title: Cathedral content: edifices. Thus, the term "cathedral" is often applied colloquially to any large and impressive church, regardless of whether it functions as a cathedral, such as the Crystal Cathedral in California or the Arctic Cathedral in Tromsø, Norway. Although the builders of Crystal Cathedral never intended the building to be a true cathedral, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange purchased the building and the surrounding campus in February 2012 for use as a new cathedral church. The building is now under renovation and restoration for solemn dedication under the title "Christ Cathedral" in 2019. The word "cathedral" is derived from the


title: Cathedral content: French "cathédrale", from the Latin "cathedra" ("seat"), from the Greek καθέδρα "kathédra", "seat, bench", from κατά "kata" "down" and ἕδρα "hedra" "seat, base, chair." The word refers to the presence and prominence of the bishop's or archbishop's chair or throne, raised above both clergy and laity, and originally located facing the congregation from behind the High Altar. In the ancient world, the chair, on a raised dais, was the distinctive mark of a teacher or rhetor and thus symbolises the bishop's role as teacher. A raised throne within a basilican hall was also definitive for a Late Antique presiding magistrate;


title: Cathedral content: and so the "cathedra" also symbolises the bishop's role in governing his diocese. The episcopal throne embodies the principle that only a bishop makes a cathedral, and this still applies even in those churches that no longer have bishops, but retain cathedral dignity and functions in ancient churches over which bishops formerly presided. But the throne can also embody the principle that a cathedral makes a bishop; both specifically, in that the bishop is elected within the cathedral and is inaugurated by being enthroned within the cathedral by acclamation of clergy and laity; and also generally, in that the bishops'


title: Cathedral content: essential qualifications of regular prayer, higher learning and musical worship were for many centuries, primarily accessible through cathedral functions. In this there is a distinction between those church traditions, predominantly those of Eastern Orthodox Christianity but formerly also including Celtic churches in Ireland, Scotland and Wales, whose bishops came to be made in monasteries; and those church traditions whose bishops have tended predominantly to arise through the ranks of cathedral clergy. The history of cathedrals starts in the year 313, when the emperor Constantine the Great personally adopted Christianity and initiated the Peace of the Church. Indeed, in strict terminology,


title: Cathedral content: there could not have been "cathedrals" before that date, as before the 4th century there were no Christian "cathedrae"; bishops were never seated when leading congregational worship, but instead presided standing on a raised platform or "pulpitum". In the third century, the phrase "ascending the platform", "ad pulpitum venire", becomes the standard term for Christian ordination. During the siege of Dura Europos in 256, a complete Christian house church, or "domus ecclesiae" was entombed in a defensive bank, surviving when excavated, in places to wall-top height. The Dura church had been converted out of a large urban courtyard house of


title: Cathedral content: standard form, in which two rooms had been knocked together to make an assembly hall, capable of holding 60-75 standing; while a tank had been inserted in a room on the opposite side of the courtyard as a baptistery, with rich wall paintings above it. The large room was indeed found to have a raised pulptum at one end, big enough for one person in turn to read, preach and preside from; but too low to have been surmounted by a throne, and too small to have contained an altar. Otherwise the large room had no decoration or distinctive features


title: Cathedral content: at all. In 269, soon after Dura fell to the Persian army, a body of clerics assembled a charge sheet against the bishop of Antioch, Paul of Samosata, in the form of an open letter. Amongst the accusations was that Paul, who had received the civil rank of "ducenarius" due to contacts in the imperial court, had improperly erected an enclosure, or "secretum", for himself in the church of Antioch; that within this enclosure he had erected a throne from which he presided in worship; and that he had trained a female choir to sing hymns of his own devising.


title: Cathedral content: These practices were all condemned as innovations, improperly importing the symbols of his secular Roman magistracy into church ritual; while presumptuously and blasphemously asserting that the person of the bishop in eucharistic worship is seated in the place of Christ himself. Still in a hundred years, all bishops in the Mediterranean world had cathedrals, all sat on thrones within an enclosed sanctuary space, and all had established trained choirs to enhance eucharistic worship. The driving principle underlying this change was the acceptance by bishops, more or less willingly, of an imperial invitation to adopt and maintain the duties, dignity and


title: Cathedral content: insignia proper to a public magistrate. Characteristically a Roman magistrate presided from a raised throne in a large, richly decorated and aisled rectangular hall called a "basilica"; and now bishops would do the same. The earliest of these new basilican cathedrals of which substantial remains are still visible (and maybe amongst the very earliest to be built) is below the Cathedral of Aquileia on the northern tip of the Adriatic sea. Dated from a mosaic inscription between 313 and 319, the complex consisted of two parallel east-west aisled halls of similar size; with a third smaller north-south cross-hall connecting them,


title: Cathedral content: which has been interpreted as the presence hall of the "episcopium" or bishop's residence. The three halls create an open courtyard, in which was originally located a separate baptistery. Surviving from both large basilican halls are rich mosaic pavements showing (amongst other scenes) Jonah and the Whale, and a series of, mainly female, donor portraits. It appears that similar cathedrals of double-basilica and baptistry were soon afterwards erected in Milan, Trier and Pavia; but that subsequently single-basilican churches became the more common cathedral model. Constantine's declaration of imperial favour towards Christianity transformed all aspects of Christian life in the Roman


title: Cathedral content: Empire. From being a minority religion, largely confined to urban areas and restricted social groupings, and subject to official hostility and occasional persecution; Christianity acquired greatly expanded numbers of potential adherents of all classes, initially still within city areas, but eventually extending out to the "pagus", the city's rural hinterland. The consequence was a radical expansion in the buildings, funding and personnel of associated Church establishments throughout the 4th century. The first cathedrals represent this expansion in material form. The location and layout of the first cathedrals varied substantially from city to city, although most, as at Aquileia, tended to


title: Cathedral content: be sited within the city walls but away from the urban centre; but certain elements are almost always found. Basilican halls had previously been characteristic of major civic complexes and military headquarters buildings; but now became the standard structure for accommodating large Christian congregations. From now on, the term basilica denotes any substantial church building. These new basilicas were wholly different in scale from earlier Christian assembly halls, as they were also different in form from any Roman non-Christian temple or religious structure. The halls were longitudinal, aisled, and flooded with light from large clerestory windows. Floors and walls were


title: Cathedral content: richly decorated with mosaic and inlay – usually in abstract or floral patterns. The two original double basilicas at Aquileia had both been about 37m by 17m in size, but within 30 years one hall was quadrupled to 73m by 31m. This expanded basilica now demonstrated three additional features that became characteristic of early cathedrals; an enclosure at the eastern end of the church surrounding the altar; a "synthronos" east of the altar facing west, and consisting of a raised dais with a centrally place bishop's throne and benches either side for the clergy of his "familia"; and a paritioned


title: Cathedral content: off "narthex" at the western end into which "catechumens" would withdraw during the central act of the Eucharistic liturgy. The baptistery in the Dura church was about 1m square and 1m deep; baptismal candidates could stand in it, but could not be immersed. In the new cathedrals, as had been the case before, only bishops baptised; and ceremonies were held not more than twice a year to allow for suitable periods of instruction. So baptisteries needed to be greatly increased in size, with associated accommodation to ensure privacy in undressing, anointing and redressing; and the baptismal tank, commonly octagonal, was


title: Cathedral content: now fully deep enough for total immersion, and wide enough to accommodate both the candidate and an assisting male or female deacon. Baptisteries commonly adopted centralised plan forms derived from funerary chapels; and are invariably separate from the congregational basilica. No one lived in the house church at Dura; such residential facilities as the latrine and kitchen were removed in the conversion. But cathedral complexes always included an episcopal residence. Prominent amongst the charges that had been directed against Paul of Samosata had been his alleged over-familiarity with pious women. As was common, Paul had been married when elected bishop;


title: Cathedral content: and again, as was universally expected for a bishop, he had then ceased sexual contact with his wife and no longer cohabited with her. But his accusers charged that, by continuing to associate with other women (even without any indication of actual impropriety) he was creating an unacceptable potential for scandal. To avoid similar such occasions arising, it was necessary for the new cathedrals to create male-only living quarters for the bishop and his entire establishment; and since, in churches in the West, all presbyters and deacons were also expected to live apart from their wives after ordination, these living


title: Cathedral content: quarters, the "episcopium", were necessarily substantial in extent. In addition to eating and sleeping quarters for ordained boys and men, the episcopium also commonly provided private dining halls for the hospitality expected of the bishop's enhanced social status, a private oratory or chapel for the bishop, and often a bath house. Just as the episcopal residence was integral within the complex of cathedral buildings, so too there was no distinction between episcopal, diocesan and cathedral property and endowments. In principle, all diocesan income was paid into a common fund, and divided into four fixed shares for each main area of


title: Cathedral content: expenditure; the Bishop himself; the cathedral clergy; the fabric and lighting of cathedral and city churches; and charitable donations. Many diocese already held substantial endowments, but income increased enormously with the Peace of the Church; partly due to imperial subsidies in kind, but mainly from private bequests and regular private benefactions (often called 'first fruits'); although at this date, tithe was never paid to the church. In addition, many individual landowners supported private chapels and oratories on their own property; and endowed independent charitable institutions, and eventually monasteries and nunneries too. Augustine of Hippo estimated his personal income as being


title: Cathedral content: 20 times that of his father, a minor civil servant; and Augustine was by no means the wealthiest bishop in North Africa. But in accepting from Constantine the status of civil magistrates, bishops were now also committed to substantial expenditure to maintain their new style and status; and also to fulfil the associated duties, for instance in employing qualified legal assessors to support them when sitting as civil judges. All ordained clerics attached to the cathedral were paid through stipends from the general fund. This applied both to the clergy working directly within the cathedral itself, and also to the


