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1. A biography of your favorite celebrity

2. All about your favorite author

3. All about your favorite television show

4. Former childhood stars

5. History of your favorite product brand

6. History of the Miss America pageant

7. The pop art movement during the 20th century and the changes it brought about

8. What makes a pop sensation

9. Your favorite form of public broadcasting

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Pop art | Characteristics, Facts, & Artists

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Pop art: Pop art, art in which commonplace objects were used as subject matter and were often physically incorporated in the work.

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1. Fees and taxes for an electric car

2. Minimum wage laws

3. The history of drinking age rules

4. What dogs are affected by breed specific legislation?

5. Anti-trust crimes.

6. Benefits of pleading guilty.

7. Felony penalties for aggravated stalking.

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Minimum Wage Laws in the States - Wage and Hour Division (WHD) - U.S. Department of Labor

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US Department of Labor: WHD's mission is to enhance the welfare and protect the rights of American workers by enforcing employment laws.

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1. Benefits of a college degree

2. Crimes on college campuses

3. How students can stay safe on a college campus

4. How to pick a major

5. The story of how your school was founded

6. Ways of preventing college dropout

7. Binge drinking is a problem on college campuses

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Harvard University possesses the title of America's oldest learning institution, founded in 1636. At its inception, this university's name was "New College," and its purpose was mainly to educate clergy. In 1639, the school's name became Harvard University, so named for the Rev. John Harvard. Harvard bequeathed half of his estate and his entire library to the school upon his death. This significant bequest led the school to honor him by taking his name.

During the colonial era, Harvard utilized a curriculum that focused on rote learning by repeated drilling. This style of learning conformed to the typical teaching styles of this period. The university kept a small faculty, but the professors had illustrious reputations as some of the most learned men of this era. In 1782, Harvard added medical studies to the school's programs. Some buildings still standing on the university grounds originated in the 18th century. Massachusetts Hall was built in 1720, and Wadsworth House was built in 1726. The original buildings from the 17th century did not survive; however, the school marks their locations with brass markers.

Harvard University added additional programs during the 19th century, namely law in 1816 and divinity in 1817. Harvard celebrated its bicentennial birthday during the 19th century. On the school's 200th birthday, then-President Josiah Quincy publicly displayed the school's new shield with the motto "Veritas" for the first time. The school adopted this shield officially in 1843. Quincy was Harvard's 15th president, and he kept this office between the years of 1829 and 1845. The school's teaching methods evolved during this era also. Harvard began offering more classes and a greater variety, allowing students more freedom to choose their classes. Lectures replaced the recitation teaching style as well.

In 1910, Harvard officially adopted crimson as the school color. This color choice originated in the mid-1800s when two students on the rowing team provided crimson scarves to everyone on the team to enable the crowd to pick them out more easily. The idea of school colors was in its infancy then, and the school did not officially vote on this designation until more than a half-century later.

Harvard presidents during the 20th century sought to center its focus on applied learning. President A. Lawrence Lowell worked tirelessly on a new system of "concentration and distribution." This system was designed to help students choose their fields of study more efficiently to enable them to learn and progress more effectively in their courses of study. Lowell also prioritized scholarships and honor programs. During the 20th century, Harvard University also offered more financial aid opportunities to students, increasing the diversity of the student population.

The 21st century has seen additional changes and adjustments for Harvard University. Harvard is prioritizing study abroad programs, offering a variety of opportunities for students to learn in foreign countries. The school has also instituted a revised program of general education that seeks to connect classroom curricula with real-world situations that students will encounter after graduation. During the 21st century, Harvard University has continued its outreach to excelling students of varying financial means to ensure that the school remains diverse. Currently, Harvard University enrolls 17,000 students in regular enrollment and another 30,000 students in non-degree courses.

Here are some helpful links with more information:

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Harvard University possesses the title of America's oldest learning institution, founded in 1636. At its inception, this university's name was "New College," and its purpose was mainly to educate clergy. In 1639, the school's name became Harvard University, so named for the Rev. John Harvard.

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1. How roads are built.

2. Wind energy: cheap, effective, and practical?

3. The uses for artificial intelligence computer networks.

4. Modes of communication are constantly changing.

5. How has social media impacted our daily lives?

6. The advantages and disadvantages of social media.

7. The effects of violent video games on children.

8. The decline of interpersonal communication due to technology.

9. The difference between hardware and software.

10. The history of programming languages.

11. How voice over IP works.

12. The major technological changes since 1990.

13. How to avoid computer viruses.

14. The evolution of the internet.

15. Computers through the decades.

16. How airport biometrics systems work.

17. Robots now and in the future.

18. How satellites help communication.

19. How a water plant operates.

20. How watches work.

21. The evolution of video games.

22. How cellular phones work.

23. The evolution of the iPhone.

24. How to build a computer.

25. How nuclear power works.

26. How search engines work.

27. How air pressure works.

28. The best new technologies.

29. The future of electric cars.

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China Innovation! Latest Super Technologies Unveiled In China High Tech Expo

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1. The history of baseball.

2. The history of Olympic games.

3. Is netball or hockey more dangerous?

4. The benefits of sports for all ages.

5. The worst professional sports teams.

6. The importance of sports and games.

7. What you should have in your golf bag.

8. The history of professional fighting.

9. The worst trades in sports history.

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Welcome to FootballHistory.org, a website about football history including competitions, teams and players.

The history of football (soccer)

Football (or soccer as the game is called in some parts of the world) has a long history. Football in its current form arose in England in the middle of the 19th century. But alternative versions of the game existed much earlier and are a part of the football history.

Early history and the precursors of football

The first known examples of a team game involving a ball, which was made out of a rock, occurred in old Mesoamerican cultures for over 3,000 years ago. It was by the Aztecs called Tchatali, although various versions of the game were spread over large regions. In some ritual occasions, the ball would symbolize the sun and the captain of the losing team would be sacrificed to the gods. A unique feature of the Mesoamerican ball game versions was a bouncing ball made of rubber - no other early culture had access to rubber.

The first known ball game which also involved kicking took place In China in the 3rd and 2nd century BC under the name cuju. Cuju was played with a round ball (stitched leather with fur or feathers inside) on an area of a square. A modified form of this game later spread to Japan and was by the name of kemari practiced under ceremonial forms.

Perhaps even older than cuju was Marn Gook, played by Aboriginal Australians and according to white emigrants in the 1800s, a ball game that primarily involving kicking. The ball was made by encased leaves or roots. The rules are mostly unknown, but as with many other early versions of the game, a chief feature seems to have been to keep the ball in the air.

Other variety of ball games had been known from Ancient Greece. The ball was made by shreds of leather filled with hair (the first documents of balls filled with air are from the 7th century). Ball games had, however, a low status and was not included at the Panhellenic Games. In the Ancient Rome, games with balls were not included in the entertainment on the big arenas (amphitheaters), but occurred in exercises in the military by the name of Harpastum. It was the Roman culture that would bring football to the British island (Britannica). It is, however, uncertain in which degree the British people were influenced by this variety and in which degree they had developed their own variants.

The game of football takes its form

The most admitted story tells that the game was developed in England in the 12th century. In this century, games that resembled football were played on meadows and roads in England. Besides from kicks, the game involved also punches of the ball with the fist. This early form of football was also much more rough and violent than the modern way of playing.

