1.
Sammy Kitwara
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Sammy Kirop Kitwara is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in road running events. He is coached by Moses Kiptanui and he went to Embomir Primary School and Kerio Valley Secondary school, from which he graduated in 2004. He did not take up running until 2007, later quoting I saw I was not making any progress in life, Kitwara won four national cross-country circuit competitions in 2008, but failed at the trials for the cross-country world championships. In 2008 he took to the European road running circuit and won at the 20 Kilomètres de Paris, Dam tot Damloop and Singelloop Utrecht races. Kitwara, a policeman by occupation, won the 2009 Rotterdam Half Marathon in a time of 58,58 – a course record which made him only the sixth runner to complete a sub-59-minute run. He set a new record of 27,25.6 at the Worlds Best 10K in February that year. Kitwara won the 10,000 m race at the Kenyan Trials in June 2009, however, he was subsequently removed from the team by Athletics Kenya for participating in road races after the Trials. He did, however compete at the 2009 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Birmingham, Kitwara is a three-time champion of the Bay to Breakers and the course record holder in that event. In 2009, race organizers reported that his 33,31 was the fastest 12 km ever run, in 2010, he edged out fellow Kenyan Peter Kirui by less than a second for the victory in 34,15. He ran a personal best for the 10K at the Utrecht Singelloop in September 2010 and this elevated him into the top eight of all-time, although race winner Leonard Komon overshadowed this achievement by breaking the world record by a large margin. Kitwara took his second win at the Worlds Best 10K in February 2011 and he was out-stripped at the City-Pier-City race in March, however, as he came fifth while Lelisa Desisa won the race. He won his title at the Peachtree Road Race in July that year. Later that year he ran a 58, 48-minute personal best for second place at the Philadelphia Half Marathon and he did not reach the same form in November, when he came fourth at the Delhi Half Marathon. He opened 2012 with another win at the Worlds Best 10K and he attempted a marathon debut at the Rotterdam Marathon, but did not finish as he dropped out after 30 km. In October, he was placed fourth at the 2012 Chicago Marathon with a time of 2,05,54 hours and he won his third straight Worlds Best 10K title at the beginning of 2013. A return to the Rotterdam Marathon saw him complete the distance, at the 2015 London Marathon he came 6th in 2.07.43. Kitwara won the 2016 Lisbon half marathon in 59.47 some way off his personal best
2.
Road running
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Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. These events are classified as long-distance according to athletics terminology. They may involve large numbers of runners or wheelchair entrants, the three most common IAAF recognized distances for road running events are 10K runs, half marathons and marathons. Despite this, there are far more 5K road race events, due to their popularity for charity races and similar, less competitive reasons to hold an event. Road running may offer those involved a range of challenges and interests such as dealing with hills, sharp bends, varied surfaces, inclement weather, aerobic fitness, or the ability of the body to use oxygen, is the biggest factor contributing to success. The impact of running on roads puts more stress on the feet, knees and it can compensate by providing a consistent, level surface. It may put less strain on the Achilles tendon, before engaging in road running, one should choose a shoe that best suits ones foot type and running style. Road running is one of forms of road racing, which also include road bicycle racing. Race courses are held on the streets of major cities and towns. Other common distances include 5 kilometres,8 kilometres,12 kilometres, some major events have unique distances. Most road race courses are certified to be accurate to within 0. 1%, certified courses are often intentionally lengthened by one metre per km to ensure that they are not short of the stated distance. A Jones Counter attached to a bicycle is used to course length. Remeasurement to verify the length is undertaken when a record is set on a course. Running that covers a distance farther than a marathon is called ultrarunning, such events can be measured in distance or by time. Beyond the ultramarathon lie the multiday and stage races, Road running is unique among athletic events because in many cases first time amateurs are welcome to participate in the same event as members of running clubs and even current world-class champions. Sometimes race times are recorded manually by race organizers, most road races feature electronic timing using transponders, Road races are often community-wide events that highlight or raise money for an issue or project. In the USA, Susan G. Komens Race for the Cure is held nationwide to raise breast cancer awareness and this race is also run in Germany, Italy and Puerto Rico. Similarly, Race for Life holds races throughout the UK to raise money for Cancer Research UK, first person race reports frequently appear on the Dead Runners Society electronic mailing list
3.
Embarcadero, San Francisco
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The Embarcadero is the eastern waterfront and roadway of the Port of San Francisco, San Francisco, California, along San Francisco Bay. It was constructed on reclaimed land along a three mile long engineered seawall, from which extend into the bay. It derives its name from the Spanish verb embarcar, meaning to embark, the Central Embarcadero Piers Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 20,2002. The Embarcadero right-of-way begins at the intersection of Second and King Streets near AT&T Park, the Embarcadero continues north past the Ferry Building at Market Street, Pier 39, and Fishermans Wharf, before ending at Pier 45. A section of The Embarcadero which ran between Folsom Street and Drumm Street was formerly known as East Street, for three decades, until it was torn down in 1991, the Embarcadero Freeway dominated the area. As the city grew, the cove was filled, over fifty years a large offshore seawall was built and the mudflats filled, creating what today is San Franciscos Financial District. The San Francisco Belt Railroad, a short line railroad for freight, the roadway follows the seawall, a boundary first established in the 1860s and not completed until the 1920s. During the early-20th century when the seaport was at its busiest and before the construction of the Bay Bridge, piers 1, 1½,3 and 5 were dedicated chiefly to inland trade and transport. These connections facilitated the growth of communities in the Sacramento- and San Joaquin Valleys, today, these piers comprise the Central Embarcadero Piers Historic District. The Delta Queen docked at Pier 1½, ferrying people between San Francisco and Sacramento, there was once a pedestrian footbridge that connected Market Street directly with the Ferry building and a subterranean roadway to move cars below the plaza. During World War II, San Franciscos waterfront became a logistics center, troops, equipment. Almost every pier and wharf was involved in activities, with troop ships. However, after the completion of the Bay Bridge and the decline of ferries and the Ferry Building. The transition to container shipping, which moved most shipping to Oakland, automobile transit efforts led to the Embarcadero Freeway being built in the 1960s. This improved automobile access to the Bay Bridge, but detracted aesthetically from the city, for 30 years, the highway divided the waterfront and the Ferry Building from downtown. It was torn down in 1991, after being damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. The sidewalk along the waterfront between China Basin and Fishermans Wharf was named Herb Caen Way, after the death of celebrated local columnist Herb Caen in 1997. The three dots, or ellipsis, deliberately are included in honor of columnist Herb Caens Pulitzer Prize winning writing style, a large public sculpture, Cupids Span by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, was installed in 2002 along the Rincon Park area
4.
San Francisco Bay
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San Francisco Bay is a shallow estuary in the U. S. state of California. It is surrounded by a region known as the San Francisco Bay Area, dominated by the large cities San Francisco, Oakland. San Francisco Bay drains water from approximately 40 percent of California and it then connects to the Pacific Ocean via the Golden Gate strait. However, this group of interconnected bays is often called the San Francisco Bay. The bay was designated a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance on February 2,2013, the bay covers somewhere between 400 and 1,600 square miles, depending on which sub-bays, estuaries, wetlands, and so on are included in the measurement. The main part of the bay measures 3 to 12 miles wide east-to-west and it is the largest Pacific estuary in the Americas. Later, wetlands and inlets were filled in, reducing the Bays size since the mid-19th century by as much as one third. Recently, large areas of wetlands have been restored, further confusing the issue of the Bays size, despite its value as a waterway and harbor, many thousands of acres of marshy wetlands at the edges of the bay were, for many years, considered wasted space. As a result, soil excavated for building projects or dredged from channels was often dumped onto the wetlands, from the mid-19th century through the late 20th century, more than a third of the original bay was filled and often built on. The idea was, and remains, controversial, there are five large islands in San Francisco Bay. Alameda, the largest island, was created when a shipping lane was cut in 1901 and it is now predominantly a bedroom community. Angel Island was known as Ellis Island West because it served as the point for immigrants from East Asia. It is now a park accessible by ferry. Mountainous Yerba Buena Island is pierced by a tunnel linking the east and west spans of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, attached to the north is the artificial and flat Treasure Island, site of the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition. From the Second World War until the 1990s, both served as military bases and are now being redeveloped. Isolated in the center of the Bay is Alcatraz, the site of the federal penitentiary. The federal prison on Alcatraz Island no longer functions, but the complex is a popular tourist site, despite its name, Mare Island in the northern part of the bay is a peninsula rather than an island. During the last ice age, the now filled by the bay was a large linear valley with small hills
5.
Great Highway
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The Great Highway is a road in San Francisco that forms the citys western edge along the Pacific coast. It runs for approximately 3.5 miles next to Ocean Beach and its southern end is at Skyline Boulevard near Lake Merced, it extends to Point Lobos Avenue and the Cliff House at its northern end. The Great Highway also forms the border of Golden Gate Park. For approximately half its length, from Sloat Boulevard to Lincoln Way, also atop the berm is a gravel jogging path and a cement walking / bicycling path. The parallel street, also named Great Highway, is immediately adjacent below and to the east of the expressway, the only access to the upper-level highway is at each end. There are crosswalks with traffic lights along this section to allow pedestrians to reach the beach, 49-Mile Scenic Drive Ocean Beach Public Policy
6.
