title: "Achillea millefolium" content: analgesic and head cold remedy. Common yarrow is used be Plains Indigenous peoples, such as the Pawnee, who use the stalk for pain relief. The Cherokee drink a tea of common yarrow to reduce fever and aid in restful sleep. The "occidentalis" variety is used medicinally by the Zuni people. The blossoms and root are chewed and the juice applied before fire-walking or fire-eating. A poultice of the pulverized plant is mixed with water and applied to burns. The Ojibwe people historically sprinkled a decoction of yarrow leaves on hot stones and inhaled it to treat headaches, as well as


title: "Achillea millefolium" content: applied decoctions of the root onto skin for its stimulant effect. They also smoked its florets for ceremonial purposes, as well as placed them on coals and inhaled their smoke to break fevers. In rare cases, yarrow can cause severe allergic skin rashes; prolonged use can increase the skin's photosensitivity. This can be triggered initially when wet skin comes into contact with cut grass and yarrow together. According to the ASPCA, yarrow is toxic to dogs, cats, and horses, causing vomiting, diarrhea, depression, anorexia, and hypersalivation. In a standard rodent model for reproductive toxicity, aqueous extracts of yarrow produced a


title: "Achillea millefolium" content: significant increase in the percentage of abnormal sperm. Chamazulene and δ-Cadinol are chemical compounds found in "A. millefolium". The chromophore of azulene was discovered in yarrow and wormwood and named in 1863 by Septimus Piesse. Achillea millefolium Achillea millefolium, commonly known as yarrow or common yarrow, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in Asia, Europe, and North America. It has been introduced as a feed for livestock in places like New Zealand and Australia, where it is a common herb of both wet and dry areas, such as


title: Locust content: Locust Locusts are certain species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae that have a swarming phase. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumstances they become more abundant and change their behaviour and habits, becoming gregarious. No taxonomic distinction is made between locust and grasshopper species; the basis for the definition is whether a species forms swarms under intermittently suitable conditions. In the solitary phase, these grasshoppers are innocuous, their numbers are low, and they do not pose a major economic threat to agriculture. Under suitable conditions of drought followed by rapid vegetation growth, serotonin in their brains


title: Locust content: triggers a dramatic set of changes: they start to breed abundantly, becoming gregarious and nomadic (loosely described as migratory) when their populations become dense enough. They form bands of wingless nymphs which later become swarms of winged adults. Both the bands and the swarms move around and rapidly strip fields and cause damage to crops. The adults are powerful fliers; they can travel great distances, consuming most of the green vegetation wherever the swarm settles. Locusts have formed plagues since prehistory. The ancient Egyptians carved them on their tombs and the insects are mentioned in the "Iliad", the Bible and


title: Locust content: the Quran. Swarms have devastated crops and been a contributory cause of famines and human migrations. More recently, changes in agricultural practices and better surveillance of locations where swarms tend to originate, have meant that control measures can be used at an early stage. The traditional means of control are based on the use of insecticides from the ground or the air, but other methods using biological control are proving effective. Swarming behaviour decreased in the 20th century, but despite modern surveillance and control methods, the potential for swarms to form is still present, and when suitable climatic conditions occur


title: Locust content: and vigilance lapses, plagues can still occur. Locusts are large insects and convenient for use in research and the study of zoology in the classroom. They are also edible insects; they have been eaten throughout history and are considered a delicacy in many countries. The word "locust" is derived from the Vulgar Latin "locusta", meaning grasshopper. Locusts are the swarming phase of certain species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumstances become more abundant and change their behaviour and habits, becoming gregarious. No taxonomic distinction is made between locust and grasshopper


title: Locust content: species; the basis for the definition is whether a species forms swarms under intermittently suitable conditions. In English, the term "locust" is used for grasshopper species that change morphologically and behaviourally on crowding, forming swarms that develop from bands of immature stages called hoppers. These changes are examples of phase polymorphism; they were first analysed and described by Boris Uvarov, who was instrumental in setting up the Anti-Locust Research Centre. He made his discoveries during his studies of the Migratory locust in Caucasus, whose solitary and gregarious phases had previously been thought to be separate species (Locusta migratoria and L.


title: Locust content: danica L.). He designated the two phases as "solitaria" and "gregaria". These are also referred to as statary and migratory morphs, though strictly speaking, their swarms are nomadic rather than migratory. Charles Valentine Riley and Norman Criddle were also involved in achieving the understanding and control of locusts. Swarming behaviour is a response to overcrowding. Increased tactile stimulation of the hind legs causes an increase in levels of serotonin. This causes the locust to change colour, eat much more, and breed much more easily. The transformation of the locust to the swarming form is induced by several contacts per minute


title: Locust content: over a four-hour period. A large swarm can consist of billions of locusts spread out over an area of thousands of square kilometres, with a population of up to 80 million per square kilometre (200 million per square mile). When desert locusts meet, their nervous systems release serotonin, which causes them to become mutually attracted, a prerequisite for swarming. The initial bands of gregarious hoppers are known as "outbreaks", and when these join together into larger groups, the event is known as an "upsurge". Continuing agglomerations of upsurges on a regional level originating from a number of entirely separate breeding


title: Locust content: locations are known as "plagues". During outbreaks and the early stages of upsurges, only part of the locust population becomes gregarious, with scattered bands of hoppers spread out over a large area. As time goes by, the insects become more cohesive and the bands become concentrated in a smaller area. In the desert locust plague in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia that lasted from 1966 to 1969, the number of locusts increased from two to 30 billion over two generations, but the area covered decreased from over to . One of the greatest differences between the solitary and gregarious


title: Locust content: phases is behavioural. The "gregaria" nymphs are attracted to each other, this being seen as early as the second instar. They soon form bands of many thousands of individuals. These groups behave like cohesive units and move across the landscape, mostly downhill, but making their way around barriers and merging with other bands. The attraction between the insects seems to be largely visual, but also involves olfactory cues, and the band seem to navigate using the sun. They pause to feed at intervals before resuming their march, and may cover tens of kilometres over a few weeks. Also, differences in


title: Locust content: morphology and development are seen. In the desert locust and the migratory locust, for example, the "gregaria" nymphs become darker with strongly contrasting yellow and black markings, they grow larger, and have longer developmental periods. The adults are larger with different body proportions, less sexual dimorphism, and higher metabolic rates. They mature more rapidly and start reproducing earlier, but have lower levels of fecundity. The mutual attraction between individual insects continues into adulthood, and they continue to act as a cohesive group. Individuals that get detached from a swarm fly back into the mass. Others that get left behind after


title: Locust content: feeding, take off to rejoin the swarm when it passes overhead. When individuals at the front of the swarm settle to feed, others fly past overhead and settle in their turn, the whole swarm acting like a rolling unit with an ever-changing leading edge. The locusts spend much time on the ground feeding and resting, moving on when the vegetation is exhausted. They may then fly a considerable distance before settling in a location where transitory rainfall has caused a green flush of new growth. Several species of grasshoppers swarm as locusts in different parts of the world, on all


title: Locust content: continents except Antarctica and North America: For example, the Australian plague locust ("Chortoicetes terminifera") swarms across Australia. The desert locust ("Schistocerca gregaria") is probably the best known species owing to its wide distribution (North Africa, Middle East, and Indian subcontinent) and its ability to migrate over long distances. A major infestation covered much of western Africa in 2003-4, after unusually heavy rain set up favourable ecological conditions for swarming. The first outbreaks occurred in Mauritania, Mali, Niger, and Sudan in 2003. The rain allowed swarms to develop and move north to Morocco and Algeria, threatening croplands. Swarms crossed Africa, appearing


title: Locust content: in Egypt, Jordan and Israel, the first time in those countries for 50 years. The cost of handling the infestation was put at US$122 million, and the damage to crops at up to $2.5 billion. The migratory locust ("Locusta migratoria"), sometimes classified into up to 10 subspecies, swarms in Africa, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, but has become rare in Europe. In 2013, the Madagascan form of the migratory locust formed many swarms of over a billion insects, reaching "plague" status and covering about half the country by March 2013. Species such as the Senegalese grasshopper ("Oedaleus senegalensis") and the


title: Locust content: African rice grasshopper ("Hieroglyphus daganensis"), both from the Sahel, often display locust-like behaviour and change morphologically on crowding. North America is currently the only continent besides Antarctica without a native locust species. The Rocky Mountain locust was formerly one of the most significant insect pests there, but it became extinct in 1902. In the 1930s, during the Dust Bowl, a second species of North American locust, the High Plains locust ("Dissosteira longipennis") reached plague proportions in the American Midwest. Today, the High Plains locust is a rare species and no longer swarms, leaving North America with no swarming locusts. Study


title: Locust content: of literature shows how pervasive plagues of locusts were over the course of history. The insects arrived unexpectedly, often after a change of wind direction or weather, and the consequences were devastating. The Ancient Egyptians carved locusts on tombs in the period 2470 to 2220 BC, and a devastating plague is mentioned in the Book of Exodus in the Bible, as taking place in Egypt around 1446 BC. The "Iliad" mentions locusts taking to the wing to escape fire. Plagues of locusts are also mentioned in the Quran. In the ninth century BC, the Chinese authorities appointed anti-locust officers. Aristotle


title: Locust content: studied locusts and their breeding habits and Livy recorded a devastating plague in Capua in 203 BC. He mentioned human epidemics following locust plagues which he associated with the stench from the putrifying corpses; the linking of human disease outbreaks to locust plagues was widespread. A pestilence in China in 311 AD that killed 98% of the population locally was blamed on locusts, and may have been caused by an increase in numbers of rats (and their fleas) that devoured the locust carcases. During the last two millennia, locust plagues continued to appear at irregular intervals with the main recorded


title: Locust content: outbreaks of the desert and migratory locusts occurring in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. Other species of locusts caused havoc in North and South America, Asia, and Australasia; 173 outbreaks over a period of 1924 years have been recorded in China. The Bombay locust ("Nomadacris succincta") was a major pest in India and southeastern Asia in the 18th and 19th centuries, but has seldom swarmed since the last plague in 1908. The extinction of the Rocky Mountain locust has been a source of puzzlement. It had swarmed throughout the west of the United States and parts of Canada in


