President

A president is the leader of a country. The president of a country is not the same thing as a prime minister. A prime minister is part of a parliament, but a president is not.

The first usage of the word president to denote the highest official in a government was during the Commonwealth of England. After the abolition of the monarchy the English Council of State, whose members were elected by the House of Commons, became the executive government of the Commonwealth. The Council of State was headed by a Lord President, the first of which was John Bradshaw. However, the Lord President alone was not head of state, because that office was vested in the council as a whole.

John Bradshaw (July 15, 1602 – October 31, 1659) 

The modern usage of the term president to designate a single person who is the head of state of a republic can be traced directly to the United States Constitution of 1787, which created the office of President of the United States.

Mexico had its first black president 180 years before the United States: Vicente Guerrero, who was one of the leading fighters for independence from Spain, was of half-African descent and later became the second president of Mexico, abolishing slavery during his brief presidency in 1829.

The meeting of presidents President Taft and Díaz in Mexico in 1909 was the first between a president of the United States and a president of Mexico. Because both presidents were bilingual there was no need for interpreters. No one else attended the meeting where they spent 20 minutes alone

Pedro Lascuráin was President of Mexico for 45 minutes in 1913; this is the shortest term to date of any person as president of any country.

When Argentine president Juan Perón died on July 1, 1974, he was succeeded by his wife and vice president, Isabel, who became the first female president of any country in the world. She served as president of Argentina until March 24, 1976.

Isabel Martínez de Perón

When Eamon De Valera reached the end of his second term as President of Ireland in 1973 at the age of 91, he was the oldest head of state of any country in the world.

When Shimon Peres stepped down as Israel’s president in July 2014, President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe (born February 21, 1924) assumed the mantle of the world’s oldest head of state.

Robert Mugabe in May 2015 By Kremlin.ru, Wikipedia

Hery Rajaonarimampianina, the president of Madagascar from January 2014 to September 2018  held the world record of the head of state with the longest family name.

Prehistoric Man (Diet)

The first humans discovered how to make fire by rubbing two sticks together. The control of fire meant that food, in particular meat, could be eaten cooked. This was a development that had a crucial effect on the anatomy of the eaters. Cooked meat was easier to chew, a factor that contributed to the decrease in size of the jaw and the consequent increase in cranial capacity.

Meat was the main source of food for prehistoric humans. Reindeer meat was a widespread food. Hunters stalked and killed the reindeer which they found crossing their territory and their lives followed the rhythm of the herds' migrations. Other widespread meats were wild Ox and Mammoth, the latter being in America the principle source of meat.

Prehistoric humans lived a nomadic lifestyle, but always stayed close to a water source to ensure they did not become thirsty. Drinking vessels were often made from animal skins, which adapted well to life on the move.

Prehistoric man used flints to cut meat and dig for vegetables. The flint-maker utilized a rock to chip off the pieces of flint, or it was prepared by hitting it against a large stone set on the ground. Tree bark, seashells or tortoise shells were used as containers to collect, transport, preserve, cook and eat food. Spoons cut in a simple fashion out of wood, bone or shells were used both to prepare and eat the meal.

Nettle pudding was a staple of Stone Age man, who made it by mixing nettles and other leaves such as dandelion and sorrel, with barley flour, salt and water.

Almost as old was smoky stew, made with bacon and smoked fish, and meat pudding, a foreunner of haggis and sausages.

Roast hedgehog was a firm favourite 8000 years ago.

Source Food For Thought by Ed Pearce

Presbyterianism

In Scotland the Archbishop of St Andrews, Cardinal David Beaton was the main obstacle to the Reformation. On May 29, 1546 some frustrated Protestants led by Norman Leslie and his nephew William Kirkaldy stormed his castle at daybreak, burst into his room and started to stab him with repeated blows of their swords. Suddenly one of the party James Melville, held up his hand and cried "Stop! This is not being done godly. Let us pray!" So they get on their knees and prayed after which they finish off their butchering of the cardinal before hanging his body out of the window.