Pacific Ocean
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The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of the Earths oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south and is bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, the Mariana Trench in the western North Pacific is the deepest point in the world, reaching a depth of 10,911 metres. Both the center of the Water Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere are in the Pacific Ocean, the oceans current name was coined by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish circumnavigation of the world in 1521, as he encountered favourable winds on reaching the ocean. He called it Mar Pacífico, which in both Portuguese and Spanish means peaceful sea, important human migrations occurred in the Pacific in prehistoric times. Long-distance trade developed all along the coast from Mozambique to Japan, trade, and therefore knowledge, extended to the Indonesian islands but apparently not Australia. By at least 878 when there was a significant Islamic settlement in Canton much of trade was controlled by Arabs or Muslims. In 219 BC Xu Fu sailed out into the Pacific searching for the elixir of immortality, from 1404 to 1433 Zheng He led expeditions into the Indian Ocean. The east side of the ocean was discovered by Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa in 1513 after his expedition crossed the Isthmus of Panama and he named it Mar del Sur because the ocean was to the south of the coast of the isthmus where he first observed the Pacific. Later, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan sailed the Pacific East to West on a Castilian expedition of world circumnavigation starting in 1519, Magellan called the ocean Pacífico because, after sailing through the stormy seas off Cape Horn, the expedition found calm waters. The ocean was often called the Sea of Magellan in his honor until the eighteenth century, sailing around and east of the Moluccas, between 1525 and 1527, Portuguese expeditions discovered the Caroline Islands, the Aru Islands, and Papua New Guinea. In 1542–43 the Portuguese also reached Japan, in 1564, five Spanish ships consisting of 379 explorers crossed the ocean from Mexico led by Miguel López de Legazpi and sailed to the Philippines and Mariana Islands. The Manila galleons operated for two and a half centuries linking Manila and Acapulco, in one of the longest trade routes in history, Spanish expeditions also discovered Tuvalu, the Marquesas, the Cook Islands, the Solomon Islands, and the Admiralty Islands in the South Pacific. In the 16th and 17th century Spain considered the Pacific Ocean a Mare clausum—a sea closed to other naval powers, as the only known entrance from the Atlantic the Strait of Magellan was at times patrolled by fleets sent to prevent entrance of non-Spanish ships. On the western end of the Pacific Ocean the Dutch threatened the Spanish Philippines, Spain also sent expeditions to the Pacific Northwest reaching Vancouver Island in southern Canada, and Alaska. The French explored and settled Polynesia, and the British made three voyages with James Cook to the South Pacific and Australia, Hawaii, and the North American Pacific Northwest, one of the earliest voyages of scientific exploration was organized by Spain in the Malaspina Expedition of 1789–1794. It sailed vast areas of the Pacific, from Cape Horn to Alaska, Guam and the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, and the South Pacific. Growing imperialism during the 19th century resulted in the occupation of much of Oceania by other European powers, and later, Japan, in Oceania, France got a leading position as imperial power after making Tahiti and New Caledonia protectorates in 1842 and 1853 respectively. After navy visits to Easter Island in 1875 and 1887, Chilean navy officer Policarpo Toro managed to negotiate an incorporation of the island into Chile with native Rapanui in 1888, by occupying Easter Island, Chile joined the imperial nations
7.
Breaking wave
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At this point, simple physical models that describe wave dynamics often become invalid, particularly those that assume linear behaviour. The most generally familiar sort of breaking wave is the breaking of surface waves on a coastline. Wave breaking generally occurs where the amplitude reaches the point that the crest of the wave actually overturns—though the types of breaking water waves are discussed in more detail below. Certain other effects in fluid dynamics have also been termed breaking waves, wave breaking also occurs in plasmas, when the particle velocities exceed the waves phase speed. Breaking of water surface waves may occur anywhere that the amplitude is sufficient, however, it is particularly common on beaches because wave heights are amplified in the region of shallower water. See also waves and shallow water, there are four basic types of breaking water waves. They are spilling, plunging, collapsing, and surging, when the ocean floor has a gradual slope, the wave will steepen until the crest becomes unstable, resulting in turbulent whitewater spilling down the face of the wave. This continues as the approaches the shore, and the waves energy is slowly dissipated in the whitewater. Because of this, spilling waves break for a time than other waves. Onshore wind conditions make spillers more likely, a plunging wave occurs when the ocean floor is steep or has sudden depth changes, such as from a reef or sandbar. A plunging wave breaks with more energy than a significantly larger spilling wave, the wave can trap and compress the air under the lip, which creates the crashing sound associated with waves. With large waves, this crash can be felt by beachgoers on land, offshore wind conditions can make plungers more likely. This is the tube that is so highly sought after by surfers, the surfer tries to stay near or under the crashing lip, often trying to stay as deep in the tube as possible while still being able to shoot forward and exit the barrel before it closes. A plunging wave that is parallel to the beach can break along its length at once, rendering it unrideable. Surfers refer to waves as closed out. Collapsing waves are a cross between plunging and surging, in which the crest never fully breaks, yet the bottom face of the wave gets steeper and collapses, surging breakers originate from long period, low steepness waves and/or steep beach profiles. The outcome is the movement of the base of the wave up the swash slope. The front face and crest of the wave remain relatively smooth with little foam or bubbles, resulting in a very narrow surf zone, or no breaking waves at all
8.
Ocean Beach (San Francisco)
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Ocean Beach is a beach on the west coast of San Francisco, California, United States, bordering the Pacific Ocean. It is adjacent to Golden Gate Park, the Richmond District, the Great Highway runs alongside the beach, and the Cliff House and the site of the former Sutro Baths sit at the northern end. The beach is a part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, during the late spring and summer, San Franciscos characteristic foggy weather frequently envelops the beach. The average temperature for the last 5 years has been 13.2 °C However, more beach-friendly weather occurs in late fall and early spring, when fog is less prevalent. The water at Ocean Beach is noteworthy for its strong currents and waves, the rapid rip currents and cold water make the ocean dangerous for casual swimmers and even those who simply want to set foot in it, and swimmers have been swept away and drowned. Nevertheless, the beach is one of the Bay Areas top surfing spots, the southern portion of the beach by Sloat Boulevard is one of the cleanest in the state. Surfers and other swimmers have died at Ocean Beach, one occurred in May 2006. Prior to that, it had been five years since a death at Ocean Beach. In 1998, a seven people lost their lives there. The Ocean Beach surfing community is served by four surf shops, seal Rock is a prominent local feature of the area. Third Eye Blinds Motorcycle Drive By was written about this beach, on November 6,2011, Ocean Beach hosted the Rip Curl Pro surfing competition, in which Kelly Slater won his 11th ASP world championship at the age of 39. This was the one of his championships won in the continental United States. Due in part to its sometimes inhospitable weather, the area was largely undeveloped throughout most of San Franciscos early history, when it was known as part of the Outside Lands. By 1890, trolley lines reached Ocean Beach, the Ferries and Cliff House Railroad, Park & Ocean Railroad, the Cliff House, which opened in 1863, and Sutro Baths, which opened in 1896, drew thousands of visitors. Following a brief stint as a camp after the 1906 earthquake. A small amusement park, Playland at the Beach, was built where Cabrillo, major development occurred in the 1920s and 1930s with construction of the Great Highway and housing in the adjacent Sunset and Richmond Districts. On January 25,1878, the King Philip, a clipper ship, drifted onto Ocean Beach. From time to time, the wreckage of the ship still emerges from the sands just offshore, 49-Mile Scenic Drive A non commercial Ocean Beach San Francisco website including a live webcam and weather
9.
Costumes
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Costume is the distinctive style of dress of an individual or group that reflects their class, gender, profession, ethnicity, nationality, activity or epoch. The term also was used to describe typical appropriate clothing for certain activities, such as riding costume, swimming costume, dance costume. Appropriate and acceptable costume is subject to changes in fashion and local cultural norms, before the advent of ready-to-wear apparel, clothing was made by hand. Costume comes from the same Italian word, inherited via French, National costume or regional costume expresses local identity and emphasizes a cultures unique attributes. They are often a source of national pride, examples include the Scottish kilt or Japanese kimono. In Bhutan there is a national dress prescribed for men and women. These have been in vogue for thousands of years and have developed into a dress style. The dress worn by men is known as Gho which is a robe worn up to knee-length and is fastened at the waist by a called the Kera. The front part of the dress which is formed like a pouch, in olden days was used to hold baskets of food and short dagger, but now it is used to keep cell phone, purse and the betel nut called Doma. The dress worn by women consist of three known as Kira, Tego and Wonju. The long dress which extends up to the ankle is Kira, the jacket worn above this is Tego which is provided with Wonju, the inner jacket. However, while visiting the Dzong or monastery a long scarf or stoll, called Kabney is worn by men across the shoulder, women also wear scarfs or stolls called Rachus, made of raw silk with embroidery, over their shoulder but not indicative of their rank. Some stylized theatrical costumes, such as Harlequin and Pantaloon in the Commedia dellarte, exaggerate an aspect of a character, the wearing of costumes is an important part of holidays developed from religious festivals such as Mardi Gras, and Halloween. Christmas costumes typically portray characters such as Santa Claus, in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States the American version of a Santa suit and beard is popular, in the Netherlands, the costume of Zwarte Piet is customary. Easter costumes are associated with the Easter Bunny or other animal costumes, in Judaism, a common practice is to dress up on Purim. During this holiday, Jews celebrate the change of their destiny and they were delivered from being the victims of an evil decree against them and were instead allowed by the King to destroy their enemies. A quote from the Book of Esther, which says, On the contrary is the reason that wearing a costume has become customary for this holiday. Buddhist religious festivals in Tibet, Bhutan, Mongolia and Lhasa and Sikkim in India perform the Cham dance, parades and processions provide opportunities for people to dress up in historical or imaginative costumes
10.
City2Surf (Sydney)
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The City2Surf is a popular road running event held annually in Sydney, Australia covering a 14-kilometre course. The event is a fun run as well as a race, the event attracts more than 80,000 entrants who start in staggered groups based on previous running times and early entry. The Sydney City2Surf has been held as an event since the first run on 5 September 1971, initially as a 15-kilometre-long run that commenced in George Street. It was conceived by the staff of The Sun and inspired by the Bay to Breakers event in San Francisco, many of the entrants were registered athletes belonging to the Registered Athletic Clubs that were part of these two bodies. To date,33 of those entrants, now known as the City2Surf Legends, have run in every City2Surf. Since 1973 it has held on the second Sunday in August, except for the race held in 2000. When The Sun ceased publication in 1988, the sponsorship of the event passed to the new Sunday tabloid The Sun-Herald, in recent years, over 60,000 people have entered. In 2010, on the events 40th anniversary, a record 80,000 participants ran and it is still primarily sponsored and organised by The Sun-Herald. The course record is 40,03, set by Steve Moneghetti in 1991, the womens record is 45,08 minutes, set by Susie Power in 2001. Non-Australian athletes typically won the race from 1995 to 2007, including repeat winners Laban Chege, Patrick Nyangelo Lusato, in 2008, Martin Dent became the first Australian winner since Lee Troop in 1997. Marwa was competing in the 2008 Olympics, since 2010 the course starts in several groups in order to give preference to faster runners. Entry to all groups is limited to a number of competitors and, except for the invitation-only groups. The most difficult part of the course is Heartbreak Hill at the halfway mark, features en route include many amateur bands performing along the suburban roads, and many City2Surf participants dressed in novelty themed costumes. Deaths during the race have occurred several times, in years 2000,2008 &2014, a competitor has died of a heart attack close to the finish line of the race. After the 2008 death, medical academic Michael ORourke noted that a runner developing arrhythmia and cardiac arrest happens most years but that the sufferer is usually revived
11.