title: Locust content: the 19th century. Albert's swarm of 1875 was estimated to cover (greater than the area of California) and to weigh 27.5 million tons, with some 12.5 trillion insects. The last specimen was seen alive in Canada in 1902. Recent research suggests the breeding grounds of this insect in the valleys of the Rocky Mountains came under sustained agricultural development during the large influx of gold miners, destroying the underground eggs of the locust. Early intervention is a more successful means of dealing with locusts than later action when swarms have already built up. The technology to control locust populations is


title: Locust content: now available, but the organisational, financial, and political problems may be difficult to overcome. Monitoring is the key to reducing damage, with the early detection and eradication of bands being the objective. Ideally, a sufficient proportion of nomadic bands can be treated with insecticide before the swarming phase is reached. Reaching this objective may be possible in richer countries like Morocco and Saudi Arabia, but neighbouring poorer countries lack the resources and may act as a source of locust swarms that threaten the whole region. Several organisations around the world monitor the threat from locusts. They provide forecasts detailing regions


title: Locust content: likely to suffer from locust plagues in the near future. In Australia, this service is provided by the Australian Plague Locust Commission. It has been very successful with dealing with developing outbreaks, but has the great advantage of having a defined area to monitor and defend without locust invasions from elsewhere. In Central and Southern Africa, the service is provided by the International Locust Control Organization for Central and Southern Africa. In West and Northwest Africa, the service is co-ordinated by the Food and Agriculture Organization's Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in the Western Region, and executed by locust


title: Locust content: control agencies belonging to each country concerned. The FAO also monitors the situation in the Caucasus and Central Asia, where over 25 million hectares of cultivated land are under threat. Historically, people could do little to protect their crops from being devastated by locusts, although eating the insects may have been some consolation. By the early 20th century, efforts were being made to disrupt the development of the insects by cultivating the soil where eggs were laid, collecting hoppers with catching machines, killing them with flamethrowers, trapping them in ditches, and crushing them with rollers and other mechanical methods. By


title: Locust content: the 1950s, the organochloride dieldrin was found to be an extremely effective insecticide, but it was later banned from use in most countries because of its persistence in the environment and its bioaccumulation in the food chain. In years when locust control is needed, the hoppers are targeted early by applying water-based, contact pesticides using tractor-based sprayers. This is effective but slow and labour-intensive, and where possible, spraying concentrated insecticide solutions from aircraft over the insects or the vegetation on which they feed is preferable. The use of ultralow-volume spraying of contact pesticides from aircraft in overlapping swathes is effective


title: Locust content: against nomadic bands and can be used to treat large areas of land swiftly. Other modern technologies used for planning locust control include GPS, GIS tools, and satellite imagery, and computers provide rapid data management and analysis. A biological pesticide to control locusts was tested across Africa by a multinational team in 1997. Dried fungal spores of a "Metarhizium acridum" sprayed in breeding areas pierce the locust exoskeleton on germination and invade the body cavity, causing death. The fungus is passed from insect to insect and persists in the area, making repeated treatments unnecessary. This approach to locust control was


title: Locust content: used in Tanzania in 2009 to treat around 10,000 hectares in the Iku-Katavi National Park infested with adult locusts. The outbreak was contained and the elephants, hippopotamuses, and giraffes present in the area were unharmed. The ultimate goal in locust control is the use of preventive and proactive methods that disrupt the environment to the least possible extent. This would make agricultural production easier and more secure in the many regions where growing crops is of vital importance to the survival of the local people. The locust is large and easy to breed and rear, and is used as an


title: Locust content: experimental model in research studies. It has been used in evolutionary biology research and to discover to what degree conclusions reached about other organisms, such as the fruit fly ("Drosophila") and the housefly ("Musca"), are applicable to all insects. It is a suitable school laboratory animal because of its robustness and the ease with which it can be grown and handled. Locusts are edible insects. Several cultures throughout the world consume insects, and locusts are considered a delicacy and eaten in many African, Middle Eastern, and Asian countries. They have been used as food throughout history. They can be cooked


title: Locust content: in many ways, but are often fried, smoked, or dried. The Bible records that John the Baptist ate locusts and wild honey () while living in the wilderness. Attempts have been made to explain the locusts as some ascetic vegetarian food such as carob beans, but the plain meaning of "akrides" is the insects. The Torah, although disallowing the use of most insects as food, permits the consumption of certain locusts; specifically, the red, the yellow, the spotted grey, and the white are considered permissible. In Islamic jurisprudence, eating locusts is considered halal. The Islamic prophet, Muhammad, was reported to


title: Locust content: have eaten locusts during a military raid with his companions. Locusts are eaten in the Arabian Peninsula, including Saudi Arabia, where consumption of locusts spiked around Ramadan especially in the Al-Qassim Region in 2014, since many Saudis believe they are healthy to eat. The Saudi Ministry of Health warned that pesticides they used against the locusts made them unsafe; and Kuwait. Yemenis also consume locusts, and expressed discontent over governmental plans to use pesticides to control them. ʻAbd al-Salâm Shabînî described a locust recipe from Morocco. 19th century European travellers observed Arabs in Arabia, Egypt, and Morocco selling, cooking, and


title: Locust content: eating locusts. They reported that in Egypt and Palestine locusts were consumed. They reported that in Palestine, around the River Jordan, in Egypt, in Arabia, and in Morocco that Arabs ate locusts, while Syrian peasants did not eat locusts. In the Haouran region, Fellahs who were in poverty and suffered from famine ate locusts after removing the guts and head, while locusts were swallowed wholesale by Bedouins. Syrians, Copts, Greeks, Armenians, and other Christians and Arabs themselves reported that in Arabia locusts were eaten frequently and one Arab described to a European traveler the different types of locusts which were


title: Locust content: favored as food by Arabs. Persians use the Anti-Arab racial slur "Arabe malakh-khor" (, literally Arab locust eater) against Arabs. Locusts yield about five times more edible protein per unit of fodder than cattle, and produce lower levels of greenhouse gases in the process. The feed conversion rate of orthopterans is 1.7 kg/kg, while for beef it is typically about 10 kg/kg. The protein content in fresh weight is between 13–28 g/100g for adult locust, 14–18 g/100g for larvae, as compared to 19–26 g/100g for beef. The calculated protein efficiency ratio is low, with 1.69 for locust protein compared to


title: Locust content: 2.5 for standard casein. A serving of 100 g of desert locust provides 11.5 g of fat, 53.5% of which is unsaturated, and 286 mg of cholesterol. Among the fatty acids, palmitoleic, oleic and linolenic acids were found to be the most abundant. Varying amounts of potassium, sodium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc were present. Locust Locusts are certain species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae that have a swarming phase. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumstances they become more abundant and change their behaviour and habits, becoming gregarious. No taxonomic distinction is made between


title: "Chili pepper" content: Chili pepper The chili pepper (also chile, chile pepper, chilie pepper, or chilli from Nahuatl "chīlli" () is the fruit of plants belonging to the members of the family Solanaceae. About thirty species exist as shrubs with brightly colored, mostly spicy, fruits. Chili peppers are widely used in many cuisines to add spiciness to dishes. The substances that give chili peppers their pungency when ingested or applied topically are capsaicin and related capsaicinoids. Cultivars grown in North America and Europe are believed to all derive from "Capsicum annuum", and have white, yellow, red or purple to black fruits. In 2016,


title: "Chili pepper" content: world production of raw green chili peppers was 34.5 million tonnes, with China producing half of the world total. Capsicum fruits have been a part of the human diet since about 7,500 BC, and are one of the oldest cultivated crops in the Americas, as origins of cultivating chili peppers are traced to northeastern Mexico some 6,000 years ago. They were one of the first self-pollinating crops cultivated in Mexico, Central America, and parts of South America. Peru is considered the country with the highest cultivated "Capsicum" diversity because it is a center of diversification where varieties of all five


title: "Chili pepper" content: domesticates were introduced, grown, and consumed in pre-Columbian times. Bolivia is considered to be the country where the largest diversity of wild "Capsicum" peppers is consumed. Bolivian consumers distinguish two basic forms: "ulupicas", species with small round fruits including "C. eximium", "C. cardenasii", "C. eshbaughii", and "C. caballeroi" landraces; and "arivivis" with small elongated fruits including "C. baccatum" var. "baccatum" and "C. chacoense" varieties. Christopher Columbus was one of the first Europeans to encounter them (in the Caribbean), and called them "peppers" because they, like black pepper of the genus "Piper" known in Europe, have a spicy, hot taste unlike


title: "Chili pepper" content: other foodstuffs. Upon their introduction into Europe, chilies were grown as botanical curiosities in the gardens of Spanish and Portuguese monasteries. Christian monks experimented with the culinary potential of chili and discovered that their pungency offered a substitute for black peppercorns. Chilies were cultivated around the globe after indigenous people shared them with travelers. Diego Álvarez Chanca, a physician on Columbus' second voyage to the West Indies in 1493, brought the first chili peppers to Spain and first wrote about their medicinal effects in 1494. The spread of chili peppers to Asia was most likely a natural consequence of its


title: "Chili pepper" content: introduction to Portuguese traders; who, aware of its trade value, would have likely promoted its commerce in the Asian spice trade routes then dominated by Portuguese and Arab traders. It was introduced in India by the Portuguese towards the end of 15th century. Today chilies are an integral part of Indian and Southeast Asian cuisines. The chili pepper features heavily in the cuisine of the Goan region of India, which was the site of a Portuguese colony (e.g., vindaloo, an Indian interpretation of a Portuguese dish). Chili peppers journeyed from India, through Central Asia and Turkey, to Hungary, where they


