Round Rock, Texas,🚨The Texas Chain Saw Massacre[note 1] is a 1974 American horror film directed by Tobe Hooper and written and co-produced by Hooper and Kim Henkel. It stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow and Gunnar Hansen, who respectively portray Sally Hardesty, Franklin Hardesty, the hitchhiker, the proprietor, and Leatherface. The film follows a group of friends who fall victim to a family of cannibals while on their way to visit an old homestead. Although it was marketed as a true story to attract a wider audience and as a subtle commentary on the era's political climate, its plot is entirely fictional; however, the character of Leatherface and minor plot details were inspired by the crimes of real-life murderer Ed Gein. Hooper produced the film for less than $300,000 and used a cast of relatively unknown actors drawn mainly from central Texas, where the film was shot. The limited budget forced Hooper to film for long hours seven days a week, so that he could finish as quickly as possible and reduce equipment rental costs. Due to the film's violent content, Hooper struggled to find a distributor. Louis Perano of Bryanston Pictures eventually purchased the distribution rights. Hooper limited the quantity of onscreen gore in hopes of securing a PG rating, but the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) rated it R. The film faced similar difficulties internationally. Upon its October 1974 release, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was banned outright in several countries, and numerous theaters later stopped showing the film in response to complaints about its violence. While it initially drew a mixed reception from critics, it was enormously profitable, grossing over $30 million at the domestic box office. It has since received a positive reappraisal and gained a reputation as one of the best and most influential horror films in cinema history. It is credited with originating several elements common in the slasher genre, including the use of power tools as murder weapons and the characterization of the killer as a large, hulking, faceless figure. The popularity of the film led to a franchise that continued the story of Leatherface and his family through sequels, remakes, one prequel, comic books and video games. Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns) and her paraplegic brother, Franklin (Paul A. Partain), travel with three friends, Jerry (Allen Danziger), Kirk (William Vail), and Pam (Teri McMinn), to visit the grave of the Hardestys' grandfather to investigate reports of vandalism and grave robbing. Afterwards, they decide to visit the old Hardesty family homestead. Along the way, they pick up a hitchhiker (Edwin Neal) who talks about his family who worked at the old slaughterhouse. He borrows Franklin's pocket-knife and cuts himself, then takes a Polaroid picture of the others and demands money for it. When they refuse to pay, he burns the photo and slashes Franklin's arm with a straight razor. The group forces him out of the van and drive on. They stop at a gas station to refuel, but the proprietor (Jim Siedow) tells them that the pumps are empty. They continue toward the homestead, intending to return to the gas station once it has received a fuel delivery. When they arrive, Franklin tells Kirk and Pam about a local swimming-hole and the couple head off to find it. They find the swimming-hole dried up but hear a generator running in the distance. They stumble upon a nearby house. Kirk calls out, asking for gas, while Pam waits on a swing in the yard. After Kirk receives no answer, he enters through the unlocked door, whereupon Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen) appears and kills him with a hammer. Pam enters soon after and trips into a room filled with furniture made from human bones. She attempts to flee, but Leatherface catches her and impales her on a meathook, making her watch as he butchers Kirk with a chainsaw. Jerry heads out to look for Pam and Kirk at sunset. He finds the couple's blanket outside the nearby house. He investigates and finds Pam, still alive, inside a freezer. Before he can react, Leatherface kills him and stuffs Pam back into the freezer. With darkness falling, Sally and Franklin set out to find their friends. As they near the neighboring house and call out, Leatherface lunges from the darkness and kills Franklin with a chainsaw. Sally runs toward the house and finds the desiccated remains of an elderly couple in an upstairs room. She escapes from Leatherface by jumping through a second-floor window and flees to the gas station. Leatherface disappears into the night. The proprietor calms her with offers of help but then ties her up, gags her and forces her into his truck. He drives to the house, arriving at the same time as the hitchhiker, now revealed as Leatherface's brother. When the pair bring Sally inside, the hitchhiker recognizes her and taunts her. The men torment the bound and gagged Sally while Leatherface, now dressed as a woman, serves dinner. Leatherface and the hitchhiker bring Grandpa (John Dugan), one of the desiccated bodies seen earlier, down from upstairs. He is revealed to be alive when he sucks blood from a cut in Sally's finger. During the night, they decide that Grandpa, the best killer in the old slaughterhouse, should kill Sally. He tries to hit her with a hammer but is too weak. In the ensuing confusion, she breaks free, leaps through a window, and flees to the road. Leatherface and the hitchhiker give chase, but the latter is run over and killed by a passing semi-trailer truck. Armed with his chainsaw, Leatherface attacks the truck when the driver stops to help; the driver knocks down Leatherface with a pipe wrench, causing the chainsaw to cut his leg. The driver flees, and Sally escapes in the back of a passing pickup truck as Leatherface dances maniacally in the road with his chainsaw. The concept for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre arose in the early 1970s while Tobe Hooper was working as an assistant film director at the University of Texas at Austin and as a documentary cameraman.[3] He had already developed a story involving the elements of isolation, the woods, and darkness.[4] He credited the graphic coverage of violence by San Antonio news outlets as one inspiration for the film[5] and based elements of the plot on serial killer Ed Gein in 1950s Wisconsin;[6] Gein inspired other horror films such as Psycho (1960) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991).[7][8][9][10] During development, Hooper used the working titles of Headcheese and Leatherface.[11][12] Hooper has cited changes in the cultural and political landscape as central influences on the film. His intentional misinformation, that the "film you are about to see is true", was a response to being "lied to by the government about things that were going on all over the world", including Watergate, the 1973 oil crisis, and "the massacres and atrocities in the Vietnam War".[5] The "lack of sentimentality and the brutality of things" that Hooper noticed while watching the local news, whose graphic coverage was epitomized by "showing brains spilled all over the road", led to his belief that "man was the real monster here, just wearing a different face, so I put a literal mask on the monster in my film".[8] The idea of using a chainsaw as the murder weapon came to Hooper while he was in the hardware section of a busy store, contemplating how to speed his way through the crowd.[9] Hooper and Kim Henkel cowrote the screenplay and formed Vortex, Inc.[15] with Henkel as president and Hooper as vice president.[16] They asked Bill Parsley, a friend of Hooper, to provide funding. Parsley formed a company named MAB, Inc. through which he invested $60,000 in the production. In return, MAB owned 50% of the film and its profits.[17] Production manager Ron Bozman told most of the cast and crew that he would have to defer part of their salaries until after it was sold to a distributor. Vortex made the idea more attractive by awarding them a share of its potential profits, ranging from 0.25 to 6%, similar to mortgage points. The cast and crew were not informed that Vortex owned only 50%, which meant their points were worth half of the assumed value.[16][18] Many of the cast members at the time were relatively unknown actorsTexans who had played roles in commercials, television, and stage shows, as well as performers whom Hooper knew personally, such as Allen Danziger and Jim Siedow.[19][20][21] Involvement in the film propelled some of them into the motion picture industry. The lead role of Sally was given to Marilyn Burns, who had appeared previously on stage and served on the film commission board at UT Austin while studying there.[20] Teri McMinn was a student who worked with local theater companies, including the Dallas Theater Center.[20] Henkel called McMinn to come in for a reading after he spotted her picture in the Austin American-Statesman.[22] For her last call-back he requested that she wear short shorts, which proved to be the most comfortable of all the cast members' costumes.[20] Icelandic-American actor Gunnar Hansen was selected for the role of Leatherface.[23] He regarded Leatherface as being mentally retarded and having never learned to speak properly. To research his character in preparation for his role, Hansen visited a special needs school and watched how the students moved and spoke.[9][24] John Larroquette performed the narration in the opening credits.[25] The primary filming location was an early 1900s farmhouse located on Quick Hill Road near Round Rock, Texas, where the La Frontera development is now located.[26] The small budget and concerns over high-cost equipment rentals meant the crew filmed seven days a week, up to 16 hours a day. The environment was humid[18][27] and the cast and crew found conditions tough; temperatures peaked at 110F (43?C) on July 26.[28] Hansen later recalled, "It was 95, 100 degrees every day during filming. They wouldn't wash my costume because they were worried that the laundry might lose it, or that it would change color. They didn't have enough money for a second costume. So I wore that [mask] 12 to 16 hours a day, seven days a week, for a month."[29] The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was mainly shot using an Eclair NPR 16mm camera[11][30] with fine-grain, low-speed film that required four times more light than modern digital cameras.[31] Most of the filming took place in the farmhouse, which was filled with furniture constructed from animal bones and a latex material used as upholstery to give the appearance of human skin.[32] The house was not cooled, and there was little ventilation. The crew covered its walls with drops of animal blood obtained from a local slaughterhouse.[5] Art director Robert A. Burns drove around the countryside and collected the remains of cattle and other animals in various stages of decomposition, with which he littered the floors of the house.[32] The special effects were simple and limited by the budget.[33] The on-screen blood was real in some cases,[34] such as the scene in which Leatherface feeds "Grandpa". The crew had difficulty getting the stage blood to come out of its tube, so instead Burns's index finger was cut with a razor.[35] Burns's costume was so drenched with stage blood that it was "virtually solid" by the last day of shooting.[20] The scene in which Leatherface decapitates Kirk with a chainsaw worried actor William Vail (Kirk). After telling Vail to stay still lest he really be killed, Hansen brought the running chainsaw to within 3 inches (8?cm) of Vail's face.[30] A real hammer was used for the climactic scene at the end, with some takes also featuring a mock-up. However, the actor playing Grandpa was aiming for the floor rather than his victim's head.[36] Still, the shoot was somewhat dangerous, with Hooper noting at the wrap party that all cast members had obtained some level of injury. He stated that "everyone hated me by the end of the production" and that "it just took years for them to kind of cool off."[36][37] The production exceeded its original $60,000 budget during editing.[38] Sources differ on the film's final cost, offering figures between $93,000 and $300,000.[23][39][40][41] A film production group, Pie in the Sky, provided $23,532 in exchange for 19% of Vortex.[42] This left Henkel, Hooper and the rest of the cast and crew with a 40.5% stake.[16] Warren Skaaren, then head of the Texas Film Commission, helped secure the distribution deal with Bryanston Pictures.[17] David Foster, producer of the 1982 horror film The Thing, arranged for a private screening for some of Bryanston Pictures' West Coast executives, and received 1.5% of Vortex's profits and a deferred fee of $500.[16] On August 28, 1974, Louis Peraino of Bryanston agreed to distribute the film worldwide, from which Bozman and Skaaren would receive $225,000 and 35% of the profits. Years later Bozman stated, "We made a deal with the devil, [sigh], and I guess that, in a way, we got what we deserved."[16] They signed the contract with Bryanston and, after the investors recouped their money (with interest),and after Skaaren, the lawyers, and the accountants were paidonly $8,100 was left to be divided among the 20 cast and crew members.[16] Eventually the producers sued Bryanston for failing to pay them their full percentage of the box office profits. A court judgment instructed Bryanston to pay the filmmakers $500,000, but by then the company had declared bankruptcy. In 1983 New Line Cinema acquired the distribution rights from Bryanston and gave the producers a larger share of the profits.[43] The Texas Chain Saw Massacre premiered in Austin, Texas on October 1, 1974, almost a year after filming concluded. It screened nationally in the United States as a Saturday afternoon matine and its false marketing as a "true story" helped it attract a broad audience.[44][45] For eight years after 1976, it was annually reissued to first-run theaters, promoted by full-page ads.[46] The film eventually grossed more than $30 million in the United States and Canada[47] ($14.4 million in rentals), making it the 12th highest-grossing film initially released in 1974, despite its minuscule budget.[48] Among independent films, it was overtaken in 1978 by John Carpenter's Halloween, which grossed $47 million.[49] Hooper reportedly hoped that the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) would give the complete, uncut release print a "PG" rating due to its minimal amount of visible gore.[50][51][52] Instead, it was originally rated "X". After several minutes were cut, it was resubmitted to the MPAA and received an "R" rating. A distributor apparently restored the offending material, and at least one theater presented the full version under an "R".[53] In San Francisco, cinema-goers walked out of theaters in disgust[54] and, in February 1976, two theaters in Ottawa, Canada, were advised by local police to withdraw the film lest they face morality charges.[55] After its initial British release, including a one-year theatrical run in London,[56] The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was initially banned on the advice of British Board of Film Censors (BBFC) Secretary Stephen Murphy, and subsequently by his successor, James Ferman.[57][58] While the British ban was in force the word "chainsaw" itself was barred from movie titles, forcing imitators to rename their films.[59] In 1998, despite the BBFC ban, Camden London Borough Council granted the film a license.[60] The following year the BBFC passed The Texas Chain Saw Massacre for release with an 18 certificate (indicating that it should not be seen or purchased by a person under 18),[61] and it was broadcast a year later on Channel 4.[62][63] The Australian censors refused to classify the 83-minute version of the film in June 1975;[64] the board similarly refused classification of a 77-minute print in December that year.[65] In 1981, an 83-minute version submitted by Greater Union Organization Film Distributors was again refused registration.[66] It was later submitted by Filmways Australia and approved for an "R" rating in 1984.[67][68] It was banned for periods in many other countries, including Brazil, Chile, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Singapore, Sweden and West Germany.[69][70][71] The Texas Chain Saw Massacre received a mixed reaction upon its initial release. Linda Gross of the Los Angeles Times called it "despicable" and described Henkel and Hooper as more concerned with creating a realistic atmosphere than with its "plastic script".[72] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times said it was "as violent and gruesome and blood-soaked as the title promises", yet praised its acting and technical execution.[73][74] Patrick Taggart of the Austin American-Statesman hailed it as the most important horror film since George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968).[75] Variety found the picture to be well-made, despite what it called the "heavy doses of gore".[76] John McCarty of Cinefantastique stated that the house featured in the film made the Bates motel "look positively pleasant by comparison".[77] Revisiting the film in his 1976 article "Fashions in Pornography" for Harper's Magazine, Stephen Koch found its sadistic violence to be extreme and unimaginative.[78] Critics later frequently praised both the film's aesthetic quality and its power. Observing that it managed to be "horrifying without being a bloodbath (you'll see more gore in a Steven Seagal film)", Bruce Westbrook of the Houston Chronicle called it "a backwoods masterpiece of fear and loathing".[79] TV Guide thought it was "intelligent" in its "bloodless depiction of violence",[80] while Anton Bitel felt the fact that it was banned in the United Kingdom was a tribute to its artistry. He pointed out how the quiet sense of foreboding at the beginning of the film grows, until the viewer experiences "a punishing assault on the senses".[81] In Hick Flicks: The Rise and Fall of Redneck Cinema, Scott Von Doviak commended its effective use of daylight shots, unusual among horror films, such as the sight of a corpse draped over a tombstone in the opening sequence.[82] Mike Emery of The Austin Chronicle praised the film's "subtle touches"such as radio broadcasts heard in the background describing grisly murders around Texasand said that what made it so dreadful was that it never strayed too far from potential reality.[83] It has often been described as one of the scariest films of all time.[84] Rex Reed called it the most terrifying film he had ever seen.[85] Empire described it as "the most purely horrifying horror movie ever made" and called it "never less than totally committed to scaring you witless".[86] Reminiscing about his first viewing of the film, horror director Wes Craven recalled wondering "what kind of Mansonite crazoid" could have created such a thing.[87] It is a work of "cataclysmic terror", in the words of horror novelist Stephen King, who declared, "I would happily testify to its redeeming social merit in any court in the country."[88] Critic Robin Wood found it one of the few horror films to possess "the authentic quality of nightmare".[89] Based on 56 reviews published since 2000, the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes reports that 88% of critics gave it a positive review, with an average score of 7.9 out of 10.[90] The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is considered one of the greatestand most controversialof horror films,[91][92] and a major influence on the genre.[41][93] In 1999 Richard Zoglin of Time commented that it had "set a new standard for slasher films".[94] The Times listed it as one of the 50 most controversial films of all time.[95] Tony Magistrale believes the film paved the way for horror to be used as a vehicle for social commentary.[96] Describing it as "cheap, grubby and out of control", Mark Olsen of the Los Angeles Times declared that it "both defines and entirely supersedes the very notion of the exploitation picture".[97] In his book Dark Romance: Sexuality in the Horror Film, David Hogan called it "the most affecting gore thriller of all and, in a broader view, among the most effective horror films ever made ... the driving force of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is something far more horrible than aberrant sexuality: total insanity."[98][99] According to Bill Nichols, it "achieves the force of authentic art, profoundly disturbing, intensely personal, yet at the same time far more than personal".[100] Leonard Wolf praised the film as "...an exquisite work of art" and compared it to a Greek tragedy, noting the lack of onscreen violence.[101] Leatherface has gained a reputation as a significant character in the horror genre,[102][103] responsible for establishing the use of conventional tools as murder weapons and the image of a large, silent killer devoid of personality.[104][105] Christopher Null of Filmcritic.com said, "In our collective consciousness, Leatherface and his chainsaw have become as iconic as Freddy and his razors or Jason and his hockey mask."[106] Don Sumner called The Texas Chain Saw Massacre a classic that not only introduced a new villain to the horror pantheon but also influenced an entire generation of filmmakers.[107] According to Rebecca Ascher-Walsh of Entertainment Weekly, it laid the foundations for future horror franchises such as Halloween, The Evil Dead, and The Blair Witch Project.[108] Ridley Scott cited it as an inspiration for his 1979 film Alien.[109][110] French director Alexandre Aja credited it as an early influence on his career.[111] Horror filmmaker and heavy metal musician Rob Zombie sees it as a major influence on his art, most notably his 2003 film House of 1000 Corpses.[112] The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was selected for the 1975 Cannes Film Festival Directors' Fortnight[56] and London Film Festival.[48] In 1976, it won the Special Jury Prize at the Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival in France.[113] Entertainment Weekly ranked the film sixth on its 2003 list of "The Top 50 Cult Films".[114] In a 2005 Total Film poll, it was selected as the greatest horror film of all time.[91][115] It was named among Time's top 25 horror films in 2007.[116] In 2008 the film ranked number 199 on Empire magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time".[117] Empire also ranked it 46th in its list of the 50 greatest independent films.[118] In a 2010 Total Film poll, it was again selected as the greatest horror film; the judging panel included veteran horror directors such as John Carpenter, Wes Craven, and George A. Romero.[119] In 2010, as well, The Guardian ranked it number 14 on its list of the top 25 horror films.[120] The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was inducted into the Horror Hall of Fame in 1990, with director Hooper accepting the award,[121] and it is part of the permanent collection of New York City's Museum of Modern Art.[41] In 2012, the film was named by critics in the British Film Institute's Sight & Sound magazine as one of the 250 greatest films.[122] The underlying themes of the film have been the subject of extensive critical discussion; critics and scholars have interpreted it as a paradigmatic exploitation film in which female protagonists are subjected to brutal, sadistic violence.[123][124] Stephen Prince comments that the horror is "born of the torment of the young woman subjected to imprisonment and abuse amid decaying arms... and mobiles made of human bones and teeth."[125] As with many horror films, it focuses on the "final girl" tropethe heroine and inevitable lone survivor who somehow escapes the horror that befalls the other characters:[126][127] Sally Hardesty is wounded and tortured, yet manages to survive with the help of a male truck driver.[128] Critics argue that even in exploitation films in which the ratio of male and female deaths is roughly equal, the images that linger will be of the violence committed against the female characters.[126][129][130] The specific case of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre provides support for this argument: three men are killed in quick fashion, but one woman is brutally slaughteredhung on a meathookand the surviving woman endures physical and mental torture.[131] In 1977, critic Mary Mackey described the meathook scene as probably the most brutal onscreen female death in any commercially distributed film.[132] She placed it in a lineage of violent films that depict women as weak and incapable of protecting themselves.[132] In one study, a group of men were shown five films depicting differing levels of violence against women.[133] On first viewing The Texas Chain Saw Massacre they experienced symptoms of depression and anxiety; however, upon subsequent viewing they found the violence against women less offensive and more enjoyable.[131] Another study, investigating gender-specific perceptions of slasher films, involved 30 male and 30 female university students.[134] One male participant described the screaming, especially Sally's, as the "most freaky thing" in the film.[134] According to Jesse Stommel of Bright Lights Film Journal, the lack of explicit violence in the film forces viewers to question their own fascination with violence that they play a central role in imagining.[135] Nonethelessciting its feverish camera moves, repeated bursts of light, and auditory pandemoniumStommel asserts that it involves the audience primarily on a sensory rather than an intellectual level.[135] Critic Christopher Sharrett argues that since Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) and The Birds (1963), the American horror film has been defined by the questions it poses "about the fundamental validity of the American civilizing process",[137] concerns amplified during the 1970s by the "delegitimation of authority in the wake of Vietnam and Watergate".[138] "If Psycho began an exploration of a new sense of absurdity in contemporary life, of the collapse of causality and the diseased underbelly of American Gothic", he writes, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre "carries this exploration to a logical conclusion, addressing many of the issues of Hitchcock's film while refusing comforting closure".[139] Robin Wood characterizes Leatherface and his family as victims of industrial capitalism, their jobs as slaughterhouse workers having been rendered obsolete by technological advances.[140] He states that the picture "brings to focus a spirit of negativity... that seems to lie not far below the surface of the modern collective consciousness".[141] Naomi Merritt explores the film's representation of "cannibalistic capitalism" in relation to Georges Bataille's theory of taboo and transgression.[142] She elaborates on Wood's analysis, stating that the Sawyer family's values "reflect, or correspond to, established and interdependent American institutions... but their embodiment of these social units is perverted and transgressive."[143] In Kim Newman's view, Hooper's presentation of the Sawyer family during the dinner scene parodies a typical American sitcom family: the gas station owner is the bread-winning father figure; the killer Leatherface is depicted as a bourgeois housewife; the hitchhiker acts as the rebellious teenager.[144] Isabel Cristina Pinedo, author of Recreational Terror: Women and the Pleasures of Horror Film Viewing, states, "The horror genre must keep terror and comedy in tension if it is to successfully tread the thin line that separates it from terrorism and parody ... this delicate balance is struck in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in which the decaying corpse of Grandpa not only incorporates horrific and humorous effects, but actually uses one to exacerbate the other."[145] The Texas Chain Saw Massacre has also been described as "the ultimate pro-vegetarian film" due to its animal rights themes. In a video essay, film critic Rob Ager describes the irony in humans being slaughtered for meat, putting humans in the position of being slaughtered like farm animals. Director Tobe Hooper gave up meat while making the film, and said "In a way I thought the heart of the film was about meat; its about the chain of life and killing sentient beings."[146][147] The Texas Chain Saw Massacre has appeared on various home video formats. In the US, it was first released on videotape and CED in the early 1980s by Wizard Video and Vestron Video.[148][149] The British Board of Film Classification had long since refused a certification for the uncut theatrical version and in 1984 they also refused to certify it for home video, amid a moral panic surrounding "video nasties".[150] After the retirement of BBFC Director James Ferman in 1999, the board passed the film uncut for theatrical and video distribution with an 18 certificate, almost 25 years after the original release.[151] The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was initially released on DVD in October 1998 in the United States,[152] May 2000 in the United Kingdom[153] and 2001 in Australia. In 2005 the film received a 2K scan and full restoration from the original 16mm A/B rolls,[154] which was subsequently released on DVD and Blu-ray. In 2014 an additional, even more extensive 4K restoration, using the original 16mm A/B reversal rolls, was carried out.[155] After a screening in the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival,[156] this was also released on DVD and Blu-ray worldwide. Dark Sky Films' US 40th Anniversary Edition was nominated for Best DVD/BD Special Edition Release at the 2015 Saturn Awards.[157] In 1982, shortly after The Texas Chain Saw Massacre established itself as a success on US home video, Wizard Video released a mass-market video game adaptation for the Atari 2600.[158] In the game, the player assumes the role of Leatherface and attempts to murder trespassers while avoiding obstacles such as fences and cow skulls.[158] As one of the first horror-themed video games, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre caused controversy when it was first released due to its violent nature; it sold poorly as a result, because many game stores refused to stock it.[159][160] The film has been followed by seven other films to date, including sequels, prequels and remakes. The first sequel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986), was considerably more graphic and violent than the original and was banned in Australia for 20 years before it was released on DVD in a revised special edition in October 2006.[161] Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1990) was the second sequel to appear, though Hooper did not return to direct due to scheduling conflicts with another film, Spontaneous Combustion.[162] Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, starring Rene Zellweger and Matthew McConaughey, was released in 1995. While briefly acknowledging the events of the preceding two sequels, its plot makes it a virtual remake of the 1974 original.[163] A straight remake, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, was released by Platinum Dunes and New Line Cinema in 2003.[164] It was followed by a prequel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, in 2006. A seventh film, Texas Chainsaw 3D, was released on January 4, 2013.[164] It is a direct sequel to the original 1974 film, with no relation to the 2003 or 2006 films.[165][166] The 2017 prequel, Leatherface will be released exclusively to DirecTV on September 21, 2017, before receiving a wider release on Video on demand and in limited theaters, simultaneously, in North America on October 20, 2017. The Academy Film Archive houses the Texas Chain Saw Massacre collection, which contains over 50 items in a collection representing many original elements of the film.[167]

Zero Divided by Zero Equals Nothing🚨Nil Battey Sannata (Zero Divided by Zero Equals Nothing; slang for "Good For Nothing"), released internationally as The New Classmate, is a 2016 Indian comedy drama film directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari in her feature debut. Produced by Anand Rai, Ajay Rai, and Alan McAlex under the banners of Colour Yellow and JAR Pictures, the film was co-written by Iyer, Neeraj Singh, Pranjal Choudhary, and Nitesh Tiwari. Swara Bhaskar starred as Chanda Sahay, a high-school drop-out household maid and single mother of a sullen young girl named Apeksha, played by Ria Shukla. The film's theme is a person's right to dream and change their lives, irrespective of social status. Released in India on 22 April 2016, Nil Battey Sannata was distributed by Eros International and garnered critical and audience acclaim. Reviewers praised most aspects of the production, especially its narrative and realism, and the performances of the cast, Bhaskar's in particular. At the 62nd Filmfare Awards, Iyer won the Filmfare Award for Best Debut Director, while Bhaskar and Shukla won the Screen Awards for Best Actress (Critics) and Best Child Artist respectively. The film did well at the box-office, collecting a total of around ?69 million (US$1.1?million) during its entire theatrical run. A Tamil remake, Amma Kanakku, directed by Iyer was released in June 2016 and starred Amala Paul, Revathi and Samuthirakani. Apeksha "Apu" Shivlal Sahay (Ria Shukla) is an unmotivated student who has managed to reach her SSC year in school despite her lack of interest in studying further. She struggles in mathematics alongside her friends, Sweety (Neha Prajapati) and Pintu (Prashant Tiwari). Her single mother Chanda (Swara Bhaskar), a high-school drop-out, works four different menial jobs, which include working as a maid for Dr. Diwan (Ratna Pathak Shah). Troubled by her daughter's indifferent attitude, Chanda narrates her dilemma to Dr. Diwan, who suggests that she hire a maths tutor for Apu. Chanda is told that Apu must pass her pre-board math exams to receive a 50?% discount for the crash course tuition. Hearing this, Apu replies that she is destined to work as a maid, as Chanda cannot provide financially for any higher education. With the encouragement of Dr. Diwan, Chanda enrolls herself in Apu's class in her school so that she can learn maths and tutor Apu herself. This embarrasses Apu and she continuously ridicules her mother. No one, except for the school's principal Mr. Srivastava (Pankaj Tripathi), is aware of Chanda's relationship with Apu; she manages to befriend Apu's classmates, including Sweety and Pintu and impresses her teachers with her steady progress. Chanda enlists the help of her shy classmate Amar (Vishal Nath) to understand maths and makes use of mind maps on his advice. Apu is angered by her mother's success in maths, as she herself continues to fail to understand it. Chanda challenges Apu to achieve grades higher than hers in maths; if she is successful, Chanda promises to drop out of school. With Amar's help and constant studying, Apu manages to complete the challenge. Her mother is overjoyed, but is heartbroken when Apu informs her that she performed well in school with the sole purpose of ensuring her mother's absence at school. In her anger, Chanda breaks her promise and returns to school, performing even better than before, much to Apu's chagrin. After allotting more time to school, Chanda loses one of her four jobs and begins to work at a restaurant because Amar recommends the job to her since his elder brother Pankaj worked there. One night, she is dropped off at home by one of her male colleagues; Apu witnesses this and assumes that Chanda has been soliciting. She steals the money that Chanda has been collecting to pay for the maths tuition and spends it all on food, new clothes and sandals. This devastates Chanda, who becomes depressed when Apu tells her that the money was not hard-earned. Chanda stops attending school and continues to work with the hope that Apu will join the Indian Administrative Service, after she is inspired by a kind District Commissioner (Sanjay Suri). In the meantime, Amar helps Apu realize her mistake by making her witness Chanda working at the restaurant and tells her that it was his brother Pankaj who used to drop Chanda back home. Apu rekindles her interest in school and begins to treat her mother with respect, having realized that she can perform well if she possesses the will. She brings her mother back to school and the duo finish their SSC year together. With a scenic view of the Taj Mahal in the backdrop, Chanda motivates Apu to always follow her dreams, as they are dependent on efforts and not circumstances. A few years later, Apu attends her Union Public Service Commission interview, having passed her examinations successfully. After being asked what inspired her to apply for IAS, she answers that she is inspired by her mother, who now tutors struggling maths students for free. The cast is listed below:[1] Nil Battey Sannata was directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari in her directorial debut.[3] She conceived the idea for the film while working with Leo Burnett Worldwide, a Chicago-based advertising company, for a Kaun Banega Crorepati promotional video.[4][5] The screenplay was written by Iyer, Neeraj Singh, Pranjal Choudhary and Nitesh Tiwari.[1][4] In an interview with The Indian Express, Iyer said that "the story of Nil Battey Sannata is relevant as well as inspiring".[6] The film's title translates to "Zero Divided by Zero Equals Nothing", and is a slang for "Good For Nothing".[7] After going through the script, JAR Pictures' Ajay G. Rai decided to produce the film, and insisted on Iyer to direct it as well. Although initially reluctant, Iyer agreed to direct and learnt the major aspects of cinematography as a part of her preparation.[4] Gavemic U Ary worked as the cinematographer for the film, and Kunal Sharma headed the sound department. The visual effects were provided by Prasad Film Labs, a motion picture post-production studio based in Hyderabad, and the costumes were designed by Sachin Lovalekar.[1] Mukesh Chhabra was the film's casting director.[4] Swara Bhaskar was the first to be cast in the role of Chanda Sahay, a single mother of a 15-year-old girl. Initially sceptical about playing a mother on screen early in her career, she changed her mind after reading the script.[8][9] To understand the role better, Bhaskar stayed with professional domestic helpers from Agra, Uttar Pradesh, where the film is set.[9] She bought such props as a handbag, a comb, a pocket mirror, and rubber chappals.[10] She also drew guidance from her mother's experiences of handling a teenage daughter. After the film's release, Bhaskar said in an interview with Daily News and Analysis that her friends in the Hindi film industry advised her not to take up the role as they felt it would be a "career suicide" for her. She agreed to participate in the project because "the story stayed in [her] mind".[9] The next role to be cast was that of the 15-year-old daughter of the protagonist. Ria Shukla was selected for the role after auditions in Lucknow.[4] Ratna Pathak and Pankaj Tripathi play supporting roles in the film.[6][11] A group of around 25 local children played the students at the school.[11] Principal photography for Nil Battey Sannata commenced in May 2014 at Agra, and was completed by the end of November.[8] At several locations in Agra, the crew found it difficult to manage an "over-enthusiastic crowd".[12] The editing process began immediately after, and was supervised by Chandrashekhar Prajapati of the Pixon Studios.[8] The editor's cut was submitted for the Work-in-Progress Lab at the NFDC Film Bazaar.[13] Distributed by Eros International in India, Nil Battey Sannata's final cut ran for a total of 104 minutes.[14][15] The music for Nil Battey Sannata was composed by newcomers Rohan and Vinayak, with Manoj Yadav, Nitesh Tiwari and Shreyas Jain as lyricists for the soundtrack.[16][17] Joginder Tuteja's mixed review for Bollywood Hungama was largely appreciative of the songs "Murabba" and "Maths Mein Dabba Gul", also acknowledging the soundtrack's "rural flavor". He deemed the overall album to be "strictly situational".[16] The Times of India critic Mohar Basu gave the soundtrack a 3 out 5 star rating, saying that the "album wins you over with its innocence". Praising the pleasant "Murabba" and the catchy "Maths Mein Dabba", he asserted that the film "has music that will touch your heart".[18] The film had its world premiere in the last week of September 2015 at the Silk Road Film Festival, Fuzhou, China.[20] It was released under the title of The New Classmate, as it was at such international film festivals like the Marrakech International Film Festival and the Cleveland International Film Festival.[21][22][23] The film then went on to be screened at the BFI London Film Festival (LFF) on 23 October 2015, and was lauded at the event.[3] The release of the first look of the film coincided with the International Women's Day, 8 March.[24] In the poster of the film, a smiling Swara Bhaskar is seen taking a leap with Ria Shukla in a red sari and a blue salwar kameez respectively. The poster was unveiled by the actress Sonam Kapoor, a close friend of Bhaskar.[24] The official trailer was released by Eros productions on 22 March 2016.[25] The launch took place at a media session in a classroom set-up with Bhaskar, Shukla and Pankaj Tripathi.[26] At the event, the film's producer Anand L Rai said, "I associated with Nil Battey Sannata straight from my heart and I'm feeling very proud of the film."[27] The trailer was well received by both critics and audiences.[26][27] A reviewer for Daily News and Analysis thought of it as "heartwarming".[28] The film had its theatrical release in India on 22 April 2016.[29] Nil Battey Sannata released in India on fewer than 300 screens and had an average opening at the box-office. It collected ?2.5 million (US$39,000) on its opening, but the figure grew on the second day as a result of positive word of mouth reviews.[30] The film collected ?6.0 million (US$94,000) on Saturday and ?10.5 million (US$160,000) on Sunday bringing the opening weekend collections to ?19 million (US$300,000).[31] The film faced competition from other small-budget Hindi film releases Laal Rang and Santa Banta Pvt Ltd in its opening weekend at the box-office, but was expected to do well because of the positive reviews and good word of mouth.[32] The film collected ?30 million (US$470,000) in its opening week.[33] It was declared tax free in the states of Uttar Pradesh and New Delhi by their respective state governments.[34][35] The film became a commercial success, and continued thought the second week, increasing in rural areas of the country.[36] It had an impressive six-week run at the box office and its lifetime collections were around ?70 million (US$1.1?million).[2] Nil Battey Sannata opened to critical acclaim, and was positively received by the audiences as well.[37] It received overwhelming praise, chiefly for the direction, and for Bhaskar, Shukla and Tripathi. Kunal Guha of the Mumbai Mirror wrote, "It's rare to come across films that force you to keep aside your yardsticks of what a good film is and dive into the experience".[38] Namrata Thakur of Rediff.com gave the film the highest praise and deemed it "an absolute gem", saying "there is hardly a dull moment in the film". She considered it the feel-good film of the year, comparing it to 2015's Dum Laga Ke Haisha.[39] The Hindu journalist and film critic Namrata Joshi included Nil Battey Sannata in her year-end list of "Hindi films that made a mark in 2016".[40] She thought of it "a warm, feel-good film which offers hope and the promise".[41] The realism in the portrayal of the characters, and the universal theme of the film was widely lauded by critics. Gautaman Bhaskaran of Hindustan Times gave it 4 stars out of 5 and remarked that the film "is a powerful and honest work",[42] and Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express noted that "the film relies on keeping things real".[43] Mohar Basu in his review at The Times of India described the movie as "unpretentious", saying that "the movie wins you over with its innocence and simplicity".[15] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV said the film resonated as "a disarmingly simple and heart-warming film".[44] Suparna Sharma of Deccan Chronicle called it a "real film in a real setting about real people that delivers several empowering, powerful messages".[45] The performances of the lead cast were chiefly praised by critics. Joshi, who was particularly impressed with the performances of Tripathi and Shukla, ascribed the film's appeal to its well-etched characters and their relationships which were "brought alive by a nicely put together ensemble cast".[41] The view was shared by Rachit Gupta of Filmfare, who noted that "the actors make this film so memorable". He gave Bhaskar the highest praise, saying that she delivered the "performance of a lifetime", while also praising Shukla's "super", Pathak's "phenomenal" and Tripathi's "masterclass" performances.[46] In his review, CNN-News18 film critic Rajeev Masand deemed Bhaskar to be "the heart of the film" noting that with "not one note out of place, she grabs your attention".[47] Udita Jhunjhunwala of Firstpost praised Bhaksar, stating that "This is one of her most nuanced performances and a welcome change", and highlighted Tripathi, calling him the "scene-stealer as the zealous school principal".[48] In November 2015, Iyer agreed terms to direct a remake of the film in Tamil, for producers Dhanush and Anand L Rai. Dhanush had been shown a preview of the film by Rai, during a visit to Mumbai in September 2015 and the duo chose to co-produce the film, with Iyer retained as director.[49] The roles played by Bhaskar, Shukla, Pathak, and Tripathi were essayed by Amala Paul, Yuvasri, Revathi, and Samuthirakani respectively in the remake, titled Amma Kanakku, which released on 24 June 2016.[50] The film was also remade in Malayalam as Udaharanam Sujatha (2017) where the role of Swara Bhaskar was portrayed by Manju Warrier.