Sydney
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Sydney /ˈsɪdni/ is the state capital of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia and Oceania. Located on Australias east coast, the metropolis surrounds the worlds largest natural harbour, residents of Sydney are known as Sydneysiders. The Sydney area has been inhabited by indigenous Australians for at least 30,000 years, the first British settlers, led by Captain Arthur Phillip, arrived in 1788 to found Sydney as a penal colony, the first European settlement in Australia. Since convict transportation ended in the century, the city has transformed from a colonial outpost into a major global cultural. As at June 2016 Sydneys estimated population was 5,005,358, in the 2011 census,34 percent of the population reported having been born overseas, representing many different nationalities and making Sydney one of the most multicultural cities in the world. There are more than 250 different languages spoken in Sydney and about one-third of residents speak a language other than English at home and it is classified as an Alpha+ World City by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, indicating its influence in the region and throughout the world. Ranked eleventh in the world for economic opportunity, Sydney has a market economy with strengths in finance, manufacturing. Its gross regional product was $337 billion in 2013, the largest in Australia, there is a significant concentration of foreign banks and multinational corporations in Sydney and the city is promoted as one of Asia Pacifics leading financial hubs. Its natural features include Sydney Harbour, the Royal National Park, man-made attractions such as the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Tower and the Sydney Harbour Bridge are also well known to international visitors. The first people to inhabit the now known as Sydney were indigenous Australians having migrated from northern Australia. Radiocarbon dating suggests human activity first started to occur in the Sydney area from around 30,735 years ago, the earliest British settlers called them Eora people. Eora is the term the indigenous used to explain their origins upon first contact with the British. Its literal meaning is from this place, prior to the arrival of the British there were 4,000 to 8,000 native people in Sydney from as many as 29 different clans. Sydney Cove from Port Jackson to Petersham was inhabited by the Cadigal clan, the principal language groups were Darug, Guringai, and Dharawal. The earliest Europeans to visit the area noted that the people were conducting activities such as camping and fishing, using trees for bark and food, collecting shells. Development has destroyed much of the citys history including that of the first inhabitants, there continues to be examples of rock art and engravings located in the protected Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. The first meeting between the people and the British occurred on 29 April 1770 when Lieutenant James Cook landed at Botany Bay on the Kurnell Peninsula. He noted in his journal that they were confused and somewhat hostile towards the foreign visitors, Cook was on a mission of exploration and was not commissioned to start a settlement
12.
Zappos.com
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Zappos. com is an online shoe and clothing shop based in Las Vegas, Nevada. In July 2009, the announced that Amazon. com would acquire it in an all-stock deal worth about $1.2 billion. Zappos was founded in 1999 by Nick Swinmurn, who says that his inspiration came when he failed to find a pair of brown Airwalks at his local mall. That same year, Swinmurn approached Tony Hsieh and Alfred Lin with the idea of selling shoes online, Hsieh was initially skeptical, and almost deleted Swinmurns voice mail. The company was launched in June 1999, under the domain name ShoeSite. com. A few months after its launch, the name was changed from ShoeSite to Zappos so as not to limit itself to selling only footwear. In January 2000, Venture Frogs invested additional capital, and allowed Zappos to move into their office space, during this time, Hsieh found that he had the most fun with Zappos and came on board as co-CEO with Nick Swinmurn. After minimal gross sales in 1999, Zappos brought in $1.6 million in revenue in 2000, in 2001, Zappos more than quadrupled their yearly sales, bringing in $8.6 million. In 2004, Zappos did $184 million in sales, and received their first round of venture capital. That same year, they moved their headquarters from San Francisco to Henderson, over the next three years, Zappos doubled their annual revenues, hitting $840 million in gross sales by 2007 and expanded to include handbags, eyewear, clothing, watches, and kids’ merchandise. In 2008, Zappos hit $1 billion in sales, two years earlier than expected. In 2009, Zappos started exploring an acquisition by Amazon, initially, Hsieh and Lin planned to buy out their board of directors, which they estimated would cost $200 million. In the midst of this, Amazon executives approached Zappos with the proposition of buying Zappos outright, after an hour-long meeting with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Hsieh sensed that Amazon would be open to letting Zappos continue to operate as an independent entity, and started negotiations. On July 22,2009, Amazon announced that it would buy Zappos for $940 million in a stock, owners of shares of Zappos were set to receive approximately 10 million Amazon. com shares, and employees would receive a separate $40 million in cash and restricted stock units. The deal was closed in November 2009 for a reported $1.2 billion. On June 22,2012, Zappos announced it would be shedding their Kentucky warehouse on September 1,2012 and we had to give up the easy money, manage the inventory, and take the risk. Even in spite of his commitment to controlling the customer experience by managing inventory, over 3,000 employees in Zappos Kentucky warehouse will now be in the care of Amazon on September 1,2012. On January 16,2012, the announced that its computer system was cracked
13.
Alaska Airlines
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Alaska Airlines is an American airline based in the Seattle metropolitan area of the state of Washington. The company was founded in 1932 as McGee Airways, offering flights from Anchorage, Alaska Airlines has flights to more than one hundred destinations in the contiguous United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba and Mexico. The airline is an air carrier and, along with its sister airlines Horizon Air. The airline has been ranked by J. D. Power, the airline operates its largest hub at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport. It also operates secondary hubs in Los Angeles, Portland, San Francisco, Anchorage, although most of its revenue and traffic comes from locations outside of Alaska, the airline plays a major role in air transportation in the state. It operates many flights linking small towns to major transportation hubs, Alaska Airlines is not a member of any of the three major airline alliances. Delta, which used to cooperate through codeshares with Alaska Airlines until December 19,2017, is a competitor to Alaska Air in its Sea-Tac market. The Alaska Air Group has been a part of the Dow Jones Transportation Average since 2011, the airline traces its roots to McGee Airways, which was started by Linious Mac McGee in 1932. The airline flew its inaugural service between Anchorage and Bristol Bay with a Stinson single-engined, three-passenger aircraft, at the time, there were no scheduled flights, a flight took place when there were passengers or a load of cargo or mail. It was the middle of the Great Depression and the airline was struggling financially, there were too many airlines in Anchorage at the time, and not enough demand to support them. In the next few years the airline performed many mergers and acquisitions that produced changes in the name, the first of these mergers was in 1934, when McGee sold his namesake airline for US$50,000 to Star Air Service, an airline also located in Anchorage. This allowed McGee to enter the mining industry, with a fleet of fifteen aircraft, Star Air Service was a dominant airline in Alaska. But Star continued to struggle financially because of maintenance costs for its wooden planes. In 1937, McGee came back to the airline and opened a store. That year, Star Air Service purchased Alaska Interior Airlines and was incorporated as Star Air Lines, Star was again sold later that year to a group of miners. In 1938, federal regulation began when Congress created the Civil Aeronautics Board, the CAB awarded the airline most of the routes that it wanted in Alaska, but the coveted route between Seattle and Anchorage was awarded to Pan American Airways. In 1941, Star Air Service was purchased by Raymond Marshall, in 1942, the airline purchased three other airlines in Alaska, Lavery Air Service, Mirow Air Service, and Pollack Flying Service as well as a hangar at the Anchorage airport. That year, the name was changed to Alaska Star Airlines
14.
1906 San Francisco earthquake
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The 1906 San Francisco earthquake struck the coast of Northern California at 5,12 a. m. on April 18 with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.8 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI. Severe shaking was felt from Eureka on the North Coast to the Salinas Valley, devastating fires soon broke out in the city and lasted for several days. As a result, about 3,000 people died and over 80% of the city of San Francisco was destroyed, the events are remembered as one of the worst and deadliest natural disasters in the history of the United States. The death toll remains the greatest loss of life from a disaster in Californias history. The San Andreas Fault is a transform fault that forms part of the tectonic boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate. The strike-slip fault is characterized by mainly lateral motion in a dextral sense, the 1906 rupture propagated both northward and southward for a total of 296 miles. This fault runs the length of California from the Salton Sea in the south to Cape Mendocino in the north, the maximum observed surface displacement was about 20 feet, geodetic measurements show displacements of up to 28 feet. The 1906 earthquake preceded the development of the Richter magnitude scale by three decades. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the quake on the moment magnitude scale is 7.8. According to findings published in the Journal of Geophysical Research, severe deformations in the earths crust took place both before and after the earthquakes impact. Accumulated strain on the faults in the system was relieved during the earthquake, the main shock epicenter occurred offshore about 2 miles from the city, near Mussel Rock. Shaking was felt from Oregon to Los Angeles, and inland as far as central Nevada, a strong foreshock preceded the main shock by about 20 to 25 seconds. The strong shaking of the main shock lasted about 42 seconds, there were decades of minor earthquakes – more than at any other time in the historical record for northern California – before the 1906 quake. For years, the epicenter of the quake was assumed to be near the town of Olema, in the Point Reyes area of Marin County, because of evidence of the degree of local earth displacement. In the 1960s, a seismologist at UC Berkeley proposed that the epicenter was more likely offshore of San Francisco, at the time,375 deaths were reported, partly because hundreds of fatalities in Chinatown went ignored and unrecorded. The total number of deaths is uncertain today, and is estimated to be roughly 3,000 at minimum. Most of the deaths occurred in San Francisco itself, but 189 were reported elsewhere in the Bay Area, nearby cities, such as Santa Rosa and San Jose, in Monterey County, the earthquake permanently shifted the course of the Salinas River near its mouth. Where previously the river emptied into Monterey Bay between Moss Landing and Watsonville, it was diverted 6 miles south to a new channel just north of Marina
15.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
16.
Guinness Book of Records
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The book itself holds a world record, as the best-selling copyrighted book of all time. As of the 2017 edition, it is now in its 63rd year of publication, the international franchise has extended beyond print to include television series and museums. On 10 November 1951, Sir Hugh Beaver, then the director of the Guinness Breweries, went on a shooting party in the North Slob, by the River Slaney in County Wexford. After missing a shot at a golden plover, he involved in an argument over which was the fastest game bird in Europe. That evening at Castlebridge House, he realised that it was impossible to confirm in reference books whether or not the golden plover was Europes fastest game bird. Beaver knew that there must be numerous other questions debated nightly in pubs throughout Ireland and abroad and he realised then that a book supplying the answers to this sort of question might prove successful. Beavers idea became reality when Guinness employee Christopher Chataway recommended University friends Norris and Ross McWhirter, the twin brothers were commissioned to compile what became The Guinness Book of Records in August 1954. A thousand copies were printed and given away, after the founding of The Guinness Book of Records at 107 Fleet Street, the first 198-page edition was bound on 27 August 1955 and went to the top of the British best seller lists by Christmas. The following year, it launched in the US, and sold 70,000 copies, since then, Guinness World Records has become a household name and the global leader in world records. Because the book became a hit, many further editions were printed, eventually settling into a pattern of one revision a year, published in September/October. The McWhirters continued to compile it for many years, Ross McWhirter was assassinated by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in 1975. Following Ross assassination, the feature in the show where questions about records posed by children were answered was called Norris on the Spot, Guinness Superlatives Limited was formed in 1954 to publish the first book. Sterling Publishing owned the rights to the Guinness book in the US for decades, and, under their management, the group was owned by Guinness PLC and subsequently Diageo until 2001, when it was purchased by Gullane Entertainment. Gullane was itself purchased by HIT Entertainment in 2002, with offices in New York City and Tokyo, Guinness World Records global headquarters remain in London, while its museum attractions are based at Ripley headquarters in Orlando, Florida, US. Recent editions have focused on record feats by person competitors, many records also relate to the youngest person who achieved something, such as the youngest person to visit all nations of the world, being Maurizio Giuliano. Each edition contains a selection of the records from the Guinness database, as well as new records. The majority of records are no longer listed in the book or on the website. For those unable to wait the 4–6 weeks for a reply, the Guinness Book of Records is the worlds most sold copyrighted book, earning it an entry within its own pages
17.
