title: Parka content: connectors to add wind-proofing. The fishtail was fixed at the front for warmth or folded away at the back to improve freedom of movement when needed. The EX-48 parka is distinctive as it has a left sleeve pocket and is made of thin poplin, only the later production M-48 parkas are made of the heavier sateen canvas type cotton. The EX-48 also has a thin fibre glass based liner that is very light and warm, the M-48 has a thicker wool pile liner with an integral hood liner made of wool. Both are distinguishable from any other type of parka


title: Parka content: by having the sleeve pocket. This was dropped for the M-51 onward. The fur ruff on the hood is also fixed to the shell of an EX-48/M-48 and is of wolf, coyote or often wolverine. The M-48 parka was costly to produce and therefore only in production for around one year. The pockets were wool lined both inside and out. The cuffs had two buttons for securing tightly around a wearer's wrist. The later more mass-produced M-51 parka had just the one cuff button. The liner had a built in chest pocket which again was unique to the M-48 parka.


title: Parka content: The next revision was the M-51, made because the M48 was so good and of such high quality it was just too expensive to mass-produce. The outer hood of the M-51 Fishtail Parka is integral to the parka shell, an added hood liner as well as a button in main liner make the M-51 a versatile 3 piece parka. The idea behind this 3 part system was to enable a more customisable parka that allowed for easier cleaning of the shell as the hood fur was on the detachable hood liner, not fixed to the shell as in the M-48.


title: Parka content: It also allowed for both liners to be buttoned in or our depending on the temperature and hence warmth required. It was also cheaper than the M-48 to mass-produce The early M-51 was made of heavy sateen cotton, the same material as the M-48. Later revisions of the M-51 were poplin based. The later liners were also revised from the "heavy when wet" wool pile to a lighter woolen loop or frieze wool design that dried easier and were far lighter. The frieze liners were constructed of mohair and were designed using a double loop system which repelled cold weather.


title: Parka content: The M-65 fishtail parka has a detachable hood and was the last revision. It features a removable quilted liner made of light nylon / polyester batting which are modern synthetic materials. The M-65 fishtail parka first came into production in 1968. These parkas featured synthetic fur on the hoods after an outcry from the fur lobby. As a result, only hoods for these parkas made in 1972 and for one year later have real fur. Designed primarily for combat arms forces such as infantry, they are to be worn over other layers of clothing; alone, the fishtail parka is insufficient


title: Parka content: to protect against "dry cold" conditions (i.e. below about -10 °C). As such all fishtail parkas are big as they were designed to be worn over battle dress and other layers. In the 1960s UK, the fishtail parka became a symbol of the mod subculture. Because of their practicality, cheapness and availability from military surplus shops, the parka was seen as the ideal garment for fending off the elements and protecting smarter clothes underneath from grease and dirt when on the mod's vehicle of choice, the scooter. Its place in popular culture was assured by newspaper pictures of parka-clad mods


title: Parka content: during the Bank Holiday riots of the 1960s. A cagoule is the British English term for a lightweight, weatherproof anorak or parka, usually unlined and sometimes knee-length. A cagoule could be rolled up into a very compact package and carried in a bag or pocket. It was invented by Noel Bibby of Peter Storm Ltd. in the early 1960s. It may have a full-zippered front opening, or pull over the head like an original anorak and close with snaps or a short zipper, has an integral hood, and elasticated or drawstring cuffs. In some versions, when rolled up, the hood


title: Parka content: doubles as a bag into which the rest of the coat is pushed. It became very popular in the United Kingdom during the 1970s. Parka A parka or anorak is a type of coat with a hood, often lined with fur or faux fur. The Caribou Inuit invented this kind of garment, originally made from caribou or seal skin, for hunting and kayaking in the frigid Arctic. Some Inuit anoraks require regular coating with fish oil to retain their water resistance. The words "anorak" and "parka" have been used interchangeably, but they are somewhat different garments. Strictly speaking, an anorak


title: "Khalistan movement" content: less than 20 people and he was labelled as a madman and received only one person's support. There was a lack of support but Parmar continued his efforts. Jagjit Singh Chohan was a Sikh politician in Indian Punjab who pursued from abroad the idea of a sovereign Khalistan. Two years after losing the Punjab Assembly elections in 1969, Chohan moved to the United Kingdom, to start his campaign for creation of Khalistan. In 1970 Parmar came in contact with Jagjit Singh Chohan in London which led to the launch of the movement. The Khalistan movement was announced formally at a


title: "Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston" content: the course of imperial foreign policy. Palmerston's speech was so successful that Spencer Perceval, who formed his government in 1809, asked him to become Chancellor of the Exchequer, then a less important office than it was to become from the mid nineteenth century. Palmerston preferred the office of Secretary at War, charged exclusively with the financial business of the army. Without a seat in the cabinet until 1827, he remained in the latter post for 20 years. On 1 April 1818 a retired officer on half-pay, Lieutenant Davies, who had a grievance about his application from the War Office for


title: Aerospace content: produces "aircraft, guided missiles, space vehicles, aircraft engines, propulsion units, and related parts". Most of the industry is geared toward governmental work. For each original equipment manufacturer (OEM), the US government has assigned a Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code. These codes help to identify each manufacturer, repair facilities, and other critical aftermarket vendors in the aerospace industry. In the United States, the Department of Defense and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are the two largest consumers of aerospace technology and products. Others include the very large airline industry. The aerospace industry employed 472,000 wage and salary workers


title: Technophobia content: with new technology, and are technophobic to some degree. Technophobia began to gain national and international attention as a movement with the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. With the development of new machines able to do the work of skilled craftsmen using unskilled, underpaid men, women, and children, those who worked a trade began to fear for their livelihoods. In 1675, a group of weavers destroyed machines that replaced their jobs. By 1727, the destruction had become so prevalent that Parliament made the demolition of machines a capital offense. This action, however, did not stop the tide of violence. The


title: Brie content: Brie Brie (; ) is a soft cow's-milk cheese named after Brie, the French region from which it originated (roughly corresponding to the modern "département" of Seine-et-Marne). It is pale in color with a slight grayish tinge under a rind of white mould. The rind is typically eaten, with its flavor depending largely upon the ingredients used and its manufacturing environment. It is similar to Camembert, which is native to a different region of France. Brie may be produced from whole or semi-skimmed milk. The curd is obtained by adding rennet to raw milk and warming it to a maximum


title: Brie content: temperature of . The cheese is then cast into molds, sometimes with a traditional perforated ladle called a "pelle à brie". The mold is filled with several thin layers of cheese and drained for approximately 18 hours. The cheese is then taken out of the molds, salted, inoculated with cheese culture ("Penicillium candidum", "Penicillium camemberti") or "Brevibacterium linens", and aged in a controlled environment for at least four or five weeks. If left to mature for longer, typically several months to a year, the cheese becomes stronger in flavor and taste, the pâte drier and darker, and the rind also


title: Brie content: darker and crumbly, and it is called "Brie Noir" (French for "black brie"). Around the Île-de-France where brie is made, people enjoy soaking this in "café au lait" and eating it for breakfast. Overripe brie contains an unpleasant excessive amount of ammonia, produced by the same microorganisms required for ripening. Some versions of brie cheese are smoked. A thirty-gram serving of brie contains and 8.4 grams of fat, of which 5.2 grams are saturated fat. Brie is a good source of protein; a serving of brie can provide 5 to 6 grams of protein. Brie contains a good amount of


title: Brie content: both vitamin B12 and vitamin B2. There are now many varieties of brie made all over the world, including plain brie, herbed varieties, double and triple brie and versions of brie made with other types of milk. Indeed, although brie is a French cheese, it is possible to obtain Somerset and Wisconsin brie. Despite the variety of bries, the French government officially certifies only two types of cheese to be sold under that name: "Brie de Meaux" and "Brie de Melun". Brie de Meaux is an unpasteurized brie, with an average weight of for a diameter of . Manufactured in


title: Brie content: the town of Meaux in the Brie region of northern France since the 8th century, it was originally known as the "King's Cheese", or, after the French Revolution, the "King of Cheeses," and was enjoyed by the peasantry and nobility alike. It was granted the protection of "Appellation d'origine contrôlée" (AOC) status in 1980, and it is produced primarily in the eastern part of the Parisian basin. This brie has an average weight of and a diameter of . It is therefore smaller than Brie de Meaux but is considered to have a stronger flavor and more pungent smell. It


title: Brie content: is made with unpasteurized milk. Brie de Melun is also available in the form of "Old Brie" or black brie. It was granted the protection of AOC status in 1980. The following French bries do not have AOC certification: Brie de Montereau, Île-de-France, Brie de Nangis, Brie de Provins, Brie noir, Brie fermier, Brie d'Isigny, Brie de Melun bleu, Brie petit moulé, Brie laitier Coulommiers. Australia King Island Dairy, on King Island between Victoria and Tasmania, produces a range of cheeses sold as "brie", as does Jindi Cheese in Victoria and the highly regarded High Valley Mudgee Cheese Co in


title: Brie content: Mudgee, NSW. UK Cornish Brie; Somerset Brie; Baron Bigod (made in Suffolk); Cenarth Brie (made in Wales); Clava Brie (made in Scotland). US The Marin French Cheese Company in California has made an unaged cheese since 1865 described as "fresh brie". Brazil Brazilian "brie" is made in the dairy region located in the Southern area of Minas Gerais state (bordering São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro states) and Southeast Minas Gerais (bordering Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo states). Brie is usually purchased either in a full wheel or as a wheel segment. The white outside of the cheese is


title: Brie content: completely edible, and many eat brie whole. The cheese is sometimes served slightly melted or baked, in a round, lidded ceramic dish, and topped with nuts or fruit. Brie cheese, like Camembert and Cirrus, is considered a soft cheese. This particular type of cheese is very rich and creamy, unlike Cheddar. This softness allows for the rapid widespread growth of bacteria if the cheese is not stored correctly. It is recommended that brie cheese be refrigerated immediately after purchase, and stored in the refrigerator until it is consumed completely. The optimal storage temperature for brie is or even lower. The


