ARKive is an ever-expanding multimedia database that contains a wealth of information about the world’s most endangered species.

Animal, plant, and fungus lovers can explore the site by zooming in on specific classes (mammals, reptiles, etc.), eco-regions (such as South America’s Atlantic forest), continents, and countries. A Google Earth interface helps users learn about threatened marine species, and the site’s educational resource pages are geared toward specific age groups (starting with preteens). But wherever you land, you’re sure to see a wealth of images and videos—each of which serves as a reminder of how much we stand to lose by letting any one of these species disappear. Gunnison sage-grouse male
displaying and calling

Visit Arkive here!

What it took to get an 8th grade education in 1895...

Remember when grandparents and great-grandparents stated that they only had an 8th grade education? Well, check this out. Could any of us have passed the 8th grade in 1895?

This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina , Kansas , USA ... It was taken from the original document on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina , and reprinted by the Salina Journal ...

Grammar (Time, one hour)
1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.
2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications
3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph.
4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of 'lie,' 'play,' and 'run'
5. Define case; illustrate each case.
6 What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.
7 - 10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

Arithmetic (Time,1 hour 15 minutes)
1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 ft. Deep, 10 feet Long, and 3 ft. Wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?
3. If a load of wheat weighs 3,942 lbs, what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1,050 lbs for tare?
4. District No 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?
5. Find the cost of 6,720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton.
6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7percent per annum.
7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft long at $20 per metre?
8... Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.
9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of which is 640 rods?
10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt.

U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)
1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided
2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus .
3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
4. Show the territorial growth of the United States ...
5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas
6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn, and Howe?
8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.

Orthography (Time, one hour)
[Do we even know what this is??]
1. What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication?
2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
3. What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals?
4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u'.
5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.' Name two exceptions under each rule.
6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.
7 Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup.
8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.
9.. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane , vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.
10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.

Geography (Time, one hour)
1 What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
2.. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas ?
3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
4. Describe the mountains of North America .
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia , Odessa , Denver , Manitoba , Hecla , Yukon , St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco .
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each..
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
9.. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.
10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.

HUH??? Are they kidding??? This is hard to believe....

From the conclusions of the Swiss, Russian and German scientific clinical studies, we can no longer ignore the microwave oven sitting in our kitchens. Based on this research, we will conclude this article with the following:

1). Continually eating food processed from a microwave oven causes long term - permanent - brain damage by "shorting out" electrical impulses in the brain [de-polarizing or de-magnetizing the brain tissue].

2). The human body cannot metabolize [break down] the unknown by-products created in microwaved food..

3). Male and female hormone production is shut down and/or altered by continually eating microwaved foods.

4). The effects of microwaved food by-products are residual[long term, permanent] within the human body.

5). Minerals, vitamins, and nutrients of all microwaved food is reduced or altered so that the human body gets little or no benefit, or the human body absorbs altered compounds that cannot be broken down.

6). The minerals in vegetables are altered into cancerous free radicals when cooked inmicrowave ovens.

7). Microwaved foods cause stomach and intestinal cancerous growths [tumors]. This may explain the rapidly increased rate of colon cancer in America ..

8). The prolonged eating of microwaved foods causes cancerous cells to increase in human blood.

9). Continual ingestion of microwaved food causes immune system deficiencies through lymph gland and blood serum alterations.

10). Eating microwaved food causes loss of memory, concentration, emotional instability, and a decrease of intelligence.

After you throw out your microwave you can use a toaster oven as a replacement. It works well for most and is nearly as quick.

Here's some food for thought...

Microwaved Water - See What It Does To Plants

The workplace is not what it was five years ago. Neither is the job hunt.

The most successful candidates are those who are ready and willing to adapt to a changing landscape. But it doesn’t matter how ready you are for the modern workplace if your resumé’s straight out of 1994.

And sometimes, it’s the most minute details that make all the difference.

Does your resumé speak to the modern hiring manager? Or does it need a serious makeover?
Your resumé might be outdated if…


#1: You’ve forced it to fit onto one page

You’ve reduced your font size to eight, eliminated margins altogether and left out key information about yourself, all to conform to that age-old “one page resumé” rule. Big mistake. After all, would a recent college grad really need the same amount of resumé real estate as someone who’s been in the workforce for 20 years? Of course not. Don’t get me wrong: Your resumé should be concise. Recruiters are busy people – they don’t have time or the patience for long-winded career chronologies. But if your experience warrants two pages, by all means, don’t limit yourself to one.