Jan. 1977🚨Black Panther is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Jack Kirby, first appearing in Fantastic Four #52 (cover-dated July 1966) in the Silver Age of Comic Books. Black Panther's real name is T'Challa, king and protector of the fictional African nation of Wakanda. Along with possessing enhanced abilities achieved through ancient Wakandan rituals of drinking the essence of the heart-shaped herb, T'Challa also relies on his proficiency in science, rigorous physical training, hand-to-hand combat skills, and access to wealth and advanced Wakandan technology to combat his enemies. Black Panther is the first superhero of African descent in mainstream American comics, having debuted years before early African American superheroes such as Marvel Comics' the Falcon (1969), Luke Cage (1972) and Blade (1973), or DC Comics' John Stewart in the role of Green Lantern (1971). In one comic book storyline, the Black Panther mantle is handled by Kasper Cole, a multiracial New York City police officer. Beginning as an impersonator, Cole would later take on the moniker of White Tiger and become an ally to T'Challa. The role of Black Panther and leadership of Wakanda is also given to T'Challa's sister Shuri for a short time. Black Panther has made numerous appearances in various television shows, animated films and video games. The character is portrayed in live action by Chadwick Boseman in the 2016 film Captain America: Civil War, and the 2018 films Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War, set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In 2011, Black Panther was ranked 51st overall on IGN's "Top 100 Comic Books Heroes" list.[1] The Black Panther's name predates the October 1966 founding of the Black Panther Party, though not the black panther logo of the party's predecessor, the Lowndes County Freedom Organization (LCFO), nor the segregated World War II Black Panthers Tank Battalion.[2][3] Stan Lee, co-creator of the comic, denied that the comic was named after any of the political uses of the term "black panther", including the LCFO, citing "a strange coincidence".[4] He is the first black superhero in American mainstream comic books; very few black heroes were created before him, and none with actual superpowers. These included the characters in the single-issue, low-distribution All-Negro Comics #1 (1947); Waku, Prince of the Bantu, who starred in his own feature in the omnibus title Jungle Tales, from Marvel's 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics; and the Dell Comics Western character Lobo, the first black person to star in his own comic book. Previous non-caricatured black supporting characters in comics include U.S. Army infantry private Gabriel Jones of Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos. In a guest appearance in Fantastic Four #119 (Feb. 1972), the Black Panther briefly tried using the name Black Leopard to avoid connotations with the Party, but the new name did not last.[5] The character's name was changed back to Black Panther in Avengers #105, with T'Challa explaining that renaming himself made as much sense as altering the Scarlet Witch's name, and he is not a stereotype.[6] Co-creator Stan Lee recounted that the name was inspired by a pulp adventure hero who has a black panther as a helper.[7] Jack Kirby's original concept art for Black Panther used the concept name Coal Tiger.[8] Following his debut in Fantastic Four #52ÿ53 (JulyÿAug. 1966) and subsequent guest appearance in Fantastic Four Annual #5 (1967) and with Captain America in Tales of Suspense #97ÿ100 (Jan.ÿ April 1968), the Black Panther journeyed from the fictional African nation of Wakanda to New York City to join the titular American superhero team in The Avengers #52 (May 1968), appearing in that comic for the next few years. During his time with the Avengers, he made solo guest-appearances in three issues of Daredevil, and fought Doctor Doom in Astonishing Tales #6ÿ7 (June & Aug. 1971), in that supervillain's short-lived starring feature. He received his first starring feature with Jungle Action #5 (July 1973), a reprint of the Panther-centric story in The Avengers #62 (March 1969). A new series began running the following issue, written by Don McGregor, with art by pencilers Rich Buckler, Gil Kane, and Billy Graham, and which gave inkers Klaus Janson and Bob McLeod some of their first professional exposure. The critically acclaimed[9] series ran in Jungle Action #6ÿ24 (Sept. 1973 ÿ Nov. 1976).[10] One now-common format McGregor pioneered was that of the self-contained, multi-issue story arc.[11] The first, "Panther's Rage", ran through the first 13 issues. Critic Jason Sacks has called the arc "Marvel's first graphic novel": [T]here were real character arcs in Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four [comics] over time. But ... "Panther's Rage" is the first comic that was created from start to finish as a complete novel. Running in two years' issues of Jungle Action (#s 6 through 18), "Panther's Rage" is a 200-page novel that journeys to the heart of the African nation of Wakanda, a nation ravaged by a revolution against its king, T'Challa, the Black Panther.[11] The second and final arc, "Panther vs. the Klan", ran as mostly 17-page stories in Jungle Action #19ÿ24 (Jan.ÿNov. 1976), except for issue #23, a reprint of Daredevil #69 (Oct. 1970), in which the Black Panther guest-starred.[10] The subject matter of the Ku Klux Klan was considered controversial in the Marvel offices at the time, creating difficulties for the creative team.[12] African-American writer-editor Dwayne McDuffie said of the Jungle Action "Black Panther" feature: This overlooked and underrated classic is arguably the most tightly written multi-part superhero epic ever. If you can get your hands on it ... sit down and read the whole thing. It's damn-near flawless, every issue, every scene, a functional, necessary part of the whole. Okay, now go back and read any individual issue. You'll find seamlessly integrated words and pictures; clearly introduced characters and situations; a concise (sometimes even transparent) recap; beautifully developed character relationships; at least one cool new villain; a stunning action set piece to test our hero's skills and resolve; and a story that is always moving forward towards a definite and satisfying conclusion. That's what we should all be delivering, every single month. Don [McGregor] and company did it in only 17 story pages per issue.[9] Though popular with college students, the overall sales of Jungle Action were low,[13] and Marvel relaunched the Black Panther in a self-titled series, bringing in the character's co-creator Jack Kirbynewly returned to Marvel after having decamped to rival DC Comics for a timeas writer, penciler, and editor. However, Kirby wanted to work on new characters and was unhappy at being assigned a series starring a character he had already worked with extensively.[14] He left the series after only 12 issues and was replaced by Ed Hannigan (writer), Jerry Bingham (penciler), and Roger Stern (editor). Black Panther ran 15 issues (Jan. 1977 ÿ May 1979).[15] Due to the series's cancellation, the contents of what would have been Black Panther #16ÿ18 were published in Marvel Premiere #51ÿ53. A four-issue miniseries, Black Panther vol. 2,[16] (JulyÿOct. 1988) was written by Peter B. Gillis and penciled by Denys Cowan.[17] McGregor revisited his Panther saga with Gene Colan in "Panther's Quest", published as 25 eight-page installments within the bi-weekly anthology series Marvel Comics Presents (issues #13ÿ37, Feb.ÿDec. 1989).[18] He later teamed with artist Dwayne Turner in the square-bound miniseries Black Panther: Panther's Prey (Sept. 1990 ÿ March 1991).[19] McGregor conceived a fifth arc in his Black Panther saga, titled "Panther's Vows", but it failed to get off the ground.[13] Writer Christopher Priest's and penciller Mark Texeira's 1998 series The Black Panther vol. 3 used Erik Killmonger, Venomm, and other characters introduced in "Panther's Rage", together with new characters such as State Department attorney Everett Ross; the Black Panther's adopted brother, Hunter; and the Panther's protg, Queen Divine Justice. The Priest-Texeira series was under the Marvel Knights imprint in its first year. Priest said the creation of character Ross contributed heavily to his decision to write the series. "I realized I could use Ross to bridge the gap between the African culture that the Black Panther mythos is steeped in and the predominantly white readership that Marvel sells to," adding that in his opinion, the Black Panther had been misused in the years after his creation.[20] The last 13 issues (#50ÿ62) saw the main character replaced by a multiracial New York City police officer named Kasper Cole, with T'Challa relegated to a supporting character. This Black Panther, who became the White Tiger, was placed in the series The Crew, running concurrently with the final few Black Panther issues. The Crew was canceled with issue #7. In 2005, Marvel began publishing Black Panther vol. 4,[21] which ran 41 issues (April 2005 ÿ Nov. 2008).[22] It was initially written by filmmaker Reginald Hudlin (through issue #38) and penciled by John Romita, Jr. (through #6). Hudlin said he wanted to add "street cred" to the title, although he noted that the book was not necessarily or primarily geared toward an African-American readership.[23] As influences for his characterization of the character, Hudlin has cited comic character Batman, film director Spike Lee, and music artist Sean Combs.[23] Other influences include historical figures such as 14th-century Mali Empire sultan Mansa Musa and 20th-century Jamaican activist Marcus Garvey, as well as Biblical figures such as Ham and Canaan.[24] Black Panther vol. 5[25] launched in February 2009, with Hudlin, again scripting, introducing a successor Black Panther, T'Challa's sister Shuri.[26][27][28] Hudlin co-wrote issue #7 with Jonathan Maberry, who then became the new writer,[29] joined by artist Will Conrad.[30] The Panther was also a featured player, with members of the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, in the Doctor Doom-based, six-issue miniseries Doomwar (AprilÿSept. 2010).[31] T'Challa then accepted an invitation from Matt Murdock, the superhero Daredevil, to become the new protector of New York City's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood. He became the lead character in Daredevil beginning with issue #513 (Feb. 2011), when that series was retitled Black Panther: The Man Without Fear.[32] Under writer David Liss and artist Francesco Francavilla, he took on the identity of Mr. Okonkwo, an immigrant from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and becomes the owner of a small diner in order to be close to the people.[33] A new Black Panther series written by Ta-Nehisi Coates and drawn by Brian Stelfreeze was launched in 2016 and continues to be published with Coates as the head writer.[34][35][36] In 2017, the afrofuturist writer Nnedi Okorafor wrote the series Black Panther: Long Live the King.[37] The Black Panther is the ceremonial title given to the chief of the Panther Tribe of the advanced African nation of Wakanda. In addition to ruling the country, he is also chief of its various tribes (collectively referred to as the Wakandas). The Panther habit is a symbol of office (head of state) and is used even during diplomatic missions. The Panther is a hereditary title, but one must still earn it. In the distant past, a meteorite made of the (fictional) vibration-absorbing mineral vibranium crashed in Wakanda, and was unearthed. Reasoning that outsiders would exploit Wakanda for this valuable resource, the ruler, King T'Chaka, like his father and other Panthers before him, concealed his country from the outside world. T'Chaka's first wife N'Yami died while in labor with T'Challa, and his second wife Ramonda was taken prisoner by Anton Pretorius during a visit to her homeland of South Africa, so for most of his childhood T'Challa was raised by his father alone.[38] T'Chaka was murdered by the adventurer Ulysses Klaw in an attempt to seize the vibranium mound. With his people still in danger, a young T'Challa used Klaw's sound weapon on Klaw and his men, shattering Klaw's right hand and forcing him to flee.[39] T'Challa was next in line to be the king of Wakanda and Black Panther, but until he was ready to become the leader of the nation, his uncle S'yan (T'Chaka's younger brother) successfully passed the trials to become the Black Panther. While on his Wakandan walkabout rite of passage, T'Challa met and fell in love with apparent orphaned teen Ororo Munroe, who would grow up to become the X-Men member Storm.[40] The two broke off their relationship due to his desire to avenge his father's death and to become the type of man who could suitably lead Wakanda, but they would see each other over the years when they could. T'Challa earned the title and attributes of the Black Panther by defeating the various champions of the Wakandan tribes. One of his first acts was to disband and exile the Hatut Zerazethe Wakandan secret policeand its leader, his adopted brother Hunter the White Wolf.[41] He sold off small portions of vibranium to scientific institutions around the world, amassing a fortune which he used to arm himself with advanced technology.[39] Later, to keep peace, he picked dora milaje ("adored ones") from rival tribes to serve as his personal guard and ceremonial wives-in-training. He then studied abroad for a time before returning to his kingship. In his first published appearance, the now-adult T'Challa invites the American superhero team the Fantastic Four to Wakanda, then attacks and attempts to neutralize them individually in order to test himself to see if he is ready to battle Klaw, who had replaced his shattered right hand with a sonic weapon.[42][43] For their part, the Four manage to rally and stymie T'Challa in a team counter-attack, enabling the impressed King to stand down and explain himself to the team's satisfaction. After the ruler makes proper amends to the Four, they befriend and help T'Challa, and he in turn aids them against the supervillain the Psycho-Man.[44] T'Challa later joins the Avengers,[45] beginning a long association with that superhero team. He first battles the Man-Ape while with the group,[46] and then meets the American singer Monica Lynne,[47] with whom he becomes romantically involved. He helps the Avengers defeat the second Sons of the Serpent, and then reveals his true identity on American television.[48] He encounters Daredevil, and reveals to him that he had deduced Daredevil's true identity.[49] After receiving numerous urgent official letters requesting him to return to his increasingly troubled homeland,[50] the Panther eventually leaves his active Avengers membership to return to a Wakanda on the brink of civil war, bringing Lynne with him. After defeating would-be usurper Erik Killmonger and his minions,[51] the Panther ventures to the American South to battle the Ku Klux Klan.[52] He later gains possession of the mystical time-shifting artifacts known as King Solomon's Frogs.[53] These produce an alternate version of T'Challa from a future 10 years hence, a merry, telepathic Panther with a terminal brain aneurysm, whom T'Challa places in cryogenic stasis. Later, while searching for and finding his stepmother Ramonda, the Panther contends with South African authorities during Apartheid.[54] T'Challa eventually proposes and becomes engaged to Monica Lynne,[55] though the couple never marry. Years later, the Panther accepts a Washington, D.C. envoy, Everett K. Ross, and faces multiple threats to Wakanda's sovereignty. Ross assists him in many of these threats. In gratitude, the Panther often risks much for Ross in return. The first threat he and Ross encounter is "Xcon", an alliance of rogue intelligence agents backing a coup led by the Reverend Achebe.[56] Afterward, Killmonger resurfaces with a plot to destroy Wakanda's economy. This forces T'Challa to nationalize foreign companies.[57] Killmonger then defeats him in ritual combat, thus inheriting the role of Black Panther,[58] but falls into a coma upon eating the heart-shaped herbpoisonous to anyone outside the royal bloodline, which had a hereditary immunity to its toxic effects.[59] T'Challa preserves his rival's life rather than allowing him to die. Later, T'Challa finds he has a brain aneurysm like his alternate future self, and succumbs to instability and hallucinations. After his mental state almost causes tribal warfare, the Panther hands power to his council[60] and hides in New York City. There he mentors police officer Kasper Cole (who had adopted an abandoned Panther costume), an experience that gives T'Challa the strength to face his illness, reclaim his position, and return to active membership in the Avengers, whom he helps secure special United Nations status. T'Challa recounts the story of his ascension as the Black Panther in the fourth volume of his eponymous comic book series. He defeated his uncle during the Black Panther celebration,[61] and during his walkabout when he met and fell in love with a street urchin named Ororo in Cairo, Egypt.[62] Unbeknownst to him the US government is planning a coup in order to get access to the vibranium. They allow Klaw to recruit a team of villains in order to support his totalitarian neighbor, Niganda. Klaw recruits Rhino, Black Knight, Batroc the Leaper, and Radioactive Man to lead the invasion. The US government then deploys an army of Deathloks to "support" T'Challa and justify an invasion, but T'Challa kills Klaw and Storm wipes out the Deathlok army in a hurricane.[63] T'Challa then helps his old flame Ororo Munroe reunite with her surviving family members in Africa and the U.S.[64] He shortly afterward proposes,[volume?&?issue?needed] and the two are married in a large Wakandan ceremony attended by many superheroes.[65] One of the couple's first tasks is to embark on a diplomatic tour, in which they visit the Inhumans, Doctor Doom, the President of the United States, and Namor, with only the last one ending well.[66] After the death of Bill Foster, the Black Panther and Storm side with Captain America's anti-registration forces.[67] During the end battle between both sides, the Wakandan embassy in Manhattan is heavily damaged, though no Wakandans are hurt.[68] After the confrontation, the Panther and Storm briefly fill in for vacationing Fantastic Four members Reed and Sue Richards before returning to Wakanda.[69] Upon returning to Wakanda alone, leaving Storm in New York to aid the X-Men, Black Panther faces Erik Killmonger, defeating him with assistance from Monica Rambeau (a.k.a. Pulsar).[70] Afterward, Wakanda fends off the alien shapeshifters the Skrulls, who had infiltrated as part of their "Secret Invasion" plan to conquer Earth.[71] Prince Namor attempts to recruit T'Challa for the Cabal, a secret council of supervillains. Attacked by the forces of fellow Cabal member Doctor Doom, T'Challa is left comatose.[72] His sister Shuri is trained as the next Panther, with the mantle passing onto her officially after T'Challa awakens from his coma and attempts to recover from his injuries.[73] In the aftermath, T'Challa loses all of his enhanced attributes given to him by being the panther totem. As a result, he works with his sorcerer, Zawavari, to accumulate a replacement.[74] He has since made a pact with another unknown Panther deity, returning his attributes to an even higher level as well as placing incantations on his body, making himself highly resistant to most magic and mystic assaults. This has all been done in preparation for the imminent battle with Doctor Doom,[75] which culminated in T'Challa rendering all of the processed vibranium inert to give his people a chance to rebuild without their dependence on the element.[76] After the events of "Shadowland", Matt Murdock (the superhero Daredevil) asks T'Challa to replace him as guardian of Hell's Kitchen, which gives T'Challa a chance to discover himself. With the help of Foggy Nelson, T'Challa assumes the identity of Mr. Okonkwo, an immigrant from the Congo and manager of a diner called Devil's Kitchen, so that he can blend in and learn about the denizens as an ordinary man. He gets on well with two of the Kitchen's staff: Sofija, a migrant from Serbia who was formerly involved in violent Serbian nationalism, and the busboy, Brian. He also gets to know some of the neighbors from his apartment block: Mr. Nantakarn and his son Alec, as well as Iris, a social worker assigned to handle cases of child abuse.[77] T'Challa finds himself up against an ambitious new crime lord, Vlad Dinu, who styles himself "The Impaler". He also seeks an understanding with the police through Detective Alex Kurtz. During an attempt by Vlad to terminate the Panther, Brian from the Devil's Kitchen is seriously injured by an energy blast from Vlad, and is reported dead. The conflict between Vlad and the Panther becomes more personal, especially after Vlad discovers the Panther over his wife Angela dead from a gunshot wound.[77] T'Challa learns that Iris was the serial shooter who killed abusers of childrenGabe was abused secretly by Angela. Brian was kidnapped by his doctor, Dr. Holman, at the behest of Nicolae who wanted to use someone who received a dose of Vlad's power. After being subjected to torturous experiments, Brian lost the ability to think for himself but was rescued by Gabe who also stole the serum produced from the experiment meant to endow the recipient with Vlad's powers. The Panther obtains evidence of Vlad Dinu's crimes as well as clues to Iris as the serial shooter, and turns the evidence over to Kurtz. Vlad kills his own son Nicolae before being subdued by the Panther. Gabe is arrested for attempting to take Iris' life. Before being taken away, Gabe reveals to the Panther Brian's fate. Though aware of the Panther's identity as Mr. Okonkwo, both Iris and Sofija promise to keep silent.[77] Shortly after Daredevil returns to Hell's Kitchen, T'Challa returns to Wakanda, serving as a second to his sister, Shuri. In preparation for an upcoming attack on Wakanda as part of the Avengers vs. X-Men storyline, the Panther God returns T'Challa's abilities.[78] Empowered by the Phoenix, Namor destroys Wakanda with a massive tidal wave.[79] Returning to help, Storm is stunned when the Panther informs her that their marriage has been annulled.[80] After witnessing an alternate Earth over Wakanda being destroyed by the Black Swan, T'Challa reforms the Illuminatiwith Beast replacing the now-deceased Charles Xavierto confront the threat of the Incursions, parallel universes colliding with each other to the destruction of both. Although able to avert one Incursion with the Infinity Gauntlet, the subsequent destruction of the Infinity Gems forces the group to decide to resort to more questionable measures to protect Earth from future Incursions, wiping Captain America's mind so that he will not remember these events, allowing them to do "what needs to be done".[81] Although equipped with planet-destroying weapons to protect Earth, the Illuminati mostly become disgusted with the wholesale slaughter, until Namor breaks off from the group to form a new Cabal of villains to do what the heroes will not. Despite Namor's Cabal achieving legitimacy as Earth's protectors, Namor grew weary of the wholesale slaughter they carried out in the name of preserving their universe. Although he collaborated with the Illuminati in a plan to destroy the Cabal by trapping them on the next Earth to be destroyed, Black Panther and Black Bolt left him behind to die with the Cabal, disgusted at his earlier actions,[82] although Namor and the Cabal escape to the Ultimate universe when the other Earth has a simultaneous Incursion.[83] When the final Incursion occurs during the Secret Wars storyline, resulting in all realities collapsing into one Earth, Black Panther is one of the few heroes to survive the Incursion in a specially-designed "life pod"other survivors including Mister Fantastic, Star-Lord, Spider-Man, the new Thor, Captain Marvel and a Phoenix-enhanced Cyclopsalthough they are only released into the new world after an eight-year stasis. Retrieved by Doctor Strange, they learn that Strange has assumed a role of "sheriff" to Doctor Doom, who has appointed himself the god of the new "Battleworld" created from the multiple realities.[84] Although Doom effortlessly kills Cyclops, Strange protects the other heroes by dispersing them across Battleworld,[85] with T'Challa and Namor eventually discovering a new version of the Infinity Gauntlet that Strange collected, ensuring that the Gems he found would work in the location where Doom built his main fortress.[86] Recruiting the residents of the deadlands as an army, T'Challa marches on Doom at the same time as multiple other areas rebel against him through the encouragement of the heroes,[87] but admits when Doom confronts him that he was only intended as a distraction while Reed targets Doom's power source. As Reed takes Doom's power and sets out to rebuild the multiverse, T'Challa uses the Time Gem to take himself back to Wakanda before the Incursions, proclaiming to his people that they will lead the way to the stars and explore new ideas.[88] As part of the All-New, All-Different Marvel, Black Panther is a member of the Ultimates.[89] During the Civil War II storyline, Black Panther represents Wakanda on the Alpha Flight Space Program's Board of Governors.[90] He sides with Captain Marvel on needing help from an Inhuman who can predict the possible future named Ulysses Kain.[volume?&?issue?needed] Black Panther and Shuri take part in the fight against the Leviathon Tide.[91] During Hydra's reign over the world led by Arnim Zola, Baron Zemo and Steve Rogers, Panther is captured for opposing this regime, and brought into a containing room. Once Panther and Zemo are alone, Winter Soldier rescues Panther. Panther entrusts the unconscious Zemo to Winter Soldier, while trailing Rogers and Zola into the secret lab. Panther finds out that Zola infused a brainwashed Captain America with a Cosmic Cube using a stolen Stark tech modified by Zola himself, and warns his allies to retreat from a Cosmic Cube-powered Steve Rogers, but is too late.[92] Even though one of the heroes knows they cannot defeat a Cosmic Cube-powered Supreme Hydra Rogers, Winter Soldier, Captain America (Sam Wilson) and Ant-Man (Scott Lang) trick Rogers by surrendering the last fragment of the cube to him. Winter Soldier and Ant-Man steal the cube from Rogers before he uses its full potential, and bring back Kobik and the real Steve Rogers.[93][94] After the defeat of Supreme Hydra Steve Rogers, Black Panther establishes his quest to go across the universe with his people, and found an Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda on Planet Bast, located in the Benhazin Star System.[95] The title "Black Panther" is a rank of office, chieftain of the Wakandan Panther Clan. As chieftain, the Panther is entitled to eat a special heart-shaped herb which, in addition to his mystical, shamanistic connection with the Wakandan Panther God Bast, grants him superhumanly acute senses, enhanced strength, speed, agility, stamina, durability, healing, and reflexes.[96][97] He has since lost this connection and forged a new one with another unknown Panther deity, granting him augmented physical attributes as well as a resistance to magic.[75] His senses are so powerful that he can pick up a prey's scent and memorize tens of thousands of individual ones. Following his war with Doom, T'Challa loses his enhanced abilities only to once again establish a connection with the Panther God.[78] In addition to the resurgence of his now superhuman abilities, he is anointed "King of the Dead", granting him the power and knowledge of all the past Black Panthers as well as the ability to control the Undead.[98] After Battleworld and the resurgence of the Multiverse T'challa eventually showcased new powers in regards to his King of the Dead status, for not only could he reanimate the dead but summon departed spirits into the physical world with tangible form as well. Using these spiritual energies also enables him to conjure a mythical mystical spear of glowing blue energy to his hand.[99] T'Challa worked with his sorcerer, Zawavari, to endow T'Challa with immunity to mystical attacks and detection in order to defeat Dr. Doom. When T'Challa's alchemical upgrade was tested by means of Wakanda's most powerful acolytes attacking T'Challa in unison, each mystical attack was absorbed and only served to strengthen T'Challa. During these preparations, T'Challa invented a potent mystical-scientific hybrid art called "shadow physics" and was able to use it to craft shadow weapons and to track vibranium on a quantum level.[75] As king of Wakanda, the Panther has access to a vast collection of magical artifacts, advanced Wakandan technological and military hardware, and the support of his nation's wide array of scientists, warriors, and mystics. The Wakandan military has been described as one of the most powerful on Earth. His attire is the sacred vibranium costume of the Wakandan Panther Cult. He is a skilled hunter, tracker, strategist, politician, inventor, and scientist. He has a PhD in physics from Oxford University. He is proficient in physics and advanced technology, and is also an inventor. T'Challa has been granted the strength and knowledge of every past Black Panther.[78] T'Challa is rigorously trained in acrobatics and hand-to-hand combat. He is skilled in various forms of unarmed combat, with a unique hybrid fighting style that incorporates acrobatics and aspects of animal mimicry.[100] The chieftain of the Wakandan Panther Clan is one of the wealthiest people in the world, although financial estimates are difficult given Wakanda's isolation from the world's economy and the uncertain value of Wakanda's vast vibranium reserves and extremely advanced technologies.[101] In Black Panther volume 3, writer Christopher Priest expanded the Panther's day-to-day arsenal to include equipment such as an "energy dagger", a vibranium-weave suit, and a portable supercomputer, the "Kimoyo card".[102] In Black Panther volume 4, writer Reginald Hudlin introduced such specialized equipment as "thrice-blessed armor" and "light armor" for specific tasks,[103] and for a short while outfitted him with the Ebony Blade of the Black Knight.[104] The mantle of the Black Panther is passed down from generation to generation among the rulers of Wakanda[105] although it must still be deserved through a severe selection involving the best warriors of the nation. Bashenga appeared for the first time in Black Panther Vol. 1 #7 (January 1978) by Jack Kirby (scripts and drawings). Wise warrior at the head of the Panther Tribe, according to legends, during the tumult where the vibranium meteorite fell on the soil of the village, then composed of various warring clans, he gathered all the aforementioned under his guide to defeating the inhabitants transformed by the impact into fierce "demonic spirits", a company which has unified the nation by founding Wakanda and becoming its first ruler[106] and the first to obtain the title of "Black Panther" as it tells of his "spiritual connection" with the Goddess Pantera Bast that led to the foundation of the Cult of the Panther.[105] Chanda appeared for the first time in Fantastic Four Unlimited Vol. 1 #1 (March 1993) by Roy Thomas (scripts) and Herb Trimpe (drawings). Black Panther and ruler of Wakanda during the Second World War, Chanda is the husband of Nanali and father of T'Chaka and S'Yan; distinguished by an excessively good and compassionate nature, he welcomed the Nazi colonel Fritz Klaue after he crashed into his reign due to a plane crash. Over time, the two make a kind of friendship and Klaue develops a strong obsession with the culture of Wakanda coming to try to convince them to make their religion deist rather than spiritist, which causes a strong friction between him and Chanda culminating in the death of Nanali by the Nazi and in its subsequent expulsion from the country.[107] In several subsequent stories, T'Chaka's father (and husband of Nanali) is called Azzuri the Wise and is presented in a completely different way from Chanda,[108][109] leaving the doubt if it is only a sort of nickname or another character. T'Chaka appeared for the first time in Fantastic Four Vol. 1 #53 (August 1966) by Stan Lee (script) and Jack Kirby (art). The eldest son of King Azzuri and Queen Nanali, T'Chaka inherits the throne and the title of the Black Panther on his father's death by being helped in his monarch duties by his younger brother and trusted adviser S'Yan.[110] After having married a woman named N'Yami, believing she can not have children, she adopts a child with her, Hunter, however, she later becomes pregnant and dies giving birth to her first child, T'Challa; from the relationship with a woman of another tribe T'Chaka then has a second son, Jakarra, and finally remarries with Ramonda, a woman who grows her children as her own and from whom she has her only daughter, Shuri,[110] but which subsequently disappears into nothingness, leading him to believe that he has abandoned it.[38] To protect the kingdom, T'Chaka instituted a policy of strong isolationism,[111] but in the course of his life he often collaborated with agents of the US government.[109][112] He is killed by Ulysses Klaw after having surprised him to illegally extract vibranium in his kingdom.[113] In Black Panther Vol. 3 #15 (February 2000), Erik Killmonger challenges and bests T'Challa in a duel for the throne, overthrowing him as king of Wakanda and taking on the role as the Black Panther.[114] He becomes comatose after attempting to ingest the Heart-shaped Herb to acquire the Black Panther's powers, as he is not of royal blood. Killmonger's time as king is short-lived however, as he is killed by Monica Rambeau during T'Challa's attack to reclaim Wakanda.[115] S'Yan The Fast, appeared for the first time in Black Panther Vol. 4 #2 (May, 2005) by Reginald Hudlin (scripts) and John Romita Jr. (drawings). The second son of King Azzuri and Queen Nanali, S'Yan is T'Chaka's younger and trusted advisor, after whose death, although he has no desire to reign, he agrees to ascend the throne until his nephew became an adult.[110] Ironically, S'Yan, who has never wanted to be king, becomes one of the most beloved monarchs in the history of Wakanda but, nevertheless, when T'Challa returns home and obtains the title of Black Panther, he leaves with joy, returning to play the role of royal adviser.[110] He died during the war with Latveria to defend Ramonda from the soldiers of Doctor Doom. When T'Challa ends up in a coma because of Doctor Doom,[116] Shuri becomes his substitute as Black Panther and queen of Wakanda which, after the rise of her half-brother to "king of the dead", creates for the first time in history two avatars of the Panther Goddess. Black Panther was ranked the 79th greatest comic book character by Wizard magazine.[120] IGN ranked the character the 51st greatest comic book hero, stating that Black Panther could be considered Marvel's equivalent to Batman;[121] he was also ranked tenth in their list of "The Top 50 Avengers".[122] In 2013, ComicsAlliance ranked the Black Panther as #33 on their list of the "50 Sexiest Male Characters in Comics".[123] Journalist Joe Gross praised Christopher Priest for his characterization of the Black Panther, stating, that the writer "turned an underused icon into the locus of a complicated high adventure by taking the Black Panther to his logical conclusion. T'Challa (the title character) is the enigmatic ruler of a technologically advanced, slightly xenophobic African nation, so he acts like it". Gross applauded the title's "endless wit, sharp characterization, narrative sophistication and explosive splash panels".[124] Comics reviewer and journalist Mike Sangiacomo, however, criticized the narrative structure. "Christopher Priest's fractured writing is getting on my nerves. Like the Spider-Man comics, I want to like Black Panther, but Priest's deliberately jumbled approach to writing is simply silly. I know it's a style, but does he have to do it every issue?"[125] Reporter Bill Radford cited similar concerns when the title had just launched. "I appreciate the notion of seeing the Black Panther through the eyes of an Everyman, but the Panther is almost relegated to secondary status in his own book. And Ross' narration jumps around in time so much that I feel like his boss, who, in trying to get Ross to tell her what has happened, complains: 'This is like watching "Pulp Fiction" in rewind. My head is exploding.'"[126] Publishers Weekly gave a negative review to the first arc, "Who Is the Black Panther?", a modern retelling of the character's origin, saying, "Hudlin's take is caught between a rock and a hard place. His over-the-top narrative is not likely to appeal to fans of the most recent version of the character, but it's too mired in obscure Marvel continuity to attract the more general reader. The plot manages to be convoluted without ever becoming absorbing".[127] Journalist Shawn Jeffords, citing the lack of appearances of the title character in the first issue, called the new series a "fairly unimpressive launch". Jeffords also said general-audience unfamiliarity was a hindrance. "He's never been a marquee character and to make him one will be tough".[128] T'Challa is Coal Tiger, Sersi kills the Avengers and Coal Tiger is the only survivor.[129] In the Age of Ultron story, Black Panther contacts the Fantastic Four and informs them that Ultron has invaded Earth with an army of Ultron Sentinels.[130] Black Panther was later seen with Red Hulk and Taskmaster in Chicago spying on some Ultron Sentinels. When Taskmaster takes out a Sentinel that was sneaking up on him, alerting the other Sentinels, Red Hulk holds off the Sentinels while Black Panther and Taskmaster flee. During the mayhem, Black Panther falls several stories and breaks his neck, killing him instantly.[131] Bronze Tiger is the ruler of Wakanda and is named B'Nchalla; an amalgamation of the Bronze Tiger (DC) and the Black Panther (Marvel). In Avengers Forever, Captain America and Goliath visit an alternate future timeline where Martian invaders have ravaged the Earth. An aged Black Panther leads this reality's version of the Avengers, who consist of Jocasta, Living Lightning, Killraven, Crimson Dynamo and Thundra.[132] In an alternate reality where the Civil War between Iron Man and Captain America never ended, Black Panther was killed alongside Maria Hill after activating Prison 42's self-destruct mechanism.[133] He is succeeded by his son, Azari, who takes on the Black Panther name.[134] It is later revealed that the Black Panther who destroyed Prison 42 was actually Queen Veranke of the shape-shifting alien Skrull race, who had stolen T'Challa's identity in order to manipulate and prolong the Civil War to suit her own needs.[135] T'Challa is Chieftain Justice, a Captain Britain Corps member, in Excalibur #44 (1991).[136] In the alternate universe of Earth X, T'Challa has been affected by the mutative event that drives the plot. Like most of humanity, he is mutated; in this case to become a humanoid black panther. He is entrusted with the Cosmic Cube by Captain America, who knows that T'Challa would be the only one to resist using it and to never give it back if asked. In fact, Captain America does ask for it back and T'Challa is forced to refuse.[137] An alternate version of Black Panther, called simply "Panther", is drafted onto the interdimensional superhero team the Exiles.[138] The Panther is the son of T'Challa and Storm and named T'Chaka, after his grandfather. Originating from Earth-1119, he was ambushed by Klaw while examining some ruins. Caught in Klaw's blast, the Panther was plucked out of time and placed on the team.[138] Unlike the stoic 616-Black Panther, The Panther is a wisecracking flirt.[138] After his assumed death on Earth-1119, his sister took up the mantle of Black Panther.[139] The Black Panther appears in issues #1 and #6ÿ7 of Marvel Comics/Fox Kids comic book series based on the TV show The Avengers: United They Stand. T'Challa appears in Marvel Mangaverse Volume 2 as a man with a pet panther. When summoning the spirits, T'Challa and his panther combine to become the Black Panther. He also became The Falcon. This Black Panther was romantically attracted to Tigra. T'Challa's sister, T'Chana, reveals herself to be this universe's Doctor Doom.[140] In the Marvel 2099 continuity, a greatly weakened Wakanda is soon to be governed by its princess, Okusana. Fearing that she is not ready, she requests Doom's help in resurrecting Thandaza, her grandfather and a former Black Panther. Doom (who claims to have agreed to the proposal out of respect for T'Challa) and the Wakandan scientists revive Thandaza in a cyberbetic body made from vibranium, but the plan goes awry when Mkhalali, the current Panther Guard, opens fire on Thandaza, believing his resurrection to be an abomination. The attack throws off the calibrations and leaves Thandaza in a maddened state and constant pain, causing him to go on a bloody rampage. Doom is ultimately forced to kill Thandaza, who thanks him for ending his suffering.[141] Black Panther was featured in the Marvel Knights 2099 one shots, which were not tied to the main 2099 continuity. A new Black Panther, K'Shamba, rose to fight and thwart the mounting invasions by the successor of Doom. While the victory over the new Doom appeared triumphant, the new Wakandan king was ultimately revealed to be a puppet of Doom.[142] Black Panther is, for the most part, one of the few uninfected superheroes in the alternate-universe series Marvel Zombies, where he is kept as a food supply for the Zombie Giant-Man, who keeps the Panther imprisoned and cuts off various limbs so that he can maintain his intelligence via a ready access to fresh meat without infecting Panther with the zombie "virus".[143] Despite having lost half of his right arm and his left foot, the Panther escapeswith the severed head of zombified superheroine the Wasp in tow[144]and joins forces with the mutant group the Acolytes.[145] While with the Acolytes, T'Challa briefly talks with his Earth-616 counterpart, where he expresses surprise at his marriage to Storm but offers him all the information he can provide about the zombie plague.[146] Decades later, T'Challa has married one of the Acolytes, Lisa Hendricks, and they have a son, with Forge having provided T'Challa with artificial limbs to compensate for his injuries.[147] Facing retirement, the Panther is stabbed and critically wounded by an agent of an Acolyte splinter group, and the Wasp now a willing ally after having lost her zombie hunger zombifies the Panther in order to grant him continued existence. With the Wasp's help, he survives to the post-hunger stage himself and continues to lead his people, despite his status.[148] Further internal betrayal lead the Black Panther and many of his allies to be tossed through the dimensions.[149] He ends up involved with another Earth that is threatened by the zombie virus. His attempts to save this new planet fail and he is destroyed, leaving only one hand displayed as a trophy by his enemies.[150] In the MC2 universe, Black Panther has a son named T'Chaka II, who joined the A-Next as the Coal Tiger.[151] In the Mutant X reality, Black Panther had the appearance of a humanoid black panther. He is among the second wave of heroes who died fighting the Beyonder.[152] In the alternate-reality Ultimate Marvel imprint, the Black Panther is T'Challa Udaku, a young man who is experimented on in the Weapon X program before being liberated by Nick Fury.[153] T'Challa, the younger son of King T'Chaka of Wakanda, is severely injured during the "Trial of the Panther" from which the protector of the nation is selected. His older brother M'Baku finds T'Challa bloodied, mute, and near death but derisively calls him a fool for attempting the trial. Later, M'Baku adds that he, not T'Challa, should have taken the trial. Angry that his father has decided to share Wakanda's technology in exchange for America's help in saving T'Challa's life, M'Baku leaves the kingdom. To save T'Challa, T'Chaka turns him over to the Weapon X program. Over a year later, a healthy T'Challa, in his full Black Panther garb, has enhanced speed, strength, night vision, and healing ability. Additionally, he can summon short, cat-like Adamantium claws from his knuckles by balling his hands into fists. T'Chaka becomes outraged upon learning that S.H.I.E.L.D. (who had shut down Weapon X and freed T'Challa) now considers his son an asset of the U.S. and S.H.I.E.L.D. He subsequently sends M'Baku a letter, claiming that M'Baku, not T'Challa, is the titular "favorite son", and he implores M'Baku to return. Fury has Captain America train and mentor the Panther, who reveals his damaged throat. Captain America, sympathizing for the Panther's plight, encourages Fury to place the Panther in the superhero team the Ultimates. This turns out to be a ruse in which Captain America impersonates the Panther, allowing T'Challa to escape and return home to Wakanda.[154] Captain America later impersonates Black Panther during an Ultimates confrontation with the Juggernaut.[155] After Ultimatum, Black Panther joins the New Ultimates.[156] Chadwick Boseman portrays T'Challa within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, first appearing in Captain America: Civil War (2016).[170][171] In the film, he is shown displaying enhanced speed, agility, strength, and durability, which he gains from ingesting the heart-shaped herb, as in the comics.[172] His suit has retractable claws and is made of a vibranium weave, which can deflect heavy machine gun fire. As of the 2018 film Black Panther, he wears a new variant of the suit that can absorb kinetic energy (represented as purple highlights) and release it as a purple shockwave after enough has been amassed. It can also fold into a silver necklace. In 2016, Disney XD launched on its YouTube channel the motion comic "Black Panther in ... The Visitor".[182]

