Three Billy Goats Gruff

# Three Billy Goats Gruff

## Abstract

" Three Billy Goats Gruff " (Norwegian: De tre bukkene Bruse) is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in their Norske Folkeeventyr, first published between 1841 and 1844. It has an Aarne-Thompson type of 122E. The first version of the story in English appeared in George Webbe Dasent 's translation of some of the Norske Folkeeventyr, published as Popular Tales from the Norse in 1859. The heroes of the tale are three male goats who need to outsmart a ravenous troll to cross the bridge to their feeding ground.

## Characters

The story introduces three billy goats (male goats), sometimes identified as a youngster, father and grandfather, but more often described as brothers. In other adaptations, there is a baby or child goat, mama goat and papa goat. But since they are male, it is either they are all brothers, a youngster, father, and grandfather, or a father and two sons.

"Gruff" was used as their family name in the earliest English translation by Dasent and this has been perpetuated; but this has been pointed out as a mistranslation of the Norwegian name Bruse which was here employed in the sense of "tuft, clump" of hair on the forehead of domesticated livestock. The word can mean "fizz" or "effervescence", but also a "frizzle (of hair)" according to Brynildsen's Norwegian-English dictionary, but the secondary meaning is better explained as "a tuft/clump of hair on a horse (or buck goat)" in the Great Norwegian Encyclopedia (SNL), and Ivar Aasen 's Norwegian-Danish dictionary.

## Plot

Three billy goats live in a valley, all named "Gruff". There is very little grass in the valley, so they must cross a river to get to a meadow to graze and fatten themselves up. But under the bridge lives a fearsome and hideous troll. That is why it is not safe to go across the bridge. Because anyone who tries to cross the bridge, the troll loves to eat goats.

The smallest billy goat goes first. The troll stops him and threatens to "gobble him up". The little goat tells the troll he should wait for his big brother to cross, because he is larger and would make for a more gratifying feast. The greedy troll agrees and lets the smallest goat pass.

Then the medium-sized billy goat approaches the bridge. He is more cautious than his brother, but the troll stops him too. The second goat convinces the troll to wait for their eldest brother, the largest of the three, and the troll lets him pass as well.

Then the largest billy goat steps on to the bridge and meets the troll waiting to devour him. The troll says he is going to gobble him (the largest billy goat gruff) up. After he (the troll) says this, the largest billy goat gruff dares him to try to force him to do so. And then, the largest billy goat throws him into the water with his horns. The troll drowns in the stream, and from then on the bridge is safe. The three billy goats go to eat in the rich fields around the summer farm in the hills, are never again troubled by a troll, and live happily ever after.

## Retellings

Writer Bjørn F. Rørvik and illustrator Gry Moursund has created three books in Norwegian based on this the story. The first one, Bukkene Bruse på badeland (The Three Billy Goats Gruff at the Waterpark), came in 2009 and had by 2014 sold over 110,000 copies in Norway, making it one of the biggest selling picture books in the country. By March 2019 the three books had sold over 450,000 copies in Norway.

The following is a list of children's book adaptions of the story into the English language, suitable for the elementary school classroom:

- Arnold, Tim (1993) The Three Billy Goats Gruff Macmillan

- Barnett, Mac (Illustr. by Jon Klassen (2022). "The Three Billy Goats Gruff." Orchard Books.

- Brown, Marcia (1991) The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Harcourt

- Chase, Richard (Illustr. by Berkeley Williams, Jr.) (1948), "Sody Sallyraytus" in Grandfather Tales, Houghton

- Galdone, Paul (1981) The Three Billy Goats Gruff. HMH Books for Young Readers

- Langley, Jonathan (1995) The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Harper Collins

- Loewen, Nancy (Illustr. by Cristian Bernardini) (2018). Listen, my bridge is SO cool!: The Story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff as Told by the Troll. Picture Window Books

- Mortimer, Rachel (Illustr. by Liz Pichon) (2010). The Three Billy Goats Fluff. Scholastic

- Ottolenghi, (Illustr. by Carol Mark Clapsadle) (2009). The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Brighter Child

- Palatini, Margie (Illustr. by Barry Moser)(2005). The Three Silly Billies. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

- Patchett, Ann (Illustr. by Robin Preiss Glasser) (2020) Escape Goat. Puffin Books

- Pinkney, Jerry (2017). The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

- Pye, Katie (Illustr. by Rodrigo Paulo) (2020). Trip Trap Trouble: A Story about the Three Billy Goats Gruffs and Gratitude. Headstart Thinking

- Rounds, Glen (1993). The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Holiday House

- S., Svend Otto (1989) The Three Billy Goats Gruff. D. C. Heath

- Shaskan, Stephen (2013) The Three Triceratops Tuff. Beach Lane Books

- Sims, Lesley (Illustr. by David Semple) (2015). Goat in a Boat. Usborne Publishing Ltd

- Stevens, Janet (1987) The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Harcourt

- Ziefert, Harriet (Illustr. by Laura Rader) (1994) The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Tambourine

Part of the story in the children's book The Troll by Julia Donaldson is based on the tale, with a troll that lives under varying bridges and waits for goats but in this story only other animals walk over the bridges.

Neil Gaiman 's "Troll Bridge" (1993) in the anthology Snow White, Blood Red is also an adaption of the fairy tale, for adults.

Golden Books did a version of the story that was similar to the book. The only difference is that when the troll is washed away by the stream, he is later mentioned to have moved into a cave.

## Media adaptations

### Audiobooks

- Scholastic Corporation produced an audio recording in 1963, with music composed and directed by Arthur Rubinstein, narrated by Bob Thomas, and cover illustration by Susan Blair and Ellen Appleby. It was first made available as a phonograph record, and then on Compact Cassette.

### Films

- The 3 Billy Piñatas (2015) is a version with a Spanish twist, produced by "Team Juan" at the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design at the University of Dundee

### Television

- In 1995, Australian children's TV series Johnson and Friends adapted this fairy tale, with the characters 'roleplaying' and acting out the story in a humorous fashion.