title: Cathedral content: clergy, called "canonici" attached to churches founded by the bishop within the city. From the end of the 4th century, as the mission of the church extended more into rural areas, 'baptistery churches' were founded in more distant villages, so that rural populations could receive the bishop's baptism locally; and the clergy in these churches also counted as "canonici" and drew a regular stipend. Plentiful donor inscriptions show that most new church building programmes; mosaics, roofs, furnishings, were financed by private donations. The costs of maintenance and lighting, however, fell on the general fund. This also applied to the churches,


title: Cathedral content: known as "tituli", served directly by the bishop's clergy, generally also including any surviving house churches from the period before the Peace of the Church and the rural baptistery churches; but not to the chapels, called "parochiae", established by rural landowners for the convenience of their tenants. The bishop, in respect of his civil status, was expected to contribute to public works of general benefit; aqueducts, bridges, watercourses. In all cities, bishops dedicated substantial sums to the support of widows, orphans and the poor. Such donations had been a strong feature of the church in earlier centuries, but tended then


title: Cathedral content: to be specifically directed to the Christian needy. Now the charitable compass became general. Bishops were especially expected to take responsibility for raising ransom funds, where local persons had fallen captive. In addition, it was expected that each diocese would support a "xenodochium", a hostel for the homeless and strangers. Just as the status of the bishop was transfomed at the Peace of the Church; so too was that of the male clergy. With the bishop now resident in the "episcopium" the other male clergy came to be recognised as his formal "familia", in mark of which male clergy now


title: Cathedral content: received the tonsure by shaving of their heads; this being originally a Roman badge of adoption. The early church had recognised the orders of bishop, presbyter (priest) and deacon, but a range of minor orders had since grown up in addition; and all were tonsured. These orders now tended to be understood as clerical 'ranks', equivalent to those in the military, such that the male clergy are now often referred to as a "clerical militia". And as in the Roman military or civil service, promotion was expected to follow the principle of "cursus honorum", rising through the ranks, with the


title: Cathedral content: expectation that ideally, a minimum period would be served in each. The female orders of virgin, widow and (female) deacon remained explicitly outside the bishop's familia; and so they did not receive the tonsure and nor did they progress through the "cursus honorum". But all orders of cathedral clergy, male and female, increased dramatically in numbers. Around 540 Justinian ordered that the clerical payroll of Hagia Sophia should be strictly limited to 60 presbyters, 100 male deacons, 90 subdeacons, 110 lectors, 25 singers, 100 doorkeepers and 40 female deacons; 525 in all. Bishops were at the head of the local


title: Cathedral content: church; but not explicitly within the "cursus honorum", as appointment was by election from the local clergy and people. Not surprisingly, the clergy tended to favour appointment of bishops from within the ranks of cathedral presbyters; but local lay choice often tended rather to outsiders, either a spectacular holy man, hermit or ascetic; or otherwise a senior civil servant or diplomat, who might have favourable contacts to exploit at court. But most bishops came from the "curial" class, that is those holding the hereditary rank of decurion with the obligation to serve on the city council, as only persons of


title: Cathedral content: this class and above would be likely to have a full rhetorical education in Greek and Latin grammar; without which it was not possible for a boy raised with a knowledge only of Late Antique vernacular speech to express himself in approved classical linguistic forms. It was expected that the normal president at both the Eucharist and Baptism would be the bishop; who would celebrate in the cathedral and in titular churches in turn. But, in practice, the bishop needed deputies for eucharistic worship and also for the Divine Office of daily prayer, and this duty fell to the presbyters.


title: Cathedral content: The bishop selected a senior presbyter as archpriest who acted as his official deputy in all ritual matters and as head of the familia. The archpriest was also responsible for the cathedral school. After the 5th century, there were no longer state-supported secular teachers of rhetoric and grammar in the West (other than in parts of Italy) and so the church would have to educate its own. Just as the presbyters deputised for the bishop in ritual matters, so the deacons deputised in administrative and financial matters, especially in the raising and delivering of charity. At the head of the


title: Cathedral content: diaconate was the archdeacon; the bishop's main deputy in managerial affairs. Originally inferior in rank to the archpriest, the archdeacon by the sixth century had established clear pre-eminence. Subdeacons assisted the deacons, but unlike them were allowed to marry after ordination; consequently many clerics stopped the cursus honorum at this point, and it was not unusual for a subdeacon to be elected bishop; and even Pope. In practice, the first three of these orders tended to be given together, and were typically applied to boys as young as seven. These boy lectors were too young for the grammar school, but


title: Cathedral content: were valued as choristers, and so were included in the "Schola Cantorum" or choir school. Originally under the responsibility of the deacons, the organisation of choirs was reformed by Pope Gregory the Great, who introduced the office of "primicerius" or head cantor for this purpose. This proved a vital reform; as without any comprehensive system of musical notation, the only way that sacred music could be maintained and passed on was through professional choirs of sound musical training undertaking cathedral worship – and such skills are not guaranteed to be present in high-ranking ecclesiastics. These orders had been of considerable


title: Cathedral content: importance in earlier centuries; but tended to be sidelined in cathedrals from the 4th century onwards. So long as adult baptism continued as a regular occurrence, female deacons would continue to be needed for that service; but otherwise the main factor maintaining these orders was a knock-on effect from the rule of continence applied to bishops, presbyters and deacons. When a man became ordained, and moved into the episcopium with the rest of the bishop's "familia"; then there would usually also be a requirement for support to their mothers, wives and daughters; and the orders of widows and virgins respectively


title: Cathedral content: continued largely for this purpose. Notwithstanding wide differences over time in institutional structures and wider historical contexts; the key functions established for the first cathedrals have tended to remain as distinctive cathedral functions down the centuries; a regular cycle of choral prayer; providing a forum for civic leadership; a commitment to higher learning; and the promotion and dissemination of music. The history of the body of clergy attached to the cathedral church is obscure, and in each case local considerations affected its development, however the main features were more or less common to all. Originally the bishop and cathedral clergy


title: Cathedral content: formed a kind of religious community, which, while not in the true sense a monastery, was nevertheless often called a "monasterium", the word not having the restricted meaning which it afterwards acquired. In this lies the reason for the apparent anomaly that churches like York Minster and Lincoln Cathedral, which never had any monks attached to them, have inherited the name of minster or monastery. In these early communities the clergy often lived apart in their own dwellings, and were not infrequently married. In the 8th century Chrodegang, Bishop of Metz (743-766), compiled a code of rules for the clergy


title: Cathedral content: of the cathedral churches, which, though widely accepted in Germany and other parts of the continent, gained little acceptance in England. According to Chrodegang's rule, the cathedral clergy were to live under a common roof, occupy a common dormitory and submit to the authority of a special officer. The rule of Chrodegang was, in fact, a modification of the Benedictine rule. Gisa, a native of Lorraine, who was bishop of Wells from 1061 to 1088, introduced it into England, and imposed its observance on the clergy of his cathedral church, but it was not followed for long there, or elsewhere


title: Cathedral content: in England. During the 10th and 11th centuries, the cathedral clergy became more definitely organised and were divided into two classes. One was that of a monastic establishment of some recognised order of monks, often the Benedictines, while the other class was that of a college of clergy, bound by no vows except those of their ordination, but governed by a code of statutes or canons: hence the name of "canon". In this way arose the distinction between the monastic and secular cathedral churches. Outside Great Britain, monastic cathedrals are known only at Monreale in Sicily and Downpatrick in Ireland.


title: Cathedral content: In the case of monastic cathedral churches, the internal government was that of the religious order to which the chapter belonged and all the members kept perpetual residence. The alternative of this was the cathedral ruled by a secular chapter; the dignities of provost, dean, precentor, chancellor, treasurer, etc., came into being for the regulation and good order of the church and its services, while the non-residence of the canons, rather than their perpetual residence, became the rule, and led to their duties being performed by a body of "vicars", who officiated for them at the services of the church.


title: Cathedral content: Prior to the Reformation all cathedrals of Western Europe were of the Roman Catholic Church. In England, much of the structure of the monastic and cathedral system was reconstituted during the English Reformation. Although the cathedrals were retained by the now independent and established Church of England, the monastic cathedral chapters were dissolved by King Henry VIII and, with the exceptions of Bath and Coventry, were refounded by him as chapters of canons with a dean as the head and other clergy as minor canons. In Germany and other parts of Europe, with the spread of the Lutheran Church, some


title: Cathedral content: ancient churches, like Nidaros Cathedral, Norway, and Lübeck Cathedral, Germany, became the seats of Protestant bishops, as in England. Many new churches were built which serve the regional administrative function of a cathedral. However, not all churches that function as the seat of a bishop are known as "cathedral", the custom varying from place to place, according to local tradition. Some are simply designated "church", as occurs at Budolfi Church, the Lutheran cathedral of Aalborg in Denmark. In most of Europe, the earliest head of a secular church seems to have been the provost ("praepositus", "probst", etc.), who was charged


title: Cathedral content: not only with the internal regulation of the church and oversight of the members of the chapter and control of the services, but was also the steward or seneschal of the lands and possessions of the church. The latter often mainly engaged his attention, to the neglect of his domestic and ecclesiastical duties, and complaints were soon raised that the provost was too much mixed in worldly affairs, and was too frequently absent from his spiritual duties. This led, in many cases, to the institution of a new officer called the "dean", who had charge of that portion of the


title: Cathedral content: provost's duties which related to the internal discipline of the chapter and the services of the church. In some cases, the office of provost was abolished, but in others it was continued: the provost, who was occasionally an archdeacon as well, remaining head of the chapter. This arrangement was most commonly followed in Germany. In England the provost was almost unknown. Bishop Gisa introduced a provost as head of the chapter of Wells Cathedral, but the office was afterwards subordinated to the other dignities and the provost became simply the steward of certain of the prebendal lands. The provost of