title: Brie content: cheese should be kept in a tightly sealed container or plastic wrap to avoid contact with moisture and food-spoilage bacteria which will reduce the shelf life and freshness of the product. The companies that produce this cheese usually recommend that their cheese be consumed before the best-before date and no later than a week after. Although the cheese can still be consumed at this time, the quality of the cheese is believed to be reduced substantially. In the case that blue or green mold appears to be growing on the cheese, it must no longer be consumed and must be


title: Brie content: discarded immediately so that food-borne illness is prevented. The mold should not be cut off to continue consumption as there is a high risk of the mold's spores being already spread throughout the entire cheese. Camembert is a similar soft cheese which is also made from cow's milk. However, there are differences such as its origin, typical market shape, size, and flavour. Brie originates from the Île-de-France while camembert comes from Normandy. Traditionally, brie was produced in large wheels, 23 to 37 cm (9 to 14.5 in) in diameter, and thus ripened more slowly than the smaller camembert cheeses. When


title: Brie content: sold, brie segments typically have been cut from the larger wheels (although some brie is sold as small, flat cylinders), and therefore its sides are not covered by the rind. By contrast, camembert is ripened as a small round cheese 10 cm (4 in) in diameter by about 3 cm (1.25 in) thick and fully covered by rind. This ratio change between rind and paste makes camembert slightly stronger when compared to a brie ripened for the same amount of time. Once the rind is cut on camembert, the cheese typically has a more pungent aroma than does brie. In


title: Brie content: terms of taste, camembert has a stronger, slightly sour, and sometimes chalky taste. The texture of camembert is softer than that of brie, and if warmed, camembert will become creamier, whereas brie warms without losing as much structure. Brie Brie (; ) is a soft cow's-milk cheese named after Brie, the French region from which it originated (roughly corresponding to the modern "département" of Seine-et-Marne). It is pale in color with a slight grayish tinge under a rind of white mould. The rind is typically eaten, with its flavor depending largely upon the ingredients used and its manufacturing environment. It


title: Herzele content: Herzele Herzele () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders in the Denderstreek. The municipality comprises the towns of Borsbeke, Herzele proper, Hillegem, Ressegem, Sint-Antelinks, Sint-Lievens-Esse, Steenhuize-Wijnhuize and Woubrechtegem. On 1 January 2006 Herzele had a total population of 16,709. The total area is 47.40 km² which gives a population density of 353 inhabitants per km². The current mayor of Herzele is Johan Van Tittelboom, from the Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats party. Herzele is crossed by two brooks, the Molenbeek in Borsbeke, Herzele, Ressegem, and Hillegem, as well as the Molenbeek-Ter Erpenbeek in Herzele, Sint-Lievens-Esse,


title: Shrew content: Shrew The shrew (family Soricidae) is a small mole-like mammal classified in the order Eulipotyphla. True shrews are not to be confused with treeshrews, otter shrews, elephant shrews, or the extinct West Indies shrews, which belong to different families or orders. Although its external appearance is generally that of a long-nosed mouse, a shrew is not a rodent, as mice are. It is in fact a much closer relative of hedgehogs and moles, and shrews are related to rodents only to the extent that both belong to the Boreoeutheria Magnorder – together with humans, monkeys, cats, dogs, horses, rhinos, cows,


title: Shrew content: pigs, whales, bats, and others. Shrews have sharp, spike-like teeth, not the familiar gnawing front incisor teeth of rodents. Shrews are distributed almost worldwide: of the major tropical and temperate land masses, only New Guinea, Australia, and New Zealand have no native shrews; in South America shrews appeared only relatively recently, as a result of the Great American Interchange, and are present only in the northern Andes. In terms of species diversity, the shrew family is the fourth most successful mammal family, being rivalled only by the muroid rodent families Muridae and Cricetidae and the bat family Vespertilionidae. All shrews


title: Shrew content: are comparatively small, most no larger than a mouse. The largest species is the Asian house shrew ("Suncus murinus") of tropical Asia, which is about 15 cm long and weighs around 100 g; several are very small, notably the Etruscan shrew ("Suncus etruscus"), which at about and is the smallest living terrestrial mammal. In general, shrews are terrestrial creatures that forage for seeds, insects, nuts, worms, and a variety of other foods in leaf litter and dense vegetation, but some specialise in climbing trees, living underground, living under snow, or even hunting in water. They have small eyes and generally


title: Shrew content: poor vision, but have excellent senses of hearing and smell. They are very active animals, with voracious appetites. Shrews have unusually high metabolic rates, above that expected in comparable small mammals. Shrews in captivity can eat 1/2 to 2 times their own body weight in food daily. They do not hibernate, but are capable of entering torpor. In winter, many species undergo morphological changes that drastically reduce their body weight. Shrews can lose between 30% and 50% of their body weight, shrinking the size of bones, skull, and internal organs. Whereas rodents have gnawing incisors that grow throughout life, the


title: Shrew content: teeth of shrews wear down throughout life, a problem made more extreme because they lose their milk teeth before birth, so have only one set of teeth throughout their lifetimes. Apart from the first pair of incisors, which are long and sharp, and the chewing molars at the back of the mouth, the teeth of shrews are small and peg-like, and may be reduced in number. The dental formula of shrews is: Shrews are fiercely territorial, driving off rivals, and coming together only to mate. Many species dig burrows for catching food and hiding from predators, although this is not


title: Shrew content: universal. Female shrews can have up to 10 litters a year; in the tropics, they breed all year round; in temperate zones, they cease breeding only in the winter. Shrews have gestation periods of 17–32 days. The female often becomes pregnant within a day or so of giving birth, and lactates during her pregnancy, weaning one litter as the next is born. Shrews live 12 to 30 months. Shrews are unusual among mammals in a number of respects. Unlike most mammals, some species of shrews are venomous. Shrew venom is not conducted into the wound by fangs, but by grooves


title: Shrew content: in the teeth. The venom contains various compounds, and the contents of the venom glands of the American short-tailed shrew are sufficient to kill 200 mice by intravenous injection. One chemical extracted from shrew venom may be potentially useful in the treatment of high blood pressure, while another compound may be useful in the treatment of some neuromuscular diseases and migraines. The saliva of the northern short-tailed shrew ("Blarina brevicauda") contains soricidin, a peptide which has been studied for use in treating ovarian cancer. Also, along with the bats and toothed whales, some species of shrews use echolocation. Unlike most


title: Shrew content: other mammals, shrews lack zygomatic bones (also called the jugals), so have incomplete zygomatic arches. The only terrestrial mammals known to echolocate are two genera ("Sorex" and "Blarina") of shrew, the tenrecs of Madagascar, rats and the solenodons. These include the Eurasian or common shrew ("Sorex araneus") and the American vagrant shrew ("Sorex vagrans") and northern short-tailed shrew ("Blarina brevicauda"). These shrews emit series of ultrasonic squeaks. By nature the shrew sounds, unlike those of bats, are low-amplitude, broadband, multiharmonic, and frequency modulated. They contain no "echolocation clicks" with reverberations and would seem to be used for simple, close-range spatial


title: Shrew content: orientation. In contrast to bats, shrews use echolocation only to investigate their habitats rather than additionally to pinpoint food. Except for large and thus strongly reflecting objects, such as a big stone or tree trunk, they probably are not able to disentangle echo scenes, but rather derive information on habitat type from the overall call reverberations. This might be comparable to human hearing whether one calls into a beech forest or into a reverberant wine cellar. The 385 shrew species are in 26 genera, which are grouped into three living subfamilies: Crocidurinae (white-toothed shrews), Myosoricinae (African shrews) and Soricinae (red-toothed


title: Shrew content: shrews). In addition, the family contains the extinct subfamilies Limnoecinae, Crocidosoricinae, Allosoricinae and Heterosoricinae (although Heterosoricinae is also commonly considered a separate family). Shrew The shrew (family Soricidae) is a small mole-like mammal classified in the order Eulipotyphla. True shrews are not to be confused with treeshrews, otter shrews, elephant shrews, or the extinct West Indies shrews, which belong to different families or orders. Although its external appearance is generally that of a long-nosed mouse, a shrew is not a rodent, as mice are. It is in fact a much closer relative of hedgehogs and moles, and shrews are related


title: "Akhmed Zakayev" content: 1997. During the interwar period, he opposed the rise of radical Islam in Chechnya and co-authored a book entitled "Wahhabism - the Kremlin's remedy against national liberation movements", alleging an association between Islamist extremism and Soviet global "pro-terrorist" policy and support for dictatorships in the Muslim world. During the early phases of the Second Chechen War in 1999-2000, Zakayev commanded Maskhadov's presidential guard; he was also involved in negotiations with Russian representatives before and during the resumed hostilities. In 2000, having been wounded in a car accident during the new siege of Grozny, he left Chechnya for treatment. After this


title: "Gregorian chant" content: notation over the text, but as a rule have less rhythmic refinement compared to the earlier group. However, the comparison between the two groups has made it possible to correct what are obvious mistakes. In other instances it is not so easy to find a consensus. In 1984 Chris Hakkennes published his own transcription of the Graduale Triplex. He devised a new graphic adaptation of square notation 'simplex' in which he integrated the rhythmic indications of the two most relevant sources, that of Laon and Skt. Gallen. Referring to these manuscripts, he called his own transcription Gradual Lagal. Furthermore, while


title: Abingdon-on-Thames content: in the town for generations follow the superstition that in walking under the gateway one should hold one's breath to stop the gargoyles that decorate the gateway from stealing it. St. Helen's Church dates from around 1100 and is the second-widest church in England, having five aisles and being wider than it is long. The tower of St Helen's Church has a modern ring of ten bells, cast by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in 2005 and hung in a new frame with new fittings by White's of Appleton in 2006. St. Nicolas' Church, parts of which were built in 1180,


title: Shaanxi content: to the Tang dynasty. The province's principal city and current capital, Xi'an, is one of the four great ancient capitals of China and is the eastern terminus of the Silk Road, which leads to Europe, the Arabian Peninsula and Africa. Under the Han dynasty, the Northern Silk Road was expanded to advance exploration and military purposes to the west. This Northern Silk Road is the northernmost of the Silk Roads and is about in length. It connected the ancient Chinese capital of Xi'an to the west over the Wushao Ling Pass to Wuwei and emerging in Kashgar before linking to