- In 2004, the story is retold on Hi-5. This version has the goats replaced by sheep and instead of the troll wanting to eat them, he just wanted to sleep and was annoyed by their noise. The story ended with the biggest sheep giving him earmuffs made out of wool. In the original Australian version of the show, three sheep crossing a bridge disturb the napping bunyip underneath.

- In 2008, the BBC created a modern adaptation for its Fairy Tales TV series. In this, the story was given a twist in that the troll was presented as a tragic, cruelly maligned victim.

### Music and musicals

Frank Luther wrote a version of "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" geared towards music education for elementary school grade children, published in "Singing on Our Way", Our Singing World Series by the Ginn and Company (c. 1949). It was often played on the BBC Radio programme Children's Favourites, in the 1950s and early 1960s. Some years earlier Yvonne Ravell had recorded a version she wrote in sung (1940), cited as suitable education material for the theatre in one journal.

James Scott Balentine composed Kinderkonzerts, a chamber music setting for string quintet and narrator, with the text adapted by Stephanie Sant'Ambrogio, recorded in the album "Klassics 4 Kids: Cactus Pear Music Festival Artists" (2010).

Gwen Edwards adapted the story into a popular children's musical called Billy, Goat, Gruff: The Musical (summer 2007), at Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia.

A musical adaptation by British composing team George Stiles and Anthony Drewe was commissioned by the Singapore Repertory Theatre. It premiered there in 2015 and made its North American debut in 2017 at the Aurora Theatre in Lawrenceville, Georgia.

### Play productions

- Lazy Bee Scripts published Billy Goat Gruff (2009), a simple play for young children.

### Games

- The Three Billy Goats Gruff (2013) game adaptation for tablets and mobile phones was developed by the Norwegian game studio Agens. The game was made with support from the Norwegian Film Institute.

## In popular culture

Mere allusions are listed here.

- The tale is the inspiration of Kevin P. Futers's novel The Adventures of the Billy Goats Gruff, which is set in seventh-century Northumbria and includes goats named Edgar, Bert, and Frith.

- The tale in brief is incorporated into Gordon R. Dickson 's "3-Part Puzzle" (1962). translated into an ET language as "The THREE (Name) (Domestic Animals) (Name)" (and the (horrendous, carnivorous, mythical creature)). The ET Envoy is puzzled over the glee that children show over this "simple and boring" "lesson in tactics".

- The Billy Goats Gruff make an appearance in Jim Butcher 's book Small Favor (2008), the tenth novel of the Dresden Files series.

- Stephen King 's It (1986) alludes to this story.

- Terry Pratchett 's Discworld novel Lords and Ladies (1992) refers to this story, as does a joke made in the first chapter of Monstrous Regiment (2003).

- Andri Snær Magnason's 's Tímakistan (2013) is a retelling of Snow White features a troll who meets a kid, its mother, and her husband. When the mother goat tells the troll to eat her husband instead of her, "the troll lost his appetite. 'What's the world coming to?', he cried. 'The kid tells me to eat its mother, and she tells me to eat her husband! Crazy family!'." The troll goes home leaving the goats uneaten.

- Bill Willingham 's 2002 comic book Fables contains mention of the goats, and the troll is an ongoing character.

- Pierry Radrik's 2020 One comic book.

- In My Neighbour Totoro (1988) the eponymous creature Totoro is named after misspelling 'Toro-ru', which means 'troll' in Japanese. In the end scene is a book of the story "Three Billy Goats Gruff" with Totoro on it visible, indicating that Totoro is named after this story.

- In Toy Story 4 (2019), it is revealed that Bo Peep 's three-headed sheep, previously unnamed, were named "Billy", "Goat", and "Gruff", after the story.

- In the Norwegian film Trollhunter (2010), the title character attempts to bait a troll by placing three goats on a bridge.

- Mike Flanagan's Kickstarter -funded film Absentia (2011) is a modern-day retelling centred around a tunnel, a series of abductions, and a troll-like creature.

- In 1994, Animaniacs, for its second-season premiere, did its own parody of the story in the short "Take My Siblings, Please!". In the story, the goats are portrayed by the Warner Brothers and their sister, Dot. In the end, Yakko simply whacks the troll with a giant mallet.

- In 1996, the TV show Aaahh!!! Real Monsters told its version of the Three Billy Goats Gruff in the episode "Oblina and the Three Humans". In this telling, the goats are represented by humans and the monster under the bridge is the main character of the story.

- In the April 19, 2015 segment about " patent trolls " of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, it is referenced with "trolls actually do something, they control bridge-access for goats and ask people fun riddles".

- In the TV series Thomas & Friends an episode named "Three Steam Engines Gruff" is a reference to this story.

- Between the Lions had a few episodes about the characters reading the story.

- The tale appears to be cryptically referenced in the song "John Brown" (1988) by indie-rock band Masters of Reality. The lyrics are usually understood to be "John Brown, bring him down; pull his body to the ground. Left him up, for long enough; let me be the Baby Gruff."

- The song "Much Chubbier" by Nerdcore rapper MC Frontalot on his album Question Bedtime (2014) is a retelling of the story.

- In the card game Magic: The Gathering, a card named "Clackbridge Troll" was printed in the 2019 expansion Throne of Eldraine. In its art, a troll is seen looming over three goats on a bridge.

- The tale also comes into play during the first King's Quest (1983) game. A troll is guarding a bridge Graham needs to cross. The optimum solution to the puzzle is to lure a goat over to the bridge. Upon seeing the troll, the goat is angered, and butts it into the river below.

- The tale also comes into play during Magicland Dizzy (1990). A troll is guarding a bridge Dizzy needs to cross. He says the only way to cross is to give him 30 diamonds before kicking Dizzy in the air away from him, but this is a red herring, as there are 30 in the whole game with one behind him and many in the Ice Palace afterwards. The only solution to the puzzle, is to cut the rope holding the goat using the dagger, before hitting him with the stick to make him charge towards the troll. Along his way, the goat butts the troll into the air.

- The tale is also included in the video game Simon the Sorcerer (1993).

- In the video game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011), near a place called Purewater Run, there is a stone bridge near a waterfall. If it is the player's first time there, they will see three goats; upon looking under the bridge, they will find a dead troll.

