Portal:Brazil

The 14-bis, also known as Oiseau de proie (French for "bird of prey"), was an early airplane designed and built by Brazilian inventor Alberto Santos-Dumont. In November 12 1906, in Bagatelle, France, it performed what is widely credited as the first fully unassisted takeoff (meaning, with no help from a catapult) and flight by a heavier-than-air aircraft. It was also the first flight of any heavier-than-air craft in Europe (or outside of the United States, for that matter).

In June of 1905, Gabriel Voisin tested a glider by having it towed by a fast boat down the Seine. The glider's wing configuration was made up of Hargrave cells, a box-kite-like structure that allowed for great lift and structural strength with minimal weight. Voisin was towed into the air and flew for over 500 feet as the boat pulled him and his aircraft. In the aviation-crazy Paris of the early 1900s, this established the Hargrave cells as a configuration to be developed into heavier-than-air aircraft, not simply into kites. Santos Dumont lived in Paris at the time, and was by then one of the most active "aeronauts" in Europe, having developed a long series of dirigibles that displayed unparalleled agility, speed, endirance, and ease of control.

Brasília is the capital city of Brazil. It is famous for its urban planning, daring architecture, and overpopulation. It is located in the Brazilian Federal District, created from the state of Goiás in the Mid-West region of the country.

...that the most visited museum in Brazil is the Imperial Museum, located in the town of Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro?

...that the name Rio de Janeiro means "river of January" and is an allusion to the fact that the Portuguese first entered the Guanabara Bay, where the city now is, on January 1, 1501 and thought that it was a river?

...that in Brazil (and other nations) Santos Dumont, not the Wright brothers, is regarded as the inventor of the modern airplane?

...that in the 18^th century Ouro Preto, in Minas Gerais was the largest city in all the American continent because of its diamond trade?

...that Brazil was the first country in the world to have fully electronic elections?

Founder: Redux

Maintainers: Redux, Zscout370

Members: Milena, Mateusc (more needed)

Languages: English, Portuguese

• October 26: An outbrake of foot-and-mouth disease brought the production of beef and milk to a virtual stop in the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul and Goiás.
• October 25: In a relatively surprising outcome, Brazilians rejected the change in legislation that would have banned the legal market of firearms to civilians in the country. The result was a 62% in favor of the answer "no", which meant "not prohibiting the sale of firearms.
• October 23: A Referendum was held to decide whether the legal commerce of firearms to civilians should be prohibited in Brazil.
• October 12: Brazil secured the top of the South American World Cup 2006 playoffs after defeating Venezuela by 3 goals to nul. Brazil passed Argentina, which had held the position for most of the competition, in the tiebraking criteria, after tying with said country in points.

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