Historical inheritance systems

# Historical inheritance systems

## Abstract

Historical inheritance systems are different systems of inheritance among various people.

Detailed anthropological and sociological studies have been made about customs of patrilineal inheritance, where only male children can inherit. Some cultures also employ matrilineal succession, where property can only pass along the female line, most commonly going to the sister's sons of the decedent; but also, in some societies, from the mother to her daughters. Some ancient societies and most modern states employ egalitarian inheritance, without discrimination based on gender and/or birth order.

## Cross cultural research about systems of inheritance

### Land inheritance

Land inheritance customs greatly vary across cultures. The Ethnographic Atlas gives the following data regarding land distribution: primogeniture predominates in 247 societies, while ultimogeniture prevails in 16. In 19 societies land is exclusively or predominantly given to the one adjudged best qualified, while equality predominates in 301 societies. Regarding land inheritance rules, in 340 societies sons inherit, in 90 other patrilineal heirs (such as brothers), in 31 sister's sons, in 60 other matrilineal heirs (such as daughters or brothers), and in 98 all children. In 43 societies land is given to all children, but daughters receive less. In 472 societies, the distribution of inherited land follows no clear rules or information is missing, while in 436 societies inheritance rules for real property do not exist or data is missing; this is partly because there are many societies where there is little or no land to inherit, such as in hunter-gatherer or pastoral societies.

Patrilineal primogeniture, where the eldest son inherits, was customary among many cultures around the world. Patrilineal ultimogeniture, where the youngest son inherits, was customary among a number of cultures including: Fur, Fali, Sami (also called Lapp), Bashkir, Chuvash, Gagauz, Vep, Tatar, Achang, Ayi, Atayal, Kachi, Biate, Chinantec, Hmar, Mro, Kom, Purum and Lushei or Lushai (sometimes mistakenly taken for the whole Mizo people, especially in the past).

Among English peasants there was no clearly prevalent inheritance pattern, while Spanish Basques gave their land to the one considered best qualified, though they had a preference for sons. Giving more or less equal shares of land to sons, but excluded daughters was also common in many populations, as was giving relatively equal shares to both sons and daughters or slightly less to daughters. The same system prevails in contemporary Egypt and most Arab groups (see Sharia). Most non-Arab Muslims, with some exceptions (Caucasians, Iranians), historically followed their own inheritance customs, not those of the Sharia. In Ancient Egypt the eldest son inherited twice as much as other sons, and in earlier times he was the sole heir.

Among the Lao, the Aceh, the Guanches, and the Minangkabau, all daughters inherited equal shares of land. The Cham, the Jaintia, the Garo, and the Khasi practiced female ultimogeniture. Primogeniture, regardless of the sex of the child, was customary among the Paiwan, the Ifugao, the Chugach, and the French Basques. While ultimogeniture, regardless of the sex of the child, was customary among the Chuvash and the Mari.

Bilateral primogeniture is a rarer custom of inheritance where the eldest son inherits from the father and the eldest daughter inherits from the mother. This practice was common among the Classic Mayas, who transmitted the family's household furnishings from mother to eldest daughter, and the family's land, houses and agricultural tools from father to eldest son. It was also seen in the Greek island of Karpathos, where the family's house was transmitted from mother to eldest daughter, and the family's land was transmitted from father to eldest son. Among the Igorot, the father's land is inherited by his eldest son and the mother's land is inherited by her eldest daughter.

A review of numerous studies found that the pattern of land inheritance traditionally prevalent among English, Dutch and New Englander peasants was partible inheritance. The pattern of land inheritance traditionally prevalent among Russian peasants was found to be close to patrilineal primogeniture, "as oldest sons may well inherit more". The conclusions of this review contradicts previous reports that Russians practiced equal inheritance of land by all sons and that the English, Dutch and New Englanders had no definite inheritance pattern.

In easternmost Europe, patrilineal ultimogeniture prevailed among most Turkic peoples. Equal inheritance of property by all sons prevailed among most Finno-Ugric peoples, and patrilineal primogeniture prevailed among Estonians and Balts.

Inheritance customs are sometimes considered a culturally distinctive aspect of a society. Although it is often thought that the Mizos employ ultimogeniture, this is because the customs of Lushais or Lusheis are confused with those of all Mizos; Mizo and Lushai have been occasionally used interchangeably. Among most non-Lushai Mizos, primogeniture predominates, just as among Kukis. In general there is great confusion about the ethnic identity of the many northeastern Indian tribes. Some regard the generic term Zomi as most appropriate.

### Inheritance of movable property

The same disparity is seen regarding inheritance of movable property. Most nomadic peoples from Asia, for example the Khalka Mongols, give a more or less equal share of the herd to each son as he marries. Typically the youngest remain behind caring for the parents and inheriting his father's tent after their death in addition to his own share of the herd. However, others, such as the Yukaghir and the Yakuts, leave most of the herd to one son (in the above examples the youngest and the eldest, respectively). Some pastoral peoples from other geographical areas also practice unequal wealth transfers, although customs of equal male inheritance are more common among them than among agriculturalists.

Patrilineal primogeniture with regards to both livestock and land was practiced by the Tswana people, whose main source of wealth was livestock, although they also practiced agriculture. This practice was also seen in other southern Bantu peoples, such as the Tsonga, or the Venda. Although, among the Venda, while the livestock was inherited by the eldest son, land was not inherited within families but given to each son by village authorities as he married. Among the Tsonga, most of the land was used only for stockbreeding. Patrilineal primogeniture also prevailed among the neighboring Khoi peoples, of whom only the Nama (among whom patrilineal primogeniture also prevailed)remain.

Many other African peoples also practiced patrilineal primogeniture with regards to livestock. These included: The Ngoni, the Gogo, the Mangbetu, the Rendille, the Sapo, the Boran, the Gabra, the Plains Pokot, the Hema, the Beti-Pahuin, the Buduma, the Dogon, the Duala, the Djafun and the Kassena. According to the Ethnographic Atlas, the Fulbe or Fulani, the largest pastoral people in Africa, divided their livestock equally between all sons. However, according to some other sources they practiced male primogeniture.

Chukchi, Koryak and Ket peoples practiced male ultimogeniture. It has been stated that the rest of Siberian peoples, such as Voguls, Samoyeds or Khantys, practiced patrilineal primogeniture, though there isn't much reliable information about the traditional customs of Siberian peoples. It is said that Gilyaks divided their cattle equally between all sons. Patrilineal primogeniture was also traditionally prevalent among pastoral peoples from Australia, such as the Aranda, as well as among Himalayan pastoralists like the Changpa.

Patrilineal primogeniture was traditionally prevalent among some pastoral peoples from Greenland and northern Canada. The neighboring indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast were organized in societies where elder sons and their lines of descent had higher status than younger sons and their lines of descent (a "conical clan"), although a rule of patrilineal primogeniture couldn't develop among most of them since they were mostly hunter-gatherers. However, rule of patrilineal primogeniture did develop among some Canadian indigenous peoples who practiced agriculture, such as the Montagnais, the Kutchin, the Pikangikum, the Ojibwa, the Klallam and the Atsugewi. Canadian indigenous peoples were influenced by the ancient Thule culture, of which little is known with certainty.

### Other sources

Intergenerational wealth transmission among agriculturalists tends to be rather unequal. Only slightly more than half of the societies studied practice equal division of real property; customs to preserve land relatively intact (most commonly primogeniture) are very common. Wealth transfers are more egalitarian among pastoralists, but unequal inheritance customs also prevail in some of these societies, and they are strongly patrilineal.

A study of 39 non-Western societies found many customs that distinguished between children according to their sex and birth order. First sons, in comparison to other sons, "are likely to inherit or otherwise gain control of more family land, livestock, or other wealth." First sons inherited more than the other sons among 11 societies studied. Among the Todas, both first and last sons inherited more than the other sons. Last sons inherited more than the other sons among the Lolo and the Yukaghir, and inherited less among the Luo. The people found to have the greatest number of customs favourable to first sons in the study were the Tswana, followed closely by the Azande. The people with the greatest number of customs favorable to last sons in their study were the Lolo. This study confirmed ethnographers' claims that customs favorable to first sons were common in South Asia, Austronesia and Sub-Saharan Africa, while customs favorable to last sons were common among the ethnic minorities of Southwest China.

The only custom that distinguished between sons among the Dagor Mongols was that first sons received more respect from his siblings and last sons received less respect from their siblings. This contradicts those theories that maintain that peoples of the Asian steppe had strong customs favorable to first or last sons. In fact, the indigenous American peoples had significantly more customs favorable to first sons than the Dagor Mongols.

Among Arab peoples, such as the Egyptian Fellahin, all sons inherited the same and had the same wealth. This was also seen among the Alaska Native peoples such as the Eyak.

Jack Goody was an influential anthropologist during the twentieth century. However, his theories have been mostly rejected during the last decades. He made a distinction between a complete and a preferential form of primogeniture and ultimogeniture. In the complete form of both customs, the rest of the children are excluded from the inheritance. However, in the preferential form of primogeniture, the eldest son acts as custodian of the father's rights on behalf of his brothers. In the preferential form of ultimogeniture, the youngest son inherits the residue of his father's property after elder sons have received their shares during the father's lifetime. Goody called ultimogeniture "Borough English" and primogeniture "Borough French" because in England ultimogeniture was a native custom, while primogeniture was a custom brought by the Norman invaders. According to Goody, in Late Medieval England, patrilineal primogeniture predominated in feudal tenures and among the peasantry of large parts of the Midlands. Patrilineal ultimogeniture ("Borough English") prevailed elsewhere in the champion country. Partible inheritance (gavelkind) prevailed in Kent, East Anglia and the Celtic areas.

Both preferential primogeniture and preferential ultimogeniture were practiced in pre-revolutionary Russia, where the eldest son succeeded as family head and inherited more than the other sons. "The youngest son, if he remained with the father, inherited the house and also at times other property" (minorat). However, the share of land and moveables of the other sons was only slightly smaller than that of the eldest and the youngest son. Only in the southern part of the country was the house inherited by the youngest son; in the north it was inherited by the eldest son.

