Illinois | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Illinois
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The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Illinois ( (listen) IL-ih-NOY) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is the 6th-most populous U.S. state and 25th-largest state in terms of land area, and is often noted as a microcosm of the entire United States. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in northern and central Illinois, and natural resources such as coal, timber, and petroleum in the south, Illinois has a diverse economic base, and is a major transportation hub. The Port of Chicago connects the state to other global ports around the world from the Great Lakes, via the Saint Lawrence Seaway, to the Atlantic Ocean; as well as the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River, via the Illinois Waterway on the Illinois River. The Mississippi River, the Ohio River, and the Wabash River form parts of the boundaries of Illinois. For decades, Chicago's O'Hare International Airport has been ranked as one of the world's busiest airports. Illinois has long had a reputation as a bellwether both in social and cultural terms and politics.
The capital of Illinois is Springfield in central Illinois. Although today, the state's largest population center is in and around Chicago in the northeastern part of the state, the state's European population grew first in the west, with French who settled along the Mississippi River, and gave the area the name Illinois Country. After the American Revolutionary War established the United States, American settlers began arriving from Kentucky in the 1780s via the Ohio River, and the population grew from south to north. In 1818, Illinois achieved statehood. After construction of the Erie Canal increased traffic and trade through the Great Lakes, Chicago was founded in the 1830s on the banks of the Chicago River, at one of the few natural harbors on southern Lake Michigan. John Deere's invention of the self-scouring steel plow turned Illinois's rich prairie into some of the world's most productive and valuable farmland, attracting immigrant farmers from Germany and Sweden. The Illinois and Michigan Canal (1848) made transportation between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River valley faster and cheaper. New railroads carried immigrants to new homes, as well as being used to ship commodity crops to Eastern markets. The state became a transportation hub for the nation.By 1900, the growth of industrial jobs in the northern cities and coal mining in the central and southern areas attracted immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe. Illinois was an important manufacturing center during both world wars. The Great Migration from the South established a large community of African Americans in the state, including Chicago, who created the city's famous jazz and blues cultures. Chicago, the center of the Chicago Metropolitan Area, became a global alpha-level city.
Three U.S. presidents have been elected while living in Illinois: Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and Barack Obama. Additionally, Ronald Reagan, whose political career was based in California, was born and raised in Illinois. Today, Illinois honors Lincoln with its official state slogan, Land of Lincoln, which has been displayed on its license plates since 1954. The state is the site of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, located in the state capital of Springfield, and the future home of the Barack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.
Illinois | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Illinois
00:03:22 1 Etymology
00:04:52 2 History
00:05:01 2.1 Pre-European
00:07:50 2.2 European exploration and settlement prior to 1800
00:09:26 2.3 19th century
00:09:35 2.3.1 Prior to statehood
00:11:18 2.3.2 The State of Illinois prior to the Civil War
00:15:55 2.3.3 Civil War and after
00:17:14 2.4 20th century
00:20:06 3 Geography
00:20:27 3.1 Boundaries
00:21:27 3.2 Topography
00:22:17 3.3 Divisions
00:25:43 3.4 Climate
00:28:33 4 Demographics
00:32:47 4.1 Birth data
00:33:14 4.2 Urban areas
00:35:30 4.3 Languages
00:36:26 4.4 Religion
00:36:34 4.4.1 Christianity
00:37:27 4.4.1.1 Importance in the Latter Day Saint Movement
00:38:04 4.4.2 Other Abrahamic religious communities
00:39:09 4.4.3 Other religions
00:39:24 5 Economy
00:40:00 5.1 Taxes
00:41:09 5.2 Agriculture
00:42:49 5.3 Manufacturing
00:44:01 5.4 Services
00:44:43 5.5 Investments
00:45:20 5.6 Energy
00:45:44 5.6.1 Coal
00:47:39 5.6.2 Petroleum
00:48:25 5.6.3 Nuclear power
00:49:32 5.6.4 Wind power
00:51:04 5.6.5 Biofuels
00:51:55 6 Culture
00:52:03 6.1 Museums
00:53:47 6.2 Music
00:55:35 6.3 Movies
00:56:15 6.4 Sports
00:56:24 6.4.1 Major league sports
00:58:10 6.4.2 Other top-level professional sports
00:58:42 6.4.3 Minor league sports
01:00:05 6.4.4 College sports
01:02:37 6.4.5 Former Chicago sports franchises
01:02:47 6.4.5.1 Folded teams
01:05:16 6.4.5.2 Relocated teams
01:05:54 6.4.6 Professional sports teams outside Chicago
01:06:36 6.4.7 Motor racing
01:07:26 6.4.8 Golf
01:08:27 7 Parks and recreation
01:09:19 8 Law and government
01:11:15 9 Politics
01:11:24 9.1 Party balance
01:14:05 9.2 History of corruption
01:15:36 9.3 U.S. Presidential Elections
01:17:14 9.4 African-American U.S. senators
01:17:46 9.5 Political families
01:18:03 9.5.1 Stevensons
01:19:03 9.5.2 Daleys
