[Freeciv-Dev] Re: Backround on the Wonders

[Jason Todd <idjason@xxxxxxxx>]

 No, make that today. Well, here it is, in all its plain text glory!

Jason Todd wrote:
> 
>  I'm busy compiling a text file of the description of the wonders from
> CivI. I should have it posted by tomorrow.

 1)The APOLLO PROGRAM was begun by the US in response 
to early Soviet successes in space, and was intended to 
place men on the moon. This was dramatically accomplished 
on July 20, 1969, when two American astronauts first set 
foot on the lunar landscape. Technology developed for the 
APOLLO PROGRAM was later found to be invaluable in 
designing future space vehicles and orbital platforms. 

 2)Cancer remains a terrifying and deadly plague on life, 
despite huge outlays on research for a CURE. We have learned 
that there are many types of cancer and that many factors 
seem capable of triggering it, but so far a remedy for this 
scourge eludes us. A CURE FOR CANCER would end suffering 
and anguish beyond measure, and give years of happy and 
productive life to millions of people otherwise doomed.

 3)Early in the 16th Century, Nicholas Copernicus rediscovered 
the heliocentric theory of planetary motion, witch is the belief -- 
now known to be fact -- that the planets revolve around the Sun. 
The foundation of modern astronomy was this theory and the meticulous 
scientific data collected by Copernicus in his OBSERVATORY, a 
small room in an East Prussian Cathedral spire. The methods of his 
research and observation that led to his correct conclusion were 
also a rebirth of the scientific method and an impotant step in 
the advance of knowledge.

 4)Charles Darwin, the main proponent of the 
theory of organic evolution, built up much of his 
evidence for natural selection while aboard the 
HMS Beagle on its five-year cruise around the 
world. DARWIN'S VOYAGE was instumental not only in 
the establishment of his theory, but also in the 
rigorous application of the scientific method to 
nature. Darwin published the theory and the 
evidence for it in his major work, The Origin of 
Species. He was so complete and persuasive that he 
was criticized only on philosophical grounds, not 
scientific. His work opened many new lines of 
inquiry and triggered a wave of new biological 
reasearch.

 5)The HANGING GARDENS of Babylon are believed to 
have been a series of ascending, tiered gardens 
built within a palace to please a queen from a 
more verdant region. The gardens contained all 
manner of trees, shrubs, and vines, and appeared 
to be a large green mountain in a city built of 
sun-dried mud bricks. Pleasing to look at, cool to 
linger in, and a remarkable piece of engineering, 
the gardens were distinctive feature of Babylon. 
They were written about by many visitors and were 
a great source of pride to the people.

 6)Few comopsers were more prlific or beloved than 
Johann Sebastian Bach, the best-known member of a 
gifted family of German musicians. Bach was 
perhaps the finest proponent of the baroque style 
of music, as demonstrated in his numerous choral 
and orchestral pieces. Bach was more renowned 
during his lifetime as an organist and music 
director of St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, Saxony. 
But since his passing, his music has found a 
worldwide audience and appreciation.

 7)The Royal GREAT LIBRARY of Alexandria was one 
of the two most important libraries of the ancient 
world. It was founded around 300 BC by Ptolemy I, 
and was greatly enhanced by the later Ptolemaic 
rulers, when Alexandria served as the cultural 
center of the Hellenistic world. The LIBRARY 
attempted to obtain copies of all known scrolls of 
any consequence, and it was said to have contained 
over 700,000 volumes. It became a center for 
learning as well as a repository of knowledge. The 
LIBRARY was ultimately destroyed by religious 
fanatics in 391 A.D. Only part of the catalog 
survives to tantalize us about the treasues it 
contained.

 8)The Pharos of Alexandria was a marble watch 
tower and LIGHTHOUSE built on an island in the 
harbor of the city. Estimated to have been 300 
feet high, the building was erected around 280 BC. 
The primary function of the LIGHTHOUSE was to guide
approaching ships to the harbor on an otherwise 
unmarked coast. Historians debate whether fires 
were burned on the top of the tower, or mirrors were
 used to reflect sunlight. Since ships rarely 
sailed anlong coasts at night, there may have been 
little need for light after dark. The Pharos was 
finally ruined in the 14th Century after having 
been damaged in several earthquakes.

 9)In 1519, Ferdinand Magellan sailed from Spain, 
seeking to reach the spice-rich Moluccas Islands of 
Indonesia by sailing west, instead of east. 
Although the leader was killed by natives in the 
Philippines, MAGELLAN'S EXPEDTION proved 
conclusively that the world was round, and, more
importantly, that the Americas were indeed a New 
World. MAGELLAN'S EXPEDITION was one of the great 
sea voyages of history and it inspired further 
expeditions by other adventurers. Its discoveries 
opened new worlds and reduced the dangers to those 
who followed in its wake.

