPI contested the results before the Constitutional Council, charging massive fraud in the northern departments controlled by the rebels of the New Forces. These charges were contradicted by United Nations observers (unlike African Union observers). The report of the results led to severe tension and violent incidents. The Constitutional Council, which consisted of Gbagbo supporters, declared the results of seven northern departments unlawful and that Gbagbo had won the elections with 51% of the vote â€“ instead of Ouattara winning with 54%, as reported by the Electoral Commission.[51]

In February 2012, Bong County Senator Jewel Taylor proposed a bill that would carry a term of ten years in prison for homosexual activity, while a similar bill was introduced in the House of Representatives.[59] On 19 March, Sirleaf addressed the issue, saying that she would not repeal the current law but would also not sign into law either of the two proposed bills. Sirleaf added, "We like ourselves just the way we are [...] We've got certain traditional values in our society that we would like to preserve."[59] According to Tiawan Gongloe, Liberia's former Solicitor General, "If she tried to decriminalise the [current anti-gay] law it would be political suicide."[59]

The CID of the Sri Lanka Police Service is responsible for carrying out investigations into crimes including murder and organised crime. It was established in 1870.[7]

In January 2010, Sirleaf announced that she would run for a second term in office in the 2011 presidential election while speaking to a joint session of the Legislature.[24] Opposition leaders noted that in doing so, she had broken a promise made during her 2005 campaign to only serve one term if elected.[25] Sirleaf was renominated as the Unity Party's presidential candidate at the party's national convention on 31 October 2010.[26] That same day, Vice President Joseph Boakai was nominated by Sirleaf and confirmed by the delegates as Sirleaf's running mate.[26]

In Sri Lanka there have been recent allegations that rape and torture by the Sri Lankan security forces have continued for years after the civil war ended.[234] An average rape case in Sri Lanka takes 6 to 12 years to be resolved.[235]

Witnessing the events in 1965, the new drafted constitution created the Electoral College system, making the president as mere figurehead. In 1973, Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry became the first president from the PPP in an indirect polling.[11]  With the martial law remained effective from 1977 till 1988, civil servant Ghulam Ishaq Khan ran for the presidency on a PPP ticket in a deal to support Benazir Bhutto for presidency.[12]  With special powers granted to President GI Khan, he dismissed two elected government during period 1990 and 1993; he too was forced out from the office the same year.[12]  After the 1993 general election, the PPP nominated Farooq Leghari who soon secured majority votes in the parliament.[13]  Originally elected for five-year term, Leghari was forced resigned from the presidency after forcing out Benazir Bhutto from the government in 1996. In 1997 general election, Nawaz Sharif called for fresh presidential elections and nominated Rafiq Tarar for the presidency.[14] In an indirect election, Tarar received heavy votes from the electors of Electoral College, becoming the first president from the PML(N).[14] In 1999 martial law against Sharif, Musharraf self-pointed for the presidency in 2001.[15]  In 2004, he secured his appointment for presidency; though the opposition and religious alliance boycotted the elections.[15] In 2007, Musharraf again restored his appointment after the opposition parties also boycotted the elections. As Musharraf forced out from the power, Asif Zardari of PPP became president after a close presidential elections in 2008.[15] The Pakistani general election of 2013 were held on 11 May 2013. Problems with providing electricity was one of the major issues with the winning candidate, Nawaz Sharif, promising to reform electrical service and provide reliable service.[16].Mamnoon Hussain won this election.

Mahiyangana Raja Maha Vihara in Mahiyangana, Uva Province is regarded as the first stupa of ancient Sri Lanka[3]The first historical stupa constructed after the arrival of Mahinda in Sri Lanka is Thuparamaya, which was built during the reign of King Devanampiya Tissa.[4] Afterwards many stupas were built, some colossal stupas, biggest of which is Jetavanaramaya.[5]

In Sri Lanka, Children's Day is celebrated on 1 October .

