Additional Games Info

The Ultimate Chess Strategy and Tactics Guide

Chess is one of the oldest and most difficult games in the world. Although anyone can learn to play it, it requires a special kind of skill to master it. It often takes years of practice and studying to be able to excel in the kind of planning ahead that a chess master must make to win a chess game.

General Fundamentals of Strategy

In any chess game, you must do three things: protect your kind, capture enemy pieces, and capture the enemy King. To do this, you need to have a general strategy whereby you are always thinking ahead. Try to stay two or three moves ahead of your opponent. As you become more familiar with the game, what people are more likely to do is become familiar with the moves others are more likely to get.

General Fundamentals of Tactics

There are also some more general tips you should follow as well. Make your first plays wisely so that the game will suit your style of play. If you’re a tactical player, don’t choose to open with the color that goes first. Going second in chess is always an advantage. Take the time to build your strategy. Don’t ever just rush in or you waste valuable pieces. To protect your King, try to control the center of the board. This way, you have pieces that can attack from anywhere.

Tactics and Strategies for Opening

When possible, try to go second in a game. Consider your first moves carefully. In the opening phase of the game, you are working to put your pieces in the best possible place on the board. You want your pieces to be able to move freely whilst still protecting the King. This means surrounding the King with Pawns without restricting the pieces that can move more freely. To accomplish this, you have to develop the Knights before the Queen’s Bishop. As you progress, remember that it’s not good to exchange a Bishop for a Knight in the earlier stages.

Tactics and Strategies for Middle Game

The middle phase starts when you start to really attack your opponent after gaining an advantage. When you get to this portion, things become a lot more fluid and you’ll start reacting to your opponent’s moves more heavily. Don’t be afraid to sacrifice pieces here if they can get you into the perfect spot to end the game. If you can exchange a Knight or a Bishop for a Pawn, you would have gained a great advantage. A great move is called the “double threat” whereby a single chess piece is used to threaten two other pieces. Another move is called “the pin” whereby one of the opponent’s important pieces is threatened while another piece is in the way.

Tactics and Strategies for End Game

The last phase is when someone takes their opponent’s King. If you’ve done things right, you should be in a position to check – and checkmate – the King with few difficulties. By this time, you should be some pieces down and have captured many of your opponent’s pieces, including the Queen, the biggest obstacle. You need to back the opponent’s King into a corner so that it cannot take the piece you are trying to check with. If you can corner the King, you win the game, and that’s the entire point of the game. When you have material advantage, it’s best to strip your opponent so that there’s only the King to contend with. Ty to keep your Castles or Queen because they are very useful when you are trying to immobilize your opponent’s King.

Please use the following links for more strategies and tactics to improve your chess playing:

 

Educational Card Games for Kids

Card games can be used to teach children different skills because children as young as two can play certain games. Repetition and engaging activities help kids remember educational concepts. Card games can teach math skills, reasoning skills, improve memory skills, and teach children how to follow rules and take turns. By choosing appropriate card games, teachers and parents can help children practice basic skills through a fun, engaging activity.

Spit

Spit is a two player game in which the players must be fast and alert to their opponent’s moves. Each player receives 26 cards and makes a row of five cards. The first row has one card, the second row two cards, the third row three cards, the fourth row four cards, and the fifth row five cards. Each top card on the pile should be turned face up. The remaining eleven cards should stay in the players’ hands and they must not look at the cards.

The leftover cards are the spit cards. When both players are ready, they shout “spit” and begin discarding cards from the stock piles as quickly as possible. Cards must follow the numerical sequence in order to be played; the color and suit is not important. Once neither player can put down any more cards, they shout “spit” and play the next spit card. The first player to get rid of their stock cards is the winner.

This game is ideal for older children who understand the concept of moving quickly and paying attention to the opponent’s cards. Middle and high school kids are a great age group for Spit. Speed is obviously one skill kids learn when playing spit. Analytical thinking is another skill kids pick up when playing Spit. Kids will learn how to analyze what card to play based on what cards are on the opponent’s stock piles.

War

War is typically a two player card game, but there are variations that allow for a third player. In a teaching situation, utilizing the two player card game works best and allows for easy facilitation of the skills being taught. The dealer deals a full deck of cards equally among the two players. Players then flip over their top cards at the same time. The person with the highest card wins. If both cards are the same, war is declared and three cards are laid face down and a fourth is laid face up with the highest card winning all the cards. The first person to win all the cards is the winner.

Preschool children who have a firm grasp of numerical order can practice math skills using the game of War. The main skill taught with war is higher than, less than, and equal to computations. With young children, an adult may need to assist the child in figuring out which number is higher and who wins the hand. Elementary aged children should be able to play this game independently with a friend.

Another exercise kids can do when playing war is to determine who has the better hand during a war match. After determining the winner of a war match, the kids can flip over the other three cards. By looking at the value of each card, the kids can determine who had the overall better war hand.

Concentration/Memory

Memory is a game that toddlers can play because the rules are simple.This game can be played independently or with two to four players. In Memory, kids lay out rows of cards face down. The first player flips over a card and tries to find the match. If a match is found, the player collects the cards and goes again. If the player does not make a match, he or she flips the cards back over and the next person goes. The person with the most matches wins.

