Poneytail

A ponytail is a hairstyle in which most or all of the hair on the head is pulled away from the face, gathered and secured at the back of the head with a hair tie, clip or similar device, and allowed to hang freely from that point. It gets its name from its resemblance to the undocked tail of a horse or pony. Ponytails are most commonly gathered at the middle of the back of the head, or the base of the neck. Depending on fashions, they may also be worn at the side of the head (which is sometimes considered formal) which is worn over one ear, or on the very top of the head (allowing the hair to fall down the back or one side of the head).

Ponytails on women and girls

Detail from an 18th-century engraving showing a girl (left) with a ponytail.

Women (as opposed to girls) complying with European fashion of the Georgian period and to the 20th century rarely were seen outside of the boudoir with their hair in such an informal style as a ponytail.

Today, women commonly wear their hair in ponytails in informal and office settings or when exercising; they are likely to choose more-elaborate styles (such as braids and those involving accessories) for formal occasions. It is a practical choice as it keeps hair out of the eyes. It will keep the hair off the neck as well. The ponytail is also popular with school-aged girls, partly because flowing hair is often associated with youth and because of its simplicity; a young girl is likely to be able to retie her own hair after a sports class, for example.

As a man's hairstyle

A male ponytail.

In the late 1980s, a short ponytail was seen as an edgy, "in-your-face" look for men who wanted to stand out from the crowd, but keep their hair flat and functional (cf mullet). Steven Seagal's ponytail in "Marked for Death" is an example of such.

Men who wear their hair long, or sometimes in mullets, frequently tie it back into a ponytail, but avoid the top- or side-of-the-head variants, although these variants can be used for practical reasons for keeping it off the neck.

In the second half of the 18th century, most men in Europe wore their hair long and tied back into what we would now describe as a ponytail, although it was sometimes gathered into a silk bag rather than allowed to hang freely. At that time, it was commonly known by the French word for "tail", queue. It was a mandatory hairstyle for men in all European armies until the early 19th century, after most civilians had stopped wearing queues. The British Army was the first to dispense with it, and by the end of the Napoleonic Wars most armies had changed their regulations to make short hair compulsory.

"Queue" was also the word used to refer to the waist-length pigtail which the ruling Manchus made Han Chinese men wear during the Qing Dynasty in China.

It is common for those who wear tight ponytails to experience traction alopecia, a form of hair loss. Sometimes it will cause a headache
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Defination of Autocracy

An autocracy is a form of government in which one person possesses unlimited power. An autocrat is a person (such as a monarch) ruling with unlimited authority. The term autocrat is derived from the Greek αὐτοκρατία: αὐτός ("self") and κρατείν ("rule"), and may be translated as "one who rules by himself". It is distinct from oligarchy ("rule by the few") and democracy ("rule by the people"). Although similar in definition to despot, tyrant and dictator, the term autocrat has neither negative nor positive connotations.

Comparison with other forms of government

Autocracy and totalitarianism are related concepts. Autocracy is defined by one individual having unlimited legislative and executive power, while totalitarianism extends to regulating every aspect of public and private life. Totalitarianism does not imply a single ruler, but extends to include absolute rule by any faction or class of elites who recognize no limit to their authority.

Autocracy differs from military dictatorship, as these often take the form of "collective presidencies" such as the South American juntas. However, an autocracy may be totalitarian or be a military dictatorship.

The term monarchy also differs in that it emphasizes the hereditary characteristic, though some Slavic monarchs, specifically Russian Emperors, included the title "autocrat" as part of their official styles.^{[citation needed]} This usage originated in the Byzantine Empire, where the term autokratōr was traditionally employed in Greek to translate the Latin imperator, and was used along with Basileus to mean "emperor". This use remains current in the modern Greek language, where the term is used for any emperor (e.g. the Emperor of Japan), regardless of the actual power of the monarch. Historically, many monarchs ruled autocratically but eventually their power was diminished and dissolved with the introduction of constitutions giving the people the power to make decisions for themselves through elected bodies of government.

The autocrat needs some kind of power structure to rule. Most historical autocrats depended on their nobles, the military, the priesthood or other elite groups. As such, it can be difficult to draw a clear line between historical autocracies and oligarchies.

History of Wrist Watch

Watches evolved in the 17th century from spring powered clocks, which appeared in the 15th century. The first watches were strictly mechanical. As technology progressed, the mechanisms used to measure time has in some cases been replaced by use of quartz vibrations or electromagnetic pulses and is called a quartz movements. The first digital electronic watch was developed in 1970.

Before wristwatches became popular in the 1920s, most watches were pocket watches, which often had covers and were carried in a pocket and attached to a watch chain or watch fob. In early 1900s, the wristwatch, originally called a Wristlet, was reserved for women and considered more of a passing fad than a serious timepiece. Real gentlemen, who carried pocket watches, were actually quoted as saying they would "sooner wear a skirt as wear a wristwatch". This all changed in World War I when soldiers on the battlefield found using a pocket watch to be impractical, so they attached the pocket watch to their wrist by a cupped leather strap. It is also believed that Girard-Perregaux equipped the German Imperial Navy in a similar fashion as early as the 1880s, which were used while synchronizing naval attacks and firing artillery.