title: Aspidistra content: Aspidistra Aspidistra is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Nolinoideae, native to eastern and southeastern Asia, particularly China and Vietnam. They grow in shade under trees and shrubs. Their leaves arise more or less directly from ground level, where their flowers also appear. The number of species known has increased considerably from the 1980s onwards, with around 100 accepted . "Aspidistra elatior" is common worldwide as a foliage house plant that is very tolerant of neglect. It and other species can also be grown in shade outside, where they are generally hardy to . Species of


title: Aspidistra content: "Aspidistra" are perennial herbaceous plants growing from rhizomes. The leaves are either solitary or are grouped in small "tufts" of two to four. They arise more or less directly from the rhizome, rather than being borne on stems. Each leaf has a long stalk (petiole) and a blade with many veins. The flowering stem (scape) is usually very short so that the flowers appear low down among the leaves. The fleshy flowers are bell-, urn- or cup-shaped. They vary considerably in size and shape, although few are showy. The flowers of "A. longipedunculata" are yellow and, unusually for the genus,


title: Aspidistra content: are borne on scapes up to high. "A. grandiflora" has spider-like flowers up to across. The flower has a large stigma with a flattened top. The fruit is a berry, often with a single seed. The genus "Aspidistra" was named by the English botanist John Ker Gawler in 1822, as a blend of Greek ασπίς/ασπίδ- "aspid-" and the genus name Tupistra. The genus was at one time placed in a broadly defined Liliaceae, along with many other lilioid monocots. It has also been placed in the families Convallariaceae and Ruscaceae. The APG III system of 2009 places it in the


title: Aspidistra content: family Asparagaceae, subfamily Nolinoideae. "Aspidistra" is a genus that was largely ignored by field botanists until the 1980s onwards, and there has been a very rapid rise in the number of recognised species since then. Some 8 to 10 species were known in the late 1970s; 30 new species were described from China in the 1980s. Subsequently more new species were found in Vietnam. The online "Flora of China" uses a narrow definition of species, producing a total of about 55, saying that the genus has "never been well studied". In 2008, Tillich provided a key to the 93 species


title: Aspidistra content: known at that time. , the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) accepted 101 species: Two species were published in 2013, but were not accepted by WCSP: Species of "Aspidistra" are part of the ground flora, growing in forests and under shrubs, in areas of high rainfall, from eastern India, Indochina and China through to Japan. The largest number of species are found in Guangxi Province, China, with Vietnam occupying second place. Few species have a broad distribution, with many being endemic to China or Vietnam. It has long been said that slugs and snails pollinate "Aspidistra" flowers. This


title: Aspidistra content: has been described as a "myth". Amphipods, small terrestrial crustaceans, are responsible for pollinating "A. elatior" in Japan. Amphipods have also been shown to pollinate species of "Aspidistra" introduced to Australia. Springtails and fungus gnats have also been suggested as pollinators. The newly described Vietnamese species "A. phanluongii" is probably pollinated by flies of the genus "Megaselia". "Aspidistra elatior", the "cast-iron plant", is a popular houseplant, surviving shade, cool conditions and neglect. It is one of several species of "Aspidistra" that can be grown successfully outdoors in shade in temperate climates, where they will generally cope with temperatures down to


title: Aspidistra content: , being killed by frosts of or below. In addition to shade, aspidistras require an open, acidic and humus-rich soil. Species suggested for growing outdoors in the UK include "A. diabuensis", "A. elatior", "A. lurida", "A. typica", "A. zongbyi" and their cultivars. In Japan, leaves of "A. elatior" have traditionally been cut into pieces and used in bento and osechi boxes to keep each food separated. However, imitations called "baran" are commonly used now. As a popular foliage houseplant, "A. elatior" became popular in late Victorian Britain, and was so commonplace that it became a "symbol of dull middle-class respectability".


title: Aspidistra content: As such, it was central to George Orwell's novel "Keep the Aspidistra Flying", as a symbol of the need of the middle class to maintain respectability—according to Gordon Comstock, the novel's protagonist. It was further immortalised in the 1938 song "The Biggest Aspidistra in the World", which as sung by Gracie Fields became a popular wartime classic. Aspidistras can withstand deep shade, neglect, dry soil, hot temperatures and polluted in-door air (from burning coal or natural gas) but are sensitive to bright sunlight. "Aspidistra" was the codename (inspired by the above song) of a very powerful British radio transmitter used


title: Aspidistra content: for propaganda and deception purposes against Nazi Germany during World War II. In the British television series Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (in the episode “The Cardboard Box”), Mrs. Hudson (played by Rosalie Williams) is decorating the rooms in 221B Baker Street in preparation for Christmas holidays. As she picks up a potted plant, Holmes (played by Jeremy Brett) shouts at her, “Mrs. Hudson! How dare you take my aspidistra?” To which, she replies severely “I do dare” and carries the plant away. Aspidistra Aspidistra is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Nolinoideae, native to eastern and


title: "Charlie Christian" content: road throughout the Midwest, as far away as North Dakota and Minnesota. By 1936 he was playing electric guitar and had become a regional attraction. He jammed with many of the big-name performers traveling through Oklahoma City, including Teddy Wilson and Art Tatum. Mary Lou Williams, the pianist for Andy Kirk and His Clouds of Joy, told the record producer John Hammond about Christian. In 1939, Christian auditioned for John Hammond, who recommended him to the bandleader Benny Goodman. Goodman was the fourth white bandleader to feature black musicians in his live band: the first was Jimmy Durante, for whom


title: "Jacques Necker" content: the country within a day. He finished dining very calmly, without communicating the purport of the order he had received. According to Jean Luzac they went for a walk in a parc and from there got into their carriage to drive to their estate in Saint-Ouen at seven in the evening. When the news became known the next day it enraged Camille Desmoulins. A wax-head of Necker by Philippe Curtius was taken through the streets to the Tuileries. The Royal Guard allegedly refused to salute the wax portraits and, instead, opened fire, initiating the first bloodshed of the Revolution. The


title: "M*A*S*H (TV series)" content: Klinger – on the show for all 11 seasons. Several other main characters departed or joined the program during its run, and numerous guest actors and recurring characters were used. The writers found creating so many names difficult, and used names from elsewhere; for example, characters on the seventh season were named after the 1978 Los Angeles Dodgers. As the series progressed, it made a significant shift from being primarily a comedy with dramatic undertones to a drama with comedic undertones. This was a result of changes in writing and production staff, rather than the cast defections of McLean Stevenson,


title: "Philadelphia Orchestra" content: Performing Arts. It also has summer residencies at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, and since July 2007 at the Bravo! Vail Valley Festival in Vail, Colorado. The orchestra also performs an annual series of concerts at Carnegie Hall. From its earliest days the orchestra has been active in the recording studio, making extensive numbers of recordings, primarily for RCA Victor and Columbia Records. The orchestra's current music director is Yannick Nézet-Séguin, since 2012. The orchestra was founded in 1900 by Fritz Scheel, who also acted as its first conductor. The orchestra had its beginnings with a small group of musicians


title: "Araucaria araucana" content: Araucaria araucana Araucaria araucana (commonly called the monkey puzzle tree, monkey tail tree, piñonero, or Chilean pine) is an evergreen tree growing to 1–1.5 m (3–5 ft) in diameter and 30–40 m (100–130 ft) in height. It is native to central and southern Chile, western Argentina. "Araucaria araucana" is the hardiest species in the conifer genus "Araucaria". Because of the longevity of this species, it is described as a living fossil. It is also the national tree of Chile. Its conservation status was changed to Endangered by the IUCN in 2013 due to the dwindling population caused by logging, forest


title: "Araucaria araucana" content: fires, and grazing. The leaves are thick, tough, and scale-like, triangular, long, broad at the base, and with sharp edges and tips, rather similar to the leaves of the unrelated succulent plant, Crassula muscosa. According to Lusk, The leaves have an "average" lifespan of 24 years and so cover most of the tree except for the older branches. It is usually dioecious, with the male and female cones on separate trees, though occasional individuals bear cones of both sexes. The male (pollen) cones are oblong and cucumber-shaped, long at first, expanding to long by broad at pollen release. It is


title: "Araucaria araucana" content: wind pollinated. The female (seed) cones, which mature in autumn about 18 months after pollination, are globose, large, in diameter, and hold about 200 seeds. The cones disintegrate at maturity to release the long nut-like seeds. The thick bark of "Araucaria araucana" may be an adaptation to wildfire. Its native habitat is the lower slopes of the Chilean and Argentinian south-central Andes, typically above . Juvenile trees exhibit a broadly pyramidal or conical habit which naturally develops into the distinctive umbrella form of mature specimens as the tree ages. It prefers well-drained, slightly acidic, volcanic soil, but will tolerate almost


title: "Araucaria araucana" content: any soil type provided it drains well. "Araucaria araucana" is a masting species, and rodents are important consumers and dispersers of its seeds. The long-haired grass mouse, "Abrothrix longipilis", is the most important animal responsible for dispersing the seeds of "A.araucana". This rodent buries seeds whole in locations favorable for seed germination, unlike other animals. Logging, long a major threat, was finally banned in 1990. Large fires burned thousands of acres of Araucaria forest in 2001–2002, and areas of national parks have also burned, destroying trees over 1300 years old. Overgrazing and invasive trees are also threats. Extensive human harvesting


title: "Araucaria araucana" content: of piñones (Araucaria seeds) can prevent new trees from growing. A Global Trees Campaign project that planted 2000 trees found a 90percent 10-year survival rate. "Araucaria araucana" is a popular garden tree, planted for the unusual effect of its thick, "reptilian" branches with very symmetrical appearance. It prefers temperate climates with abundant rainfall, tolerating temperatures down to about . It is far and away the hardiest member of its genus, and can grow well in western Europe (north to the Faroe Islands and Smøla in western Norway), the west coast of North America (north to the islands of Haida Gwaii


title: "Araucaria araucana" content: in Canada), and locally on the east coast, as well as Long Island, and in New Zealand and southeastern Australia. It is tolerant of coastal salt spray, but does not tolerate exposure to pollution. Its piñones, or seeds, are edible, similar to large pine nuts, and are harvested by indigenous peoples in Argentina and Chile. The tree has some potential to be a food crop in other areas in the future, thriving in climates with cool oceanic summers, e.g., western Scotland, where other nut crops do not grow well. A group of six female trees with one male for pollination


