Minsk
Minsk is the capital of Belarus and also the largest city of the nation. Located on both the Svislach and Niamiha rivers, Minsk has a population exceeding 1.8 millions.
The earliest references to Minsk are from the year 1067. Minsk became a part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1242 and in 1569 it became the capital of the Minsk Voivodship in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. By the end of the 18th century, Minsk was annexed by Russia as a result of the Second Partition of Poland.
The industrial infrastructure of Minsk was severely damaged during the Word War I and II, but once the wars were over Minsk was rebuilt and turned into a major producer of trucks, tractors, motorcycles, bicycles, and similar. Minsk is today home to over 250 factories and plants and about 40 percent of the work force is employed by the manufacturing sector.
Minsk is also the major cultural centre of Belarus with no less than 139 libraries. There are also 11 theatres, 16 museums and 20 cinemas.
Around Minsk, you will find the type of mixed forest that is typical for most parts of Belarus, and you can also find forested regions within the city. Some of the forests are used as parks, e.g. the Chelyuskinites Park.
Wizard Humor
As a wizard, you will not go to heaven since wizardry is banned by the Catholic Church. You will however life forever, which is pretty sweet as well. As you can learn from this informative video, the risk of dying as a wizard is zero. I hope you will enjoy this WOW spoof as much as I did. Take care and don’t loose your totem animals out there.
Cholera
Cholera is a diarrhoeal disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. In most cases, a cholera infection of the intestines will only lead to mild diarrhoea or produce no symptoms at all, but in 5-10% of the cases the infected person will develop severe cholera which can be fatal. Severe cholera can appear as soon as 6 hours after exposure to Vibrio cholerae but it can also take up to 5 days.
Severe cholera is dangerous since it will make the body loose fluids so rapidly that it is hard to replace them, which leads to serious dehydration. Severe cholera can be deadly in a few hours and should always prompt immediate medical attention.
You can become infected with Vibrio cholerae by ingesting contaminated water or food. The bacteria are present in the faeces of an infected person and can easily spread to water and food when hygiene is poor. Vibrio cholerae is also present in many brackish rivers and coastal waters.
There is an oral cholera vaccine that provides good protection for up to 3 years. It is however important keep in mind that the vaccine does not offer 100% protection and that it ideally should be use it as a complement to proper hygiene and food precautions, not instead of.
Blue Whale
An adult Blue Whale can devour up to 40 million krill specimens per day. If the whale reaches environments where krill is abundant, it can gulp down up to 3600 kg (8000 lb) of krill in a day.
When the Blue Whale feeds, it lunges forward into a dense group of krill and open its mouth to let a huge amount of water in. The whale will then use its tongue and ventral puch to squeeze out the water through the baleen plates. The krill are too big to pass the baleen plates and are forced to stay inside the mouth until they whale swallows them down into its stomach.