The Russian family of around 1900 considered property such as the house, agricultural implements, livestock and produce as belonging collectively to all family members. When the father died, his role as head of the family (known as Khozain, or Bolshak) was passed to the oldest person in the house. In some areas this was the oldest son. In others it was the oldest brother of the deceased so long as he lived in the same house. There were some areas were a new head would be elected by the family members. If all surviving members of the family were under age, a relation would become a co-proprietor. If property was divided after a death, each adult male in the house got an equal share. Sons who had left home did not have a right of succession. Females remained within the family and received a share of the inheritance when they married. In the north of Russia, the oldest son inherited the house. In the south the eldest son would have set up a separate house while the father was still alive, therefore the youngest inherited the fathers house upon his death.

## Systems of inheritance among various people

Throughout history, creative inheritance systems have been created, fitting the best needs of the various people according to their unique environment and challenges.

## Inheritance customs as a cultural dimension

Inheritance customs do not follow clear ethnic, linguistic or geographical patterns. Equality between all sons and a subordinate position of women, with the exclusion of daughters from inheriting, are prominent aspects of Hungarian, Albanian, Romanian, Armenian, and most Slavic or Latin American cultures. While many studies show the privileged position that the eldest son traditionally enjoyed in Slovene, Finnish or Tibetan culture. The Jaintia, the Garo and the Khasi, on the other hand, traditionally privileged the youngest daughter. Some peoples, like the Dinka, the Arakanese, the Chins of Myanmar, or the Karen, frequently show a compromise between primogeniture and ultimogeniture in their inheritance patterns. Although among many Chins of Myanmar, the advantage that the eldest and the youngest son have over other sons is really small, so it is not correct to speak of a true pattern of mixed primogeniture and ultimogeniture. The advantage of the eldest and the youngest son is somewhat more ample among the Dinka and the Arakanese. The compromise between primogeniture and ultimogeniture was also found among the Kachin and the Dilling, as well as among the Sherpa to some degree. This pattern of inheritance is also reported for many Fulbe villages in the Republic of Guinea, though it seems that in past times the eldest son inherited all in Guinea.

Sometimes inheritance customs do not entirely reflect social traditions. Romans valued sons more than daughters, and Thais and Shan showed the reverse pattern, though all practiced equal land inheritance between all children. The Shan people, who live mostly in northern Thailand and northeastern Myanmar, are markedly matrilocal.

In Han Chinese tradition, the eldest son was of special importance. The law punished more harshly offences by a younger brother against an elder brother than vice versa. The eldest son received the family headship in cases where the family held together as a single unit, and the largest share in cases of family division, since he also inherited the cult to family ancestors. This is still practiced in Taiwan nowadays, though Chinese peasants have practiced partible inheritance since the time of the Qin and Han Dynasties, when the previous system of male primogeniture was abolished. In some cases, the eldest son of the eldest son, rather than the eldest son, was favored. Ritual primogeniture was emphasized in the lineage organizations of North China. During the Longshan culture period and the period of the three Dynasties (Xia, Zhou and Shang), patrilineal primogeniture predominated.

Among Mongols it has been usually stated that the youngest son had a special position because he cared for his parents in their old age. On their death he inherited the parental tent, which was connected with the religious cult in Mongol traditions, though all sons received more or less equal shares of livestock as they married. However, in contrast to this popularly held notion, more rigorous and substantiated anthropological studies of kinship and family in central Asian peoples strongly indicate that in these societies elder sons and their lines of descent had higher status than younger sons and their lines of descent. In central Asia, all members of a lineage were terminologically distinguished by generation and age, with senior superior to junior. The lineage structure of central Asia had three different modes: genealogical distance, or the proximity of individuals to one another on a graph of kinship; generational distance, or the rank of generation in relation to a common ancestor; and birth order, the rank of brothers in relation to each another. The paternal descent lines were collaterally ranked according to the birth of their founders, and were thus considered senior and junior to each other. Of the various collateral patrilines, the senior in order of descent from the founding ancestor, the line of eldest sons, was the most noble. In the steppe, no one had his exact equal; everyone found his place in a system of collaterally ranked lines of descent from a common ancestor. It was according to this idiom of superiority and inferiority of lineages derived from birth order that legal claims to superior rank were couched. Furthermore, at least among Mongols, the elder son inherited more than the younger son, and this is mandated by law codes such as the Yassa, created by Genghis Khan.

Among Arabic peoples, it is sometimes argued that the expansion of Islam brought an end to the sharp distinction between the firstborn and other sons so characteristic of ancient Semitic peoples. However, many peoples who have partially or completely embraced Islam, have also established inequality between sons, such as the Oromo of east Africa, who had patrilineal primogeniture in inheritance, in spite of the fact that some of them were Muslim. Other Muslim peoples, like the Minangkabau and the Javanese of Indonesia, the Turks, or the Fur in Sudan, also have inheritance practices that contradict their Islamic beliefs. Most non-Arab Muslims historically followed their own inheritance customs, not those of the Sharia.

In India, inheritance customs were (and still are) very diverse. Patrilineal primogeniture predominated in ancient times. The Laws of Manu state that the oldest son inherits all of the father's estate. Since the Middle Ages patrilineal equal inheritance has prevailed in perhaps a majority of groups, although the eldest son often received an extra share. Under this system, the estate would be shared between all sons, but these would often remain together with their respective families under the headship of the karta or family head, who was usually the eldest son of the previous family head. However, among some South Asian peoples, such as the Western Punjabi, male primogeniture continued to prevail.

## Fertility and marriage strategies across diverse societies

### Cross-cultural comparisons

The practice of widow inheritance by younger brothers has been observed in many parts of Africa and the Asian steppe, as well as small zones of South Asia. This practice forces younger brothers to marry older women. Eastern European cultures, on the other hand, are characterized by early, universal and equal access to marriage and reproduction, due to their systems of equal inheritance of land and movable property by all sons. Research on pre-industrial Russian Karelia however, suggests that younger brothers frequently remained unmarried, and the joint-family household characterized by the equal inheritance of land and moveable property by all sons and patriarchal power relations wasn't universal in Russia.

The patrilineal joint-family systems and more or less equal inheritance for all son in India and China meant that there was no difference in marriage and reproduction due to birth order. In the stem-family systems of Northwest Europe however, access to marriage and reproduction wasn't equal for all sons, since only one of them would inherit most or all of the land.

The survival and well-being of children in India and China is positively influenced by the number of older siblings of the opposite sex and negatively influenced by the number of older siblings of the same sex. However, definitive celibacy was historically relatively uncommon in India and China, but relatively common in many European societies where inheritance was impartible. The Han Chinese first sons historically married earlier, had lower rates of definitive celibacy and more children (especially males) than their younger brothers. However, they suffered higher mortality rates. This has been attributed to the fact that eldest sons needed to have more children to succeed them as heads and were willing to take more risks and suffer a higher drain of resources to achieve this. The Chinese joint family system had strong inegalitarian traits that made it demographically more akin to a stem family system. According to Emmanuel Todd and others, it be reminiscent of the system of patrilineal primogeniture prevalent during the Longshan culture period and the period of the Three Dynasties.

### Variations by class and context

There is a strong relationship between fertility and inheritance in "Malthusian" contexts of resource scarcity. In contexts where resources are plentiful, the relationship between inheritance and social outcomes can be different. In the Midwest and Northeast United States during the period from 1775 to 1875, where resources were plentiful, being the first son was positively correlated with wealth and fertility. As in other western cultures, but unlike European societies where resources were scarce, this has a complex relationship with inheritance.

Inheritance practices and seniority of patriline, as well as the importance of inheritance itself, have varied over time among the Lisu. This was mostly in response to changes in resource availability and poppy cultivation.

In the United States, daughters currently inherit on average more than sons. In the past, however, the eldest son was favored in matters of land inheritance. During the Colonial Period, the eldest son inherited twice more than the other sons in the northern colonies (these inheritance laws were modelled on Mosaic Law), and in the southern colonies there was a rule of male primogeniture.

In northern Ghana, a region where male primogeniture predominates, rich households favoured sons over daughters. It is likely that first born sons would have been preferred as they would inherit the wealth and therefore have higher reproductive prospects.

## Cultural patterns of child-preference

In recent times inheritance in the western world has generally been egalitarian despite parents showing favoritism towards daughters and later-born sons. In parent-son relationships, mothers usually show favouritism towards the first son and fathers to later born sons however these tendencies have lost much of their importance with regards to inheritance.

Customs of ultimogeniture among farmers has been explained as a consequence of postponing retirement so they do not feel "dethroned" early by their eldest son. This line of thinking has been linked to the preeminence of lastborn siblings in popular myth and folklore around the world. As a consequence, in some cultures that practice male preimogentiure there are ambiguous, contradictory feelings towards last born sons.

Among the Hausa of West Africa, who practice primogeniture, the mother and oldest son engage in mutual avoidance behavior to mark the woman's positive change in status upon producing an heir. The father may also avoid the son if he is the mother's first male child, speaking to him through intermediaries rather than directly.

Among the Mossi of central Burkina Faso in West Africa, the eldest son would be sent to relatives shortly after circumcision and return to the parental household shortly after puberty; after the death of his father he would inherit his property.

A study of the people of the Pacific island Tikopia in 1929 found that the eldest son must marry and receive more land, while the younger sons remain bachelors, emigrate or even die. However, by 1952 many of the customs were being abandoned and marriage was beginning to become universal. In the succession to chieftainship, the traditional custom of male primogeniture continued though.