#2: You list an objective

Of course you’re looking to gain more experience in the field/sector/type of company to which you’re applying. Your interest in the job implies that. Do you really need to say it at the very top of your resumé?

At this point in the selection process, hiring managers are far more interested in what you can do for them than what they can do for you.

If you want to explain why you’re applying for the job, say so in your cover letter. Resumé space is far too valuable to waste on information that is both redundant and inconsequential.

#4: You attach it to your email as a Word document

While you’re unlikely to be penalized for emailing a Word document, there’s a lot to be said for converting it to a PDF before sending.

A PDF document just looks neater. And even if you’ve gone crazy with the formatting, it will show up correctly on the hiring manager’s computer no matter what their settings, Word version, or font inventory. Besides, do you really want those squiggly red lines showing up under your former company’s name?

Stick to PDF. It’s the only surefire way to display your resumé exactly as you intended it.

#5: You list every job you’ve ever had in chronological order

In the olden days, the person with the most experience got the job.

Nowadays, the person who’s most talented, has the most relevant skill set, and has proven to be most valuable to his or her former employers gets the job.

If you want to be that person, make sure your resumé says so. Only list that jobs that are relevant to the one you're applying for, don't add up to the list just to fill up the save. Expand on the jobs that are relevant. Focus on measurable achievements in each role as opposed to a play-by-play of your daily responsibilities.

Source: Inside Tech

Health:

1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants..
4. Live with the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray and read your Bible daily.
6. Play more games .
7. Read more books than you did in 2009 .
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.
    

Personality:

1. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
2. Don’t have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
3. Don’t over do it. Keep your limits.
4. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
5. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip.
6. Dream more while you are awake.
7. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
8. Forget issues of the past. Don’t remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
9. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don’t hate others.
10. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
11. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
12. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
13. Smile and laugh more
14. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree…
    

Society:

1. Call your family often.
2. Each day give something good to others.
3. Forgive everyone for everything..
4. Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.
5. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
6. What other people think of you is none of your business.
7. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
   

Life:

1. Do the right thing!
2. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
3. GOD heals everything.
4. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
5. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
6. The best is yet to come..
7. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
8. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.
   

Last but not the least:
Please share this to everyone you care about, I just did.

1. Avoid Alzheimer’s A 2009 study found that people who drank three to five cups of coffee a day at midlife were 65 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s in their later years, compared to those who drank little or no coffee.

2. Curb Cancer Risk The antioxidant compounds in coffee may help prevent several types of cancer. In a Japanese study, women who drank three or more cups of coffee a day had half the risk of developing colon cancer, compared to those who didn’t drink coffee.

3. Defend Against Diabetes Drinking coffee lowered the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by up to 60 percent in a 2006 study that included people at high risk for the disease.

4. Reduce Workout Pain A study of young women found that using caffeine before exercise can cut post-workout pain by nearly 50 percent. The caffeine in coffee may help by blocking the activity of a chemical called adenosine that activates pain receptors in cells.

5. Guard Against Gout Two studies from 2007 suggest that drinking coffee is protective against gout, a painful, arthritic condition of the joints (most commonly, the big toes). In one study, middle-aged and older men who drank four to five cups of coffee a day were 40 percent less likely to develop gout than those who abstained from the beverage.

6. Deter Death from Heart Disease A number of recent studies indicate that coffee drinkers have lower odds of dying from heart disease. For instance, a 2008 study concluded that women who drank two to three cups of coffee per day had a 25 percent lower risk of death from heart disease than those drinking less than a cup a month.

7. Preserve Your Memory Coffee may help to keep memory sharp, according to a pair of studies from 2007. In one study, older women who drank more than three cups of coffee a day experienced fewer declines over time on memory tests than those who drank one cup or less a day. Tea drinkers enjoyed similar benefits, so caffeine may be the beneficial component.

8. Protect Against Parkinson’s Several studies have linked coffee drinking with a lower risk of Parkinson’s disease. For instance, a 2007 study revealed that people who drank one to four cups of coffee a day cut their chances of developing the neurodegenerative disorder by nearly 50 percent. Scientists believe the caffeine in coffee may help defend against Parkinson’s by boosting levels of the brain chemical dopamine.

9. Sidestep Stones Coffee appears to reduce the risk of both gallstones and kidney stones. In a 2002 study, women who drank at least four cups of coffee a day were 25 percent less likely to need surgery for gallstones than nondrinkers were, and an earlier study showed that coffee drinking lowered gallstone risk in men.