title: "Chili pepper" content: became the national spice in the form of paprika. An alternate, although not so plausible account (no obvious correlation between its dissemination in Asia and Spanish presence or trade routes), defended mostly by Spanish historians, was that from Mexico, at the time a Spanish colony, chili peppers spread into their other colony the Philippines and from there to India, China, Indonesia. To Japan, it was brought by the Portuguese missionaries in 1542, and then later, it was brought to Korea. In 1995 archaeobotanist Hakon Hjelmqvist published an article in "Svensk Botanisk Tidskrift" claiming there was evidence for the presence of


title: "Chili pepper" content: chili peppers in Europe in pre-Columbian times. According to Hjelmqvist, archaeologists at a dig in St Botulf in Lund found a "Capsicum frutescens" in a layer from the 13th century. Hjelmqvist thought it came from Asia. Hjelmqvist also said that "Capsicum" was described by the Greek Theophrastus (370–286 BCE) in his "Historia Plantarum", and in other sources. Around the first century CE, the Roman poet Martial mentioned "Piperve crudum" (raw pepper) in Liber XI, XVIII, allegedly describing them as long and containing seeds (a description which seems to fit chili peppers - but could also fit the long pepper, which


title: "Chili pepper" content: was well known to ancient Romans). Contrary to the Columbian Exchange, evidence of the use of chili peppers in Southeast Asia can be found in stone inscriptions from the Bagan period of the thirteenth-century Myanmar. The Shwe-Kun-Cha Pagoda stone inscriptions (1223 CE) of King Nadoungmya (1234 – 1254 CE) included five baskets of chiles in the list of his donations to the pagoda and a slightly later stone inscription (1248 CE) of Princess A-Saw-Kyaum, alternative transliteration Asawgyun, included chiles alongside rice, betel nut, and salt in the cost of her merit makings. Worldwide in 2016, 34.5 million tonnes of green


title: "Chili pepper" content: chili peppers and 3.9 million tonnes of dried chili peppers were produced. China was the world's largest producer of green chilis, providing half of the global total. Global production of dried chili peppers was about one ninth of fresh production, led by India with 36% of the world total. Capsicum originated in the New World in Central- and South America, where the five domesticated species of chili peppers, known as "Capsicum annuum", which includes many common varieties such as bell peppers, wax, cayenne, jalapeños, chiltepin, and all forms of New Mexico chile, "Capsicum frutescens", which includes malagueta, tabasco and Thai


title: "Chili pepper" content: peppers, piri piri, and Malawian Kambuzi, "Capsicum chinense", which includes the hottest peppers such as the naga, habanero, Datil and Scotch bonnet, "Capsicum pubescens", which includes the South American rocoto peppers and "Capsicum baccatum", which includes the South American aji peppers are found. Though there are only a few commonly used species, there are many cultivars and methods of preparing chili peppers that have different names for culinary use. Green and red bell peppers, for example, are the same cultivar of "C. annuum", immature peppers being green. In the same species are the jalapeño, the poblano (which when dried is


title: "Chili pepper" content: referred to as ancho), New Mexico, serrano, and other cultivars. Peppers are commonly broken down into three groupings: bell peppers, sweet peppers, and hot peppers. Most popular pepper varieties are seen as falling into one of these categories or as a cross between them. The substances that give chili peppers their pungency (spicy heat) when ingested or applied topically are capsaicin (8-methyl-"N"-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) and several related chemicals, collectively called "capsaicinoids". The quantity of capsaicin varies by variety, and on growing conditions. Water stressed peppers usually produce stronger pods. When a habanero plant is stressed, for example low water, the concentration of


title: "Chili pepper" content: capsaicin increases in some parts of the fruit. When peppers are consumed by mammals such as humans, capsaicin binds with pain receptors in the mouth and throat, potentially evoking pain via spinal relays to the brainstem and thalamus where heat and discomfort are perceived. The intensity of the "heat" of chili peppers is commonly reported in Scoville heat units (SHU). Historically, it was a measure of the dilution of an amount of chili extract added to sugar syrup before its heat becomes undetectable to a panel of tasters; the more it has to be diluted to be undetectable, the more


title: "Chili pepper" content: powerful the variety, and therefore the higher the rating. The modern method is a quantitative analysis of SHU using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to directly measure the capsaicinoid content of a chili pepper variety. Pure capsaicin is a hydrophobic, colorless, odorless, and crystalline-to-waxy solid at room temperature, and measures 16,000,000 SHU. Capsaicin is produced by the plant as a defense against mammalian predators and microbes, in particular a fusarium fungus carried by hemipteran insects that attack certain species of chili peppers, according to one study. Peppers increased the quantity of capsaicin in proportion to the damage caused by fungal predation


title: "Chili pepper" content: on the plant's seeds. A wide range of intensity is found in commonly used peppers: Some of the world's hottest chili peppers are: Chili pepper pods, which are berries, are used fresh or dried. Chilies are dried to preserve them for long periods of time, which may also be done by pickling. Dried chilies are often ground into powders, although many Mexican dishes including variations on chiles rellenos use the entire chili. Dried whole chilies may be reconstituted before grinding to a paste. The chipotle is the smoked, dried, ripe jalapeño. Many fresh chilies such as poblano have a tough


title: "Chili pepper" content: outer skin that does not break down on cooking. Chilies are sometimes used whole or in large slices, by roasting, or other means of blistering or charring the skin, so as not to entirely cook the flesh beneath. When cooled, the skins will usually slip off easily. The leaves of every species of Capsicum are edible. Though almost all other Solanaceous crops have toxins in their leaves, chili peppers do not. The leaves, which are mildly bitter and nowhere near as hot as the fruit, are cooked as greens in Filipino cuisine, where they are called "dahon ng sili" (literally


title: "Chili pepper" content: "chili leaves"). They are used in the chicken soup "tinola". In Korean cuisine, the leaves may be used in kimchi. In Japanese cuisine, the leaves are cooked as greens, and also cooked in "tsukudani" style for preservation. Chili is a staple fruit in Bhutan. Bhutanese call this crop "ema" (in Dzongkha) or "solo" (in Sharchop). The "ema" datsi recipe is entirely made of chili mixed with local cheese. In India, most households always keep a stock of fresh hot green chilies at hand, and use them to flavor most curries and dry dishes. It is typically lightly fried with oil


title: "Chili pepper" content: in the initial stages of preparation of the dish. Some states in India, such as Rajasthan, make entire dishes only by using spices and chilies. Chilies are present in many cuisines. Some notable dishes other than the ones mentioned elsewhere in this article include: Fresh or dried chilies are often used to make hot sauce, a liquid condiment—usually bottled when commercially available—that adds spice to other dishes. Hot sauces are found in many cuisines including harissa from North Africa, chili oil from China (known as rāyu in Japan), and sriracha from Thailand. Dried chilies are also used to infuse cooking


title: "Chili pepper" content: oil. The contrast in color and appearance makes chili plants interesting to some as a purely decorative garden plant. Psychologist Paul Rozin suggests that eating chilies is an example of a "constrained risk" like riding a roller coaster, in which extreme sensations like pain and fear can be enjoyed because individuals know that these sensations are not actually harmful. This method lets people experience extreme feelings without any risk of bodily harm. Capsaicin, the chemical in chili peppers that makes them hot, is used as an analgesic in topical ointments, nasal sprays, and dermal patches to relieve pain. Capsaicin extracted


title: "Chili pepper" content: from chilies is used in manufacturing pepper spray and tear gas as chemical irritants, forms of less-lethal weapons for control of unruly individuals or crowds. Such products have considerable potential for misuse, and may cause injury or death. Conflicts between farmers and elephants have long been widespread in African and Asian countries, where elephants nightly destroy crops, raid grain houses, and sometimes kill people. Farmers have found the use of chilies effective in crop defense against elephants. Elephants do not like capsaicin, the chemical in chilies that makes them hot. Because the elephants have a large and sensitive olfactory and


title: "Chili pepper" content: nasal system, the smell of the chili causes them discomfort and deters them from feeding on the crops. By planting a few rows of the pungent fruit around valuable crops, farmers create a buffer zone through which the elephants are reluctant to pass. Chilly dung bombs are also used for this purpose. They are bricks made of mixing dung and chili, and are burned, creating a noxious smoke that keeps hungry elephants out of farmers' fields. This can lessen dangerous physical confrontation between people and elephants. Birds do not have the same sensitivity to capsaicin, because it targets a specific


title: "Chili pepper" content: pain receptor in mammals. Chili peppers are eaten by birds living in the chili peppers' natural range, possibly contributing to seed dispersal and evolution of the protective capsaicin in chili peppers. While red chilies contain large amounts of vitamin C (table), other species contain significant amounts of provitamin A beta-carotene. In addition, peppers are a rich source of vitamin B (see table). The three primary spellings are "chili", "chile" and "chilli", all of which are recognized by dictionaries. The name of the plant is almost certainly unrelated to that of Chile, the country, which has an uncertain etymology perhaps relating


title: "Chili pepper" content: to local place names. Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico are some of the Spanish-speaking countries where chilies are known as "ají", a word of Taíno origin. Though "pepper" originally referred to the genus "Piper", not "Capsicum", the latter usage is included in English dictionaries, including the "Oxford English Dictionary" (sense 2b of "pepper") and Merriam-Webster. The word "pepper" is also commonly used in the botanical and culinary fields in the names of different types of chili plants and their fruits. Chili pepper The chili pepper (also chile, chile pepper, chilie pepper, or chilli from Nahuatl


title: "Swindon Town F.C." content: pitch. For this the club received compensation of £4,570 in 1945. The addition of floodlights in 1951 at a cost of £350, gave Swindon the honour of being the first League club to do so. These were first tried out "v." Bristol City on 2 April 1951 beating Arsenal by six months. These original set of lights were supplemented by lights on both side stand roofs, which were sufficient for the County Ground to stage its first floodlit league match on 29 February 1956 "v." Millwall. (seven days after Fratton Park became the first ground to stage a floodlit league


