The Galápagos tortoise or Galápagos giant tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra) is the largest living species of tortoise and 10th-heaviest living reptile, reaching weights of over 400 kg (880 lb) and lengths of over 1.8 meters (5.9 ft). With life spans in the wild of over 100 years, it is one of the longest-lived vertebrates. The tortoise is native to seven of the Galápagos Islands, a volcanic archipelago about 1,000 km (620 mi) west of the Ecuadorian mainland. Shell size and shape vary between populations. On islands with humid highlands, the tortoises are larger, with domed shells and short necks . On islands with dry lowlands, the tortoises are smaller, with "saddleback" shells and long necks. Charles Darwin's observations of these differences on the second voyage of the Beagle in 1835, contributed to the development of his theory of evolution. Tortoise numbers declined from over 250,000 in the 16th century to a low of around 3,000 in the 1970s. The decline was caused their exploitation for meat and oil, habitat clearance for agriculture, and introduction of non-native animals such as rats, goats, and pigs. Ten subspecies of the original fifteen survive in the wild. An eleventh subspecies (C. n. abingdoni) has only a single known living individual, in captivity, nicknamed Lonesome George. Conservation efforts beginning in the 20th century have resulted in thousands of captive-bred juveniles being released onto their home islands, and it is estimated that numbers exceeded 19,000 at the start of the 21st century. The Galápagos Islands were discovered in 1535, but first appeared on the maps, of Gerardus Mercator and Abraham Ortelius, in about 1570. The islands were named "Insulae de los Galopegos" (Islands of the Tortoises) in reference to the giant tortoises found there. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gal%C3%A1pagos_tortoise

Dr. Steven Pratt coined the term superfood in 2004 with his first book, "SuperFoods Rx: Fourteen Foods That Will Change Your Life." According to Pratt, a superfood has three qualifications: It has to be readily available to the public, it has to contain nutrients that are known to enhance longevity, and its health benefits have to be backed by peer-reviewed, scientific studies. Pratt lists salmon, broccoli, spinach, berries and green tea as a few of his favorites. His website, http://www.superfoodsrx.com/superfoods/ gives 20 more examples. http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/10/health/superfoods-weight-loss-diet/

Modern history states that the Golden Gate of Kiev was one of three constructed by Yaroslav the Wise, Grand Prince of Kiev, in 1037 (6545 by the Byzantine calendar) about when the Saint Sophia Cathedral was erected. However some sources claim that the gates stood some time before that like for example the painting of Jan Matejko where he depicts both Bolelaw Chrobry and Sviatopolk I entering the city during the Kiev succession crisis in 1018. This version currently is being considered as a legend. Originally named as simply the Southern gates they were one of the three main gates of the city fortification with other being called: Lyadski and Zhydivski (meaning Lechitic and Jewish). The last two gates did not manage to survive. The stone fortifications stretched for only 3.5 km (~2.5 mi). The fortification of the Higher City (Fortress) stretched from the Southern Gates towards where today is the Maidan and where the Lechitic Gates (Polish Gate, Lackie wrota) were located. Then the moat was rising along where the Kostiol Street and "hugging" the St. Michael's Monastery and ran along the today's Zhytomyr Street towards the Zydowski Gates (at Lviv Square). From there the fortification stretched along the Yaroslaviv Val Street back towards the Southern Gates. Later the Southern gates began to be called as the Grand Gates before the construction of the golden-dome Blahovist Church (known as Church of the Annunciation) which was established in the close proximity to the gates and easily seen from the outside of the city. Since that time the gates were known as the Golden Gates of Kiev. The passing part of the gates was about 40 feet high and 20 feet wide. For almost half of millennium they served as the Triumph Arch of the city and were considered the major pride of the city's residents. It was reputedly modeled on the Golden Gate of Constantinople, from which it took its name. In 1832 the ruins were excavated and an initial survey for their conservation was undertaken. Further works in the 1970s added an adjacent pavilion, housing a museum of the gate. In 1982, the gate was completely reconstructed for the 1500th anniversary of Kiev, although there is no solid evidence as to what the original gates looked like. Some art historians called for this reconstruction to be demolished and for the ruins of the original gate to be exposed to public view. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Gate,_Kiev