At the time it was widely believed that Beaton's death was in the interests of Henry VIII of England, who regarded the cardinal as the chief obstacle to his policy in Scotland; Beaton's murder was certainly a significant point in the eventual triumph of Protestantism north of the Border.

In 1560 The Scottish Parliament, influenced by the incendiary fiery sermons of John Knox, overthrew the pope's authority and forbids the saying of Mass, thus giving birth to the Presbyterian Church of Scotland.

Statue of John Knox, a leading figure of the Scottish Reformation.

Presbyterian churches derive their name from the presbyterian form of church government, which is governed by representative assemblies of elders.

Irishman Francis Makemie (1658–1708) was ordained by the Presbytery of Laggan, in West Ulster, in 1681. At the request of Colonel William Stevens, an Episcopalian from Rehobeth, Maryland, Rev. Makemie was sent as a missionary to America, arriving in Maryland two years later.

Makemie initially preached in Somerset County, Maryland and established the Rehobeth Presbyterian Church the oldest Presbyterian Church in America, near the Coventry Parish Church which Col. Stevens attended.

Rehoboth Presbyterian Church By Jweaver28 - photographed, 

Around the same time, the Irish clergyman founded a Presbyterian community in the town of Snow Hill in the eastern part of Somerset County, with Makemie himself the moderator.

Makemie later arranged for four other Irish Presbyterian ministers to come over to build parishes on the Eastern coastline.

The United Reformed church was formed in England in 1972 by the union of the Congregational and Presbyterian denominations.

Pregnancy

HISTORY

Ancient Egyptians had a 70% accurate method for detecting pregnancy: a woman would wee on two bags; one filled with wheat seed and the other barley seed. If they sprouted, it means she was pregnant. If the wheat grew faster it was a girl. If the barley did, then it was a boy. Researchers tested the method in 1963 and found the test was about 70% accurate.

Ancient Greeks believed pregnancy could be prevented if a woman held her breath during intercourse and sneezed afterwards.

There was a fashion in England for pregnancy portraits in the years around 1600.

English "pregnancy portrait" of an unknown lady, attributed to Marcus Gheeraerts II, c. 1595

The experiments of the Italian priest-biologist Lazzaro Spallanzani (January 10, 1729 – February 12, 1799) showed that semen is necessary for fertilization. Spallanzani discovered and described mammal reproduction, showing that it requires both semen and an ovum. He was the first to perform in vitro fertilization, with frogs, and an artificial insemination, using a dog.

Spallanzani

Field Marshal von Blücher, the Prussian Commander at Waterloo, once suffered a breakdown, during which he lost his sight and suffered a delusion that a burly French grenadier had impregnated him with a baby elephant. Wellington recalled that Blücher would repeatedly shout in French about his pregnancy to anyone who cared.

Pregnancy tests in 1927 used to consist of injecting a female's urine into a mouse. It was based upon the observation that when urine from a woman in the early months of pregnancy is injected into immature female mice, the ovaries of the mice enlarge and show follicular maturation. The test was considered reliable, with an error rate of less than 2%.

In December 1952 I Love Lucy became the first television show to acknowledge pregnancy. 71.7% of all television sets in the United States were tuned into the following month to watch Lucille Ball give birth. The original air date was chosen to coincide with Ball's real-life delivery of her son by Caesarean section.

In the 50s, CBS deemed the word "pregnant", too vulgar for air on I Love Lucy.

British obstetrician and gynaecologist Patrick Steptoe and biologist and physiologist Robert Edwards announced the fertilization of human eggs outside the body in 1969. Louise Joy Brown, the first test-tube baby, was born nine years later.