Most inexpensive and medium-priced watches used mainly for timekeeping are electronic watches with quartz movements. Expensive, collectible watches valued more for their workmanship and aesthetic appeal than for simple timekeeping, often have purely mechanical movements and are powered by springs, even though mechanical movements are less accurate than more affordable quartz movements. In addition to the time, modern watches often display the day, date, month and year, and electronic watches may have many other functions. Watches that provide additional time-related features such as timers, chronographs and alarm functions are not uncommon. Some modern designs even go as far as using GPS technology or heart-rate monitoring capabilities.

History

Movement

Different kinds of movements move the hands differently as shown in this 2 second exposure. The left watch has a mechanical 21,600 bph movement, the right one has a quartz movement

A movement in watchmaking is the mechanism that measures the passage of time and displays the current time (and possibly other information including date, month and day). Movements may be entirely mechanical, entirely electronic (potentially with no moving parts), or a blend of the two. Most watches intended mainly for timekeeping today have electronic movements, with mechanical hands on the watch face indicating the time.

Mechanical movements

A Russian mechanical watch movement

Compared to electronic movements, mechanical watches are less accurate, often with errors of seconds per day, and they are sensitive to position, temperature and magnetism. They are also costly to produce, require regular maintenance and adjustment, and are more prone to failure. Nevertheless, the craftsmanship of mechanical watches still attracts interest from part of the watch-buying public. Skeleton watches are designed to leave the mechanism visible for aesthetic purposes.

Mechanical movements use an escapement mechanism to control and limit the unwinding and winding parts of a spring, converting what would otherwise be a simple unwinding into a controlled and periodic energy release. Mechanical movements also use a balance wheel together with the balance spring (also known as a hairspring) to control motion of the gear system of the watch in a manner analogous to the pendulum of a pendulum clock. The tourbillon, an optional part for mechanical movements, is a rotating frame for the escapement, which is used to cancel out or reduce the effects of gravitational bias to the timekeeping. Due to the complexity of designing a tourbillon, they are very expensive, and only found in "prestige" watches.^{[citation needed]}

The pin-lever escapement (called the Roskopf movement after its inventor, Georges Frederic Roskopf), which is a cheaper version of the fully levered movement, was manufactured in huge quantities by many Swiss manufacturers as well as Timex, until it was replaced by quartz movements.

Tuning-fork watches use a type of electromechanical movement. Introduced by Bulova in 1960, they use a tuning fork with a precise frequency (most often 360 hertz) to drive a mechanical watch. The task of converting electronically pulsed fork vibration into rotary movement is done via two tiny jeweled fingers, called pawls. Tuning-fork watches were rendered obsolete when electronic quartz watches were developed, because quartz watches were cheaper to produce and even more accurate.

Traditional mechanical watch movements use a spiral spring called a mainspring as a power source. In manual watches the spring must be rewound periodically by the user by turning the watch crown. Antique pocketwatches were wound by inserting a separate key into a hole in the back of the watch and turning it. Most modern watches are designed to run 40 hours on a winding and thus must be wound daily, but some run for several days and a few have 192-hour mainsprings and are wound weekly.

Automatic watch: An eccentric weight, called a rotor, swings with the movement of the wearer's body and winds the spring

A self-winding or automatic watches is one that rewinds the mainspring of a mechanical movement by the natural motions of the wearer's body. The first self-winding mechanism was invented for pocketwatches in 1770 by Abraham-Louis Perrelet, but the first "self-winding", or "automatic", wristwatch was the invention of a British watch repairer named John Harwood in 1923. This type of watch allows for constant winding without special action from the wearer; it works by an eccentric weight, called a winding rotor, which rotates with the movement of the wearer's wrist. The back-and-forth motion of the winding rotor couples to a ratchet to automatically wind the mainspring. Self-winding watches usually can also be wound manually so they can be kept running when not worn or if the wearer's wrist motions are inadequate to keep the watch wound.

Electronic movements

Electronic movements have few or no moving parts, as they use the piezoelectric effect in a tiny quartz crystal to provide a stable time base for a mostly electronic movement. The crystal forms a quartz oscillator which resonates at a specific and highly stable frequency, and which can be used to accurately pace a timekeeping mechanism. For this reason, electronic watches are often called quartz watches. Most quartz movements are primarily electronic but are geared to drive mechanical hands on the face of the watch in order to provide a traditional analog display of the time, which is still preferred by most consumers.