title: Sainte-Chapelle content: "chapelle" itself, the choir of Sainte-Chapelle. However, the term was also applied to a number of other buildings. Louis IX's chapel inspired several "copies", in the sense of royal or ducal chapels of broadly similar architectural form, built to house relics, particularly fragments of Louis' Passion Relics given by the King. Such chapels were normally attached to a ducal palace (e.g. Bourges, Riom), or else to an Abbey with particular links to the royal family (e.g. St-Germer-de-Fly). As with the original, such "Holy Chapels" were nearly always additional to the regular palatine or abbatial chapel, with their own dedicated clergy—usually


title: "Last of the Summer Wine" content: used for the final two instalments of the show. This group consisted of Russ Abbot as a former milkman who fancied himself a secret agent, Luther "Hobbo" Hobdyke, Burt Kwouk as the electrical repairman, "Electrical" Entwistle, and Murphy as Alvin Smedley. Sallis and Thornton, both past members of the trio, continued in supporting roles alongside the new actors. Although many feel the show's quality declined over the years, "Last of the Summer Wine" continued to receive large audiences for the BBC and was praised for its positive portrayal of older people and family-friendly humour. Many members of the Royal Family


title: "Lilium lancifolium" content: Lilium lancifolium Lilium lancifolium (syn. "L. tigrinum") is an Asian species of lily, native to China, Japan, Korea, and the Russian Far East. It is widely planted as an ornamental because of its showy orange-and-black flowers, and has become naturalized in numerous scattered locations in eastern North America (particularly in New England). It is one of several species of lily to which the common name tiger lily is applied, and some regard this the correct species to which the name should be applied. Botanists for many years considered "L. tigrinum" the correct scientific name until it was determined that older


title: "Lilium lancifolium" content: name "L. lancifolium" refers to the same species. Under the rules of international botanical nomenclature, the older name takes precedence. Like other true lilies, the flowers are borne on upright stems that are tall and bear lanceolate leaves long and broad. "Lilium lancifolium" produces aerial bulblets, known as bulbils, in the leaf axils. These bulbils are uncommon in "Lilium" species and they produce new plants that are clones of the original plant. Each flower lasts a few days and if pollinated produce capsules with many thin seeds. It is cultivated in Asia for its edible bulbs. The cultivar 'Splendens' has


title: "Lilium lancifolium" content: gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Lilium lancifolium Lilium lancifolium (syn. "L. tigrinum") is an Asian species of lily, native to China, Japan, Korea, and the Russian Far East. It is widely planted as an ornamental because of its showy orange-and-black flowers, and has become naturalized in numerous scattered locations in eastern North America (particularly in New England). It is one of several species of lily to which the common name tiger lily is applied, and some regard this the correct species to which the name should be applied. Botanists for many years considered "L. tigrinum" the


title: "Iris (plant)" content: Iris (plant) Iris is a genus of 260–300 species of flowering plants with showy flowers. It takes its name from the Greek word for a rainbow, which is also the name for the Greek goddess of the rainbow, Iris. Some authors state that the name refers to the wide variety of flower colors found among the many species. As well as being the scientific name, "iris" is also widely used as a common name for all "Iris" species, as well as some belonging to other closely related genera. A common name for some species is 'flags', while the plants of


title: "Iris (plant)" content: the subgenus "Scorpiris" are widely known as 'junos', particularly in horticulture. It is a popular garden flower. The often-segregated, monotypic genera "Belamcanda" (blackberry lily, "I. domestica"), "Hermodactylus" (snake's head iris, "I. tuberosa"), and "Pardanthopsis" (vesper iris, "I. dichotoma") are currently included in "Iris". Three Iris varieties are used in the Iris flower data set outlined by Ronald Fisher in his 1936 paper "The use of multiple measurements in taxonomic problems" as an example of linear discriminant analysis. Irises are perennial plants, growing from creeping rhizomes (rhizomatous irises) or, in drier climates, from bulbs (bulbous irises). They have long, erect flowering


title: "Iris (plant)" content: stems which may be simple or branched, solid or hollow, and flattened or have a circular cross-section. The rhizomatous species usually have 3–10 basal sword-shaped leaves growing in dense clumps. The bulbous species have cylindrical, basal leaves. The inflorescences are in the shape of a fan and contain one or more symmetrical six-lobed flowers. These grow on a pedicel or peduncle. The three sepals, which are usually spreading or droop downwards, are referred to as "falls". They expand from their narrow base (the "claw" or "haft" ), into a broader expanded portion ("limb" or "blade") and can be adorned with


title: "Iris (plant)" content: veining, lines or dots. In the centre of the blade, some of the rhizomatous irises have a "beard" (a tuft of short upright extensions growing in its midline). which are the plants filaments. The three, sometimes reduced, petals stand upright, partly behind the sepal bases. They are called "standards". Some smaller iris species have all six lobes pointing straight outwards, but generally limb and standards differ markedly in appearance. They are united at their base into a floral tube that lies above the ovary (known as an epigynous or inferior ovary). The styles divide towards the apex into petaloid branches;


title: "Iris (plant)" content: this is significant in pollination. The iris flower is of interest as an example of the relation between flowering plants and pollinating insects. The shape of the flower and the position of the pollen-receiving and stigmatic surfaces on the outer petals form a landing-stage for a flying insect, which in probing for nectar, will first come into contact with the perianth, then with the stigmatic stamens in one whorled surface which is borne on an ovary formed of three carpels. The shelf-like transverse projection on the inner whorled underside of the stamens is beneath the overarching style arm below the


title: "Iris (plant)" content: stigma, so that the insect comes in contact with its pollen-covered surface only after passing the stigma; in backing out of the flower it will come in contact only with the non-receptive lower face of the stigma. Thus, an insect bearing pollen from one flower will, in entering a second, deposit the pollen on the stigma; in backing out of a flower, the pollen which it bears will not be rubbed off on the stigma of the same flower. The iris fruit is a capsule which opens up in three parts to reveal the numerous seeds within. In some species,


title: "Iris (plant)" content: the seeds bear an aril. "Iris" is the largest genus of the family Iridaceae with up to 300 species – many of them natural hybrids. Modern classifications, starting with Dykes (1913), have subdivided them. Dykes referred to the major subgroupings as sections. Subsequent authors such as Lawrence (1953) and Rodionenko (1987) have generally called them subgenera, while essentially retaining Dykes' groupings, using six subgenera further divided into twelve sections. Of these, section "Limneris" (subgenus "Limneris") was further divided into sixteen series. Like some older sources, Rodionenko moved some of the bulbous subgenera ("Xiphium", "Scorpiris" and "Hermodactyloides") into separate genera ("Xiphion",


title: "Iris (plant)" content: "Juno" and "Iridodictyum" respectively), but this has not been accepted by later writers such as Mathew (1989), although the latter kept "Hermodactylus" as a distinct genus, to include "Hermodactylus tuberosus", now returned to "Hermodactyloides" as "Iris tuberosa". Rodionenko also reduced the number of sections in subgenus Iris, from six to two, depending on the presence ("Hexapogon") or absence ("Iris") of arils on the seeds, referred to as "arilate" or "nonarilate". Taylor (1976) provides arguments for not including all arilate species in "Hexapogon". In general, modern classifications usually recognise six subgenera, of which five are restricted to the Old World; the


title: "Iris (plant)" content: sixth (subgenus "Limniris") has a Holarctic distribution. The two largest subgenera are further divided into sections. Nearly all species are found in temperate Northern hemisphere zones, from Europe to Asia and across North America. Although diverse in ecology, "Iris" is predominantly found in dry, semi-desert, or colder rocky mountainous areas, other habitats include grassy slopes, meadowlands, bogs and riverbanks. Iris is extensively grown as ornamental plant in home and botanical gardens. Presby Memorial Iris Gardens in New Jersey, for example, is a living iris museum with over 10,000 plants, while in Europe the most famous iris garden is arguably the


title: "Iris (plant)" content: Giardino dell'Iris in Florence (Italy) which every year hosts a well attended iris breeders' competition. Irises, especially the multitude of bearded types, feature regularly in shows such as the Chelsea Flower Show. For garden cultivation, iris classification differs from taxonomic classification. Garden iris are classed as either bulb iris or rhizome iris (called rhizomatous) with a number of further subdivisions. Due to a wide variety of geographic origins, and thus great genetic diversity, cultivation needs of iris vary greatly. Iris grow well in most any garden soil types providing they are well-drained. The earliest to bloom are species like "I.


title: "Iris (plant)" content: junonia" and "I. reichenbachii", which flower as early as February and March in the Northern Hemisphere, followed by the dwarf forms of "I. pumila", and then by most of the tall bearded varieties, such as the German iris and its variety "florentina", sweet iris, Hungarian iris, lemon-yellow iris ("I. flavescens"), "Iris sambucina", "I. amoena", and their natural and horticultural hybrids such as those described under names like "I. neglecta" or "I. squalens" and best united under "I. × lurida". Bearded iris are classified as dwarf, tall, or aril. In Europe, the most commonly found garden iris is a hybrid iris


title: "Iris (plant)" content: (falsely called German iris, "I. germanica" which is sterile) and its numerous cultivars. Various wild forms (including "Iris aphylla") and naturally occurring hybrids of the Sweet iris ("I. pallida") and the Hungarian iris ("I. variegata") form the basis of almost all modern hybrid bearded irises. Median forms of bearded iris (intermediate bearded, or IB; miniature tall bearded, or MTB; etc.) are derived from crosses between tall and dwarf species like "Iris pumila". The bearded irises are easy to cultivate and propagate and have become very popular in gardens. A small selection is usually held by garden centres at appropriate times


title: "Iris (plant)" content: during the season, but there are thousands of cultivars available from specialist suppliers (more than 30 000 cultivars only for the tall bearded irises !). They are best planted as bare root plants in late summer, in a sunny open position with the rhizome visible on the surface of the soil and facing the sun. They should be divided in summer every two or three years, when the clumps become congested. A truly red bearded iris, like a truly blue rose, remains an unattained goal despite frequent hybridizing and selection. There are species and selections, most notably based on the