An important feature of the forerunners to football was that the games involved plenty of people and took place over large areas in towns (an equivalent was played in Florence from the 16th century where it was called Calcio). The rampage of these games would cause damage on the town and sometimes death to the participants. These would be among the reasons for the proclamations against the game that finally was forbidden for several centuries. But the football-like games would return to the streets of London in the 17th century. It would be forbidden again in 1835, but at this stage the game had been established in the public schools.

It took, however, long time until the features of today's football had been taken into practice. For a long time there was no clear distinction between football and rugby. There were also many variations concerning the size of the ball, the number of players and the length of a match.

The game was often played in schools and two of the predominant schools were Rugby and Eton. At Rugby the rules included the possibility to take up the ball with the hands and the game we today know as rugby has its origin from here. At Eton on the other hand the ball was played exclusively with the feet and this game can be seen as a close predecessor to the modern football. The game in Rugby was called "the running game" while the game in Eton was called "the dribbling game".

An attempt to create proper rules for the game was done at a meeting in Cambridge in 1848, but a final solution to all questions of rules was not achieved. Another important event in the history of football came about in 1863 in London when the first Football association was formed in England. It was decided that carrying the ball with the hands wasn't allowed. The meeting also resulted in a standardization of the size and weight of the ball. A consequence of the London meeting was that the game was divided into two codes: association football and rugby.

The game would, however, continue to develop for a long time and there was still much flexibility concerning the rules. For one thing, the number of players on the pitch could vary. Neither were uniforms used to distinguish the appearance of the teams. It was also common with players wearing caps - the header was yet to be a part of the game yet. Further reading: The development of football rules.

Another important difference at this stage could be noticed between English and Scottish teams. Whereas the English teams preferred to run forward with the ball in a more rugby fashion, the Scottish chose to pass the ball between their players. It would be the Scottish approach that soon became predominant.

The sport was at first an entertainment for the British working class. Unprecedented amounts of spectators, up to 30,000, would see the big matches in the late 19th century. The game would soon expand by British peoples who traveled to other parts of the world and as a result to the British colonization efforts. Especially in South America and India would the interest in football become big.

The first football clubs

Football clubs have existed since the 15th century, but unorganized and without official status. It is therefore hard to decide which the first football club was. Some historians suggest that it was the Foot-Ball Club formed 1824 in Edinburgh. Early clubs were often formed by former school students and the first of this kind was formed in Sheffield in 1855. The oldest among professional football clubs is the English club Notts County that was formed in 1862 and still exists today.

An important step for the emergence of teams was the industrialization that led to larger groups of people meeting at places such as factories, pubs and churches. Football teams were established in the larger cities and the new railroads could bring them to other cities.

In the beginning, football was dominated by public school teams, but later, teams consisting by workers would make up the majority. Another change was successively taking place when some clubs became willing to pay the best players to join their team. This would be the start of a long period of transition, not without friction, in which the game would develop to a professional level.

The motivation behind paying players was not only to win more matches. In the 1880s the interest in the game has moved ahead to a level that tickets were sold to the matches. And finally, in 1885 professional football was legalized and three years later the Football League was established. During the first season, 12 clubs joined the league, but soon more clubs became interested and the competition would consequently expand into more divisions.

For a long time, the British teams would be dominant. After some decades, clubs from Prague, Budapest and Sienna would be the primarily contenders to the British dominance.

As with many things in history, women were for a long time excluded from participating in games. It was not before the late 19th century that women started to play football. The first official women's game took place in Inverness in 1888.

The first competitions

Other milestones were now to follow. Football Association Challenge Cup (FA Cup) became the first important competition when it was run in 1871. The following year, a match between two national teams was played for the first time. The match that involved England and Scotland ended 0-0 and was followed by 4,000 people at Hamilton Crescent (the picture shows illustrations from this occasion).

Twelve years later, in 1883, the first international tournament took place and included four national teams: England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Football was for a long time a British phenomenon, but it gradually spread to other European countries. The first game that took place outside Europe occurred in Argentina in 1867, but it was foreign British workers who were involved and not Argentinean citizens.

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) was founded in 1904 and a foundation act was signed by representatives from France, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. England and the other British countries did not join FIFA from the start, they had invented the game and saw no reason to subordinate to an association. Still, they joined in the following year, but would not partake in the World Cup until 1950.

Domestic leagues occurred in many countries. The first was, as already mentioned, the English Football League which was established in 1888. The leagues would by time expand by more divisions, which were based on team performance.

In 1908 would football for the first time be included as an official sport in the Olympic Games. Until the first FIFA World Cup was played in 1930, the Olympic Games football tournament would rank as the most prestigious on a national level. Women's football was not added until 1996.

Black players

As in many other sports the white male was predominant for a long time. In football black players started being present relatively early and in comparison with, for example, tennis, football has traditionally been known as a sport with a mix of black and white players.

In Britain, Andrew Watson is known to be the first black player, and he played in the Scottish club Queen's Park in the 1880s.

A game of passion

Few other sports show examples of passion to that extent as football. The arenas are flocked by shearing people; and in front of television even more are watching carefully and sometimes with great enthusiasm.

Already in the late 19th century, Goodison Park was built in England in purpose of hosting football games. In 1894, the FA Cup final between Notts County and Bolton Wanderers was attended by 37,000 people. A milestone in the development of football stadiums is the construction of Maracanã Stadium. In the year of 1950 the imposing stadium in Rio de Janeiro was ready for almost 200,000 people. No other sport has seen stadiums of that capacity built to host its games.

There have been two different traditions of fan culture on the arenas: the British and the South American. The British fans adopted the tradition of singing, the repertoire was inspired from pub and working songs among other areas. The South Americans on the other hand would adopt the carnival style which included firecrackers and fireworks, and also the modern phenomena of Bengali fires. Fans in other countries have later adopted a mixture of these traditions.

The great modern competitions

No other sport event besides the Summer Olympic Games can today measure itself with the FIFA World Cup. The first edition of the FIFA World Cup was played in 1930 in Uruguay and has since then returned every fourth year (with two exceptions due to the Second World War). In 1991 the first World Cup for women was held in China and has since then also returned every fourth year.

Today the biggest global tournament for clubs is the Champions League (played since 1992), the former European Cup (1955-1991).

Globalization of the biggest sport in the world

In the late 19th century, only a few national football teams existed; England and Scotland had the first active teams that played games against each other in the 1870s. Today there are 211 national associations included in the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the world governing body of the sport. Another proof of the globalization could be seen in the increase of nations participating in the World Cup qualifiers: from 32 in 1934 to over 200 in 2014.

The world regions have been divided into six confederations: Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF), Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Union des Associations Européennes de Football (UEFA), The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), and Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (CONMEBOL).

Football is definitely a global sport and without comparison the biggest in the world. A quote from David Goldblatt's book The Ball is Round present one answer:

It offers the spotlight for individual brilliance while relishing the defiance and heart of collective endeavor. It has staged tragedy and comedy, epic and pantomime, unsophisticated music hall and inaccessible experimental performances. It does imperious triumph, lucky escapes, impossible comebacks and stubborn stalemates. It captures the brilliance of unpredictability, the uncertainty of the human heart and human skill, of improvisation and chance.