### Eponymy

- Oak Mountain State Park near Birmingham, Alabama has a hiking trail and bridge named after the eponymous bridge in the story.


Shima (given name)

# Shima (given name)

## Abstract

Shima is a given name. Notable people with this name include:

- Shima Iwashita (born 1941), Japanese actress

- Shima Kakoku (1827-1870), Japanese photographer

- Shima Mehri (born 1980), Iranian biker

- Shima Nikpour (born 1988), Iranian actress

- Shima Niavarani (born 1985), Iranian-Swedish actress

- Shima Ryū (1823-1900), Japanese artist

- Shima Sakon (1543-1600?), Japanese samurai

- Shima Yoshitake (1822-1874), Japanese samurai


The Beatles discography

# The Beatles discography

## Abstract

Worldwide, the British rock band the Beatles released 12 studio albums (17 in the US), 5 live albums, 51 compilation albums, 36 extended plays (EPs), 63 singles, 17 box sets, 22 video albums and 53 music videos. In their native United Kingdom, during their active existence as a band, they released 12 studio albums (including 1 double album), 1 compilation album, 13 EPs (including 1 double EP), and 22 singles (including 4 double A-sided singles). The early albums and singles released from 1962 to March 1968 were originally on Parlophone, and their albums and singles from August 1968 to 1970 were on their subsidiary label Apple. Their output also includes vault items, remixed mash-ups and anniversary box-sets.

The Beatles are the biggest selling band of all time, selling over 500 million records.

With the first CD releases of their albums in 1987 and 1988, the Beatles' core catalogue was harmonised worldwide to encompass their 12 original UK studio albums, the 1967 US Magical Mystery Tour album and the newly assembled Past Masters: Volumes One and Two compilation albums consisting of all the studio recordings released during 1962 to 1970 that are not present on the UK studio albums or Magical Mystery Tour (mainly non-album singles, B-sides and EP tracks). When the core catalogue was reissued in remastered editions in 2009, the two volumes of Past Masters were combined into one double album. Since then, other past releases have been reissued in digital formats and on vinyl. The catalogue is currently distributed by Universal Music Enterprises ' Calderstone Productions. This core catalogue contains all 217 tracks intended for commercial release, either as album tracks, EP tracks, or singles, that were put out by the Beatles from 1962 to 1970.

The Beatles' international discography is more complicated due to different versions of their albums sometimes being released in other countries, particularly during their early years on Capitol Records in North America. Prior to 1967, it was common practice for British releases to be reconfigured for the American market. The first seven British Beatles albums were converted into ten LPs for the American market, adding material from singles and the UK EPs; the band were unhappy with these reconfigurations. With the exception of Magical Mystery Tour, studio releases from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967 forward were uniform in both the UK and the US. The band's first eight albums were released on Parlophone. From 1968, in both the UK and the US, starting with the single " Hey Jude " and the album The Beatles (better known as "the White Album"), new releases appeared on the Beatles' own Apple record label, although Parlophone and Capitol catalogue numbers continued to be used for contractual reasons.

The Beatles' discography was originally released on the vinyl format, with full-length long plays (LPs), shorter EPs and singles. Over the years, the collection has also been released on cassette, 8-track, compact disc (CD), on a USB flash drive in MP3 and 24-bit FLAC format, and on digital media streaming services. The Beatles' UK discography was first released on CD in 1987 and 1988. Between 1962 and 1968, the Beatles released their songs in both mono and stereo versions. The band's catalogue was remastered in both mono and stereo in 2009.

## Albums

### Standardised studio albums

Since the first release of their music on CD during 1987–1988, the Beatles' studio albums have been standardised worldwide to the following albums:

- Please Please Me (original UK album)

- With the Beatles (original UK album)

- A Hard Day's Night (original UK album)

- Beatles for Sale (original UK album)

- Help! (original UK album)

- Rubber Soul (original UK album)

- Revolver (original UK album)

- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (original UK and US album)

- Magical Mystery Tour (original US album)

- The Beatles ("The White Album") (original UK and US album)

- Yellow Submarine (original UK and US album)

- Abbey Road (original UK and US album)

- Let It Be (original UK and US album)

- Past Masters (see Compilation albums; compiles all studio recordings the Beatles commercially released during 1962–1970 that do not appear on the thirteen previously listed albums)

## Flexi discs

The Beatles released seven consecutive Christmas records on flexi disc for members of their UK and US fan clubs, from 1963 to 1969, ranging in length between 3:58 and 7:48. These short collections had a mix of spoken and musical messages for their official fan clubs.

## Other appearances

The Beatles notably very rarely appear on compilation albums with other artists.

## Videography

### Other TV appearances


Black Myth: Wukong

# Black Myth: Wukong

## Abstract

Black Myth: Wukong is a 2024 action role-playing game developed and published by Game Science. The game is inspired by the classical Chinese novel Journey to the West and follows an anthropomorphic monkey based on Sun Wukong from the novel.

Black Myth: Wukong was released for PlayStation 5 and Windows on August 20, 2024, with an Xbox Series X/S version and an expansion planned for release. The game received generally favorable reviews from critics. It sold 18 million units within two weeks, making it one of the fastest-selling games of all time.

## Gameplay

Black Myth: Wukong is an action role-playing game, with Soulslike elements. It is a single-player game, which is played from a third-person perspective.

The player controls a monkey protagonist referred to as the Destined One, who is based on Sun Wukong from the Journey to the West. The protagonist's weapon is a staff, which is based on the Ruyi Jingu Bang from the novel. The staff can extend and shrink in size during combat. The three staff stances, which are the smash stance, the pillar stance, and the thrust stance, provide versatility in fights. The combat mechanics involve resource management. Focus can be accumulated by landing light attacks, executing well-timed dodges, and other means. A focus point is gained when the meter for focus is filled up. These points can be used to initiate a varied combo, chained to light attacks, or to charge a heavy attack on its own. Stamina is depleted by sprinting, dodging, and attacking.