List of largest footraces
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This list of the largest running events in the world is based on the number of participants. If available, the number of registered participants or finishers may be specified, not all participants will actually complete a race. Running USAs Road Running Information Center estimates that, on average, if a yearly event has consistently high participation, the year in which that event had the largest number of participants has been listed. With 110,000 participants, the Bay to Breakers race held on May 18,1986 in San Francisco, California was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the worlds largest footrace. On October 10,2010,116,086 out of 160,000 registered runners in Manila were reported to have finished a run entitled 10.10.10 A Run for the Pasig River. An official for the ABS-CBN Foundation said that documentation of the event was being forwarded to Guinness World Records, the Guinness World Records certified Run for the Pasig River as having the most participants in a racing event on December 26,2010. But the main run flagged off by cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar was at Trivandrum and had a participation of 1.23 Million which would make it the worlds largest marathon. Other points like Cochin, Calicut, Quilon, etc. doesnt really have an exact figure, Trivandrum is scheduled to host another major run event called Trivandrun in March which as per plan will have a participation of over 2 million runners
18.
San Francisco Examiner
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The San Francisco Examiner is a longtime daily newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California. The Examiner is one of the pioneers in the industry and has published continuously since 1863. The San Francisco Examiner was sold to Black Press Group, a Canadian media publisher, as of 2014, The San Francisco Media Company LLC is held under, Oahu Publications Inc. a subsidiary of Black Press Group Ltd. In 1880, mining engineer, entrepreneur and US Senator George Hearst bought the Examiner, seven years later, after being elected to the U. S. Senate, he gave it to his son, William Randolph Hearst, who was then 23 years old. The elder Hearst was said to have received the paper as partial payment of a poker debt. William Randolph Hearst created the masthead with the Hearst Eagle and the slogan Monarch of the Dailies. After the great earthquake and fire of 1906 destroyed much of San Francisco, the Examiner and its rivals — the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Francisco Call — brought out a joint edition. The Examiner offices were destroyed on April 18,1906, but when the city was rebuilt, a new structure and it opened in 1909, and in 1937 the facade, entranceway and lobby underwent an extensive remodeling designed by architect Julia Morgan. Ultimately, circulation battles ended in a merging of resources between the two papers, the Examiner published the Sunday papers news sections and glossy magazine, and the Chronicle contributed the features. Circulation was approximately 100,000 on weekdays and 500,000 on Sundays, in its stylebook, the Examiner has traditionally referred to San Francisco as The City, capitalized, both in headlines and text of stories, and continues to do so. San Francisco slang has traditionally referred to the Examiner in abbreviated form as the Ex. When the Chronicle Publishing Company divested its interests, the Hearst Corporation purchased the Chronicle. However, on July 27,2000 a federal judge approved the Fangs assumption of the Examiner name, its archives,35 delivery trucks, from their side, the Fangs paid Hearst $100.00 for the Examiner. On February 24,2003, the Examiner became a daily newspaper and is now printed Sunday through Friday. On February 19,2004, the Fang family sold the Examiner and its printing plant and his new company, Clarity Media Group, launched The Washington Examiner in 2005 and published The Baltimore Examiner from 2006 to 2009. In 2006, Anschutz donated the archives of the Examiner to the University of California, Berkeley Bancroft Library, under Clarity ownership, the Examiner pioneered a new business model for the newspaper industry. Designed to be read quickly, the Examiner is presented in a compact and it focuses on local news, business, entertainment and sports with an emphasis on content relevant to local readers. It is delivered free to select neighborhoods in San Francisco and San Mateo counties, and to single-copy outlets throughout San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Alameda counties, California
19.
ING
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The ING Group is a Dutch multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Amsterdam. Its primary businesses are retail banking, direct banking, commercial banking, investment banking, asset management, ING is an abbreviation for Internationale Nederlanden Groep. The orange lion on INGs logo alludes to the Groups Dutch origins under the House of Orange-Nassau, ING is the Dutch member of the Inter-Alpha Group of Banks, a cooperative consortium of 11 prominent European banks. ING Bank was included in a list of global systemically important banks in 2012, as of 2013, ING served over 48 million individual and institutional clients in more than 40 countries, with a worldwide workforce exceeding 75,000. The company is a component of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index, ING Group traces its roots to two major insurance companies in the Netherlands and the banking services of the Dutch government. It later changed its name to De Nederlanden van 1845, two decades later in 1863 the life insurance company Nationale Levensverzekerings Bank was founded in Rotterdam. These two insurance companies would make multiple acquisitions before merging to form the combined company the Nationale-Nederlanden in 1963. The combined insurance company would expand significantly during the 1970s and 1980s, in 1881, the Dutch government created the Rijkspostspaarbank, a postal savings system to encourage workers to start saving. Four decades later they added the Postcheque and Girodienst services allowing working families to make payments via post offices, separately in 1927, the Dutch government initiated a re-organisation of Dutch banks which resulted in the creation of the Nederlandsche Middenstands Bank. NMBs focus was retail banking in the Netherlands and abroad, in 1986, post office banking services were privatised as Postbank N. V. and three years later it would merge with NMB bank to form NMB Postbank Groep. It also acquired Frankfurt based BHF-Bank in 1999, although disposed of this later and it increased its Latin American and Asia Pacifics insurance businesses with the acquisition of ReliaStar and Aetnas Financial Services unit. It also acquired the Polish Bank Śląski and Mexican insurance company Seguros Comercial América, however, it was the 1995 purchase of Barings Bank after its dramatic failure that saw ING Groups investment banking business boosted significantly. The first of these was set up in Canada in 1997, the no frills, high rate savings accounts that could only be accessed online were a successful venture and spawned a number of similar services from rival banks. In 2008, as part of the financial crisis ING Group, together with all other major banks in the Netherlands. This support increased INGs capital ratio above 8%, however as a condition of Dutch state aid and this included the sale of the ING Direct US operations to Capital One and the ING Direct UK operations to Barclays bank in 2012. The spun-off insurance businesses in North America were renamed Voya Financial in 2014, in November 2003, ING Groep N. V. appointed Michel Tilmant, Vice-Chairman of the executive board, as its new chairman and successor to Ewald Kist. ING has offices in, Due to the separation of ING Group into ING Bank and ING Insurance, ING House was the head office of NN Group and located in the business district of Zuidas in Amsterdam, Netherlands from 2012 to 2014. It was designed by Roberto Meyer and Jeroen van Schooten and was opened on 16 September 2002 by then Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands
20.
Zazzle
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Zazzle is an American online marketplace that allows designers and customers to create their own products with independent manufacturers, as well as use images from participating companies. Zazzle has partnered with brands to amass a collection of digital images from companies like Disney. Zazzle claims to have over 300 million unique products listed on the site, Zazzle was launched from their garage by Robert Beaver, Bobby Beaver and Jeffrey Beaver, and went live in 2005. The company received an investment of US$16 million in July 2005 from Google investors John Doerr and Ram Shriram. The site was recognized by TechCrunch as 2007s best business model in its first annual Crunchies awards, joseph Pine, for its easy-to-use technology. In 2010, Zazzle was recognized as one of the Hottest Silicon Valley Companies by Lead411 and it is based in Redwood City, California. Zazzle. com offers printing, and embroidered decoration on their retail apparel items, as well as other personalization techniques. CafePress CustomInk Redbubble Self-publishing Shutterfly Spreadshirt Teespring Vistaprint Official website Zazzle at CrunchBase
21.
Craigslist
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Craigslist is an American classified advertisements website with sections devoted to jobs, housing, personals, for sale, items wanted, services, community, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums. Craig Newmark began the service in 1995 as a distribution list to friends. It became a service in 1996 and expanded into other classified categories. It started expanding to other U. S. cities in 2000, in March 2008, Spanish, French, Italian, German, and Portuguese became the first non-English languages Craigslist supported. As of August 9,2012, over 700 cities and areas in 70 countries have Craigslist sites, in early 1995, he began an email distribution list to friends. Most of the postings were submitted by Newmark and were notices of social events of interest to software. Soon, word of mouth led to rapid growth, the number of subscribers and postings grew rapidly. There was no moderation and Newmark was surprised when people started using the mailing list for non-event postings, people trying to get technical positions filled found that the list was a good way to reach people with the skills they were looking for. This led to the addition of a jobs category, user demand for more categories caused the list of categories to grow. The initial technology encountered some limits, so by June 1995 Majordomo had been installed, community members started asking for a web interface. Newmark registered craigslist. org, and the website went live in 1996, in the fall of 1998, the name List Foundation was introduced and Craigslist started transitioning to the use of this name. In April 1999, when Newmark learned of other organizations called List Foundation, Craigslist incorporated as a private for-profit company in 1999. Around the time of events, Newmark realized the site was growing so fast that he could stop working as a software engineer. By April 2000, there were nine employees working out of Newmarks San Francisco apartment, in January 2000, current CEO Jim Buckmaster joined the company as lead programmer and CTO. He was promoted to CEO in November 2000, the website expanded into nine more U. S. cities in 2000, four in 2001 and 2002 each, and 14 in 2003. On August 1,2004, Craigslist began charging $25 to post job openings on the New York, on the same day, a new section called Gigs was added, where low-cost and unpaid jobs and internships can be posted free. With more than 80 million new classified advertisements each month, Craigslist is the classifieds service in any medium. The site receives more than 2 million new job listings each month, the 23 largest U. S. cities listed on the Craigslist home page collectively receive more than 300,000 postings per day just in the for sale and housing sections as of October 2011
22.
