The gulf war was a conflict between a coalition of 34 countries and the republican guard of Iraq. The conflict grew out of the Iran-Iraq war. Iraqi troops had entered Kuwait, and the entry of coalition forces entered the country in order to expel Iraqi troops from Kuwait in 1991. Although direct combat only occurred in Kuwait, Iraq, and some areas in Saudi Arabia, Iraq did launch missiles at Saudi Arabia and Isreal because they both assisted coalition forces. Generally the gulf war is considered a resounding victory for coalition forces. However it did set the stage for later problems with the Taliban.

On July 20^th, 1969, commander Neil Armstrong and astronaut Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin landed the lunar module Eagle on the surface of the moon. The event, which was watched by 500 million people, was a pivotal moment in the history of space travel. The journey from the Earth to the moon took about four days, during which a multi stage rocket traveled 384,000 kilometers to get to Earth’s only natural satellite. Though 1969 marked the first manned moon landing, unmanned Russian space craft had been landing on the moon since 1966. These landings, however, were mostly done in secret.

Osama bin Muhammad bin ‘Awad bin Laden, usually reffered to as Osama bin Laden, is an Islamic extremist and militant, most well known for his role in the Al-Queda terrorist organization. Bin Laden is most famous for his claiming responsibility for the terrorist attacks of September 11^th, 2001, in which planes were hi-jacked and used to destroy the World Trade Center in New York and parts of the Pentagon outside of Washington D.C. Raised as a Sunni Muslim, bin Laden is probably the most well known terrorist in the world. He is responsible for forming and leading Al-Queda as a militant terrorist group. He has fathered anywhere from 12-24 children.

Coca Cola is a soft drink, often called coke, which was invented in the 19 century by John Pemberton. The drink was originally intended as medicine, however Asa Griggs Candler, a business man, bought the patent and developed coke into the drink it is today. It has dominated the soft drink industry for decades, competing constantly with Pepsi. The coca cola name has spawned many soft drinks under it’s label. The most popular of these is Diet Coke, which offers a sugar substitute as a sweetener, which in turn lowers calories in the drink. Other drinks introduced by the coca cola name include Cherry Coke, Coke Zero and Vanilla Coke.

The world wide web (which differs from the Internet, which has a history reaching back farther) originated in the late 80s and 90s as a way for people all over the world to communicate and access information. The concept of the world wide web dates back to Issac Asimov’s short story “Anniversary” which was published in 1959. Around Christmas 1990, Tim Berners-Lee developed the first web browser, and the Internet, a network of computers that originated under military control, would soon be accessed by people all over the world. Through the 90s, web browsers and web content grew to create the World Wide Web that we have today.

The lost city of Atlantis was a Island city envisioned by Plato. Plato claimed the city to exist around 9500BC. The city was, apparently, very advanced for it’s time, with unique methods of farming it’s watery landscape. Atlantis supposedly attempted an invasion of Athens, however after that failed it sank into the sea in “a day and night of misfortune” according to Plato. It is generally accepted that this city was created by Plato as a way to express his feelings about politics and events of the day. There are some who believe that the city exists, however this theory is rejected by most scientists and archaeologists.

Mount Everest is the highest Mountain in the world with a height of 8850 meters. Mount Everest is within the Himalayan Mountain Range in Nepal, China, and Tibet. The peak is named after Sir George Everest who was a British surveyor of India. The first successful ascent of the mountain was made by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in May 29, 1953. Since the initial ascent, there have been 3050 ascents as of the end of 2006. The Nepal government charges all climbers a fee of about $25000 to obtain a permit before thy may climb the mountain. Due to geological forces the mountain rises a few millimeters in height every year.

George W Bush is the son of former President George H. W. Bush and is the 43^rd and current President of the US. George W. Bush Bush graduated from Yale University and later was accepted in the Air National Guard. In 1977 Bush entered the oil industry where he would hold several important roles in companies such as Arbusto Energy, Spectrum 7, and later Harken Energy. In 1994 Bush ran for Governor of Texas, a position which he won. He was the 46^th Governor of Texas serving from 1995 until 2000. In 2001 Bush signed into law a tax cut for in excess of one trillion dollars. Reelected in 2004, Bush’s current term as President will end on January 20, 2009.

David Beckham is an international soccer star currently playing for the Los Angeles Galaxy in the MLS. Beckham played his first game in the Premier League at age 19 playing for Manchester United in 1993. While at Manchester the team won the Premier League 6 times, the FA Cup twice, Community Shield 4 times, The international cup and UEFA Champions League once. From 2003 to 2007 Beckham played for Real Madrid. While there, the team won the Premiera Division and Supercopa de Espana each one time. Currently Beckham has played in 99 games for the English national team, and is the only player in the history of the team to have scored in 3 World Cups.

IKEA is a furniture and home product retailer focused on selling affordable products for the home and/or office.  Founded by Ingvar Kamprad in 1943, the company originally sold smaller items such as wallets, pens, and jewelry they added furniture to their inventory in 1947.  They’ve also got the Swedwood Group which creates wooden products to be sold in 9 countries.  IKEA is now located in 44 countries and has over 90 thousand employees.  According to their website, the top three sales countries are Germany, USA., and the United Kingdom, with the top three purchase countries being China, Poland, and Sweden.