The name of the game: football or soccer?

In most parts of the world, football is used as the name for the "chess of the green pitch", the biggest sport in the world. In the United States and Canada, however, soccer is used instead as a distinction from American football. A more formal name sometimes used is association football, but in popular speech, it is either football or soccer.

References:
The National Encyclopedia
History of Football: The Beautiful Game (2002 Documentary Series)
The Ball is Round: A Global History of Football - David Goldblatt (2008)
http://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/who-we-are/the-game/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldest_football_clubs
http://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/who-we-are/history/
http://spartacus-educational.com/Fblack.htm
http://spartacus-educational.com/Fstadiums.htm
http://www.fifa.com/associations/
Image sources:
Andrea Scoto - ItiIllustration da Francesco. Bertelli. Padua
William Ralston (1848-1911) - Scanned from The Official History of The Football Association by Bryon Butler - Queen Ane Press
Documentary film Alegria do Povo (1963)

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Welcome to FootballHistory.org, a website about football history including competitions, teams and players. Football (or soccer as the game is called in some parts of the world) has a long history. Football in its current form arose in England in the middle of the 19th century.

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1. How schools make money by selling unhealthy candy and soft drinks to students.

2. Why music with foul language in it should not be allowed at school dances.

3. Students who commit cyberbullying should be suspended or expelled from school.

4. Homeschooling produces better results than public schools.

5. The pros and cons of wearing a school uniform.

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Private versus public! It's a debate that rages across the playgrounds and living rooms of America. In fact, according to a 2009 GreatSchools and Harris Interactive poll, nearly one in four parents are currently considering switching their child's school either from private to public or public to private as a result of the economy.

What's better for your youngster? How can you compare private and public schools when they seem so disparate? Is it like comparing apples and oranges - two different things that can't be fairly held to the same standards?

As any parent who has toured both kinds of school knows, it's not always easy to answer these questions. Many people have a bias one way or another. Some assume that private schools offer superior everything, justifying their tuition costs. Others contend that public schools provide more real-life experiences or, in some cases, more-developed specialty programs in athletics or science.

While this primer won't dare takes sides, it will touch on the most fundamental differences between public and private schools - as well as a few subtle distinctions that might make all the difference for your child.

The bottom line

The most obvious discrepancy between public and private schools comes down to cold, hard cash. The good news for parents is that public schools cannot charge tuition. The bad news is that public schools are complicated, often underfunded operations influenced by political winds and shortfalls. Financed through federal, state, and local taxes, public schools are part of a larger school system, which functions as a part of the government and must follow the rules and regulations set by politicians.

In contrast, private schools must generate their own funding, which typically comes from a variety of sources: tuition; private grants; and fundraising from parents, alumni, and other community members. (Ever wonder why private schools celebrate Grandparent's Day and public schools don't?) If the school is associated with a religious group, the local branch may provide an important source of funding as well.

For parents this quickly translates into the bad news: high tuition costs and sometimes an exhausting work calendar of parent-sponsored fundraisers. According to the National Association of Independent Schools, the median tuition for their member private day schools in 2008-2009 in the United States was $17,441. Tuition for boarding schools was close to $37,017. (Of the 28,384 private schools in the United States, about 1,050 are affiliated with the NAIS. Average tuition for nonmember schools is substantially less: Day schools charge $10,841 and boarding schools $23,448.)

Parochial schools are even more affordable. The for the freshman year of secondary school. (Thank you, Pope Benedict XVI!) National Catholic Educational Association reports that the mean tuition for parish elementary schools is $2,607 and

The potential benefits of private schools accrue from their independence. Private schools do not receive tax revenues, so they do not have to follow the same sorts of regulations and bureaucratic processes that govern (and sometimes hinder) public schools. This allows many private schools to be highly specialized, offering differentiated learning, advanced curriculum, or programs geared toward specific religious beliefs. There are exceptions to such generalizations - charter and magnet schools are increasingly common public schools that often have a special educational focus or theme.

The admissions game

Another obvious distinction between public and private schools results from their respective admissions procedures. By law, public schools must accept all children. In many cases, enrolling your child involves little more than filling out a few forms and providing proof of your address to the local school district office. In practice, however, getting your child into the public school of his or her choice can be much more complicated.

Because not all public schools have resources for helping students with special needs, enrolling a child with a learning disability or other disorder may entail a more complex process. Similarly, in school districts with "school choice" policies, the procedure for finding a public school may require that parents enter a lottery to gain admission for their child into their top pick. Finally, at the high school level, many districts in larger metropolitan areas offer special schools with competitive enrollment based on students' GPAs or artistic portfolios.

Private schools, by their very definition, are selective. They are not obligated to accept every child, so getting admitted may involve in-depth applications with multiple interviews, essays, and testing. Because private schools define the identity of their communities, they often pick and choose between candidates based not only on their scholastic achievement but also their ethnicity and religious background - as well as the special attributes (or assets) of their parents.

Teachers, curriculum, and class size

While most people assume that teachers at private schools are as qualified as those at public ones, it's important to note that all teachers in a public school are usually state certified or, at a minimum, working toward certification. Certification ensures that a teacher has gone through the training required by the state, which includes student teaching and course work. Teachers in private schools may not be required to have certification. Instead, they often have subject-area expertise and an undergraduate or graduate degree in the subject they teach.

There's a similar discrepancy between curriculum development in private and public schools. Public schools must follow state guidelines that set out specific standards and assessment procedures. In theory, this creates a certain amount of quality control. Private schools, on the other hand, can choose whatever curriculum and assessment model they wish. This freedom to design their own curriculum or avoid standardized tests can result in higher standards for students - or lower.

Many states recognize the value of small classes and have provided funding to keep class sizes small in grades K-3. As students advance to higher grades, class size tends to get bigger in public schools, especially in large school districts and urban schools.

While many private schools provide small classes with low student-to-teacher ratios, there is no guarantee that such schools will keep their class size below a certain level. Some private schools - Catholic ones, in particular - traditionally have larger classes than public schools.

Special needs

Due to special education laws, public schools must educate all children and provide the necessary programs to meet their special needs. This means that all school districts have special education programs and teachers who are trained to work with special-needs students.

Private schools do not have to accept children with special needs, and many choose not to (although there are a small number of private schools designed for special-needs children). As a result, most private schools do not have special education programs or teachers trained to work with that student population. Some private schools will try to help all the students they admit, but extra resources may come at an additional cost. Other private schools practice something called "counseling out" - recommending that children with learning disabilities look elsewhere for a school.

How do you know what's right for your child?

Don't rely on hearsay and rumor when it comes to deciding between private and public. Visit the schools and ask the teachers lots of questions. Read school profiles on GreatSchools. At the end of the day, the best school for your child is a highly personal decision based on your family; your values; and, most important, the special needs, idiosyncrasies, and interests of your kid. Let the debate rage on, but don't forget about the one person for whom this decision is far more than sandbox banter.

Testing at private vs. public schools

Private school students typically score higher than public school students on standardized tests, but a 2006 study (pdf) by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), which took into account students' backgrounds, told a different story.

Public school students in fourth and eighth grade scored almost as well or better than their private school peers in reading and math, except that private school students excelled in eighth-grade reading.

