Yen

 

Japan's national currency is the yen. After the US dollar and the euro, it is the third most traded currency on the foreign exchange market. In addition, it is often used as a third reserve currency in place of the euro and the US dollar.

The modern currency system in Japan was established by the New Currency Act of 1871, which set the yen's definition at 1.5g of gold or 24.26g of silver and decimalized it into 100 sen or 1,000 rin. Both the earlier Tokugawa coinage and the different hansatsu paper currencies produced by the han were replaced by the yen. In 1882, the Bank of Japan was established and granted exclusive authority over managing the money supply.

The yen lost a lot of its value after World War II. As part of the Bretton Woods system, the yen's exchange rate was set at 360 per US dollar in order to stabilize the Japanese economy. The yen depreciated and was allowed to float when that system was abandoned in 1971. Due to the 1973 oil crisis, the yen had phases of gain and depreciation, reaching a value of 227 per US$ by 1980. It had previously risen to a high of 271 per US$ in 1973.

The Japanese government concentrated on a competitive export market and worked to maintain a trade surplus to keep the yen's exchange rate as low as possible. This was briefly altered by the Plaza Accord of 1985; the exchange rate dropped from an average of 239 yen to 128 yen to 80 yen to the dollar in 1995, substantially raising the value of Japan's GDP in dollars to virtually that of the United States. But the value of the yen has significantly dropped since then. The Bank of Japan continues to follow a policy of interest rates that are zero or almost zero, and the Japanese government has in the past adopted a strong anti-inflation strategy.

Ben Carson

 Ben Carson was the director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital and earned fame for his groundbreaking work separating conjoined twins. Carson made a cameo appearance as the "head surgeon" in the 2003 comedy "Stuck on You," starring Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear as conjoined twin brothers. He retired from medicine in 2013, and entered politics, making a bid to become the Republican nominee for president of the United States. Carson later withdrew from the race and was appointed Secretary of Housing and Urban Development by former President Donald Trump.

Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher is a former Formula One driver for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles, and when he retired from the sport in 2012, he held the records for the most victories, pole positions, and podium finishes—records that have since been surpassed by Lewis Hamilton—as well as the records for the most fastest laps and races won in a single season.

Schumacher began his racing career in karting and went on to win several junior single-seater series. Schumacher was signed by Benetton for the remainder of the 1991 season after a one-off Formula One appearance with Jordan at the Belgian Grand Prix in 1991. In 1994 and 1995, he took his first and second drivers' titles in a row, finishing ahead of runner-up Damon Hill both times. Schumacher joined Ferrari in 1996 and won five consecutive championships with them from 2000 to 2004, including an unparalleled sixth and seventh win, as well as many other records. Schumacher retired from racing after finishing third in 2005 and second in 2006, but he returned briefly with Mercedes from 2010 to 2012.

Schumacher was involved in a number of contentious racing accidents throughout his career. He was involved in title-deciding collisions twice, the first with Hill at the 1994 Australian Grand Prix and the second with Jacques Villeneuve at the 1997 European Grand Prix. Schumacher and his younger brother, Ralf, are the only siblings in Formula One history to win races and the first siblings to finish first and second in the same season, a feat they repeated four times. Schumacher was known for pushing his car to its limits for long periods of time during races, as well as a groundbreaking workout routine.  

 

Aaron Judge

History was made Wednesday night when Yankee slugger Aaron Judge tied the American League record of 61 home runs set by Roger Maris back in 1961. "Getting a chance to tie Roger Maris," Judge said, "you dream about that kind of stuff, it's unreal." The record-matching home run came from a full-count pitch in the seventh inning of Wednesday's game against the Toronto Blue Jays, which soared over the left-field fence. The Yankees star now has six games remaining to hit No. 62 and become the American League's home run king. 

Wheel of Fortune

This longtime game show has been a staple of American television since it first debuted in 1975. Wheel of Fortune was originally hosted by Chuck Woolery, and the show’s premise was not exactly what it is today. In its first iteration, Wheel of Fortune was known as Shopper's Bazaar. The program revolved around contestants solving the puzzles and using their winnings to purchase items available from the set. Simply put, the show didn't work. The name was changed to Wheel of Fortune, and Pat Sajak took over as the host in 1981. 

Dart Score

On a standard dartboard, the maximum score is triple 20, which is worth 60 points, since the inner narrow ring is worth three times the normal score (the little red area halfway between the number 20 and the bullseye).

A spherical target known as a dartboard is the object of the competitive sport of darts, in which two or more players throw tiny, sharp-pointed darts with their bare hands.

There are certain defined spots on the board that may be struck to gain points, but unlike other sports like archery, these areas are dispersed over the board and do not follow the rule that scores increase toward the center of the board. The name "darts" currently often refers to a conventional game with a certain board design and set of rules, despite the fact that there are several identical games utilizing diverse boards and regulations.

Darts are a popular pub game as well as a professional shooting sport. Darts is commonly played in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, and recreationally enjoyed around the world.

 

John Hancock

John Hancock was an American Founding Father and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. As president of the Continental Congress, Hancock is credited as the first signer of the Declaration of Independence, and is remembered for his large and stylish signature, so much so that the term John Hancock became a nickname for one's signature. According to legend, Hancock boldly inscribed his name so the English king would not need his glasses to read it.