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Fairy Tale
A fairy tale, fairytale, wonder tale, magic tale, or Märchen is an instance of a folklore genre that takes the form of a short story. Such stories typically feature entities such as dwarfs, dragons, elves, fairies, giants, gnomes, goblins, griffins, mermaids, talking animals, trolls, unicorns, or witches, and usually magic or enchantments. In most cultures, there is no clear line separating myth from folk or fairy tale; all these together form the literature of preliterate societies. Fairy tales may be distinguished from other folk narratives such as legends (which generally involve belief in the veracity of the events described) and explicit moral tales, including beast fables. In less technical contexts, the term is also used to describe something blessed with unusual happiness, as in "fairy-tale ending" (a happy ending) or "fairy-tale romance". Colloquially, the term "fairy tale" or "fairy story" can also mean any far-fetched story or tall tale; it is used especially of any story that not only is not true, but could not possibly be true. Legends are perceived as real; fairy tales may merge into legends, where the narrative is perceived both by teller and hearers as being grounded in historical truth. However, unlike legends and epics, fairy tales usually do not contain more than superficial references to religion and to actual places, people, and events; they take place "once upon a time" rather than in actual times. Fairy tales occur both in oral and in literary form; the name "fairy tale" ("conte de fées" in French) was first ascribed to them by Madame d'Aulnoy in the late 17th century. Many of today's fairy tales have evolved from centuries-old stories that have appeared, with variations, in multiple cultures around the world. The history of the fairy tale is particularly difficult to trace because only the literary forms can survive. Still, according to researchers at universities in Durham and Lisbon, such stories may date back thousands of years, some to the Bronze Age more than 6,500 years ago. Fairy tales, and works derived from fairy tales, are still written today. Folklorists have classified fairy tales in various ways. The Aarne-Thompson classification system and the morphological analysis of Vladimir Propp are among the most notable. Other folklorists have interpreted the tales' significance, but no school has been definitively established for the meaning of the tales.
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  • 17 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Mars Multispectral Imager for Subsurface Studies
Mars Multispectral Imager for Subsurface Studies (MA-MISS) is a miniaturized imaging spectrometer designed to provide imaging and spectra by reflectance in the near-infrared (NIR) wavelength region and determine the mineral composition and stratigraphy. The instrument is part of the science payload on board the European Rosalind Franklin rover, tasked to search for biosignatures, and scheduled to land on Mars in spring 2023. MA-MISS is essentially inside a drill on the Rover, and will take measurements of the sub-surface directly. MA-MISS will help on the search for biosignatures by studying minerals and ices in situ before the collection of samples. The instrument is integrated within the Italian core drill system called DEEDRI, and it will be dedicated to in situ studies of the mineralogy inside the excavated holes in terms of visible and infrared spectral reflectance. The Principal Investigator is Maria Cristina De Sanctis, from the INAF (Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica) in Italy.
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  • 16 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Swissindo World Trust International Orbit
This article is about a new religious movement in Indonesia. For more information regarding religion in Indonesia, see Religion in Indonesia. Swissindo World Trust International Orbit is a religious movement established in 2010 concerned with eliminating the debt of every individual on Earth. It originated in West Java, Indonesia and is led by Sino Soegihartonotonegoro. The organisation has members from a vast array of nations including the United States , Australia and the Netherlands. Due to its illegal financial practices, the Cirebon office of the Financial Services Authority has conducted an investigation into Swissindo. The organisation has been criticised for targeting poor and marginalised communities. Swissindo asserts its mission is to create “Heaven on Earth” through various means.
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  • 16 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Exmoor Group
The Exmoor Group is a late Devonian to early Carboniferous lithostratigraphic group (a sequence of rock strata) in southwest England whose outcrop extends from Croyde in north Devon east across Exmoor to Minehead in west Somerset. Each of these divisions has been given different names by different authors in the past including those shown in brackets above. Some that had been classed as 'formations' (or even in one case as a 'group') are now 'members'.
