John Craig Venter (born October 14, 1946, Salt Lake City) is an American biologist and businessman. He began his academic career at a community college, College of San Mateo (California), after enlisting in the navy and serving a tour of duty during the Vietnam War. On returning, he received his bachelor’s degree in biochemistry in 1972, and his Ph.D. in …

John Caldwell has been very busy as a cartoonist and humorous illustrator since the early 1970s. He has created many classic cartoons for The National Lampoon; his comic panels have been syndicated internationally by King Features Syndicate and turned into a cartoon-a-day desk calendar; his book of faxable cartoons and messages, Fax This Book, has been a great success and …

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe — Generally recognized as one of the greatest and most versatile European writers and thinkers of modern times, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, born on Aug. 28, 1749, died on Mar. 22, 1832, profoundly influenced the growth of literary ROMANTICISM. Best known for his lyrical poetry, for the far-reaching influence of his novels, and particularly for his …

Joey Cheek — William Joseph Cheek was born on June 22, 1979, in Greensboro, North Carolina. He is an American speed skater and former inline speed skater. He specializes in the short and middle distances. Accomplishments Cheek’s breakthrough was in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, where he won the bronze medal in the 1,000 meters and just …

Jimmy Wales — Jimmy Donal Wales was born in Huntsville, Alabama, in the U.S. on August 7, 1966. He attended Randolph School, a university-preparatory school, then earned bachelor’s degree in Finance from Auburn University. Wales then entered the Ph.D. finance program at the University of Alabama before leaving with a master’s degree to enter the Ph.D. finance program at Indiana …

Ooh, aah, ouch! People in ancient times must have yelped like this when they walked on rough ground without any shoes on. And it was probably the pain and discomfort that propelled them to cover their feet for protection. Footwear has a history which goes back many thousands of years, and has long been an article of prestige for people …

Plants breathe oxygen and carbon dioxide. In daylight they produce their own food at the same time by a process known as photosynthesis. During this process the plants release more oxygen into the atmosphere than they breathe in. The effect of the plant’s feeding and breathing system is that they exhale oxygen during the night. This is the reason for …

Imagine a journey that takes you a billion kilometres away from earth, to the edge of the solar system, from where you can look back over your shoulder and see our sun as just another star in the sky. We are not talking about a science fiction movie but the Voyager space mission. On August 20, 1977, the Voyager 2 …

If we define a robot as a machine that works like a human being, then the first robots were automata: remarkable moving dolls that could copy human actions, sometimes with amazing facility. For example, one could write a whole sentence using a pen and ink. Automata were made in the 1700s. They worked by clockwork and contained very complex system …

It is the sulphur in the air, which often comes from coal-gas used for cooking and heating, that causes silver to tarnish or blacken. Silver combines with sulphur to form the black silver sulphide sometimes found on forks and spoons which have been in contact with egg folk. Silver is a precious metal which the Greeks called shining. In spite …