Incumbent Democratic Senator Bill Nelson currently holds a 47%-29% approval rating[3] among his constituents, though President Donald Trump also holds a positive approval rating of 50%-45% in Florida as of January 2018.[4] Trump won the state in 2016 by 1.2% over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Nelson is being challenged by term-limited Governor Rick Scott, who has contributed more than $86 million of his own fortune into two successful gubernatorial bids in 2010 and 2014.[5] Nelson is seen as vulnerable heading into the race, as he is the only statewide elected Democrat, despite winning re-election in 2012 by 13%. The 75-year-old (76 on election day) is described as a "low-key centrist" that may not be able to energize progressive voters.[6]

Concerned that COSAG would undermine the election, particularly in the wake of the conflict in Bophuthatswana and the Shell House Massacre—incidents of violence involving the AWB and Inkatha, respectively—Mandela met with Afrikaner politicians and generals, including P. W. Botha, Pik Botha and Constand Viljoen, persuading many to work within the democratic system. With de Klerk, he also convinced Inkatha's Buthelezi to enter the elections rather than launch a war of secession.[234] As leaders of the two major parties, de Klerk and Mandela appeared on a televised debate; although de Klerk was widely considered the better speaker at the event, Mandela's offer to shake his hand surprised him, leading some commentators to deem it a victory for Mandela.[235] The election went ahead with little violence, although an AWB cell killed 20 with car bombs. As widely expected, the ANC won a sweeping victory, taking 63% of the vote, just short of the two-thirds majority needed to unilaterally change the constitution. The ANC was also victorious in seven provinces, with Inkatha and the National Party each taking another.[236][237] Mandela voted at the Ohlange High School in Durban, and though the ANC's victory assured his election as President, he publicly accepted that the election had been marred by instances of fraud and sabotage.[238][239]


Question: Who performs "I Can't Take My Eyes Off of You"?

"Can't Take My Eyes Off You" is a hit single originally performed by Frankie Valli in 1967. The song, co-written by Bob Gaudio, a member of Valli's band The Four Seasons, achieved significant success, earning a gold record and reaching the No. 2 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, where it was held back by "Windy" by The Association. This track marked Valli's biggest solo hit until "My Eyes Adored You" topped the charts in 1974.

The video begins with Spears telling a story about a very famous Hollywood actress named Lucky. Lucky is seen wearing a pink nightgown behind the curtains, standing on her billboard with fluffy white cotton balls attached to the edges, inside her mansion and shots of her out on the balcony. As beautiful and rich as she is, on set she sits on the star-shape in the sky, as she is acting, she is looking quite distressed. After the first chorus, she goes to the hotel mansion to the flowers, then she leaves and sits down and gets a mirror. Next, Lucky opens the door to reveal a handsome man, who then takes her in his arms, as the director yells "Cut! We've got it". Lucky then walks off-set into the studio, replying to the director: "Finally! We've done it fifty-million times!" She then goes to have her hair and makeup done; with Spears standing unnoticed and very worried looking by her side. Lucky is then seen in a shiny gray evening gown at the Academy Awards accepting her award for Best Actress. Lucky looks happy as she accepts it and smiles at her fans but is soon revealed that this is not true happiness. She makes her way away from her screaming fans and back into her limo, where she unexpectedly finds an ornate hand mirror that was used on the film set. She looks back to the crowd to see who has left it and sees Spears leaning forward in the crowd. The limo drives away, leaving Spears behind on the red carpet. The video ends with Lucky crying herself to sleep, her make-up already stained on her face. The curtains close, ending the video.