Madden NFL 18🚨Madden NFL (originally known as John Madden Football until 1993) is an American football video game series developed by EA Tiburon for EA Sports. It is named after Pro Football Hall of Famer John Madden, and has sold more than 100 million copies, and influenced many players and coaches of the physical sport. Among the game's realistic features are sophisticated playbooks and player statistics, and voice commentary that allows players to hear the game as if it were a real TV broadcast. As of September 2013, the franchise generated over $4 billion in revenue.[1] Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins conceived the series and approached Madden in 1984 for his endorsement and expertise. Because of Madden's insistence that the game be as realistic as possible, the first version of John Madden Football did not appear until 1988. EA has released annual versions since 1990, and the series' name changed to Madden NFL in 1993 after EA acquired the rights to use NFL teams and players. Despite Madden's retirement as a broadcaster in 2009, he continues to lend his name to and provide expertise for the game. As of 2013[update] Electronic Arts has sold more than 100 million copies of Madden NFL, and more than five million in one year, for more than $4 billion in total sales.[3] At EA Tiburon in Orlando, Florida a team of 30 developers and more than 100 game testers works on each new game in the series,[4] which as of 2012[update] contains more than 10 million lines of source code.[5] Madden, once better known for Ace Hardware commercials than football despite winning Super Bowl XI with the Oakland Raiders, is now better known for Madden NFL than as coach or broadcaster.[6][4] He receives an estimated $2 to 3 million each year for his endorsement[7] but describes himself as "never a good player" of Madden, and prefers to watch others play.[5] Although Madden says that "a computer is a helluva lot smarter than me"[2] he has influenced the series' design from the first game, and since retiring from broadcasting and doing videogame voice commentary in 2009 his participation in each Madden's development has increased:[5][4] He breaks down upcoming rules changes. He brings up concussions, helmet-to-helmet hits and gimmick quarterbacks. A digression on how the Dome Patrol-era Saints used to frustrate Bill Walsh's 49ers teams with short linebacker drops becomes a lecture on the obsolescence of the fullback, which then morphs into a short aside on player character.[4] EA estimates that the series has five to seven million dedicated fans, and an underground circuit of Madden cash tournaments exists.[5] Marshall Faulk in 2010 estimated that "50 percent on up" of NFL players are Madden players, who play in the league with or against childhood heroes they once chose to play as in the game.[9] Players typically play as themselves regardless of their electronic counterparts' abilities[8][10][9] and immediately check new releases of the game for changes in the more than 60 ratings of their talent.[11][2] They often complain to Madden and EA about allegedly inaccurate ratings (only Emmitt Smith has told him that the game rated him too high), or ask for changes in their in-game appearance. Such complaints began as early as 1990, confusing the broadcaster, who did not contribute the player statistics for that year's version due to lack of time.[4][7] Coaches and players at all levels of the sport say that Madden has influenced them, and recommend the game to learn football strategy and tactics, practice plays and assignments, and simulate opponents.[4][9] Young players who grew up with it reportedly understand plays better than those who did not. Wired in 2010 attributed the growing use of rookie quarterbacks and the spread offense to the game, stating that "the sport is being taken over by something you might call Maddenball a sophisticated, high-scoring, pass-happy, youth-driven phenomenon". When the Denver Broncos' Brandon Stokley in 2009 burned six seconds of the clock with an unusual run before scoring the winning touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals, Madden designerswho were watching the game with Maddenimmediately recognized his action as "what happens in the game!"[9][4] Football broadcasts on television use Madden-like visual cues to more closely resemble it, and the NFL considers the series its "33rd franchise" because each week during the season EA Sports receives the same searchable film database of every play that each of the league's 32 teams do.[5][2] The game is the NFL's second-largest source of licensing revenue after apparel, and an important part of the league's recruitment of children as new football fans.[8] The Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003 opened an interactive exhibit in which visitors play Madden,[11] three years before its namesake's induction.[4] Museum of the Moving Image in New York City in early 2014 celebrated Madden NFL's 25th anniversary, with an exhibit including five playable versions of the game.[12] Voice commentary in Madden allows players or watchers to hear the game being called as if it were a real game on TV.[13] For early versions of the game, this commentary was performed by Madden himself and his play-by-play partner. Initially, this was Pat Summerall, his partner during their days at the CBS and the Fox from the early 1980s to the early 2000s until Summerall retired; the role was then filled by Al Michaels, John's broadcast partner on ABC Monday Night Football (2002ÿ2005) and NBC Sunday Night Football (2006ÿ2008). For the first Madden games on the Xbox 360 and PS3, they featured a generic EA Sports radio announcer doing play-by-play. This started with Madden 06 and ended with Madden 08.[14] Other versions of those games still featured Madden's commentary. Madden NFL 09 would end up being the last version to feature Madden's commentary, albeit in a reduced role. By that time, he felt that reciting a script covering every single scenario in the game was boring and tedious[15]Madden recalled the long hours spent alone in the recording studio as "the most difficult part of any part that I've ever had in the game and the least amount of fun"[5]but said that in the decision to remove him from game commentary, "I feel that something is being taken away from me".[4] Madden and Michaels were replaced by Cris Collinsworth as color commentator and Tom Hammond on play-by-play in Madden NFL 09 and Madden NFL 10. Gus Johnson replaced Hammond in Madden NFL 11 and Madden NFL 12, with Collinsworth handling color commentary in both games.[16] Madden NFL 13 marked the debut of real-life announcing team Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, including them appearing in an in-booth cutscene before the game.[17] Nantz and Simms stayed until Madden NFL 16, when they were replaced by Brandon Gaudin and Charles Davis for Madden NFL 17. Gaudin and Davis returned to the studio throughout the 2016ÿ17 NFL season to add new commentary relevant to each week of the season.[18] In a similar approach used by the automobile industry, until Madden NFL 25, the Madden series has always historically been numbered one year later than the year in which it is released. However, the season it represents is the year in which the game is released (thus, Madden NFL 13 was actually released in 2012 and is modeled after the 2012 NFL season). Trip Hawkins created a clone of the Strat-o-Matic paper and dice-based football simulation game as a teenager. The game was unsuccessful due to its complexity, and he hoped to one day delegate its rules to a computer. At Harvard College, where Hawkins played football for the Crimson, he wrote a football simulation for the PDP-11 minicomputer which, he later said, predicted that the Miami Dolphins would defeat the Minnesota Vikings 23ÿ6 (actually 24ÿ7) in the 1974 Super Bowl.[4][24] After founding Electronic Arts in 1982[4]"The real reason that I founded [it] was because I wanted to make computerized versions of games like Strat-O-Matic", Hawkins later said[23][9]the company began designing a microcomputer football game. Hawkins first approached his favorite player Joe Montana to endorse the proposed game but the quarterback already had an endorsement deal with Atari Inc., and his second choice, Cal coach Joe Kapp, demanded royalties.[4] In 1984 Hawkins approached Madden. He and game producer Joe Ybarra arranged a follow-up meeting with the broadcaster during an Amtrak train trip over two days because of Madden's fear of flying.[4][25][26][5] The EA executives promised that the proposed game would be a sophisticated football simulation, and asked the retired Oakland Raiders coach for his endorsement and expertise. Madden knew nothing about computers beyond his telestrator but agreed; he had taught a class at the University of California, Berkeley called "Football for Fans", and envisioned the program as a tool for teaching and testing plays.[4][15] (Madden continues to see the game as an educational tool. When asked in 2012 to describe Madden NFL, he called it "a way for people to learn the game and participate in the game at a pretty sophisticated level".[5]) Hawkins and Ybarra during the train trip learned football plays and strategies from Madden from sunrise to midnight.[4] EA likely expected Madden to endorse the game without participating in its design. Early plans envisioned six or seven players per team because of technical limitations but Madden insisted on having 11 players,[4][5] stating "I'm not putting my name on it if it's not real."[26] Ybarra, who had played chess, not football, in high school, became an expert on the subject through his work, but found that 11 players overwhelmed contemporary home computers. Most projects that are as delayed as Madden are canceled; Ybarra and developer Robin Antonick needed three years, more than twice the length of the average development process. The project became known within the company as "Trip's Folly", and Madden believed at times that EA had given up.[4] The company hired Bethesda Softworks to finish the game, but this only got them partway to their goal. While EA used many of its designs, including contributions to their physics engine,[27] within a year Bethesda stopped working on Madden and sued EA over EA's failure to publish new versions of Bethesda's Gridiron! football game. This added to the delay.[26] After a final development push, John Madden Football debuted in 1988 for the Apple II series of computers. Hawkins and an exhausted Ybarra ("All my memories are of pain") were able to move on to other projects.[4] EA had a copy of the 1980 Raiders playbook, and hired San Francisco Chronicle writer Frank Cooney, who had designed his own figurine football game with numerical skill ratings. Although the company could not yet legally use NFL teams' or players' names, Cooney obtained real plays from NFL teams. The back of the box called the game "The First Real Football Simulation" and quoted Madden: "Hey, if there aren't 11 players, it isn't real football." Documentation included diagrams of dozens of offensive and defensive plays with Madden's commentary on coaching strategies and philosophy.[28] The game sold moderately well[4] but given the sophisticated playbook its interface was complex, and Madden's insistence on 11 players caused the game to run slowly.[26] During this period, Madden turned down the opportunity to buy an "unlimited" number of options for EA stock in its initial public offering, a decision he later called "the dumbest thing I ever did in my life".[4][5] In early 1990 EA hired Park Place Productions to develop Madden for the Sega Genesis video game console. Park Place had developed ABC Monday Night Football with "arcade-style, action-heavy" game play, and its Madden also emphasized hyperreality compared to the computer version's focus on exact simulation.[4][6] Impressed with Park Place's work, EA chose it for the Genesis Madden instead of completing an in-house version by Antonick.[29] EA reverse engineered the console to sell the game without paying the standard $8 to $10 license fee per cartridge to Sega, then proposed a compromise of $2 per cartridge and a $2 million cap on the fee. The console maker agreed, afraid that EA would sell its reverse-engineered knowledge to other companies; the agreement saved EA $35 million over the next three years. As its own Joe Montana-endorsed football game would miss the 1990 Christmas shopping season, Sega asked EA to let it sell Madden with the Montana name. EA refused, but offered an inferior alternative that lacked Madden's 3D graphics and most of its 113 plays.[4][6] Joe Montana Football sold well despite shipping after Christmas 1990, and remained popular after BlueSky Software took over development.[26] John Madden Football for the Genesis, however, became both the first hugely successful Madden gameselling 400,000 copies when the company expected 75,000[29]and the first killer app for EA and Sega, helping the console gain market share against the Super NES.[4][26] From 1992 to 1994, Mega placed the game at #1 in their monthly Top 100 Mega Drive Games of All Time. In 1990, EA producer Richard Hilleman brought in veteran sports game designer Scott Orr, who had founded the mid-1980s Commodore 64 game publisher GameStar, and had led the design of their best-selling sports games. The team of Orr and Hilleman designed and led the development of what is today still recognizable as the modern Madden. Early versions of Madden were created by external development studios such as Bethesda, Visual Concepts, and Stormfront Studios. John Madden Football '92 also featured the ambulance which would run over any players in its path. After Visual Concepts failed to deliver Madden NFL '96 for the new PlayStation in 1995, EA hired Tiburon Entertainment for Madden NFL '97[26] and later acquired the company, centralizing development in-house.[4] It planned to release John Madden Football as its first sports-based arcade game, but the game was cancelled due to unenthusiastic reactions from play testers.[30] EA's refusal to release Madden and other sports titles for the Dreamcast in 1999 contributed to the console's lack of success and Sega's exit from the hardware market.[26] In 1998 Electronic Arts added "Franchise Mode" to Madden, giving players the ability to play multiple seasons, make off-season draft picks, and trade players.[31] Within Franchise Mode, players take on the role of General Manager and manage all personnel matters, including contracts, free agency, draft picks, and hiring and firing coaches. The player also acts as a head coach-like character (although there is a head coach figure in-game), choosing which players to play, making substitutions, running practices, practicing gameplans, etc. Players may play with any of the NFL's 32 franchises, and can choose whether or not to have trade deadlines, salary caps, and if they want to start their Franchise with a 49-round fantasy draft of all active NFL players. Players can also upload created teams for use in the game. Once in game, players run training camp (individual drills for improving players' attributes), play in preseason games and compete in a regular 16-game NFL season, including playoffs and the Super Bowl. The player has the option to play any game in the simulation, including those involving other teams if they so desire, or may simulate through the games as they choose. Most versions of Madden give a player 30 years with their franchise, sometimes with an opportunity to apply for the Hall of Fame at the end of the simulation. Madden NFL 2001 featured a segment called "Great Games" where one would be put in a situation where they control one team and would have to win the game with a set amount of time. If the player wins, they unlock either a new team or a stadium. Overall, there were more than 60 teams and over 80 stadiums in Madden NFL 2001. Madden NFL 2002 featured for the first time Create-A-Team where one would make a team and play with that team in either Play Now or Franchise mode. It also featured Create-A-League mode but it never caught on. Create-A-Team was not featured in Madden NFL 13 and moving teams was first featured in Madden NFL 2004 called "Stadium" in the Franchise mode of the game. Madden NFL 2002 was the 2nd highest selling game in 2002. There are multiple modes of game play, from a quick head-to-head game to running a team for a whole season or even multiple seasons. Online play, which was a new feature for Madden NFL 2003 (in this version there are also mini-camp challenges) was only available for users of the PlayStation 2 console, Xbox console, or a Microsoft Windows PC until early 2004. Also, starting with Madden NFL 2004, EA Sports created the new Playmaker tool, using the right analog joystick found on each of the adjustments previously unavailable in prior installments of the franchise.[32] One such adjustment includes the ability to switch which direction a running play was going without changing the formation. Prior to the Playmaker tool, the Player could only call one of four available "hot routes." With Playmaker and the use of the right thumb stick, the player is given 4 additional Hot Route options. When the quarterback has the ball the Playmaker Tool can be used to make receivers alter their routes mid-play. When running the ball on offense, the runner can control the direction in which the blocker is going. Defensive alignment adjustments, however, were not available leading to obvious imbalance in favor of the Offensive player. In Madden NFL 2005, EA Sports ran a campaign with the Theme "Fear the D" emphasising their improvements on the "other side of the ball." In an attempt to re-balance the players experience, EA gave a Playmaker Tool to the defense. Similar to the offensive Playmaker Tool, the defensive Playmaker allows the player to make pre-snap defensive adjustments. EA Sports further utilized the right analog joystick on defense by creating the "Hit Stick", an option on defense that allows the controlled player to make big hits, with a simple flick, that increases the chances the ball carrier will fumble. Also introduced for the first time is the "Formation Shift." This new feature allowed players to shift their formation in the pre-snap audible menu without actually changing the play. For example, if you call a run play up the middle out of a goal line formation, you could then call a formation shift and make your players spread out into a four wide receiver formation while still in the same running play. The problem with this new function was that EA also added a fatigue penalty for the defense causing defensive players to get more tired each time there was a formation shift. This led to players on offense calling multiple formation shifts each play making the defensive players too exhausted to keep up and force them to substitute out of the game until they are fully rested. This led to more imbalance that could only be fixed by turning off fatigue. 2005 also added "EA Sports Radio", a fictional show that plays during the menu screen of Franchise mode to provide a greater sense of a storyline during gameplay. It features Tony Bruno as the host, who often interviews players and coaches about how the season is going and also has quiz questions in which fake listeners call in to make attempts at answering football-related questions. It included mock interviews of famous NFL players and coaches throughout the in-game season. Some fans have criticized EA Sports for not including new features to the 'programming' as the radio became stale after only two seasons in franchise mode, but the feature drew acclaim for adding content to the Franchise menu. Also added was the Newspaper where the player could look at National News from licensed USA Today and Licensed Local papers for almost each of the 32 NFL teams. Lastly, 2005 also saw the introduction of multiple progressions during franchise mode. Previously NFL players in Madden would only progress or regress at the end of each season. Now at the end of Week 5, 11, and 17 the game would use a program to "progress" players based on their performance in addition to end of season progression. In Madden NFL 06, the "Truck Stick" was introduced. This feature allows the offensive player to lower his shoulder and break a tackle, or back juke to avoid one. Another new feature is the Superstar Mode, which allows the player to take control of a rookie, and progress through his career.[33] This includes an IQ test, interviews, workouts, the NFL Draft, hiring an agent, and other aspects of a superstar's life. EA also introduced the QB Vision feature in the 2006 installment. With this feature, a cone of spotlight emits from the quarterback during passing plays, simulating his field of vision. To make an accurate pass, the quarterback must have his intended receiver in his field of vision. Passing to a receiver not in the cone reduces pass accuracy significantly. The size of the quarterback's vision cone is directly correlated to his Awareness and Passer Accuracy rating; Brett Favre and Peyton Manning see nearly the entire field at once, whereas an inexperienced quarterback such as J. P. Losman or Kyle Boller sees only a sliver of the field.[4] This feature also allows for bigger plays and more interceptions. Also, EA sports added the Smart Route. This means that when pressing a hot route to the corresponding receiver, you put the analog stick down and the receiver will run to the first down, and you can throw him the ball. While current gen Madden remained the same with the exception of a "Smart Route" and "QB Vision", this was also the first year Madden was released on the next-gen Xbox 360. It was completely stripped down, almost every change made in the previous gen was wiped away. In Madden NFL 07, EA introduced Lead Blocker Controls which allow users to control blockers during running plays. In addition, EA redefined the Truck Stick into the Highlight Stick. With the Highlight Stick, users can have their running backs perform different running moves and combos, instead of just bowling over defenders. Truck Stick features still exist for bigger backs, but not for smaller backs who would never realistically use them anyway. Instead, more agile backs perform acrobatic ducks and dodges to avoid tackles.[34] In Madden NFL 08, the Weapons feature was added, allowing superstar players to be noticed. Randy Moss, for example, is a Go-To-Guy, allowing him to make amazing one-handed grabs. Peyton Manning is a Franchise QB. It also includes new skill drills, Hit Stick 2.0, and Ring of a Champion features. Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young is on the cover. Madden NFL 08 was also the last GameCube game ever released. 2008 marked the last year of the PC version of the game. Madden NFL 09 was released on August 12, 2008. Citing business concerns, EA chose not to release it on the PC platform.[35] The game features quarterback Brett Favre on the front cover.[36] Madden NFL 09 was the first of the series to offer online, league game play, allowing up to 32 players to compete in an online, simulated NFL season. EA Sports Senior Producer Phil Frazier, up to 32 players were able to participate in competitive games, the NFL Draft and conduct trades between their teams. The game was also the first of the series to incorporate a Madden IQ. The Madden IQ is used to automatically gauge your skills through a series of mini-games consisting of run offense, pass offense, run defense, and pass defense. At the end of each of the drills, the player receives a score ranging from rookie to all-Madden. The final Madden IQ is a mixture of those scores which is used to control the game's difficulty.[4][37][38] Madden NFL 10 was released on August 14, 2009.[39] Compared to previous iterations, Madden NFL 10 has been extremely transparent with its development efforts, maintaining a weekly blog updates as well as a constant presence on various message boards. A new design team has also taken over the game, including members from NFL Head Coach 09. The direction of Madden NFL 10 has been shifted to much more of a realistic and simulation focus, with info already released including Procedural Awareness (a robust head tracking system), a new philosophy on player ratings, and big improvements to realism in QB play, WR/DB play, and other areas across the game. Madden 10 has several new features including the PRO-TAK animation technology, which allows up to nine man gang tackles and fumble pile-ups to help players 'fight for every yard', in this year's tagline. Madden 10 also features an in-game weekly recap show called The Extra Point. Madden 10 offers a series of multiple play packages. This allows for more options to score. This version features a completely overhauled rating system for players, featuring new categories such as throw on the run and specific ratings for short, medium, and deep passes.[40] The game's soundtrack features rap, alternative rock, rap metal and hard rock bands such as Nirvana, Pantera, System of a Down, and Kid Rock. Madden NFL 11 was released on July 27, 2010 (moved up from its original release date of August 10, 2010 for promotional reasons[41]), and features Drew Brees on the cover. It features several new additions to the franchise, such as Online Team Play,[42] Online Scouting[43] and online attribute boosts for co-op play.[44] Along with these new game additions is a new rating (sponsored by Old Spice) known as Swagger.[45] Although early speculation was that this new rating would be reflective of "confidence" or "composure," it was quickly confirmed to be directly tied to a player's personality for celebrations.[46] Madden NFL 12 was released on August 25, 2011. The release was delayed by two weeks due to the NFL lockout,[47] and features Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis on the cover. However, there is a limited edition in which the cover features St. Louis Rams running back Marshall Faulk. Madden NFL 13 was released on August 28, 2012, and features Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson as the cover athlete. Madden NFL 13 is the first Madden game to be released on the PlayStation Vita, and is also the first game in the series to have Kinect support as well as a new physics engine promoting real in game physics.[48] Madden NFL 13 included a complete revamp to online franchise mode which became known as Connected Careers Mode (CCM). Some of the new CCM features included player contracts, the ability to trade draft picks, a salary cap, and up to 30 seasons worth of gameplay.[49] In early 2013, EA Sports announced that the next installment of the Madden series was released on August 27, 2013. As this installment is the 25th anniversary of the series,[50] the game is called Madden NFL 25, instead of Madden NFL 14 with the year like the previous versions.[51] The cover vote consisted of two brackets containing past players ("Old School") and active players ("New School").[52] "Old School" player and Pro Football Hall of Famer Barry Sanders was chosen as the cover athlete for Madden NFL 25 on the April 24, 2013, episode of ESPN's SportsNation. The "New School" finalist was Adrian Peterson.[53] On March 13, 2014 EA Sports posted on its website that user would be able to design and submit uniforms for Connected Careers by March 17, 2014 for "the next Madden NFL."[54] On April 28, 2014, EA announced the release of Madden 15 pre-ordering in a release video with NFL linebacker and 2013 Defensive Player of the Year Luke Kuechly. The game was released August 26 in North America and on August 29 in the EU for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. The game featured "dramatic all-new camera angles, as well as dynamic pre-game and halftime features."[55] During the Detroit Lions 10th pick of the 2014 NFL Draft, Barry Sanders announced fans again would be able to vote for the cover athlete.[56] On June 6, Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman was announced as the cover athlete.[57] EA decided not to have players vote for the cover athlete through a traditional bracket, but rather through collectible cards in Madden NFL Mobile, or through Ultimate Team on the console devices. On May 4, 2015, the four finalists were announced for the 2016 game cover: New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson, New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown. On May 13, Beckham Jr. beat out Gronkowski in a fan vote for the cover of Madden 16. It was released on August 25, 2015.[58] Madden NFL 17 was released on August 23, 2016. The features in the game include an upgrade of the Ground Game, a redesigned and better Franchise Mode, "Madden 365", new Ball Carrier UI Prompts, the new Path Assist and more.[59] New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski serves as the cover athlete.[60] Madden NFL 18 was released on August 25, 2017.[61] The game is the first in the series to be developed in the Frostbite Engine, and incorporates a Story Mode, akin to The Journey in FIFA 17.[62] It was announced that Tom Brady would be on the cover, marking the second consecutive year where a Patriot will be on the cover.[63] Furthermore, an enhanced G.O.A.T edition was also announced.[64] Until 1993, the Madden series did not have official licenses from the National Football League or National Football League Players Association (NFLPA). Madden NFL '94 was the first game in the series to include real NFL teams, and Madden NFL '95 added an NFLPA license for real players through the National Football League Players Incorporated (NFLPI).[65] The licenses restrict EA from including certain content in current Madden games, such as the humorous ambulance that picks up injured players in 1991's John Madden Football II.[4] The NFL Coaches Association sold the rights to have NFL coaches' names appear in the Madden NFL games; Madden NFL 2001 was the first game in the series to feature this license.[66] Neither New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick nor Bill Parcells appeared in the game as they are not members of the NFL Coaches Association. Likewise, non-NFLPA players (such as Thurman Thomas during his playing career) do not appear in the game, instead being replaced with generic placeholders. In 2004, EA signed an exclusive license through 2009 with the NFL and the NFLPI to give the company the exclusive rights to use the NFL's teams, stadia, and players in a video game.[67] This exclusive license prevents other official NFL video games. The deal, reportedly worth $300 million and later extended to 2013,[4] has been widely criticized. Some competitors, such as the Blitz: The League series, have elected to continue, seeking to distinguish themselves through innovative gameplay while others, such as the NFL 2K series, have ceased production. In 2007, 2K Sports released All Pro Football 2K8, which used former NFL stars. In August 2006, EA Sports debuted NFL Head Coach, which utilized the Madden engine to create a football management simulation. The game was criticized as buggy and unrealistic. EA Tiburon rebuilt the game from the ground up, addressing flaws and creating a proprietary engine, over the course of three years. NFL Head Coach 09 was released on August 12, 2008 bundled with the special edition of Madden NFL 09 and as a standalone game on September 2, 2008. Released on November 24, 2009,[68] the game is 5-on-5 and takes the best 10 players from each of the 32 NFL teams.[69] Madden NFL Football was released as the launch title for the Nintendo 3DS on March 27, 2011.[70] In 1996, Next Generation listed the Genesis installments of the series collectively as number 30 on their "Top 100 Games of All Time", calling them "One of the best two-player games of all time, the game that reinvented EA, and (along with Sonic the Hedgehog) the game that launched Sega's 16-bit assault on Nintendo."[71] Prior to 1999, every annual installment of the Madden NFL series primarily featured Madden on its cover.[4][72] In 1999, Electronic Arts selected Garrison Hearst to appear on the PAL version's cover, and has since featured one of the leagues top players on every annual installment[73] despite Madden's opposition.[4] While appearing on the cover has become an honor akin to appearing on the Wheaties box,[4] much like the Sports Illustrated Cover Jinx, certain players who appeared on Madden video game box art have experienced a decline in performance, usually due to an injury. This apparent run of misfortune for Madden cover athletes has been dubbed the "Madden Curse."[74] When asked about the Madden Curse, EA Sports' Chris Erb said, "I don't know that we believe in the curse. The players don't believe in the curse."[75] Running back Shaun Alexander, who was featured on the cover of Madden NFL 07, commented "Do you want to be hurt and on the cover, or just hurt?" Madden NFL 08 cover athlete Vince Young expressed skepticism,[76][77] while Madden NFL 12 cover athlete Peyton Hillis attributed his subpar season that year to the curse.[78] The perception that the curse is real has resulted in some fans lobbying for their favorite players not to be on the cover, such as fans of LaDainian Tomlinson who were strongly opposed to EA Sports' initial decision to feature him on the cover of Madden NFL 08, so much that a fan created SaveLTfromMadden.com to voice their disdain.[79][80][81] Tomlinson eventually declined the offer, but stated it was solely due to contract negotiations.[81] Starting with Madden NFL 11 EA has allowed fans to choose their favorite player for the cover.[82] However, EA believes that many fans vote against their favorite player to avoid the purported "curse".[5] It has become so prominent that bookmakers create odds on how likely an injury will occur to the player appearing on the cover.[83] The injuries that Madden cover athletes experience can be attributed to the physical nature of football.[75] Also to earn the honor of being put on the game cover, a player is usually coming off of a strong year and some regression the following year is likely. Attributing some cause, such as a curse, to this randomness is a regression fallacy and a spurious correlation. In December 2010, EA announced plans on developing a movie based on the Curse, which would be a comedy, and not based on fate-based horror movies like Final Destination.[84] However, EA Entertainment executive Pat O'Brien stated in October 2014 that EA is not working on a Madden Curse movie.[85] The Madden Bowl is a single elimination tournament held on the most current edition of Madden NFL. It has been held since 1995 during Super Bowl weekend in the host city and, in the past, participation included NFL players and celebrities. The Madden Bowl's participation has changed over the years from being an event held with athletes, musicians, and celebrities, to become an event where only NFL players who are invited to participate get a chance to play. Participants in the Madden Bowl are free to choose whichever team they like. Winners receive a Madden Bowl trophy and recognition in the upcoming Madden video game. The 2006 Madden Bowl, held during the weekend of Super Bowl XL in Detroit, Michigan, was televised on ESPN and premiered in April 2006. It is not to be confused with Madden Nation, which was a reality television show that chronicled a cross-country trip to crown the best Madden player in America, which also aired on ESPN. From 2011 to 2012, the Madden Bowl competition utilizes the new Online Team Play feature included in Madden NFL 11. Rather than competing as individuals, players form groups of three to square-off for the trophy. After this feature was discontinued, the Madden Bowl competition continued in a Head-to-Head format. Since 2004, EA Sports has run a simulation of the Super Bowl using the latest game in the Madden NFL series and announced the result. The game simulations conducted by EA have correctly predicted ten of the last 14 Super Bowl winners. The company accurately predicted the final score for the 2015 game and other details, including a score of 24ÿ14 in favor of Seattle in the third quarter, despite skepticism within EA that Seattle would lose after a double-digit lead.[86][2] The predictions were incorrect in 2008, 2011, 2014, and in 2016. EA also releases a computer-generated description of the simulated game as if it were a summary of the real Super Bowl. The results of the simulated and actual Super Bowl games are listed below.

