1.
Schenectady, New York
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Schenectady /skᵻˈnɛktədi/ is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 66,135, the name Schenectady is derived from a Mohawk word skahnéhtati meaning beyond the pines. The city was founded on the side of the Mohawk River by Dutch colonists in the 17th century. They were prohibited from the fur trade by the Albany monopoly, residents of the new village developed farms on strip plots along the river. Connected to the west via the Mohawk River and Erie Canal, by 1824 more people worked in manufacturing than agriculture or trade, and the city had a cotton mill, processing cotton from the Deep South. Numerous mills in New York had such ties with the South, the city was part of emerging technologies, with GE collaborating in the production of nuclear-powered submarines and, in the 21st century, working on other forms of renewable energy. The city is in eastern New York, near the confluence of the Mohawk and it is in the same metropolitan area as the state capital, Albany, which is about 19 miles southeast. In December 2014, the announced that the city was one of three sites selected for development of off-reservation casino gambling, under terms of a 2013 state constitutional amendment. The project would redevelop an ALCO brownfield site in the city along the waterfront, with hotels, housing, when first encountered by Europeans, the Mohawk Valley was the territory of the Mohawk nation, one of the Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, or Haudenosaunee. They had occupied territory in the region since at least 1100 AD, in the 1640s, the Mohawk had three major villages, all on the south side of the Mohawk River. The easternmost one was Ossernenon, located about 9 miles west of present-day Auriesville, about 3200 acres of this unique ecosystem are now protected as the Albany Pine Bush. Eventually, this word entered the lexicon of the Dutch settlers, the settlers in Fort Orange used skahnéhtati to refer to the new village at the Mohawk flats, which became known as Schenectady. In 1661 Arent van Curler, a Dutch immigrant bought a big piece of land on the side of the Mohawk River. Other colonists were given grants of land by the government in this portion of the flat fertile river valley. The settlers recognized that these bottomlands had been cultivated for maize by the Mohawk for centuries, Van Curler took the largest piece of land, the remainder was divided into 50-acre plots for the other first fourteen proprietors. As most early colonists were from the Fort Orange area, they may have anticipated working as fur traders, the settlers here turned to farming. Their 50-acre lots were unique for the colony, laid out in strips along the Mohawk River, with the narrow edges fronting the river and they relied on rearing livestock and wheat. From the early days of interaction, early Dutch traders in the valley had unions with Mohawk women and their children were raised within the Mohawk community, which had a matrilineal kinship system, considering children born into the mothers clan
2.
Formula One
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Formula One is the highest class of single-seat auto racing that is sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de lAutomobile. The FIA Formula One World Championship has been the form of racing since the inaugural season in 1950. The formula, designated in the name, refers to a set of rules, the F1 season consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix, held worldwide on purpose-built F1 circuits and public roads. The results of each race are evaluated using a system to determine two annual World Championships, one for drivers, one for constructors. The racing drivers are required to be holders of valid Super Licences, the races are required to be held on tracks graded 1, the highest grade a track can receive by the FIA. Most events are held in locations on purpose-built tracks, but there are several events in city centres throughout the world. Formula One cars are the fastest road racing cars in the world. Formula One cars race at speeds of up to approximately 375 km/h with engines currently limited in performance to a maximum of 15,000 RPM, the cars are capable of lateral acceleration in excess of five g in corners. The performance of the cars is very dependent on electronics – although traction control and other driving aids have been banned since 2008 – and on aerodynamics, suspension, the formula has radically evolved and changed through the history of the sport. F1 had a global television audience of 425 million people during the course of the 2014 season. Grand Prix racing began in 1906 and became the most popular internationally in the second half of the twentieth century. The Formula One Group is the holder of the commercial rights. Its high profile and popularity have created a major merchandising environment, since 2000 the sports spiraling expenditures and the distribution of prize money favoring established top teams have forced complaints from smaller teams and led several teams to bankruptcy. On 23 January 2017 it was confirmed that Liberty Media had completed its $8 billion acquisition of Delta Topco, the Formula One series originated with the European Grand Prix Motor Racing of the 1920s and 1930s. The formula is a set of rules that all cars must meet. Formula One was a new formula agreed upon after World War II during 1946, the first world championship race was held at Silverstone, United Kingdom in 1950. A championship for constructors followed in 1958, national championships existed in South Africa and the UK in the 1960s and 1970s. Non-championship Formula One events were held for years, but due to the increasing cost of competition
3.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
4.