title: Cathedral content: the collegiate church of Beverley Minster was the most notable instance of such an officer in England, but at Beverley he was an external officer with authority in the government of the church, no stall in the choir and no vote in chapter. In Germany and Scandinavia, and in a few of the cathedral churches in the south of France, the provost was the ordinary head of the cathedral chapter, but the office was not common elsewhere. As regards France, of 136 cathedral churches existing at the Revolution, 38 only, and those either on the borders of Germany or in


title: Cathedral content: the extreme south, had a provost as the head of the chapter. In others the provost existed as a subordinate officer. There were two provosts at Autun, and Lyon and Chartres had four each, all as subordinate officers. The normal constitution of the chapter of a secular cathedral church comprised four dignitaries (there might be more), in addition to the canons. These are the dean, the precentor, the chancellor and the treasurer. These four dignitaries, occupying the four corner stalls in the choir, are called in many of the statutes the "quatuor majores personae" of the church. The role of


title: Cathedral content: dean (from "decanus") seems to have derived its designation from the Benedictine "dean" who had ten monks under his charge. The role of dean came into existence to supply the place of the provost in the internal management of the church and chapter. In England every secular cathedral church was headed by a dean who was originally elected by the chapter and confirmed in office by the bishop. The dean is president of the chapter, and within the cathedral has charge of the performance of the services, taking specified portions of them by statute on the principal festivals. The dean


title: Cathedral content: sits in the chief stall in the choir, which is usually at the west end of the south side. Next to the dean (as a rule) is the precentor ("primicerius", "cantor", etc.), whose special duty is that of regulating the musical portion of the services. The precentor presides in the dean's absence, and occupies the corresponding stall on the north side, although there are exceptions to this rule, where, as at St Paul's, the archdeacon of the cathedral city ranks second and occupies what is usually the precentor's stall. The third dignitary is the chancellor ("scholasticus", "écoldtre", "capiscol", "magistral", etc.),


title: Cathedral content: who must not be confounded with the chancellor of the diocese. The chancellor of the cathedral church is charged with the oversight of its schools, ought to read divinity lectures, and superintend the lections in the choir and correct slovenly readers. The chancellor is often the secretary and librarian of the chapter. In the absence of the dean and precentor, the chancellor is president of the chapter, and within the cathedral is usually assigned the easternmost stall, on the dean's side of the choir. The fourth dignitary is the treasurer ("custo", "sacrisla", "cheficier") who is guardian of the fabric, and


title: Cathedral content: of all the furniture and ornaments of the church, and whose duty was to provide bread and wine for the Eucharist, and candles and incense. The treasurer also regulated such matters as the ringing of the bells. The treasurer's stall is opposite to that of the chancellor. In many cathedral churches are additional dignitaries, as the praelector, subdean, vice-chancellor, succentor-canonicorum, and others, whose roles came into existence to supply the places of the other absent dignitaries, for non-residence was the fatal blot of the secular churches, and in this they contrasted very badly with the monastic churches, where all the


title: Cathedral content: members were in continuous residence. Besides the dignitaries there were the ordinary canons, each of whom, as a rule, held a separate prebend or endowment, besides receiving his share of the common funds of the church. For the most part the canons also speedily became non-resident, and this led to the distinction of residentiary and non-residentiary canons, till in most churches the number of resident canons became definitely limited in number, and the non-residentiary canons, who no longer shared in the common funds, became generally known as prebendaries only, although by their non-residence they did not forfeit their position as


title: Cathedral content: canons, and retained their votes in chapter like the others. This system of non-residence led also to the institution of vicars choral, each canon having his own vicar, who sat in his stall in his absence, and when the canon was present, in the stall immediately below, on the second form. The vicars had no place or vote in chapter, and, though irremovable except for offences, were the servants of their absent canons whose stalls they occupied, and whose duties they performed. Outside Britain they were often called demi-prebendaries. As time went on the vicars were themselves often incorporated as


title: Cathedral content: a kind of lesser chapter, or college, under the supervision of the dean and chapter. There was no distinction between the monastic cathedral chapters and those of the secular canons, in their relation to the bishop or diocese. In both cases the chapter was the bishop's consilium which he was bound to consult on all important matters and without doing so he could not act. Thus, a judicial decision of a bishop needed the confirmation of the chapter before it could be enforced. He could not change the service books, or "use" of the church or diocese, without capitular consent,


title: Cathedral content: and there are episcopal acts, such as the appointment of a diocesan chancellor, or vicar general, which still need confirmation by the chapter, but the older theory of the chapter as the bishop's council in ruling the diocese has become a thing of the past, in Europe. In its corporate capacity the chapter takes charge sede vacante of a diocese. In England, however (except as regards Salisbury and Durham), this custom has never obtained, the two archbishops having, from time immemorial, taken charge of the vacant dioceses in their respective provinces. When, however, either of the sees of Canterbury or


title: Cathedral content: York is vacant the chapters of those churches take charge, not only of the diocese, but of the province as well, and incidentally, therefore, of any of the dioceses of the province which may be vacant at the same time. The role of the cathedral is chiefly to serve God in the community, through its hierarchical and organisational position in the church structure. The building itself, by its physical presence, symbolises both the glory of God and of the church. A cathedral, its bishop and dignitaries have traditional functions which are mostly religious in nature, but may also be closely


title: Cathedral content: associated with the civil and communal life of the city and region. The cathedral is frequently the most imposing building, and one of the most ancient buildings in its town. The great size and splendor of the cathedral may be out of all proportion to the town itself. The money and talents expended on the building are seen as honoring God, and may also demonstrate both the devotion and the status of the patrons. Cathedrals are very often oriented east/west, so that the worshipers look towards the rising sun, symbolizing the Risen Christ. The architectural form of the building most


title: Cathedral content: frequently has the ground plan of a cross. This form is both functional and symbolic, its symbolism referring to the cross on which Jesus was crucified. The form is liturgically functional as it allows the building to be divided into sections where different activities take place, or that are occupied by different people, such as the clergy, the choir and the laity. The main body of the building, making the longer arm of the cross, is called the nave, and is where worshipers congregate; the term is from the Latin word for ship. The cathedral is symbolically a ship bearing


title: Cathedral content: the people of God through the storms of life. The nave is also used for major processions, which gather or enter at the furthest door (liturgically generally called the West Door). The aisles on each side of the nave facilitate the movement of people within the building, without disrupting worshipers in the central space. The arms of the cross are called the transepts and often contain a number of chapels. Farthest from the main entry is the "sanctuary" where the Blessed Sacrament is laid on the altar or communion table for the consecration. "Sanctuary" means "Holy Place". The word has


title: Cathedral content: passed into modern English with an altered meaning because traditionally a criminal who could gain access to this area without capture was thereby given the sanctuary of the church. Cathedral buildings of the Western European tradition symbolize the progression of the Christian soul towards Salvation. Many cathedrals of Eastern European tradition are centrally planned. These churches are almost always domed. The symbolism in these cathedral structures is of the hierarchy of Earth and Heaven, and often reveals its meaning through the internal decoration of the building with frescoes or mosaics. Apart from its organisational function as the seat of the


title: Cathedral content: bishop, and the meeting place for the chapter of the diocese, the cathedral has a liturgical function in offering daily church services. Most cathedrals have at least three services of worship every day, often taking the form of matins, Holy Communion and an evening service which is often sung by the precentor and choir. There are often additional services on Sunday. Cathedrals generally have an area dedicated to the performance of choral services and with seating specifically for the choir and dignitories of the church and town. This part of the building is called the Choir or Quire, and is


title: Cathedral content: generally located between the sanctuary and the nave. Because music often plays an important part in the performance of the liturgy, cathedrals generally have a pipe organ to accompany the choir. Cathedrals always have a font or water basin at which the rite of Baptism is performed, in which a person is formally accepted into the Christian church. The font is often placed towards the door because the Baptism signifies entry into the community of the church. In some cathedrals, most particularly in Italy, the rite of Baptism is performed in a separate building. One of the functions of the


title: Cathedral content: cathedral is the reading and expounding upon the Holy Scripture. The cathedral generally has a lectern from which the scripture is read. This often takes the form of an eagle of brass or carved wood which supports the book on its outstretched wings and is the symbol of John the Evangelist. However, some cathedrals retain elaborate medieval structures on either side of the church, one for the reading of the Gospel and the other for the reading of the Epistle. The function of expounding on the scriptures is traditionally performed from the pulpit which is generally constructed in such a


title: Cathedral content: way that the voice of the preacher is projected out to the congregation. The pulpit is often decorated with the winged figures of a man, a lion, a bull and an eagle, representing the Gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The services that are held within the cathedral follow an annual cycle. The designated scriptural readings for each day of the church's year establish a pattern which alternates periods of introspection and penitence with periods of celebration, and is punctuated by the two great celebrations of Christmas and Easter. Many cathedrals are places of pilgrimage to which people travel


title: Cathedral content: in order to worship or venerate a holy object or the reliquary of a saint. Many cathedrals are regarded as places that have provided rewarding religious experiences, where prayers have been answered or miracles have taken place. Pilgrimage was particularly popular in the late medieval period. Some cathedrals such as Santiago de Compostela continue to attract pilgrims. The formal cathedral services are linked to the cycle of the year and respond to the seasons of the Northern Hemisphere, Christmas falling in the winter and Easter in the spring. Cathedrals often hold a service of thanksgiving called Harvest Festival in the