lead to the circulation in Berlin exclusively of the currency of the Soviet occupation zone🚨

The building opened on November 3, 2014🚨

1,546 feet (471 m)🚨The Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge over the Cooper River in South Carolina, USA, connecting downtown Charleston to Mount Pleasant. The eight lane bridge satisfied the capacity of U.S. Route 17 when it opened in 2005 to replace two obsolete cantilever truss bridges. The bridge has a main span of 1,546 feet (471 m), the third longest among cable-stayed bridges in the Western Hemisphere. It was built using the design-build method and was designed by Parsons Brinckerhoff. The first bridge to cross the lower Cooper River opened in 1929, eventually named the John P. Grace Memorial Bridge for former Charleston mayor John P. Grace, who spearheaded the project. The main span of the double cantilever truss bridge was the fifth longest in the world at 1,050 feet (320 m) and soared 150 feet (46 m) above the river. The main span of the second cantilever was the twelfth-longest in the world. The total length of the structure was about 2.7 miles (4.3?km). Following a 17-month construction at a cost of $6 million, it opened with a 3-day celebration that attracted visitors from around the globe. Engineers and critics proclaimed colorful descriptions of the unique structure, deeming it "the first roller-coaster bridge" and citing that "steep approaches, stupendous height, extremely narrow width, and a sharp curve at the dip conspire to excite and alarm the motorist." Privately owned originally, a $1.00 toll was charged for car and driver to cross. In 1943 the state of South Carolina purchased the bridge, and the tolls were lifted in 1946. By the 1960s the Grace Memorial Bridge had become insufficient, with its two narrow 10-foot (3 m) lanes built for Ford Model As and its steep grades of up to 6 percent. Later changes to the side rail and curb reduced the lane width further.[citation needed] A new bridge was constructed alongside and parallel to it. Named for the then-South Carolina Highway Commissioner, the Silas N. Pearman Bridge opened in 1966 at cost of $15 million. Its three lanes, at a modern 12-foot (3.7 m) width, opened to northbound traffic while its older counterpart carried the southbound traffic into downtown Charleston. One lane was reversible on the Pearman bridge, which led to signs warning "Use lanes with green arrow" and "Do not use red X lane" on the bridge. The two truss bridges had become functionally obsolete by 1979. Extensive metal deterioration caused by the lack of maintenance shortly after Grace Bridge's tolls were removed limited the capacity of the older Grace bridge to ten ton vehicles (later five tons), and the reversible lane on the Pearman was eliminated (it had been able to switch to three lanes northbound for rush hour traffic), making that lane southbound permanently, diverting all heavy trucks, buses, and recreational vehicles to that lane on the Pearman bridge. Neither of the bridges had emergency lanes, and the Pearman bridge had no median between the northbound and southbound lanes because of its reversible lane, and it was not until 2002 when flexible barriers were added to the Pearman bridge to prevent head-on collisions. Furthermore, the vertical clearance above the river ÿ once among the highest in the world ÿ could no longer accommodate modern shipping vessels. Three of Charlestons four shipping terminals are situated up the Cooper and Wando Rivers, and the limited bridge clearance excluded the access of ships that would otherwise be beneficial to the economy of South Carolina. Now that the old bridges are disassembled, the worlds largest modern container ships are able to access all terminals of the nation's fourth-largest container port. Raising financial support for a new eight-lane bridge over the Cooper River was a struggle 20 years in the making, prolonged by the state's insistence that it could not afford such a bridge and by Charleston's reluctance to provide any funds for the project. Several proposals were made for a toll bridge, but the mayors of Charleston and Mount Pleasant objected. When officials revealed in 1995 that the Grace Bridge scored a 4 out of 100 for safety and integrity, retired U.S. Congressman Arthur Ravenel, Jr. ran for the South Carolina Senate with a goal of solving the funding problem. He helped to establish the S.C. Infrastructure Bank and worked with local, state, and federal officials to create partnerships that helped to materialize the final funding. The State Infrastructure Bank (SIB) budgeted $325 million to accompany $96.6 million from the Federal Highway Administration. The project did not become a reality, however, until the SIB agreed to commit to a $215 million federal loan, provided that Charleston County would contribute $3 million a year for 25 years, including an 8.33% sales tax increase, to the federal loan, as well as yearly payments from the SCDOT and State Ports Authority. The overall price of the bridge totaled around $700 million. Charlestons new bridge over the Cooper River is a cable-stayed suspension design with two diamond-shaped towers, each 575 feet (175 m) high. The total length of the structure is 13,200 feet (4.0?km), with the main span stretching 1,546 feet (471 m) between the towers. 128 individual cables anchored to the inside of the diamond towers suspend the deck 186 feet (57 m) above the river. The roadway consists of eight 12-foot (3.7 m) lanes, four in each direction as well as a 12-foot (3.7?m) bicycle and pedestrian path to the design, which runs along the south edge of the bridge overlooking Charleston Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean. The bridge superstructure is designed to withstand shipping accidents and the natural disasters that have plagued Charlestons history. The span is designed to endure wind gusts in excess of 300?mph (480?km/h), far stronger than those of the worst storm in Charleston's history, Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Engineers also considered the 1886 earthquake that nearly leveled Charleston. The Ravenel Bridge is designed to withstand an earthquake of approximately 7.4 on the Richter magnitude scale without total failure. To protect the bridge from errant ships, the towers are flanked by one-acre rock islands. Ships will run aground on the islands before colliding with the towers. The bridge includes a shared bicycle-pedestrian path named Wonders' Way in memory of Garrett Wonders. Wonders was a US Navy ensign stationed in Charleston and was in training for the 2004 Olympics before he died in a bicycle-vehicle collision.[3] The path was included in design of the new bridge because of grassroots efforts by groups such as a fifth grade class at a local elementary school.[4] Groundbreaking on the bridge occurred in 2001 in Mount Pleasant. The bridge was built as a design-build project, meaning that one contract was signed to both design and construct the bridge. This meant that construction could begin even while the design was not yet finalized. The bridge was built by a joint venture of two major construction firms operating under the name Palmetto Bridge Constructors. The joint venture partners were Tidewater Skanska of Norfolk, Virginia and Flatiron Constructors of Longmont, Colorado. The construction joint venture hired Parsons Brinckerhoff to complete the design. For the sake of simplifying labor and equipment resources, Palmetto Bridge Constructors actually managed the building of the bridge as five separate projects (the two highway interchanges at either end of the bridge, the two approach spans, and the cable-stayed span) going on simultaneously. By the summer of 2002 the foundations for the towers and most of the piers were in place and the rock islands were completed. The steel and concrete towers began to ascend from the islands soon after. Originally, each of the towers was to be topped with a 50-foot (15?m) multicolored LED "beacon," but public opinion caused this plan to be scrapped. The fast-paced construction schedule led to contractors to use a self-climbing form system to build the towers. The formwork, supplied by PERI, provided a solution to meet the tight construction tolerances and provide safe access for workers laboring hundreds of feet in the air. The self-climbing system meant that the tower cranes did not have to spend time raising the forms after each segment of concrete hardened, and instead could be better used to haul material from barges below.[5] The first cables were hung from the towers in 2004as a time-saving measure, this was done before the towers were wholly completed. Sections of the deck were built outward from each of the towers as more cables were hung. The decks of the approaches were taking shape as well. Construction of part of the roadway actually occurred over the top of the old cantilever bridges, which remained open to traffic without interruption. A ceremony was held in March 2005, when the last slab of the deck was added, thus making the bridge "complete." But paving, installation of lights and signs, and cleanup meant that the bridge would not open for another four months. Following a week-long celebration that included a public bridge walk, concerts, dinners, and fireworks, the bridge was dedicated and opened on July 16, 2005 ÿ one year ahead of schedule and under budget. The bridge was featured on the TV show Extreme Engineering. The proximity and rivalry between Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah and Brunswick often lead to comparisons between the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, the Sidney Lanier Bridge, and the Talmadge Memorial Bridge, all of which carry US 17.[citation needed] Completed in 2005, the clearance under the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge is actually only 1 foot (0.30?m) taller than both the Sidney Lanier Bridge and the Talmadge Memorial Bridge. Unlike the Sidney Lanier Bridge and the Talmadge Memorial Bridge, however, the Ravenel Bridge has eight travel lanes; the Talmadge and the Sidney Lanier both have just four lanes. The Ravenel also features a dedicated bike/pedestrian lane. The Talmadge Memorial Bridge also has a similar design as the Alex Fraser Bridge in Vancouver, Canada. As for the span of the three bridges, The Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge is 1,546 feet (471?m). The Sidney Lanier Bridge is 1,250 feet (380?m). The Talmadge Memorial Bridge is 1,100 feet (340?m). As for the total length of the three bridges, the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge is 13,200 feet (4.0?km). The Sidney Lanier Bridge is 7,779 feet (2,371?m). The Talmadge Memorial Bridge is 10,032 feet (3.058?km), or 1.9 miles (3.1?km). The bridge is home to the annual USA Track & Field 10,000 meter (6.2?mi) Cooper River Bridge Run on the first weekend of April. This event attracts up to 50,000 people. The route starts in Mount Pleasant and finishes in downtown Charleston at Marion Square. The cover of Darius Rucker's 2010 album Charleston, SC 1966 features a picture of Rucker, a Charleston native, with the Ravenel Bridge in the background. The 2014 television series Reckless features the bridge in its title sequence. In the video game Need for Speed Undercover a bridge similar to the Ravenel Bridge was featured but only on the PlayStation 3, Xbox and PC versions. It was also featured in the 2012 version of Need for Speed Most Wanted (but it only crosses half of the water) The 2009 movie The New Daughter, starring Kevin Costner, features the Ravenel Bridge in several scenes as the movie is based in and around Charleston, South Carolina.

Expressionism🚨Die Brcke (The Bridge) was a group of German expressionist artists formed in Dresden in 1905, after which the Brcke Museum in Berlin was named. Founding members were Fritz Bleyl, Erich Heckel, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff. Later members were Emil Nolde, Max Pechstein and Otto Mueller. The seminal group had a major impact on the evolution of modern art in the 20th century and the creation of expressionism.[1] Die Brcke is sometimes compared to the Fauves. Both movements shared interests in primitivist art. Both shared an interest in the expressing of extreme emotion through high-keyed color that was very often non-naturalistic. Both movements employed a drawing technique that was crude, and both groups shared an antipathy to complete abstraction. The Die Brcke artists' emotionally agitated paintings of city streets and sexually charged events transpiring in country settings make their French counterparts, the Fauves, seem tame by comparison.[2] The founding members of Die Brcke in 1905 were four Jugendstil architecture students: Fritz Bleyl (1880ÿ1966), Erich Heckel (1883ÿ1970), Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880ÿ1938) and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff (1884ÿ1976). They met through the K?nigliche Technische Hochschule (technical university) of Dresden, where Kirchner and Bleyl began studying in 1901 and became close friends in their first term.[3] They discussed art together and also studied nature,[3] having a radical outlook in common.[4] Kirchner continued studies in Munich 1903ÿ1904, returning to Dresden in 1905 to complete his degree.[5] The institution provided a wide range of studies in addition to architecture, such as freehand drawing, perspective drawing and the historical study of art.[6] The name "Die Brcke" was intended to "symbolize the link, or bridge, they would form with art of the future".[7] Die Brcke aimed to eschew the prevalent traditional academic style and find a new mode of artistic expression, which would form a bridge (hence the name) between the past and the present.[4] They responded both to past artists such as Albrecht Drer, Matthias Grnewald and Lucas Cranach the Elder, as well as contemporary international avant-garde movements.[4] The group published a broadside called Programme in 1906, where Kirchner wrote: We call all young people together, and as young people, who carry the future in us, we want to wrest freedom for our actions and our lives from the older, comfortably established forces.[7] As part of the affirmation of their national heritage, they revived older media, particularly woodcut prints.[4] The group developed a common style based on vivid color, emotional tension, violent imagery, and an influence from primitivism. After first concentrating exclusively on urban subject matter, the group ventured into southern Germany on expeditions arranged by Mueller and produced more nudes and arcadian images. They invented the printmaking technique of linocut, although they at first described them as traditional woodcuts, which they also made.[8] The group members initially "isolated" themselves in a working-class neighborhood of Dresden, aiming thereby to reject their own bourgeois backgrounds. Erich Heckel was able to obtain an empty butcher's shop on the Berlinerstrasse in Friedrichstadt for their use as a studio.[9] Bleyl described the studio as: Kirchner's became a venue which overthrew social conventions to allow casual love-making and frequent nudity.[4] Group life-drawing sessions took place using models from the social circle, rather than professionals, and choosing quarter-hour poses to encourage spontaneity.[4] Bleyl described one such model, Isabella, a fifteen-year-old girl from the neighbourhood, as "a very lively, beautifully built, joyous individual, without any deformation caused by the silly fashion of the corset and completely suitable to our artistic demands, especially in the blossoming condition of her girlish buds."[10] The group composed a manifesto (mostly Kirchner's work), which was carved on wood and asserted a new generation, "who want freedom in our work and in our lives, independence from older, established forces."[4] In September and October 1906, the first group exhibition was held, focused on the female nude, in the showroom of K.F.M. Seifert and Co. in Dresden.[10] Emil Nolde (1867ÿ1956) and Max Pechstein (1881ÿ1955) joined the group in 1906. Bleyl married in 1907, and, with a concern to support his family, left the group.[3] Otto Mueller (1874ÿ1930) joined in 1910. Between 1907 and 1911, Brcke members stayed during the summer at the Moritzburg lakes and on the island of Fehmarn.[5] In 1911, Kirchner moved to Berlin, where he founded a private art school, MIUM-Institut, in collaboration with Max Pechstein with the aim of promulgating "Moderner Unterricht im Malen" (modern teaching of painting). This was not a success and closed the following year.[5] In 1913, Kirchner wrote Chronik der Brcke (Brcke chronicle), which led to the ending of the group.[5] Die Brcke was one of two groups of German painters fundamental to Expressionism, the other being Der Blaue Reiter group ("The Blue Rider"), formed in Munich in 1911.

April 1, 1963🚨General Hospital (commonly abbreviated GH) is an American daytime television medical drama. It is listed in Guinness World Records as the longest-running American soap opera in production and the second longest-running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light.[2][3] Concurrently, it is the world's third longest-running scripted drama series in production after British serials The Archers and Coronation Street, as well as the world's second-longest-running televised soap opera still in production. General Hospital premiered on the ABC television network on April 1, 1963. Same-day broadcasts as well as classic episodes were aired on SOAPnet from January 20, 2000, to December 31, 2013, following Disney-ABC's decision to discontinue the network. General Hospital is the longest-running serial produced in Hollywood, and the longest-running entertainment program in ABC television history. It holds the record for most Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama Series, with 13 wins.[4] The show was created by husband-and-wife soap writers Frank and Doris Hursley, who originally set it in a general hospital (hence the title), in an unnamed fictional city. In the 1970s, the city was named Port Charles, New York. From its beginning, General Hospital starred John Beradino and Emily McLaughlin, and both actors stayed with the show until their deaths in 1996 and 1991 respectively. They were joined a year later by Rachel Ames who remains to date the longest serving actress on an ABC soap opera, having been continuously on the show from 1964 to 2007. General Hospital was the second soap to air on ABC (after the short-lived Road to Reality, which aired for several months during the 1960ÿ61 season). In 1964, a sister soap was created for General Hospital, The Young Marrieds; it ran for two years, and was canceled because of low ratings. General Hospital also spawned a primetime spinoff with the same name in the United Kingdom from 1972 to 1979, as well as the daytime series Port Charles (1997ÿ2003) and the primetime spin-off General Hospital: Night Shift (2007ÿ2008) in the United States. Taped at The Prospect Studios, General Hospital aired for a half-hour until July 23, 1976. The series was expanded from 30 minutes to 45 minutes on July 26, 1976, and then to a full hour on January 16, 1978.[5] Ever since the late 1970s, most of the storylines have revolved around the Quartermaines and the Spencers. From 1979 to 1988, General Hospital had more viewers than any other daytime soap opera. It rose to the top of the ratings in the early 1980s in part thanks to the monumentally popular "supercouple" Luke and Laura, whose 1981 wedding brought in 30 million viewers and remains the highest-rated hour in American soap opera history.[6][7] The soap opera is also known for its high-profile celebrity guest stars who have included, among others, Roseanne Barr, James Franco and Elizabeth Taylor. In 2007, the program was listed as one of Time magazine's "100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME."[8] On April 23, 2009, General Hospital began broadcasting in high definition, making it the first ABC soap opera to make such a transition.[9] The serial aired its 14,000th episode on February 23, 2018.[1] General Hospital became the oldest American soap opera on September 17, 2010, following the final broadcast of CBS' As the World Turns. On April 14, 2011, ABC announced the cancellation of both All My Children and One Life to Live, leaving General Hospital as the last remaining soap opera airing on the network after January 13, 2012.[10] The show celebrated its 50th anniversary on April 1, 2013. General Hospital was created by Frank and Doris Hursley and premiered on April 1, 1963. The first stories were mainly set on the seventh floor of General Hospital, in an unnamed midsize Eastern city (the name of the city, Port Charles, would not be mentioned until the late 1970s). "They had this concept of the show that it was like a big wagon wheel ÿ the spokes would be the characters and the hub would be the hospital," John Beradino (Steve Hardy) later reflected to Entertainment Weekly in 1994.[11] Launched in 1963, the first stories were mainly set at General Hospital in an unnamed midsized Eastern city. The name of the city, Port Charles, would not be mentioned until 1976 by headwriters Eileen and Robert Mason Pollock.[12] Storylines revolved around Dr. Steve Hardy (John Beradino) and his friend, Nurse Jessie Brewer (Emily McLaughlin). Jessie's turbulent marriage to the much-younger Dr. Phil Brewer (originally portrayed by Roy Thinnes; lastly by Martin West) was the center of many early storylines. In 1964 Audrey March (Rachel Ames), a flight attendant and sister of Nurse Lucille (Lucille Wall), came to town, and was the woman who won Steve's heart. By the end of the 1970s, General Hospital was facing dire ratings when executive producer Gloria Monty was brought in to turn the show around. Monty is credited with creation of the first supercouple, Luke Spencer and Laura Webber, played by Anthony Geary and Genie Francis. The end of their hour wedding on November 17, 1981, was the most-watched event in daytime serial history.[7] During the 1980s, the series featured several high-profile action, adventure, and some science fiction-based storylines. Location shooting at sites including Mount Rushmore in South Dakota; Niagara Falls; Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee; Atlantic City, New Jersey; Big Bear and Avalon (Catalina Island), California; and San Antonio, Texas are some that propelled the story. After Gloria Monty first left the series in 1987, General Hospital entered into a transitional phase that lasted until Wendy Riche took the position of executive producer in 1992. Under Riche, the show gained critical acclaim for its sensitive handling of social issues. In 1994, Riche started an annual Nurses' Ball, a fundraiser and AIDS awareness event both on the show and in real life. Later that year, a heart transplant storyline involves the death of eight-year-old B. J. Jones (daughter of Dr. Tony Jones and R.N. Bobbie Spencer) in a bus crash and the subsequent donation of her heart to her dying cousin Maxie Jones. Shortly afterwards, Monica Quartermaine (Leslie Charleson) begins a long battle with breast cancer, which leads to her adopting Emily Quartermaine, the orphaned young daughter of Monica's friend from treatment. General Hospital was also praised for the love story of teenagers Stone Cates (Michael Sutton) and Robin Scorpio (Kimberly McCullough). After a struggle that lasted throughout most of 1995, Stone dies from AIDS at the age of 19 and his death is followed by 17-year-old Robin having to deal with being HIV-positive as a result of their relationship. Sutton received a nomination for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and McCullough won an Outstanding Younger Actress award. ABC featured an Afterschool Special "Positive: A Journey Into AIDS" revolving around the AIDS story as well as The New York Times best selling novel Robin's Diary. On Saturday, December 14, 1996, General Hospital aired its one of three primetime episodes, General Hospital: Twist of Fate, which picked up where that Friday's episode had left off. The special centered on Laura's supposed death at the hands of Stefan Cassadine. In 1997, the show's long-rumored spin-off materialized into the half-hour serial, Port Charles. The series' 11,000th episode aired on February 20, 2006.[13] On April 23, 2009, General Hospital became ABC's first regular daytime drama to be taped and broadcast in high definition, though the 2008 season of its primetime spinoff General Hospital: Night Shift was in high definition. This is the second daytime drama to move to high definition after CBS's The Young and the Restless. On February 23, 2010, the series aired its 12,000th episode.[14] On December 1, 2011, ABC confirmed that former One Life to Live executive producer Frank Valentini and head writer Ron Carlivati would replace longtime executive producer Jill Farren-Phelps and Garin Wolf respectively, though Wolf would remain on as a regular writer. The change took effect on January 9, 2012.[15] The first episode under the direction of Valentini aired on February 1, 2012, and Carlivati's material started airing on February 21, 2012. Several storylines reminiscent of iconic story arcs of the past were created and popular characters returned to the show in order to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the series in 2013.[16] The serial celebrated 13,000 episodes on February 24, 2014,[17] and marked its 51st anniversary on April 1, 2014.[18] Also in January 2014, ABC renewed Carlivati's contract with the soap.[19][20] The series marked its 52nd anniversary on April 1, 2015, with a special episode revolving around the Spencer family.[21][22][23][24] In July 2015, it was revealed that Carlivati was fired as Head Writer, with Shelly Altman and Jean Passanante rehired as replacements.[25] On September 16, 2016, Daytime Confidential reported that Valentini, Passanante and Altman re-signed with the show.[26] On June 6, 2017, Passanante announced her decision to retire from the serial.[27] On July 29, 2017, it was revealed through Passanante that breakdown writer Chris Van Etten will be promoted to co-head writer along with Altman as her replacement.[28] On February 23, 2018, the serial aired its 14,000th episode.[1] General Hospital has aired on ABC Television and has been filmed in Hollywood since its inception. The show was filmed in the Sunset Gower Studios from 1963 to the mid-1980s. It relocated in the 1980s to The Prospect Studios, where it remains. General Hospital has had a number of different distributors throughout the show's history, From its beginning until 1968, it was a co-production of ABC-Paramount and Selmur Productions. ABC would later buy the series outright in 1968 and its owner passed from Selmur to American Broadcasting Companies, Inc., ABC's old separate conglomerate. Ownership of the soap was then passed when the original ABC, Inc. merged with Capital Cities Communications in 1985 and it became Capital Cities/ABC, Inc. The show would change hands again when The Walt Disney Company bought Capital Cities/ABC in 1996 and Disney began to program the network and the soap in September 1997 where it remains to this day. Though the series originally focused on solely the medical staff at Port Charles' General Hospital, and starred John Beradino as Dr. Steve Hardy and Emily McLaughlin as Nurse Jessie Brewer, the series branched out and began to focus more on the people and families of the town of Port Charles rather than those solely in the hospital.[30] Port Charles is full of "dysfunctional family dynamics...and family drama remains the focal point of this town."[31] The current families on the show include the quarreling and wealthy Quartermaine family, the mobster crime Corinthos family, the middle class Scorpio/Jones family, the aristocratic Cassadine family, and the adventurous Spencer family. Former notable crew members: Gloria Monty,[32] Jill Farren Phelps, Robert Guza, Jr., Charles Pratt Jr., John William Corrington, Lewis Arlt, Lynda Myles, Alan Pultz, Judith Pinsker, Joseph Behar, Stephanie Braxton, Norma Monty, Frank South, Ralph Ellis, Shelley Curtis, Hope Harmel Smith, Michael Conforti, Michele Val Jean and Ron Carlivati.[25] Since the series began in 1963, Port Charles, New York, has been the setting for the show. The town exists in the same fictional universe as other soap opera settings such as Llanview (One Life to Live), Pine Valley (All My Children), New York City (Ryan's Hope), and Corinth (Loving). The same setting was also used for the show's spinoff Port Charles. General Hospital's cast and crew have won many awards since 1974 when the Daytime Emmy Awards were created. In 2012, the Creative Arts Emmy Awards were created. General Hospital has won 13 Daytime Emmy's for Outstanding Drama Series.[4] In June 2009, TV Guide ranked "Luke and Laura's Wedding" #45 on its list of the 100 Greatest Episodes.[33] During the 1960s, General Hospital earned decent ratings against the likes of To Tell the Truth and The Secret Storm on CBS, but there was a decline as the 1970s came, especially when NBC's Another World became highly popular. For two years, it also faced CBS' The Price Is Right, already a major hit. After continued mediocrity in the Nielsen ratings, ABC was prepared to cancel General Hospital, but decided to give it a second chance in 1978 when it expanded the show to a full hour, from an experimental 45 minutes. However, the expansion came with an ultimatum to the producers that they had six months to improve the show's ratings. Gloria Monty was hired as the new executive producer, and on her first day, she spent an extra $100,000 re-taping four episodes. A miracle occurred thanks to Monty and head writer Douglas Marland; the show became the most watched daytime drama by 1979, marking a rare instance of a daytime serial's comeback from near-extinction. During the wedding of Luke and Laura Spencer on November 17, 1981, about 30 million people tuned in to watch them exchange vows and be cursed by Elizabeth Taylor's Helena Cassadine (later played by Constance Towers). From 1979 to 1988, General Hospital remained number one in the ratings, competing against two low-rated soaps on NBC -- Texas and Santa Barbaraand Guiding Light on CBS (although Guiding Light experienced a renaissance for a brief period in the middle of 1984, and became the #1 rated soap, briefly dethroning General Hospital from the top ratings spot). For the most part, however, General Hospital continued to triumph, even after the departure of popular actors Anthony Geary and Genie Francis in the mid-1980s. Although The Young and the Restless took General Hospital's place as the highest-rated serial in 1989, General Hospital continued to maintain excellent ratings. Even at its peak in the 1980s, General Hospital had been pre-empted in at least two markets in the United States. With the show still number one in the Nielsens, WDTN in Dayton, Ohio pre-empted the series upon joining ABC in January 1980 in favor of Woody Woodpecker and Super Friends cartoons. Later, the station would air such shows as Hour Magazine, Geraldo and Maury in the show's time slot until September 2000, when the station's new owners, Sunrise Broadcasting (which purchased the station from Hearst Broadcasting two years prior), pulled Maury from the station's schedule, due to what it called "community standards", and brought General Hospital back to Dayton. In Vermont and Plattsburgh, WVNY dropped General Hospital from the schedule in the 1980s and would only bring it back in 1995. During that hiatus, General Hospital still aired on Montreal's CFCF-TV, whose signal was decently available in Vermont and Plattsburgh. Ever since the 1991-1992 season of General Hospital, the show has had a steady decline in ratings. On and off, it would rank between third and fifth place in the Nielsen Ratings, with CBS's The Young And The Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful coming in first and second place, respectively. General Hospital remained in between third and fifth place in the ratings during that time and from late 1991 to 1996 All My Children held the title of ABC's highest rated soap. During the 1990s General Hospital was put up against competition such as CBS's As the World Turns and NBC's Days of Our Lives although neither show aired at the same time as General Hospital. After months of speculation and cancellation rumors, Deadline Hollywood reported on April 11, 2012, that ABC quietly made the decision to keep General Hospital on the air and to cancel instead the lower-rated talk show The Revolution.[34] On June 26, 2012, ABC officially announced that General Hospital would move to the 2 p.m. (ET) timeslot starting on September 10, 2012, once Katie Couric's new syndicated talk show, Katie, would begin to air in the 3 p.m. (ET) timeslot on many of ABC's local stations.[35] This represents the first schedule shifting for a daytime soap opera in the United States since CBS relocated As the World Turns from 1:30?p.m. (ET) to 2 p.m. (ET) in 1987. Encore episodes were shown every weeknight on the former cable station SOAPnet, with a marathon on Saturday and classic episodes at 4 A.M. EST and 5 A.M. (3.AM, 4 A.M. CST). ABC stations in the Mountain and Pacific time zones, and in Alaska and Hawaii follow a Central time zone schedule for daytime programming; thus, General Hospital is scheduled by the network to air at 1:00 pm in these areas. For historical ratings information, see List of U.S. daytime soap opera ratings The popularity of General Hospital has gained it many parodies and references in other mainstream programs. For example: General Hospital has many famous fans, including: The success of the long-running soap opera has had one sister serial, one spinoff in the United States, and two primetime spinoffs in the United States and the United Kingdom. The Young Marrieds was ABC's first attempt at a sister serial for General Hospital. It ran for only two years, racking up a total of 380 episodes. Despite its moderate popularity, it was aired against CBS's top-rated The Edge of Night, which it could not compete against. The series finale aired on March 25, 1966, with the show's main protagonist contemplating suicide. It ended in a cliffhanger, leaving the audience wondering if the man had killed himself or not. The Young Marrieds was set in the fictional suburb of Queen's Point, which was considered by the writers to be a suburb of Port Charles. The UK series General Hospital did not feature any characters from the American show, but was modeled after its format. It started as a half-hour program broadcast in the afternoons, which was unusual for British serials that normally aired in prime time. In 1975, it was expanded to an hour-long format and moved to Friday evenings. Port Charles was a daytime drama that initially featured interns in a competitive medical school program,[47] and was known for having more action actually in the hospital than General Hospital itself. It also included the characters of Scotty Baldwin. Serena Baldwin, Lucy Coe, Kevin Collins, and Karen Wexler, all of whom originally appeared as characters on General Hospital.[47] As the show evolved, it tended more towards gothic intrigue, including supernatural elements such as vampires and life after death. It also switched formats from an open-ended daytime serial to 13-week story arcs known as "books", similar to Spanish language telenovelas. General Hospital: Night Shift is the second American prime time spinoff of a daytime drama (the first being Our Private World, a spinoff of As the World Turns). Its first season aired from July 12, 2007, to October 4, 2007, on SOAPnet, a cable channel owned by ABC.[48] The series follows the nighttime adventures of familiar and new characters around the hospital. As of March 2008, the first season of the series was "SOAPnet's most-watched series ever", with ABC Daytime and SOAPnet President Brian Frons noting that Night Shift drew more than 1 million new viewers to the channel during its first season.[49] General Hospital: Twist of Fate was a primetime special that aired on Saturday, December 14, 1996. The episode picked up where that Friday's show had left off. The special centered on Laura's supposed death at the hands of Stefan Cassadine.[50] On April 2, 1998, General Hospital aired a primetime special in celebration of the program's 35th anniversary. Hosted by Anthony Geary, the show focused and recapped on many popular storylines including Monica's breast cancer, BJ's death, and Stone's battle with HIV. This was the first anniversary special that was broadcast in primetime and that didn't include any of the current storyline.[51][52] General Hospital: The Real Soap Dish was a special episode of ABC news program 20/20 aired on April 6, 2013, in honor of General Hospital's 50th anniversary. It focused on the entire history of the soap, including interviews of stars and clips from the series.[53] On September 5, 2014, General Hospital Now was announced as a new Variety Show/Soap web series airing exclusively on ABC.com hosted by longtime cast member Nancy Lee Grahn featuring appearances by the rest of the General Hospital Cast as well as Special Guests beginning in January 2015.[54][55] On May 15 and 18, 2015, General Hospital aired two live episodes as part of its 52nd anniversary celebration, using the hashtag #GHLive to promote the broadcast on social media.[56]