Depending on the deck of cards used, Memory can teach a variety of skills. For younger kids Memory decks can be color cards, alphabet cards, number cards, or animal cards. The kids practice not only their thinking and memory skills, but it reinforces basic reading and math skills. More challenging decks, such as complex pictures that seem similar but have a few differences are great for older kids. Teachers can use Memory to teach a foreign language by creating cards with pictures and words on them. Any skill or theme can be made into a Memory game for all age groups.

Old Maid

Old Maid is a game for up to eight players and is suitable for elementary aged children, specifically those in the lower grades. Specialty decks made for the playing of Old Maid may be easier for kids than using a standard 52-card deck. All of the cards are dealt to the players. Players pull out their matching pairs. Working clockwise, players hold out their hand to the player next to them and let that player pick a card. The player who picks a card pulls out any matches. If there are no matches, that player lets the next player pick a card from them. The person left with the Old Maid, or the card with no match, loses.

This game strengthens a child’s matching and memory skills. Since this is a very active game it also helps improve social skills among kids. For older kids who have moved beyond the basic skills of matching and socializing, learning how to bluff in a card game by using critical thinking can help them in other games.

Go Fish

Go Fish is a game for two to four players. Kids between the ages of five and twelve benefit from this game. Using a standard card deck, players get seven cards. The remaining cards are placed face down in a stack on the table. Players remove any matches and then, working clockwise, players ask if the other player has the cards they need. Some rules recommend pulling out pairs, while other rules suggest holding the cards until a player has all four of the same card. The person with the most matches at the end of the game wins.

Go Fish helps kids with their matching, memory, and social skills. It also helps younger children with number recognition and learning how to play cooperatively with other people. Specialty Go Fish decks can cover other themes such as foreign language, animals, weather, holidays, or letters.

Slapjack

Children of all ages love Slapjack because it involves a lot of social interaction and slapping the table. Since a player only needs to recognize the jack cards, very young children can enjoy playing Slapjack. This game can have up to eight players, but is typically played with three or four. The cards are dealt evenly and each player lays their top card into the center of the table. If a jack is laid down, players try to be the first person to slap the pile. The person whose hand is on the bottom wins the pile of cards. The winner is the person who wins all the cards at the end of the game.

Slapjack is one of the greatest card games for teaching cooperation and social skills. Because of the speed necessary to win a hand, children can get into disagreements over whose hand actually touched the jack first. This provides a great opportunity to teach children how to handle disagreements in games fairly. This game also works to improve attention skills in kids who struggle to pay attention for long.

Educational publishers understand how valuable card games are in a child’s learning, and this is why there is a variety of card games available that help improve and practice educational concepts. All that is really needed for a classic game of Memory or Go Fish is a standard 52-card deck and a group of kids ready to learn while having fun!

   

History of Playing Cards

    Playing cards are often not given the credit they deserve. They are plucked off of a shelf because they are inexpensive, fun, and can be used multiple times. In essence, they are viewed as a game for the common people. There is, however, a rich history as to how these games came into existence. 

    Playing cards began in China as early as 1000 AD, under the conjoined name of pai, which, in conjunction with tiles, means “plaque”. Pai games had three major categories: games of a “money-suit system”, games that eventually evolved into a domino-like form, and a wider category that included all other forms of games, from poetry and acting to drinking games. Cards themselves were likely invented after the introduction of paper currency and games quickly evolved to match the new printed material. At this point in their evolution, they resembled thin slips of paper with dots imitating the existing twenty-one dominoes. Later on, wood and ivory were used, resulting in the dominoes we know of today. Common people could not, at this point, afford to purchase the game pieces due to the cost of production. Cards, however, did not disappear altogether. They became known as money cards and were introduced to the design of having four particular suits: coins, strings of coins, myriads of strings, and tens of myriads.

    The new trend spread to the Middle East and Egypt where they developed into a system of fifty-two cards with four new suits (polo sticks, cups, coins, and swords). Playing cards arrived in Italy in the late thirteenth century and quickly scattered throughout Europe gaining the gambling connotation for which they are popularly known. In the thirteenth century, several rules specifically designed against gambling with cards were instituted. French, Latin, and Germanic sets evolved, each with their own set of suits and their own and design.

    Germanic cards in particular developed an imaginative pattern of four suits with no Queen in play. Italian card makers conversely preserved the existence of the Queen for a game called Tarroco, from which Tarot cards evolved. It is the French we owe for the creation of the suits' designs of Hearts, Spades, Clubs, and Diamonds.  In the fifteenth century, once the French suits had been established, card production was expedited through the abandonment of full-color cards. Red and Black were the only colors used, allowing for stencils to be made and mass production to flourish. An interesting thing to note is how neatly playing cards mirrored the history of the time; they continue to feature popular cultural figures today, but in the time of the French Revolution, the tradition of using a King, Queen, and Jack died out in accordance with the unpopularity of the court system.  The Ace, then the lowest card, also gained special importance. When the French accepted Napoleon as emperor, the court system was reinstituted in playing cards.