A Harvard University study (pdf) challenged the results, using the same data but different methods. Researchers found that private schools came out ahead in 11 of 12 comparisons of students.

Earlier in 2006, an analysis of math scores by two University of Illinois researchers found similar results to the NCES study. "Charter, Private, Public Schools and Academic Achievement" states that "after accounting for the fact that private schools serve more advantaged populations, public schools perform remarkably well, often outscoring private and charter schools."

But as a dissenting view from the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation's Education Gadfly newsletter showed, the debate over which kind of school does a better job is far from settled.

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Private versus public! It's a debate that rages across the playgrounds and living rooms of America. In fact, according to a 2009 GreatSchools and Harris Interactive poll, nearly one in four parents are currently considering switching their child's school either from private to public or public to private as a result of the economy.

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1. Why whales should not be hunted for food.

2. Transhumanism and the evolution of the human race.

3. Falabella horses are the smallest in the world.

4. Why is the colonization of Mars important?

5. Albert Einstein’s contributions to science.

6. The isolation of nicotinic acid from tobacco.

7. The journey to becoming a nuclear physicist.

8. How dolphins are smarter than humans.

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Most people agree whales and dolphins are the 'brainiacs' of the sea. Over millions of years, their bodies, brains, sensory systems and intelligence have evolved and adapted for living rich and varied lives in water. These are all very different from our own, yet in many ways they are still more like us than you might suspect.

Whales and dolphins behave in ways that suggest intelligence and a sophisticated mind. Not only do they learn as individuals, but as individuals that can pass their knowledge onto others.

What is intelligence?

Intelligence can be defined as the ability to learn and apply knowledge; to understand new or challenging situations and the ability to think abstractly. Dolphins demonstrate the ability to do all of these things and most scientists agree that dolphins are very intelligent. They are notoriously talented mimics and quick learners; they demonstrate self-awareness, problem-solving, and empathy, innovation, teaching skills, grief, joy and playfulness.

How intelligent are whales and dolphins?

It's a complicated question because it's hard to compare a whale or a dolphin's intelligence with our own, mainly as we can't use the same methods to measure both. We can't ask a dolphin to sit an IQ test or maths exam, or challenge a whale to build an engine or design a building. For a start, they don't have hands and they communicate very differently from us. In fact, dolphins seem to have an almost unfathomable, alien intelligence, which is so unlike our own that perhaps a better question to ask is 'How are whales and dolphins intelligent?'

This short video by renowned scientist Lori Marino, explains how dolphin intelligence evolved.

Big Brains

Whales and dolphins have large brains; brainy dolphins have a brain to body ratio second only to humans. Large-brained creatures generally have a few things in common: they live long lives; they are sociable; their behaviour is complicated; females give birth to only a few offspring throughout their lives and take extraordinary care of each baby while teaching them life skills; the youngsters take their time to grow up, become sexually mature and independent of their mothers.

Perhaps the most obvious difference between our brains and that of dolphins and all toothed whales is that they have an entire area dedicated to echolocation. Dolphins can "see" with sonar and this skill or superpower is called echolocation. Sound travels much better in water than light does and so it makes more sense for dolphins to sense their surroundings with sound. Their echolocation abilities are phenomenal; they can determine extraordinary details about everything around them. They use echolocation to hunt and navigate even in dark or murky water. Dolphins can check out each other's pregnancies and eavesdrop on the echolocating clicks of other dolphins to figure out what they're looking at.

Whale and dolphin brains contain specialized brain cells called spindle neurons. These are associated with advanced abilities such as recognising, remembering, reasoning, communicating, perceiving, adapting to change, problem-solving and understanding. So it seems they are deep thinkers! Not only that, but the part of their brain which processes emotions (limbic system) appears to be more complex than our own. Lori Marino a neuro-expert explains that 'a dolphin alone is not really a dolphin; being a dolphin means being embedded in a complex social network...even more so than with humans.'

Communication experts

Whale and dolphin communication skills are at the very heart of their cooperative lifestyles and social interactions. Scientists agree that they communicate with each other in sophisticated and at times, novel and interactive ways. For some, such as bottlenose dolphins and orcas, the complexity of their communication and social interactions is immense; they are incredibly chatty.....if only we were smart enough to solve the mysteries of what they are saying to one another!

Here are two great videos of talks by dolphin expert, Dr Denise Herzing on the subject of dolphin communication.

Given Names

Experts have figured out that some dolphin species use distinct names for one another; they are identifiable, individual whistles sometimes known as signature whistles. Dolphins use their names to identify and call one another. Infant dolphins learn their names (individual whistles) from their mothers and keep them for life. Dolphins greet one another at sea by exchanging their names and seem to remember the names of other dolphins for decades. No other creature, besides humans, is believed to use given names for each other.

Bottlenose dolphins in Australia have developed quite a range of tools and methods to aid mealtimes. One group, known as the 'spongers' grab a sea-sponge and dive down to the seabed with it. Holding the sponges tightly in their mouths, they then poke them into the sandy seabed, disturbing fish in hiding. The fish emerge, the sponge is dropped, the meal is eaten, and the tool picked up for further foraging. The sponges protect the dolphins' noses from scuffs, scrapes and stings, in the same way as we would protect our hands with gloves when gardening or clearing rubbish from a beach.

Other bottlenose dolphins living in Shark Bay, Australia, carry large conch shells in their mouths when fishing - it looks a bit like they are playing an instrument. The dolphin fills the shell and then visits the surface to shake it so that the seawater drains out, leaving small fish trapped in the bottom. One deft flick of his head and the dolphin has earned himself a tasty snack. The knowledge of these extraordinary and creative fishing methods is passed from dolphin to dolphin.

In the shallow waters of Florida Bay in the US, dolphins use their speed, which can exceed 20 miles an hour, to swim quick circles around schools of mullet fish, stirring up curtains of mud that force the fish to leap out of the water into the dolphins' waiting mouths. Dusky dolphins off the coast of Patagonia herd schools of anchovies into neat spheres and then take turns gulping them down. In several locations including Brazil, India and Myanmar, dolphins have teamed up with fishermen and fished cooperatively together for generations. Shore-based fishermen wait for the dolphins to signal that they have rounded up fish before they cast their nets, the dolphins then easily catch disorientated fish that spill out around the nets.

Then there's the bubble net, a neat trick exhibited by humpback whales. A group of humpbacks locates a school of fish. Attacking them is likely to disperse them, so instead they swim beneath the fish in ever-shrinking circles, blowing air bubbles as they go. The densely packed bubbles rise in similarly shrinking circles, effectively trapping the fish as the 'net' gets tighter, and then at the right moment, the whales swim up the net, mouths agape, and swallow the fish in great clusters. The whales all have different roles: some are bubble-blowers, others dive deep to ensure the fish are driven upwards, and some even make calls to help herd the prey. Teamwork, passed on from generation to generation.

Orcas also work cooperatively when hunting; those in Norway, for example, work together to herd schools of herring into tight balls. Swimming round and under their prey, flashing their white patches to scare the fish and create a fish bait ball, the orcas then spin around and slap the balled fish with their tails, stunning them for easy catching.