In 1959 Seiko gave an order to Epson (a daughter company of Seiko and the actual brain behind the quartz revolution) to start developing a quartz wristwatch. The project was codenamed 59A and by the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics, Seiko had a working prototype of a portable quartz watch which took part in time measurements throughout the event. The first Swiss prototypes of electronic quartz watches were made by the CEH research laboratory in Switzerland in 1962. The first quartz watch to enter production was the Seiko 35 SQ Astron, which hit the shelves on December 25, 1969. One particularly interesting decision made by Seiko at that time was to not patent the whole movement of the quartz wristwatch, thus allowing other manufacturers to benefit from the Seiko technology. This played a major role in the popularity and quick development of the quartz watch, which in less than a decade was dominant in the watch market, nearly ending an almost 100 years of mechanical wristwatch heritage. The modern quartz movements are produced in very large quantities, and even the cheapest wristwatches typically have quartz movements. Whereas mechanical movements can typically be off by several seconds a day, an inexpensive quartz movement in a child's wristwatch may still be accurate to within half a second per day—ten times better than a mechanical movement.^[12] Seiko's efforts to combine the quartz and mechanical movements bore fruit after 20 years of research, leading to the introduction of the Seiko Spring Drive, first in a limited domestic market production in 1999 and to the world in September 2005. The Spring Drive manages to keep time within quartz standards without the use of a battery, using a traditional mechanical gear train powered by a spring, while at the same time doesn't have the need of a balance wheel either.

Radio time signal watches are a type of electronic quartz watch which synchronizes (time transfer) its time with an external time source such as in atomic clocks, time signals from GPS navigation satellites, the German DCF77 signal in Europe, WWVB in the US, and others. Movements of this type may -among others- synchronize not only the time of day but also the date, the leap-year status of the current year, and the current state of daylight saving time (on or off). However, other than the radio receiver these watches are normal quartz watches in all other aspects.

Electronic watches require electricity as a power source. Some mechanical movements and hybrid electronic-mechanical movements also require electricity. Usually the electricity is provided by a replaceable battery. The first use of electrical power in watches was as a substitute for the mainspring, in order to remove the need for winding. The first electrically-powered watch, the Hamilton Electric 500, was released in 1957 by the Hamilton Watch Company of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Watch batteries (strictly speaking cells, as a battery is composed of multiple cells) are specially designed for their purpose. They are very small and provide tiny amounts of power continuously for very long periods (several years or more). In most cases, replacing the battery requires a trip to a watch-repair shop or watch dealer; this is especially true for watches that are designed to be water-resistant, as special tools and procedures are required to ensure that the watch remains water-resistant after battery replacement. Silver-oxide and lithium batteries are popular today; mercury batteries, formerly quite common, are no longer used, for environmental reasons. Cheap batteries may be alkaline, of the same size as silver-oxide cells but providing shorter life. Rechargeable batteries are used in some solar powered watches.

Some electronic watches are also powered by the movement of the wearer of the watch. For instance, Seiko's Kinetic powered quartz watches make use of the motion of the wearer's arm turning a rotating weight which causes a tiny generator to supply power to charge a rechargeable battery that runs the watch. The concept is similar to that of self-winding spring movements, except that electrical power is generated instead of mechanical spring tension.

Solar powered watches are powered by light. A photovoltaic cell on the face (dial) of the watch converts light to electricity, which in turn is used to charge a rechargeable battery or capacitor. The movement of the watch draws its power from the rechargeable battery or capacitor. As long as the watch is regularly exposed to fairly strong light (such as sunlight), it never needs battery replacement, and some models need only a few minutes of sunlight to provide weeks of energy (as in the Citizen Eco-Drive). Some of the early solar watches of the 1970s had innovative and unique designs to accommodate the array of solar cells needed to power them (Synchronar, Nepro, Sicura and some models by Cristalonic, Alba, Seiko and Citizen). As the decades progressed and the efficiency of the solar cells increased while the power requirements of the movement and display decreased, solar watches began to be designed to look like other conventional watches.

A rarely used power source is the temperature difference between the wearer's arm and the surrounding environment (as applied in the Citizen Eco-Drive Thermo).

Display

Analogue

Traditionally, watches have displayed the time in analogue form, with a numbered dial upon which are mounted at least a rotating hour hand and a longer, rotating minute hand. Many watches also incorporate a third hand that shows the current second of the current minute. Watches powered by quartz usually have a second hand that snaps every second to the next marker. Watches powered by a mechanical movement have a "sweep second hand", the name deriving from its uninterrupted smooth (sweeping) movement across the markers, although this is actually a misnomer in most cases; the hand merely moves in smaller steps, typically 1/5th of a second, corresponding to the beat (half period) of the balance wheel. In some escapements (for example the duplex escapement), the hand advances every two beats (full period) of the balance wheel, typically 1/2 second in those watches, or even every four beats (two periods, 1 second), in the double duplex escapement. A truly sweeping second hand is achieved with the tri-synchro regulator of Spring Drive watches. All of the hands are normally mechanical, physically rotating on the dial, although a few watches have been produced with "hands" that are simulated by a liquid-crystal display.

Analog display of the time is nearly universal in watches sold as jewelry or collectibles, and in these watches, the range of different styles of hands, numbers, and other aspects of the analogue dial is very broad. In watches sold for timekeeping, analog display remains very popular, as many people find it easier to read than digital display; but in timekeeping watches the emphasis is on clarity and accurate reading of the time under all conditions (clearly marked digits, easily visible hands, large watch faces, etc.). They are specifically designed for the left wrist with the stem (the knob used for changing the time) on the right side of the watch; this makes it easy to change the time without removing the watch from the wrist. This is the case if one is right-handed and the watch is worn on the left wrist (as is traditionally done). If one is left-handed and wears the watch on the right wrist, one has to remove the watch from the wrist to reset the time or to wind the watch.