Under Armour
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Under Armour, Inc. is an American company that manufactures footwear, sports and casual apparel. Under Armour began offering footwear in 2006, under Armours International Headquarters is located in Panama City, Panama, with Latin America offices in São Paulo, Brazil, Santiago, Chile, and Mexico City, Mexico. Its European headquarters is in Amsterdams Olympic Stadium with an office in Munich. The Under Armour Shanghai office is the headquarters for Greater China. Additional Asia Pacific offices are in Guangzhou, China, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Indonesia, Tokyo, Japan, under Armour was founded in 1996 by Kevin Plank, a then 23-year-old former special teams captain of the University of Maryland football team. Plank initially began the business from his grandmothers basement in Washington and he spent his time traveling up and down the East Coast with nothing but apparel in the trunk of his car. His first team came at the end of 1996 with a $17,000 sale. From his grandmothers basement, Plank moved to Baltimore, after a few moves in the city he landed at his current headquarters in Tide Point. This inspired him to make a T-shirt using moisture-wicking synthetic fabric, after graduating from the University of Maryland, Plank developed his first prototype of the shirt, which he gave to his Maryland teammates and friends who had gone on to play in the NFL. Plank soon perfected the design creating a new T-shirt built from microfibers that wicked moisture and kept cool, dry. Major competing brands including Nike, Adidas and Reebok would soon follow in Planks footsteps with their own moisture-wicking apparel, Plank opted to use the British spelling armour in the company name because the toll-free vanity number was still available for that version. People began to notice of the brand when a front page photo of USA Today featured Oakland Raiders quarterback Jeff George wearing an Under Armour mock turtleneck. Following that front page, Under Armours first major sale came and this deal opened the door to a contract with Arizona State University, North Carolina State and other Division I football teams. With positive reviews from players, word began to spread and orders began to increase and that same year, Under Armour launched with several new apparel lines including ColdGear, TurfGear, AllseasonGear, and StreetGear. By the end of 1996, Under Armour had sold 500 Under Armour HeatGear shirts, in 1997, Plank had $100,000 in orders to fill and found a factory in Ohio to make the shirts. Under Armour received its first big break in 1999 when Warner Brothers contacted Under Armour to outfit two of its films, Oliver Stones Any Given Sunday and The Replacements. In Any Given Sunday, Willie Beamen wears an Under Armour jockstrap, leveraging the release of Any Given Sunday, Plank purchased an ad in ESPN The Magazine. The ad generated close to $750,000 in sales, and nine years after starting the company, the following year, Under Armour became the outfitter of the new XFL football league, gaining even more attention during the leagues debut on national television
23.
Zappos
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Zappos. com is an online shoe and clothing shop based in Las Vegas, Nevada. In July 2009, the announced that Amazon. com would acquire it in an all-stock deal worth about $1.2 billion. Zappos was founded in 1999 by Nick Swinmurn, who says that his inspiration came when he failed to find a pair of brown Airwalks at his local mall. That same year, Swinmurn approached Tony Hsieh and Alfred Lin with the idea of selling shoes online, Hsieh was initially skeptical, and almost deleted Swinmurns voice mail. The company was launched in June 1999, under the domain name ShoeSite. com. A few months after its launch, the name was changed from ShoeSite to Zappos so as not to limit itself to selling only footwear. In January 2000, Venture Frogs invested additional capital, and allowed Zappos to move into their office space, during this time, Hsieh found that he had the most fun with Zappos and came on board as co-CEO with Nick Swinmurn. After minimal gross sales in 1999, Zappos brought in $1.6 million in revenue in 2000, in 2001, Zappos more than quadrupled their yearly sales, bringing in $8.6 million. In 2004, Zappos did $184 million in sales, and received their first round of venture capital. That same year, they moved their headquarters from San Francisco to Henderson, over the next three years, Zappos doubled their annual revenues, hitting $840 million in gross sales by 2007 and expanded to include handbags, eyewear, clothing, watches, and kids’ merchandise. In 2008, Zappos hit $1 billion in sales, two years earlier than expected. In 2009, Zappos started exploring an acquisition by Amazon, initially, Hsieh and Lin planned to buy out their board of directors, which they estimated would cost $200 million. In the midst of this, Amazon executives approached Zappos with the proposition of buying Zappos outright, after an hour-long meeting with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Hsieh sensed that Amazon would be open to letting Zappos continue to operate as an independent entity, and started negotiations. On July 22,2009, Amazon announced that it would buy Zappos for $940 million in a stock, owners of shares of Zappos were set to receive approximately 10 million Amazon. com shares, and employees would receive a separate $40 million in cash and restricted stock units. The deal was closed in November 2009 for a reported $1.2 billion. On June 22,2012, Zappos announced it would be shedding their Kentucky warehouse on September 1,2012 and we had to give up the easy money, manage the inventory, and take the risk. Even in spite of his commitment to controlling the customer experience by managing inventory, over 3,000 employees in Zappos Kentucky warehouse will now be in the care of Amazon on September 1,2012. On January 16,2012, the announced that its computer system was cracked
24.
USA Track & Field
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USA Track & Field is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking. Based in Indianapolis, USATF is a organization with a membership of nearly 100,000. The organization is led by an elected President Stephanie Hightower and a full-time Executive Director/CEO. On April 23,2012, USATF announced the CEO position and it also organizes the annual USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Through its sanctioning program, the body provides the insurance coverage necessary for members to rent facilities. On January 30,1878, in the city of New York, rower and runner William B. Curtis founded what became, in 1887. The Athletics Congress emerged from the AAU in late 1979, when its first annual meeting was conducted in Las Vegas, a constitutional convention was subsequently held in Dallas–Fort Worth in 1980. In 1992, TAC changed its name to USA Track & Field to increase recognition for the organization, however, USATF inherited from AAU the 57 regional associations which are responsible for promoting the sport in a particular state or locality. Many of these associations were viewed as unaccountable to their members, in addition, in some areas, the AAU continues to organize track and field events, including youth running programs. In May 2008, the United States Olympic Committee notified USATF that its governance was deficient, most of the new board members represented sponsoring organizations. On February 18,2009, the members of the new, at the 2014 annual meeting, the member delegates voted 392-70 to re-nominate Robert Hersh as the USATFs nominee to the IAAF council. At the time, Hersh was the sitting senior vice-president of the IAAF council and by virtue of that position, however, the reconstituted Board disregarded the vote of the member delegates and instead voted 11-1 to nominate president Stephanie Hightower as the nominee to the IAAF council. The Boards action caused such a controversy that USATF sent a two days later to all of its members attempting to explain its action. The email wrote, This is a different era and a different time and we think Stephanie Hightower provides us with the best chance to move forward as part of that change. The vote and email was immediately criticized by USATF members and athletes as it admitted that the Board acted in its own self-interest in defiance of the Amateur Sports act. USATF is a governing body created by the 1978 Amateur Sports Act. USATF is a member of the United States Olympic Committee and selects teams for Olympic, to select the athletes for the Olympic Games, every Olympiad USATF conducts the Olympic Trials. USATF is composed of 57 Associations, which are the administrative districts
25.
USATF
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USA Track & Field is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking. Based in Indianapolis, USATF is a organization with a membership of nearly 100,000. The organization is led by an elected President Stephanie Hightower and a full-time Executive Director/CEO. On April 23,2012, USATF announced the CEO position and it also organizes the annual USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Through its sanctioning program, the body provides the insurance coverage necessary for members to rent facilities. On January 30,1878, in the city of New York, rower and runner William B. Curtis founded what became, in 1887. The Athletics Congress emerged from the AAU in late 1979, when its first annual meeting was conducted in Las Vegas, a constitutional convention was subsequently held in Dallas–Fort Worth in 1980. In 1992, TAC changed its name to USA Track & Field to increase recognition for the organization, however, USATF inherited from AAU the 57 regional associations which are responsible for promoting the sport in a particular state or locality. Many of these associations were viewed as unaccountable to their members, in addition, in some areas, the AAU continues to organize track and field events, including youth running programs. In May 2008, the United States Olympic Committee notified USATF that its governance was deficient, most of the new board members represented sponsoring organizations. On February 18,2009, the members of the new, at the 2014 annual meeting, the member delegates voted 392-70 to re-nominate Robert Hersh as the USATFs nominee to the IAAF council. At the time, Hersh was the sitting senior vice-president of the IAAF council and by virtue of that position, however, the reconstituted Board disregarded the vote of the member delegates and instead voted 11-1 to nominate president Stephanie Hightower as the nominee to the IAAF council. The Boards action caused such a controversy that USATF sent a two days later to all of its members attempting to explain its action. The email wrote, This is a different era and a different time and we think Stephanie Hightower provides us with the best chance to move forward as part of that change. The vote and email was immediately criticized by USATF members and athletes as it admitted that the Board acted in its own self-interest in defiance of the Amateur Sports act. USATF is a governing body created by the 1978 Amateur Sports Act. USATF is a member of the United States Olympic Committee and selects teams for Olympic, to select the athletes for the Olympic Games, every Olympiad USATF conducts the Olympic Trials. USATF is composed of 57 Associations, which are the administrative districts
26.
San Francisco Ferry Building
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The San Francisco Ferry Building is a terminal for ferries that travel across the San Francisco Bay, a food hall and an office building. It is located on The Embarcadero in San Francisco, California, on top of the building is a 245-foot tall clock tower with four clock dials, each 22 feet in diameter, which can be seen from Market Street, a main thoroughfare of the city. Designed in 1892 by American architect A, Page Brown in the Beaux Arts style, the ferry building was completed in 1898. At its opening, it was the largest project undertaken in the city up to that time, Brown designed the clock tower after the 12th-century Giralda bell tower in Seville, Spain, and the entire length of the building on both frontages is based on an arched arcade. With decreased use since the 1950s, after bridges were constructed across the bay to carry passenger traffic, in 2002, a restoration and renovation were undertaken to redevelop the entire complex. The 660-foot long Great Nave was restored, together with its height, a marketplace was created on the ground floor, the former baggage handling area. The second and third floors were adapted for office and Port Commission use, during daylight, on every full and half-hour, the clock bell chimes portions of the Westminster Quarters. The ferry terminal is a designated San Francisco landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the present structure was designed in 1892 by A. Page Brown, a New York architect who had started with McKim, Mead & White, influenced by studies at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, he designed the clock tower after the 12th-century Giralda bell tower in Seville, Spain. Brown designed it to satisfy needs of a society in high style associated with traditional buildings. The highest quality materials were used, such as marble and mosaics for the state seal, the 660-foot-long Great Nave on the second floor was the major public space for arriving and departing ferry passengers. Opened in 1898, the building replaced a wooden predecessor, the well-built reinforced building with its arched arcades survived both the 1906 and the 1989 earthquakes with little damage. It served as the destination for commuters to San Francisco from the East Bay, who rode the ferry fleets of the Southern Pacific, in the afternoon, they caught ferries returning across the bay. A loop track in front of the building enabled convenient transfers to streetcars, a large pedestrian bridge spanned the Embarcadero in front of the Ferry building to facilitate safe crossing of the busy plaza and transit hub. In the 1940s, this bridge was deconstructed to supply scrap metal for the Second World War. Until the completion of the Bay Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge in the 1930s, after the bridges opened, and the new Key System trains began running to the East Bay from the Transbay Terminal in 1939, passenger ferry use fell sharply. The formerly grand public space was reduced to a narrow and dark corridor, passengers were made to wait for ferries on outdoor benches, and the ticketing booths were moved to the pier. With the construction in the late 1950s of the Embarcadero Freeway, pedestrian access was treated as an afterthought, and the public was cut off from the waterfront
27.