Jari Hill🚨

a mathematical model for data types🚨In computer science, an abstract data type (ADT) is a mathematical model for data types, where a data type is defined by its behavior (semantics) from the point of view of a user of the data, specifically in terms of possible values, possible operations on data of this type, and the behavior of these operations. This contrasts with data structures, which are concrete representations of data, and are the point of view of an implementer, not a user. Formally, an ADT may be defined as a "class of objects whose logical behavior is defined by a set of values and a set of operations";[1] this is analogous to an algebraic structure in mathematics. What is meant by "behavior" varies by author, with the two main types of formal specifications for behavior being axiomatic (algebraic) specification and an abstract model;[2] these correspond to axiomatic semantics and operational semantics of an abstract machine, respectively. Some authors also include the computational complexity ("cost"), both in terms of time (for computing operations) and space (for representing values). In practice many common data types are not ADTs, as the abstraction is not perfect, and users must be aware of issues like arithmetic overflow that are due to the representation. For example, integers are often stored as fixed width values (32-bit or 64-bit binary numbers), and thus experience integer overflow if the maximum value is exceeded. ADTs are a theoretical concept in computer science, used in the design and analysis of algorithms, data structures, and software systems, and do not correspond to specific features of computer languagesmainstream computer languages do not directly support formally specified ADTs. However, various language features correspond to certain aspects of ADTs, and are easily confused with ADTs proper; these include abstract types, opaque data types, protocols, and design by contract. ADTs were first proposed by Barbara Liskov and Stephen N. Zilles in 1974, as part of the development of the CLU language.[3] For example, integers are an ADT, defined as the values , ?2, ?1, 0, 1, 2, , and by the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, together with greater than, less than, etc., which behave according to familiar mathematics (with care for integer division), independently of how the integers are represented by the computer.[a] Explicitly, "behavior" includes obeying various axioms (associativity and commutativity of addition etc.), and preconditions on operations (cannot divide by zero). Typically integers are represented in a data structure as binary numbers, most often as two's complement, but might be binary-coded decimal or in ones' complement, but the user is abstracted from the concrete choice of representation, and can simply use the data as data types. An ADT consists not only of operations, but also of values of the underlying data and of constraints on the operations. An "interface" typically refers only to the operations, and perhaps some of the constraints on the operations, notably pre-conditions and post-conditions, but not other constraints, such as relations between the operations. For example, an abstract stack, which is a last-in-first-out structure, could be defined by three operations: push, that inserts a data item onto the stack; pop, that removes a data item from it; and peek or top, that accesses a data item on top of the stack without removal. An abstract queue, which is a first-in-first-out structure, would also have three operations: enqueue, that inserts a data item into the queue; dequeue, that removes the first data item from it; and front, that accesses and serves the first data item in the queue. There would be no way of differentiating these two data types, unless a mathematical constraint is introduced that for a stack specifies that each pop always returns the most recently pushed item that has not been popped yet. When analyzing the efficiency of algorithms that use stacks, one may also specify that all operations take the same time no matter how many data items have been pushed into the stack, and that the stack uses a constant amount of storage for each element. Abstract data types are purely theoretical entities, used (among other things) to simplify the description of abstract algorithms, to classify and evaluate data structures, and to formally describe the type systems of programming languages. However, an ADT may be implemented by specific data types or data structures, in many ways and in many programming languages; or described in a formal specification language. ADTs are often implemented as modules: the module's interface declares procedures that correspond to the ADT operations, sometimes with comments that describe the constraints. This information hiding strategy allows the implementation of the module to be changed without disturbing the client programs. The term abstract data type can also be regarded as a generalized approach of a number of algebraic structures, such as lattices, groups, and rings.[4] The notion of abstract data types is related to the concept of data abstraction, important in object-oriented programming and design by contract methodologies for software development.[5] An abstract data type is defined as a mathematical model of the data objects that make up a data type as well as the functions that operate on these objects. There are no standard conventions for defining them. A broad division may be drawn between "imperative" and "functional" definition styles. In the philosophy of imperative programming languages, an abstract data structure is conceived as an entity that is mutablemeaning that it may be in different states at different times. Some operations may change the state of the ADT; therefore, the order in which operations are evaluated is important, and the same operation on the same entities may have different effects if executed at different timesjust like the instructions of a computer, or the commands and procedures of an imperative language. To underscore this view, it is customary to say that the operations are executed or applied, rather than evaluated. The imperative style is often used when describing abstract algorithms. (See The Art of Computer Programming by Donald Knuth for more details) Imperative-style definitions of ADT often depend on the concept of an abstract variable, which may be regarded as the simplest non-trivial ADT. An abstract variable V is a mutable entity that admits two operations: with the constraint that As in so many programming languages, the operation store(V, x) is often written V K x (or some similar notation), and fetch(V) is implied whenever a variable V is used in a context where a value is required. Thus, for example, V K V + 1 is commonly understood to be a shorthand for store(V,fetch(V) + 1). In this definition, it is implicitly assumed that storing a value into a variable U has no effect on the state of a distinct variable V. To make this assumption explicit, one could add the constraint that More generally, ADT definitions often assume that any operation that changes the state of one ADT instance has no effect on the state of any other instance (including other instances of the same ADT) unless the ADT axioms imply that the two instances are connected (aliased) in that sense. For example, when extending the definition of abstract variable to include abstract records, the operation that selects a field from a record variable R must yield a variable V that is aliased to that part of R. The definition of an abstract variable V may also restrict the stored values x to members of a specific set X, called the range or type of V. As in programming languages, such restrictions may simplify the description and analysis of algorithms, and improve their readability. Note that this definition does not imply anything about the result of evaluating fetch(V) when V is un-initialized, that is, before performing any store operation on V. An algorithm that does so is usually considered invalid, because its effect is not defined. (However, there are some important algorithms whose efficiency strongly depends on the assumption that such a fetch is legal, and returns some arbitrary value in the variable's range.[citation needed]) Some algorithms need to create new instances of some ADT (such as new variables, or new stacks). To describe such algorithms, one usually includes in the ADT definition a create() operation that yields an instance of the ADT, usually with axioms equivalent to This axiom may be strengthened to exclude also partial aliasing with other instances. On the other hand, this axiom still allows implementations of create() to yield a previously created instance that has become inaccessible to the program. As another example, an imperative-style definition of an abstract stack could specify that the state of a stack S can be modified only by the operations with the constraint that Since the assignment V K x, by definition, cannot change the state of S, this condition implies that V K pop(S) restores S to the state it had before the push(S, x). From this condition and from the properties of abstract variables, it follows, for example, that the sequence where x, y, and z are any values, and U, V, W are pairwise distinct variables, is equivalent to Here it is implicitly assumed that operations on a stack instance do not modify the state of any other ADT instance, including other stacks; that is, An abstract stack definition usually includes also a Boolean-valued function empty(S) and a create() operation that returns a stack instance, with axioms equivalent to Sometimes an ADT is defined as if only one instance of it existed during the execution of the algorithm, and all operations were applied to that instance, which is not explicitly notated. For example, the abstract stack above could have been defined with operations push(x) and pop(), that operate on the only existing stack. ADT definitions in this style can be easily rewritten to admit multiple coexisting instances of the ADT, by adding an explicit instance parameter (like S in the previous example) to every operation that uses or modifies the implicit instance. On the other hand, some ADTs cannot be meaningfully defined without assuming multiple instances. This is the case when a single operation takes two distinct instances of the ADT as parameters. For an example, consider augmenting the definition of the abstract stack with an operation compare(S, T) that checks whether the stacks S and T contain the same items in the same order. Another way to define an ADT, closer to the spirit of functional programming, is to consider each state of the structure as a separate entity. In this view, any operation that modifies the ADT is modeled as a mathematical function that takes the old state as an argument, and returns the new state as part of the result. Unlike the imperative operations, these functions have no side effects. Therefore, the order in which they are evaluated is immaterial, and the same operation applied to the same arguments (including the same input states) will always return the same results (and output states). In the functional view, in particular, there is no way (or need) to define an "abstract variable" with the semantics of imperative variables (namely, with fetch and store operations). Instead of storing values into variables, one passes them as arguments to functions. For example, a complete functional-style definition of an abstract stack could use the three operations: In a functional-style definition there is no need for a create operation. Indeed, there is no notion of "stack instance". The stack states can be thought of as being potential states of a single stack structure, and two stack states that contain the same values in the same order are considered to be identical states. This view actually mirrors the behavior of some concrete implementations, such as linked lists with hash cons. Instead of create(), a functional-style definition of an abstract stack may assume the existence of a special stack state, the empty stack, designated by a special symbol like or "()"; or define a bottom() operation that takes no arguments and returns this special stack state. Note that the axioms imply that In a functional-style definition of a stack one does not need an empty predicate: instead, one can test whether a stack is empty by testing whether it is equal to . Note that these axioms do not define the effect of top(s) or pop(s), unless s is a stack state returned by a push. Since push leaves the stack non-empty, those two operations are undefined (hence invalid) when s = . On the other hand, the axioms (and the lack of side effects) imply that push(s, x) = push(t, y) if and only if x = y and s = t. As in some other branches of mathematics, it is customary to assume also that the stack states are only those whose existence can be proved from the axioms in a finite number of steps. In the abstract stack example above, this rule means that every stack is a finite sequence of values, that becomes the empty stack () after a finite number of pops. By themselves, the axioms above do not exclude the existence of infinite stacks (that can be poped forever, each time yielding a different state) or circular stacks (that return to the same state after a finite number of pops). In particular, they do not exclude states s such that pop(s) = s or push(s, x) = s for some x. However, since one cannot obtain such stack states with the given operations, they are assumed "not to exist". Aside from the behavior in terms of axioms, it is also possible to include, in the definition of an ADT operation, their algorithmic complexity. Alexander Stepanov, designer of the C++ Standard Template Library, included complexity guarantees in the STL specification, arguing: The reason for introducing the notion of abstract data types was to allow interchangeable software modules. You cannot have interchangeable modules unless these modules share similar complexity behavior. If I replace one module with another module with the same functional behavior but with different complexity tradeoffs, the user of this code will be unpleasantly surprised. I could tell him anything I like about data abstraction, and he still would not want to use the code. Complexity assertions have to be part of the interface. Abstraction provides a promise that any implementation of the ADT has certain properties and abilities; knowing these is all that is required to make use of an ADT object. The user does not need any technical knowledge of how the implementation works to use the ADT. In this way, the implementation may be complex but will be encapsulated in a simple interface when it is actually used. Code that uses an ADT object will not need to be edited if the implementation of the ADT is changed. Since any changes to the implementation must still comply with the interface, and since code using an ADT object may only refer to properties and abilities specified in the interface, changes may be made to the implementation without requiring any changes in code where the ADT is used. Different implementations of the ADT, having all the same properties and abilities, are equivalent and may be used somewhat interchangeably in code that uses the ADT. This gives a great deal of flexibility when using ADT objects in different situations. For example, different implementations of the ADT may be more efficient in different situations; it is possible to use each in the situation where they are preferable, thus increasing overall efficiency. Some operations that are often specified for ADTs (possibly under other names) are In imperative-style ADT definitions, one often finds also The free operation is not normally relevant or meaningful, since ADTs are theoretical entities that do not "use memory". However, it may be necessary when one needs to analyze the storage used by an algorithm that uses the ADT. In that case one needs additional axioms that specify how much memory each ADT instance uses, as a function of its state, and how much of it is returned to the pool by free. Some common ADTs, which have proved useful in a great variety of applications, are Each of these ADTs may be defined in many ways and variants, not necessarily equivalent. For example, an abstract stack may or may not have a count operation that tells how many items have been pushed and not yet popped. This choice makes a difference not only for its clients but also for the implementation. An extension of ADT for computer graphics was proposed in 1979:[7] an abstract graphical data type (AGDT). It was introduced by Nadia Magnenat Thalmann, and Daniel Thalmann. AGDTs provide the advantages of ADTs with facilities to build graphical objects in a structured way. Implementing an ADT means providing one procedure or function for each abstract operation. The ADT instances are represented by some concrete data structure that is manipulated by those procedures, according to the ADT's specifications. Usually there are many ways to implement the same ADT, using several different concrete data structures. Thus, for example, an abstract stack can be implemented by a linked list or by an array. In order to prevent clients from depending on the implementation, an ADT is often packaged as an opaque data type in one or more modules, whose interface contains only the signature (number and types of the parameters and results) of the operations. The implementation of the modulenamely, the bodies of the procedures and the concrete data structure usedcan then be hidden from most clients of the module. This makes it possible to change the implementation without affecting the clients. If the implementation is exposed, it is known instead as a transparent data type. When implementing an ADT, each instance (in imperative-style definitions) or each state (in functional-style definitions) is usually represented by a handle of some sort.[8] Modern object-oriented languages, such as C++ and Java, support a form of abstract data types. When a class is used as a type, it is an abstract type that refers to a hidden representation. In this model an ADT is typically implemented as a class, and each instance of the ADT is usually an object of that class. The module's interface typically declares the constructors as ordinary procedures, and most of the other ADT operations as methods of that class. However, such an approach does not easily encapsulate multiple representational variants found in an ADT. It also can undermine the extensibility of object-oriented programs. In a pure object-oriented program that uses interfaces as types, types refer to behaviors not representations. As an example, here is an implementation of the abstract stack above in the C programming language. An imperative-style interface might be: This interface could be used in the following manner: This interface can be implemented in many ways. The implementation may be arbitrarily inefficient, since the formal definition of the ADT, above, does not specify how much space the stack may use, nor how long each operation should take. It also does not specify whether the stack state s continues to exist after a call x K pop(s). In practice the formal definition should specify that the space is proportional to the number of items pushed and not yet popped; and that every one of the operations above must finish in a constant amount of time, independently of that number. To comply with these additional specifications, the implementation could use a linked list, or an array (with dynamic resizing) together with two integers (an item count and the array size). Functional-style ADT definitions are more appropriate for functional programming languages, and vice versa. However, one can provide a functional-style interface even in an imperative language like C. For example: Many modern programming languages, such as C++ and Java, come with standard libraries that implement several common ADTs, such as those listed above. The specification of some programming languages is intentionally vague about the representation of certain built-in data types, defining only the operations that can be done on them. Therefore, those types can be viewed as "built-in ADTs". Examples are the arrays in many scripting languages, such as Awk, Lua, and Perl, which can be regarded as an implementation of the abstract list.

Legacy Light or Skybeam🚨The Space Needle is an observation tower in Seattle, Washington, a landmark of the Pacific Northwest, and an icon of Seattle. It was built in the Seattle Center for the 1962 World's Fair, which drew over 2.3 million visitors, when nearly 20,000 people a day used its elevators. Once the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River,[7] it is 605?ft (184?m) high, 138?ft (42?m) wide, and weighs 9,550 tons. It is built to withstand winds of up to 200 miles per hour (89?m/s) and earthquakes of up to 9.1 magnitude,[8] as strong as the 1700 Cascadia earthquake. It also has 25 lightning rods. It has an observation deck at 520?ft (160?m) and the rotating SkyCity restaurant at 500?ft (150?m).[7] The downtown Seattle skyline, as well as the Olympic and Cascade Mountains, Mount Rainier, Mount Baker, Elliott Bay and surrounding islands can be viewed from the top of the Needle. Photographs of the Seattle skyline often show the Space Needle prominently, above skyscrapers and Mount Rainier. Visitors can reach the top of the Space Needle by elevators that travel at 10 miles per hour (4.5?m/s). The trip takes 41 seconds. On windy days, the elevators slow to 5 miles per hour (2.2?m/s). On April 19, 1999, the city's Landmarks Preservation Board designated it a historic landmark.[7][9] In September 2017, the restaurant was temporarily closed as part of a $100 million renovation that is scheduled for completion in May 2018. The renovation includes the installation of a new rotation motor and see-through glass floors in the restaurant, as well as the replacement of the observation deck's wire enclosure with glass panels. The observation deck will remain open for the duration of the project.[10] The architecture of the Space Needle is the result of a compromise between the designs of two men, Edward E. Carlson and John Graham, Jr. The two leading ideas for the World Fair involved businessman Edward E. Carlson's sketch of a giant balloon tethered to the ground (see the gently sloping base) and architect John Graham's concept of a flying saucer (see the halo that houses the restaurant and observation deck).[7] Victor Steinbrueck introduced the hourglass profile of the tower.[11] The Space Needle was built to withstand wind speeds of 200?mph (322?km/h), double the requirements in the building code of 1962. The 6.8 Mw Nisqually earthquake jolted the Needle enough in 2001 for water to slosh out of the toilets in the restrooms. The Space Needle will not sustain serious structural damage during earthquakes of magnitudes below 9. Also made to withstand Category 5 hurricane-force winds, the Space Needle sways only 1?inch per 10?mph (16?mm per 10?km/h) of wind speed. For decades, the hovering disk of the Space Needle was home to two restaurants 500?ft (150?m) above the ground: the Space Needle Restaurant, which was originally named Eye of the Needle, and Emerald Suite. These were closed in 2000 to make way for SkyCity, a larger restaurant that features Pacific Northwest cuisine. It rotates 360 degrees in exactly forty-seven minutes.[12] In 1993, the elevators were replaced with new computerized versions. The new elevators descend at a rate of 10 miles per hour (4.5?m/s). On December 31, 1999, a powerful beam of light was unveiled for the first time. Called the Legacy Light or Skybeam, it is powered by lamps that total 85 million candela shining skyward from the top of the Space Needle to honor national holidays and special occasions in Seattle. The concept of this beam was derived from the official 1962 World's Fair poster, which depicted such a light source although none was incorporated into the original design. It is somewhat controversial because of the light pollution it creates.[13] Originally planned to be turned on 75 nights per year, it has generally been used fewer than a dozen times per year. It did remain lit for eleven days in a row from September 11, 2001, to September 22, 2001, in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks.[14] A 1962 Seattle World's Fair poster[15] showed a grand spiral entryway leading to the elevator that was ultimately omitted from final building plans.[16] The stairway was eventually added as part of the Pavilion and Spacebase remodel in June 2000. The main stairwell has 848 steps from the basement to the top of the observation deck.[7] At approximately 605?ft (184?m), the Space Needle was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River at the time it was built by Howard S. Wright Construction Co., but is now dwarfed by other structures along the Seattle skyline, among them the Columbia Center, at 967?ft (295?m).[17] Unlike many other similar structures, such as the CN Tower in Toronto, the Space Needle is not used for broadcasting purposes. Edward F. Carlson, chairman of the 1962 World's Fair in Seattle, originally had an idea for erecting a tower with a restaurant at the World's Fair. Carlson was then president of a hotel company and not previously known for art or design, but he was inspired by a recent visit to the Stuttgart Tower of Germany. John Graham, an architect who had won praise for designing the Northgate Mall in Seattle, soon became involved. Graham's first move was to alter the restaurant featured in the plans to a revolving restaurant, in the same manner as on a tower (La Ronde) he had previously designed for the Ala Moana Shopping Center. The proposed Space Needle had no land where they could build. Since it was not financed by the city, land had to be purchased that was within the fairgrounds. The investors thought that there would be no land available to build a tower and the search for a site was nearly dead when, in 1961, they discovered a plot, 120 by 120?ft (37 by 37?m), containing switching equipment for the fire and police alarm systems. The land sold for $75,000. At this point, only one year remained before the World's Fair would begin. It was privately built and financed by the Pentagram Corporation, which consisted of Bagley Wright, contractor Howard S. Wright, architect John Graham, Ned Skinner, and Norton Clapp. In 1977 Bagley, Skinner and Clapp sold their interest to Howard Wright who now controls it under the name of Space Needle Corporation.[18] The earthquake stability of the Space Needle was ensured when a hole was dug 30?ft (9.1?m) deep and 120?ft (37?m) across, and 467 concrete trucks took one full day to fill it. The foundation weighs 5850 tons (including 250 tons of reinforcing steel), the same as the above-ground structure. The structure is bolted to the foundation with 72 bolts, each one 30?ft (9.1?m) long. With time an issue, the construction team worked around the clock. The domed top, housing the top five levels (including the restaurants and observation deck), was perfectly balanced so that the restaurant could rotate with the help of one tiny electric motor, originally 0.8 kilowatts (1.1?hp), later replaced with a 1.1 kilowatts (1.5?hp) motor. With paint colors named Orbital Olive for the body, Astronaut White for the legs, Re-entry Red for the saucer, and Galaxy Gold for the roof, the Space Needle was finished in less than one year. It was completed in April 1962 at a cost of $4.5 million. The last elevator car was installed the day before the Fair opened on April 21. During the course of the Fair nearly 20,000 people a day rode the elevators to the Observation Deck. The 20,000 mark was never reached, missed by fewer than 50 people one day. At the time of construction, it was the tallest building in the West, taking the title from the Smith Tower across town that had held that title since 1914. The revolving restaurant was operated by Western International Hotels, of which Carlson was President,[19] under a 20-year contract from April 1, 1962 to April 1, 1982.[20] An imitation carillon[21] (a multi-bell musical device) was installed in the Space Needle, and played several times a day during the World's Fair. The instrument, built by the Schulmerich Bells Company of Hatfield, Pennsylvania[22] under the name "Carillon Americana," recreated the sounds of 538 bells and was the largest in the world, until eclipsed by a 732 bell instrument at the 1964 New York World's Fair. The operator's console was located in the base of the Space Needle, completely enclosed in glass to allow observation of the musician playing the instrument. It was also capable of being played from a roll, just as a player piano would be. The forty-four stentors (speakers) of the carillon were located underneath the Needle's disc at the 200 foot level, and were audible over the entire fairgrounds and up to ten miles away.[23] The carillon was disassembled after the fair's close. The carillon bells were featured on an LP record called "Bells On Hi-Fi" (catalog number AR-8, produced by Americana Records, of Sellersville, Pennsylvania). There are 12 pieces recorded on the "Carillon Americana" before it was installed in the Space Needle, performed by noted carilloneur John Klein (1915-1981).[24][25] In 1974, author Stephen Cosgrove's children's book Wheedle on the Needle postulated a furry creature called a Wheedle who lived on top of the Space Needle and caused its light to flash. Its closing quatrain is: There's a Wheedle on the Needle?/ I know just what you're thinking?/ But if you look up late at night?/ You'll see his red nose blinking. The Wheedle has since become a fixture of Seattle. It even became the mascot of the Seattle SuperSonics National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise, who played in nearby KeyArena (originally known as the Seattle Center Coliseum). The SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City on July 3, 2008. In 1982, the SkyLine level was added at a height of 100?ft (30?m). While this level had been depicted in the original plans for the Space Needle, it was not built until this time. Today, the SkyLine Banquet Facility can accommodate groups of 20ÿ360 people. Renovations were completed in 2000 that cost approximately the same as the original construction price ($21 million in current currency). Renovations between 1999 and 2000 included the SkyCity restaurant, SpaceBase retail store, Skybeam installation, Observation Deck overhaul, lighting additions and repainting. Every year on New Year's Eve, the Space Needle celebrates with a fireworks show at midnight that is synchronized to music. The worldwide renowned fireworks artist from Bellevue, Alberto Navarro has been designing the show for the past 20 year since its inception in 1994. In 2000, public celebrations were canceled but the fireworks show was still performed because of perceived terror threats against the structure after investigations into the foiled millennium bombing plots. On May 19, 2007, the Space Needle welcomed its 45 millionth visitor, Greg Novoa of San Francisco. He received a free trip for two to Paris, which included a VIP dinner at the Eiffel Tower.[26] In May 2008, the Space Needle received its first professional cleaning since the opening of the 1962 World's Fair. The monument was pressure washed by K?rcher[27] with water at a pressure of 20,000 kilopascals (2,900?psi) and a temperature of 90?C (194?F). No detergents were used in consideration of the Seattle Center and the EMP building.[28] As part of the celebration of its 50th anniversary, the Needle was painted "Galaxy Gold" in April 2012, the same color used when the needle was originally constructed for the 1962 World's Fair.[29] This temporary makeover, intended to last through the summer, is not the Needle's first: it had the University of Washington (UW) Huskies football team logo painted on after the team won the 1992 Rose Bowl, appeared as a giant "Wheel of Fortune" in 1995, was painted crimson after Washington State won the Apple Cup,[30] and has been seen in Seattle SuperSonics colors.[7] A renovation of the top of the Space Needle was begun in the summer of 2017, to add an all-glass floor to the restaurant, and replace the observation platform windows with unbroken floor-to-ceiling glass panels unobstructed by mullions to more closely match the 1962 original concept sketches, as well as various upgrades and updates to the internal systems. Called the Century Project, the work is scheduled to finish by June 2018, at a cost of $100 million in private funds. The rotating restaurant's motor will be replaced, and the elevator capacity will be increased by adding elevators, or double-stacking them, and the energy efficiency of the building will be improved with the aim of achieving LEED Silver Certification. The temporary scaffold's 28,000-pound (13,000?kg), 44,650-square-foot (4,148?m2) platform under the top structure was assembled on the ground, and then lifted by cables 500?ft (150?m) from the ground to the underside of the structure, controlled by 12 operators standing on the platform as it was raised. The platform is the largest in circumference ever made by Safway Services, a company specializing in unique construction scaffolding.[31][32][33][34] Six parachutists have leaped from the tower since its opening, in a sport known as BASE jumping. This activity is only legal with prior consent. Four of them were part of an authorized promotion in 1996,[35] and the other two were arrested.[36] Paul D. Baker was the first person to jump from the Space Needle in a successful suicide attempt on March 4, 1974.[37] Mary Lucille Wolf purchased a ticket for the elevator to the observation deck on May 25, 1974 where she proceeded to scale the glass fence surrounding the deck onto the edge and jumped off in what the Seattle Police Department called "an obvious suicide".[37] Police found a correspondence in Wolf's purse that was from a friend extending their condolences regarding the recent death of Wolf's husband.[37] Following the two suicides in 1974 a netting and additional fencing were installed on the observation deck.[38] However, another suicide occurred on July 5, 1978 when an unidentified "young woman" as described in a United Press International report climbed over the suicide-prevention netting and leaped to her death on the northeast side of the structure.[39] Being a major symbol of the Pacific Northwest, the Space Needle has made numerous appearances in films, TV shows and other works of fiction. A few examples of films include It Happened at the World's Fair (1962), where it was used as a filming location, and Sleepless in Seattle (1993). In the 1974 film The Parallax View, the inside and outside platforms of the observation deck are the setting for a political assassination, and there's a brief chase on the roof above it. In the 1999 film Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, it served as a base of operations for the villain Doctor Evil with the word Starbucks written across its saucer after his henchman Number 2 shifted the organization's resources toward the coffee company.[40][41][42] It is also featured prominently in Chronicle (2012), and is a key element in the film's climax. On April 1, 2015, public radio station KPLU 88.5 FM reported in the news story "Proposed Development To 'Assimilate' Seattle's Landmark Space Needle?" that a permit application (Notice of Proposed Land Use Action) had been submitted "to construct a 666 unit cube to assimilate" the landmark. The story is an April Fools' Day practical joke.[43] In TV shows, one of the most prominent showings is in the series Frasier where an outline of it appears in the opening credits and the base of it is visible from the high-rise condo although the view is really a composite image as there are no high rise condos in the right area of that height.[44] Other TV appearances include The History Channel's Life After People, in which it collapses after 200 years because of corrosion. It was also destroyed in the TV miniseries 10.5 when a 7.9 earthquake hits Seattle. The movie mistakenly portrays the Needle as crumbling concrete, though the structure is actually made of iron and designed to withstand up to a 9.0 earthquake. The needle is also featured in some episodes of Bill Nye the Science Guy, such as the episode "Storms" where Bill Nye uses the lightning rod on top of it as an example of conducting lightning strikes. Max Guevara, the main character from the series Dark Angel which is set in a post-apocalyptic Seattle, is often seen on the roof of the derelict Space Needle.[45] The Space Needle has been used for some other purposes as well, including a 57 piece Lego construction set of it that has been released as part of Lego Architecture's structures.[46][47] The top of the Space Needle decorated for Memorial Day Night view The Space Needle in the 1960s A 1962 commemorative postage stamp of the Space Needle View of the Space Needle from base View from the base of the Needle The Space Needle, framed on a foggy night by the ferris wheel The gift shop in the Space Needle The Space Needle at night as seen from Kerry Park Supporting nut and bolt at base of the Space Needle The Space Needle seen at sunset The Space Needle in the foreground of an aerial photo of Seattle; the Museum of Pop Culture adjacent to the Space Needle, on the left The Seattle Center International Fountain with the Space Needle in the background Downtown Seattle seen from atop the Space Needle

2 shift solenoids🚨The 4L60-E (and similar 4L65-E) is a series of automatic transmissions from General Motors. Designed for longitudinal engine configurations, the series includes 4 forward gears and 1 reverse gear. It is an evolution of the Turbo-Hydramatic 700R4, originally produced in 1982. The 4L60-E and 4L65-E are built at Toledo Transmission in Toledo, Ohio and have also been built at Romulus Transmission in Romulus, Michigan and Ramos Arizpe, Mexico. The two transmissions are differentiated quickly by the 6 or 7 bolt bell housings. 4L60 uses a 6.5" depth bell and 4L65/70 uses a 7" depth bell . They also have different input shafts and torque converters. 4L60s uses a 298mm input shaft. 4L65/4L70 uses a 300mm input shaft and converter designed for LS applications only. 5 pin planetaries vary by application only Only corvettes and HD vehicles came equipped with 5 pins. Gear ratios: The THM700 was renamed "4L60" (RPO MD8) following the new General Motors naming convention, when the electronic version, 4L60-E (RPO M30), was phased in. This happened in 1993 for trucks, vans, and SUVs, and 1994 for rear wheel drive passenger cars. In 1996, a bolt-on bell housing was phased in (along with a six-bolt tailhousing) for S-10 Trucks and S-10 Blazers and beginning in 1998 for all other applications. Beginning in 1998 a new 300mm torque converter with improved higher-capacity internals, 300mm style input shaft, and 300mm style pump was also introduced on models coupled to a Gen III Small Block. The 4L60-E is rated to handle up to 360?ft{lbf (488?N{m) of torque. It weighs 133 pounds without transmission fluid.[1] The 4L60-E family of transmissions use 2 shift solenoids, initially called Shift Solenoid A & Shift Solenoid B, later changed to comply with OBD II (On Board Diagnostics revision 2) regulations to 1-2 Shift Solenoid & 2-3 Shift solenoid. By activating and deactivating the solenoids in a predetermined pattern by the PCM, 4 distinct gear ratios can be achieved. The shift solenoid pattern, also sometimes referred to as solenoid firing order, is as follows; Shift Solenoid Pattern Applications: An updated 4L60-E, the 4L65-E (RPO M32), was phased in the 2001 model year when coupled behind the 6.0 Vortec. Five-pinion front and rear planetaries, along with an additional 3/4 clutch allowing 7 clutches in the input housing and induction hardened input shaft assembly, were improved to withstand up to 380?ft{lbs (515?N{m) of torque. Applications:

