The Adventures Of Eric and Ursula
A.D. Winch
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Fact behind the Fiction - Book 2

The 'Adventures of Eric and Ursula' are a series of fiction books but it is important to me to try and build as much fact as possible into the stories.  Here is an A to Z of the fact behind the fiction for Book 2 – Survival Instinct.

A10 motorway
The ring road around Amsterdam.
Read https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/A10/@52.3767256,4.9075673,12z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x47c609ba9e719d55:0x936a8cb7b916b4b

Artificial Intelligence
Is the engineering of ‘intelligent’ machines, in particular computers.  It is also the subject I studied at university.
Read  http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/whatisai/node1.html
Watch  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq3_G3_wylo

Alexei N. Kosygin
Kosygin was a senior politician of the USSR.  In 1967 he visited Niagara Falls.
Read  http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/alexei_kosygin.htm
Read about Niagara Falls Visit  http://niagarafallsupclose.com/russias-kosygin-skipped-check-visiting-niagara-falls/
Video  http://www.nbcuniversalarchives.com/nbcuni/clip/5112495816_s01.do

The A-Team
Four Vietnamese vets are framed for a crime they did not commit.  They escape and spend each episode helping someone in trouble.
Read  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084967/
Watch  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MVonyVSQoM

Beretta
Maker of firearms
Read  http://www.beretta.com/en/
Watch  http://www.youtube.com/user/BerettaCommunity

Biljimer ArenA/Amsterdam ArenA
The home stadium of Ajax and venue for concerts and other events.
Read  http://www.amsterdamarena.nl/home.htm
Watch  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM1R_XF7zpM

Black Sites
Secret bases/rendering stations used by the United States.  Black Sites’ in Europe include Stare Kiejkuty Military Intelligence Base, near Szymany in Northern Poland; Mihai Koyalniceanu (MK) military base, near Constansa in Romania;  plus Temara Detention Facility, Temara and Ain Aouda in Morocco; and sites in Iraq, Afghanistan, Thailand, and Cuba.
Read  http://science.howstuffworks.com/covert-cia-prison-system2.htm
Watch   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fi4hulm2qzs

Blood Groups
Everyone has a blood group.  The most common are: A, B, AB or O
Read  http://www.blood.co.uk/about-blood/blood-group-basics/
Watch  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L06TJTMVkBo

Blood Tests
The medical profession can do a number of tests on blood.  These can include:  white blood cell count, red blood cell count, haemoglobin levels, platelet count, electrolytes by measuring the levels of sodium, potassium, chloride and bicarbonate, blood enzyme tests that measure creatine levels, cholesterol count, LDL, HDL and triglycerides.
Read  http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Blood-tests/Pages/Introduction.aspx
Watch  I would have put a link here but I can’t watch blood tests without feeling faint!

Boat safety
In a storm you should be tethered to the deck.  More boat safety below.
Read  http://www.boatsafetyscheme.org/
Watch  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5Lp2GJHVnM

Clones
A group of organisms or cells which are identical
Read  http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/genetic/human-cloning.htm
Watch  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tbxN5uwaqA

Collateral Damage
Collateral damage is damage to things that are incidental to the intended target. It is frequently used as a military term where it can refer to the incidental destruction of civilian property and non-combatant casualties.  (Wikipedia)

Correction Colony for Foreign Citizens (Lepley in the Republic of Mordovia)
Was a camp for foreign prisoners in the former USSR.
Read  http://www.gulagmaps.org/maps/map.php?series=3&map=kp

Cybernetics
The science of communications and automatic control systems in both machines and living things (google).
Read and Watch  http://www.pangaro.com/definition-cybernetics.html

Delta-Proteins
Delta-proteins serve as a kind of molecular switch that seems to enhance healing and tissue repair. Normally, delta-proteins switch on in young tissue, but not in older tissue.  Quoted from the website below
Read  http://sciencenetlinks.com/science-news/science-updates/young-blood/