Market Street (San Francisco)
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Market Street is a major thoroughfare in San Francisco, California. Beyond this point, the roadway continues as Portola Drive into the southwestern quadrant of San Francisco, Portola Drive extends south to the intersection of St. Francis Boulevard and Sloat Boulevard, where it continues as Junipero Serra Boulevard. Market Street is the boundary of two street grids, Streets on its southeast side are parallel or perpendicular to Market Street, while those on the northwest are nine degrees off from the cardinal directions. Market Street is a major artery for the city of San Francisco, and has carried in turn horse-drawn streetcars, cable cars, electric streetcars, electric trolleybuses. Today Munis buses, trolleybuses, and heritage streetcars share the street, while below the street the two-level Market Street Subway carries Muni Metro and Bay Area Rapid Transit. While cable cars no longer operate on Market Street, the cable car lines terminate to the side of the street at its intersections with California Street. Market Street cuts across the city for three miles from the waterfront to the hills of Twin Peaks and it was laid out originally by Jasper OFarrell, a 26-year-old trained civil engineer who emigrated to Yerba Buena. The town was renamed San Francisco in 1847 after it was captured by United States troops during the Mexican-American War, OFarrell first repaired the original layout of the settlement around Portsmouth Square and then established Market Street as the widest street in town,120 feet between property lines. It was described at the time as an arrow aimed straight at Los Pechos de la Chola, a friend warned OFarrell, before the crowd had dispersed. He rode with all haste to North Beach, took a boat for Sausalito and he found it discreet to remain some time in the country before venturing to return to the city. The city soon filled in the ground between Portsmouth Square and Happy Valley at First and Mission Street, the dunes were leveled and the sand used for fill. The first horsecar-powered railway line to open in San Francisco commenced running down the thoroughfare on July 4,1860, the two Union Railroad tracks were on the inside and the two San Francisco Municipal Railway tracks were on the outside. In 1892 The Owl Drug Company was established at 1128 Market Street, Market Street underwent major changes in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when Muni Metro service was moved underground in concert with the development of the Bay Area Rapid Transit system. Construction of the Market Street Subway commenced in July 1967, prolonged disruption to what had traditionally been the social and economic center of the city contributed to the decline of the mid-Market shopping district in later years. In 1980, Munis surface operations were partially routed underground with full service changes occurring in 1982, in the days of the first United Nations conferences, Anthony Eden, Molotov, Stettinius, and Bidault rode up Market Street, waving to the crowds of hopefuls. On Christmas Eve 1910, opera singer Luisa Tetrazzini sang a free concert to a crowd some estimated at 250,000. Another historic Market Street event was the New Years Eve celebration at the Ferry Building on December 31,1999, over 1.2 million people jammed Market Street and nearby streets for the raucous and peaceful turn-of-the-century celebration. The San Francisco Gay Pride parade runs down Market Street, attracting many people every year, victory parades celebrating the San Francisco Giants World Series titles were held on Market Street in 2010,2012, and 2014
28.
Alamo Square
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Alamo Square is a residential neighborhood and park in San Francisco, California, in the Western Addition. Its boundaries are not well-defined, but are considered to be Webster Street on the east, Golden Gate Avenue on the north, Divisadero Street on the west. The park is bordered by Hayes Street to the south, Steiner Street to the east, Fulton Street to the north, named after the lone cottonwood tree, Alamo Hill, was a watering hole on the horseback trail from Mission Dolores to the Presidio in the 1800s. In 1856, Mayor James Van Ness created a 12.7 acre park surrounding the watering hole, Alamo Square Park includes a playground and a tennis court, and is frequented by neighbors, tourists, and dog owners. On a clear day, the Transamerica Pyramid building and the tops of the Golden Gate Bridge, the San Francisco City Hall can be seen directly down Fulton Street. The area is part of the citys fifth Supervisorial district and is served by several Muni bus lines, including the 5,21,22, in 2016 it was closed for a $4.3 million renovation lasting seven months. The Alamo Square neighborhood is characterized by Victorian architecture that was largely untouched by the urban renewal projects in other parts of the Western Addition. The Alamo Square area contains the second largest concentration of homes over 10,000 square feet in San Francisco, after the Pacific Heights neighborhood. A row of Victorian houses facing the park on Steiner Street, a number of movies, television shows and commercials have been filmed in or around Alamo Square. The park features heavily in the 1978 horror film The Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the opening sequence of the American sitcom Full House features a romp in Alamo Square Park with the famous row of Victorians in the background. With a high degree of integrity to its designs, the District clearly serves as a visual reminder of how businessmen lived two to four generations ago. Efforts on the part of Alamo Square and North Panhandle residents and merchants have led to restrictions on chain stores on the corridor, Neighborhood groups include the Alamo Square Neighborhood Association and the Haight-Divisadero Neighborhood Merchants Association. Author Alice Walker lived in one of the Painted Lady Victorians across from Alamo Square park up to the mid-1990s. Parks of San Francisco 49-Mile Scenic Drive Map of district 5 of the county, which Alamo Square is a part of Alamo Square Neighborhood Association Alamo Square, from San Francisco Parks Alliance
29.
Panhandle (San Francisco)
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The Panhandle is a park in San Francisco, California, that forms a panhandle with Golden Gate Park. It is long and narrow, being three-quarters of a mile long, fell Street borders it to the north, Oak Street to the south, and Baker Street to the east. Only two streets run through it - Stanyan Street at the end between it and Golden Gate Park and Masonic Avenue through the middle. Two paved walking paths run through it from Golden Gate Park to Baker Street, there are basketball courts, a public restroom, and a playground in the section between Stanyan Street and Masonic Avenue. The William McKinley Monument is at the foot of the park and it was dedicated in 1904 by President Theodore Roosevelt, who succeeded McKinley after his assassination in 1901. The park forms the boundary of the Western Addition neighborhood. An 1853 map of San Francisco labels the area that the Panhandle, in 1870, the Panhandles footprint occupied large, shifting sand-dunes with little vegetation in between it and the Pacific Ocean known as the Outside Lands. On top of this layer, Monterey Pines, Monterey Cypresses and Eucalyptus—all known for quick growth, the land in and around the Panhandle has been so completely transformed by 100+ years of irrigation and development that the sandy, unstable ground beneath is no longer apparent. In 1899, a proposal was considered for an extension of the Panhandle park all the way towards Van Ness Avenue, similar pairs of rapid through-streets exist throughout San Francisco. The Bikeways were built by removing six blocks of parking from the side of both streets, an almost impossible political feat in car-clogged San Francisco. Golden Gate Park, Encyclopedia of San Francisco North Panhandle Neighborhood Association Planned route of the Panhandle Freeway
30.
Golden Gate Park
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Golden Gate Park, located in San Francisco, California, United States, is a large urban park consisting of 1,017 acres of public grounds. It is administered by the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department, configured as a rectangle, it is similar in shape but 20 percent larger than Central Park in New York, to which it is often compared. It is over three miles long east to west, and about half a mile north to south, in the 1860s, San Franciscans began to feel the need for a spacious public park similar to Central Park, which was then taking shape in New York City. Golden Gate Park was carved out of unpromising sand and shore dunes that were known as the Outside Lands, conceived ostensibly for recreation, the underlying purpose of the park was housing development and the westward expansion of the city. The tireless field engineer William Hammond Hall prepared a survey and topographic map of the site in 1870. He was later named Californias first state engineer and developed a flood control system for the Sacramento Valley. The park drew its name from nearby Golden Gate Strait, the plan and planting were developed by Hall and his assistant, John McLaren, who had apprenticed in Scotland, home of many of the 19th-century’s best professional gardeners. John McLaren, when asked by the Park Commission if he could make Golden Gate Park one of the beauty spots of the world, replied saying With your aid gentleman, and God be willing, that I shall do. He also promised that hed go out into the country and walk along a stream until he found a farm, and that hed come back to the garden and recreate what nature had done. In 1876, the plan was almost replaced by one for a racetrack, favored by the Big Four millionaires, Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, Collis P. Huntington and it was Gus Mooney who claimed land adjacent to the park on Ocean Beach. Many of Mooneys friends also staked claims and built shanties on the beach to sell refreshments to the patrons of the park, Hall resigned, and the remaining park commissioners followed. In 1882 Governor George C. Perkins appointed Frank M. Pixley founder, Pixley was adamant that the Mooneys shanties be eliminated, and he found support with the San Francisco Police for park security. Pixley favored Stanfords company by granting a lease on the route that closed the park on three sides to competition. The original plan, however, was back on track by 1886, Hall selected McLaren as his successor in 1887. The first stage of the development centered on planting trees in order to stabilize the dunes that covered three-quarters of the park’s area. By 1875, about 60,000 trees, mostly Eucalyptus globulus, Monterey pine, by 1879, that figure more than doubled to 155,000 trees over 1,000 acres. Later, McLaren scoured the world for trees, by correspondence and he lived in McLaren Lodge in Golden Gate Park until he died in 1943, aged 96. In 1903, a pair of Dutch-style windmills were built at the western end of the park
31.
Conservatory of Flowers
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The Conservatory of Flowers is a greenhouse and botanical garden that houses a collection of rare and exotic plants in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California. With construction having been completed in 1879, it is the oldest building in the park and it was one of the first municipal conservatories constructed in the United States and is the oldest remaining municipal wooden conservatory in the country. It is a California Historical Landmark and a San Francisco Designated Landmark, the Conservatory of Flowers is an elaborate Victorian greenhouse with a central dome rising nearly 60 feet high and arch-shaped wings extending from it for an overall length of 240 feet. The building sits atop a slope overlooking Conservatory Valley. The structural members are articulated through one predominant form, a four-centered or Tudor arch, the Conservatory of Flowers consists of a wood structural skeleton with glass walls set on a raised masonry foundation. The entire structure has a shallow E-shaped plan that is oriented along an east-west axis, the central 60-foot high pavilion is entered through a one-story, glassed-in vestibule with a gable roof on the south side of the pavilion. Flanking the rotunda to the east and west are one-story, symmetrical wings framed by wood arches, each wing is L-shaped in plan, with cupolas adorning the intersection of the two segments. The octagonal pavilion supports an arched roof that is, in turn, surmounted by a clerestory, the clerestory is supported by eight free-standing, wood-clad, cast-iron columns located within the rotunda and grouped in pairs. Projecting from the roof on the east, west. Between major arched structural framing members are wood muntins that hold the glass lights on their sides, the lights lap one over one another like shingles and follow the curve of the arches. From a structural perspective, the design utilizes the mechanical properties of the material. Wood is strongest along the length of the grain and weakest along the end grain, the use of short arch components with shallow radii minimized the amount of weaker-end grain exposed to structural forces. The assembly of the arch with several pieces of wood. It allowed the fabricator to set machines with guides and templates so that cutting the multiple-arch components was a simple task, furthermore, the design required little material, since each individual arch component has only a shallow radius. Moreover, by using relatively narrow widths of lumber, the chance of warping was minimized, finally, there was an efficiency realized in transportation, as the small size of the arch components allowed them to be easily stored and shipped. The structural wood arches and their method of construction, along with the woodwork and unique lapped glazing. The Conservatory kit was bought by James Lick, a businessman, piano maker. It was intended for the City of San Jose, where Lick had built a mansion surrounded by exotic plants imported from South America, Lick died in 1876 before constructing the conservatory on his estate, and it was put up for sale by his trustees
32.
