Facts city Fun Facts and Trivia

 Battle of Iwo Jima Date 19 February – 26 March 1945 (1 month and 1 week) Location  Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, Japan Result  American victory USAAF fighter aircraft able to escort B-29's on missions to Japan. Americans gain an emergency landing base for damaged aircraft returning from missions on Japan. Belligerents  United States  Japan Commanders and leaders U.S. Navy: Chester W. Nimitz Raymond A. Spruance Marc A. Mitscher William H. P. Blandy U.S. Marine Corps: Holland M. Smith Harry Schmidt Graves B. Erskine Clifton B. Cates Keller E. Rockey Tadamichi Kuribayashi † Takeichi Nishi † Sadasue Senda † Rinosuke Ichimaru † Units involved American: Ground units: V Amphibious Corps 3rd Marine Division 4th Marine Division 5th Marine Division 147th Infantry Regiment (separate) Aerial units: Seventh Air Force Naval units: 5th Fleet Joint Expeditionary Force (TF 51) Amphibious Support Force (TF 52) Attack Force (TF 53) Expeditionary Troops (TF 56) Fast Carrier Force (T...

 Golden Eagle Range of golden Eagle Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Accipitriformes Family: Accipitridae Genus: Aquila Species: A. chrysaetos golden eagle, (Aquila chrysaetos), dark brown eagle of the family Accipitridae, characterized by golden lanceolate nape feathers (hackles), dark eyes, yellow cere, gray beak, fully feathered legs, large yellow feet, and great talons. Its wingspread reaches 2.3 metres (almost 8 feet). It is the national bird of Mexico. In North America the golden eagle ranges from central Mexico along the Pacific coast and through the Rocky Mountains as far north as Alaska and Newfoundland. Small numbers range through the Appalachian Mountains as far south as North Carolina. The golden eagle is protected by federal law throughout the United States, but special permits for the shooting of eagles are issued in areas where the birds are believed to kill lambs. Ornithologists estimate that the world’s population of g...

 Valentine's Day Also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine Observed by People in many countries; Anglican Communion  Lutheran Church  Traditionalist Catholicism  Type Christian, romantic, cultural, commercial observance Significance Feast day of Saint Valentine; the celebration of love and affection Observances Sending greeting cards and gifts, dating, church services, novenas Date February 14 (fixed by the Western Christian Church) July 6 (fixed by the Eastern Orthodox Church) July 30 (fixed by the Eastern Orthodox Church) Frequency Annual Valentine’s Day, also called St. Valentine’s Day, holiday (February 14) when lovers express their affection with greetings and gifts. Given their similarities, it has been suggested that the holiday has origins in the Roman festival of Lupercalia, held in mid-February. The festival, which celebrated the coming of spring, included fertility rites and the pairing off of women with men by lottery. At the end o...

 Ice Age An ice age is a period in which the earth's climate is colder than normal, with ice sheets capping the poles and glaciers dominating higher altitudes. Within an ice age, there are varying pulses of colder and warmer climatic conditions, known as 'glacials' and 'interglacials'. Even within the interglacials, ice continues to cover at least one of the poles. In contrast, outside an ice age temperatures are higher and more stable, and there is far less ice all around. The earth has thus far made it through at least five significant ice ages. One glance at our icy poles and frozen peaks makes it clear that our current epoch (the Holocene, c. 12,000-present day) actually represents an interglacial within the ice age that spans the Quaternary geological period, which started around 2,6 million years ago and encompasses both the Pleistocene (c. 2,6 million years ago - c. 12,000 years ago) and the Holocene epochs. This entire period is characterised by cycles of up...

 Ashoka Born c. 304 BCE Pataliputra, Mauryan Empire (adjacent to present-day Patna, Bihar, India) Died 232 BCE (aged c. 71 – 72) Pataliputra (modern-day Patna), Bihar, India Spouses Devi (Sri Lankan tradition) Karuvaki (own inscriptions) Padmavati (North Indian tradition) Asandhimitra (Sri Lankan tradition) Tishyaraksha (Sri Lankan and North Indian tradition) Issue Mahendra (Sri Lankan tradition) Sanghamitra (Sri Lankan tradition) Tivala (own inscriptions) Kunala (North Indian tradition) Charumati Dynasty Maurya Father Bindusara Mother Subhadrangi or Dharma Religion Buddhism Ashoka, also spelled Aśoka, (died 238? BCE, India), last major emperor of the Mauryan dynasty of India. His vigorous patronage of Buddhism during his reign (c. 265–238 BCE; also given as c. 273–232 BCE) furthered the expansion of that religion throughout India. Following his successful but bloody conquest of the Kalinga country on the east coast, Ashoka renounced armed conquest and adopted a policy that he call...

 Hedgehog COMMON NAME:  Hedgehog SCIENTIFIC NAME:  Erinaceus europaeus TYPE:  Mammals DIET:  Carnivore SIZE:  Head and body:  5 to 12 inches;  tail:  1 to 2 inches WEIGHT:  14 to 39 ounces SIZE RELATIVE TO A TEACUP: Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Eulipotyphla Family: Erinaceidae Subfamily: Erinaceinae Genera: Atelerix Erinaceus Hemiechinus Mesechinus Paraechinus hedgehog, (subfamily Erinaceinae), any of 15 Old World species of insectivores possessing several thousand short, smooth spines. Most species weigh under 700 grams (1.5 pounds), but the common western European hedgehog can grow to 1,100 grams. Body length is 14 to 30 cm (5.5 to 12 inches), and there is a stumpy and sparsely furred tail measuring 1 to 6 cm. In addition to the three species of Eurasian hedgehogs (genus Erinaceus), there are four African hedgehogs (genus Atelerix), six desert hedgehogs (genus Hemiechinus), and two...