In some societies in Sub-Saharan Africa where male primogeniture was practiced, tensions between parents and their inheriting eldest son were resolved through rituals of avoidance. This was most extreme among the Tallensi. Among East Asian peoples, on the other hand, co-residence between parents and their eldest son was thought of as normal and desirable in systems of impartible inheritance, and in some countries such as Japan, Vietnam and South Korea it is widely practiced even nowadays. Historically in Japan, marriage and reproduction by the eldest son was facilitated by their status as heirs.

In Japan, Korea and Vietnam, as well as in some of those European regions where male primogeniture was practiced, parents didn't transfer their property to the inheriting son at the point of his marriage as among Germans. Instead, the first son remained under his father's authority even after he had married and had had children, and the father remained the nominal head of the family until his death, relinquishing his actual authority slowly and gradually. In Japan, only the inheriting son stayed in the parental household. He could become head of the family any time between his marriage and the death of his predecessor. The timing of this was normally dictated by familial or local traditions. The Catalan and Occitan stem families in Europe closely resembled the model seen in Japan.

In rural China, property and landholdings are usually divided up when the older son marries.Normally the youngest son continues to live with the parents and inherits their remaining share of the property. Prior to the revolution in 1949, most families in rural areas of China stayed together for many years after the oldest son marries, sometimes until the youngest son married. However, there is some evidence that the practice of co-residing with the eldest son continues.

In Israel, coresidence between parents and their eldest son prevails in the context of the Moshav movement, that prohibited breaking up family plots; thus the eldest son inherits the family farm.

In South Korea, modern businesses (chaebol) are handed down according to male primogeniture in most cases. A study of family firms in the UK, France, Germany and US found that male primogeniture was the inheritance rule in more than half of family firms in France and the UK, but only in less than a third of those in the US and only in a quarter (25 per cent) of those in Germany.

## Social approaches to inheritance customs

Employing differing forms of succession can affect many areas of society. Gender roles are profoundly affected by inheritance laws and traditions. Impartible inheritance has the effect of keeping large estates united and thus perpetuating an elite. With partible inheritance large estates are slowly divided among many descendants and great wealth is thus diluted. Inheritance customs wdo significant differences in the performance of men and women among the Khasis, who employ female ultimogeniture.

The degree of acceptance that a society may show towards an inheritance rule can also vary. In South Africa, for example, the influence of more modern, western social ideas has caused strong opposition, both civil and official, to the customary law of patrilineal primogeniture traditionally prevalent among black peoples, and inheritance customs are gradually changing.

Among the indigenous tribes of South Africa, the oldest son inherits after the death of the father. If the oldest son is also dead, the oldest surviving grandson inherits; if the eldest son has no sons, the inheritance is passed to the father's second son or his sons, and so on through all the sons and their male children if necessary. In polygynous families which were formed of multiple units, the inheritance rules were changed slightly. Each marriage formed a new unit, independent from the others, with separate property which was inherited by the heir of each unit. Polygynous families practised either simple or complex inheritance. In the simple system the heir is the eldest son of the first wife, of if he is dead, the eldest grandson. If the first wife had no sons, the inheritance went to the oldest surviving male descendant of the second wife, and so on through all the wives if necessary. Complex inheritance happened when the homestead was separated into two or three units, depending on the number of wives, and the eldest son of each wife became heir of their unit. If there was no heir in one of the units, the heir of the other inherited both. This form of inheritance was seen among the Xhosa people of south eastern South Africa.

In Lesotho and southern Ethiopia, most people still follow the custom of male primogeniture. However, in Zambia, Namibia and Cameroon, the prevalent customary law of patrilineal primogeniture is beginning to be challenged in court. In eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the predominant custom of male primogeniture is also beginning to be considered unfair by some women and younger sons. The custom of patrilineal primogeniture predominant in South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Equatorial Guinea, Zimbabwe and Gambia have not caused much opposition.

In Ghana, the diverse inheritance customs across ethnic groups, such as the male primogeniture among the Ewe and the Krobos, or matrilineal inheritance among the Akan, contribute to the occurrence of children living in the streets. In Sierra Leone, the inheritance customs prevalent in the country, were either the eldest son or the eldest brother inherits the property, create insecurities for widows. In South Korea, favouring the eldest son has been predominant almost up to recent times, despite laws of equal inheritance for all children. In 2005, in more than half (52.6 per cent) cases of inheritance the eldest son inherited most or all of his parents' property; in more than 30 per cent of cases the eldest son inherited all of his parents' property. In the past North Korea has the same pattern of inheritance as the South, however no details about current inheritance practices have been available since the county's proclamation of independence in 1948.

Social transformations can also modify inheritance customs to a great extent. For example, the Samburu of north-central Kenya are pastoralists who have traditionally practiced an attenuated form of patrilineal primogeniture, with the eldest son receiving the largest share of the family herd and each succeeding son receiving a considerably smaller share than any of his seniors. Now that many of them have become agriculturalists, some argue that land inheritance should follow patrilineal primogeniture, while others argue for equal division of the land. The Bhil people of central India, who were hunter-gatherers in the past, adopted a system of attenuated patrilineal primogeniture identical to that of pastoral Samburu when they became agriculturalists. The same custom also prevails among some other peoples, like the Elgeyo and Maasai in Kenya, or the Nupe of Nigeria and Niger. Most of the Amhara in Ethiopia divide their property between all sons, however male primogeniture is practised in some regions. Favoring the eldest son is also common among the Dinka in South Sudan. Among the Shona of Zimbabwe and Mozambique, the oldest son it the first to inherit and gets the best piece of the land. The oldest accounts of the Shona mention patrilineal primogeniture as their inheritance custom, with the oldest son of any of the deceased's wives becoming the main heir. The widow was inherited by her husbands brother but could choose not to be.

## Systems of social stratification

Detailed anthropological and sociological studies have been made about customs of patrilineal inheritance, where only male children can inherit. Some cultures also employ matrilineal succession, where property can only pass along the female line, most commonly going to the sister's sons of the decedent; but also, in some societies, from the mother to her daughters. Some ancient societies and most modern states employ egalitarian inheritance, without discrimination based on gender and/or birth order.

## The evolution of inheritance practices in Europe

The right of patrilineal primogeniture, though widespread during medieval and modern times in Europe, doesn't seem to have prevailed so extensively in ancient times. In Athens, according to Demosthenes and the Laws of Solon, the eldest son inherited the house and with it the cult to family ancestors. Aristotle spoke about patrilineal primogeniture during his time in Thebes and Corinth. He also spoke about the revolts that put an end to it in Massalia, Istros, Heraclea and Cnido). While Aristotle was opposed to this right, Plato wanted it to become more widespread. However, the nature of inheritance practices in Ancient Sparta is hotly debated among scholars. Ancient Greeks also considered the eldest son the avenger of wrongs done to parents—"The Erinyes are always at the command of the first-born".

Roman law didn't recognise primogeniture, but in practice Romans favored the eldest son. In Ancient Persia, succession to the family headship was determined by patrilineal primogeniture.

Among Celtic and Germanic peoples, the predominant custom during ancient times seems to have been to divide the land in equal parts for each of the sons. However, the house could be left to only one of them. Evidence of actual practices and law codes such as the Sachsenspiegel indicate that Germans left the house to the youngest son. This was possibly connected to the cult to family ancestors, which was also inherited by the youngest son. Celts from Ireland and northern France left the house to the eldest son. Both Germans and Irish divided the land into equal shares until the early Modern Age, when impartible inheritance gradually took hold among both peoples. However, according to Tacitus the German tribe of the Tencteri employed patrilineal primogeniture. There is also evidence that in Schleswig Holstein, leaving the estate to the eldest son and giving only monetary compensation to his siblings was the prevailing practice since around the year 100. Patrilineal primogeniture also prevailed among the Vikings. In Scotland, certain types of property descended exclusively to the eldest son in the Scottish Lowlands even before the Norman conquest in 1066. Patrilineal primogeniture with regards to all types of immoveable property became the legal rule in all of Scotland during the reign of William I (1165–1214). Until 1868, all immovable property, also called in Scottish law "heritable property" (buildings, lands, etc.) was inherited exclusively by the eldest son and couldn't be included in a will. After 1868, it could be included in a will or testament, but if a person died intestate, it was still inherited exclusively by the eldest son. In 1964, this rule of male primogeniture in cases of intestacy was finally abolished. According to Bede, the custom in Northumbria reserved a substantial birthright for the eldest son even before the Norman conquest and other local customs of inheritance also gave certain additional benefits to the eldest son. After the Norman conquest, male primogeniture became widespread throughout England, becoming the common law with the signing of Magna Carta in 1215, only slightly later than in Scotland. After 1540, a testator could dispose of its immovable property as he saw fit with the use of a testament, but until 1925 it was still inherited solely by the eldest son if he died intestate. However, although the gentry and the nobility in England practiced a relatively strict form of male primogeniture, there was no clearly prevalent inheritance pattern among peasants, giving rise to a sort of "proto-capitalist" rural economy, the "absolute nuclear" family. During Late Medieval Times male ultimogeniture ("Borough-English") was the predominant custom in England, as it was the customary rule of inheritance among unfree peasants, and this social class comprised most of the population according to the Domesday Book. In Scotland, by contrast, a strict form of male primogeniture prevailed (and still prevails) even among peasants.

The Scottish clan of the feudal era, which survived in the Highlands until 1747, was the only known example of a conical clan in Europe, along with the Roman gens according to Fustel de Coulanges. As Gartmore says in a paper written in 1747, "The property of these Highlands belongs to a great many different persons, who are more or less considerable in proportion to the extent of their estates, and to the command of men that live upon them, or follow them on account of their clanship, out of the estates of others. These lands are set by the landlord during pleasure, or a short tack, to people whom they call good-men, and who are of a superior station to the commonality. These are generally the sons, brothers, cousins, or nearest relations of the landlord. The younger sons of families are not bred to any business or employments, but are sent to the French or Spanish armies, or marry as soon as they are of age. Those are left to their own good fortune and conduct abroad, and these are preferred to some advantageous farm at home. This, by the means of a small portion, and the liberality of their relations, they are able to stock, and which they, their children, and grandchildren, possess at an easy rent, till a nearer descendant be again preferred to it.As the propinquity removes, they become less considered, till at last they degenerate to be of the common people; unless some accidental acquisition of wealth supports them above their station. As this hath been an ancient custom, most of the farmers and cottars are of the name and clan of the proprietor; and, if they are not really so, the proprietor either obliges them to assume it, or they are glaid to do so, to procure his protection and favour."