    In the eighteenth century, when playing cards arrived in the relatively young United States, their format changed yet again with the introduction of the Joker card, derived from a card known as the German Bauer or Americanized “Bower” when immigrants brought a game called Euchre with them from Europe. The numbers on the corners of cards, known as indexes, were also developed for the sake of simplicity. As time continued to pass, the cards were refined with rounded corners, double-ended figure illustrations, and nicer finishes for the paper used. In the nineteenth century in particular, artists began to revive the tradition of making cards ornamental, releasing countless designs featuring artwork, photographs, or even popular culture images.

    Today, the playing card continues to be widely produced and used in games. Thanks to modern production methods, they are often cheap and easy to attain while remaining decorative. New materials like plastic have been introduced into card production. It is safe to assume that as time continues to pass, the playing card will continue to evolve and mirror the society through which it passes.

For more information on the history of playing cards, please feel free to visit the following webpages:

   

All You Need to Know About the Olympic Games

The Olympic games have been a set of competitions that have taken place for many years. The games, events, and medals have been a source of pride for many athletes and their home countries. The Olympics continue to be a worldwide phenomenon that many people enjoy.

History of the Olympic Games

The ancient Olympics began in the 8th century BC. The first games were held in Olympia, Greece, in an area that was dedicated to the god Zeus. Instead of receiving medals, winners were given a wreath of olive leaves and were considered local heroes in their hometowns. The original Olympic games only took place in Greece and were for Greek citizens. There were fewer sports for participation and most of them were outdoors. Some of the original sports were running contests and chariot racing. Each group of Olympic games took place every four years and lasted from one to five days in length. The games were abolished in the 4th century AD during the time of Roman rule because they were considered to be pagan practices. The International Olympic Committee was formed in 1894, and the modern Olympic games started again in 1896 in Athens. The games have continued to increase in number of participants and expand in total events. It is now one of the most popular events on earth; its games followed by millions of people.

Winter Olympic Games

Winter sports have varied through the years, with some games being added and others ending. There are several sports that are specific to the winter games. The biathlon is a sport that started in 1924 and both men and women compete in this activity. It is a combination of rifle shooting and cross-country skiing, where participants ski to a point and then shoot a target. The bobsled is where a team rides in a sled downhill through an iced track. The track is angled and sloped, and winners are judged according to their time of completion. The sport of curling resembles a game of shuffleboard on ice. Teams push a heavy stone using brooms toward a target on a marked piece of ice. Cross-country skiing involves wearing large skis fitted for walking or sliding across snow. Individual athletes compete to cover distance across the snow. Downhill skiers wear smaller skis fitted for racing downhill. Medals are awarded for those with the best time. Figure skating is a well-known sport where couples or individuals participate in an ice-skating routine set to music. They are judged by their performance. Athletes who compete in freestyle skiing must ski a rugged course with moguls and jumps. Winners are decided by who completes the course in the best time. Ice hockey is a popular sport where teams compete to advance a puck into the competitor’s net. It consists of both male and female teams. The luge is where one to two people lie on their backs in a sled. They then travel downhill at a very fast speed through a banked course on ice. The Nordic combined is the joining of cross-country skiing and ski jumping. Participants begin with ski jumping, and then move to cross-country skiing. This sport currently is only done by men in the Olympics. The skeleton is a type of sledding that uses the same track as the bobsled or luge. The sled is not maneuvered manually; only by shifting body position and dragging the feet. Ski Jumping is where an athlete skis downhill to a ramp at the end, where they jump off. They then receive points for distance and style. Slalom skiing is skiing downhill and changing back and forth between sets of poles that are spaced about on the course. The number of poles ranges from 45-70, depending on the course. Snow boarding is similar to skiing, but on a snowboard that is attached to the feet on a boot mechanism. Athletes are judged on speed of distance and style. Speed skating is a type of ice skating race. The distances vary depending on track length, and the winner is judged by who is the fastest.

Summer Olympic Games

The summer games also have varied through the years, with many popular sports continuing through time. In archery, athletes use a bow and arrow to shoot an arrow toward a target. Badminton is played in singles or doubles. Players use a racquet, to hit a shuttlecock back and forth across a net to score points. In basketball, teams of five players score points by making baskets through a hoop on the court. This popular game has teams for both men and women. Boxing is a supervised sport where two people fight in a ring with large gloves on their fists. Traditionally this has always been a sport for men, but the next summer Olympics in 2012 will offer it for women. Canoeing, or kayaking, is where one to two people in a boat race down a body of water. The winner of this sport is found by those with the best time. In cycling, participants ride bicycles down a course of a certain distance. Both men and women participate. Diving is jumping off a springboard into water for competition. There are different types of diving sports such as high diving and synchronized teams. The equestrian sports take horses through several arrangements to show trotting style and jumping ability. Fencing is two-person combat using swords and making moves of stabbing or thrusting with the weapon. In football, two teams of eleven players move a ball down a field for a goal at the opponents end. This Olympic sport has both male and female teams. Gymnastics includes many types of events showing flexibility and agility. Several examples are floor exercises, rings, the vault, the balance beam, and the trampoline, among others. Handball is where two teams of seven pass a ball down a court to get a goal in the net of the other team. This is done by bouncing or throwing the ball. Judo is a form of martial arts involving subduing the opponent or forcing them to the ground. It is performed by men and women, and is based on weight. In rowing, teams row a boat on a body of water, racing for time. They are judged by how much time to cover a certain distance. Several types of running events are contested during the Olympics. Some consist of short sprints, medium lengths, and the marathon. Swimming is for men and women. Athletes swim certain distances, which can be short or long. There is also synchronized swimming that is done in teams. Tennis is played in singles or doubles. Players hit a ball with a racquet back and forth across a net, playing to a high score. The triathlon is three events comprised of swimming, cycling, and running; all of which must be completed in a certain time. In volleyball, six players hit a ball over a high net using their arms and hands. Beach volleyball was introduced to the Olympics in 1992. Weightlifting has been an Olympic sport since 1920. It is a competition to see who lifts the heaviest weights according to their size. Wrestling is one of the oldest Olympic competitions. It involves two people of similar size; one person attempts to force their opponent to the ground using physical strength.

