Melon-headed whale

The melon-headed whale (species Peponocephala electra; other names are many-toothed blackfish, "melon whale" and electra dolphin) is a cetacean of the oceanic dolphin family (Delphinidae). It is closely related to the pygmy killer whale and pilot whale, and collectively these dolphin species are known by the common name blackfish. It is also related to the false killer whale. The melon-headed whale is widespread throughout the world's tropical waters, although not often seen by humans because it prefers deep water.

Description

The melon-headed whale has a body shape rather like a torpedo. Its head is a rounded cone giving the animal its common name. The body is more or less uniformly light grey except for a dark grey face – sometimes called the "mask". The flippers are long and pointed. The dorsal fin is tall with a pointed tip – reminiscent of its relative the killer whale. When viewed in profile, its head is not as rounded as the pygmy killer whale and this may aid identification.

Melon

A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with edible, fleshy fruit.

The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Many different cultivars have been produced, particularly of muskmelons.

Although the melon is a fruit (specifically, a berry), some varieties may be considered vegetables rather than fruits. The word melon derives from Latin melopepo, which is the latinization of the Greek μηλοπέπων (mēlopepon), meaning "melon", itself a compound of μῆλον (mēlon), "apple" + πέπων (pepōn), amongst others "a kind of gourd or melon".

History

Melons originated in Africa and southwest Asia, but they gradually began to appear in Europe toward the end of the Roman Empire. However recent discoveries of melon seeds dated between 1350 and 1120 BC in Nuragic sacred wells have shown that melons were first brought to Europe by the Nuragic civilization of Sardinia during the Bronze Age. Melons were among the earliest plants to be domesticated in both the Old and New Worlds. Early European settlers in the New World are recorded as growing honeydew and casaba melons as early as the 1600s. A number of Native American tribes in New Mexico, including Acoma, Cochiti, Isleta, Navajo, Santo Domingo and San Felipe, maintain a tradition of growing their own characteristic melon cultivars, derived from melons originally introduced by the Spanish. Organizations like Native Seeds/SEARCH have made an effort to collect and preserve these and other heritage seeds.

Shades of orange

In optics, orange has a wavelength between approximately 585 and 620 nm and a hue of 30° in HSV color space. In the RGB color space it is a tertiary color numerically halfway between gamma-compressed red and yellow, as can be seen in the RGB color wheel. The complementary color of orange is azure. Orange pigments are largely in the ochre or cadmium families, and absorb mostly blue light.

Varieties of the color orange may differ in hue, chroma (also called saturation, intensity, or colorfulness) or lightness (or value, tone, or brightness), or in two or three of these qualities. Variations in value are also called tints and shades, a tint being an orange or other hue mixed with white, a shade being mixed with black. A large selection of these various colors is shown below.

Orange (color wheel)

At right is the color orange, also known as color wheel orange. This is the tone of orange that is a pure chroma on the HSV color wheel, the expression of which is known as the RGB color wheel, exactly halfway between red and yellow. The complementary color of orange is azure.

Heptazine

A heptazine, or tri-s-triazine or cyamelurine, is a type of chemical compound that consist of a planar triangular core group, C₆N₇, or three fused triazine rings, with three substituents at the corners of the triangle.

The general form is 1,3,4,6,7,9,9b-heptaazaphenalene. The parent compound C₆N₇H₃, where the three substituents are hydrogens, is called 1,3,4,6,7,9-hexaazacyc1[3.3.3]azine or tri-s-triazine proper.

Heptazines were discovered in the 19th century but their study has long been hampered by their general insolubility. They are used as flame retardants and have been the object of interest recently for potential applications in electronics materials, explosives, and more.

History

Jöns Jakob Berzelius first mentioned the heptazines in the 1830s when he discovered a polymeric substance after mercury thiocyanate ignition. Justus von Liebig named the polymer melon. Much later in 1937 Linus Pauling showed by x-ray crystallography that heptazines are in fact fused triazines. The unsubstituted heptazine C₆N₇H₃ was synthesized by Ramachandra S. Hosmane and others from the group of N. Leonard in the early 1980s. The structure of Berzelius's melon was confirmed only in 2001.

Whale

Whale is the common name for a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. They are an informal grouping within the infraorder Cetacea, usually excluding dolphins and porpoises. Whales, dolphins and porpoises belong to the order Cetartiodactyla with even-toed ungulates and their closest living relatives are the hippopotamuses, having diverged about 40 million years ago. The two parvorders of whales, baleen whales (Mysticeti) and toothed whales (Odontoceti), are thought to have split apart around 34 million years ago. The whales comprise eight extant families: Balaenopteridae (the rorquals), Balaenidae (right whales), Cetotheriidae (the pygmy right whale), Eschrichtiidae (the gray whale), Monodontidae (belugas and narwhals), Physeteridae (the sperm whale), Kogiidae (the dwarf and pygmy sperm whale), and Ziphiidae (the beaked whales).

High roller

A high roller is a gambler who wagers large amounts of money. High rollers often receive lavish "comps" from casinos to lure them onto the gambling floors, such as free private jet transfers, limousine use and use of the casinos' best suites. Casinos may also extend credit to a player to continue betting, offer rebates on betting turnover or losses, and salaries of employees may also contain incentive arrangements to bring in high rollers.

The definition of a high roller varies. At Crown Casino in Australia, for example, it involves bringing between A$50,000 and $75,000 to the table. High roller players often have very high table limits allowing the high roller exclusive use. Casinos compete on bet limits. In Australia limits of A$300,000 are common, in Las Vegas they are between US$150,000 and $300,000, and in Macau they are up to US$500,000. Only casinos with "substantial financial firepower" can accommodate high-stakes gambling due to the "volatility" of results.

High rollers may also be subject to exceptions from various rules and regulations; for example the high roller rooms at Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia are the only licensed venue in the state not subject to a ban on smoking.

Whale (sculpture)

Whale is an outdoor wooden sculpture of a whale, located in Cannon Beach, Oregon, United States.

Description

Whale is a 9-foot (2.7 m) cedar sculpture installed at, and the namesake of, Whale Park (or Hemlock Street Park), located at the north end of downtown Cannon Beach. The sculpture commemorates the visit by members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition's Corps of Discovery in January 1806, including William Clark and Sacagawea, who explored the area to investigate reports of a beached whale. It measures 4 feet (1.2 m) x 3.5 feet (1.1 m) x 10 feet (3.0 m) and is positioned horizontally on top of two metal posts anchored in a concrete base which is 2 feet (0.61 m) tall. The whale's head and tail are elevated. The underside of its proper right flipper contains an unintelligible signature by the artist which may read "Harturck" or "Hartwick".

History

The sculpture's condition was deemed "treatment needed" by the Smithsonian Institution's "Save Outdoor Sculpture!" program in November 1993. It was administered by the City of Cannon Beach at that time.Whale has been included in at least one published guided tour, called "Oregon's Coast, Mountains, Columbia River Gorge and Wine".