title: "Iris (plant)" content: beardless rhizomatous Copper iris ("I. fulva"), which have a relatively pure red color. However, getting this color into a modern bearded iris breed has proven very difficult, and thus, the vast majority of irises are in the purple and blue range of the color spectrum, with yellow, pink, orange and white breeds also available. The following is a selection of bearded irises that have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit: This section contains the cushion irises or royal irises, a group of plants noted for their large, strongly marked flowers. Between 30 and 60 species are classified


title: "Iris (plant)" content: in this section, depending on the authority. Compared with other irises the cushion varieties are scantily furnished with narrow sickle-shaped leaves and the flowers are usually borne singly on the stalks; they are often very dark and in some almost blackish. The cushion irises are somewhat fastidious growers, and to be successful with them they must be planted rather shallow in very gritty well-drained soil. They should not be disturbed in the autumn, and after the leaves have withered the roots should be protected from heavy rains until growth starts again naturally. This section, closely allied to the cushion irises,


title: "Iris (plant)" content: includes several garden hybrids with species in section "Oncocyclus", known as "Regelio-cyclus" irises. They are best planted in September or October in warm sunny positions, the rhizomes being lifted the following July after the leaves have withered. There are six major subgroupings of the Beardless iris, depending on origin. They are divided into Pacific Coast, Siberica, Spuria, Louisiana, Japanese, and other. Beardless rhizomatous iris types commonly found in the European garden are the Siberian iris ("I. sibirica") and its hybrids, and the Japanese Iris ("I. ensata") and its hybrids. "Japanese iris" is also a catch-all term for the Japanese iris


title: "Iris (plant)" content: proper ("hanashōbu"), the Blood iris ("I. sanguinea, ayame") and the Rabbit-ear iris ("I. laevigata, kakitsubata"). "I. unguicularis" is a late-winter-flowering species from Algeria, with sky-blue flowers blotched with yellow, produced from Winter to Spring. Yet another beardless rhizomatous iris popular in gardening is "I. ruthenica", which has much the same requirements and characteristics as the tall bearded irises. In North America, Louisiana iris and its hybrids are often cultivated. One specific species, "Iris cristata" from North America. Often called 'junos', this type of iris is one of the more popular bulb irises in cultivation. They are generally earliest to bloom.


title: "Iris (plant)" content: This group includes irises generally of European descent, and are also classified as Dutch, English, or Spanish iris. Reticulate irises with their characteristic bulbs, including the yellow "I. danfordiae", and the various blue-purple "I. histrioides" and "I. reticulata", flower as early as February and March. These reticulate-bulbed irises are miniatures and popular spring bulbs, being one of the first to bloom in the garden. Many of the smaller species of bulbous iris, being liable to perish from excess of moisture, should have a well-drained bed of good but porous soil made up for them, in some sunny spot, and in


title: "Iris (plant)" content: winter should be protected by a covering of half-decayed leaves or fresh coco-fiber. Rhizomes of the German Iris ("I. germanica") and Sweet Iris ("I. pallida") are traded as orris root and are used in perfume and medicine, though more common in ancient times than today. Today Iris essential oil (absolute) from flowers are sometimes used in aromatherapy as sedative medicines. The dried rhizomes are also given whole to babies to help in teething. Gin brands such as Bombay Sapphire and Magellan Gin use orris root and sometimes iris flowers for flavor and color. For orris root production, iris rhizomes are


title: "Iris (plant)" content: harvested, dried, and aged for up to 5 years. In this time, the fats and oils inside the roots undergo degradation and oxidation, which produces many fragrant compounds that are valuable in perfumery. The scent is said to be similar to violets. The aged rhizomes are steam-distilled which produces a thick oily compound, known in the perfume industry as "iris butter" or orris oil. Iris rhizomes also contain notable amounts of terpenes, and organic acids such as ascorbic acid, myristic acid, tridecylenic acid and undecylenic acid. Iris rhizomes can be toxic. Larger blue flag ("I. versicolor") and other species often


title: "Iris (plant)" content: grown in gardens and widely hybridized contain elevated amounts of the toxic glycoside iridin. These rhizomes can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and/or skin irritation, but poisonings are not normally fatal. Irises should only be used medicinally under professional guidance. In water purification, yellow iris ("I. pseudacorus") is often used. The roots are usually planted in a substrate (e.g. lava-stone) in a reedbed-setup. The roots then improve water quality by consuming nutrient pollutants, such as from agricultural runoff. This highly aggressive grower is now considered a noxious weed and banned in some states of the US where it is found clogging


title: "Iris (plant)" content: natural waterways. The Iris is one of the flowers listed as birth flower for February. The Iris croatica is the unoffical National Flower of Croatia . "Iris nigricans", the Black Iris is the national flower of Jordan. Iris bismarckiana, the Nazareth Iris, is the symbol of the city of Upper Nazareth. In 1998, "Iris lacustris", the Dwarf Lake Iris was designated the state wildflower of Michigan, where the vast majority of populations exist. In 1990, the Louisiana iris was voted the state wildflower of Louisiana, though the state flower is the magnolia blossom. In Iran and Kashmir, "Iris kashmiriana" and


title: "Iris (plant)" content: "Iris germanica" are most commonly grown on Muslim grave yards. An iris — species unspecified — is one of the state flowers of Tennessee. It is generally accepted that the species "Iris versicolor", the Purple Iris is the state flower alongside the wild-growing purple passionflower ("Passiflora incarnata"), the state's other floral emblem. Greeneville, Tennessee, is home to the annual Iris Festival celebrating the iris, local customs, and culture. The species "Iris versicolor" is also the provincial flower of Quebec, having replaced the Madonna lily which is not native to the province. and it is the official flower of Kappa Pi


title: "Iris (plant)" content: International Honorary Art Fraternity. The artist George Gessert has specialised in breeding irises. The artist Vincent van Gogh painted several famous pictures of irises. The American artist Joseph Mason – a friend of John James Audubon – painted a precise image of what was then known as the Louisiana flag or copper iris ("Iris fulva"), to which Audubon subsequently added two Northern paraula birds ("Parula americana") for inclusion as Plate 15 in his "Birds of America". The artist Philip Hermogenes Calderon painted an iris in his 1856 work "Broken Vows"; he followed the principles of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. An ancient


title: "Iris (plant)" content: belief is that the iris serves as a warning to be heeded, as it was named for the messenger of Olympus. It also conveys images of lost love and silent grief, for young girls were led into the afterlife by Iris. "Broken Vows" was accompanied with poetry by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow when it was first exhibited. French King Clovis I (466–511), when he converted to Christianity, changed his symbol on his banner from three toads to irises (the Virgin's flower). The fleur-de-lis, a stylized iris, first occurs in its modern use as the emblem of the House of Capet. The


title: "Iris (plant)" content: fleur-de-lis has been associated with France since Louis VII adopted it as a symbol in the 12th century. The yellow fleur-de-lis reflects the yellow iris ("I. pseudacorus"), common in Western Europe. Contemporary uses can be seen in the Quebec flag and the logo of the New Orleans Saints professional football team and on the flag of Saint Louis, Missouri. The red fleur-de-lis in the coat-of-arms of Florence, Italy, descends from the white iris, which is native to Florence and which grew even in its city walls. This white iris, displayed against a red background, became the symbol of Florence until


title: "Iris (plant)" content: the Medici family, to signal a change in political power, reversed the colors, making the white one red and setting in motion a centuries-long breeding program to hybridize a red iris. The fleur-de-lis is the almost-universal symbol of Scouting and one of the symbols adopted by the sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma. A stylized yellow iris is the symbol of Brussels, since historically the important Saint Gaugericus Island was carpeted in them. The iris symbol is now the sole feature on the flag of the Brussels-Capital Region. The provincial flower of Québec (Canada) is the harlequin blueflag ("I. versicolor"), called "iris


title: "Iris (plant)" content: versicolore" in French. It is thought in China, that Iris anguifuga has the ability to keep snakes from entering the garden. It grows all winter, keeping snakes out, but then goes dormant in the spring, allowing the snakes back into the garden. In the autumn, the iris re-appears and can stop the snakes again. In the "Homeric Hymn to Demeter", the goddess Persephone and her companion nymphs (the Oceanids along with Artemis and Athena) were gathering flowers such as rose, crocus, violet, iris (also called 'agallis' or ἀγαλλίς (in Greek script), lily, larkspur, and hyacinth in a springtime meadow before


title: "Iris (plant)" content: she was abducted by the god Hades. It has been suggested that the 'agallis' mentioned was a dwarf iris, as described by leaf and root shape,) and identified as Iris attica. Iris (plant) Iris is a genus of 260–300 species of flowering plants with showy flowers. It takes its name from the Greek word for a rainbow, which is also the name for the Greek goddess of the rainbow, Iris. Some authors state that the name refers to the wide variety of flower colors found among the many species. As well as being the scientific name, "iris" is also widely


title: "Do the Right Thing" content: appearance in the 2012 film "Red Hook Summer", where he is shown delivering pizzas. According to Lee, Sal took the insurance money from his burned pizzeria and reopened the restaurant in Red Hook. He then rehired Mookie, agreeing to include black celebrities on his Wall of Fame. Do the Right Thing Do the Right Thing is a 1989 American comedy-drama film produced, written, and directed by Spike Lee. It stars Lee and Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson, Giancarlo Esposito, Bill Nunn, John Turturro, and Samuel L. Jackson, and is the feature film debut of Martin Lawrence and


title: "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" content: a heating pad, a trick frequently employed by the young Spielberg. Michael picking on Elliott echoes Spielberg's teasing of his younger sisters, and Michael's evolution from tormentor to protector reflects how Spielberg had to take care of his sisters after their father left. Critics have focused on the parallels between E.T.'s life and Elliott, who is "alienated" by the loss of his father. A.O. Scott of "The New York Times" wrote that while E.T. "is the more obvious and desperate foundling", Elliott "suffers in his own way from the want of a home". E.T. is the first and last letter


