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Although the art of Bonsai originated in China over 2,000 years ago, the development and practice has primarily become part of the Japanese culture. The word ‘bonsai’ translates as ‘tray-planting’ and is not meant to describe the plant itself, but the process through which the plant was created. Bonsai is truly an art practice.

The art of bonsai consists of growing miniaturized trees and is based purely on aesthetics. Bonsai trees are not miniature naturally, but can be made out of any ordinary tree or shrub and are miniaturized through bonsai techniques. There are many different bonsai techniques, some are basic techniques while others are very advanced and only practiced by experienced bonsai masters.

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Quick Facts
DOB: June 30, 1985
Hometown: Baltimore, MD
Diet: 12,000 calories per day
Height: 6 foot 4 inches
Wingspan: 6 foot 7 inches
Weight: 195 pounds
Shoe size: 14

8 Gold Medals in the 2008 Olympics
Michael Phelps is officially the greatest swimmer in the world! Phelps had one ultimate goal in mind for the Beijing Olympic Games - to break the 7 gold medal record held by Mark Spitz since the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. Although many people were skeptical that it could not be done, he proved them wrong. After winning his eighth gold medal in the 4×100 meter medley relay (his final swimming event in the 2008 Olympics) Phelps stated, “Nothing is impossible. With so many people saying it couldn’t be done, all it takes is an imagination, and that’s something I learned and something that helped me.” Winning eight gold medals in a single Olympic games is only a portion of Phelps’ Olympic accomplishments. Phelps has won a total of 16 Olympic medals so far in his career, making him the second most decorated Olympic athlete of all time. Phelps also holds 7 world swimming records and 6 U.S. swimming records.

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Have you ever wondered about the history of sneakers?

Today sneakers are very popular among people of all ages (children and adults alike). But once upon a time sneakers did not exist. Let us take you back to the pre-sneaker era to tell you the tale of how sneakers came to be.

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Louis Armstrong is a legend in the world of American Jazz music, and one of the most popular musicians of the 20th century. His influence has influenced and inspired several other popular musicians such as Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, and Marvin Gaye.

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What are avocados? Avocados are considered a type of fruit and a part of the berry family. Avocados are grown in tropical areas, such as Central America and South America. The exterior color of the fruit turns from green to a dark black after being harvested. This means that avocados will only ripen after being picked from the tree. Like many fruits, each avocado has an oval-shaped pit. Its chartreuse colored interior (called the “flesh”) is creamy and smooth just like butter and is the part that is eaten. When avocados are exposed to oxygen, the flesh becomes a darker brown shade. Do not be alarmed by this color change, they are still good to eat! Also, avocados contain several toxins that some animals find deadly - luckily we humans are not affected!

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The Olympic Games in Beijing start in 17 days! The same 28 sports and 302 events will compete, but this year will include ONE NEW sport. The new BMX sport will be included in the Olympic program with events for men and women.

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Origin of Cards

The earliest sign of playing cards was during the 10th century in China. There are no specifics about their markings or how the cards were played. The first familiar sign of cards was in Europe (imported from the Mamluks of Egypt). They gained popularity in Spain and Italy during the 1370s. At that time, playing cards were expensive to due to the workmanship involved in painting the cards. Playing cards eventually spread around the world through trade routes and were used by the upper classes. In the early 15th century, wood-block printing was developed in Germany. This decreased the price for a deck of cards. The price was driven even lower when the French began to produce decks by painting over stencils. This technique resulted in simplified suit marks (as shown below) which became the standard marks internationally.

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History of Glass Making

It is uncertain when glass making first began. However, the Bible does mention the rarity of glass by comparing glass to gold. Glass was used to make fake gemstones as jewelry pieces. The glass gemstones would be dyed a color that could not be found in the natural world. At times, prices of these glass gemstones were more expensive than real gemstones due to the complex process required to create them.

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The People’s Republic of China is the world’s largest nation, with 1.3 billion people (for every American, there are at least 4 Chinese). China is home to one of the world’s oldest civilizations. Its sports team has been one of the best performing at recent Olympic events (2nd behind the US in Athens 2004). Nonetheless, no Olympic games had ever been held in China. Beijing nearly edged out Sydney for the 2000 Summer Olympics, but it was not until the July 31st 2001 announcement that the 2008 games would be held in Beijing that a long-cherished dream of the Chinese people came true.

Hosting a grand international festival is one way for a country to establish its brand in human consciousness. It looks as if the Beijing 2008 Olympics will validate China’s global emergence just as Chicago’s World’s Columbian Exhibition in 1893, for example, previewed America’s rise as the primary 20th century industrial power.

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Alcatraz Island was one of the strangest prisons in the world. It lay smack in the middle of San Francisco Bay. The views were spectacular. The Golden Gate Bridge and the Marin Headlands lay to the west. Berkeley and the Oakland Hills were to the east. The whole city of San Francisco lay to the south, a glittering diamond of light at night. The fog rolling in from the Pacific and sailboats gliding across the waves offered an eye-catching panorama. For decades this was the spectacle afforded to America’s most hardened criminals.

The story of Alcatraz maximum security federal penitentiary began in the 1770s, when a Spanish explorer named it for the Alcatraces or pelicans he found living on this roughly 20 acre rock. It was not until the 1850s, following the Gold Rush, that the US Army was spurred to construct a military base and the first lighthouse on the West Coast on Alcatraz. The objective was to protect the growing gold mining industry from foreign prowlers. The island quickly became a stark symbol of American military might with a massive battery of 36,000 pound guns.

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Tornadoes are among the most beautiful, dramatic and deadly natural phenomena to cut across the face of the earth. A rapidly moving funnel of air, tornadoes can appear out of nowhere to upturn a town or farm, livestock and cars, trees and people. This walloping tunnel suddenly and abruptly connects land and sky. Its speed can vary from 40 to more than 300 miles per hour. Tornadoes can be found all over the world, but are most common in the flat prairie lands of the United States. There are about 800 tornadoes a year in the US, with every one resulting in an average of two injuries. Every 10 tornadoes leads to a human fatality.

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Deep in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, there are no cities or roads. The only way to get in is by boat or with a special kind of airplane that can land on the water. The foliage is so thick that you can barely see the sky when you’re underneath the trees. And the few people that live there live very different lives from people in the United States, or even people in the rest of Brazil. They can go for months or even years without ever seeing people from outside the jungle. Because they live so far from civilization, they don’t need to have jobs or money. They get what they need to eat by picking it off trees, catching it in the water, or hunting it with bows and arrows. When they need to sleep, they go to huts made of palm leaves with dirt floors and use thin tree branches as a bed.

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