title: Cathedral content: autumn. Births, marriages and deaths are often celebrated by services at cathedrals and the cathedral often acts as a repository of local history by recording these events. The cathedral marks times of national and local civic celebration and sadness with special services. The funerals of those famous within the community are invariably held at cathedrals. People who have served the community or the church are often buried within the cathedral with which they are associated. Alternatively, they may be commemorated by a memorial. Some cathedrals, such as Aachen and Reims are the traditional coronation places of monarchs. Another civic function


title: Cathedral content: of the cathedral is the imparting of significant civil information. Announcements may be to the populace from the steps of the cathedral, or within the cathedral itself. Most cathedrals have a bell or bells. These are used to announce that a service is soon to take place. They are also used to convey information and celebration. The ringing of peals signifies a time of rejoicing, such as a wedding. An extended ringing of peals or "changes" conveys a time of great civic celebration. The slow tolling of the deepest bell signifies a death or disaster. Many cathedrals have a clock


title: Cathedral content: with associated chimes which announce the time. The bells of a cathedral are traditionally used to signal the outbreak and the ending of war. Cathedrals are often associated with significant secular organisations such as the office of the local mayor and council, the local court, the local regiment, schools, sporting organisations and service clubs. The cathedral often has its own school, primarily for the education of choristers, but often including other children as well. The cathedral, often being a large building, serves as a meeting place for many people. The cathedral often forms a centre of different activities related to


title: Cathedral content: community service, youth activities, study, music and decorative arts. Cathedral buildings, especially those dating from the Medieval period, are frequently the grandest of churches in the diocese (and country). The ancient cathedrals of England, of Northern France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Germany and Sicily, the Baroque cathedrals of South America, and many individual cathedrals from Italy and other parts of Europe, are among the largest and finest religious buildings. Many are renowned for their architecture or their decorative features such as sculpture, stained glass and frescos. While cathedral buildings, in general, tend to be large, size and grandeur have rarely been


title: Cathedral content: essential requirements. Early Celtic and Saxon cathedrals tended to be of diminutive size, as is the Byzantine so-called "Little Metropole Cathedral" of Athens. In Italy, with a few notable exceptions such as Florence Cathedral and Milan Cathedral, cathedrals are numerous and are often similar in form and size to monastic or large parish churches. In modern times, where functionality is the foremost consideration and where church attendance is low in many countries, a cathedral church may be a modest structure. Cathedrals of monastic foundation, and some of secular clergy have cloisters which traditionally provided an open area where secular activities


title: Cathedral content: took place protected from wind and rain. Some cathedrals also have a chapter house where the chapter could meet. In England, where these buildings have survived, they are often octagonal. A cathedral may front onto the main square of a town, as in Florence, or it may be set in a walled "close" as at Canterbury. There may be a number of associated monastic or clergy buildings, a bishop's palace and often a school to educate the choristers. Many cathedral buildings are very famous for their architecture and have local and national significance, both artistically and historically. Many are listed


title: Cathedral content: among the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Many cathedrals, because of their large size and the fact that they often have towers, spires or domes, have until the 20th century, been the major landmarks in cities or in views across the countryside. With highrise building, civil action has been taken in some cases, such as the Cologne Cathedral to prevent the vista of the cathedral from being spoiled. Because many cathedrals took centuries to build and decorate, they constitute a major artistic investment for the city in which they stand. Not only may the building itself be architecturally significant, but the


title: Cathedral content: church often houses treasures such as stained glass, stone and wood statues, historic tombs, richly carved furniture and objects of both artistic and religious significance such as reliquaries. Moreover, the cathedral often plays a major role in telling the story of the town, through its plaques, inscriptions, tombs, stained glass and paintings. For these reasons, tourists have travelled to cathedrals for hundreds of years. Many cathedrals cater for tourists by charging a fee to any visitors outside service times or requesting a donation or making a charge to take photos. Cathedrals which are particularly popular tourist venues sometimes provide guides,


title: Cathedral content: leaflets, souvenirs and cafes. Cathedral A cathedral is a Christian church which contains the "cathedra" () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. The equivalent word in German for such a church is "Dom" (from the Latin term "domus ecclesiae" or "domus episcopalis"); see also "Duomo" in Italian, "Dom(kerk)" in Dutch, and cognates in many other European languages. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations with an episcopal hierarchy, such as the Catholic, Anglican, Orthodox, and some Lutheran and Methodist churches. Church buildings embodying the functions


title: "Charles II of England" content: to impose the punishment of exile—which the Commons thought too mild—the impeachment became stalled between the two Houses. As he had been required to do so many times during his reign, Charles bowed to the wishes of his opponents, committing Danby to the Tower of London, in which he was held for another five years. Charles faced a political storm over his brother James, a Catholic, being next in line to the throne. The prospect of a Catholic monarch was vehemently opposed by Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury (previously Baron Ashley and a member of the Cabal, which


title: E-carrier content: Both bits (called E-bits) have "1" as their default value. When the far end of the communication receives a 2 Mbit/s frame and detects an erroneous block, it puts a "0" in the E-bit that corresponds to the block in the frame being sent along the return path to the transmitter. This way, the near end of the communication is informed that an erroneous block has been detected, and both ends have the same information: one from the CRC-4 procedure and the other from the E bits. If we number the frames in the multiframe from 0 to 15, the


title: "Euler's identity" content: practice in several areas of mathematics. Stanford University mathematics professor Keith Devlin has said, "like a Shakespearean sonnet that captures the very essence of love, or a painting that brings out the beauty of the human form that is far more than just skin deep, Euler's equation reaches down into the very depths of existence". And Paul Nahin, a professor emeritus at the University of New Hampshire, who has written a book dedicated to Euler's formula and its applications in Fourier analysis, describes Euler's identity as being "of exquisite beauty". The mathematics writer Constance Reid has opined that Euler's identity


title: "Virginia opossum" content: Virginia opossum The Virginia opossum ("Didelphis virginiana"), commonly known as the North American opossum, is a marsupial found in North America. It is the only marsupial found north of Mexico. In the United States, it is typically referred to simply as a possum. It is a solitary and nocturnal animal about the size of a domestic cat. It is a successful opportunist. It is familiar to many North Americans as it is often seen near towns, rummaging through garbage cans. The Virginia opossum is the original animal named "opossum". The word comes from Algonquian "wapathemwa" meaning "white animal". Colloquially, the


title: "Virginia opossum" content: Virginia opossum is frequently called simply "possum". The name opossum is applied more generally to any of the other marsupials of the families Didelphidae and Caenolestidae. The generic name ("Didelphis") is derived from Ancient Greek: "di", "two", and "delphus", "womb". The possums of Australia, whose name is derived from a similarity to the opossums of the Americas, are also marsupials, but of the order Diprotodontia. The Virginia opossum is known in Mexico as "tlacuache", "tacuachi", and "tlacuachi", from the Nahuatl word "tlacuatzin". The Virginia opossum is found throughout Central America and North America east of the Rockies from Costa Rica


title: "Virginia opossum" content: to southern Ontario and is expanding its range northward, northwesterly and northeasterly at a significant pace. Its pre-European settlement range was generally as far north as Maryland; southern Ohio, Indiana and Illinois; Missouri and Kansas. The clearing of dense forests in these areas and further north by settlers allowed the opossum to move northward. Since 1900 it has expanded its range to include most of New England (including Maine); New York State, extreme southwestern Quebec; most of southern and eastern Ontario; most of Michigan and Wisconsin; most of Minnesota, southeastern South Dakota and most of Nebraska. Areas such as Rhode


title: "Virginia opossum" content: Island and Waterloo Region and Simcoe County in southern Ontario rarely had sightings of opossums in the 1960s but now have them regularly, likely due to global warming causing winters to be warmer with less snow. Some people speculate the expansion into Ontario mostly occurred by opossums accidentally being transferred across the St. Lawrence, Niagara, Detroit and St. Clair Rivers by motor vehicles or trains they may have climbed upon. As the opossum is not adapted to colder winters or heavy snow, its population may be significantly reduced if a colder winter with heavier snow occurs in a particular northern


title: "Virginia opossum" content: region. Its ancestors evolved in South America, but invaded North America in the Great American Interchange, after the formation of the Isthmus of Panama about 3 million years ago. The Virginia opossum was not originally native to the west coast of the United States. It was intentionally introduced into the West during the Great Depression, probably as a source of food, and now occupies much of the Pacific coast. Its range has been expanding steadily northward into British Columbia, Canada. A sizable population exists in Utah, feeding on human refuse and animal food in the cities. These animals nest in


title: "Virginia opossum" content: woodpiles and under houses to survive the long winters. Virginia opossums can vary considerably in size, with larger specimens found to the north of the opossum's range and smaller specimens in the tropics. They measure 13–37 in (35–94 cm) long from their snout to the base of the tail, with the tail adding another 8.5–19 in (21.6–47 cm). Weight for males ranges from 1.7 to 14 lb (0.8–6.4 kg) and for females from 11 ounces to 8.2 lb (0.3–3.7 kg). They are one of the world's most variably sized mammals, since a large male from northern North America weighs about


title: "Virginia opossum" content: 20 times as much as a small female from the tropics. Their coats are a dull grayish brown, other than on their faces, which are white. Opossums have long, hairless, prehensile tails, which can be used to grab branches and carry small objects. They also have hairless ears and a long, flat nose. Opossums have 50 teeth, more than any other North American land mammal, and opposable, clawless thumbs on their rear limbs. The dental formula of an opossum is 5134/4134. No other mammal in North America has more than 6 upper incisors, but the Virginia opossum has 10. Opossums


