Rubrik: Worth reading
There are stories, they are so odd that they are hard to believe. Just a few days ago we came across this report, saying some multi-billionaires teamed up in order to buy the Moon. The motive for this unusual proposal is apparently an investment into future projects. It has been known for some time that the Moon could be significant for future utilization by people, and it therefore becomes a lucrative economic investment.
This is particularly about possible mineral resources, but also about the feasibility of creating moon colonies. Meanwhile, scientific studies have shown that the cultivation of plants – observed over extended periods of time – could create something like an atmosphere containing oxygen around the Moon. This is how a colonization on the Moon would be conceivable and it seems to be almost for certain that there should be enough volunteers, who would be willing to move away from Earth.
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Google is on everyone’s lips and in our computer oriented world there is probably not a day, where we don’t encounter the name of the US enterprise with its famous search engine in one form or another. We google – this is how the Oxford English Dictionaries have it since 2006.
Google has demonstrated more than once, how to change the world with unconventional ideas. Since 2007, there is a project, which continues this tradition: the »Google Lunar X Prize«.
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There is a plant called Ipomoea alba in Latin, but it also goes by the name of »Moonflower«, because its blossoms open in the evening and at night and because its round, white shape reminds of the full moon. It is native to tropical and subtropical regions, in particular Argentina, Mexico and Florida. The moonflower is a climbing plant and belongs to the genus ipomoea, incidentally, the same genus as a sweet potato (especially cultivated in China, Nigeria and Uganda).
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“Lady and the Tramp” made in 1955, belongs to one of the most beautiful and most successful cartoons by Walt Disney. The story of the elegant female dog Lady and the fun-loving vagabond Tramp, shows how love can overcome social boundaries. In reality, this is of course a human issue and not one of our four-legged friends. However – as usual with Disney – it has been staged simply convincingly. And this is how a good acquaintance joins Lady and the Tramp in the nightly scenery: the full moon.
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What does an astronaut has on his wrist? You are not going to believe it, but it is something completely earthly: a watch. Because time is, next to the coordinates which show his position in space, the most important information for his mission and his life. And although, astronauts are surrounded by all kind of instruments, it has already been thought of in the beginnings of space travel to equip the crew with wrist watches. Of course with special models only.
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It belongs to one of the more strenuous ideals of our times, wanting to be slim and beautiful and fit. A multi-million industry is connected to this image and people like us, can decide as to how much we want to participate in this game. Most of us have already more of it on their minds as they may actually like to. And since the ideal of the slim and slender body doesn’t happen naturally, people have invented the diet. However, this word derives from the Greek díaita and relates to the correct organization and way of life in general. So losing weight is not actually the focus after all, but rather a life in balance.
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Paul Klee (1879–1940) was a German painter and graphic artist, one of the biggest names of the Classic Modern Era, being the time at the beginning and first half of the 20th century, which was expressed in so many different styles and is nowadays regarded as avant-garde of that time. Paul Klee created cubistic, expressionistic and surrealistic paintings. The names of his friends read like the »who’s who« in the art scene: August Macke, Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc, Walter Gropius, Robert Delaunay, Lyonel Feininger, Alexej von Jawlensky, Pablo Picasso …
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Astrology, the teaching of the interpretation and meaning of star constellations for human life, shows once again the sun’s dominance in our society and the insignificant role the Moon plays. Everyone knows »his/her« sign of the zodiac, meaning the position of the Sun at the time of their birth. If you say, for example, »I am an Aquarius«, you refer to the fact that the Sun was positioned in the astrological sign Aquarius when you were born. Also, some people are still aware of the ascendant, being the sign, which was on the eastern horizon at the time of birth (lat. ascendere = to rise). But which sign the Moon is in their birth horoscope, only very few people know.
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Who does not know the story of Peter Pan, the boy who does not want to grow up. It is already more than 100 years old (premiered as stage play in London in 1904) and has been adapted to countless screen versions. And next to all the imaginative characters, one encounters repeatedly one thing: the full moon.
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In the past, we have already reported about the antiquated word »lunatic«, which derives from the Latin »lunatus« and originally means »influenced by the Moon«. This term »lunatic« has been used in the English language, over several centuries for many forms of mental illnesses.
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