Tornado (sailboat)

The Tornado is a double handed multihull class recognised as an International Class by the International Sailing Federation. It was used for the Olympic Catamaran discipline for over 30 years.

Background

The boat was designed in 1967 by Rodney March from the Isle of Sheppey, England. At the IYRU Olympic Catamaran Trials for international status, it easily defeated the other challengers.

To increase its performance even further, the Tornado was modified in 2000, with a new sail-plan which included a Spinnaker and Spinnaker boom, as well as an increased sail area of the existing sails. An additional trapeze was also added, and the jib was made self tacking.

The Tornado typically flies one of its two hulls; the crew balancing the boat with their own weight and by controlling the sails. With only one hull in the water, drag is significantly reduced. The Tornado also features an adjustable, rotating mast, which not only greatly improves the aerodynamics of the crucial leading edge of the sail, but also allows improved control over mast bend and thus mainsail flatness. For the high speeds and apparent wind directions seen by this high speed vessel, a flat sail profile is often required.

Sonic the Hedgehog (series)

Sonic the Hedgehog (ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ, Sonikku za Hejjihoggu) is a video game franchise created and owned by Sega. The franchise centers on a series of speed-based platform games, but several are spin-offs in different genres. The protagonist of the series is an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog named Sonic, whose peaceful life is often interrupted by the series's main antagonist, Doctor Eggman. Typically, Sonic—usually along with some of his friends, such as Tails, Amy, and Knuckles—must stop Eggman and foil any plans of world domination. The first game in the series, published in 1991, was conceived by Sega's Sonic Team division after Sega requested a mascot character; the title was a success and spawned sequels, and transformed Sega into a leading video game company during the 16-bit era in the early to mid-1990s.

Sonic Team has since developed many titles in the franchise. Prominent members of its initial staff included Naka, character designer Naoto Ohshima, and level designer Hirokazu Yasuhara. Other developers of Sonic games have included Japanese Dimps, American Sega Technical Institute, Backbone Entertainment, Big Red Button Entertainment, and Sanzaru Games, Canadian BioWare, and British Sumo Digital and Traveller's Tales. While the first games in the series were side-scrolling platform games, the series has expanded into other genres such as action-adventure, fighting, racing, role-playing, and sports. Including packaged game software and downloads, the franchise has sold 335 million units as of April 2015, with the mobile game Sonic Dash being downloaded over 100 million times by June 2015, making it one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time.

Tornado (horse)

Tornado (occasionally Toronado) is a horse ridden by the character Zorro in several movies and books. Tornado is referred to as a black Andalusian in the movie The Mask of Zorro, however in filming a Friesian plays the role. Tornado is said to be very intelligent and very fast. His name is pronounced in the Spanish way, "tor-NAH-do" (except in The Mask of Zorro). Being as jet-black as Zorro's costume enables horse and rider to more easily elude capture at night.

Background

Over the decades and the many stories, the specific details of Tornado's history and personality differ considerably.

In Isabel Allende's novel Zorro, Tornado is given to Don Diego de la Vega upon his return to California, by his milk brother, Bernardo (manservant in the Disney television series), and Bernardo's wife, Light-in-the-night, who trained it. During Bernardo and Diego's Indian initiation ritual before leaving for Spain, Bernardo notices a black foal tentatively following him while he is alone in the woods. Gradually, he befriends the horse, and names him Tornado (pending the horse's approval). He plans to tame Tornado and give him to Diego, but when he wakes up after three days the horse is gone (only to show up again later). Instead of a gift, he takes it as a sign that the horse is his spirit guide, and plans to "develop the horse's virtues: loyalty, strength, and endurance" (76).

Pyramid (Providence band)

Pyramid is a punk rock band from Providence, Rhode Island, composed of Connie Strychasz (vocals, drums), Florence Wallis (bass), Mackensie Elisabeth (guitar) and Thea Shaheen (ukulele). Members have previously or concurrently played with other Providence bands including The Low Anthem. Founded in 2014, Pyramid has built a strong following in the town thanks to its memorable live shows. A series of demos were released on Soundcloud, and a debut album is forthcoming.

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References

Memphis Pyramid

The Memphis Pyramid, initially known as the Great American Pyramid, formerly referred to as the Pyramid Arena and locally referred to as The Pyramid, was originally built as a 20,142-seat arena located in downtown Memphis at the banks of the Mississippi River. The facility was built in 1991 and was originally owned and operated jointly by the city of Memphis and Shelby County; Shelby County sold its share to Memphis in April 2009. Its structure plays on the city's namesake in Egypt, known for its ancient pyramids. It is 321 feet (98m, about 32 stories) tall and has base sides of 591 ft; it is by some measures the tenth tallest pyramid in the world.

The Memphis Pyramid has not been regularly used as a sports or entertainment venue since 2004. In 2015, the Pyramid re-opened as a Bass Pro Shops "megastore", which includes shopping, a hotel, restaurants, a bowling alley, and an archery range with an outdoor observation deck at its apex.

Construction

Pyramid (cigarette)

Pyramid is a cigarette brand manufactured by Liggett Group, Inc., based in Mebane, North Carolina. Pyramid was introduced in 1988 as the first "branded discount" cigarette. It is available in 11 versions as of February, 2006.

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