Brightman performed "Pie Jesu" and "There You'll Be" at the United States Memorial Day concert on 25 May 2008 held on the west lawn of the United States Capitol in Washington DC. The show was broadcast live on PBS before a concert audience of 300,000, as well as to American troops serving around the world on the American Forces Radio and Television Network.[71][72] Brightman made her feature film debut as Blind Mag in the rock musical film Repo! The Genetic Opera which was released on 7 November 2008.[73][74][75] Brightman was cast in the film at the last minute after the original actress who was cast for the role was dropped.[75]

"I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" is a song by the American duo Daryl Hall and John Oates. Written by Daryl Hall and John Oates, and co-written by Sara Allen, the song was released as the second single from their tenth studio album, Private Eyes (1981). The song became the fourth number-one hit single of their career on the Billboard Hot 100 and the second hit single from Private Eyes. It features Charles DeChant on saxophone.[1]

As he reflects on events, the actors in the troup become, in effect, a Greek chorus and take him through a typical day of "A Man of No Importance", in the form of a play in which he is not the director but the star. As the "play" unfolds, the people in Alfie's life appear: his sister Lily, a handsome bus driver Robbie Fay, and newcomer Adele Rice. Alfie "performs" by speaking Wilde's words to Adele, impressing the bus passengers (who are members of the acting group). As Alfie prepares dinner for himself and Lily, he tells her that he has met a woman. Lily has delayed marriage with her boyfriend Mr. Carney to take care of Alfie until he marries, and is happy for him ("Burden of Life"). Alfie explains that he is not interested in marriage to Adele – he wants her to act in 'Salome'. Frustrated, Lily castigates Alfie for wasting his time in amateur theatre. The next day, Alfie goes around to Mr. Carney and the other troupe members to offer them parts in "Salome". Everyone is extremely excited about a new show starting, and each member shows their acting resume as they sing about their excitement ("Going Up!"). The next day, Alfie delays the bus from leaving just to allow Adele to catch the bus, which she was late for due to an appointment with the doctor. He attempts to convince her to be Princess Salome, the titular character of "Salome", by reading some verses of the play to her. Adele believes that Alfie is making fun of her like many in her old town and storms out of the bus. Confused, Alfie follows her out of the bus. Despite her fears that she, a regular common girl from Roscommon, would never be able to portray a princess, Adele is touched by his words and agrees to be in the play ("Princess"). After the first reading, Alfie attempts to talk Robbie into being "Salome"'s main romantic lead of John the Baptist. Robbie dismisses Alfie's attempts to get him involved, and conversely invites him to take a step into his own world, convincing Alfie to explore the streets of Dublin and to go to a pub with his pals ("Streets of Dublin"). At the pub, Alfie goes through several traditions for newcomers, including ordering a pint and singing a song in front of Robbie's pals ("Love's Never Lost"). Robbie's pals are not impressed, leading to Alfie to wander off where he is propositioned by Breton Beret. Alfie is flustered by Breton and returns home, troubled about his true identity. Meanwhile, Mr. Carney is with Lily at her and Alfie's home, condemning "Salome" as horrid pornography. Shortly after, Mr. Carney and Lily share some private drinks as they discuss Alfie's 'odd' habit of reading books and cooking foreign dishes; Mr. Carney attempts to woo Lily all the while, but Lily refuses to marry "till [Alfie's] wed" ("Books"). Alfie interrupts them as he returns home, and storms up to his room. As he gazes at himself in the mirror, he sees Oscar Wilde in a dream, and admits that he loves Robbie ("Man in the Mirror"). After a rehearsal of 'Salome', Lily invites Adele for Sunday dinner, saying that Alfie is hesitant to speak for himself ("Burden of Life" – Reprise). As Alfie is walking her home, Adele tells him that in her home town she has a boyfriend, John, and starts crying when she can't explain why he isn't here with her. Understanding about secrets, Alfie advises her that everything's alright ("Love Who You Love").

Mark, the youngest of the dancers, relates his first experiences with pictures of the female anatomy and his first wet dream, while the other dancers share memories of adolescence ("Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Hello Love"). The 4'10" Connie laments the problems of being short, and Diana Morales recollects her horrible high school acting class ("Nothing"). Don remembers his first job at a nightclub and Judy reflects on her problematic childhood while some of the auditionees talk about their opinion of their parents ("Mother"). Then, Greg speaks about his discovery of his homosexuality and Richie recounts how he nearly became a kindergarten teacher ("Gimme the Ball"). Finally, the newly buxom Val explains that talent alone doesn't count for everything with casting directors, and silicone and plastic surgery can really help ("Dance: Ten; Looks: Three").