The first successful transfer of an embryo from one human to another resulting in pregnancy was reported in July 1983. It subsequently led to the announcement of the first human birth on February 3, 1984 at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. The procedure was carried out under the direction of Dr. John Buster of the University of California at Los Angeles School of Medicine. The sperm used in the artificial insemination came from the husband of the woman who bore the baby.

FUN PREGNANCY FACTS

The average number of days mums-to-be are pregnant, from fertilization to giving birth, is 270 (38 weeks and four days) but it can vary by as much as 37 days.

49% of pregnancies in the U.S. are unintended.

During pregnancy, when the baby is growing inside the mother and is almost developed, if the mother suffers injuries or some kind of disease, the baby can pass on some of its cells to help its mother heal.

African Elephants have the longest pregnancy of any mammal at 22 months.

The longest gestation period of any vertebrate belongs to the frilled shark, who carry their young for 3.5 years.

Pandas have been known to fake pregnancies in order to receive more food and special treatment from humans.

Praying mantis

The Mantis is a type of insect. They are usually known as praying mantids because of their prayer-like stance.

Over 2,400 species of mantis in about 430 genera are recognized. They are predominantly found in tropical regions, but some live in temperate areas.

In Europe, the name "praying mantis" refers to only a single species, Mantis religiosa.

Praying mantis by Shiva shankar - Taken at karkala, Karnataka, India. Wikipedia

The movement of the Mantis' head is remarkably flexible. It gives nearly 300 degrees of movement in some species. The praying mantis is the only insect that can turn its head.

The male praying mantis cannot copulate while its head is attached to its body. The female initiates mating by ripping the male's head off.

The male praying mantis has an extra "brain" in its rear, which controls the necessary motions for copulation. This means the mantis can continue mating after the female has eaten his head.

Being devoured by his mate improves a male praying mantis' genetic success by increasing the number of eggs laid by his partner.

The Praying Mantis is the only insect known to have 3D vision, although they only see in black and white.

Head of Archimantis latistyla, showing the compound eyes and labrum. By Fir0002 

The praying mantis has only one ear, which is located on the underside of its belly, just forward of its hind legs.

They are the only creature on Earth with a single ear.

The mantis cannot discriminate the direction of sound, nor its frequency.

Their diet usually consists of living insects, including flies and aphids. Larger species have been known to prey on small lizards, birds, frogs, snakes, and even rodents.

They either camouflage themselves and remain stationary, waiting for prey to approach, or stalk their prey with slow, stealthy movements.

Malaysian orchid mantises are camouflaged, matching the coloration of local orchids. I, Luc Viatour,

The Praying Mantis can detect movement up to 60 feet away.

The Swagap tribe, who belong to the indigenous tribes of Papua New Guinea, worship the praying mantis.

Prayer

Prayer is a personal communion with God.

In early 1952, during the Korean War, evangelist Billy Graham led a movement for a US National Day of Prayer, On February 3, 1952, he led services for approximately 20,000 on the steps of the Capitol. A couple of months later President Harry S. Truman signed a bill proclaiming a National Day of Prayer to be observed on July 4, 1952.  In 1988, the law was amended by President Ronald Reagan so that the National Day of Prayer would be held on the first Thursday of May. It has been proclaimed each year on that date since.

CHRISTIAN PRAYER

The classic contents of Christian prayer are adoration, thanksgiving, confession and petition.

The most recognized prayers in the Christian Bible are the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9–13; Luke 11:2–4) and the Grace (2 Corinthians 13:14).

The Lord's Prayer James Tissot

Other well-known Biblical prayers include the Song of Moses (Exodus 15:1–18), the Song of Hannah (1 Samuel 2:1–10), and the Magnificat (Luke 1:46–55). In addition, the longest book in the Bible is the Book of Psalms, 150 religious songs which are often regarded as prayers.

The Lord's Prayer was given that title by Cyprian of Carthage writing around AD 252.

The early church took over the Jewish attitude of prayer, which was to pray standing with hands outstretched and the palms upwards. Later, Tertuillian was to say that this depicted the attitude of Jesus upon the cross.