title: "George Gamow" content: chemical elements as a continuous tape, with the elements in order of atomic number wound round in a three-dimensional helix whose diameter increased stepwise (corresponding to the longer rows of the conventional periodic table). Gamow was an atheist. Gamow continued his teaching at the University of Colorado Boulder and focused increasingly on writing textbooks and books on science for the general public. After several months of ill health, surgeries on his circulatory system, diabetes and liver problems, Gamow was dying from liver failure, which he had called the "weak link" that could not withstand the other stresses. In a letter


title: "Crown jewels" content: In 1968 the city of Huế was the scene of fierce fighting between the communist People's Army of Vietnam and Vietcong and US Marines and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. The imperial palace was bombed, ransacked and almost completely destroyed. It is possible that the imperial insignia, if they had not been removed and taken elsewhere in 1945, were lost or destroyed at this time. Many artifacts have been found, at various locations, which date to European pre-history, and appear to have been associated with ruling and/or priestly elites. For one example, see Golden hat. The oldest European


title: Carantania content: same name was also used by Florentines, such as the poet Fazio degli Uberti (circa 1309–1367), the famous chronicler Giovanni Villani (c. 1275–1348), and Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375), who wrote that the Brenta River rises from the mountains of Carantania, a land in the Alps dividing Italy from Germany. The population of ancient Carantania had a polyethnic structure. The core stratum was represented by two groups of Slavs who had settled in the Eastern Alps region in late 6th century. Other ethnic elements included Croats, Dulebes and the descendants of the Romanised aboriginal peoples (Noricans), the latter which is attestable on


title: "Green Arrow" content: villains of course include his archenemies Merlyn, a master archer, and Count Vertigo, a foreign dignitary with the power to disrupt his enemy's balance and perception. Other recurring villains have included China White, Clock King, Cupid, Brick, and Constantine Drakon. Since the 2000s, the longstanding DC supervillain Deathstroke has often been depicted as having a particular grudge against Green Arrow. For many years, DC Comics wrote stories in what it called a Multiverse, or a series of infinite parallel Earths. This allowed DC writers to freely retcon and retell stories, as well as explain continuity mistakes. The Green Arrow of


title: Heraklonas content: 3 May 626, in the suburban Palace of Sophianae. He was the son of Emperor Heraclius, and his niece-wife Martina. Under Heraclius, the Byzantine Empire was invaded in 639 by the Arabs, due to the failure of the Theme of Mesopotamia to pay tribute. The cities of Edessa and Dara were quickly captured. In the same year, another group of Arabs, led by 'Amr ibn al-'As, invaded Byzantine Egypt. He quickly occupied the coastal towns of Egypt, but was unable to cross the Nile, due to stiff resistance by Byzantine forces led by John. After a bloody battle between John


title: "The Hitch-Hiker" content: mocking their loyalty to each other by claiming that they could have escaped separately if they embraced Myers' each-man-for-himself ethos. Arriving at Santa Rosalía, Myers tries to conceal his identity by forcing one of the men to wear his clothes. Myers, upon discovering that the regular ferry to Guaymas has burned down, hires a fishing boat. However, while he is awaiting the fisherman, locals discover his status as a wanted murderer and contact authorities. Police surround the pier and, after some confusion over Myers' identity, take him into custody following a brief scuffle in which the boastful Myers is revealed


title: "International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda" content: particularly emphasized late in the nineteenth century and early in the twentieth century as a result of German and Belgian colonialism over Rwanda. The ethnic categorization of the two were an imposed and an arbitrary construct based more on physical characteristics than ethnic background. However, the social differences between the Hutu and the Tusi have traditionally allowed the Tutsi, with a strong pastoralist tradition, to gain social, economic, and political ascendancy over the Hutu, who were primarily agriculturalists. The distinction under colonial powers allowed Tutsis to establish ruling power, until a Hutu revolution in 1959 abolished the Tutsi monarchy by


title: "Dream Theater" content: Theater was formed in Massachusetts in 1985 when guitarist John Petrucci, bassist John Myung, and drummer Mike Portnoy decided to form a band while attending the Berklee College of Music. The trio started by covering Rush and Iron Maiden songs in the rehearsal rooms at Berklee. Myung, Petrucci, and Portnoy joined together on the name Majesty for their newly formed group. According to "The Score So Far..." documentary, they were waiting in line for tickets to a Rush concert at the Berklee Performance Center while listening to the band on a boom box. Portnoy commented that the ending of the


title: "Columbus Blue Jackets" content: with 4,511 minutes played in 2002–03. He tied for second all-time for games played in a season by a goaltender, just two shy of the League record held by St. Louis Blues' Grant Fuhr in the 1995–96 season. The 2003–04 season was another losing season for the Blue Jackets despite key additions in the off-season. Checking center Todd Marchant was signed to a five-year contract in July from the Edmonton Oilers. Defenseman Darryl Sydor, known to play strong offense as well, was acquired from the Dallas Stars for Mike Sillinger and a draft pick. MacLean stepped aside as head coach


title: "San Jose Sharks" content: Louis Blues in six games to win the Western Conference championship. This marked the first time in franchise history that the Sharks advanced to play in the Stanley Cup Final. The Sharks ultimately lost the Stanley Cup Finals in the best-of-seven series against the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games. In the following season, the Sharks finished in third place in the Pacific Division, but were defeated by the Edmonton Oilers in six games in the first round of the 2017 playoffs. Following the season, long-time stalwart Patrick Marleau left the team to sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs, ending his


title: "Bruno Bauer" content: with David Strauss and especially with the Prussian monarchy had set Bruno Bauer back quite a bit. This also affected Bauer's personality. Bauer went underground and began to write Hegelian newspapers here and there. In this journey he met some socialists, including Karl Marx, his former student, and Marx' new friends, Friedrich Engels and Arnold Ruge. They were all left-wing radicals. Bauer was not a left-wing radical, but he was happy to be their leader if it could lead them back to a Hegelian understanding of the dialectic. Another member of those Young Hegelians, Max Stirner, became Bauer's lifelong friend.


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (), is an Italian Renaissance church in Vatican City, the papal enclave within the city of Rome. Designed principally by Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, St. Peter's is the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture and the largest church in the world. While it is neither the mother church of the Catholic Church nor the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome, St. Peter's is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic shrines. It has been described as "holding


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: a unique position in the Christian world" and as "the greatest of all churches of Christendom". Catholic tradition holds that the Basilica is the burial site of Saint Peter, chief among Jesus's Apostles and also the first Bishop of Rome. Saint Peter's tomb is supposedly directly below the high altar of the Basilica. For this reason, many Popes have been interred at St. Peter's since the Early Christian period, and there has been a church on this site since the time of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great. Construction of the present basilica, which would replace Old St. Peter's Basilica


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: from the 4th century AD, began on 18 April 1506 and was completed on 18 November 1626. St. Peter's is famous as a place of pilgrimage and for its liturgical functions. The Pope presides at a number of liturgies throughout the year, drawing audiences of 15,000 to over 80,000 people, either within the Basilica or the adjoining St. Peter's Square. St. Peter's has many historical associations, with the Early Christian Church, the Papacy, the Protestant Reformation and Catholic Counter-reformation and numerous artists, especially Michelangelo. As a work of architecture, it is regarded as the greatest building of its age. St.


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: Peter's is one of the four churches in the world that hold the rank of Major Basilica, all four of which are in Rome. Contrary to popular misconception, it is not a cathedral because it is not the seat of a bishop; the "Cathedra" of the Pope as Bishop of Rome is in the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran. St. Peter's is a church built in the Renaissance style located in the Vatican City west of the River Tiber and near the Janiculum Hill and Hadrian's Mausoleum. Its central dome dominates the skyline of Rome. The basilica is approached via


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: St. Peter's Square, a forecourt in two sections, both surrounded by tall colonnades. The first space is oval and the second trapezoid. The façade of the basilica, with a giant order of columns, stretches across the end of the square and is approached by steps on which stand two statues of the 1st-century apostles to Rome, Saints Peter and Paul. The basilica is cruciform in shape, with an elongated nave in the Latin cross form but the early designs were for a centrally planned structure and this is still in evidence in the architecture. The central space is dominated both


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: externally and internally by one of the largest domes in the world. The entrance is through a narthex, or entrance hall, which stretches across the building. One of the decorated bronze doors leading from the narthex is the Holy Door, only opened during jubilees. The interior is of vast dimensions when compared with other churches. One author wrote: "Only gradually does it dawn upon us – as we watch people draw near to this or that monument, strangely they appear to shrink; they are, of course, dwarfed by the scale of everything in the building. This in its turn overwhelms


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: us." The nave which leads to the central dome is in three bays, with piers supporting a barrel-vault, the highest of any church. The nave is framed by wide aisles which have a number of chapels off them. There are also chapels surrounding the dome. Moving around the basilica in a clockwise direction they are: The Baptistery, the Chapel of the Presentation of the Virgin, the larger Choir Chapel, the Clementine Chapel with the altar of Saint Gregory, the Sacristy Entrance, the left transept with altars to the Crucifixion of Saint Peter, Saint Joseph and Saint Thomas, the altar of


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: the Sacred Heart, the Chapel of the Madonna of Colonna, the altar of Saint Peter and the Paralytic, the apse with the Chair of Saint Peter, the altar of Saint Peter raising Tabitha, the altar of the Archangel Michael, the altar of the Navicella, the right transept with altars of Saint Erasmus, Saints Processo and Martiniano, and Saint Wenceslas, the altar of Saint Basil, the Gregorian Chapel with the altar of the Madonna of Succour, the larger Chapel of the Holy Sacrament, the Chapel of Saint Sebastian and the Chapel of the Pietà. At the heart of the basilica, beneath


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: the high altar, is the "Confessio" or "Chapel of the Confession", in reference to the confession of faith by St. Peter, which led to his martyrdom. Two curving marble staircases lead to this underground chapel at the level of the Constantinian church and immediately above the purported burial place of Saint Peter. The entire interior of St. Peter's is lavishly decorated with marble, reliefs, architectural sculpture and gilding. The basilica contains a large number of tombs of popes and other notable people, many of which are considered outstanding artworks. There are also a number of sculptures in niches and chapels,


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: including Michelangelo's "Pietà". The central feature is a baldachin, or canopy over the Papal Altar, designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The sanctuary culminates in a sculptural ensemble, also by Bernini, and containing the symbolic "Chair of Saint Peter". One observer wrote: "St Peter's Basilica is the reason why Rome is still the center of the civilized world. For religious, historical, and architectural reasons it by itself justifies a journey to Rome, and its interior offers a palimpsest of artistic styles at their best ..." The American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson described St. Peter's as "an ornament of the earth ...