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  • 16 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Kroogi
Kroogi [Russian: Круги, translation: circles, http://kroogi.com/] is a “content community” where musicians, painters, writers, videographers, photographers, and other users and organizations, that wish to share their projects with the world, showcase their work. Their supporters can follow their activity, download content, and make monetary contributions. Kroogi encourages its users to support artists and their projects through voluntary contributions, and by promoting artistic content. Users pay for downloading content based on a “Pay what you want” model, which allows fans and followers to set their own price for artists’ work. Artists also have the option of setting a minimum necessary contribution for downloads.
  • 983
  • 16 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Mode (Computer Interface)
In user interface design, a mode is a distinct setting within a computer program or any physical machine interface, in which the same user input will produce perceived results different to those that it would in other settings. The best-known modal interface components are probably the Caps lock and Insert keys on the standard computer keyboard, both of which put the user's typing into a different mode after being pressed, then return it to the regular mode after being re-pressed. An interface that uses no modes is known as a modeless interface. Modeless interfaces avoid mode errors by making it impossible for the user to commit them.
  • 2.9K
  • 16 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Lazar Armored Vehicle
LAZAR is an 8×8 multi-role military vehicle family produced by the Serbian defence industry company Yugoimport SDPR.
  • 2.5K
  • 16 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Tudor Rose
The Tudor rose (sometimes called the Union rose) is the traditional floral heraldic emblem of England and takes its name and origins from the House of Tudor, which united the House of Lancaster and the House of York. The Tudor rose consists of five white inner petals, representing the House of York, and five red outer petals to represent the House of Lancaster.
  • 4.3K
  • 16 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Medical Model of Autism
The medical model of autism encourages continual research into the causes of autism, with the primary goal of finding a way to prevent or cure autism. This is a subset of the medical model of disability in general. The model advocates a variety of goals including increased awareness of autism prevalence, earlier and more accessible diagnosis, elimination of autistic behaviors through therapies such as applied behavior analysis, identification of environmental factors that may cause autism in infancy, and identification of a genetic marker to allow testing for autism in utero. Advocates for the medical model believe that autism is a disorder caused by genetic defects or environmental harm, that the value of talents attributed to autism does not outweigh the deficits, and that most autistic people would be better off if they were not autistic. For instance, then-president Liz Feld of Autism Speaks stated that one-third of people with autism also have a seizure disorder, half suffer serious digestive complications, 49 percent wander, and more than 30 percent are nonverbal. Many organizations subscribe to the medical model, most of which have non-profit status. The autism rights and neurodiversity movements are critics of the medical view.
  • 5.7K
  • 16 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Australian Raven
The Australian raven (Corvus coronoides) is a passerine bird in the genus Corvus native to much of southern and northeastern Australia. Measuring 46–53 centimetres (18–21 in) in length, it has all-black plumage, beak and mouth, as well as strong grey-black legs and feet. The upperparts are glossy, with a purple, blue, or green sheen, and its black feathers have grey bases. The Australian raven is distinguished from the Australian crow species by its throat hackles, which are prominent in adult birds. Older adult individuals have white irises, younger adults have white irises with an inner blue rim, while younger birds have dark brown irises until fifteen months of age, and hazel irises with an inner blue rim around each pupil until age two years and ten months. Nicholas Aylward Vigors and Thomas Horsfield described the Australian raven in 1827, its species name (coronoides) highlighting its similarity with the carrion crow (C. corone). Two subspecies are recognized, which differ slightly in calls and are quite divergent genetically. The preferred habitat is open woodland and transitional zones. It has adapted well to urban environments and is a common city bird in Sydney, Canberra, and Perth. An omnivorous and opportunistic feeder, it eats a wide variety of plant and animal material, as well as food waste from urban areas. In eastern Australia, its range is strongly correlated with the presence of sheep, and it has been blamed for killing lambs. However, this is very rare, and the raven most often scavenges for afterbirth and stillborn animals as well as newborn lamb faeces. The Australian raven is territorial, with pairs generally bonding for life. Breeding takes place between July and September, with almost no variation across its range. The nest is a bowl-shaped structure of sticks sited high in a tree, or occasionally in a man-made structure such as a windmill or other building. File:An audio recording of an Australian Raven (Corvus coronoides).wav
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  • 21 Nov 2022
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