title: "Araucaria araucana" content: could yield several thousand seeds per year. Since the cones drop, harvesting is easy. The tree, however, does not yield seeds until it is around 30 to 40 years old, which discourages investment in planting orchards (although yields at maturity can be immense); once established, it can live possibly as long as 1,000 years. Once valued because of its long, straight trunk, its current rarity and vulnerable status mean its wood is now rarely used; it is also sacred to some members of the Mapuche Native American tribe. Before the tree became protected by law in 1971, lumber mills in


title: "Araucaria araucana" content: Araucanía Region specialized in Chilean pine. This species is listed in the CITES Appendix I as an endangered species. The fossils called Whitby Jet (lignite) used in jewelry, are derived from fossilized Monkey Puzzle trees. First identified by Europeans in Chile in the 1780s, it was named "Pinus araucana" by Molina in 1782. In 1789, de Jussieu had erected a new genus called "Araucaria" based on the species, and in 1797, Pavón published a new description of the species which he called "Araucaria imbricata" (an invalid name, as it did not use Molina's older species epithet). Finally, in 1873, after


title: "Araucaria araucana" content: several further redescriptions, Koch published the combination "Araucaria araucana", validating Molina's name in the genus. The name "araucana" is derived from the native Araucanians who used the nuts (seeds) of the tree in Chile. A group of Araucanians living in the Andes, the Pehuenches, owe their name to their diet based on harvesting of the "A. araucaria" seeds. "Pehuen" means "Araucaria" and "che" means people in Mapudungun. The origin of the popular English language name "monkey puzzle" derives from its early cultivation in Britain in about 1850, when the species was still very rare in gardens and not widely known.


title: "Araucaria araucana" content: Sir William Molesworth, the proud owner of a young specimen at Pencarrow garden near Bodmin in Cornwall, was showing it to a group of friends, one of them – the noted barrister and Benthamist Charles Austin – remarked, "It would puzzle a monkey to climb that". As the species had no existing popular name, first "monkey puzzler", then "monkey puzzle" stuck. The nearest relative found is "Araucaria angustifolia", a South American "Araucaria" from Brazil which differs in the width of the leaves. Also related to the Araucaria genus in the Pacific Islands and Australia, including Araucaria cunninghamii, Hoop Pine, Araucaria


title: "Araucaria araucana" content: heterophylla the Norfolk Island pine and Araucaria bidwillii, Bunya Pine, in Australia. The recently found 'Wollemi pine', "Wollemia", discovered in south-east Australia, is classed in the plant family Araucariaceae. Their common ancestry dates to a time when Australia, Antarctica, and South America were linked by land — all three continents were once part of the supercontinent known as Gondwana. Araucaria araucana Araucaria araucana (commonly called the monkey puzzle tree, monkey tail tree, piñonero, or Chilean pine) is an evergreen tree growing to 1–1.5 m (3–5 ft) in diameter and 30–40 m (100–130 ft) in height. It is native to central


title: "University of York" content: Varsity Tournament, this started in 2005 against York's other university York St John, York won all six of the tournaments held. In 2011 attempts to try and increase the competitiveness of the competition resulted in York St John being replaced by the University of Hull. York won all 3 tournaments against Hull which resulted in it being scrapped in 2013. In 2014 a new tournament was created "College Varsity" which was held between the Colleges of the University of York and the Colleges of Durham University. The University of York Music Society and the University of York Drama Society are


title: "A Goofy Movie" content: does have a non-anamorphic widescreen DVD, and the film is available in a letterbox presentation on LaserDisc and also in standard-definition widescreen on digital video retailers. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, "A Goofy Movie" holds an approval rating of 44% with an average rating of 5.6/10 based on 18 critics. "Variety"s Todd McCarthy criticized the film's score, calling the six featured songs "unmemorable". He also felt that the personality of Goofy's character, while agreeable enough in support, proved a bit over the top for a headliner, and that "by any reasonable reckoning, he's distinctly overbearing and selfish, and


title: "Colchester County" content: Counties of Halifax and Colchester was revised. Eventually in 1897 a portion of the boundary between the Counties of Colchester and Cumberland was fixed and defined. The question of the boundary between Colchester and Cumberland Counties was the subject of a Commission of Inquiry established in 1946. The report was filed in the office of the Provincial Secretary and in the office of the Department of Lands and Forests in January 1959. Certified copies of it were sent to the Registrars of Deeds for the Counties of Colchester, Cumberland and Kings. The Municipality of the County of Colchester is governed


title: Tiye content: been a path to the throne for their progeny. Tiye became her husband’s trusted adviser and confidant. Being wise, intelligent, strong, and fierce, she was able to gain the respect of foreign dignitaries. Foreign leaders were willing to deal directly through her. She continued to play an active role in foreign relations and was the first Egyptian queen to have her name recorded on official acts. Tiye may have continued to advise her son, Akhenaten, when he took the throne. Her son’s correspondence with Tushratta, the king of Mitanni, speaks highly of the political influence she wielded at court. In


title: "Brandenburg Gate" content: Brandenburg Gate The Brandenburg Gate (; ) is an 18th-century neoclassical monument in Berlin, built on the orders of Prussian king Frederick William II after the (temporarily) successful restoration of order during the early Batavian Revolution. One of the best-known landmarks of Germany, it was built on the site of a former city gate that marked the start of the road from Berlin to the town of Brandenburg an der Havel, which used to be capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg. It is located in the western part of the city centre of Berlin within Mitte, at the junction of


title: "Brandenburg Gate" content: Unter den Linden and Ebertstraße, immediately west of the Pariser Platz. One block to the north stands the Reichstag building, which houses the German parliament ("Bundestag"). The gate is the monumental entry to Unter den Linden, the renowned boulevard of linden trees, which led directly to the royal City Palace of the Prussian monarchs. Throughout its existence, the Brandenburg Gate was often a site for major historical events and is today considered not only as a symbol of the tumultuous history of Europe and Germany, but also of European unity and peace. In the time of Frederick William (1688), shortly


title: "Brandenburg Gate" content: after the Thirty Years' War and a century before the gate was constructed, Berlin was a small walled city within a star fort with several named gates: Spandauer Tor, St. Georgen Tor, Stralower Tor, Cöpenicker Tor, Neues Tor, and Leipziger Tor "(see map)". Relative peace, a policy of religious tolerance, and status as capital of the Kingdom of Prussia facilitated the growth of the city. The Brandenburg Gate was not part of the old Berlin Fortress, but one of 18 gates within the Berlin Customs Wall (), erected in the 1730s, including the old fortified city and many of its


title: "Brandenburg Gate" content: then suburbs. The new gate was commissioned by Frederick William II of Prussia to represent peace. The Gate was designed by Carl Gotthard Langhans, the Court Superintendent of Buildings, and built between 1788 and 1791, replacing the earlier simple guardhouses which flanked the original gate in the Customs Wall. The gate consists of twelve Doric columns, six to each side, forming five passageways. Citizens originally were allowed to use only the outermost two on each side. Atop the gate is a Quadriga, a chariot drawn by four horses, sculpted by Johann Gottfried Schadow. The new gate was originally named the


title: "Brandenburg Gate" content: Peace Gate (German: "Friedenstor") and the goddess is Victoria, the goddess of victory. The gate's design is based upon the Propylaea, the gateway to the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, and is consistent with Berlin's history of architectural classicism (first, Baroque, and then neo-Palladian). The gate was the first element of "Athens on the River Spree" by architect Langhans. The Brandenburg Gate has played different political roles in German history. After the 1806 Prussian defeat at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt, Napoleon was the first to use the Brandenburg Gate for a triumphal procession, and took its Quadriga to Paris. After Napoleon's


title: "Brandenburg Gate" content: defeat in 1814 and the Prussian occupation of Paris by General Ernst von Pfuel, the Quadriga was restored to Berlin. It was now redesigned by Karl Friedrich Schinkel for the new role of the Brandenburg Gate as a Prussian triumphal arch; the goddess, now definitely Victoria, was equipped with the Prussian eagle and Iron Cross on her lance with a wreath of oak leaves. The Quadriga faces east, as it did when it was originally installed in 1793. Only the royal family was allowed to pass through the central archway, as well as members of the Pfuel family, from 1814


title: "Brandenburg Gate" content: to 1919. The Kaiser granted this honour to the family in gratitude to Ernst von Pfuel, who had overseen the return of the Quadriga to the top of the gate. In addition, the central archway was also used by the coaches of ambassadors on the single occasion of their presenting their letters of credence to council. When the Nazis ascended to power, they used the gate as a party symbol. The gate survived World War II and was one of the damaged structures still standing in the Pariser Platz ruins in 1945 (another being the Academy of Fine Arts). The


title: "Brandenburg Gate" content: gate was badly damaged with holes in the columns from bullets and nearby explosions. One horse's head from the original quadriga survived, and is today kept in the collection of the Märkisches Museum. Following Germany's surrender and the end of the war, the governments of East Berlin and West Berlin restored it in a joint effort. The holes were patched, but were visible for many years following the war. Vehicles and pedestrians could travel freely through the gate, located in East Berlin, until the Berlin Wall was built, 13 August 1961. Brandenburg Gate border crossing was later closed on 14


title: "Brandenburg Gate" content: August 1961. West Berliners gathered on the western side of the gate to demonstrate against the Berlin Wall, among them West Berlin's governing Mayor Willy Brandt, who had spontaneously returned from a federal election campaigning tour in West Germany earlier on the same day. It was closed throughout the Berlin Wall period until 22 December 1989. When the Revolutions of 1989 occurred and the wall was demolished, the gate symbolized freedom and the desire to unify the city of Berlin. Thousands of people gathered at the wall to celebrate its fall on 9 November 1989. On 22 December 1989, the


title: "Brandenburg Gate" content: Brandenburg Gate border crossing was reopened when Helmut Kohl, the West German chancellor, walked through to be greeted by Hans Modrow, the East German prime minister. Demolition of the rest of the wall around the area took place the following year. During 1990, the quadriga was removed from the gate as part of renovation work carried out by the East German authorities following the fall of the wall in November 1989. Germany was officially reunified in October 1990. The Brandenburg Gate was privately refurbished on 21 December 2000, at a cost of six million euros. It was once again opened