Analog watches as well as clocks are often marketed showing a display time of approximately 10:09 or 10:10. This creates a visually pleasing smile-like face on upper half of the watch, in addition to enclosing the manufacturer's name. Digital displays often show a time of 12:08, where the increases in the numbers from left to right culminating in the fully-lit numerical display of the 8 also gives a positive feeling.

Analogue watch displays can be used to indicate cardinal direction due to the relation between the position of the hour hand and the position of the Sun in the sky. By rotating the watch so that the hour hand points toward the Sun, the point halfway between the hour hand and 12 o'clock will indicate south.

Digital

Cortébert digital mechanical pocket watch. 1890s

Cortébert digital mechanical wristwatch. 1920s

A digital display simply shows the time as a number, e.g., 12:08 instead of a short hand pointing towards the number 12 and a long hand 8/60 of the way round the dial.

The first digital mechanical pocket watches appeared in late 19th century. In the 1920s the first digital mechanical wristwatches appeared.

The first digital electronic watch, a Pulsar LED prototype in 1970, was developed jointly by Hamilton Watch Company and Electro-Data. John Bergey, the head of Hamilton's Pulsar division, said that he was inspired to make a digital timepiece by the then-futuristic digital clock that Hamilton themselves made for the 1968 science fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey. On April 4, 1972, the Pulsar was finally ready, made in 18-carat gold and sold for $2,100. It had a red light-emitting diode (LED) display.

Digital LED watches were very expensive and out of reach to the common consumer until 1975, when Texas Instruments started to mass produce LED watches inside a plastic case. These watches, which first retailed for only $20, reduced to $10 in 1976, saw Pulsar lose $6 million and the Pulsar brand sold to Seiko.

A digital watch displaying the time (with seconds) and date

Most watches with LED displays required that the user press a button to see the time displayed for a few seconds, because LEDs used so much power that they could not be kept operating continuously. Usually the LED display color would be red. Watches with LED displays were popular for a few years, but soon the LED displays were superseded by liquid crystal displays (LCDs), which used less battery power and were much more convenient in use, with the display always visible and no need to push a button before seeing the time. The first LCD watch with a six-digit LCD was the 1973 Seiko 06LC, although various forms of early LCD watches with a four-digit display were marketed as early as 1972 including the 1972 Gruen Teletime LCD Watch, and the Cox Electronic Systems Quarz

From the 1980s onward, digital watch technology vastly improved. In 1982 Seiko produced a watch with a small television screen built in, and Casio produced a digital watch with a thermometer as well as another that could translate 1,500 Japanese words into English. In 1985, Casio produced the CFX-400 scientific calculator watch. In 1987 Casio produced a watch that could dial your telephone number and Citizen revealed one that would react to your voice. In 1995 Timex released a watch which allowed the wearer to download and store data from a computer to his wrist. Some watches, such as the Timex Datalink USB, feature dot matrix displays. Since their apex during the late 1980s to mid 1990s high technology fad, digital watches have mostly devolved into a simpler, less expensive basic time piece with little variety between models.

Despite these many advances, almost all watches with digital displays are used as timekeeping watches. Expensive watches for collectors rarely have digital displays since there is little demand for them. Less craftsmanship is required to make a digital watch face and most collectors find that analog dials (especially with complications) vary in quality more than digital dials due to the details and finishing of the parts that make up the dial (thus making the differences between a cheap and expensive watch more evident).

Functions

The Rolex Submariner, an officially certified chronometer

All watches provide the time of day, giving at least the hour and minute, and usually the second. Most also provide the current date, and often the day of the week as well. However, many watches also provide a great deal of information beyond the basics of time and date. Some watches include alarms. Other elaborate and more expensive watches, both pocket and wrist models, also incorporate striking mechanisms or repeater functions, so that the wearer could learn the time by the sound emanating from the watch. This announcement or striking feature is an essential characteristic of true clocks and distinguishes such watches from ordinary timepieces. This feature is available on most digital watches.

A complicated watch has one or more functions beyond the basic function of displaying the time and the date; such a functionality is called a complication. Two popular complications are the chronograph complication, which is the ability of the watch movement to function as a stopwatch, and the moonphase complication, which is a display of the lunar phase. Other more expensive complications include Tourbillon, Perpetual calendar, Minute repeater, and Equation of time. A truly complicated watch has many of these complications at once (see Calibre 89 from Patek Philippe for instance). Some watches can both indicate the direction of Mecca and have alarms that can be set for all daily prayer requirements.^{[citation needed]} Among watch enthusiasts, complicated watches are especially collectible. Some watches include a second 12-hour display for UTC (as Pontos Grand Guichet GMT).

