The Samurai of Japan reigned for 700 years from the late 12th to the mid-19th century These warriors inspired terror by wearing fierce masks with horned helmets, and on the battlefield they used their swords to harvest heads.

When a battle ended the warrior would ceremoniously present trophy heads to the general who would reward him in gold, silver, or land from the defeated clan. These were the samurai who lived by a code that valued death over defeat. To avoid the dishonor of capture the Samurai would have an attendant behead him as soon as he stabbed himself. When his honor is questioned a true samurai would prefer death.

The deeper instincts of the samurai for power was displayed in frequent warfare between 1300-1500. This period was named Sengoku Jidai, the Age of the Country at War.

We can understand the lasting appeal of the samurai when we realize he was the action figure of Japan who slays his enemies against impossible odds. Consider that the samurai of Japan was one character that embodied Japan’s cowboy, knight, gladiator, and the Jedi of Star Wars.

The samurai carried Japan from the medieval period into the modern era. The samurai spirit is still within the Japanese psyche.

Domino’s Pizza is the world leader in pizza delivery. They operate more than 5,500 franchise stores in America as well as 2,000 in other countries. The business began in 1960 when Tom Monaghan and his brother James purchased for $500 a pizza store in Ypsilanti, Michigan named DomiNick’s. Worldwide sales in the year 2000 were $3.4 billion.

Last year they delivered over 400 million pizzas which would be one pizza and a slice for every person in the United States. 9 million miles per week are covered by Domino’s drivers which would be 37.5 round trips to the moon weekly.

In 2003, they sold close to 1.2 million pizzas on the busiest pizza day of the year, Super Bowl Sunday.

Domino’s was the innovator of the sturdy corrugated pizza box which keeps moisture out thereby causing the box to weaken less and it prevents cheese from sticking to the top of the box during delivery.

A new hot bag was introduced in 1998 which contains a patented heat mechanism that warms via electro-magnetic energy. This technology keeps the pizza hot during delivery. The outer bag is made with nylon which is water-repellant.

The 3D car top sign was invented by Dominoes and is currently used by taxis, driving schools and others.

In 1998, Tom Monaghan, retired and sold 93% of his company to Bain Capital Inc

Kimberly Clark was founded by John A. Kimberly, who lived from 1880-1928. He and his three partners built their first paper mill in 1872.

Entire product categories have been invented by Kimberly Clark since its inception in 1872. They invented the product categories of facial tissue, feminine pads, paper towels, toilet paper on a roll and disposable training pants.

Innovative products continue with this company with the most recent product to be launched in October 2004. Their new facial tissue reportedly kills 99.9% of Cold and Flu Viruses. The tissue uses a patented super premium 3-ply tissue design. There is a moisture-activate middle layer that is treated with an anti-viral formula. When someone sneezes or coughs into this tissue the viruses hit the middle layer killing within 15 minutes cold and flu viruses. This is the only facial tissue that offers this benefit.

Kleenex is brand that is the first and best selling facial tissue. It was first marketed as a sanitary way to remove cold cream and makeup. When the advertising shifted to the use as a disposable handkerchief sale surged.

Their diaper business under the brand name of Huggies alone is 3.5 billion dollars.

Sales of $14.3 billion comes from products sold in more than 150 countries. Diaper sales of their brand name Huggies alone contribute 3.5 billion dollars.

Today the spectrum of laser types extends from those as large as football fields to others tinier than a pinhead.

As a bow stores energy and releases it to drive an arrow to a target so lasers store energy in atoms and molecules, concentrate it, and release it in powerful waves. The photons travel the length of the laser and bounce off mirrors–one a full mirror, one partially silvered–at either end. Photons, reflected back and forth, finally gain so much energy that they exit the partially silvered end, emerging as a powerful beam.

Point to the sun at noon on a clear summer day, and about one-tenth of a watt of solar power falls on your fingertip. Upon a piece of steel no bigger an industrial laser can easily concentrate ten billion watts.

Lasers are revolutionizing eye surgery. Sight saving shafts of light are able to enter the eye without injury. With microscopic focus, beams weld breaks in the retina or seal leaking blood vessels by photo coagulation. A painless 20-minute operation called an iridectomy relieves the excess fluid buildup of glaucoma.