Prior to the advent of feudalism during Late Medieval times and the creation of the system above explained, no trace of male primogeniture or a similar custom existed in Scotland or elsewhere in the Celtic world. The successor to the office of the chief was selected among the wider kin of the previous chief (tanistry), and the land, among common families, was divided between all sons. Among many ancient Germanic tribes, on the other hand, male primogeniture determined succession to political office, the eldest son of a chief customarily succeeding his father. The common rule of land inheritance was partible inheritance, as in the Celtic world.

The British custom of male primogeniture became also prevalent in some British colonies, most strongly in Australia. The contrary development occurred in South Africa, where the Afrikaner colonizers, who practiced partible inheritance, were always opposed to the custom of male primogeniture prevalent among indigenous black peoples. In New Zealand, European colonizers chose any son to succeed to the family farm, without regards to his fraternal birth order, while patrilineal primogeniture prevailed among the indigenous Maori people.

In parts of northern France, giving a slightly larger share to the eldest son was common among peasants even before the 10th century; after that century, patrilineal primogeniture developed among the nobility (impartible inheritance never obtained among peasants in most of northern France). Flanders was probably the first country where patrilineal primogeniture became predominant among aristocrats. By the time of the French Revolution it had become almost universal in this social class in western, central and northern Europe, but inheritance customs among peasants varied widely across regions.

Strabo also speaks about customs of male primogeniture among Iberian peoples (most of the Iberian peninsula was populated by then by Celtic or half-Celtic peoples, not Iberians proper). He mentions that among the Cantabrii, however, the eldest child regardless of sex inherited the family property. By the term "Cantabrii" he was most probably referring not to the actual Cantabrians but to the Basques (who were not an Iberian people); among the Basques of France, this usage survived until the French Revolution, long after it had been replaced by male primogeniture or free selection of an heir among the Basques of Spain. In Catalonia, in northeastern Spain, the custom of male primogeniture survived in an exceptionally vigorous form among peasants until very recent times (in northeastern Catalonia, for example, peasants rigorously respected the right of male primogeniture until very recent times. In the province of Lleida, too, even as late as the mid-twentieth century, only 7.11 percent of the sons who became single-heirs were not the first son. In central and southern Catalonia, male primogeniture was also predominant). However, in other past Iberian regions which were subject to greater Muslim influence, such as Valencia, this custom only survived in some areas.

### Welsh laws of inheritance

The ancient Welsh laws of inheritance inform us about the evolution of inheritance practices in Great Britain. The Venedotian Code establishes that land must be partitioned between all sons and that the youngest has a preferential claim to the buildings:

"If there be buildings, the youngest brother but one is to divide the tyddyns,* for in that case he is the meter; and the youngest to have his choice of the tyddyns, and after that he is to divide all the patrimony. And by seniority they are to choose unto the youngest; and that division is to continue during the lives of the brothers."

"If there be no buildings on the land, the youngest son is to divide all the patrimony, and the eldest is to choose; and each, in seniority, choose unto the youngest."

"Land of a hamlet is not to be shared as tyddyns, but as gardens; and if there be buildings thereon, the youngest son is not more entitled to them than the eldest, but they are to be shared as chambers."

"When brothers share their patrimony between them, the younger is to have the principal tenement, and all the buildings, of his father, and eight einvs of land; his boiler, his hatchet, and his coulter, because a father cannot give these three to any one but the youngest son, and though they should be pledged they never become forfeited. Then let every brother take an homestead with eight erws of land; and the youngest son is to divide, and they are to choose in succession from the eldest to the youngest."

This was later replaced by a preference for the eldest son, and the Dimetian Code provides:

Whoever shall have dadenhudd adjudged to him, no one, by law, can eject him therefrom, except a proprietary heir to dadenhudd, according to age, that is, the eldest; since the second dadenhudd cannot eject the first; and one non-proprietor cannot eject another non-proprietor. If there be a dispute between two lawful heirs, one is proprietary heir to the dadenhudd of the whole, and another is non-proprietor; the one, however, is proprietor to dadenhudd of the whole, as dadenhudd of the whole is not appropriate to any one, but to the eldest of all the brothers. The privilege of age of the eldest brother renders all the younger brothers non-proprietors, and renders him sole proprietor for dadenhudd of all; if the younger ones come before him to obtain dadenhudd, at what time soever may come, he is to eject them all, and is to obtain dadenhudd of the whole: if they make the demand jointly, they are to obtain it jointly, as has been mentioned above. The eldest brother is likewise a primary son, and the youngest is secondary in claim; and therefore it is said: the second dadenhudd cannot eject the first. All the younger brothers are non-proprietors, as to obtaining dadenhudd of the whole, although every one shall obtain his share; and on that account it is said: no non-proprietor can eject another non-proprietor.

Canon law -dictated patrilineal primogeniture:

The ecclesiastical law says again that no son is to have the patrimony but the eldest born to the father by the married wife. The law of Howel, however, adjudges it to the younger son as well as to the oldest, and decides that the sin of the father, or his illegal act, is not to be brought against the son as to lus patrimony.

During the Modern Age, many Welsh peasants in upland areas lived in stem families where the eldest son took over the farm when his father became old. Perhaps most intriguingly, in the inner, lowland areas of Wales, where English culture was stronger and absolute nuclear families on the English model prevailed, male ultimogeniture predominated.

### The fideicommissum

Inheritance can be organized in a way that its use is restricted by the desires of someone (usually of the decedent). An inheritance may have been organized as a fideicommissum, which usually cannot be sold or diminished, only its profits are disposable. A fideicommissum's succession can also be ordered in a way that determines it long (or eternally) also with regard to persons born long after the original descendant. Royal succession has typically been more or less a fideicommissum, the realm not (easily) to be sold and the rules of succession not to be (easily) altered by a holder (a monarch). The fideicommissum, which in fact had little resemblance to the Roman institution of the same name, was almost the standard method of property transfer among the European nobility; Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Bohemia, Sweden and Italy were some of the countries where it became very popular among wealthy landowners, beginning in most cases around the early Modern Age. It was almost always organized around principles of male primogeniture. The Spanish mayorazgo and the Portuguese morgado also resembled the Continental fideicommissum more than the noble customs of Great Britain and most French regions; noble customs of primogeniture in these countries were more ancient and thus took different legal forms. Inheritance of noble titles also distinguished Great Britain from Continental Europe, since in most European countries most noble titles (though not estates) were inherited by all sons, sometimes even all children.


2024 Cincinnati Bengals season

# 2024 Cincinnati Bengals season

## Abstract

The 2024 season is the Cincinnati Bengals ' 55th season in the National Football League (NFL), their 57th overall and their sixth under head coach Zac Taylor. They will attempt to improve on their 9–8 record from last year and make the playoffs after a one-year absence.

## Offseason

### Free agents

### Trades

- March 12 – Running back Joe Mixon was traded to the Houston Texans for a seventh-round pick (No. 224 overall).

## Draft

Notes

- Pick 97 and 214 were compensatory draft picks.

- Pick 224 was acquired as part of Joe Mixon trade from Houston Texans.

## Preseason

### Game summaries

#### Preseason Week 1: vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers

at Paycor Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

- Date: August 10

- Game time: 7:00 p.m. EDT

- TV announcers (WXIX): Mike Watts (play-by-play), Anthony Munoz (color analyst), and Marisa Contipelli (sideline reporter)

## Regular season

### Schedule

Notes

- Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

- Networks and times from Weeks 5–16 are subject to change as a result of flexible scheduling.

- The date, time and network for Week 17 will be finalized at a later date.

- The date, time and network for Week 18 will be finalized at the end of Week 17.

### Game summaries

#### Week 1: vs. New England Patriots

at Paycor Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

- Date: September 8

- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT

- Game weather: Sunny, 66 °F (19 °C)

- Game attendance: 66,214

- Referee: Land Clark

- TV announcers (CBS): Ian Eagle, Charles Davis, and Evan Washburn

- Recap, Game Book

#### Week 2: at Kansas City Chiefs

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

- Date: September 15

- Game time: 4:25 p.m. EDT/3:25 p.m. CDT

- Game weather: Mostly sunny, 88 °F (31 °C)

- Referee: Alex Kemp

- TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz, Tony Romo and Tracy Wolfson

- Preview

#### Week 3: vs. Washington Commanders

at Paycor Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

- Date: September 23

- Game time: 8:15 p.m. EDT

- TV announcers (ABC): Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, and Lisa Salters

- Preview

### Standings


Walt Disney Home Video (VHS)

# Walt Disney Home Video (VHS)

## Abstract

Walt Disney Home Video is a discontinued video line launched to release Disney animated features on home video. This was done by a division of the same name under the parent Walt Disney Telecommunications and Non-Theatrical Company (WDTNT). As an entity, the name Walt Disney Home Video is now known as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. The scope of this list is mostly limited to Disney's North American live action movie releases. Cartoon collections were concurrently released as Walt Disney Cartoon Classics which include the "Limited Gold Editions". The initial price for early Disney cassettes at the time was "prohibitory expensive" for many, this changed in the mid-1980s when VCRs became affordable.

## History

Disney started out by establishing its own video distribution operation in 1980 as part of Walt Disney Telecommunications and Non-Theatrical Company (WDTNT) with Jim Jimirro as its first president. WDTNT Co. also handled marketing of other miscellaneous ancillary items such as short 8 mm films for home movies. When Disney started with video cassettes, "Home video" was not considered to be a major market by them at the time. Their first releases on videotape were 13 titles that were licensed for rental to Fotomat on March 4, 1980. Disney was unusual among the major studios in offering a program for authorized rentals. Most of the other studios involved in the videocassette market at the time were trying to find ways to stop dealers from renting out their movie tapes. Magnetic Video (with titles from 20th Century Fox and others) ceased doing business with Fotomat after Fotomat began renting Magnetic Video cassettes without authorization.