Finally, there are some unique examples of social learning and knowledge transfer demonstrated clearly by individual dolphins. The first is Billie. A dolphin who became trapped in a sea lock in the 1980s, she was rescued and rehabilitated in captivity before being released back into the wild just three weeks later. Scientists were amazed to see that, upon her return to the seas, she started tail-walking, a trick taught in marine parks for rewards that she must have observed, even though during those three weeks she was not trained herself. To have picked up the skill so rapidly is one thing... but Billie was soon teaching her wild companions to do the same, just for fun!

Then there is Kelly. A dolphin who sadly lives in a research centre in the US, she has been trained to keep her tank clean. Every time she brings a piece of litter to her trainer, she is rewarded with a fish. So she's built upon the idea. Now, when she finds a piece of paper, she wedges it under a stone, and tears off individual pieces, which she brings to the surface one at a time. Thus, a single piece of litter earns her several fish. She's also noticed that gulls come to her tank, hungry for fish. So she uses one of her fish as bait, catches the unwary birds, and presents them to her trainers for even more food. She has not only created these remarkable strategies by herself, but she's even passed them on to her calf. A remarkable example of social learning, and great intelligence.

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How intelligent are whales and dolphins? - Whale & Dolphin Conservation USA

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Most people agree whales and dolphins are the 'brainiacs' of the sea. Over millions of years, their bodies, brains, sensory systems and intelligence have evolved and adapted for living rich and varied lives in water. These are all very different from our own, yet in many ways they are still more like us than you might suspect.

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1. The pros and cons of socialism.

2. The most important women in politics.

3. Define the term foreign policy and offer current examples.

4. The delicate position of women and children in war torn societies and countries on the globe.

5. How issues on oil in Nigeria lift the oil prices worldwide.

6. How a free trade agreement works.

7. The major environmental problems in Australia.

8. The function of the Federal Reserve Board in maintaining a stable financial system.

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Table of Contents

socialism, social and economic doctrine that calls for public rather than private ownership or control of property and natural resources. According to the socialist view, individuals do not live or work in isolation but live in cooperation with one another. Furthermore, everything that people produce is in some sense a social product, and everyone who contributes to the production of a good is entitled to a share in it. Society as a whole, therefore, should own or at least control property for the benefit of all its members.

This conviction puts socialism in opposition to capitalism, which is based on private ownership of the means of production and allows individual choices in a free market to determine how goods and services are distributed. Socialists complain that capitalism necessarily leads to unfair and exploitative concentrations of wealth and power in the hands of the relative few who emerge victorious from free-market competition-people who then use their wealth and power to reinforce their dominance in society. Because such people are rich, they may choose where and how to live, and their choices in turn limit the options of the poor. As a result, terms such as individual freedom and equality of opportunity may be meaningful for capitalists but can only ring hollow for working people, who must do the capitalists' bidding if they are to survive. As socialists see it, true freedom and true equality require social control of the resources that provide the basis for prosperity in any society. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels made this point in Manifesto of the Communist Party (1848) when they proclaimed that in a socialist society "the condition for the free development of each is the free development of all."

This fundamental conviction nevertheless leaves room for socialists to disagree among themselves with regard to two key points. The first concerns the extent and the kind of property that society should own or control. Some socialists have thought that almost everything except personal items such as clothing should be public property; this is true, for example, of the society envisioned by the English humanist Sir Thomas More in his (1516). Other socialists, however, have been willing to accept or even welcome private ownership of farms, shops, and other small or medium-sized businesses.

The second disagreement concerns the way in which society is to exercise its control of property and other resources. In this case the main camps consist of loosely defined groups of centralists and decentralists. On the centralist side are socialists who want to invest public control of property in some central authority, such as the state-or the state under the guidance of a political party, as was the case in the Soviet Union. Those in the decentralist camp believe that decisions about the use of public property and resources should be made at the local, or lowest-possible, level by the people who will be most directly affected by those decisions. This conflict has persisted throughout the history of socialism as a political movement.

Origins

The origins of socialism as a political movement lie in the Industrial Revolution. Its intellectual roots, however, reach back almost as far as recorded thought-even as far as Moses, according to one history of the subject. Socialist or communist ideas certainly play an important part in the ideas of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato, whose depicts an austere society in which men and women of the "guardian" class share with each other not only their few material goods but also their spouses and children. Early Christian communities also practiced the sharing of goods and labour, a simple form of socialism subsequently followed in certain forms of monasticism. Several monastic orders continue these practices today.

Christianity and Platonism were combined in More's Utopia, which apparently recommends communal ownership as a way of controlling the sins of pride, envy, and greed. Land and houses are common property on More's imaginary island of Utopia, where everyone works for at least two years on the communal farms and people change houses every 10 years so that no one develops pride of possession. Money has been abolished, and people are free to take what they need from common storehouses. All the Utopians live simply, moreover, so that they are able to meet their needs with only a few hours of work a day, leaving the rest for leisure.

More's Utopia is not so much a blueprint for a socialist society as it is a commentary on the failings he perceived in the supposedly Christian societies of his day. Religious and political turmoil, however, soon inspired others to try to put utopian ideas into practice. Common ownership was one of the aims of the brief Anabaptist regime in the Westphalian city of Münster during the Protestant Reformation, and several communist or socialist sects sprang up in England in the wake of the Civil Wars (1642-51). Chief among them was the Diggers, whose members claimed that God had created the world for people to share, not to divide and exploit for private profit. When they acted on this belief by digging and planting on land that was not legally theirs, they ran afoul of Oliver Cromwell's Protectorate, which forcibly disbanded them.

Whether utopian or practical, these early visions of socialism were largely agrarian. This remained true as late as the French Revolution, when the journalist François-Noël Babeuf and other radicals complained that the Revolution had failed to fulfill the ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity. Adherence to "the precious principle of equality," Babeuf argued, requires the abolition of private property and common enjoyment of the land and its fruits. Such beliefs led to his execution for conspiring to overthrow the government. The publicity that followed his trial and death, however, made him a hero to many in the 19th century who reacted against the emergence of industrial capitalism.

Conservatives who saw the settled life of agricultural society disrupted by the insistent demands of industrialism were as likely as their radical counterparts to be outraged by the self-interested competition of capitalists and the squalor of industrial cities. The radicals distinguished themselves, however, by their commitment to equality and their willingness to envision a future in which industrial power and capitalism were divorced. To their moral outrage at the conditions that were reducing many workers to pauperism, the radical critics of industrial capitalism added a faith in the power of people to put science and an understanding of history to work in the creation of a new and glorious society. The term socialist came into use about 1830 to describe these radicals, some of the most important of whom subsequently acquired the title of "utopian" socialists.

One of the first utopian socialists was the French aristocrat Claude-Henri de Saint-Simon. Saint-Simon did not call for public ownership of productive property, but he did advocate public control of property through central planning, in which scientists, industrialists, and engineers would anticipate social needs and direct the energies of society to meet them. Such a system would be more efficient than capitalism, according to Saint-Simon, and it even has the endorsement of history itself. Saint-Simon believed that history moves through a series of stages, each of which is marked by a particular arrangement of social classes and a set of dominant beliefs. Thus, feudalism, with its landed nobility and monotheistic religion, was giving way to industrialism, a complex form of society characterized by its reliance on science, reason, and the division of labour. In such circumstances, Saint-Simon argued, it makes sense to put the economic arrangements of society in the hands of its most knowledgeable and productive members, so that they may direct economic production for the benefit of all.

