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The art of bonsai originated from China over two thousand years ago, where it has been called penzai, it spread to Korea during the Tang or Song Dynasty (the 7th–13th century). As the Chinese art is intended for outdoor display the plants tend to be some what larger than seen in Japanese bonsai. A bonsai is not a genetically dwarfed plant; it is kept small by shaping and root pruning.

Photo credit: USDA-ARS
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The Eagle Nebula (also known as Messier Object 16, M16 or NGC 6611) is a young open cluster of stars. The nebula is an active region of star formation. Light from the bright, hot, young stars near the centre of the cluster illuminate the clouds of hydrogen gas and dust still collapsing to form new stars.

As projected on the sky, the Eagle Nebula lies in the constellation of Serpens Cauda. In three dimensions, it is relatively close to the Solar System being some 7,000 light years away on the edge of the Sagittarius Arm, the next nearest spiral arm towards the centre of the Milky Way.

In fact, when the picture is not coloured, is only red colored, the "Eagle" can be seen as a dark spot in the center of the nebula.

Photo credit: NASA
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A barrel organ is a mechanical musical instrument made of a series of pipes, and bellows, like any other traditional organ, and of a cylinder studded with staples or bridges or pins corresponding in their placement to a particular tune. The continuous rotation of the barrel causes the staples to come into contact with levers and rods which open valves to let air from the bellows into the organ pipes. The bellows is usually actuated by the same power source which, through reduction gearing or worm gearing, causes the drum to slowly turn around.

Photo credit: Chepry
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Hebe is a genus of plants native to New Zealand and other temperate regions of the southern hemisphere. They are commonly cultivated as decorative, evergreen garden shrubs and often used for groundcover.

Hebes have perfect flowers (with both male and female reproductive parts), which are arranged in a spiked inflorescence.

This particular example is Hebe x franciscana, also known as 'Blue Gem' Veronica. It is a cultivated hybrid between Hebe elliptica and Hebe speciosa.

Photo credit: Fir0002
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The Tughra (طغراء) of Mahmud II. A tughra is a Turkish paisley-like calligraphic seal or signature used at the beginning of sultans' decrees. These colorful emblems incorporated the ruler's name and title in intricate vegetal inscriptions designed by neshanis, or court calligraphers. Parallel to the European signet, tughras often appeared on coins and stamps of the Ottoman Empire.

Photo credit: Baba66
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Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii was a Russian pioneer of colour photography. This view of Lugano was most likely taken in 1909.

Although James Clerk Maxwell made the first colour photograph in 1861, the results were far from realistic until Prokudin-Gorskii perfected the technique with a series of improvements around 1905. His process used a camera that took a series of monochrome pictures in rapid sequence, each through a different coloured filter. Prokudin-Gorskii then went on to document much of the country of Russia, travelling by train in a specially equipped darkroom railroad car.

Photo credit: Prokudin-Gorskii
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Taking its name from a small, maneuverable fighting frigate, the first Chevrolet Corvettes were virtually handbuilt in Flint, Michigan. The outer body was made out of a revolutionary new composite material called fiberglass, offering the strength of steel without the weight. The tradition continues even today, as no Corvette has ever had anything other than a fiberglass outer skin..

Photo credit: Softeis
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The plough is a development of the pick, and was initially pulled by oxen or humans, and later horses. Modern ploughs are, in industrialized countries, powered by tractors. Ploughing has several beneficial effects. The major reason for ploughing is to incorporate the residue from the previous crop into the soil. Ploughing also reduces the prevalence of weeds in the fields, and makes the soil more porous, easing later planting.

Photo credit: Marcela
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The natural range of the Marginated Tortoise is southern Greece, from the Peloponnesus to Mount Olympus. They are also found in isolated zones of the Balkans and Italy, with a somewhat broader range in northeastern Sardinia. The primary food for these tortoises are plants from their native Mediterranean region. Early in the morning, they leave their nightly shelter and bask in the sun to raise their body temperature. Then they go in search of food. In captivity, the primary foodstuffs are dandelions, clover and various varieties of lettuce.

Photo credit: Richard Mayer
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The Mark 48 torpedo, carried by all U.S. Navy submarines, is designed to combat fast, deep-diving nuclear-powered submarines and high performance surface ships. In this test, an Australian submarine fired a Mark-48 war-shot torpedo at the 28 year old former Destroyer Escort Torrens. The torpedo detonated underneath the hull as designed and broke the destroyer in two.

Photo credit: United States Navy
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The Weedy sea dragon is a marine fish related to the seahorse. They are native to the shallow water around the southern coastline of Australia, between Port Stephens and Geraldton, as well as Tasmania.

Weedy sea dragons are named for the weed-like projections on their bodies, which serve to camouflage them as they move among the seaweed beds where they are usually found.

Photo credit: Rling
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Unlike many insects, butterflies do not experience a nymph period, but instead go through four stages: Egg, Larva, Pupa and Imago. The adult butterflies have four wings, but unlike moths, the fore and hindwings are not hooked together, permitting a more graceful flight. Some butterflies have evolved 'eye' like markings on their wings, scaring off some birds, or allowing the butterfly a chance of escaping in the confusion when the bird simply pokes a hole in one of the wings.

Photo credit: Fir0002
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Sake is a Japanese alcoholic beverage, brewed from rice. In Japan, the word simply means alcoholic beverage. As with other alcohol in Japan, sake is poured with the palm of the hand facing down and the back of the hand facing up, particularly when it is poured for another person. Pouring with the palm of the hand facing up is considered rude and is likely to elicit surprise and disapproval.

Photo credit: Dan Smith
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In most cases fleas are just a nuisance to their hosts, but some people and some animals suffer allergic reactions to flea saliva resulting in rashes, bites generally result in the formation of a slightly-raised swollen itching spot. However, fleas can transmit disease. One devastating example of this was the bubonic plague, transmitted between rodents and humans.

In 1664 Robert Hooke's Micrographia was the first book to describe the microscopic world and included many of his highly detailed hand drawn illustrations such as this flea. Micrographia was a bestseller in its day.

Photo credit: Robert Hooke
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Cockroaches are often found around garbage and in the kitchen. Female cockroaches, or henroaches, are sometimes seen carrying egg cases on the end of their abdomen. The eggs hatch from the combined pressure of the hatchlings gulping air and are initially bright white nymphs that continue inflating themselves with air and harden and darken within about 4 hours. Their transient white stage while hatching and later while molting has led to many individuals claiming to have seen albino cockroaches.

The world's largest cockroach is the Australian giant burrowing cockroach, which can grow to 90 mm in length and weigh more than 30 grams.

Photo credit: Joăo Estęvăo A. de Freitas
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The planes that serve as Air Force One can be operated as a military command center in the event of an incident such as a nuclear attack. Operational modifications include aerial refueling capability, electronic countermeasures (ECMs) which jam enemy radar, and flares to avoid heat-seeking missiles. The heavily shielded electronics onboard include around twice the amount of wiring found in a regular 747.

Photo credit: United States Air Force
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Photo credit: Rick Dikeman
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