title: "Brandenburg Gate" content: on 3 October 2002 following extensive refurbishment, for the 12th anniversary of German reunification. Brandenburg Gate became the main venue for the 20th-anniversary celebrations of the fall of the Berlin Wall or "Festival of Freedom" on the evening of 9 November 2009. The high point of the celebrations was when over 1000 colorfully designed foam domino tiles, each over tall, were lined up along the route of the former wall through the city centre. The domino "wall" was then toppled in stages converging here. The Brandenburg Gate is now again closed to vehicle traffic, and much of Pariser Platz has


title: "Brandenburg Gate" content: been turned into a cobblestone pedestrian zone. The gate, along with the broad "Straße des 17. Juni" avenue to the west, is also one of the large public areas in Berlin where over a million people can gather to watch stage shows or party together, watch major sport events shown on huge screens, or see fireworks at midnight on New Year's Eve. After winning the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the German national football team held their victory rally in front of the gate. It has also hosted street events at 2009 IAAF World Championships in Athletics and will repeat its


title: "Brandenburg Gate" content: role in 2018 European Athletics Championships. It is also the usual finish line of the Berlin Marathon. A Soviet flag flew from a flagpole atop the gate from 1945 until 1957, when it was replaced by an East German flag. Since the reunification of Germany, the flag and the pole have been removed. During the 1953 riots in East Berlin the Soviet flag was torn off by West Germans. In 1963, U.S. President John F. Kennedy visited the Brandenburg Gate. The Soviets hung large red banners across it to prevent him looking into East Berlin. In the 1980s, decrying the


title: "Brandenburg Gate" content: existence of two German states and two Berlins, West Berlin mayor Richard von Weizsäcker said: "The German question is open as long as the Brandenburg Gate is closed." On 12 June 1987, U.S. President Ronald Reagan spoke to the West Berlin populace at the Brandenburg Gate, demanding the razing of the Berlin Wall. Addressing the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, Reagan said, On 25 December 1989, less than two months after the Berlin Wall began to come down, the conductor Leonard Bernstein conducted the Berlin Philharmonic in a version of the Ninth Symphony


title: "Brandenburg Gate" content: of Beethoven at the then newly opened Brandenburg Gate. In the concluding choral movement of the symphony, the famous "Ode to Joy", the word "Freude" ("Joy") was replaced with "Freiheit" ("Freedom") to celebrate the fall of the Wall and the imminent reunification of Germany. On 2–3 October 1990, the Gate was the scene of the official ceremony to mark the reunification of Germany. At the stroke of midnight on 3 October, the black-red-gold flag of West Germany—now the flag of a reunified Germany—was raised over the Gate. On 12 July 1994, U.S. President Bill Clinton spoke at the Gate about


title: "Brandenburg Gate" content: peace in post–Cold War Europe. On 9 November 2009, Chancellor Angela Merkel, walked through Brandenburg Gate with Russia's Mikhail Gorbachev and Poland's Lech Wałęsa as part of the 20-year celebration of tearing down the Berlin Wall. On 13 August 2011, Germany marked the 50th anniversary of the day the Berlin Wall started to go up with a memorial service and a minute of silence in memory of those who died trying to flee to the West. "It is our shared responsibility to keep the memory alive and to pass it on to the coming generations as a reminder to stand


title: "Brandenburg Gate" content: up for freedom and democracy to ensure that such injustice may never happen again," Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel—who grew up behind the wall in Germany's communist eastern part—also attended the commemoration. German President Christian Wulff added, "It has been shown once again: Freedom is invincible at the end. No wall can permanently withstand the desire for freedom." On 19 June 2013, U.S. President Barack Obama spoke at the Gate about nuclear arms reduction and the recently revealed U.S. internet surveillance activities. On the night of 5 January 2015, the lights illuminating the gate were completely


title: "Brandenburg Gate" content: shut off in protest against a protest held by far-right anti-Islamic group Pegida. In April 2017, Die Zeit noted that the gate was not illuminated in Russian colours after the 2017 Saint Petersburg Metro bombing. The gate was previously illuminated after attacks in Jerusalem and Orlando. The Berlin Senate only lets the gate be illuminated for events in partner cities and cities with a special connection to Berlin. Brandenburg Gate The Brandenburg Gate (; ) is an 18th-century neoclassical monument in Berlin, built on the orders of Prussian king Frederick William II after the (temporarily) successful restoration of order during


title: "Tata Group" content: an equal joint venture between Tata Steel and Larsen & Toubro, has been criticised for its proximity to the Gahirmatha Sanctuary and Bhitarkanika National Park by Indian and international organisations, including Greenpeace; Gahirmatha Beach is one of the world's largest mass nesting sites for the Olive Ridley Turtle, and India's second largest mangrove forest, Bhitarkanika, is a designated Ramsar site, and critics claimed that the port could disrupt mass nesting at Gahirmtha beaches as well as the ecology of the Bitharkanika mangrove forest. TATA Steel employed mitigation measures set by the project's official advisor, the International Union for Conservation of


title: "Comparison of analog and digital recording" content: CD is played, there is no physical contact involved as the data is read optically using a laser beam. Therefore, no such media deterioration takes place, and the CD will, with proper care, sound exactly the same every time it is played (discounting aging of the player and CD itself); however, this is a benefit of the optical system, not of digital recording, and the Laserdisc format enjoys the same non-contact benefit with analog optical signals. CDs suffer from disc rot and slowly degrade with time, even if they are stored properly and not played. A special recordable compact disc


title: "Comparison of analog and digital recording" content: of an analog device and are the result of mechanical imperfections, with wow being a slower rate form of flutter. Wow and flutter are most noticeable on signals which contain pure tones. For LP records, the quality of the turntable will have a large effect on the level of wow and flutter. A good turntable will have wow and flutter values of less than 0.05%, which is the speed variation from the mean value. Wow and flutter can also be present in the recording, as a result of the imperfect operation of the recorder. Owing to their use of precision


title: "Ford Model T" content: Ford Model T The Ford Model T (colloquially known as the Tin Lizzie, Leaping Lena, or flivver) is an automobile produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, the car that opened travel to the common middle-class American; some of this was because of Ford's efficient fabrication, including assembly line production instead of individual hand crafting. The Ford Model T was named the most influential car of the 20th century in the 1999 Car of the Century competition, ahead of the BMC Mini, Citroën DS, and


title: "Ford Model T" content: Volkswagen Type 1. Ford's Model T was successful not only because it provided inexpensive transportation on a massive scale, but also because the car signified innovation for the rising middle class and became a powerful symbol of America's age of modernization. With 16.5 million sold it stands eighth on the top ten list of most sold cars of all time . Although automobiles had already existed for decades, they were still mostly scarce, expensive, and unreliable at the Model T's introduction in 1908. Positioned as reliable, easily maintained, mass-market transportation, it was a runaway success. In a matter of days


title: "Ford Model T" content: after the release, 15,000 orders were placed. The first production Model T was produced on August 12, 1908 and left the factory on September 27, 1908, at the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant in Detroit, Michigan. On May 26, 1927, Henry Ford watched the 15 millionth Model T Ford roll off the assembly line at his factory in Highland Park, Michigan. Henry Ford conceived a series of cars between the founding of the company in 1903 and the introduction the Model T. Ford named his first car the Model A and proceeded through the alphabet up through the Model T, twenty


title: "Ford Model T" content: models in all. Not all the models went into production. The production model immediately before the Model T was the Model S, an upgraded version of the company's largest success to that point, the Model N. The follow-up was the Ford Model A (rather than any Model U). The company publicity said this was because the new car was such a departure from the old that Henry wanted to start all over again with the letter A. The Model T was Ford's first automobile mass-produced on moving assembly lines with completely interchangeable parts, marketed to the middle class. Henry Ford


title: "Ford Model T" content: said of the vehicle: I will build a car for the great multitude. It will be large enough for the family, but small enough for the individual to run and care for. It will be constructed of the best materials, by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that modern engineering can devise. But it will be so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one – and enjoy with his family the blessing of hours of pleasure in God's great open spaces. Although credit for the development of


title: "Ford Model T" content: the assembly line belongs to Ransom E. Olds with the first mass-produced automobile, the Oldsmobile Curved Dash, beginning in 1901, the tremendous advancements in the efficiency of the system over the life of the Model T can be credited almost entirely to the vision of Ford and his engineers. The Model T was designed by Childe Harold Wills, and Hungarian immigrants Joseph A. Galamb and Eugene Farkas. Henry Love, C. J. Smith, Gus Degner and Peter E. Martin were also part of the team. Production of the Model T began in the third quarter of 1908. Collectors today sometimes classify


title: "Ford Model T" content: Model Ts by build years and refer to these as "model years", thus labeling the first Model Ts as 1909 models. This is a retroactive classification scheme; the concept of model years as understood today did not exist at the time. The nominal model designation was "Model T", although design revisions did occur during the car's two decades of production. The Model T had a front-mounted inline four-cylinder engine, producing , for a top speed of . According to Ford Motor Company, the Model T had fuel economy on the order of . The engine was capable of running on


title: "Ford Model T" content: gasoline, kerosene, or ethanol, although the decreasing cost of gasoline and the later introduction of Prohibition made ethanol an impractical fuel for most users. The engines of the first 2,447 units were cooled with water pumps; the engines of unit 2,448 and onward, with a few exceptions prior to around unit 2,500, were cooled by thermosiphon action. The ignition system used in the Model T was an unusual one, with a low-voltage magneto incorporated in the flywheel, supplying alternating current to trembler coils to drive the spark plugs. This was closer to that used for stationary gas engines than the


title: "Ford Model T" content: expensive high-voltage ignition magnetos that were used on some other cars. This ignition also made the Model T more flexible as to the quality or type of fuel it used. The system did not need a starting battery, since proper hand-cranking would generate enough current for starting. Electric lighting powered by the magneto was adopted in 1915, replacing acetylene and oil lamps, but electric starting was not offered until 1919. The Model T engine was produced for replacement needs, as well as stationary and marine applications until 1941, well after production of the Model T had ended. It was also