  • Summer Games: Explanation of events that take place in summer.
  • TeamUSA: The official website of the United States Olympic Committee.
  • Go For the Gold: Information about Olympic weightlifting.

Competing Countries

Many countries compete in the Olympics. The number has changed over the years, as some countries have abstained at times and then resumed participation. Currently there are 201 countries that participate. Each country has three-letter code as assigned by the International Olympic Committee. The countries and their codes are as follows:

 1.   Afghanistan (AFG)
 2.   Albania (ALB)
 3.   Algeria (ALG)
 4.   Andorra (AND)
 5.   Antigua (ANT)
 6.   Argentina (ARG)
 7.   Armenia (ARM)
 8.   Aruba (ARU)
 9.   Samoa (ASA)
10.   Australia (AUS)
11.   Austria (AUT)
12.   Azerbaijan (AZE)
13.   Bahamas (BAH)
14.   Bangladesh (BAN)
15.   Barbados (BAR)
16.   Burundi (BDI)
17.   Belgium (BEL)
18.   Benin (BEN)
19.   Bermuda (BER)
20.   Bhutan (BHU)
21.   Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH)
22.   Belize (BIZ)
23.   Belarus (BLR)
24.   Bolivia (BOL)
25.   Botswana (BOT)
26.   Brazil (BRA)
27.   Bahrain (BRN)
28.   Brunei (BRU)
29.   Bulgaria (BUL)
30.   Burkina Faso (BUR)
31.   Cambodia (CAM)
32.   Canada (CAN)
33.   Cayman Islands (CAY)
34.   Congo (CGO)
35.   Chad (CHA)
36.   Chile (CHI)
37.   China (CHN)
38.   Cote d’Ivoire (CIV)
39.   Cameroon (CMR)
40.   Democratic Republic of the Congo (COD)
41.   Cook Islands (COK)
42.   Colombia (COL)
43.   Comoros (COM)
44.   Cape Verde (CPV)
45.   Costa Rica (CRC)
46.   Croatia (CRO)
47.   Cuba (CUB)
48.   Cyprus (CYP)
49.   Czech Republic (CZE)
50.   Denmark (DEN)
51.   Djibouti (DJI)
52.   Dominica (DMA)
53.   Dominican Republic (DOM)
54.   Ecuador (ECU)
55.   Egypt (EGY)
56.   Eritrea (ERI)
57.   El Salvador (ESA)
58.   Spain (ESP)
59.   Estonia (EST)
60.   Ethiopia (ETH)
61.   Fiji (FIJ)
62.   Finland (FIN)
63.   France (FRA)
64.   Oceania (FSM)
65.   Gabon (GAB)
66.   Gambia (GAM)
67.   Great Britain (GRB)
68.   Guinea-Bissau (GBS)
69.   Georgia (GEO)
70.   Guinea-Equator (GEQ)
71.   Germany (GE)
72.   Ghana (GHA)
73.   Greece (GRE)
74.   Granada (GRN)
75.   Guatemala (GUA)
76.   Guinea (GUI)
77.   Guam (GUM)
78.   Guyana (GUY)
79.   Haiti (HAI)
80.   Hong Kong (HKG)
81.   Honduras (HON)
82.   Hungary (HUN)
83.   Indonesia (INA)
84.   India (IND)
85.   Iran (IRI)
86.   Ireland (IRL)
87.   Iraq (IRQ)
88.   Iceland (ISL)
89.   Israel (ISR)
90.   United States Virgin Islands (ISV)
91.   Italy (ITA)
92.   British Virgin Islands (IVB)
93.   Jamaica (JAM)
94.   Jordan (JOR)
95.   Japan (JPN)
96.   Kazakhstan (KAZ)
97.   Kenya (KEN)
98.   Kyrgyzstan (KGZ)
99.   Kiribati (KIR)
100.   Korea (KOR)
101.   Saudi Arabia (KSA)
102.   Kuwait (KUW)
103.   Laos (LAO)
104.   Latvia (LAT)
105.   Libya (LBA)
106.   Liberia (LBR)
107.   Saint Lucia (LCA)
108.   Lesotho (LES)
109.   Lebanon (LIB)
110.   Liechtenstein (LIE)
111.   Lithuania (LTU)
112.   Luxembourg (LUX)
113.   Madagascar (MAD)
114.   Morocco (MAR)
115.   Malaysia (MAS)
116.   Malawi (MAW)
117.   Moldova (MDA)
118.   Maldives (MDV)
119.   Mexico (MEX)
120.   Mongolia (MGL)
121.   Marshall Islands (MHL)
122.   Macedonia (MKD)
123.   Mali (MLI)
124.   Malta (MLT)
125.   Montenegro (MNE)
126.   Monaco (MON)
127.   Mozambique (MOZ)
128.   Mauritius (MRI)
129.   Mauritania (MTN)
130.   Myanmar (MYA)
131.   Namibia (NAM)
132.   Nicaragua (NCA)
133.   Netherlands (NED)
134.   Nepal (NEP)
135.   Nigeria (NGR)
136.   Niger (NIG)
137.   Norway (NOR)
138.   Nauru (NRU)
139.   New Zealand (NZL)
140.   Oman (OMA)
141.   Pakistan (PAK)
142.   Panama (PAN)
143.   Paraguay (PAR)
144.   Peru (PER)
145.   Philippines (PHI)
146.   Palestine (PLE)
147.   Palau (PLW)
148.   Papua New Guinea (PNG)
149.   Poland (POL)
150.   Portugal (POR)
151.   North Korea (PRK)
152.   Puerto Rico (PUR)
153.   Qatar (QAT)
154.   Romania (ROU)
155.   South Africa (RSA)
156.   Russia (RUS)
157.   Rwanda (RWA)
158.   Samoa (SAM)
159.   Senegal (SEN)
160.   Seychelles (SEY)
161.   Singapore (SIN)
162.   Sierra Leone (SLE)
163.   Slovenia (SLO)
164.   San Marino (SMR)
165.   Solomon Islands (SOL)
166.   Somalia (SOM)
167.   Serbia (SRB)
168.   Sri Lanka (SRI)
169.   Sao Tomè and Prìncipe (STP)
170.   Sudan (SUD)
171.   Switzerland (SUI)
172.   Suriname (SUR)
173.   Slovakia (SVK)
174.   Sweden (SWE)
175.   Swaziland (SWZ)
176.   Syria (SYR)
177.   Tanzania (TAN)
178.   Tonga (TGA)
179.   Thailand (THA)
180.   Tajikistan (TJK)
181.   Turkmenistan (TKM)
182.   Timor (TLS)
183.   Togo (TOG)
184.   Taipei (TPE)
185.   Trinidad (TRI)
186.   Tunisia (TUN)
187.   Turkey (TUR)
188.   Tuvalu (TUV)
189.   United Arab Emirates (UAE)
190.   Uganda (UGA)
191.   Ukraine (UR)
192.   Uruguay (URU)
193.   United States (USA)
194.   Uzbekistan (UZB)
195.   Vanuatu (VAN)
196.   Venezuela (VEN)
197.   Vietnam (VIE)
198.   Saint Vincent (VIN)
199.   Yemen (YEM)
200.   Zambia (ZAM)
201.   Zimbabwe (ZIM)