Tradition says that James, the brother of Jesus, was a man of such devotion, that he prostrated himself so much in prayer that “The skin of his knees and forehead were hardened like a camel’s hooves.”

The first pretzels were made by medieval monks at a monastery on the border between France and Italy. They folded scraps of dough to look like a child's arms in prayer.

In England, Parliament passed the Act of Uniformity on January 21, 1549, authorising the first English Book of Common Prayer. It was mainly the work of King Edward VI's adviser Thomas Cranmer and was intended to be the basis for worship throughout the Anglican Church.  Criticised by Protestants for being too traditional, it was replaced by the significantly revised 1552 Book of Common Prayer.

During the 18th century Danish Colonization of Greenland, missionary Hans Egede found that local Inuit had no concept for what bread was and so he changed the Lord’s Prayer to say "Give us this day our daily seal."

In 1940 After Hitler’s Nazis invaded France and Belgium, the British Army found itself trapped in northern France standing alone against Germany. King George VI, acting upon the wishes of newspapers and a recommendation from Winston Churchill issued a call to the nation for a National Day of prayer.  The British Christians flocked to the churches to such an extent that many were unable to get into a packed Westminster Cathedral.

A week later their troops were successfully evacuated helped by a curious decision made by Hitler to hold his troops back and not attack the British army. Also for a time the German air-force was stranded in Belgium, unable to move due to a violent storm whilst the English Channel was “as still as a millpond”.

Many acknowledged the deliverance of the 300,000 soldiers to the fact of the nation being at prayer and a Day of National Thanksgiving was subsequently held. Churchill whilst speaking in the House Of Commons described it in as ‘a miracle of deliverance’ and the consciousness of miraculous deliverance pervaded the camps in which the troops were being housed in England.

Later in the summer of 1940, Germany’s Luftwaffe aircraft began destroying Britain's air force before launching a September sea force called Operation Sea Lion. The British RAF suffered greatly and it appeared it was about to be destroyed. Again in early September King George VI called the nation to prayer, and once more many flocked to the churches.

A week later on September 15, 1940 the Battle of Britain reached its climax. Mysteriously when the RAF were down to their last legs with no reserves left, the Luftwaffe started to retreat and flew home. In retaliation for a RAF raid on Berlin, Hitler ordered a change of strategy of blitzing London and other British cities with night time raids. Even though there were many fatal British civilian casualties, this unexpected change of tactics allowed the RAF to build up again their stock of planes and trained pilots. The prayers had been answered again and Britain was saved from invasion.

President John F. Kennedy was concerned about the dangers of mixing religious and political institutions, and advocated strongly the separation of church and state. Back in 1960, the USA Justice Black had stated a Supreme Court opinion that "in this country, it is no part of the business of government to compose official prayers for any group of US people to recite." On June 25, 1962, the United States Supreme Court decided in Engel v. Vitale that a prayer approved by the New York Board of Regents for use in schools violated the First Amendment because it represented establishment of religion. The main implication of this landmark decision was that official prayers were banned in schools - against the wishes of the vast majority of the public.

Today, many are turning to prayer as a means of healing especially in Africa, where the power of prayer seems so much more effective. There if a poorly person is prayed for, the chances are that they will get better because the locals generally believe in the spiritual world. Meanwhile in the rational west the whole educational system is against such non-scientific beliefs, and as a result the western minds are not so tuned into spiritual thinking.

Prayers in Congo

Research at Columbia University New York, which was published in the respected Journal of Reproductive Medicine, concluded that women having fertility treatment are twice as likely to become pregnant if people are praying they’ll succeed. The researchers put 219 women undergoing IVF treatment into two groups- with half prayed for without them knowing. 46 % of the prayed-for group became pregnant compared with 22% of the not-prayed-for group.