10. Say No to Stroke In a 2009 study, women who drank four or more cups of coffee a day had a 20 percent lower risk of stroke, compared to those who had less than one cup a month.

(source: divinecaroline.com)

more about coffee: Coffee: The New 'Miracle' Health Drink

1. You’re like an exothermic reaction, you spread your hotness everywhere.
2. I wish I was your derivative so I could lie tangent to your curves.
3. You’re like a dictionary, you add meaning to my life.
4. If I was an enzyme, I’d be helicase so I could unzip your genes.
5. I’m attracted to you so strongly, scientists will have to develop a fifth fundamental force.
6. Baby, you overclock my processor.
7. Be my queen and mate me with your knight moves.
8. Baby, you make my floppy disk turn into a hard drive.
9. You make me want to calibrate my joystick without the latest drivers.
10. You defragment my life.
11. Do you think we can make it a step more serious and disable network sharing?
12. You must be auxin, cause you are causing me to have rapid stem elongation.
13. Baby, let me find your nth term.
14. I don’t have a library card, but do you mind if I check you out?
15. Baby I’ll treat you like my homework — I’ll slam you on the table and do you all night long.
16. Hey baby, can I see what’s under your radical?
17. If I were an integral, I’d fill you up.
18. I’m a fermata… hold me
19. I think my heart just lagged.
20. I wish I were your second derivative so I could fill your concavities.
21. Did you just combust? Because you’re HOT.
22. By looking at you I can tell you’re 36-25-36, which by the way are all perfect squares.
23. It doesn’t take a genius to see how gorgeous you are, but if it did, I would be overqualified.
24. Baby, if you were words on a page, you’d be what they call FINE PRINT.
25. What do you say we go back to my room and do some math: Add a bed, subtract our clothes, divide your legs, and multiply.
26. Baby, you’re a 9.999999999, but you’d be a 10 if you were with me.
27. Baby, every time I see you, my cardiovascular system gets all worked up.
28. I wish I were adenine because then I could get paired with U.
29. What’s your sine? It must be pi/2 because you’re the 1.
30. If my right leg was Christmas and my left was Easter, would you like to spend some time between the holidays?
31. You have nicer legs than an Isosceles right triangle.
32. You’re so cute you make my zygomaticus muscles contract. (Muscles that make you smile.)
33. When you and me get together it’s like superposition of 2 waves in phase.
34. Want to meet up so I can excite your natural frequency?
35. If I was sin^2 and you were cos^2 together we would be 1.
36. You know, it’s not the length of the vector that counts. It’s how you apply the force.
37. If I move my lips half the distance to yours, and then half again… and again… etc; would they ever meet? No? Well in this specific case I am going to disprove your assumption.
38. Your name is Leslie? Look, I can spell your name on my calculator!
39. If I was an endoplasmic reticulum, how would you want me: smooth or rough?
40. I wish I was an Ion so I could form an exothermic bond with you.
41. If my right leg is the cell wall and my left the membrane, do you want to be the cytoplasm?
42. Our love is like dividing by zero… you cannot define it.
43. Let’s meet somewhere… you bring your beaker and I’ll bring my stirring rod.
44. Baby let me be your integral so I can be the area under your curves.
45. Hey baby, what’s your tanx cosx?
46. Let’s get together and test the spring potential of my mattress.
47. Let’s discover our coefficient of friction.
48. Baby, you’re so gneiss I’ll never take you for granite.
49. I less than three you.
50. I heard you’re sin because you’re always on top when we make tangent.

source: my tumblr

Are you and yoursis forever battling it out over precious space in your room? Here's how to keep the peace.

It's something we've known since kindergarten: sharing is good! But it isn't always - easy - especially if you ave to share a room with a sibling. Solve these common rommie dilemmas with a few nifty tricks!

Sitch (Situations)

• Sitch: SPACE HOGGING
• solution: DRAW THE LINE: Divide the room in half. You don't literally have to paint a line on the floor, just use a rug to mark your territory.

• sitch:VARYING INTEREST
• solution: COMPLEMENT YOUR SPACES: You may be a girly girl while your roomie's an edgy chick, but your room doesn't need to look like one big mess! Pick prints that reflect booth styles but make sure to use similar hues. Another trick is to put your choice movie posters (no matter what genre in indentical frames.