 10)The atomic bomb derived its power from the 
sudden release of nuclear energy following the 
splitting of havy atomic nuclei. The MANHATTAN 
PROJECT, an intensive and costly research effort, 
developed the first atomic bombs during World 
War II. For a brief period the United States held a 
monopoly on these weapons. However, by 1949 the 
Soviet Union had also developed them, at least 
partly thanks to espionage that obtained much of 
the MANHATTAN PROJECT reasearch. The nuclear 
stand-off that resulted seems to have been largely 
responsible for the absence of major wars since.

 11)The beauty of Rome's Sistine Chapel, whose 
ceiling was painted by Michelangelo, has long 
served as a testament to the mixture of strong 
religious beliefs and the love of are which 
pervaded Renaissance Europe. The artist devoted 
four years to the work, which depicts important 
scenes from Genesis and other books of the Bible. 
Few visitors to MICHELANGELO'S CHAPEL failed to be 
moved by the artist's dedication to his subject, or 
his feeling for the nature of human struggle, 
suffering, and spiritual triumph.

 12)Sir Isaac Newton, a mathematician and physicist,
 is considered by many the greastest scientist of 
all time. He is credited for many important 
discoveries, including the laws of gravity, the 
color spectrum of light, calculus, fluid dynamics, 
and an understanding of ocean tides. He also built 
the first reflecting telescope. For 32 years he held
 and important teaching post on the faculty of 
Cambridge University, continuing his own researched 
and instructing a generation of students.

 13)In ancient Greek religion, an ORACLE was a 
priest or priestess who transmitted a god's 
response to questions. The Oracle interpreted 
dreams, the acitons of entranced persons, and 
physical signs found in the entrails of sacrificed 
animals. The most famous ORACLE was the shrine of 
Apollo at Delhi, located on the slopes of Mt. 
Parnassos. It was consulted for centuries by Greeks,
 Romans, and others about public policy and private 
matters. A priestess called the Pythia would, for a 
fee, make predictions for the future. These ecstatic
 pronouncements (oracles) became famous (or 
infamous) for their ambiguity.

 14)Built by the fourth dynasty of Egyptian rulers on the Giza plateau outside 
modern-day Cairo, the PYRAMIDS represent the pinnacle of 
ancient Egyptian cultural achievement. These Wonders were burial tombs and 
monuments for the Pharaohs and may have required and tens of 
thousands of workers to complete. Tey were ancient monuments when visited by 
Herodutus, centuries before the time of Christ. They are the 
only one of the generally accepted seven wonders of the ancient world that 
still stand. The construction of the PYRAMIDS implies a highly 
stable government and well organized society.

 15)Is anybody Out There? Are we alone? The Search for Extraterrestial 
Intelligence (SETI), imitiated (officially, at least) in the U.S. 
during the latter decades of the 20th Century, was not immediately successful 
in detecting the presence of other intelligent lift in the 
universe. However, the reasearch invested in the effort produced many useful 
spinoff benefits to astronomy, telecommunications, and other 
fields requiring high technology.

 16)Most of the plays of William Shakespeare were fist performed at London's 
Globe Theatre during the 1600s. SHAKESPEARE'S THEATRE offered 
the people a diversion from their own troubles, delighting them instead with 
the tragedies, comedies, and triumphs acted out on stage. 
Similar theaters, such as the Comedie Francaise in Paris, and La Scala, the 
famed opera house of Milan, fulfilled similar roles, by offering 
entertainment to the citizens of their cities.

 17)After many years of stuggle, women in the United States won the right to 
vote in 1920 with the passage of the 19th amendment to the U.S. 
Consititution. The achievement of WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE was accelerated by the 
excellent record of women in tradition male jobs during 
World War I. Full voting rights were given to women in Great Britain in 1928. 
Since then women have gained this right in most of the 
developed world.

 18)Established following the holocaust of World War II, the UNITED NATIONS is 
an internation organization dedicated to promoting peace and 
security. It also attempts to achieve international cooperation in solving 
world problems concerning the enviroment, economics, and 
cultures. Even when its peace keeping role has not been effective, it has 
remained a forum for debate where all nations can voice their 
concerns.

 19)The GREAT WALL of China, stretching from the Yellow Sea to the Asian 
deserts, was built over a period of approximately 1800 years. 
Constuction was not continual, but wazed and waned in response to barbarian 
threats from the north. The wall is 25 feet high and 12 feet 
thick; it runs 1500 miles across northern China. The purpose of the GREAT WALL 
was to make it difficult for raiders to escape with their 
booty, and thereby discourage invasion. It was not intended to keep invaders 
out, because it would have been prohibitively expensive to keep 
it manned.