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Richard Feynman was one of the most influential American physicists of the 20th century, expanding greatly the theory of quantum electrodynamics. As well as being an inspiring lecturer and amateur musician, he helped in the development of the atomic bomb and was later a member of the panel which investigated the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. For his work on quantum electrodynamics, Feynman was one of the recipients of the Nobel Prize in Physics for 1965, along with Julian Schwinger and Sin-Itiro Tomonaga. (more...)

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Air Force One is the airline call sign of any U.S. Air Force aircraft carrying the President of the United States. Since 1990, the presidential fleet has consisted of two specifically-configured, highly customized Boeing 747-200B series aircraft—tail numbers 28000 and 29000—with Air Force designation VC-25A. These planes are maintained by the U.S. Air Force solely for presidential air transport. From its inception, Air Force One has become a symbol of Presidential power and prestige, carrying the president on several diplomatic missions. Before these planes entered service, two Boeing 707-320B-type aircraft—tail numbers 26000 and 27000—had operated as Air Force One, starting in 1962. The Secret Service refers to Air Force One by the codename "Angel." (more...)

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The Shakers are an offshoot of the Religious Society of Friends (or "Quakers") that originated in the city of Manchester in England the early 18th century. Strict believers in celibacy, they maintained their numbers through conversion and adoption. Once boasting thousands of adherents, today the only remaining Shakers are a handful of people living in Maine. One of the major skills of the Shakers was building. Shakers were known for an exquisite style of furniture that was plain, durable, and functional. By the middle of the 20th century, as the Shaker communities themselves were disappearing, some American collectors whose visual tastes were formed by the stark aspects of the modernist movement, found themselves drawn to the spare artifacts of Shaker culture. (more...)

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Laika was one of the Russian space dogs and the first living being to enter orbit, as a passenger on Sputnik 2, a Soviet spacecraft. Some classify her as the first animal to enter space, although other animals had entered space during sub-orbital flights on previous missions. Laika was found as a stray wandering the streets of Moscow, a female part-Samoyed terrier weighing approximately 6 kg (13 lb). Laika died on November 4, 1957, a few hours after launch, due to stress and overheating. Her true cause of death was not made public until years after the flight, with officials always stating that she was either euthanized by poisoned food or died when the oxygen supply ran out. Russian officials have since expressed regret for allowing Laika to die; to this date, Laika is the only living passenger ever to have been launched into space without the intention of retrieval. (more...)

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The Warsaw Uprising was an armed struggle during the Second World War by the Polish Home Army (Armia Krajowa) to liberate Warsaw from German occupation and Nazi rule. It started on August 1, 1944 as a part of a nationwide uprising, Operation Tempest. The Polish troops resisted the German-led forces until October 2. An estimated 85% of the city was destroyed during the urban guerrilla war and after the end of hostilities. The Uprising started at a crucial point in the war as the Soviet army was approaching Warsaw. Although the Soviet army was within a few hundred metres of the city from September 16 onward, the link between the uprising and the advancing army was never made. This failure and the reasons behind it have been a matter of controversy ever since. (more...)

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Horatio Nelson, 1^st Viscount Nelson was a British admiral who won fame as a leading naval commander during the Napoleonic Wars. He was knighted in 1797 following his victory at the Battle of Cape St Vincent. He died at the Battle of Trafalgar, a decisive English victory in the war. Nelson was noted for his considerable ability to inspire and bring out the best in his men, to the point that it gained a name: "The Nelson Touch". He was revered after death like few military figures in British history. (more...)

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The GNU/Linux naming controversy is a conflict over what the operating system commonly called "Linux" should be named. The Free Software Foundation promotes the term "GNU/Linux", while most people simply use the term "Linux" for the whole system. The main argument for GNU/Linux is that the Linux kernel was only the final small part of an otherwise complete system, GNU, written and assembled over many years with the explicit goal of creating an integrated free operating system. On the other hand, Linux is the most widespread name, and most people therefore simply adopt this usage. (more...)

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Carl Sagan was an American astronomer who pioneered exobiology and promoted the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) and the scientific method. He was world famous for his popular science books and the television series Cosmos, which he co-wrote and presented. Sagan was among the first to hypothesize that Titan and Jupiter's moon Europa may contain oceans. Sagan contributed to most of the unmanned space missions that explored the Solar System, culminating in the Voyager Golden Record that was sent out with the Voyager space probes. (more...)

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The Peerage is a system of titles of nobility in the United Kingdom. Peers include Dukes, Marquesses, Earls, Viscounts and Barons; such titles may be either hereditary or for life. Additionally, certain Archbishops and Bishops of the Church of England are classified by some authorities as Spiritual Peers. Formerly, all peers meeting qualifications such as age could sit in the House of Lords, the Upper House of the British Parliament. Since 1999, however, hereditary peers have not had the automatic right to sit in Parliament. (more...)

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Crushing by elephant was a common capital punishment throughout south and southeast Asia for over 4,000 years. The Romans and Carthaginians also used this method on occasion. Most rajahs kept execution elephants for the purpose of death by crushing and the executions were often held in public to serve as a warning to any who might transgress. The last person to be officially executed by an elephant was put to death in India in April, 1947. (more...)

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The Hubble Space Telescope is a telescope located at the outer edges of Earth's atmosphere. The telescope was launched by Space Shuttle Discovery on April 24, 1990. This had been postponed from a 1986 launch date by the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion. It was later discovered that the main mirror had a defect, which was repaired in December 1993. Hubble's replacement, the James Webb Space Telescope is not scheduled for launch until 2021, many years after the Hubble Space Telescope was expected to cease functions. (more...)

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