When Elvis Presley purchased Graceland in 1957, the music gates were not a part of the property. Designed for Elvis by Abe Saucer and custom by John Dillars, Jr., of Memphis Doors, Inc., the custom music gates were delivered and installed on April 22, 1957. See pictures at: http://www.elvispresleymusic.com.au/pictures/1957_april_22.html

Mirandize \muh-RAN-dyze\ verb to recite the Miranda warnings to (a person under arrest) "You have the right to remain silent . . . ." These seven words typically begin the notification that police recite during an arrest to inform a suspect of his or her rights while in custody. The law requiring this recitation stemmed from a 1966 U.S. Supreme Court decision (_Miranda v. Arizona_) in which the court overturned the conviction of Ernesto A. Miranda on charges of rape and kidnapping. The court had determined that Miranda confessed to the crime without being informed that he could remain silent during questioning. The list of rights that must be recited to a suspect during an arrest subsequently became known as "the Miranda warnings." And in the 1980s, the verb "Mirandize" began appearing in print. http://osdir.com/ml/culture.language.word-of-the-day/2003-08/msg00029.html

On February 2, 2012 Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero and co-founder and managing director of The Carlyle Group David M. Rubenstein unveiled the newly restored and encased 1297 Magna Carta, which is on loan to the American people by Mr. Rubenstein. The National Archives partnered with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on the exacting design and fabrication of the encasement. The ten month conservation treatment of the Magna Carta was conducted in three phases. First, the two conservator treatment team examined the document carefully and wrote a treatment proposal of steps to remove old repairs and adhesive and to fill losses with stable materials. With the treatment proposal approved, the conservators applied moisture which allowed for the successful removal of fills, some older repairs, and adhesive residues on the parchment. Then the team removed previous repairs, inserted fills and adhesive residues, and finally filled losses in the parchment and the parchment tag supporting the wax seal. New fills of long-fibered Japanese and Korean papers toned to match the parchment were applied to the losses using a mixture of gelatin and wheat starch paste. Finally, the document was carefully humidified and then dried and flattened for a number of months to ensure that it would remain flat when sealed in the encasement. All the materials used in the conservation treatment are chemically-stable and all of the treatments are reversible. Building on NARA requirements and earlier research and development performed prior to the manufacturing of the Charters of Freedom encasements, the team sealed the new encasement with double O-rings, creating a pressure of 300 pounds per linear inch along the O-ring groove. The encasement is filled with an atmosphere of 99% high-purity argon, 1% high-purity helium, and an initial oxygen concentration of 1 part per million. The interior humidity ranges from ca. 40 to 42% relative humidity, depending on the temperature of the display area. Magna Carta rests in its new encasement on specially made cotton paper produced at the University of Iowa Center for the Book. The unbleached white paper behind the translucent parchment enhances its visual appearance. It also provides a soft acid-free surface between the document and the perforated metal plate below and helps stabilize the humidity within the encasement. http://www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/2012/nr12-56.html

On April 18, the Supreme Court reminded us that diction matters, unanimously ruling that by using the word “individual” rather than “person,” a federal statute limited liability for torture committed overseas to individuals, not to the organizations that employ them. But the opinion http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/11pdf/11-88.pdf itself shows that even the most punctilious organizations — say, the Supreme Court — can sometimes err when selecting their words. The ruling referred to one of the defendants as the Palestinian Liberation Organization — although the PLO’s actual name in English, as the briefs and lower court opinion correctly put it, is Palestine Liberation Organization. At least three individuals involved in publishing the opinion made that error: Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who wrote the court’s opinion, Justice Stephen Breyer, who filed a concurrence, and the court’s reporter of decisions, Christine Fallon, who prepared the syllabus, all used Palestinian instead of Palestine. The seven other justices all saw the final opinion before adding their names, if regular procedures were followed, as would have dozens of law clerks and other functionaries before the opinion was printed and distributed to the public Wednesday morning. A Supreme Court spokeswoman, when informed of the matter, said it was a typographical error and would be corrected for the record. In an 1857 case, the court inserted an extraneous letter in the name of respondent John F.A. Sanford. Of course, that was the least of the errors in the case that remains on the books as Dred Scott v. Sandford. Jess Bravin http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2012/04/18/a-supreme-typo/