Superman
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Superman is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, high school living in Cleveland, Ohio. They sold Superman to Detective Comics, the future DC Comics, Superman debuted in Action Comics #1 and subsequently appeared in various radio serials, newspaper strips, television programs, films, and video games. With this success, Superman helped to create the superhero archetype, the character is also referred to by such epithets as the Man of Steel, the Man of Tomorrow, and The Last Son of Krypton. Discovered and adopted by a Kansas farm couple, the child is raised as Clark Kent, very early on he started to display various superhuman abilities, which, upon reaching maturity, he resolved to use for the benefit of humanity through a secret Superman identity. Superman resides and operates in the fictional American city of Metropolis, as Clark Kent, he is a journalist for the Daily Planet, a Metropolis newspaper. Supermans love interest is generally Lois Lane, and his archenemy is supervillain Lex Luthor and he is typically a member of the Justice League and close ally of Batman and Wonder Woman. Like other characters in the DC Universe, several versions of Superman have been depicted over the years. Supermans appearance is distinctive and iconic, he wears a blue costume with a red-and-yellow emblem on the chest, consisting of the letter S in a shield shape. This shield is used in media to symbolize the character. Superman is widely considered an American cultural icon and he has fascinated scholars, with cultural theorists, commentators, and critics alike exploring the characters impact and role in the United States and worldwide. The characters ownership has often been the subject of dispute, with Siegel, the character has been adapted extensively and portrayed in other forms of media as well, including films, television series, and video games. Several actors have portrayed Superman in motion pictures and TV series including Kirk Alyn, George Reeves, Christopher Reeve, Dean Cain, Tom Welling, Brandon Routh, Henry Cavill, Siegels fanzine did not sell well. Siegel and Shuster shifted to making comic strips, which they self-published in a book they called Popular Comics, the pair dreamed of becoming professional authors and believed that syndicated newspaper strips offered more lucrative and stable work than pulp magazines. The art quality standards were lower, making them more accessible to the inexperienced Shuster. In early 1933 or in 1934, Siegel developed a new character, also named Superman, but now a heroic character and this first prototype of Superman had no fantastic abilities and wore casual clothing. Siegel and Shuster often compared this version to Slam Bradley, a character they created in 1936. Siegel shared his idea with Shuster and they decided to turn it into a comic strip, the first publisher they solicited was Humor Publishing in Chicago, after having read one of their comic books, Detective Dan
33.
Batman
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Batman is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, originally named the Bat-Man, the character is also referred to by such epithets as the Caped Crusader, the Dark Knight, and the Worlds Greatest Detective. Batmans secret identity is Bruce Wayne, a wealthy American playboy, philanthropist, after witnessing the murder of his parents Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne as a child, he swore vengeance against criminals, an oath tempered by a sense of justice. Wayne trains himself physically and intellectually and crafts a bat-inspired persona to fight crime, Batman operates in the fictional Gotham City, with assistance from various supporting characters, including his butler Alfred, police commissioner Gordon, and vigilante allies such as Robin. A large assortment of villains make up Batmans rogues gallery, including his archenemy, Batman became popular soon after his introduction in 1939 and gained his own comic book title, Batman, the following year. As the decades went on, differing interpretations of the character emerged, the late 1960s Batman television series used a camp aesthetic, which continued to be associated with the character for years after the show ended. Various creators worked to return the character to his dark roots, the success of Warner Bros. live-action Batman feature films have helped maintain the publics interest in the character. The character has also intrigued psychiatrists, with trying to understand the characters psyche. In 2015, FanSided ranked Batman as number one on their list of 50 Greatest Super Heroes In Comic Book History. Kevin Conroy, Bruce Greenwood, Peter Weller, Anthony Ruivivar, Jason OMara, Batman has been portrayed in both film and television by Lewis Wilson, Robert Lowery, Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale, and Ben Affleck. In early 1939, the success of Superman in Action Comics prompted editors at National Comics Publications to request more superheroes for its titles, in response, Bob Kane created the Bat-Man. Collaborator Bill Finger recalled that Kane had an idea for a character called Batman, I went over to Kanes, and he had drawn a character who looked very much like Superman with kind of. Reddish tights, I believe, with boots, with a small domino mask, swinging on a rope. He had two wings that were sticking out, looking like bat wings. And under it was a big sign, the bat-wing-like cape was suggested by Bob Kane, inspired by Leonardo Da Vincis sketch of an ornithopter flying device as a child. Finger suggested giving the character a cowl instead of a domino mask, a cape instead of wings. Finger said he devised the name Bruce Wayne for the secret identity, Bruce Waynes first name came from Robert Bruce. Wayne, being a playboy, was a man of gentry, I searched for a name that would suggest colonialism
34.
Wonder Woman
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Wonder Woman is a fictional superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character is said to be a member of the Justice League, demigoddess. In her homeland, she is Princess Diana of Themyscira, and outside of her homeland, Wonder Woman was created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston, and artist Harry G. Peter. He and his wife Elizabeths cohabitant, Olive Byrne, is credited as being Marstons inspiration for the characters appearance, Marston drew a great deal of inspiration from early feminists. The character first appeared in All Star Comics #8 in December 1941 and first cover-dated on Sensation Comics #1, the Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986. Wonder Womans origin story relates that she was sculpted from clay by her mother Queen Hippolyta and given life by Athena and her Amazonian-training helped to develop a wide range of extraordinary skills in strategy, hunting, and combat. Many stories depicted Wonder Woman rescuing herself from bondage, which defeated the damsels in distress trope that were common in comics during the 1940s, Wonder Woman has also regularly appeared in comic books featuring the superhero teams Justice Society and Justice League. Attempts to return Wonder Woman to television have included a pilot for NBC in 2011. Gal Gadot portrayed Wonder Woman in the 2016 film Batman v Superman, Dawn of Justice, Gadot will also star in the characters first solo live-action film Wonder Woman, set to be released on June 2,2017. Two months later she was dropped from her role as a UN Ambassador following a petition, in an October 25,1940, interview with the Family Circle magazine, William Moulton Marston discussed the unfulfilled potential of the comic book medium. Marston introduced the idea to Gaines, given the go-ahead, Marston developed Wonder Woman, whom he believed to be a model of that eras unconventional, liberated woman. Marston also drew inspiration from the bracelets worn by Olive Byrne, Wonder Woman debuted in All Star Comics #8, scripted by Marston. Marston was the creator of an apparatus, which was crucial to the development of the polygraph. Marstons experience with polygraphs convinced him that women were more honest in situations different than men, Marston designed Wonder Woman to be an allegory for the ideal love leader, the kind of women who should run society. Wonder Woman is psychological propaganda for the new type of woman who should, I believe, rule the world, Marston wrote. In a 1943 issue of The American Scholar, Marston wrote, Not even girls want to be girls so long as our feminine archetype lacks force, strength, Not wanting to be girls, they dont want to be tender, submissive, peace-loving as good women are. Womens strong qualities have become despised because of their weakness, the obvious remedy is to create a feminine character with all the strength of Superman plus all the allure of a good and beautiful woman. Marston went on record by describing bondage and submission as a respectable and noble practice and this weakness served to subvert the damsel in distress trope, since Wonder Woman inevitably rescues herself
35.
Spider-Man
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Spider-Man is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko, when Spider-Man first appeared in the early 1960s, teenagers in superhero comic books were usually relegated to the role of sidekick to the protagonist. Marvel has featured Spider-Man in several book series, the first. In the 2010s, he joins the Avengers, Marvels flagship superhero team, Spider-Mans nemesis Doctor Octopus also took on the identity for a story arc spanning 2012–2014, following a body swap plot in which Peter appears to die. Spider-Man is one of the most popular and commercially successful superheroes, the character was first portrayed in live action by Nicholas Hammond in the 1977 television movie Spider-Man. Reeve Carney starred as Spider-Man in the 2010 Broadway musical Spider-Man, in 1962, with the success of the Fantastic Four, Marvel Comics editor and head writer Stan Lee was casting about for a new superhero idea. He said the idea for Spider-Man arose from a surge in demand for comic books. At that time Lee had to get only the consent of Marvel publisher Martin Goodman for the characters approval, in a 1986 interview, Lee described in detail his arguments to overcome Goodmans objections. In particular, Lee stated that the fact that it had already decided that Amazing Fantasy would be cancelled after issue #15 was the only reason Goodman allowed him to use Spider-Man. While this was indeed the issue, its editorial page anticipated the comic continuing. Will appear every month in Amazing, regardless, Lee received Goodmans approval for the name Spider-Man and the ordinary teen concept, and approached artist Jack Kirby. Lee and Kirby immediately sat down for a conference, Theakston writes. Steve Ditko would be the inker, when Kirby showed Lee the first six pages, Lee recalled, I hated the way he was doing it. Not that he did it badly—it just wasnt the character I wanted, Lee turned to Ditko, who developed a visual style Lee found satisfactory. Ditko recalled, One of the first things I did was to work up a costume, a vital, visual part of the character. I had to know how he looked, for example, A clinging power so he wouldnt have hard shoes or boots, a hidden wrist-shooter versus a web gun and holster, etc. I wasnt sure Stan would like the idea of covering the characters face and it would also add mystery to the character. Although the interior artwork was by Ditko alone, Lee rejected Ditkos cover art, as Lee explained in 2010, I think I had Jack sketch out a cover for it because I always had a lot of confidence in Jacks covers
36.