title: "Ford Model T" content: utilized in the drivetrain of the Fordson tractor, which was produced in the US until 1928, and in Ireland until 1964. The Model T was a rear-wheel drive vehicle. Its transmission was a planetary gear type billed as "three speed". In today's terms it would be considered a two-speed, because one of the three speeds was reverse. The Model T's transmission was controlled with three-foot pedals and a lever mounted to the road side of the driver's seat. The throttle was controlled with a lever on the steering wheel. The left pedal was used to engage the transmission. With the


title: "Ford Model T" content: floor lever in either the mid position or fully forward and the pedal pressed and held forward, the car entered low gear. When held in an intermediate position, the car was in neutral. If the left pedal was released, the Model T entered high gear, but only when the lever was fully forward – in any other position, the pedal would only move up as far as the central neutral position. This allowed the car to be held in neutral while the driver cranked the engine by hand. The car could thus cruise without the driver having to press any


title: "Ford Model T" content: of the pedals. The first 800 units were sent in reverse with a lever; all units after that were sent in reverse with a pedal between the clutch and brake pedals. The middle pedal was used to engage reverse gear when the car was in neutral. The right pedal operated the transmission brake – there were no brakes on the wheels. The floor lever also controlled the parking brake, which was activated by pulling the lever all the way back. This doubled as an emergency brake. Although it was uncommon, the drive bands could fall out of adjustment, allowing the


title: "Ford Model T" content: car to creep, particularly when cold, adding another hazard to attempting to start the car: a person cranking the engine could be forced backward while still holding the crank as the car crept forward, although it was nominally in neutral. As the car utilized a wet clutch, this condition could also occur in cold weather, when the thickened oil prevents the clutch discs from slipping freely. Power reached the differential through a single universal joint attached to a torque tube which drove the rear axle; some models (typically trucks, but available for cars, as well) could be equipped with an


title: "Ford Model T" content: optional two-speed Ruckstell rear axle shifted by a floor-mounted lever which provided an underdrive gear for easier hill climbing. All gears were vanadium steel running in an oil bath. Two main types of band lining material were used: Model T suspension employed a transversely mounted semi-elliptical spring for each of the front and rear beam axles which allowed a great deal of wheel movement to cope with the dirt roads of the time. The front axle was drop forged as a single piece of vanadium steel. Ford twisted many axles through eight full rotations (2880 degrees) and sent them to


title: "Ford Model T" content: dealers to be put on display to demonstrate its superiority. The Model T did not have a modern service brake. The right foot pedal applied a band around a drum in the transmission, thus stopping the rear wheels from turning. The previously mentioned parking brake lever operated band brakes acting on the inside of the rear brake drums, which were an integral part of the rear wheel hubs. Optional brakes that acted on the outside of the brake drums were available from aftermarket suppliers. Wheels were wooden artillery wheels, with steel welded-spoke wheels available in 1926 and 1927. Tires were


title: "Ford Model T" content: pneumatic clincher type, in diameter, wide in the rear, in the front. Clinchers needed much higher pressure than today's tires, typically , to prevent them from leaving the rim at speed. Horseshoe nails on the roads, together with the high pressure, made flat tires a common problem. Balloon tires became available in 1925. They were all around. Balloon tires were closer in design to today's tires, with steel wires reinforcing the tire bead, making lower pressure possible – typically – giving a softer ride. The steering gear ratio was changed from 4:1 to 5:1 with the introduction of balloon tires.


title: "Ford Model T" content: The old nomenclature for tire size changed from measuring the outer diameter to measuring the rim diameter so (rim diameter) × (tire width) wheels has about the same outer diameter as 30 in (76 cm) clincher tires. All tires in this time period used an inner tube to hold the pressurized air; tubeless tires were not generally in use until much later. Wheelbase was 100 inches (254 cm) and standard track width was 56 in (142 cm); 60 in (152 cm) track could be obtained on special order, "for Southern roads", identical to the pre-Civil War track gauge for many


title: "Ford Model T" content: railroads in the former Confederacy. By 1918, half of all the cars in the U.S. were Model Ts. In his autobiography, Ford reports that in 1909 he told his management team, "Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black." However, in the first years of production from 1908 to 1913, the Model T was not available in black but rather only gray, green, blue, and red. Green was available for the touring cars, town cars, coupes, and Landaulets. Gray was only available for the town cars, and red only for


title: "Ford Model T" content: the touring cars. By 1912, all cars were being painted midnight blue with black fenders. Only in 1914 was the "any color so long as it is black" policy finally implemented. It is often stated Ford suggested the use of black from 1914 to 1926 due to the low cost, durability, and faster drying time of black paint in that era. Paint choices in the American automotive industry, as well as in others (including locomotives, furniture, bicycles, and the rapidly expanding field of electrical appliances), were shaped by the development of the chemical industry. These included the disruption of dye


title: "Ford Model T" content: sources during World War I and the advent, in the mid-1920s, of new nitrocellulose lacquers that were faster-drying and more scratch-resistant, and obviated the need for multiple coats; understanding the choice of paints for the Model T era and the years immediately following requires an understanding of the contemporary chemical industry. During the lifetime production of the Model T, over 30 types of black paint were used on various parts of the car. These were formulated to satisfy the different means of applying the paint to the various parts, and had distinct drying times, depending on the part, paint, and


title: "Ford Model T" content: method of drying. Although Ford classified the Model T with a single letter designation throughout its entire life and made no distinction by model years, enough significant changes to the body were made over the production life that the car may be classified into several style generations. Among the most immediately visible and identifiable changes were in the hood and cowl areas, although many other modifications were made to the vehicle. The styling on the last "generation" was a preview for the following Model A, but the two models are visually quite different, as the body on the A was


title: "Ford Model T" content: much wider and had curved doors as opposed to the flat doors on the T. When the Model T was designed and introduced, the infrastructure of the world was quite different from today's. Pavement was a rarity except for sidewalks and a few big-city streets. (The sense of the term "pavement" as equivalent with "sidewalk" comes from that era, when streets and roads were generally dirt and sidewalks were a paved way to walk along them.) Agriculture was the occupation of many people. Power tools were scarce outside factories, as were power sources for them; electrification, like pavement, was found


title: "Ford Model T" content: usually only in larger towns. Rural electrification and motorized mechanization were embryonic in some regions and nonexistent in most. Henry Ford oversaw the requirements and design of the Model T based on contemporary realities. Consequently, the Model T was (intentionally) almost as much a tractor and portable engine as it was an automobile. It has always been well regarded for its all-terrain abilities and ruggedness. It could travel a rocky, muddy farm lane, cross a shallow stream, climb a steep hill, and be parked on the other side to have one of its wheels removed and a pulley fastened to


title: "Ford Model T" content: the hub for a flat belt to drive a bucksaw, thresher, silo blower, conveyor for filling corn cribs or haylofts, baler, water pump, electrical generator, and many other applications. One unique application of the Model T was shown in the October 1922 issue of "Fordson Farmer" magazine. It showed a minister who had transformed his Model T into a mobile church, complete with small organ. During this era, entire automobiles (including thousands of Model Ts) were even hacked apart by their owners and reconfigured into custom machinery permanently dedicated to a purpose, such as homemade tractors and ice saws. Dozens


title: "Ford Model T" content: of aftermarket companies sold prefab kits to facilitate the T's conversion from car to tractor. The Model T had been around for a decade before the Fordson tractor became available (1917–18), and many Ts had been converted for field use. (For example, Harry Ferguson, later famous for his hitches and tractors, worked on Eros Model T tractor conversions before he worked with Fordsons and others.) During the next decade, Model T tractor conversion kits were harder to sell, as the Fordson and then the Farmall (1924), as well as other light and affordable tractors, served the farm market. But during


title: "Ford Model T" content: the Depression (1930s), Model T tractor conversion kits had a resurgence, because by then used Model Ts and junkyard parts for them were plentiful and cheap. Like many popular car engines of the era, the Model T engine was also used on home-built aircraft (such as the Pietenpol Sky Scout) and motorboats. An armored-car variant (called the FT-B) was developed in Poland in 1920 due to the high demand during the Polish-Soviet war in 1920. Many Model Ts were converted into vehicles which could travel across heavy snows with kits on the rear wheels (sometimes with an extra pair of


title: "Ford Model T" content: rear-mounted wheels and two sets of continuous track to mount on the now-tandemed rear wheels, essentially making it a half-track) and skis replacing the front wheels. They were popular for rural mail delivery for a time. The common name for these conversions of cars and small trucks was "snowflyers". These vehicles were extremely popular in the northern reaches of Canada, where factories were set up to produce them. A number of companies built Model T–based railcars. In "The Great Railway Bazaar", Paul Theroux mentions a rail journey in India on such a railcar. The New Zealand Railways Department's RM class


title: "Ford Model T" content: included a few. The American LaFrance company modified more than 900 Model-T's for use in firefighting adding tanks, hoses, tools and a bell. Model T fire engines were in service in North America, Europe, and Australia. A 1919 Model T equipped to fight chemical fires has been restored and is on display at the North Charleston Fire Museum in South Carolina. The knowledge and skills needed by a factory worker were reduced to 84 areas. When introduced, the T used the building methods typical at the time, assembly by hand, and production was small. The Ford Piquette Avenue Plant could


title: "Ford Model T" content: not keep up with demand for the Model T, and only 11 cars were built there during the first full month of production. More and more machines were used to reduce the complexity within the 84 defined areas. In 1910, after assembling nearly 12,000 Model Ts, Henry Ford moved the company to the new Highland Park complex. During this time the Model T production system transitioned into an iconic example of assembly line production; in subsequent decades it would also come to be viewed as the classic example of the rigid, first-generation version of assembly line production, as opposed to


title: "Ford Model T" content: flexible mass production. As a result, Ford's cars came off the line in three-minute intervals, much faster than previous methods, reducing production time from 12.5 hours before to 93 minutes by 1914, while using less manpower. In 1914, Ford produced more cars than all other automakers combined. The Model T was a great commercial success, and by the time Henry made his 10 millionth car, half of all cars in the world were Fords. It was so successful Ford did not purchase any advertising between 1917 and 1923; instead, the Model T became so famous, people considered it a norm.