The song's lyrics refer to the Copacabana nightclub, "the hottest spot north of Havana". The story starts in the late 1940s, focused on Lola, a Copacabana showgirl, and her sweetheart Tony, a bartender at the club. One night, a mobster named Rico takes a fancy to Lola, but he overplays his hand while trying to seduce her and is attacked by Tony. The ensuing brawl results in a shooting; after it is initially unclear "who shot who," it soon becomes clear that Tony has died. Thirty years later, the club has been transformed into a discotheque, but a drunken Lola, mad with grief at having lost Tony, still spends her nights at the Copacabana dressed in her glamorous showgirl attire.[2]

Jude Quinn is a popular former folk singer whose performance with a full band and electric guitars at a New England jazz and folk festival outrages his fans, who accuse him of selling out. Travelling to London, Jude is asked by journalist Keenan Jones if he still cares about people, or thinks folk music has failed to achieve its goals of sociopolitical change. Jude is attacked by a hotel employee, hangs out with The Beatles, encounters his former lover Coco Rivington, and meets poet Allen Ginsberg, who suggests that Jude "sold out to God". Interviewing Jude, Keenan notes that Jude's songs are being used as recruitment tools by the Black Panther Party and opines that Jude refuses to feel deeply about anything while simultaneously being very self-conscious; Jude is offended and walks out of the interview. At a concert performing "Ballad of a Thin Man", Jude is booed and called a "Judas" by the audience. Keenan reveals on television that, despite his claims of a rough-and-tumble vagabond past, Jude is actually Aaron Jacob Edelstein, the suburban, middle-class, educated son of a Brookline, Massachusetts department store owner. Faced with a long string of upcoming European tour dates, Jude spirals into drug use and is killed in a motorcycle accident.

"All of the Lights" is a song by American rapper Kanye West, as the fourth single from his fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). It was produced by West and features additional vocals from several other recording artists, including John Legend, The-Dream, Elly Jackson, Alicia Keys, Fergie, Kid Cudi, Elton John, Drake, and Rihanna; the latter is the only credited feature on the single.

Meanwhile, back in his nightclub, Shank is frustrated that he cannot find Deloris anywhere. He tells his goons how he will not stop until he finds and kills Deloris ("When I Find My Baby"). Back at the convent Deloris is bored by the simple life of the nuns and decides to hit the town. She goes across the street to a slinky bar, and is followed by Sister Mary Lazarus, Sister Mary Patrick, and Sister Mary Robert. When the three nuns arrive they are shocked to find Sister Mary Clarence (Deloris' undercover name) drinking and dancing, however they assume that she is attempting to save the lost souls in the bar. Deloris goes along with this idea and gets the whole bar dancing ("Do the Sacred Mass"). However, the joyful mood is quickly destroyed when Deloris recognises Shank's boys entering the bar. She tries to hide herself as they ask people in the bar if they've seen Deloris. Suddenly there is a fight in the bar which has to be broken up by Eddie and the Mother Superior, who orders the nuns to go back to the convent. She then confronts Deloris telling her that she must conform to the life of the nuns. Eddie agrees, telling Deloris that Shank has upped the price on her head, so she needs to be careful. Deloris storms back to the convent after being informed that she has to wake up at 5 a.m. and join the choir. Eddie, now alone with only the drunks and homeless on the street, sings of his desire to be cool, to let go, and impress Deloris ("I Could Be That Guy").