title: "Virginia opossum" content: have 13 nipples, arranged in a circle of 12 with one in the middle. Perhaps surprisingly for such a widespread and successful species, the Virginia opossum has one of the lowest encephalization quotients of any marsupial. Its brain is one-fifth the size of a raccoon's. Virginia opossum tracks generally show five finger-like toes in both the fore and hind prints. The hind tracks are unusual and distinctive due to the opossum's opposable thumb, which generally prints at an angle of 90° or greater to the other fingers (sometimes near 180°). Individual adult tracks generally measure 1.9 in long by 2.0


title: "Virginia opossum" content: in wide (4.8 × 5.1 cm) for the fore prints and 2.5 in long by 2.3 in wide (6.4 × 5.7 cm) for the hind prints. Opossums have claws on all fingers fore and hind except on the two thumbs (in the photograph, claw marks show as small holes just beyond the tip of each finger); these generally show in the tracks. In a soft medium, such as the mud in this photograph, the foot pads clearly show (these are the deep, darker areas where the fingers and toes meet the rest of the hand or foot, which have been


title: "Virginia opossum" content: filled with plant debris by wind due to the advanced age of the tracks). The tracks in the photograph were made while the opossum was walking with its typical pacing gait. The four aligned toes on the hind print show the approximate direction of travel. In a pacing gait, the limbs on one side of the body are moved simultaneously, just prior to moving both limbs on the other side of the body. This is illustrated in the pacing diagram, which explains why the left-fore and right-hind tracks are generally found together (and vice versa). However, if the opossum were


title: "Virginia opossum" content: not walking (but running, for example), the prints would fall in a different pattern. Other animals that generally employ a pacing gait are raccoons, bears, skunks, badgers, woodchucks, porcupines, and beavers. When pacing, the opossum's 'stride' generally measures from 7 to 10 in, or 18 to 25 cm (in the pacing diagram the stride is 8.5 in, where one grid square is equal to 1 in). To determine the stride of a pacing gait, measure from the tip (just beyond the fingers or toes in the direction of travel, disregarding claw marks) of one set of fore/hind tracks to the


title: "Virginia opossum" content: tip of the next set. By taking careful stride and track-size measurements, one can usually determine what species of animal created a set of tracks, even when individual track details are vague or obscured. The Virginia opossum is noted for reacting to threats by feigning death. This is the genesis of the term "playing possum", which means pretending to be dead or injured with intent to deceive. In the case of the opossum, the reaction seems to be involuntary, and to be triggered by extreme fear. It should not be taken as an indication of docility, for under serious threat,


title: "Virginia opossum" content: an opossum will respond ferociously, hissing, screeching, and showing its teeth, but with enough stimulation, the opossum will enter a near coma. It lies on its side, mouth and eyes open, tongue hanging out, emitting a green fluid from its anus whose putrid odor repels predators. Heart rate drops by half, and breathing rate is slowed by about 30%. Brain activity is unaltered however, and the animal remains fully conscious. Death feigning normally stops when the threat withdraws, and it can last up to six hours. Besides discouraging animals that eat live prey, playing possum also convinces some large animals


title: "Virginia opossum" content: that the opossum is no threat to their young. Opossums are omnivorous and eat a wide range of plants and animals such as fruits, grains, insects, snails, earthworms, carrion, snakes, birds, mice, and other small animals. The Virginia opossum has been found to be very resistant to snake venom. Persimmons are one of the opossum's favorite foods during the autumn. Opossums in captivity are known to engage in cannibalism, though this is probably uncommon in the wild. Placing an injured opossum in a confined space with its healthy counterparts is inadvisable. The Virginia opossum does not hibernate, although it may


title: "Virginia opossum" content: remain sheltered during cold spells. The breeding season for the Virginia opossum can begin as early as December and continue through October with most young born between February and June. A female opossum may have one to three litters per year. During the mating season, the male attracts the female by making clicking sounds with his mouth. Like all female marsupials, the females reproductive system is bifid: with two lateral vaginae, uteri, and ovaries, and the small (comparable to a dime at birth) young are delivered through a birth canal known as the median vagina that forms shortly before birth.


title: "Virginia opossum" content: The male's penis is also bifid, with two heads, and as is common in New World marsupials, the sperm pair up in the testes and only separate as they come close to the egg. It is common for 20 or 30 young to be born (and even as many as 50), but the female only has 13 teats, arranged in a circle with one in the center, so only the first 13 may survive. An average litter is eight or nine joeys, which will reside in their mother's pouch for about two-and-a-half months, before eventually climbing on her back. They


title: "Virginia opossum" content: leave their mother after about four or five months. Opossums, like most marsupials, have unusually short lifespans for their size and metabolic rate. The Virginia opossum has a maximal lifespan in the wild of only about two years. Even in captivity, opossums live only about four years. The rapid senescence of opossums is thought to reflect the fact that they have few defenses against predators; given that they would have little prospect of living very long regardless, they are not under selective pressure to develop biochemical mechanisms to enable a long lifespan. In support of this hypothesis, one population on


title: "Virginia opossum" content: Sapelo Island, off the coast of Georgia, which has been isolated for thousands of years without natural predators, was found by Dr. Steven Austad to have evolved lifespans up to 50% longer than those of mainland populations. An early description of the opossum comes from explorer John Smith, who wrote in "Map of Virginia, with a Description of the Countrey, the Commodities, People, Government and Religion" in 1608 that "An Opassom hath an head like a Swine, and a taile like a Rat, and is of the bignes of a Cat. Under her belly she hath a bagge, wherein she


title: "Virginia opossum" content: lodgeth, carrieth, and sucketh her young." The opossum was more formally described in 1698 in a published letter entitled ""Carigueya, Seu Marsupiale Americanum Masculum". Or, The Anatomy of a Male Opossum: In a Letter to Dr Edward Tyson," from Mr William Cowper, Chirurgeon, and Fellow of the Royal Society, London, by Edward Tyson, M.D. Fellow of the College of Physicians and of the Royal Society. The letter suggests even earlier descriptions. Like raccoons, opossums can be found in urban environments, where they eat pet food, rotten fruit, and human garbage. Humans may be causing an increase in body size for


title: "Virginia opossum" content: opossums that live near urban environments. Though sometimes mistakenly considered to be rats, opossums are not closely related to rodents, or other placentalian mammals. They rarely transmit diseases to humans, and are surprisingly resistant to rabies, most likely because they have lower body temperatures than most placental mammals. In addition, opossums limit the spread of Lyme disease, as they successfully kill off most disease-carrying ticks that feed on them. The opossum was once a favorite game animal in the United States, in particular in the southern regions which have a large body of recipes and folklore relating to it. Their


title: "Virginia opossum" content: past wide consumption in regions where present is evidenced by recipes available online and in books such as older editions of "The Joy of Cooking". A traditional method of preparation is baking, sometimes in a pie or pastry, though at present "possum pie" most often refers to a sweet confection containing no meat of any kind. Although it is widely distributed in the United States, the Virginia opossum's appearance in folklore and popularity as a food item has tied it closely to the American Southeast. In animation, it is often used to depict uncivilized characters or "hillbillies". The title character


title: "Virginia opossum" content: in Walt Kelly's long-running comic strip "Pogo" was an opossum. In an attempt to create another icon like the teddy bear, President William Howard Taft was tied to the character Billy Possum. The character did not do well, as public perception of the opossum led to its downfall. In December 2010, a cross-eyed Virginia opossum in Germany's Leipzig Zoo named Heidi became an international celebrity. She appeared on a TV talk show to predict the 2011 Oscar winners, similar to the World Cup predictions made previously by Paul the Octopus, also in Germany. Virginia opossum The Virginia opossum ("Didelphis virginiana"),


title: Airplane! content: Airplane! Airplane! (alternatively titled Flying High!) is a 1980 American satirical disaster film written and directed by David and Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, and produced by Jon Davison. It stars Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty and features Leslie Nielsen, Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Lorna Patterson. The film is a parody of the disaster film genre, particularly the 1957 Paramount film "Zero Hour!", from which it borrows the plot and the central characters, as well as many elements from "Airport 1975" and other films in the "Airport" film series. The film is known for its


title: Airplane! content: use of surreal humor and its fast-paced slapstick comedy, including visual and verbal puns, gags, and obscure humor. "Airplane!" was a critical and financial success, grossing over $83 million in North America against a budget of $3.5 million, being released by Paramount Pictures. The film's creators received the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Comedy, and nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and for the BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay. In the years since its release, the film's reputation has grown substantially. The film was ranked sixth on Bravo's "100


title: Airplane! content: Funniest Movies". In a 2007 survey by Channel 4 in the United Kingdom, it was judged the second greatest comedy film of all time, after "Monty Python's Life of Brian". In 2008, it was selected by "Empire" magazine as one of "The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time" and in 2012 was voted number one in "The 50 Funniest Comedies Ever" poll. In 2010, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Ex-fighter pilot Ted Striker is a traumatized war veteran turned taxi


title: Airplane! content: driver. Because of his pathological fear of flying and "drinking problem" (being unable to take a drink without splashing it on his face), he has been unable to hold a responsible job. His wartime girlfriend, Elaine Dickinson, now a flight attendant, leaves him before boarding her assigned flight from Los Angeles to Chicago. Ted abandons his taxi and buys a ticket on the same flight to try to win her back. However, she still continues to reject him during the flight. After the in-flight meal is served, several of the passengers and the flight crew fall ill, including Captain Oveur.