Dieppe
Town on the coast in Northern France in Normandy
Read  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/france/normandyandbrittany/739320/Dieppe-my-kind-of-town.html

DNA
The building block of life
Read  http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/the-structure-of-dna.html
Watch  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfVHCSrI9tU

Doctor Fischer (Harvard Medical School)
He thinks greying hair might actually be a safety mechanism that the body uses as it removes damaged stem cells
Read  http://www.hms.harvard.edu/dms/BBS/fac/fisher.php

Dolphins (military trained)
Dolphins trained to complete specific tasks as dictated by the US military.
Read  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/whales/etc/navycron.html
Watch  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy_IwblcVOA

ESP
ESP is extra-sensory perception or the ability to use more senses than the average person.  Stanford Research Institute conducted research into this psychic phenomenon which was allegedly funded by the CIA.  They took a particular interest in Uri Geller.  More recently this has been linked to Quantum Entanglement
Read  http://www.espresearch.com/espgeneral/doc-AT.shtml
Watch  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lERbTkN82go&index=7&list=PLF179601FBE071E3D


First Presbyterian Church of Buffalo
This church was built in 1889.
Read   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Presbyterian_Church_(Buffalo,_New_York)

Foods to keep you young
Eric and Ursula eat/drink plankton, vitamin D supplements, olive oil blueberries, rich cocoa, nuts and yoghurt. Apart from the plankton these are all healthy foods which, though they may not keep you young, will help your body fight aging.
Read  http://www.mensfitness.com/nutrition/look-younger/20-foods-that-keep-you-young
Watch  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg8eNKM27jY

Gdansk
Port of Gdansk is in Northern Poland.  The largest port in Poland.
Read  http://www.portgdansk.pl/en

Genocide
It is unclear how many people have been victims of genocide (the deliberate killing of a large group of people).  In researching, these are the figures that I found for the men mentioned in Book 2: Adolf Hitler  - 18 million, Jozef Stalin – 20 to 60 million and Pol Pot – 1.7 million.
Read  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-11108059
Watch  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45C3IPifmZ0

Grand Prix of Poker at the Golden Nugget hotel (1984)
A poker competition held at the Golden Nugget Hotel in Las Vegas in 1984.
Read  http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/festival.php?a=r&n=4717

Greyhound Buses
The route taken by Professor Ingrid Larsen is accurate.  It was possible to do this from the 1939 and is still possible to travel by bus from Roswell to Memphis to Nashville to Cleveland to Buffalo.
Read  (scroll down to Bus) http://oshermaps.org/exhibitions/road-maps-american-way/v-transportation-maps-pedal-plane

Harlinjen – Crane Hotel
There is a small hotel in a genuine dockside crane in Harlinjen, Netherlands
Read  http://www.unusualhotelsoftheworld.com/CraneHotel

Irish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain.
Read  http://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/infopage/irishsea.htm

Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain was the political, military, and ideological barrier erected by the Soviet Union after World War II, read (and watch) more below:
Read  and Watch  http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/294419/Iron-Curtain

Jacques Cousteau
A French naval officer and explorer of the planet.
Read  http://www.cousteau.org/about-us/jaques
Watch  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgvzrVD6xww

Japanese Self-Defence Forces
The united military forces of Japan.
Read  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Self-Defense_Forces

Jet flying and FAA rules
According to FAA rules jets must be flown by a minimum of two crew.
Read  https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aircraft/airplane_handbook/media/FAA-H-8083-3B.pdf

KGB
An agency protecting the Soviet Union from internal and external threats.
Read  http://russiapedia.rt.com/of-russian-origin/kgb/
Watch  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eylGsWeSEQs

Lauwersoog
Port in the north of the Netherlands
Read  http://www.havenlauwersoog.nl/en

Le Bourget Airport (Paris)
Is the leading business airport in Europe.
Read  http://www.aeroportsdeparis.fr/ADP/en-GB/Professionnals/Aeroportuaire/NosPlateformes/ParisLeBourget/

Los Angeles (1984 Olympics)
The Olympic games were held in Los Angele in July 1984.  They are the first Olympics that I remember.
Read and Watch  http://www.olympic.org/los-angeles-1984-summer-olympics

Magda Syzmanska
Magda is not a real person but she is based on Mariola Przewlocka who was the manager of Syzmany airport.  See Syzmany Aiport for more information.

