A Ton of Crap (120 page)

Sandawe
Around 40,000 people in Tanzania speak Sandawe. It is believed that Sandawe is related to Khoe, with its closest relatives being those languages found in Namibia and Botswana. The language features two dialects, a southeastern dialect and a northwestern dialect. The differences between the dialects include the talking speed, the dropping of some vowels, and slight grammatical differences. The language features fifteen clicks that act as consonants.

CIVIL RIGHTS

Desegregation of the University of Alabama
In 1963, George Wallace, who had run his campaign with a slogan of “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever,” became governor of Alabama. In June of that same year, the state government was barred from interfering with the admission of two African American students attending the University of Alabama. Wallace made himself the registrar of the university temporarily, and stood at the door of the building, refusing to let the students come in to register. President Kennedy called in the Alabama National Guard, and 100 members of the National Guard escorted the two students. The commander, General Henry Graham, ordered Wallace to move, telling him “step aside.”

FRANZ KAFKA

The Trial
The Trial
tells the story of Joseph K., a young man who, on his thirtieth birthday, is visited by two warders and arrested, even though he has not done anything. K. is told to stay at home and wait for instructions. The story then follows K.’s process of dealing with the law and the untouchable court. On Joseph K.’s thirty-first birthday, he is once again visited by two warders, who bring him to a quarry and tell him to kill himself. Though K. does not fight them, he cannot do it, and they kill him.

DIOPHANTINE EQUATIONS

Linear Diophantine Equations
A linear Diophantine equation is written in the form:
ax
 + 
by
 = 
c
. If the value of
c
is the greatest common divisor of both
a
and
b
, then there is an infinite number of solutions. A problem that meets these characteristics is known as a Bézout’s identity. This is also the case when the value of
c
is a multiple of
a
and
b
’s greatest common divisor. When the value of
c
is not the greatest common divisor for both
a
and
b
or a multiple of
a
and
b
’s greatest common divisor, then the Diophantine equation does not have any solutions.

MITOSIS

Telophase
Once the chromatids have reached their opposite poles, new membranes begin to form around the sets of chromosomes, forming two nuclei. These two nuclei are, for the time being, in the same cell. RNA synthesis occurs and the nuclear envelop reappears, which then breaks down the chromosomes to the point that they can no longer be viewed with a light microscope.

KHOISAN LANGUAGES

Khoe
The Khoe languages, of which there are seven languages that still exist today, is the largest and most diverse of the Khoisan languages, with over a quarter-million people speaking a Khoe language. The Khoe languages were the first that European colonists were introduced to. The most well-known language is Nama, found in Namibia. Though Khoe languages make use of clicks, they are not used as much as in other Khoisan languages. There are two main branches of Khoe: Khoekhoe, found in South Africa and Namibia, and Tshu-Khwe, found in Botswana and Zimbabwe.

CIVIL RIGHTS

The March on Washington
On August 28, 1963, a massive march was held in Washington, D.C. The march, which was intended to pressure the government to act faster, had around 300,000 demonstrators. Civil rights organizations marched for an end to segregation in public schools, the right to vote, protection from police brutality, and a law that prohibited segregation in the work place, among other things. The event featured performances from artists such as Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, readings by celebrities Paul Newman and Sidney Poitier, and most importantly, Martin Luther King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.

FRANZ KAFKA

The Castle
The Castle
tells the story of K., a land surveyor, who arrives at a village to do work. The village’s government office is found in a Castle above the village. The task of doing the work he was hired to do becomes increasingly more difficult for K. as he interacts in the village and bureaucracy.
The Castle
is Kafka’s only book that expresses close relationships between characters. Instead of an unattainable quest, such as those found in Kafka’s other works,
The Castle
is really about the lives of the villagers.

DIOPHANTINE EQUATIONS

Exponential Diophantine Equations
When there are exponents with a variable or additional variables, it is known as an exponential Diophantine equation. For example, the Ramanujan–Nagell equation states 2
n
 – 7 = 
x
2. There is no general theory that allows one to solve these types of problems. Thus, in order to figure out the solution, one can try simple trial and error, testing out possible values and working from the solutions to see which number it should be, or methods like Størmer’s theorem which is based on Pell’s equation.

MITOSIS