Indianapolis 500
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The Indianapolis 500 is an automobile race held annually at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. The event is held over Memorial Day weekend, which is typically the last weekend in May and it is contested as part of the Verizon IndyCar Series, the top level of American Championship Car racing, an open-wheel formula colloquially known as Indy Car Racing. The name of the race is often shortened to Indy 500, the event, billed as The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, is considered part of the Triple Crown of Motorsport, which comprises three of the most prestigious motorsports events in the world. The official attendance is not disclosed by Speedway management, but the permanent seating capacity is upwards of 250,000, the inaugural running was won by Ray Harroun in 1911. The race celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2011, and the 100th running was held in 2016, alexander Rossi is the defending champion. The most successful drivers are A. J. Foyt, Al Unser, the active driver with the most victories is Hélio Castroneves, with three. Rick Mears holds the record for most career pole positions with six, the most successful car owner is Roger Penske, owner of Team Penske, which has 16 total wins and 17 poles. For a list of races and winners, see List of Indianapolis 500 winners, the Indianapolis 500 is held annually at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a 2.5 mile oval circuit. Drivers race 200 laps, counterclockwise around the circuit, for a distance of 500 miles, since its inception in 1911, the race has always been scheduled on or around Memorial Day. Since 1974, the race has been scheduled for the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, practice and time trials are held in the two weeks leading up to the race. Traditionally, the field consists of 33 starters, aligned in a grid of eleven rows of three cars apiece. The event is contested by Indy cars, a formula of professional-level, single-seat, open cockpit, open-wheel, as of 2015, all entrants utilize 2.2 L V6, twin-turbocharged engines, tuned to produce a range of 550–700 horsepower. Chevrolet and Honda are the current engine manufacturers involved in the sport, firestone, which has a deep history in the sport, dating back to the first 500, is the exclusive tire provider. The race is the most prestigious event of the IndyCar calendar and it has been avouched to be the largest single-day sporting event in the entire world. Likewise, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway itself is regarded as the worlds largest sporting facility in terms of capacity, the total purse exceeded $13 million in 2011, with over $2.5 million awarded to the winner, making it one of the richest cash prize funds in sports. Due to safety issues, the race is not held in wet conditions, in the event of a rain delay, the race will be postponed until rain showers cease, and the track is sufficiently dried. If rain falls during the race, officials can end the race, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway complex was built in 1909 as a gravel-and-tar track and hosted a smattering of small events, including ones for motorcycles. The first long distance event, in conditions, was the 100-lap Prest-O-Lite Trophy in 1909
5.
Reading, Pennsylvania
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Reading, is the county seat of Berks County and with a population of 98,653 is the fifth-largest city in Pennsylvania. Located in southeastern Pennsylvania, it is the city of the Greater Reading Area. Reading Railroad is one of the four properties in the classic United States version of the Monopoly board game. Reading was one of the first localities where outlet shopping became a tourist industry and it has been known as The Pretzel City, because of numerous local pretzel bakeries. Currently, Bachman, Dieffenbach, Tom Sturgis, and Unique Pretzel bakeries call the Reading area home, according to the 2010 census, Reading has the highest share of citizens living in poverty in the nation. In recent years, the Reading area has become a destination for cyclists, with more than 125 miles of trails in five major preserves, it is an International Mountain Bicycling Association Ride Center and it annually hosts the Reading 120 international road cycling race. In April 2017, it was announced that an indoor velodrome, or cycling track, will be built in Reading as the first of its kind on the East Coast and it will also serve as the Cycling Leagues world headquarters. Lenni Lenape people, also known as Delaware Indians, were the inhabitants of the Reading area. The Colony of Pennsylvania was a 1680 land grant from King Charles II of England to William Penn, comprising more than 45,000 square miles, it was named for his father, Sir William Penn. In 1743, Richard and Thomas Penn mapped out the town of Reading with Conrad Weiser, taking its name from Reading, Berkshire, England, the town was established in 1748. Upon the creation of Berks County in 1752, Reading became the county seat, the region was settled by emigrants from southern and western Germany, who bought land from the Penns. The first Amish community in the New World was established in Greater Reading, the Pennsylvanian German dialect was spoken in the area well into the 1950s and later. During the French and Indian War, Reading was a base for a chain of forts along the Blue Mountain. By the time of the American Revolution, the iron industry had a total production which exceeded Englands. That output that would help supply George Washingtons troops with cannons, rifles, during the early period of the conflict, Reading was again a depot for military supply. Hessian prisoners from the Battle of Trenton were also detained here, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was the capital of the United States at the time of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793. President Washington traveled to Reading, and considered making it the national capital. Susanna Cox was tried and convicted for infanticide in Reading in 1809 and her case attracted tremendous sympathy,20,000 viewers came to view her hanging, swamping the 3,000 inhabitants
6.