765,393🚨As of June 2018, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) reported 765,393 members in 102 stakes and 73 districts,[1] 1,218 congregations, 21 missions, and 2 operating temples, with 3 additional temples announced, in the Philippines.[2] Effective August 2018, the church's Philippines Area will include Evan A. Schmutz as president, with Michael John U. Teh and Taniela B. Wakolo as counselors.[3] The first contact the church had with the Philippines was in 1898 during the SpanishÿAmerican War. Two LDS men, Willard Call and George Seaman, who were part of the United States artillery battery, were set apart as missionaries and began to proselytize after being deployed to the Philippines. However, they met with little success.[4] Active proselytizing stopped on the onset of World War II.[5] The first Filipino to join the LDS Church was Aneleta Pabilona Fajardo in 1945, who was introduced to the church by Maxine Grimm, who was in the Philippines with the Red Cross in the aftermath of World War II.[4] The Luzon Serviceman's District was organized during the Korean War under the Japanese Mission for American servicemen stationed in the Philippines. In August 1955, the district was then transferred to the newly organized Southern Far East Mission, under the direction of Joseph Fielding Smith, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve.[4] During this time, Smith visited the Philippines. Due to legal issues, the LDS Church could not send missionaries to the country. Missionary work, however, was done by LDS servicemen and American residents, including Kendall B. Schaefermeyer, a returned missionary serving in the U.S. Navy.[4] He had baptized four Filipinos by October 1957 and was teaching more than 20 others.[4] During 1960, Gordon B. Hinckley, then an Assistant to the Twelve, and apostle Ezra Taft Benson, visited the Philippines.[4] The purpose of the visit was mainly to see the work of the LDS servicemen groups, but they brought back encouraging reports of the missionary work being done among the native Filipinos.[4] The church obtained official recognition in the Philippines in 1961 when Robert S. Taylor, president of the Southern Far East Mission, filed the paperwork with the Philippine government.[4] Subsequently, on 28 April 1961 in a meeting with servicemen, American residents, and Filipino members, Hinckley rededicated the country.[4] The first American missionaries (Ray Goodson, Harry Murray, Kent Lowe and Nestor Ledesma) arrived in Manila two months later.[4] One of the first converts after official recognition was the family of Jos Gutierez, Sr. After the end of the years, six more were baptized.[4] Due to growth that followed, the Philippines was organized into its own mission by 1967, with Paul S. Rose as the first president.[4] In 1969, the church spread across the islands, having the highest amount of baptisms compared to every other area of the world.[5] This led to the division of the Philippines Mission in 1974 into two separate missions, the Philippines Manila and Philippines Cebu City missions.[4] The first stake in the Philippines was formed in Manila on 20 May 1973.[2][6] In September of 2017, the number of stakes in the Philippines reached 100, only the fifth nation in the world to reach that milestone.[7] Church president Spencer W. Kimball presided over two area conferences, one in 1975 and another in 1980.[4] During the area conference in 1980, Kimball met with then-President Ferdinand Marcos at Malaca?ang Palace.[4] In 1987, Manila became the headquarters of the church's Philippines/Micronesia Area.[4] Augusto A. Lim, the first Filipino general authority, was called to the Second Quorum of Seventy in June 1992.[4] In 1987, the Book of Mormon was translated into Tagalog by Ricardo Cruz, with the assistance of Posidio Ocampo and Ananias Bala in the final stages of production.[8] Since then, the Book of Mormon has been translated to several other languages of the Philippines. Location: Announced: Dedicated: ?Size: Style: Quezon City, Philippines 1 April 1981 25 September 1984?by Gordon B. Hinckley 26,683?sq?ft (2,479?m2) and 115?ft (35?m)?high on a 3.5?acre (1.4?ha) site Modern adaptation of six-spire design?- designed by Church A&E Services with Felipe M. Mendoza & Partners Location: Announced: Dedicated: ?Size: ?Notes: Cebu City, Philippines April 18, 2006 June 13, 2010?by Thomas S. Monson 29,556?sq?ft (2,746?m2) and 140?ft (43?m)?high on a 11.6?acre (4.7?ha) site Announced by letter to local priesthood leaders in April 2006.[10] Location: Announced: ?Size: ?Notes: Urdaneta City, Philippines 2 October 2010 TBD Announced by Thomas S. Monson in General Conference, 2 October 2010.[11] Location: Announced: ?Notes: Manila, Philippines 2 April 2017 Announced by Thomas S. Monson on 2 April 2017[12] Location: Announced: ?Notes: Cagayan de Oro, Philippines April 1, 2018 Announced by Russell M. Nelson on April 1, 2018[13] The Philippines has its own Missionary Training Center (MTC) where native Filipinos receive missionary training in their own language. The first MTC was dedicated on October 8, 1983, and was housed in a private rented residence. The second MTC was opened July 13, 1992, and stands across the road from the Manila temple.[14] In 2011, the MTC underwent extensive remodeling and was rededicated in May 2012 by Russell M. Nelson.[14] Other nations, including those listed below, send missionaries to the Philippines MTC to receive training in their native language.[15] As of January 2017, the MTC president is Rodolfo A. Carlos.[16]

Highway 401🚨 Highway 407 near Milton King's Highway?401, commonly referred to as Highway 401 and also known by its official name as the MacdonaldÿCartier Freeway or colloquially as the four-oh-one,[3] is a controlled-access 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. It stretches 828.0 kilometres (514.5?mi) from Windsor in the west to the OntarioÿQuebec border in the east. The part of Highway?401 that passes through Toronto is North America's busiest highway,[4][5] and one of the widest.[6][7] Together with Quebec Autoroute 20, it forms the road transportation backbone of the Quebec CityÿWindsor Corridor, along which over half of Canada's population resides and is also a Core Route in the National Highway System of Canada. The route is maintained by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) and patrolled by the Ontario Provincial Police. The speed limit is 100?km/h (62?mph) throughout its length, unless posted otherwise. By the end of 1952, three individual highways were numbered "Highway?401": the partially completed Toronto Bypass between Weston Road and Highway?11 (Yonge Street); Highway?2A between West Hill and Newcastle; and the Scenic Highway between Gananoque and Brockville, now known as the Thousand Islands Parkway. These three sections of highway were 11.8, 54.7 and 41.2?km, (7.3, 34.0 and 25.6?mi), respectively. In 1964, the route became fully navigable from Windsor to the OntarioÿQuebec border. In 1965 it was given a second designation, the MacdonaldÿCartier Freeway, in honour of two Fathers of Confederation. At the end of 1968, the GananoqueÿBrockville section was bypassed and the final intersection grade-separated near Kingston, making Highway?401 a freeway for its entire 817.9-km length. On August 24, 2007, the portion of the highway between Glen Miller Road in Trenton and the Don Valley Parkway?/ Highway?404 Junction in Toronto was designated the Highway of Heroes, as the road is travelled by funeral convoys for fallen Canadian Forces personnel from CFB Trenton to the coroner's office in Toronto. On September 27, 2013, the Highway of Heroes designation was extended west to Keele Street in Toronto, to coincide with the move of the coroner's office to the new Forensic Services and Coroner's Complex at the Humber River Hospital. In 2011, construction began on a westward extension called the Right Honourable Herb Gray Parkway. This new route follows, but does not replace, former Highway?3 between the former end of the freeway and the E. C. Row Expressway, at which point it turns and parallels that route towards the site of the future Gordie Howe International Bridge. An 8-kilometre (5?mi) section of the parkway, east of the E. C. Row interchange, opened on June?28, 2015, with the remaining section completed and opened on November 21. Elsewhere in Ontario, plans are under way to widen the remaining four-lane sections between Windsor and London to six lanes and to widen the route between Kitchener and Milton as well as through Oshawa. The expansive twelve-plus-lane collectorÿexpress system will also be extended west through Mississauga to Milton and east through Ajax and Whitby. Highway?401 extends across Southwestern, Central and Eastern Ontario. In anticipation of the future expansion of the highway, the transportation ministry purchased a 91.4-metre-wide (300?ft) right-of-way along the entire length. Generally, the highway occupies only a portion of this allotment.[8] It is one of the world's busiest highways;[6] a 2008 analysis stated the annual average daily traffic (AADT) count between Weston Road and Highway?400 in Toronto was approximately 450,000,[2] while a second study estimate over 500,000?vehicles travel that section on some days.[5] This makes it North America's busiest roadway, surpassing the Santa Monica Freeway in Los Angeles and I-75 in Atlanta.[7][9] The just-in-time auto parts delivery systems of the highly integrated automotive industry of Michigan and Ontario have contributed to the highway's status as the world's busiest truck route,[10] carrying 60?percent of vehicular trade between Canada and the US.[7] Highway?401 also features North America's busiest multi-structure bridge, located at Hogg's Hollow in Toronto.[10] The four bridges, two for each direction with the collector and express lanes, carried an average of 373,700?vehicles daily in 2006.[2] The highway is one of the major backbones of a network in the Great Lakes region, connecting the populous Quebec CityÿWindsor corridor with Michigan, New York and central Ontario's cottage country.[11] It is the principal connection between Toronto and Montreal, becoming Autoroute?20 at the OntarioÿQuebec border.[12] Highway?401 does not yet extend the last few kilometres to Detroit;[13] an extension to Brighton Beach (at the CanadaÿUS border in Windsor) was completed in November 2015, after which the Gordie Howe International Bridge will extend Highway?401 across the CanadaÿUnited States border through Delray to Interstate 75 in Michigan by 2019.[14][15] At present, Highway?401 begins as a six-lane freeway at the west end of the E. C. Row Expressway. At the Dougall Parkway, the highway turns east and exits Windsor.[16] From here, Highway?401 mostly parallels the former route of Highway?98 from Windsor to Tilbury.[17] Southwestern Ontario is flat, primarily agricultural land, that takes advantage of the fertile clay soil deposited throughout the region.[18][19] The main river through the region is the Thames River, which drains the second largest watershed in southern Ontario and largely influences the land use surrounding the highway;[20] It parallels the route to the north between Tilbury and Woodstock.[16] Near Tilbury, Highway?401 loses its tall wall median barrier and narrows to four lanes, following lot lines laid between concession roads in a plan designed to limit damage to the sensitive agricultural lands through which the highway runs.[21] Here the highway's flat and straight route is notorious for leading to driver inattention.[22] The section from Windsor to London (especially west of Tilbury) has become known for deadly car accidents and pile-ups, earning it the nickname Carnage Alley.[23] As the highway approaches London, Highway?402 merges in,[16] resulting in a six-lane cross-section.[24][25] Within London, it intersects the city's two municipal expressways, Highbury Avenue and the Veterans Memorial Parkway.[26] The section between London and Woodstock generally parallels the former Highway?2 but lies on the south side of the Thames River.[16] This area is not as flat but the highway is generally straight. This part of Highway?401 often experiences heavy snowsqualls in early winter, sometimes extending as far east as Toronto. To the south of Woodstock, Highway?401 curves northeast and encounters the western terminus of Highway?403.[26] The highway heads towards Kitchener and Cambridge, where it encounters Highway?8 and returns to its eastward orientation.[16][27] East of Cambridge, the highway meanders towards Milton, passing through hills and rock cuts along the way.[28] As Highway?401 approaches the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), it descends through the ecologically protected Niagara Escarpment to the west of Milton.[29][30] Upon entering the town, it enters the first urbanized section of the GTA, passing through two rural areas between there and Oshawa.[16][31] The first rural gap is the western side of Toronto's Greenbelt, a zone around Toronto protected from development.[29] After this 10?km (6.2?mi) gap, the highway interchanges with the Highway?407 Express Toll Route. Within the GTA, the highway passes several major shopping malls including Yorkdale Shopping Centre, Scarborough Town Centre and Pickering Town Centre.[32][33][34] Highway?401 widens into a collector-express system[35] as it approaches Hurontario Street in Mississauga, a concept inspired by the Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago.[8] The system divides each direction of travel into collector and express lanes,[36] giving the highway a wide span and four carriageways. To avoid confusion between carriageways, blue signs are used for the collector lanes and green signs for the express lanes. Unlike the collector lanes, which provide access to every interchange, the express lanes only provide direct access to a select few interchanges. Access between the two is provided by transfers, which are strategically placed to prevent disruptions caused by closely spaced interchanges.[37] The overall purpose of the collector-express system is to maximize traffic flow for both local and long-distance traffic. In addition, Highway?401 was equipped with a traffic camera system called COMPASS in early 1991.[38] Using closed-circuit television cameras, vehicle detection loops and LED changeable-message signs, COMPASS enables the MTO Traffic Operations Centre to obtain a real-time assessment of traffic conditions and alert drivers of collisions, congestion and construction.[39] The system currently stretches from the Highway?403?/ 410 interchange in Mississauga to Harwood Avenue in Ajax.[40] Two sets of collector-express systems exist in the GTA. The first set is 6.6?km (4.1?mi) long and connects Highway?403, Highway?410 and Highway?427.[41] This system primarily serves to accommodate and organize various traffic movements from the Highway?403 / 410 and Highway?427 interchanges along Highway?401, replacing an earlier plan that would have run Highway?403 directly to Eglinton Avenue and the never-built Richview Expressway.[42] East of the interchange with Renforth Drive, the collector lanes diverge to become the on-ramps to Highway 427 northbound and southbound. The second 43.7?km (27.2?mi) system passes through the centre of Toronto and ends in Pickering to the east.[43] The 5?km (3.1?mi) gap between the two systems is a traffic bottleneck. However, the interchange cannot currently accommodate future widening of Highway?401.[9] Highway?401 widens to 18?lanes south of Toronto Pearson International Airport.[7] Progressing eastward, eight lanes are carried beneath the large spaghetti junction at Highway?427. The highway curves northeast and follows a power transmission corridor to Highway?409, which merges with the mainline and forms the collector lanes. It returns to its eastward route through Toronto, now carrying 12ÿ16?lanes of traffic on four carriageways.[35][44] Highway?401 is often congested in this section, with an average of 442,900?vehicles passing between Weston Road and Highway?400 per day as of 2008.[2][7] In spite of this congestion, it is the primary commuting route in Toronto; over 50?percent of vehicles bound for downtown Toronto use the highway.[45] East of Highway?400 is The Basketweave, a criss-crossing transfer between the express and collectors carriageways,[35] beyond which is Yorkdale Centre. Twelve lanes pass beneath a complicated interchange with Allen Road, built to serve the cancelled Spadina Expressway. Further east, the highway crosses Hogg's Hollow, over the West Don River and Yonge Street in the centre of Toronto, the busiest multi-span bridge crossing in North America, surpassing the Brooklyn Bridge. It then crosses the East Don River and climbs toward the Don Valley Parkway, which provides access to downtown Toronto and Highway?404, which provides access to the suburbs to the north. Progressing eastward, the highway continues through mostly residential areas in Scarborough, eventually reaching the Rouge Valley on the city's eastern edge and crossing into Pickering.[35] West of Pickering, Highway?401 again meets former Highway?2, which thereafter parallels it to the OntarioÿQuebec border.[16] As the highway approaches Brock Road in Pickering, the collector and express lanes converge, narrowing the 14-lane cross-section to 10, divided only at the centre.[44] It remains this width as it passes into Ajax,[35] before narrowing back to six lanes at Salem Road.[46] Planned expansions east of Salem to accommodate an interchange with Highway?412 will see the highway widened to ten lanes east to Brock Street. East of Ajax, the highway passes through the second 3.5?km (2.1?mi) rural gap, and enters Whitby. The stretch of Highway?401 through Whitby and Oshawa features several structures completed during the initial construction of the highway in the 1940s.[9] Several of these structures are to be demolished, either due to their age, or to prepare for the planned widening of Highway?401 through this area.[47] A former Canadian National Railway overpass, which was fenced off but commonly used by pedestrians during Highway of Heroes repatriations, was demolished on the night of June 11, 2011. A second structure in Bowmanville was demolished during two overnight closures on July 9 and 16.[48] At Harmony Road, the suburban surroundings quickly transition to agricultural land. The highway curves around the south side of Bowmanville and travels towards Highway?35 and Highway?115.[31] From east of Highway?35 and Highway?115 to Cobourg, Highway?401 passes through a mix of agricultural land and forests, maintaining a straight course.[49] As the highway passes through Cobourg, it narrows to four lanes and the terrain becomes undulating, with the highway routed around hills and through valleys along the shores of Lake Ontario.[50] At Trenton, the highway crosses the Trent Canal and returns to an agricultural setting. It then crosses the Moira River as it goes through Belleville before heading eastward to Kingston.[12] The Kingston portion of the highway, originally named the Kingston-Bypass, was one of the first sections of the highway to be completed;[1] it is now mostly three lanes each way. East of Kingston, the highway continues through a predominantly agricultural area alongside the Saint Lawrence River to Gananoque, where it splits with the Thousand Islands Parkway,[51] one of the original sections of the highway designated in 1952.[52] The current Highway?401 runs parallel to the parkway several kilometres inland from the river. The Canadian Shield, an ancient geological formation, appears through this heavily forested section of the highway. Highway?401 rejoins the Thousand Islands Parkway immediately southwest of Brockville, now heading northeast.[53] The remainder of the highway runs parallel to the former Highway?2 along the shore of the Saint Lawrence River within the Saint Lawrence Valley. Northeast of Brockville is the interchange with Highway?416, which heads north to Ottawa.[54] At the OntarioÿQuebec border, Highway?401 becomes Autoroute?20 and continues to Montreal.[55] The MTO publishes yearly traffic volume data for provincial highways, expressed as an average daily vehicle count over the span of a year (AADT).[56] The table below compares the AADT at several locations along Highway?401 using data from 1969, 1988 and 2008. Highway?401's history predates its designation by over two decades. As automobile use in southern Ontario grew in the early 20th century, road design and construction advanced significantly. Following frequent erosion of Lake Shore Road, then macadamized,[59] a concrete road known as the TorontoÿHamilton Highway was proposed in January 1914. Construction began on November 8 of that year, following the onset of World War I.[60][61] The highway was designed to run along the lake shore, instead of Dundas Street to the north, because the numerous hills encountered along Dundas would have increased costs without improving accessibility. Middle Road, a dirt lane named because of its position between the two, was not considered since Lake Shore and Dundas were both overcrowded and in need of serious repairs.[62] The road was formally opened on November 24, 1917,[59][60] 5.5?m (18?ft) wide and nearly 64?km (40?mi) long. It was the first concrete road in Ontario, as well as one of the longest stretches of concrete road between two cities in the world.[63] Over the next decade, vehicle usage increased substantially, and by 1920 Lakeshore Road was again congested, particularly during weekends.[64] In response, the Department of Highways examined improving another road between Toronto and Hamilton. The road was to be more than twice the width of Lakeshore Road at 12?m (39?ft) and would carry two lanes of traffic in either direction.[65] Construction on what was then known as the Queen Street Extension west of Toronto began in early 1931.[66] Before the highway could be completed, Thomas McQuesten was appointed the new minister of the Department of Highways, with Robert Melville Smith as deputy minister, following the 1934 provincial elections.[9] Smith, inspired by the German autobahnsnew "dual-lane divided highways"modified the design for Ontario roads,[67] and McQuesten ordered that the Middle Road be converted into this new form of highway.[68][69][70] A 40?m (130?ft) right-of-way was purchased along the Middle Road and construction began to convert the existing sections to a divided highway. Work also began on Canada's first interchange at Highway?10.[65] Beginning in 1935, McQuesten applied the concept of a dual-highway to several projects along Highway?2, including along Kingston Road in Scarborough Township.[9][71] When widening in Scarborough reached the Highland Creek ravine in 1936, the Department of Highways began construction on a new bridge over the large valley, bypassing the former alignment around West Hill.[72] From here the highway was constructed on a new alignment to Oshawa, avoiding construction on the congested Highway?2.[8] As grading and bridge construction neared completion on the new highway between West Hill and Oshawa in September 1939, World War II broke out and gradually tax revenues were re-allocated from highway construction to the war effort.[9] At the same time, between September 6 and 8, 1939, the Ontario Good Roads Association Conference was held at Bigwin Inn, near Huntsville,[73] drawing highway engineers from across North America to discuss the new concept of "Dual Highways". On the first day of the convention, McQuesten announced his vision of the freeway: an uninterrupted drive through the scenic regions of Ontario, discouraging local business and local traffic from accessing the highway except at infrequent controlled-access points.[74] It was announced in the days thereafter that this concept would be applied to a new "trans-provincial expressway", running from Windsor to the OntarioÿQuebec border.[75] Highway engineers evaluated factors such as grading, curve radius and the narrow median used along the Middle Road (which was inaugurated on August 23, 1940, as the Queen Elizabeth Way),[76] and began to plan the course of a new dual highway mostly parallel to Highway?2, with precedence given to areas most hampered by congestion. Unlike the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW), this highway would not be built along an existing road, but rather on a new right-of-way, avoiding the need to provide access to properties.[9][74] Along with immense improvements to machinery and construction techniques over its six-year course, the war provided planners an opportunity to conduct a survey of 375,000?drivers, asking them about their preferred route to travel to their destination. Using this information, a course was plotted from Windsor to Quebec, bypassing all towns along the way.[8][77] Highway?2S (S for Scenic), was the first completed section of new roadway. Built to connect with the Thousand Islands Bridge at Ivy Lea and opened as a gravel road in late 1941 or early 1942,[78] the road followed the shore of the Saint Lawrence River and connected with the western end of the twinned Highway?2 near Brockville.[16] In addition, the highway between Highland Creek and Oshawa was opened as a gravel-surfaced road in May 1942.[79] Following the war, construction resumed on roadways throughout Ontario. The expressway between Highland Creek and Oshawa was completed in December 1947,[8] while other sections languished. The TorontoÿBarrie Highway was the primary focus of the Department of Highways at the time, and the onset of the Korean War in 1950 stalled construction again. Despite the delays, highway minister George Doucett officially announced the plans for construction of the new trans-provincial expressway that year, with the Toronto to Oshawa expressway serving as a model for the design.[9] Work on the most important link, the Toronto Bypass, began in 1951,[9] but it would not open with that name. In July 1952 (possibly July 1, the same day Highway?400 was numbered),[a][52] the Highland Creek to Oshawa expressway and Highway?2S were designated Controlled-Access Highway No?401,[8] a move scorned by one critic because of the lack of thought into the numbered name.[80] Construction was completed for several sections of the Toronto Bypass; between Highway?400 and Dufferin Street in August, west to Weston Road in September, east to Bathurst Street in October and finally to Yonge Street in December.[1] Extensions east and west began in 1953; the eastern extension to Bayview Avenue would open in April 1955,[1] the western extension was delayed by the damage caused by Hurricane Hazel on October 15, 1954, which nearly destroyed the new bridge over the Humber River. The reconstruction would take until July 8, 1955,[81] and the highway was opened between Weston and Highway?27 in September 1955.[1] The entire bypass, including the widening of Highway?27 into an expressway south of Highway?401,[8][82] was completed in August 1956.[1][8] Upon its opening, the bypass was described by one reporter as "a motorist's dream" providing "some of the most soothing scenery in the Metropolitan area". The reporter continued, with regard to the eastern section through Scarborough, that it "winds smoothly through pastures across streams and rivers, and beside green thickets. It seems a long way from the big city."[8] By 1959 however, the bypass was a lineup of cars, as 85,000?drivers crowded the roadway, designed to handle a maximum of 48,000?vehicles, on a daily basis.[8] Motorists found the new road to be a convenient way of travelling across Toronto; this convenience helped influence the suburban shift in the city and continues to be a driving force of urban sprawl today.[52] Meanwhile, beyond Toronto, the highway was being built in a patchwork fashion, focusing on congested areas first.[9] Construction west from Highway?27 began in late 1954,[83] as did the Kingston Bypass in Eastern Ontario.[84] Work began to connect the latter with the Scenic Highway in 1955.[83] After the 1954 New York State Thruway opened from Buffalo to New York City,[85] Michigan officials encouraged Ontario to bypass Highway 3 as the most direct path from Detroit to Buffalo.[86] By 1956, construction had begun on a segment between Highway?4 in London and Highway?2 in Woodstock, as well as on the section between Windsor and Tilbury.[87] In 1958, a section bypassing Morrisburg was opened to accommodate traffic displaced from a portion of Highway?2 through The Lost Villages of the Saint Lawrence Seaway.[88] Highway 2 would ultimately be reopened on a new alignment which followed the CN rail right-of-way. By the end of 1960, the Toronto section of the highway was extended both eastwards and westwards: first, to the east between Newcastle and Port Hope on June 30, then later to the west between Highway?25 in Milton and Highway?8 south of Kitchener on November 17.[1] By mid-1961, the section between Brighton and Marysville had opened.[89] The gap to the east, from Highway?28 in Port Hope to Highway?30 in Brighton was opened on July 20, 1961.[90] The gap between Woodstock and Kitchener was completed on November 9, 1961, while the gap between Tilbury and London was completed two lanes at a time; the northbound lanes on October 22, 1963, the southbound on July 20, 1965.[1] The gap between Marysville and Kingston was opened by 1962.[89] The final sections, from west of Cornwall to Lancaster, were opened between 1962 and 1964;[89][91] two lanes opened to Lancaster on September 11, 1962, but the other two were not completed until July 31, 1964. The last segment, to the OntarioÿQuebec border, was opened on November 10, 1964.[1] Finally, on October 11, 1968, the Thousand Islands Bypass opened.[8] This final piece was commemorated with a plaque to signify the completion of Highway?401.[9] In Toronto, engineers and surveyors were examining the four-lane bypass, while planners set about designing a way to handle the commuter highway. In 1963, transportation minister Charles MacNaughton announced the widening of Highway?401 in Toronto from four to a minimum of 12?lanes between Islington Avenue and Markham Road. The design was taken from the Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago, which was widened into a similar configuration around the same time.[8] Construction began immediately. While the plan initially called for construction to end in 1967, it continued for nearly a decade. At least four lanes were always open during the large reconstruction project, which included complex new interchanges at Highway?27, Highway?400, the planned Spadina Expressway and the Don Valley Parkway. The system was completed in 1972, along with the Highway?27 (renamed Highway?427) bypass between the QEW and Pearson Airport. Most of the interchanges in Toronto were reconstructed as partial cloverleafs and a continuous lighting system was installed.[9] On January 11, 1965, at the dinner celebration of Sir John A. Macdonald's 150th birthday, the Premier of Ontario John Robarts designated Highway?401 the MacdonaldÿCartier Freeway to honour Macdonald and George-tienne Cartier, two of Canada's Fathers of Confederation.[92][93] Unlike other names later applied to the highway, the MacdonaldÿCartier Freeway designation covers the entire length of Highway?401. Signs designating the freeway and shields with the letters 'M-C' were installed, but these had been removed by 1997.[94] In 2003, 38?years after Robarts' naming of the highway, a Member of Provincial Parliament attempted to get the Macdonald-Cartier Freeway highway name enshrined into law; the bill only passed first reading and was not enacted.[95] In the 1970s, Highway?401 was widened to six lanes in Durham, but otherwise saw little improvement.[9] The 1980s saw more sections widened, as well as a new collector-express system between Highway?403 / 410 and Highway?427 completed in mid-1985.[96] Plans were made to extend the eastern system from Neilson Road to Brock Road in Pickering in the late 1980s,[97] but took over a decade to reach fruition by 2000.[98][99] This was followed shortly thereafter by the widening of the highway through Ajax and a new interchange at Pickering Beach Road (renamed Salem Road) and Stevenson Road.[100] The 1990s also saw the first step in widening the highway to six lanes from Toronto to London.[101] A project in the mid-1990s brought the highway up to a minimum of six lanes between Highway?8 in Kitchener and Highway?35 / 115 in Newcastle.[102] Other projects prepared sections for eventual widening.[103] In 1993, the stretch of Highway?401 eastbound near Milton and westbound near Whitby had chevrons painted in each lane in an effort to reduce tailgating, a concept borrowed from France and Britain. Signs advised motorists to keep at least two chevrons apart, in essence warning them not to follow too closely.[104] Some of these chevrons remain intact in the westbound lanes in Whitby, though the signs stating their use have since been removed.[105] Beginning in 1998, several projects were initiated on Highway?401 within Toronto. These included the addition of one lane through the Highway?427 interchange in 2005, as well as the resurfacing of the pavement through the city.[6] Between June 1990 and 1998, Highway?401 and Interstate?75 were used for a pilot project named Advantage I-75 to test the reliability and versatility of an automated tracking system for transport trucks. Termed MACS for Mainline Automated Clearance System, it would allow a truck to travel from Florida to Ontario without a second inspection.[106] MACS was initially tested out at two truck inspection stations in Kentucky, with transponders installed in 220?trucks. Exact time, date, location, weight and axle data were logged as a truck approached an equipped station.[107] Following initial tests, MACS was deployed at every inspection station along I-75 from Miami to Detroit and along Highway?401 from Windsor to Belleville in 1994.[106] The project demonstrated the effectiveness of electronic systems in enforcing freight restrictions without delaying vehicles, while alleviating security fears that such systems could be easily compromised. The concept has since been applied to many parts of Canada, including Highway?407's electronic tolling system.[108] The section of Highway?401 between Windsor and London has often been referred to as Carnage Alley, in reference to the numerous crashes that have occurred throughout its history. The term became more commonplace following several deadly pileups during the 1990s.[9] The narrow and open grass median was an ineffective obstacle in preventing cross-median collisions. The soft shoulders consisted of gravel with a sharp slope which was blamed for facilitating vehicle rollovers.[109] The nature of that section of highway, described as largely a straight road with a featureless agricultural landscape, was said to make drivers feel less involved and lose focus on the road. In winter, the area between Woodstock and Chatham is also subject to sudden snow squalls from lake-effect snow.[110] Several collisions have resulted from motorists deviating from their lane and losing control of their vehicles.[109][111] Various other names, including The Killer Highway circulated for a time,[112] but Carnage Alley became predominant following an 87-vehicle pile-up on September 3, 1999 (the start of Labour Day weekend), the worst in Canadian history, that resulted in eight deaths and 45?injured individuals.[113] Only a few days prior, then-Transportation Minister David Turnbull had deemed the highway "pleasant" to drive.[114] On the morning of September 3, the local weather station reported clear conditions due to a malfunction,[113] while a thick layer of fog rolled onto the highway. Dozens of vehicles including several semi-trailers quickly crashed into each other shortly after 8?a.m., one following another in the dense fog, and the accumulating wreckage caught traffic travelling in the opposite direction.[115][116] Immediately following the crash, the MTO installed paved shoulders with rumble strips[117] and funded additional police to patrol the highway, a move criticized as being insufficient.[118] Beginning in 2004, 46?km (29?mi) of the highway was widened from four asphalt lanes to six concrete lanes, paved shoulders were added, a concrete Ontario Tall Wall median was installed,[119] which was the solution that the Canadian Automobile Association promoted in 1999.[109] Interchanges were improved and signage was upgraded as part of a five-phase project to improve Highway?401 from Highway?3 in Windsor to Essex County Road?42 (formerly Highway?2) on the western edge of Tilbury.[24] On August 24, 2007, the MTO announced that the stretch of Highway?401 between Glen Miller Road in Trenton and the intersection of the Don Valley Parkway and Highway?404 in Toronto would bear the additional name Highway of Heroes (French: Autoroute des hros), in honour of Canadian soldiers who have died,[120] though Highway?401 in its entirety remains designated as the MacdonaldÿCartier Freeway.[121] This length of the highway is often travelled by a convoy of vehicles carrying a fallen soldier's body, with his or her family, from CFB Trenton to the coroner's office at the Centre for Forensic Sciences in Toronto. Since 2002, when the first fallen Canadian soldiers were repatriated from Afghanistan, crowds have lined the overpasses to pay their respects as convoys pass.[122] The origin of the name can be traced to an article in the Toronto Sun on June 23, 2007, by columnist Joe Warmington, in which he interviewed Northumberland photographer Pete Fisher. Fisher, along with Bob Jenkins, an emergency dispatcher, were responsible for organizing the first bridge salutes following the loss of four soldiers on April 18, 2002.[123] Warmington described the gathering of crowds on overpasses to welcome fallen soldiers as a "highway of heroes phenomena".[124] This led a Cramahe Township volunteer firefighter to contact Fisher on July 10 about starting a petition, leading Fisher to publish an article which was posted to the Northumberland Today website.[125] The online article eventually caught the attention of London resident Jay Forbes. Forbes began a petition, which received over 20,000?signatures[120] before being brought to the Minister of Transportation on August 22.[126] Following the announcement on August 24, the provincial government and MTO set out to design new signs. The signs were erected and unveiled on September 7,[121] and include a smaller reassurance marker (shield), as well as a larger billboard version.[127] On August 10, 2008, following a series of explosions at a propane facility in Toronto, Highway?401 was closed between Highway?400 and Highway?404 as a precautionary measure, the largest closure of the highway in its history.[128] The highway remained closed until 8?p.m., though several exits near the blast remained closed thereafter.[129][130] Between 2006 and 2008, Highway?401 was widened from four to six lanes between Highway?402 and Wellington Road in London. This included replacing the original Wellington Road overpass.[24] In Oshawa, Exit?416 (Park Road) was replaced by a new interchange at Exit?415 (Stevenson Road). The contract, which began September 7, 2005, included the interchange and the resurfacing of 23.4?km (14.5?mi) of the highway between Oshawa and Highway?35?/ Highway?115.[131] The westbound ramps were opened in mid-September 2007[132] and the eastbound ramps in mid-2009. The resurfacing was completed mid-2010.[131] In November 2010, the widening of Highway?401 from four to six lanes between Woodstock and Kitchener was completed after many years of planning and construction.[133] The project included the installation of a tall-wall median barrier, straightening curves and adding additional interchanges on the freeway, allowing it to be easily vacated in an emergency event.[134] In 2004, a joint announcement by the federal government of the United States and Government of Canada confirmed that a new border crossing would be constructed between Detroit and Windsor. The Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) was formed as a bi-national committee to manage the project.[135] The MTO took advantage of this opportunity to extend Highway?401 to the CanadaÿUS border and began an environmental impact assessment on the entire project in late 2005.[135] The City of Windsor also hired New York traffic consultant Sam Schwartz to design a parkway to the border. Schwartz's proposal would eventually inspire the DRIC's own design, but his route was not chosen, with the DRIC opting instead to take a northern route.[136] On February 8, 2008, the MTO announced that it had begun purchasing property south of the E.C. Row Expressway, upsetting many area residents who had purchased properties in the years prior.[137][138] On March 3, 2008, the Michigan Department of Transportation and the MTO (in partnership with Transport Canada, the Federal Highway Administration of the United States and the Detroit River International Crossing group) completed a joint assessment on the soils along the Detroit River and determined that they could indeed support the weight of a new bridge; the stability of the underlying soil and clay and the impact of the nearby Windsor Salt Mine had caused concern for all parties involved in the project.[139] Despite protest from area residents,[140] as well as a dismissed lawsuit from Ambassador Bridge owner Matty Moroun,[141][142] it was announced on May 1, 2008, that a preferred route had been selected and that the new route would be named the WindsorÿEssex Parkway.[14] The new parkway is below-grade and has six through-lanes. It follows (but does not replace) Talbot Road and Huron Church Road from a new interchange at the former end of Highway?401 to the E.?C. Row Expressway, where it runs concurrently westward for 2?km (1.2?mi). From there, it turns northwest and follows a new alignment to the border.[143] Initial construction of a noise barrier from North Talbot Road to Howard Avenue began in March 2010; full construction began on August 19, 2011.[144] On November 28, 2012, the Ministry of Transportation announced that a Federal Order in Council was passed to change the name of the parkway to the Right Honourable Herb Gray Parkway, after the long-time Windsor MP.[145] In early 2015, it was announced that the parkway would open to traffic between Highway?3 and Labelle Street (near the E. C. Row Expressway) in the spring;[146] an 8-kilometre (5?mi) section was opened to traffic on June?28, extending Highway?401 as far west as the E. C. Row Expressway. It was the first new segment of the highway to be opened since the Thousand Islands Bypass in 1968.[147] The stretch to Ojibway Parkway was opened on November?21,[148] completing the parkway as far as the planned bridge approach and border plaza.[149] Construction on projects related to the Gordie Howe International Bridge began in 2015 with an initial completion date in 2019ÿ20.[150] Construction of the bridge itself is expected to start in 2018 after a project contractor is selected in 2017. An updated completion date would be in or after 2022.[151] In 2007 Minister of Transportation Donna Cansfield commented that the MTO intends to widen all of the remaining four-lane sections to a minimum of six. With no dates set for construction or completion, this is a tentative announcement for the long-term future.[152] In Southwestern Ontario, several improvements are under way to provide six lanes on Highway 401 from Windsor to Toronto,[152] in response to the Carnage Alley pile-up in 1999.[119][153] West of Essex County Road 42 on the west of Tilbury, the highway has been widened to six lanes with a concrete divider in anticipation of the WindsorÿEssex Parkway.[14][154] Between Tilbury and Highway?402, the highway remains four lanes wide with a grass median. The widening and upgrading of this section is in the planning stages, with construction possibly beginning in 2017 and lasting for several years. Several interchanges are slated to be upgraded as part of this construction.[155] Within the London area, traffic volumes are expected to increase considerably, leading to poor highway conditions. The province has put in place an extensive plan to widen and reconstruct the London corridor between 2006 and 2021.[156] This included building a new interchange with Wonderland Road which opened in November 2015 to help improve access to Highway?401 westbound from the city's southwest end and involved replacing the Westminster Drive overpass to allow the highway to be widened.[157] The Westminster Drive overpass was demolished on July 5, 2014.[158] This project will coincide with reconstructing the outdated cloverleaf interchange at Colonel Talbot Road[159] and widening Highway?401 from four to six lanes between Highway?4 and Highway?402. These projects start in 2017.[160][161][162] The MTO is also planning on widening Highway?401 from six to eight lanes through part of the London corridor.[163][164] Long-term plans call for Highway?401 in the Waterloo region to be widened to eight to ten lanes as well.[165] Work began on June?8, 2015 to widen the highway from six to ten lanes between Highway?8 and Hespeler Road in Cambridge. The interchange between Highway?401 and Highway?8 (King Street) is to be reconstructed to make it free-flowing for all directions of travel.[166][167] In its 2007 plan for southern Ontario, the MTO announced long-term plans to create high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes from Mississauga Road west to Milton;[168] these plans have since been expanded in scope to as far west as Hespeler Road in Cambridge.[169] Construction recently completed widening Highway?401 to a collector-express system from Highway?403 and Highway?410 west to Hurontario Street, a distance of 2.8?km (1.7?mi).[170] Plans have been unveiled to lengthen the Mavis Road overpass and add ramps to the 401/403/410 interchange to prepare for the 'ultimate widening' of Highway 401 between the Credit River and Highway 410.[171] Within Toronto, some projects have been completed during overnight construction projects, including the widening and rehabilitation of the Hogg's Hollow bridge,[172] the replacement of the original gantries throughout the collector-express system,[173] and reconstructing the Highway?401 / 400 interchange.[174] Current expansion plans in Durham include the construction of two new freeways north from Highway?401. Highway?412 is directly east of Lakeridge Road,[175] while Highway?418 will lie to the east of Courtice Road.[176] Alongside the extension of Highway?407, Highway?401 is being widened to 12?lanes, forming an extension to the current collector-express system, from its current end at Brock Road in Pickering to Brock Street in Whitby. In addition, a partial interchange is being constructed at Lakeridge Road, with westbound entrance and eastbound exit ramps. In order to accommodate the ramps for Highway?412, the highway is being shifted north at the interchange, currently under construction.[177] Long-term plans also call for HOV lanes to run from Brock Road to Harmony Road, though no planning has commenced.[168] However, there has been an environmental assessment on widening highway 401, extending the collector-express system east towards Salem Road in Ajax and to 10 lanes from Brock Street in Whitby, to Courtice Road in the Clarington township. The assessment was completed in March 2015.[178] All the original World War II era overpasses dating back in the 1940s and 1950s built between Whitby and Oshawa will gradually be replaced with new overpasses as part of modern highway safety standards and to allow highway widening sometime in the future.[179] East of Durham, the MTO is planning to widen parts of Highway?401 to six lanes.[152] Preliminary work includes the widening of the bridge over the Trent River in Trenton,[180] as well as the realignment of some roads alongside the highway.[181] By 2012, the highway was widened to six lanes for 9?km (5.6?mi) through Kingston between exits 611 and 619.[58] Construction began in 2014 to expand the highway to six lanes through Cobourg.[182] This was completed in the summer of 2017. Highway?401 features 19?service centres controlled by the MTO. These service centres were announced in 1961 following public outcry over the lack of rest stops. They provide a place to park, rest, eat and refuel 24 hours a day.[8] The centres were originally leased to and operated by several major gasoline distributors; however, those companies have chosen not to renew their leases as the terms end. In response, the MTO put the operation of the full network of service centres out for tender, resulting in a 50-year lease with Host Kilmer Service Centres, a joint venture between hospitality company HMSHost (a subsidiary of Autogrill) and Larry Tanenbaum's investment company Kilmer van Nostrand, which operates the rest areas under the ONroute brand.[183] Seventeen of the centres along Highway?401 have been reconstructed entirely. Two centres that were rebuilt in the late 1990s, specifically Newcastle and Ingersoll, will not be redeveloped at this time. Work on 15 of the 17?service centres to be reconstructed began in late 2009 or early 2010. The new service centres, opening in phases beginning in July 2010, feature a Canadian Tire gas station, an HMSHost-operated convenience store known as "The Market", as well as fast food brands such as Tim Hortons, A&W, Pizza Pizza, Extreme Pita, KFC, Taco Bell, Big Smoke Burger and Burger King.[184] Cambridge North reopened June 25, 2013; Cambridge South reopened July 23, 2013.[190] The following table lists the major junctions along Highway 401, as noted by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario.[2]? Route map: Google