Bloodless scalpels, lasers can make extremely delicate incisions, cauterize blood vessels, and leave tissue unaffected that are only a few cell widths away.

In women, an infected pelvis or perpetual menstrual bleeding usually prompted a hysterectomy–sterilization. Laser treatment now gives them a chance to have children, by preserving internal organs.

Laser beams can heal tumors in the brain and spinal cord, many of which were previously inoperable are proving particularly receptive to the laser’s delicate and healing touch.

Lasers are also valuable diagnostic tools. A laser blood flow meter can identify areas of critically poor circulation in a patient’s leg..

As a surveyor’s tool tunnels can be drilled by laser-guided machines. These tunnels are straight (like your teeth will be after Invisalign) within a centimeter or two. Compare that with tunnels not using lasers to complete. They are misaligned by several inches.

Lasers can cut through the toughest metal with unrivaled speed and accuracy.

When first discovered lasers were thought of as a solution in search of a problem. Now we are taking our problems to the laser for solutions.

You’re suffering miserably from a tooth ache and the dentist’s office is closed. What can you do to relieve the pain temporarily? Ibuprofen works miracles and is great for inflammatory problems such as tooth and gum pain. Take 800 milligrams of Ibuprofen every 4 hours or as needed. This is only a temporary fix and you need to see a dentist if the problem persists. A second option is clove oil which is available at all health food stores. Dip the tip of a cotton swab with the oil and dab onto the aching tooth. You should begin feeling some relief almost immediately. Be careful though as clove oil is extremely effective because it is an antibacterial, an antiseptic and an analgesic. It is also extremely powerful so avoid getting too much extra on your gums as this may irritate them. These are only quick fixes and should never be thought of as a cure. A more dangerous underlying illness could be hidden and masking the pain is never a good idea.  If you are in London you can visit these London dentists.

Always see a doctor for pain that lasts for more than one day.

CAD (Computer-Aided Design) is a category of software program used by engineers and designers to create virtual models or drawings on-screen to communicate their ideas, often, used with construction software .

This type of software is used many professional disciplines today, including mechanical design, architecture, structural and civil engineering, electrical design, and many others. A mechanical engineer will create “solid models” of a suspension component or a piston inside an engine. An electrical engineer might use CAD to sketch out a circuit diagram, and a circuit board designer would use CAD to organize the layers of “traces” or lines that carry the signals in the circuit design. Even information technology professionals use CAD to “layout” all of the wiring and cable routing needed to connect all of the computers on a corporate network.

There are many advantages that CAD software has brought to the world of design and engineering, and the primary advantages are all based on faster flow of information and easier change in direction. Before CAD, an engineer would work with a drafter to draw, by hand, an idea on a two-dimensional piece of paper. The engineer and drafter would work back and forth until the “thing” documented in the drawing matched the mental imagery in the engineer’s imagination. Then this original hard-copy drawing would be duplicated and sent to someone who built or fabricated what was represented. The engineer would review the results, and then work with a drafter again change the drawing as necessary, if the physical result didn’t match the original concept or idea.

Now, a designer or engineer can use two-dimensional (lines) or three-dimensional (shapes) modeling software to “sketch” his or her own ideas on a computer screen, in a matter of minutes. In the example of a mechanical designer or engineer using the tool, a virtual object can be spun around to view it from many angles, and it can be assembled to other virtual objects, or analyzed for strength or weight, checked for fit and interferences. The idea can be presented to peers, supervisors, metal fabricators, assembly technicians, and even customers, to get feedback long before time and money are invested in formal documentation, prototyping or manufacturing, and so on. In this way, CAD software provides any number of opportunities for making a design development project significantly more efficient.

The world’s largest chocolate company is Hershey Foods Corporation. The aroma of cocoa permeates their headquarters at Hershey, Pennsylvania. Milton S. Hershey in 1894 founded this company and made his chocolate-flavored bar an American icon.