Olympic Games….When and Where?

The first Olympic games took place in 776 BC in Olympia, Greece. There were few events, and only men were allowed. The games stayed in Greece until they were banned. When the modern games began, the first year was in Athens, Greece in 1896. Four years later, they were in Paris France, and have continued to change locations every four years. There have been Olympic games in the United States, England, Amsterdam, Norway, Belgium, Germany, Finland, Australia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Canada, Russia, Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, and Yugoslavia. The year 2008 was an enormous milestone for China, who hosted their first ever Olympic games and opened their country to visitors from around the world. The 2010 winter games will take place in Vancouver, British Columbia, and the 2012 summer games will be in London. In 2014, the winter games will take place in Sochi, Russia, and in 2016, the summer games will be in Rio de Janeiro. The first summer games were in 1896 in Athens, but winter games did not start until1924. Since then, both summer and winter were in the same year until 1992 when it started alternating every two years for each. The first winter games were in Lillehammer, Norway in 1994.

Fascinating Facts about the Olympics

With such a long history, there are several fascinating facts about the Olympics that have occurred over time.
Original participants in ancient Olympics competed in the nude.
Women were not allowed to participate in ancient Olympics but did have their own competition, Heraea, which honored Hera, the female counterpart to the god Zeus.
Women were allowed to take part in the modern Olympics starting in 1900.
The country with the most medals awarded for the winter games is Norway, with 280 medals.
The country with the most medals awarded during the summer games is the United States with 2,189 medals.
The Olympic symbol of five rings stands for the five continents on earth.
The first Olympics that were televised were the summer games in Rome in 1960.
The last medal made of solid gold was awarded in 1912; since then medals have been plated gold.
The United States has hosted the Olympics more times than any other country.
The first Olympics in 1896 had only nine sports that were contested.
Ten sports have been dropped entirely from the modern Olympics since its inception, including polo, cricket, and motor boating.
The oldest person to win an Olympic medal was 72 years old at the 1920 games.
The Olympic games did not take place in 1916, 1940, and 1944 because of World Wars I and II.
The first year that included opening ceremonies was in 1908.
The Olympic athlete with the most medals ever was Larissa Latynina from the Soviet Union during the 1960s. Fun facts

Last Updated on Dec092009
   

Math and Physics for Students

When it comes to school, math and physics are the subjects that are most often cited as the most difficult to master. It’s no surprise since the subjects deal with a huge amount of information which can be quite complicated. As a result, many students struggle with math and physics. Here are links to some sites to help with that problem.