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: the sublime of the beautiful." St. Peter's Basilica is one of the Papal Basilicas (previously styled "patriarchal basilicas") and one of the four Major Basilicas of Rome, the other Major Basilicas (all of which are also Papal Basilicas) being the Basilicas of St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, and St. Paul outside the Walls. The rank of major basilica confers on St. Peter's Basilica precedence before all minor basilicas worldwide. However, unlike all the other Papal Major Basilicas, it is wholly within the territory, and thus the sovereign jurisdiction, of the Vatican City State, and not that of Italy. It


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: is the most prominent building in the Vatican City. Its dome is a dominant feature of the skyline of Rome. Probably the largest church in Christendom, it covers an area of . One of the holiest sites of Christianity and Catholic Tradition, it is traditionally the burial site of its titular, St. Peter, who was the head of the twelve Apostles of Jesus and, according to tradition, the first Bishop of Antioch and later the first Bishop of Rome, rendering him the first Pope. Although the New Testament does not mention St. Peter's martyrdom in Rome, tradition, based on the


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: writings of the Fathers of the Church, holds that his tomb is below the baldachin and altar of the Basilica in the "Confession". For this reason, many Popes have, from the early years of the Church, been buried near Pope St. Peter in the necropolis beneath the Basilica. Construction of the current basilica, over the old Constantinian basilica, began on 18 April 1506 and finished in 1615. At length, on 18 November 1626 Pope Urban VIII solemnly dedicated the Basilica. St. Peter's Basilica is neither the Pope's official seat nor first in rank among the Major Basilicas of Rome. This


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: honour is held by the Pope's cathedral, the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran which is the mother church of all churches in communion with the Catholic Church. However, St. Peter's is certainly the Pope's principal church in terms of use because most Papal liturgies and ceremonies take place there due to its size, proximity to the Papal residence, and location within the Vatican City proper. The "Chair of Saint Peter", or cathedra, an ancient chair sometimes presumed to have been used by St. Peter himself, but which was a gift from Charles the Bald and used by many popes, symbolises


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: the continuing line of apostolic succession from St. Peter to the reigning Pope. It occupies an elevated position in the apse of the Basilica, supported symbolically by the Doctors of the Church and enlightened symbolically by the Holy Spirit. As one of the constituent structures of the historically and architecturally significant Vatican City, St. Peter's Basilica was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984 under criteria (i), (ii), (iv), and (vi). With an exterior area of , an interior area of , St. Peter's Basilica is the largest Christian church building in the world by the two latter


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: metrics and the second largest by the first . The top of its dome, at , also places it as the second tallest building in Rome . The dome's soaring height placed it among the tallest buildings of the Old World, and it continues to hold the title of tallest dome in the world. Though the largest dome in the world by diameter at the time of its completion, it no longer holds this distinction. After the crucifixion of Jesus, it is recorded in the Biblical book of the Acts of the Apostles that one of his twelve disciples, Simon


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: known as Saint Peter, a fisherman from Galilee, took a leadership position among Jesus' followers and was of great importance in the founding of the Christian Church. The name Peter is "Petrus" in Latin and "Petros" in Greek, deriving from ""petra"" which means "stone" or "rock" in Greek, and is the literal translation of the Aramaic "Kepa", the name given to Simon by Jesus. (, and see ) Catholic tradition holds that Peter, after a ministry of thirty-four years, traveled to Rome and met his martyrdom there along with Paul on 13 October, 64 AD during the reign of the


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: Roman Emperor Nero. His execution was one of the many martyrdoms of Christians following the Great Fire of Rome. According to Origen, Peter was crucified head downwards, by his own request because he considered himself unworthy to die in the same manner as Jesus. The crucifixion took place near an ancient Egyptian obelisk in the Circus of Nero. The obelisk now stands in St. Peter's Square and is revered as a "witness" to Peter's death. It is one of several ancient Obelisks of Rome. According to tradition, Peter's remains were buried just outside the Circus, on the Mons Vaticanus across


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: the Via Cornelia from the Circus, less than from his place of death. The Via Cornelia was a road which ran east-to-west along the north wall of the Circus on land now covered by the southern portions of the Basilica and St. Peter's Square. A shrine was built on this site some years later. Almost three hundred years later, Old St. Peter's Basilica was constructed over this site. The area now covered by the Vatican City had been a cemetery for some years before the Circus of Nero was built. It was a burial ground for the numerous executions in


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: the Circus and contained many Christian burials, because for many years after the burial of Saint Peter many Christians chose to be buried near Peter. In 1939, in the reign of Pope Pius XII, 10 years of archaeological research began, under the crypt of the basilica, an area inaccessible since the 9th century. The excavations revealed the remains of shrines of different periods at different levels, from Clement VIII (1594) to Callixtus II (1123) and Gregory I (590–604), built over an aedicula containing fragments of bones that were folded in a tissue with gold decorations, tinted with the precious murex


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: purple. Although it could not be determined with certainty that the bones were those of Peter, the rare vestments suggested a burial of great importance. On 23 December 1950, in his pre-Christmas radio broadcast to the world, Pope Pius XII announced the discovery of Saint Peter's tomb. Old St. Peter's Basilica was the 4th-century church begun by the Emperor Constantine the Great between 319 and 333 AD. It was of typical basilical form, a wide nave and two aisles on each side and an apsidal end, with the addition of a transept or bema, giving the building the shape of


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: a tau cross. It was over long, and the entrance was preceded by a large colonnaded atrium. This church had been built over the small shrine believed to mark the burial place of St. Peter. It contained a very large number of burials and memorials, including those of most of the popes from St. Peter to the 15th century. Like all of the earliest churches in Rome, both this church and its successor had the entrance to the east and the apse at the west end of the building. Since the construction of the current basilica, the name "Old St.


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: Peter's Basilica" has been used for its predecessor to distinguish the two buildings. By the end of the 15th century, having been neglected during the period of the Avignon Papacy, the old basilica had fallen into disrepair. It appears that the first pope to consider rebuilding, or at least making radical changes was Pope Nicholas V (1447–55). He commissioned work on the old building from Leone Battista Alberti and Bernardo Rossellino and also had Rossellino design a plan for an entirely new basilica, or an extreme modification of the old. His reign was frustrated by political problems and when he


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: died, little had been achieved. He had, however, ordered the demolition of the Colosseum and by the time of his death, 2,522 cartloads of stone had been transported for use in the new building. The foundations were completed for a new transept and choir to form a domed Latin cross with the preserved nave and side aisles of the old basilica. Some walls for the choir had also been built. Pope Julius II planned far more for St Peter's than Nicholas V's program of repair or modification. Julius was at that time planning his own tomb, which was to be


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: designed and adorned with sculpture by Michelangelo and placed within St Peter's. In 1505 Julius made a decision to demolish the ancient basilica and replace it with a monumental structure to house his enormous tomb and "aggrandize himself in the popular imagination". A competition was held, and a number of the designs have survived at the Uffizi Gallery. A succession of popes and architects followed in the next 120 years, their combined efforts resulting in the present building. The scheme begun by Julius II continued through the reigns of Leo X (1513–1521), Hadrian VI (1522–1523). Clement VII (1523–1534), Paul III


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: (1534–1549), Julius III (1550–1555), Marcellus II (1555), Paul IV (1555–1559), Pius IV (1559–1565), Pius V (saint) (1565–1572), Gregory XIII (1572–1585), Sixtus V (1585–1590), Urban VII (1590), Gregory XIV (1590–1591), Innocent IX (1591), Clement VIII (1592–1605), Leo XI (1605), Paul V (1605–1621), Gregory XV (1621–1623), Urban VIII (1623–1644) and Innocent X (1644–1655). One method employed to finance the building of St. Peter's Basilica was the granting of indulgences in return for contributions. A major promoter of this method of fund-raising was Albrecht, Archbishop of Mainz and Magdeburg, who had to clear debts owed to the Roman Curia by contributing to the


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: rebuilding program. To facilitate this, he appointed the German Dominican preacher Johann Tetzel, whose salesmanship provoked a scandal. A German Augustinian priest, Martin Luther, wrote to Archbishop Albrecht arguing against this "selling of indulgences". He also included his "Disputation of Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences", which came to be known as "The 95 Theses". This became a factor in starting the Reformation, the birth of Protestantism. Pope Julius' scheme for the grandest building in Christendom was the subject of a competition for which a number of entries remain intact in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence. It was


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: the design of Donato Bramante that was selected, and for which the foundation stone was laid in 1506. This plan was in the form of an enormous Greek Cross with a dome inspired by that of the huge circular Roman temple, the Pantheon. The main difference between Bramante's design and that of the Pantheon is that where the dome of the Pantheon is supported by a continuous wall, that of the new basilica was to be supported only on four large piers. This feature was maintained in the ultimate design. Bramante's dome was to be surmounted by a lantern with


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: its own small dome but otherwise very similar in form to the Early Renaissance lantern of Florence Cathedral designed for Brunelleschi's dome by Michelozzo. Bramante had envisioned that the central dome would be surrounded by four lower domes at the diagonal axes. The equal chancel, nave and transept arms were each to be of two bays ending in an apse. At each corner of the building was to stand a tower, so that the overall plan was square, with the apses projecting at the cardinal points. Each apse had two large radial buttresses, which squared off its semi-circular shape. When