• sitch: CLUTTER MAGNET
• solution: KEEP IT SEPARATED: Assign one type of storage box per person to make sure your things don't get mixed up. And gently remind her to keep her knicknacks hidden away in boxes

sitch:NO PRIVACY

Soda and Your Kidneys

There’s just nothing to be gained from drinking soda. Think about it -- people don’t hesitate to drink what is basically a bubbly brew of water, sugar (mainly high fructose corn syrup or HFCS), food coloring and assorted chemicals, packed with calories and lacking in nutritional value. Carbonated soft drinks are the single largest source of calories in the American diet, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, providing about 7% of our total calorie intake. In addition to staining, eroding and decaying our teeth, soft drinks are associated with an increased risk of obesity, a risk factor for type 2 diabetes and possibly osteoporosis. Now there is a new health problem to add to that list -- kidney damage

MORE SODA = MORE SUGAR = MORE RISK

In a study of 9,358 adults (mean age 45), women who reported drinking two or more sugary sodas within the last 24 hours were nearly twice as likely to have albuminuria -- excess levels of a protein in the urine that is a possible sign of kidney damage. More research is needed to determine if the association with kidney damage is due to sugar in general... HFCS in particular... or some shared lifestyle characteristics of soda drinkers.

Here’s what we know so far...

• The widespread use of high fructose corn syrup -- popular with manufacturers because it is cheap, sweet and extends shelf life -- has been prevalent over the same time period there’s been a significant rise in diabetic end-stage renal or kidney disease. The body processes HFCS differently than regular table sugar, and in so doing may cause harm to the kidneys.

• Mercury has been detected in many products containing HFCS. Mercury is involved in the manufacturing process for most commercial HFCS -- and mercury is a risk for kidney disease. (Too read more on this new identified hazard, see Daily Health News, April 27, 2009 : Dangerous Treats: Mercury In Sweets Made with High Fructose Corn Syrup)
  

• Other ingredients in soda, such as phosphorus in colas, may contribute to kidney stones, which are a risk factor for chronic kidney disease.

Men did not have this problem (more research is needed to learn why). Neither did people of either gender who drank diet soda, which is one reason why investigators believe HFCS may be responsible. Results of this research were published in the October 2008 issue of PLoS ONE.

DRINK WATER
According to researcher David Shoham, PhD, MSPH, of the Loyola University Health System in Illinois, in order to protect your kidneys, in order to protect your kidneys, your best bet is to simply drink water instead of soda. Soda just isn’t worth it.

Source(s):

• David Shoham, PhD, MSPH, assistant professor, department of preventive medicine and epidemiology, Loyola University Health System, Maywood, Illinois.
• BOTTOM'S LINE, DAILY HEALTH NEWS (JUNE 2009)
  

1)Arms

• Hold a water bottle in each hand with your palms facing each other. Bend your arms at a 90 degree angle.
• Keep your elbows close to your body as you slowly curl the weights up to your shoulder.
• Slowly lower weights back to your starting position. Do three sets of 15 repetitions (reps).

2. ABDOMINALS

• 1. Lie flat on mat and place your hands behind your neck. Lift legs and bend at a 90 degree angle.
• 2. Slowly move your legs in a bicycle motion; as your left knee nears you, bring your right elbow close to it - as if to meet it. When it' your right knees that moves close to you, reach your left elbow to it.
• Do two sets of 30 reps. Count entire motion (left and right) as one repetition.

3. Arms

1. EYES

• Studying late into the night can wreak havoc on your peepers (eyes). A good night's rest and some eye drops are sure remedies. But instead of stopping there, try a lightening treatment for your eyes.
• After you wash your face, gently massage a whitening cream onto the under-eye are for maximum comfort and care.
• TRY: L'Oreal White Perfect Eye

2. SKIN

• Thinking about your paper's looming deadline? Don't let anxiety rule the roost and cause a tiny zit to evolve in a volcano. An acne-fighting skincare regimen is great. But why not try a good concealer with healing properties as well?
• Dab the product directly onto the pimple and watch your zit disappear into oblivion.
• TRY: Tea Trea Oil Cover Stick, BodyShop

3. HAIR

• High levels of stress due to project deadlines can cause your hair to act just like combination skin, becoming extra oily at the roots and dry at the ends.
• Washing hair everyday may do the trick, but why not care for your hair with a regimen specifically for the problem? Spray your roots with a scalp-healing treatment to get your tresses back in shape.
• Try: Biolage Oil Oil Control Treatment

• Cool weather and less humidity tend to dry out everything, including your pucker. Everyday application of regular lip balm is a fine habit to keep.
• But why not indulge in an intensive lip treatment to fully condition your pout and make it ultra-kissable? Dab on this balm at night and first thing in the morning. You'll be glad you did!
• TRY: Kiehl's Tinted Lip Balm