A Ton of Crap (124 page)

Mollusks Mollusks
were one of the first creatures that inhabited the planet, with fossils of mollusks dating back to over 500 million years ago. On the outside, mollusks feature a hard shell that covers a soft organ. Mollusks can be found on both land and water. For example, oysters, clams, octopus, squid, slugs, and snails are all examples of mollusks. While some mollusks move by ejecting water from their bodies like the squid and scallop, others move with a “foot” (like slugs and snails), and still others, like clams and oysters, do not move, but rather stay stationary in one spot.

AMHARIC

Amharic Today
In the thirteenth century, Amharic was the official language of the court in Highland Ethiopia, as well as the dominant language spoken. Today, Amharic is the national language of Ethiopia and spoken in all of the provinces. The language currently has 25 million speakers. Outside of Ethiopia, there are 2.7 million people who speak Amharic. Amharic literature first appeared in the nineteenth century.

GULF WAR

The Impact on the Soldiers
When U.S. soldiers returned home, many began experiencing symptoms such as nausea, rashes, cramps, short-term memory, difficulty breathing, headaches, and even birth defects. This came to be known as Gulf War Syndrome. In 1994, a panel created by the National Institutes of Health ruled out biological and chemical warfare as the cause. As recently as 2008, it was declared that the evidence suggested that nerve gas, an anti-nerve-gas agent, and pesticides that were used for sand flies might be what caused the syndrome.

JOURNALISM

Muckraking
After World War I, investigative journalists began exposing abuses and corruption from businesses and the government. Theodore Roosevelt praised the ideas behind this activity, but believed the journalists’ methods were irresponsible. One of the most famous muckrakers was Upton Sinclair, who wrote
The Jungle
in 1906. The book looked at the food and drug industry. After President Roosevelt read his book, he ordered that the meat-packing industry be investigated. Due to Sinclair’s work, the Meat Inspection Act was passed that same year.

CATEGORY THEORY

Duality
In category theory, every theorem or definition features a dual. The dual can be found by reversing the direction of the arrows. If something is true in category C, then this means that the dual will also be true in Cop, or the opposite category. Similarly, if something is not true in C, then its dual is not true in Cop. Oftentimes, Cop is abstract and does not have to be a category that comes from a mathematical performance. When this is the case, the category D is said to be in duality with C when D and Cop are what is known as “equivalent as categories.”

TYPES OF ANIMALS

Marsupials
Marsupials are a special type of mammal. The most common marsupials are found in Australia (the kangaroo, koala, and wallaby); however, there are marsupials in South America and Central America. North America has only one type of marsupial, the Virginia opossum. Marsupials feature an abdominal pouch that they use to carry their young. The mothers give birth early and the baby is not yet fully developed. The baby then climbs to the mother’s pouch from the birth canal, where it continues to mature for weeks (and sometimes months).

AMHARIC

Useful Amharic Phrases
Here are some helpful Amharic phrases to use when traveling to Ethiopia. Note that these are written phonetically.

Hello.
Sälam.

Welcome.
In kwahn deh-na meh tash
(to a man).
In kwahn deh-na meh tah
(to a woman).

Good morning. ə
ndämn adäru
(the ə is a schwa).

Good afternoon. ə
ndämn walu.

Good evening. ə
ndämn amäshu.

Pleased to meet you.
Siletewaweqin dess bilognal.

I don’t understand.
Algebagnim.

Excuse me.
Yiqirta.

Thank you.
Ameseginalehugn.

Where are you from?
Irswo keyet not
?

What’s your name?
Simi man new
? (to a man)
Simish man new
? (to a woman)

Thank you.
Ameseginalehugn.

Goodbye.
Chow.

1. On January 17, Iraq fired a total of seven Scud missiles at Israel. The United States pleaded with Israel not to counterattack, which Israel agreed to do because:
   