For chocolate lovers and their families a must on your itinerary would be a visit to Hershey park, a park with chocolate as its theme that is also at their Pennsylvania headquarters. The family will enjoy the more than 60 exciting rides, attractions and live entertainment at this 110 acre park at Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Since 1907, the Hershey’s Kisses brand chocolates have been an American classic. The famous Hershey’s chocolate bar is the most well known of the candies and the line now includes Almond Joy, KitKat, Mr. Goodbar and many other favorites.

This leading snack food company is the largest North American manufacturer of chocolate and non-chocolate confectionary products. Revenues are over $4 billion and worldwide they employ 13,000 people

In 1876, Milton S. Hershey started his own candy business in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After six year the business failed and he found a confectioner in Denver that taught him how to make caramels using fresh milk. He returned to the east coast and his second candy business in New York city also failed. Again he tried and his Lancaster caramel business netted him one million dollars which he used to found the Hershey Chocolate company.

This leading snack food company is the largest North American manufacturer of chocolate and non-chocolate confectionary products. Revenues are over $4 billion and worldwide they employ 13,000 people.

It is larger than Europe, without a native human population. It contains more than two-thirds of the world’s fresh water. Antarctica is the highest, coldest, most desolate place on earth. But it irresistibly draws visitors. Air traffic is growing and more than 3,000 tourists visit by ship each year to ski or mountain climb. There’s even a hotel (although it isn’t very luck like any of the Chicago hotels I visit).

Scientists use this giant outdoor lab to discover our planet’s history as well as discover the warning signs of global pollution. This was the first place where it was discovered that there was a hole in the ozone layer which shields the earth from harmful frequencies of solar radiation.

2,500 people are in the U.S. Antarctic research program. They are researching atmospheric physics and chemistry, astrophysics, and biology.

Comparing today’s atmospheric gases with those trapped in core samples of ancient Antarctica ice, researchers have found that the burning of fossil fuels has helped raise carbon dioxide to the highest level in history.

In this frozen land, the penguins dominate with more than one hundred million. Here penguins are at the top of the food chain without a predator. They feed on krill which is plentiful because they do not compete for krill with the whales who have declined in population.

Antarctica has no government. Various countries claim areas of it, but most countries do not recognize those claims. The area between 90 degrees west and 150 degrees west is the only land on Earth not claimed by any country.

As a result of the brilliant leadership of Gustavus Adolphus during the 30 Years War, Sweden became the dominant military and commercial leader of Northern Europe, effectively controlling the Baltic Sea and the surrounding areas. This led to conflicts between the traditional opponents of Sweden; Denmark, Russia, and Saxony-Poland. In 1799, Peter the Great of Russia, wanting an outlet to the Baltic Sea, formed a grand alliance between these three powers, and in 1700 The Great Northern War began.

What looked like an easy victory for the alliance turned into disaster. Denmark was quickly dealt with through a lightening offensive in which Swedish forces landed on Jutland, and removed Denmark from the war. In August of 1700, Charles XII of Sweden then turned against the Russians. Outnumbered 5 to 1, the Swedes crushed the Russian forces at Narva. Instead of following up this massive victory against the Russians, and bringing Russia to terms, the young Swedish king turned his forces against what he considered was his last opponent; Augustus of Saxony-Poland. During 1701 and 1702, the Swedes fought and defeated the forces of Saxony-Poland, and Poland was severed from Saxony. A pro-Swedish king was installed in Poland, but Saxony stubbornly continued its fight against Sweden. The war between Sweden and Saxony continued until 1706 when Saxony was forced to terms.

While the Swedes were fighting against Saxony, Peter the Great took that opportunity to reform and rebuild his army. The Swedish king believed the Russians to be a sullen defeated enemy and no threat. Instead he faced a renewed and energized Russia with a new and overwhelming army. During the years after Narva, Peter the Great rebuilt his army, and brought reforms to the entire nation that made Russia a more powerful country. Work began on St. Petersburg, Peter’s gateway to the West, and all internal dissent was crushed. By 1707 Sweden looked to the East and was dismayed at what it saw. In January of 1708, a Swedish army began an offensive against Moscow. The Swedes won many battles, but could not bring the Russian army to defeat. The Russians continued to retreat burning all in their wake, leaving nothing for the Swedes to eat. After suffering many inconclusive defeats, the Russians counter-attacked at Lesnaia, catching the Swedish supply train off-guard. The Swedes’ supplies were either captured or destroyed. Then an unusually harsh Russian Winter delivered the most punishing losses of the war against the Swedes. During the winter, the Swedes continued to fight and defeat the Russians, but after each battle the Swedes were fewer and weaker. The Russians on the other hand were able to make up all losses and then some. The Swedes were hoping for another dramatic confrontation like Narva, but it never came. Instead the dogged Russians continued to fight on. Finally in July of 1709 at the Battle of Poltava the Swedes were dramatically defeated. Charles XII was forced to escape into Ottoman held territories where he found temporary protection and support.