The switchover from rental to sales was a "thorny" issue that was solved by giving dealers an option on the type of outlet they desired. For those who just wanted to rent video cassettes, a title was given (for US$52) on a 13-week cycle. The dealer could then set the price as many times as they wanted in those 13 weeks before purchasing a new title from Disney. Video cassette rentals were more "functionally" packaged with a heavier box and less elaborately detailed illustrations. For those who wanted to sell video cassettes, a "fairly straightforward" program involved 4 color packaging and a suggested retail price. In order to separate the two mediums, the cassette either featured " FOR RENTAL ONLY/Not intended for Sale " or "FOR SALE ONLY/Not intended for Rental". The 13 titles that had been licensed for rental to Fotomat subsequently became available for purchase.

Throughout their release history, "Walt Disney Home Video" cassettes were promoted by Disney. An early example is the 1981 release of "A Walt Disney Christmas" where a "Free Mickey Mouse Plush Toy" was offered as an incentive. Disney later offered a promotion for Summer 1982 called "Disney's American Summer", where they sold some of their live action movies for the first time. At the time this promotion was done in an effort to make video cassettes more affordable, and boosted the video software involved. Marketing included a 7 foot tall gazebo which was set up in stores and a free mug as an incentive. Towards the end of 1984, Disney did a “Wrapped And Ready to Give” christmas promotion which included 7 newly released titles on video cassette. Later promotions include Disney's 1986 "Wonderland Campaign" as a further attempt to bring prices down.

When the Disney Channel was launched on April 18, 1983 it gave the company an opportunity to air made for TV films such as Tiger Town and Gone Are the Dayes, both of which were released to home video in 1984. During that same year Disney also started releasing their animated feature films under the Walt Disney Classics line starting with Robin Hood. On March 8, 1985 Disney released " Love Leads the Way " which became their first title that went straight to Home Video. The Walt Disney Home Video division was legally incorporated as Buena Vista Home Video on February 13, 1987. This name change however, did not stop some VHS releases under the Walt Disney Home Video line from being released throughout the year.

## North American releases

## Worldwide releases

Disney first offered Dumbo, Mary Poppins, Mi Amigo El Dragon (Pete's Dragon), Su Mas Fiel Amigo (Old Yeller), La Montana Embrujada (Escape to Witch Mountain), Los Tres Caballeros (The Three Caballeros), Mickey's Christmas Carol, and 2 cartoon collections in Spanish on November 30, 1985 In the United Kingdom, titles from the "Walt Disney Home Video" product line such as Mary Poppins, Pete's Dragon and Bedknobs and Broomsticks were not released to video cassette until November 26, 1988. Additional VHS releases in other countries under the "Walt Disney Home Video" are possible, but need further sourcing.

## Rarity

In terms of consignment, Heritage Auctions has placed in their "Vintage VHS Tapes Value Guide" that the most desirable VHS tapes released between 1979 and 1990 are still in their original factory shrink wrap. When VCRs were first released in 1977, they were priced between $1,000 to $1,400 which would roughly equal $4,900 to $6,900 in 2023 USD. As this amount was initially unattainable for most homes fewer people were buying VHS tapes, which in turn meant fewer copies being produced. A "likely sum of money for a video cassette at the time was between $80 and $100 or $400+ in 2023 USD. These higher costs lasted until 1985 when VCRs finally began dropping in price. While this meant more tapes were produced, it did not mean that they became any less of a rarity.

In regard to Disney "Only the earliest of Disney VHS cassettes produced prior to 1985 hold any value to most collectors." Titles such as "Tron" which remains "elusive" for early copies have sold for high amounts in mint condition. Things to look for in general include a sealed tape, a studio logo on the shrink-wrap, and if the latest year listed on the back of the cover is prior to 1986.


Jean Vuarnet

# Jean Vuarnet

## Abstract

Jean Vuarnet (18 January 1933 – 1 January 2017) was an alpine ski racer from France. An Olympic gold medalist, he is known for inventing the "Tuck" skiing position.

## Early life

Jean Raoul Célina André Vuarnet was born in Le Bardo, Tunisia, on 18 January 1933. His father Victor Vuarnet had a medical practice there. The next year, his family moved to Morzine, France, where he grew up. He was introduced to skiing as a young child, childhood friends with future director Roger Vadim. His parents divorced in 1943, after which he was sent to boarding schools in the cities of Paris and Lyon.

He attended law school at the University of Grenoble (due in part to Grenoble's location being fit for skiing), enrolling in 1952. During this period he skied competitively and was romantically involved with Christiane Veillon, a French Canadian woman. Veillon became pregnant, and mailed him a letter announcing this, but letter was intercepted by Vuarnet's father, who did not tell his son. As a result she returned to Montreal on her own.

## Career

As Vuarnet believed himself to not be a natural skier, he instead focused on studying technique of successful skiers. He would train under French skier and physical education instructor Georges Joubert, and would win several races (downhill, slalom, and combined) in the 1952 French University Games. He and Joubert would co-author a book on ski techniques in 1956, Ski ABC: Technique Moderne.

The high point of Vuarnet's racing career came at age 27 at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, where he won the gold medal in the downhill. Previously, he had won bronze in the same event at the World Championships in 1958 at Bad Gastein. From 1957 to 1959, Vuarnet achieved seven titles as a French skiing champion: twice in the downhill (1958, 1959), slalom (1957, 1958) and alpine combined, and in the giant slalom (1957). He had placed third in the slalom and the alpine combined in the "Kandahar" at Sestriere in 1956. He was not selected for the Olympic team in 1956.

He was a skiing innovator. He honed his revolutionary aerodynamic "egg position" (French: "dite de l'œuf") now known as The Tuck - a lower stance in which he squatted down with knees bent, arms outstretched and fists clasped together, in a bid to increase his speed. He also was the first to race on metal skis, on which he won the downhill at the 1960 Winter Olympics. The tenth racer on the course, he won by a full half-second.

After retiring from active competition, Vuarnet became head of the Italian alpine ski team from 1968 to 1972, and vice-president of the French skiing association, a role in which he served from 1972 to 1974.

## Business

In the early 1960s, Vuarnet was asked by his hometown of Morzine to help develop the skiing area around the town. He did so by creating the purpose-build resort of Avoriaz, together with a group of young architects. Around Avoriaz he developed a new area for alpine skiing, later linked to other areas in France and Switzerland known as The Portes du Soleil. He was appointed the director of tourism in Morzine.

Vuarnet also gave his name to the Vuarnet sunglasses brand in 1961, now owned by a U.K. private equity group, Neo Investment Partners.

## Personal life

In 1958, he married Edith Bonlieu, a three-time French women's ski champion and sister of François Bonlieu. They had three sons, Alain, Pierre, and Patrick, born in 1962, 1963 and 1969, respectively. Their marriage grew strained as his success increased, however, and Edith would join the notorious Order of the Solar Temple cult. Edith and their youngest son Patrick were among the members of the Order of the Solar Temple cult who committed mass suicide in 1995. Following their deaths, Vuarnet wrote a book about the case, Ils ont tué ma femme et mon fils, lit. ' They killed my wife and son ', telling of her behavior prior to the deaths. The Vuarnet family dispute that it was a mass suicide, proposing instead that they were murdered by outside forces.

He married his second wife Christiane Veillion, his past lover, in 1999; he met their daughter Catherine. Christiane died of a heart attack in 2012. After a stroke, Vuarnet died at age 83 in 2017 at Sallanches, Haute-Savoie. On the 50th anniversary of his gold medal win, a glass statue of Vuarnet was unveiled in his home town of Morzine.

## Publications

- Translated into English by John Ceely in 1957


Chesapeake and Ohio Railway

# Chesapeake and Ohio Railway

## Abstract

The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (reporting marks C&O, CO) was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P. Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Richmond to the Ohio River by 1873, where the railroad town (and later city) of Huntington, West Virginia, was named for him.

The C&O traces its origins to the Louisa Railroad of Louisa County, Virginia, begun in 1836. By 1850 the Louisa had been built east to Richmond and west to Charlottesville, and in keeping with its new and larger vision, was renamed the Virginia Central Railroad. The Commonwealth of Virginia owned a portion of Virginia Central stock and financed the Blue Ridge Railroad to accomplish the task of crossing the first mountain barrier to the west.

During the Civil War the Virginia Central played a key role in several battles but was a target for Federal armies. By 1865 it only had five miles of track still in operation and almost no cash to rebuild. Officials realized that they would have to get capital to rebuild from outside the economically devastated South and succeeded in getting Collis Huntington interested. He supplied the Virginians with the money needed to complete the line through what is now West Virginia. The old Covington and Ohio Railroad properties were conveyed to the C&O in keeping with its new mission of linking the Atlantic Ocean with the “Western Waters” of the Ohio River.

Huntington intended to connect the C&O with his Western and Midwestern holdings, but ended up stopping construction at the Ohio River. Thus the only connection to the West was by packet boats operating on the river. Because the mineral resources of West Virginia and Kentucky hadn’t been fully realized yet, the C&O suffered through the bad times brought on by the financial panic Depression of 1873, and went into receivership in 1878. When reorganized it was renamed The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Company.

