According to Professor Eric Michel, of the Paris Observatory, the technique is already giving researchers remarkable new insights.

BBC: Team records 'music' from stars

For Jean-Pierre Luminet, of the Paris Observatory, and his colleagues believe that the universe is, indeed, a dodecahedron.

ECONOMIST: The shape of the universe

Other locations leave them up just for the colder months where they substitute for regular ice, including at Disneyland Paris, the John Hancock Observatory and the roof garden of the Out Hotel in New York City.

FORBES: Skate All Year. No Zamboni Required.

The World Conferences on School Violence (2001 in Paris, 2003 in Quebec, 2005 in Bordeaux) have been regularly organized by the International Observatory on Violence in Schools.

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