Magneto
Comic character who first appeared in the X-Men comic in 1963.
Read  http://marvel.wikia.com/Magneto
Watch  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOiBxCtgBVQ

Maid of the Mist
A tourist boat that takes people to see Niagara Falls.
Read  http://www.maidofthemist.com/the-maid-experience/maid-history/
Watch  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLyurlxlG7Y

Marine phytoplankton
Or plankton.  There are about 5000 different kinds.  It is reported that if you consume it your blood will be cleaned, skin and hair will be healthy, fat will be metabolized, your  immune system will be boosted, will act as an antioxidant and control both blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
Read  http://www.naturalnews.com/023853_marine_phytoplankton_microalgae.html
Watch  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QRky6NTRFc

McCarthyism
Is the name given to a period of American history when people were accused of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence
Read  http://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-figures/mccarthyism.htm
Watch  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh18dZk8QAY

Murlough Bay, County Antrim is in Northern Ireland (The Meyer Cottage)
I read an article in a newspaper on visiting Ireland.  The first photograph in the article was of a cottage on Murlough Bay.  As soon as I saw, I knew it was a location I was going to use.
Pictures  http://www.andymcinroy.com/ir465.htm

Niagara Falls
A group of waterfalls that lie on the border between Canada and USA.  See Maid of Mist to see video footage.
Read and Watch  http://www.niagarafallslive.com/facts_about_niagara_falls.htm

Olsztynek
Is a town in North West Poland.
Read  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olsztynek

Orca (fishing trawler)
The Orca is a fishing trawler.  Read the history of trawlers below.
Read  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishing_trawler

Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde was a poet and writer from the 19th Century.  I quoted:

o   “A bird at evening flying to its nest, Tells me of One who had no place of rest,” Sonnet On Hearing The Dies Irae Sung In The Sistine Chapel

o   , “I only knew what hunted thought Quickened his step,”  The Ballard of Reading Gaol

o    “The spears of crimson-suited war, The long white-crested waves of fight, And all the deadly fires which are, The torches of the lords of Night.” Ave Imperatrix

o   “I remember I never could catch you, For no one could match you,”  Rose and Rue

Read Biography  http://www.biography.com/people/oscar-wilde-9531078
Read Poetry  http://www.publicdomainpoems.com/oscarwilde.html

PADI Course
Is a course to teach you to dive underwater safely and competently.
Read  http://www.padi.com/scuba/padi-courses/default.aspx?SessID=

Peeing in your wet suit
Some divers believe peeing in their wetsuit warms them up in cooler waters.  Make up your own mind!
Read  https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071211073449AA8qAHn

Parts of a boat
I use stern, bow, port and starboard for the parts of the trawler.  If these mean nothing to you then read on.
Read  http://www.macmillandictionary.com/thesaurus-category/british/Parts-of-boats-and-ships
Watch  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ6O8lB0cII

Phone hacking
The process of listening in to people’s phone calls illegally.
Read  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phone_hacking

Police Radio Frequencies
It used to be possible to tune in and to listen to Police radio but now it is all digital and is not possible.  Allegedly, it is not illegal to listen but it is illegal to use the information you may here.

Prague to Amsterdam Train
The train from Prague and Amsterdam is the Phoenix and is exactly how I described it in the book.
Read  http://www.seat61.com/train-from-amsterdam-to-prague.htm#.UzQcuqhdUXs
Watch  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8_mT7u8PMc

Racial Supremacy
The belief that one race of people is superior to another.  I have neglected to put any links below as I could not find anything that I felt presented this subject in a way that would not incite hatred.

