Astroturf refers to grassroots-based citizen groups or coalitions that are created and funded by corporations, trade associations, political interests or public relations firms. They use computer databases, telephone banks and hired organizers to rope less-informed activists into sending letters to elected officials or engaging in other actions that create the appearance of grassroots support for their client’s cause.

Market size refers to the total revenue generated through the sales of a particular good or commodity. The most basic methodology is to multiply customer base with its wallet share for a typical customer. For instance, to calculate market size of toothpaste in India, we need to find the product of the number of toothpaste buyers across India with the …

Th­ere are holograms on most driver’s licenses, ID cards and credit cards. If you’re not old enough to drive or use credit, you can still find holograms around your home. They’re part of CD, DVD and software packaging, as well as just about everything sold as “official merchandise.” ­Unfortunately, these holograms – which exist to make forgery more difficult – …

The symbol $ written before the numerical amount is used for the US dollar and many other currencies. The sign’s actual origins are not certain, though it is possible it comes from the Pillars of Hercules, which flank the Spanish coat of arms on the Spanish dollars that were minted in the New World Mints. The Pillars of Hercules are …

Frederic Ogden Nash was an American poet best known for writing pithy and funny light verse. At the time of his death in 1971, the New York Times said his ‘droll verse with its unconventional rhymes made him the country’s best-known producer of humorous poetry?. Nash’s first job in New York was as a writer of the streetcar card ads …

Freddie Mercury was born on the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar, on the 5th of September 1946. His parents, Bomi and Jer Bulsara, sent him off to a private school in India, from 1955 til 1963. In 1964 Freddie and his family flew to England. Freddie was very delighted to come to England. In 1966 he started his education at the …

Franz Beckenbauer — Franz Anton Beckenbauer was born on 11 September 1945 in Munich. He is a German football coach, manager, and former player, nicknamed Der Kaiser (“The Emperor”) because of his elegant style, his leadership, his first name “Franz” (reminiscent of the Austrian emperors), and his dominance on the football pitch. He is generally regarded as the greatest German …

Frank Cotham cartoons have appeared for many years in a wide assortment of magazines and now appear regularly in The New Yorker, the most prestigious magazine cartoon market in the world, the one most gag cartoonists only dream about. I worked in graphics at a television station in Memphis for thirteen years,” says Cotham. “While I was there I sort …

Franck Ribery (born 7 April 1983) is a French football player who currently plays for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich. Ribery primarily plays as a winger, preferably on the left side, and is known for “pace, energy, skill and precise passing.” Ribery’s career began in 1989 as a youth player for local hometown club Conti Boulogne. He left the club after …

Francis Fukuyama — Renowned for declaring ‘the End of History’ after the fall of the Soviet Union, Yoshihiro Francis Fukuyama is professor of international political economy at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University and author most recently of America at the Crossroads: Democracy, Power, and the Neoconservative Legacy. Fukuyama is best known as the author of …