01:19:42 10 Education
01:19:51 10.1 Illinois State Board of education
01:20:29 10.2 Primary and secondary schools
01:21:18 10.3 Colleges and universities
01:22:52 11 Infrastructure
01:23:01 11.1 Transportation
01:23:20 11.1.1 Airports
01:24:41 11.1.2 Rail
01:26:02 11.1.3 Interstate highway system
01:26:51 11.1.4 U.S. highway system
01:27:24 11.2 Gallery
01:27:32 12 Miscellaneous
01:28:04 13 See also
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
You can upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Illinois ( (listen) IL-ih-NOY) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is the 6th-most populous U.S. state and 25th-largest state in terms of land area, and is often noted as a microcosm of the entire United States. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in northern and central Illinois, and natural resources such as coal, timber, and petroleum in the south, Illinois has a diverse economic base, and is a major transportation hub. The Port of Chicago connects the state to other global ports around the world from the Great Lakes, via the Saint Lawrence Seaway, to the Atlantic Ocean; as well as the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River, via the Illinois Waterway on the Illinois River. The Mississippi River, the Ohio River, and the Wabash River form parts of the boundaries of Illinois. For decades, Chicago's O'Hare International Airport has been ranked as one of the world's busiest airports. Illinois has long had a reputation as a bellwether both in social and cultural terms and politics.
The capital of Illinois is Springfield in central Illinois. Although today, the state's largest population center is in and around Chicago in the northeastern part of the state, the state's European population grew first in the west, with French who settled along the Mississippi River, and gave the area the name Illinois Country. After the American Revolutionary War established the United States, American settlers began arriving from Kentucky in the 1780s via the Ohio River, and the population grew from south to north. In 1818, Illinois achieved statehood. After construction of the Erie Canal increased traffic and trade through the Great Lakes, Chicago was founded in the 1830s on th ...
Postage stamps and postal history of the United States
The history of postal service of the United States began with the delivery of stampless letters, whose cost was borne by the receiving person, later also encompassed pre-paid letters carried by private mail carriers and provisional post offices, and culminated in a system of universal pre-payment that required all letters to bear nationally issued adhesive postage stamps.
In the earliest days, Ship captains arriving in port with stampless mail would advertise in the local newspaper names of those having mail and for them to come collect and pay for it, if not already paid for by the sender. Postal delivery in the United States was a matter of haphazard local organization until after the Revolutionary War, when eventually a national postal system was established. Stampless letters, paid for by the receiver, and private postal systems, were gradually phased out after the introduction of adhesive postage stamps, first issued by the U.S. government post office July 1, 1847 in the denominations of five and ten cents, with the use of stamps made mandatory in 1855.
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Blizzard of 77 Slideshow
Slideshow of the Great Buffalo Blizzard of 1977. Visit whitedeath.com for more information and to get your own copy of the book and extended, full length DVD by Erno Rossi.
The BNSF Gallup Subdivision in 4K
Gallup, New Mexico, is the largest city along the BNSF Gallup Subdivision between Flagstaff, Arizona, and Albuquerque. Approximately 21,000 people call Gallup home, and it is predominantly made up Native Americans from the Navajo, Hopi, and Zuni tribes.
The city was founded in 1881 as a railhead for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad, and named after David Gallup, a paymaster for the railroad.
Gallup is an Amtrak train station at 201 East Highway 66 in downtown Gallup, New Mexico. It is the second busiest station in the state, with more than 16,000 boardings and alightings in 2014. The two-story station was built in the Mission Revival style in 1918. Then one of a series of Santa Fe railroad station hotels built across the southwestern and central United States by the Fred Harvey Company was connected to the depot in 1923. The fabulous El Navajo Hotel was designed by the master architect Mary Colter, blending Pueblo Revival and Art Deco styles, and decorated using Navajo sand paintings. The hotel was demolished in 1957 to widen Route 66. The depot reopened later as an unstaffed Amtrak station.
The city renovated the building in 1996 to serve as the Gallup Cultural Center to be operated by the Southwest Indian Foundation. In addition to a passenger waiting area, it is also home to the Gallup Visitor Center, which relocated to the station in 2004.
The Cultural Center houses a Storyteller Museum and Gallery of the Masters showcasing Native American Arts & Culture; the Kiva Cinema; and a coffee shop and a gift shop featuring jewelry, pottery, rugs and blankets, and other pieces by local Acoma, Zuni, Navajo, Hopi and other Native American artisans. The Museum includes exhibits on weaving, sandpainting, silversmithing, trains, and Historic Route 66.