RAF Fairford and RAF Welford
Two Royal Air Force bases in the UK that are used by the US Air Force too.
Read  http://www.raf-fairford.co.uk/home/welford

Robotic Hand
It sounds hard to believe but people, who have lost limbs are being equipped with robotic one, which they can move through thought alone.
Read  http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/12/16/paralyzed-woman-controls-robotic-arm-with-thoughts-alone/
Watch  http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/25331063

Stade de France
A sport’s stadium in Paris
Read  http://www.stadiumguide.com/stadedefrance/

Sun Traditions in history
These are all things I discovered while researching this part of the book.

o   From Greek history we know that Helios, or the sun, rode across the skies in his chariot. 

o   The Inca civilisations worshipped the sun, as did the native American Indians

o   There is a Jewish ceremony that blesses the sun every twenty eight years

o   There is a fasting and dancing sun ceremony that last for four days like the native American Indians

o   The Incas used to chant to the sun.

o   There is a sun eating Indian man.  He gazes directly at the sun and believes that this gives him enough nourishment to survive and apart from water he does not consume any other food or drink.  This was also practised by the Egyptians, Mayans and Aztecs.  I would advise against doing this.

Spectroscope
Is an instrument used to measure the properties of light.
Read  http://nfsi-server.yerkes.uchicago.edu/FTProot/spectroscope/Spectroscopy/basics1.htm
Watch  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ1xOWl5Axk

Stare Kiejkuty Military Intelligence Base
 Is a military base in Poland and allegedly one of the CIAs black sites.  The Black site building is located in a part of the base called Strefa B and is officially the home of the OSAW, that’s the Polish Intelligence Agency. You can read more under Szymany Airport.
Read  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stare_Kiejkuty_(base)

Stations

Cologne Main Station/Haupt Bahnhof
Read  https://www.b-europe.com/Travel/Practical/Station%20information/Koln%20Hbf
Watch  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFJDidNzah0

Vršovice station, Prague
Read  http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM6NVN_Prague_Vrovice_Train_Station_Ndra_Praha_Vrovice

Praha hlavní nádraží (Prague Main Station)
Read  http://www.pragueexperience.com/places.asp?PlaceID=1005

Amsterdam Centraal
Read  http://www.amsterdam.info/central-station/

Surveillance Equipment
Equipment used to watch/spy on people.  Can consist of cameras, heat cameras, listening equipment and other.  I have not included any links below as all the websites I found were selling stuff.

Syzmany Airport
An airport located in Poland was supposedly used for rendition by the CIA to black sites.
Read  http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/jan/04/politics.usa
Read  http://www.economist.com/blogs/easternapproaches/2013/07/rendition-poland
Read Nick Hawton http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6212843.stm

Train Toilets
I have traveled often on trains around Eastern Europe and some of them have only a hole that leads from the toilet down onto the track.  My father tells me that this is now illegal.

UFO spots
UFOs have been spotted often over recent history.  Eric chooses to highlight a few.  These are Roswell 1947, Washington D.C. in 1952, Melbourne in 1966, Shag Harbour in Canada in 1967, Tehran in 1976, Brazil in 1980, Belgium in 1989, Turkey in 2008 and Mount Rainer in 1947.
Read and Watch  http://www.history.com/topics/history-of-ufos

Vitamin D
We know that vitamin D is the sun vitamin.  It helps cell growth, make bones develop and hardens them, regulates blood sugar, ensures the functioning of healthy nerves and muscles, and may lead to a cure for cancer.
Read  https://www.jenreviews.com/vitamin-d/

VOIP Connection
Voice Over Internet Protocol – the most popular example that I can think of is Skype.
Read  http://computer.howstuffworks.com/ip-telephony.htm

Young blood introduced to old brains resulted in new brain cells growing
At least this is true in mice!
Read  http://www.theguardian.com/science/neurophilosophy/2011/sep/05/young-blood-rejuvenates-old-brains

Zek
A slang term for prisoner in a Russian prison or Soviet Labour Camp.  I used the following memoir by Irina Ratushinskaya
Read  http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/694516.Grey_is_the_Color_of_Hope


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