The similar-sounding terms chronograph and chronometer are often confused, although they mean altogether different things. A chronograph has a stopwatch complication, as explained above, while a chronometer watch has a high quality mechanical or a thermo-compensated quartz movement that has been tested and certified to operate within a certain standard of accuracy by the COSC (Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres). The concepts are different but not mutually exclusive; so a watch can be a chronograph, a chronometer, both, or neither.

Timex Datalink USB Dress edition from 2003 with a dot matrix display; the Invasion video game is on the screen

Many computerized wristwatches have been developed, but none have had long-term sales success, because they have awkward user interfaces due to the tiny screens and buttons, and a short battery life. As miniaturized electronics became cheaper, watches have been developed containing calculators, tonometers, barometers, altimeters, video games, digital cameras, keydrives, GPS receivers and cellular phones. In the early 1980s Seiko marketed a watch with a television in it. Such watches have also had the reputation as unsightly and thus mainly geek toys. Several companies have however attempted to develop a computer contained in a wristwatch (see also wearable computer).

Braille watches have analogue displays with raised bumps around the face to allow blind users to tell the time. Their digital equivalents use synthesised speech to speak the time on command.

Uses

Fashion

A sapphire cabochon on the crown of a men's dress watch

Wristwatches are often appreciated as jewelry or as collectible works of art rather than just as timepieces. This has created several different markets for wristwatches, ranging from very inexpensive but accurate watches (intended for no other purpose than telling the correct time) to extremely expensive watches that serve mainly as personal adornment (featuring jewel bearings to hold gemstones) or as examples of high achievement in miniaturization and precision mechanical engineering.

Traditionally, men's dress watches appropriate for informal (business), semi-formal, and formal attire are gold, thin, simple, and plain, but recent conflation of dressiness and high price has led to a belief among some that expensive rugged, complicated, or sports watches are also dressy because of their high cost. Some dress watches have a cabochon on the crown and many women's dress watches have faceted gemstones on the face, bezel, or bracelet. Some are made entirely of facetted sapphire .

Many fashion and department stores offer a variety of less-expensive, trendy, "costume" watches (usually for women), many of which are similar in quality to basic quartz timepieces but which feature bolder designs. In the 1980s, the Swiss Swatch company hired graphic designers to redesign a new annual collection of non-repairable watches.

Most companies that produce watches specialize in one or some of these markets. Companies such as Patek Philippe, Blancpain and Jaeger-LeCoultre specialize in simple and complicated mechanical dress watches; companies such as Omega SA, Ball Watch Company, TAG Heuer, Breitling, Panerai and Rolex specialize in rugged, reliable mechanical watches for sport and aviation use. Companies such as Casio, Timex, and Seiko specialize in watches as affordable timepieces or multifunctional computers.

Counterfeit watches which mimic expensive fashions watches are estimated to cost the watchmaker industry US$1 billion per year.

Space

The Omega Speedmaster, selected by U.S. space agencies

Zero gravity environment and other extreme conditions encountered by astronauts in space requires the use of specially tested watches. On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin wore a Shturmanskie (a transliteration of Штурманские which actually means "navigator's") wristwatch during his historic first flight into space. The Shturmanskie was manufactured at the First Moscow Factory. Since 1964, the watches of the First Moscow Factory have been marked by the trademark "ПОЛЕТ", transliterated as "POLJOT", which means "flight" in Russian and is a tribute to the many space trips its watches have accomplished. In the late 1970s, Poljot launched a new chrono movement, the 3133. With a 23 jewel movement and manual winding (43 hours), it was a modified Russian version of the Swiss Valjoux 7734 of the early 1970s. Poljot 3133 were taken into space by astronauts from Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine. On the arm of Valeriy Polyakov, a Poljot 3133 chronograph movement-based watch set a space record for the longest space flight in history.

Astronaut Nancy J. Currie wears the Timex Ironman Triathlon Datalink model 78401 during STS 88

During the 1960s, a large range of watches were tested for durability and precision under extreme temperature changes and vibrations. The Omega Speedmaster Professional was selected by NASA, the U.S. space agency. Heuer became the first Swiss watch in space thanks to a Heuer Stopwatch, worn by John Glenn in 1962 when he piloted the Friendship 7 on the first manned U.S. orbital mission. The Breitling Navitimer Cosmonaute was designed with a 24-hour analog dial to avoid confusion between AM and PM, which are meaningless in space. It was first worn in space by U.S. astronaut Scott Carpenter on May 24, 1962 in the Aurora 7 mercury capsule. Since 1994 Fortis is the exclusive supplier for manned space missions authorized by the Russian Federal Space Agency. China National Space Administration (CNSA) astronauts wear the Fiyta^[21] spacewatches. At BaselWorld, 2008, Seiko announced the creation of the first watch ever designed specifically for a space walk, Spring Drive Spacewalk. Timex Datalink is flight certified by NASA for space missions and is one of the watches qualified by NASA for space travel. The various Datalink models were used both by cosmonauts and astronauts.