PRAYERS TO MARY AND OTHER SAINTS 

In 431 The Council of Ephesus declared the perpetual virginity of Mary, mother of Jesus, adding she should be called by the title "Theotokos" - the Mother of God. After the Council of Ephesus there was an increasing veneration of Mary and by the end of the sixth century, adoration was widely offered to her and prayers were being addressed to her.

In the later Middle Ages there was a surge in the veneration of the Virgin Mary as the teaching developed that she was free from sin from the moment she was born. Consequently Mary became to many the prime intercessor between humanity and God and she played a pivotal role in church worship.

Praying in front of the icon of Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn

The veneration of Saints grew in significance after the first few centuries of Christianity. For instance at the beginning of the fourth century, a cathedral was built around the relics of St Emeterius and St Celedonius who died in Diocletian's persecution, at Calahorra in Spain.

By the end of the sixth century, Masses for the departed had become widespread and many tales came to be circulated about the miraculous powers of the saints. One story recounted by early Frankish Christians told how two beggars, one lame, and one blind happened to be caught in a procession carrying the relics of St Martin of Tours and tried to escape for fear of being cured and thus be denied their alms. The lame beggar climbed onto the shoulders of his blind colleague and they hurried as quickly as they could to get beyond the range of the Saint's miraculous powers, but unfortunately they didn't make it and were cured.

As saints became more venerated, at their anniversary celebrations at their tombs prayers began being offered at first for them, then as time went on, to them. Such prayers were officially recognized by the Church at the Second Council of Nicea in 787.

According to tradition, in 1214 the Rosary was given to Saint Dominic by an apparition of the Virgin Mary as an antidote to heresy and sin. However the use of knotted robes and later prayer beads as an aid to prayer were used by Eastern Christian monks in about the fourth century and the practice of reciting 50 or 150 Ave Marias had become generally familiar by the thirteenth century. It has been concluded by some historians that Alan de Rupe, a Dominican involved in the promotion of the rosary in the 1470s, invented the story. Interestingly, the English word bead comes from an old Germanic word meaning "to pray".

OTHER RELIGIONS 

Observant Jews pray three times a day, Shacharit, Mincha, and Ma'ariv with lengthier prayers on special days, such as the Shabbat and Jewish holidays including Musaf and the reading of the Torah.

Orthodox Jewish women praying in Jerusalem's Western Wall tunnel. By David Shankbone 

In Islam, there are five daily obligatory prayers that are considered as one of the pillars of the religion. The command to ritual prayer is in the Qur'an in several chapters (surahs).

Muslims face in the direction of Islam's holiest place, the Kaaba in Mecca, during their prayers.

Prague

HISTORY

The earliest inhabitants of the area that is now Prague lived in the valley of the Vltava river around 500 BC.

The legendary origins of Prague attribute its foundation to the 8th century Princess Libuše, the leader of a Slavonic tribe, who chose a simple peasant Přemysl to be her husband. She told him to go and find a village on the banks of the Vltava and to start a town there. The town became Prague, ruled by the Přemyslid family.

Hradcany Castle or Prague Castle was the largest ancient castle in the world. The construction of what came to be known as the Prague Castle began near the end of the 9th century, with a fortified settlement already existing on the site in the year 800.

Wenceslaus I was the duke of Bohemia from 921 until his assassination in 935. Renowned for his piety, he took a vow of celibacy and founded many churches in Prague, including a rotunda consecrated to St. Vitus at Prague Castle, which exists as present-day St. Vitus Cathedral.

In 1257 King Otakar II founded the area of Prague called the Lesser Quarter for the Germans to live in.

During the Middle Ages Prague became very important as the capital of the Holy Roman Empire ruled by Charles IV (1316-1378) who was the most powerful ruler in Europe at the time. Charles made Prague a great city, building St Vitus Cathedral.

