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Pictograms are often used in street signs, buildings, train stations, schools and the likes. They help foreign travelers read and understand signs easier. However, pictograms can be confusing sometimes. For example, the road work ahead sign could mean different things. It could be a man digging or it could also be a man opening his umbrella on a windy day.

One’s cultural background could affect his or her understanding of a pictogram. For instance, some people can tell the message of a pictogram as soon as they see it, but others do not recognize immediately what it actually means. That is why when artists create a pictogram, they need to make sure that it is universal. In this way, people will easily understand its meaning even if they are not familiar with the culture.

Pictogram is considered an important tool for communication. As it becomes more and more popular, many people are curious if pictograms would eventually be the language of the future.

Koichi Wakata had dreamed of becoming an astronaut ever since he was 5 years old. Twenty-seven years later, he was able to make his dream into reality.

He has been in space three times already on the International Space Station. The station goes around 400 kilometers above the earth. He mentioned that those pictures that we see on the television and on the internet are different in real life. When they are in space, they can see the oceans, clouds, and mountains clearly.

In 2013, he was the commander of ISS. He worked with astronauts from America, Russia, and Latvia. They had to work and live together in a very crowded space. As a commander, his task was to make sure that they live peacefully. So, he made a rule requiring all crew to eat together. This way, they feel relaxed by talking with each other.

Wakata said that going to space might be challenging and dangerous, still, he does it for the humanity.

Hydroponics is a method wherein a plant can grow without the need for soil. The modern hydroponics was developed through different experiments on plant’s composition. Many people are not familiar with this method, but in fact, this method has been used for thousands of years now.

The first known hydroponics is the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar built the gardens to please his wife. The garden used a water system that supplied a steady river that contained oxygen and minerals.

The Aztecs of Central America did not have a good relationship with their neighbors. They were not allowed to have access to any arable lands. Because of that, they had to build floating bamboo structures to do soilless planting which they called the chinampas. Chinampas were loaded up with soil from the bottom of the lake. This soil contained minerals and are organic. They used these minerals and compounds to provide support to the plants. The chinampas did not only support vegetables and flowers, but it was also able to sustain trees. Countries like Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador had also used a similar system to chinampas.

The chinampas were also used to form floating islands. It was considered a success as it was able to support a village with almost 20,000 people who were working hard to improve their way of life.

Habu Yoshiharu, one of the best professional shogi players in history, is truly the “King of the Board.” He first played shogi when he was in his first year of elementary school. He lost the games at first but eventually improved after a month. When he was in 2nd year, he joined a children’s shogi tournament. Although he did not win, he enjoyed it and wanted to improve more. He was very interested in shogi because each piece has a different move. The game shows cause and effect, so it is the player’s own responsibility either to win or lose.

When in game, he is not always confident when making a move. Instead, he trusts his hand and intuition in making good choices. He believes that a decision should be made in every move. When he makes a move, he thinks that it is probably the right move to make. Good decision-making and planning are important because the competitor’s moves cannot be predicted.

His greatest talent is his perseverance. When asked what he would be doing if he was not playing shogi professionally, he said that he never thought of taking another job. That is how interested he is in playing shogi.