Spells have cooldowns and consume mana. They are categorized in mysticism, alteration, strand, and transformations. The protagonist uses transformations to shapeshift into a different creature or being. An example is the transformation Red Tides, which takes the form of Guangzhi, a wolfman who wields a flaming glaive. The transformations come with their own movesets and health. They are available on cooldown, but do not cost mana. They last until their might, which is depleted by attacking, or health runs out.

Spirits provide a skill and passive effect if they are equipped. Defeated yaoguai chiefs may leave behind their spirits, which can be acquired if they are absorbed into a gourd. Spirit skills function as transformations to do a unique attack. Qi is used to activate spirit skills. An example of a spirit is the Wandering Wight, who does a headbutt attack.

The game follows a mostly linear progression interspersed with expansive areas. There are keeper's shrines, which act as checkpoints for the player, along the way. Throughout the world, the protagonist encounters various yaoguai as enemies. The game's difficulty cannot be changed by players, but it does not remain the same throughout a playthrough.

## Synopsis

### Setting

Black Myth: Wukong is inspired by the classical Chinese novel Journey to the West. The game spans six chapters, each focusing on the journey through a specific fictional location: Black Wind Mountain, Yellow Wind Ridge, Little Western Paradise, The Webbed Hollow, Flaming Mountains, and Mount Huaguo. It introduces cultural and natural landmarks derived from the real world into its setting. It features, for example, several locations from Shanxi Province, such as the Yungang Grottoes, Little Western Paradise, Nanchan Temple, Iron Buddha Temple, Guangsheng Temple, and Stork Tower, as well as locations from other provinces, such as the Kaiyuan Temple in Fujian Province.

Each chapter concludes with an animated cutscene providing a reflection and exploration of the narrative and thematic elements of Black Myth Wukong.

### Plot

After escorting his master Tang Sanzang and retrieving Buddhist scriptures in a perilous pilgrimage to the West, Sun Wukong ascends to Buddhahood. Yet, he rejects life in the Celestial Court and chooses the simple joys of life on Mount Huaguo instead. The Court grows mistrustful of his choice to forgo the life above and sends an army led by Erlang Shen to force him to submit. Sun Wukong duels Erlang Shen, but he is incapacitated by the circlet that binds him to the Court and sealed in stone on the mountain. He is severed from his six senses, corresponding to six relics scattered across the mortal realm. Over the next few centuries, the monkeys of the mountain send out young warriors to recover the relics in order to revive Sun Wukong. A monkey referred to as the Destined One sets out on this path.

The Destined One traverses through Black Wind Mountain. He meets the Keeper of Black Wind Mountain, who helps and guides him through the place. Along the way, he passes through Guanyin Temple, which was devastated by fire and later rebuilt. The Destined One defeats the Black Bear Guai, who has the "Craving Eyes" relic enshrined atop a pagoda at the mountain's summit, and takes the relic, while the Black Bear Guai reveals that he was just a pawn of the Celestial Court, begs for mercy, and promises to return to Guanyin at Mount Putuo for atonement, vowing never to leave Mount Putuo again.

The Destined One proceeds to the desolate Yellow Wind Ridge. Occasionally, a mysterious Headless Monk, who sings and plays a sanxian, appears and provides help. The Destined One defeats the Yellow Wind Sage, who uses Bodhisattva Lingji 's severed head to contain the "Fuming Ears" relic. The Headless Monk, who turns out to be Bodhisattva Lingji, places his head back on his body and hands over the relic to the Destined One.

The Destined One continues to the Little Western Paradise, a cold mountainous place. Yellowbrow, who possesses the "Hubris Nose" relic and has taken the guise of Maitreya, sends Kang-Jin Star after the Destined One. In their last battle, the Destined One causes her to crash into and separate the Gold Cymbals imprisoning Zhu Bajie, an old friend of Sun Wukong and a banished admiral of the Celestial Court. Zhu Bajie joins his quest to gather the relics. The Destined One defeats Yellowbrow at New Thunderclap Temple, but Yellowbrow flees toward the relic kept in a frozen lake and falls into the lake. Maitreya fishes the relic out of the lake for the Destined One.

The Destined One and Zhu Bajie are transported, hidden in a chest, by pig guais to The Webbed Hollow. The guais become alerted by Zhu Bajie, so the Fourth Sister kills the guais. She continues to watch over and aid the Destined One. She is from the Zhu family, composed of spider guai sisters and matriarch. Their Second Sister captures Zhu Bajie and brings him to the matriarch, the Violet Spider, but the Destined One goes to rescue him. The Violet Spider is defeated by the Destined One and flees to the Hundred-Eyed Daoist Master. The Daoist Master, who gave the "Envious Tongue" relic to her, violently takes it back from her. The spider sisters and the Destined One attack and defeat him. Zhu Bajie and the injured Violet Spider share a last glance at each other before he sorrowfully walks away toward the relic. They fell in love a long time ago, were an admiral and maiden of the Celestial Court once, and tragically became yaoguais in the mortal realm.

The Destined One and Zhu Bajie fight their way to Flaming Mountains. The Bull King, a sworn brother of Sun Wukong, keeps the "Grieved Body" relic hidden in his stomach. The Destined One and Zhu Bajie find someone who claims to be Pingping, the daughter of the Bull King and Princess Fair Fox, and asks for help to save her father. However, the Bull King could tell that his son Red Boy disguised himself as his daughter Pingping to deceive them. Red Boy takes the relic by feigning defeat through a death talisman, while the Bull King tries to give the relic to the Destined One, and consumes it for power, but is defeated by the Destined One and Zhu Bajie. His mother Rakshasi begs mercy for him and offers her Plantain Fan, but Red Boy refuses to submit and kills himself. With his death, the relic appears for them to take.

The ending is determined by the following optional storyline: In the Great Pagoda located in The New West, Maitreya guides both Erlang Shen and the Destined One to Mount Mei, where they confront each other. Here, the Destined One battles Erlang Shen and the Four Heavenly Kings. Upon their defeat, Erlang Shen, who has Sun Wukong 's mind contained in his Third Eye, unleashes Sun Wukong's memories to the Destined One and shares his realization that his fight a long time ago allowed Sun Wukong to set a path to break free through a mortal death.

