The United States Of America

The USA is made up of 50 states (including Alaska and Hawaii) and the District of Columbia, which contains the capital city of Washington. It includes a huge variety of landscapes, from hot deserts to snow-covered mountains. The country was once a colony under British rule but has been independent since 1776. It has become the world’s wealthiest country and a leader in industry. It is now the greatest economic and military superpower. It is a federal constitutional republic which comprises of fifty states and a federal district. It is situated mostly in central North America. It has Washington, D.C., the capital district and the 48 contiguous states which between the pacific and Atlantic Oceans. It is bordered by Canada to the east and Russia to the west across the Bering Strait. In the mid-pacific there is an archipelago is Hawaii State. The native people of the U.S mainland, includes Alaska Natives, whom are believed to have migrated from Asia.

The Canada

Canada is the third largest country in the world, after Russia and China. Almost half of Canada’s land area is covered by forest and it exports more timber, pulp and newsprint than any other country. Canada also has a successful fishing industry and lots of natural resources, such as minerals and metals. Its varied landscape attracts millions of tourists each year. Famous Canadian landmarks include Niagara Falls and the Rocky Mountains. It is occupied by various groups of Aboriginal people. Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces. Canada is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy. This country has a parliamentary government with strong democratic tradition. Canada is reliant upon its own abundant natural resources and upon trade – particularly with the United States. As a matter of fact, the both countries Canada and the United States of America has had a long and complex relationship. Both the countries, share the world’s longest undefended border, work together on military campaigns and are the largest trading partner.

Lost cities

Angkor, cambodia
Angkor was once the largest city in the world and more than a million people lived there. The city had an area of more than 78 sq km and was surrounded by a water-filled moat. It was abandoned in about AD 1100. French naturalist Henri Mouhot was the first westerner to discover the city, in 1861.

Atlantis
Some people believe that there was a city and island of Atlantis, perhaps in the Mediterranean, that was destroyed by an earthquake and flooding almost 12,000 years ago. No one knows exactly where it was or even whether it really existed.

Chicten itza, Mexico
Chicten itza was once the centre of the Mayan empire. It was built in about AD 400 and had many buildings used in Mayan rituals. The city was abandoned in AD 1200.

Cliff Palace (Mesa Verde), Colorado, USA
This Native American Indian city was built on a cliff side, but was abandoned during a long drought in the late 13th century. It lay unknown until 18 December 1888, when Richard Wetherill, a local farmer, spotted it while looking or stray cattle.

Computer use worldwide

Google is the most used internet search engine in the world. Founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while during their studies at Stanford University and it was incorporated as a private company on September4, 1998.Since 1998 it has indexed more than 12 billion web pages, images and other items. It is also one of the fastest-growing companies of all time, with earnings in 2005 of $6.1 billion. In 1943 Thomas Watson, the chairman of IBM, made one of the least accurate predictions ever. He said, “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” There are now over one billion personal computers around the world. Forecasts for 2007, estimate that by then there will be 162 computers in use for every 1,000 people on the planet. The figure for some countries will be much higher. In the USA there may be as many as 831 per 1,000 people on the planet. The figure for some countries will be much higher.

Crop circles

Crop circles are complicated geometric patterns, usually in wheat fields. Some people believe that the patterns are left by the imprint of an extra-terrestrial craft, or that they are by the imprint of an extra-terrestrial craft, or that they are a message from extra-terrestrials themselves. Another theory is that natural forces such as tornadoes, heat or strong winds create the patterns by flattening the crops, but the regular shapes of most crop circles makes this unlikely. The most likely explanation is that the crops are made by people as a hoax. They gradually build up a design by flattening the wheat, using very basic equipment such as rope and planks of wood. Those rose in fame in 1975 as circles began appearing all the way through the English countryside. In late 1980s the phenomenon of crop circles turns out to be widely known widely. A farmer in 1996 set up a booth and charged a fee for visiting the crop circles which appeared near Stonehenge. The value of the crop been harvested by him was most likely of about 150 pounds, whereas he collected 30,000 in four weeks.

Calorie Count

A calorie (with a capital C) is a unit that measures the amount of energy in foods. It is also known as a kilo calorie and is equal to 1,000 calories (with a small c). A calorie is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree Celsius. An adult might eat up to 3,000 Calories a day. Eating too many Calories that the body does not use for energy may make you fat. Nutritionists and scientists also use another unit, the kilojoules, for measuring the energy in food. One calorie equals 0.004184 kilojoules. The figures below are based on the average number of Calories a 70 kg adult burn when doing an activity for one hour. A lighter person uses fewer calories and a heavier person more.

What we eat
How much food do you think you’ll eat in a lifetime? Every few years the British Government carries out a national survey to find out how much people eat. The average person will eat more than 50 tonnes of food over an 80-year life span.

Sleep fact file

About one-third of our lives are spent sleeping, but very little is really known about it. We sleep in different stages. These range from light sleep, with periods of REM (Rapid Eye Movement) in between, during which we dream. The connection between REM sleep and dreaming was discovered in 1953. It usually begins about 90 minutes after falling asleep and occurs in bursts, totaling about two hours a night, or 20% of your total sleep time. New born babies can sleep for up to 21 hours out of 24. Children and teenagers need approximately 10 hours of sleep a night, while most adults need only 7-9 hours. Those over 65 need the least of all – about six hours. Older people also have deep sleep and less REM sleep than young people. Trains have a “dead man’s handle”, which must be held at all times. If the driver falls asleep and loses his grip, the train stops.