HTML Basics
Stanford University Libraries & Academic Information Resources

Paragraphs

Most documents consist largely of sequences of paragraphs. We don't need to do the whole document right now, just a few sections to see how it's done. We will have to do it eventually, though, as no text can exist in an HTML document unless it's contained by an appropriate element, and for most of the text, that's <p>

  <h1>The Invasion of the Giant Spore</h1>

  <p>It's a quiet, peaceful day.  You stroll complacently
  through the aisles of books, contemplating the neat rows of
  colored cloth and leather.  A bit of sunshine glimmers
  through the distant stacks.  A little tune is wandering
  through your thoughts.  Suddenly, a shiver runs down your
  spine.  You stop. Something is wrong; you sense danger.
  Slowly you turn and peer down the rows of books, half afraid
  of what you will find.  You cautiously step forward, and
  there it is, lurking in the dark, slowly creeping down a row
  of books.  It slithers from one volume to the next,
  maliciously victimizing innocent and helpless books.  The
  air is filled with a vaguely unpleasant odor.  Books become
  untouchable--they are slimy, they are furry, they are
  distinctly icky.  Who knows, it may spread to the carpet,
  the walls, the curtains, the chairs, even your office; it
  may take over the whole library!  It's the attack of the
  awful mold!</p>

  <p>Before you panic, calm down.  Although it won't be easy,
  mold can be stopped.  You can protect yourself from it.
  This leaflet will provide you with some effective weapons to
  use against mold.  Before we come to the weapons, though, we
  need to analyze our foe.  What is mold?  Where does it come
  from? What does it do to books and paper?</p>

  <h2>I.  What is Mold?  And Where Does It Come From?</h2>

  <p>Mold is a type of fungus.  It grows on surfaces in masses
  of branching threads which resemble dense cobwebs.  The
  fertile threads, those which produce spores, often stand up
  from the surface into the air to release their spores.
  Spores are carried by air currents or by adhering to insects
  or animals.  Active mold can be any color, depending on the
  species and the substrate upon which it is growing.  Mildew
  is another type of fungus, similar in structure to mold, but
  distinct as one species of fungus is distinct from another.
  The terms "mildew" and "mold" are not interchangeable; they
  are most often used in the common names of various fungi.
  Fungi is a kingdom of organisms, with a single division,
  Mycota.  The fungi have traditionally been classified with
  plants but are now considered a distinct group of organisms.
  Unlike plants, which produce their own food, fungi absorb
  nutrients from dead or living organic matter.  Fungi also
  lack photosynthetic pigments. There are over 100,000 known
  living species of fungus, some of which are beneficial to
  mankind.  Mycologists estimate that there may be as many as
  200,000 more unidentified species of fungus.  Yeasts, molds,
  mildews, rusts, and mushrooms are types of fungus.</p>

  <p>The spores of fungi that become mold or mildew are always
  present in the air and on objects. When the temperature and
  moisture in the environment are suitable for germination,
  the fungus spore bursts and grows into a thread-like
  filament called a hyphae.  Using the object it is growing on
  as a food source, the hyphae form a mass, called a mycelium,
  and within a short time begin to produce spores.  At
  maturity, spore sacs burst and release spores, which
  eventually land on other material and begin the reproductive
  cycle again.</p>

What the reader will see is:

The Invasion of the Giant Spore

It's a quiet, peaceful day. You stroll complacently through the aisles of books, contemplating the neat rows of colored cloth and leather. A bit of sunshine glimmers through the distant stacks. A little tune is wandering through your thoughts. Suddenly, a shiver runs down your spine. You stop. Something is wrong; you sense danger. Slowly you turn and peer down the rows of books, half afraid of what you will find. You cautiously step forward, and there it is, lurking in the dark, slowly creeping down a row of books. It slithers from one volume to the next, maliciously victimizing innocent and helpless books. The air is filled with a vaguely unpleasant odor. Books become untouchable--they are slimy, they are furry, they are distinctly icky. Who knows, it may spread to the carpet, the walls, the curtains, the chairs, even your office; it may take over the whole library! It's the attack of the awful mold!

Before you panic, calm down. Although it won't be easy, mold can be stopped. You can protect yourself from it. This leaflet will provide you with some effective weapons to use against mold. Before we come to the weapons, though, we need to analyze our foe. What is mold? Where does it come from? What does it do to books and paper?

I. What is Mold? And Where Does It Come From?

Mold is a type of fungus. It grows on surfaces in masses of branching threads which resemble dense cobwebs. The fertile threads, those which produce spores, often stand up from the surface into the air to release their spores. Spores are carried by air currents or by adhering to insects or animals. Active mold can be any color, depending on the species and the substrate upon which it is growing. Mildew is another type of fungus, similar in structure to mold, but distinct as one species of fungus is distinct from another. The terms "mildew" and "mold" are not interchangeable; they are most often used in the common names of various fungi. Fungi is a kingdom of organisms, with a single division, Mycota. The fungi have traditionally been classified with plants but are now considered a distinct group of organisms. Unlike plants, which produce their own food, fungi absorb nutrients from dead or living organic matter. Fungi also lack photosynthetic pigments. There are over 100,000 known living species of fungus, some of which are beneficial to mankind. Mycologists estimate that there may be as many as 200,000 more unidentified species of fungus. Yeasts, molds, mildews, rusts, and mushrooms are types of fungus.

The spores of fungi that become mold or mildew are always present in the air and on objects. When the temperature and moisture in the environment are suitable for germination, the fungus spore bursts and grows into a thread-like filament called a hyphae. Using the object it is growing on as a food source, the hyphae form a mass, called a mycelium, and within a short time begin to produce spores. At maturity, spore sacs burst and release spores, which eventually land on other material and begin the reproductive cycle again.