title: Airplane! content: Passenger Dr. Rumack discovers one of the offered courses caused food poisoning. With the flight crew incapacitated, Elaine contacts the Chicago control tower for help, and is instructed by tower supervisor Steve McCroskey to activate the plane's autopilot, a large inflatable pilot doll named "Otto", which will get them to Chicago, but will not be able to land the plane. Elaine and Dr. Rumack convince Ted to take the controls. When Steve learns that Ted is piloting, he contacts Ted's former commanding officer, Rex Kramer, now serving as a commercial pilot, so that he can help talk Ted through landing


title: Airplane! content: the plane. Ted becomes troubled when Rex starts giving instructions, and briefly stresses out from flashbacks to the war. Both Elaine and Dr. Rumack bolster Ted's confidence and he takes the controls under Rex's guidance. As the plane nears Chicago, the weather becomes harsh, making landing difficult. With Elaine's help as co-pilot and Rex's guidance, Ted is able to land the plane, despite shearing off the landing gear but with only minor injuries to the passengers. Rescue vehicles arrive to help unload the plane. Impressed by Ted's display of courage, Elaine embraces and kisses him, rekindling their relationship. The two


title: Airplane! content: watch as "Otto" takes control of the plane, inflates a female companion, and takes off. Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and David Zucker (collectively known as Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker, or ZAZ), wrote "Airplane!" while they were performing with the Kentucky Fried Theatre, a small theatre they had founded in 1971. To obtain material for comedy routines, they routinely recorded late night television and reviewed the tapes later primarily to pull the commercials, a process Abrahams compared to "seining for fish". During one such taping process, they unintentionally recorded the 1957 film "Zero Hour!", and while scanning the commercials, found that


title: Airplane! content: the film was a "perfectly classically structured film" according to Jerry Zucker. Abrahams later described "Zero Hour!" as "the serious version of "Airplane!"". It was the first film script they wrote, completed around 1975, and was originally called "The Late Show". The script originally stayed close to the dialog and plot of "Zero Hour!", as ZAZ considered they did not have a sufficient understanding of film at the time to structure a proper script. ZAZ's script borrowed so much from "Zero Hour!" that they believed they needed to negotiate the rights to create the remake of the film and ensure


title: Airplane! content: they remain within the allowance for parody within copyright law. They were able to obtain the rights from Warner Bros. and Paramount for about $2,500 at the time. The original script contained spoofs of television commercials but people who proofread the script advised them to shorten the commercials, and, eventually, they removed them. When their script was finished they were unable to sell it. The trio knew director John Landis, who encouraged them to write a film based on their theatre sketches. They managed to put the film, called "The Kentucky Fried Movie", in production in the late 1970s, and


title: Airplane! content: entered a movie set for the first time. David Zucker said "It was the first time we had ever been on a movie set. We learned a lot. We learned that if you really wanted a movie to come out the way you wanted it to, you had to direct. So on the next movie, "Airplane!", we insisted on directing." Filming took 34 days, mostly during August 1979. Jerry Zucker stood beside the camera during shooting, while David Zucker and Jim Abrahams would be watching the video feed to see how the film would look; they would confer after each


title: Airplane! content: take. During filming, Leslie Nielsen used a whoopee cushion to keep the cast off-balance. Hays said that Nielsen "played that thing like a maestro". David Zucker explained that "the trick was to cast actors like Robert Stack, Leslie Nielsen, Peter Graves, and Lloyd Bridges. These were people who, up to that time, had never done comedy. We thought they were much funnier than the comedians of that time were." David Zucker felt Stack was the most important actor to be cast, since he was the "linchpin" of the film's plot. Stack initially played his role in a way that was


title: Airplane! content: different from what the directors had in mind. They showed him a tape of impressionist John Byner impersonating Robert Stack. According to the producers, Stack was "doing an impression of John Byner doing an impression of Stack." Stack was not initially interested in the part, but ZAZ persuaded him. Bridges' children advised him to take the part. Graves rejected the script at first, considering it tasteless. On the DVD commentary, Abrahams said, "I don't understand. What did he think was tasteless about pedophilia?" They cast the relatively unknown Robert Hays, who was a co-star of "Angie", and Julie Hagerty to


title: Airplane! content: round out the cast, whom the directors advised to play it straight. For the "red zone/white zone" send-up of curbside terminal announcements in which public address announcers "Betty" and "Vernon" argue over the red and white zones, ZAZ went through the usual process of auditioning professional voice actors, but failed to find ones who could provide the desired verisimilitude. Instead, the filmmakers ultimately sought out and hired the real-life married couple who had recorded the announcement tapes which were then being used at Los Angeles International Airport. In 1980, an LP soundtrack for the film was released by Regency Records,


title: Airplane! content: and included dialog and songs from the film. It was also narrated by Shadoe Stevens, and only featured one score track, the "Love Theme from "Airplane"" composed by Elmer Bernstein. The soundtrack was altered for the European 'Flying High' release, with several of the featured tracks swapped for pieces original to the LP. On April 28, 2009 La-La Land Records announced that it would release the first official score album for "Airplane!", containing Bernstein's complete score. The soundtrack was released digitally on February 19, 2013, by Paramount Music. Before its release, the directors had been apprehensive, owing to a mediocre


title: Airplane! content: response at one of the pre-screenings. But the film earned its entire budget of about $3.5 million in its first weekend of release. Overall, it earned more than $83 million in box office gross for $40 million in rentals, making it the fourth highest-grossing film of 1980. "Airplane!" received universal acclaim from critics and is widely regarded as one of the best films of 1980. Based on 61 reviews, compiled retrospectively, Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 97% with an average rating of 8.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Though unabashedly juvenile and silly, "Airplane!" is nevertheless


title: Airplane! content: an uproarious spoof comedy full of quotable lines and slapstick gags that endure to this day." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 78 out of 100 based on 18 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" wrote ""Airplane!" is sophomoric, obvious, predictable, corny, and quite often very funny. And the reason it's funny is frequently because it's sophomoric, predictable, corny, etc". Janet Maslin of "The New York Times" wrote ""Airplane!" is more than a pleasant surprise... As a remedy for the bloated self-importance of too many other current efforts, it's just what


title: Airplane! content: the doctor ordered". In 2008 "Airplane!" was selected by "Empire" magazine as one of "The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time". It was also placed on a similar list by "The New York Times", a list of "The Best 1000 Movies Ever Made". MaximOnline.com named the airplane crash in "Airplane!" number four on its list of "Most Horrific Movie Plane Crashes." Leslie Nielsen's line (in response to Hays' question 'surely you can't be serious'), "I am serious. And don't call me Shirley", was 79th on AFI's list of the best 100 movie quotes. In 2000 the American Film Institute listed


title: Airplane! content: "Airplane!" as number ten on its list of the 100 funniest American films. In the same year, readers of "Total Film" voted it the second greatest comedy film of all time. It also came second in the British 50 Greatest Comedy Films poll on Channel 4, beaten by "Monty Python's The Life of Brian". "Entertainment Weekly" voted the film the "Funniest movie on video" in their list of the 100 funniest movies on video. Several actors were cast to spoof their established images: prior to their roles in "Airplane!", Nielsen, Stack, and Bridges were known for portraying adventurous, no-nonsense tough-guy


title: Airplane! content: characters. Stack's role as the captain who loses his nerve in one of the earliest airline "disaster" films, "The High and the Mighty" (1954), is spoofed in "Airplane!", as is Lloyd Bridges' 1970–1971 television role as airport manager Jim Conrad in "San Francisco International Airport". Peter Graves was in the made-for-television film "", in which an SST was unable to land owing to an emergency. Nielsen saw a major boost to his career after "Airplane!"s release, and the film marked a significant change in his film persona towards a new specialty in deadpan comedy, notably in the three "Naked Gun"


title: Airplane! content: films based on the six-episode television series "Police Squad!", in which he also starred and which was created and produced by the Abrahams–Zucker–Zucker team behind "Airplane". This also led to his casting, many years later, in Mel Brooks' "". Brooks had wanted to make that film for a long time, but put it off because, as he said, "I just could not find the right Dracula." Brooks said he had never seen "Airplane!" until years after its release. When he did, he knew Nielsen would be right for the part. When it was suggested that his role in "Airplane!" was


title: Airplane! content: against type, Nielsen protested that he had "always been cast against type before", and that comedy was what he always really wanted to do. The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists: Peter Farrelly said of the film: "I was in Rhode Island the first time I saw "Airplane!" Seeing it for the first time was like going to a great rock concert, like seeing Led Zeppelin or the Talking Heads. We didn't realize until later that what we'd seen was a very specific kind of comedy that we now call the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker school." Farrelly, along with


title: Airplane! content: his writing partner Bennett Yellin, sent a comedy script to David Zucker, who in return gave them their first Hollywood writing job. Farrelly said, "I'll tell you right now, if the Zuckers didn't exist, there would be no Farrelly brothers." Thirty years later, the documentary "" opened with a scene from the film. The "Mythbusters" tv show episode "Airplane Hour" reenacted the climax of the film; to see if an inexperienced pilot could land a plane with only a call from Air Traffic Control. The Mythbusters had to use a simulation to test the myth, but concluded that the scene


title: Airplane! content: was plausible. They did however mention that most planes today have an autopilot to land the plane safely. In the 2012 film "Ted", the main character, John Bennett, tells the story of how he met Lori Collins. The flashback is a close recreation of the scene where Ted Striker met Elaine Dickinson in the disco. In early 2014 Delta Air Lines began using a new on-board safety film with many 1980s references, featuring an ending with a cameo of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar reprising his role as co-pilot Roger Murdock. In 2014 Travel Wisconsin began airing an ad with Robert Hays and


title: Airplane! content: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar reprising their roles from the film. Kareem makes the comment "Why did I ever leave this place?" referring to his time playing for the Milwaukee Bucks. Hays also reprises his role as an airline pilot in "". "", first released on December 10, 1982, attempted to tackle the science fiction film genre, though there was still emphasis on the general theme of disaster films. Although most of the cast reunited for the sequel, the writers and directors of "Airplane!" chose not to be involved. In the DVD commentary for "Airplane!" David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker claim