Blues Brothers
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The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on Saturday Night Live. The band made its debut as the musical guest on the April 22,1978, episode of Saturday Night Live, after the death of Belushi in 1982, the Blues Brothers have continued to perform with a rotation of guest singers and other band members. The band reformed in 1988 for a tour and again in 1998 for a sequel to the film. They make regular appearances at festivals worldwide. While not all appeared in the original film, the full band included. In it, Howard Shore and his All-Bee Band play the Slim Harpo song Im a King Bee, with Belushi singing and Aykroyd playing harmonica, dressed in the bee costumes they wore for the Killer Bees sketch. Following tapings of SNL, it was popular among cast members and the hosts to attend Aykroyds Holland Tunnel Blues bar. Dan and John filled a jukebox with songs from different artists such as Sam and Dave. John bought an amplifier and they kept some musical instruments there for anyone who wanted to jam and it was also at the bar that Aykroyd introduced Belushi to the blues. An interest soon became a fascination and it wasnt long before the two began singing with local blues bands, jokingly, SNL band leader Howard Shore suggested they call themselves The Blues Brothers. The suits came from the concept that when you were a player in the 40s, 50s 60s, to look straight. The band was also modeled in part on Aykroyds experience with the Downchild Blues Band, one of the first professional blues bands in Canada, as Aykroyd has said of this time, So I grew up, in this capital city. My parents used to work for the government, and I went to school, high school. And there was a place on Sussex Drive, and there was a club there called Le Hibou. I was going to Le Hibou and hearing James Cotton, Otis Spann, Pinetop Perkins, I actually jammed behind Muddy Waters. S. P. Leary left the drum kit one night, and I walked on stage and we started, I dont know, Little Red Rooster, something. He said keep that going, you make Muddy feel good. Many, many times I saw Howlin Wolf, and of course Buddy Guy, Buddy Guy and Junior Wells, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee
37.
Salmon
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Salmon /ˈsæmən/ is the common name for several species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. Other fish in the family include trout, char, grayling. Salmon are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic and Pacific Ocean, many species of salmon have been introduced into non-native environments such as the Great Lakes of North America and Patagonia in South America. Salmon are intensively farmed in parts of the world. Typically, salmon are anadromous, they are born in water, migrate to the ocean. However, populations of species are restricted to fresh water through their lives. Various species of salmon display anadromous life strategies while others display freshwater resident life strategies, folklore has it that the fish return to the exact spot where they were born to spawn, tracking studies have shown this to be mostly true. A portion of a salmon run may stray and spawn in different freshwater systems. The percent of straying depends on the species of salmon, homing behavior has been shown to depend on olfactory memory. The term salmon comes from the Latin salmo, which in turn may have originated from salire, the nine commercially important species of salmon occur in two genera. The genus Salmo contains the Atlantic salmon, found in the north Atlantic, the genus Oncorhynchus contains eight species which occur naturally only in the North Pacific. As a group, these are known as Pacific salmon, Chinook salmon have been introduced in New Zealand and Patagonia. Coho, freshwater sockeye, and Atlantic salmon have established in Patagonia. † Both the Salmo and Oncorhynchus genera also contain a number of species referred to as trout, within Salmo, additional minor taxa have been called salmon in English, i. e. the Adriatic salmon and Black Sea salmon. The steelhead anadromous form of the rainbow trout migrates to sea, also a number of other species have common names which refer to them as being salmon. The British Columbia salmon fossil provides evidence that the divergence between Pacific and Atlantic salmon had not yet occurred 40 million years ago, Both the fossil record and analysis of mitochondrial DNA suggest the divergence occurred by 10 to 20 million years ago. This independent evidence from DNA analysis and the fossil record rejects the theory of salmon divergence. Atlantic salmon reproduce in northern rivers on both coasts of the Atlantic Ocean, landlocked salmon live in a number of lakes in eastern North America and in Northern Europe, for instance in lakes Sebago, Onega, Ladoga, Saimaa, Vänern, and Winnipesaukee
38.
LinkedIn
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LinkedIn is a business and employment-oriented social networking service that operates via websites and mobile apps. Founded on December 28,2002, and launched on May 5,2003, it is used for professional networking, including employers posting jobs. As of 2015, most of the revenue came from selling access to information about its members to recruiters. As of September 2016, LinkedIn had more than 467 million accounts, LinkedIn allows members to create profiles and connections to each other in an online social network which may represent real-world professional relationships. Members can invite anyone to become a connection, the gated-access approach is intended to build trust among the services members. LinkedIn participated in the EUs International Safe Harbor Privacy Principles, the site has an Alexa Internet ranking as the 20th most popular website. According to the New York Times, US high school students are now creating LinkedIn profiles to include with their college applications, LinkedIn filed for an initial public offering in January 2011 and traded its first shares on May 19,2011, under the NYSE symbol LNKD. On June 13,2016, Microsoft announced plans to acquire LinkedIn for $26.2 billion, the acquisition was completed on December 8,2016. The transaction resulted in the payment of approximately $26.4 billion in cash merger consideration, in January 2016, the company had around 9,200 employees. LinkedIns CEO is Jeff Weiner, previously a Yahoo. Inc. executive, founder Reid Hoffman, previously CEO of LinkedIn, is Chairman of the Board. It is funded by Sequoia Capital, Greylock, Bain Capital Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, LinkedIn reached profitability in March 2006. Through January 2011, the company had received a total of $103 million of investment, the company was founded in December 2002 by Reid Hoffman and founding team members from PayPal and Socialnet. com. In late 2003, Sequoia Capital led the Series A investment in the company, in August 2004, LinkedIn reached 1 million users. In March 2006, LinkedIn achieved its first month of profitability, in April 2007, LinkedIn reached 10 million users. In February 2008, LinkedIn launched a version of the site. In October of that year, Silicon Valley Insider ranked the company No.10 on its Top 100 List of most valuable start ups, by December, the company was valued at $1.575 billion in private markets. LinkedIn filed for a public offering in January 2011. The company traded its first shares on May 19,2011, under the NYSE symbol LNKD, shares of LinkedIn rose as much as 171% on their first day of trade on the New York Stock Exchange and closed at $94.25, more than 109% above IPO price
39.
UC Davis
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The University of California, Davis, is a public research university and one of the 10 campuses of the University of California system. It is located in Davis, California, just west of Sacramento, the university has been labeled one of the Public Ivies, a publicly funded university considered to provide a quality of education comparable to those of the Ivy League. The Carnegie Foundation classifies UC Davis as a doctoral research university with a medical program. The UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine is the largest in the United States and has ranked first in the nation for two consecutive years,2015 and 2016. The UC Davis Aggies athletic teams compete in the NCAA Division I level, primarily in the Big West Conference as well as the Big Sky Conference, in its first year of full Division I status,11 UC Davis teams qualified for NCAA post-season competition. In 1905, the California legislature passed the University Farm Bill, the commission took a year to select a site for the campus, a tiny town then known as Davisville. UC Davis opened its doors as the University Farm to 40 degree students from UC Berkeley in January 1909, the Farm was established largely the result of the vision and perseverance of Peter J. Shields, secretary of the State Agricultural Society. The Peter J. Shields Library at UC Davis was named in his honor, Shields began to champion the cause of a University Farm to teach agriculture after learning that California students were going to out-of-state universities to pursue such education. After two failed bills, a law authorizing the creation of a University Farm was passed on March 18,1905, Yolo County, home to some of Californias prime farmland, was chosen as the site. A committee appointed by the Regents purchased land near Davisville in 1906, the Regents officially took control of the property in September 1906 and constructed four buildings in 1907. Short courses were first offered in 1908 and a three-year non-degree program set up in 1909, in 1911, the first class graduated from the University Farm. The Farm accepted its first female students in 1914 from Berkeley, the three-year non-degree program continued until 1923. At that time, a two-year non-degree program began, continuing until 1958, in 1922, a four-year undergraduate general academic program was established, with the first class graduating in 1926. Renamed in 1922 as the Northern Branch of the College of Agriculture, by 1951 it had expanded to a size of 3,000 acres. In 1959, the campus was declared by the Regents of the University of California as the general campus in the University of California system. Davis Graduate Division was established in 1961 followed by the College of Engineering in 1962, the Law School opened for classes in Fall 1966, and the School of Medicine began instruction in Fall 1968. In a period of increasing activism, a Native American studies program was started in 1969, one of the first at a major university, it was later developed as a full department within the university. The incident drew attention and led to further demonstrations, a formal investigation
40.
International Association of Athletics Federations
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The International Association of Athletics Federations is the international governing body for the sport of athletics. It was founded on 17 July 1912 as the International Amateur Athletic Federation by representatives from 17 national athletics federations at the organizations first congress in Stockholm, since October 1993, it has been headquartered in Monaco. Beginning in 1982, the IAAF passed several amendments to its rules to allow athletes to receive compensation for participating in international competitions. However, the organization retained the word amateur in its name until its 2001 congress, the IAAFs president is Sebastian Coe of the United Kingdom. He was elected at the 2015 congress before the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing, the process to found the IAAF was started at a meeting in Stockholm, Sweden on July 17,1912 soon after the completion of the 1912 Summer Olympics in that city. The congress that started on August 20,1913 in Berlin is when the foundation of the IAAF was formally completed, in 2015, a whistleblower leaked IAAFs blood test records from major competitions. After reviewing the results, Robin Parisotto, a scientist and leading anti-doping expert, said, so many athletes appear to have doped with impunity, and it is damning that the IAAF appears to have idly sat by and let this happen. Craig Reedie, president of the World Anti-Doping Agency, said his organisation was very disturbed by these new allegations, which will, once again, shake the foundation of clean athletes worldwide, and that its independent commission will investigate the claims. On 1 November 2015, former IAAF president Lamine Diack was arrested in France and is under investigation on suspicion of corruption, Diack allegedly accepted $1.2 million from the Russian athletics federation to cover up the positive doping tests of at least six Russian athletes in 2011. The report continued that the IAAF allowed the conduct to occur and must accept its responsibility and that corruption was embedded in the organization. In January 2016, as a result of the scandal and WADAs report. The BBC reported that as a result the IAAF would lose $33 million worth of revenue, the 11-year sponsorship deal with Adidas was due to run until 2019. World-record holding sprinter, Michael Johnson, described the scandal as more serious than that faced by FIFA, in February,2016, Nestle announced that it was ending its IAAF sponsorship. In June 2016, following a meeting of the IAAFs ruling council, in Ferbuary 2017, All-Russia Athletic Federation disqualified by decision of the IAAF Council for 8 years for the creation of a doping system. Since the establishment of the IAAF, it has had six presidents, The IAAF has a total of 215 member federations divided into 6 area associations
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Lilac Bloomsday Run
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The Lilac Bloomsday Run, also known as Bloomsday, is an annual timed road race in Spokane, Washington, held on the first Sunday of every May since 1977. The course is 12 km long, the Lilac Bloomsday Run has had over 40,000 participants every year since 1986. Race participation peaked in 1996 with 61,298 registered participants, the number of finishers in 2015 was 43,206. Lineth Chepkurui set an unofficial 12 km world record in the 2010 womens race, don Kardong, who founded the Bloomsday race, cites James Joyces Ulysses as the inspiration for the name Bloomsday. Every finisher of the race receives a Bloomsday T-shirt
United States
Australia
New Zealand
Kenya
Norway
Mexico
Portugal
England
South Africa
Romania
Russia
Morocco
Ukraine
Ethiopia
Burundi