   1. The United States promised to give Iraq’s artillery to Israel.
      
   2. The United States promised Israel the oil in the region when the war was over.
      
   3. The United States promised Israel could own the land when the war was over.
      
   4. The United States promised to target and destroy all Scud missile sites in Iraq.
      

2. The Battle of Khafji lasted a total of:
   

   1. Three days
      
   2. Three weeks
      
   3. Three months
      
   4. Three years
      

3. Henry Stanley was the first:
   

   1. Newspaper publisher
      
   2. Investigative reporter
      
   3. Muckraker
      
   4. War correspondent
      

4. Which of the following is a result of the Civil War?
   

   1. Reporters were hired to act as war correspondents.
      
   2. Due to how much it cost to send telegraph messages, the writing had to be concise.
      
   3. Newspapers reported on current events instead of the message political parties wanted to get out.
      
   4. All of the above
      

5. The processes that preserve the structure of categories are known as:
   

   1. Fractals
      
   2. Functors
      
   3. Functions
      
   4. Functels
      

6. If, in a category, all pullbacks exist and there is a terminal object, it is:
   

   1. Finitely complete
      
   2. Finitely incomplete
      
   3. Finitely co-complete
      
   4. Infinitely complete
      

7. Humans are:
   

   1. Vertebrates
      
   2. Invertebrates
      
   3. Chordates
      
   4. A and C
      

8. A starfish is an example of:
   

   1. A mollusk
      
   2. A marsupial
      
   3. A reptile
      
   4. An echinoderm
      

9. Amharic is a:
   

   1. Romance language
      
   2. Germanic language
      
   3. Semitic language
      
   4. Khosian language
      

10. The writing system of Amharic is:
    

    1. An abugida
       
    2. A Ge’ez
       
    3. A Rasta
       
    4. A selassie
       

ANSWER KEY: d, a, b, d, b, a, d, d, c, a

HISTORY:
Y2K
What Was Y2K?, Response by the U.S. Government, International Response, Panic, Solutions, Errors from Y2K

LANGUAGE ARTS:
Joseph Pulitzer
Early Life, His Early Career in Publishing,
The New York World
, Yellow Kid, Journalism Schools, Pulitzer Prize

MATH:
Prime Numbers
What Are Prime Numbers?, The Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic, Euclid’s Theorem, The Largest Known Prime, Trial Division, Prime Gaps

SCIENCE:
Stem Cells
What Are Stem Cells?, Unique Properties of Stem Cells, Embryonic Stem Cells, Adult Stem Cells, Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells, Use of Stem Cells

FOREIGN LANGUAGE:
Spiritualism, Mediums, and Talking to the Dead
Spiritualist Beliefs, Mediums, Communication with the Dead in Other Religions, Emanuel Swedenborg, Houdini’s Quest, How to Conduct a Séance

Y2K

What Was Y2K?
In an effort to save memory on computers, it was common that for all computer software from the 1960s to the 1980s two digits were used to represent a year instead of four digits. By the 1990s, people began to realize that this meant the numbers would become 00 in the year 2000, and that computers would interpret this to mean 1900. This would throw computers off completely. This bug, which existed not only in software but in firmware as well, would be a major threat to the financial, banking, utility, telecom, manufacturing, and airline industries.

JOSEPH PULITZER

Early Life
Joseph Pulitzer was born in Budapest in 1847. In 1864, when Pulitzer was just eighteen years old, he came to America and enlisted in the army and fought for the Union in the Civil War. Following the war, Pulitzer moved to St. Louis, Missouri, and worked driving a taxi, waiting tables, and caring for mules. Pulitzer soon became a reporter on a local German newspaper, joined the Republican Party, and was nominated for state legislature. Even though his district was Democratic, Pulitzer won the election.

PRIME NUMBERS

What Are Prime Numbers?
A prime number is a whole number greater than 1 that can only be divided by 1 and itself. Examples of prime numbers are:

2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23 …

There is an infinitude, or infinite set, of prime numbers and this concept was first demonstrated by Euclid in 300 b.c. A whole number that can be divided by numbers other than itself and 1 is known as a composite number. Furthermore, any whole number that has a value greater than 1 is either composite or prime.

STEM CELLS

What Are Stem Cells?
Stem cells are a very special type of cell because during their early life and growth stages, they can actually develop into many different types of cells. Another very important feature of stem cells is that in a living body, they can be used as a repair system and divide infinitely, replenishing the other cells. During division of stem cells, the new cells can either turn into different types of cells that have a specific function or they can remain as stem cells. Under certain conditions, stem cells can actually turn into tissue or become organ-specific cells that carry out particular functions.

SPIRITUALISM, MEDIUMS, AND TALKING TO THE DEAD

Spiritualist Beliefs
Spiritualism is a monotheistic religious movement that appeared in the nineteenth century. By the year 1897, there were more than 8 million followers in Europe and the United States. As accusations of fraud grew, Spiritualist churches began to appear, where spiritualism is still practiced to this day. Spiritualists believe in communicating with spirits of those who have passed on. They believe that after the death of the physical body, the soul lives on and that the soul can still improve and learn. In spiritualism, communicating with the dead is done by people who are gifted with the ability to do so. These people are known as mediums.

Y2K