Conditions improved in the 1880s when coal resources began to be developed and shipped eastward. In 1881 the Peninsula Extension was completed from Richmond to the new city of Newport News located on Hampton Roads, the East’s largest ice-free port. Transportation of coal to Newport News where it was loaded on coastwise shipping and transported to the Northeast became a staple of the C&O’s business at this time. In 1888 the C&O built the Cincinnati Division from Huntington down the South bank of the Ohio River and across the river at Cincinnati, connecting with the “Big Four” and other Midwestern Railroads. From 1900 to 1920 most of the C&O’s line tapping the rich bituminous coal fields of West Virginia and Kentucky were completed, and the C&O as it was known throughout the rest of the 20th Century was essentially in place. In 1910, the C&O absorbed the Chicago, Cincinnati and Louisville Railroad, which had been built diagonally across the state of Indiana from Cincinnati to Hammond in the preceding decade. This gave the C&O a direct line from Cincinnati to the great railroad hub of Chicago.

The first small terminal and repair shops were located at Richmond beginning in 1860. After expanding to Huntington in 1872, the primary back shops were established on 100 acres of land along Fifth Avenue. These facilities were expanded and modernized over a five year period in three phases beginning in 1916. Another large shop site was established at Clifton Forge, Virginia in 1890 on 1,200 acres of land, including the classification yard. In 1929 the system's primary freight car repair and erecting facility was built at the west end of the mammoth yard at Russell, Kentucky, called the Raceland Car Shops.

By the early 1960s the C&O was headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1972, under the leadership of Cyrus Eaton, it became part of the Chessie System, along with the Baltimore and Ohio and Western Maryland Railway. The Chessie System was later combined with the Seaboard Coast Line and Louisville and Nashville, both the primary components of the Family Lines System, to become a key portion of CSX Transportation (CSXT) in the 1980s.

C&O's passenger services ended in 1971 with the formation of Amtrak. Today Amtrak's tri-weekly Cardinal passenger train follows the historic and scenic route of the C&O through the New River Gorge in one of the more rugged sections of West Virginia. The rails of the former C&O also continue to transport intermodal and freight traffic, as well as West Virginia bituminous coal east to Hampton Roads and west to the Great Lakes as part of CSXT, a Fortune 500 company which was one of seven Class I railroads operating in North America at the beginning of the 21st century.

At the end of 1970 C&O operated 5,067 mi (8,155 km) of road on 10,219 mi (16,446 km) of track, not including WM or B&O and its subsidiaries.

## Passenger Operations and the "Chessie" Cat mascot

The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway never spent lavishly on streamlined passenger trains, or passenger service in general, opting to put most of its resources into moving coal and freight. However, it did have a number of well known passenger trains including the George Washington, Fast Flying Virginian, Sportsman, Pere Marquette, and Resort Special. While the George Washington was the railroad's flagship, the Sportsman (which connected Detroit with Washington, D.C., and Newport News) and the Resort Special were also well-traveled trains on the system. Much of the reason for the popularity of C&O's passenger trains was because of Chessie, the sleeping kitten, one of the most successful and fondly remembered marketing campaigns ever developed. Chessie was so popular when she debuted in 1933 that the C&O could not keep enough merchandise in stock.

The C&O mostly focused on passenger trains in the eastern half of its system. Despite connecting to Chicago, the largest rail hub and third largest city in the country, passenger service to it was discontinued in 1933. Trains continued to run as west as Hammond, Indiana, a Chicago suburb, until 1949. It had accessed the city’s Central Station (and previously, Dearborn Station) via the former Chicago, Cincinnati and Louisville Line.

Chessie sported two kittens, Nip and Tuck. During World War II, Chessie's "husband" — Peake — (creating the name "Chessie Peak", as in Chesapeake) was shown with a bandage on his paw as a war veteran returning from military service.

While the kitten was created by the Austrian artist Guido Grünewald, the success of Chessie as a marketing tool is often credited to Lionel Probert, at the time an assistant to the C&O president.

### Chessie System, CSX

C&O continued to be one of the more profitable and financially sound railways in the United States, and in 1963, under the guidance of Cyrus S. Eaton, helped start the modern merger era by "affiliating" with the Baltimore & Ohio. The two lines' services, personnel, motive power and rolling stock, and facilities were gradually integrated. Under the leadership of Hays T. Watkins, in 1973 Chessie System was created as a holding company for the C&O, B&O and Western Maryland Railway. In effect, C&O formally adopted a nickname that had been used colloquially for the railroad for several years, after the mascot kitten used in ads since 1933.

Under Watkins' leadership, Chessie System then merged with Seaboard Coast Line Industries, holding company for Seaboard Coast Line Railroad and several other great railroads of the Southeast (including Louisville and Nashville Railroad, Clinchfield Railroad and others) to form CSX Corporation, with Chessie and SCL as its leading subsidiaries. Watkins became CEO of the merged company.

Over the next five years, the CSX railroads began consolidating into one mega-railroad. The process began when SCL merged its railroads into the Seaboard System Railroad in 1982.

Western Maryland was merged into B&O on May 1, 1983. B&O was merged into C&O on April 30, 1987. Seaboard changed its name to CSX Transportation on July 1, 1986. Finally, C&O merged into CSX Transportation on Aug. 31, 1987. After acquiring 42% of Conrail in 1999, CSX became one of four major railroad systems left in the country.


Hanson Robotics

# Hanson Robotics

## Abstract

Hanson Robotics Limited is a Hong Kong -based engineering and robotics company founded by David Hanson, known for its development of human-like robots with artificial intelligence (AI) for consumer, entertainment, service, healthcare, and research applications. The robots include Albert HUBO, the first walking robot with human-like expressions; BINA48, an interactive humanoid robot bust; and Sophia, the world's first robot citizen. The company has 45 employees.

Hanson Robotics’ robots feature a patented spongy elastomer skin called Frubber that resembles human skin in its feel and flexibility. Underneath the Frubber are proprietary motor control systems by which the robots mimic human expressions.

## History

In 2013, the company moved from Texas to Hong Kong Science Park and planned to develop a robotics hub in Hong Kong.

In October 2016, the company was selected as one of nine companies to join the Disney Accelerator program.

## Humanoid robots

The company has focused on building robots that mimic the look of humans.

### Sophia

Sophia is Hanson Robotics’ most well-known robot, is regularly featured in news outlets, and receives a great deal of public interest. The company's latest creation made her debut at the 2016 South by Southwest (SXSW) show, with her interview by CNBC reaching a broad audience. Since then, she has become a global media personality, having conducted numerous press interviews and appeared on broadcast television shows including CBS 60 Minutes with Charlie Rose, the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and Good Morning Britain. She has also been a keynote and panel speaker at global conferences and events, including those hosted by ITU, United Nations.

Sophia was featured in AUDI's annual report and has graced the cover and centerfold of ELLE Magazine. Sophia is also the first United Nations Development Programme's first ever Innovation Champion, and the first non-human to be given any UN title. In 2018, Sophia won an Edison Award for Innovation in that competition's robotics category.

### Alice

Alice was developed in 2008 for MIRA Labs in Geneva, Switzerland. The female robot has an emotionally expressive face. She acts to serve cognitive robotics research at the University of Geneva and is part of the INDIGO cognitive robotics consortium, where Hanson Robotics is a founding member.

### Albert Einstein HUBO

Albert Einstein HUBO was, developed in November 2005 in collaboration with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) HUBO group of Korea. Inspired by German-born theoretical physicist Albert Einstein, the expressive walking humanoid featured Einstein's head on a HUBO robot body. KAIST built the walking body, and Hanson Robotics built the animatronic head and the face, which uses elastic polymer called Frubber.

The robot debuted at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in November 2005. Albert Einstein HUBO can perform realistic facial expressions and mimic Albert Einstein's voice via a voice synthesizer. The robot is currently at the University of California, San Diego at the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2).

### BINA48

BINA48 (Breakthrough I ntelligence via Neural Architecture 48) is a humanoid robot who has a bust-like head and shoulders mounted on a frame, and can produce realistic facial appearance from 30 motors beneath her Frubber skin. She was released by Hanson in 2010. She is described as a “technological sketch” of a human being, commissioned by millionaire Martine Rothblatt to mimic the appearance of her spouse of over 35 years, Bina Rothblatt.

BINA48 includes a database with dozens of books which she is able to recite. BINA48 is currently stationed at the non-profit Terasem Movement Foundation, Inc.

### Han

Han debuted in 2015 at the Global Sources electronics fair in Hong Kong. The robot was designed to identify and replicate human expressions. He is able to detect people using an array of cameras and speech recognition technology, decipher their gender, age, and facial indications of emotion (i.e. happy or sad), and as such, Hanson Robotics has suggested the robot could be of use in hotels or customer service positions. Han is bald with masculine features. He possesses a British accent, and specializes in making humorous facial expressions.

### Jules

Jules debuted in 2006 at Wired Nextfest. Jules is a robot that has machine learning capabilities, face tracking, and facial recognition. His software was development by Hanson Robotics in collaboration with the Personality Forge AI Chatbot Platform, with Personality Forge founder and developer, Benji Adams, and AI developer Heather McKeen. Jules is described as having a "statistically perfect androgynous face". The robot currently resides at the University of West England in Bristol.

### Professor Einstein

Professor Einstein is Hanson Robotics’ first personal robot available to consumers. The robot was developed in 2016 and was unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in January 2017. The robot first became available for purchase to consumers in January 2017 after launching on the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, and later became available on Amazon and at other popular retailers across the United States.

Professor Einstein is marketed as an educational tool to teach science, primarily to children ages 8–13. The robot can speak about science, tell jokes, and connect to Wifi to check the weather or access information on the internet. It has a corresponding app called the Stein-O-Matic that offers games, videos, and lessons. Motors allow it to walk, make different facial expressions, and an on-chest camera tracks faces.

### Philip K. Dick Android

Philip K. Dick Android was shown publicly for the first time in 2005 at Wired Nextfest. He was designed as an android portrait of the American science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, and was programmed to contain thousands of pages of the writings of the author, including journals and letters, into a Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) corpus and conversational system construct android.

In 2005, Hanson and team received an AAAI award for their "intelligent conversational portrait" of Philip K. Dick. In 2005, the original robot was lost on a plane headed for San Francisco and was never found.