#### Endings

The Destined One and Zhu Bajie return to Mount Huaguo. They retrieve Sun Wukong 's armor and Jingubang. They reach the summit and enter the stone, which contains a place shaped by Sun Wukong's lingering memories. The Old Monkey ferries them through its waters. In this place, however, they come across their current selves on the ferry, which represents the last memory of the Destined One's mind. The Old Monkey explains that Sun Wukong's mind is lost, as the mind is an essence unique to every life and therefore destined to fade away at life's end, so Sun Wukong will never return and the journey was meant for the Destined One to be forged into a worthy successor who inherits the name and nature of Sun Wukong. At the end, the Destined One fights Sun Wukong's broken shell stripped from his six senses. Sun Wukong's broken shell is defeated and dissipates, while his circlet appears on his head and falls into the water. The Old Monkey picks up and puts the circlet on the Destined One, who remains trapped inside the stone, in one ending. However, if the Destined One regained Sun Wukong's memories, he does not wear the circlet. The latter ending provides the "Freed Mind" relic in a New Game Plus.

## Development

Black Myth: Wukong is a game developed and published by Game Science. The decision to make a single-player game was made on February 25, 2018. The development team moved from Shenzhen to Hangzhou in December 2018. They wanted to create a single-player game in their own style with a focus on traditional cultural themes. They discussed themes such as xianxia and wuxia, but were most enthusiastic about the Journey to the West. The team chose to use Unreal Engine 4 and familiarized themselves with it in the level for Mount Huaguo, which briefly appeared in the announcement trailer, before they put work on it down and started on the level for Black Wind Mountain.

Black Myth: Wukong was first announced with a trailer showcasing gameplay in its pre-alpha build on August 20, 2020. The trailer demonstrated the game built on Unreal Engine 4. It showed the protagonist exploring the environment and fighting various foes in a location known as Black Wind Mountain. Within one day, the trailer had nearly two million views on YouTube and ten million views on Bilibili. As Game Science's development team was small, the trailer was released to attract people to the studio to help build the game. Therefore, the principle of the trailer was to show the level for Black Wind Mountain in its current state, rather than make adjustment for the sake of the demonstration. The team started with seven people and had thirty people around the time of the announcement. In the past, they would recruit within their own personal network, but they realized that this was not enough for the project. The popularity of the trailer far exceeded their expectations and had resulted in over 10 thousand applicants, but they maintained their plans to recruit between ten and fifteen people for the time being to not expand too quickly and lose their original vision.

Black Myth: Wukong is developed on Unreal Engine 5. It was initially developed on its previous iteration, Unreal Engine 4. The move to the newer version was revealed through a trailer on August 20, 2021. Game Science explained that, in 2021, they had switched to Unreal Engine 5 as this would help with their pursuit for realism in the style. In designing the environment, the development team conducted on-site studies of various locations. They made scans of many buildings and statues to recreate them or use them as a basis in the design. Motion capture performed by several actors was used for the movement of different characters. The actor Yin Kai provided the motion capture for the Destined One and several other characters. He, a practitioner of martial arts, remarked that most of his performances were for actions done by the protagonist during combat. The sound, including the music and voices, was co-produced by 8082 Audio. The game features an adaptation of the theme song " Yungong Xunyin ", originally composed by Xu Jingqing, from the 1986 television series Journey to the West. The game's end credits listed 140 people for the development team.

Black Myth: Wukong had a budget of $70 million throughout its six years of development, as reported by Bloomberg. This was partly contributed by the investor Hero Games. Feng Ji stated that they could not undertake such a project at the beginning, so they made two mobile games before they cautiously began the project, as they previously worked at Tencent and thus knew the possible risks from experience. Yang Qi stated that they considered the cost for research and development to be high as early as the start, so they did not have high expectations for profitability initially.

Feng Ji revealed that they planned Black Myth: Wukong to be the first installment in a Black Myth series, which would explore different stories in Chinese mythology. The game was internally referred to as B1, meaning Black Myth One, in reference to its status as the first work in the series. They already have ideas for two other titles in the series, but have not publicly revealed them.

Hero Games' Daniel Wu confirmed that an expansion for the game is in the works.

## Release

Black Myth: Wukong was released for PlayStation 5 and PC (Windows) on August 20, 2024, at 10 AM (UTC+8). An Xbox Series X/S version is planned, although the release date has not been announced.

In January 2023, Game Science published a promotional short film celebrating the upcoming Year of the Rabbit which revealed that Black Myth: Wukong would be released in the summer of 2024. During The Game Awards in December 2023, they released a trailer announcing the release date as August 20, 2024. In June 2024, they disclosed that the Xbox Series X/S version of the game was delayed for optimization to meet their quality standards. Reports suggested that this may be due to the technical limitations of Xbox Series S; some sources suggested a memory leak on Xbox as the possible issue. IGN reported that the delay was, according to an unnamed source, because of an exclusivity deal with Sony and not technical issues. Microsoft responded that the delay was not due to Xbox limitations "that have been raised to us." Giant Bomb ' s Jeff Grubb stated, after speaking to his sources, that Sony had no marketing deal in place to keep the game as an exclusive.

Black Myth: Wukong received four editions: Digital Standard Edition, Digital Deluxe Edition, Deluxe Edition, and Collector's Edition. The Digital Standard Edition contains the base game. The Digital Deluxe Edition, additionally, provides in-game bonus content and a selected digital soundtrack. The content consists of the weapon Bronzecloud Staff; the equipment Folk Opera Mask, Folk Opera Almsgiving Armor, Folk Opera Leather Bracers, and Folk Opera Buskins; and the curio Wind Chimes. The two physical editions, the Deluxe Edition and the Collector's Edition, contain an activation code for the Digital Deluxe Edition on WeGame for JD.com purchases or Steam for overseas purchases. The Deluxe Edition comes with the physical collectibles: Steel Case, The Constricting Headband, Chaos at the Peach Banquet (color print on silk scroll), Wind Chime (necklace), Thunderstone (ring), Gold Sun Crow (pin), Stamps and Postcard, and Warranty Certificate. For the Collector's Edition, these are: Steel Case, Confront Destiny (protagonist figurine), Teaching of the Heart Sutra (color print on silk scroll), Wind Chime, Thunderstone, Gold Sun Crow, Stamps and Postcard, and Warranty Certificate. A physical disc is not included in any edition. Game Science stated that they are exploring options to offer physical discs, but that limitations in offline resources have made it difficult to offer physical discs simultaneously with the release.