Fractions and Decimals

Integers and Exponents

Newton’s Laws

Momentum and Inertia

Electricity

   

Famous Mathematicians

Most people cringe when the subject turns to math, a subject that just seems too dry and abstract to command the attention for very long. Fortunately for the advancement of science, there are enough people truly interested in mathematics that the rest of us enjoy their discoveries, often without even being aware of them. Though they may seem eccentric at times, mathematicians are real people, too, and they don’t usually think of themselves as peculiar. In fact, they often think of themselves as artistic sorts. Sofia Kovalevskaya, one of the most famous mathematicians in history, even said it’s impossible to be a mathematician without being a poet in soul.

Zero - The number zero wasn’t known, understood, or used until the 13th century.

Money - Without math, and zeroes, we would never know how much money we have.

Gravity - Thanks to a famous mathematician, we know it’s gravity that keeps us from drifting off into space.

Sofia Vasilyevna Kovalevskaya, 1850 to 1891, Russia

Kovalevskaya’s interest in mathematics started when she was just a young girl in Moscow, where girls were not allowed admission to universities. She needed a man’s permission to study elsewhere in Europe and her father would not consent so she and a paleontology student, Vladimir Kovalevskaya, arranged a marriage so that, with her husband’s permission, she could study in Germany. She eventually earned a doctorate in mathematics summa cum laude based on her research alone, without ever taking the usual exams; she was the first female to earn a doctorate in mathematics in Europe. Stockholm University appointed her a position as Professor Ordinarius, another first for women in northern Europe, and rules were changed to allow her to hold a chair in the Russian Academy of Sciences although she was never allowed to become a professor in her home country.

During her lifetime, Kovalevskaya enjoyed friendships with Charles Darwin, Thomas Huxley, and George Eliot. Her most famous work, the Cauchy-Kovalevski theorem, is applicable to the fields of mechanics, differential equations, and analysis. Other works involved the rings of Saturn and the refraction of light. Three movies have been made and one book written about her life. To this day, the Sofia Kovalevskaja award is given every other year to up-and-coming researchers in Germany. Kovalevskaya had one daughter, named Sofia, who she called Fufa. Kovalevskaya’s husband, with whom she’d always had a troublesome relationship, committed suicide in 1883, in fear of prosecution for his part in a stock swindle. After an Italian holiday, Sofia caught the flu and died at the age of 41. There is a crater on the moon named for her.

Women's Rights - Kovalevskaya was involved with women's rights as well as mathematics.

Awards - Kovalevskaya won awards and university posts throughout Europe.

Multiplication - In spite of her uncommon mathematical ability, she claimed to be weak in the multiplication tables.

Blaise Pascal, 1623 to 1662, France

When Blaise Pascal lost his mother when he was just three, his father assumed the role of full-time tutor to young Blaise and his two sisters. The boy showed an immediate mathematical ability, even writing proofs famous mathematicians of the day would argue and debate with serious intent. His first work to bear his name, the Pascal theorem, was published when he was just 16. In time, Pascal’s work involved the study of hydrostatics and hydrodynamics, which led to his invention of the hydraulic press and the syringe and allowed him to prove scientifically how barometers work. Criticism of his work on the barometer led him to describe in writing his concept of the scientific method, a definition that is considered the foundation for all scientific experimentation today.

Pascal’s probability theory proved the risk in a game of chance, an outcome referred to as “the odds” today. This theory provides the basis for thousands of games of chance enjoyed today and it’s proven itself invaluable in the field of economics as well. Economics played a pivotal role in Pascal’s life when his family wealth dropped from 66,00 livres to about 7,300 when the Thirty Year War led to defaults on government bonds the elder Pascal has invested in. Pascal’s invention, the Pascaline, was a mechanical calculator that proved its use when his father got a job as commissioner of taxes in war-ravaged Rouen but was more expensive to make than the wages it was intended to replace. The Pascaline has evolved into today’s analog odometers and water meters.

Pascal suffered medical ailments all his life, including migraines, digestive disorders, and hypochondria that stemmed from a carriage accident when he was 31. It is thought he lived in pain most of his life and, never marrying, he relied on his sister, Jacqueline, to nurse him through the rough spots. Of marriage, he once described it as “the lowest of the conditions of life permitted to a Christian.” He feared Jacqueline’s convent was becoming too cult-like, experienced a religious conversion himself, and endured sibling squabbles over how inheritances should be invested. An autopsy performed at his death at age 39 revealed the mathematician might have suffered from a brain lesion, stomach cancer, and tuberculosis. There is a crater on the moon named for him.

Probability - Pascal’s probability theory in simple terms.

Theology - Pascal’s Pensees (“Thoughts”), published posthumously, is said to be a masterpiece of theological insight.

Vacuum - Rene Descartes describes Pascal as having “too much vacuum in his head.”

Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss, 1777 to 1855, Kingdom of Hanover (Germany)

This child prodigy grew up to be called the Prince of Mathematicians, the greatest mathematician since antiquity, earning a reputation befitting the man who called mathematics the queen of sciences. His talent is said to have been revealed indisputably at age 3 when he pointed out errors his father was making with the family finances. Young Gauss was able to correct these errors flawlessly and entirely in his head. Gauss put that keen mind to work with the invention of the Gauss lens, used in today’s cameras; the heliotrope surveyors used to plot uncharted lands around the world; a magnetometer used to measure the magnetic field of the planet; and a version of photometer which forwarded the field of photography. These and many other inventions advanced the study of astronomy, optics, number theory, geophysics, geometry, statistics, and analysis. 