Another early socialist, Robert Owen, was himself an industrialist. Owen first attracted attention by operating textile mills in New Lanark, Scot., that were both highly profitable and, by the standards of the day, remarkably humane: no children under age 10 were employed. Owen's fundamental belief was that human nature is not fixed but formed. If people are selfish, depraved, or vicious, it is because social conditions have made them so. Change the conditions, he argued, and people will change; teach them to live and work together in harmony, and they will do so. Thus, Owen set out in 1825 to establish a model of social organization, New Harmony, on land he had purchased in the U.S. state of Indiana. This was to be a self-sufficient, cooperative community in which property was commonly owned. New Harmony failed within a few years, taking most of Owen's fortune with it, but he soon turned his attention to other efforts to promote social cooperation- trade union s and cooperative businesses, in particular.

Similar themes mark the writings of François-Marie-Charles Fourier, a French clerk whose imagination, if not his fortune, was as extravagant as Owen's. Modern society breeds selfishness, deception, and other evils, Fourier charged, because institutions such as marriage, the male-dominated family, and the competitive market confine people to repetitive labour or a limited role in life and thus frustrate the need for variety. By setting people at odds with each other in the competition for profits, moreover, the market in particular frustrates the desire for harmony. Accordingly, Fourier envisioned a form of society that would be more in keeping with human needs and desires. Such a " phalanstery," as he called it, would be a largely self-sufficient community of about 1,600 people organized according to the principle of "attractive labour," which holds that people will work voluntarily and happily if their work engages their talents and interests. All tasks become tiresome at some point, however, so each member of the phalanstery would have several occupations, moving from one to another as his interest waned and waxed. Fourier left room for private investment in his utopian community, but every member was to share in ownership, and inequality of wealth, though permitted, was to be limited.

The ideas of common ownership, equality, and a simple life were taken up in the visionary novel Voyage en Icarie (1840; Travels in Icaria), by the French socialist Étienne Cabet. Icaria was to be a self-sufficient community, combining industry with farming, of about one million people. In practice, however, the Icaria that Cabet founded in Illinois in the 1850s was about the size of a Fourierist phalanstery, and dissension among the Icarians prompted Cabet to depart in 1856.

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Socialism | Definition, History, Types, Examples, & Facts

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socialism, social and economic doctrine that calls for public rather than private ownership or control of property and natural resources. According to the socialist view, individuals do not live or work in isolation but live in cooperation with one another.

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1. The different types of marching bands.

2. The history of french horns.

3. The history of house music.

4. The evolution of rock and roll.

5. The evolution of rap music.

6. The history of reggae music.

7. The history of Haitian music.

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Evolution of Music: A Music History Crash Course - TWO MINUTE MUSIC THEORY

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1. What steps are involved in creating a movie or television show?

2. How Spotify hurts new artists.

3. The benefits of watching less TV.

4. How the media has hurt our body image.

5. The benefits of reading a newspaper.

6. The basics of photography.

7. The history of the Titanic movie.

8. The effects of misleading advertisements.

9. Some important women in the media.

10. The benefits of satellite radio.

11. The best TV sitcoms.

12. How Disney produces and distributes short animated films.

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How can the media make me feel bad about my body?

Images of what the media believes are "ideal" women are everywhere-on TV, in movies, online, in magazines, in ads, and in video games. You may begin to believe that these images show what is normal. But the weights and body types of women you see in the media are not normal. Only about 5% of American women have the genetics to make it possible to look like these images. For most people, trying to look like these images can be unhealthy. It can cause depression, eating disorders, and low self-esteem.

It's hard not to compare how you look with these images. You may not like what you see in the mirror and look for ways to "fix" yourself. Diets, makeup, and clothes are sold to make women look more like the images they see in the media. Ads for these products may be designed to make you feel insecure. This is just a way to sell more products. It's not the truth of how a woman should look. Understanding how the media works is an important step in not letting these images control how you feel about yourself.

Why do TV characters who are supposed to be my age seem older or more mature than I am?

Most of the actresses on TV playing teenagers are in their 20s. By hiring older actors, studios don't have to worry about shorter working hours and on-set schooling for minors. The actresses you see playing girls your age on TV are older than you in real life. Very few of them look like real teenagers.

What should I do if people are making comments about my body that make me feel bad or uncomfortable?

Sometimes friends and parents think they are helping when they make certain comments, but they aren't. Often these comments can do more harm than good. You may need to change some things in your life to be healthy, but you don't need to listen to everyone's opinion about your body. Try responding to negative comments with these statements:

"It hurts my feelings when you make comments about my food/weight/body."

"I know you mean well, but I'd appreciate it if you would keep those thoughts to yourself."

"How nice. Thanks for sharing that."

"How would you feel if I said something like that to you? Your comments about my food/weight/body are not helpful."

What are the warning signs of an unhealthy body image?

You may have an unhealthy body image if you

view yourself only in terms of how you look

compare how you look with people on TV or in magazines

use negative words to describe your body

get depressed or sad about how you look

constantly think about ways to improve your body or looks

What is a healthy body weight?

Body mass index (BMI) is a number calculated from height and weight that is used to determine whether a person is underweight, normal weight, overweight, or obese. When your BMI falls into the normal range, you are at a healthy body weight:

BMI <18.5 is underweight.

BMI 18.5-24.9 is normal weight.

BMI 25.0-29.9 is overweight.

BMI 30.0 and higher is obese.

To find out your BMI, use the online calculator at www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/BMI/bmicalc.htm.

What is a healthy amount of exercise?

Most teenagers should exercise for a total of 60 minutes on most days of the week. The activities you choose should be of moderate or vigorous intensity. Examples of moderate-intensity activities include brisk walking, dancing, bicycle riding, or hiking. Examples of vigorous-intensity activities include running, swimming, jumping rope, or soccer.

Exercise is good for your mind and your body. Staying active relieves stress, helps you sleep better, and can help ease depression and anxiety.

Should I go on a diet?

Many teenage girls who think they should go on a diet actually are a normal, healthy weight. But if your BMI is not in the healthy range, you may need to lose weight. To lose weight, you need to use up more calories than you take in. You can do this through regular physical activity combined with a program of healthy eating. You may have heard that you can lose weight more quickly with a "crash" diet, but these diets are not meant to be permanent. You are more likely to gain back the weight you lose if you go on a crash diet than if you make long-term lifestyle changes. Talk to your doctor about the best way to change your eating habits. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's web site "MyPlate" ( www.choosemyplate.gov) also can help you plan a balanced diet.

How can I tell if my eating habits are unhealthy?

Teenagers who diet on their own may develop bad habits called disordered eating. These habits include

Disordered eating occurs on a spectrum. When disordered eating becomes severe, it may be called an eating disorder.

What is an eating disorder?

An eating disorder is a medical illness. If not treated, it can be life-threatening. People with eating disorders can be any weight. For example, it is possible to be a normal weight and still have an eating disorder.

People with eating disorders are very critical of their bodies. Some eating disorders include the following:

Anorexia nervosa-A distorted body image leads a person to diet too much and sometimes exercise too much. People with anorexia usually are very underweight.