Safe and Proper use of Ladders

Working on a ladder can be extremely dangerous unless proper care is observed. Each year thousands of accidents are caused by improper use of a ladder or the conduct of the person on the ladder. Here are some tips on proper ladder use:

1. Check the ladder for defects and proper working conditions.
2. If a ladder is set aside because of damage, or is unsafe, it should be tagged. The tag should read "DO NOT USE, This ladder is damaged and unsafe." Better still, fix it or throw it away.
3. A ladder should not be used in a horizontal position as a runway or scaffold. Most are not built strongly enough for that.
4. Use the 4 to 1 ratio when placing a ladder. The ladder should be placed so that its base is one foot away from what the ladder leans against for every 4 feet in height to where the ladder rests.
5. Do not place a ladder in front of a door unless you make sure the door is locked or someone is there as a guard to keep people away.
6. Plant the feet of the ladder firmly. Use special blockage when surface is slippery or movable.
7. Watch where the top of the ladder is placed. Be careful about placing against glass windows, thin metal, stacked material that might topple or other surfaces that could slip or fall.
8. If you run a ladder up to a scaffold, it should extend 3-1/2 feet beyond the surface of the scaffold to give extra margin for scaffold shift.
9. Anytime you use a ladder to reach high places and particularly if there is wind or vibration, lash the top of the ladder solidly.
10. Do not carry heavy loads up a ladder. Hoist them up on a line.
11. Always face the ladder when climbing or coming down.

Founder of Pop Music in Pakistan

Nazia and Zoheb (Urdu: نازیہ اور زوہیب) were a Pakistani pop group from Karachi, Sindh formed in 1980. The group was composed of two siblings, Nazia Hassan and Zoheb Hassan, who were a singing sensation and pop icons in Pakistan and all of South Asia. They were also regarded as pioneers of the Pakistani pop music scene during the 1980s. Nazia and Zoheb are also one of the most successful groups in Pakistan which sold more than 100 million albums worldwide , making them one of the world's best-selling music artists.

The group initially gained prominence from their music single "Aap Jaisa Koi" first featured as a soundtrack for the Indian film Qurbani. The song was also part of the group's debut album Disco Deewane released in 1981 by Indian producer Biddu. The album was the best selling album in all over Asia at that time and it also changed trends of music in Pakistan and was the first South Asian album that was also a hit in Brazil, Russia, South Africa and Indonesia. The duo released their second album Boom Boom in 1982 which was also the soundtrack for the Bollywood movie Star, based on the life of both the brother and sister. After two years the band recorded their critically acclaimed Young Tarang (1984) which is the first video album release in Pakistan. The video album sold 40 million copies worldwide and became the highest selling video album. Nazia and Zoheb released their fourth studio album, Hotline (1987), which featured the duo's younger sister, Zahra Hassan, on tracks "Soja" and "Telephone Pyar". The group released their last studio album Camera Camera in 1992, which was also the first album produced by Zoheb Hassan.

Before the release of their fifth studio album, Nazia and Zoheb announced during a launching ceremony that it would be their last album. The album did not achieved the same success as the previous releases did and only received average reaction from critics. After the album's release, Nazia left her singing career to focus on her personal life. Zoheb went on to pursue his career as a solo artist and released his debut album Kismat in 2006.

History

Early years (1975-1981)

Nazia and Zoheb spent their childhood in Karachi as well as London. In late 1970s, both siblings attended and sang at "Sang Sang Chalien" and "Kaliyon Ke Mala", famous musical shows for children hosted by the music maestro Sohail Rana. Ironically, in the early days Zoheb was not so interested in music at all. He used to shy away from TV shows. According to him when it was time to record a show he would hide behind a sofa. But his mother convinced him to accompany Nazia to the children's TV show. Later he developed a keen interest in playing guitar and requested famous musician Alamgir to give him guitar lessons. In the mid 1970s Nazia and Zoheb's family shifted to London and both continued music but only as a hobby.

It the early part of 1980 the duo's father invited Indian actors Vinod Khanna, Zeenat Aman and Feroz Khan to a dinner while they were in London shooting the film Qurbani. Feroz Khan, who was also the producer of the film, inquired who the guitar in the corner of the dining room belonged. Zoheb promptly answered it was his. He asked Zoheb to play a number. He did so accompanied by Nazia on vocals. Feroz Khan were extremely impressed with the talent of duo and since he required a female vocalist for his film he asked Nazia if she would play back for Zeenat Aman. Luckily their parents agreed and hence a new kind of music never heard before in the sub-continent was introduced what is now Asian pop. Nazia's number "Aap Jaisa Koi" broke all records as the fastest and highest selling record of all time not only in the sub-continent but in all of Asia. The song was a huge success in India and despite Nazia being a Pakistani, she gained overnight fame there. In 1981, Nazia won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Award for the single "Aap Jaisa Koi"

Breakthrough era (1981-1983)

After the success of the song "Aap Jaisa Koi", the film Qurbani became a hit in India and Nazia Hassan along with her brother Zoheb Hassan went on to collaborate with Biddu, a UK based Indian music producer; who also composed the song "Aap Jaisa Koi", on numerous other projects. Nazia became the first playback singer to release a studio album when she and her brother released their debut album Disco Deewane on April 3, 1981. The album broke record sales in Pakistan and India and even topped the charts in the West Indies, Latin America and Russia. This particular album is credited as pioneering the pop culture in the sub continent, outselling international albums such as Saturday Night Fever.