Black Myth: Wukong was the most-wishlisted game on Steam from May 2024. Pre-orders for the game launched on June 8, 2024. This came with the in-game content Trailblazer's Scarlet Gourd, which is also obtainable through in-game progression. As reported in early August, the game ranked first on Steam 's global top sellers chart. When the game's preload went live shortly before release, the download bandwidth usage on Steam reached its highest-ever peak at 70 terabytes per second, superseding the previous record held by Cyberpunk 2077 in 2020. Hero Games, a marketing partner, reportedly sent some content creators an email with an activation code for the game and guidelines to not discuss topics including politics, feminism, and other things in their coverage of the game at launch.

## Reception

Black Myth: Wukong received "generally favorable" reviews on PC and PlayStation 5 from critics, according to review aggregator website Metacritic.

The game won "Best Visuals" and was nominated for "Most Epic" at Gamescom in 2023.

### Sales

On the day of release, Black Myth: Wukong reached over 2.2 million concurrent players on Steam, which placed it as the second highest game of all time by this metric, surpassing other popular games such as Elden Ring and Cyberpunk 2077. Within hours, it became the single-player game with the most concurrent players of all time on Steam. Bloomberg reported that this ascent could help the game "seal its place in industry lore." On August 22, the game reached its all-time peak of over 2.4 million concurrent players on Steam, only following PUBG: Battlegrounds.

Game Science announced that Black Myth: Wukong had sold 10 million units, derived from data as of August 23, 2024, at 9 PM (UTC+8), and had reached 3 million concurrent players across all platforms. The game is one of the fastest-selling of all time. The physical editions were in high demand, with 700 thousand people signed up to purchase a supply of only 30 thousand units on the retailer JD.com for example.

Hero Games' Daniel Wu, an investor, shared to Bloomberg that Black Myth: Wukong had sold 18 million units within two weeks. Bloomberg described this as "one of the fastest starts the global gaming industry has seen." Sony revealed that it was the most-downloaded PlayStation 5 game in North America (United States and Canada), Europe, and Japan during August 2024.

### Impact

Nikkei Asia reported that Black Myth: Wukong is regarded as a new standard bearer for games in the Chinese video game industry, which undergoes a gradual shift from mobile games toward console games, and could inspire Chinese developers to undertake ambitious projects that draw international audiences. During the pre-release, Soulframe Liang, the director of Phantom Blade Zero, commented that, if Black Myth: Wukong succeeds in the domestic and international market, people would be confident about other games in their industry and that he thought that it would indeed be a large success.

The popularity of the game managed to boost sales of PlayStation 5, which reached the top for video game hardware and had twice the sales from the same period last year on Alibaba 's Tmall in the week before the game's launch for example, in the Chinese market. The game led to a substantial increase of tourism to the real-world locations of scenes in the game.

The character Fourth Sister has become a popular subject for cosplay on Bilibili, Douyin, and other platforms.


Reid technique

# Reid technique

## Abstract

The Reid technique is a method of interrogation after investigation and behavior analysis. The system was developed in the United States by John E. Reid in the 1950s. Reid was a polygraph expert and former Chicago police officer. The technique is known for creating a high pressure environment for the interviewee, followed by sympathy and offers of understanding and help, but only if a confession is forthcoming. Since its spread in the 1970s, it has been widely utilized by police departments in the United States.

Proponents of the Reid technique say it is useful in extracting information from otherwise unwilling suspects. Critics say the technique results in an unacceptably high rate of false confessions, especially from juveniles and people with mental impairments. Criticism has also been leveled in the opposite case—that against strong-willed interviewees, the technique causes them to stop talking and give no information whatsoever, rather than elicit lies that can be checked against for the guilty or exonerating details for the innocent.

## Background

In 1931, the Wickersham Commission reported that violent forms of interrogation (known as the "third degree" after investigation and interview) were widespread and actually reduced crime-solving by causing false confessions. From 1936, interrogations causing obvious physical harm were ruled inadmissible by the US Supreme Court in Brown vs. Mississippi. A number of manuals were developed based on deception rather than assault, such as by W. R. Kidd in 1940, Clarence D. Lee in 1953 and Arther and Caputo (1959). The most infuential was from the writings of Fred E. Inbau (1942, "Lie Detection and Criminal Interrogation").

Fred E. Inbau, a Northwestern University lawyer and criminologist, and John E. Reid, a Chicago street cop who used the polygraph, developed new techniques. Inbau had become the director of the Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory when it was sold to the Chicago police in 1938, and he trained police officers.

In 1955 in Lincoln, Nebraska, John E. Reid had helped gain a confession from a suspect, Darrel Parker, for Parker's wife's murder. This case established Reid's reputation and popularized his technique. Parker recanted his confession the next day, but it was admitted to evidence at his trial. He was convicted by a jury and sentenced to life in prison. He was later determined to be innocent, after another man confessed and was found to have been the perpetrator. Parker sued the state for wrongful conviction; it paid him $500,000 in compensation.

In spite of Parker's false confession, Reid co-authored a text explaining his interrogation techniques. The first edition of the 'Reid Manual', in 1962, was heavily criticized by the US Supreme Court. Its famous Miranda v. Arizona warnings were made in large part in response to the psychological subjugation and risks of the Reid techniques. A second edition of the manual, in 1967, incorporated advice on how to use Miranda warnings. A third edition, in 1986, marked the start of what has been called 'the new Reid method'.

Reid died in 1982, and Joseph Buckley became president of Reid Inc and Associates. By 2013, according to The New Yorker, the company "train more interrogators than any other company in the world", and Reid's technique had been adopted by law enforcement agencies of many different types, with it being especially influential in North America.