 Dragonfly Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Odonata Suborder: Epiprocta Infraorder: Anisoptera Families Aeshnoide Aeshnidae (hawkers or darners) Austropetaliida Gomphidae (clubtails) Petaluridae (petaltails) Cordulegastroide Chlorogomphida Cordulegastridae (spiketails) Neopetaliida Libelluloide Corduliidae (emeralds) Libellulidae (skimmers, etc) Macromiidae (cruisers) Synthemistidae (tigertails) dragonfly, (suborder Anisoptera), also called darner, devil’s arrow, or devil’s darning needle, any of a group of roughly 3,000 species of aerial predatory insects most commonly found near freshwater habitats throughout most of the world. Damselflies (suborder Zygoptera) are sometimes also called dragonflies in that both are odonates (order Odonata). Distinguishing characteristics and flight behaviour Dragonfly species (Anisoptera) are characterized by long bodies with two narrow pairs of intricately veined, membranous wings that, while ge...

 Whooping crane Distribution map of the whooping crane. blue: breeding, orange: wintering, green: year-round, grey: experimental year-round COMMON NAME:   Whooping cranes SCIENTIFIC NAME:  Grus americana TYPE:  Birds DIET:  Omnivore AVERAGE LIFE SPAN IN THE WILD:  22 to 24 years SIZE:  Body:  4.9 feet  wingspan:  7.5 feet WEIGHT:  13.3 to 17.2 pounds SIZE RELATIVE TO A 6-FT MAN: Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Gruiformes Family: Gruidae Genus: Grus Species: G. americana whooping crane, (Grus americana), tallest American bird and one of the world’s rarest. At the beginning of the 21st century fewer than 300 whooping cranes remained in the wild. Most are part of a flock that migrates between Texas and Canada. Almost all the rest are part of a mainly nonmigrating Florida population. These majestic white birds are the tallest in North America. They live in family groups and frequent m...

 Mount Fuji Location of Mount Fuji Location Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park Country Japan Prefectures Shizuoka and Yamanashi Shikuchōson Fuji, Fujinomiya, Fujiyoshida, Gotemba, Narusawa and Oyama Topo map Geospatial Information Authority 25000:1 富士山 50000:1 富士山 Geology Age of rock 100,000 years Mountain type Stratovolcano Last eruption 1707–08 Climbing First ascent 663 by En no Odzunu (役行者, En no gyoja, En no Odzuno) Easiest route Hiking Highest point Elevation 3,776.25 to 3,778.23 m (12,389.3 to 12,395.8 ft)  Prominence 3,776 m (12,388 ft) Ranked 35th Isolation 2,077 km (1,291 mi)  Listing Highest peak in Japan Ultra-prominent peaks List of mountains in Japan 100 Famous Japanese Mountains List of volcanoes by elevation Coordinates 35°21′38″N 138°43′39″E Mount Fuji, Japanese Fuji-san, also spelled Fujisan, also called Fujiyama or Fuji no Yama, highest mountain in Japan. It rises to 12,388 feet (3,776 metres) near the Pacific Ocean coast in Yamanashi and Shizuoka ken (prefec...

 Varangian Guard The mercenary Varangian Guard was an elite Byzantine army corps and the personal bodyguard of emperors beginning with Basil II in c. 988 CE. The Viking unit was famous for the stature of its members and their blood-thirsty conduct in battle, where they used their fearsome double-bladed battle-axes to devastating effect. Celebrated recruits include Harald Hardrada, who went on to become the king of Norway, and the Icelandic hero Bolli Bollason. Later, after the 1066 CE Battle of Hastings in England, especially, they became a largely Anglo-Saxon unit. By the beginning of the 14th century CE they had outlasted their usefulness but, for a few centuries at least, the Varangians were probably as shocking a sight to Byzantine enemies as tanks would have been to WWI infantry. Basil II Basil II reigned as emperor from 976 to 1025 CE, and despite a hugely successful military career which saw the Byzantine empire almost double its territories, he got off to the worst possible...

 Hamster A Winter white dwarf hamster Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Rodentia Family: Cricetidae Subfamily: Cricetinae hamster, (subfamily Cricetinae), any of 18 Eurasian species of rodents possessing internal cheek pouches. The golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) of Syria is commonly kept as a pet. Hamsters are stout-bodied, with a tail much shorter than their body length, and have small furry ears, short stocky legs, and wide feet. Their thick long fur ranges from grayish to reddish brown, depending upon the species; underparts range from white to shades of gray and black. The Dzhungarian hamster (Phodopus sungorus) and the striped dwarf hamster (Cricetulus barabensis) have a dark stripe down the middle of the back. Dwarf desert hamsters (genus Phodopus) are the smallest, with a body 5 to 10 cm (about 2 to 4 inches) long. The largest is the common hamster (Cricetus cricetus), measuring up to 34 cm long, not including a short ...