The sales from the group's debut album were over 14 million from all over the world. The album release made both the siblings established musicians in Pakistan. Nazia and Zoheb were called in for an interview by the BBC. Their interview went this way: "This is BBC News from London. Welcome to BBC News Today. We have with us a teenage duo by the name of Nazia and Zoheb from Pakistan, who not only rock the music scene back home but have also revolutionized the Asian Music scene by introducing Asian pop. Their album Disco Deewane has sold over 14 million records, not only in Asia, but, also in far off regions in South America, South Africa and Russia. So tell me Nazia and Zoheb, what is the secret of your success?"

“Well, I don’t know, I think the reason is, we never copied anyone and we've always tried to come up with original music that young people can identify with and above all simply because we do what we enjoy the most,” came the reply from Nazia.

Nazia Hassan recorded some videos in London for her album. She also recorded the English version of the single "Disco Deewane", named "Dreamer Deewane" for the UK charts. The group's debut album became the first Pakistani album to appear on the UK charts.

After the release of their debut album, Nazia and Zoheb were offered by Biddhu to act in the Bollywood movie Star, based on the life of both the brother and sister, but they refused to act and chose singing. On December 31, 1982, the group released their second studio album Boom Boom and was the soundtrack for the film. Nazia made an appearance in the film, singing the film's title song, "Boom Boom". Although the film did do well at the box office, the album was an instant success and lead to increasingly popularity of the pop duo in Pakistan and India.

The song "Nigahoon Say Duur" from the film, sung by Nazia and composed by Biddu, was not included in the album. Whereas, "Khushi (Teri Hai Meri Khushi)" was included in the album but was not featured in the film. All the songs from the album were declared super hit and got a strong position at the local music charts. "Boom Boom" topped the charts internationally. Nazia and Zoheb's second album became the first Pakistani album to have surround quality and Dolby effects.

Continued success (1983-1989)

Nazia and Zoheb released their third full length studio album Young Tarang on December 24, 1984. The album was composed and produced by Biddhu. It was the first album in Pakistan to feature music videos. The album sold more than 40 million copies worldwide and set the record of being the most selling video album of all time.

When both the duo were working on their third studio album, they decided to come up with some new idea. The idea was to produce an album containing music videos. It was totally a different thing in Sub Continent to make the music videos of songs as they were technically so high of cost and expensive. The duo went to directors like John King and Amit Khanna, Amit was famous for his film Sheeshe Ka Ghar in that era, who directed the music videos of the singles "Zara Chera Tu Dekhao", "Sunn" & "Dosti". Four music videos were shot in London, United Kingdom. Amit & John also worked on "Pyar Ka Jadu", "Dum Dum Dede", "Ankhien Milane Wale" & "Aag".

In 1984, Nazia and Zoheb also hosted a television programme called "Young Tarang Show". In 1985, the duo acted in the PTV, Pakistan state television, show "Aap Ke Liye". On November 24, 1987, Nazia and Zoheb released their fourth studio album Hotline. This album was the last album on which the group worked with the Indian producer Biddu. The album featured the duo's younger sister, Zahra Hassan, on tracks "Soja" and "Telephone Pyar".

By the end of the 1980s, Nazia and Zoheb became the most popular pop group of Pakistan. In 1988, Nazia and her brother Zoheb appeared with music maestro Sohail Rana in his television program, "Sung Sung". In the following year, Nazia and Zoheb hosted the groundbreaking show "Music '89". The show was produced by Shoaib Mansoor. It was the first-ever all pop-music stage show airing on television. The show launched the careers of many new rising bands and singers and became a popular show in Pakistan. The show was aired during the reign of General Zia-ul-Haq, Nazia and Zoheb hosted the most highly watched and controversial music ever broadcast on Pakistani television. The reason for its success was that it gave the youth of Pakistan a voice and an opportunity to express themselves in an era that was highly religious and culturally stunted. The programme "Music '89" a show which was watched more than an international cricket match catapulted at that time relatively new acts such as Vital Signs, Jupiters, Ali Azmat, etc. to instant recognition. Nazia Hassan also hosted another show, "Dhanak" on PTV in the same year, 1989.

Retirement (1990-1995)

In 1991, Nazia and Zoheb recorded their fifth studio album, Camera Camera. Before the album's release, Nazia and Zoheb announced that it would be their last album during a launching ceremony held in Pearl Continental Hotel, Karachi, Sindh. On May 24, 1992, the duo released their last album composed and produced by Zohaib Hassan and Bappi Lahri. It was not successful like the group's previous albums and received average reaction from critics. In this album Nazia sung a Punjabi song “Tali Thay Thale” which ruled the music world in Pakistan just like before when "Aap Jaisa Koi" was released 12 years ago. This song was composed by Mian Sallahudin Yousaf and Zoheb Hassan. The album as an overall was a huge hit in Indonesia and Pakistan. The album also proved to be In the last album of Zoheb Hassan with his sister Nazia Hassan, due to Nazia's health concerns was geared to propagate an anti narcotics campaign with songs like "Nasha Na Karo". This album topped the charts in Indonesia, outselling George Michael. Zoheb Hassan's blockbusters like 'Wala Wai' and 'Kyun' proved his vocal versatility.