Offenhauser
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The Offy or Offenhauser Racing Engine is a racing engine design that dominated American open wheel racing for more than 50 years and is still popular among vintage sprint and midget car racers. The Offenhauser engine, familiarly known as the Offy, was developed by Fred Offenhauser, originally, it was sold as a marine engine. In 1930, a four-cylinder 151 cu in Miller engine installed in a car set a new international land speed record of 144.895 mph. Miller developed this engine into an overhead cam, four-cylinder, four-valve-per-cylinder 220 cu in racing engine. Variations of this design would be used in midgets and sprints into the 1960s and they and former Miller employee, draftsman Leo Goossen, further developed the Miller engines into the Offenhauser engines. Then in 1946 the name and engine designs were sold to Louis Meyer, Meyer was bought out by Drake, his wife Eve and their son John in 1965. From then until Drakes son John sold the shop to Stewart Van Dyne and it was under Meyer and Drake that the engine dominated the Indy 500 and midget racing in the United States. One of the keys to the Offenhauser engines success and popularity was its power. A251.92 cubic inch DOHC four-cylinder racing Offy with a 15,1 compression ratio, other variants of the engine produced even higher outputs of 3 hp per cubic inch. Another reason for the success was its reliability, its monobloc construction meant it was not vulnerable to head gasket or cylinder stud problems. From 1934, through the 1970s, the Offenhauser engine dominated American open wheel racing, winning the Indianapolis 50027 times, by then, the company had already been sold, right after World War II, to Meyer and Drake, who continued to build the engines. From 1950 through 1960, Offenhauser-powered cars won the Indy 500, outputs over 1,000 bhp could be attained, using around 44.3 psi of boost pressure. The final 2. 65-litre four-cylindar Offy, restricted to 24.6 psi boost, the Offys final victory came at Trenton in 1978, in Gordon Johncocks Wildcat. The Offenhauser shop began to do work for Lockheed in 1940. The last prewar engine was shipped on July 17,1941, after the Pear Harbor attack, the plant worked overtime on hydraulic systems, getting Fred Offenhauser the money and the fatigue to retire. In 1944, Leo Goossen finally became a full time Offenhauser employee, Offenhauser produced engine blocks in several sizes. These blocks could be bored out or sleeved to vary the cylinder bore, Offenhauser frequently made blocks, pistons, rods, and crankshafts to specific customer requests. In their 11 world championship years, the Meyer-Drake Offenhauser engine partnered for at least one race with the following 35 constructors
7.
Inline-four engine
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The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is a type of inline internal combustion four-cylinder engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or a plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft. Where it is inclined, it is called a slant-four. In a specification chart or when an abbreviation is used, an engine is listed either as I4 or L4. The inline-four layout is in primary balance and confers a degree of mechanical simplicity which makes it popular for economy cars. However, despite its simplicity, it suffers from an imbalance which causes minor vibrations in smaller engines. These vibrations become more powerful as engine size and power increase, the inline-four is the most common engine configuration in modern cars, while the V6 engine is the second most popular. This inline engine configuration is the most common in cars with a displacement up to 3.0 L, in practice, the displacement of inline-four petrol engines in cars rarely exceeds this figure. For example, the largest engine of this form on the U. S. market in model year 2015 is the Toyota 2TR-FE, however, there are some notable exceptions. Early vehicles also tended to have engines with larger displacements to develop horsepower, the Model A Ford was built with a 3.3 L inline-four engine. Inline-four diesel engines, which are lower revving than gasoline engines, Mitsubishi still employs a 3.0 L inline-four diesel. Generally, European and Asian manufacturers of trucks with a vehicle weight rating between 7.5 and 18 tonnes use inline four-cylinder diesel engines with displacements around 5 L. The MAN D0834 engine is a 4.6 L inline-4 with 220 hp and 627 lb·ft, the Isuzu Forward is a medium-duty truck which is available with a 5.2 L inline-four engine that delivers 210 hp and 470 lb·ft. The Hino Ranger is a medium-duty truck which is available with a 5.1 L inline-four engine that delivers 175 hp and 465 lb·ft, the earlier Hino Ranger even had a 5.3 L inline-four engine. The Kubota M135X is a tractor with a 6.1 L inline-four and this turbo-diesel engine has a bore of 118 mm and a relatively long stroke of 140 mm. One of the strongest Powerboat-4-cylinders is the Volvo Penta D4-300 turbodiesel and this is a 3.7 L-inline-4 with 300 hp and 516 lb·ft. Brunswick Marine built a 127 kW3.7 L 4-cylinder gasoline engine for their Mercruiser Inboard/outboard line, the block was formed from one half of a Ford 460 cubic inch V8 engine. This engine was produced in the 1970s and 1980s, One of the largest inline-four engines is the MAN B&W 4K90 marine engine
8.