## Process

The Reid technique consists of a three-phase process beginning with fact analysis, followed by the behavior analysis interview (a non-accusatory interview designed to develop investigative and behavioral information), followed, when appropriate, by the Reid nine steps of interrogation. According to process guidelines, individuals should be interrogated only when the information developed from the interview and investigation indicate that the subject is involved in the commission of the crime.

In the Reid technique, interrogation is an accusatory process, in which the investigator tells the suspect that the results of the investigation clearly indicate that they did commit the crime in question. The interrogation is in the form of a monologue presented by the investigator rather than a question and answer format. The demeanor of the investigator during the course of an interrogation is ideally understanding, patient, and non-demeaning. The Reid technique user's goal is to make the suspect gradually more comfortable with telling the truth. This is accomplished by the investigator's first imagining and then offering the suspect various psychological constructs as justification for their behavior.

For example, an admission of guilt might be prompted by the question, "Did you plan this out or did it just happen on the spur of the moment?" This is called an alternative question, which is based on an implicit assumption of guilt. Critics regard this strategy as hazardous, arguing that it is subject to confirmation bias (likely to reinforce inaccurate beliefs or assumptions) and may lead to prematurely narrowing an investigation.

### Nine steps of interrogation

The Reid technique's nine steps of interrogation are:

- Positive confrontation. Advise the suspect that the evidence has led the police to the individual as a suspect. Offer the person an early opportunity to explain why the offense took place.

- Try to shift the blame away from the suspect to some other person or set of circumstances that prompted the suspect to commit the crime. That is, develop themes containing reasons that will psychologically justify or excuse the crime. Themes may be developed or changed to find one to which the accused is most responsive.

- Try to minimize the frequency of suspect denials.

- At this point, the accused will often give a reason why he or she did not or could not commit the crime. Try to use this to move towards the acknowledgement of what they did.

- Reinforce sincerity to ensure that the suspect is receptive.

- The suspect will become quieter and listen. Move the theme of the discussion toward offering alternatives. If the suspect cries at this point, infer guilt.

- Pose the "alternative question", giving two choices for what happened; one more socially acceptable than the other. The suspect is expected to choose the easier option but whichever alternative the suspect chooses, guilt is admitted. There is always a third option which is to maintain that they did not commit the crime.

- Lead the suspect to repeat the admission of guilt in front of witnesses and develop corroborating information to establish the validity of the confession.

- Document the suspect's admission or confession and have him or her prepare a recorded statement (audio, video or written).

## Validity

Critics claim the technique too easily produces false confessions, especially with juveniles, with second-language speakers in their non-native language, and with people whose communication/language abilities are affected by mental disabilities, including reduced intellectual capacity. While this criticism acknowledges that the technique can be "effective" in producing confessions, it is not accurate at getting guilty parties to confess, instead sweeping up people pushed to their mental limits by stress. Critics also dislike how police often apply the technique on subjects of unclear guilt, when simply gathering more information in non-stressful interrogations can be more useful both for convicting guilty suspects and exonerating innocent suspects.

Of 311 people exonerated through post-conviction DNA testing, more than a quarter had given false confessions—including those convicted in such notorious cases as the Central Park Five.

Some of the more minor details Reid propounded have since been called into question as well. For example, Reid believed that "tells" such as fidgeting was a sign of lying, and more generally believed that trained police interrogators could intuitively check lies merely by how they were delivered. Later studies have shown no useful correlation between any sort of body movements such as breaking eye contact or fidgeting and truth-telling. While police can be effective at cracking lies, it is via gathering contradicting evidence; police officers have been shown in studies to be no better than average people at detecting lies merely from their delivery.

Several European countries prohibit some interrogation techniques that are currently allowed in the United States, such as a law enforcement officer lying to a suspect about evidence, due to the perceived risk of false confessions and wrongful convictions that might result, particularly with juveniles. For example, §136a of the German Strafprozessordnung (StPO, "code of criminal procedure") bans the use of deception and intimidation in interrogations; the Reid method also conflicts with the German police's obligation to adequately inform the suspect of their right to silence.

In Canada, provincial court judge Mike Dinkel ruled in 2012 that "stripped to its bare essentials, the Reid technique is a guilt-presumptive, confrontational, psychologically manipulative procedure whose purpose is to extract a confession".

In December 2013, an unredacted copy of a secret FBI interrogation manual was discovered in the Library of Congress, available for public view. The manual confirmed American Civil Liberties Union concerns that FBI agents used the Reid technique in interrogations.

Abuses of interrogation methods include officers treating accused suspects aggressively and telling them lies about the amount of evidence proving their guilt. Such exaggerated claims of evidence, such as video or genetics, have the potential, when combined with such coercive tactics as threats of harm or promises of leniency, to cause innocent suspects to become psychologically overwhelmed.

In 2015, eight organizations, including John E. Reid & Associates, settled with Juan Rivera, who was wrongfully convicted of the 1992 rape and murder of 11-year-old Holly Staker. A number of pieces of evidence excluded Rivera, including DNA from the PERK (Physical Evidence Recovery Kit) and the report from the electronic ankle monitor he was wearing at the time, as he awaited trial for a non-violent burglary, but he falsely confessed to the Staker crimes after being interrogated by the police several days after taking two polygraph examinations at Reid & Associates. After his exoneration, Rivera filed a suit for false arrest and malicious prosecution. The case was settled out of court with John E. Reid & Associates paying $2 million.

### Alternative models

The PEACE (Preparation and Planning, Engage and Explain, Account, Closure and Evaluate) model developed in Britain "encourages more of a dialogue between investigator and suspect".

In 2015, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police adopted a new standard influenced by the PEACE model. Sergeant Darren Carr, who trains police with the new approach, described it as "less Kojak and more Dr. Phil ". This approach eschews the use of deceptive information to overwhelm suspects. It emphasizes information gathering over eliciting confessions and discourages investigators from presuming a suspect's guilt.