After the album's release, Nazia left her singing career to focus on her personal life. The composer of her albums, Biddu had composed a song, Made in India and wanted Nazia to sing in it but the retired Nazia refused to sing a song that may offend Pakistan. After Nazia's refusal, the song was offered to Alisha Chinai, who accepted the offer and marked the birth of Indipop. In 1995, Nazia went on to marry and decide not to sing again. Zoheb went on to handling his father's extensive business in Pakistan and the UK. He was also appointed Advisor to Governor Sindh for the Image Promotion of the Province of Sindh.

Nazia's death and beyond (2000-2002)

Nazia died of lung cancer in London on August 13, 2000 at the age of 35. She was admitted to North Finchley Hospice three days earlier when her condition deteriorated. She showed signs of mild recovery the day before she passed away and it was thought that doctors would allow her to go home. But early Sunday morning, her mother, Muneeza Hasan, was called to the hospital where her daughter had started coughing heavily at around 9:15am. She died within minutes. Nazia is buried at the Muslim Hendon Cemetery in London.

On Saturday, March 9, 2002 at the Nazia Hassan Tribute Concert, held in Karachi, the classic lineup of Vital Signs performed together on stage—for the first time in almost 7 years. The concert was attended by an enthusiastic audience and it was their original line-up which went up on stage, a line-up that had not played together ever since mid-1990, but still stole the show. The Vital Signs, reunited for a nostalgic 30-minute-stint at the high-profile Nazia Hassan Tribute Concert. The band realized that though a whole new generation of pop fans has grown up and their brand of pop music is still well remembered. After the Nazia Tribute Concert, the pop industry was rife with speculations that the Vital Signs were set to record their long-awaited fifth album but these speculations were denied by the band. On March 23, 2002 the Government of Pakistan has conferred upon Nazia Hassan the highest civilian award Pride of Performance. The award was presented to Mrs. Muniza Basir, mother of Nazia Hassan, by the President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf in an official ceremony held at Islamabad.

In 2003, Nazia's family established a charitable organization named after her. The organization was established in continuation of her life long charitable and social efforts to make the world a better place to live in for all irrespective of colour, creed or religion.

Her brother Zohaib Hassan help set up a charity foundation named after her to help in creating support systems for children in need as well as providing homes for them. The foundation also sponsors awards in recognition of individuals who promote greater harmony between cultures. The recipients of these awards will be selected from all fields ranging from music and the arts to science, sport, business, engineering, humanities and charitable work, politics, etc. The Nazia Hassan Foundation seeks to promote fusion between different cultures, traditions and beliefs.

(2006)

Zoheb Hassan acted in the drama serial "Kismat" in 2006 and released his solo album of the same title in 2006. This article contains official information and all the information has been confirmed by Nazia & Zoheb's Family.

Legacy

Pakistan's vibrant contemporary music scene owes itself to Nazia Hassan's redefinition of pop. In fact, the biggest nineties bands including the Vital Signs and the Jupiters got a platform on "Music '89". Nazia also had a seismic impact in India. She has contributed to the development of the present isomorphism of Bollywood music and pop: “She set - well ahead of its time - the personal album trend in India”, spawning the likes of Alisha Chinai, Lucky Ali and Shweta Shetty. After the huge success of their music, Nazia and Zoheb were signed by EMI Group and were the first South Asian singers to be signed by an international music company.

Besides music, Nazia and Zoheb has the honour of starting a noble trend of working for the under privileged and poor. All their money earned from music was spent for charity. Both the brother and sister supported the “Inner Wheel Club” of India to help with funds for them. In Pakistan, an organization “BAN” for fighting against the curse of narcotics was established. Nazia and her brother belonged to many charity organizations and worked with their mother Muniza Basir in the low income areas of Karachi to help the needy and sick. Nazia and Zoheb worked with Javed Jabbar, former Information Minister, to raise funds for children in Rajasthan. Nazia Hassan went to a very large number of schools to collect toys for the poor children and gave talks on the subject of social awareness for the under privileged. Nazia never forgot the love and support of all the schools and always spoke with great affection for them. The worthy staff and the students of St Joseph’s Convent School, Mama Parsi School and many others had gone out of their way to help the cause.

Surprisingly, music was only a hobby for Nazia and though her achievements in this field were any one’s dream come true, she lived away from the glitzy world and led a secluded and simple life. She completed her education in the UK, got a law degree and then worked in the United Nations in the Security Council. Nazia continued her social work even in New York and worked for children from the UN platform.

Nazia Hassan is known to be the "Sweetheart of Pakistan" and today is still the symbol of grace, sacred beauty and innocence and is frequently compared to Princess Diana as she was known to possess a heart of gold. Nazia and Zoheb both spent their teenage lives between Karachi and London.