title: Airplane! content: to have never seen nor to have any desire to see "Airplane II". Airplane! Airplane! (alternatively titled Flying High!) is a 1980 American satirical disaster film written and directed by David and Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, and produced by Jon Davison. It stars Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty and features Leslie Nielsen, Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Lorna Patterson. The film is a parody of the disaster film genre, particularly the 1957 Paramount film "Zero Hour!", from which it borrows the plot and the central characters, as well as many elements from "Airport 1975" and


title: Hedgehog content: Hedgehog A hedgehog is any of the spiny mammals of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found through parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introduction. There are no hedgehogs native to Australia and no living species native to the Americas (the extinct genus "Amphechinus" was once present in North America). Hedgehogs share distant ancestry with shrews (family Soricidae), with gymnures possibly being the intermediate link, and they have changed little over the last 15 million years. Like many of the first mammals, they have


title: Hedgehog content: adapted to a nocturnal way of life. Their spiny protection resembles that of the unrelated porcupines, which are rodents, and echidnas, a type of monotreme. The name "hedgehog" came into use around the year 1450, derived from the Middle English "heyghoge", from "heyg", "hegge" ("hedge"), because it frequents hedgerows, and "hoge", "hogge" ("hog"), from its piglike snout. Other names include "urchin", "hedgepig" and "furze-pig". The collective noun for a group of hedgehogs is "array". Hedgehogs are easily recognized by their spines, which are hollow hairs made stiff with keratin. Their spines are not poisonous or barbed and unlike the quills


title: Hedgehog content: of a porcupine, do not easily detach from their bodies. However, the immature animal's spines normally fall out as they are replaced with adult spines. This is called "quilling". Spines can also shed when the animal is diseased or under extreme stress. A defense that all species of hedgehogs possess is the ability to roll into a tight ball, causing all of the spines to point outwards. The hedgehog's back contains two large muscles that control the position of the quills. When the creature is rolled into a ball, the quills on the back protect the tucked face, feet, and


title: Hedgehog content: belly, which are not quilled. Since the effectiveness of this strategy depends on the number of spines, some desert hedgehogs that evolved to carry less weight are more likely to flee or even attack, ramming an intruder with the spines; rolling into a spiny ball for those species is a last resort. The various species are prey to different predators: while forest hedgehogs are prey primarily to birds (especially owls) and ferrets, smaller species like the long-eared hedgehog are prey to foxes, wolves, and mongooses. Hedgehogs are primarily nocturnal, though some species can also be active during the day. Hedgehogs


title: Hedgehog content: sleep for a large portion of the day under bushes, grasses, rocks, or most commonly in dens dug in the ground, with varying habits among the species. All wild hedgehogs can hibernate, though not all do, depending on temperature, species, and abundance of food. Hedgehogs are fairly vocal and communicate through a combination of grunts, snuffles and/or squeals, depending on species. Hedgehogs occasionally perform a ritual called anointing. When the animal encounters a new scent, it will lick and bite the source, then form a scented froth in its mouth and paste it on its spines with its tongue. The


title: Hedgehog content: purpose of this habit is unknown, but some experts believe anointing camouflages the hedgehog with the new scent of the area and provides a possible poison or source of infection to predators poked by their spines. Anointing is sometimes also called anting because of a similar behavior in birds. Like opossums, mice, and moles, hedgehogs have some natural immunity against some snake venom through the protein erinacin in the animal's muscular system, although it is only available in small amounts and a viper bite may still be fatal. In addition, hedgehogs are one of four known mammalian groups with mutations


title: Hedgehog content: that protect against another snake venom, α-neurotoxin. Pigs, honey badgers, mongooses, and hedgehogs all have mutations in the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor that prevent the snake venom α-neurotoxin from binding, though those mutations developed separately and independently. The olfactory regions have not been thoroughly studied in the hedgehog. In mammals, the olfactory part of the brain is covered by neopallium, making it difficult to expose. This difficulty is not insurmountable, as it varies from one species to another. Tests have suggested that hedgehogs share the same electrical activity as cats. Although traditionally classified in the now abandoned order Insectivora, hedgehogs are


title: Hedgehog content: omnivorous. They feed on insects, snails, frogs and toads, snakes, bird eggs, carrion, mushrooms, grass roots, berries, melons and watermelons. Berries constitute a major part of an Afghan hedgehog's diet in early spring after hibernation. During hibernation, the body temperature of a hedgehog can decrease to about . When the animal awakes from hibernation, the body temperature rises from back to its normal body temperature. Depending on the species, the gestation period is 35–58 days. The average litter is 3–4 newborns for larger species and 5–6 for smaller ones. As with many animals, it is not unusual for an adult


title: Hedgehog content: male hedgehog to kill newborn males. Hedgehogs have a relatively long lifespan for their size. Larger species of hedgehogs live 4–7 years in the wild (some have been recorded up to 16 years), and smaller species live 2–4 years (4–7 in captivity), compared to a mouse at 2 years and a large rat at 3–5 years. Lack of predators and controlled diet contribute to a longer lifespan in captivity (8–10 years depending on size). Hedgehogs are born blind with a protective membrane covering their quills, which dries and shrinks over the next several hours. The quills emerge through the skin


title: Hedgehog content: after they have been cleaned, or it falls off. Hedgehog bones have been found in the pellets of the European eagle owl. In Britain, the main predator is the badger. European hedgehog populations in the United Kingdom are lower in areas where badgers are numerous, and British hedgehog rescue societies will not release hedgehogs into known badger territories. Badgers also compete with hedgehogs for food. The most common pet species of hedgehog are hybrids of the white-bellied hedgehog or four-toed hedgehog ("Atelerix albiventris") and the North African hedgehog ("A. algirus"). It is smaller than the European hedgehog, and thus is


title: Hedgehog content: sometimes called the African pygmy hedgehog. Other species kept as pets are the long-eared hedgehog ("Hemiechinus auritus") and the Indian long-eared hedgehog ("H. collaris"). It is illegal to own a hedgehog as a pet in some US states including Hawaii, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and California, and some Canadian municipalities, and breeding licenses are required. No such restrictions exist in most European countries with the exception of Scandinavia. In Italy, it is illegal to keep wild hedgehogs as pets. In areas where hedgehogs have been introduced, such as New Zealand and the islands of Scotland, the hedgehog has become a pest. In


title: Hedgehog content: New Zealand it causes immense damage to native species including insects, snails, lizards and ground-nesting birds, particularly shore birds. As with many introduced animals, it lacks natural predators. Eradication can be troublesome. Attempts to eliminate hedgehogs from bird colonies on the Scottish islands of North Uist and Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides were met with international outrage. Eradication began in 2003 with 690 hedgehogs being killed. Animal welfare groups attempted rescues to save the hedgehogs. By 2007, legal injunctions against the killing of hedgehogs were put in place. In 2008, the elimination process was changed from killing the hedgehogs to


title: Hedgehog content: trapping them and releasing them on the mainland. Hedgehogs suffer many diseases common to humans. These include cancer, fatty liver disease and cardiovascular disease. Cancer is very common in hedgehogs. The most common is squamous cell carcinoma. Squamous cell spreads quickly from the bone to the organs in hedgehogs, unlike in humans. Surgery to remove the tumors is rare because it would result in removing too much bone structure. Fatty liver disease is believed by many to be caused by bad diet. Hedgehogs will eagerly eat foods that are high in fat and sugar. Having a metabolism adapted for low-fat,


title: Hedgehog content: protein-rich insects, this leads to common problems of obesity. Fatty liver disease is one sign, heart disease is another. Hedgehogs uncommonly transmit a characteristic fungal skin infection to human handlers as well as other hedgehogs. This ringworm or dermatophytosis infection is caused by "Trichophyton erinacei", which forms a distinct mating group within the "Arthroderma benhamiae" species complex. Hedgehogs can suffer from balloon syndrome, a rare condition in which gas is trapped under the skin as a result of injury or infection and which causes the animal to inflate; in 2017 the BBC reported a case in which a male hedgehog


title: Hedgehog content: was "almost twice its natural size, literally blown up like a beach ball with incredibly taut skin". The head vet at Stapeley's Wildlife Hospital, Bev Panto, said, "In my career I have seen three or four of these cases and they are very strange every time and quite shocking ... When you first see them they appear to be very big hedgehogs but when you pick them up they feel so light because they are mostly air". She added that the condition was unique to hedgehogs because they have significant space under their skin as a result of their ability


title: Hedgehog content: to curl up. A similar case had been reported in 2013. The British Hedgehog Preservation Society advises that: There is no single cause for this condition. The air can be removed by incising or aspirating through the skin over the back. Antibiotic cover should be given. This may be associated with lung/chest wall damage or a small external wound acting like a valve or a clostridium type infection. As with most small mammals living around humans, cars pose a great threat to hedgehogs. Many are run over as they attempt to cross roadways. In Ireland, hedgehogs are one of the


title: Hedgehog content: most common mammalian road fatalities. Between the years of April 2008 and November 2010 and a total of 50,430 km, there were 133 hedgehog fatalities. Of the 135 hedgehog carcasses collected from throughout Ireland, there were significantly more males than females collected, with peaks in male deaths occurring in May and June. Female deaths only outnumbered males in August, with further peaks in female deaths observed in June and July. It is suggested that these peaks are related to the breeding season (adults) and dispersal/exploration following independence. Domesticated hedgehogs can get their head stuck in tubes (commonly, toilet paper tubes)