Bulimia-A person who wants to lose weight or is afraid of gaining weight who binges on food, then forces vomiting or abuses laxatives. He or she also may exercise too much. People with bulimia usually are normal weight or slightly overweight.

Binge eating-A person binges on food but does not vomit. People who binge eat usually are overweight or obese.

My body is changing as I get older. How do I know if these changes are normal?

During , your body changes. You grow taller and your hips get wider. You may get acne or pimples. Your breasts and change as well. These changes may cause you to wonder if your body looks "normal." You may compare yourself with images you see online. You may even think about getting surgery to change parts of your body that you are not happy with. But it is important to remember that there is a wide range of normal when it comes to your body's appearance. Things like breast and size vary from woman to woman. All of these differences are normal. If you are worried about these changes in your body, talk to your doctor.

What can I do to feel better about my body and be more confident?

The following may help you build confidence and maintain a healthy body image:

Be aware of how the media affects the way you think about yourself. Understanding that the media's standard of beauty is unrealistic will help you stop comparing yourself with something that is not real.

Pay attention to how much media you consume every day. Take breaks from it.

Understand that there is a wide range of normal body types.

Eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly. Treating your body well will make you feel stronger and happier.

Focus on achievement, not appearance. Find role models who do the same.

Find friends who have similar values.

Resources

The following organizations and web sites have information that may be of interest to our readers. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) does not necessarily endorse the views expressed or the facts presented by these organizations or on these web sites. Further, ACOG does not endorse any commercial products that may be advertised or available from these organizations or on these web sites.

Center for Media Literacy
www.medialit.org

Center for Young Women's Health
Boston Children's Hospital
www.youngwomenshealth.org

Go Ask Alice!
Columbia University Health Education Program
www.goaskalice.columbia.edu

National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders
www.anad.org

National Eating Disorders Association
www.nationaleatingdisorders.org

NOW Foundation
Love Your Body
http://now.org/now-foundation/love-your-body/

The Representation Project
http://therepresentationproject.org

USDA ChooseMyPlate.gov
www.choosemyplate.gov

Women's Media Center
Media Programs for Girls
www.womensmediacenter.com/pages/media-programs-for-girls

Glossary

Anorexia Nervosa: An eating disorder in which distorted body image leads a person to diet excessively.

Body Mass Index (BMI): A number calculated from height and weight that is used to determine whether a person is underweight, normal weight, overweight, or obese.

Bulimia: An eating disorder in which a person binges on food and then forces vomiting or abuses laxatives.

Depression: Feelings of sadness for periods of at least 2 weeks.

Diuretics: Drugs given to increase the production of urine.

Labia: Folds of skin on either side of the opening of the vagina.

Laxatives: Products that are used to empty the bowels.

Puberty: The stage of life when the reproductive organs start to function and other sex features develop.

Vulva: The external female genital area.

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Images of what the media believes are "ideal" women are everywhere-on TV, in movies, online, in magazines, in ads, and in video games. You may begin to believe that these images show what is normal. But the weights and body types of women you see in the media are not normal.

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1. The military of the Philippines.

2. Can democracy bring stability to Pakistan?

3. The impact of U.S drone strikes.

4. The discovery of oil in Equatorial Guinea.

5. How to help refugees.

6. Why everyone should live in China.

7. The status of trade relations in East Africa.

8. The effects of the Dowry system in India.

9. Sri Lanka after thirty years of war.

10. The political system of India.

11. The purpose of the United Nations.

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United Nations - explained l CBC Kids News

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1. The beauty of ancient Egyptian art.

2. The most beautiful paintings in history.

3. The history of fashion.

4. The history of high heels.

5. The history of cosmetic makeup.

6. The history of Tibetan burial practices.

7. The history of swear words and their impact on society.

8. Words and their meanings that have changed with time.

9. Why dragons perform in Chinese New Year celebrations.

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It's wonderful stuff, swearing. It stiffens the sinews and summons up the blood, and not just metaphorically. Obscenities actually do act on us physiologically. Swearing increases electrical conductance across the skin, pushes the heart rate higher and measurably increases resistance to pain.

Obscenities are also linguistically interesting in themselves: the more currency they have, the more their emotional colouring and the associations they trigger overwhelms what they actually mean. "Fucking", these days, only rarely means "having sex". And they become marvellously plastic, grammatically.

Swearing doesn't just mean what we now understand by "dirty words". It is entwined, in social and linguistic history, with the other sort of swearing: vows and oaths. Consider for a moment the origins of almost any word we have for bad language - "profanity", "curses", "oaths" and "swearing" itself .

Melissa Mohr's title, then, is more than just an attention-grabber: the history of swearing is one of a movement back and forth between the holy and the shit. At different times in the history of the west, the primary taboo has been to do either with God, or with the functions of the human body. (The latter, though, does subdivide in a meaningful way between the sexual and the excremental. Really, this book should have been called "Holy Fucking Shit".)

Though Mohr is mainly interested in English, she is generous in roping in examples from outside it. A helpful and interesting chapter on ancient Roman filth does much to sketch the background, too. How do we know what was obscene in a dead language? By literary genre, essentially: if it was written on the toilet wall but didn't appear in satire, it was likely to be properly rude. English has a "Big Six": "cunt", "fuck", "cock", "arse", "shit" and "piss" (though Mohr plausibly suggests that "nigger" should now be in there). The Romans had a "Big 10": cunnus (cunt), futuo (fuck), mentula (cock), verpa (erect or circumcised cock), landica (clitoris), culus (arse), pedico (bugger), caco (shit), fello (fellate) and irrumo (er, mouth-rape).

So the Romans, like us, had a primary relationship between the body and the idea of obscenity - though their sexual schema was a little different, with shame attaching, above all, to sexual passivity. Sexual obscenity also, to complicate things, had a sacramental function - as witness the fruity ways of the god Priapus. Some of that shit was holy.

In medieval times, though, the emphasis was all on the holy. Common words for places and things contained vulgarities regarded as quite innocuous. London and Oxford both boasted a "Gropecuntelane", which is where the prostitutes hung out, and if you visited a country pond "there would've been a shiterow in there fishing, a windfucker flying above, arse-smart and cuntehoare hugging the edges of the pond, and pissabed amongst the grass". At the same time it's hard to recapture quite how shocking medieval people would find a vain oath.

Christianity was founded on oaths and covenants - as was the whole dispensation of feudal society. To swear an oath was to compel God to pay attention to your promise - and to do so in vain was to dishonour God and risk eternal damnation. Indeed, it was believed that if you swore on God's body - "'sblood!"; "God's bones!"; "by Christ's nails!" - you physically spilled his blood, broke his bones and tore out his nails in heaven.

Mohr credits the decline in the importance of oath-swearing to the rise of the merchant classes. Feudal society's scheme of estates was bound by chains of oaths between lords and vassals, right up to the king. Capitalism moved us from oaths to contracts: the oath before God became less important than keeping your word to business partners - and you didn't need eschatological terror to enforce that. Plus, there's the dry, old complaint that swearing constantly "devalues the currency". Between 1640 and 1660, around the civil war, men might have to swear as many as 10 conflicting oaths of loyalty if they wanted to keep their heads attached to their necks.