St. Petersburg, Florida
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St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2015 census estimate, the population was 257,083, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida, St. Petersburg is the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. Together with Clearwater, these comprise the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area, the second-largest in Florida with a population of around 2.8 million, St. Petersburg is located on a peninsula between Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, and is connected to mainland Florida to the north. St. Petersburg was founded in 1888 by John C, Williams, who purchased the land, and by Peter Demens, who brought the railroad industry into the area. St. Petersburg was incorporated as a town on February 29,1892, the city is often referred to by locals as St. Pete. Neighboring St. Pete Beach formally shortened its name in 1994 after a vote by its residents, St. Petersburg is governed by a mayor and city council. With an average of some 361 days of each year. Due to its weather and low cost of living, the city has long been a popular retirement destination. American Style magazine ranked St. Petersburg its top mid-size city in 2011, the city was co-founded by John C. Williams, formerly of Detroit, who purchased the land in 1875, the first major newspaper to debut in Tampa Bay was the St. Petersburg Times which established in 1884. St. Petersburg was incorporated as a town on February 29,1892, a local legend says that John C. Williams and Peter Demens flipped a coin to see who would have the honor of naming the city. The Detroit Hotel still exists downtown, but has turned into a condominium. The oldest running hotels are the historic Pier Hotel, built in 1921, formally Hotel Cordova and The Heritage Hotel, Philadelphia publisher F. A. Davis turned on St. Petersburgs first electrical service in 1897 and its first trolley service in 1904. Within a year, Hibbs Fish Company was shipping more than 1,000 pounds of fish each day, St. Petersburg was incorporated into a city in June 1903. With this transition, the development of the waterfront had dredging of a deeper shipping channel from 1906 to 1908 which opened St. Petersburg to larger shipping. Further dredging improved the facilities through the 1910s. By then the population had quadrupled to a population of 4,127 citizens
9.
Kurtis Kraft
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Kurtis Kraft was an American designer and builder of race cars. The company built cars, quartermidgets, sports cars, sprint cars, Bonneville cars. It was founded by Frank Kurtis when he built his own midget car chassis in the late 1930s, Kurtis built some very low fiberglass bodied two-seaters sports cars under his own name in Glendale, California between 1949 and 1955. About 36 cars had made when the licence was sold to Madman Muntz who built the Muntz Jet. In 1954 and 1955, road versions of their Indianapolis racers were offered, Kurtis Kraft created over 550 ready-to-run midget cars, and 600 kits. The Kurtis Kraft chassis midget car featured a version of the Offenhauser motor. The National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame describes the combination as virtually unbeatable for over twenty years, Kurtis Kraft also created 120 Indianapolis 500 cars, including five winners. Kurtis sold the midget car portion of the business to Johnny Pawl in the late 1950s, Frank Kurtis was the first non-driver inducted in the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame. Zeke Justice and Ed Justice of the Justice Brothers both worked at Kurtis-Kraft after World War II, zeke Justice was the first employee at Kurtis-Kraft. The FIA World Drivers Championship included the Indianapolis 500 between 1950 and 1960, so many Kurtis Kraft cars are credited with competing in that championship, One Kurtis midget car was also entered in the 1959 Formula One United States Grand Prix driven by Rodger Ward. It was not designed for European-style road racing and with an engine it circulated at the back of the field for 20 laps before retiring with clutch problems. From 1950 to 1960, the Indianapolis 500 was part of the FIA World Championship
10.
1948 Indianapolis 500
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The 32nd International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 31,1948. For the second year in a row, the Blue Crown Spark Plug teammates Mauri Rose, Rose became the second driver to win the Indianapolis 500 in consecutive years. Unlike the previous race, no controversy surrounds the results. Coupled with his co-victory in 1941, Rose became the third winner at Indy. Fourth place finisher Ted Horn completed a record of nine consecutive races from 1936-1948 completing 1,799 out of a possible 1,800 laps. His nine consecutive finishes of 4th or better is the best such streak in Indy history, the only lap he missed in 1940 was due to being flagged for a rain shower. Duke Nalons third-place finish would be the result for the popular Novi engine. First alternate, Johnny Shackleford The race was carried live on the Mutual Broadcasting System, the broadcast was sponsored by Perfect Circle Piston Rings and Bill Slater served as the anchor. The broadcast feature live coverage of the start, the finish, sid Collins, from WIBC, joined the crew for the first time, serving as a turn reporter at the south end of the track
American