Gauss lost his first wife and a son in quick succession, leaving him with a lifelong battle with depression. He outlived his second wife by 16 years and fathered six children in his lifetime. Gauss‘ father, a business man of modest success, hoped his son would follow in his footsteps but Gauss chose mathematics instead. A perfectionist to the point of neurosis, Gauss discouraged his own sons from becoming mathematicians so as not to sully the family name. Gauss hated writing and avoided committing much of his work to paper, preferring instead to arrive at his conclusions simply out of the air. He wasn’t excited about teaching, either. Gauss’ daughter, Therese, cared for him until his death, choosing to marry only after her father’s death; she was 39. There is a crater on the moon named for him.

Speech - Gauss claimed to be able to do mathematical computations before he learned to talk.

Heptadecagon - Gauss’ discovery of how to draw a heptadecagon with just a ruler and compass was hailed as the first major advance in mathematics since the time of ancient Greece. He was a 21-year-old student publishing this finding in his university dissertation.

Death - The Royal Astronomical Society published a Gauss obituary.

These famous mathematicians changed the course of history simply by seeing life from a different perspective. Even though their thought processes were based in numbers and equations and may have been a bit too esoteric for general understanding in their time and ours, they lived through the everyday dramas that people everywhere face. They endured illness both mental and physical, loved and grieved with equal intensity, dealt with difficult family relationships, disappointed their parents, angered their children, questioned the integrity of their church and government, struggled through cultural and economic adversity, spent their money in unwise ways, and made many of the mistakes we’re all too familiar with ourselves. And there are parts of the moon named in their honor.

Additional Resources

Saturn - The rings of Saturn mystified astronomers since their 1610 discovery by Galileo.

Light - Light refraction from the mathematical perspective.

Odometer - The Pascaline calculator becomes today’s odometer.

Barometer - In explaining how a barometer works, the scientific method was established.

Syringe - The syringe uses air pressure and incompressible fluid to work effectively.

Moon - The US Geological Survey’s Astrogeology Research Program lists each lunar crater by name.

   

Horses in Sport and More!

Horses are amazing, strong, and beautiful mammals. They serve a very important purpose for humans, whether it is for work, transportation, or even for use in entertainment such as sports. It has been said that the horse was first domesticated by humans around 4,000 B.C. The Spanish brought horses over to the United States and they soon became a mode of food and transportation for Native Americans and eventually, the colonists. Today, horses are some of the most beloved animals of all time. They are strong and noble and revered throughout the world for being an intelligent and loyal animal.

Horse Breeds

There are over 300 different breeds of horses worldwide, although about 60 of those are widely recognized. Several different factors determine the breed of a horse, including its color, size, mannerisms, and country or region of origin. The three basic categories of horse breeds include color breeds, sport, and gaited. Feral horses, or wild horses, are another type of horse that has not been domesticated. Some very popular breeds of horse include the Clydesdale, Lipizzan, Arabian, and the Appaloosa. Each breed of horse is unique and have different colorings, markings, and abilities. Those who breed horses truly appreciate their beauty and uniqueness.

Horse Sports

Horses have been used for sport for centuries. In England, they have been used in fox hunting, while in the United States, horse racing is an extremely popular sport. Other sports that involve horses include rodeos, show jumping, and polo. Since horses are extremely strong and versatile, they are an excellent vehicle for human transport and the use of sports. The use of horses in sporting events illustrates the importance of humans being able to communicate with the horse. Training is imperative and absolutely essential for the horse to understand how to play in a particular sport. Horses are extremely fast, very intelligent, and capable of putting forth a strong effort to do their best for their owners.

Horses Throughout History

Horses have long been used as vehicles in war and have long been a mode of transportation for people from all walks of life. In Rome, the empire and its people rode horses and were able to quickly storm enemy territory. During the American Revolution, Paul Revere rode his horse through the neighborhoods, warning people that the British were arriving. Native Americans rode horses and used them to transport supplies and their families whenever they relocated tribes. Today, horses are still used to transport people and things and are still an important element in farming. They are used for police work in larger and smaller cities, so that the police can easily maneuver through the streets. These animals have a very special place in our lives and in our hearts and will continue to be an essential part of human culture.

   

All About Football

Football, or soccer in the United States, is widely considered the most popular sport in the world. In an official setting, it is played by two teams of eleven players each and the objective is to put the ball into the opponent’s goal with the feet or any other part of the body, except the hands and the arms. Almost every country in the world has a national football team and some countries have a national league where football clubs compete with each other to become champions.

Football has a long history that dates back to about 3,000 years ago when the Chinese started playing Tsu Chu. Later on, the Japanese, Greeks, Persians, Vikings, and other civilizations also developed their own versions of football. During the ancient times, football was sometimes played as a form of military training to sharpen the physical and mental abilities of warriors. It was not until the 19th century that football became an official sport. The first football association was established in England in 1863 and it went about setting the fundamental rules of the game. Eight years later, the association had a membership of 50 clubs and it organized the first official football competition, the F.A. Cup. The English League Championship would begin 17 years later.