In 2011, in collaboration with Dutch public broadcaster VPRO, Hanson Robotics developed and introduced a new version of the android. The android bust uses 36 servomotors to create facial expressions and has motion-tracking machine vision. Philip K. Dick Android is currently dedicated to research with the nonprofit Apollo Mind Initiative.

### Zeno

Zeno debuted in 2007 at Wired Nextfest. The robot could see, hear, and talk. Zeno featured more than 28 specialized motors, an agile body, and expressive face. Named for creator David Hanson's son Zeno and designed as a nod to Astro Boy, In 2012, an updated version of Zeno was released, which included Dynamixel RX-28 and RX-64 servos, plus a sensor suite comprising a gyro, accelerometer, compass, torque sensors, touch sensors, and temperature sensors, as well as more cartoon-like features.

### Joey Chaos

Joey Chaos was unveiled by Hanson Robotics at the 2007 RoboBusiness Conference and Expo in Boston, MA. The robot was created to study human-robot interaction and has camera eyes to track human faces and speech recognition software.

## Criticism

Hanson Robotics' humanoid robotics have been criticized by leading AI researchers. For example, Facebook's Yann LeCun has called Sophia a "puppet" and questioned the value of Sophia and similar robots, as well as the presentation of these robots as far more intelligent than what they truly are. Sophia being given citizenship in Saudi Arabia was further criticized, not only because of Sophia's lack of consciousness, but the difficulty of people achieving citizenship in that country despite actually living and working there for years.

## Awards

- Gold Medal, Edison Innovation Awards, 2018

- Winner of 2009 Italian Centro Nationale Riserche (CNR) Scholarship, 2008-2009

- Winner of TechTitan's Innovator of the Year award, 2007

- Winner of TX State Emerging Technology Award, 2007

- Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian Best Design Triennial, December 2006

- UTA ARRI Innovation Award, February 2006

- 2005 AAAI award, First Place for Open Interaction (PKD Android)

- NIST ATP Award, “Highly meritorious” designation, 2004 (with funding pending the 2005 Congressional spending bill)

- World Technology Award, nominee and semifinalist: Best IT Hardware, 2004

- Themed Entertainment Association, Best Themed Display Award, First Place for the “World of Disney Themed Store” at Walt Disney World, Orlando, FL, 1996

- Rhode Island School of Design Merit Award, 1992-1996

## Affiliations

- Member, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) since 2000

- Member, American Association for Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) since 2001

- Member, SPIE since 2001

- Member, Visual Sciences Society (VSS) since 2003


Longest trains

# Longest trains

## Abstract

The length of a train may be measured in number of wagons (for bulk loads such as coal and iron ore) or in metres for general freight. Train lengths and loads on electrified railways, especially lower voltage 3000 V DC and 1500 V DC, are limited by traction and power considerations. Drawgear and couplings can also be a limiting factor, along with curves, gradients and crossing loop lengths.

Very long freight trains with a total length of 3 km (1.9 mi) or more are possible with the advent of distributed power, or additional locomotive units between or behind long chains of freight cars (referred to as a "consist"). Additional locomotive units enable much longer, heavier loads without the increased risks of derailing that stem from the stress of pulling very long chains of train-cars around curves.

## Bulk

- Australia BHP iron ore train has typically 268 cars and a train weight of 43,000 tonnes carrying 24,200 tonnes of iron ore, 2.8 km (1.7 mi) long, two SD70ACe locomotives at the head of the train and two remote controlled SD70ACe locomotives as mid-train helpers. BHP used to run 44,500-tonne, 336-car long iron ore trains over 3 km (1.9 mi) long, with six to eight locomotives including an intermediate remote unit. This operation seems to have ceased since the trunk line was fully double tracked in May 2011. The record-breaking ore train from the same company, 682 cars and 7,300 m (7.3 km; 24,000 ft; 4.5 mi) long, once carried 82,000 metric tons of ore for a total weight of the train, largest in the world, of 99,734 tonnes. It was driven by eight locomotives distributed along its length to keep the coupling loads and curve performance controllable. Leigh Creek coal— 2.8 km (1.7 mi), formerly ran as 161 wagons and three locomotives. Cane tramway – 75 wagons (610 mm (2 ft) gauge).

- BHP iron ore train has typically 268 cars and a train weight of 43,000 tonnes carrying 24,200 tonnes of iron ore, 2.8 km (1.7 mi) long, two SD70ACe locomotives at the head of the train and two remote controlled SD70ACe locomotives as mid-train helpers. BHP used to run 44,500-tonne, 336-car long iron ore trains over 3 km (1.9 mi) long, with six to eight locomotives including an intermediate remote unit. This operation seems to have ceased since the trunk line was fully double tracked in May 2011. The record-breaking ore train from the same company, 682 cars and 7,300 m (7.3 km; 24,000 ft; 4.5 mi) long, once carried 82,000 metric tons of ore for a total weight of the train, largest in the world, of 99,734 tonnes. It was driven by eight locomotives distributed along its length to keep the coupling loads and curve performance controllable.

- BHP used to run 44,500-tonne, 336-car long iron ore trains over 3 km (1.9 mi) long, with six to eight locomotives including an intermediate remote unit. This operation seems to have ceased since the trunk line was fully double tracked in May 2011.

- The record-breaking ore train from the same company, 682 cars and 7,300 m (7.3 km; 24,000 ft; 4.5 mi) long, once carried 82,000 metric tons of ore for a total weight of the train, largest in the world, of 99,734 tonnes. It was driven by eight locomotives distributed along its length to keep the coupling loads and curve performance controllable.

- Leigh Creek coal— 2.8 km (1.7 mi), formerly ran as 161 wagons and three locomotives.

- Cane tramway – 75 wagons (610 mm (2 ft) gauge).

- Brazil Carajás Railway 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) gauge iron ore trains are typically 330 cars long, totaling 3 km (1.9 mi) in length. VLI 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) Grain with 160 hopper cars, or 80 hoppers plus 72 FTTs (for pulp transport) totaling about 3.2 km (2.0 mi) long.

- Carajás Railway 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) gauge iron ore trains are typically 330 cars long, totaling 3 km (1.9 mi) in length.

- VLI 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) Grain with 160 hopper cars, or 80 hoppers plus 72 FTTs (for pulp transport) totaling about 3.2 km (2.0 mi) long.

- China Datong–Qinhuangdao railway is a dedicated coal-transport railway. Every day 50 pairs of 2.6 km (1.6 mi) long trains consisting of 210 wagons and two HXD1 locomotives use the line. Each train hauls over 20,000 tons of coal. Shuozhou–Huanghua railway is a heavy haul freight railway that has successfully tested 30,000 ton coal trains that stretch over 4 km (2.5 mi) in April 2024. The train consists of 324 cars wagons hauled with four China Energy Investment HXD1 variants.

- Datong–Qinhuangdao railway is a dedicated coal-transport railway. Every day 50 pairs of 2.6 km (1.6 mi) long trains consisting of 210 wagons and two HXD1 locomotives use the line. Each train hauls over 20,000 tons of coal.

- Shuozhou–Huanghua railway is a heavy haul freight railway that has successfully tested 30,000 ton coal trains that stretch over 4 km (2.5 mi) in April 2024. The train consists of 324 cars wagons hauled with four China Energy Investment HXD1 variants.

- India Indian Railways operated the longest train in India on 15 August 2022. The 'Super Vasuki' freight train was 3.5 km (2.2 mi) long had a total of 6 locomotives pulling 295 wagons of coal.

- Indian Railways operated the longest train in India on 15 August 2022. The 'Super Vasuki' freight train was 3.5 km (2.2 mi) long had a total of 6 locomotives pulling 295 wagons of coal.

- Indonesia (proposed) Muara Wahau coal to Bengalon port – 2,196 km (1,365 mi) Super Babaranjang 120 cars testing. The testing train consisted of 120 coal cars with 4 EMD G26 leading. The consist was roughly 1.7 km (1.1 mi) long.

- Muara Wahau coal to Bengalon port – 2,196 km (1,365 mi)

- Super Babaranjang 120 cars testing. The testing train consisted of 120 coal cars with 4 EMD G26 leading. The consist was roughly 1.7 km (1.1 mi) long.

- Mauritania Iron ore trains on the Mauritania Railway are up to 3 km (1.9 mi) in length. They consist of 3 or 4 diesel-electric EMD locomotives, 200 to 210 cars each carrying up to 84 tons of iron ore, and 2-3 service cars.

- Iron ore trains on the Mauritania Railway are up to 3 km (1.9 mi) in length. They consist of 3 or 4 diesel-electric EMD locomotives, 200 to 210 cars each carrying up to 84 tons of iron ore, and 2-3 service cars.

- South Africa Sishen–Saldanha railway line ore trains on 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) – 4.1 km (2.5 mi)

- Sishen–Saldanha railway line ore trains on 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) – 4.1 km (2.5 mi)

- Ukraine 12,000 tonnes

- 12,000 tonnes

## General

- 6,100 metres (20,000 ft) – United States – a June 2024 third-party study over 10 days in Arizona found that Union Pacific routinely runs intermodal trains of more than 5,500 m (18,000 ft) in length, of which the longest was a 6,100-metre train (20,000 ft) carrying 506 containers in 280 well cars.

- 1,524 metres (5,000 ft) – France – intermediate locomotive – trial

- 1,222 metres (4,009 ft) – The Bangalore – Dharmavaram goods train (India)

- 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) The Netherlands–Germany—trial trains of this length Saudi Arabia 1,000 m (3,300 ft) double stack

- The Netherlands–Germany—trial trains of this length

- Saudi Arabia 1,000 m (3,300 ft) double stack

- 900 metres (3,000 ft) — Babaranjang Baratarahan from Tanjung Enim Coal Mine to Tarahan Port, Indonesia. 2 or 3 locomotive and 60 to 61 coal wagons.

- 835 metres (2,740 ft) — In Denmark and to Hamburg, Germany; 2 locomotives and 82 wagons.