title: "Ford Model T" content: More than 15 million Model Ts were manufactured in all, reaching a rate of 9,000 to 10,000 cars a day in 1925, or 2 million annually, more than any other model of its day, at a price of just $260. Total Model T production was finally surpassed by the Volkswagen Beetle on February 17, 1972. Henry Ford's ideological approach to Model T design was one of getting it right and then keeping it the same; he believed the Model T was all the car a person would, or could, ever need. As other companies offered comfort and styling advantages, at


title: "Ford Model T" content: competitive prices, the Model T lost market share. Design changes were not as few as the public perceived, but the idea of an unchanging model was kept intact. Eventually, on May 26, 1927, Ford Motor Company ceased US production and began the changeovers required to produce the Model A. Some of the other Model T factories in the world continued a short while. Model T engines continued to be produced until August 4, 1941. Almost 170,000 were built after car production stopped, as replacement engines were required to service already produced vehicles. Racers and enthusiasts, forerunners of modern hot rodders,


title: "Ford Model T" content: used the Model T's block to build popular and cheap racing engines, including Cragar, Navarro, and famously the Frontenacs ("Fronty Fords") of the Chevrolet brothers, among many others. The Model T employed some advanced technology, for example, its use of vanadium steel alloy. Its durability was phenomenal, and some Model Ts and their parts are in running order over a century later. Although Henry Ford resisted some kinds of change, he always championed the advancement of materials engineering, and often mechanical engineering and industrial engineering. In 2002, Ford built a final batch of six Model Ts as part of their


title: "Ford Model T" content: 2003 centenary celebrations. These cars were assembled from remaining new components and other parts produced from the original drawings. The last of the six was used for publicity purposes in the UK. Although Ford no longer manufactures parts for the Model T, many parts are still manufactured through private companies as replicas to service the thousands of Model Ts still in operation today. On May 26, 1927, Henry Ford and his son Edsel, drove the 15-millionth Model T out of the factory. This marked the famous automobile's official last day of production at the main factory. The moving assembly line


title: "Ford Model T" content: system, which started on October 7, 1913, allowed Ford to sell his cars at a price lower than his competitors. As he continued to fine-tune the system, Ford was able to keep reducing costs significantly. As volume increased, he was able to also lower the prices due to fixed costs being spread over a larger number of vehicles. Other factors affected the price such as material costs and design changes. In current equivalent dollars, the cost of the Runabout started at $ in 1909 and bottomed out at $ in 1925. The figures below are US production numbers compiled by


title: "Ford Model T" content: R.E. Houston, Ford Production Department, August 3, 1927. The figures between 1909 and 1920 are for Ford's fiscal year. From 1909 to 1913, the fiscal year was from October 1 to September 30 the following calendar year with the year number being the year in which it ended. For the 1914 fiscal year, the year was October 1, 1913, through July 31, 1914. Starting in August 1914, and through the end of the Model T era, the fiscal year was August 1 through July 31. Beginning with January 1920, the figures are for the calendar year. Overall a total of


title: "Ford Model T" content: 14,689,525 were produced. Henry Ford used wood scraps from the production of Model Ts to make charcoal briquettes. Originally named Ford Charcoal, the name was changed to Kingsford Charcoal after the Iron Mountain Ford Plant closed in 1951 and the Kingsford Chemical Company was formed and continued the wood distillation process. E. G. Kingsford, Ford's cousin by marriage, brokered the selection of the new sawmill and wood distillation plant site. Lumber for production of the Model T came from the same location, built in 1920 called the Iron Mountain Ford which incorporated a sawmill where lumber from Ford purchased land


title: "Ford Model T" content: in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan was cut and dried. Scrap wood was distilled at the Iron Mountain plant for its wood chemicals, with the end by product being lump charcoal. This lump charcoal was modified and pressed into briquettes and mass marketed by Ford The Ford Model T was the first automobile built by various countries simultaneously, since they were being produced in Walkerville, Canada, and in Trafford Park, Greater Manchester, England, starting in 1911 and were later assembled in Germany, Argentina, France, Spain, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Brazil, Mexico, and Japan, as well as several locations throughout the US.


title: "Ford Model T" content: Ford made use of the knock-down kit concept almost from the beginning of the company as freight and production costs from Detroit had Ford assembling vehicles in major metropolitan centers of the US. The Aeroford was an English automobile manufactured in Bayswater, London, from 1920 to 1925. It was a Model T with distinct hood and grille to make it appear to be a totally different design, what later would have been called badge engineering. The Aeroford sold from £288 in 1920, dropping to £168–214 by 1925. It was available as a two-seater, four-seater, or coupé. Ford created a massive


title: "Ford Model T" content: publicity machine in Detroit to ensure every newspaper carried stories and advertisements about the new product. Ford's network of local dealers made the car ubiquitous in virtually every city in North America. A large part of the success of Ford's Model T stems from the innovative strategy which introduced a large network of sales hubs making it easy to purchase the car. As independent dealers, the franchises grew rich and publicized not just the Ford but the very concept of automobiling; local motor clubs sprang up to help new drivers and to explore the countryside. Ford was always eager to


title: "Ford Model T" content: sell to farmers, who looked on the vehicle as a commercial device to help their business. Sales skyrocketed – several years posted around 100 percent gains on the previous year. Today, four main clubs exist to support the preservation and restoration of these cars: the Model T Ford Club International, the Model T Ford Club of America and the combined clubs of Australia. With many chapters of clubs around the world, the Model T Ford Club of Victoria has a membership with a considerable number of uniquely Australian cars. (Australia produced its own car bodies, and therefore many differences occurred


title: "Ford Model T" content: between the Australian bodied tourers and the US/Canadian cars.) In the UK, the Model T Ford Register of Great Britain celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2010. Many steel Model T parts are still manufactured today, and even fiberglass replicas of their distinctive bodies are produced, which are popular for T-bucket style hot rods (as immortalized in the Jan and Dean surf music song "Bucket T", which was later recorded by The Who). In 1949, more than twenty years after the end of production, 200,000 Model Ts were registered in the United States. In 2008, it was estimated that about 50,000


title: "Ford Model T" content: to 60,000 Ford Model Ts remain roadworthy. Model T chronology Ford Model T The Ford Model T (colloquially known as the Tin Lizzie, Leaping Lena, or flivver) is an automobile produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, the car that opened travel to the common middle-class American; some of this was because of Ford's efficient fabrication, including assembly line production instead of individual hand crafting. The Ford Model T was named the most influential car of the 20th century in the 1999 Car of the


title: "Transmembrane domain" content: polar residues within the generally non-polar transmembrane segments. Using hydrophobicity analysis to predict transmembrane helices enables a prediction in turn of the "transmembrane topology" of a protein; i.e. prediction of what parts of it protrude into the cell, what parts protrude out, and how many times the protein chain crosses the membrane. Transmembrane domain Transmembrane domain usually denotes a transmembrane segment of single alpha helix of a transmembrane protein. More broadly, a transmembrane domain is any membrane-spanning protein domain. Transmembrane helices are visible in structures of membrane proteins determined by X-ray diffraction. They may also be predicted on the basis


title: "Star Trek: Insurrection" content: scenery". He was particularly pleased to be working with Patrick Stewart. Donna Murphy played the Ba'ku woman Anij, who is Picard's love interest. Eighty actresses auditioned for the role, which was awarded to Murphy who had previously won two Tony Awards for her roles in the Broadway musicals "Passion" and "The King and I". Murphy was such a favorite of Frakes and the producers that after auditioning, only a small number of other actresses were seen. She said of the role, "I feel a great honor and responsibility to be a part of this film, because I know that the


title: "Tamworth, Staffordshire" content: through the town. Later, the railways arrived with the Midland Railway route from Derby to Birmingham arriving in Tamworth in 1847, and later the London and North Western Railway, which provided direct trains to the capital. A split-level station exists where the two main lines cross each another, the higher level platforms (on the Derby to Birmingham line), being at right angles to the lower ones on the main line to London. The first municipal cemetery opened in 1876. The Assembly Rooms were built in 1889. In 1897 the corporation bought Tamworth Castle. A hospital was built in Tamworth in


title: "The Rocky Horror Show" content: Scundi. Ensemble member Adam Rennie took over the role of Frank throughout the rest of Adelaide season, and will continue the role in Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne. In 1978, from 29 April to 10 June 1978, the Belgian production of the Rocky Horror Show was staged at Teater Arena Ghent in Belgium, under the direction of Jaak Van de Velde. The cast featured Daan Van den Durpel as Frank-N-Furter, Linda Lepomme as Janet, Marijn Devalck as Brad, Wim Huys as Riff-Raff, Carmen Jonckheere as Magenta/Usherette, Chris Thys as Columbia, Jakob Beks as Eddie/Dr. Scott, Paul Codde as Rocky Horror, and


title: "Peregrine falcon" content: Peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon ("Falco peregrinus"), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey (raptor) in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-grey back, barred white underparts, and a black head. As is typical of bird-eating raptors, peregrine falcons are sexually dimorphic, with females being considerably larger than males. The peregrine is renowned for its speed, reaching over during its characteristic hunting stoop (high-speed dive), making it the fastest member of the animal kingdom. According to a "National Geographic" TV programme, the highest


title: "Peregrine falcon" content: measured speed of a peregrine falcon is . The peregrine's breeding range includes land regions from the Arctic tundra to the tropics. It can be found nearly everywhere on Earth, except extreme polar regions, very high mountains, and most tropical rainforests; the only major ice-free landmass from which it is entirely absent is New Zealand. This makes it the world's most widespread raptor, and one of the most widely found bird species. In fact, the only land-based bird species found over a larger geographic area is not always naturally occurring, but one widely introduced by humans, the rock pigeon, which


title: "Peregrine falcon" content: in turn now supports many peregrine populations as a prey species. The peregrine is a highly successful example of urban wildlife in much of its range, taking advantage of tall buildings as nest sites and an abundance of prey such as pigeons and ducks. Both the English and scientific names of this species mean "wandering falcon," referring to the migratory habits of many northern populations. Experts recognize 17 to 19 subspecies, which vary in appearance and range; disagreement exists over whether the distinctive Barbary falcon is represented by two subspecies of "Falco peregrinus," or is a separate species, "F. pelegrinoides".