Linden Street Bridge

# Linden Street Bridge

## Abstract

The Linden Street Bridge is a historic bridge on the Mass Central Rail Trail—Wayside and the abandoned Central Massachusetts Railroad over Linden Street (Massachusetts Route 60) in Waltham, Massachusetts. It is a riveted lattice through truss bridge, built in 1894 by the Pennsylvania Steel Company, and is one of only three such bridges left in the state. The bridge is 98 feet 3 inches (29.95 m) long and 17 feet (5.2 m) wide, with an inside truss height of 21 feet 11.5 inches (6.693 m), and rests on granite abutments. The design of the bridge was based on that of the Northampton crossing of the Connecticut River by the same railroad. This section of the Central Massachusetts Branch, and the bridge, have been out of service since the early 1990s when service to the last customer, a lumber dealer located on Emerson Road, ended.

The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. In 2022, the city was awarded a $500,000 state grant to restore the bridge as part of the Mass Central Rail Trail—Wayside. In September 2024, DCR announced it would restore the bridge starting in Spring 2025.


Rey de Parejas

# Rey de Parejas

## Abstract

The Rey de Parejas (Spanish for "King of Tag Teams") is a professional wrestling round-robin tag team tournament held by Dragongate. It was created in 2003 by Toryumon Japan to determine the strongest tag team of the promotion. In 2004, after Último Dragón left Toryumon with the name and trademarks associated, the Toryumon Japan roster and staff formed Dragon Gate and a second Rey de Parejas tournament was held to establish the inaugural Open the Triangle Gate Championship as a spiritual successor to the UWA World Trios Championship.

From 2007 to 2016, the tournament was held as the Summer Adventure Tag League. In 2011, it was held as a single-elimination tournament under the name of Summer Adventure Tag Tournament. In 2012, the tournament featured trios instead of tag teams. In 2023, the tournament was revived as the Rey de Parejas once again.

The tournament is held under a points system, with 2 points for a win, 1 for a time limit draw, and 0 for a loss, no contest or double decision. The two top-scoring teams in each block advance to a single-elimination playoff to determine the winners of the Rey de Parejas.

## Results

### 2003

The first Rey de Parejas featured eight teams in a single block and was held from October 5 to October 26, 2003.

### 2004

The 2004 edition of the Rey de Parejas took place from October 3 to November 7. The tournament featured seven trios competing in a single block to win the newly created Open the Triangle Gate Championship. From October 28 onward, Ryo Saito replaced Magnum Tokyo who suffered an injury.

### 2007

The 2007 Summer Adventure League featured ten teams, and was held from 5 August to 26 August. The top four ranked teams from the round robin round qualified for the single-elimination semi-finals. The two winners of the semi-finals met in the final to decide the winner.

### 2008

The 2008 Summer Adventure League featured nine teams, and was held from 9 August to 28 August. The top four ranked teams from the round robin round qualified for the single-elimination semi-finals. The two winners of the semi-finals met in the final to decide the winner.

### 2009

The 2009 Summer Adventure League featured nine teams, and was held from 1 August to 26 August. The top four ranked teams from the round robin round qualified for the single-elimination semi-finals. The two winners of the semi-finals met in the final to decide the winner.

### 2010

The 2010 Summer Adventure League featured ten teams, and was held from 30 July to 25 August. The round robin round featured two blocks of five teams each, and the top two teams from each block qualified for the single-elimination semi-finals. The two winners of the semi-finals met in the final to decide the winner.

### 2011

The 2011 Summer Adventure League featured twelve teams, and was held from 3 August to 7 August, covering three shows; the format of the League was changed to a single-elimination tournament. Four teams received a bye into the second round. Kotoka qualified to be Don Fujii's partner by beating Shisa BOY, Super Shenlong and Eita Kobayashi.

### 2012

The 2012 Summer Adventure League featured eight teams with three members instead of the usual two. The round robin round features two blocks of four teams each, and the top team from each block will qualify for the finals to decide the winner of the tournament while the last team from each block will face each other to determine the last placed team. Super Shenlong III qualified to be Shingo Takagi and YAMATO's partner by beating Chihiro Tominaga. The tournament was held from 2 August to 19 August.

Mondai Ryu, Kzy and Cyber Kong lost to Ryo "Jimmy" Saito, Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!! and Naoki Tanizaki in 16:31 to become the last placed team

Akira Tozawa, BxB Hulk and " Naoki Tanisaki " pinned CIMA, Gamma and Magnitude Kishiwada in 23:21 to become champions

### 2013

The 2013 Summer Adventure League reverted to teams of two members, and was held from 7 September to 28 September. The round robin round featured two blocks of four teams each, and the top team from each block qualified for the finals. The Block A match between Shingo Takagi and Akira Tozawa versus Naruki Doi and Masato Yoshino ended in a no contest with no points awarded when Doi turned on Yoshino and joined Mad Blankey. This caused Yoshino to team up with the Former Super Shenlong III: Yosuke Watanabe for his final Block A match against Masaaki Mochizuki and Don Fujii.

T-Hawk and Eita defeated Yamato and BxB Hulk in 19:26 to become the interim Open the Twin Gate Champions.

### 2014

The 2014 Summer Adventure Tag League and was held from 5 September to 23 September. The round robin round featured two blocks of four teams each, and the top team from each block qualified for the finals. During the tournament Kotoka was injured on their last match and was replaced by Yuga Hayashi.

Ryotsu Shimizu and Yuga Hayashi lost to Kzy and Naruki Doi in 11:53 to become the last placed team

### 2015

The 2015 Summer Adventure Tag League and was held from 5 September to 27 September. The round robin round featured two blocks of four teams each, and the top team from each block qualified for the finals. On September 9 Cima was injured and was replaced by Takehiro Yamamura.

Knockout round

### 2016

On July 7 it was announced the 2016 Summer Adventure Tag League and it will be held from August 6 to September 10. The round robin round featured two blocks of six teams each, and the top team from each block qualified for the finals. On July 24 it was announced that Kotoka would miss the tournament due to facial injuries and Cyber Kong will replace him as Shingo Takagi 's place and Osaka06 (CIMA and Gamma) replaced the team of Mondai Ryu and Cyber Kong.

Knockout round