Iggle Piggle🚨In the Night Garden... is a BBC children's television series, aimed at children aged from one to six years old.[2] It is produced by Ragdoll Productions. Andrew Davenport created, wrote, and composed the title theme and incidental music for all 100 episodes.[3][4] It was produced by Davenport and Anne Wood, the team that also co-created Teletubbies. The programme is narrated by Derek Jacobi. It is filmed mostly in live action, and features a mix of actors in costume, puppetry and computer animation. The characters include Iggle Piggle, Makka Pakka, Upsy Daisy, the Tombliboos, the Pontipines / the Wottingers, the Haahoos, the Ninky Nonk and the Pinky Ponk. The series was announced in 000000002006-10-01-0000October 2006, and twenty episodes were first broadcast in 000000002007-03-19-000019 March 2007. Two series were made, with 100 episodes in all. The BBC confirmed in 2010 that it would not be commissioning another series.[5] The show's budget was S14.5 million. [6] The programme's creators have said that it is designed to relax and entertain its intended audience of one to six-year-olds.[6] The programme features a large cast of colourful characters with unusual names who live in a magical forest scattered with large daisies and brightly coloured pompom flowers. The characters mostly speak short, repetitive phrases and each has their own special song and dance. The garden is a sunny, colourful environment and the music is jaunty and music box-like. Producer Anne Wood said: Each episode starts with a different child in bed, while the narrator introduces the episode. The scene cuts to Iggle Piggle, in his boat, travelling to the Night Garden. Then the camera pans up to the sky and zooms in, followed by blooming flowers. After the title appears under a hedge, either the Ninky Nonk or the Pinky Ponk appears. The episodes end with one character receiving a bedtime story, which is generated by the magical gazebo that sits at the centre of the Night Garden. This story is a summary of the plot of the episode. Sometimes the characters all dance together under the Gazebo. Iggle Piggle does not go to sleep, and his goodbye sequence ("Iggle Piggle's not in bed!" ... "Squeak!" ... "Don't worry, Iggle Piggle! It's time to go") rounds off the programme. The Night Garden retreats into the night sky and Iggle Piggle is seen asleep on his boat as the end credits roll. In the Night Garden... is intended to help children relax and achieve calming relationships with parents. Wood states: "We became very aware of the anxiety surrounding the care of young children which manifested itself in all kind of directions; but the one big subject that came up again and again was bedtime. It's the classic time for tension between children who want to stay up and parents who want them to go to bed... so this is a programme about calming things down whereas most children's TV is about getting everything up."[7] In 2007[8] and 2008,[9] the show won the Children's BAFTA for "Pre-school live action," as well as being nominated in 2009.[10] Igglepiggle (played by Nick Kellington) is a blue teddy bear-like doll with a bean-shaped head and a sideways red mohawk. He always carries his red blanket, and tends to fall flat on his back when surprised. He is the main character of the show. He arrives at the beginning and leaves the Night Garden at the end of each episode in a boat, for which the blanket doubles as a sail. Iggle Piggle has a bell in his left foot, a squeaker in his tummy, and a rattle in his left hand. His best friends in the garden are Upsy Daisy and Makka Pakka. He is the only character not to sleep in the Night Garden (with one exception when he fell asleep on Upsy Daisy's special bed), because sometimes he needs to find his boat; he sleeps on his boat instead of in a bed. He is the only character to walk on the Stepping Stone Path. He was first featured in the episode "Makka Pakka Washes Faces". Sometimes Iggle Piggle has a red blanket in the boat. Upsy Daisy (played by Rebecca Hyland) is similar to a rag doll, with a brown complexion, a chime in her tummy, and brightly coloured clothes. She likes skipping through the Garden and blowing kisses to the other characters or to the audience. She often hugs and kisses other characters, particularly Iggle Piggle. Her catchphrases are "Upsy Daisy," and the more emphatic "Daisy Doo!", and she also says "Pip pip onk onk!", her way of saying goodbye. Her hair stands on end when excited or surprised, and her skirt inflates to a tutu when she dances or pulls the ripcord on her waist. She, along with Iggle Piggle were first featured in the episode "Makka Pakka Washes Faces". Makka Pakka (played by Justyn Towler) is a beige, small, round-bodied doll. He has three rounded protuberances on his head, ears and back to represent stones that he uses to make into piles. He lives in a cave and likes cleaning things, such as his collection of stacking stones, and sometimes the other characters. Makka Pakka often stacks freshly cleaned stones into piles resembling his head and body. He sleeps on a stone bed, often cuddling a stone. He travels around the garden riding his trolley, the Og-Pog, which carries his sponge, soap, orange trumpet, and a bellows-like apparatus called Uff-Uff which he uses to dry items after cleaning them. His house is approached by a stone-walled ditch, as his home is half buried in the ground. He says his own name and the phrase "Mikka makka moo" when he is happy, as well as the names of the Og-Pog and the Uff-Uff, and other phrases from his song such as "agga pang" (his soap and sponge), "hum dum" (his trumpet), and "ing ang oo". Like Upsy Daisy and the Tombliboos, he also uses a phrase meaning "goodbye", represented in publications as "pip pip onk onk". He, along with Iggle Piggle and Upsy Daisy were first featured in the episode "Makka Pakka Washes Faces". As Makka Pakka is smaller than the other characters, he is filmed on another identical set (or garden), and where he appears with other characters, two scenes are shot in parallel and he is filmed far away, whilst the other costumed characters are filmed close up. The Tombliboos ÿ Unn (Andy Wareham), Ooo (Holly Denoon/Isaac Blake), and Eee (Elisa Laghi) ÿ are dressed in costumes with stripes and spots: red and green (Unn), brown and pink (Ooo), and pink and yellow (Eee). Their names reflect phonetically how a young child might count to three, and the Tombliboos always appear in this order by saying their names. They live among the branches of a bush, on a series of platforms connected by stairs and chutes. The Tombliboos enjoy playing the drums and piano, although not with any particular musical prowess, and they also play with large blocks. Their trousers (which fall down unexpectedly) are often seen hanging on the washing line outside their home, and they usually take them down from the line and put them on before going on an adventure. They are sometimes seen brushing their teeth before bed. Tombliboos enjoy kissing each other whilst cuddling and reciting their names. They also have a song about staying together, which consists of them singing "Tombliboo, Tombliboo, Unn, Ooo, Eee!" over and over again. Tombliboo Eee is female and is shorter and smaller than Ooo and Unn. The Tombliboos, along with Iggle Piggle, Upsy Daisy and Makka Pakka were first featured in the episode "Makka Pakka Washes Faces". The Pontipines (red) and The Wottingers (blue) are two families of ten tiny creatures (a mother and a father, plus four boys and four girls) similar to peg dolls. They live in a semidetached house at the foot of a tree. The Pontipines appear in most episodes, while appearances by the Wottingers, are rare. The Pontipines all dress in a very similar fashion to each other, as do the Wottingers. Each family sleeps in one room, their beds next to each other in rows. The Pontipines enter their home by flying down the chimney or going through the front door. They have no feet. The Pontipines enter the Pinky Ponk through a different door from all the other characters, and stay on a separate deck. The Pontipines and the Wottingers appear to be animated using stop motion, but in reality they were hand puppets on sticks that were moved in real time by a puppeteer, with a strobe effect applied in post-production to give the illusion of stop motion animation. They constantly chatter, making high-pitched "mi-mi-mi" sounds and "farting" noises. Mr Pontipine's moustache occasionally flies off his face and settles on Mrs Pontipine. The adult Pontipines and the adult Wottingers wear large hats. Mrs Pontipine carries a pair of binoculars around her neck at all times, which she uses to look for her children when they get lost. The Wottingers are similar in design to the Pontipines, though not identical; they can be glimpsed in the general dance sequences, but are not seen going to bed. The Pontipines, along with Iggle Piggle, Upsy Daisy, Makka Pakka and the Tombliboos were first featured in the 1st episode "Makka Pakka Washes Faces" and the Wottingers first appeared in the episode "The Pontipine Children in the Tombliboo Trousers". The Haahoos are five very large inflatable pillow-like creatures of various shapes and colours with eyes and smiling mouths. They move slowly around the garden making deep springy sounds ("boing, boing"). The Haahoos appear behind the gazebo during general dance sequences, and are also seen going to sleep, closing their eyes and deflating slightly. They come in the shape of a flower, an X, a star, a circle and a figure of 8. They were first featured in the episode "The Tombliboos' Waving Game". The Tittifers are CGI enhanced tropical birds with their own unique songs. There are four small blue tittifers (long-tailed finches), three larger pink ones (hoopoes), two big green ones (white-cheeked turacos) and one Channel-billed toucan with a huge purple beak. They usually sing between segments, and when they sing together, near the end, it is time to sleep. They, along with Iggle Piggle, Upsy Daisy, Makka Pakka, the Tombliboos and the Pontipines were first featured in the episode "Makka Pakka Washes Faces". The Ninky Nonk is a train of five differently sized and shaped carriages. Its size is non-euclidean: exterior shots of the moving Ninky Nonk show a toy-sized train, quite small compared to the main characters and scenery, while interiors and static exterior shots are done on sets or with life-sized models so that the main characters can easily fit inside. When it stops or starts, the seat-belted passengers jerk sharply in their seats. A range of bells and klaxons warn everyone inside. The Ninky Nonk can drive up and down trees and upside-down along branches. Like the other characters, it goes to sleep. The engine is banana-shaped with a green flashing light on top, and is followed by a green spheroidal carriage used by the Tombliboos, a tiny house-like carriage used by the Pontipines, a blue rectangular carriage with a flashing light used by Upsy Daisy, and a tall rounded single-seater carriage used by Igglepiggle. It was first featured in the episode "Everybody, All Aboard the Ninky Nonk". All the above characters are played by actors in costumes just like the Teletubbies. The Pinky Ponk is an airship, speckled with many slowly waving fins and several small propellers that can spin fast, plus a large propeller at the rear that always turns very gently. The characters often use it to travel around the forest, and during their journey are able to drink "Pinky Ponk juice" which is dispensed in "sippy cups". It comes in several colours. If drunk too much, you can feel ill, as demonstrated by Tombliboo Ooo.[11] As well as whirrings and clankings, and a sporadic honking sound from the "Ponk light" at the front, the Pinky Ponk makes flatulent noises.[12] Like the Ninky Nonk, the Pinky Ponk does not conform to euclidean geometry: exterior shots are chroma keyed model shots showing a model smaller than the main characters, while interior ones shots produced on a set into which they can fit. It has two doors, one for the costumed characters and the other for the tiny characters. One table has three seats (for the Tombliboos), another has two seats (for Iggle Piggle and Upsy Daisy), and the third has one seat (for Makka Pakka). The Pontipines take a table with no seats in a small room. It also has a habit of crashing into tree trunks, thus sounding the "Ponk Alert" (repeated honking and flashing of the "Ponk Light" and interior lights flashing and making noises.) This is a warning for all the passengers to take their seats and brace. Sometimes, the Pinky Ponk rocks during the "Ponk Alert", causing the passengers and their tables and chairs to slide from one end to the other. It, along with the Haahoos was first featured in the episode "The Tombliboos' Waving Game". The Ball is a colourful living ball that plays with the Night Garden characters. It was first featured in the episode "The Ball". The Bed is Upsy Daisy's specially private bed. She moves it around the Night Garden, with its ripcord, around the garden; sometimes she has to catch the Bed, before it runs away. It was first featured in the episode "Makka Pakka's Trumpet Makes a Funny Noise". The Tiddle is a small geyser-like fountain. It appears in any place of the Night Garden when someone stomps his/her feet three times. It disappears when someone stomps one of his/her feet once. It was featured in the episode "Igglepiggle's Tiddle". The Trubliphones are a sort of telephone scattered randomly throughout the garden. The characters can use them to communicate with one another. They were first featured in the episode "Upsy Daisy's Big Loud Sing Song". The Stepping Stone Path is where Igglepiggle lives, for a vacation in the Night Garden. It leads to the Gazebo at the beginning and end of an episode.[13] It was first featured in the episode "Makka Pakka Washes Faces". The Daisy Patch is where Upsy Daisy lives. It is a field full of daisies. Upsy Daisy is usually the only character that can be seen in the patch.[14] It was first featured in the episode "The Pontipines in Upsy Daisy's Bed". Makka Pakka's Cave is where he lives and his Og-pog is kept outside it, behind a boulder. The cave, along with the Stepping Stone Path was first featured in the episode "Makka Pakka Washes Faces". The Tombliboo Bush is where the Tombliboos live. It is the largest house in the garden with so many fun things to do such as playing music, playing with blocks and brushing teeth (like the Pinky Ponk and the Ninky Nonk it is bigger on the inside). It was first featured on the outside in "The Tombliboos' Waving Game" and on the inside in the episode "Too Loud Tombliboos!! Nice and Quiet!!" The Pontipines/Wottingers' House is a small house at the foot of a tree where the Pontipines and Wottingers live. It, along with the Stepping Stone Path and Makka Pakka's Cave was first featured in the episode "Makka Pakka Washes Faces". The Tune Bridge is a musical bridge near Makka Pakka's cave. Whenever someone walks on the bridge, it plays a musical tune. It, and the Stepping Stone Path, Makka Pakka's Cave and the Pontipines/Wottingers' House, were first featured in the episode "Makka Pakka Washes Faces". The Gazebo is where the characters meet to dance at the end of some episodes.[15] It has a picture of all the characters including the Ball (but except the Tittifers, one of the Trubliphones, the Tiddle and the Bed), the Tittifers' Tree, a Daisy, the Tune Bridge, the Tombliboo Bush, the Tombliboo Instruments, Igglepiggle's Blanket, the Tombliboo Bricks and, of course, the Gazebo, itself. It has two pictures of Makka Pakka, one with his Og-Pog, the other with him blowing his trumpet. The first dance was featured in the episode "The Tombliboos' Waving Game" and it first gave a clue in "Igglepiggle's Blanket in Makka Pakka's Ditch". The Tittifers' Tree is where the Tittifers sing in a certain section and together and at the end. Until 1 April 2008, the show aired on the CBeebies channel every day, including weekends, at 6:25?PM in the "Bedtime Hour" slot, in addition to earlier daytime showings on weekdays (like every other show on CBeebies, the same episodes are shown all day).[16] From April until August 2008, In The Night Garden... was removed from its 6:25?PM "Bedtime Hour" slot, which resulted in a petition asking for the programme to be re-instated to its normal slot.[17] One parent petitioner was quoted by The Daily Telegraph commenting that "My four-year-old refused to believe it was bedtime because ITNG hadn't been on and it was daylight outside."[17] The show returned to the daily "Bedtime Hour" slot at 6:25?PM as of 30 August 2008, and began showing the second series (beginning with "Slow Down Everybody") on 1 September 2008.[citation needed] From December 2008, the show was moved again, this time to 6:00?PM. As of January 2010, it airs at 6.20?PM. As of February 2008, in Canada, the show airs daily at 5:30?AM on Treehouse TV, Mondays to Fridays at 7:30?PM, and Saturdays at 10:30?AM. As of March 2016, in Australia, the show airs during the ABC 4 Kids block of programming on ABC2 every weekends at 11:30?AM. As of October 2008, in India, the show airs every day on the CBeebies channel, including weekends, at 9?AM, 12 PM and 3?PM. As of 2008, in Norway, the show airs every weekday on the NRK Super channel, at 5:30?PM. As of 2009, the show airs on TV2 in Malaysia on weekday mornings at 8:30?AM. As of 2009, the show airs on Luli and Hop! in Israel. Twenty new episodes began broadcasting on CBeebies and BBC HD on 9 February to continue at 6?PM daily. As of 2010, Series 1 of the show airs daily on Baraem on Nilesat and Arabsat covering the Middle East in Arabic at 7:30 PM. As of 2010, the show airs on Clan in Spain sometime around 8:30?AM on weekdays and around 7:50?AM on weekends. As of 11 October 2010, the series was added on The Hub in the U.S. as part of the "HubBub" programming block. On 24 June 2012, it was removed on The Hub along with The Future Is Wild and Wilbur. However, the series returned on Hub Network on 2 June 2013 and was removed again on 13 October 2013. In The Netherlands, it airs on Disney Junior. In the Night Garden... books, DVDs and toys have been marketed since 2007. In 2014, Penwizard[18] introduced a line of personalised books where customers can customise the story to include their child's name and likeness in the story alongside IgglePiggle and friends. Several Region 2 DVDs have been released in the UK: Tombliboos Waving Game Everybody all aboard the Ninky Nonk The Prettiest Flower Makka Pakka's Trumpet Makes a Funny Noise Jumping for Everybody IgglePiggle's Mucky Patch The Pinky Ponk Adventure IgglePiggle's Blanket Walks About by Itself Upsy Daisy Kisses Everything! Upsy Daisy's Big Loud Sing Song! IgglePiggle Looks for Upsy Daisy and Follows her Bed! The Ninky Nonk Wants a Kiss! Runaway Og-Pog Makka Pakka's Present Makka Pakka Gets Lost Washing the Haahoos The Tombliboos' Busy Day Tombliboo Trousers Tombliboo Ooo Drinks Everybody Else's Pinky Ponk Juice Tower of 5 Looking for Each Other Slow Down Everybody! IgglePiggle Goes Visiting Where is the Pinky Ponk Going? Makka Pakkas Piles of Three Where Are the Wottingers? Mr Pontipines Moustache Flies Away Too Loud Tombliboos Hide and Seek Mind the Haahoos The Pontipines Find IgglePiggles Blanket Upsy Daisy Dances with the Pinky Ponk Playing Hiding with Makka Pakka Wake Up Ball Over and Under Sad and Happy Tombliboos. Upsy Daisy's Special Stone Ninky Nonk Dinner Swap The Tombliboos Swap Trousers Igglepiggle's Accident. Where Can Igglepiggle Have a Rest Oh Look It's Wottingers Dinner in the Ninky Nonk Tombliboos Clean Their Teeth. The Ball Wave to the Wottingers The Pontipines in Upsy Daisys Bed Igglepiggles Noisy Noises. Make Up Your Mind Upsy Daisy! Following Upsy Daisy Dances With The Haahoos Long Distance Ball Game Trubliphone Fun Shshsh! Upsy Daisys Having a Rest! Whos Next on the Pinky Ponk? Makka Pakkas Circle of Friends Each DVD features five episodes. A boxset, Hello Everybody!, has been released, containing "Hello IgglePiggle!", "Hello Upsy Daisy!", "Hello Makka Pakka!" and "Hello Tombliboos!" Each of these titles have episodes relating to the character on which the DVD is based. The show's makers, Ragdoll Productions, signed a deal to make the toy producer Hasbro a global partner before the show was first broadcast, and merchandise was first made available in July 2007. The range includes small Igglepiggle, Upsy Daisy and Makka Pakka stuffed toys and a small Ninky Nonk train with detachable carriages. Wheeled toy licensee MV Sports & Leisure Limited produced a range of scooters and trikes. Play-doh made some dough that came packaged with an Igglepiggle-shaped cut-out. In spring 2008, several new toys arrived, including roll-along characters, Talking Cuddly Makka Pakka, Ninky Nonk Pop-up tent and more. Hasbro won the 2008 "Best Licensed Toy or Game range" Licensing Award for their In The Night Garden... range.[19] In January 2009, a spokesman for the BBC confirmed that they had asked Hasbro to change the skin colour of the Upsy Daisy doll following "a handful of complaints". The doll was originally released with a noticeably lighter complexion than seen in the television series, as it was based on the animated version of Upsy Daisy.[20] In the Night Garden...Live! started a UK tour in July 2010. The show took place in an inflatable purpose-built show dome. The show premired in Liverpool, and moved on to London, Glasgow and Birmingham. In the Night Garden Live has toured the UK every summer.[21][22]