Charles IV personally laid the first foundation stone for the Charles Bridge on July 9, 1357 at 5:31 am. The bridge still exists and the exact time of laying the first foundation stone is known because the palindromic number 1-3-5-7-9-7-5-3-1 (year, day, month, time) was carved into the Old Town bridge tower. The notoriously superstitious king was into astrology and numerology, and chose this date as the best time for starting the bridge construction.

Charles Bridge, Prague 

Charles Square was founded in 1348 as the main square of Prague by Charles IV. At roughly 70,000 m² it is one of the largest squares in the world and was the largest town square of the medieval Europe.

The wall and moat that once surrounded the old town of Prague was dismantled in the 14th century; the remains of the moat now lie under several streets.

The Prague astronomical clock was first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still working.

The Prague astronomical clock By Krzysiu "Jarzyna" Szymański 

The first Protestant collection of hymns and psalms in the vernacular was published by the Bohemian Brethren in Prague in 1501. It contained 89 hymns in Czech.

Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, elected King of Bohemia in 1576, chose Prague as his home. He lived in the Prague Castle, where his court welcomed not only astrologers and magicians but also scientists. Famous people living there include the astronomer Tycho Brahe, who moved to Prague as imperial mathematician in 1599. He was joined there by another astronomer Johannes Kepler.

Rudolf was an art and music lover too, and Prague became the capital of European culture. This was a prosperous period for the city: famous people living there in that age include the painter Arcimboldo and the poet Elizabeth Jane Weston.

Prague panorama in 1650

One of the first street numbering schemes took place in the Jewish quarter of Prague in 1727 where the houses were numbered to aid the authorities in the conscription of the Jews.

Prague was an important city to the Habsburg Monarchy and its Austro-Hungarian Empire. By this period Prague had three parts: the Old Town, the Lesser Quarter and the New Town. Famous people such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart visited the town often.

In the 19th century industry came to Prague. Factories sprung up and a railway was built between Prague and Vienna.

The Czech nationalist movement became very strong after 1848. They wanted to use their own language instead of German. Prague had a German-speaking majority in 1848, but by 1880 the number of German speakers had decreased to 14% (42,000), and by 1910 to 6.7% (37,000), due to a massive increase of the city's overall population caused by the influx of Czechs from the rest of Bohemia and Moravia and also due to return of social status importance of the Czech language.

World War I ended with the defeat of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the creation of Czechoslovakia. Prague was chosen as its capital and Prague Castle as the seat of president Tomáš Masaryk.

The Strahov Stadium in Prague was finished in 1934 for a gymnastics exhibition. When it was an active sports venue, it had a capacity of around 250,000, making it the largest stadium in the world.

Prague was occupied by Germany between 1939 and 1945 and a Nazi official Heydrich was assassinated there.

The US Air Force accidentally bombed Prague on February 14, 1945. The raid was originally intended for Dresden in Germany, but a navigation error combined with bad weather and the cities' similarities led to the mistake.

The city was liberated by Soviet troops in May 1945. However, the Red Army soon seized power and Czechoslovakia was ruled by communists who had to obey the Soviet Union.

Prague liberated by Red Army in May 1945

The reform programme introduced in January 1968 by prime minister Alexander Dubček was ended in August by the Soviet army invasion. It was known as the "Prague Spring" from an annual music festival.

Democracy gradually came to Prague in 1989 when the Velvet Revolution took place. In 1993, after the split of Czechoslovakia, Prague became the capital city of the new Czech Republic.

FUN PRAGUE FACTS

According to the Guinness Book of Records, Prague Castle is the largest ancient castle in the world. Its three courtyards and a number of magnificent buildings cover over 7 hectares (18 acres).

Josefov, Prague’s historic Jewish Quarter, includes the overcrowded cemetery and Europe’s oldest active synagogue.

The most famous square is the Wenceslas Square, formerly known as Horse Market. It was renamed Saint Wenceslas square in 1848 on the proposal of Czech writer Karel Havlíček Borovský.

Prague is farther to the West than Vienna.