title: "Peregrine falcon" content: The two species' divergence is relatively recent, during the time of the last ice age, therefore the genetic differential between them (and also the difference in their appearance) is relatively tiny. They are only about 0.6–0.8% genetically differentiated. While its diet consists almost exclusively of medium-sized birds, the peregrine will occasionally hunt small mammals, small reptiles, or even insects. Reaching sexual maturity at one year, it mates for life and nests in a scrape, normally on cliff edges or, in recent times, on tall human-made structures. The peregrine falcon became an endangered species in many areas because of the widespread


title: "Peregrine falcon" content: use of certain pesticides, especially DDT. Since the ban on DDT from the early 1970s, populations have recovered, supported by large-scale protection of nesting places and releases to the wild. The peregrine falcon is a well respected falconry bird due to its strong hunting ability, high trainability, versatility, and – in recent years – availability via captive breeding. It is effective on most game bird species, from small to large. The peregrine falcon has a body length of and a wingspan from . The male and female have similar markings and plumage, but as in many birds of prey the


title: "Peregrine falcon" content: peregrine falcon displays marked sexual dimorphism in size, with the female measuring up to 30% larger than the male. Males weigh and the noticeably larger females weigh . In most subspecies, males weigh less than and females weigh more than , with cases of females weighing about 50% more than their male breeding mates not uncommon. The standard linear measurements of peregrines are: the wing chord measures , the tail measures and the tarsus measures . The back and the long pointed wings of the adult are usually bluish black to slate grey with indistinct darker barring (see "Subspecies" below);


title: "Peregrine falcon" content: the wingtips are black. The white to rusty underparts are barred with thin clean bands of dark brown or black. The tail, coloured like the back but with thin clean bars, is long, narrow, and rounded at the end with a black tip and a white band at the very end. The top of the head and a "moustache" along the cheeks are black, contrasting sharply with the pale sides of the neck and white throat. The cere is yellow, as are the feet, and the beak and claws are black. The upper beak is notched near the tip, an


title: "Peregrine falcon" content: adaptation which enables falcons to kill prey by severing the spinal column at the neck. The immature bird is much browner with streaked, rather than barred, underparts, and has a pale bluish cere and orbital ring. "Falco peregrinus" was first described under its current binomial name by English ornithologist Marmaduke Tunstall in his 1771 work "Ornithologia Britannica". The scientific name "Falco peregrinus" is a Medieval Latin phrase that was used by Albertus Magnus in 1225. The specific name is taken from the fact that juvenile birds were taken while journeying to their breeding location rather than from the nest, as


title: "Peregrine falcon" content: falcon nests were difficult to get at. The Latin term for falcon, , is related to , meaning "sickle", in reference to the silhouette of the falcon's long, pointed wings in flight. The peregrine falcon belongs to a genus whose lineage includes the hierofalcons and the prairie falcon ("F. mexicanus"). This lineage probably diverged from other falcons towards the end of the Late Miocene or in the Early Pliocene, about 5–8 million years ago (mya). As the peregrine-hierofalcon group includes both Old World and North American species, it is likely that the lineage originated in western Eurasia or Africa. Its


title: "Peregrine falcon" content: relationship to other falcons is not clear, as the issue is complicated by widespread hybridization confounding mtDNA sequence analyses. For example, a genetic lineage of the saker falcon ("F. cherrug") is known which originated from a male saker producing fertile young with a female peregrine ancestor, and the descendants further breeding with sakers. Today, peregrines are regularly paired in captivity with other species such as the lanner falcon ("F. biarmicus") to produce the "perilanner", a somewhat popular bird in falconry as it combines the peregrine's hunting skill with the lanner's hardiness, or the gyrfalcon to produce large, strikingly coloured birds


title: "Peregrine falcon" content: for the use of falconers. As can be seen, the peregrine is still genetically close to the hierofalcons, though their lineages diverged in the Late Pliocene (maybe some 2.5–2 mya in the Gelasian). Numerous subspecies of "Falco peregrinus" have been described, with 19 accepted by the 1994 "Handbook of the Birds of the World", which considers the Barbary falcon of the Canary Islands and coastal North Africa to be two subspecies ("pelegrinoides" and "babylonicus") of "Falco peregrinus," rather than a distinct species, "F. pelegrinoides." The following map shows the general ranges of these 19 subspecies: Two of the subspecies listed


title: "Peregrine falcon" content: above ("Falco peregrinus pelegrinoides" and "F. p. babylonicus") are often instead treated together as a distinct species, "Falco pelegrinoides" (the Barbary falcon), although they were included within "F. peregrinus" in the 1994 "Handbook of the Birds of the World". These birds inhabit arid regions from the Canary Islands along the rim of the Sahara through the Middle East to Central Asia and Mongolia. Barbary falcons have a red neck patch but otherwise differ in appearance from the peregrine proper merely according to Gloger's Rule, relating pigmentation to environmental humidity. The Barbary falcon has a peculiar way of flying, beating only


title: "Peregrine falcon" content: the outer part of its wings like fulmars sometimes do; this also occurs in the peregrine, but less often and far less pronounced. The Barbary falcon's shoulder and pelvis bones are stout by comparison with the peregrine, and its feet are smaller. Barbary falcons breed at different times of year than neighboring peregrine falcon subspecies, but they are capable of interbreeding. There is a 0.6–0.7% genetic distance in the peregrine-Barbary falcon ("peregrinoid") complex. Another subspecies of "Falco peregrinus, madens," has also sometimes been treated instead within a separately recognized "F. pelegrinoides." The peregrine falcon lives mostly along mountain ranges, river


title: "Peregrine falcon" content: valleys, coastlines, and increasingly in cities. In mild-winter regions, it is usually a permanent resident, and some individuals, especially adult males, will remain on the breeding territory. Only populations that breed in Arctic climates typically migrate great distances during the northern winter. The peregrine falcon reaches faster speeds than any other animal on the planet when performing the stoop, which involves soaring to a great height and then diving steeply at speeds of over , hitting one wing of its prey so as not to harm itself on impact. The air pressure from such a dive could possibly damage a


title: "Peregrine falcon" content: bird's lungs, but small bony tubercles on a falcon's nostrils are theorized to guide the powerful airflow away from the nostrils, enabling the bird to breathe more easily while diving by reducing the change in air pressure. To protect their eyes, the falcons use their nictitating membranes (third eyelids) to spread tears and clear debris from their eyes while maintaining vision. A study testing the flight physics of an "ideal falcon" found a theoretical speed limit at for low-altitude flight and for high-altitude flight. In 2005, Ken Franklin recorded a falcon stooping at a top speed of . The life


title: "Peregrine falcon" content: span of peregrine falcons in the wild is up to 15.5 years. Mortality in the first year is 59–70%, declining to 25–32% annually in adults. Apart from such anthropogenic threats as collision with human-made objects, the peregrine may be killed by larger hawks and owls. The peregrine falcon is host to a range of parasites and pathogens. It is a vector for Avipoxvirus, Newcastle disease virus, Falconid herpesvirus 1 (and possibly other Herpesviridae), and some mycoses and bacterial infections. Endoparasites include "Plasmodium relictum" (usually not causing malaria in the peregrine falcon), Strigeidae trematodes, "Serratospiculum amaculata" (nematode), and tapeworms. Known peregrine


title: "Peregrine falcon" content: falcon ectoparasites are chewing lice, "Ceratophyllus garei" (a flea), and Hippoboscidae flies ("Icosta nigra", "Ornithoctona erythrocephala"). The peregrine falcon feeds almost exclusively on medium-sized birds such as pigeons and doves, waterfowl, songbirds, and waders. Worldwide, it is estimated that between 1,500 and 2,000 bird species (up to roughly a fifth of the world's bird species) are predated somewhere by these falcons. In North America, prey has varied in size from hummingbirds ("Selasphorus" and "Archilochus" ssp.) to a sandhill crane (killed in Alaska by a peregrine in a stoop), although most prey taken by peregrines weigh from (small passerines) to (such


title: "Peregrine falcon" content: as ducks and gulls). The peregrine falcon takes the most diverse range of bird species of any raptor in North America, with more than 300 species having fallen victim to the falcon, including nearly 100 shorebirds. Smaller hawks and owls are regularly predated, mainly smaller falcons such as the American kestrel, merlin and sharp-shinned hawks. In urban areas, the main component of the peregrine's diet is the rock or feral pigeon, which comprise 80% or more of the dietary intake for peregrines in some cities. Other common city birds are also taken regularly, including mourning doves, common wood pigeons, common


title: "Peregrine falcon" content: swifts, northern flickers, common starlings, American robins, common blackbirds, and corvids (such as magpies or carrion, house, and American crows). Other than bats taken at night, the peregrine rarely hunts mammals, but will on occasion take small species such as rats, voles, hares, shrews, mice and squirrels. Coastal populations of the large subspecies "pealei" feed almost exclusively on seabirds. In the Brazilian mangrove swamp of Cubatão, a wintering falcon of the subspecies "tundrius" was observed while successfully hunting a juvenile scarlet ibis. Insects and reptiles make up a small proportion of the diet, which varies greatly depending on what prey


title: "Peregrine falcon" content: is available. The peregrine falcon hunts most often at dawn and dusk, when prey are most active, but also nocturnally in cities, particularly during migration periods when hunting at night may become prevalent. Nocturnal migrants taken by peregrines include species as diverse as yellow-billed cuckoo, black-necked grebe, virginia rail, and common quail. The peregrine requires open space in order to hunt, and therefore often hunts over open water, marshes, valleys, fields, and tundra, searching for prey either from a high perch or from the air. Large congregations of migrants, especially species that gather in the open like shorebirds, can be


title: "Peregrine falcon" content: quite attractive to hunting peregrines. Once prey is spotted, it begins its stoop, folding back the tail and wings, with feet tucked. Prey is typically struck and captured in mid-air; the peregrine falcon strikes its prey with a clenched foot, stunning or killing it with the impact, then turns to catch it in mid-air. If its prey is too heavy to carry, a peregrine will drop it to the ground and eat it there. If they miss the initial strike, peregrines will chase their prey in a twisting flight. Although previously thought rare, several cases of peregrines contour-hunting, i.e. using