No barriers life: Erik Weihenmayer

Erik Weihenmayer (b. 1968) is an American athlete, adventurer, activist and author who lost his vision when he was 14 years old. But his inability to see could in no way deter him in his pursuit of adventure.

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The naming of Los Angeles

In 1769, a Franciscan priest Father Juan Crespí accompanied a group of Spanish soldiers on the first European land expedition through California. In his journal he described a ‘beautiful river from the northwest’ and named it ‘Nuestra Señora de los Angeles de la Porciúncula’. In 1781 a settlement by the river was established. This settlement was named ‘El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciúncula’ or ‘The Town of Our Lady the Queen of Angels of the Little Portion’. The official name was simply ‘El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Angeles’. The full name can be abbreviated to ‘L.A.’ which is 3.63 per cent of its original size.

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Silicon Valley is missing from the map!

One cannot find the name Silicon Valley on any map. The southern portion of the San Francisco Bay area is nicknamed as Silicon Valley. It is the region between Palo Alto and San Jose in California where silicon chip computer technology was pioneered.

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