April 11, 1899🚨

Station Casinos🚨Palms Casino Resort is a hotel and casino located near the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It has 703 rooms and suites and contains 94,840?sq?ft (8,811?m2) casino, recording studio, Michelin-starred restaurant and 2,500-seat concert theater.[1] Although it is located off the Strip, the resort has become a popular destination for many, especially younger people,[who?] Hollywood actors and celebrities. The Palms competes for market share with Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, another off-strip resort aimed toward the 21ÿ39 demographic. Both resorts are styled in a modern, neo-retro fashion. The Fantasy Tower is also home to several nightlife venues including Moon Nightclub and Rain Nightclub. The tower holds what are known as the Sky Villas and Fantasy Suites, which are some of the most expensive hotel suites in the world. The Two Story Sky Villa on the top floor, billed at US$40,000 per night, is listed at number 5 on the World's 15 Most Expensive Hotel Suites compiled by CNN Go in March 2012.[2] The Sky Villas have played host to numerous celebrities. The Palms project was first developed by the Maloof family in July 1999,[3] during the Fiesta hotel-casino expansion. The casino resort broke ground in July 2000. The project was officially announced by George Maloof on October 24, 2000. Construction was completed on September 26, 2001.[4] The Palms opened on November 15, 2001, to a massive crowd of people. Multiple celebrities attended the grand opening, such as Dennis Rodman, Pamela Anderson, Paris Hilton and Samuel L. Jackson. In 2002, it was the resort where participants of MTV's The Real World: Las Vegas stayed. The level they rebuilt to accommodate MTV is now the "Real World Suite" billed at $10,000 per night.[5][6][6][7] On October 27, 2005, the second tower, named the "Fantasy Tower", opened at a cost of $600 million. In keeping with George Maloof's basketball interest (the Maloofs were majority owners of the NBA's Sacramento Kings), the Fantasy Tower includes a two-story, 10,000?sq?ft (930?m2) suite that includes the only basketball court in a hotel suite. The suite includes a locker room, scoreboard, and multi-screen entertainment system. Some of the other fantasy rooms include the G suite, the Barbie suite and the King Pin suite. The Palms hit financial trouble in 2010, when it started missing loan payments.[8] Under an agreement reached with creditors TPG Capital and Leonard Green & Partners, they each received a 49% stake in the property in November 2011, in exchange for erasing about $400 million in debt.[8][9] The Maloof family retains a 2% share, with options to buy back up to 20%, and George Maloof continues to manage the property.[9] In May 2016, Station Casinos agreed to purchase the Palms for $313 million.[10][11] The Pearl Concert Theater is a three-level concert venue located within the Palms Resort. Depending on the configuration the venue can seat between 1,000 and 2,500 people.[12] The Palms includes a recording studio that has been used by many artists including, but not limited to ÿ Jay Z, Olivia Newton-John, Cline Dion, Beyonc, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Ellie Goulding, Katy Perry, Carlos Santana, T-Pain, Imagine Dragons, Panic! at the Disco, The Killers, Dr. Dre, Eminem, 50 Cent, Maroon 5, Joe Bonamassa and Wayne Newton. Maloof announced a third tower called Palms Place, a residential high-rise built on the west end of the Palms property. The design architect was Jerde Partnership Construction and this third and final tower has been completed. Residents were allowed to move in on February 29, 2008. On May 31, 2008, the grand opening night took place that marked the latest addition to the Palms, as Palms Place is a multimillion-dollar, 58-story hotel, condominium, and spa tower that provides 599 suites.[13] In June 2014, Phil Maloof listed his top floor penthouse at Palms Place for USD$38 million, making the residence one of the most expensive apartments in Las Vegas.[14]

tropical coral reefs of the Indian and Pacific Oceans🚨Carcharias elegans Ehrenberg, 1871 Carcharias marianensis Engelhardt, 1912 Carcharias melanopterus Quoy & Gaimard, 1824 Carcharias playfairii Gnther, 1870 Squalus carcharias minor Forssk?l, 1775 Squalus commersonii* Blainville, 1816 Squalus ustus* Dumril, 1824 * ambiguous synonym The blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus) is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae, easily identified by the prominent black tips on its fins (especially on the first dorsal fin and its caudal fin). Among the most abundant sharks inhabiting the tropical coral reefs of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, this species prefers shallow, inshore waters. Its exposed first dorsal fin is a common sight in the region. Most blacktip reef sharks are found over reef ledges and sandy flats, though they have also been known to enter brackish and freshwater environments. This species typically attains a length of 1.6?m (5.2?ft). Blacktip reef sharks have extremely small home ranges and exhibit strong site fidelity, remaining within the same local area for up to several years at a time. They are active predators of small bony fishes, cephalopods, and crustaceans, and have also been known to feed on sea snakes and seabirds. Accounts of the blacktip reef shark's life history have been variable and sometimes contradictory, in part reflecting geographical differences within the species. Like other members of its family, this shark is viviparous, with females giving birth to two to five young on a biennial, annual, or possibly biannual cycle. Reports of the gestation period range from 7ÿ9, through 10ÿ11, to possibly 16 months. Mating is preceded by the male following closely behind the female, likely attracted by her chemical signals. Newborn sharks are found further inshore and in shallower water than adults, frequently roaming in large groups over areas flooded by high tide. Timid and skittish, the blacktip reef shark is difficult to approach and seldom poses a danger to humans unless roused by food. However, people wading through shallow water are at risk of having their legs mistakenly bitten. This shark is used for its meat, fins, and liver oil, but is not considered to be a commercially significant species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed the blacktip reef shark as Near Threatened. Although the species as a whole remains widespread and relatively common, overfishing of this slow-reproducing shark has led to its decline at a number of locales. French naturalists Jean Ren Constant Quoy and Joseph Paul Gaimard originally described the blacktip reef shark during the 1817ÿ1820 exploratory voyage of the corvette Uranie. In 1824, their account was published as part of Voyage autour du monde...sur les corvettes de S.M. l'Uranie et la Physicienne, Louis de Freycinet's 13-volume report on the voyage. The type specimen was a 59?cm (23?in)-long juvenile male caught off the island of Waigeo, west of New Guinea.[2] Quoy and Gaimard chose the name Carcharias melanopterus, from the Greek melas meaning "black" and pteron meaning "fin" or "wing", in reference to this shark's prominent fin markings.[3] Subsequent authors moved the blacktip reef shark to the genus Carcharhinus; in 1965 the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature designated it as the type species for the genus.[2] In some earlier literature, the scientific name of this shark was mistakenly given as C. spallanzani, now recognized as a synonym of the spottail shark (C. sorrah).[4] Other common names for this species include blackfin reef shark, black-finned shark, blacktip shark, reef blacktip shark, and guliman.[5] Like most other members of its genus, the phylogenetic position of the blacktip reef shark remains indeterminate. Based on morphology, Jack Garrick proposed in 1982 that the closest relative of the blacktip reef shark was the nervous shark (C.?cautus).[6] Leonard Compagno's 1988 morphological analysis suggested affinity not only between this species and the nervous shark, but also four other species, and could not resolve their relationships further. A 1998 allozyme analysis by Gavin Naylor again yielded ambiguous results, finding that the blacktip reef shark forms a polytomy (irresolvable group) with 10 other Carcharhinus species.[7] The blacktip reef shark is found throughout nearshore waters of the tropical and subtropical Indo-Pacific.[4] In the Indian Ocean, it occurs from South Africa to the Red Sea, including Madagascar, Mauritius, and the Seychelles, and from there eastward along the coast of the Indian Subcontinent to Southeast Asia, including Sri Lanka, the Andaman Islands, and the Maldives. In the Pacific Ocean, it is found from southern China and the Philippines to Indonesia, northern Australia and New Caledonia, and also inhabits numerous oceanic islands, including the Marshall, Gilbert, Society, and Hawaiian Islands and Tuamotu.[8] Contrary to what most sources state, there are no confirmed records of this species from Japanese waters, and purported Japanese specimens likely came from Taiwan.[9] A Lessepsian migrant, this shark has colonized the eastern Mediterranean Sea by way of the Suez Canal.[8] Although it has been reported from a depth of 75?m (246?ft),[5] the blacktip reef shark is usually found in water only a few meters deep, and can often be seen swimming close to shore with its dorsal fin exposed.[2] Younger sharks prefer shallow, sandy flats, while older sharks are most common around reef ledges and can also be found near reef drop-offs. This species has also been reported from brackish estuaries and lakes in Madagascar, and freshwater environments in Malaysia, though it is not able to tolerate low salinity to the same degree as the bull shark (C.?leucas).[2] At Aldabra in the Indian Ocean, blacktip reef sharks congregate in the channels between reef flats during low tide and travel to the mangroves when the water rises.[10] There is equivocal evidence that sharks from the northern and southern extremes of its distribution are migratory.[2] A robustly built species with a streamlined "typical shark" form, the blacktip reef shark has a short, wide, rounded snout and moderately large, oval eyes. Each nostril has a flap of skin in front that is expanded into a nipple-shaped lobe. Not counting small symphysial (central) teeth, the tooth rows number 11ÿ13 (usually 12) on either side of the upper jaw and 10ÿ12 (usually 11) on either side of the lower jaw. The upper teeth are upright to angled and narrowly triangular in shape, bearing serrations that are more coarse on the bases; the lower teeth are similar, but more finely serrated.[2][4] The teeth of adult males are more abruptly curved than those of females.[11] The pectoral fins are large and narrowly falcate (sickle-shaped), tapering to points. The sizable first dorsal fin is high with a curving "S"-shaped rear margin, and originates over the free rear tips of the pectoral fins. The second dorsal fin is relatively large with a short rear margin, and is placed opposite the anal fin. There is no ridge between the dorsal fins. This shark is a pale grayish-brown above and white below, with an obvious white band on the sides extending forward from above the anal fin. All the fins have black tips highlighted by lighter-colored borders, which are especially striking on the first dorsal fin and lower caudal fin lobe. Most blacktip reef sharks are no more than 1.6?m (5.2?ft) long, though rarely individuals may reach 1.8?m (5.9?ft) or possibly 2.0?m (6.6?ft).[2] The maximum weight on record is 13.6?kg (30?lb).[5] The black tip with a light border on the first dorsal fin is a key identifying trait of this shark Jaws Upper teeth Lower teeth Along with the grey reef shark (C.?amblyrhinchos) and the whitetip reef shark (Triaenodon obesus), the blacktip reef shark is one of the three most common sharks inhabiting coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific. This species predominates in shallow habitats, while the other two are mostly found deeper. Fast-swimming and active, the blacktip reef shark may be encountered alone or in small groups; large "social" aggregations have also been observed.[2][12] For the most part, juvenile and adult sharks are not segregated by sex, save for the movements of pregnant females to give birth. Individuals exhibit strong fidelity to particular areas, where they may remain for several years.[13] A tracking study off Palmyra Atoll in the central Pacific has found the blacktip reef shark has a home range of around 0.55?km2 (0.21?sq?mi), among the smallest of any shark species. The size and location of the range does not change with time of day. Within this range, 3ÿ17% of the area constitute favored hunting patches that are disproportionately occupied by the resident shark. The sharks spend most of their time swimming back and forth along reef ledges, making occasional short forays onto sandy flats. Their average swimming speed decreases when the tide rises at night, possibly because the influx of cooler water reduces their metabolism, or the accompanying movement of prey fishes makes foraging easier.[14] Blacktip reef sharks at Aldabra tend to be more mobile than those at Palmyra, with recorded individual movements of up to 2.5?km (1.6?mi) over 7?hours.[10] Blacktip reef sharks, particularly small individuals, fall prey to larger fishes, including groupers, grey reef sharks, tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier), and members of their own species. At Palmyra Atoll, adults avoid patrolling tiger sharks by staying out of the central, deeper lagoon.[14] Their known parasites include the tapeworms Anthobothrium lesteri,[15] Nybelinia queenslandensis,[16] Otobothrium alexanderi,[17] and Platybothrium jondoeorum,[18] a myxosporidian in the genus Unicapsula,[19] and the monogenean Dermophthirius melanopteri.[20] One of the few documented examples of infectious disease in a shark was a fatal case of hemorrhagic septicemia in a blacktip reef shark, caused by the bacterium Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. salmonicida.[21] As often the most abundant apex predator within its ecosystem, the blacktip reef shark plays a major role in structuring inshore ecological communities.[13] Its diet is composed primarily of small teleost fishes, including mullet, groupers, grunters, jacks, mojarras, wrasses, surgeonfish, and smelt-whitings. Groups of blacktip reef sharks in the Indian Ocean have been observed herding schools of mullet against the shore for easier feeding.[22] Squid, octopus, cuttlefish, shrimp, and mantis shrimp are also taken, as well as carrion and smaller sharks and rays, though this is rare.[2][8] Off northern Australia, this species is known to consume sea snakes, including Acrochordus granulatus, Hydrelaps darwiniensis, Hydrophis spp. and Lapemis hardwickii.[23] Sharks off Palmyra Atoll have been documented preying on seabird chicks that have fallen out of their nests into the water.[13] Miscellaneous items that have been found inside the stomachs of this species include algae, turtle grass, coral, hydrozoa, bryozoa, rats, and stones.[10][13] Researchers working at Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands have found the blacktip reef shark can be readily attracted by splashing or striking metal tools against hard objects underwater, as well as by the scent of both healthy and injured fish.[24] As with most sharks, the blacktip reef shark does not have any cone cells in its retina, limiting its ability to discriminate colors and fine details. Instead, its vision is adapted for sensitivity to movement or contrast under low light conditions, which is further enhanced by the presence of a reflective tapetum lucidum. Experiments have shown that this shark is capable of detecting small objects up to 1.5ÿ3?m (5ÿ10?ft) away, but is unable to clearly discern the shape of the object.[10][25] Electroreception is another means by which this shark can locate prey; its ampullae of Lorenzini have a sensitivity of approximately 4?nV/cm and an effective range of 25?cm (10?in).[26] Similar to the grey reef shark, this species becomes more excited and "confident" in the presence of other individuals of its species, and in extreme situations can be roused into a feeding frenzy.[24] Feeding activity may be greater at night than during the day.[10] Like the other members of its family, the blacktip reef shark is viviparous, though the details of its life history vary across its range. Its reproductive cycle is annual off northern Australia, with mating taking place from January to February,[27] as well as off Moorea in French Polynesia, where mating occurs from November to March.[28] The cycle is biennial off Aldabra, where intense competition within and between species for food may constrain females to only bearing young every other year.[10] Earlier accounts from the Indian Ocean by Johnson (1978), Madagascar by Fourmanoir (1961), and the Red Sea by Gohar and Mazhar (1964), indicated a biannual cycle in these regions with two breeding seasons per year from June to July and December to January.[28][29][30] If accurate, the shorter reproductive cycles of these subpopulations may be a consequence of warmer water.[28] When receptive to mating, a female blacktip reef shark swims slowly in a sinusoidal pattern near the bottom with her head pointed down; observations in the wild suggest female sharks release chemical signals that allow males to track them. Once the male finds her, he closes to around 15?cm (5.9?in) and follows her with his snout oriented towards her vent.[31] A courting male may also bite the female behind her gills or on her pectoral fins; these mating wounds heal completely after 4ÿ6 weeks.[28] After a period of synchronous swimming, the male pushes the female on her side and positions her so her head is against the bottom and her tail is raised. Once the female is in position, the male inserts one of his claspers into her cloaca. Copulation lasts for several minutes, after which the sharks separate and resume their regular behavior.[31] Off Moorea, individual older females mate and give birth at a consistent time every year, often to within a week's precision, whereas younger females exhibit more variability in their timing. Younger females are also more likely to fail to become pregnant after mating.[28] The gestation period has been reported as 10ÿ11 months long in the Indian Ocean and Pacific islands,[10][28] and 7ÿ9 months long off northern Australia.[27] Earlier authors, such as Melouk (1957), have estimated a gestation period as long as 16 months, though the validity of this figure has subsequently been challenged.[28] The female has a single functional ovary (on the right) and two functional uteruses, divided into separate compartments for each embryo. Newly ovulated egg cases measure 3.9?cm (1.5?in) by 2.6?cm (1.0?in); after hatching the embryos are sustained by a yolk sac during the first stage of development. After two months, the embryo measures 4?cm (1.6?in) long and has well-developed external gills. After four months, the yolk sac has begun to be converted into a placental connection that attaches to the uterine wall; at this time, the embryo's dark fin markings develop. By five months, the embryo measures 24?cm (9.4?in) and has resorbed its external gills; the placenta is fully formed, though some yolk remains until seven months into gestation.[10] Parturition occurs from September to November, with females making use of shallow nursery areas interior of the reef.[14][27][28] Newborn pups measure 40ÿ50?cm (16ÿ20?in) long in the Indian Ocean and off northern Australia, while free-swimming pups as small as 33?cm (13?in) long have been observed in the Pacific islands.[13][32] The litter size is 2ÿ5 (typically 4), and is not correlated with female size.[8][10] Young blacktip reef sharks commonly form large groups in water barely deep enough to cover their bodies, over sand flats or in mangrove swamps close to shore. During high tide, they also move onto flooded coral platforms or seaweed beds.[14][24][33] Growth is initially rapid; one documented captive shark grew an average of 23?cm (9.1?in) per year in its first two years of life.[34] The growth rate slows to around 5?cm (2.0?in) per year in juveniles and adults.[14] Males and females mature sexually at lengths of 95?cm (37?in) and 97?cm (38?in) respectively off northern Australia,[27] and 105?cm (41?in) and 110?cm (43?in), respectively, off Aldabra.[10] Males mature at 97?cm (38?in) long off Palmyra Atoll.[14] Under most circumstances, the blacktip reef shark has a timid demeanor and is easily frightened away by swimmers. However, its inshore habitat preferences bring it into frequent contact with humans, and thus it is regarded as potentially dangerous.[2] As of early 2009, 11 unprovoked attacks and 21 attacks total (none fatal) were listed on the International Shark Attack File that are attributable to the blacktip reef shark.[35] Most attacks involve sharks biting the legs or feet of waders, apparently mistaking them for their natural prey, and do not result in serious injury.[2] In the Marshall Islands, native islanders avoid blacktip reef shark attacks by swimming rather than wading through shallow water, and a way of discouraging these sharks is to submerge one's body. The blacktip reef shark has also been known to become aggressive in the presence of bait, and may pose a threat while attempting to steal the catches of spear fishers.[2] The blacktip reef shark is a regular catch of coastal fisheries, such as those operating off Thailand and India, but is not targeted or considered commercially important.[8] The meat (sold fresh, frozen, dried and salted, or smoked for human consumption), liver oil, and fins are used.[5] The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed the blacktip reef shark as Near Threatened. Though it remains widespread and common overall, substantial local declines due to overfishing have now been documented in many areas. This species has a low reproductive rate, limiting its capacity for recovering from depletion.[8][13] Blacktip reef sharks are popular subjects of public aquarium exhibits, because of their stereotypically "shark-like" appearance, ability to breed in captivity and modest size, and are also attractions for ecotourism divers.[9][11]

Country House🚨Blur are an English rock band formed in London in 1988. The group consists of singer/keyboardist Damon Albarn, guitarist/singer Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Their debut album Leisure (1991) incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing. Following a stylistic change influenced by English guitar pop groups such as the Kinks, the Beatles and XTC,[citation needed] Blur released Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993), Parklife (1994) and The Great Escape (1995). In the process, the band became central to the Britpop music and culture movement, and achieved mass popularity in the UK, aided by a chart battle with rivals Oasis in 1995 dubbed the "Battle of Britpop". In recording their 1997 self-titled album Blur, the band underwent another reinvention, showing influence from the lo-fi style of American indie rock groups. The album, including the "Song 2" single, brought them mainstream success in the US. Their next album, 13 (1999) saw the band members experimenting with electronic and gospel music, and featured more personal lyrics from Albarn. In May 2002, Coxon left Blur during the recording of their seventh album Think Tank (2003). Containing electronic sounds and more minimal guitar work, the album was marked by Albarn's growing interest in hip hop and African music. After a 2003 tour without Coxon, Blur did no studio work or touring as a band, as members engaged in other projects. Blur reunited, with Coxon back in the fold, for a series of concerts in 2009. In the following years they released several singles and retrospective compilations, and toured internationally. In 2012, the group received a Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. Their first major release in twelve years, The Magic Whip (2015), became the sixth consecutive Blur studio album to top the British charts. Childhood friends Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon from Essex met Alex James when they began studying at London's Goldsmiths College in 1988. Albarn was in a group named Circus, who were joined by drummer Dave Rowntree that October.[1][2] Circus requested the services of Coxon after the departure of their guitarist. That December, Circus fired two members and James joined as the group's bassist. This new group named themselves Seymour in December 1988, inspired by J. D. Salinger's Seymour: An Introduction.[2][3] The group performed live for the first time in summer 1989.[4] In November, Food Records' A&R representative Andy Ross attended a Seymour performance that convinced him to court the group for his label. The only concern held by Ross and Food was that they disliked the band's name. Food drew up a list of alternatives, from which the group decided on "Blur". Food Records finally signed the newly christened band in March 1990.[5] From March to July 1990, Blur toured Britain, opening for the Cramps, and testing out new songs. In October 1990, after their tour was over, Blur released the "She's So High" single, which reached number 48 in the UK Singles Chart.[6] The band had trouble creating a follow-up single, but they made progress when paired with producer Stephen Street. The resulting single release, "There's No Other Way", became a hit, peaking at number eight.[7] As a result of the single's success, Blur became pop stars and were accepted into a clique of bands who frequented the Syndrome club in London dubbed "The Scene That Celebrates Itself".[8] NME magazine wrote in 1991, "[Blur] are [the] acceptable pretty face of a whole clump of bands that have emerged since the whole Manchester thing started to run out of steam."[9] The band's third single, "Bang", performed relatively disappointingly, reaching only number 24.[10] Andy Ross and Food owner David Balfe were convinced Blur's best course of action was to continue drawing influence from the Madchester genre. Blur attempted to expand their musical sound, but the recording of the group's debut album was hindered by Albarn having to write his lyrics in the studio. Although the resulting album Leisure (1991) peaked at number seven on the UK Albums Chart, it received mixed reviews,[6] and according to journalist John Harris, "could not shake off the odour of anti-climax".[11] After discovering they were S60,000 in debt, Blur toured the United States in 1992 in an attempt to recoup their financial losses.[12] The group released the single "Popscene" to coincide with the start of the tour. Featuring "a rush of punk guitars, '60s pop hooks, blaring British horns, controlled fury, and postmodern humor",[13] "Popscene" was a turning point for the band musically.[14] However, upon its release it only charted at number 32. "We felt 'Popscene' was a big departure; a very, very English record", Albarn told the NME in 1993, "But that annoyed a lot of people ... We put ourselves out on a limb to pursue this English ideal and no-one was interested."[15] As a result of the single's lacklustre performance, plans to release a single named "Never Clever" were scrapped and work on Blur's second album was pushed back.[16] During the two-month American tour, the band became increasingly unhappy, often venting frustrations on each other, leading to several physical confrontations.[17] The band members were homesick; Albarn said, "I just started to miss really simple things ... I missed everything about England so I started writing songs which created an English atmosphere."[15] Upon the group's return to Britain, Blur (Albarn in particular) were upset by the success rival group Suede had achieved while they were gone.[18] After a poor performance at a 1992 gig that featured a well-received set by Suede on the same bill, Blur were in danger of being dropped by Food.[19] By that time, Blur had undergone an ideological and image shift intended to celebrate their English heritage in contrast to the popularity of American grunge bands like Nirvana.[20] Although sceptical of Albarn's new manifesto for Blur, Balfe gave assent for the band's choice of Andy Partridge (of XTC) to produce their follow-up to Leisure. The sessions with Partridge proved unsatisfactory, but a chance reunion with Stephen Street resulted in him returning to produce the group.[21] Blur completed their second album Modern Life Is Rubbish in December 1992, but Food Records said the album required more potential hit singles and asked them to return to the studio for a second time. The band complied and Albarn wrote "For Tomorrow", which became the album's lead single.[22] "For Tomorrow" was a minor success, reaching number 28 on the charts.[23] Modern Life Is Rubbish was released in May 1993. The announcement of the album's release included a press photo which featured Blur, dressed in a mix of mod and skinhead attire, posing alongside a mastiff with the words "British Image 1" spraypainted behind them. At the time, such imagery was viewed as nationalistic and racially insensitive by the British music press; to quieten concerns, Blur released the "British Image 2" photo, which was "a camp restaging of a pre-war aristocratic tea party".[24] Modern Life Is Rubbish peaked at number 15 on the British charts,[25] but failed to break into the US Billboard 200, selling only 19,000 copies there.[26][27] The success of Parklife (1994) revived Blur's commercial fortunes. The album's first single, the disco-influenced "Girls & Boys", found favour on BBC Radio 1 and peaked at number 5 on the UK Singles Chart,[28] and number 59 in the US Billboard Hot 100 where it remains the band's highest-charting single.[27] Parklife entered the British charts at number one and stayed on the album charts for 90 weeks.[29] Enthusiastically greeted by the music pressthe NME called it "a Great Pop Record ... bigger, bolder, narkier and funnier [than Modern Life is Rubbish]"Parklife is regarded as one of Britpop's defining records.[30][31] Blur won four awards at the 1995 Brit Awards, including Best Band and Best Album for Parklife.[32] Coxon later pointed to Parklife as the moment when "[Blur] went from being regarded as an alternative, left field arty band to this amazing new pop sensation".[33] Blur began working on their fourth album The Great Escape at the start of 1995.[34] Building upon the band's previous two albums, Albarn's lyrics for the album consisted of several third-person narratives. James reflected, "It was all more elaborate, more orchestral, more theatrical, and the lyrics were even more twisted ... It was all dysfunctional, misfit characters fucking up."[35] The release of the album's lead single "Country House" played a part in Blur's public rivalry with Manchester band Oasis termed the "Battle of Britpop". Partly due to increasing antagonisms between the groups, Blur and Oasis ultimately decided to release their new singles on the same day, an event the NME called "The British Heavyweight Championship". The debate over which band would top the British singles chart became a media phenomenon, and Albarn appeared on the News at Ten.[36] At the end of the week, "Country House" ultimately outsold Oasis' "Roll With It" by 274,000 copies to 216,000, becoming Blur's first number one single.[37] The Great Escape, which Albarn told the public was the last instalment in the band's Life Trilogy, was released in September 1995 to ecstatic reviews.[38] The NME hailed it as "spectacularly accomplished, sumptuous, heart-stopping and inspirational",[39] while Mojo argued "Blur are the very best that '95 Britpop has to offer and this is a most gong-worthy sound, complete with head-slicing guitars, catchy tunes and very funny words".[40] Entering the UK charts at number one,[41] the album sold nearly half a million copies in its first month of sale.[42] However, opinion quickly changed and Blur found themselves largely out of favour with the media once again. Following the worldwide success of Oasis' (What's the Story) Morning Glory? (which went quadruple platinum in America), the media quipped "[Blur] wound up winning the battle but losing the war."[43] Blur became perceived as an "inauthentic middle class pop band" in comparison to the "working class heroes" Oasis, which Albarn said made him feel "stupid and confused".[36] Alex James later summarised, "After being the People's Hero, Damon was the People's Prick for a short period ... basically, he was a loser ÿ very publicly."[44] An early 1996 Q magazine interview revealed that relations between Blur members had become very strained; journalist Adrian Deevoy wrote that he found them "on the verge of a nervous breakup".[44] Coxon, in particular, began to resent his bandmates: James for his playboy lifestyle, and Albarn for his control over Blur's musical direction and public image.[44] The guitarist struggled with drinking problems and, in a rejection of the group's Britpop aesthetic, made a point of listening to noisy American alternative rock bands such as Pavement.[45] In February 1996, when Coxon and James were absent for a lip-synced Blur performance broadcast on Italian television, they were replaced by a cardboard cutout and a roadie, respectively. Blur biographer Stuart Maconie later wrote that, at the time, "Blur were sewn together very awkwardly".[44] Although he had previously dismissed it, Albarn grew to appreciate Coxon's tastes in lo-fi and underground music, and recognised the need to significantly change Blur's musical direction once again. "I can sit at my piano and write brilliant observational pop songs all day long but you've got to move on", he said.[44] He subsequently approached Street, and argued for a more stripped-down sound on the band's next record. Coxon, recognising his own personal need toas Rowntree put it"work this band", wrote a letter to Albarn, describing his desire for their music "to scare people again". After initial sessions in London, the band left to record the rest of the album in Iceland, away from the Britpop scene.[44] The result was Blur, the band's fifth studio album, released in February 1997. Although the music press predicted that the lo-fi sonic experimentation would alienate Blur's teenage girl fan-base, they generally applauded the effort. Pointing out lyrics such as "Look inside America/She's alright", and noting Albarn's "obligatory nod to Beck, [and promotion of] the new Pavement album as if paid to do so", reviewers felt the band had come to accept American values during this timean about-face of their attitude during the Britpop years.[46] Despite cries of "commercial suicide", the album and its first single, "Beetlebum", debuted at number one in the UK.[47] Although the album could not match the sales of their previous albums in the UK, Blur became the band's most successful internationally.[47] In the US, the album received strong reviews; Blur reached number 61 on the Billboard 200 and was certified gold.[27][48] The album's "Song 2" single was also popular on alternative radio, reaching number six on the Modern Rock chart.[27] After it was licensed for use in various mediasuch as soundtracks, advertisements and television shows"Song 2" became the most recognisable Blur song in the US. After the success of Blur, the band embarked on a nine-month world tour.[44] In February 1998, a few months after completing the tour, Blur released Bustin' + Dronin' for the Japanese market. The album is a collection of Blur songs remixed by artists such as Thurston Moore, William Orbit and Moby. Among the tracks, the band were most impressed by Orbit's effort and enlisted him to replace Street as producer for their next album,[49] citing a need to approach the recording process from a fresh perspective.[33] Released in March 1999, Blur's sixth studio album 13 saw them drift still further away from their Britpop-era attitude and sound. Orbit's production style allowed for more jamming, and incorporated a "variety of emotions, atmospheres, words and sounds" into the mix. 13 was creatively dominated by Coxon, who "was simply allowed to do whatever he chose, unedited", by Orbit.[50] Albarn's lyricsmore heart-felt, personal and intimate than on previous occasionswere reflective of his break-up with Elastica frontwoman Justine Frischmann, his partner of eight years.[50] The album received generally favourable reviews from the press. While Q called it "a dense, fascinating, idiosyncratic and accomplished art rock album",[51] the NME felt it was inconsistent and "(at least) a quarter-of-an-hour too long".[52] 13 debuted at the top of the UK charts, staying at that position for two weeks. The album's lead single, the gospel-based "Tender", opened at the second spot on the charts. After "Coffee & TV", the first Blur single to feature Coxon on lead vocals, only reached number 11 in the UK, manager Chris Morrison demanded a chart re-run because of what he deemed was a sales miscalculation.[53] In July 1999, in celebration of their tenth anniversary, Blur released a 22-CD limited edition box-set of their singles. The accompanying tour saw Blur play the A-sides of the 22 singles in their chronological order of release.[54] In October 2000, the group released the compilation Blur: The Best of, which debuted at number three in the UK and received a Platinum certification for 300,000 copies shipped.[55] Dismissed by the band as "the first record we have seen as product", the track listing and release dates of Blur: The Best of were determined on the basis of market research and focus groups conducted by Blur's record label, EMI.[56] By this time, the group had largely disowned the upbeat pop singles from the Britpop era, and favoured the more arty, experimental work on Blur and 13. In an otherwise highly enthusiastic review of the best-of for the NME, Steve Sutherland criticised the band's "sheer disregard" for their earlier work; "Just because these songs embarrassed them once they started listening to broadsheet critics and retreated wounded from the big-sales battle with Oasis doesn't mean that we're morons to love them."[57] After 13 and the subsequent tours in 1999ÿ2000, band members pursued other projects. Graham Coxon recorded a string of solo albums, while Damon Albarn dedicated his time to Gorillaz, the animated band he had created with Jamie Hewlett. Alex James worked with Fat Les and co-wrote several songs with Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Marianne Faithfull.[58][59] Recording for Blur's next album began in London in November 2001, but concerted work started in June 2002, with the sessions moving to Marrakech, Morocco soon after, and then to Devon back in the UK. Not long after the sessions began, Coxon left the group.[60] Coxon said "there were no rows" and "[the band] just recognised the feeling that we needed some time apart".[61] Before the album was released, Blur released a new single, "Don't Bomb When You Are the Bomb" as a very limited white label release. The song is largely electronic, and was part of the band's protest against war in the Middle East. Albarn, however, attempted to assuage fans' fears that the album would be electronic by providing reassurances that the band's new album would be "a rockin' record", and also said that it has "a lot of finely crafted pop songs".[62] Early in 2002, Blur recorded a song that would be played by European Space Agency's Beagle 2 lander once it touched down;[63] however, attempts to locate the probe after it landed on Mars were fruitless.[64] Think Tank, released in May 2003, was filled with atmospheric, brooding electronic sounds, featuring simpler guitar lines played by Albarn, and largely relying on other instruments to replace Coxon. The guitarist's absence also meant that Think Tank was almost entirely written by Albarn. Its sound was seen as a testament to Albarn's increasing interest in African and Middle Eastern music, and to his complete control over the group's creative direction.[65] Think Tank was yet another UK number one and managed Blur's highest US position of number 56.[25][27] It was also nominated for best album at the 2004 Brit Awards.[66] The band did a successful tour in 2003, with former Verve guitarist Simon Tong filling in for Coxon.[67] In 2005, XFM News reported that Blur would record an EP, and denied that they would hire a replacement guitarist for Coxon.[68] There were also some aborted recordings made in 2005. Overall the band kept a low profile and did no studio or touring work as a three-piece. After Coxon significantly thawed on the subject of rejoining Blur,[69] in 2007 band members announced that they would reunite, and that they intended to record together first in August, with the date later being pushed back to September, then October.[70][71] Though the band members finally met up in October, they posted on their website that they had only "met up for an enjoyable lunch" and that there were no "other music plans for Blur".[72] In December 2008, Blur announced they would reunite for a concert at London's Hyde Park on 3 July 2009.[72] Days later, the band added a second date, for 2 July.[73] A series of June preview shows were also announced, ending at Manchester Evening News arena on the 26th. All the shows were well received; The Guardian's music critic Alexis Petridis gave their performance at Goldsmiths college a full five stars, and wrote "Blur's music seems to have potentiated by the passing of years ... they sound both more frenetic and punky and more nuanced and exploratory than they did at the height of their fame".[74] Blur headlined the Glastonbury Festival on 28 June, where they played for the first time since their headline slot in 1998. Reviews of the Glastonbury performance were enthusiastic; The Guardian called them "the best Glastonbury headliners in an age".[75] The band released their second greatest hits album Midlife: A Beginner's Guide to Blur in June 2009. Blur also headlined at other summer festivals, including Oxegen 2009 in Ireland,[76] and the Scottish outdoor show of T in the Park. Their T in the Park headline slot was put in jeopardy after Graham Coxon was admitted to hospital with food poisoning. Ultimately, the band did play, albeit an hour and a half after they were scheduled to appear.[77] After the completion of the reunion dates, James said the group had not discussed further plans, and Albarn told Q soon after that Blur had no intention of recording or touring again. He said, "I just can't do it anymore", and explained that the main motivation for participating in the reunion was to repair his relationship with Coxon, which he succeeded at.[78] Coxon also said that no further Blur activity was planned, telling NME.com in September, "We're in touch and we say 'Wotcha' and all that but nothing has been mentioned about any more shows or anything else".[79] In January 2010, No Distance Left to Run, a documentary about the band, was released in cinemas and a month later on DVD.[80] In April 2010, Blur released their first new recording since 2003, "Fool's Day", for the Record Store Day event, as a vinyl record limited to 1000 copies; it was later made available as a free download on their website.[81] No Distance Left to Run was nominated as Best Long Form Music Video for the 53rd Grammy Awards, Blur's first-ever Grammy nomination.[82] In February 2012, Blur were awarded the Outstanding Contribution to Music award at the 2012 Brit Awards.[83] Later that month, Albarn and Coxon premiered a new track together live, "Under the Westway".[84] In April, the band announced that a box-set entitled Blur 21containing all seven Blur studio albums, four discs of unreleased rarities and three DVDswould be released in July.[85] Blur had also entered the studio early that year to record material for a new album, but in May producer William Orbit told the NME that Albarn had halted recording.[86] Blur's official Twitter and Facebook pages announced that the band would release two singles "The Puritan" and "Under the Westway" on 2 July.[87] That August, Blur headlined a show at Hyde Park for the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony.[88] In 2013, the band performed at the Rock Werchter in Belgium, the Spanish and Portuguese dates of the Primavera Sound festival,[89] and the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in the United States.[90] In April 2015, Blur released their first studio album in twelve years, The Magic Whip. Conceived over five days in Hong Kong after a cancelled Japan tour in 2013, the album was inspired by the city as well. "There's nothing pastoral about it", Albarn said, "it's very urban". The Magic Whip also marks the return of Coxon, absent on all but one track on Think Tank, and Stephen Street, Blur's producer during the Britpop era.[91] Upon its release, the record was greeted with applause both by the music press and the mainstream media.[92] Awarding the album a full five stars, The Daily Telegraph called The Magic Whip "a triumphant comeback that retains the band's core identity while allowing ideas they'd fermented separately over the past decade to infuse their sound with mature and peculiar new flavour combinations".[93] The NME concurred, saying Blur were "a reunited band making music to rival their very best".[94] It was also a commercial success, becoming the sixth consecutive Blur LP since Parklife (1994) to top the British charts. The Guardian also noted that at times during its first week of release, The Magic Whip sold "more than the rest of the top five combined".[95] That December New World Towers, a documentary on the recording process of The Magic Whip, was released in select British theatres.[96][97]