At the same time, something else was going on: the idea of privacy. In an age when everybody pissed and shat in public, and sex would as like as not take place in a room or even a bed shared with others, taboos around bodily functions weren't all that strong. Chaucer's " swiving", " toords", " queyntes" and " erses" were vulgar and direct, but they weren't obscene. One word was regarded in the late-18th and 19th centuries as so shocking that it was variously rendered " inexpressibles", " indescribables", " etceteras", " unmentionables", " ineffables", " indispensables", " innominables" " inexplicables" and " continuations". That word? "Trousers."

How things change. By the first world war, soldiers swore so much that the word "fucking" came to function as no more than "a warning that a noun is coming". Now even the extremest obscenities have lost their power to shock. In Irvine Welsh's novels, for instance, "cunt" is more or less a synonym for "bloke". It is telling that, where for the Romans the genitals were veretrum or verecundum ("parts of awe" or "parts of shame"), "in today's American slang, the genitalia are devalued as 'junk'".

The only actually taboo language is that of racial insult. Words like "wop", "kike" and "yid" (though not, interestingly, "nigger") were intended to give offence from the off - but only to those on the receiving end. As Mohr writes, the idea that everybody should find them offensive is a relative innovation. Not, it should be said, a bad one.

Mohr's scholarship seems to be sound and her approach positively twinkles with pleasure and amusement. She gives her chapters headings such as "Shit, That Bloody Bugger Turned Out To Be A Fucking Nackle-Ass Cocksucker!", and she's not above finding it funny that a paper on urinary incontinence was co-authored by Splatt and Weedon.

I'd like Mohr's account to have tipped a wink to Viz comic's monumental and still-growing Profanisaurus. Her argument might have been strengthened, too, by reminding us that Eric Cartman, in South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut, saves the world from Satan and Saddam Hussein with the words: "Fuck, shit, cock, ass, titties, boner, bitch, muff, pussy, cunt, butthole, Barbra Streisand!"

But here I pick nits. This is a cracking fucking book, and innominables to anyone who says otherwise.

* Sam Leith's You Talkin' to Me? is published by Profile.
Topics

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Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing by Melissa Mohr - review

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It's wonderful stuff, swearing. It stiffens the sinews and summons up the blood, and not just metaphorically. Obscenities actually do act on us physiologically. Swearing increases electrical conductance across the skin, pushes the heart rate higher and measurably increases resistance to pain.

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1. Steroids, antibiotics, sprays: how are these things hurting us?

2. The effects of multiple personality disorder.

3. Bigger isn’t always better: the effect fast food has on America.

4. The importance of proper stretching before a workout.

5. How to keep your skin looking young and wrinkle free.

6. The different types of insomnia.

7. The causes and effects of Alzheimer’s disease.

8. The psychosocial aspects of organ transplantation.

9. Controversial ideas about whooping cough vaccines.

10. The reasons why stress and depression should be taken seriously.

11. Cause-and-effect relationship of air pollution

12. Causes of cancer

13. How caffeine works

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National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

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Learn about depression, including types, signs and symptoms, risk factors, treatments and therapies, and things you can do to help during treatment.

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2. Cartography – How terrestrial globe spheres are crafted.

3. Climatology – Patterns in climate change, like rising temperatures and flooding.

4. Coasts – Types of coasts, deltas, sea cliffs and beaches.

5. What does the continental drift theory mean in vulcanology?

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1. The history of Valentine’s Day, the celebrations in different cultures.

2. Differences between apes and monkeys, monkeys in space programs, how they live in groups in the zoo.

3. Amphibian vehicles – search for information about car-boat vehicles

4. Cartoons in relation to our Freedom of Speech and Expression principles.

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6. Fashion styles and dress codes at parties and ceremonies.

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The Legend of St. Valentine

The history of Valentine's Day-and the story of its patron saint-is shrouded in mystery. We do know that February has long been celebrated as a month of romance, and that St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. But who was Saint Valentine, and how did he become associated with this ancient rite?

The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Still others insist that it was Saint Valentine of Terni, a bishop, who was the true namesake of the holiday. He, too, was beheaded by Claudius II outside Rome.

Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons, where they were often beaten and tortured. According to one legend, an imprisoned Valentine actually sent the first "valentine" greeting himself after he fell in love with a young girl-possibly his jailor's daughter-who visited him during his confinement.

Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter signed "From your Valentine," an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories all emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic and-most importantly-romantic figure. By the Middle Ages, perhaps thanks to this reputation, Valentine would become one of the most popular saints in England and France.

Origins of Valentine's Day: A Pagan Festival in February

While some believe that Valentine's Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine's death or burial-which probably occurred around A.D. 270-others claim that the Christian church may have decided to place St. Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to "Christianize" the pagan celebration of Lupercalia. Celebrated at the ides of February, or February 15, Lupercalia was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.

To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at a sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. They would then strip the goat's hide into strips, dip them into the sacrificial blood and take to the streets, gently slapping both women and crop fields with the goat hide.

Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed the touch of the hides because it was believed to make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city's bachelors would each choose a name and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage.

Valentine's Day Meaning: A Day of Romance and Love

Lupercalia survived the initial rise of Christianity but was outlawed-as it was deemed "un-Christian"-at the end of the 5th century, when Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day. It was not until much later, however, that the day became definitively associated with love.

During the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds' mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of Valentine's Day should be a day for romance. The English poet Geoffrey Chaucer was the first to record St. Valentine's Day as a day of romantic celebration in his 1375 poem "Parliament of Foules," writing, "For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne's day / Whan every foul cometh ther to choose his mate."

Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages, though written Valentine's didn't begin to appear until after 1400. The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. (The greeting is now part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London, England.) Several years later, it is believed that King Henry V hired a writer named John Lydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois.

Who Is Cupid?

Cupid is often portrayed on Valentine's Day cards as a naked cherub launching arrows of love at unsuspecting lovers. But the Roman God Cupid has his roots in Greek mythology as the Greek god of love, Eros. Accounts of his birth vary; some say he is the son of Nyx and Erebus; others, of Aphrodite and Ares; still others suggest he is the son of Iris and Zephyrus or even Aphrodite and Zeus (who would have been both his father and grandfather).

According to the Greek Archaic poets, Eros was a handsome immortal played with the emotions of Gods and men, using golden arrows to incite love and leaden ones to sow aversion. It wasn't until the Hellenistic period that he began to be portrayed as the mischievous, chubby child he'd become on Valentine's Day cards.

Valentine's Day Greetings and Gifts

In addition to the United States, Valentine's Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France and Australia. In Great Britain, Valentine's Day began to be popularly celebrated around the 17th century.

By the middle of the 18th, it was common for friends and lovers of all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes, and by 1900 printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one's feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine's Day greetings.

Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began selling the first mass-produced valentines in America. Howland, known as the "Mother of the Valentine," made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as "scrap."

Today, according to Hallmark, an estimated 145 million Valentine's Day cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year (more cards are sent at Christmas).

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Valentine's Day 2024: Origins, Background & Traditions | HISTORY

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What are the historical origins and meaning of Valentine's Day? Get the facts. Learn how romantic cards and chocolates helped commercialize this day of love.

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