On Sunday, January 6, 2013, George Newall and Bob Dorough appeared at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. as part of their ongoing series of free concerts on the Millennium Stage. It was deemed the largest attendance to date of the venue. Dorough played five songs, accompanying himself on the piano: "Three Is a Magic Number", "Figure Eight", "Conjunction Junction", "Preamble" and "I'm Just a Bill". (Dorough had only performed lead vocals on the original version of "Three Is a Magic Number".) He also performed "Interjections!" accompanied by DC-area kids' band Rocknoceros. Rocknoceros also performed "Electricity, Electricity", "Unpack Your Adjectives", "Energy Blues", and "Fireworks".


Question: How many times has Lake Placid been the host city for the Winter Olympics?

Lake Placid, New York, has been the host of the Winter Olympics on two occasions, in 1932 and 1980. It shares the distinction of having hosted the games twice with St Moritz and Innsbruck. During the 1932 games, the surrounding trails were utilized for cross-country skiing events and the cross-country portion of the Nordic combined event.

Adjacent to the West building is the "Jack Poole Plaza"[2] (formerly known as Thurlow Plaza),[3] in honour of Jack Poole, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2009. He was responsible for securing the bid of the 2010 Winter Olympics and 2010 Winter Paralympics to Vancouver.

Summer Shakespeare has been an annual outdoor theatre event in the capital city, Wellington, since 1983. The large-scale, large-cast productions have taken place in a variety of settings including the Dell in the Wellington Botanic Gardens, Civic Square, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, onsite at Victoria University and at Gladstone Vineyard in the Wairarapa. Productions have ranged from some of the most popular to some of the most obscure plays in the Shakespeare canon.

Following in his older brother Jesse White's[4] footsteps, White switched from skiing to snowboarding at age six, and by age seven he received his first sponsorship. White has participated in four Winter Olympics in his career. At the 2006, 2010, and 2018 Winter Olympics, White won gold in the snowboard halfpipe event. White has also participated in the Winter X Games, where he has won a medal every year since 2002. Including all winter X Games competitions through 2013, his medal count stands at 18 (13 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze), among which is the first quadruple win streak by a male athlete in one discipline, the snowboard slopestyle. White's streak was snapped in 2007 when he lost to Andreas Wiig and Teddy Flandreau, with White taking the bronze. He won the Air & Style Contest in 2003 and 2004.

Figure skating at the 2018 Winter Olympics was held at the Gangneung Ice Arena in Gangneung, South Korea. The five events took place between 9 and 23 February 2018.[1]

More than 1,200 Intel Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) or drones flying above Pyeong Chang to celebrate the opening of 2018 Winter Olympic Games. IntelÂ® drone team now holds the Guinness World Record of flying largest number of drones. [16] The drones flew together to form custom animations illustrating snow boarding, skiing, other different sports, as well as the iconic Olympic rings. The Shooting Star drones carried on the symbol of unity and progress from lighting of the torch. [17]

When the modern Olympic Games began in 1896 medals started to be given to successful olympian competitors.  However, gold medals were not awarded at the inaugural Olympics in 1896 in Athens, Greece.[3]  The winners were instead given a silver medal and an olive branch,[4] while runners-up received a laurel branch and a copper or bronze medal.[5] In 1900, most winners received cups or trophies instead of medals.

This medal event was the 1000th medal event in the history of the Winter Olympic Games.[4]

The first Olympic medals in 1896 were designed by French sculptor Jules-Clément Chaplain and depicted Zeus holding Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, on the obverse and the Acropolis on the reverse.[3]  They were made by the Paris Mint, which also made the medals for the 1900 Olympic Games, hosted by Paris.  This started the tradition of giving the responsibility of minting the medals to the host city.  For the next few Olympiads the host city also chose the medal design. Until 1912 the gold medals were made of solid gold.[12]