The first international football match was staged in the UK in 1872 that featured England and Scotland. Soon, the sport became so popular that an increasing number of matches were played on a regular basis and some players started receiving remuneration for their talents. In 1885, the Football Association decided to legalize professionalism in football. Other countries in Europe and other continents began to form their own national football associations, which included Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Netherlands, Denmark, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Uruguay, Hungary, Finland, France, Sweden, and Spain.

The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) was formed in Paris in 1904. By the year 1925, there were 36 national associations affiliated to FIFA. The first FIFA World Cup was held in Uruguay in 1930, and the competition continued to be staged once every four years, with the exception of 1942 and 1946 when the World War II was taking place. Presently, FIFA has a total of 204 members from around the world.

Football has changed tremendously over the years. In the earlier years of its history, it was a sport with simple and undefined rules and was played by militants and poor people. Today, it has become a very well-organized game with elaborate rules and is played by all types of people ranging from students to professionals. The advancement of technology has also enabled sports manufacturers to produce better equipment for the game, which include lightweight balls, studded boots, jerseys with breathable materials, and safety gear. Techniques have also improved over the years with the development of diverse strategies for all aspects of the game.

Football is a highly celebrated sport in European and South American countries. In fact, all the World Cup winners from the past came from these two continents. In recent years, the sport has also reached new levels of popularity in North America, Asia, and Africa, as well as Australia and New Zealand. According to a report commissioned by Infront Sports and Media, the World Cup competition that was held in Germany in 2006 had a total viewership of 26.29 billion, which makes it one of the most watched sporting events in the world.

   

Understanding the Slide Rule

Logarithmic slide rules are to calculators like analog is to digital. Analog can have distortion, while digital is clear. Digital is simply more practical. For the same reason, the slide rule diminished as the faster calculators quickly became affordable. Logarithmic slide rules were mechanical or rather, used by hand, which made them subject to human error while calculators are less subject to human error and can process difficult equations quickly.

Logarithms, or logs, are simply exponents. Exponents are numbers that tell how many times a number should be multiplied onto itself. The exponent is located to the above and right of the base number, which is the number to be multiplied. Exponents are also called powers. For instance, the base number 2 with an exponent of three is said to be "two to the third power." This simply means that two is to be multiplied onto itself three times: 2 times 2 times 2; where 2 times 2 is four, times two, equals eight.

Another way to write two to the third power is eight is by using logarithmic notation or logarithmic form. Logarithmic notation essentially says that two, the base number, should be multiplied 'x' amount of times onto itself to equal the power of 8. The term 'x' is called an unknown making this definition also an equation. In elementary common logs, this means if you know two of those numbers, you can figure out the third, or the unknown. The unknown 'x' we know from the above example is the exponent three. Three is the logarithm.

It is written this way: 3=log28 which is the same as saying 23=8 (exponential form).

The slide rule is based on common logarithms with all the markings based on factors of 10. Later slide rules had many more scales, one being the uniform, linear L scale, to calculate logarithms. Reading the slide rule is like reading any other ruler as the markings are uniform dependent on which scale is being utilized, and the scale being utilized, is dependent on the calculation and its usage.

Slide rules were much like today's calculators in their heyday, creating ways for students and professionals to solve complicated math problems by utilizing basic maneuvers with common sense. By "sliding the rule" over the indicator or movable runner, which looks like a complicated ruler, the user could find solutions to calculations by using various scales on the body of the slide rule. This did not eliminate the need for pencil and paper, but simply allowed for quicker computation, in a basic way.

To find how a slide rule works and what they were used specifically for, check out these links:

Slide Rule Pictorial illustration of the basic slide rule depicts how to manipulate it to solve an equation.

Brief History Timeline site shows picture of an actual slide rule and talks about who invented it.

Basic Slide Rule Instructions Step-by-step instructions on how to use the slide rule.

How the Slide Rule Works An MIT student explains how the most basic slide rule works and how to identify its parts.

   

Introduction to Backgammon

The game backgammon has been dated by historians all the back to 3,000 BC. It was also popular in ancient Rome and the modern version has been played throughout the world since the 19th century.

The object of the game is to get all of your pieces (either white or black) into your home side so you can begin to "bear-off" which means remove them from the board. The first person to bear-off all of his or her game pieces is the winner.

What you will need:

-Two Players

-A Backgammon Board

-Thirty game pieces in two separate colors

-One pair of dice

-In a tournament or gambling game, a doubling cube would be needed to help keep score.

Getting to know the board

On the top left corner will be either a black or white Outer Table and across from that corner will be the same corresponding colors Inner Table or Home.

Each table has six triangular points that are alternately colored. In the middle of the board between the 6th and 7th point is a bar.

Beginners Play

The game will start when each play rolls one dice. The bigger number will start to play by using the total number of the combined die. For example if a 4 and a 3 are rolled, the person who rolled the 4 will begin and play 4+3. The best rolls are the ones that will get you 5 or bar points. If you roll a 5 point it will prevent your opponent of a landing place on the bar.

Your objective early on is to get your back game pieces out before they are blocked in and also try to build block points on your side of the board to prevent your opponents back pieces from escaping.

   

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