title: Hedgehog content: and walk around with it on their head. Owners often refer to this as "tubing" and promote the behavior by supplying lean tubes. Most owners are considerate enough, however, to cut the tubes lengthwise to prevent the hedgehog from remaining trapped against its will. Curiously, some hedgehogs still knowingly get themselves stuck for a few hours. Hedgehogs are a food source in many cultures. Hedgehogs were eaten in Ancient Egypt and some recipes of the Late Middle Ages call for hedgehog meat. Hedgehogs are traded throughout Eurasia and Africa for traditional medicine and witchcraft. In the Middle East and especially


title: Hedgehog content: among Bedouins, hedgehog meat is considered medicinal, and thought to cure rheumatism and arthritis. They are also said to cure a variety of illnesses and disorders from tuberculosis to impotence. In Morocco, inhaling the smoke of the burnt skin or bristles is a purported remedy for fever, male impotence, and urinary illnesses. The blood is sold as a cure for ringworm, cracked skin and warts and the flesh is eaten as a remedy for witchcraft. Romani people still eat hedgehogs, boiled or roasted, and also use the blood and the fat for its supposed medicinal value. During the 1980s, "hedgehog-flavour"


title: Hedgehog content: crisps were introduced in Britain, although the product did not contain any hedgehog. Subfamily Erinaceinae (Hedgehogs) Hedgehog A hedgehog is any of the spiny mammals of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found through parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introduction. There are no hedgehogs native to Australia and no living species native to the Americas (the extinct genus "Amphechinus" was once present in North America). Hedgehogs share distant ancestry with shrews (family Soricidae), with gymnures possibly being the intermediate link, and they have


title: Hay content: Hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. However, it is also fed to smaller domesticated animals such as rabbits and guinea pigs. Even pigs may be fed hay, but they do not digest it as efficiently as herbivores. Hay can be used as animal fodder when or where there is not enough pasture or rangeland on which to graze an animal, when grazing is not feasible due to weather


title: Hay content: (such as during the winter), or when lush pasture by itself would be too rich for the health of the animal. It is also fed when an animal is unable to access pasture, e.g. the animal is being kept in a stable or barn. Commonly used plants for hay include mixtures of grasses such as ryegrass ("Lolium" species), timothy, brome, fescue, Bermuda grass, orchard grass, and other species, depending on region. Hay may also include legumes, such as alfalfa (lucerne) and clovers (red, white and subterranean). Legumes in hay are ideally cut pre-bloom. Other pasture forbs are also sometimes a


title: Hay content: part of the mix, though these plants are not necessarily desired as certain forbs are toxic to some animals. Oat, barley, and wheat plant materials are occasionally cut green and made into hay for animal fodder; however they are more usually used in the form of straw, a harvest byproduct where the stems and dead leaves are baled after the grain has been harvested and threshed. Straw is used mainly for animal bedding. Although straw is also used as fodder, particularly as a source of dietary fiber, it has lower nutritional value than hay. It is the leaf and seed


title: Hay content: material in the hay that determines its quality, because they contain more of the nutrition value for the animal than the stems do. Farmers try to harvest hay at the point when the seed heads are not quite ripe and the leaf is at its maximum when the grass is mowed in the field. The cut material is allowed to dry so that the bulk of the moisture is removed but the leafy material is still robust enough to be picked up from the ground by machinery and processed into storage in bales, stacks or pits. Methods of haymaking thus


title: Hay content: aim to minimize the shattering and falling away of the leaves during handling. Hay is very sensitive to weather conditions, especially when it is harvested. In drought conditions, both seed and leaf production are stunted, making hay that has a high ratio of dry coarse stems that have very low nutritional values. If the weather is too wet, the cut hay may spoil in the field before it can be baled. Thus the biggest challenge and risk for farmers in producing hay crops is the weather, especially the weather of the particular few weeks when the plants are at the


title: Hay content: best age/maturity for hay. A lucky break in the weather often moves the haymaking tasks (such as mowing, tedding, and baling) to the top priority on the farm's to-do list. This is reflected in the idiom "to make hay while the sun shines". Hay that was too wet at cutting may develop rot and mold after being baled, creating the potential for toxins to form in the feed, which could make the animals sick. After harvest, hay also has to be stored in a manner to prevent it from getting wet. Mold and spoilage reduce nutritional value and may cause


title: Hay content: illness in animals. A symbiotic fungus in fescue may cause illness in horses and cattle. The successful harvest of maximum yields of high-quality hay is entirely dependent on the coincident occurrence of optimum crop, field, and weather conditions. When this occurs, there may be a period of intense activity on the hay farm while harvest proceeds until weather conditions become unfavourable. Hay or grass is the foundation of the diet for all grazing animals and can provide as much as 100% of the fodder required for an animal. Hay is usually fed to an animal in place of allowing the


title: Hay content: animal to graze on grasses in a pasture, particularly in the winter or during times when drought or other conditions make pasture unavailable. Animals that can eat hay vary in the types of grasses suitable for consumption, the ways they consume hay, and how they digest it. Therefore, different types of animals require hay that consists of similar plants to what they would eat while grazing, and likewise, plants that are toxic to an animal in pasture are also toxic if they are dried into hay. Most animals are fed hay in two daily feedings, morning and evening. However, this


title: Hay content: schedule is more for the convenience of humans, as most grazing animals on pasture naturally consume fodder in multiple feedings throughout the day. Some animals, especially those being raised for meat, may be given enough hay that they simply are able to eat all day. Other animals, especially those that are ridden or driven as working animals, are only free to eat when not working, and may be given a more limited amount of hay to prevent them from getting too fat. The proper amount of hay and the type of hay required varies somewhat between different species. Some animals


title: Hay content: are also fed concentrated feeds such as grain or vitamin supplements in addition to hay. In most cases, hay or pasture forage must make up 50% or more of the diet by weight. One of the most significant differences in hay digestion is between ruminant animals, such as cattle and sheep; and nonruminant, hindgut fermentors, such as horses. Both types of animals can digest cellulose in grass and hay, but do so by different mechanisms. Because of the four-chambered stomach of cattle, they are often able to break down older forage and have more tolerance of mold and changes in


title: Hay content: diet. The single-chambered stomach and cecum or "hindgut" of the horse uses bacterial processes to break down cellulose that are more sensitive to changes in feeds and the presence of mold or other toxins, requiring horses to be fed hay of a more consistent type and quality. Different animals also use hay in different ways: cattle evolved to eat forages in relatively large quantities at a single feeding, and then, due to the process of rumination, take a considerable amount of time for their stomachs to digest food, often accomplished while the animal is lying down, at rest. Thus quantity


title: Hay content: of hay is important for cattle, who can effectively digest hay of low quality if fed in sufficient amounts. Sheep will eat between two and four percent of their body weight per day in dry feed, such as hay, and are very efficient at obtaining the most nutrition possible from three to five pounds per day of hay or other forage. They require three to four hours per day to eat enough hay to meet their nutritional requirements. Unlike ruminants, horses digest food in small portions throughout the day, and can only use approximately 2.5% of their body weight in


title: Hay content: feed in any 24-hour period. They evolved to be continuously on the move while grazing, (covering up to per day in the wild) and their stomach digests food quite rapidly. Thus, they extract more nutrition out of smaller quantities of feed. However, when horses are fed low-quality hay, they may develop an unhealthy, obese, "hay belly" due to over-consumption of "empty" calories. If their type of feed is changed dramatically, or if they are fed moldy hay or hay containing toxic plants, they can become ill; colic is the leading cause of death in horses. Contaminated hay can also lead


title: Hay content: to respiratory problems in horses. Hay can be soaked in water, sprinkled with water or subjected to steaming to reduce dust. Hay production and harvest, colloquially known as "making hay", "haymaking", or "doing hay", involves a multiple step process: cutting, drying or "curing", raking, processing, and storing. Hayfields do not have to be reseeded each year in the way that grain crops are, but regular fertilizing is usually desirable, and overseeding a field every few years helps increase yield. Methods and the terminology to describe the steps of making hay have varied greatly throughout history, and many regional variations still


title: Hay content: exist today. However, whether done by hand or by modern mechanized equipment, tall grass and legumes at the proper stage of maturity must be cut, then allowed to dry (preferably by the sun), then raked into long, narrow piles known as windrows. Next, the cured hay is gathered up in some form (usually by some type of baling process) and placed for storage into a haystack or into a barn or shed to protect it from moisture and rot. During the growing season, which is spring and early summer in temperate climates, grass grows at a fast pace. It is


title: Hay content: at its greatest nutritive value when all leaves are fully developed and seed or flower heads are just a bit short of full maturity. When growth is at a maximum in the pasture or field, if judged correctly, it is cut. Grass hay cut too early will not cure as easily due to high moisture content, plus it will produce a lower yield per acre than longer, more mature grass. But hay cut too late is coarser, lower in resale value and has lost some of its nutrients. There is usually about a two-week "window" of time in which grass


title: Hay content: is at its ideal stage for harvesting hay. The time for cutting alfalfa hay is ideally done when plants reach maximum height and are producing flower buds or just beginning to bloom, cutting during or after full bloom results in lower nutritional value of the hay. Hay can be raked into rows as it is cut, then turned periodically to dry, particularly if a modern swather is used. Or, especially with older equipment or methods, the hay is cut and allowed to lie spread out in the field until it is dry, then raked into rows for processing into bales


title: Hay content: afterwards. During the drying period, which can take several days, the process is usually sped up by turning the cut hay over with a hay rake or spreading it out with a tedder. If it rains while the hay is drying, turning the windrow can also allow it to dry faster. However, turning the hay too often or too roughly can also cause drying leaf matter to fall off, reducing the nutrients available to animals. Drying can also be sped up by mechanized processes, such as use of a hay conditioner, or by use of chemicals sprayed onto the hay