From 1976 until 1983, the Long Beach circuit hosted a newly created United States Grand Prix West, which ran in the same seasons as the United States Grand Prix (East). The United States was thus the first nation since Italy in 1957 to hold two Formula One Grands Prix in the same season. During the years 1976–1980 when both Grands Prix ran, the United States Grand Prix was also referred to as the United States Grand Prix East. The Caesars Palace Grand Prix ran as a Formula One World Championship race in Las Vegas in 1981 and 1982 (after which it continued two further years as an event in the CART series). 1982 saw the inaugural Detroit Grand Prix in the center of Detroit, Michigan, which ran until 1988. The 1982 Formula One season thus featured three Grands Prix in the USA – a first time in World Championship history that a country hosted more than two Grands Prix. Finally, a one-off Dallas Grand Prix in Fair Park, Texas was held in 1984, which was plagued by problems with the track surface, exacerbated by extremely hot 104 °F (40 °C) July weather.[71] After these short-lived events, the historical United States Grand Prix returned in 1989 at Phoenix and has since remained the only Grand Prix on the F1 calendar to be held in the USA, despite changing locations a few times since.

The 76th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2003 and took place on February 29, 2004, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 24 categories. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Joe Roth and was directed by Louis J. Horvitz. Actor Billy Crystal hosted for the eighth time. He first presided over the 62nd ceremony held in 1990 and had last hosted the 72nd ceremony held in 2000.[6] Two weeks earlier in a ceremony at The Ritz-Carlton Huntington Hotel & Spa in Pasadena, California held on February 14, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Jennifer Garner.[7]


Question: Where did the term "hot rod" originate from?

The term "hot rod" has its roots in the early days of automobile customization. Some historians believe it originated from the act of modifying stolen vehicles by swapping engines and repainting them, effectively transforming them into different cars. The term "hot" signified that the vehicle was stolen, while "rod" referred to any motorized vehicle. In some interpretations, "hot rod" could also refer to replacing the camshaft with a more powerful version, known as a "hotter" rod or "hot stick". Roadsters were popular choices for these modifications due to their lightweight, ease of alteration, and affordability. The term gained widespread use in the 1930s or 1940s to describe cars that were enhanced for performance, with engines modified for higher speeds. An older term for such modifications was "gow job", though this is now largely obsolete except among automotive historians.

More recently, the term has been applied to a game, usually played by groups of friends to determine who rides beside the driver in a car. Typically, this involves claiming the right to ride shotgun by being the first person to call out "shotgun". While there are many other rules for the game, such as a requirement that the vehicle be in sight, nearly all players agree that the game may only begin on the way to the car.[11][12] The game creates an environment that is fair by forgetting and leaving out most seniority except for that Moms and significant others automatically get shotgun, and this meanwhile leaves out any conflicts that may have previously occurred when deciding who gets to ride shotgun.[13] Therefore, it is best played and seen mainly within friend groups because of the lack of seniority, and it is when most people enjoy participating in games. Also, the front passenger seat is typically most wanted because of the small perks it contains like more leg room and easier access to the radio and air controls of the car. Calling shotgun does not apply to bi-directional trips, shotgun must be called before each journey.

The song's title, coined by the band's drummer Chuck Ruff, derives from the fact that the original recording of the song was much longer than the final version, as the band would often deviate from the arrangement into less structured jams. The track required numerous edits to shorten it. The end result was pieced together from many sections of recording tape using a razor blade and splicing tape. Winter frequently refers to the appropriateness of the name also in relation to its "monster-like, lumbering beat". (One riff was first used by Winter in the song "Hung Up", on his jazz-oriented first album Entrance. He later tried a variation on it, "Martians" on the Standing on Rock album.)