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: Pope Julius died in 1513, Bramante was replaced with Giuliano da Sangallo, Fra Giocondo and Raphael. Sangallo and Fra Giocondo both died in 1515, Bramante himself having died the previous year. The main change in Raphael's plan is the nave of five bays, with a row of complex apsidal chapels off the aisles on either side. Raphael's plan for the chancel and transepts made the squareness of the exterior walls more definite by reducing the size of the towers, and the semi-circular apses more clearly defined by encircling each with an ambulatory. In 1520 Raphael also died, aged 37, and


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: his successor Baldassare Peruzzi maintained changes that Raphael had proposed to the internal arrangement of the three main apses, but otherwise reverted to the Greek Cross plan and other features of Bramante. This plan did not go ahead because of various difficulties of both Church and state. In 1527 Rome was sacked and plundered by Emperor Charles V. Peruzzi died in 1536 without his plan being realized. At this point Antonio da Sangallo the Younger submitted a plan which combines features of Peruzzi, Raphael and Bramante in its design and extends the building into a short nave with a wide


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: façade and portico of dynamic projection. His proposal for the dome was much more elaborate of both structure and decoration than that of Bramante and included ribs on the exterior. Like Bramante, Sangallo proposed that the dome be surmounted by a lantern which he redesigned to a larger and much more elaborate form. Sangallo's main practical contribution was to strengthen Bramante's piers which had begun to crack. On 1 January 1547 in the reign of Pope Paul III, Michelangelo, then in his seventies, succeeded Sangallo the Younger as "Capomaestro", the superintendent of the building program at St Peter's. He is


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: to be regarded as the principal designer of a large part of the building as it stands today, and as bringing the construction to a point where it could be carried through. He did not take on the job with pleasure; it was forced upon him by Pope Paul, frustrated at the death of his chosen candidate, Giulio Romano and the refusal of Jacopo Sansovino to leave Venice. Michelangelo wrote "I undertake this only for the love of God and in honour of the Apostle." He insisted that he should be given a free hand to achieve the ultimate aim


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: by whatever means he saw fit. Michelangelo took over a building site at which four piers, enormous beyond any constructed since ancient Roman times, were rising behind the remaining nave of the old basilica. He also inherited the numerous schemes designed and redesigned by some of the greatest architectural and engineering minds of the 16th century. There were certain common elements in these schemes. They all called for a dome to equal that engineered by Brunelleschi a century earlier and which has since dominated the skyline of Renaissance Florence, and they all called for a strongly symmetrical plan of either


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: Greek Cross form, like the iconic St. Mark's Basilica in Venice, or of a Latin Cross with the transepts of identical form to the chancel, as at Florence Cathedral. Even though the work had progressed only a little in 40 years, Michelangelo did not simply dismiss the ideas of the previous architects. He drew on them in developing a grand vision. Above all, Michelangelo recognized the essential quality of Bramante's original design. He reverted to the Greek Cross and, as Helen Gardner expresses it: "Without destroying the centralising features of Bramante's plan, Michelangelo, with a few strokes of the pen


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: converted its snowflake complexity into massive, cohesive unity." As it stands today, St. Peter's has been extended with a nave by Carlo Maderno. It is the chancel end (the ecclesiastical "Eastern end") with its huge centrally placed dome that is the work of Michelangelo. Because of its location within the Vatican State and because the projection of the nave screens the dome from sight when the building is approached from the square in front of it, the work of Michelangelo is best appreciated from a distance. What becomes apparent is that the architect has greatly reduced the clearly defined geometric


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: forms of Bramante's plan of a square with square projections, and also of Raphael's plan of a square with semi-circular projections. Michelangelo has blurred the definition of the geometry by making the external masonry of massive proportions and filling in every corner with a small vestry or stairwell. The effect created is of a continuous wall-surface that is folded or fractured at different angles, but lacks the right-angles which usually define change of direction at the corners of a building. This exterior is surrounded by a giant order of Corinthian pilasters all set at slightly different angles to each other,


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: in keeping with the ever-changing angles of the wall's surface. Above them the huge cornice ripples in a continuous band, giving the appearance of keeping the whole building in a state of compression. The dome of St. Peter's rises to a total height of from the floor of the basilica to the top of the external cross. It is the tallest dome in the world. Its internal diameter is , slightly smaller than two of the three other huge domes that preceded it, those of the Pantheon of Ancient Rome, , and Florence Cathedral of the Early Renaissance, . It


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: has a greater diameter by approximately than Constantinople's Hagia Sophia church, completed in 537. It was to the domes of the Pantheon and Florence duomo that the architects of St. Peter's looked for solutions as to how to go about building what was conceived, from the outset, as the greatest dome of Christendom. The dome of the Pantheon stands on a circular wall with no entrances or windows except a single door. The whole building is as high as it is wide. Its dome is constructed in a single shell of concrete, made light by the inclusion of a large


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: amount of the volcanic stones tuff and pumice. The inner surface of the dome is deeply coffered which has the effect of creating both vertical and horizontal ribs, while lightening the overall load. At the summit is an ocular opening across which provides light to the interior. Bramante's plan for the dome of St. Peter's (1506) follows that of the Pantheon very closely, and like that of the Pantheon, was designed to be constructed in Tufa Concrete for which he had rediscovered a formula. With the exception of the lantern that surmounts it, the profile is very similar, except that


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: in this case the supporting wall becomes a drum raised high above ground level on four massive piers. The solid wall, as used at the Pantheon, is lightened at St. Peter's by Bramante piercing it with windows and encircling it with a peristyle. In the case of Florence Cathedral, the desired visual appearance of the pointed dome existed for many years before Brunelleschi made its construction feasible. Its double-shell construction of bricks locked together in herringbone pattern (re-introduced from Byzantine architecture), and the gentle upward slope of its eight stone ribs made it possible for the construction to take place


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: without the massive wooden formwork necessary to construct hemispherical arches. While its appearance, with the exception of the details of the lantern, is entirely Gothic, its engineering was highly innovative, and the product of a mind that had studied the huge vaults and remaining dome of Ancient Rome. Sangallo's plan (1513), of which a large wooden model still exists, looks to both these predecessors. He realised the value of both the coffering at the Pantheon and the outer stone ribs at Florence Cathedral. He strengthened and extended the peristyle of Bramante into a series of arched and ordered openings around


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: the base, with a second such arcade set back in a tier above the first. In his hands, the rather delicate form of the lantern, based closely on that in Florence, became a massive structure, surrounded by a projecting base, a peristyle and surmounted by a spire of conic form. According to James Lees-Milne the design was "too eclectic, too pernickety and too tasteless to have been a success". Michelangelo redesigned the dome in 1547, taking into account all that had gone before. His dome, like that of Florence, is constructed of two shells of brick, the outer one having


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: 16 stone ribs, twice the number at Florence but far fewer than in Sangallo's design. As with the designs of Bramante and Sangallo, the dome is raised from the piers on a drum. The encircling peristyle of Bramante and the arcade of Sangallo are reduced to 16 pairs of Corinthian columns, each of high which stand proud of the building, connected by an arch. Visually they appear to buttress each of the ribs, but structurally they are probably quite redundant. The reason for this is that the dome is ovoid in shape, rising steeply as does the dome of Florence


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: Cathedral, and therefore exerting less outward thrust than does a hemispherical dome, such as that of the Pantheon, which, although it is not buttressed, is countered by the downward thrust of heavy masonry which extends above the circling wall. The ovoid profile of the dome has been the subject of much speculation and scholarship over the past century. Michelangelo died in 1564, leaving the drum of the dome complete, and Bramante's piers much bulkier than originally designed, each across. Following his death, the work continued under his assistant Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola with Giorgio Vasari appointed by Pope Pius V


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: as a watchdog to make sure that Michelangelo's plans were carried out exactly. Despite Vignola's knowledge of Michelangelo's intentions, little happened in this period. In 1585 the energetic Pope Sixtus appointed Giacomo della Porta who was to be assisted by Domenico Fontana. The five-year reign of Sixtus was to see the building advance at a great rate. Michelangelo left a few drawings, including an early drawing of the dome, and some drawings of details. There were also detailed engravings published in 1569 by Stefan du Pérac who claimed that they were the master's final solution. Michelangelo, like Sangallo before him,


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: also left a large wooden model. Giacomo della Porta subsequently altered this model in several ways, in keeping with changes that he made to the design. Most of these changes were of a cosmetic nature, such as the adding of lion's masks over the swags on the drum in honour of Pope Sixtus and adding a circlet of finials around the spire at the top of the lantern, as proposed by Sangallo. The major change that was made to the model, either by della Porta, or Michelangelo himself before his death, was to raise the outer dome higher above the


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: inner one. A drawing by Michelangelo indicates that his early intentions were towards an ovoid dome, rather than a hemispherical one. In an engraving in Galasso Alghisi' treatise (1563), the dome may be represented as ovoid, but the perspective is ambiguous. Stefan du Pérac's engraving (1569) shows a hemispherical dome, but this was perhaps an inaccuracy of the engraver. The profile of the wooden model is more ovoid than that of the engravings, but less so than the finished product. It has been suggested that Michelangelo on his death bed reverted to the more pointed shape. However Lees-Milne cites Giacomo


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: della Porta as taking full responsibility for the change and as indicating to Pope Sixtus that Michelangelo was lacking in the scientific understanding of which he himself was capable. Helen Gardner suggests that Michelangelo made the change to the hemispherical dome of lower profile in order to establish a balance between the dynamic vertical elements of the encircling giant order of pilasters and a more static and reposeful dome. Gardner also comments "The sculpturing of architecture [by Michelangelo] ... here extends itself up from the ground through the attic stories and moves on into the drum and dome, the whole


title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: building being pulled together into a unity from base to summit." It is this sense of the building being sculptured, unified and "pulled together" by the encircling band of the deep cornice that led Eneide Mignacca to conclude that the ovoid profile, seen now in the end product, was an essential part of Michelangelo's first (and last) concept. The sculptor/architect has, figuratively speaking, taken all the previous designs in hand and compressed their contours as if the building were a lump of clay. The dome "must" appear to thrust upwards because of the apparent pressure created by flattening the building's