Department of Agriculture Established: 1862The Department of Agriculture (USDA) supervises agricultural production to make sure prices are fair for producers and consumers, helps farmers financially with subsidies and development programs, and helps food producers sell their goods overseas. The department runs food assistance and nutrition programs. The USDA’s inspection and grading programs make sure food is safe to eat. Department of Commerce Established: 1903The Department of Commerce promotes international trade, economic growth, and technological advancement....

Research has proven that warm temperatures and exposure to sunshine have the greatest positive impact on moods. A report published in the British Journal of Psychology found that warmer temperatures lowered anxiety and skepticism while more hours of sunshine increased positive thinking. The same study showed that high levels of humidity made it hard to concentrate, increasing fatigue and sleepiness. Seasonal Affective Disorder Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), the clinical name for winter depression or the winter blues, occurs due to the temperature drop and the short days during the winter months....

Related Links Being Transgender TodayTrans Kids Purple Rainbow FoundationGlobal Action for Trans EqualityGLBT National Help CenterGender Issues WebsitesThe American Gay Rights Movement: A Timeline Conflicting Opinions Some doctors are against offering sex-change treatments to kids under 18, saying treatments are harmful if done too early. These doctors also warn that the parents’ motive for approving the treatment needs to be carefully examined. Some parents may feel more at ease with their child having a sex change than dealing with the scrutiny that may come from having a homosexual child....

A kiln is basically a container in which heat is built up to the temperatures required to fire ceramics. The heat can be created by running electricity through heating elements or by burning fuels. For more information, read: Kiln Buying Basics: what to consider before buying a kiln What Kind of Kiln Is It?: types of kilns by their construction style Electric Kiln Basics: things you need to know about electric kilns before buying or installing one 3 Types of Specialized Kilns...

According to the NPD Group’s study, Time Lines: How Americans Spent Their Time During the ’90s, both men and women actually slept more in the late 1990s than they did in the early ’90s. The average adult slept 7.8 hours a night in the latter part of the ’90s, up from 7.4 hours a night earlier in the decade. Instead of sacrificing shut-eye, Americans cut back on household chores, food preparation, grocery shopping, and believe it or not, working....

Click the links below to see thousands of the best free Christmas coloring pages for kids that can be found online. After they’re done coloring, they might enjoy completing a free Christmas word search puzzle. The free Christmas coloring pages include fun images of Santa, candy canes, Christmas trees, presents, snowmen, bells, teddy bears, ornaments, reindeer, wreaths, and much more. You can print these Christmas coloring pages by clicking on the thumbnail and then clicking on the image again to print it without any ads....

Earthquake Causes Nuclear Disaster What’s more, cooling systems in one of the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in the Fukushima prefecture on the east coast of Japan failed shortly after the earthquake, causing a nuclear crisis. This initial reactor failure was followed by an explosion and eventual partial meltdowns in two reactors, then by a fire in another reactor which released radioactivity directly into the atmosphere. The nuclear troubles were not limited to the Daiichi plant; three other nuclear facilities also reported problems....

How do earthquakes generate tsunamis? By far, the most destructive tsunamis are generated from large, shallow earthquakes with an epicenter or fault line near or on the ocean floor. These usually occur in regions of the earth characterized by tectonic subduction along tectonic plate boundaries. The high seismicity of such regions is caused by the collision of tectonic plates. When these plates move past each other, they cause large earthquakes, which tilt, offset, or displace large areas of the ocean floor from a few kilometers to as much as a 1,000 km or more....

Buying Carving Block Some craft and rubber stamping stores sell carving block and carving tools. It is also widely available from art stores and print suppliers. Carving block is typically sold by the block or sheet, however, bulk packs are available for prolific carvers. Carving block is available in a range of sizes, from small blocks not much bigger than an eraser to large sheets which are perfect for more ambitious projects....

46,400 The number of refugees from Asia, the region the U.S. took in the most refugees from in 2014. Africa came in second with 16,343. 19,769 The number of refugees from Iraq, the country where the most refugees came to the U.S. from in 2014. Burma was second with 14,598. Male vs. Female Of the 69,975 refugees who came to the U.S. in 2014, 36,767 were male and 33,208 were female....

Once athletes have secured funding to pursue their dream of winning gold at the Olympics, they sometimes move to an Olympic training facility in preparation for the Games. The United States Olympic Committee runs three major training centers for elite American athletes, providing the best training in the finest facilities in the world. United States athletes preparing for the Olympic Games, Paralympics, and Pan-Am Games often live at one of the U....

The first time you use a soldering torch might be a scary proposition. The open flame can seem intimidating and may make you feel more like a construction worker than a fine design artisan. Do not let these preconceived notions turn you away from soldering or divert you to use some insufficient equipment. With proper safety and practice, you can become comfortable with the flame. Find out more about why you need to use a flame torch versus a soldering iron....

No one wants to undo their work, especially when it’s rows and rows of stitches. But it can be much better to fix an error than to live with it and always know that it’s there. Small mistakes may not show, but some are too noticeable to ignore—that’s where frogging comes in. When you need to go back to a mistake in your work, it might sound as easy as pulling and unraveling the knitting, and that’s true—to a point....

PVC damage appears as greenish, milky, or grey streaks or haze. It looks like tiny green blobs on the coin’s surface in severe cases. PVC stands for polyvinyl chloride; it is an additive used in plastics to make the material more pliable and less brittle. In coin collecting, PVC is most frequently encountered in the clear plastic flips in which coins are stored. If the PVC residue on the coin’s surface is removed soon enough, the coin may escape with minimal damage that is not visible to the naked eye....

Here is the screen that you get when WhatsApp detects an inaccuracy in your phone’s date and time. Most of the time, however, this error is just because of a confusing date difference. There becomes a clash between the phone date and what WhatsApp sees as date. The first thing that you should do is what WhatsApp suggests you to do. Tap of the Adjust date button and see if the date and time of your phone are really out of sync....

Boy’s Life Magazine1325 Walnut Hill La.Irving, Tex. 75038Publishes original fiction and nonfiction, poetry, and readers’ favorite jokes and riddles. Children’s Express1440 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 510Washington, DC 20005http://www.ce.org/This news service is reported by kids age 13 and under. The twice-weekly column is distributed by UPI to 2,500 newspapers around the world. Write for information. Cobblestone20 Grove St.Peterborough, N.H. 03458http://www.cobblestonepub.com/pages/cobbmain.htmPublishes a variety of material; however, you are asked to write first and ask for guidelines and upcoming themes....

Romney’s presidential campaign agenda is based on conservative principles, including small government, lower taxes, national security, and defending the traditional family. Born into a politically active family in Detroit, Michigan, with roots in the Mormon Church, it was only natural that Romney would pursue a political career. His father, George W. Romney, was a 1968 presidential candidate and his mother, Lenore Romney, was a U.S. Senate candidate in 1970....

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Katarina Witt Related Links 2014 Winter OlympicsMemorable Olympic MomentsBirth of the Modern OlympicsEncyclopedia: Ancient Olympics Cross country skier Raisa Smetanina (USSR) is the winningest woman medalist, taking 10 medals (four gold; five silver; one bronze). Speed skater Apolo Ohno leads the list of American medal winners at the Winter Games: eight (two gold; two silver; four bronze). Speed skater Bonnie Blair is the winningest American woman medal winner at the Winter Games: six (five gold; one bronze)....