The terms "infotainment" and "infotainer" were first used in September 1980 at the Joint Conference of Aslib, the Institute of Information Scientists and the Library Association in Sheffield, UK. The Infotainers were a group of British information scientists who put on comedy shows at their professional conferences between 1980 and 1990.[citation needed] In 1983, infotainment began to see more popular usage [1] Around this time, infotainment gradually began to replace soft news with communications theorists.[12]

Famously, a young pitcher named Babe Ruth of the Boston Red Sox was playing an emergency game at first base on St. Patrick's Day, 1918, his first time playing the field. Ruth would hit two home runs that day in Hot Springs, and the second was a 573-foot shot that landed across the street from Whittington Park in a pond of the Arkansas Alligator Farm and Petting Zoo. Soon he was playing the field more often.[5][6][7] Over 130 Major League Baseball Hall of Famers, including such names as Ruth, Cy Young, Cap Anson, Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, Walter Johnson, Rogers Hornsby, Mel Ott and Jimmie Foxx were involved in Hot Springs Spring Training games.[8] The First Boys of Spring is a 2015 documentary about Hot Springs Spring Training. The film was narrated by area native, actor Billy Bob Thornton, and produced by filmmaker Larry Foley.[9][10][11] The documentary began airing nationally on the MLB Network in February, 2016.[12]

The term "sack" was first popularized by Hall of Fame defensive end Deacon Jones in the 1960s, who felt that a sack devastated the offense in the same way that a city was devastated when it was sacked.[3]

The word patent originates from the Latin patere, which means "to lay open" (i.e., to make available for public inspection). More directly, it is a shortened version of the term letters patent, which was an open document or instrument issued by a monarch or government granting exclusive rights to a person, predating the modern patent system. Similar grants included land patents, which were land grants by early state governments in the USA, and printing patents, a precursor of modern copyright.

The term was introduced into English law during the Victorian era, and is still an important concept in British law. It is also used in other Commonwealth common law jurisdictions, sometimes with suitable modifications to the phrase as an aid to local comprehension. The route of the original "Clapham omnibus" is unknown but London Buses route 88 was briefly branded as "the Clapham Omnibus" in the 1990s and is sometimes associated with the term.[1][2][3]

One of the first uses of the term "Dixieland" with reference to music was in the name of the Original Dixieland Jass Band (which shortly thereafter changed the spelling of its name to "Original Dixieland Jazz Band"). Their 1917 recordings fostered popular awareness of this new style of music. At that time, there was no issue of subgenres of jazz, so "Dixieland" referred to the band and not the music. A revival movement for traditional jazz, formed in reaction to the orchestrated sounds of the swing era and the perceived chaos of the new bebop sounds of the 1940s (referred to as "Chinese music" by Louis Armstrong), pulled "Dixieland" out from the somewhat forgotten band's name for the music they championed. The revival movement included elements of the Chicago style that developed during the 1920s, such as the use of a string bass instead of a tuba, and chordal instruments, in addition to the original format of the New Orleans style. That reflected the fact that virtually all of the recorded repertoire of New Orleans musicians was from the period when the format was already evolving beyond the traditional New Orleans format. "Dixieland" may in that sense be regarded as denoting the jazz revival movement of the late 1930s to the 1950s as much as any particular subgenre of jazz. The essential elements that were accepted as within the style were the traditional front lines consisting of trumpets, trombones, and clarinets, and ensemble improvisation over a 2-beat rhythm.

In American English, "phonograph", properly specific to machines made by Edison, was sometimes used in a generic sense as early as the 1890s to include cylinder-playing machines made by others. But it was then considered strictly incorrect to apply it to Emile Berliner's upstart Gramophone, a very different machine which played discs. "Talking machine" was the comprehensive generic term, but in the early 20th century the general public was increasingly applying the word "phonograph" indiscriminately to both cylinder and disc machines and to the records they played. By the time of the First World War, the mass advertising and popularity of the Victor Talking Machine Company's Victrolas (a line of disc-playing machines characterized by their concealed horns) was leading to widespread generic use of the word "victrola" for any machine that played discs, which were however still called "phonograph records" or simply "records", almost never "victrola records".

Whereas an abbreviation may be any type of shortened form, such as words with the middle omitted (for example, Rd for road or Dr for Doctor), an acronym is a word formed from the first letter or first few letters of each word in a phrase (such as sonar, created from sound navigation and ranging). Attestations for Akronym in German are known from 1921, and for acronym in English from 1940.[1]