After the Battle of Poltava, the alliance between Saxony, Denmark and Russia was resumed. The Danes invaded Sweden, Prussia and other German states entered the war against Sweden, and Saxony reinstated its claim on Poland. The Swedes fought back without their king, and surprised the alliance with their resilience. Charles XII escaped from Turkey, and managed to return to Sweden. He was intent on defeating the formidable alliance against him: Russia, Denmark, Saxony-Poland, Prussia and Hanover. Sweden was not able to obtain any allies. Seeing the hopelessness of fighting a defensive war against such forces, Charles decided to launch yet another offensive, this time against Norway. In 1716, he attacked Norway hoping to discourage the allies from attacking Sweden, and the Danes in particular by threatening their northern possessions. Although the Norway campaign was not a dramatic success for Sweden, it did divert an attack upon Sweden by the combined armies of the alliance. Furthermore, the alliance was showing signs of strain. The Russians were upset at being excluded from many actions, and the other allies were becoming hesitant at the apparent strength of Sweden. What had appeared a year before to be a certain victory against a weakened Sweden now seemed a more dangerous and questionable affair. Charles XII embarked upon a mission to rebuild and restore the empire he had lost in the fighting.

By 1718, Charles XII of Sweden had rebuilt his forces, and launched another offensive against Norway. During the fighting he was killed while besieging a fortress. Without the absolute power of Charles XII, the Swedes lacked the will to continue the fight. Various treaties were signed, and by 1721 the war was over. Sweden had lost most of its foreign possessions, and was no longer the dominant power in the Baltic Sea region. That distinction now rested with Russia.

The War of the Spanish Succession was a conflict arising from the disputed succession to the throne of Spain after the death of the childless King of Spain, Charles II. The initial negotiations for succession to the Spanish throne involved the chief claimants: Philip, son of Louis XIV of France; Archduke Charles (later Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI), son of Emperor Leopold I; and Joseph Ferdinand, electoral prince of Bavaria. Each candidate was supported, and in turn opposed, by a group of European powers. Both England and Holland, opposed to the extension of either French Bourbon or Austrian Hapsburg power into Spain, and therefore favored Joseph Ferdinand of Bavaria as a middle-of-the-road compromise. The French obviously favored the Bourbon Philip, and the Imperialist alliance led by Austria supported the Hapsburg Charles. In 1698 an agreement was reached called the First Partition Treaty in which Joseph Ferdinand was to get the crown, and the Spanish territories in the Low Countries would go to go to Austria and France. However as fate would have it, Joseph Ferdinand died before Charles II, and on his death bed Charles named Philip, duke of Anjou, as the successor to the Spanish throne.

When Philip took the Spanish throne as Philip V, his grandfather Louis XIV invaded the Spanish Netherlands. The former anti-French alliance from the War of the Grand Alliance was revived in 1701, and Britain, Holland, Austria and most of the German states went to war against France. France was initially supported by Spain, Portugal (Car Hire Portugal) , Bavaria and Savoy, with Portugal changing sides in 1703.

The British forces, led by the Duke of Marlborough, won a series of victories over France between 1704 and 1709, that forced the French out of the Low Countries and Italy. The Imperial general, Eugene of Savoy, also won notable victories. In 1711 conflicts within the alliance led to its collapse, and peace negotiations began in 1712. The war concluded with the Peace of Utrecht in 1713, which marked the rise of the power of Britain at the expense of both France and Spain, and the Treaties of Rastatt and Baden in 1714.