## Special test runs

These are one-off runs, sometimes specifically to set records.

### Bulk (ore, coal etc)

- BHP run on 21 June 2001, comprising 682 wagons and hauled by eight 6,000 hp (4,500 kW) General Electric GE AC6000CW diesel-electric locomotives controlled by a single driver with a total length of 7.352 km (4.57 mi) on the 275 km (170.88 mi) iron ore railway to Port Hedland in Western Australia – total weight 99,734 tons on a 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in) gauge line.

- Datong–Qinhuangdao railway, China. On 2 April 2014, an experimental train ran with 320 wagons and six locomotives hauling a 31,500 ton load, with a total length of 3.971 km (2.467 mi).

- Sishen–Saldanha, South Africa. Run on 26–27 August 1989, comprising 660 wagons, 7.302 kilometres (4.537 mi) long and a total weight of 71,765 tons on a 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge line. The train comprised 16 locomotives (9 Class 9E 50 kV AC electric and 7 Class 37 diesel-electric).

- Bulk coal train from Ekibastuz to the Urals, Soviet Union, 20 February 1986. The train consisted of 439 wagons and several diesel locomotives distributed along the train with a total mass of 43,400 tonnes and a total length of 6.5 kilometres (4.0 mi).

- A 1991 test train pulled by two British Rail Class 59 diesel locomotives, weighing 12,108 tonnes and approximately 1.65 km (1.03 mi) long, was pulled with moderate success from Merehead Quarry to Witham Friary.

- Norfolk and Western Railway unit coal train from Iaeger, West Virginia to Portsmouth, Ohio, 15 November 1967. The train consisted of 500 cars and six EMD SD45 diesel-electric locomotives distributed throughout the train for a total weight of 48,170 tons and total length of 6.5 kilometres (4.0 mi).

### General cargo

- Union Pacific, United States. Run from 8–10 January 2010, consisting of 296 container cars and hauled by nine diesel-electric locomotive spread through the train with a total length of 18,061 feet (3.4206 mi; 5.505 km), from a terminal in Texas to Los Angeles. Around 618 double-stacked containers weighing 14,059 t were carried at speeds up to 70 mph (113 km/h).

- BNSF, United States, 10 July 2009— 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi; 12,000 ft), 458 container units powered by seven locomotives

### Passenger

- Kijfhoek – Eindhoven, Netherlands. In 1989, the Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch Railways) celebrated their 150th anniversary. On 19 February 1989, NS ran a test train with 60 passenger cars (1,602 metres (5,256 ft) long and weighing 2,597 tons), of which only the first 14 cars held actual passengers, pulled by one 1500 V DC locomotive. Twenty years later, in 2009, Railz Miniworld repeated the stunt on a smaller scale, inside their exhibition in Rotterdam.

- Ghent – Ostend, Belgium. On 27 April 1991, one electric locomotive and 70 passenger cars (totalling 1,733 m (5,685.70 ft) and 2786 tons, excluding the locomotive) held a charity run for the Belgian Cancer Fund, exceeding the Dutch record.

- Rhaetian Railway, Switzerland. On 29 October 2022, the Rhaetian Railway celebrated the 175th anniversary of Swiss railways with an hour-long, 25-kilometre (16 mi) journey from Preda to Alvaneu in southeast Switzerland. The train had 25 4-car ABe 4/16 "Capricorn" EMUs, totalling 100 coaches with a total length of 1,910 metres (6,270 ft); it ran on a narrow-gauge railway over several switchbacks and long curves.


Alcithoe larochei ostenfeldi

# Alcithoe larochei ostenfeldi

## Abstract

Alcithoe larochei ostenfeldi is a subspecies of very large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Volutidae, the volutes.

## Description

The height of this shell attains 170 mm (6.7 in), its width 73 mm (2.9 in).

## Distribution

This marine subspecies is endemic to New Zealand.


Felipe Burin

# Felipe Burin

## Abstract

Felipe Augusto Matos Burin (born February 10, 1992) is a Brazilian professional baseball infielder who is currently a free agent. He represented Brazil at the 2013 World Baseball Classic.

He spent 2009-2011 in the Venezuelan Summer League as a member of the Seattle Mariners and was promoted to the Arizona League Mariners in late 2011 and the Pulaski Mariners in 2012. Released after the season he signed with the Dodgers as a minor league free agent.


Rolling Thunder 2

# Rolling Thunder 2

## Abstract

Rolling Thunder 2 is a run and gun arcade game developed and released by Namco for the Namco System 2 hardware in 1991. The game is the sequel to 1986's Rolling Thunder, retaining the same gameplay of its predecessor but adding cooperative gameplay for two players and improved graphics. Unlike the original, which was based in 1968, Rolling Thunder 2 has a more contemporary setting to go with its more futuristic design, as well as an optionally playable female character. A port for the Sega Genesis was released the same year. Both the Mega Drive port and the original arcade game were released for the Wii Virtual Console on December 4, 2007 and October 27, 2009 respectively.On May 25, 2023 the arcade version of the game got ported as part of the Arcade Archives series.

## Gameplay

Set in the 1990s, the Geldra organization, thought to have been eliminated during the first game, returns and is destroying several of the world's satellites in outer space. As in the original Rolling Thunder, the players must take control of a member of the WCPO's Rolling Thunder task force.

Two players can now play simultaneously, with Player 1 as female agent Leila and Player 2 as male agent Albatross. Even though they possess different external appearances, including different handguns, the two characters have identical abilities (much like Yūichirō Tomari and Sunday Chin from Namco's own Ordyne, which was released two years earlier and is also a Namco System 2 game). As with the original game, both Leila and Albatross can only take two physical hits from the enemies - and a hit from a bullet or other projectile such as a laser will result in an immediate death. Both are armed with a default pistol that has only limited ammunition; when bullets run out, their guns fire a slow "chaser" bullet instead. Players can also upgrade to a submachine gun (based on a Walther MP from the artwork) by entering marked doors - and when entering one of these marked doors, a counter appears indicating the number of remaining bullets left to be picked up, allowing one player to leave ammo for the other. Unlike in the original Rolling Thunder, pistol and machine gun ammunition is not carried over at the end of each level and players always start a new level with the minimum pistol rounds only.

The graphics are noticeably improved over the previous game and have a decidedly more futuristic look to go along with the game's modern setting; the game's main enemy characters, the Maskers, who were previously designed to look like hooded terrorists (or Foot Soldiers of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game) are now cyborgs. Likewise, the game has more varied stage designs, with the first four stages taking place in a seaside resort in Florida, and the last four in a pyramid in Egypt; both locations actually being camouflaged Geldra bases.

## Reception

The home version of Rolling Thunder 2 was well received. Its mostly highly positive review scores included 92% from Computer & Video Games, 23/25 from GamePro, 85% from Mean Machines, 90% from MegaTech, and, retrospectively, 8/10 from Sega-16. Reviews of the Virtual Console release were often more critical, including being rated 6/10 by GameSpot, 6.5/10 by IGN, and 8/10 by Nintendo Life.

Complex ranked Rolling Thunder 2 85th on their "The 100 Best Sega Genesis Games" list.


Milana Rahimova

# Milana Rahimova

## Abstract

Milana Rahimova (born 29 April 2004) is an Azerbaijani women's football defender who plays for Ünye Gücü F.K. in the Turkish Super League. She is a member of the Azerbaijan national team.

## Club career

Rahimova plays in the defender position.

She played for Nuhspor in her country in the 2022–23 season, and appeared in 11 matches.

The next season, she transferred to Neftçi PFK.

In August 2024, Rahimova moved to Turkey, and signed with the newly to the Turkish Super League promomoted club Ünye Gücü F.K..

## International career

Rahimova is part of the Azerbaijan national team, at the UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifying.

## Personal life

Milana Rahimova was born in Azerbaijan on 29 April 2004.


Xouba

# Xouba

## Abstract

Xouba or little sardine or parrocha is a small sardine and a type of Pelagic fish. Xoubas are small sardines from Galicia, Spain. They are a species of ray-finned fish in the monotypic genus Sardina. The juvenile Xouba has the scientific name of European pilchard which is in the family Clupeidae.

## Description

The fish is blue-green and has a silver underside. In comparison to the other sardines, the xouba, is diminutive. Xouba means little fish; the fish lives is shallow areas of water between 5 m (16 ft) and 50 m (160 ft). The fish is harvested between the months of May and July when it reaches 13 cm (5.1 in) in length. Xouba also has more fat than normal sardines. Xoubas, are small sardines, and a they come from Galicia, Spain. The small Xouba is a juvenile version of a European pilchard. In some areas the Xouba is is called Parrocha. Xouba are from the family Clupeidae.

Xoubas have a tender distinct flavor and they are small sardines, nutrient-dense. They have a high } content and they are high in healthy fats.

## History

Since the 15th century, Xouba is caught with a technique called Xeito. The technique employs a a net stretched between boats; a type of drift netting. In Spain there are several annual events to celebrate the Xouba. One such event is the Burial of the xoubiña. It is celebrated on Ash Wednesday and it includes funeral procession that is satirical. The procession ends with the burning of the effigy of a sardine. Galicia, Spain is the home of a festival (Festa da Xouba } celebrating the Xouba. The event takes place about the same time as the "Feast of Santiago Apóstol" which happens in July.

### Preparation

Prepared as a dish, it can be used in empanadas, or pickled, or made in a casserole with potatoes. Xouba is also grilled and served on bread. Or breaded with chickpea flour and fried.


Jean Tome

# Jean Tome

## Abstract

Jean Antonio Tomé (born February 2, 1987) is a Brazilian baseball infielder. He plays for the Atibaia Baseball Club in the Brazil Baseball League. He had earlier played for Seattle Mariners rookie league teams from 2007-2009. He represented Brazil at the 2013 World Baseball Classic.

Tomé was part of the Brazilian squad that won the silver medal at the 2023 Pan American Games contested in Santiago, Chile in October 2023.