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The word "kimono" consists of two parts, ki (wear) and mono (thing), thus meaning a "thing to wear".
Kimonos convey a lot of information about its wearer, such as age, personality, marital and financial status. Fabric, colour patterns, form and accessories convey this information and also show the level of formality. For instance, kimonos worn by young unmarried women have longer sleeves and usually are more elaborate.
There are many patterns of kimono for different seasons: for example, cherry blossoms for spring, bamboo or pine trees for winter.
The typical woman's kimono consists of twelve or more pieces to be worn and secured in certain ways, and usually an assistant (kimono dresser) is needed to put it on. Kimonos are always wrapped with the left side over the right, except when used as a burial garment.
Word "fascism" originates from Italian fascio meaning "group, association". In 1919 Benito Mussolini formed the anti-communist political movement called partito nazionale fascista.
Initially, Nazis called themselves Nasos (the abbreviation for National Socialist German Workers’ Party). Later journalist and writer Konrad Heiden used the word "nazi" as a derogatory term: "nazi" is derived from Bavarian word that means "simple-minded."
To confuse Japanese U.S. Marine Corps employed over 300 Navajo-speaking American Indians as radio code talkers for their radio transmissions in the Pacific.
The Statue of Liberty officially known as the Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World was a gift of friendship from France in recognition of the friendship established during the American Revolution.
The statue dedicated on October 28, 1886 was a joint effort between America and France. It was agreed upon that the American people were to build the pedestal, and the French people were responsible for the Statue and its assembly in the United States. In both countries various forms of entertainment and lotteries were organized to raise funds.
In America, fund raising for the pedestal was going particularly slowly, and Joseph Pulitzer (who established the Pulitzer Prize) used his newspaper to criticize both the rich and the middle class who failed to finance and donate. Pulitzer's campaign was a success, and it also helped to promote his newspaper adding about 50,000 subscribers in the course of the statue campaign effort.
Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota, US, is a memorial that represents sculptures of four U.S. Presidents – George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. The sculptures are 18 m (60-foot) high, and the entire carving covers 5.17 sq. km (1,278 acres).
According to National Park Service, the memorial attracts around 2 million people annually.
The mount was named after Charles E. Rushmore, a prominent New York lawyer, in 1885. The purpose of carving project that started in 1927 and cost $989,992.32 was to attract tourists to the Black Hills region of South Dakota. Nearly 400 workers were involved in this project. 90% of the mountain was carved using dynamite.
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent (the first is Asia) covering 20.3% of the total Earth's land area.
Africa's largest country is Republic of Sudan, and its smallest country is The Seychelles. Largest city is Cairo, Egypt with 9.2 million people.
The most populated country is Nigeria (over 130 million in 2005) which name suggested by The Times's editor in 1897 is the combination of words "Niger" (country’s longest river) and "Area". Nigeria is the 12th largest producer of petroleum in the world.
In 2003 36.2% of Africans lived on under $1 per day.
Africa is the oldest inhabited territory on earth – anthropologists' discoveries prove that humans appeared here perhaps as early as 7 million years ago.
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