A statue of Navajo Chief Manuelito by Tim Washburn stands in a plaza front of the Gallup Cultural Center. Next to the plaza is the Navajo Code Talker, a 12-foot bronze statue by famous Navajo/Ute sculptor Oreland Joe. The Navajo Code Talkers played a major role during World War II because the Japanese never cracked their language code.
The station is unique in that a fence guards the platform from the rest of the station. This is to prevent people getting onto BNSF's triple-tracked, high-speed, very busy Southern Transcon main line. It also makes it useless for railfanning.
The Southern Transcon is a railroad corridor between Southern California and Chicago, Illinois and serves as a BNSF Railway main line made up of 11 rail lines between Southern California and Chicago. Completed in its current alignment in 1908 by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, when it opened the Belen Cutoff in New Mexico and bypassed the steep grades of Raton Pass, it now serves as a mostly double-tracked intermodal corridor.
The Transcon is one of the most heavily trafficked rail corridors in the western United States. An average of almost 90 trains daily (over 100 trains on peak days) passed over the section between Belen and Clovis, New Mexico in 2006, each train typically 6000 to 8000 feet (1800 to 2400 meters) in length.
El Rancho Hotel, Gallup, New Mexico, is an historic hotel built by the brother of film director D.W. Griffith. It opened in 1937 as a base for movie productions. Employees were trained by the Fred Harvey Company. Famous guests include: Ronald Reagan
Jane Wyman
Spencer Tracy
Kirk Douglas
Katharine Hepburn
Jackie Cooper
John Wayne
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Postage stamps and postal history of the United States | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Postage stamps and postal history of the United States
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
You can upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
The history of postal service of the United States began with the delivery of stampless letters, whose cost was borne by the receiving person, later also encompassed pre-paid letters carried by private mail carriers and provisional post offices, and culminated in a system of universal prepayment that required all letters to bear nationally issued adhesive postage stamps.In the earliest days, ship captains arriving in port with stampless mail would advertise in the local newspaper names of those having mail and for them to come collect and pay for it, if not already paid for by the sender. Postal delivery in the United States was a matter of haphazard local organization until after the Revolutionary War, when eventually a national postal system was established. Stampless letters, paid for by the receiver, and private postal systems, were gradually phased out after the introduction of adhesive postage stamps, first issued by the U.S. government post office July 1, 1847, in the denominations of five and ten cents, with the use of stamps made mandatory in 1855.
The issue and use of adhesive postage stamps continued during the 19th century primarily for first class mail. Each of these stamps generally bore the face or bust of an American president or another historically important statesman. However, once the Post Office realized during the 1890s that it could increase revenues by selling stamps as collectibles, it began issuing commemorative stamps, first in connection with important national expositions, later for the anniversaries of significant American historical events. Continued technological innovation subsequently prompted the introduction of special stamps, such as those for use with airmail, zeppelin mail, registered mail, certified mail, and so on. Postage due stamps were issued for some time and were pasted by the post office to letters having insufficient postage with the postage due to be paid to the postal carrier at the receiving address.
Today, stamps issued by the post office are self-adhesive, and no longer require that the stamps be licked to dissolve the glue on their back. In many cases, post office clerks now use Postal Value Indicators (PVI), which are computer labels, instead of stamps.Where for a century-and-a-half or so, stamps were almost invariably denominated with their values (5 cent, 10 cent, etc.) the United States post office now sells non-denominated forever stamps for use on first-class and international mail. These stamps are still valid even if there is a rate increase. However, for other uses, adhesive stamps with denomination indicators are still available and sold.
House Session 2011-07-20 (15:21:50-16:22:28)
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National Trust for Historic Preservation | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
National Trust for Historic Preservation
00:00:26 1 Overview
00:02:04 2 History
00:08:17 3 Programs
00:08:26 3.1 National Treasures
00:09:29 3.2 11 Most Endangered Historic Places List
00:10:07 3.3 Preservation Leadership Forum and resources
00:10:27 3.4 Historic Hotels of America
00:11:18 4 Advocacy
00:11:35 4.1 Historic Tax Credit (HTC) and Creating American Prosperity through Preservation (CAPP) Act
00:12:23 4.2 Federal transportation legislation
00:13:00 4.3 Public lands
00:13:51 5 National Trust Historic Sites
00:14:15 5.1 Stewardships
00:14:43 5.2 Co-stewardships
00:15:39 5.3 Contracted affiliates
00:16:07 6 Subsidiaries and affiliated companies
00:16:17 6.1 Subsidiaries
00:16:32 6.2 Affiliated Companies of the National Trust
00:16:50 7 See also
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
You can upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 by congressional charter to support the preservation of America’s diverse historic buildings, neighborhoods, and heritage through its programs, resources, and advocacy.